Today on RoboMan . . .
Amanda Waterman's first day on the job is more exciting than expected when she and her co-workers Aaron, Brad and David are drawn beneath the waves by a mysterious vessel crash landing into Earth. The Robon, a class of automatons from the planet Chromius escape to seek help and energy to fight the planetary civil war waged by the tyrannical ProcBots, a hybrid form of the Chromions developed as an experiment. Now, they have come to conquer rule Earth as well...
EARTH DEFENDER ROBOMAN
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Starring: Aaron Roland Lifeson ......................... ..... Gold Robon
Brad A. Seed ..................... .............. Silver Robon
David Skye's ...................... ............... Blue Robon
Amanda E. Waterman .................. ............. Pink Robon
Copyright (c) 1999 Phill. Enterprises
"Fire in the Sky," Part One
Written By Phillip Rowlands
ACT I:
A red humanoid robot with a face, moulded stationary lips and a black rectangle backpack hid behind the wall of a structure with its blaster drawn. He checked to see if the coast was clear and then turned out again. It ran over the bridge when the red automaton heard a noise as it jumped into the air and swung from a pole to land top of the tall structure. He watched two ProcBots check out the area and move away. The red automaton leaped off the building, landed on his feet cautiously proceeding.
Suddenly, the red robot stopped running as he came upon a fort-like structure. He pointed to a red round button like insignia with a Ruby Red Pentagon Crystal inside located on the left side of his chest. He was allowed inside and entered a huge building. He looked around as he sees his own kind with the same design as his own.
A pink robot with the same white circle colour scheme across her chest with moulded bosoms into the body structure ran up to the red robot.
"Lynx!" she shouted running up to him. "I'm so glad you made it."
"I almost didn't make it past those two ProcBots."
"I'm just glad you're okay."
Lynx nodded and then looked on. "How's the craft coming along?"
"They're still having problems with the phase inducers but the plasma coils are functional," Alumina reported. They walked towards the centre of the large building. "All the navigational systems are intact and just in case we needed to, we've installed some weapons for your protection."
"Oh, Alumina, I hope this works. We have so much riding on this and I don't know if this will actually pay off." Lynx looked back and forth at everything.
"You have to have hope," she replied. Alumina looked at him. "The other three of your team are confident. Besides, the probes we've sent out indicates there could be a possibility of some energy sources."
"I know but," Lynx interrupted.
"Believe me, this will work." Lynx and Alumina hugged when an alarm sounded. They parted and Lynx ran up to Morpheos, a gold robot with the same white colour scheme and a red button on the left side of his chest with a yellow circle crystal inside.
"What's happening?" asked Lynx.
"The ProcBots have been sited attacking the fortress," Morpheos answered while watching the view screen. "It's only a matter of time before they make it through and get into the hangar."
"We have to move," Lynx warned. "Can we get going?"
Morpheos shook his head. "No way. The systems aren't ready yet."
"Does it have the drive plasma?"
"Yes, the cells have been installed but we have yet to even find the resources for the back-up cells." A loud explosion is heard rocking the hangar as the personnel scramble. A blue robot with a blue up-side down triangle crystal on his red button in the same white circle scheme on his chest ran up to Morpheos.
"Morpheos, what in blazes was that?" Cerebros demanded to know.
"I don't know." Morpheos operated more of the controls.
Lynx moves into the centre of the large room. "Everyone, it's time to get sail this boat! We haven't got much time."
"Wait! Where's Ramzor?" Suddenly a Silver Robot with a linked double-zero clear crystal in his red button landed on the ground.
"Where were you?" asked Lynx.
Ramzor checked behind himself. "I was trying to finish off a few of those ProcBots."
"We have no time for that, Ramzor!" Lynx replied; "It's time to blast off."
"You heard Lynx, guys. Let's move!" Morpheos ordered.
All of the automatons got into position as a large rocket twice size of a battleship surfaced from out of the large platform to the right of the main entrance as the ceiling opened. The platform tilted pointing the nose of the rocket into the ceiling as the robot personnel enter the control booths. The sky reveals an array of fireworks from warfare as the Chromions continue to fight off the continuously arriving ProcBots.
"Come on!" yells Lynx as they enter a long tube which elevates them to the entrance to the rocket's starboard airlock. The conveyer platform took them inside, past the hull. The airlock closed before the platform disconnected.
The service Robon's in the control booths to the left of the main entrance watch the two view screens on the sides of the main entrance.
On board the ship, Cerebros is seen at the Operations Console on the left with Alumina at the helm. Ramzor approached the communications/tactical board directly behind Morpheos who was sitting beside Lynx.
"What is our minus time?"
"38 macrocycles, Morpheos."
"All clear, Morpheos," Cerebros announced.
Ramzor nodded. "Ready for take off."
"Standing by for ignition."
"10 macrocycles until blast-off. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one," Lynx counted down.
"Ignition," Morpheos commanded.
The ships aft thrusters fired as yellow, almost white flames bellowed out of the crafts afterburners. The ship began to move off of it's rollers. Once in the air it's rollers fold inside the hull as long silver beams extended out.
"Start subatomic drive," commanded Lynx.
"Subatomic drive initiated," Alumina announced. The silver beams began to glow brilliantly as it took the ship out of sight. The massive space vessel travelled through a tunnel of random colour with a white light at the end.
ACT II:
The City of Redondo Beach, California; a community of the south bay within the county of Los Angeles. A few blocks south east of Columbia Regional Park featured a small, single story house with a triangular rooftop where birds chirping at perched. Parked in the driveway in front of the steel garage that morning was a red compact automobile. Down the street, a guy no older than 19 rode by on a bicycle with a basket mounted on the handle bars and flung a newspaper in the front lawn past the mailbox. Meanwhile, inside, the small den beside the dining room and kitchen led to a hallway where just one and a half bathrooms and three bedrooms were.
Inside one of the bedrooms, the sun was just rising over the horizon outside of her window casting a soft blue glow across all four white walls of her room. The bell of an alarm clock rang awakening the brown haired woman sleeping in the twin-sized bed beneath the white comforter. With her eyes still closed, she squinted before yawning. Her hand fell upon the clock with the hands pointing to six o'clock.
Steam filled the bathroom while water crashed in the shower. She managed to hear her telephone ringing through the open door leading to her bedroom. Her dripping wet hand had pushed down the knob inside of the shower.
Wrapped in a brown towel, the woman--about three inches over five feetcame into her bedroom. She picked up the receiver and answered, in the British accent she had, "Hello?"
"Rise and shine, Amanda!" he greeted over the phone.
Amanda sighed. "Good morning, Brad." Not far away at two story house in, a Caucasian man with short-cut blonde hair sat on a black leather couch in front of a coffee table holding the phone. "David was too nervous about calling you this early in the morning so I thought I'd make sure you were up," Brad said. "Guess you were since you sound busy."
"What was your first clue?" Amanda rhetorically asked over his phone. "I was in the shower."
"At a quarter past six in the morning??"
Amanda rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Well as a new member to our little team, David wanted to give you the proper treatment and provide his carpooling services to you," Brad answered. "Since he got the job, he bought this blue Ford Tempo from one of those car auctions."
Amanda wiped water away from her face. "Wait a minute, Brad--I already own a car."
Brad nodded while a tanned man with curly brown hair walked into the living room, pointing his wrist watch. Brad nodded at him as well and waved his hand, signalling him to be patient. "I know, so does Aaron. But I'm tired of riding around in his white jeep and we're short on parking spaces down by the pier."
"Brad, does David know where Amanda lives?" Aaron asked Brad.
Amanda overheard what Aaron said on her phone.
"(Uh... Just a sec, Aaron.) Amanda, where do you live?"
"Never mind," Amanda replied. "I haven't had breakfast yet so I'd be better off driving their myself since I'd have more time to finish getting ready for work."
"All right, I'm gonna call David and tell him Aaron and I'll pick him up instead of you," Brad said over her phone. "We only called this early so that we'd have enough time to get there and back in time for work."
Amanda nodded. "Okay, well, I'll see you at work, okay?"
"Sure will. And remember, you've got tower 15; David is stationed at 17, I'm at 18 and Aaron is at tower 14," Brad reminded. "Lieutenant Moe Garrison will check in with us later."
"All right. Bye, Brad," Amanda concluded before hanging up.
In outer space, the white tubular star ship with three silver rods in the aft section, the main subatomic propulsion system. The Robon space vessel had began to near a grey, ice covered planet. Aboard the ship, the five Robon automatons manned their stations on the bridge.
Lynx looked at the main viewer and then looked over to the blue one sitting at the left station. "Cerebros, any signs of energy or civilisation?"
"Negative Lynx," he answered. "This is a frozen and barren world. Entirely too small for colonisation."
The gold robot shook his head. "We must keep searching," Morpheos said.
Alumina's optics temporarily glowed when she looked at her console. "Oh no! This can't be."
Lynx looked at the pink Robon. "Report."
"The computer data on long range scanning indicate there is an artificial object about 1,200 lengths and is self-propelled," she replied. "There could bean engine onboard but I can't identify what it is or whether or not it is a ship or not."
Morpheos thought that perhaps it could lead them to where they could obtain help for the long struggle on their home planet Chromius. "Broadcast a greeting on all frequencies."
Alumina slid various lights across the black glossy console. "Done."
The ship's front side featured a shuttle-type hull while the aft side being a flat section holding a sphere in the centre of continually randomising colour. The dark grey ship gained more velocity while a yellow glow emanated from a long tube under its forward hull. It became a beam and struck the aft section of the Robon's craft. On the bridge, the impact jolted the crew.
"Status report!" Morpheos demanded.
"We've just be struck by a graviton force ray. Our hull took it pretty well but it wont take too long until it comes into contact with the inner hull," Cerebros stated.
"Increase speed, we have to find a place to stay." The bridge was rocked again.
Cerebros nodded and looked at Morpheos. "Tracking rays indicate there is another celestial body within range."
"Locate its co-ordinates and navigate us to it," he ordered.
The unidentified flying vehicle now steadily held with the Robon ship's course.
"No attempt has been made to alter course by the unidentified vessel," Ramzor reported.
"This is not good," Lynx commented.
"Evasive manoeuvres, Alumina," Morpheos ordered.
Alumina nodded after sliding lights, aligning them like building blocks on the console. "Evasive manoeuvres programmed and set."
The large craft turned off and increased speed as did the unknown ship as it came to the left side of the Robon ship, turned and fired into the port side.
Lynx was shaken by the strong blow to the space ship. "Direct hit to portside."
"Damage report," Morpheos requested.
"Unknown sir, manual surveys being taken by computer now," Cerebros replied.
"We have to return fire, otherwise they will continue to try and disable our ship," Ramzor insisted.
"You're right, Ramzor; we have no choice," Morpheos decided. "Re-route mainelectro-U232 conduits to laser reflective chamber and target the craft. Alumina, slow to 200 lengths per macrocycle and assume attack position."
Ramzor nodded. "Re-routing Electro conduits now."
"Current speed: 200 lengths per macrocycle, we're in position," Alumina reported.
"Open fire." A thin blue-green line pointed towards the ship and attempted to follow but the ship moved out of range too fast.
"Results, Ramzor?"
"We didn't even make contact! Estimates say the ship was out of range before the lasers were even activated."
"They might have detected we were coming into attack position," Alumina added. The ship is struck again causing a mild explosion of sparks to result in the corner of the bridge.
"Damage report," Lynx ordered.
Cerebros read non-roman symbols draw themselves within a rectangle on his console. "Inner hull damage, level one, sections four and eight."
"That was dirty," Ramzor commented.
Morpheos nodded at him and then looked at the blue Robon. "Return fire, Cerebros." Morpheos became angry over being involved in a conflict like this.
"Lasers activated," Ramzor reported.
The ship came around and fired a laser from the underside of it's core body to the top-side of the battle ship's sphere next to the engines.
"Direct hit, dorsal side," Lynx reported.
Morpheos nodded. "Good, now let's get outta here."
"Estimated time of arrival of eight possible body to star Magnus VI, 1,800Mega Lengths," Alumina reported.
"The battleship isn't moving," Cerebros reported. "Looks like they're gonna back off."
"Hopefully we have a enough energy left from that battle to make it to a place where we can find some decent resources," Morpheos replied. "In the meantime, lets conserve our power. Switch to Gas Drive."
The large ship's silver beams stop glowing as a bright yellow flame propels the ship towards the next planet at a great speed.
Driving westbound on Hermosa Avenue up to a red light was the red compact car that was driven by Amanda. While waiting at 11th Street, her right turn signal flashed while she checked her hair. Light brown and short cutslightly shaved in the back, she fluffed up the front and looked discontent. I knew I should've taken my time, Amanda thought to herself. The traffic signal turned green and a white Metro bus with two orange stripes honked at her from behind. Her shoulders leaped and she turned around looked behind herself at the driver.
"Sheesh," Amanda said while making her right turn, heading northbound on Pier Avenue. After making a left turn on Pier Avenue, Amanda's car drove by a sign reading: Hermosa Beach.
The brilliant sun was over the beautiful horizon of the Pacific Ocean while her car rolled towards the parking lot behind the vast sand-covered beach. When she turned right to enter the lot, people walked by the rear of her car towards the beach below. Spring Break packed the shore with many visitors.
On that first Monday of Spring, two guys in Speedo's walked by, each holding a surfboard while women, in bikinis every colour of the rainbow, played volleyball in front of the concession stand. There, a family bought hotdogs. Meanwhile, people fished on the pier beside the rows of towers that lined the shore.
In white sneakers, navy blue trousers and a red lifeguard jacket, Amanda stepped out of her car, closed the locked door and activated the anti-theft system with her key chain. Amanda left the lot, walking by a sign reading: Reserved for Employees.
At the closed tower marked 15, Amanda walked up the ramp towards the guard rail where she pulled up the white, wooden board with 9-1-1 printed on the surface. After unlocking the deadbolt lock on the cabin, Amanda opened the door and stepped inside. There she slipped off her shoes and unzipped her jacket.
Wearing a red, back less swimsuit with the white lifeguard's seal, Amanda had walked out of the cabin of her tower with her red rescue can in hand. She hung it on the hook screwed into the ceiling of her tower's roof.
Approaching the front railing, she held a pair of black and yellow binoculars and looked out to sea. Amanda observed men, women and children of ages ranging from six to 46 when she heard a buzzing, paging her from behind. Amanda walked inside of the cabin and picked up the telephone receiver. "Tower 15, Waterman."
At Tower 17, a man in red swimming trunks with the lifeguard seal stood inside his cabin with brown, crew-cut hair with glasses on. "Amanda--this is David. Welcome to Hermosa Beach."
Amanda carried her radio phone outside of the cabin and looked through her binoculars down the coast. She saw him as he waved at her. "Hi, Mr. Skye's."
David carried his phone while sitting on the guard rail. "Don't call me that--I feel like the crusty old Captain," he replied with a grin.
Amanda chuckled. "So what's up?"
David looked at a message he jotted down on a notepad. "Lieutenant Garrison wanted you and I to do truck duty until noon. And then after lunch, we do foot patrol. So that means I'll be picking you up in about five minutes."
"Okay. I'll be ready," she replied over his phone.
"'Kay, seeya later," David replied. He hung up and took down his rescue can before walking down the ramp towards the yellow pick-up truck.
In outer space within Earth's solar system, the white tubular space vessel that the Robon's had taken to search for help and resources approached the red planet Mars. Onboard the star ship, the Robon resumed normal operation aboard the bridge.
Morpheos looked at the red automaton. "Status report, Ramzor."
Ramzor looked at the gold Robon after reading data on his console. "No sign of the unidentified space ship, Morpheos."
He nodded. "Good."
Alumina spoke in her heavily synthesised voice. "Coming upon the fourth possible body, Morpheos."
Lynx leaned forward. "Reduce speed to 80 lengths per macrocycle."
"Speed now at 80 lengths per macrocycle," the pink automaton reported.
Morpheos held his chin while pondering, suddenly he ordered, "Go into orbit, Alumina. Cerebros, activate sonar reflection scanners."
The blue automaton nodded. "Sonar refection scanners on."
Lynx looked at Morpheos. "This place already looks dead. We're too late ,this planet seems like it could have been useful a few million megacycles ago but it looks like..."
The blue Robon interrupted. "I'm sorry, Lynx but I've got bad news."
"What is it, Cerebros?" Morpheos asked.
"That unidentified artificial object has returned."
"Oh no," Ramzor moaned.
"Broadcast a signal..." Morpheos started but the bridge already is shaken by the impact of the battleship's graviton beam. We see the craft coming out from the south-side of the Mars' southern poll.
"Never mind, arm lasers and ready magno cannons."
Ramzor nodded. "Done."
"Open fire," Morpheos commanded.
Several short strips of blue-green lines are sent after the battleship as it takes most of the hits and starts to veer off.
"Continue." The ship makes a pass closer to the larger battle vehicle as it suddenly powers up it's engines and nicks the side of the ship.
"Ugh!" everyone exclaimed. "The ship powered down and fooled us into thinking they were taken out," Ramzor shouted.
"These attacks seem familiar," Cerebros ponders. "Morpheos, I am reporting," Cerebros said, interrupted by another blast, "...another celestial body about400 mega lengths from us."
Morpheos nodded. "Okay.. Activate the subatomic drive. (It's time to breakout the back-up.) Ramzor, get down into the weapons room and start loading the Magma Torpedoes."
Ramzor nodded. "Right, Morpheos." The red Robon immediately left his station and entered the trans car after the double-doors slid open. Ramzor turned around as the doors closed. Meanwhile, Lynx took his station.
"Alumina, program a course for the planet Cerebros just mentioned at maximum speed," Morpheos ordered. "We don't have a moment to spare."
The pink Robon nodded while operating her console quickly. "Our estimated time of arrival is twenty-two macrocycles."
Lynx looked at Morpheos. "More bad news. That thing is gaining on us."
"Rrrgh," the gold Robon groaned. "'Getting tired of this." Morpheos flipped open a panel on the armrest and pushed one of the back lit buttons. "Bridge to weapons room, do you receive, Ramzor."
"Acknowledge, Morpheos," he replied.
"Are the energy bombs and Magma Torpedoes loaded."
In the weapons room, featuring storage closets for swords and light pistols, Ramzor stood near a slanted wall with rows of hatches beside a library of large bullet-shaped bombs and looked meters on another wall. The red Robon pushed the talk button on the wall. "Weapons room to the bridge--all set, Morpheos."
On the bridge, the gold Robon nodded. "Good. Lynx, open fire."
The Robon star ship, a large white tubular vessel moving at an incredible speed, headed for a blue, glowing sphere. Red spinning stars that shot out of the aft section, flying out of sight.
Cerebros looked on the main screen showing the unidentified ship following behind as the stars came into view and producing huge explosions in front of it. "Magma Torpedoes have detonated on target."
"Effect?" Morpheos asked.
Cerebros shook his head. "Negligible. No damage detected."
"(Is there anything that can stop that thing?)"
"It's increasing speed, closing on us," Alumina reported.
Morpheos pushed the talk button on his armrest. "Keep firing, Ramzor."
"I'll do the best I can," he replied over the communication system.
The alien battle ship propelled a yellow spinning star from a dorsal tube on top its hull at the white tubular ship. Two of which hit the ship in the back and on the right which showed bright flashes on the hull. Two bells sounded off aboard the bridge.
Cerebros was rocked in his seat. "Inner hull damage in sections 18, 19 and20."
"Atmosphere decompression level on level four," Lynx also reported.
"Ramzor here--what is going on up there?" he asked via the intercom.
"That thing out there is taking us apart," Lynx replied via his console. "Keep those cylinders loaded and ready to go!"
"Those were compressed graviton charges," Cerebros reported. "I don't know how they did this but it's as if they're slamming the hull with 2-Gs."
In the weapons room, Ramzor looked at the blue Robon on his small screen. "Well see if you can hold them off with lasers while I go fuel up some more magnetic charges."
"We can't do that at this speed," Morpheos replied via the intercom.
Alumina turned around and looked at the gold Robon. "19 microcycles until arrival, Morpheos."
"We're never going to last at this rate," Lynx complained as he jumped up and rain down the emergency stairs.
"Lynx! Lynx, come back here!" Morpheos ordered.
The large craft fired two more yellow spheres after the ship, both of which miss the large ship which banked out of the way.
"Good moves, Alumina," Morpheos commended; he pushed the talk button on his armrest again. "Ramzor, status on those torpedoes?"
In the noisy weapons room, Ramzor held down the talk button on the wall while looking at the active colour matrix display. "They're ready to go."
Morpheos nodded. "Open fire."
The large ship let go of two red charges that caused an explosion. Three more charges were propelled after the battleship, causing more explosions.
"Minimal outer-hull damage to alien vessel," Cerebros reported.
Morpheos clenched his fist angrily. "What is our estimated time until arrival?"
Alumina slid various lights around her black panel. "Less than 15 microcycles."
Morpheos sighed. "(Oh Mercy.)"
"This is Lynx," was suddenly heard over the intercom.
The gold Robon turned the knob on his armrest panel and pushed the backlit talk button, causing it to change from yellow to green. "Lynx, where are you?"
Lynx stood in a huge noisy hall with a blue glowing diamond shaped crystal suspended by four red tubes. On the sides, were two green battery shaped tanks that fuelled the engine assembly that he stood by. "I'm in the engine room."
"Why are you down there?" he replied via the intercom.
Morpheos listened to Lynx speak over the intercom on the bridge. "I'm going to try and see if I can make some modifications to raise power to the engine."
"They aren't designed to run faster than they are," Morpheos reminded.
"I have to try; Lynx out."
"Lynx! Lynx!! Darn it, Lynx--what are you doing?"
More yellow glowing spheres were fired one right after the other, pounding the hull of the ship. One of the silver rods were struck and the ship began to lose guidance control. On the bridge, the lights dimmed and sparks sprayed everywhere while the crew tried to hang on.
"TransEngines have been severely damaged due to power misalignment which has upset the power relay systems throughout the ship," Alumina shouted.
"Lynx, where are you??" Morpheos shouted.
In the engine room, steam was pouring out of the bulkheads while Lynx held onto poles connected to the wall. He pushed a button in the wall and said, "Bridge, this is Lynx. I'm having some bad problems down here, guys. We have to get out of here."
On the rocking bridge, Cerebros looked at a colour change in blocks on his panel. "10 microcycles until we reach the planet at our current rate."
"Okay, this is getting out of hand," Morpheos commented. "Switch to emergency power. Ramzor, get out of the weapons room and fix the power core."
In the torpedo bay, Ramzor closed a hatch on the wall and walked over to the wall looking down the hall at a huge black door. "I can't, the service route have been cut off by the decompression doors."
"Make new routes then, we have a battle to fight," Morpheos replied on the intercom.
On the bridge, Alumina looked at the blue Robon to her left. "Cerebros, can you shut down the engines from here?"
"Unfortunately, computer links have been either disrupted, overloaded or disconnected through hull damage," he replied to the pink automaton. "Switching to secondary optical communications computer network."
"If it is a fight they want, it is a fight they will get," Morpheos declared. "Alumina, set thrusters on maximum speed--we'll have to drift to the third body while we try and destroy whatever it is that has done this!"
"Lynx here, there is bad news, we have 20 microcycles until total systems failure on engines."
"Lynx, can you power the engines down?" Morpheos asked.
Lynx looked at Morpheos on the bridge with the wall-mounted display. "I can do that, but I am going to need to try and access the power core."
"You can't get there, it has been sealed off by decompression doors, " Morpheos replied from the bridge
"Can you shut it down from the bridge?" Lynx asked over the intercom.
"Of course not, the compu-comm network is down, but we're switching to, AGH!!" The bridge was rocked by two more jolts.
"We're on the back-up network," Cerebros replied. "Thank goodness this thing doesn't believe in a relentless attack. We'd be through by now."
"I know," Morpheos replied. "Now power down those engines."
"Too late, we already lost them. Damage reports from the backup network say that level five, section ten has been destroyed," Cerebros reported. He turned around and looked at Morpheos. "Main engineering."
Alumina looked at him sharply and gasped, "Oh no. Lynx was down there."
ACT III:
The white tube-shaped starship had coasted past the Earth's moon, onboard, the Gold, Blue and Pink Robon had manned their stations aboard the bridge. The heavily damaged vessel was hardly ready for more attacks from the unidentified space ship that closed on them.
"Ramzor here--what happened? It felt like it got us good that time," he said via the intercom.
Morpheos sighed. "Engineering has been destroyed; we're running on thrusters for now. Have you got any more torpedoes loaded for us?"
Ramzor stood in the weapons room looking at the meters on the walls. "We've fired most of them but the remaining four dozen are armed and ready."
Morpheos sighed again. "Cerebros, fire at will."
"Firing torpedoes," the blue Robon reported. The red stars are propelled after the ship which dodges one but is struck by another.
"The ship has dropped to 55 lengths per macrocycle," Alumina reported.
"Looks like they're been finally impacted by all of this," Morpheos figured. "Repeat firing."
The large Robon vessel closed in on the unidentified flying spacecraft and fired blue-green flashes from the under-side of its hull with groups of three short beams of laser fire. The unidentified ship's hull withstood the explosions but lost its course as it dropped towards the blue planet below. Onboard the bridge, Cerebros manipulating the data on his graphical interface and read the information writing itself out on the display.
"The ship is headed for the third planet."
"Uh oh. What's down there?" Morpheos asked.
"Estimates not clear, stand by," Cerebros replied.
"We're losing power to the thrusters," Alumina reported.
Morpheos jerked. "Already?"
"Ramzor, here--I'm coming up to the Bridge. Hang on."
"The planet's dominant sentient occupancy is an approximately five-billion race of carbon based humanoids of varying type. Two thirds of the planet is made up of one part hydrogen, two parts oxygen," Cerebros reported. "There is an atmosphere--primary composed of Nitrogen and Oxygen with varying meteorological difference across the globe."
Ramzor stood Lynx's station on the bridge when he left the Transcar. Cerebros continued reading.
"It's a solid surface planet with an industrialisation classification of level five, they're pretty advanced for organic creatures."
"This is our last shot, guys," Morpheos nodded. "Prepare for entry."
"With all the hull damage, can the ship take it?" Alumina asked.
"It will have to," Ramzor replied. The Robon's starship began to cruise towards the planet Earth.
In the sky overhead, the sun was almost directly above the beach as rows of people, usually in groups of two, occupied beach blankets of various bright colours. With the mountains in view, a yellow pick-up truck with a surfboard under the strobe-light slowly rolled along the sand. Aaron held his rescue can while watching the truck drive by when it begun to brake to a halt. The passenger side door opened and David stepped out.
"Hey, David!" Aaron cheerfully greeted. "Saw your new car. Conservative but sporty." Brad, standing beside Aaron nodded.
"Yeah. It gets awesome mileage, man--hey, you ought to think about replacing that Jeep, Aaron," David said right after slamming the door shut. "You've been sending that thing to the shop so much, it's probably got a new pair of everything by now."
Aaron laughed. "Heh, no way, David. I had that beauty fixed up real nice."
"Really!" David said. Amanda slammed the driver's side door closed after getting out of the truck.
"Yup. I had the engine converted to diesel and had it painted white. That thing's probably worth more now than it was when I bought it," Aaron said. "I was real upset when I had to find a place to live after college."
"Why is that?" David asked.
Aaron looked down and cocked his head. "Couldn't afford to be spending my usual fifty percent of my allowance on the jeep. Thank goodness for me my good friend Brad bailed me out on splitting the rent on this cool house."
"You rent a house?" Amanda asked. "How'd you come about that?"
"My dad works for a real estate agency," Brad answered. "It was like pulling teeth to let me have it when I told him I was gonna be a lifeguard instead of a less risky job when I came out of college. Like--anything but this job."
Aaron lightly chuckled. "So, uh--anyway, welcome aboard, Amanda." He putout his hand and she smiled while shaking it.
"I'm glad to be here. I never thought I wanted to be a lifeguard. As a matter of fact," Amanda replied--clearing the hair from her face, "before I graduated from High School, I didn't know what I wanted to be."
Brad checked his wrist watch and squinted at the others. "Hey, uh, listen I say we make tracks for this little diner on Artesia Boulevard I know about. It has a great selection of breakfasts and lunches."
"Sounds good," Amanda replied. "Who's driving?"
David smiled. "I'll go. Rookie gets the front seat."
"Huh, wha?" Brad asked. Aaron grinned.
David smirked. "Hey, my car--my rules."
"I'm only getting you get away with that 'cause I'm too hungry to care," Brad told him. David shrugged.
A Metro Bus drove by a small, 1950s-style restaurant with a neon sign on a pole reading Lenny's with parking in the rear. Inside, music on the radio was played over the speakers in the ceiling while a pair of ceiling fans turned at low speed. A few people sat in blue, vinyl seats in wooden chairs attached to the walls. The light brown tables in front of the seats were also attached the walls with windows as well. Through one of two entrances, Aaron, in a white lifeguard t-shirt and black slacks and work shoes led the other, similarly dressed lifeguards into the diner.
Brad looked at everyone and asked, "Okay, what does everybody want?"
David pondered it briefly. "Um, chicken sandwich and a medium size soda."
"Uh, yeah--let's keep it simple; same thing, tuna instead," Aaron answered.
"(Okay, chicken and tuna and two medium soft drinks)," Brad recited, "what about you, Amanda?"
Amanda shrugged. "Egg salad and maybe a water."
"Okay, two egg salad's, two sandwiches, three soft drinks and a water," Brad recited again. "I'm buying--chips?" Everyone shook their head no. "Okay well, you all go find us a good seat and I'll be back with our lunch," Brad told everyone while walking away. Amanda waved at him while David picked a seat. Aaron sat down next to Amanda who took the window seat, sitting opposite of David. Amanda arranged the salt and pepper shakers while conjuring up small talk.
"I must admit, throughout my training, I sincerely believed that I'd always be struggling to keep up. I just knew I wouldn't be able to handle it but after this morning, I think everything is going to be fine."
"I felt the same way a year ago when I first got hired," David interjected. Aaron saw Brad standing at the take-out window beside the juice bar waiting for his order because the usual waitress was sick. He looked to his side at Amanda and asked,
"So, what's your story? After introductions at headquarters, we sorta parted ways last Friday."
"Well; I live in a house near Hawthorne Boulevard that belonged to my parents before they moved away to live in a condominium in Florida."
David chuckled. "(Of course.)"
"They gave the place to me because they figured that I was out of college and I have a job so I don't need the extra added burden of paying rent on some building shared by dozens of other people," Amanda explained. "What about you?"
Aaron smiled. "I've been swimming before I learned how to work thanks to my parents. Ever since then, I'd gotten into swim competitions and taught my friends how to swim and so on." Aaron grinned and said, "I'm not really _qualified_ for anything else so..."
David stifled a chuckle.
"How about you, David? You seem so dynamic enough to do anything you want," Amanda commented. "Surely, you could get a much better paying job doing something more intellectual."
David grinned. "It's the glasses, isn't it? They're for driving only I can see quite nicely without them... Really! I often don't have anywhere else to put them so I wear 'em all the time."
Amanda nodded. "Uh huh."
"Anyway, you're right; I learned a couple of computer programming languages about a decade ago and I own one but I was motivated to become a lifeguard for a different reason," David explained. "One day, my best friend and I went to Abalone Cove Beach to pick up girls and J.C. was showing off. The water got rough and since they don't have any lifeguards, I couldn't do anything but call 911, but by the time they got their, he'd drowned. I felt real bad I couldn't save his life so I learned _everything_ I could about lifeguards. Went to public pools after school, took swimming lessons and everything. It was good for me because I began to understand that it's okay to have fun in a dangerous environment just so long as you look out, stay careful and be alert." Amanda moved and impressed by David's noble reaction to his friend passing away. Brad returned with a couple of trays supporting straws, napkins and Styrofoam cartons and cups.
"Food!" Aaron cheered. "I'm starving." Brad smiled and set down the trays as they opened the cartons and unwrapped the foil. "Yeah, hot chicken sandwich for Aaron, cold tuna for David and a salad for the lady and yours truly."
"We, uh, interrupt this broadcast for a special report. We usually don't interrupt the music but sources say that, according to observatories and the space telescopes, there is a remarkable display of lights and two objects that were seen earlier by Hubble. Apparently, both ships are either entering or falling into earth's atmosphere headed for the Pacific Ocean. More details..."
"This sounds important," Amanda commented. "That thing is headed for the Pacific Ocean!"
David nodded. "Near Southern California at that!"
Amanda pondered. "The beach it must be a mad scene down there."
Brad nodded. "Ready to go, everybody?"
"Yeah," Aaron replied. "Last one to my jeep gets left behind."
On the surface of the atmosphere, the white tube-shaped starship with a damaged silver rod on its aft section began to attempt vehicular ingress into Earth's atmosphere. Aboard the space vessel, the Robon held on while the bridge vibrated.
"Outer hull temperature reaching 30,000 Nusons," Cerebros reported.
"That other ship probably couldn't have withstood this," Ramzor hoped.
"I feel as though my chassis is going to melt," Alumina complained.
"Let's keep it together, guys," Morpheos ordered.
"Damage report," Ramzor requested.
"TransEngine Coils have been lost, hull integrity breaking down."
"Oh, Lynx..." Alumina moaned. The ship's hull began to glow even redder when then it started to turn orange.
At Hermosa Beach, between Manhattan and Redondo Beaches, Aaron drove down the centre of the parking lot until he found the lot for lifeguards and immediately turned around to drive into the parking space. Amanda jumped out of the jeep and ran towards the sand. On the shore, coast guards were patrolling the area, trying to escort people off the beach using bull horns. Sirens from police trucks came in the distance while the people on the inside announced over the loudspeaker,
"Please clear the area. This is an emergency. Please vacate the premises at once." Meanwhile, Brad checked the ocean through binoculars. Meanwhile, Amanda talked with another lifeguard.
"Hey Amanda, we've got all on-duty lifeguards on every beach from Huntington Beach to Topanga Beach ready for the worst," she said. "Just thought you should know this is major."
"We're ready, thanks," Amanda replied.
David tapped Aaron on the shoulder. "According to the news, the observatory said the UFO has entered the atmosphere and will crash land within a 40 mile radius of Santa Monica Beach."
"Aw man," Aaron groaned. "All right everybody--be ready to pull people out of the beach who didn't hear the coast guard. They can't do everything."
In the blue sky, the flaming starship descended towards the surface of the Earth. Onboard the Bridge, Alumina looked up suddenly.
"We better correct course, otherwise, we're going to be destroyed!"
"Not to mention kill all those humanoids," Cerebros added.
"If we ever survive, we'll need to learn as much as we can and as fast as we can about them so we can acquire their assistance," Morpheos said. "Current rate of descent rising exponentially reducing time until impact,"
Ramzor said. "I'm going to jettison air compressed within the inner hulls to push the ship away from the shore line."
"Do it," Morpheos ordered. "All hands, brace for impact!"
ACT IV:
People were running out of the ocean in herds while Aaron made sure nobody was getting hurt or run into. Meanwhile, David came up to Amanda and got her attention.
"Amanda, listen." He held up his pocket radio.
"...news bulletin, the crafts have entered Earth's atmosphere. One crash landed in the Mojave Desert, NASA and US Naval Research teams are already headed for the crash site..." In the ocean, waves began to overtake a small child that was left behind by accident. A woman in a floral print bathing suit stopped and turned around.
"Nancy!!" she shouted.
The girl screamed. "Mommy!! Help! Help me!"
"Aaron, we gotta get into the ocean, right now!" Brad insisted.
David put his hands in front of him. "Wait a minute, man--that ocean is gonna turn into a whirlpool that we'd never be able to swim out of if that ship plows into the coast!"
"We don't have a choice," Amanda countered. "I say we go."
"Right behind you, Amanda," Aaron replied. "Come on, gang!" The four of them ran down the sand. Meanwhile, Nancy's mother was restrained by a coast guard woman and policeman.
"Please, let me go! I gotta save her!"
"I'm sorry, I can't let you in the water," the coast guard said, "the beach is being evacuated!"
"I don't care! Let me go!"
Hopping over the waves with their red lifeguard cans tied around their chests, they eventually leaped into the water and began swimming out into the waves. The high tides carried the girl out the sea against her will while Amanda looked around.
She found her and pointed. "Over there!" Brad nodded as he and the others followed. Another lifeguard floated over by the small child and took hold of her in one arm. She was still breathing and conscious.
"Gotcha! (Lucky girl.) Hey, guys! I got her!"
"Great!!" Aaron smiled but then he looked into the sky and noticed a massive structure on fire falling out of the sky towards the ocean. "Oh my Goodness."
"If that thing goes under water, we'll all be dragged beneath the surface without a chance!" Brad shouted. "We have to go now!"
"The girl has cleared the area, we can go," David said. "Wait, where's Amanda?"
"We don't have time, she's probably out of the ocean by now," Aaron answered. "I say we leave fast."
Brad nodded. "Me too." The both of them began to swim away and David looked around for Amanda. She didn't know that Nancy had been rescued but was still looking for her.
"Amanda!" David shouted to her. "She's not here! Someone else got her!"
"What??" Amanda asked, not being able to hear him. The waves kicking up from the wind blowing violently from the approach of the falling ship.
"Aw man, David's still back there, Brad!" Aaron said. "We've got to get him; come on."
"Aaron, wait!" Brad replied but Aaron had already been trying to swim towards him. All of a sudden, the surface of the ocean was penetrated by the long tube, plunging into the depths of the sea. This draw was close enough to Amanda, David and Aaron to pull them close to them.
"Aaron!!" Brad shouted. "Aw man!" Brad dove after them.
Under the sea, the damaged space craft had bounced off the floor of the bay and towards the mainland underwater. Aboard the bridge, the team began to sway while they moved about underwater.
"We've got living beings dragged by the force of our ship entering the sea!" Alumina shouted. "Their vitals aren't going to hold."
"Blow airlock seven," Ramzor said. "We can bring them into the docking bay."
Morpheos nodded. "Do it."
"Aye, Morpheos," Cerebros acknowledged. The ship pushed ahead underwater hit the crust of the Earth underneath the ocean when a dust cloud exploded in the water.
TO BE CONTINUED
Next time on RoboMan:
The Robon meet their four unexpected guests, the lifeguards as they see the most incredible events any human would ever witness. Meanwhile, the unidentified flying vessel chasing the Robon's star ship belonged to their mortal enemies, the ProcBots. Now, they are on Earth with the intent to drain this world dry to conquer both their home world of Chromius AND the Earth in the next episode, "Fire in the Sky," Part Two!