The Last of the Masters

The common perception is that the destruction of the last Tirolian mothership above SX Point 83 marked the end of the Second Robotech War. However, in a point that has been overlooked by many histories of the period, it was not the end of hostilities by any means. There were still several groups of Tirolians who were continuing to fight against the humans, even though they had little left to actually fight for. None the less, they were still a threat, and contributed in their own ways to the chaotic period following the second Robotech War.

Most of these groups were little more than isolated remnants who were unwilling or unable to give up the fight. Small groups of Bioroids were the most common, especially among the advanced Invid Fighter Bioroids whose pilot clones possessed a much higher degree of individual autonomy than most other types. In other case, a small group of lower-level Bioroids might continue to fight under a higher-ranked leader who could keep them combat effective despite the loss of their higher leadership. Finally, and most tragically, there were those Tirolian soldiers and civilians who had been conscripted into combat and dosed up on combat stimulants. Reduced to mindless berserkers, they had little choice but to fight to the death.

However, there were also larger and more organised groups. The largest in North America was a group of survivors under the command of Dalmeric Khane. A ranking officer and veteran Bioroid pilot, Khane had lost both of the other members of his Triumvirate in the last days of the war. Driven over the edge by the loss, he launched a campaign aimed at exterminating the humans in the Northlands in order to prove that he alone was a worthy successor to the Robotech Masters. At the same time, he sought to stockpile Protoculture that he could use against the inevitable Invid Invasion.

Khane possessed a considerable force of early-model Bioroids. Furthermore, he had the support of a number of surviving scientist clones, who enabled him to better use the resources that he had at his disposal. Based in the southwestern region of North America, Khane's forces attacked civilian settlements across the quadrant, destroying whatever got in his way. This drew the attention of surviving Southern Cross forces, who were dispatched to defeat him. After several battles, Khane was killed by a force consisting of numerous Southern Cross units, including the 15th ATAC, 12th TASC (The Black Lions) and other forces. Most of his army died with him, with the few survivors scattered.

Ultimately, Khane's plan was both contradictory and self-destructive. Had he chosen to lay low, he could have discretely horded his resources and tried to ride out the Invid Invasion in seclusion. Instead, his random and ultimately wasteful attacks bought down the Southern Cross on him, leading to his destruction. At the same time, he also caused the remaining Southern Cross forces to waste resources on him that could have been used against the Invid. However, it needs to be said that Khane was left unhinged by his grief, and may not have been acting in a rational manner.

A second, more planned group came to rest in the Indochina Quadrant. Consisting of a number of transport vessels, the fleet was a mixture of military forces (both Bioroids and conventional forces, supported by drones) and civilians that had been evacuated from a doomed Mothership. This group had taken efforts to fortify their position and dig in to a location in northern Vietnam. More curiously, they had not been overly aggressive in their actions; while they had sent forces out to secure the area, they had not attacked settlements in the area, and had engaged in only limited skirmishes with the remaining Southern Cross forces.

None the less, the Global Military Police's leadership, as well as the remaining United Earth Government, were concerned about the presence of a large, well-equipped Tirolian force in the region. The situation was made even worse with the ASC having effectively abandoned the region, with most surviving forces in the quadrant having deserted from their posts. While this would normally leave the UEG with little in the way of actual force to deal with the threat, they were bolstered by an unexpected development; the arrival of the UEEF's Relief Force, commanded by Colonel Johnathan Wolfe.

A hasty meeting led to the launch of Operation JAWS, a joint forces plan to eliminate the Tirolian presence. The mission was jointly commanded by Colonel Wolf and ASC Captain Ezekiel Saloon, with GMP Agent Veeci Ashland acting as an 'advisor' to the force. The actual strength of the unit was made up of a mixture of UEEF and GMP personnel, as well as those ASC forces left in the region who were still loyal to the UEG. Key to the operations were Wolfe's own Wolf Pack, as well as a GMP special strike team led by Ashland. As an added advantage, the force had access to a number of new UEEF weapons systems that the Masters' were unaware of, such as early-model Cyclones.

Through careful use of the terrain, the joint force were able to mask their approach until they were all but on top of the Tirolian encampment. They then engaged with the surprised enemy force, punching their way through the defences and allowing the GMP strike team to infiltrate the Tirolian command ship in an effort to eliminate their leadership. Facing an unknown foe and clearly surprised, the Bioroid forces were kept on the back foot throughout the battle.

What happened next has remained classified (and most of those involved have since been killed in action) but it appears that the GMP team and the Tirolian leadership were able to come to some sort of an accord. The surviving Tirolian forces withdrew after destroying their lead ship, which likely was depleted of protoculture and no longer able to lift off anyway. Furthermore, the Tirolian civilians were taken in by the Earth forces, and eventually relocated to North America alongside their compatriots from the Masters' flagship. Eventually they would be evacuated from Earth during the Invid Invasion.

To this date, Operation Jaws remains something of a controversial moment, and is seen by many as being a waste of resources on a force that was not an immediate threat. The Tirolians marooned in Vietnam were not actively hostile towards the human settlements around them. Likewise, given the rapid disintegration of the United Earth Government, the GMP's focus could have been better directed elsewhere. However, the GMP may have also wanted to eliminate the Tirolians before they became a threat, especially following the damage inflicted by Khane's forces. Finally, it is also possible that the GMP had wanted to assess the abilities of Wolfe and his forces before committing to any form of alliance.

Regardless of the reason behind the attack, it was ultimately successful. The remaining Bioroids remained at large for the next few months, but no further engagements were recorded between them and any other forces on Earth. According to fragmentary reports, they were eventually encountered by Southern Cross survivors during the Invid Invasion at a facility in Northern Siberia. There, alongside the human forces, they fought to the death against the oncoming Invid swarm.