Robotech Wars - Fourth Robotech War

Fourth Robotech War

See also: Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles and Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles

Following the Battle of Reflex Point, the veritech fighter pilots assemble at Moon Base ALUCE. The fighters are to remain near Earth, which will be vulnerable while the REF rebuilds. Among those killed is Commander Daryl Taylor, the leader of wolf squadron. The surviving members of the squadron, including Marcus Rush and Alex Romero, are merged into Skull Squadron under the command of Maia Sterling.

The REF also faces a new problems: Invid have taken all the protoculture on the planet and the REF has only a year's supply left and the only hope is to find the SDF-3, which has a protoculture matrix on board. Earth, although free, remains in economic and social turmoil. During the Invid occupation, many humans allied with them in exchange of power while areas not under Invid control were ruled by criminal gangs, self-appointed leaders and a variety of cults. Much of the planet remains in a pre-industrial state, and its people are divided and leaderless. As a result, there is little Earth can do to assist the REF.

With the Invid gone, the REF expects that their next challenge will be rebuilding Earth, which has been devastated by the 13-year Invid occupation. However, the peace following the Invid retreat turns out to be very short-lived. Ariel tries to warn the REF about the new threat that is about to manifest itself but her and Scott Bernard's warning are not heeded. The REF believes that the Invid remain the true enemy and that they are trying to manipulate the REF. Bernard is interrogated and despite his insistence that Ariel is a friend and is trying to warn of an impending disaster, Captain Vince Grant and General Reinhardt, and most of the REF, refuses to trust an Invid. Ariel's warning is only realized to be accurate when Space Station Liberty comes under attack a large fleet of the same unknown alien forces that attacked the SDF-3 in the Omicron sector. It is soon discovered that the attackers are the Haydonites themselves, and that they have turned on the REF. Ariel teleports to the bridge of the Grant's commandship Icarus to explain that the Haydonites believe that all those who use protoculture must be destroyed, including both the Invid and humanity.

The REF ships docked at Liberty launch an attack against the Haydonites but they soon discover that their former allies have addition surprises instore. Immediately, the Haydonites jam all REF communications. The Haydonite ships are equipped with powerful shields which can withstand hits from the REF weapons and massive cannons that are superior to those of the REF and they easily destroy the REF's first combat defense line. The REF ships attempt to fire their syncro-cannons but a Haydonite disrupter wave causes the cannons to malfunction and explode, destroying and crippling numerous REF ships. By the time the Icarus with Vince Grant, Louie Nichols, Janice Em, Scott Bernard and Ariel arrives on the scene, 89% of the REF forces at Liberty have been destroyed. As the Icarus watches helplessly, a carrier explodes after just one hit on its reflex furnace. Louie reports that the haydonites are also using energy beams that utilize a weakness in the ships' shadow devices, which cause the ships' reflex furnaces to implode. Vince slams his fist as he realizes that every piece of technology the Haydonites have given the REF has some kind of trojan horse built into it. However, with communications still jammed, Grant is unable to warn the REF ships of this discovery, and has no choice but to retreat while the remaining ships are left to fight a hopeless battle.

Vince Grant, realizing that any engagement with the Haydonites with the Icarus (which has shadow technology) is futile, launches another plan. He orders Skull Squadron, under the command of Maia Sterling, to dock at Liberty and acquire special fighters with no shadow technology to hold off the Haydonites long enough to evacuate all of Liberty's personnel to the Ark Angel, a colony ship with minimal armorments but the only capital ship at Liberty with no shadow technology. Meanwhile, Grant and Scott Bernard, move through Liberty on cyclones (motorcycles) until they reach the remaining Neutron-S missiles, which they rig for detonation. As the Ark Angel pulls away from Liberty, the Haydonites move in, but the Ark Angel initiates a spacefold just before the detonation of the missiles. The missiles' explosion destroys Liberty and the entire Haydonite fleet.

At the end of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, the situation of the REF is dire. Space Station Liberty, by far the REF's largest and most important space station, is gone and the heavy losses taken by the REF during the assault against the Invid have now been compounded by the further losses to the Haydonites of at least 89% of the ships that were docked at Liberty (although the exact or approximate remaining strength of the REF is not known). The Ark Angel arrives in Earth orbit and flies into the atmosphere and cruises near the surface. Many of those aboard the Ark Angel, such as Maia Sterling and Marcus Rush, were born in space during the REF's 22-year mission, and have never seen Earth's surface until now. On orders from General Reinhardt, the Ark Angel begins a mission to find the SDF-3, which it is learned may not have been destroyed. The REF hopes that the SDF-3, if it has survived, can be found before the Haydonites reach it.

It is hoped by fans that the fate of the SDF-3 and the REF will be revealed in a future Robotech Installment.