episode guide | New Generation | EP 67

Paper Hero

Scott Bernard and crew blast their way through Invid scout troops again. It's the kind of engagement they've become very familiar with. After the battle, Lunk is pleased to find they are near a village he's been trying to visit for a long time.

"I…

Scott Bernard and crew blast their way through Invid scout troops again. It's the kind of engagement they've become very familiar with. After the battle, Lunk is pleased to find they are near a village he's been trying to visit for a long time.

"I want to make good on a promise I made to a friend to deliver this book for him," Lunk tells his friends. "I really don't know what the book's about, but it was important to my buddy and he gave it to me to bring to his father, Alfred Nader, here. I only wish he could have delivered it himself....It was during the Invid invasion...my friend was on recon patrol and I was detailed to drive out and pick him up. When I found him, he was trying to get away from a couple of Invid, and I could see he had already been wounded. As I watched, they blasted him again. How he could get up and run after that I'll never know – but he did and started for the truck. I thought I might still be able to pick him up, but the Invid caught up with him before I did. He didn't have a chance. He cried out to me, calling me to come get him, but there was nothing I could do. The Invid spotted the truck and started after me. I had no choice but to run for it. I don't know how I got out of there, but I made it. And do you know, I can still hear my buddy's voice coming over the intercom as loud and clear today as I heard it then...calling me to help him. There's no way I'll ever forget that day. Well...the book had some sort of special meaning for him, I suppose. The one thing he wanted most was for his father to have it."

Rand is touched. "Lunk, you and I have a book to deliver. Let's go."

Lancer, Rook, and Annie join Lunk and Rand on their trip into the village. Scott stays behind with the mecha.

The village is a spooky place. As they walk along deserted streets, it seems as if everyone has decided to pack up and run at once. The restaurant won't serve them. The shops are closed. Lunk finally corners a villager and asks about Alfred Nader. The man says that no one ever heard of him. Lunk is sure the villager is lying. His friends agree.

Lunk and Rand search the area on their own until confronted by a gang of angry villagers. Outnumbered, they run for the truck, but when they reach the rendezvous area, they find their friends and vehicles missing.

Game time is over. Rand and Lunk force information from the mayor. Lancer, the girls, and the mecha are returned. After another quick but deadly Invid encounter, they are told the story behind Nader's disappearance.

In a town committed to violent aggression, Alfred Nader maintained a philosophy of passive resistance. Although he was repeatedly beaten by the town radicals, the old man refused to change his beliefs. In the end, he was killed. Guilt has made the villagers suspicious of every stranger. They feared the day that someone would come to punish them for their crime.

Retribution of this nature is not the freedom fighters' responsibility. Besides, conscience has provided its own punishment. No one is sorry to leave the village behind. On the way back to camp, Lunk remembers his buddy and Alfred Nader: "We never met, but I feel as though I know you, and I'll always think of you as my friend. I'm going to keep this book with me whenever I go and look at it from time to time. It'll remind me that there are people in this world who still stand up for what they believe in. goodbye to you, Alfred Nader. You were a fine man."

Experience this episode at home! Now available through the Robotech.com Store:

- DVD Video: Robotech DVD Vol.11: The Next Wave (also part of DVD Box Set 6 and The Protoculture Collection)

- Toys: Cyclones and Alpha Fighters

- Collectibles: Mars Base patches and keychains

Lunk relives a moment when he deserted a friend in combat.

Back in his old hometown, Lunk wants to make good on a promise.

However, Lunk doesn't get a warm welcome.

Scott faces off against an Invid squadron alone.