UGC Clariont Flag.		Short Stories And Essays.		UGC Clariont Flag.
Senior Paladin. Then Ens. REDDSON, aboard Cutter MAN-O-WAR. Essay on the Invid, Protoculture, Mecha, Economics, and many other subjects. By Lt Col Andering REDDSON, RDF/REF/BOS Essays By Lt Col Andering REDDSON, RDF/REF/BOS, based on lectures given at The Terran War College, Citrus Heights, California, Terra, and Fantoman War College, T'sentraedi City, Fantoma. The lectures have been given over the course of some 15 years, in various venues, and to various audiences. These lectures were collected up by various students, disseminated, and debated for years, and some still are. Subjects covered included the Invid, Protoculture, Mecha (design and construction), economics, and etc. Lt Col REDDSON is a T'sentraedi Clone who defected to the Terran side early in the First Robotech War; Therefore, he had first-hand experience with the subjects herein contained. Of the greatest interest to most, traditionally, has been the Mecha and other hardware essays (especially the true story of the development of the Spacer Space Fighter), and the "practical" essays ("Life Aboard Ship," "MBN's Rush Channel," "Back Alleys Porn Shops," "Sailor's Superstitions," and "Justice in the REF." The most controversial essay has traditionally been "Bigotry in the UGC." Col. REDDSON also holds the rank of "Senior Paladin" (a shield with two crossed swords, bracketed by a pair of 5-point stars) in the quasi-militry agency known as the "Brotherhood Of Steel" out of the Shady Sands, CA, Outpost. Table Of Contents Tales of the SDF-001 MACROSS. Reconstruction Blues. Tales from the Fleet (SDF-003 PIONEER-Era essays). Nailed To The Southern Cross. Short Stories. Other Essays By Lt Col Andering REDDSON.
Tales of the SDF-001 MACROSS.
Lᴀᴡ & Oʀᴅᴇʀ; Mᴀᴄʀᴏss Dɪᴠɪsɪᴏɴ. The Little Dragon. SAINT LYNN MINMIE- Maligned Mother of the T'sentraedi and Hero of Terra. The Macross Broadcast Network: The Rush Channel The Back Alleys Porn Shops Of Macross. Macross Vice.			Early RDF Recruitment. The MACROSS FLEET. Uniforms of the RDF. Weapons of the RDF/REF. Body Armor and the Veritech Pilot. Music In The Cockpit. Gangs Of Macross.
LAW & ORDER; MACROSS DIVISION.
LAW & ORDER; MACROSS DIVISION. LAW & ORDER was a popular series on Terra, and specifically America (though a version was made for the United Kingdom), when the SDF-001 launched. Beamed world-wide via satellite relay, American fans on Macross Island tuned in every evening to follow the investigation and prosecution of a crime- In the original series, it usually started with a murder, though many other crimes either started or got intertwined; Indeed, one spin off in particular was started called "Special Victims Unit," centering on rapes and other sex crimes. The spacefold mishap cut short the series for the people of Macross City, so an enterprising band of college students started their own cheesy knock off, which proved widely popular- Even LYNN Minmie guest stared in an episode, "Cabin Fever", as a murdering adulteress who kills her lover and framed her husband in an insurance scheme. The clever part: She framed her husband and made his murder look like a suicide. (Yes, the one time they let her play the "bad girl," she was BAAAAAAAAD to the bone.) The series was, in all due fairness, of questionable value, in production and in cultural point- After all, it really was little more than school project. However, because it was a MACROSS original, it remains in circulation. (It should be noted that, like it's progenitor, Macross Division changed with the times, but retained its slightly left of centrist bent; The episode Green Blood explored a series of unprovoked attacks on T'sentraedi defectors, including a mob beating, three rapes, one against a male, and a carefully premeditated murder. One actual T'sentraedi played a bit role, a certain Jaham GREEIE, playing a Human who provides a small, but significant clue to the identity of the ringleader.)Section Index; Page Index.
The Little Dragon.
It is well known that LYNN Minmie's minor suggestion that her parents diner, The Little Dragon, be utilized to feed the people of Macross after it's rebulinding was complete (The Little Dragon was one of the first places LYNN Minmie during a USO show; She had this Seaman uniform for the event. The French-Cut skirt was NOT standard- But was copied. rebuilt)- But the history of its rebuilding, and the social ramifications, have been unjustly over-stated. Firstly, the docu-drama portrays the LYNN Family's restaurant being rebuilt as a make-work, and being the first, and for a time only, building recovered. It wasn't. Secondly, and intertwined in this, is the assertion that LYNN Minmie suggested, ex post facto, that The Little Dragon should take over all meal duties, at least for non-militry members. She didn't. The decision to rebuild The Little Dragon was not "rebuilt" in the sense portrayed in the docu-drama; The LYNN Family was given a large compartment, capable, after conversion, of serving 120 persons at any given time. This required a staff of four servers in addition to the galley staff. Dressing the exterior of the compartment was given over to the LYNN'S as they saw fit. 25 other such facilities were also set up. This decision was made by the 8 member "Civil Populous Recovery Steering Committee," made up of the local chiefs of the Salvation Army, Red Cross/Red Crescent (both entities were present on Macross Island, allowing Muslims to avoid the Red Cross facilities if they so chose), the Mayor of Macross City, and the Chief of Police (selected over the Fire Marshal only by dint that Chief JACKSON had been a cop for 23 years with 3 years as a firefighter as well, while Marshal SMITH had been a fire fighter for 20 years), and representatives of the militry "hosts." In general, the committee worked very well together when under pressure (such as the modular transformation and the damage that wrecked), but as soon as a disaster passed they immediately took to squabbling like children, insistently fighting over resources (of which it seemed there were never enough) to continue the reconstruction. (The rare occasion they did agree it was to gang up on another group; Of particular abuse were the porn shops and brothels.) What separated The Little Dragon from other venues was a decision of Mr. LYNN- While most of the cafeterias elected to do little more than shove food down your throat and kick you out as fast as possible, Mr. LYNN felt that people should be allowed to sit down and eat like Human Beings, and not like a militry Messdeck. He also took the initiative to dress up the exterior (though he did so under the VERY careful eye of Mrs. LYNN'S eye to d'ecor). Another thing that separated The Little Dragon from the rest- LYNN Minmie. A born singer, she would serenade the crowd every chance she got. These softer touches placed The Little Dragon in an undeniable place of minor worship, especially amongst militry personnel on liberty; Anything to forget the war for a few minutes. Though by strict definition The Little Dragon and similar facilities were not supposed to serve militry members, the rule was generally ignored (except Messhall #07, which was run by an old hippy who, reputation and self-serving braggadocio held, had actually sniped at US Forces returning from Viet Nam; this would be LYNNE Kyle's hangout when his uncle ordered him to leave, which occurred frequently). Most other places were happy to accept militry members- And their script.Section Index; Page Index.
SAINT LYNN MINMIE- Maligned Mother Of The T'sentraedi And Hero Of Terra.
Trati Kemma MINMIE has long-been the much-maligned Mother of the T'sentraedi. It was her, and her ALONE, that ever brought peace to the T'sentraedi. It was her song, and HER SONG ALONE, which turned Trati Kemma BREETIA'S fleet against Trati Kemma DOLZA's Qalliph Teezel T'sentraedi, and facilitated his defeat when his crews, exposed to her song, ran amok. Love her? You don't have to, and perhaps you shouldn't. Historians (and, more so, biographers and Rick and Lisa HAYES-HUNTER'S journal's) show us she was an insecure, confused KID- A child, who saved Terra. She doesn't deserve your love- She deserves your gratitude, admiration, RESPECT, and unwavering LOYALTY. Perhaps even goddesshood. After all, without her sacrifice, there would BE no Terra now, or it would be a slave-farm of the Tiresian Empire.Section Index; Page Index.
The Macross Broadcast Network: The Rush Channel.
"The Queen Of Whores," A Series On Rush Channel. Everyone needs a little "adult entertainment"- Provided they're adults. Into this void stepped "The Rush Channel" on the Macross Network. There were already 5 different pornographic outlets, ranging from the PG-13ish Second Street Rentals (they made their own; Rarely below the waist, even rarer male genitalia) to the supra-extreme hard core Never Obsolete (SMBD and rape videos) and two different magazine, Ladies (for female purchasers) and Tits (for males). There was even a gay/lesbian studio, The Blue Osyter (which was part of the ship's only gay/lesbian bar). Captain GLOVAL tolerated such "shenanigans" so long as they kept it behind closed doors; Though it was very strictly illegal, he was both savvy enough to know that he couldn't control it, and pragmatic enough to understand that any attempts to do so would bring about nothing but hate and discontent. (Rumor also has it he had an interest in one or more of these outlets.) Most of the videos were very-low quality and from established (usually married) couples- They were, most definitely, "amateur" in nature. Indigo was the biggest exception to this rule, and was also the first (they produced Tits to begin with). Cyclonic Studios had a crew filming on Macross Island (with the ship as a backdrop) during the spacefold mishap, and this crew re-incorporated onboard the MACROSS. A few of the pornstars onboard SDF-001 MACROSS gained a following, of sorts; When Martin BROODY (from Indigo) went out in public, he usually had to wear a disguise (to certain degrees) to avoid fans- According to his (mostly self-serving) autobiography, female fans were rabid, offering him money to appear in his next video. (No reputable historian gives credence to this story, but all repeat it.) Just as he tolerated these venues, Captain GLOVAL expected them to stay out of sight and out of mind- He also expected others to live and let live, and when The Blue Oyster was fire bombed, all Hell broke loose in the Wardroom, and Captain GLOVAL demanded daily, even hourly, progress reports until the suspect was caught. Eventually someone was convicted, though her guilt was always debated- It's generally agreed that while she wasn't truly guilty herself, she did do the time for her crime, as she obstructed justice (lied about what she actually knew), and as several people were seriously injured and two killed as a result of the attack, her stubbornness made her a co-conspirator, and SHOULD, by rights, have received the death penalty. (The motive eventually ascribed to the act was anti-homosexual bias, but it was suspected jealousy may have been a factor.) Cap't. GLOVAL tolerated the Rush Channel very guardedly. To get the permission required to install the channel, first the backers (Mr. BROODY leading the pack) had to show the extensive BLACK MARKET that was not only existing, but thriving; In so doing, they exposed themselves to possible CRIMINAL charges under the USMJ (civilians or no, they WERE aboard a MILITRY vsl). Capt'. GLOVAL allowed the program, PROVIDED certain conditions were met: There was to be no "public" advertising; The only advertising was to be 'word of mouth' only; To get the channel, interested parties were to report IN PERSON to the central station to request the channel. This was to prevent the possibility that children would try and get the channel; Programming was to be STRICTLY Pay-Per-View; Ordering a particular show was to be on a computerized system (paid for and supported solely by the channel; One that could be hijacked by the SDF-001 when they "felt" like, though they only actually did so twice, once during an early test, and the other when KHYRON launched his attack on Macross City). To order a show, the viewer had to enter in the program they wanted, then enter in a secret password ("pin") to verify the request (this too was to prevent children from ordering). Once all these conditions were met (and tested), the program went on the air (such as it was). It proved to be a great success commercially (Lt Commander GRANT openly admitted she had ordered several programs, including lesbians programming, up until the death of Commander FOLKER). Even after the disembarkation (the landing of the SDF-001 after Kara Qalliph Diel'are Kah Yar/Rain of Death), the Rush Channel was successful, and in fact remained on the air until two days after KHYRON'S suicidal Christmass Day attack.Section Index; Page Index.
The Back Alleys Porn Shops Of Macross (most locally made).
The City of Macross was just like any other city; It had its shadowy side. Amongst these were ordinary porn shops. Most of the early materials were salvage from the original city after the spacefold One Of The Softer Pics From The Cover Of The Hard-Core "Remnie" Series Mangas. accident. Indeed, I toured Macross Point (the remains of the island, before they towed it to Charon), and the extend of such shops was indeed a bit shocking, with over 200 such stores out to the roughly 20,000 other retail business- A ratio generally higher than any other city on Terra. There was a "code" as it were to these shops; A sign out front saying the "public name" of the business, for example "Joe Watch Repair and Battery Shop", but a second marker out front of a green placemat was also displayed. Only adults could get past the "public shop," even then only if they specifically said what they were looking for. Regulars would only have to mention the green mat; A few extremely regulars would be greeted at the front, then shunted past a door. The doors were always marked "private," and kept locked. Like the Rush Channel, the presence of the porn shops on SDF-001 could have had repercussions with the civil populace in a militry environment. However, with the same Russian pragmatism that he addressed the Rush Channel, Capt GLOVAL tolerated these shops under the same conditions- That is, they were kept out of sight out of mind. One of the possibly more disturbing aspects was the extensive number of vibrators and strap-ons; Every single shop had them. (One of the Bridge Bunnies was even rumored to have a strap-on, though which, in particular, was always changing.) More importantly, however, was the production of such, ehem, "implements": With no exterior source of supply, where did they come from? This would never be categorically answered, but it was known that most of the materials were made ON BOARD. Used dildos were melted down to make new ones, for example.Section Index; Page Index.
Macross Vice.
The city of Macross under the conditions of the First Robotech WAr would, one would think, draw the people together closer; At first, this was the case, but boredom and terror breeds contempt and The Wares Of A Lady Of Negotiable Affections Being Inspected. stress. In reaction to this, people sought certain release; The first confirmed vice crime was the discovery of a pot farm in compartment 22-L-487A, a long-abandoned void along the hull on the city's "west side" (the portside of the ship) the size of a football field and a few feet deep, set on it's edge; Because of the configuration, it was unsuitable for basically any kind of use until a few marijuana plants were discovered there. It's generally believed the plants came from one joint that was somehow brought on board (probably by one of the 70,000+/- civilians brought on board). A few seeds got mixed into something, took root, and that's all she wrote. About 08 months into the voyage, a poppy field was "mysteriously" discovered (with greenhouse lighting) in compartment 87-A-441D Bunk 5, Rack "B" (a T'sentraedi-sized rack). These products were being sold to just about anyone; Another commodity was prostitution, which gained almost an immediate foothold in Macross. (Latter documentation would prove, conclusively, that not only did Captain GLOVAL have an "interest" in one brothel, but Commander Lisa HAYES was a partner with LYNNE Minmie's Manager and the Cities' mayor.) Unfortunately, the cities gangs controlled all but a select few of these operations (try fucking with Lisa HAYES' "Sunnyside Embroidery Shop" or Henry GLOVAL'S "Central City Cleaners," and you WOULD find yourself locked in an airlock, with the outer door opening). After a few months, when the pressures of potential discovery and prosecution had worn off and most everyone had engaged in the business of prostitution (to one degree or another, at one end of the business or the other, and occasionally both), most "Ladies of negotiable affections" (as they preferred to call themselves) began to wear a kind of uniform of sorts; Sensible footwear (often running shoes), a short (often dangerously short) skirt and a bra. Usually no panties; This removed one more impediment to "business." It also allowed them to display their wares more readily.Section Index; Page Index.
Early RDF Recruitment.
The RDF was first filled out with about 25 pre-Visitor militry commands from the various participating states (US, UK, USSR, etc). These commands were supposed to form a training element; The RDF would then receive fresh recruits and cadets, with only the most senior levels filled with CGW veterans. Unfortunately, war-time pragmatism scuttled this almost as fast as it started; For example, Captain Roy FOKKER, USMC, was retained with a Lt Commander (later Commander's) commission as a "Wing Commander" (VF-181 Skull Squadron, IIRC)- Even though Skulls Squadron was SUPPOSED to be rotated back to the US Navy (which deployed them to Macross Island Security). Because of this catch-as-catch can make up of the SDF-1, a lot of officers were transferred not only from their originals unit (which was but one violation of the MIS Agreement), but from their very branch of service, into the RDF outright. The Third Flight Leader of VPB-6 (WW-II USCG aviation unit), for example, was a Belgian Air Force officer; The attitude of detailers was "You're an RDF Officer, now, you belong to me. You'll go where I want you. I don't CARE that your orders here read for 6 months, a year, whatever. I need your body, and I'm the one cutting your orders. So shut up and bend over." Some resigned in disgust over this practice; Others soldiered on. Various nations tried, from time to time, to force the RDF to return their personnel, to limited success. Enlisted members occasionally deserted, only to turn up back in their native countries militry, right back in their RDF equivalent rank and duties- As if they had been transferred. Particularly bad were the second-world countries, but surprisingly the US and UK commonly accommodated such soldiers, especially ones with either extensive experience or highly skilled trainingSection Index; Page Index.
The MACROSS FLEET.
Most people assume that, since they were attached to the SDF-01 UES MACROSS, USS DAEDALUS and USS PROMETHEUS were the only vsls in the MACROSS group; This is incorrect, though understandably so. 110-foot An Unaltered WARSPRITE-Class SSBN. ISLAND-Class and 87-foot PROTECTOR-Class vsls were quickly salvaged by the crew of MACROSS in the first few hours after the spacefold event. At first, the only intent was to recover valuable mat'eri'el (bullets, fuel, etc). However, shortly after, some of these platforms were re-configured for a variety of missions (most about 8 to 10 months later). The 110's mostly were utilized for fleet tug and long-range observation missions (though much-longer range than the ill-fated mission in which Commander HAYES was captured), and were typically unmanned (due to the difficulties of sealing their upper decks). These were also considered fully expandable; Unless a VT pilot just happened to grab onto one, their chances of being rescued by them were pretty much nil (though more than one was by staying in their cockpit while the VT was towed back). The two 87's that were rebuilt were used exclusively for Search and Rescue; After MAN-O-WAR and TROUT were brought on-line, successful SAR rates soared from an abysmal 25% at 100% permanent disability rate beyond 100 miles, to nearly 75% with only a 10% permanent disability rate. However, by far and beyond, the most important of the re-builds were the 399 foot WARSPRITE-Class attack submarines. The double-hull construction (not uncommon for a warship) allowed for greatly increased damage control capacity, which proved to be the saving grace of the ships; When the spacefold event occurred, the vsls were already buttoned up for general quarters, and of the 6 that were at Macross Island, 4 were FULLY submerged. As the spacefold settled, the water turned to ice, creating a de-facto THIRD hull. These factors combined served to save her crews; The installation of Reflex Furnaces at construction made the transition to spaceflight much easier. The vsls were designated as "sacrifice forces," essentially expendable in the face of a T'sentraedi attack that the SDF-1 couldn't handle on her own. When such an attack was forming, one of these ships would be detailed to create a harassment counter-attack to stall the T'sentraedi long enough for the MACROSS to escape. Because of this, however, Trati Keppa GLOVAL elected to convert the vsls to unmanned; Partly automated and partly remotely operated, the vsls had only a skeleton crew on board, kept in Searcher DSV's with jury rigged spacedrive engines. Their job was to keep the vsl at the most basic maintenance possible (they didn't even bother with sweepers). Once one vsl was gone, the crew of another would abandon their vsl, and the next time such a sacrifice was necessary, that one would be detailed. Only one of these vsls would remain manned throughout the transit from Pluto; Her name is lost to us now (and may not even have been known at the time), and she too was destroyed (during the Rain of Death). The lessons learned in the conversion of these hulls would serve the REF later on, and in fact can still be felt in the influence on the VEROCHA-Class Frigate and Sojourner-Class Cargo Ships. When I defected, three of the 6 were still in service. One was actually rebuilt from the remains of 4 of the hulls (she was dubbed the GLOVAL and commissioned as a historic ship).Section Index; Page Index.
Uniforms Of The RDF.
CRV-001 Hard Armor; The Closest Thing To A Uniform The Early RDF Had. Many people assume that, because the movies, etc, portray all RDFer's in one uniform ("uni" one "form" type), that that WAS the RDF uniform. Unfortunately, the truth is until about 5 to 8 YEARS after the founding of the RDF, there were as many "uniforms" as there were services in the RDF. The first concerted effort in the regards of uniformity in the RDF was the issuance of shoulder patches- Which almost caused the first-ever recorded mass Marine mutiny. A Marine is a Marine is a Marine- Simple as that. But the RDF wanted the Marines, as an interim measure (until uniforms could be procured), to put a shoulder patch on their uniforms to "mark" them as RDF. The US Marines refused to do so, saying "A Marine is a Marine is a Marine," and others followed suit. The whole damned lot was charged with mutiny, refusal to obey a direct order, refusal to obey lawful orders (the execution of the policy was placed in the hands of an E-8 Russian Air Force personnel specialist), and a laundry list of other fairly minor offenses. Fortunately, an Israeli Marine Colonel managed to talk sense into his fellow Marines (despite the fact they were the pointmen on this, the Americans WEREN'T the most tenaciously adherent; It was the French and Russians who threatened to KILL anyone who even approached them with the patches, and it was to them the Colonel went to try to end the stand-off), and eventually they accepted, with reluctance, the patches. That unfortunate event notwithstanding, uniforms were nothing of the sort for MANY years into the RDF's history. Though some units DID eventually receive all-new uniforms (such as Skull Squadron), most of these were formed AFTER the RDF's founding (which itself was after the reconstruction of the SDF-1 began); Many GCW-Era units continued to use their old uniforms with RDF attachments; For example, VPB-6 continued to use the USCG blue ODU's for general purpose uniforms and Trops for dress (though the Bravos were by the launch of SDF-1 replaced with RDF Dress 1's, and of course no replacements were available for either during the transit from Pluto). This was bolstered by the cheap pseudo-spacesuits of the old Mercury and Apollo Missions, which were intended only to be used in positive atmosphere environments (though we used them in hard vacuum all the damned time since we didn't have a CHOISE) overlaid with bits-and-pieces of US Army "Hard Armor" (second generation hard armor, not the crap the RDF finally selected), mostly the torso, arm, and upper leg components (though we had to install new clamping straps ourselves); Though STICTLY against regulations (it WAS written that non of the above was permitted), we did it anyways because we needed the protection, and that was, put bluntly, the only damned way to get it done.Section Index; Page Index.
Weapons Of The RDF/REF.
9MM Sub-Machinegun. Oft commented is the stylistic similarities between the RDF/REF weapons and their GCW (and earlier) predecessors. This is, in fact, NOT an accident. Besides the fact that most of these weaps were made by the same corporations was the fact that they were made for the same users- Namely, Terrans and micronized T'sen. Because of this, they tended to familiar layouts, even to familiar working patterns (for example the "firing chamber" of a standard tech gun was often directly or nearly so duplicated in laser and PBC weapons as a primary generation or agitation chamber). Not all of the weapons of the Robotech Forces were the superior design one would expect- For example the Sig-Saur designed LP 21/40 was derisively referred to as the "Friday Night Special" because it's tendency to break down after only a few e-clips worth of use made it unreliable- As I myself said, "Ya, these pieces of crap couldn't make even to Saturday night," but then they were all we had. (I was one of the NICE ones in this commentary; Some opinions on the 21/40 and other weaps of the REF, especially before the liberation of Carbonnarra, REALLY stank, and a few such comments even lead to Courts-Martial's, often of both those in charge of production AND of the commenter).(So how's THAT for a drunken stupid 'traedi's report?)Section Index; Page Index.
Body Armor And The Veritech Pilot.
The movies not withstanding, ALL VT and other pilots, at least during space operations, HAD to wear BOTH body armor AND space suits. This was written doctrine that some pilots began to ignore, with disastrous consequences- With your armor on, you could easily survive most attacks. With your suit on and your visor UP (thus opening the airtight seal), you could easily survive the 15-30 seconds needed to close the visor. The wrists were sealed independently, so you didn't "need" your flight gloves on, but the positive pressure in the gloves allowed the wrist seals to relax, resulting in renewed blood circulation. The first message on this matter came after VPB-6's threatened "mutiny"- the CO said, quite bluntly, that she wasn't risking her people to pick up "leftovers" (dead pilots, with no hopes of recovery, nor even of being harvested for donor organs). This got all but the most recalcitrant pilots to start wearing their armor for a while, but they soon enough started slacking off again- Until Roy FOKKER met Miria PIRANO and died, "not as a result of his combat injuries (which he wouldn't have sustained IF HE'D BEEN WEARING HIS ******* ARMOR) but because he refused to stay in the ******* hospital WHERE HE ******* BELONGED" (that was the exact text of Capt GOLVAL'S msg to "all hands," I remember because I had to ask someone what the asterisks meant- Good thing for me, that msg came out just after I defected, and therefore technically when I was "homeless"). This got EVERYONE'S head out of their asses, and they started WEARING their armor AND their spacesuits like their lives depended on it. I should, in fairness, point out that some pilots were VERY diligent about their armor- Rick HUNTER, for example, WOULD have died were it not for his in the friendly-fire mishap ("Friendly fire- Isn't") with missiles launched by Lisa HAYES. Other pilots didn't NEED armor, such as Max STERLING, who never got anything more than nicked his entire career- And that by Miria PIRANO (who would later be his wife and the First lady in his life). However, Trati Brek Kemma Max was even MORE diligent than Domillan Rick, and in fact insisted subordinates wear body armor and flight (or space) suits at all times, except on liberty.Section Index; Page Index.
Music In The Cockpit.
Though STRICTLY illegal, ALL VT and other aero-spacecraft pilots listened to music while on operations, as did "most" tankers, boat crews, etc. Me, I preferred heavy metal music, but certain ranges, against all logic, seemed to elicit better reactions from the listener. Heavy metal and other loud, hard-edged music generally got better performance from VT and aero-space pilots, though rumor had it Max STERLING was a country-western boy- And he WAS the best of the best of the best. (He still has NEVER been surpassed for skill to my knowledge, and BARELY equaled.) Helicopter pilots reached optimization usually with those old Viet Nam era protest and early '80's rock. Boat crews were all over the fucking map, but tankers were very consistent- In that they needed anything with a lot of bass. Cargo crews (even those modified for other missions, such as he C-130's converted for use in space and/or as attack aircraft) needed a very steady rhythm, while attack aero-space pilots, so I'm told, responded favorably to rap, especially on actual strike runs. As already explained, the use of "distractionary influences" was illegal. It was also tacitly mandated by wing commanders, by example and by inquiry (as Rick HUNTER once asked a young pilot-Corporal STERLING "Where's your deck?" on what was the pilot-Corporal's first hop, a training mission). Some units used music SPECIFICALLY for their battle plan, to time the attack; One such example was VPB-6's use of Disturbed's THE SICKNESS (a song that wasn't out before the launch, but was intercepted from broadcasts from earth) for their "Basic Battlewagon Strike Plan."
"The Sickness."
(drums) First alert- Begin forming up for the run. can you feel that Forming up, make it snappy. (drums) You'd better be formed up now. aww shit... Begin throttle up. O-WA-A-A-A O-WA-A-A-A Hard burn; Max throttle. aw aw First target lock/First contact with enemy Mecha. aw aw First missile strike; Perimeter (flank) units open up with guns and lasers to cover central formation during strike. aw aw The first strike is enroute; The first few Mecha, Terran and T'sentraedi, are dying. Drowning deep in my sea of loathing Central formation begins gun strikes and defensive maneuvering. Broken, your servant, I kneel Formations begin contact; Switch to Guardian Mode. (will you give in to me?) Central Formation, nose hard up, engage afterburners. Perimeter closes to engage T'sentraedi Mecha (dogfight).		It seems what's left of my human Perimeter closing, Center climbing. side is slowly changing in me Perimeter closing, Center climbing. (will you give in to me?) Perimeter widening as Center nosing over, prepping for second strike. Looking at my own reflection, Center nosing over, easing the attitude as they level out. When suddenly it changes, Center target locks.Violently it changes Center opens fire, Perimeter widens out. Missiles away, closing with target. Oh, no. There is no turning back now, Center overshoots, either above or below target (per mission briefing). you've woken up the demon in me. Over shoot continues as half of Perimeter re-closes, the other half suppress pursuit (Cover). Get up, come on get down with the sickness! Hard turn nose down or up (angling back towards the Battlewagon, using Quickstop Maneuver);Get up, come on get down with the sickness! Cover units break off opposite direction (also uses Quickstop Maneuver, combined with Break Turn or Stall Turn). Get up, come on get down with the sickness!	The second strike turn continues. The dogfighting on the leeward side is shifting around the hull, but keeps clear of the strike zone. Get up, come on get down with the sickness! Center now in position, beginning the second strike run. Open up your hate and let it flow into me. First target locks. Get up, come on get down with the sickness! Second strike missiles fired. You motha get up, come on get down with the sickness! Center maintains course a few seconds to allow the missiles to clear the rails... You fucka get up, come on get down with the sickness! Then breaks the formation. Madness is the gift that has been given to me. The dogfighting now begins in earnest. Most of the squadron transforms to Battloid mode and engages the T'sentraedi Mecha on the deck- Like Destroids or 20 foot tall infantrymen. I can see inside you, the sickness is rising, don't try to deny what you feel. (will you give in to me?) It seems that all that was good has died and is decaying in me. (will you give in to me?) It seems you're having some trouble, in dealing with these changes, living with these changes. Oh, no. The world is a scary place now that you've woken up the demon in me. Get up, come on get down with the sickness!	Get up, come on get down with the sickness! Get up, come on get down with the sickness! Open up your hate and let it flow into me. Get up, come on get down with the sickness! You motha get up, come on get down with the sickness! You fucka get up, come on get down with the sickness! Madness is the gift that has been given to me. This is where the hand-to-hand and close quarters combat begins in earnest. We're now down on the deck of a crippled T'sentraedi Battlewagon, ticking off the enemy. We're trying to fight our way INTO the Battlewagon, to loose missiles and other explosives, exploiting the breaches to maximize the effect. And when I dream, First warning, get ready to pull out... And when I dream, Pullout. And when I dream, Cover prep to suppress; NOT WHEN I DREAM! Cover fires wild, if necessary, to suppress pursuers. One quickshot, anything goes, just try to point the guns in the relative direction of the enemy Mecha. Everyone then bugs the fuck out. Section Index; Page Index.
Gangs Of Macross.
As the SDF-001 made her 2 year journey from Pluto to Terra, boredom and terror bred contempt and stress. It has already been stated that the people sought release from this stress; Unfortunately, as the vice world grew, groups formed to protect profits and undermine completion. These became gangs. The Gangs of Macross were ruthless in a way not ever seen before; Because guns were restricted to an extent never seen before in history, the gangs were restricted to melee weapons such as knives and clubs. Because of this restrictions, the gang members felt compelled to fight only to the death- Never simply to injury. The gang problem was aggravated when the discovery of T'sentraedi defectors already on-board; Indeed, several of the gangs, Southsider (controlled a section at the stern-most part of the city on the second level), Bilge rats (actually controlled a section of the ship proper outside the city, below the city, or in the bilge), and Westies (controlled a section of the second-level "west side," or port side of the ship) banded together as Inter-Con and started HUNTING T'sentraedi, until Captain GLOVAL issued "shoot to kill" orders at the request of Mayor. The gangs of Macross mostly focused on recreational drugs; In fact, the first gang appears to have formed solely to protect the 22-L-487A marijuana operation, but spread out from there in short order.Section Index; Page Index.
				Mancross Police Department Badge.
Reconstruction Blues.
The T'sentraedi; Mixed Loyalties. "Everything old is new again." Militias- The "Other" Defense Forces. Transitional Mecha Of The RDF.			RADEx- Research And Development/Experimental Mecha And Vehicles. The Many Lives Of CGC MAN-O-WAR. The River Boats. Sex After The Rain Of Death.
The T'sentraedi; Mixed Loyalties.
The T'sentraedi who defected to the Terrans during the First Robotech War and Malcontent Uprisings were rife with conflicting loyalties; To walk away from everything they were, everything they knew, A Generic T'sentraedi Battle Flag; Typically, a Roman Numeral unit indicator written top to bottom was inscribed in the fly. Examples: 1,900TH Infantry:M C M 14TH Destroid:X I V 221ST Air Assault:C C X X I 33RD Security Division:X X X I I I and throw in with the enemy, especially an enemy who, by rights, should have lost, left many of us with deep emotional and psychological scars. Some of us compensated by becoming racist- Against our own kind. Others addressed it by treating those who did not defect as lost children- Lost, but very dangerous ones. Some never reconciled the conflict, and either suffered in silence, or switched sides- In some cases, several times. Historians claims that the RDF rarely, if ever, trained T'sentraedi defectors to pilot Terran Mecha; This is incorrect. Indeed, it was extremely common, especially the less-sensitive Destroids. There was a 'waiting period' during which the candidate's fitness, in terms of loyalty and mental stability, was evaluated. This lasted between six months and a year typically, though a few cases lasted as much as three years. A few utterly dedicated candidates were even trained to become Veritech Fighter Pilots. However, those that survived the testing process proved to be highly dedicated defenders of Terra- Utterly without fear, willing and ready to die, but not stupidly so. They learned the importance of retreating, to regroup and launch a new attack, rather than sacrifice their lives pointlessly. (Though we understood the concept of a tactical retreat, such action had been treated as t'sen mot, even hajoka, and generally disapproved of.) Some even rose far in the ranks; One particular T'sen Soldier even rose to the rank of General, despite his 'inferior' genetic profile. Of course, some of us (myself included) passed ourselves off as Humans, and those that did so often rose far, but rarely to the top of the heap; We chose to keep a lower profile whenever possible, though rumor has it one did rise to Admiral at Veritech Fighter Command. T'sentraedi defectors were generally segregated into their own companies, but the rare all-T'sentraedi units were issued the T'sentraedi Battle Flag (above), with their unit number in Roman Numerals in the fly. Infantry Units were Dark Green, Armored Units were Brown, Air Units were Red, and Support (rear-area) Units were Blue; Other colors may have been used, but as of this writing this is the complete known list. At the close of the Second Sentinel War (before the Unification War), the majority of the T'sentraedi had proven their loyalty, and the infantismal percentage that opposed the Terran worldview were quickly rounded up, micronized, and interred on a colony world for the next 100 years. It was hoped they would soften over time; Some did, others did not.Section Index; Page Index.
"Everything Old Is New Again."
The RDF wished to re-exert it's control over Terra, and the planet had degenerated in mediaeval-style feudalism. The plan in our sector was to force critical juncture cities back into the UWA at a minimum of Santa Barbra Map. civilian casualties. An example was the siege of Santa Barbra; The cities of Goleta, Santa Barbra, and Carpinteria, had been attacked several times by would-be raiders. The nearby college had been pressed into service as a second hospital, it's students ordered to either assist the sick and injured, or leave the campus. The cities formed crude, earthwork-based defenses, building walls between buildings at the edges of the towns of ruined buildings, then building earthwork walls along selected roads between the towns; These were not to keep the raiders away from the roads, but to give police (which had replaced the national guard for defending the cites as most were dead or dying) a better position to fight from. A few weeks after the Rain of Death, a QUEDADOL MAGDOMILLA had hard-landed nearby, and the cities, which now joined together under the Santa Barbra name, made a deal with the survivors of her crew; It is an under-reported fact that one in 25 T'sen have a susceptibility to chocolate addiction; A true addiction to chocolate, wherein withdrawals result in stomach aches, blurry vision, and fatigue. Santa Barbra promised to meet this demand, but for a price- Protection and assistance in building fortifications for the city. The crew accepted the deal, and turned to the task of reinforcing the rubble walls and dirt ramparts with sections of hull material, and ringing the major areas with laser batteries from the ship. It was, indeed, the extent of damage to the ship that drew the RDF's attention. Rear Adm BENETTE determined that the city had to be re-integrated into the UWA, as ships would use the city since Los Angeles was devastated by several direct blasts from the converging laser cannons of about 20 T'sentraedi warships. VPB-6 made over 3,000 flyovers of the city, and determined several things; 1. The eastern gate was the best defended. This gate consisted of a door from the T'sen warship that had been cut down, then rigged with cables and motors to be easily opened and closed by mićronnes without help. 2. The northern gate, consisting of a through-hull hatch complete with all the mechanical equipment in working order, was the only logical place for an assault; Easily opened by special forces teams, the gate was under-defended, as it was a bit more distal to the main population centers. 3. The southern gate was practically un-defended; This consisted of a second ship's hatch, but this one's mechanical gear was disabled. As this was meant as a Mecha-only gate, power armors left there on sentry duty were all that manned it. This gate was also safely distal to the main population centers that defensive material was deemed unnecessary. It was in these apparent strengths of the RDF formed it's assault; Special forces teams snuck into the city through the port (a series of oil rigs located in the area were sunken to form a pier), then placed flash-bang grenades rigged to remote detonators in the general area of the eastern gate. The grenades were detonated, making it appears as if a general artillery barrage had begun; On the hills to the east of the city, a pair of MAC-II's and Raidar X's appeared, giving credence to this belief. This created panic in the city, and sent the defenders, Human and T'sen, rushing to the East Gate. As they started to leave the city, a feint assault on the north gate consisting of a dozen Gladiators and Excalibur's. They started towards the gate, firing as they advanced. This tricked the city into believing that the artillery barrage had only been a feint, though it also led them to believe, correctly, that the artillery barrage had merely been to sow panic. (They didn't learn until a few years later how completely they had been duped with the artillery barrage that wasn't.) The Destroids met SOME resistance, and slowed the attack, giving the defenders time to form their counter-attack. This was EXACTLY what we wanted; We wanted to draw as much firepower AWAY from the south gate, which the defenders didn't believe could be penetrated without Mecha, as possible. However, we had a ringer. Having seen Garudans use a siege tower, I suggested it's use here. My CO, a naval Lt GEORGE (a limey fucker that I never did learn to like), asked where I'd seen that used. I muttered about hearing of one used in Asia during the war, and at that he became excited. "Brilliant!" he cried, and ordered me to build it with whatever scrap I could find in 24 hours. I built it out of an old car carrier; The cab was removed, the steering wheel and pedals moved down and back, placing the driver just-off the right side and behind the engine. Over this was placed a 6 inch piece of metal scrounged off a now abandoned T'sentraedi warship (not the one that the surviving T'sentreadi came from, though they had scrounged this one as well), and the car carrier elements set at a 35º angle, tack welded to the frame and steel pipes which helped to support it. This was used by infantry to go OVER the 60 foot high wall; With the majority of the Mecha deployed the north end of the city, and the southern gate totally abandoned, our troops were easily able to get inside. Though the Mecha were recalled, the damage was done, and before they could get back, our troops had taken the East Gate. Worse, the defender Mecha had been badly mauled, though on orders from the detachment commander were only damaged; Legs were targeted, rather than the torso (where the pilot could be killed). About 5/8 the Mecha were lost. As the RDF gained control of the Eastern Gate, more poured in, including the speedy Raidar X's for impact. The battle only lasted 2 hours before the last pocket of resistance surrendered. Already crippled economically by a blockade at sea, their militry thrashed, and with enemy INSIDE the city and able to enforce their will by simple superior firepower, they capitulated.Section Index; Page Index.
Militias- The "Other" Defense Forces.
Much has been said of the Rᴏʙᴏᴛᴇᴄʜ Defense Forces under Trati Kemma GLOVAL and their T'sentraedi allies under Trati Kemma BREETIA, and "most" of it justly; It was, in fact, this alliance that defeated Trati Kemma Daisyline's "The Anarchists." DOLZA'S Qalliph Teezel T'sentraedi, thwarted the hojokas KYHRON "The Backstabber" and AZONIA "The Whore," and yes, it was the RDF's that eventually brought the greatest part of Order and Reconstruction; And the same is said, of course, of the Robtoech Expeditionary Forces. But... Oft-overlooked are the local Militias that formed, even in the darkest hours when the fires of the Kah yar T'sentraedi had yet to burn even their own fires out, for the protection of their own. When not overlooked outright, they are scoffed, labeled "Vigilantes" and "Bandits," and universally condemned. Yet this distinctly single-image view of the Militias is FAR from the full truth; Yes, some groups did form as vigilantes and bandits (high-tech and otherwise) from go; Others morphed into such criminals. But, in truth, those were the EXCEPTIONS, not the rule. Indeed, it was largely the "good" militias that, by far and beyond, brought the "bad" ones to bear (though no small amount of thanks was owed to the RDF's for their aid thereof). Relatively few of the militias rose to the high standards of the Daisyline allied militias, of course. Most simply concentrated on rebuilding and defending their own villages, homes, and families. Some of these efforts failed (such as the tragic end of Regency); Others thrived, and perhaps, with more greed or hardening of the soul, may well have forged a proto-empire (such as Anatoly LEONARD'S Army of the Southern Cross, the dictatorial Islamic African People's Republic, or the thoroughly corrupt New Empire of Greater Zimbabwe). Of course, with the RDF and others increasingly strengthening muscle, the political need to forcibly remove potential rivals these groups "represented" became clear; Even the Russians turned on their own. The Wichita Tribunal (derided as the "Wichita Betrayal" and "Wichita Burnings," a slight inside joke, aimed mostly at the militia-turned-mercenaries "New York Frontiers") and subsequent Abridgement created a nice little "niche" to deport the surviving militias to Mars; However, deportation spared the militias, their dependants, and their successors of the horrors of bother the Tiresian Assault and Red sky, but the shudder of this dark footnote of history will continue to resound for the rest of recorded time. These small, tenacious bands of hard-bitten survivors ARE the foundations upon which the UEG, EBSIS, and all others built, and should be commemorated- And more importantly, REMEMBERED. NOTE: The "Militias" referred to here are NOT the same sort as grew out of the late-80's to late-mid-90's; These formed even as the Rain of Death was OCCURRING, not "well before." I trust this is a simple enough for even the lowliest art fuck to "get it."Section Index; Page Index.
Transitional Mecha of the RDF.
As any student of the Robtoech Wars will know, the RDF produced several lines of Research And Development/Experimental Mecha and Vehicles (RADEM and RADEV) RDF-Era Tranistional Mecha: Gladius. RDF-Era Tranistional Mecha: Crusader. RDF-Era Tranistional Mecha: Defender. during the interwar period, including but not limited to the roughly 2015 to 2018 period generally referred to as the Malcontent Uprisings. None of these designs were successful militry platforms outright, from causes ranging from terminal engineering flaws (the Defender's hip and knee actuators couldn't handle the weight strain in extended combat operations) to cost (the Gladius was far too expensive to produce in numbers adequate for operational needs). However, each was greatly effective in the research value, adding, sometimes in fits and spurts, others in great leaps, to our understanding of robotic mechanical, electronic, and armaments engineering. Most were never intended to be mass-produced, and were built for short run testing purposes (for example, a version of the Raider X with Excalibur-style shoulder missile pods). Still others were mass produced in the thousands, some seeing service even with the REF and ASC (LENARDITES claims to the contrary notwithstanding). The reason, generally, was they were "Sleeper Hits"; That is, they were not expected to be successful, but were nonetheless. As the last of these machines rolled off the assembly line or out the repair shops (the last of this period was approximately 2020), the patterns and blueprints were retired; One set of each major type (such as the experimental Crusader Destroid) was sent to Sta LIBERTY, Factory 001 (AKA the Rᴏʙᴏᴛᴇᴄʜ Fᴀᴄᴛᴏʀʏ), and UES PIONER (SDF-03). Sta LIBERTY's destruction eliminated that copy, and Factory 001's continued and confounding disappearance has eliminated that set; PIONEER'S set, like it's clones, was boxed up and shoved in an odd corner of a hold or void somewhere, and as of this writing, I am unaware that anyone has bothered to look for them; It is entirely probable that these crates were transferred to the moon Tirol after her liberation form the Invid (to free space for more pressing needs, such as food and munitions). The Mecha themselves remained in service, however, for the next 50± years, as parts were cannibalized from downgrudged units ᵃⁿᵈ/ₒᵣ adapted from other Mecha (such as using REF Raider X gyro's on the Gladius by hot wiring them through pocket calculators). Eventually, however, this proved ineffective, and the last of these machines, Frame XX-227D10878324 (a Crusader that, by this point, had been extensively modified, including an RDF half&half Raider X right arm and REF Excalibur right arm) was retired from service and transferred to Fort Riber Mecha Yard in 2218; She was scrapped June, 2240. These Mecha and vehicles, from the pseudo-production line models to literally hundreds of one-of-a-kinds, marked the highest water mark of innovation and "can do" in Robotechnology lore with the sole (highly debatable) exception of the first iteration of the Veritech Program. With this in mind, one can hardly call ANY of these Mecha "faulty," as they were originally never planned to be deployed to South America, etc (even among those that were, successfully, so deployed). While the second-generation Destroids were superior platforms, these superior platforms were built on the knowledge developed on the transitional designs, which deserve the respect as the learning curve they generally have not received. Indeed, some of these led DIRECTLY to future platforms, such as the VF-1X, which became, after much tinkering, the VF-6 Alpha Fighter. However, eventually and inevtiably, they do get overshadowed by their better known- And better designed- Decendents.Section Index; Page Index.
RADEx- Research And Development/Experimental Mecha and Vehicles.
Not every platform produced by the RDF and successor agencies were intended as front-line combat systems; Indeed, only about 25% would ever become systemically operational (that is, they were put to full-time work as combat platforms). About 50% of the platforms produced were one-of-a-kind research units, intended to test this-or that theory under controlled conditions. (Many millions of PAR-Series paint rounds would be expended "destroying" these platforms at Aberdeen and White Sands in these test; Some such mock battles expended more simulated firepower than all the major engagements of UES MACROSS (SDF-1) on her return trip from Pluto COMBINED.) Less than 10% were ever produced with the specific intent of eventual advanced field (combat) testing; Of the roughly 25% that did see combat, well over half were due to meeting encounter/ambushes (such as Thresher's engagement at Santa Nella) or well after the fact of conversion, for specific purpose (such as EDS SERNA'S employment in the hunt for the pirate Black Jack Jackson). Like moddies and, to a lesser extent, Technicals, RADEx were typically not suitable for extended and/or major combat operations, though unlike moddies and Technicals they were, as a rule, never intended to participate in such operations. They were intended to learn more about the machines and their component systems, The RADEx of Operations Strike Force and Malcontent were examples of those that were intended for combat deployment.Section Index; Page Index.
The Many Lives Of CGC MAN-O-WAR.
USCGC MAN-O-WAR was one of about a dozen American Coast Guard Cutters sent to Macross Island to help celebrate the commissioning of UES MACROSS (SDF-01), and one of the 3 dozen or so folded to Pluto. About 75% of those vsls were salvaged to one degree or another after the fold event. MAN-O-WAR was refitted for SAR action by stripping her diesels out, capping her notch, and removing the travers bulkheads between the Laz and E/R and the E/R and the Messdeck. This created a space large enough to install the liquid-fueled rockets needed to power her through space; Forward berthing, sewage space, 1-hold, and other forward compartments were then fitted with fuel bladders, and the limited voids there of were filled with CO₂ to create positive-pressure, preventing fuel stoppage. Ships office was converted to a kind of holding area for rescued VT pilots, and the bridge refitted to fly this, as some pilots put it rather indelicately and SAR crew frustratingly put it, "Flying fucking contraption." (To my knowledge, these were the ONLY vsls in the so-called "MACROSS Fleet" were all members of the crew had to wear spacesuits, EVEN BELOW DECKS, for fear of hard vacuum.) During the Pluto-to-Terra transit, MAN-O-WAR and her sister ships were mainly used to rescue VT pilots from disabled craft at greater than 100 miles (a very common event). After conversion, the rate of successful rescue rose from successful SAR rates soared form an abysmal 25% at 100% permanent disability rate beyond 100 miles, to nearly 75% with only a 10% permanent disability rate, as discussed in an earlier essay. After the MACROSS landed in what would later become Lake Gloval, MAN-O-WAR and other vsls converted to space flight (less DAEDALUS and PROMETHEUS, due to their size) were converted back to "conventional" design, though often were so badly damaged by the initial conversion that re-conversion was understood to be only as a delivery platform; MAN-O-WAR was no exception. She was very carefully hauled over land to Lake Superior, then transited down to Chicago; From there she began a Montana and Mississippi Rvr patrol. Saturday night we'd put in at the nearest village with any kind of docks; If shore power was available then an in-port OOD rotation was set and Sunday was liberty for the crew. Due to the intensity of our Alpha periods, even the CO (then Lt. (jg) KROSS) eventually began standing 8 hour OOD to give her crew a break. The only mission, at first, was to show the RDF flag and occasionally deliver RDF infantry to trouble areas. SAR was secondary. Our problems didn't stop there, though. After a series of mishaps (mostly on the lower Mississippi), MAN-O-WAR was tasked with an ATON mission as well. To accomplish this, we took a barge and used that to work the buoys. When I say, "took" I mean TOOK; For 3 weeks we were searching barges on the rvr for one reported stolen- Only to realize we were the one's who'd stolen it. (A settlement was reached about 2 weeks later.) About 2 months later a couple of other PB's came on line, and MAN-O-WAR was able to step down to 1-in-3 (one week Alpha, one Bravo-2 and one week Charlie, though we most of that time we were in de-facto Bravo-2), plus 3 weeks after that two WLR, the HAMMER and the SLEDGE (river tenders) took over the ATON missions. MAN-O-WAR was finally decommed and scrapped in 2010; After all the abuse (ad hoc conversions, refits, overhauls, and reconfigurations ad nauseum), she wasn't even fit for display at a historical facility (besides the fact that she was simply DANGEROUSLY overtaxed), and other vsls were selected in her place (to the relief of her crews).Section Index; Page Index.
The River Boats.
The Only Known Surviving Picture Of A Crisis-Era Sacramento Fleet Vsl, The Antebellum. (Other pic do exist, but none has ever been VERIFIED as authentic.) A Pre-Crisis Era Picture Of The Spirit Of Sacramento (crisis-era Spirit) Under The Shadow Of Her Future Home Port At The (Sacramento) Ziggurat. The return of the river boats on the Montana, Mississippi, and Sacramento Rvr's was the first sign towards the return to normalcy after the rain of death. The rvr's provided the safest, surest mode of commercial transportation available for the lowest price, and highest return on investment in manpower and material. Because I only saw the beginnings of the return of rvr traffic on the Mississippi and did not see any return on the Montana until after the fact, I shall concentrate on the Sacramento Rvr, which, while I did not assist in any appreciable way, I did see. The Riverboat Association established themselves just a few years after the Rain of Death, at first using the vsls already there. These included: Antebellum, a CamCraft 105 yacht being used as AtoN and tug boat, as well repair ship; Good Life, a 60' houseboat converted to a gun boat, with .50 caliber machine guns, a 155MM howitzer amidship, and twin 60MM mortars (one forward, one astern); Spirit, a 100' pseudo-sternwheel paddleboat used as a cargo vsl; Mathew, a 70' pseudo-sternwheeler used as a cargo vsl; Sunset, a 45' houseboat that had been converted to a restaurant complete with a well on either side to look like a sidewheeler (though without the wheel) being used as a gunboat; Virgin, actually a dock with a two-story restaurant that had torn away from her moorings; She was being used as a mobile repair dock and was typically towed astern Antebellum; Luisa, a sternwheeler that was being used as a barge due to her under-powered engines (she was a kerosene-fired steam engine and true sternwheeler, and therefore had to be assisted), typically towed by Spirit; Sacramento, another sternwheeler barge- She did not have engines at all, due to the fact that her superstructure was too heavy and the Coast Guard would not let her sail with more than 60 passengers after the rebuild (for a vsl that had carried over 200 beforehand); Queen- Like Sunset, Queen was a 45' houseboat that had been converted to a restaurant complete with a well on either side to look like a sidewheeler (though without the wheel) being used as a gunboat; Anchor's Away, a 60' trimaran that was used as the flagship of the fleet, with a radio console that had been scavenged from a abandoned Coast Guard small boat station (giving her a 40 mile radius, though only her auxiliary radio, with a 5-mile range, was typically used). In addition, over 100 smaller vsls were used as gunboats and rescue and assistance (R&A) vsl; The former City of Sacramento Fire Department's boat, with her INCREDIBLY powerful water pump and hose gear would be called upon to extinguish the Mathew's fire (she had a wooden superstructure). A VC-22 Osprey tilt-rotor was used to provide aerial observation of the river bank areas, while motorized kayaks scouted ahead of the fleet, working in a convoy system, to watch for hazards to navigation and ambush. The next "segment" of the convoy was as many as 06 of the gunboats to respond to threats and tear away, if possible, snags. After this came the main cargo fleet, surrounded by as many of the gunboats as possible, while the final element was 06-08 additional gunboats to ensure that there were no sneak attacks from the rear. Amazingly, no rvr pirates tried to take on the fleet after the third "incident," when they did manage to set ablaze and destroy the Mathew (her crew were saved, and the vsl beached to prevent her from becoming a hazard to navigation at the merger between the Sacramento and American Rvr's know as Discovery Park); This may have had something to do with the fact that the surviving pirates were, very literally, keel hauled and then THOSE survivors tied to the 03 bow deck rails on the Spirit, there to be kept alive and in GREAT PAIN for the next three weeks- Rumor had it that the Anarchist Major Jer FONTAIN came up with the idea of keel hauling and "rigging" (tying to the rails) the prisoners, however this rumor seems unlikely as the Anarchists had long since discontinued participating in the Riverboat Association (they had only been asked to help set it up and train the new would-be sailors, not to run the group). Bridges across the rvr were, when possible, opened and left open, or, when not possible, the shortest possible length was removed and towed or torn apart to ensure they would not become a future hazard to navigation. As an overture to the land-locked groups, Bailey Bridges were very carefully installed over the removed sections, conditional that the Bailey's were retracted when not in use. Opened bridges were left to vehicle traffic to close behind them, using displays on the controls left at either end.Section Index; Page Index.
Sex After The Rain Of Death.
A Male/Female Interlinked Symbol; Dr CATES felt it was appropriate, in light of her evidence, as a symbol of equality. 18 months after the Rain Of Death, a Dr. Andrea CATES (formerly of John Hopkins Hospital, which was destroyed in the attack and rebuilt a few years after this study) began what she described as an "exhaustive study into Human (as opposed to T'sentraedi) sexuality." Her hypothesis was that there would be little change, resulting in greater "need" for sex for purely recreational purposes- In short, she started with the belief that prostitution, of every sort, would be off the scales. She began with a model that left most fellow researchers unhappy, however- She had TWO SEPARATE forms, one for females and one for males. Many fellow researchers felt that this model gave an unfair advantage to one sex or the other (however, they couldn't agree WHICH got the advantage- Male researchers felt men got the advantage, female researchers felt women got the advantage). The forms also had a before-and-after nature, with the Rain Of Death being the 0 point. Be this controversy as it may or may not, the CONCLUSIONS, based on the data collocated, all agreed appeared fairly reasonable in light only of itself. One of the most startling points was cross sexuality- Homosexuals experimenting with ᵃⁿᵈ/ₒᵣ converting to heterosexuality spiked so significantly, that the doctor concluded there was a "baby panic"; Essentially, that homosexuals were afraid that humanity would be wiped out. This "spike" subsided quickly, however, and those who had "panicked" returned to what Dr. CATES referred to as the "baseline" state. Another surprise at first was "extended immediate family conditions"- Polygamy was on a severe up rise, nearly 10,000% over pre-Rain conditions. As already discussed, this data was a great shock- AT FIRST. Upon closer inspection, however, it began to make "more" sense- Worldwide, women had out-survived men more than 10-to-1. The resulting "glut" therefore put women at a world wide average of 5½-to-1. With this same "baby panic" on their minds, women were more willing to share one man to perpetuate the species- But it was also VERY clear that once the doors were shut, the women ruled the home. Indeed, in some VERY candid interviews Dr. CATES learned that in most such families, it was the WIVES who choose who got "in" that family and who didn't. What was good for the goose also appeared good for the gander- One family, in particular, had 15 wives- And FOUR husbands (slightly ABOVE the average of male-to-female for that region). Again, it was clear that the WOMEN of the house decided who got who when. A less surprising conclusion of the study was domestic violence was down in male-on-female violence, but UP in female-on-male violence- Many more women were willing to admit they had hit their husbands, and deny their husbands had hit them, whereas men were LESS likely to admit to having hit their wives, and also LESS likely to admit their wives had hit them. This lead the Dr. to conclude that males didn't "perceive" being hit, perhaps because they felt they had it coming to them, perhaps because it "didn't hurt," perhaps fear of getting their wives in trouble, and finally, perhaps fear of being seen as "weak." Dr. CATES' conclusion was that, while all of these were probably a factor, that it simply wasn't as hard as they "could" hit, and therefore the relative danger was lower, was the main factor. The conclusions of Dr. CATES study have remained in dispute ever since, but the MAIN issue remains the "dual standard" element of the separate forms for males and females. It should be noted that Dr. CATES invited (and even begged) fellow researchers to observe her work- Some half dozen did so, and even so notable a figure as Dr. Emile LANG (of the Robotech Defense Forces) reviewed her work and found it, barring some "salting" effect that he could not find, to have been an excellent study- Dr. LANG, a mechanical engineer, nevertheless lent his name to support of the study (at no fee). Among T'sentraedi, I need no doctor to tell me about sex. Sex was not only not "permitted" by the T'sentreadi, but the Robotech Masters, in their infinite stupidity, tried to breed into us a distrust and even open contempt for our opposite sexes. Granted, this was generally successful, but not fully. I myself, understood women "A LITTLE BIT" (I wish to emphasis it was only a little bit) long before I ever set foot on the SDF-01, or even deployed after Zor's flagship, the Azumption. A limited degree of sexuality found it's way through the fleet, most especially between members of the same sex. Those CAUGHT in such activity were considered hojokas (literally "weak spot," but generally "traitor" or "coward") and were usually thrown out the nearest airlock- If the made it that far. Even Kara-thun (honorably execution by battle) was beneath those so caught. Such punishments were carried out quickly in MALE ships, but were variably applied in female ships. Perhaps women were just more receptive. *shrug* Equally dangerous was to be discovered to be "artistic." Drawing pictures was ok, if it was related to warfare, such as sketching maps, etc. Making pictures of a purely personal nature, however, was DEEPLY frowned upon. Only paintings glorifying war were openly tolerated, and indeed, the greatest artist in the T'sentraedi had a mural depicting one of the bloodiest battles in our history hanging in Keppa Trati DOLZA'S personal space onboard his ship. It depicted literally MILLIONS of Regults and Invid Mecha in such a disjointed mess one MIGHT think it was one long, continuous, pile of trash- Which it really WAS. On that day, over 100,000,000 T'sentraedi ALONE died. (It should be noted- WE WON THE PLANET.) Those found to have an artistic bent were treated with DEEP suspicion, and "might" have an accident- Unless they'd proved themselves to be TRUE T'sentraedi. Once, of course, you'd "proven" yourself, you could get away with a whole fucking lot. (The mural discussed before was done by one of those who survived that battle, and what was left of his Regult told the story of how he'd fought like a demon on acid- he was one of VERY few Warrior-Caste rewarded with a Glaug, though not an Eldare. It had been Trati Kemma Dolza's himslef's, and Trati Keppa Breetia and Trati Keppa Frinor were PERSONALLY on hand to impart the gift.)Section Index; Page Index.
Tales From The Fleet.
Cultural Contamination: The REF And Sentinel Alliance- And Movies.			Justice In The REF (not necessarily the UGC in general). Hot Cars- 1138TH's Piecemeal Fleet.
Cultural Contamination: The REF And Sentinel Alliance- And Movies.
Throughout Terran history, every army has been plagued by an asshole who unintentionally jams up the works- The REF was no exception. The jackass- Staff Sergeant Dianne BATTTEL (REF Marine Corps). Staff Sergeant BATTTEL loaded up a few crates of "entertainment materials" for the expected 5-year campaign; Staff Sergeant BATTTEL made no special exceptions, scifi, romance, comedies, cartoons- Even porn. (Rumor has it that she starred in a few of those videos, but no one could ever find "the smoking gun."). This SEEMED like a good idea at first; Until the various Sentinel speceis got their hands on them (mostly the Garudans getting the Japanese animes). This series of lectures has been partially lost to history; However as such lectures are recovered they shall be added to the document.
Garudans- Annoyance In A Can. Karnoberrans And The Homer SIMPSON Connection. Paraxians; The Xena Clone Debacle. Hogsworth, Peryton, 90210.			Steampunk: Straight Out Of Haydon. Heavy Metal Heros: The Spherians. In Conclusion...
Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series Cultural Contamination Series	Garudans- Annoyance In A Can.
	There is NOTHING like a hined-up Garudan watching Ranma; 75ᵀᴴ Garudan Special Operations Command even adopted Ranma's Gui as their "official uniform." Admiral HAYES-HUNTER finally approved it, but only AFTER their War Leader SHIVRAR agreed to add REF-Standard attachments (epaulettes and rank insignia). These actually went over pretty well, to the surprise of some, until it was realized they'd cheated; The Garudans had used white lacing, rather than gold, and hadn't added ANY rank indicators to the sleeves as per the implications of the agreement (rather than the letter thereof). The only things they actually added was the epaulettes with soft-sleeve shoulderboards and REF-Sentinel Alliance patches to the sleeves (in addition to their unique command patch on the right breast). And they were ANNOYING; They'd never shut up. They'd mimic and pantomime their favorite characters ad naueseum. A few went so far beyond merely "overboard" we considered sending them for psychiatric evaluations; Unfortunately, we really didn't know what was "normal" for Garudans, so the plan was cancelled. I counted, in one company, SEVEN Ikanies (the girlfriend who can't even burn water), NINE Shampoos (the Amazonian), two Hopposies (the FREAK), TWENTY-FIVE Ranmas (males and females), four Ryugas (all of them were Sevutos, religious leaders and medics in Garudan culture)... The Hopposies, VERY LITERALLY, would launch panty raids, running down the passageways screeching "WUDDU HAUL!! WUDDU HAUL!!" BEFORE they saw the videos, it's well known that all Garudans, male and female, could present a decent meal to anyone, provided that reasonable preparations were made for them- For example, not giving them rotten food to work from. After seeing the videos, the Ikanies suddenly couldn't cook to save their lives- There was a joke that if we could contract them out to the Invid, we'd have won the war in six months. They literally could burn water- One set a pan to the stove with butter mixed with water, and though we could never fully explain what happened, next, a fire formed on the surface of the water.Series Index; Section Index; Page Index.
	Karnoberrans And The Homer SIMPSON Connection.
	Maybe it was that he was an engineer at a nuclear powerplant; Maybe it was because he was yellow. Maybe it was because he was so serious all the time; Maybe it was just that he was stupid. Whatever the reason, Homer Jay SIMPSON himself; Model Karnoberran Male. Marjorie "Marge" Jacqueline BOUVIER-SIMPSON herself; Model Karnoberran Female. Karbonarans took to the SIMPSON like white on rice. After only a few weeks, EVERY SINGLE KARBONARAN male had Homer Jay SIMPOSON'S trademark blue jeans and white golf shirt (though they had a bit more hair) that they'd wear, at least once in a while, off-duty; They ate doughnuts on duty and off. In every single command with any significant Karbonaran male populous, at least one compartment was "converted" to Moe's Tavern- These were usually a 4-man male Karbonaran-only stateroom with a cardboard sign taped (usually with duct tape) over the door that said "Moes's" (to varying degrees of neatness) and an ironing board near the opposite bulkhead where bottled drinks were offered (these were non-alcoholic beverages, so as to avoid unfortunate issues). It didn't matter what the individual Karbonaran's job was, after going off-watch they'd "head over to Moe's." This wasn't limited to the males, either; Female Karbonarans began sporting Marjorie "Marge" Jacqueline BOUVIER-SIMPSON'S behives and adopting her mannerisms, especially her laugh; This made them endearing to other crewmembers (especially humans and T'sentraedi who'd had exposure to the Simpsons). Karbonarans do however, have the self-discipline to contain their enthusiasm; When there is "work to be done" (combat or otherwise) they very much knuckle down and get it DONE.This contrasts to some degree with Garudans, who continue to maintain their character persona but condition it to their presents situation. Male Karbonarans thankfully never adopted Homer's idioms, other than "heading to Moe's," as hearing them say "DOOH!" all damned day would have led to "serious repercussions."Series Index; Section Index; Page Index.
	Paraxians; The Xena Clone Debacle.
	The Paraxians took an instant shine to the Terran "Xena: Warrior Princess" series. Instant. As in, faster than light. In fact, for a few days they mistakenly thought that "all" Terran women were Xena, or Gabrielle. They started carrying chakrams fashioned from various metal plates they'd simply cut out; A Standard Chakram. When these didn't work as expected, some amount of consternation arose in the Paraxian forces. Crisis in this regard was averted when an old RDF'er by the name of Sergeant Major Raul Du PREESE (aero-Space Forces) saw several of them practicing with the weapons, and pointed out the flaw- Firstly, they'd been crudely cut, with lots of knicks and bleedovers. These had to be smoothed out. Secondly, they had been kept flat; They'd need to be bowed a bit to work. Lastly, several had been made of diamond plate (a re-inforced steel plate, with "diamond" bumps in it). These were wholly unsuitable and would have to be discarded outright. So proficient with the chakram did the Paraxians become that it was NOT unknown for them to strike an Invid Mecha, mostly the Iigaa Armored Scout, in the "eye" and thus disable (though not destroy) it.Series Index; Section Index; Page Index.
	Hogsworth, Peryton, 90210.
	The Mystics of Peryton are, even by their own standards and admission, a bit "snobbish." (In fairness, by everyone elses' standards they're not snobbish- just standoffish.) So their interest in the Terran Hogsworth Castle As Reconstructed On Peryton. tv show "90210" was not terribly surprising; Their powers over magic made shows about this subject seems, in retrospect, perhaps inevitable. It was their joining of the two interests that catches 'most' sociologist and psychologists off-guard; The Harry Potter series of books and movies were accepted as absolute fact (for reasons that can not be explained, they do not accept that these events are fictional), and when the Perytonians who joined the REF discovered Hogsworth Castle, a theme park, they thought it was 'the actual' castle. And this they had to posses, to the fullest possible extent. Unfortunately, the theme park and it's contents were not for sale in any way, shape, or form. So the Perytonians simply copied it. They cited the castle on a hill overlooking the site of the battle that doomed their people to the curse that dogged their civilization for over a thousand years, the better to guard the ghosts- And sufficiently close to the nexus point that formed there that they could tap it, without it overwhelming them. Without understanding the nature of zip codes, they choose to distinguish their Hogsworth Castle for the Terran Hogsworth by adding the "90210" of the show from Terra of oversexed, over rich, self-absorbed 20-somethings and their petty squabbles- In otherwords, the reflection of their own self-image of the snobbishness they felt, that everyone else didn't really see. Hogwarts School was built in what the Perytonians thought was the utmost secrecy; Unfortunately for them, the REF and Plenipotentiary Council knew about it before ground-breaking even began, to the fullest extent. (One does NOT pirate a Terran amusement park and it go unnoticed.) Officially the Council and her successors (from the IPA to the current UGC) know nothing about the site, though the senior most staff at Hogwarts are well aware their secret is out, if carefully under wraps. Many noteable members of the School have served in significant positions throughout the Plenipotentiary Council and her successors; Major Meehyck FREERAR, the Perytonian who created the Special Battalions, was a survivor of the Battle Of Hogwarts (along with his brother, Jamie FREERAR).Series Index; Section Index; Page Index.
	Steampunk: Straight Out Of Haydon.
	It is well-known that the Haydonites had probably THE most advanced technology of the Sentinel/Terran Alliance; Steampunk, a sub-genre of science fantasy that came into prominence during the 1980s and 90s, involves a setting where steam power is still widely used and centered in Victorian-era Anglo-centric Ya, It's Kinda Like That; A Steampunk Mecha First Desigend By "Hideyoshi," Copied By A Haydonite Team. universe (United States, Britain, and other English-speaking regions). The concept is that coal- and wood-fueled steam power remained relevant for many decades past it's actual terminus- Indeed, right up into the information age of over a century later. Variations on the concept included even laptop computers and Mecha. Lesser technologies also were covered in the concept, such as lighter-than-air airships, cities, and etc. The concept also encompassed an artistic style- One that the Haydonites took to with deep enthusiasm. Haydonites of course used a variation on nuclear and related power, in which heat from fission or fusion brought water to a boiling point, powering a generator- This was actually obsolete tech to the Haydonites, but exposure to the Karnoberran's Sekiton technology combined with the Terran's Steampunk sensibility deeply influenced their artistic style, with Steampunk'ed Mecha, like the depicted one, becoming popular throughout the Haydonite's sphere of influence; Before the end of the decade, they had even built steampunk starships. Eventually the use of Sekiton was abandoned for strictly practical reasons (it's hard to safely transport and must be handled by a Karnoberran before it can be used), but small-scale coal generators can still be found, and the Md-41 powerplant was designed to have a Protoculture, nuclear, OR Sekiton system swapped out quickly. The Md-41 can be used in any standard Mecha, starship, or etc, and are even exported to other galaxies- Even the slightly elitist Landsraad and Rakatan Galaxies use them (at least in small numbers). And this for aesthetic extends far beyond mere machines; Even in the Haydonite version of the ghettos, the building façade incorporate Terran Victorian style, occasionally mixed with Terran Gothic, and Victorian styles of dress are not uncommon, at least in formal affairs onboard Haydon IV and supremely formal affairs elsewhere. However, this in no way restricts Haydonite practical considerations; While the Md-41 generator was developed, it was originally only intended to demonstrate that it could be done, with export intended only to underline this fact to other potential clients. Once the rubber hits the road, the Haydonites put the technology, and it's limitations, well before the aesthetic. Like the Carbonarrans and Garudans, the Haydonites were able to separate the aesthetic from the "real"; That is, they recognized what they were seeing as fictional or fiction-based (their suspension of disbelief being limited). And like the Paraxians and Perytonians, they were able to strike a solid balance between the aesthetic and the real; As the Paraxians didn't dump their traditional weapons but merely added the new influences, so too did the Haydonites merely add a façade of said new influence. (The Carbonarans could not strike the real/aesthetic balance, keeping the two as completely separate as practicle; the Paraxians and Perytonians and took the new influnces and melded them into their own already established culture.)Series Index; Section Index; Page Index.
	Heavy Metal Heros: The Spherians.
	So I'm looking at rock videos, Knocking these bimbos, Looking like hoes. Sir Mix-A-Lot. The exposure of Spherians (living mineral creatures, thus their common moniker of being the "Stone Men of Spheris") to rock and roll spoke for itself. It was destined; Rock and Roll Is "I wanna, ROCK!!!" Here To Stay. How exactly they came to the preference for heavy metal is unknown, but it probably had something to do with the fact that heavy metal's natural condition is to play it LOUD. But however it really happened, Spherian became the core center of rock music; They expaned into rap and death metal, becoming the finest connoisseurs of the effective genres in the then known galaxy. This led them to become the biggest producers of these music in the galaxy, becoming a core industry in post-war Spheris. The remarkable part? They're utterly tone deaf, yet they still get the product out, and better than most everyone else combined. They say they 'feel' the music, and this is probably true; Their stone bodies appear to respond to semi-synthesized tones equivalent to what effects the music itself would have on their bodies. During these tests, they reported sensations ranging from ticking to "sexual release." Spherians also have developed their musical industry far better than most other cultures, perhaps in part to their natural affinity to minerals; They produce the finest electronic and metal musical components, which are then shipped to others to develop the wood and other components. A Spherian speaker can be as little as 1 square inch, yet produce a sound as powerful as a 6 FOOT speaker, and their intrinsic understanding of how sound works in real space makes their surround sound systems infinitely far more advance. Only Haydonite electronics surpass Spherian, and their purely metallic components do NOT. In fact, every speaker system officially installed on UGC Government vsls comes from a Spherian factory, with key speaker systems utilizing Haydonite electronics but the rest have been fully manufactured at the same factory.Series Index; Section Index; Page Index.
Cultural Contamination Series		In Conclusion...		Cultural Contamination Series
The unintended consequences of exposing the various Sentinel species to Terran culture had a profound effect on the respective societies cultures; Most permanent. The main difference is the degree of effect; Whilst the Garudan's discovery of Ranma could have become permenantly engrained in the culture, it managed to work itself out eventually. Karbonarans still dress and act respective to their fictional template, but when on-duty or on watch they manage to remain totally professional. For the Paraxians, the majority of the influence was mearly to add another weapon to their collection; The difference between the normal state and their templates was in fact the addition of the Chakram and their versions of Godhood. That the Perytons built Hogsworth Castle was as much stylistic influence as anything else; The building of 'a' castle at that site was inevitable, expanding it to a School of Thaumaturgy not so much, but not illogical either. By far and beyond, the longest-lasting and most profound influences were Steampunk's upon the Haydonites, as this continues to influence their astetic sensibilities, and the Spherians adoption of Terran styles of music, as this provided a revenue stream that continues to this day. And this for aesthetic extends far beyond mere machines; Even in the Haydonite version of the ghettos, the building façade incorporate Terran Victorian style, occasionally mixed with Terran Gothic, and Victorian styles of dress are not uncommon, at least in formal affairs onboard Haydon IV and supremely formal affairs elsewhere. However, this in no way restricts Haydonite practical considerations; While the Md-41 generator was developed, it was originally only intended to demonstrate that it could be done, with export intended only to underline this fact to other potential clients. Once the rubber hits the road, the Haydonites put the technology, and it's limitations, well before the aesthetic. The Carbonarans could not strike the real/aesthetic balance, keeping the two as completely separate as practicle; The Paraxians and Perytonians and took the new influnces and melded them into their own already established culture. Neither were these cultural influences one-sided; The Terran/T'sentraedi block, seeing new ideas, would often incorporate the aesthetic and, whenever practical, the actual. While Lisa HAYES-HUNTER proudly displayed her Paraxian Battle Set in her home, she clearly couldn't wear it onto the field of battle; The integration of new ship designs was prerequisite, in many ways, to the survival of the REF and the advancement of the war effort. However, so profound were these influences that the UGC and its predecessor agencies now take caution not to unduly introduce Galactican society to new cultures; While cross cultural influences are inevitable and desirable, this is now slowly introduced, to avoid needlessly upsetting any more apple carts.Series Index; Section Index;Page Index.
Justice In The REF (not necessarily the UGC in general).
Galactic Militry Police: In 2230, the UGC, in both the Assembly and the Senate, and the Chairman ordered that ALL REF Militry Police and Master At Arms units placed under ONE command. The Agency, modeled on the Terran Global Militry Police, was to be ONLY militry police 1138TH Militry Police Battalion; Typical Badge, Atypical Unit. department. After the merger, the GMP developed their "Operational Plan": The individual branches of the militry would supply a number of warm bodies, based on whatever system they used: The REF Army recruits people directly into the service as MP's, as well as assigned additional personnel with skills that would assist the MP's, while the Spacy recruits personnel straight into their MAA Rate, and the Patrol recruits re-enlisting Petty Officers willing to take a pay grade cut to transfer to the Investigator Rate and assigns some Officers with a Law or Mechanical Engineering Degree to Patrol Investigations Service, whereas the Marines treat ANY Marine as a possible MP, as the Marine Corps of Terra started out strictly as Naval MP's, then morphed over time into their current role as the Spacy's army. From this body, the services indicate how many people they need per each command. Rarely does the GMP fail to fill all the requests- In fact, because of the new model, the GMP usually has an overflow of people. This model, however, was NOT to improve militry efficiency. It was, in fact, in reaction to a MASSACRE by REF personnel. The REF, by request of the Civil Authority of Tenare 4/2, had been trying to quell a rebellion, partly including RDF personnel. When the REF took some 450 RDF'ers POW, they were transferred to Tenare Central Command Stockade 14 (which was, at the time, the newest stockade; The other 13 were mostly full, 14 could hold about 200 more). Whatever DID happen there, nobody knows EXACTLY for sure. In the mess afterwards, many of the detainees tested positive for alcohol and various drugs; Complaints over several months about bad food, guard misconduct, etc, were made by so many inmates, the only assumption that could be made was that there was some truth to them, though how much is still unknown. Guards, for their part, were reporting DAILY incidents of detainee violations of policy, fighting- Even a series of very violent rapes (at least one detainee died of his injuries, not including the wicked beating he'd taken). Several were gang-rapes, with at LEAST one person identified later having been involved in all but the first few (later DNA testing indicated the suspect, an RDF Artillery Captain, had himself been gang raped by other detainees right about the time his spree began). That was the beginning of the problem; In 12 hours, the detainees had seized not only control over Stockade 14, but several others; In fact, all 4 of the stockades in the section (construction on the fifth hadn't yet begun). In short, they gained full control over every square inch of the Stockade they could physically access (the remaining 10 were effectively separate prisons). In the ensuing 14 WEEK siege to regain control of Stockades 11 through 14, SEVERAL problems occurred. Spacy MAA policies didn't mesh with Army MP policies; Patrol radio equipment was incompatible with Marine radios; RDF'ers who knew detainees inside the wire had sympathies for them, and tried to help them out- And, in so doing, obstructed REF'ers. When the final dust settled, there were NO survivors in the Stockades in question, plus another 400 RDF'ers were incarcerated. Because of the failing of the incident, the UGC developed the new plan, now in effect. Other effects of the incident was the development of the ATORIAN-Class Prison Ship (and placing them under the operational control of the Patrol), unification of REF Militry Justice Policy (under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ensuring that the RDF's were also placed under the new policy, which was written by the UGC, not the REF), and finalization of the Militry Peacekeeping Policy (that militry personnel deployed to quell a rebellion WOULD operate under the local authorities, at the lowest possible level, with anyone NOT in the MP command placed under the MP's, and MP's placed under local law enforcement whenever practical). However, while the black eye of the Stockade 14 Incident has long since cleared up, the militry hasn't allowed themselves to forget it. It is the FIRST lesson taught to future MP/MAA/IV's in their respective schools' ethics classes.Section Index; Page Index.
Hot Cars- 1138TH MP Battalion's Piecemeal Fleet.
When we returned to Terra shortly after the second liberation, 1138TH MP Battalion was faced with SEVERAL daunting problems- Most especially, the fact that we had 12,000 investigators and arresting agents, and only 100 vehicles to conduct such operations. Well, illegal or not, our solution was to take ANY vehicle we saw that might fit the bill- Four door, child safety locks or easily removed back door openers inside, and that a cage could be installed in. We'd grab it, pain it white (if it wasn't already), and slap "REF INVESTIGATION SERVICES" badge stickers on the doors. (We actually had to make 40,000 such stickers, because the ones we had were pretty cheap and bleached out after only a few weeks.) On top we'd install whatever lights we could get our hands on, and many ended up with yellow and/or green lights, rather than blue or blue and red. After a couple years we were able to get a factory going producing NEW cars specifically to our specifications (hover car, able to cruise at NLT 100', NMT 150', 200MPH four door with cage and lights), but we didn't bother returning the stolen cars- Less than 10% were now in a condition to BE returned, and none at that point would pass smog- Each and every one was such a gross polluter that we COULDN'T sneak up on anyone- They saw the smoke coming well before we got there. So instead, half of each batch was earmarked for civil populous replacement vehicles, and doled out first (and these were sweet rides, but not nearly the horsepower nor flight characteristics of our "other" cars).Section Index; Page Index.
Nailed To The Southern Cross.
Anatole LEONARD; An impartial assessment.
Anatole LEONARD; An Impartial Assessment.
I am not known for my love for Supreme Commander Anatole LEONARD; Indeed, I am known for my hatred of LEONARD, especially in the advent of the Rᴏʙᴏᴛᴇᴄʜ NAZI Party's rise. However, even I have some sympathy for LEONARD. The following was my offering on LEONARD'S profile: Anatole LEONARD was a Terran militry leader, most notably the Supreme Commander of the Army of the Southern Cross during the Sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ Rᴏʙᴏᴛᴇᴄʜ Wᴀʀ. Histories for LEONARD vary, depending on the exact source, but a more prevalent one indicates he may have been a rancher, moderate politico to senior functionary in a political organization, and Venezuelan National Guardsman. He appears to have formed a successful militia in the ashes of the Rain of Death, created out of the shattered remains of several armies in South America. His character, a hard-nosed no excuses warlord, served this militia well, and eventually the region was able to defend itself, without RDF assistance. LEONARD's manner of addressing his subordinates and apparent indifference to combat casualties has engendered a great deal of debate. While some feel that these assertions indicate that LEONARD was a bad commander, others claim that was simply a determined realist, intolerant of those with a vision less clear than his own. Despite his personal flaws (which some believed were strengths, such as the aforementioned 'hard-nosed' attitude), he proved to be a highly effective militry commander in some respects. LEONARD was killed in the final battle of the Second Robotech War against the Robotech Masters when he refused to abandon his post, ASC HQ, in the face of an incoming, unsurvivable, attack. An unkind characterization was, He died a fool, but he died BRAVE.Section Index; Page Index.
Short Stories.
ST. MARIA. The Haydonites- Men, Gods, And Warlords.			Trati Keppa DOLZA and Trati Keppa BREETIA- The T'sentraedi's T'sentraedi.
ST. MARIA.
"Jimmie, got a second?" Colonel David JACKSON asked as he entered the office. "Sure, boss, what's up?" Major Jimmie MORAINE replied, looking up from the papers that cluttered his desk. "You ever hear of WPTG-731?" David asked. "WPTG-731... That would be a troop transport... Got a name?" Jimmie asked, more curious with each moment. "SAINT MARIA" David answered. "SAINT MARIA..." Jimmie mused, then took a deep breath and staring blankly at a chair across his desk, continued, "Maiden combat voyage, 2,000 troops and about 250 crew, the only wreckage ever recovered was the number 5 mooring line. It had parted while she was getting underway, they brought it on board. Somehow it fell overboard later on... No idea what happened to her. Ah- I think there was a something like 17-sector search for her. Enroute to the FBX 21555320 to the crisis there. Some speculation that it might have been political of nature. Commanding Officer was a Lt Commander SOIREN, XO Lt FRINANZE. Mz SOIREN was a-" Jimmie took a deep breath- "Flyjt, Mr FRINANZE was a Carnoarann. About 20 years of service each. Mr FRINANAZE was in his first tour in command-level, though he had been an ops boss on an interceptor carrier." Jimmie added a little flippantly, "He was a jet jock. He didn't want ship command, he was doing his time for promotion to Lt Commander. He had, however, served as an OOD on several interceptor carriers. All reports were that he was a good sailor. Mz SOIREN had held command at several ships before. She was NOT a jet jock, she wasn't even a pilot." After a slight pause, he added, "She didn't have the skills. Tried out for it, but crashed several craft in simulators. After her fifth, she quite the program and switched over to deck sailor program. After that she excelled. Several under her command praised her abilities. Highly popular commander. Final determination, pending new evidence, was that she suffered some critical failure during spacefold. So," Jimmie finally closed, looking up, "Where was she found, and how many bodies?" Col JACKSON went slightly stoic for a moment. "You seem to know a lot. For an obscure case that happened when you were- What? A child?" "Yes, I've read up on many such cases. Afterwards, if you want, we can go over another one. In the mean time, what about SAINT MARIA?" "Ya. Well, you're right, she was found. In tact. No signs of any violence or catastrophe. No crew." "Hmmmm. Well, they may have taken shuttles to the planet nearby," Jimmie offered. "Nope. No shuttles, no life pods, no nothing missing. Not even a space suit." Jimmie raised an eyebrow at that. "So. Shuttles are all on board, as are life pods. No Mecha missing?" David shook his head. "Ne-o. Ok." Jimmie rubbed his face. "Any chance she was boarded?" Again, David shook his head. "Neh-o. Airtight integrity?" "Full pressure, one atmo." "Full pressure. Great. All the bodies gone, but no way to get off. Fuel, other stores intact?" "Food was a little short. Enough, however, to have lasted all the persons on-board about another month. Besides that, the laundry and related facilities were not significantly depleted. Water was in long storage. Detergents were full-stock. Fuel tanks were at ¾ capacity. She could have limped into a port in any system, set a distress beacon, and gotten help. So, Torch, what do you think now?" Jimmie went quiet for a moment. "Was there anything on the vessel that SHOULDN'T have been?" David smiled. "Very good. Yes- A 1,000 pound Greiana." "You said no signs of violence?" Jimmie accused. "Yes, I did. The greiana soaked up literally everything. The weapons they were able to get to the fight didn't do shit to the creature. It simply tore into the crew, killed them all before they had a chance to defend themselves." "But then, why didn't crew members dog down? Greiana's can't open doors?" "I have no idea. Best guess? The greiana got the cap't or XO before the alarm was raised, maybe both." Jimmie nodded his head. "So where's the greiana now?" "It's remains were in the engine room." After pausing for effect, David added, "Died of starvation."Section Index; Page Index.
The Haydonites- Men, Gods, And Warlords.
The true history of the Haydonites, now commonly referred to as the Prime Haydonites or simply the Prime (to avoid confusion with the Haydonite Drones) is, at best, murky. By the surviving records, we know they came to the Milky Way galaxy from another galaxy, trying to get away from something; Other people who sought them harm. Whether the Prime were refugees from war, losers in an invasion, rebels in a civil war, or common criminals is unclear, and highly debated. The surviving Prime records seem to have the Prime referring to themselves as all the above. The Haydonite Drones have not revealed any records they retained, and with good reason. Since the Ranath's Star incident much discontent has been focused upon them, rightly or wrongly, for withholding what they then knew. To reveal anything else, perhaps even a record of all events at least since the building of HAYDON IV, could upset whatever galactic calm does currently stand. Indeed, most species involved in the process would, rightfully, prefer to leave well enough alone. Most species referred to the Prime as God; Terrans, unexperienced with the legends that the Sentinel and other Local Group/Tiresian Dictatorship worlds had founded their societies upon, did not see them as God or Gods. They were able to see how primitive people would see a technologically advanced people, such as the Prime, as Gods; Indeed, were it not for their own technological savvy, they would have thought of Zor as a God. The Prime did everything to encourage this; Only the Tiresians saw through this falsehood, after throwing off their shackles in rebellion against the prime (the founding of the Tiresian Republic; This republic would be corrupted by the cabal known as the Robotech Elders and Masters). It is clear the Prime WERE Warriors; The few surviving records were infinitely clear on this. The fact that HAYDON IV was a battlewagon the size of a planet confirms they were not only Warlords, but highly technically capable ones. Indeed, even now the feat of creating a world-ship is beyond the abilities of the UGC. (The largest current ship is Carbonarra Anchorage #10 at a 20,000 miles circumference.) The eternal departure of the Prime is an undisguisable blessing unto the universe; Left to our own devices, we collectively would probably never have left our little worlds, or in a very limited format. This would have spared so many worlds so much pain, that I, for one, can not overstate the crime against Humanity that their own existence IS. Would I were ever to see a Prime Haydonite, I would probably kill him were he stood. If you ever find a suspected Haydonte artifact, do not handle it. Assume it to be dangerous, and contact your local RDF command immediately.Section Index; Page Index.
Trati Keppa DOLZA and Trati Keppa BREETIA- The T'sentraedi's T'sentraedi.
While I do not wish to impugn upon the integrity, honesty, nor hard work of the great historians of the Robotech Wars (ZEITGEIST, MCKINNEY, SEIMBIEDA, etc), I feel compelled to set the record straight on these two INCREDIBLE figures of the T'sentraedi. Trati Keppa DOLZA. Lord DOLZA (also occasionally referred to as "BOLDOLZA"; either is correct) was, in no way, the blood thirsty madman, nor even moderately evil strongman, that some have portrayed him as. He was a politician; This is true. He understood more about the give-and-take that is part of the "alternate politics" that is warfare than possibly any other person, T'sentraedi or otherwise, then living. His plan was to KEEP Zor's BattleFortress (what Terran Mi'cronnes would designate the SDF-01 UES MACROSS) until the Robotech Masters agreed to certain critical concessions that he felt were necessary for the survival of the T'sentraedi. He in no way EVER contemplated insurrection as a serious option, and to my knowledge never even contemplated it beyond a fanciful game (ALL T'sentraedi wished to rid ourselves of the yoke of the false Masters). Of course, my personal experience with Lord DOLZA ended some 150-odd years before the Terran Campaign when all things changed, but having served under him as long as I did (about 60 years), I think it safe to say I Trati Keppa BREETIA. knew him well enough to know he'd NOT actively rise against the Masters. Instead, he sought only to secure greater control over some Robotech Factories, so that HE could control output of war material; I doubt he even factored a protoculture matrix into his calculations (he may or may not have been aware of the existence of a matrix on the battle fortress). In a similar, though less intense, way, Trati Keppa BREETIA has also been maligned, though most historians agree somewhere between hearing Trati Keppa MINMIE'S singing and the launching of Third Fleet (the SDF-3 PIONEER) he seemed to change- their mistaken belief is that he changed from an evil being to a good one, a change of heart. This is categorically wrong. He changed from a very bitter creature, with no prospect for future without war, to one who now DID see a future that could involve peace- A change of ATTITUDE. His attitude was one born of long conflict with no end in sight EVER. As soon as the battle fortress was recovered, he'd be detailed to conquer some system, though very likely it would be the same one he'd just left, to add the Master's empire for their enrichment, while he himself would have to live with whatever little he was given by them- Not even a decent home (even by T'sentraedi standards, life on a ship was horrible, and planet side duty was little better). That he was able to brake the Imperium and overcome the conditioning by the masters is a testament both to his own strengths (mental as well as physical, both of which were FORMIDABLE), and to Trati Keppa MINMIE's song. It has even been said, and rightfully so, that MINMIE is the Mother of all T'sentraedi, and that her singing was that of a mother to her child. (But that's another essay.)Section Index; Page Index.
Essays By Lt Col Andering REDDSON.
Protoculture- The Power Of Pain.. Economics And The King's Peace. The Historians. Homosexuals In The Uniform- "I Won't Ask, You Won't Tell, and WE, WON'T REALLY CARE." Hazing in the RDF and REF. Sailor's Superstitions; No Laughing Matter. Praxians- Sexual Predators, Or Just Horny Bitches? Life Aboard Ship. Invid- The Holocaust.			Columbia- The case for the SSTOS. Sports Equipment- The Soldier's Savior. Drunken Sailors. Bigotry In The RDF, REF, PPC, UWA, and UGC. Hardware Of The T'sentraedi; A Primer. T'sentraedi On Sports. T'sentraedi Life In The REF; The TRUE Story. T'sentraedi Medicine. Quenno And The T'sentraedi Diet.
Protoculture- The Power Of Pain.
The processed excretions of the Flower of Life, called Protoculture, was created after a 'liaison' of some sort between the Regis and Zor. This fuel source was able to ramp-up even Hyperspace Fold System, capable of folding the space-time continuum. It is the primary power source for most Mecha. It is the fuel of 90% of UGC-sponsored power plants. The exact nature of Protoculture, also called Pee Juice, Pee Soup, and 'culture, isn't understood, but it is the processed (purified and refined) extract of the Flower of Life. The extract itself is created by pressing groups of three ungerminated seeds under incredible heat and pressure in a chamber; The excretions then are siphoned off using a 'proprietary method' not known outside of Invid circles; The last living non-Invid to know the full secret was the Tirsian Cabel, who died of old age many generations ago. Though Trati Keppa EXEDORE knows the basic concepts, he doesn't know, nor cares to learn, the techniques required to create the containment vsl; His silence is also secured by his appointment to the Opteran/New Paraxian Defense Council as Domillian to the Protoculture Academy, the governing agency for all Protoculture galaxies-wide.Section Index; Page Index.
Economics And The King's Peace.
"Control the coins and the courts; Leave the rest to the rabble. Padishah Emperor Faykan I. "The wise king is well cautioned to ensure the health of their economy, that the people be satisfied." Plithius the Greater, philosopher of Tiresia, 2301. "A hungry man will be willing to take a little more risk for a little less gain." HS1 Mike SKIDMORE, 1986. "Ya, just look at World War 2 Germany." Melanie SKIDMORE, his wife, immediately after. It is imperative that the economy be kept moving, not for some great interest in the needs of the people so much as a more pragmatic self-interest; A man with a job won't have time to join some philosophical rebellion, but the same man, with no job and no income, would be willing, more readily, to join that same rebellion. It is therefore in the UGC's best interest to keep the people working, and fed. Set aside all false economic models; "Trickle Down/Trickle Up," Communism, Liaises Faire (unrestrained 'free market'), ect. They have all been weighed, measured, tested- And proven wanting. The restrained free market system used by the UGC now ensures the continued health of the economy. The UGC has a huge pool of money available, which they carefully dole out; When a local economy shows the appropriate down-turn indicators, the local Economic Control Board lends out large sums of money and/or at a much lower-than-average rate. This temporarily buoys the local economy; Once the local economy shows the appropriate signs of recovery, the flow is cut off, ensuring the fire doesn't get going too hot; A hot economy is doomed to burn itself out.Section Index; Page Index.
The Historians.
There are many great historians of the obtoech Wars. These dedicated individuals have served the universe, as a whole, by enriching our knowledge of the history. Each had more of a specialty, wherein they focused their abilities and attention: 1 MCKINNEY, J: Jack MCKINNEY was the working name of TWO gentlemen, Brian DALEY and James LUCENO, who wrote what is generally considered THE definitive history of the Robotech Wars; 'He' gave the broadest overview, combined with often painfully detailed inner view, often based on interviews with and personal journals of the major and many minor players in the wars. His, therefore, is the first historical record included, and the most singularly influential, and therefore first on the list. SEIMBIEDA K.: Kevin SEIMBIEDA was among the first historians, but he specialized more in the minutia details of hardware and strategy; A bit more sanitized than most of the other historians, it should still be noted that he did the single most extensive study on that same hardware. There are others, latter on, that built on his work; However, a tragically flawed detailed study was produced, based on off-hand research and speculation, and should not be given the weight of the paper it was written on. ZEITGIEST (first name unknown): Rather a bit confused, in some regards, however his is the first known work SPECIFICALLY on the thinking of the T'sentraedi, some of the research for which having been done BEFORE the Rain of Death. Were it not for his research, future historians would have been forced to start completely from scratch, and therefore unfortunately disadvantaged. It does not hurt that many of his conclusions followed the correct path, and in some cases was correct (for example, his observation that the early T'sentraedi defectors, if you will, 'lost their heads' amidst the sudden freedoms was within the 8-ring). LAPSTEIN (first name unknown), author of "Interviews": Mr. LAPSTEIN interviewed many T'sentraedi as part of his study. His paper, combined Dr RAWLINS (described next), should be read by anyone with any real interest in the T'sentraedi. RAWLINS (first name unknown); T'sentraedi Triumvirit: DOLZA, BREETIA, KHYRON. A bit soft on KHYRON, but unduly harsh to Trati Kemma DOLZA and Trati Kemma BREETIA. That he did review these T'sentraedi warlords, however, developing the foundation towards their thinking led to the understanding we now have behind their strategy.Section Index; Page Index.
Homosexuals In The Uniform- "I Won't Ask, You Won't Tell, and WE, WON'T REALLY CARE."
I remember the "bad old days" (or "good old day," depending on how you looked at it) of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The reality, most of us could generally tell who was playing the other team, or switch hitting, and when they kept it to themselves and stowed that shit when on the job, we all usually just sort of didn't really care; Even when I was with the T'sentraedi Forces, we 'understood' that certain areas of the ship were considered private; Usually remote or difficult to access areas. The RDF's post Rain of Death policy allowing openly homosexual members to serve really had no effect on me either way; I'm straight, but it never really occurred to me to care one way or the other about who's banging who and how if it didn't involve me personally. The problem might arise once in a while when a homosexual member hit on a heterosexual member who wasn't comfortable with the advance or vice versa; When these events occurred, we were all EXPLICITLY instructed to respond, "I'm (straight or gay) and not interested." That was the ONLY authorized response, and provided you gave the authorized response future passes were to be treated as normal sexual harassment events. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, it occurred a few times that gays made a play at me; And I took them usually in stride. The only 'incident' was during a liberty when we were both drunk (about 85% of these incidents were alcohol-related). He didn't take a hint, and a couple of my buddies jumped him. An unfortunate solution, and all five of us were reprimanded; The other guy was a civilian, and therefore couldn't be touched for violating the policy- In fact, he sued the RDF (the matter was settled out of court). We were fortunate, though, in that he wasn't badly hurt; Bobby, Jan, Anna, and Mike simply jumped on him and Dave simply held me back. I had the clarity of mind to tell them to let him up, they did, and he ran (we were banned from that bar after that). I, Lt Col Andering REDDSON (REF), would like to thank Master Chief Vince PATTON (USCG Ret), for assistance in this essay.Section Index; Page Index.
Hazing In The RDF And REF.
Hazing was defined under the Earth Defense Forces as: Any activity expected of someone that humiliates, degrades or risks emotional ᵃⁿᵈ/ₒᵣ physical harm, regardless of the person's willingness to participate; To persecute or harass with meaningless and humiliating tasks; To initiate by exacting humiliating demands and/or actions; Involving activities that breach reasonable standards of respect and involve ridicule, embarrassment, and/or humiliating acts. Generally it was permitted, under certain conditions; NO SEXUAL ASPECT; The hazing could not have a sexual aspect or undertone, such as 'The Ritual,' a mock gang-rape (other service members grab the boot from behind and thrust their hips back and forth- though both parties have their pants on, the point is clear). There was an Air Base where the boot was required to clean the helicopters. When a female member showed up to the station, special arrangements were made to allow her to clean the helicopters wearing denim coveralls (to prevent the material from clinging to her chest); NO SCARS/NO SICK CALL; No haze could be of a nature that would leave a scar (permanency of the scar or injury was not the issue) nor cause any injury that might result in a sick call. Minor bruising was tolerated, provided there were no real injuries. (This is why "pinning on" duty/qualifications badges, such as flight wings and Spacer's Badges remained legal- As long as the bruises could be hidden and there were NO broken bones.); EYES-OPEN; The boot had to be allowed to enter the event knowing what it REALLY was, not some bullshit story; OPT OUT CLAUSE; The Service Member had to be given a way to opt out, allowed to walk away from the event WITHOUT REPERCUSSION. A common way of dealing with this was to allow them a choice of hazes, while another was to give them a choice between the haze or a particularly worse option; "Calibrate Radar, or clean shitters, it's your choice." Hazing really does serve a purpose; First and foremost, it's a bonding experience. Once you cross that threshold, your crew new they could trust you intimately, and vice-versa. In a particularly bad example of this, a new boot was given a drunken shipmate who was supposed to be on-watch to babysit, while the boot was break-in watchstander. The next day, off-duty, the boot was given copious amounts of alcohol despite being significantly underage (she was 17 at the time, under even legal age of adulthood). Then someone unplugged her alarm clock, and let her sleep it off. At muster, her Chief stated she was 'extremely ill, probably food poisoning' and he had specifically ordered her to stay home in bed. During that day, the ship was ordered to get underway on an urgent Search And Rescue (a passenger jet went down, with survivors known to be in the water). Though there was no real issue, the member 'did' miss movement; Rather than being punished, however, the Fireman Apprentice was fast-tracked on a striker program, and made full Petty Officer in eight months after reporting aboard- Despite being less than fully qualified at the FA rank, and a full two months ahead of normal advancement. (It was in fact that two month short-cut that tipped off RDF Investigations that something was wrong; This is what revealed the prior incident.) In the end, in this case, no charges were preferred, though they could have been. There is, unfortunately, a long list of examples of hazings that exceeded the legal limits- A Seaman, latter Petty Officer, aboard SDF-001 who would 'introduce' herself to new crewmen by waking them on their first night on-board and performing oral sex on them (no charges were preferred, but she was later discharged under Medical (Psychiatric) Discharge); A CO who was stripped of his command when it was discovered his crew was hazing new members by dragging them to a strip club, then pressuring or tricking them into a 'stage dance,' wherein the new member is put on the dance stage and paddled by the strippers; This one came to light when one member was being Medical (Psychiatric) Discharged (after a suicide attempt); A Colonel at Macross Island was stripped of her command when it was discovered she was allowing members under her command to beat new recruits for a full year, then expecting them to do so to others during their first year; When one refused, they was treated 'like a boot' and beaten until they participated as well. One was beaten so badly she required 16-hour surgery, bringing this practice to light; A full Lieutenant General (2-star) was tried, convicted, and executed for MURDER after ordering 'training' for a Lance Corporal who threatened to expose hazing in his own command that had resulted in numerous injuries- The 'training' resulted in the death of the Lance Corporal, but only the General was executed (a Staff Sergeant and Corporal were Generally discharged, a Second Lieutenant was reduced in rank to First Lieutenant, and a Major was Dishonorably Discharged; A Lieutenant Colonel was sentenced to Life Without Possibility Of Parole Nor Reprieve for her attempts to cover up the incident, while a Colonel was reduced in rank to Major for Failure To Prevent A Crime, she didn't speak up forcefully enough, but not otherwise punished because of her assistance, including producing documentry evidence proving the various lies given by the various personnel involved). It is an unfortunate fact that more can be learned from failures, such as those above, than can be learned from successes; Successes, that is incidents that did not exceed those in the regulations, would often lead to failures (the "Stage Dance" incident was one such example).Section Index; Page Index.
Sailor's Superstitions; No Laughing Matter.
It is bad luck to rename a ship. A minor exemption is made when ownership of a ship is transferred to reflect the new owners, for example the Mayflower, once owned by RRT LINES, was sold to Global Freighters going from the RRT LINES Mayflower to GLOBAL FREIGHTERS Mayflower. It's also ok to rename an already unlucky ship; For example, USS ELDRIDGE (DE-173), a US Navy Destroyer form WWII, was renamed AT LEON (D-54) when she was sold to Greece after the war; ELDRIDGE was infamous as the ship of Project Philadelphia (or "Philadelphia Experiment"), and because of her bad luck she was renamed, but only during the process of a SALE. Anything else IS bad luck. The ship will sink, and probably take her crew with her. From USAToday (Thursday, 10 May). Haines - State and federal officials plan to document a Gold Rush era steamship, the Clara Nevada, that was destroyed in an explosion in 1898 south of Haines. The vessel had spent more than 20 years charting southeast Alaska coastal waters as the federal Coastal Survey vessel HASSLER. The reason the vsl sank- She was renamed. Case CLOSED.Section Index; Page Index.
Praxians- Sexual Predators, Or Just Horny Bitches?
To say that Praxians were wonton would be unfair- But pity the poor male of any species that fell under the gaze of one. Once she had her eye on one, little, if anything, could protect him from her "affections." Indeed, it got so bad that there was one hellatious row on UES DESTINY (IKAZUCHI-Class SFCC-2122); 7 T'sentraedi and 5 Human women ganged up on 14 Paraxians on the Messdeck after one of the T'sentraedi thought one of the Paraxians was "edging in" on her man (a Human). The generally acknowledged "Queen Bitch" was LT(jg) Cynthia MCMILTON, because, as they said, she was a "Santa Cruz girl"- That is, along with the normal female fighting tricks (hair pulling, groin kicking, ect.), she'd PUNCH other women man-style. And no "love taps" either, no, these were cranked up jaw-breakers and elbows to the face when someone came up behind her. Indeed, she was made an honorary T'sen the next day (in the brig); They even forgave her the fact that she did break T'sen BM2 Mihkanha FREININ'S jaw when Petty Officer FREININ came up to crack a Paraxian who was trying to sneak up on Mz. MCMILTON. The riot was broken up when REF Marines stormed the Messdeck- The women wanted to keep fighting EACH OTHER, but seemed to have no interest in beating on the Marines. It was later discovered the combatants thought the Marines were all men (due to the ultra-heavy body armor they were wearing), and this exposed an unusual psychological effect; Psychologists had long known that two parties, when fighting over a given commodity or territory, would rather not destroy the object of mutual desire as a general rule if it is at all avoidable. Beating on the Marines, whom the combatants all thought were males, would only harm the object of desire- A needless destruction of the "resource." The women were all-for beating each other senseless, but hitting the boys wasn't called for, as it were. The women involved in the fight were all masted, restricted to ship for 45 days and placed on 45 days extra duty ("45 and 45"), docked 45 days pay (an unusual twist), and two were demoted one rank (Mz MCMILTON and BMCM HORNER)- Which they promptly reclaimed a few years later (right on schedule). But this isn't a full and fair reflection of the matter; The simple fact is that for over 2,000 years, the Paraxians had suffered a society devoid of men. Attempting to adjust to a universe where a primal FACT of the universe had been utterly sundered and undone is shocking to say the least; Overwhelming. Whole societies have died off for FAR less than this. The simple fact is... They didn't know how to act. The social norms that Terrans took for granted the Paraxians couldn't fathom. In fairness, the T'sentraedi by and large had this catastrophe befall them, too, though most adapted within a few years; Equally in fairness, while the Paraxians struggled to adapt to this new world where males were relatively common (Terran males were outnumbered 2.5 to 1, T'sentraedi males 1.2 to 1, vs. Paraxians who had 1 male to every 100,000 females), they did so within only a few years- Despite having ZERO experience with the issue. In some ways, the Atorian Campagin would prove a great benefit to the Paraxians, as generations of abuse by the Atorian led many of their males to find Paraxian mates- Thus emptying the society of most of it's males. Paraxians treated the males they could get much differently than Atorians; They had been one of the rarest things in the universe until now, and therefore precious.Section Index; Page Index.
Life Aboard Ship.
Many people, not familiar with naval life, make certain CRITICAL assumptions about shipboard life that simply aren't true; For example, you hear "land lubbers" say that "All doors on ships are called hatches." Wrong; A hatch is a SPECIFIC device ("fitting") on a ship, a "door" through a deck. Even at this, not "all" hatches are hatches; A hatch is SQUARE (though it may have rounded corners for safety reasons); A circular hatch is a scuttle. Not all hatches can be closed, either- My old ship had a hatch to the bow thruster which was nothing more than a 2.5 square foot section of deck that had been cut out, a pair of hinges welded to the deck and sheet, and called good. (BTW, it was a good hatch; my only complaint is engineers would sometimes leave them open when they walked away, letting the noise of the bow thruster through, which was HIGHLY annoying.) "Wait, I thought 'scuttle' meant to sink a ship deliberately?" you say? Well, you're right. In the old days, scuttling a ship meant pulling scuttlebutts, pegs in the huge drinking water casks, out, allowing the water in them to spill out and swamp the ship, which would sink them. (Actually, the wooden ships of that era didn't always sink right away; Often the wood would keep them afloat for a few days.) The holes in the drinking water casks were also called scuttles- This also gave us the term "scuttlebutt," meaning idle rumors and gossip ("water cooler talk"). Also, if time allowed, the ships carpenters would cut holes in the hull, allowing MORE water in and scuttling them faster. Though I have no evidence to support this, I would suspect that the holes would usually be cut out with drills, as this would be the quickest and simplest way to do so. (A large-diameter hole or a bunch of small ones lets in just as much water a straight cut, would take less time, and you'd have to cut the drill hole ANYWAYS to let the saw trough.) A door through a bulkhead IS a door, and in fact there are three major types: Non-Tight Doors (NTD's), which are essentially EXACTLY like the ones in your home, except they have what's called a "kick out plate" at the bottom. In the event of an incident which jams the door shut (fire, flooding, or striking an object it the water which shoves the door off-center), you kick out the pannel at the bottom to escape. (A former shipmate of mine once tied the door to the head shut on me, so I kicked the pannel out. Joke was on him, in the end.) Water Tight Door, non-quick acting type. The next two varieties are Water Tight Doors, and these have two varieties; Quick Acting (QAWTD's) and Water Tight (WTD's). A QAWTD has single object to close it; Old WWII movies show a wheel, which is used on some ships, such as CGC MAN-O-WAR. Another version is a single, long lever, which is more common. Either way, the mechanism swings 6 to 8 (sometimes more rarely less) latches, called "dogs," into place (thus, "Doging the door/hatch/scuttle/etc"). The other main variety is WTD, which have 4 to 6 dogs that have to be individually closed; The one's I've seen are all arranged so that they can be closed with one dog, without having to close them all, and are usually used to allow access to areas where water-tight intergity is not always needed; An example from my first ship, a WTD was located on the fantail, where a single compartment, without any other access and well above the waterline, was used for fantail storage (mooring, towing, small boat launching, some man overboard, etc). Access to this compartment was necessary QUICKLY, and since you could literally flood the compartment and STILL not affect the rest of the ship (too small a compartment to allow enough water in there to affect the list), the need for the more difficult to open QAWTD's was virtually non-existent. WTD's and QAWTD's don't have kick out panels, because these allow fire and water to pass through, and the doors, because of the way they're designed, can't be jammed shut anyways (less placing heavy objects on them and/or tying the latches shut). In short, they don't need kick out panels, and a kick out panel there defeats the purpose of HAVING such a door. There are also two types of "walls," Bulkheads, which are fire and flooding boundaries (and therefore reach through the entire ship to the next bulkhead), and partitions, which are not INTENDED as boundaries; They mostly serve to show where one compartment ends and the next begins. The CAN, however, be used as boundaries during fires, by spraying the partition with water (preventing heat from reaching through the partition to set object on the other side ablaze, and, if there's enough openings, letting steam in, which displaces air, smothering the fire). The best example I can readily give is an office building; Large bulkheads (walls) separate individual compartments (rooms) which are then sub-divided by partitions (cubicles). Ships don't have bathrooms, latrines, or restrooms- They have heads. This term comes, purportedly, from the ancient sailing ships, were the place to take a shit was at the bow, or "head," of the ship (the ship's figurehead being located here). This placed it as far from the ships officers as possible (no comments from the peanut gallery!), and even separated it from the ships company, reducing the smell they had to endure. Indeed, Marines aboard ship had the PRIMARY job of ensuring that ships crew didn't go down into the bilge to shit; Though this would happen anyways (as the bow of a ship is where the worst of the rocking would occur), the presence of men with guns reduced this tendency. (This would also occur aboard prison hulks, unfortunately, making the places that much MORE vile while flooding would occur below decks, not to mention the wanton murders and rapes that occur when males and females are incarcerated together.) The actual object used to remove bodily wastes (shit and urine) are still called toilets, and use pressurized water in something very akin to a venturi effect; Highly pressurized water (grey water, as it is called, which has been used for cleaning) is forced through at high speeds, sucking the wastes away.Section Index; Page Index.
Invid- The Holocaust.
Were the Invid the victimizer, or the victims? Col REDDSON argues the latter. Much has been written of the Invid's multiple crimes against Humanity, yet little actual 'action' has ever been taken against them, notwithstanding the Robotech Wars; Why is it that such an 'evil empire' would go unpunished, even rewarded, for all their many crimes? One must first review the bare facts of the Invid's history; They were a herbivorious species of evolved insectoid, genetically very similar to Terra's bees. They existed in relative calm ('relative' referring to the occasional wild storms, known to destroy whole Hive Clusters) on their world, one generally devoid of the types of materials that would otherwise have caused exploitation of any value, when the Prime arrived from whatever territory they came from. The Haydonites were, of course, an evil empire by our relatively limited scope of understanding of their culture. It was the Haydonite's decision to transfer the Flower of Life from Terra to Optera that placed the Invid on a crash course with the rest of the galaxy; See Protoculture- The Power Of Pain for more details. With their absolute dependence on the Flower for their very survival, the cowardly defoliation of Optera by the Tiresian Robotech dictatorship, an utterly avoidable war crime, left the Invid with their backs to the wall; The disingenuous claims of the terrorist organization "DOLL" notwithstanding, the Terrans of the Second Robotech War had nothing resembling the desperation of the Invid after the Holocaust. As a species, the Invid WOULD have died out had the Regent not launched his war to recover the Flower of Life. Indeed, some would argue that Zor's decision to seed the Sentinel Worlds was, at least at some level, intended to give the Invid some Flower to access, and to eventually destroy the corrupt and criminal regime he had unwittingly and unwillingly created. Certainly, the seeding of Peryton supports this case; Too far away to effectively serve the Elders, nor their lackeys the Masters, it also had a slightly purified Protoculture- Enough to sustain the Invid, if barely. It was also close enough to Optera to ensure an easy invasion to the Invid. The sending of the Matrix to Terra also supports that argument; The loss of the Matrix, and the Protoculture it manufactured, certainly dealt an irrecoverable blow to the Tiresian Dictatorship. It has often been speculated what the Invid WOULD have been had they not been forced to become invaders; I offer my opinion; The Invid would have continued their limited Mecha program, for the purpose of developing export Protoculture crops. This would have enriched their planet infinitely, perhaps even making them more powerful than the Tiresian Dictatorship.Section Index; Page Index.
Columbia- The Case For The SSTOS.
When the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry, all the major factions realized that, like it or not, a Single Stage To Orbit Shuttle system was necessary for future operations. The compromise intermediate solution, the dual-stage design, was scrapped outright when Robotechnology-related research overcame the underpowered engine designs, and the SSTOS program proceeded forward, until the final design was so safe that paying passenger traffic could begin, and McAuliffe (OV-201) began regular, and on-time, flights shortly before the launch of MACROSS (SDF-01). (NOTE: Shuttle McAuliffe was named for Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire school teacher who died in the Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) disaster.)Section Index; Page Index.
Sports Equipment- The Soldier's Savior.
An Example Is This Set Of Hockey Armor. During the Global Civil War, someone discovered quite by accident that "some" (but by no means all) sports equipment provided protection from some weapons, especially when constructed in ensembles. One of the best combinations was hockey armor with football pieces attached in certain strategic areas, and the over all best stand alone system was bull rider torso protection (which could stop most rifle rounds, and reduce the capability of even the heavies unmounted weaps to survivable levels). When I was assigne to VPB-6, for example, I received the hockey/football armor; At 1138TH MP, I got the bullrider suit (for those rare times I was required to go in the field). Though far from perfect, this equipment provided us with the protection we desperately needed when supplies of "real" armor virtually evaporated during the war. However, these armors were, generally, not as fit for extended combat as properly engineered body armor; When I was at T'sentraedi Patrol, for example, I rarely wore the armor outside of the cockpit for any reason- Even the time I got shot down, I ditched the heavy armor and used a light, Level I (aka "plainclothes") body armor.Section Index; Page Index.
Drunken Sailors.
Ok, so my squad went out on libbo, we're drinking the house DRY. I mean bone fucking DRY. Me, I'd had like five, six Long Islands. So one of the bartenders gets a little fresh with Matty (Cadet Mathew O'TELLEY), he tells her he's not interested. Then she starts saying a few things she probably shouldn't have, hauls off and smacks him. He pushed her way, she thows him out (bitch was on duty, and she's about as drunk as he was). So I agree to walk him home, 'cause he's in no shape to walk in general. Ok, so me and Matty, we're heading back to barracks. Ya, we were toasted. It happens, right? Besides, we're both of age. Well, Matty was a little tipsier than he thought he was, and was carrying a beer RIGHT DOWN Second Street (if you ever look at the maps of Downtown Macross, it was the first cross street built, mostly residentials upstairs, service and retail down). Cop grabs him, saying, "Come here stupid." Most cops in Macross, they had a "Hit first before they hit you" attitude towards militry personnel. But this one was kinda cool. Just tossed Matty against a wall, not really toss-toss, but Matty's backside got introduced to the pseudo-brick façade. Cops castizing him, but Matty plays it smart, just "Yes sir, sorry sir, just tryen to get home sir." Cop took the beer and poured it out, that's fine. Tells ME to help my shipmate home. Ok, sure, fine. Finally, Matty passed out. Annie, another one of our squad, she comes up to the rescue. She called a cab, threw his ass in it. I staggered the rest of the way home, that was about a mile, thank God for small miracles. Annie, she'd end up a Lt. Commander in the REF when I lost touch with her (I was a Lt (jg) at that point, hadn't switched over to the REF yet).Section Index; Page Index.
Bigotry In The UGC.
Bigotry has existed in every society throughout history; The UGC is not special or separated from the norm in this. In a perhaps strange twist, Garudans form the largest bigotry; All Garudans are slightly bigoted towards non-Garudans. This is a reflection of the Hin; All non-Garudans can not access the Hin to the degree they have, and those few who survive the process of tapping the Hin is far inferior to their contact. However, there has NEVER been a recorded instance of a Garudan resorting to violence as an option against a non-Garudan over this bigotry. The least overall bigoted groups are Terrans and Fantomans; This, inversely, is a relfection on their LACK of extra-special contact before their contact with one another. Since the marriage of Max STERLING and Miriya PIRANO (later a Chairmen of the UGC), these two species have gotten along so well, that even the more extreme groups of these two species are hard-pressed to declare war on the other. This healthy respect leaves these two species all but married in fact as one species. This leads to the strange inversion that Terrans and Fantoms, at least those that ARE bigoted towards those of other species, are the most volatile and violent of extremists, are the most likely to use violence not as a last resort but as the FIRST one; That is, while the majority of Terrans and Fantomans are the least bigoted of species, those who are are the most violent to make up for it. All groups have bigots, and the degree of bigotry vary widely. Spherians, for example, have the Greetaire, a quasi-religious philosophy that preaches hatred against all non-Spherians (which includes violence) for "segregationist" policies against their people (the logic is that Spherians traditionally have been denied colonies due to lack of solar energies the Spherians need to survive; This was twisted into a racist policy against Spherians by the founders of Greetaire, back in the days BEFORE they even had a name). The Fehrans have the best-known bigotry element, the Atorian Malconts, one tested, and found wanting, in the realities of an on-going insurgency. The Tiresians have the technologically most ADVANCED bigots, and also one found wanting in the face of the on-going insurgency. Indeed, all malcontent groups have had their bigotry found wanting in the face of adversity, with the sole exception of certain Human and T'sentraedi bigots; Among Humans, these groups hate even fellow Terrans of a race other than their own. T'sentraedi bigots aren't quite as extreme, but make up for this with greater violence (the most extreme example was the BOMBING of Garuda by "Greater T'sentraedi Empire," a malconts group that dropped a Reflex Bomb on Garuda itself).Section Index; Page Index.
Hardware Of The T'sentraedi; A Primer.
So many Terrans have reviewed T'sentraedi militry equipment so extensively, that many unfortunately assume they "know" everything there is to know. This is far from the truth, and tragically so. In truth, the hardware of the T'sentraedi is very much worthy of more study than any Micronne has ever given it. But a small example, the T'sentraedi LIEWNEUATZS-Class (Shuttle Pod), has always been described as merely a shuttle, almost a civilian craft; It was, in fact, very much a combat platform. First developed by the Tiresians for use by the proto- T'sentraedi Fantoman miners, the Shuttle Pod was intended for the delivery mostly of miners to worksites in small numbers, specifically the delivery of the Nousjaedul-Ger powered armored teams of about 4 to 6, for the purpose of rotating work crews out. This may sound like the purpose of the FRANDLAR TILUVO-Class reentry pod, but that isn't so by any means (as will be discussed later). In the post-Ci'Van Era militrization of the T'sentraedi, the shuttle pod was considered insufficient for primary combat operations. With this in mind, the FRANDLAR TILUVO-Class took over as the primary combat insertation platform, but the LIEWNEUATZS-Class remained as a secondary combat platform; Used in a fashion not unlike the Human Bell UH-1 Huey Gunship, the shuttle pod was used to insert small unit, again 4 to 8, sometimes even 10, but more so for light duty observation and, more critically, for medical evacuation duties. This might surprise some readers, especially those who studied ZIETGEIST or SEIMBADA, but the Invid understood AND RESPECTED the rules of engagement prohibiting attacking medical transports as a general rule, though neither as an absolute nor even as a commonly enforced- If a depredation occurred, it would simply be retaliated against by the T'sentraedi tit-for-tat and that was all. The FRANDLAR TILUVO-Class reentry pod started life as a local mining platform; When a potential worksite was located, one of these would move over and remain as what a mi'cronne might call a "mining camp," complete with sleeping quarters, latrines, and even proto-smelting equipment (just sufficient enough to get crude monopole and other minerals separated from complete impurities). No female T'sentraedi would be present, but duty at a worksite would last only about 6 to 8 months, and most of that era looked forward to the opportunity to escape the stuffy confines of city ships (and, one might suspect, nagging companion females). With the post-Ci'Van militrization, the FRANDLAR TILUVO-Class was retasked as the primary combat insertation platforms for their greater Mecha capacity. The Nousjaedul-Ger (Terran mis-designation "Male Power Armor") started as a heavy-lifting platform for the purposes of mining, to carry away large amounts of refuse at the FRANDLAR TILUVO-Class mining platforms. Rarely were they actually taken OFF these platforms, though a few sites had such extensive veins that it was necessary to carry away the ore. Additionally, they were used at the massive city-ships, latter retasked as battle wagons, for the purpose of working the main foundries there (the monopole ore was converted to monopole proper on planet). The Nousjaedul-Ger was also equipped, in that era, with a basic flight pack, latter un-installed for the Nousjaedul-Ger and installed on the slightly post-Ci'Van era Quaedluun-Rau (Terran misdesignation Female Power Armor). The Regult was purely a mining platform; What use is an autocannon in mining? you may well ask, and in fact, the auto-cannon and the laser were later added, though the laser was a later mining addition. The original platform was merely equipped with the particle beam cannon, which was used in a fashion similar to drills in the more familiar mining of humans, though the drills, in this case, were used in the fashion of the 20 to 30 foot tunnel drills, such as those used in building the trans-Channel Anglo/Frank Chunnel, rather than to drill a small hole for the insertation of an explosive charge. Later, after slides and similar calamities, the laser was added to give the miners the (admittedly limited) ability to stave off the slide and cave-ins. With the post-Ci'Van militrization, the Regult was originally deployed as-was- After the first few engagements, however, it was realized this design would never do, and for a few years there was no engagements using the Regult. During the Black Years, only Nousjaedul-Gers were deployed. Once the Tiresian Robotech Masters finally re-engineered the Regult, the T'sentraedi were once again sent out as the primary militry force against the now early stage Invid threat (this was when they'd only barely started probing the Tiresians resolve in holding Peryton). After this the Regult, as you might recognize it, took form and from that the Gluuhaug Regult (Light Artillery Pod), Serauhaug Regult (Heavy Artillery Pod), and Del Regult (Recon Scout Pod), and other variants. The Gnerl aerospace Fighter/Attack Plane was used as long-range spotter, looking for deposits that might be of value. In the post-Ci'Van era, they of course became the feared Mecha- and ship-destroying platforms that the remained until even the Macross Era (roughly 2010 AD). The Recovery Pod, generally referred to as the Kalidar (emergency) Regult, did exist as a repair vehicle, used for minor to moderate repairs of the city-ships damaged by this-and-that damage. Major repairs would require evacuation of the damaged sections and embarking for a proper shipyard (a proto-Rᴏʙᴏᴛᴇᴄʜ Fᴀᴄᴛᴏʀʏ). These were as often as not planetside, regardless the opinions of the great historians. Then, of course, the betrayal at Ci'Va occurred, and with the primary purpose for the T'sentraedi (the mining of monopole) gone, our people were converted from the Fantoman miners to the T'sentraedi Forces.Section Index; Page Index.
T'sentraedi On Sports.
The T'sentraedi on Terra took to human style sports with remarkable ease- because most of them, if one form or another, we'd already played for some time. Much has already been written of some sports, but two that we picked up strictly from Terra were Soccer and BASEBALL. The playing of soccer, when you at minimum 40' tall, is a REAL trick. A standard ball would be the size of your nut, and IF you actually kicked it, it would either sail away in the next state or disintegrate instantly. Because of this, full-sized T'sentraedi's would play with an oversized beach ball (those big plastic ones you could climb into if it had an opening) filled with wool, then LIGHTLY varnished for solidity. It made the game Hell on their feet, though, and many a broken toe- Or cracked skull- Could be traced to the defect of design. Even when a properly-made ball came out three years after the Rain of Death, it was still too large for ease of SAFE play, though not as bad as the originals. Baseball, however, was another matter. Most full-sized T'sentraedi's did not play "baseball" per se, because the "baseball" would have to be the size of a small two-story HOUSE, but rather stick ball, or a version of- A rock would be thrown, a small tree trunk or wreckage pipe swung, and if it connected you ran. In all other aspects of the game, the T'sentraedi's played it perfectly normal, with one noteworthy exception- They had to have a SLIGHTLY bigger field to play, since the distance between the bases at mi'cronne scale was less than the length of most T'sentraedi's feet.Section Index; Page Index.
T'sentraedi Life In The REF; The TRUE Story.
T'sentraedi's in the REF were BLATANTLY the victims out outright discrimination; Though their Mecha has often been sited as proof of this, that's actually not true. The REF under-designed the T'sen Z1, Z2, and Z3 pods as a cover story; By calling them "mining implements" (which, in fact, the Masters-era design had started as), the Fantoma Command was able to secretly build up a force of Mecha, right under Hojoka Edwards nose. When the time came, and Edwards showed his TRUE colors, the Fantoma Command was ready with overwhelming fire power. The real reason that the Z1 and 2 were not armed with missiles has nothing to do with the race issue; It was to ensure Edwards never learned the truth about Dr. Langs' private army. However, latent, though blatant, discrimination of T'sentraedi's WAS an issue throughout the REF. Few and far between were the forces that didn't have a few T'sentraedi's squads in them; But always, the squad was "all T'sentreadi"; This was to isolate them from each other, to prevent large-scale uprisings. The idea was that if you split them up, then surrounded them by Humans (and, on occasion, other species), they couldn't organize a resistance. There was, in fact, no legitimate fear of this. Even those few firebrands with enough charisma, mettle, and strength to TRY such a thing would have failed- And, to my knowledge, there were no such characters in the REF, and only KHYRON before tried with any significant success. This isolationism was reinforced by the issuance to T'sentraedi's in the REF of inferior Mecha, usually RDF-era Destroids or the rare Guardian they 'MIGHT' be allowed to pilot. This left the T'sentraedi's in the REF with inferior equipment, facing the Invid (mostly), while the Humans in the REF had access to the best hardware. Often it is claimed that T'sentraedi's were unable to learn the new Mecha; This is patently untrue. Those few who tried were systemically undermined by their instructors by receiving insufficient simulator time, poor instruction on systems and system management, and, most glaringly, text in English, which it was realized they could not read. However, out of this deliberate sabotaging of T'sentreadi members, a slight glimmer appeared; Though many washed out (and many more were forced out through selective interpretation of Policy), those who did complete the training, and received either their Destroider's Badge or Guardian Pilots Wings were the best of the best; Humanity, it seems, had not learned from their previous mistake: Raise the bar for one group selectively, and all you will accomplish is to make those who DO succeed that much better. (Reference the United States' "Tuskegee Airmen.") It is mentioned that Policy was selectively interpreted by training programs; Specifically, that Policy was interpreted to sabotage T'sentaedi members. This was accomplished in simplistic ways: Policy stated that a candidate, if they failed either 05 tests for Destroider or 02 tests for Guardian Pilots Programs would be transferred back to their home units. Typically, this policy was interpreted (for Humans, at least) as 02 or 05 CONSECUTIVE tests- Furthermore, each was allowed ONE makeup, and if the candidate passed that, then the failure was not counted. When dealing with T'sentraedi's, however, the rule was kept strict and hard; If you failed the prescribed number of tests, you failed. It did not matter if they were consecutive or not, nor did it matter if they were successfully passed on the makeup test (usually a week later). Policy also held the Liberty/Rights could be stripped from a candidate who failed a test. Against Humans, this matter of Policy was rarely applied (only against those who had both failed a test AND failed a qualification or had other disciplinary issues was it applied). When dealing with a T'sen, however, it was routinely applied. It was then, and is still now, my belief this was meant to add extra stress the T'sentraedi's members in these training battalions. However, this had the wholly unwanted side effect of encouraging study; As those on Academic/Non-Disciplinary Restriction were restricted to Barracks (less watch and academic activities, including sports/PT), but not restricted to quarters/berthing (as disciplinary restrictions were), this gave them extra time to meet in study groups and STUDY LIKE HELL. It's also an little acknowledged fact that Humans on Academic/Non-Disciplinary Restriction were allowed liberty/rights after 1600 (less duty days) and on Holiday Routine; T'sen candidates were denied this. This, in turn, fostered even MORE study, and therefore greater likely hood of success. In a further "interpretation" of Policy, T'sentreadi members who washed out of a program were denied re-entry into the program for a years, as was STRICTLY written; They were not even allowed to APPLY until one calendar years had expired. Any who violated this Policy had their application summarily rejected (and without it being returned marked same, to delay the process even further). Humans, on the other hand, would re-apply almost before they'd packed their bags (and some, in fact, did). Their applications would, typically, be approved, and their class slot assigned. Often, their new class started BEFORE the year had expired, putting them in the program WHEN their year expired, not after. This had the effect of increasing their likely hood of acceptance to a program 100% more likely than a T'sentraedi's. It didn't end there; Once the Sentinel Alliance members had proven themselves in Battle with the REF, they were anti-restricted; Not only were they "allowed" to apply to ANY schools the REF offered, but they were ENCOURAGED to do so; T'sentraedi were restricted against application to Veritech Pilots Training School (less Cycloner School) and Bio-Maintenance Engineer School (less REF Command approval). Ironically enough, most Sentinel Races preferred NOT to attend these schools (less the occasional applicants to an OCS Program), despite MANY incentives to do so (including pay and signing bonuses). Despite this, most T'sen in the REF remained HIGHLY loyal and dedicated (for a variety of reasons). We willingly laid down our lives, and fought as the last stand. During many an evacuation, it was T'sen who were last to abandon their posts, and when they had done so, many would ensure that the Invid (or colabs) rued that day for whatever was left of their lives. Never was a T'sentraedi covered evacuation/retreat complete, so it seemed, if the last squad thereof successfully evacuated themselves; Rarely more than half would escape, and usually none thereof. In truth, though many a retreat turned into an advance, due to the covering force's actions, retaking initiative and fighting through the enemy force; Where once, so recently, defeat seemed inevitable, victory now became unavoidable. Adding insult to injury, often a Human-dominated command would seal the victory by "relieving" the T'sen force once said victory loomed, always on the cover that the T'sen force had sustained an "unacceptably high degrees of losses." Yet those "unacceptable" losses turned to "acceptable" losses when whole PLATOONS (and larger commands) were sacrificed to save Human lives. Human Policy towards the T'sentraedi was fundamentally unjust, and un-right. And history, one day, will forget this- As HUMANS will write the history.Section Index; Page Index.
T'sentraedi Medicine.
It is often mistakenly assumed that the T'sentraedi had "no" medical abilities. This is simply not true, though when compared to Terran medical standands only debatably so. Negronta Zugara T'sen, or as Humans call them hospital ships, were critical elements T'sentraedi Medicine; Not Such A Contraction In Terms. of any T'sentraedi fleet. They had what was, for T'sentraedi, a proper hospital; Of course, to a Human's eye, these were little more than advanced battle aid stations, where bandages could be changed, wounds properly cleansed, and illnesses treated (we DID have extensive disease-treatment capabilities; Even a small virus, if given the chance to take root in the fleet, could utterly decimate the entire service, leaving the Tiresians with nothing). We would NEVER simply kill off a fellow T'sen, but allow them to die, if they did, and their bodies would serve to keep their fellows fighting. I myself was as a patient on these ships at times. During the Hssshah Valley Ambush, Garudan rebels had been stripping Regults of autocannons and ammo and where they'd been amassing them along the western wall. When the full division was solidly trapped, they opened fire. My own battle pod was hit SEVERAL times and I spent several days unconscious. My commanders thought I would not recover at first, and were about to allow me to die, my body serving to keep my fellows fighting. However, I did recover in time. Shortly afterward, my unit was sent to Carbonara to quell an insurrection there. During the Assault on Brackohr, my Regult had been hit by at least 3 missiles and multiple near-hits and a chunk of armor must have fallen on my head, as I suffered a cranial fracture- My skull was broken, and I was transferred again to a Negronta Zugara T'sen to recover. A concussion left me incapacitated for several months. Again I was expected to die, but T'sentraedi medicine resuscitated me. In the year 1945 (Terran Calander), my ship was ambushed by Inspection Forces. My ship was not outright destroyed, but the force was badly mauled. My ship had to be abandoned. I was again wounded, and transferred to a Negronta Zugara T'sen (where a strange thing happened, but that's another story). Our abilities were limited, but those assigned to Negronta Zugara attended to their tasks well. Our abilities, even with the limitations, generally resulted in a 50% recovery rate. Thought FAR outclassed by Human medicines, when one keeps in mind that the Tiresians did not ALLOW us to know much about even our OWN biology and medicine, this rate is PHENOMENAL, and should NEVER be snubbed at. Trati Keppa Breetia and Trati Keppa Dolza BOTH saw time inside a Negronta Zugara T'sen ship. Trati Keppa Exedore, due to his misshapen body, routinely went to such ships.Section Index; Page Index.
Quenno And The T'sentraedi Diet.
Most people think the T'sentraedi ate our own dead; This is only PARTIALLY true. Quenno, lit retrieval, was process of breaking down negronta (worthless) inventory; Inventory that included sewage, broken equipment... And T'sentraedi. These were rent down, that is broken down to the most complete possible level, for recycling. But this would also include anything recovered; Our dead enemies would also be processed, as was their equipment, becoming our food and new weapons. In fact, most classes of T'sentraedi ships had on board assault rifle, body armor, and munitions "factories" that we would be able to see, but never understand- They were automated, and as such we were not allowed to understand this. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the larger the ship, the smaller these facilities; On the NUPETIET VERGNITZS-Class Flagship, there were NO such facilities, and the FULBTZS BERRENTZS-Class not only had no such equipment, but only the most BASIC quenno equipment; Specifically, to break down dead warriors and sewage. Much of their supplies had to be imported from the fleet, though this was a much smaller concern, since the massive space stations were rarely supposed to leave a Robotech Factory; Trati Kemma DOLZA'S deployment was the first in over 200 years of such an event. In the quenno vats could be found anything; Bits of T'sentraedi, Garudan, Karbonarran, whatever was there, mixed with biohazardous mush and raw sewage. This was boiled and processed into a puck, about 12 feet across and 4 feet thick (by Terran measurements), with a kind of gelatinous appearance but a solid bite. Terrans would have called it "chewy" if they'd ever tried it (I'm not aware any ever did, though I can not say it didn't happen). It was somewhat transparent but with a sickly green color; One such pack per day met any warrior's dietary needs for a full day and a half, and our warriors were issued two per day if inventory allowed. They would be issued 10 if they were being sent to a planet to fight. To a human and many others, this may seem disgusting. To a T'sentraedi, it is life itself.Section Index; Page Index.