2015

2016

December, 2022

The Robotech Masters arrive in the solar system, and take up position behind Titan. They probe Earth's defenses by sending a stealthy fleet to Space Station Liberty and to the Moon for a surprise attack.

An Earth fleet based near the Moon, called Liberty Observer Group, receives a mayday from Space Station Liberty, then loses its signal, and moves to investigate. They are attacked en route, while the Masters bomb Moon Base Luna, seizing survivors for use as Bioroid pilots. Liberty Observer Group is relieved by a task force under Marie Crystal, and the Robotech Masters' ships retreat without revealing their identity.

Earth dispatches sizable force to determine the situation at Luna, finding the base largely destroyed. Insufficient data is available to determine the identity of the attackers. The civilian chemical engineering station on the far side of the moon, ALuCE-1, is evacuated following the attack, and the evacuees, along with the injured from the fleet engagement and Liberty, are returned to Earth. A skeleton crew is sent to Luna to maintain its communication facilities.

Second Robotech War begins as the Masters cut contact with Liberty and enter Earth orbit, and destroy a communications satellite that is capable of visual surveillance, also severing Earth's link to Liberty.

Though the attackers of Luna are unknown, speculation among the troops includes the Robotech Masters as suspects. Liberty attempts to report to the Expeditionary Force that new aliens have arrived in system and isolated Earth.

Earth intercepts communications between the alien ships, and confirms that the new enemy are the Robotech Masters, "descendants of Zor, the first Robotech Master." Earth is put on high alert, and the threat is announced to the citizenry, who are nonetheless reassured of their safety.

New Hovertank prototype upgrades begin to enter service, for officer use only. The new tank employs an energy cannon, rather than conventional artillery shells.

The Air Forces of the Southern Cross launch an attack against the Robotech Masters' flagship, with heavy losses. The Robotech Masters retaliate, and attack the aerospace base near Monument City.

These attacks are repelled by intervention by the 15th ATAC, which had already abandoned its Civil Defense duties to assist the aerospace base before new orders arrived to that effect. The weaknesses of the United Earth Forces against Masters become apparent.

Similarly, the first weakness of the Robotech Masters' forces is noted in that a direct hit to the cockpit area of the assault corvette appears to impact their command and control infrastructure and caused an immediate withdrawal of Bioroid troops.

A mission is launched to attempt to reestablish the link between Earth and Space Station Liberty, and its Moon Base counterpart, because the loss of contact with the hyperspace communications through Liberty is preventing the United Earth Forces from relaying their mayday to the Expeditionary Force.

Despite heavy harassment by the Robotech Masters' forces and the loss of one shuttle due to an engine malfunction, a second shuttle breaks through the Masters' jamming net, and transmits a pre-recorded signal to Liberty, which responds, and notifies Moon Base that contact has been regained.

Contact between Earth and Liberty is temporarily reestablished. Liberty begins to broadcast recall order to Expeditionary Forces, but expects to take some time before Liberty can reach them.

The Robotech Masters launch a clandestine expedition to excavate the ruins of the SDF-1. They are discovered by two ATAC soldiers on patrol. One soldier, Private Bowie Grant of the 15th Squad, is captured, and is held in the Masters' command vessel.

The captured soldier's commanding officer, Dana Sterling, launches an unauthorized rescue mission, succeeding in freeing the captured soldier.

Reinforcements arrive on both sides, and the fight quickly devolves into a stalemate until a mothership arrives, and Bioroids and command vessel withdraw with heavy fire support from the mothership.

Robotech Masters maintain an orbit at 36,000 km altitude, and maintain a unilateral cease-fire. Earth's alert status begins to slacken. The self-imposed cease-fire is broken when a suburban base station in sector 3 is attacked and destroyed with all inhabitants. Twenty survivors are taken prisoner

The public is outraged. Riots begin, and the Prime Minister demands an explanation from the General Staff of United Earth Forces.

Supreme Commander Leonard suggests a retaliatory strike, though Chief of Staff Emerson demurs, suggesting that it might be more prudent to discover what the aliens want.

Emerson's concerns are vetoed, and a massive air attack is launched against the lead mothership, now in the upper atmosphere, again yielding very heavy Southern Cross losses. Research proceeds on the Robotech Masters' technology.

Bioroid pilots are concluded to be human by the Southern Cross' scientists, and not micronized Zentraedi, though this is never accepted among the High Command for political reasons.

A weakness in the reactionless propulsion system is found by Cpl. Nichols of the 15th ATAC and Drs. Cochrane and Beckett of the Robotech Research Labs. The 15th ATAC is air-dropped onto the hull of the Masters' flagship to exploit this weakness. The Robotech Masters' flagship is downed, and crashes to Earth within sight of Monument City.

After considering their options, the Southern Cross orders the 15th ATAC to infiltrate the flagship on a reconnaissance mission. The 15th and the Robotech Masters take the opportunity to study one another.

The 15th discovers that the civilian population of the flagship consists of triplet clones, and that at least some clones are constructed (androids), rather than grown, and that biomechanical components are incorporated into the construction.

While exiting the Masters' ship, Lt. Dana Sterling captures a Bioroid and its pilot.

Constant recon patrols begin around the downed flagship. United Earth Forces Headquarters concludes that the Robotech Masters have come to Earth to plunder its reserves of protoculture, unaware that their real goal is the last fertile Matrix within the ruins of the SDF-1.

Analysis of the captured Bioroid and its pilot leads to the conclusion that the Bioroid reacts to the nervous system of the pilot through a series of biological diodes biogenetically engineered into the pilot's body.

The captured pilot soon dies of his wounds in captivity. The prevailing prejudice among the high command is that the Bioroid pilots are biologically human androids, living beings that are assembled rather than born or grown.

Supreme Commander Leonard further insists that the Masters must be micronized Zentraedi, over the objections of Lt. Sterling.

The Robotech Masters launch attacks against the civilian populace of Monument City, and 200 prisoners are taken for intelligence purposes.

The Robotech Masters decide to insert Zor Prime into human society as a spy.

Newly captured Bioroid pilots are destroyed by United Earth High Command, because they become non-responsive when taken from their cockpits, reinforcing the Leonard's misconception of the pilots as non-living bio-androids.

The capture of civilians has angered the populace, who are demanding immediate action from the government and the military. Leonard is contacted by the Prime Minister, ordering him to end his inaction and escalate the attacks on the Robotech Masters.

An REF vessel finally receives Liberty's first mayday signal from January while serving as the picket ship on communication-relay duty. The REF is notified, but due to being spread out and otherwise occupied because of its mission, Maj. Carpenter's is the only ship available.

The ship is contacted by the General Reinhardt of REF high command and directed to Earth, to assess the situation there and warn Earth that the REF doesn't expect to be able to send more help for several more months due to current deployments and ongoing operations.

The Robotech Masters' flagship docks with a second mothership and lifts off from Earth's surface, despite a desperate attempt by the 15th ATAC to prevent the link-up. Zor Prime is allowed to be captured by the Southern Cross; he falls into the hands of the GMP, who covertly enlists General Emerson to help them debrief the prisoner, whom they suspect will be simply put to death if Leonard's men capture him.

Carpenter's vessel arrives at Earth and is destroyed while ramming and destroying one of the Masters' motherships. To Leonard's dismay, Carpenter informs him of the REF's inability to send more help at the moment.

Zor Prime's interviews and debriefing intensify, despite his almost complete amnesia. He is moved from a GMP - Military Intelligence facility to a more "human" setting, namely the Monument City military hospital.

Supreme Commander Leonard begins to believe that the alien goal is the extermination of the human race, and indeed the Masters' statements among themselves increasingly advocate this course of action, a change from their original position that they were interested only in recovery of the Protoculture Matrix.

Lt Dana Sterling illicitly sneaks into the hospital room of Zor Prime to confront him for killing men under her command.

When Lt. Sterling's sergeant whistles a tune he picked up on the Masters' flagship as a signal that it was time for her to leave, Zor Prime recognizes the tune as belonging to one of the Robotech Masters' muses, his first recovered memory.

Zor Prime is introduced into the 15th ATAC, in the hope that a military environment will awaken his memories as a Bioroid pilot. Lt. Sterling's squadron is chosen because of her Zentraedi heritage, and because of her previous encounters with him in the field. Experience with a picture of the mounded ruins of the SDF-1 causes Zor to suffer a seizure, while the Masters' programming reasserts control over him.

Zor's flashbacks reveal for certain that the protoculture is the Masters' goal, though the General Staff still believes that they are after Earth's stockpiles, and are unaware of the relevance of the ruins of the SDF-1. Despite General Emerson's entreaties, Leonard concludes that the only solution is a direct assault on the Masters' fleet.

Zor Prime overhears General Emerson's comments that an attack by the Earth fleet is in preparation, and this information is intercepted by the Masters.

The full-production Veritech AGAC enters service. Earth launches its first major offensive against the Masters in space, consisting of some twenty battlecruisers and an equal number of destroyers under Captain Nordoff.

With the Masters tipped off to the attack and to the strength of Earth's forces by the implant in Zor Prime's brain, it is quickly and soundly defeated, and the few surviving capital ships are directed by Nordoff to fall back to ALuCE-1.

Zor begins to remember the Triumvirate nature of the Robotech Masters. This observation is confirmed by observations made during the battle in space. Lt. Sterling, her aide, and Zor Prime also discover the presence of alien flowers within the ruins of the SDF-1.

Supreme Commander Leonard orders that a second assault wave be deployed, link up with the remnants of the first, and launch a combined attack on the Masters.

Earth's distress call, sent when communications with SS Liberty was reestablished, reaches the Expeditionary Forces, but the Expeditionary Forces are now deeply entangled in a new conflict and General Reinhardt decides that it can not break off.

Supreme Command decides to refurbish the science facility ALuCE as a military outpost.

Clones begin to rebel against their social system, beginning with the muse Musica's refusal to pair-bond with the mate chosen for her.

The GMP's Lt. Nova Satori leaks the news of the second attack wave to Zor Prime, whose implant then informs the Masters, though Nova is interrupted before she can inform Zor of the strength of the forces.

The Cavalry-1 fleet mission to relieve ALuCE-1, a task-force of five battlecruisers, is ambushed by the Masters, and escapes with the aid of the two destroyer-class ships, shuttles, and fighters returning from the Moon, and returning the wounded of the first assault wave to Earth.

General Emerson is appointed to command the second offensive, a move widely interpreted as an attempt by Supreme Commander Leonard to remove Emerson the General Staff so that Leonard's "frontal attack" tactics can be pursued without Emerson's objections.

Advanced triumvirate Bioroids known as "Invid Fighters" are ordered into full production by the Robotech Masters.

The GMP investigates the source of the intelligence leak. Lt. Satori of the GMP realizes that she may have been the leak herself, because of her openness with Zor Prime, and discreetly plugs that leak.

Leonard's scheme to remove his enemies to the Moon is reinforced by the assignment to the mission of almost all the officers who have consistently objected to Supreme Command's squandering of its best troops, with the exception of the TASC Lt. Brown, who - due to a mistake in his personnel file, is rescued from the mission as a security risk.

Lt Satori accepts responsibility for the mistake and removed from the internal investigation.

Triumviroid drone pods are tested by the Robotech Masters.

Just before landing at Luna, General Emerson's warship and its escort are attacked by an attack force of Bioroids and several of the Masters' smaller capital ships. Emerson retreats to "LaGrange Point 6", code for a location 20,000 km from Mars. Using an unconventional fold-technique known as an "Orbital Warp Blast" to destroy the enemy vessels from the tidal forces of an artificial singularity, and ramming the remaining capital vessels with his fold bubble upon defolding, he manages to defeat the alien battle group and deliver the troops and supplies to the moon base. Despite these efforts, repair and refurbishment of Luna is not completed before the end of the war, and the base takes no part in future engagements.

With assistance from Major Cromwell of the Robotech Department, Cpl. Louie Nichols develops the VTFS "Pupil Pistol" targeting system for simulation training

The Pupil Pistol system is immediately integrated into all Veritech Spartas hovertanks.

General Emerson's ship leaves Luna and returns to Earth, while the remainder of his fleet reinforces the ships at ALuCE, while repairs at Luna proceed.

Due to additional forces returned to service and gains in battle, a second wave of the ERF (Earth Reclamation Forces) is sent to Earth by Admiral Hunter.

The first returning wave of the Expeditionary Forces arrives at Earth's moon. These ships rendezvous with the Southern Cross forces on ALuCE.

Returning Expeditionary Forces link up with Emerson and the fleet launching from Earth for the first of three final battles against the Masters.

In the battle, the 15th ATAC, its hovertanks modified for space flight, is dropped onto the Masters' flagship, while the AJACS pilots also assigned to infiltrate are beaten off.

The Invid Fighter is deployed for the first time by the Masters, in defense of their vessel.

Unable to break inside the vessel, the 15th is assisted by the Tristar, which widens a hull breach by ramming the mothership. The 15th squad infiltrates the enemy vessel. Once in the Masters' flagship, the Masters reassert control over Zor Prime, who then turns on his comrades. The 15th Squad attempts to make their way through the civilian compartments to the ship's command center in an attempt to seize the ship, but are eventually captured.

With the flanking of the Earth fleet by a second mothership, Emerson orders a general withdrawal to the ALuCE-1. Emerson's flagship relocates to ALuCE-1, to assist the ultimately futile efforts to bring it online by the end of the war.

The 15th Squad is rescued from execution by the intervention of Musica, chief muse of the Robotech Masters, who has become infatuated with one of the members of the squadron.

The ATAC troops rescue Zor Prime, who is being deprogrammed by the Masters before his termination.

With the Masters distracted by a new attack by Emerson's fleet, the 15th Squad, Musica, and Zor disable the Masters' defensive force fields and escape the Masters' mothership, which is destroyed in an act of sabotage by Zor.

The Masters evacuate their doomed ship, and transfer their flag to another mothership. Both sides disengage, and prepare for the final battle. The 15th Squad heads back to Earth with Musica, while Emerson's fleet returns to the ALuCE-1.

Dangerously erratic behavior begins to appear among the clones in the Robotech Masters' fleet, due to their low level of protoculture and contact with humans. Rebellious clones, and their triumvirate partners, are incarcerated to isolate them from the general population.

Fully two-thirds of the Masters' protoculture pods have become infested with the Invid Flower of Life, and they resolve to immediately move upon the Protoculture Factory in the ruins of the SDF-1.

Zor Prime's mental health slowly degenerates, and he eventually betrays Musica to the GMP. Bowie Grant and Musica flee into the woods, stealing a hovercycle from a Tactical Corps-Forest Division base. The 15th Squad is ordered to assist in their capture.

Bowie and Musica make their way to the ruins of the SDF-1, where they are joined by the remainder of the 15th and Lt. Satori of the GMP. Upon seeing the active spores of the Flower of Life, Zor Prime recovers his memory as Zor.

Supreme Commander Leonard orders a full and final assault on the Robotech Masters. Before his troops can engage the Masters, the aliens launch a full assault on Earth. General Emerson is ordered to harass the aliens on their flank while Earth's forces prepare for a counter-attack.

The Robotech Masters abandon the majority of their civilian population to transport vessels, as the clones become more lethargic and uncontrollable.

Emerson's forces are nearly annihilated in combat with the Masters while awaiting support from Earth. The enemy fleet penetrates Earth's inner defenses, and Emerson's fleet is committed to hold the line at all costs.

The fleet is destroyed, and Emerson and two of his pilots are captured, as the Tristar rams and cripples one of the Masters' motherships.

The Robotech Masters land drugged infantry in major North American cities, and destroy minor cities with fusion beams. The Robotech Masters demand unconditional surrender from the Southern Cross. Leonard agrees to evacuate in 48 hours, but orders preparations for the counterattack be accelerated.

Citizens of Denver and other North American cities evacuate, and all civil defense forces are called up to protect against further landings.

Zor Prime agrees to a prisoner exchange; but both sides secretly intend to attack the other. Fighting breaks out on the Masters' flagship. The 15th Squad escapes, and assists the abandoned civilians of the Robotech Masters to safely land on Earth. General Emerson is killed in the fighting.

The second wave of ships from the REF arrives at Earth just in time for the final battle against the Robotech Masters. With all civil defense and ground forces prepared for incursions by the Masters, the combined United Earth fleet launches against the Robotech Masters.

Earth's forces are victorious, with heavy losses, though the Masters' flagship slips past the battle and approaches the ruins of the SDF-1. Squadrons of Bioroids and troop carrier corvettes launch an all-out and desperate offensive against the Southern Cross' ground forces, destroying Monument City.

The Robotech Masters are assassinated by Zor. The Second Robotech War ends, with Zor causing one of the Robotech Masters' motherships to self-destruct. The intended destruction of the protoculture factories is not achieved, instead resulting in the dispersal of the Flower of Life over North America.

The Regess detects the release of the Flower of Life spores on Earth. Unsure of the situation there, the Regess prepares a discreet recon mission prior to the full invasion.