The Space Stalker... Too Much Time On Our Hands
Rick and Roy…
This short story takes place during the 1st Robotech War. Some say the story was just a dream that Rick had when Rick was in a coma. But the only one who really knows what happened is Rick. As Roy has since passed on to battle evil in another universe… no one feels the need to question both the actions and inactions of the deceased.
Both Rick and Roy were on a secret mission that lay deep inside enemy territory. Their mission was one of research. They were tasked with finding out why the enemy was so focused on mining class-3 asteroid rocks. There was the possibility that the Zentraedi were aware of resources that the SDF1 fleet were not aware of. There was also the possibility that nothing would come of this. The Zentraedi might have another interesting in these seemingly worthless space rocks.
There was little danger of being discovered by enemy forces. Rick was quite the stalker… in more ways than one. There was a lot of time to kill. They would both be in a stationary position for about three days. They were going to have a lot of time to "catch up"!
Roy brought a digital player that was full of his favorite music. It consisted mostly of classic rock. Rick also liked classic rock music… but didn't really care for half of what Roy was playing. Rick would never say this to Roy… Rick found it refreshing to find another pilot who shared very similar taste in music. This is probably why Rick didn't bring a digital music device of his own. There was simply no need to do so.
Yaoi Skies…
Roy was aware of Rick's feelings for him… but like most fighter pilots, they had a reputation for being "bad boys" and dating quite a number of girls. It was all about appearances. Minmay had been covering for Rick and Rick also covered for Minmay. Rick had previously told Roy that Minmay had zero interests in men. And that was as far as it went. They hung out together… and went to movies togethers… and went on empty dates.
Roy made quite a few "stalker jokes" that were directed towards Rick. A young female mechanic had accused Rick of stalking her and Rick had been under minimal pressure from that accusation. Military process still had to ensue even though everyone that worked with Rick knew that he was innocent. Rick had never really showed that sort of interest in a girl. But she had a few "witnesses" that also backed up her false claim.
Rick had to undergo "U.N. Spacey Sensitivity Training" for two weeks… and agree to cease all stalking. All of the good judges seemed to have been wiped out when the Zentraedi wipes out most of the Earth ground forces. The SDF1 was a small ship… slightly larger than an Navy aircraft carrier. Everyone knew everyone else… and everyone knew everyone else's business.
There were the usual conspiracy theorists. The running idea was Rick had intentionally staked the female in question in an attempt to disprove that he was gay. Other far more credible theories suggested that someone wanted to set Rick up. It could have been a jealous ex-boyfriend. No one really knew the reasons behind any of this.
Roy had elected to be the one to hand out Rick's punishment. Rick had reacted by distancing himself from Roy. They were never as close and either one of them would have liked to have been. But they were still very close. Words cut very deeply.
Rick had welcomed this mission. It was a chance to be far away from any of the drama back on the SDF1. Any other guy might have blown this off. But Rick was more sensitive than he let on to be. Rick was very torn up inside.
Roy asked Rick if Minmay listened to any classic rock. Roy already knew the answer. Rick seemed very reluctant to talk about Minmay. It was clear that there was also drama going on between both Rick and Minmay. Rick had talked to Minmay about "marriage"! This confused the heck out of Minmay. Their relationship was pretty much just what Minmay did best! It was "acting"! She was an actress! They both had an image to maintain! It was a necessary lie!
After two days Roy played a song about silence. Funny enough, Roy turned off his music player after that song ended. And neither one of them said anything for over three hours. Rick finally broke the awkward silence and asked Roy if he'd ever considered being in a classic rock cover band! Roy replied that he could play both the drums and classic guitar. Rick replied "oh, that's nice"! But Roy knew that Rick had no idea what the function of a classic guitar even was. But as usual, Roy did not throw Rick under the bus.
Roy actually thought a cover band was a terrible idea! It was something people in high school did. This wasn't something that grown men did. This was just Roy's opinion. Everyone has one. Roy felt Rick really had his "WTF moments"! Wanting to start a classic rock band was just another moment! Like most things with Rick, Roy felt this idea would quickly pass by!
By the end of day three Rick was back to his giddy ol self. Rick just needed to spend a few days alone with his friend. The emptiness of space is a great place to empty out all of one's internal drama. Rick had written a song called "don't let it get to ya" while they had both been out stalking the Zentraedi. Roy really thought the song wasn't half bad. Rick even talked about selling his new song to Minmay. Ah! Rick's head was always in the clouds! Maybe that's why Roy seemed to be Rick's grounding point. Roy was Rick's rock!
