02_battle_cry-第23部分

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unt　importance。　Indeed；　by　the　time　of　the　First　Robotech　War　those　positions　could　only　be　filled　by　women。　True；　there　were　no　women　on　the　United　Earth　Council；　but　the　entire　bridge　crew　of　the　super　dimensional　fortress；　the　SDF…1；　was　female。　One　recalls　the　postfeminist　claims　that　women　were　now　not　only　victimized　by　male　aggressive　instincts　but　instrumental　in　carrying　them　out；　that　women　（especially　in　the　case　of　the　SDF…1）　had　exchanged　the　traditional　pots　and　pans　for　the　keyboards　and　consoles　of　the　bridge。　But　those　claims　not　only　simplify　the　issue　but　malign　those　women　who　contributed　their　unique　skills　to　the　war　effort。　What　is　most　disconcerting　is　the　fact　that　although　women　had　finally　achieved　their　long…sought…after　goal　of　equality；　the　Global　War　had　introduced　a　new　set　of　polarizing　issues　which　now　had　to　be　taken　into　account…there　was　mutual　respect　between　the　sexes　but　a　continued　sense　of　the　same　old　bugaboo　about　knowing　and　adhering　to　〃one's　place　in　the　world。〃　In　terms　of　male　female　relationships；　the　attitudes　of　twenty…first…century　society　suggested　those　prevalent　in　the　middle　of　the　previous　century。
Betty　Greer；　Post…Feminism　and　the　Global　War

The　Cat's…Eye　recon　unit；　escorted　by　Rick　Hunter's　Vermilion　Team；　was　launched　from　the　flight　deck　of　the　Prometheus。　Fragments　of　the　exploded　planetoid　littered　local　space。

Where　only　hours　before　they　had　been　ordered　to　buy　time　for　the　United　Earth　Defense　Council；　Captain　Gloval　was　now　buying　time　for　the　SDF…1。　The　enemy's　offensive　strength　had　to　be　ascertained…the　Zentraedi's　strength…and　with　the　ship's　radar　down　this　could　be　achieved　only　by　deploying　the　recon　vessel。

Lisa　Hayes　had　the　stick…the　unit's　former　pilot　had　been　a　casualty　in　the　latest　Zentraedi　offensive。　Her　copilot　was　an　inexperienced　second　lieutenant　on　loan　from　the　Gladiator　Defense　Force。　Most　of　the　air　wing　strike　teams　had　been　deployed　to　guard　the　badly　damaged　SDF…1；　looking　crippled　and　deathly　still　now　on　the　Cat's…Eye's　rear　mo　screen。

Lieutenant　Hunter　was　on　the　forward　screen。

〃Ironic；　isn't　it；　mander；〃　he　was　saying；　〃that　I　should　end　up　your　wingman？〃

Lisa　knew　what　he　was　referring　to；　less　than　twenty…four　hours　ago　they　had　gotten　into　yet　another　tiff。

One　of　Vermilion　squadron's　VTs　had　taken　a　hit；　and　Hunter　had　informed　the　bridge　that　he　was　taking　his　group　home。　The　pilot　of　the　stricken　VT　maintained　that　the　damage　was　only　slight；　and　scanners　showed　continued　fighting　in　Hunter's　quadrant；　with　only　the　Skull　Team　left　to　take　up　the　slack；　so　Lisa　had　denied　him　permission　to　e　in。

〃I'll　be　the　judge　of　that；〃　Hunter　had　said。　〃I'm　group　leader；　and　I'm　responsible　for　the　safety　of　my　men！〃　Then　he　went　on　to　lecture　her　about　the　dynamics　of　space　dogfighting；　how　seemingly　insignificant　damage　could　quickly　prove　fatal；　how　she　was　safe　and　sound　on　the　bridge　while　the　big　brave　men　of　the　VT　strike　force　were　constantly　in　jeopardy。。。On　and　on。

She　dismissed　it　as　battle　fatigue。　But　instead　of　letting　it　go；　she　had　vented　her　own　anger　and　frustration。　After　all；　she　was　his　superior。

Then　Roy　Fokker；　guitar…strumming　darling　of　the　Defense　Force；　had　stepped　in　on　Hunter's　side。　They　went　right　into　their　big　brother…little　brother　act；　and　the　next　thing　Lisa　knew；　Fokker　was　ordering　the　Vermilion　Team　home。　He　did；　however；　scold　Hunter　for　talking　too　much。

If　the　incident　had　ended　there；　she　would　have　forgotten　it　by　now。　But　among　the　space　debris　that　had　floated　past　the　bridge　bays　following　the　Zentraedi　attack　there　was　a　disabled　Battloid　she　had　been　certain　was　Hunter's　red…trimmed　own。　She　had　even　imagined　（or；　more　likely；　hallucinated）　that　she　saw　Rick's　lifeless　form　drift　from　the　shattered　cockpit　module。。。

Even　now　the　image　was　too　painful　to　recall。

Hunter　had　rescued　her　on　Mars。　But　so　what？　He'd　been　ordered　to　do　it。　Any　of　the　VT　pilots　would　have　done　so；　it　certainly　didn't　mean　that　she　had　to　feel　anything　special　for　the　guy。　Of　course；　it　might　have　been　different　if　she　felt　something　ing　from　him；　but…

〃I　show　four　bogies　at　four　o'clock　relative；〃　her　copilot　informed　her。

〃I　see　them；〃　Lisa　heard　Rick　say。

〃There　going　to　try　a　surprise　attack；〃　said　Ben　Dixon。　〃Let　me　at　'em。〃

〃Negative；　Ben；〃　Hunter　countered。　〃Do　not　give　pursuit。　We're　going　to　stick　to　the　Eye。〃

Here　he　goes；　thought　Lisa。　He　was　doing　it　again；　making　her　feel　like　she　couldn't　take　care　of　herself。　He　infuriated　her　with　his　unsolicited　protection。　She　went　on　the　tac　net。

〃I　can　protect　myself；　Lieutenant　Hunter。　Give　pursuit。　That's　a　direct　order；　do　you　copy？〃

Hunter　was　silent　for　a　moment；　then　said；　〃All　right；　boys；　you　heard　the　little　woman。　Let's　go　get　'em。〃

The　three　VTs　of　Vermilion　Team　broke　formation　and　went　after　the　Battlepods。　The　Cat's…Eye　was　relaying　positional　data　to　them；　but　the　enemy　bandits　were　still　too　far　off　for　visual　contact。　Rick　called　up　full　magnification　on　his　port　and　starboard　screens；　and　suddenly　there　they　were：　guns　bristling；　extended　claw　thrusters　radiant　in　the　perpetual　night。

〃I　see　them；〃　said　Max　Sterling。　〃Going　in。。。〃

Max　and　Ben；　both　of　them　anxious　to　post　a　few　more　pod　decals　on　their　fighters；　hit　their　afterburners　and　passed　Rick。　by。　Rick　found　himself　holding　back；　thinking　about　Lisa's　safety。　Damn　her；　he　thought。　Let　her　go　ahead　and　get　herself　atomized。　What　did　he　care？　He　shook　his　head　as　if　to　clear　it　and　threw　his　VT　into　the　fight。

A　Battlepod　had　swooped　in　and　fixed　him　in　its　lasers。　Rick　in　turn　engaged　his　starboard　thrusters；　then　cut　his　forward　speed　and　fell　away　from　the　laser　lock。　At　the　same　time；　he　loosed　aft　heat…seekers；　which　caught　the　pod　where　the　legs　met　the　spherical　body。　The　pods　were　highly　vulnerable　there；　and　this　one　went　into　an　uncontrolled　accelerated　spin　as　the　legs　blew　away。　Rick　saw　two　quick　flashes　ahead　of　him；　and　soon　his　fighter　was　sailing　through　more　pod　debris。

It　was　easy　if　you　let　yourself　think　of　the　pods　themselves　as　the　enemy。　Remind　yourself　that　there　was　a　fifty…foot　humanoid　giant　in　each　of　them　though；　and　your　brain　began　to　short…circuit。　In　Battloid　mode；　Rick　had　been　face　to　face　with　Zentraedi　warriors　on　two　occasions。　And　each　time　he　had　been　paralyzed　with　fear。　The　Robotech　Defenders　who　had　trained　on　Earth　before　the　invasion　had　been　shown　the　skeletons　and　had　been　conditioned　to　accept　the　reality；　but　Rick　had　to　learn　it　the　hard　way。　Rick；　however；　was　one　of　the　few　men　who　had　actually　met　a　live　Zentraedi　and　lived　to　tell　about　it。

Battloids　were　the　perfect　mating　of　mind　and　mecha　and　were　ideally　suited　to　a　war　with　giants。　But　what　would　it　be　like　to　confront　a　Zentraedi　without　the　mecha？　What　could　you　do　against　something　ten　times　your　size？　There　was　a　seventy…year…old　film　on　videotape　in　the　ship's　library　about　a　giant　ape　who　had　been　found　on　a　remote　Pacific　island。　The　ape　had　terrorized　New　York　City　the　way　later　mutants　and　giants　would　wreak　havoc　on　Tokyo。　But　there　was　something　about　that　old　film。。。it　had　somehow　managed　to　municate　the　mixture　of　awe　and　terror　Rick　felt　when　he　faced　the　giants。　There　had　been　a　woman　in　that　film；　he　recalled。。。

The　Battlepods　destroyed；　he　switched　on　the　tac　net　and　tried　to　raise　the　Cat's…Eye。　But　there　was　no　response。

The　recon　ship　was　in　trouble。

In　pursuit　of　their　surveillance　mission；　Lisa　and　her　copilot　had　entered　into　an　area　filled　with　massive　chunks　of　what　had　once　been　the　planetoid　Pamir。　They　had　their　hands　full　dodging　these　while　at　the　same　time　reporting　on　enemy　locations。

〃We　have　multiple　radar　contacts；　picking　up　four；　five；　six；　eight；　and　twelve　heavy；〃　the　copilot　said。

Lisa　watched　the　radar　hand　sweep　across　the　color…enhanced　screen。　There　was　something　enormous　ahead　of　them。　It　would　have　to　measure　more　than　fifteen　kilometers　in　length。　Possibly　a　piece　of　Pamir；　but　the　shape　was　all　wrong。　This　thing　was　like　an　elongated　ellipse；　a　zero　stretched　at　its　poles。　It　had　to　be　an　enemy　ship！

She　began　maneuvering　the　Cat's…Eye　in　for　a　closer　look；　her　attention　fixed　on　the　radar　screen。

She　didn't　see　the　island　of　space　rock　they　collided　with。

The　radar　disc　was　torn　from　the　ship；　and　one　by　one　the　life　support　systems　began　to　fail。　The　forward　portion　of　the　canopy　was　damaged　but　intact。　But　the　copilot　had　not　been　as　fortunate；　his　limp　form　hung　in　space；　still　tethered　to　the　ship　by　an　untorn　length　of　seat　strap。　There's　no　atmosphere　in　space；　Hunter's　words　came　back　to　her　before　she　slipped　from　consciousness。

The　smallest　damage　could　prove　fatal。


Exedore　watched　his　mander　pace　the　bridge。

Continuous　setbacks　and　defeats　at　the　hands　of　the　Micronians　were　beginning　to　take　their　toll。

When　the　projecbeam　field　formed　itself　for　viewing；　the　now　crippled　SDF…1　could　be　discerned　amid　the　asteroid　field。　Scanners　indicated　that　Micronian　fighters　had　taken　up　defensive　positions　in　all　quadrants　in　anticipation　of　a　second　offensive。

〃Look　at　that　ship；〃　said　Breetai。　〃We're　fortunate　that　it　survived　the　attack。〃

〃No　thanks　to　Khyron。　This　time　he　has　gone　too　far。

〃Too　far；　indeed。　And　do　you　see　how　the　Micronians　react　to　our　demands　for　surrender；　Exedore？　They　ignore　us。〃

〃Yes；　mander。　I　fear　that　they　have　seen　through　our　strategy。　There　is　in　fact　a　word　for　it　in　their　language…bluff。　It　means　to　mislead　or　intimidate　through　pretense。〃

The　link　tone　sounded　on　the　bridge；　followed　by　the　voice　of　the　duty　officer。

〃mander　Breetai；　we　have　mander　Khyron　standing　by。〃

Breetai　dissolved　the　projecbeam　and　hit　the　municator　switch。　〃Patch　him　through…immediately！〃

Khyron　wore　his　familiar　expression　of　slight　bemusement。　Exedore　had　heard　rumors　to　the　effect　that　he　was　addicted　to　the　Invid　Flower；　if　this　was　true；　Khyron　was　even　more　dangerous　than　Breetai　realized。

〃You　will　be　pleased　to　learn　that　the　matter　has　already　been　settled；〃　the　Backstabber　was　saying。

A　frightened　junior　officer　was　then　shoved　forward　into　the　screen's　field　of　view。　His　shack