Robotech Art Three by Carl Macek "The Liberation of Haydon IV and Edwards' Invid Pact"
Back on the moon of Fantoma:
Notes on Haydon IV from Art Three and the RPG
The fourth world in the Sentinels' campaign.
An open world. An artificial world. Never conquered. Defended by a planetary defense system where even the intention of harm will be met with deadly force.
The Regent has arrived on a planet that the Invid didn't take by overwhelming force, but through politics and diplomacy (and the threats of trade blockades).
Haydon IV.
The former seat of his wife, the Invid Regis.
Following in his trail, the SDF-7 "Ark Angel" also arrives, but with a far different mission of it's own. Four of the Sentinels' human members have fallen into comas from exposure to Garuda's atmosphere (Admiral Rick Hunter; Admiral Lisa Hayes-Hunter; Lt. Karen Penn, and Commander Miriya Sterling), and only the medical technology on Haydon IV can revive them.
Because of the Invid presence, the Sentinels only have one option to get them the treatment they need. They must go down under the white flag of surrender.
Rick, Lisa, Karen, and Miriya are escorted to the planet below by Col. Wolff, Dr. Jean Grant, Commander Vince Grant, Commander Max Sterling, and Cabell, while a second team is chosen to go down in secret to rescue the first group after they recover. The second team is commanded by Lt. Jack Baker and consists of Burak, Kami, Learna, Bela, Gnea, Lron, Crysta, and Janice. They also bring along Tesla and the two Invid scientists they captured on Garuda, just so Janice can see what happens when Tesla and the Regent come snout to snout.
Unbeknownst to the Sentinels, the Zentraedi have stolen the monopole ore needed to repair the SDF-3's fold system and are on a search to find, and join with, the Sentinels. Actions like this, according to Major General T.R. Edwards, are acts of treason, and thus should be met with deadly force. He requests the permission to hunt down and destroy the Zentraedi from the Plenipotentiary Council, and a mission is launched to retrieve the monopole ore.
Minmei, who has been watching the meeting through the R.E.F.'s television system and been getting drunk on Edwards' private stash of "Weed Whacker", a 150 proof vacuum distillate soaked in fibers from a plant related to the Flower of Life, runs from his arms, and straight into an elevator containing her personal guardian angel, R.E.F. Pilot #666-60-937. He offers to take her off the SDF-3, and anywhere else she wants to go.
Back on the Ark Angel, a still pissed off from killing the "SimulaRegenttm" Tesla is gorging on fruit from the Invid Flower of Life grown on Garuda and ranting. In the midst of all of this, he releases an incredible amount of energy and transforms. His snout shrinks, his head becomes more defined, his skin gains a more human-like texture and becomes green, waxy, and smooth. He ate to much.
The Ark Angel makes contact with the Regent, and his mood improves upon hearing of the Sentinels' surrender. He now has a plan. Medical treatment in exchange for the location of Protoculture Matrix and Earth.
Both teams launch, and as Jack's fighter group launches, Haydon's planetary defense system activates.
The second shuttle from the Ark Angel lands on Haydon IV, and is greeted by Haydonites led by Vowad, the leader of the Haydonites and Sarna's father. He disapproves of Veidt's rebellious ways. The Haydonites board an anti-gravity device resembling a flying carpet, and take the Sentinels to the Halls of Healing.
Minmei, and her guardian angel, Lt. L. Isle R.E.F. #666-60-937, make their way to the flight deck, and encounter some resistance from some members of the flight crew. Within heartbeats three members of the flight crew have been knocked unconcious, and an Alpha launches for the surface of Tirol, and given chase by members of the Ghost squadron.
As they land on Tirol, Edwards reports that Minmei was kidnapped.
Haydon IV's defense system is forming rigid energy barriers over Jack's Team's fighters, and they only manage to escape by "hatching" from the energy eggs by transforming into Battloid mode, and making and emergency splashdown, and emerge in Haydon IV's underground catacombs.
They begin their journey to Glike in their Battloids, and are promptly fighting energy snakes fired by Haydon IV's defense systems. They can't get a break.
Back on Tirol, Edwards' men pursues Minmei and Lt. Isle, and are quickly surrounded by their pursuers. As Minmei surrenders to Edwards in exchange for Lt. Isle's freedom, he disappears. She realizes who he really was.
"Edwards had been about to inflict new fear upon Minmei, some threat to scare her back into line. But Minmei's sudden, maniacal laugh put fear into him instead. 'You know what you've finally done?' she screamed, frothing. 'You've awakened the dead! And now your life is finished!'
"Minmei, gamine though she was, almost pounced on him with fingers extended like claws; it took several groundpounders to hold her back.
"'Straitjacket,' Edwards said harshly, watching the struggle on the wet pavement.
"Rain ran from his alloy cowl and glistening eye-lens, and from the pale fury of his face. 'Put her in a straitjacket and get her over to my headquarters.'"
On their way to join with the Sentinels on Haydon IV, the Valivarre encounters trouble. Two SDF escort class vessels. The Tokugawa, commanded by one of Edwards lick-spittles, Commodore Renquist, and the Jutland. Renquist orders Breetai to surrender, and the warrior giant refuses. Breetai doesn't run from a fight. The Ghost squadron, bullied by the fact that they know the Zentraedi Mecha's weaknesses and their enemy's tactics, are surprised when they don't make short work of the Battlepods. The Zentraedi have retrofitted the Battlepods to eliminate the weakpoints and they are all veterans of the Robotech War. The Zentraedi have the advantage in initial combat, but are quickly losing the battle due to the R.E.F.'s numerical advantage.
Jack's battle with Haydon IV's defenses aren't going that well either. They are forced to ditch their mecha and protoculture based weaponry to escape.
While the energy snakes destroy their Alphas, the group is surprised as Dr. Lang's programming asserts itself, and Janice reverts to her "sexy android" form. She seeks to make contact with Haydon IV's Awareness.
After weeks of being in a Hin induced coma, Karen Penn is the last one of the patients to recover, even though Miriya is still in the woods due to her pregnancy.
Within moments, the patients are summoned by the Regent to answer to the charges of war crimes against them.
The Zentraedi battle against the R.E.F. isn't going well until the Zentraedi pull another trick out of their hat.
"What Renquist didn't know - what the Zentraedi had chosen to keep to themselves - was that a return to Fantoma and their former way of live had resulted in a resurgence of their memories, the ones the Robotech Masters were supposed to have submerged forever. The grueling mining operations forced a reflowering of the Zentraedi innovative genius."
Even though all of the Quedlunn-Rau had supposedly been converted into mining equipment, Breetai orders Kazianna Hesh and her Quadronos into battle.
They make short work of the Ghost Squadron, and Breetai politely requests that Renquist let the Valivarre go in peace. Renquist refuses and states that he'll see Breetai in hell first.
Breetai's response: He signals Kazianna and she lets loose on the Tokugawa's bridge, killing Requist and his command staff.
The commander of the Jutland, Captain De Cruz, takes command of the mission. She doesn't believe Edwards accusations against the Hunters, and offers to join with Breetai so she can escort the R.E.F. contingent of the Sentinels back to Tirol so that they might defend themselves.
The Valivarre assists in repairs to the Tokugawa, and all three ships begin their journey to Haydon IV.
An alliance is also struck between Haydon IV's Awareness and Janice, and despite Tesla and Buraks misgivings, Jack and the team head towards Glike.
Also, Edwards has, after listening to Minmei's insults about his manhood, begins to realize who his new enemy truly is.
Sarna has discovered something on Haydon IV. Even though their planet has been destroyed, the Praxians have survived. In slave encampments on Haydon IV.
She notifies Vince, Max, and Wolff just before Vowad and the Inorganics arrive to take the humans into custody. She convinces them to play along, and they are taken.
Vowad's reason for helping the Invid, he doesn't want Haydon IV destroyed in the battle between the Invid and the planet's defenses, and he is the only Haydonite who can activate them without hostilities.
Back on Tirol, thanks to Dr. Lang's hoarding of monopole ore, another SDF-7 class vessel is launched under the command of Major Carpenter, despite Edwards protests. Secretly he wants the Earth softened up by the Masters' before he returns with a fleet of ships to conquer.
Invid Enforcers arrive at the Haydonite Halls of Healing to take the Hunters, Karen, and the rest into custody, but Cabell gives the humans a signal in a language the Invid won't understand, but the humans will. "We must ayk-may a eak-bray. Eidt-Vay will be aiting-way".
"We've got fifty-skillion bucks worth of taxpayers' money in Robotech paraphernalia, it occurred to Rick, and now the whole shebang's riding on one old alien coot talking in pig latin! Somehow it seemed appropriate."
And thanks to Jean's tweaking the medical scanners, and her patients faking a relapse, they make an escape (Jean gets an Invid to examine the scanners with her and she yanks a power cable loose and thrusts it into one Enforcer while Vince shoots the other one with a secreted pistol).
While heading out the door, they grab the Invid's weapons and encounter Veidt, who disguises them in Haydonite robes and they make their way to the Central Slave Pen where Veidt's Haydonite sabatours have been at work.
Each slave wears a headband which the Invid use to give them electric shocks when they misbehave or rebel, but now they aren't working like they are supposed to.
They aren't working at all, and the Praxians begin to rebel.
The Sentinels save them from the Invid's sonic-lashes and weapons fire.
The battle for Haydon IV begins.
While Rick and his group begin to make their way into the Central Slave Pen from the surface, Jack and his crew enter the command center through a hidden elevator in the Slave Pen, and they begin to fight also.
Some of the freed Praxians make their way to the Invid Armory in the Slave Pen while the rest go with the Sentinels to free the Praxian Queen, and Bela's mother, Arla-Non, and Sarna takes command of a gigantic flying carpet out from under Vowad to use to aid the Sentinels and Praxians.
Rick's and Jack's team reunite as the Inorganics enter the Slave Pen to put down the rebellion.
As Sarna begins to land on the roof of the Central Slave Pen, Vowad tries to stop her as a group of Praxians, including Veidt, make their way up to the roof followed by a Crann Inorganic. Weapon's fire from the Crann Inorganic hits Sarna and she is critically wounded. As she dies both Veidt and Vowad mourn her loss in different ways. For the first time, thanks to his exposure to other races, a Haydonite weeps, and Vowad activates Haydon IV's planetary defense system against the Invid.
Haydon IV sends waves upon waves of tiny energy Zors against the Invid while Vowad heads down the lift to help bring more Praxians to the roof.
Haydon IV has never been conquered, due to the defense system, but the Invid have an advantage that others have not. They are already on the surface of Haydon IV, and the Regent sends his forces against Haydon IV's power systems.
There is still one Sentinel who is a prisoner of the Invid Regent, the Zor-clone, Rem. Jack, Karen, and Veidt head toward the Regent's land cruiser, as other outworlders begin to battle against the Regent's forces, and three ships enter into orbit around Haydon IV.
The Regent receives a simple message from the commander of one of the three ships. "We're coming for you." The message is from Breetai.
To distract the Regent from Jack, Karen, and Veidt's rescue mission, Haydon IV sends a gigantic energy Zor against the Invid Land Carrier. The Regent orders his pet Hellcats to feed on Rem, but Jack, Karen, and Veidt are already there, and they rescue the clone.
As they are leaving on their flying carpet, two objects land on the deck of the Regent's Land Cruiser. The collars from his pets.
The Regent makes his escape from Haydon IV via his flagship, and makes his way back to Optera, devolving to a more base nature along the way while Tesla gorges himself on Haydon IV's fruits and evolves even more.
The Invid have been beaten, and Haydon IV has been freed, but another Sentinel has been lost and Miriya falls into a deep coma. Veidt and Vowad take Sarna's body to Haydon IV's shrine to Haydon. They finally make amends with each other, and a friendship is born.
Edwards and the Regent strike a deal as the Valivarre, the Jutland, and Tokugawa make planet fall on Haydon IV.
Breetai wants the Sentinels to return to Tirol to defend themselves from Edwards charges and take control of the R.E.F. again. The Sentinels want to continue on their mission. Rick suggests a comprimise. A coin flip.
Heads: Breetai will head to Spheris and continue the fight while the Sentinels go to Tirol.
Tails: Breetai will return to Tirol and the Sentinels will continue their mission.
The coin lands in Breetai's hand as Tails.
The bulk of the Praxians, Jean, Max and Miriya, and Cabell will stay on Haydon IV while Vince and Col. Wolff will return with Breetai to Haydon IV.
The rest of the Sentinels bolstered by Praxian volunteers head off to Spheris in the Ark Angel.
All throughout the Tirol and R.E.F. controlled space a meeting of the Plenipotentiary Council where Maj. General T.R. Edwards is asking for complete control of the R.E.F. and for martial law to be declared. This will be Edwards victory.
The meeting is interrupted by the return of the Tokugawa, Jutland, and Valivarre. Wolff opens a connection with the council, and his plea for a fair hearing is shown to all. By a public vote Wolff and the Sentinels are allowed due process, despite Edwards and his allies on the council's objections.
On the Ark Angel Teal finishes shaping Baldan's infant, and both Teal and Bela breath life into Baldan II.
Differences from Art Three
Differences from Art Three and the Novels