The Rough-riders Group

Authors note: This story is for the entertainment of the readers. I do not own the rights to Robotech (Macross)

Prologue

April 13th, 2068

RDF Archives

Moon Base Luna

On the dark side of the moon on Moon Base Luna in a desert electronic storage center, a elderly gentlemen in a dress uniform walked up to the computer terminal and logged into the mainframe. He spent a couple minutes searching before he found what he was looking for. He clicked on the file and pulled up a chair and sat down into it. A computerized voice came up. "The following entries into the official logs were recovered from the computer cores during the excavation of the SDF-1, city of Macross, and the Macross base following the destruction brought about from Khryon and his assault. Some data is incomplete due the final transferring from the dimensional fortress was not completed when the destruction occurred. If you would like to continue please indicated now?"

The man indicated he would like to continued, so he touched the screen to the appropriate command to do so. The voice came back up. "The following entry is from Captain Gloval dated June 30th, 2010. Location is South Pacific: ""What I suspected has finally come to pass. The government has ordered us off the planet in the hopes that doing so will protect them but I fear it will not. If Lisa's report proves to be correct, having us evacuate the planet will not make a difference. We will mainly be sacrificed as they try to protect the planet. Yet in order to protect the ship, crew and citizen population from attacks by our own forces if we fail to follow the orders, we will equiseta to the Governments order although under protest."

The man chuckled at this as he hit paused. He remembered hearing the reports about the SDF-1 being banished following the battle of the Ontario Quadrant. A friend of his told him about the destruction and the refusal of the Ontario government and the military to follow through on the promise to remove the civilian population from the battlefortress following the battle. Yet at the time he felt it was more the enemy's fault than theirs. Yet he went to the bar to commemorate the dead since one of those killed was cousin who had been assigned to the city as a civil defense Destroid pilot. He shook his head at the memory because he knew what followed, but he decided to continue listening to the logs. He hit play again.

"At least the government and high command have been accommodating on the supplies, parts and personnel. We needed the replacement pilots. The year in space and the combat we sustain has forced us to scale back on the squadrons and combining our three separate air groups into a single air group under the command of Lt. Hunter, whom I know will do well in leading them. However one squadron the reconstituted black squadron did not impress me when I saw them on the hangar deck. They seem to be the most undisciplined and arrogant group of pilots I have seen…"

The recording paused as the elderly gentlemen smiled and laughed slightly at the comment. "Yea we were a arrogant and undisciplined bunch when we first came aboard, but that changed fast. Admiral Hunter was not impressed with us all, and he wasn't exactly the most military either."

He searched closed out Admiral Gloval's log entry and searched for another one. After finding it he again hit play. "The following log entry is from then Lt. Hunter dated June 30th, 2010. Location South Pacific: "Roy said being in command is not an easy assignment and he was right. I just finish a letter to Ben's parents and it was the hardest thing to do. I never wanted this, but Roy said it comes with the burden of being in command. Now I have a lot more burden to deal with. Since Ontario Quadrant, I have been given the command of the combine air groups of the ship. To many of the senior officers have already been killed or permanently disabled, but according to Lisa, Max and Captain Gloval I am the best man for the job. Now I have more burden than I have ever wanted. That includes meeting the new personnel and squadrons that have been assigned to the ship. Most are new pilots needing experience, while others are just here because they volunteered to do so. Yet one squadron is not what I was expecting. The newly reconstitute Black Squadron has so many people in with discipline problems, they might as well be the convict squadron or the black sheep of the group. I will have to talk to Lisa about how to handle their commanding officer….."

The log entry made the gentlemen laugh again as he pulled a picture out of his jacket and set it next to the monitor. It was a group of people in uniform in front of the veritech's they were assigned. He sighed as he looked at it. "Yeah Admiral Hayes wasn't too impressed with us back then either."

He closed out the log entry again and pulled up another one. "The following log entry is from then Commander Lisa Hayes dated June 30th, 2010. Location South Pacific: I grew up never hating the military and the government but today I do, especially my father. They are banishing us from our home to protect it because of the Ontario Quadrant battle even though it wasn't our fault. Father has tried contacting me several occasions asking me about what ship I want to be assigned to but I keep ignoring his communiqués. I'm not leaving my ship and my crew mates especially now because he is worried. I knew this was a possibility but it wouldn't be fair to them if I saved myself. Until I'm told differently by Captain Gloval, I am staying put right now."

The man paused the recording again. He looked at the picture and nodded his understanding at what he heard. "I get you admiral I do. Some of things the government and the military did really didn't make sense at times either."

He sighed and pressed play again to continue the recording. "The one good thing headquarters did was they decided to resupply us with provisions, parts and personnel. Some are replacement pilots for squadrons we still have active, while a few are for squadrons that are being reconstituted. I looked over their files on the hangar deck as they came aboard as Rick talked to them. Most seem like good pilots and groups, but one squadron doesn't impress me. This newly reconstituted black squadron. They are made up of some the most undisciplined and unmilitary types I have seen. Some even whistled at me as I walked by. I just ignored them but I note this now. This squadron will not last long against the enemy."

The man stopped the recording and closed out the screen for the moment as he reached across and picked up the picture putting it back in his dress uniform. "I guess we proved them wrong when it came down to it, but we had to fight for every scrap of respect we got from those three. Yet it was a hard earned respect."

The gentlemen sat there remembering back when he was younger when his life changed forever that one fateful June morning when he was sent to the SDF-1 and war.