Chapter 20: The Megaroad-01 Colony

--June 2, 2016--

Much had changed in the three weeks since the battle of Kaderak-Three. Shikari's fleet had been quickly equipped with reflex weapons and deployed to the perimeter to meet the next wave of enemy ships that everyone knew would be coming at any time. When they did arrive, they were met with a bombardment of reflex weapons and a barrage from a hundred Zentradi gunships, and after only a few minutes of fighting and a brief exchange of fire, they retreated once again from the system. After three separate assaults on Gallaron's defenses, Lacul decided to cut his losses and redeploy his forces to other fronts and leave Gallaron for later. For the many defenders of the planet Gallaron, this was a time to catch their breath and prepare for the war ahead of them.

Megaroad city had been relocated to the central hub of the ancient protoculture city, and the construction companies had already gone to work on renovating the old buildings to make them habitable again. At the same time, Hikaru and an interpreter traveled into the great forest near the city to contact the planet's original colonists hiding there. He explained plainly to them that the Supervision Army had returned to this region of space, and that they were after the technology hidden away on Gallaron. The original colonists, or "Protocrans" as the called themselves, were definitely less than happy with the news, and immediately began sending emissaries meet with the Zentradi to discuss options. Through steady dialog with Misa and the other Zentradi generals, they agreed to a formal alliance provided they would be allowed to dictate the use of any weapons and technology that the Megaroad colonists could salvage. Misa found this reasonable, and she agreed to the terms.

Shortly thereafter, a great migration began from the ancient forest. At first it was only a few dozen of them, wandering into Megaroad city to greet the newcomers or lingering around shops and markets out of curiosity. Soon there were thousands of them coming in and out of Megaroad city, trading and bartering ancient weapons or jewelry for some new trinkets from the visitors of from space. Richard managed to trade his blender and a few silver coins for a Protocran hunting weapon, a long spear-like weapon with some type of laser cannon in the tip of it. Most of the pilots from the fighter squadrons traded their spare flight suits for the decorated coats that the Protocrans seemed to have an almost infinite supply of but never seemed to wear themselves. Hikaru and Broli also dabbled in protocran firearms; Broli traded rifles with some of their soldiers and Hikaru traded his CD player and a Minmei doll for a weapon in the very image of a standard Zentradi energy rifle on a micronian scale. After a short discussion with Misa, he made plans for a lengthy quest to see just what he could get for his Lexus. Even Minmei frequently traded shoes and dresses with many of the women who set up little shops around the edge of the city near their apartment, and every once in a while there would be a small crowd on the corners where protocran visitors performed a light dance. No one had ever seen anything quite like it; a device worn on the wrist or the ankles of a dancer seemed to bend light around the performer, forming patterns of color that flowed through the air like water.

After three weeks, many of them had moved back into the old city and had begun helping the construction companies with the renovations, and they were quickly becoming an all too common sight on the streets of Megaroad city. Since the Protocran merchants and visitors only spoke Zentradi, almost everyone in the city had begun to carry a pocket translator or privately studied the language in their own homes.
Dr. Varcus and a team of mathematicians and psychologists had managed to solve one of Gallaron's newest and most perplexing problems: the 33 hour day. The solution was relatively simple: beginning on May 14th, the week was shortened to 5 days of 33 hours, forever eliminating Wednesdays and Saturdays from the human vocabulary. The new calendar was now divided into 11 months of 22 days, with December having 23 days and a leap year every two years. This resulted in a mandatory but inevitable shuffling of holidays, which most people could tolerate as long as they could still be observed in semi-normal fashion. There were a few people and labor unions who were angry with this at first, stating that this meant longer work days for the same pay, and many watchmakers found this to be an intolerable inconvenience. But after the first few days, the complaints vanished; one Gallaron day lasted about 33 hours, and there was nothing anyone could do about it other than get used to the changes. To take the load off the clockmakers, Varcus divided the day into three sections that were only too easy to remember "Morning, noon, evening." or "AM, LM, and PM." This set the work day at about 11 hours for most people, who generally worked during the noon hours, which still left 22 hours in the day to do whatever they wished. After the first week, people started to adjust to it, and most people even started to like it.

Minmei was one of the people who very much enjoyed the changes in the time. She worked at King Laos for 5 or 6 hours each day, then snuck off to the studio for rehearsals for the rest of the time, always returning home at the same time Richard did. Richard, on the other hand, was absolutely miserable. He had almost quite his job from having to work under a Zentradi manager for 10 hours a day instead of the usual 8. It also didn't help that the very same construction companies that had liked his add designs so much were now having second thoughts as their sales were beginning to drop off, and that the Zentradi manager had gotten yet another raise for bailing them out with fresh new ideas. At least once a day, Minmei caught him staring at the strange weapon he had bought from the protocran hunter with a wild look in his eye and a can of beer in each hand. This bothered her, though Richard had no idea how to use the weapon and even less of an idea of just where his manager lived. Between the changes in the calendar, his stress over the baby and his job, Richard was strung tighter than a violin string, and every other night he would set himself in motion with inhuman amounts of alcohol he bought from god knows where. Most of the times Minmei was able to get him to sleep without incident, and those times he woke up alive again, the same old Richard, off to slowly kill himself in the job he couldn't stand with people he despised. But sometimes he came home wasted and in one of his sour moods. Whenever that happened, much to Minmei's increasing discomfort, there was violence.

Keeping her mind distracted from her husband's dwindling self control was easy, she threw herself whole heartedly into her roles in rehearsals. The other actors and actresses found themselves competing with her in almost every scene, trying their best not to be upstaged by a superior performance, and eventually the entire cast started to show enormous improvement, much to the relief of the director of the show.

--28:25 GST--

It was opening night at the Galaxy Boulevard Theatre for Ruddigore. Minmei had invited everyone at King Lao's to attend, provided of course that they didn't mention to anyone the true identity of miss Ling Powel with the pink hair. Fei Chan was the only one of them who had never seen Ruddigore, the others having either seen or performed the show in high school or college. Just to make sure he could tell who was who, he invited his brothers along to join him, and the three men commonly known around the city as the "Three Kings" took their seats in the third row. "Hey Kai, you saw this before right?" He whispered as the lights started to dim.

Kai Chan nodded. "My girlfriend took me to see this a few years ago."

Fei Hong chuckled. "Was that before or after she became a lesbian?"

"After." He said flatly, resisting the urge to slap his brother. "Why DO you keep brining that up anyway?"

"Kai Chan, you haven't had a steady girlfriend since that tomboy in grade school. They either dump you after a week or they get another guy on the side... or girl in some cases..."

"Hey, I only turned one of them gay! Gimme a break will you?!" Fein Hong laughed, and Kai Chan decided to change the subject. "Anyway, it's a musical and all, but it's really kind of a parody. Most of the times it's pretty funny."

Fei Chan shrugged. "We'll certainly see won't we?" The lights dimmed all the way, and the orchestra started the music.

--28:30 GST--

Broli looked through the huge viewport in the massive hallway at the Phoenix while he waited for his party to arrive. The two ARMD carriers along side of it were being rebuilt and redesigned before his very eyes. The modifications to ARMD-18 were almost complete; a pinpoint barrier was installed in the hull, as well as several slots close to the front of the ship for deploying reflex mines, and the front section of the hull was being fitted with a massive clawed hand with three fingers and a thumb for what Varcus called the "Ultimate Daedelus attack." Misa had been flattered by this, considering it was her who had devised the Daedelus attack in the first place on the Macross, and building a whole new weapon system based on such an idea was sure to give her a big head.

What interested him almost as much as the Phoenix were the 4 super dimension fortresses they'd salvaged from the planet's surface and the ice sheets of Kaderak-Two. SDF-03 would need the most amount of work, including a new set of engines and extensive hull repairs. SDF-04 was in the best shape of all the ships they had ever salvaged from the surface, and it seemed that the ship itself would need very little if any refitting other than a replacement of some of the outdated weapon systems. SDF-05 and 06 needed alot more work; both had been partially crushed underneath the ice sheet, and SDF-06 had actually been brought to the satellite in two pieces to be rebuilt. Soon, though, the new ships would be operational and the Supervision Army would feel their pain.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see the first of his party arrive at last, this one being Lieutenant Harper in full uniform. "Hey there Captain Broli." He said. "Sorry we're late, but you know this is a pretty big space station here."

Broli nodded. "The section you're in right now is 1000 kilometers wide. You could get lost in this place and no one would ever see you again."

Harper chuckled. "Remind me to bring Sara down here."

A door opened further down the huge corridor and a small but highly attractive Zentradi woman with light green hair carefully walked out, looking at the backs of her hands as if seeing them for the first time. "How odd." She said under her breath. "I feel like a splinter." She walked towards them and looked up at Broli and Harper. "How do you all manage with such frail little bodies?"

Broli was about to greet her, but Lieutenant Harper snapped into action before he could even open his mouth. "I know it's quite a change to be micronized, but you just have to get used to it. It's really not all that different from being full sized you see."

Shikari squinted at him doubtfully. "It sure FEELS different. Do I look any different Kaalcha?"

Broli shook his head, but once again Harper jumped in again before Broli could speak. "Anyway, what's a pretty thing like you doing wandering around the factory satellite by yourself? You know, you could get lost here without a guide to help you."

Shikari blushed. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Sure do." Harper said.

It only now occurred to Broli that Harper had never met her face to face before, and he guessed correctly that this is what humans called flirting. "Uh, Lieutenant..."

Harper brushed him off and kept on going. "Nobody's ever told you that before?" Shikari shook her head, and Harper did his best to look saddened. "Well it's true you know. I think people should tell you that all the time."

"Lieutenant..." Broli tapped him on the shoulder, but Harper brushed him off again.

"So what ship are you from? Did you come with that new meltran fleet last month?"

Shikari nodded shyly. "Why do you ask? Would you like a transfer?"

"No, I just wanted to know if you had a phone number or something..."

Another small door opened further down the hall, and Misa entered the passageway with a micronized Admiral Karga and two protocran generals. "Sorry we're late Broli. This thing is bigger than it looks."

"No problem Captain." Broli discretely shoved Lieutenant Harper out of the way and walked around behind Shikari. "I'd like you to meet the commander of 82nd division of the Lap'Lamiz fleet, General Shikari Raskanos."

Everyone in the room did a double take, except of course for the two Protocran generals who'd never heard of her before. Misa and Karga looked at each other, then at Broli, then back at Shikari who was trying her best not to laugh. "Broli..." Misa started nervously. "She's... she's..."

"She's 5 feet tall!" Karga said, staring in disbelief. "You're saying THIS is the great warlord Shikari?!"

Shikari nodded. "I was chief advisor to the 82nd mechanized division under Commander Lamura. When Lap'Lamiz's ship was crippled in the battle against Bodolza, Commander Lamura ordered the rest of the fleet to retreat to the Arturo Sector, and we left Lap'Lamiz and a few others behind. A few weeks later, Lamura was killed during a battle and I took over from the bridge of the ship and lead the fleet to victory and I've been calling the shots ever since."

Karga could imagine that. With the Bodolza main fleet scattered as it was, there was probably no one else in their entire fleet who could have replaced her. "You used optical illusions to intimidate your enemies. That's... well that's pretty ingenious in a way."

Misa walked up to Shikari and looked at her more closely, and Broli was amused to see the Misa was half a head taller than her. "Well... it's good to finally meet you in person, General." Misa said.

Shikari nodded in agreement. "I'm glad we were finally able to arrange this meeting."

Misa stared at her for a moment longer before turning to lead them down the passageway. "If you would all accompany me to the Megaroad please, we have some business to discuss."

All of them followed her, and Harper nudged Broli in the ribs. "Dammit Broli, why didn't you say something?!" He whispered angrily

Broli shrugged. "You were doing so well. I didn't want to interrupt you."

--30:05 GST--

The entire cast made one final bow as the curtain closed, set to the applause of an audience of over 900 people. Minmei and the others wandered back stage as the house lights came back up and the audience began to file out of the theatre in one huge mass, some of them still laughing from the memory of the show, others trying desperately but unsuccessfully to get the bridesmaid's chorus out of their heads. Minmei managed to change out of costume and wash her face in a well practiced ritual she had mastered years ago, and was already on her way out of the dressing room when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. "Ling, I SWEAR you were born for the stage!"

Minmei turned slightly to see the director grinning at her with a notebook under his arm. "Boss, you DO know this is the ladies dressing room, right?" She said, knowing full well that it was a rhetorical question.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" He said, rolling his eyes thoughtfully. "Anyway, I came here to give you this." He opened up the notebook and handed her an unsealed envelope. Minmei opened it, and saw a check inside in the amount of $5,000. "You did so good tonight I thought I'd give you a little bonus."

"That's very nice of you sir, but where will did you get the money?"

"My bank account."

Minmei looked up suddenly. "Your ba... Are you crazy?! I can't accept this boss!"

He stared at her for a moment, and then leaned in close to her. "I know people, Ling. I know things about people, women especially, that most people will never know. And I know something about you that you haven't told anyone else here and will probably never get the chance."

Minmei started to sweat. She could already guess what he was about to say. "What?" She said, playing innocent.

He smiled at her, and patted her belly with his open hand. "Just take the money. I lost my entire family in the war, and I wanna get yours off to a good start."

Minmei nodded and pushed the door open with her foot. "Thanks boss." She said.

"No problem, Ling. Go home and enjoy yourself now."

Minmei nodded again and left the dressing room. In the nearly 6 weeks she had been preparing for this show, nobody even knew the directors name. Everyone in the studio simply referred to him as "Boss" or "The Boss," with the exception of his ex-wife, who stopped by periodically, always called him "bastard." No one knew anything about him other than the fact that, like most small time directors, he was apparently totally unacquainted with tact or social graces, but could be counted on to move mountains and part the sea if one of his people needed it. The fact that he had somehow found out about Minmei's baby made her nervous, but the 5 grand in her pocket gave her the impression that whatever else the man was up to, he was only looking out for her.

She walked out of the theatre to catch the bus home, not even noticing the three men standing by the doorway. Fei Chan almost didn't recognize her with her wig on, but spotted her just in time and dragged the his two companions onto the bus just as the doors closed. "Basingstroke!" Fei Chan yelled out.

Minmei turned around to face them and laughed out loud. "Fei Chan! I glad you could make it!" she walked back to the front of the bus and hugged him. "How'd you like the show?"

"It was funny. And you were great! I think the audience was eating out of your hand!"

"Really?"

"Oh yeah!" Fei Chan sat down at a side bench and offered Minmei the seat next to him. "Really, they liked the whole show in general, but whenever you came out they went crazy!"

Minmei took off her wig and stuffed it in her purse, and then started to free herself from the hairnet. "You think they recognized me?"

Kai squinted at her, finally remembering her face. "I didn't recognize you. I'm sure they just liked your performance."

Minmei smiled at him. "Thank you very much. Are you a friend of Fei Chan?"

Kai laughed. "Of course you don't remember me! I met you in that APC during the air-raid a few weeks back. Remember, anytime you go traveling, you call up the 8 bored marines..."

Minmei pictured the man's face underneath a helmet in poor lighting and suddenly she remembered. "Lieutenant Chan, I remember!"

The other two glanced at him. "Kai! Why didn't you say you'd met her?"

"Oh, c'mon, I forgot her name." He said defensively. He looked back at Minmei. "Well of course you know Fei Chan, and you know me, and this is Lao Fei Hong, the kickboxer. We're the Three Kings."

Minmei smiled. "Oh, you're the brothers?"

"Triplets." Fei Chan said. "We all own part of the restaurant, but I'm the only one who really manages it. Kai Chan's in the Marines and Fei Hong's been studying martial arts with a group of Zentradi."

"Uh huh..." She had heard the stories of the Three Kings hundreds of times, the legendary exploits of Fei Chan his two brothers. Their mother, as Fei Chan put it, suffered from a chronic lack of imagination, and their father returned from the war to three children named San. He managed to convince her to change the names, but they still ended up with similar names in the end, which they used to confuse their teachers from pre-school through college.

Minmei was starting to see the resemblance between the triplets. They were all short, well built men with enormous hands tiny feet. If they were anything like Fei Chan, she decided she could trust them with just about anything. "How come they call you Lieutenant Chan?" She said, finally remembering to ask the question.

Kai Chan shrugged. "I transferred a kid named Private Forest with a funny little southern accent, and he started calling me "Lieutenant Dan." Eventually, EVERYBODY started calling me that, till at some point they figured since I was Chinese they changed it to "Lieutenant Chan."

Minmei chuckled. "That's cute, I like that." The bus stopped on the corner near Galaxy boulevard and Minmei heaved herself up from her seat. "This is my stop. Good to meet you guys." She started down the stairs to leave the bus, but the Fei Hong stopped her before she could go.

"I almost forgot, can... I have your autograph?"

Minmei laughed. "Sure." she pulled a pen out of her pocket and signed his handkerchief. "Kai Chan, how come YOU didn't ask for one?"

"I don't listen to pop music." He said plainly. "Are you planning on going hiking or something any time soon?"

Minmei handed Fei Hong the handkerchief and stepped off the bus. "Nothing really, why do you ask?"

"I'm bored out of my skull and I need something to..." The doors closed in front of him and the bus pulled away from the corner and sped down the street towards King Laos. Minmei patted the check for 5 grand in her pocket again and headed on home. She had a notion that no matter what mood he was in, Richard would surely get a kick out of this. But then she remembered what Richard had said about the Galaxy boulevard theatre, and the fact that they apparently had a number of Zentran actors. She tucked the check deeper into her pocket and made sure it would stay there until her husband was out of sight.

--12:35 Alaska Time--

Chief Gloval lit his pipe again as he read over Claudia's report. She had never seen him so stressed out in her life, but it was understandable with the election coming to a close and the impending launch of Megaroad-05. "This isn't good." He said again. In the almost 32 minutes Claudia had been standing there, the most Gloval had said was "This isn't good."

"It's a very awkward situation sir. There doesn't seem..."

Gloval held up his hand to silence her while he finished the report. At length, he put the papers down and looked up at her from behind his desk. "Misa and her colony are playing decoy, is that it?"

"Yes sir." Claudia said. "They're planning on keeping their attention away from Earth by engaging the enemy directly and leaving Earth out of it."

"Just like the Macross seven years ago." Gloval put his pipe down on the desk. "She's right you know. The Zentradi almost totally ignored Earth except as a possible means with which to threaten the Macross. The Supervision Army is the same, they only care about the advanced weapons on that planet and they don't care who they have to go through to get it. Misa knows her duty too well."

Claudia took an awkward step forward. "I don't think the people will take it very well either. They all remember when Macross was in the same situation, and you couldn't ask them to turn their back on the colony like that."

Gloval sifted through the papers to find a copy of the secession papers. He made sure it was all there, and then tucked the entire report back in the folder. "I know that. The people will be in total favor of sending reinforcements to help them out. And the Joint Chiefs will undoubtedly demand that Megaroad try to somehow evacuate the civilians to Earth and move some of those advanced weapons here for further study and development."

"At the very LEAST sir!" Claudia said.

Gloval reached into his pocket for his matches. "I'm sorry to have sent you out for nothing. It's a shame you were unable to find the colony ship." He struck one match and lit the bottom of the folder containing her report. After a moment, the entire document was ablaze just above his hand. "We may never know what happened to Megaroad-01."

Claudia looked at him as if he had just lost his mind. "What are you talking about?! I just..."

"And Bennet's fleet, destroyed by rouge Zentradi... such a shame. I wonder if a similar fate befell the colony ship?" He dropped the flaming papers into a wastebasket. "They certainly didn't form their own nation and declare war against a ruthless and unstoppable enemy. If that were the case, we surely would have tried to support them by now."

Claudia was about to raise another protest, but then finally understood what Gloval was trying to say. "Yes sir... it's strange. As the Megaroad was approaching the center of the galaxy, it just suddenly stopped transmitting completely. I'm sorry I wasn't able to find it, sir."

"It's okay, Claudia. You did your best." Gloval took another puff from his pipe. "I will stay in touch with them, and I will keep you informed of their progress as long as I can. In the mean time, you should return to your ship and prepare for your new assignment."

"New assignment Sir?"

"We're setting up a new unit to keep order in the colonies. A... Galaxy Patrol force if you will. Something to protect our colonies from attacks from rouge Zentradi and, if Misa's gamble should fail, the Supervision Army."

Claudia nodded in understanding. "I assume that's why you sent the new ship on this mission?"

"Exactly. The Maizuru class is to be the backbone of the new UN Spacey fleet. The Clemencheu, the Hornet and the Graf-Zeppelin are undergoing shakedowns as we speak, and I want you to take command of the first battlegroup. We've also equipped a few of the old Oberth class destroyers with fold systems, but the new space frigates will be joining your battlegroup in a few weeks."

Claudia saluted. "Yes sir. I'll get right to it."

--31:15 GST--

Misa activated a holographic display in the screen on the wall across from the meeting table showing the Arturo Sector and the surrounding space. Several stars were highlighted, Gallaron near the bottom of the charts and Bokata in the upper left hand corner. "The Zentradi listening posts in this area we have recently recruited have been keeping track of Supervisionist activity. They are sweeping across the entire sector, removing Zentradi remnants from the vicinity to clear a path for their unrestrained movement out of the sector." Misa was saying, pointing to the map.

"And they're moving towards Gallaron, is that right?" Said Varcus, mentally tracing their path.

"They seem to be working their way towards this system. We're convinced Lacul has a Fulbitz-Berrens class command base under his control in which case he probably has the ability to build more starships. But our factory satellites can build ships much faster than he can, so if we can organize a counter offensive we can beat him with a war of attrition."

Shikari started to say something, but the protocran representative named Hallas spoke up suddenly. "You're building ships in the factory satellites, but you need crews for them, correct?"

Misa nodded. "We're a bit understaffed. We have just enough soldiers for the Zentradi ships but the others..."

"Of course. I will contact my people and ask for volunteers. You may also need weapons for you infantry."

Misa shook her head. "We're not expecting any ground battles. Hopefully, we can keep them away from Gallaron long enough to build a defensive grid they can't break through."

Hallas shook his head. "In the past, the Supervision Army has demonstrated an alarming knack for landing troops deep within enemy territory and holding strategic targets, even when surrounded. They don't have to break through your defenses to capture the planet."

This seemed frustrating, but Misa knew there were always options open. "Varcus, what about that idea we had about the powered armors?"

Varcus nodded. "It seems like a good idea. It would greatly increase the effectiveness..."

Hallas suddenly looked up in surprise. "You would use Zentradi weapons for your soldiers?"

Misa looked at him strangely. "What's wrong with that? Some of their equipment is pretty advanced..."

"Of course it is, but... but those are slaves weapons..."

Misa looked at the other Zentradi around the table, and only then did she realize that they were all making a conscious effort to ignore the General's presence. "Hallas, your people created the Zentradi to fight your wars for you, and created humans for... god knows what... but we've all grown beyond that purpose now. The Zentradi are warriors, and they may be your former property, but right now they are valued allies."

Hallas sighed. "It's tradition, Captain. When the Zentradi started fighting on their own and thinking for themselves, they became less and less cooperative. I really think it would be wise to keep them in their place..."

"Thank you for the suggestion General Hallas, but that is no longer their place. The Zentradi are a free thinking entity now, just as we are, and we cannot restrain them anymore than we can restrain ourselves." Misa looked over at the Zentradi and caught a glance from Shikari and Varcus. It was the briefest of looks, and something about it saddened her. It was an almost childish expression of gratitude, the kind of quietly embarrassed thanks she had come to expect from small children seeking forgiveness for something. She hadn't given it much thought, but there was obviously still some friction between the Zentradi and their creators spanning from thousands of years ago. From what she was seeing here, the Zentradi were less than willing to deal with it openly. "General," Misa began, trying to diffuse the sudden tension. "Our engineers have experimented in the past with an omni-directional barrier system like the ones in your ships. We couldn't get it to function properly, but we understand there are such devices onboard the ancient starships on Gallaron?"

Hallas nodded. "That's correct. We originally developed it as a means to defend our ships against reflex weaponry."

Misa had a feeling that would come in handy in their current situation, and it amused her to think that an alien culture had come to the same conclusion thousands of years ago. "I want to repair this system in the Superdimensional ships, AND the Zentradi vessels."

"That system is for use only by protoculture ships. I'm sorry but it's..."

"Tradition, I know. The time has come to break from tradition, General Hallas. The Zentradi are no longer our soldiers, they are our comrades in arms. The only way to survive this war is to share our resources, their numbers and fighting spirit with our technology."

General Karga stood up and walked over to the chart. "The Mokora listening post has detected a group of enemy ships headed for Gallaron about here..." He pointed to a spot on the map close to the Berren system in the lower right corner, far from both Bokata and Gallaron. "There's rumors of another fleet approaching from the opposite flank. Lacul may use them to catch us in a pincer move."

Shikari thought it over. "The best thing would be to intercept one of them before they could surround us, and then counter attack the other as they got close."

"Exactly." Karga said, pointing to the fleet near the Berren system. "And this would make a perfect test."

"Test?" Misa said.

"I think we should send the Phoenix out there with a full battle fleet to intercept them. Have them all equipped with this new barrier system and see how it works."

"ME?!" Broli said in shock. "But... what... I can't lead a whole fleet!"

"It's just like Regults Captain, only they're alot bigger and not as fast." Karga almost seemed to be teasing him. "If you don't feel up to it, Shikari could tag along as an advisor."

Broli looked at Shikari, and she smiled at him. "N-no that won't be necessary." Broli said suddenly. "I'll do it, no problem."

"Good for you Kaalcha!" Shikari said.

Broli stood up. "We've got some work to do, so I'd better get going." He started to walk around the table, but paused for a moment and pinched Shikari's shoulder. "Stop calling me Kaalcha!"

Misa found this amusing, but looking over at Hallas the man seemed close to a heart attack. "Since when do Zentradi males and females interact with each other?!"

If Misa didn't know better, she could have sworn Hallas was Zentradi himself. "We introduced the concept to them, and they started to like it. Commander Broli is currently dating my first officer."

Hallas was stunned. "A Zentran in a sexual relationship?!"

"What's so wrong with that?" Misa said, not sure what kind of answer to expect.

Hallas stood up suddenly, then looked around the room and sat back down again. He looked directly at General Karga and Varcus for the first time that day, then looked back at Misa. "What is the nature of their relationship? Do they exchange affection?"

"What does that mean?" Misa said.

"D-Does he really love her? Does he even feel that emotion, or is he just imitating the people around him?"

Misa thought back to the many times she had seen them together, and the way Broli seemed to melt into butter whenever she looked at him. If he really was just imitating people, he was certainly a good actor. "From what I've seen, he's CRAZY about her. Whenever she's around he gets this funny little grin..."

Hallas stood up suddenly to leave. "I have to talk to my people right away."

"What? Why?" Misa stopped him at the door before he could go. "Hallas, what are you worried about?"

Hallas looked at Misa with an expression of near panic. "Captain Misa, our ancestors programmed the Zentradi to be emotionally dead! They're not supposed to feel ANYTHING! When we first created them they were perfect war machines, all of them incapable of any emotion whatsoever! Even hatred and fear were beyond their comprehension! What you're telling me now is impossible!"

Shikari and Varcus both stood up slowly and walked over to them, both very curious to know more. "Maybe we've evolved somehow?" Shikari said.

Hallas turned to both of them and spoke directly to them for the first time. "That's entirely possible. Zentradi nuero-chemistry was designed to be incapable of providing any emotional response. You were intelligent, logical, and versatile war machines for our race. We didn't integrate you into our society because you couldn't even understand the simple concept of happiness or even feeling offended, they were like robots!"

Shikari scratched her head. "The records don't show any of this...."

"Of course they don't. The Zentradi records of that time were little more than battle logs for future reference. I don't think you were even self aware at that time!"

Misa found all this to be a bit much to take in. "The Zentradi aren't supposed to be self aware?"

"Of course not! No wonder they stopped obeying us!" Hallas pushed past Misa and headed off towards the nearest shuttle bay.

Misa waited until he was out of earshot, then turned to Varcus and Shikari. "Go back to your ships and go through your records again. See if there's any evidence of this."

"Good idea." Said Varcus. "I'll check with Kraken on the Golgrono."

"Karga," Misa said, looking past them. "Assemble a fleet in the factory satellite. We'll install the new barrier systems right away."

"I'll get right to it." Karga said, moving out of the meeting room.