by the fans for the fans

Reposted for your enjoyment.

ROBOTECH: Ghosts of SDF-1
By Mark Warlock

The SDF-1 had finally arrived home after a thirteen-month voyage across the solar system. Citizen and crew alike were spending some much needed time enjoying the ocean breeze as they celebrated on the deck of Daedalus. The corridors, storage rooms, hangers, and other vast open areas of the ship were nearly deserted as any and all off duty personnel were joining in the festivities outside. Deep within the ship a young crewman stayed fast at his post continuing his work on damage sustained during the ships re-entry. He was kneeling by a long fracture in the deck plate that stretched out in front of him and up an engine room bulkhead. He worked tirelessly to weld the damage properly. He was happy that they were finally home, but the sad fact that he had no family left after the Global War meant he had no one to greet him. For hours he sweated as the sparks and heat radiated from his work area. The light from his welding light the room like a sky full of fireworks.

He finished sealing the last inch of the fracture then lifted the helmet used to shield his face and protect his deep blue eyes. He glanced down at his watch and noticed that he had stayed on duty three hours past his shift. Feeling the effects of time begin to takes hold he decided to call it a day. He was looking forward to a much deserved night's sleep. He packed all his equipment neatly and then placed his cap over his short kept brown hair. As he made his way through the engine room he could hear the loud groaning sounds the ship made as it continued to cool and adjust to the atmosphere. As he past a seemingly older portion of the ship he noticed a stranger sound and quick flash of movement coming from an old massive hatchway. "Hello?" He said as he slowly walked toward the hatch that was clearly a "pre-reconstruction" element of the ship. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small service flashlight and shined it into the room.

He stepped into the room and quickly stuck his head back out making sure it wasn't one of his fellow crewmen playing a prank. "Hey Carl is that you?" After a quick check he turned back and began to explore the pitch dark room. The room was cavernous and he could actually feel how big the room was and the fact that his light beam did not reach the other end confirmed it. He noticed as he explored that this part of the ship looked nothing like the rest. This place was clearly "alien" in his mind. The deck was dirty and had what looked like years of corrosion. Strewn across the floor were large pieces of debris, damaged parts, and just all around junk. He was about twenty yards into the room when, without warning, he heard the screeching metallic sound of the large hatch crashing shut. His heart raced as he made his way back to the hatch and began pounding on it. "Hey let me out!" he screamed as he tried with all his strength to pull the door open. "Ok, get a hold of yourself John." he thought to himself. He looked around and found a length of metal bar which he jammed between the hatch and its frame. He pried with everything he had but the hatch wouldn't budge.

John shined his light around the hatch to find a better place to pry when he noticed to his shock that it had been welded shut from the inside. "How the hell did this happen?" he said aloud "There's no way that could have happened and I didn't notice it." He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach knowing he would not be able to open the hatch. He stopped moving momentarily and began to listen intently to the eerie silence in the room. He couldn't hear anything anymore. He tried his hardest to hear something, the echo of the sound of waves pounding against the hull, the moan of the reflex furnaces, the groaning of the ship as the heat dissipated from its massive engine nacelles. Yet all he heard was silence. "What the hell is going on here?" he thought to himself as he shined his light back into the enormous room. He decided to try a new path and began moving slowly staying close to the wall. He hoped that he would find a ladder or some other means which he would be able to get higher so he might be able to survey his surroundings a little better.

As he made his way his mind conjured stories he'd heard about the ship before the reconstruction began. There were so many different stories of odd and unusual things happening. Some of the stories, though classified, managed to make their way in whispers to lower ranking crewman. He knew the aliens were giants, the constant battles over the last year and evidence in the ship had proven that, but still in his mind there was a sense of disbelief. He finally came to a corner of the room after traveling what seemed like a hundred yards. He stood in the corner his back facing the walls as he shined the light around and then above. He could just make out the image of a large catwalk high above him. He quickly shined the light out before him as he heard something crash to the deck. "Who's there?" he shouted but the only response he received was the echo of his own voice. He moved the light beam across his line of site as his heart pounded in his chest.

His mind began to race wild and he wondered what horrors could await just past the light of his flashlight. What horrors could await him in the darkness where his light did not reach? John's breathing became more rapid and he tried his best not to hyperventilate or pass out. He had considered himself pretty calm and logical in the past, but all that was out the window at this point. Nothing could explain how the hatch slammed itself shut, how it had been welded from the inside without the tell tale signs, the fact that he could hear nothing beyond the walls of his dark gigantic prison. Then he heard something that literally sent him to his knees. From beyond the light he heard a low deep moan. "A Zentraedi?" he said out loud. "Here?...But.." Before he could complete his thought a loud explosion echoed and shook the room. "We're under attack!" he yelled as he scrambled to find cover. He closed his eyes and ducked behind a large metal panel leaning against the wall nearby waiting for the next volley.

He opened his eyes to find the room light bright as day. He remained behind his protective cover momentarily listening to the sounds of weapons fire in the distance. He slowly peered around and noticed the room looked completely different then what his light had shown him. The room looked almost brand new. There were no damaged parts, no junk lying about and no corrosion stained walls. The room shook again violently as another explosion rocked the ship. He fell to the deck and watched as debris crashed all around him. Then something caught his attention, something that sent sheer dread to his very core. Across the room he saw a Zentraedi soldier charging him with weapon in hand. He turned and began to run not knowing where just knowing he had to get away from the fifty foot tall giant. Suddenly the monster stopped charging. "Get down!" it yelled then turned back around and started firing. John dove to the deck as an explosion ruptured the bulkhead just behind him. His horror continued as two more Zentraedi soldiers entered the room and joined their comrade.

The three continued to fire and seemed to completely ignore what he was doing. He found himself cowering in a fetal position praying to the heavens that he would survive this attack. John screamed out loud as he felt a hand grab his shoulder, a human size hand. His eyes shot open and before him stood a tall slender man with a grayish tint to his skin. His clothes were tattered and resembled a uniform he'd never seen before. Around the man's neck was a gold toned medallion with a strange crest that was unknown to him. The man grabbed his hand and pulled him up yelling over the commotion. "You must hurry!" the man said. "They're coming!" He pulled John behind him and began running as the three Zentraedi soldiers continued to fire their weapons. The man was leading him toward the direction of the massive rusted hatch that had somehow slammed shut and imprisoned him in this nightmare. "No, the door is jammed shut!" John yelled as he tried to slow the man down. "We can't get out that way!" he warned as ear shattering explosions echoed through the room.

John heard the gut wrenching sound of death when one of the Zentraedi soldiers met his end. He stopped and turned back to see the giant fall to the ground his torso armor literally shattered from his body leaving a large gaping hole in his chest. The mysterious man grabbed John again. “You must warn the others!” he yelled as he got behind John and began pushing him toward the hatch. "Don't worry about us!" They reached the hatch and it slid open as if by magic. "Quickly, Go tell the others!" he said again to John. "They'll hold them here!" he yelled reassuringly. "Who?" John yelled back. "Who's coming?" The man pushed John through the hatch. He fell to the ground out of the room. "Go!" the man yelled as the hatch slid shut. As John got to his feet he heard a massive explosion rock the hatch and He knew that the explosion must have just killed his savior. Dust and small debris fell from above his head as he touched the hatch. He tried with all his strength to re-open the hatch but failed. He remembered his equipment that was just down the corridor and ran to retrieve it.

John grabbed his cutting torch and goggles then ran back the massive hatch. "If I can manage to cut a small hole through this hatch maybe I can save him." He thought to himself. He began to cut and within a few minutes he had managed to cut a small hatch for him to get through. He kicked at the cut section breaking the piece loose, which fell to the deck. He looked in to find the room was pitch dark again. He shined his flashlight through the opening and saw nothing but debris and the same corroded room he'd first entered. There was no light, no explosions, no Zentraedi, and no gray skinned man. There was nothing. "What the hell?" he thought to himself. "Was it all just a dream brought on by over work and no sleep?" He stepped into the room and examined the inside of the hatch. He could see signs of an explosion thought it seemed to have been long ago. He could also see the corroded signs of welding around the hatch.

He continued on his way and looked about the deck and saw what appeared to be the remnants of the Zentraedi armor though it was aged. He had just turned back to exit the room when something caught his eyes poking out from under a piece of debris. He walked over to the wreckage and moved it aside revealing what he'd seen. John picked up the small metallic object and rubbed the dust and dirt from it. His eyes widened as he realized that it was the same medallion that had been worn by the gray skinned man. "It can't be." he said aloud. "It was...." he paused at just the thought of what he was about to say. "It was all real!" John stood stunned trying to make sense of everything that he'd seen. "Why did he not appear to fear the Zentraedi?" he wondered. "What did he mean, they are coming?" he thought fearfully. "Who was coming?"

Thanks for posting mate!

Good read.

I agree with SIGHUP, very good read, would like to see more.

more, more, more!!!!


if you do like pinguins and put pics up be even more nice...hehehe



to bad i cant draw that good to do it myself.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I do have a couple stories in the works though finding time to actually work on them is tight right now. I am currently working on an Automotive Manual and it takes up a lot of my time when I am away from my shop.

I did have an idea on a new point of view for Robotech: Macross Saga... I'll post in in a few minutes. It is just a short beginning. If you like it... I'll try and find time to do more with it.

I will say I wrote the first part after a dream I had a few nights ago..

Thanks again for the kind words.

Mark