Welcome to the One Shots! The first six or seven will be directly inspired by Darkest Before The Dawn, so I highly suggest reading that before tackling these as it may help make these make a lot more sense. I will be helpful in that regard and tag those with a "DBTD Cut Scene" tag as these are things that didn't make the cut of the original story or I decided to back fill in after the fact. However, there will be other One Shots here as well that will reside independently of the works I have going on.
Feel free to leave me a note and let me know how things are with the stories. Feedback does an author good.
Once again, Robotech is property of Harmony Gold. It's their world, I've just borrowed it for a while.
DBTD Cut Scene One – The Debrief
A/N – This scene takes place right after the end of Chapter One. In retrospect, I probably should have added this one in to the original story as it does give some insight as to how Colonel Leonard ticks.
As Rick exited the locker rooms and sat in the Skull Squadron lounge area, he found himself shaking his head and dreading was was to come next. Great, he thought. Sounds like while the Admiral and Lisa are on the horn with Monument about New Detroit, the Ol' Meatgrinder can go ahead and throw his weight around a bit.
Waiting for a few minutes, he saw the other three pilots that were with him on the patrol, he began to put his plans together on how to handle the coming debrief. Turning to the three younger pilots, Rick had a very concerned look on his face. The concerned look was mirrored by Malikowski and Niebauer. Baker, to his credit, had a bemused expression on his face. This in turn concerned Rick more. I'd better just lay it out on the line lest Baker decide to say something that'll set Leonard off, he thought. Then again, looking at him cross-eyed some days is more than enough to get Anatole going.
Nodding to the others, Rick stood up.
"Here's what's about to happen when we get upstairs. Colonel Leonard is going to probably try to intimidate you guys. Just answer any direct question to the best of your ability, but leave any other talking to me. Getting cute up there will get you in a world of trouble."
Amelia stepped forward with an even more concerned look. "Boss, are we in any sort of trouble? I mean, that wasn't exactly the outcome we wanted and all."
Rick shook his head. "You guys shouldn't get any heat for anything. If anything does come up, I'll get the brunt of it. The fun of being a superior officer."
He then turned towards Baker. "And, I mean nobody says a word unless spoken to, you got that?"
Baker nodded as he had a distinct feeling Rick was directed this comment at him. "Loud and clear, Boss."
Rick glanced at the clock on the wall. Nodding to the others, they rose and started to make their way towards the upcoming debrief.
The conference room in the wing of Macross Command that the RDF Ground Forces called home was about the same as any other on the base. A round table with ample seating, a bank of terminals, and a large viewscreen dominated the décor. Inside of the room, a solitary man sat at one of the spots at the head of the table, looking over some documents.
"Of all the botched ops," Colonel Anatole Leonard muttered to himself. "Hunter had to pull something like this." Leonard was a heavier set man with dark hair that was starting to show some gray and white at his temples. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it and taking a long drag, he could feel his anger rising at the early After Action Report that had been sent to him for the debrief, with it focusing in on Rick. Why Henry thinks you're worthy of leading the air wing is beyond me, he thought. You're about a year removed from being breast fed, now you're the damn CAG for this base? Wilcox would have been a much better choice. Man's paid his dues. At least he wouldn't have gotten there by screwing the Admiral's XO if the rumors are true. As for that, I'd have busted her to a desk job just for the fraternization issue alone. But, she's another of Henry's pets.
The door slid open at this point as Rick and the others walked on in. Saluting quickly as per protocol, Leonard barely looked up as he returned his salute.
"Sit down, all of you," he said gruffly. As soon as Leonard saw all four pilots were at their seats, he stood up, stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray nearby and looked directly at all four. He turned his back for a second as he prepared what he was about to say. Noting that the door had closed, Leonard turned around and shot all four a harsh stare.
"Hunter, what in the hell were you thinking? You let a perfectly good matrix undefended and let that ublyudok Khyron make off with it? If I had my way, I'd court martial you right now and make sure these three whelps you have here get transferred over to the freighter wing."
Rick bristled at the attack. He stood up and glared right back at the Colonel. "With all due respect, Colonel," adding a bit of acidity to Leonard's title. "Four versus a thousand wasn't exactly the greatest of odds. Plus, they were civilians, you know? The one's we kinda swore to protect."
Leonard scowled. "Civilians or not, they interfered with an RDF operation."
"We just happened to be in the area on a patrol. There was no operation that I was aware of. Someone phoned in that there just happened to be a matrix in New Detroit. The four of us just happened to be the closest ones there."
Leonard shuffled the papers in front of him and continued. "So who was this lone civilian that appeared to talk the mayor out of getting our guys in there? Is there something you're not telling me? Remember, Hunter, withholding information is a court-martial offense."
Rick smiled. "It was someone who I had never seen before in my life, sir. Just some random person that happened to convince the mayor of the city to do something stupid. Besides, I think the mayor needed the votes as it's an election year."
"A random person? You didn't bother getting this person's information? Sloppy work, Hunter."
"Sorry I couldn't ask the guy for ID or anything. I was kind of trying to keep my people alive. Unlike some others in this room, the air wing doesn't treat new recruits as walking, talking meat shields."
Leonard glared at Rick as the shot had its desired effect. "Questioning my tactics? I'll have you know I was winning battles on the field while you weren't even a thought in either of your parents mind. And don't insult me again. That would be.."
"I get it, a court-martial offense," Rick interrupted. Amelia, Baker, and Malikowski looked at each other and were in shock as their commander was pretty much doing everything he had advised them not to do.
Leonard at this point was very close to losing his cool with the CAG of the base. Flippant little pissant, he thought. One of these days, your mouth is going to get you in a lot of trouble. Henry won't always be there to protect you, Hunter.
Rick tapped a button on his console at the table. "Colonel, let's bring someone else into this. I have Major Pierce from Fort Klinger on the line. He can also shed some light on what happened on our little adventure."
The viewscreen came alive and switched over from an RDF logo to a view of one of the control rooms at Fort Klinger. On the screen was a black haired man in an RDF Ground Forces uniform with the rank insignia of a Major. The man, Major Roger Pierce, saluted quickly as he saw both Rick and Leonard on the screen in front of him.
"Colonel," Pierce stated clearly. "I can tell you for a fact that Commander Hunter did everything he could do on this one. He had contacted us when the mayor first agreed to let us guard the matrix, but he also called us off once the deal was off stating that the ground forces wouldn't be welcome, citing the safety concerns for any RDF forces on the ground and also for the citizens of New Detroit."
"The RDF's concerns should have trumped those of the mayor, Major," Leonard shot back.
"That's a very dangerous slope you're looking to go down," Rick added. "As much as the mayor and the lone civilian were in the wrong for their choice, at the end of the day, there are speech guarantees the last time I checked."
"Also, with the swiftness of the raid by Khyron's forces, there was no way we could have gotten there on time, even after Commander Hunter made the first call. And there's no way four Veritech fighters could have held off the forces that were thrown at the city."
Leonard grumbled a bit, but realized the Major may have some merit with his assessment. What was sticking with Leonard was that it pretty much dove-tailed with what Hunter had said. He turned his attention back to Rick.
"Then what in the hell were you doing out there with these three? You should have had Dixon and the Sterlings with you."
"That wasn't going to happen, Anatole," Rick responded, ignoring Leonard's rank. "First off, there had been no activity in that sector and the new pilots needed some practical experience. Secondly, Dixon was on a separate patrol down around New Birmingham that got a bit squirrelly as he found a nest of Em-Zees that had been causing some issues down south. Also, Lieutenant Commander Sterling was on another patrol around New Kansas City. And lastly, Second Lieutenant Sterling is still on maternity and hasn't been cleared to return to active flight status. You can take that one up with Major Grant and the Med wing. Lord knows I have. And I'd appreciate it that you not insult my pilots."
It was just then that the console in front of Leonard pinged. Angrily tapping the button, an aide came over the intercom.
"Colonel, Admiral Gloval wants you to join him at the main conference room."
"Thank you. Let the Admiral know I'll be right over," Leonard responded. Standing up, he looked over at Rick with a sense of anger. You win this round, Hunter, he thought. Next time, however, you may regret crossing me. It is something I will not forget.
"It appears, I am needed elsewhere," Leonard stated evenly. The others stood up and saluted, which was returned. Leonard made eye contact with Rick. "You got lucky that Pierce was able to back up your story. Otherwise, it would have ended badly for you. Keep that in mind the next time something like this happens."
"I'll be sure to," Rick responded with a touch of sarcasm mingled in.
Leonard made his way out of the conference room and the door shut. As it did, the four pilots in the room and the Major all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for hopping in on this one, Rog," Rick stated. "I had a feeling your boss wouldn't listen unless you got involved."
"Sure thing, Rick," Pierce responded. "Here's hoping he didn't get enough of a bug up his ass about me siding with you to transfer me to some hellhole. And I do have to admit, watching you tweak him as much as you did was kind of funny."
"Especially when he told us not to do so," Baker interjected.
"That's why I said not to say a word," Rick said in response to Baker's comment. "Did you have to answer any questions?"
Baker shook his head.
"I prove my point." Turning back to the monitor, Rick saluted quickly. "I think you may have to explain that to the Admiral and Captain Hayes as well."
"I'm expecting the call. Catch you around, Commander. Hopefully the next time you all come to New Toledo, it won't be because some ill-tempered Zent decided to go Godzilla on New Detroit." With that, the screen went black.
Rick and the others rose and made their way out of the room.
Once back at the Skull Squadron offices, Rick and the three newer pilots decided to go their separate ways. The pilots had decided to make their way over to the mess hall while Rick opted for heading to his office. After stopping in briefly to pick up a few things, he saw a familiar figure standing in the hallway.
"Guessing the patrol was as bad as rumored, Rick?" Max Sterling intoned. The blue haired pilot had just returned from a patrol of his own shortly after Rick's patrol had come back. "I kinda figured something was up when Sammie was the one on TacNet and not Lisa."
"You have no idea how bad it was. Just had a fun talk with Leonard about it."
Max rolled his eyes. "And knowing how much he likes the air wing and you, I can guess how well the chat went."
"Court martial got brought up a few times. He also tried to threaten the three nuggets too. Thankfully I had two things in my favor. One, I got the AAR in when we fueled up at New Toledo. Two, Major Pierce over at Fort Klinger backed me up to the hilt."
Max noticed that Rick was carrying a six-pack of Petite Cola with him. Got a pretty good idea where you're heading to, he thought to himself.
"If anyone is looking for me, I'm out of the office for a bit," Rick stated evenly. "If you need me, I'll be down at the hangar. Just get in touch with Vince."
"Roger that," Max responded. Thinking for a second, something else came to his mind. "Hey Rick, what if Lisa stops by? You usually touch base with her after patrols."
Rick frowned a bit as he thought of that. Seeing it's like routine, she'll be searching the entire base for me if I don't show up. But after what happened, I really can't face her yet. I don't want to take it out on her.
Clearing his head with a sigh, Rick turned towards Max.
"Max, I leave it in your hands. Handle it as you see fit."
That's a bit different, Max thought. Usually, it'd be a yes or no answer. Ambiguity, however, is something that doesn't come up very often.
"Totally understood, Rick," he answered, knowing how exactly he would handle it if Captain Hayes did stop by.
Baker, Screech, and Amelia all had decided that food was what could make a scary experience like they had just endured be a little more bearable going forward. As the three assembled at an empty table, Baker and Screech turned towards each other and just shook their heads.
"Jeez, that was just about as much fun as the Boss made it out to be," Baker stated.
"That is something I never, and I mean never, want to go through again," Amelia added.
"Ugh, now I know why the Colonel is not very popular around these parts," Screech chimed in. "He's just not a very nice guy."
"Probably didn't get hugged enough as a kid," Baker deadpanned. "Thank God the Boss kept the heat off of us."
"Have to admit that watching the Boss just take his arguments and just shatter them over and over was just too funny," Screech added with a grin.
It was then that Amelia noticed someone walking over, namely Lieutenant Ben Dixon. Thinking the better of it, she stopped talking about the briefing and went about eating lunch.
"At least we're not about to get shipped off to pilot freighters," Baker added with a smile. It was at about this time, he saw Dixon approach. Thinking that it would be smarter to at least stop talking at this point, he started in on his lunch as well and motioned to Screech to stop talking about it.
"True. Although the reaction when the Boss just ripped him apart on his choice of pilots did make me feel a little better. At least we're not just meat shields and all.."
The next thought from Screech was cut off by a loud "AHEM" that emanated from behind him. Turning around, he saw a very grumpy Ben Dixon standing behind him.
"Baker, Malikowski! What the hell are you doing? Debriefs are something you do not talk about in public! Especially if it involves a superior officer being made to look foolish. Even if they deserve it, you can't talk about it outside."
"S..s..sorry, sir!" Screech answered. "It'll never happen again."
"You bet your ass it won't! After you two finish up, meet me back at the offices. I expect you to be there in thirty minutes." He looked over at Amelia and smiled, which was returned by the smaller pilot. With that, Ben walked towards the chow line, leaving the three younger pilots there.
Amelia just sat there and shook her head while the other two dreaded what was to happen after lunch ended.
A few minutes later, Rick was down in the hangar bay walking towards Skull One. Arriving, he climbed up on to the wing and popped open the canopy. He pulled out an MP3 player from his service jacket and connected it to one of the USB ports on the fighter. Rick smiled as the music started coming up. Kinda nice having an external speaker that can also destroy an entire city block if it wanted to, Rick thought as he sat back on the wing. Pulling out one of the cola bottles, he opened it up and took a swig. Lying back, he started to let his mind go over the most recent events in his life and try to see how he could process things going forward.