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Atlantech: The Beginning
A very long time ago, mankind was faced against many powerful alien
races, and forced to defend their planet and their loved ones. With
each alien race, a battle took place, a battle which would determine
the fate of humanity. These brave men and women were the robotech
defenders, and they fought with great courage. Even when they felt like
they would see the end of things, they still never gave up and even
though some of them died, they died with honor.
They were the legendary heroes that are still recognized to this day, in the great city of Atlantis.
Long after the final battle had been fought, the survivors realized
they could no longer return to earth, as it had been demolished to the
point that no life could exist in the changed environment. They decided
it was time that they create a new home, and one of those would end up
being the great city of Atlantis. The city had been constructed and
built on top of the remains of an old planet. It had been drifting in
space for a very long time, and the people decided that it was just
perfect.
The city's architectural design was that of art deco, and it had
been modeled after some of the famous cities of earth, one in
particular, the city of Las Vegas. Another city it had been modeled
after was the great city of New York.
It took many, many years to complete the construction, and even after
the main buildings and military base had been put up, the city was
still growing and much more was added.
And In order to keep the city protected, a large bubble type force field covered it entirely.
An oxygen filled environment was important as well, and so powerful
generators were scattered about the city so it could circulate. This
also included an artificial weather system, which could mimic the
temperatures of the different seasons, to make Atlantis feel more like
a real home.
The city of was also the start of a new technological era, one in
which used voice activated machines, interactive menus, and self
driving vehicles known as "cabs". The owners of the city and everything
in it, were a group of men who had formed a council. These men wanted
to provide the best for the civilians, to help make life easier, but
more for themselves. But despite as powerful as the council was they
still didn't have complete control over the AMF but they did fund a lot
of the supplies and technology. In fact they were the ones behind a top
secret project, called "Galactic Knight", but over time a company
called Atlantech soon took over, but the council still had a part to
play.
Since it had been so long time since the last robotech war, humanity
now lived without fear. It seemed that Atlantis was the perfect utopia
to keep them safe, as they never came into contact with any other alien
races. The lack of enemies often led to the questioning of why they
even needed a military base, but the council assured it was just in
case something would happen. The men and women who had joined the
military, had joined because they wanted to make something of
themselves, and because many of them idolized the RDF heroes of the
past.
Some of the men and women were actual descendants of those heroes,
but some knew and others did not. One of those men was twenty-two year
old William Sterling, a long time descendant of the legendary Sterling
family tree. He had joined the AMF in hopes of living up to the
Sterling name, and someday becoming a famous heroine as well. In
appearance he looked very much like his ancestors, he had blue eyes and
short dark blue hair in which he wore slicked back with his bangs
combed to the side. His personality was very much like Max's and
Dana's, but he was no hot shot, in fact he was only second best
compared to another younger soldier. But that didn't seem to bother
him, he was ranked a corporal and he was happy just the same, but
something did bother him.
Being of alien descent, he was treated unfairly by the people of
Atlantis, living each day feeling like an outcast, dealing with the
racial slurs and rude comments. Over time he had learned to ignore it,
because he knew the people had been brainwashed by the council, but
still there were times where it did bother him.
But despite all he was going through, He had fallen in love with one
of Atlantis city's top women in the music and film industry, Miss
Victoria Thompson or better known as Vicky the Vamp, Thompson. She was
an elegant sophisticated young woman of twenty-six years with short
blonde wavy hair and blue-green eyes. Victoria's hair and clothes
resembled that of the early 20th century style, as she was a fancier of
the old 1920's jazz age culture. Even her movies were a reflection of
the past, they were silent films and were shot in black and white, and
sometimes in sepia tones. It seemed she always played the same type of
character in her films; a sassy, brash, hedonistic woman, determined to
get what she wanted. In other words, some would say this character was
a portrayal of herself, but of course this was something she denied to
the public, but over time her style had a big influence on the people
and soon she found herself straying away from her celebrity status,
designing clothes for herself and her own future fashion line she had
been working on.
She had also gotten bored of the celebrity life due to competition
in the business, an older woman who was much like her, but attracted
larger audiences everywhere with her exotic french accent;
Miss Natoya Stronghold. Her popularity increased when she started doing
talkie films, and singing at local night clubs. Victoria on the other
hand, had attempted to start doing talkies as well, but soon realized
the public weren't as impressed with her accent. In fact because of
such films, she saw a major decrease in sales, and was slowly on her
way to total bankruptcy. In turn she began to feel depressed and
eventually took up drinking to try and feel that void, but no matter
what she always felt empty.
Later on, she began to gain some popularity back, by hanging at a
local joint called The Card Shack. It was a small establishment , which
specialized in high class poker games, and gambling of all sorts. For
the most part she would perform on stage, but other than that, she show
cased her talent of card shuffling. The Card Shack was owned by the
council, like any other business, but it was operated by her manager
and personal assistant, Maxwell Graham. He had been a long time
bartender, and later took up the position of a card dealer and managed
the scheduled gaming events. Both he and Victoria were associated with
the council, especially the chairman, Julius Caesar Morane. This also
meant that both of them were involved in many of their past scandals
and were to this very day, still working for them.
The games and casinos were rigged, and both of them cheated the
players out of their money, but only those working for Morane and the
council knew of this, and those who found out were personally dealt
with. What the public didn't know, was that the council were operating
a secret mafia behind their backs, but played the part of an innocent
government, trying to better the lives of the civilians.
Victoria really hated living with the fact that she was a criminal,
helping the council steal from their own people, but she knew if she
said anything, Morane would make her life a living hell. Not to mention
this was how she could make any money at all. Maxwell on the other
hand, didn't care at all. But that was simply because he was just as
greedy, and self absorbed as Morane, and believed that the upper class
were better than the rest.
He also shared the same hatred of the AMF and believed those men and
women were a waste of time, even though they were only trying to
prepare themselves in case something ever did happen.
Aside from being just another stool pigeon to the council, Maxwell was
also very controlling, and often decided who Victoria could associate
herself with, which excluded anyone in the AMF.
But lately, he'd been suspicious, as Victoria kept finding bouquets
of roses in front of her dressing room from a secret admirer. Maxwell
didn't approve of this, but Victoria loved it, in fact she realized how
special it made her feel, only she just wished she knew who it was. But
what they both didn't know, was that it was none other than William
sterling. He really wanted to tell her how he felt but figured it was
best that she didn't know about him at all.
He was just afraid that she would not accept him because they came
from two different worlds, but still it didn't change the way he felt
inside. As a matter of fact, he had even thought about telling her,
especially since he was going to attend a popular night club where she
would be performing live. He had even informed one of best friends and
comrades, Stan Winston. Stan was much older than William and even
taller as well. William had known Stan for a very long time, since the
day he had been recruited. Their friendship was strong and they could
tell one another just about anything.
But secretly Stan was not who William thought he was, in fact Stan
was nothing more than a top secret android disguised as a man of
twenty-eight years. Created by the council for the sole purpose of
spying on the military, and the general public. Stan had a dark
history, but looking at him you wouldn't be able to tell. He looked
normal in appearance, even though it was just a holographic image,
overlaying his metallic mold of a body. He might of done some things he
couldn't be proud of, but still he enjoyed the companionship with this
human.
Atlantech: Milquetoast
It was nearly nine-O-clock in Atlantis, and William had started
heading towards a night club called Hotsy Totsy. of course Stan Winston
was accompanying him, as William had asked him to join.
Both of them found themselves standing in a long line outside of the
building, and right away someone caught William's attention. He saw a
young man standing near the front of the line, looking rather
depressed, as if he didn't have a friend in the world. This was
different for William, because most of the people he'd seen were
usually happy all the time, but not this boy, for some reason he wasn't
happy, and William decided to see if he could cheer him up.
The young man was none other than eighteen year old Brian smith, and
in fact he was very depressed. Deep inside his mind lurked a
heartbreaking memory that he seemed to hold onto, as if it were the
only thing keeping him alive. His older brother had died many years
ago, when he was just a boy of eleven years old. His brother had been
in the AMF working as a test pilot for the new proposed fighter planes,
but something went terribly wrong and the machine he was working on
malfunctioned and killed him. When Brian heard the news, he was deeply
devastated, not only had he lost his brother, but he had also lost his
role model.
Brian's life had been ruined, and he blamed the AMF for his
brother's death, and was strongly against anything and anyone having to
do with the military. As the years passed by, he tried to let it go,
but no matter what he just couldn't and soon he found he had dug
himself into a hole, a state of severe depression. He didn't have
anyone to talk to as he had given up being social with anyone in the
city, he just decided to live his life day by day until something came
out of it, if it ever did.
He sighed and stood in the line, resting his hands in the pockets of
his jacket. He began to remember all those years of feeling terrible
and not getting anywhere, but also remembered when he started finding
some kind of salvation, through the beautiful music of the city. It
seemed to be the only thing that truly soothed him, which is why he was
standing in this line in the first place. He knew there would some live
performances by his favorite artists, and he didn't want to miss them
for the world.
William sterling began walking up to the young man, careful not to
startle him, and before he opened his mouth to speak, the man stared
back at him, but with a look that wasn't so friendly.
The first thing Brian noticed was William's AMF uniform, and being that
he was against the military, he decided not to pay any attention. "Hey,
there", William said.
Brian heard him loud and clear, but continued looking the other way.
"You alright?" William asked. "Cause you look really upset over something".
Brian didn't know wether to continue ignoring him or acknowledge the
fact he was actually trying to be friendly. - "That's a nice leather
jacket", William smiled. "very cool, where did you get it?"
Brian realized this guy wasn't going to leave him alone anytime soon, and so he decided to reply.
- "It was my brothers", he said. William nodded with a smile. "Still very cool, very retro", he said.
Brian just shrugged in response and started moving forward with the
line. "That still doesn't answer my question", William continued to
ask. Brian looked back at him once again. "What's wrong with you?"
- "My brother's dead, okay?" Brian snapped. William didn't like his
tone, but now he understood why he was so upset. "I'm sorry for your
loss", William told him. "I can understand why you're upset now".
Brian didn't say anything more, instead he just walked inside the
building along with the rest of the line, leaving William by himself.
Just then Stan appeared at his side, and began to question why he left
his place in line. "I saw a kid that looked like he needed help is
all", William explained. "But I guess he didn't want nor need my help".
- "That's just too bad", Stan replied. "Everyone should accept help
when it's available, or they might regret it."
Inside her dressing room, victoria was seated in her chair, while
humming the tune of one of her songs. She had been powdering her face,
getting ready for a live performance. "what to wear, what to wear?" she
asked herself while browsing through her display of dresses. "Miss
Thompson, you're on in ten", came a voice from outside the door.
Victoria let out an annoyed sigh and got up from her chair, while
moving towards a clothing rack. "So many dresses, so little time oh
honey will ya just make up your mind? suddenly the door opened, and in
stepped her manager Maxwell Graham. He was dressed in his casual shirt
and vest, with his blue-gray hair pulled back into a pony tail. "You
did hear me?" he asked her.
-"Of course", Victoria replied. "I'm sure the entire city of Atlantis heard ya, But I'm having a little diva drama over here".
Maxwell rolled his eyes at her. "What kind of drama,?" Victoria placed
her hands on her hips glanced over at the clothing rack. "The I can't
decide what to wear drama". - "Oh, I see", he replied.
"Well, no matter what you wear, you always look dashing". -"Dashing?"
Victoria replied with a raised eyebrow. "What about sexy or beautiful?"
- "Yes, that too, a choice bit of calico if I ever saw one", he nodded.
She looked through the dresses once again and pulled out a beautiful
gold one. "This will have to do", she sighed. - "Marvelous choice",
Maxwell added. - "You're killing me here", Victoria replied. "Stop
schmoozing my behind and get out there, I'm sure your players are
getting impatient!"
Inside the nightclub, William caught sight of Brian standing against
one of the pillars near the dance floor. He was hesitant to try and
talk to the young man again, being that his first attempt was a
complete failure. William and Stan sat at one of the booths, right
across from one another.
Stan had been quiet, nor did he seem like he had anything on his mind
either. "You're not very talkative tonight", William commented.
-"Nothing to discuss, my friend", he answered.
Brian let out a bored sigh, and then began looking around the place.
Much to his surprise he spotted a game of poker taking place near the
back. As much as he enjoyed the music of the city, he also found
enjoyment watching the people gamble. He found it hilarious to watch
them lose all of their life savings all because of they were dumb
enough to gamble in the first place. The man hosting the game looked
rather suspicious, and it was quite obvious the game was rigged.
He thought about heading over to watch it, but he remembered that as
soon as he left someone would probably steal his spot, and so he
remained where he was.
It wasn't long before the lights grew dim, and a small stage lit up with bright yellow lights.
The figure of a woman walked out from behind the red satin curtains,
she was dressed in a fancy gold dress, with a light colored fur coat,
draped across her shoulders, while holding a matching fan made of
feathers in her right hand. The woman was none other than the diva
herself, Victoria Thompson, and as soon as she took the microphone, the
room was filled with the sound of slow ambient beats and her uplifting
vocals.
Out of all the thousands of people in the audience, William sterling
felt like he was the only one who was mesmerized by her grace and
beauty. Stan also knew of William's feelings for the woman, but it was
something he didn't fully understand. In fact Stan didn't understand
anything having to do with human emotions, because he was nothing more
than a machine.
William suddenly caught site of a waitress and called her over to order
some drinks. "What will you have Stan? he asked. - "Nothing for me",
Stan replied. "I don't really like the taste of alcohol", he lied.
- "Then I guess, just one drink", William said to the waitress.
As soon as she left, he looked over towards the front, and saw Brian
still leaning against the pillar, with his hands in the pockets of his
leather jacket. Victoria's song had ended, and she began exiting
through the curtains, followed by the sounds of applause. William got
up again and started walking over to Brian, in attempt to try and talk
to him again. Brian didn't see or hear William, as he approached,
instead Brian was completely unaware of it. He kept looking straight
ahead, and watched as another artist took the stage. - "Hey", came a
voice from beside him. Brian turned his head and saw the soldier
standing next to him. "I didn't know you were a jazz fan too". Brian
nodded. "Yeah, she has some good music".
-"Why is it, you tried to ignore me outside?" William asked him.
"That was kinda rude, no offense. I mean all I was doing was trying to
make conversation". Brian had a feeling this soldier was not going to
leave him alone anytime soon. "I'm sorry", he answered. "I really don't
care for soldiers too much". Hearing this kind of angered William, he
felt like Brian was saying that all soldiers were bad people, in which
they weren't. -"Listen here", William began. "You shouldn't assume all
soldiers are the same, and besides what have you got against the AMF?"
- "My brother was a soldier", Brian explained. "he was also a test
pilot for the AMF's new fighter jets, and you know what? He died
because one of those machines malfunctioned!" Brian didn't realize it
at first, but he had spoke out so loud that everyone in the surrounding
area could hear him. - "I didn't know", William told him. "You only
told me he died, you never mentioned anything about him being a
soldier". Brian looked right at William, with a glimpse of anger in his
eyes, and spoke one last time before leaving. "I shouldn't have to, in
fact I shouldn't have to tell you or anyone else, anything got that?"
Brian stormed out of the building, and began pulling his jacket
closed tight to avoid the cold draft in the air outside. He felt kind
of bad for losing his temper like that, but felt it necessary to keep
the man away from him. He pulled out a tissue in his pocket, blew his
nose and then tossed it into a nearby trash can. He looked behind to
see if that soldier had been following him, but he didn't see anything,
so he found a nice quiet spot close to his apartment, leaned against
the brick wall and pulled a cigarette out, placed it in his mouth then
reached for his lighter.
As he lit it, he saw a figure heading his way, and began to wonder if it was that same guy.
He didn't think much of it at first, until he recognized the blue
uniform. "You don't give up do, you? Brian said to him. William looked
a tad angry, but still remained calm for some reason. "You had no right
to talk to me like that", he said. "All I was trying to do was talk to
you, because it looks like you don't have many friends. And with an
attitude like that, it's no wonder".
Brian put out his cigarette and let out a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry", he
said. "I'm just not in a good mood, but I do appreciate your company,
even if I'm not good at showing it".
William was shocked to hear him apologize, and all this time he thought
he was nothing but a rude ignorant jerk. "It's good to see you do
care", William replied. "I am sorry for bothering you, I just saw that
you looked upset and I thought I might try and help".
- "I appreciate it", Brian continued. "But you really shouldn't
waste your time with someone like me, believe me it's not worth it".
William just shook his head in disappointment in response to his words.
"Everyone needs help sometimes, even someone like you".
Brian really didn't know what to think of this, he had never had anyone
try to talk to him like this before, usually they would get mad with
him and that would the end, but this man, this soldier seemed like he
wasn't about to give up on him. "I guess", Brian shrugged. William
didn't really know what else to say to the young man, but it suddenly
dawned on him that maybe it would be best to invite him to tag along
with he and Stan before the night was over.
© Lynnette J Williams 2009
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