Chapter 1
?????????? Macross Island
To say that Alex was taken aback means absolutely nothing. His bewilderment and dismay was reaching new heights by the second. The Macross City he knew was all but gone around him. The buildings around him had been ravaged by, from what he could make of the markings and the scorches, high-density bullets, missiles and a type of beam weapon he could not recognize. What was happening? Did the Anti-Unification League launch a massive campaign? The pilots of his garrison had always doubted they could do so, as there were not a coherent group, and no single group had the resources to risk a campaign of this magnitude. Alex had been in complete accord with these theories. But what he saw around him seemed to disprove them.
The battle had ended here, or rather had been carried on elsewhere. From the sound of it, it was moving west, towards the SDF-1. He turned his plane in its direction, hoping to assess the situation more fully and do something about it. He looked out toward the SDF-1. And for a long moment, his mind froze with what he saw.
The ship is completed! THE FREAKING SHIP IS COMPLETED!! He thought wildly when he could think again. It was the truth. There were no holes in the hull now, no incomplete parts. A white and blue ceralloy paint covered what was once a dreary green. It flashed brightly in the sun, the very symbol of power and strength Alex had expected. But it was not supposed to have been completed. It just wasn't! But...yet it was clear that it was!
How long did he stay locked in total confusion, Alex could not say. But the confusion was so total, so consuming to him that he did not see the enemy until it jumped in front of him, firing. Instinctive survival and innate piloting skills took over then, as he swerved to one side, avoiding the attack by mere inches. His surprise was no less great when he registered what had attacked him. It was a mechanic construct, strangely ostrich-like, with nimble mechanic legs. it stood about fifty feet tall, perhaps more, and had two very dangerous looking cannons on its front. It had obviously tried to shoot him with that. And it was ready to try again, aiming at him.
The attack had been so sudden that he barely had the time to think. Alex did so now, furiously. He did not have any weapons to speak of. The laser was unusable, his missiles were gone, and the type of auto cannon he had as the secondary weapon would not, if what he saw was true, make a dent on the ostrich's armor. Not being a pessimist, the pilot tried to find a way to get himself out of this mess. More easily, he dodged a second attack, then a third. The pilot aboard the strange vehicle, if there was any, was not of the most imaginative kind, though he was rather brutal. Even with the simple mindedness expressed by the enemy pilot, Lenardais knew he could not dodge forever. Sooner or later, a lucky shot would get him, and it would really be all over.
Then the enemy vehicle was attacked from behind by something Alex could not make out with the smoke that clung to about everything around. The enemy tried to turn around to reciprocate, but a second burst of what the distraught pilot recognized as a sort of powerful auto cannon - much more powerful than the one he had - destroyed it in a an impressive blaze. Alex sent his silent thanks to whoever had shot the... thing... which had been attacking him. The unit that did so stepped forward, and once again Alex Lenardais, a veteran combat pilot found himself paralyzed with disbelief at what his eyes beheld.
The new vehicle was humanoid in shape, over forty feet tall, brown and white in color with a large, fuming cannon in one hand. It was an entirely mechanical construct, possessing the obvious elements of a plane within it. Or more like integrated inside the structure of the mecha itself. The design was awfully familiar. He had seen design parts of it, had worked with engineers on this very sort of transformable fighter. But until then, he had never thought this machine would work. But it obviously did. A machine with a name he had been thinking but thirty minutes before: Veritech.
But how could this be? The High Command had hinted a Veritech prototype had been built, waiting to be tested. Could this be it? He couldn't believe the High Command would let such a precious device go out without testing. What the hell was going on here?!?
"Command Delta to unidentified aircraft. You are ordered to identify yourself immediately!"
The voice of a woman coming from the radio brought Lenardais's scattered attention back to the present. The voice was obviously young yet held strength and command and not just a bit of irritation. It was a voice the pilot did not recall from earlier communications, and that only added to his distress. But with the distress came a mounting frustration, that had reached dangerous levels with the let-in and the let-out of adrenalin he had been periodically suffering from for the last thirty-five minutes now. It came out when he heard what was -to him, at least- an arrogant, senseless demand for identity.
"Can't you see I'm a United Earth pilot and not the enemy? This is 24F-13G of the Macross Garrison. And before you even ask, I am Alex Lenardais, First Lieutenant and a certified RDF pilot!" This all came up in an irritated, but somewhat hysterical voice. Lenardais had been subject to a lot of pressure and events in too little time, and he was wearing down quickly, mentally and physically. The person on the other side was either surprised or angry at the outburst, for she kept silence for a long moment. But it did return, only this time it was somewhat restrained, somewhat...colder than before. Alex could only wonder at the mechanized air the communications people could produce.
"Very well...lieutenant. Falcon four will escort you to the SDF-1 third hangar. You will then remain there until further orders. Understand?" the last order was snapped. The pilot saw it was better not to argue.
"Yes, ma'am." he answered dully. The link was cut. The mecha below him suddenly changed modes, becoming a somewhat larger and much better-armed plane than his, yet comparable in outlook. It took a position right before him, slightly to the right. A male voice than rang out of the radio.
"Follow me, sir." the voice said.
Alex did. Both planes made a wide loop around the city center - now nothing more than piles of rubble - to avoid the various combat zones. Looking down, Alex could see many of the strange ostrich-like mechas striding about exchanging fire with robot-mode Veritech. There seemed to be no people left - civilians that is. They had probably gone to wait out the battle in the various bunker-like shelters built below the city. Either that, or they had been killed. Not a good thought. Very depressing. Lenardais was beginning to think - to fervently wish - that this was all a nightmare, that any minute he'd be shaken awake by a teasingly cheerful Roy Fokker, telling him "Rise and Shine, Wonder of the North." as he always did when he slept late. Yet, he knew, with dreadful certainty, that this was all the truth.
They finally came to the third hangar of the SDF-1. A nice hangar which Lenardais remembered as barely half-completed. He touched down and immobilized his plane. He then cut off the power, opened the cockpit, and waited for the retractable ladder to stretch out to the floor. He descended. He was just descending when he felt the ship rise. They were taking off. The SDF-1, as impossible as it may seem to Lenardais, was actually taking off! This was becoming too much to take at once. He nearly fell of the ladder, so weak he suddenly felt. As it was, he barely managed to get down in one piece. He went down on the deck heavily and sat there, aware of many curious eyes upon him and far too drained to care. His mind was wildly spinning, and he put his head down in his hands to calm himself. He tried to adjust himself to what he had experienced. It was far from an easy task. A noise of tearing metal made him look up quickly, once again bringing him back sharply to the present. A woman's voice came hastily from the COM.
"The Anti-Gravity engines have failed! All hands brace for impact! Repeat: all hands, brace for impact!"
"What? The ship's falling?" asked a technician, as others around him went about grabbing something solid.
Give the guy a pat on the back for stating the obvious, thought Lenardais with a sneer as he grabbed the ladder of his plane for support. The fool saw his question would not receive an answer and finally braced himself. Then the shock of the landing swept just about everyone's feet from under them. Swearing and cursing, the technicians and the few pilots present struggled to their feet.
Alex had also been brought to the ground, and as others found himself swearing as he got up. The anti-gravity engines had failed, huh? In his mind, they weren't installed at all. Another unsettling piece of information for his overwrought mind. Fed up with being so lost, fed up with the helplessness he felt, the young man firmly pushed this far to the back of his mind and composed himself. If they managed to lift off, he might have a chance to have explanations later. As of right now, he had to be fit and ready for anything. He analyzed the situation from what he had seen thus far.
All right. Macross City is under attack by enemy forces. Hmm. From what I saw, the enemy utilizes craft that are much inferior to the Veritech fighters we obviously use, as much as I don't want to believe it. Now, I'd say a veritech can hold its own against maybe three of these...ostriches...but from what I've seen, the odds are far worse than that. If the SDF-1 took off, we would regain something like an advantage. He stopped. He had reached the very much sensitive condition that would be pivotal for this battle: The SDF-1 just had to take off.
_______________________________________________________________________
The situation on the bridge of the SDF-1 was more restrained. After all, these were officers who knew what was going on around them and who had not cheated death quite literally. Even so, the tension had been almost solid ever since the aliens had appeared. The automatic firing of the main guns had frayed everyone's nerves, and the subsequent attacks had only made matters worse. And now, with the anti-gravity system ripped out of the ship, a streak of panic had inserted itself, slowly drowning the officers in dread.
Henry Gloval, Fleet Captain and commander of the SDF-1, felt this wind of panic just as much as the other officers around him, he only did not show it. Decades of military service had strengthened his strong willpower into the thickest of iron. It had drawbacks; sometimes he appeared unfeeling, although he was as far from the case as could be put. However, right now this iron will was useful, as he maintained his calm despite the situation. He had reached the conclusion a far younger pilot had reached: the SDF-1 had to take off. And there was only one way to do so. Gloval turned to Lisa Hayes, a brilliant brunette who was his second-in-command.
"We have no choice." he said to her steadily. "We must use the main engines and go out into space. I don't like it, and the risks remain to us, but we might buy the United Earth Forces more time to activate their defenses." How great and confident you sound, Henry. A very nice little speech. But who are you encouraging here, your officers or yourself?
"What if the main engines don't work sir?" asked Lisa. Gloval did not respond to the question directly. He did not need to. The six people of the main bridge were more than bright enough to know what would happen.
"They'll work, Lisa. They weren't made on Earth." Gloval stated, somewhat wryly. It was true, thought.
Lisa, ever-efficient, did not hesitate. "Aye sir. Activating engines now." The bridge became active again. Lisa and Claudia Grant, a tall African woman who was third-in-command, went about the business of activating the main engines. Vanessa Leeds, the Communication Analyst, was keeping track of the battle and of the alien fleet in Earth's Orbit. Kim Young, the Ship Administrator, was intent on the status of the vital parts of the SDF-1 and Sammie Porter, of the Internal Communication, was speaking with the Chief Engineer of SDF-1 on the matter of the main engines. The words exchanged between the five officers were few. Everything was well meshed, calm and professional. Gloval saw that the bridge officers had been well chosen, for they worked very finely.
"Engine activation in ten...nine...eight...seven..." Lisa droned on calmly, as everyone else on the bridge, even Gloval -inwardly- tensed in anticipation. If this didn't work, they were all dead, that much was certain. If they could lift off, hope, however slim, would remain.
"Three...two...one... activation!"
At first nothing happened, and Gloval's heart sank a little. But then a rumble was heard, and the ship started to lift from the ground again. The captain heard a sigh of relief behind him. He did not turn to see who it was. He felt like doing the same action, but his personality prevented him from making it so. Still, he was glad all had turned out well.
All had turned out well. He had to admit that nothing was well still. With thousands of enemy ships over their heads and a battlefield below, it certainly was no time for elation.
"Vanessa, what is the battle situation in space?" he inquired.
The glasses-wearing slim brunette did not turn around to give her report. She kept her attention on the screen were details were constantly changing. Her voice was calm if hurried. Her report was to-the-point and direct.
"According to sensors, ARMD two and three are destroyed, ARMD one is slightly damaged but maintaining position. However, sir, only a dozen space destroyers remain battle ready."
"In short, we're getting wiped out." This was from Claudia, prompt to comment shrewdly on grave situations.
"Looks that way." admitted Vanessa.
"It is a very depressing thought, " said Gloval, "but I must admit I am not surprised of this."
"What do you mean, sir?" asked Kim. Gloval turned to her for a moment, then calmly walked to his chair. For a moment, it seemed he would not elaborate. But fiddling with his pipe -smoking was a vice he delved into eagerly- the captain finally spoke.
"From Vanessa's first report, we must assume that the enemy fleet totals one hundred thousand ships. Let us take it as an established fact. Now, our fleet numbered, at full strength, four ARMD platforms and eighty-seven space destroyers. This makes an approximate that is most distressing: more closely, over a thousand-to-one odds. What would you think of our chances?"
"Slim to nonexistent, depending on what was the level of technology of the larger fleet." stated Lisa. The captain nodded.
"And since we can safely assume that their level of technology may approach the SDF-1, we may say our overall chances are, simply put, nonexistent."
Very silent it was on the bridge then, as everyone on the bridge reflected on this bleak truth. Sammie then looked toward the captain chair and asked the question that bothered everyone.
"Um, sir, then why haven't they simply destroyed us?" she piped.
"Why, indeed?" mused Gloval, lighting his pipe. Normally Sammie would have told him - as she had before - that smoking was prohibited on the bridge but everyone - including her - was too preoccupied to care.
"They want this ship captured, else they would have stopped our leaving. They also seem to direct their attention on the SDF-1 solely. There must be something of this ship or on it which important to the aliens. There, lies, I must say, our glimmer of hope."
"But what if you are wrong, sir?" asked Claudia.
"We will know whether my theory proves correct soon enough, my dear." replied Gloval with determination in his voice.
_______________________________________________________________________
Lenardais felt that the ship was powering up its engines, and deduced that the commander of the SDF-1 had decided to leave the old-fashioned way. He hoped that this time the ship would continue to go up instead of going back down. He knew the people around him shared his opinion on the subject. He had ordered his plane removed and stored, in the most probable case the space it occupied would be needed by a more essential fighter. That done, and with nothing else to do, he decided to go to the bridge.
He asked for directions from the computer and got on his way, leaving behind a very active hangar deck. He was a bit far from his goal, as such he had the time to marvel at how vast this ship was. Then an idea suddenly took hold of him. It was one he had had before, but it had been pushed away by all the other events he had had to cope with in the very recent past.
He stopped at the first computer monitor he found and switched it on. He then typed in his request.
Give me the current day, month and year.
He almost did not send it, so downright scared he felt about the answer. His finger stayed poised over the 'send' button until, with an almost wild mental push, he decided to stop cowering like a child and to find the truth in the matter. He sent his request. He did not wait long, barely a moment, and the answer appeared on the screen before him, as big and as real as life.
16 of February, 2009
It was like his entire world suddenly came crashing down on him. He was two and a half years later than he had been an hour ago! No wonder the SDF-1 was completed. No wonder there were Veritechs roaming around. In two or three years, it must have easily passed from prototype to mass production. Lenardais had survived the explosion, but somehow it meant nothing to him. He felt like no less than a frightened child for a moment. Fortunately such moments pass quickly to a combat pilot, who is trained to expect the unexpected. He gathered himself, his senses spinning, his mind locked on automatic drive. Somewhat like an automaton, he continued his way to the bridge.
It was only a matter of time, of course, before his mind and thoughts caught up with him. Two years and a half! he raved blindly. They must think I'm dead. My parents, my sister, my friends, everyone I know. But I'm dead, ain't I? Or I'm supposed to be. Is this real? 2009! This is terrible. My stuff must be wrinkled. Did I get a decent burial? Wait, how can they bury me if I'm not dead?. Arrrgh!! Stop, STOP IT!! Pull yourself together. Deal with the here and now!
His thought had been such a whirlpool of confused musings that he heard someone calling to him only diffusely. He paid heed only when the voice returned, stronger this time.
"Are you all right? Are you wounded?" asked a black-haired young woman in a blue uniform. A lieutenant like him. She sounded concerned about him. It was then that he actually remembered where he was. On the bridge, most likely. With five women and one man regarding him with varying degrees of curiosity and irritation. Being surrounded in a very actual sense by a female-dominated group did not suit his weakened state of mind, who reminded him that he had a chronic, unexplainable fear of women. Being the sudden center of attention did not help any.
"N...nn...no. I'm fine, thank you. Just kinda lost, I think." he replied, trying to put his chronic fear to rest as he answered the question. He did not meet her eyes exactly, just fixed a point that looked as if he did meet her eyes - a good tactic for him in such circumstances.
The only man on the bridge, the captain obviously, walked toward him. Lenardais put himself at attention and saluted, briefly examining the man. He was taller than he, in his early fifties probable, with a graying black mustache and eyes that, while not cold or unsympathetic, were almost glowing with command and strength. The captain saluted him briefly, then quietly regarded him for a moment. The women went back to their respective duties.
"At ease lieutenant." the mustached men said with a heavy Russian accent. "It is quite normal to get lost in such a ship like the SDF-1. But let me ask you your identity."
Alex complied, thought he knew not what the reaction would be. "I am first lieutenant Alex Lenardais of the Macross Island Garrison."
The captain nodded, then started as if he had remembered something very peculiar. Both men did not see the African woman in a green uniform turn sharply, in shock, when Alex had told his name.
"Correct me if I am wrong, lieutenant," said the captain, watching Lenardais intently "but would you be the Alex Lenardais who saved half of Macross Island from a Reflex explosion in 2006?"
Not being the kind to lie when the truth was so blatantly told, Alex could only nod in response. A startled gasp caused both men to turn around in alarm. The African woman was looking at Lenardais with a pale face and wide eyes, causing the pilot to get nervous under this type of scrutiny. What was worse, this drew the attention of everyone else on the bridge again.
"But, this can't be!" said the staring African. "You're dead! Roy told me you had died while saving the city!" This drew stares from everyone on the bridge. Shocked stares, except for the captain, who remained quite calm. He had a pipe in his hand - Alex had not noticed it before - and he calmly took a puff of it before speaking again.
"That's right, Claudia. This concords to the reports and rumors I heard of this incident. Among the things I've heard - beside you being the model for cadets everywhere in the RDF, the most important detail was that you did not survive the explosion but that you were vaporized."
"I don't know how to answer that, sir." replied Lenardais truthfully. "The only thing I do know is that what is an historic event to you, to me is something that happened just over an hour ago. That's all I can say."
That drew a comment from the brunette next to the one named Claudia. "Are you saying you are out of the past. A time traveler?"
Alex had not really considered that. Yet, this had to be it. Maybe Reflex technology was related to time or some sort of nonsense. He didn't know, he wasn't a scientist. But an answer was needed to the question. Steeling himself, he launched ahead. "Yes ma'am.", he said formally and politely, in a perfect show of military rigidity. "That is my only theory as of now."
The brunette looked at him dubiously, then nodded and turned back to her consoles and monitors. To her, it was clear, the subject was closed. The same might not have been said of Claudia, who looked at Alex for a long moment before turning back herself. He was wondering about her, and her relation to Roy Fokker - it had to be him - when the captain talked to him again.
"This is a very peculiar event, to be sure." he said. " However, we might need a hand on the bridge as of this moment, and since you don't have anything else to do, we will use you. What is your secondary talent?"
"Well, um, tactics, sir."
"Good. You will then help lieutenant Leeds for the time being." the man gestured toward a console on the side of the bridge, where a slim brunette with glasses was studying different sets of radar screens. She looked quite busy, and disturbing a woman was not something Lenardais did for fun, far from it!. But an order was an order, and this certainly was no time to act like a child.
"Aye, sir." he said, turning to the side and walking to stand beside - and just behind - the woman at the console. His intention was simple and should have worked: He'd look at the screens, make up a few theories about what they said, then wait until asked about them. That way, he would not attract attention and would not immerse himself in a world he did not know. When he had said tactics, he meant battle tactics, in the field, not tactical analysis! It was thus a very logical plan to stay somewhat away from it all.
It didn't work. The young woman noticed his lagging back and called out to him. He had no choice but to come forward to stand right beside her. He busied himself with the monitors - not really looking at them, but pretending to - for long moments, while the officer was busy typing commands into her analysis grid. Not really knowing why he did, he turned to stare at her. He stared.
And stared.
And stared.
By most male descriptions, Vanessa Leeds - he did not know her first name yet, but soon would - was a very cute woman, although not really beautiful. Her expressive green-blue eyes and short brown hair - not to mention her lithe figure - always made a nice impression on guys. But to Alex Lenardais, she was beautiful, extremely so. To him, her face was angelic, and her eyes were pools of green-blue light he felt he could loose himself in. Her lithe figure clicked something within him too, but it was her face, and mostly her eyes, which fascinated him in such a way.
"Be careful not to trip on your jaw on the way out." said an amused voice.
Reality reasserted itself. It had not been lieutenant Leeds speaking, but the black-haired officer seated not far from her. Leeds and Lenardais both turned to her as she spoke, one in puzzlement, one in the most complete dismay. The raven-haired girl - a real cutie herself- was looking at Alex with an almost menacingly teasing gaze. One of her eyebrows was raised mischievously, giving a twisted suggestion on what he had been staring at, and what he had been thinking. To his credit, he did not shoot himself - he didn't have a sidearm, anyway - but instead flushed light rose and swiftly looked up to the monitors with such an intensity that it was a surprise they didn't melt. He heard a short hushed discussion between lieutenant Leeds and her comrade and felt her look up swiftly at him. He turned from rose to dark red when he heard the soft giggles emanating from the two control desks occupants.
This is so godbedamned GREAT! I'm making a fool of myself and I've only been on this bridge a few minutes. he cursed silently. That's why I prefer the company of men - if you stare at them they ask if you're ok, they don't gossip around like the people here do.
Ah, but women are soooo beautiful, even when you're scared witless of them. said a small part of him. He squashed the thought quickly, but he knew that was the truth. As far afraid of women he could be, he was anything but a homosexual.
Oh, well, life is always full of weird things...
_______________________________________________________________________
While Lenardais was philosophizing with himself, an old friend of his was coming back from a mission he had given himself.
"Skull One to Control. " said Roy Fokker "I'm returning. Over."
The answer form Lisa Hayes was quick but tinged with annoyance and suppressed irritation.
"Did you find him, commander?" her voice was such that if he had said no, he was almost certain she would have shouted 'hurray!'. He smiled. Rick really had a knack for making people love him sometimes! He almost hated to disappoint her, so he chose to make light of the matter.
"He was annoying a young lady, so I had to rescue her as well." he responded.
"You rat!" said Rick Hunter hotly. Being treated like an incompetent was not to his liking.
"So, there's the civilian." mocked Lisa. "No wonder he couldn't utilize his Veritech properly."
That's when he said it. Rick Hunter always found great rebukes and sarcastic jibes at the worst of times. This was one of them. "Who's the old sourpuss, Roy?"
"OLD SOURPUSS!" shouted Lisa, but whether it was in anger or complete shock was hard to say. It could have been both. Still, Roy found it to be a good one.
"Heh. This is our communication manager, lieutenant-commander Lisa Hayes." He smiled then. "And if you think she's an old sourpuss than you're not as grown up as I thought you were." he laughed then, just a moment, but it was enough to make Lisa explode directly in his face.
"Commander Fokker, you had better have an explanation for letting a civilian pilot a Veritech!" she shifted her ire to Rick. " And you mister Hunter, you're in big trouble whether you know it or not!"
"Ouu, she's mad." said Fokker, more to himself. This wasn't good, in a way. Making Lisa Hayes angry was always an event to be avoided. Yet, he was glad of this time to relieve the tension all the same. The chorus of snickers that he faintly heard seemed to say the bridge crew agreed with him on that point.
Rick mumbled something about everything being Lisa's fault, while her passenger - Lynn Minmey - said that he should apologize, for women her age get awfully mean. Lucky he had blocked comtransmissions coming from them, or Commander Hayes would really have killed them all for it!
"Well, now, do you have a place where we can land or not..." Roy found the new nickname to irresistible and went in teasing. "...you old sourpuss?" Then he laughed. Snickers erupted anew from the bridge but Lisa silenced them with her Look of Ice. She turned back, fuming, to the vid screen to face Roy.
"Affirmative." she growled. " Take landing bay 5-0-4. Over and out." The screen went blank.
Now we're in for it. thought Roy grumpily. He directed the Veritech toward the designated landing bay.
"Rick?" he said.
"Yes?"
"You talk too much." And so do I.
_______________________________________________________________________
Orbiting the Earth, surrounded by thousands of vessels just as big - if not as powerful - as the SDF-1, was the immense Flagship of the Zentreadi fleet. Six times as large as the SDF-1 and six times more heavily armed, this green-hulled behemoth's sensors were directed towards their goal - the Earth Flagship. Two men - almost relatively normal if not for their size - 30 feet tall and 45 feet tall - were contemplating the information.
"So, what do you think, Exedor?" asked the taller man, a blue-skinned man with his right eye covered with a metal plate. He was Breetai, commander of the Zentreadi Fleet.
"It would appear the land attack has not discouraged them, sir." mused Exedor, a very brilliant Zentreadi. "I propose to shift to a more aggressive posture."
Breetai crossed his arms, considering this. He was under orders from Dolza, the High Commander, to bring back the ship they were monitoring undamaged. But there were many smaller ships around it now - two of which were in the middle of a docking maneuver. Destroying them would show these...micronians... what they were really up against.
"Perhaps you are right, Exedor." he said finally. He immediately called up his weapons officer and gave him his strict orders.
_______________________________________________________________________
The bridge had quieted down after the Ice Look. Now everyone was focused on the docking of the ARMD platforms one and ten to the SDF-1. The aliens had made no further moves against the Earth Fleet, which struck many officers - and especially Captain Gloval - as simply too odd.
"They have the advantage but they don't attack. There must be a reason." he had said, and many had seemed inclined to agree.
Vanessa was one of those who agreed the most with this theory. What the radar screen showed was an almost one hundred thousand enemy vessels, enough to pulverize the whole Earth Fleet in seconds. There was no way the enemy could be holding back out of fear. Was it because the SDF-1 had originally been one of their ships? Perhaps. But then again, the reason could be other than that.
As she worked, she felt lieutenant Lenardais turn hesitantly to Claudia, then walking to her even more hesitantly. Vanessa didn't know what to make of him. He seemed on edge on the bridge, yet contrastively he had looked at her with rapturous abandon - at least if Kim was right. Knowing her younger friend's somewhat mischievous style, she could not take that for granted. But he had turned beet red when they had both looked at him.
The short conversation with Claudia ended, and Lenardais started to walk back to his previous place. Vanessa looked him over subtly as he did so. He was of slightly-higher-than-average height, relatively well-built. His light-brown hair was dishelved, but that was only because he had just been on a patrol. His pilot uniform, thought outdated, fit him well. He walked with a fine, confident gait, even if it was somewhat nervous. And he had bright, gray eyes that brimmed with life. Yes, he was cute. Yes, she might consider him dating material, if circumstances were different. But circumstances were different. She turned back to her work abruptly as he noticed her looking at him. He didn't say a word about it. He just came to stand beside her quietly.
A quiet moment which was shattered by a gasp from him, which almost made Vanessa jump, so dismayed did it sound. She turned to him, asking what the problem is on the tip of her tongue...
...and she stopped when she saw his face. He was staring at the enemy tactical arrangement with a very pale face. His eyes were wide, and his mouth worked words she could not understand. The enemy had shifted position, that she could see. But she was too inexperienced to understand what it could mean. Obviously, Lenardais knew it quite well.
"What's going on?" she asked worriedly, not daring to say it out loud. He didn't seem to hear her, just stared at the screen. She stood up next to him, meaning to ask again what was wrong. At that very moment, Lenardais turned to Captain Gloval in frantic haste.
"Captain." he said it levelly, yet there was an urgency that could not be denied in his voice. He received immediate attention. "Captain, they're about to bombard us."
"What?!?" exclaimed Gloval, a cry which was echoed more forcefully by other bridge crewmen.
"I'm positive they've shifted to a bombardment position. It resembles what we..." Lenardais said hurriedly, but he never had a chance to finish..
Multiple laser beams struck the ships surrounding the SDF-1. ARMD one and ten never had a chance. Most of the escorting destroyers were also pulverized or heavily damaged. They never knew what had happened or, if they did, they didn't have time to do anything about it.
Strangely, the SDF-1 itself did not seem damaged by the attacks, but it received a few significant shockwaves. One of them almost knocked Claudia down, but she stopped her fall with a grip on her console. Vanessa was also knocked down, but in her situation there was nothing to cling to, and she was seeing the floor come closer.
But an arm suddenly put itself between the floor and her, and brought her back up. Vanessa looked in surprise at Lieutenant Lenardais, who seemed oblivious to the fact he was still holding her...and close, at that. He was using his other hand to get a firm grip, and he looked at the readouts on the screens in intense, but cold, fury. Something told her he did not think much of high bombardments. Not much at all.
The shockwaves passed. Everyone righted himself. Captain Gloval was giving hurried but controlled orders to descend back down to Earth to five thousand feet above sea level. Lisa and Claudia immediately complied. Sammie was speaking with damage control teams and Kim was examining ship status in detail, relating her information to the Captain.
As for Vanessa, she swiftly slid out of Lenardais's grasp - he hardly seemed to notice - and resumed her seat in bewilderment. She had liked it. She had actually liked being held close to this near-total stranger! What did it mean?
No time for fooling around, she admonished herself. There was a lot to be done still.
"Once at five thousand feet, you will activate the Hyperspace Fold at my command." the Captain was telling Claudia.
That got everybody's attention, although Lenardais looked more confused than worried. A Hyperspace Fold could, in theory, teleport a ship very long distance by calculating a wavelength trajectory based on the nearest star and by entering exact coordinates. Again, in theory. The Fold system, after all...
"Has never been tested, Captain!" said Claudia. Gloval nodded at this, but his demeanor did not change any. He was decided.
"I know this, Claudia, but as it seems clear that the SDF-1 is the enemy's target, we should take the ship away from Earth at all cost. We will de-Fold on the other side of the Moon and try to fool the enemy into thinking we have left altogether. I have slim hopes that this will work but it is better than the present situation. Prepare the operation."
"But, sir," protested Claudia "we must have an authorization from headquarters to activate the Fold and..."
"I know the procedures. We don't have the time to wait for answers. Activate the Fold system."
"But..."
"Claudia!" shouted Gloval, his patience finally spent. "I have given you my orders!"
Claudia flinched at this rebuke. She turned back to her controls.
"Aye, Captain. Preparing Fold system."
Kim turned to Vanessa. "Looks like it's going to be a big trip after all. Vanessa could only nod. The bridge than prepared for the most dangerous operation the SDF-1 had attempted to date.
_______________________________________________________________________
"We are about to attempt a Fold Maneuver. All ship personnel report to emergency stations. I repeat, we are about to attempt a Fold Maneuver. All ship personnel report to emergency stations." Lisa Hayes's voice resonated from the inter-ship comlink.
Roy had just been showing to Rick Hunter the circus jet the boy had come to Macross Island with when he heard the general call. He instantly jumped inside the jeep he had used to transport his charges to the jet.
"You two stay here." he said. " If you wander around, you'll get lost. You have no idea how enormous this ship is!"
Rick's face had been indecisive and Minmey's face somewhat blank at this. He really did not wish to leave those two out there, but he couldn't ignore the general call. He was a soldier, after all. He started the engine and drove off. He had the intention of going to the pilot garrison of the SDF-1. His thoughts were interrupted with a personal call. He responded immediately, knowing it could be important.
"Commander Fokker here." he said. He was surprised when he heard Claudia on the jeep's COM.
"Roy, could you come to the bridge?" she asked.
"What? Claudia, you know I have to go the other pilots. It's my place. I can't go to the bridge right now."
Claudia seemed to hesitate on the COM, which troubled Roy to no end - Claudia was not of a hesitant nature.
"Its special. It was...requested." she said hesitantly.
"Requested? But who besides captain Gloval has the authority..." Roy started to ask.
"Ohh, just come, all right Roy?" she said, a little exasperated.
Roy was still very confused, but accepted to come immediately. He drove toward the nearest elevator that led to the bridge, all the while wondering what was going on. This type of call was completely unorthodox! He couldn't make a coherent theory about it.
He finally arrived to the elevator he wanted. As he disembarked and punched the call button for the elevator, he started to feel strange. Like stretched and a little nauseous. He leaned on the door of the elevator in shock and weakness, wondering what was wrong with him. Then he realized it: the Fold must have been activated! They were in the middle of it. Knowing this, Roy relaxed and waited for it to pass. It did not last long. A few seconds at most. As soon as the sickness passed, he went inside the elevator and went to the bridge. He was starting to wonder of the status there, anyway.
When he arrived, the activity on the bridge was subdued, efficient. Just as if a Fold had not happened. Sammie was a little green still however, which meant she probably had been unable to fully stomach it. Roy was about to ask what was the status of the ship when a man beside Vanessa turned in his direction. Both men froze. Roy's mind froze in stupefaction and fear.
It..
It...
It couldn't be...
Could it?
"Hi Roy" said Alex Lenardais, an old friend, a very good friend. A very dead friend!
I need a vacation real bad, he thought savagely. This just can't be!
Could it?
Could it?
Yes.
It would seem so.
In fact, he realized soon...
It was so.
***********************************************************************
?????????? Macross Island
To say that Alex was taken aback means absolutely nothing. His bewilderment and dismay was reaching new heights by the second. The Macross City he knew was all but gone around him. The buildings around him had been ravaged by, from what he could make of the markings and the scorches, high-density bullets, missiles and a type of beam weapon he could not recognize. What was happening? Did the Anti-Unification League launch a massive campaign? The pilots of his garrison had always doubted they could do so, as there were not a coherent group, and no single group had the resources to risk a campaign of this magnitude. Alex had been in complete accord with these theories. But what he saw around him seemed to disprove them.
The battle had ended here, or rather had been carried on elsewhere. From the sound of it, it was moving west, towards the SDF-1. He turned his plane in its direction, hoping to assess the situation more fully and do something about it. He looked out toward the SDF-1. And for a long moment, his mind froze with what he saw.
The ship is completed! THE FREAKING SHIP IS COMPLETED!! He thought wildly when he could think again. It was the truth. There were no holes in the hull now, no incomplete parts. A white and blue ceralloy paint covered what was once a dreary green. It flashed brightly in the sun, the very symbol of power and strength Alex had expected. But it was not supposed to have been completed. It just wasn't! But...yet it was clear that it was!
How long did he stay locked in total confusion, Alex could not say. But the confusion was so total, so consuming to him that he did not see the enemy until it jumped in front of him, firing. Instinctive survival and innate piloting skills took over then, as he swerved to one side, avoiding the attack by mere inches. His surprise was no less great when he registered what had attacked him. It was a mechanic construct, strangely ostrich-like, with nimble mechanic legs. it stood about fifty feet tall, perhaps more, and had two very dangerous looking cannons on its front. It had obviously tried to shoot him with that. And it was ready to try again, aiming at him.
The attack had been so sudden that he barely had the time to think. Alex did so now, furiously. He did not have any weapons to speak of. The laser was unusable, his missiles were gone, and the type of auto cannon he had as the secondary weapon would not, if what he saw was true, make a dent on the ostrich's armor. Not being a pessimist, the pilot tried to find a way to get himself out of this mess. More easily, he dodged a second attack, then a third. The pilot aboard the strange vehicle, if there was any, was not of the most imaginative kind, though he was rather brutal. Even with the simple mindedness expressed by the enemy pilot, Lenardais knew he could not dodge forever. Sooner or later, a lucky shot would get him, and it would really be all over.
Then the enemy vehicle was attacked from behind by something Alex could not make out with the smoke that clung to about everything around. The enemy tried to turn around to reciprocate, but a second burst of what the distraught pilot recognized as a sort of powerful auto cannon - much more powerful than the one he had - destroyed it in a an impressive blaze. Alex sent his silent thanks to whoever had shot the... thing... which had been attacking him. The unit that did so stepped forward, and once again Alex Lenardais, a veteran combat pilot found himself paralyzed with disbelief at what his eyes beheld.
The new vehicle was humanoid in shape, over forty feet tall, brown and white in color with a large, fuming cannon in one hand. It was an entirely mechanical construct, possessing the obvious elements of a plane within it. Or more like integrated inside the structure of the mecha itself. The design was awfully familiar. He had seen design parts of it, had worked with engineers on this very sort of transformable fighter. But until then, he had never thought this machine would work. But it obviously did. A machine with a name he had been thinking but thirty minutes before: Veritech.
But how could this be? The High Command had hinted a Veritech prototype had been built, waiting to be tested. Could this be it? He couldn't believe the High Command would let such a precious device go out without testing. What the hell was going on here?!?
"Command Delta to unidentified aircraft. You are ordered to identify yourself immediately!"
The voice of a woman coming from the radio brought Lenardais's scattered attention back to the present. The voice was obviously young yet held strength and command and not just a bit of irritation. It was a voice the pilot did not recall from earlier communications, and that only added to his distress. But with the distress came a mounting frustration, that had reached dangerous levels with the let-in and the let-out of adrenalin he had been periodically suffering from for the last thirty-five minutes now. It came out when he heard what was -to him, at least- an arrogant, senseless demand for identity.
"Can't you see I'm a United Earth pilot and not the enemy? This is 24F-13G of the Macross Garrison. And before you even ask, I am Alex Lenardais, First Lieutenant and a certified RDF pilot!" This all came up in an irritated, but somewhat hysterical voice. Lenardais had been subject to a lot of pressure and events in too little time, and he was wearing down quickly, mentally and physically. The person on the other side was either surprised or angry at the outburst, for she kept silence for a long moment. But it did return, only this time it was somewhat restrained, somewhat...colder than before. Alex could only wonder at the mechanized air the communications people could produce.
"Very well...lieutenant. Falcon four will escort you to the SDF-1 third hangar. You will then remain there until further orders. Understand?" the last order was snapped. The pilot saw it was better not to argue.
"Yes, ma'am." he answered dully. The link was cut. The mecha below him suddenly changed modes, becoming a somewhat larger and much better-armed plane than his, yet comparable in outlook. It took a position right before him, slightly to the right. A male voice than rang out of the radio.
"Follow me, sir." the voice said.
Alex did. Both planes made a wide loop around the city center - now nothing more than piles of rubble - to avoid the various combat zones. Looking down, Alex could see many of the strange ostrich-like mechas striding about exchanging fire with robot-mode Veritech. There seemed to be no people left - civilians that is. They had probably gone to wait out the battle in the various bunker-like shelters built below the city. Either that, or they had been killed. Not a good thought. Very depressing. Lenardais was beginning to think - to fervently wish - that this was all a nightmare, that any minute he'd be shaken awake by a teasingly cheerful Roy Fokker, telling him "Rise and Shine, Wonder of the North." as he always did when he slept late. Yet, he knew, with dreadful certainty, that this was all the truth.
They finally came to the third hangar of the SDF-1. A nice hangar which Lenardais remembered as barely half-completed. He touched down and immobilized his plane. He then cut off the power, opened the cockpit, and waited for the retractable ladder to stretch out to the floor. He descended. He was just descending when he felt the ship rise. They were taking off. The SDF-1, as impossible as it may seem to Lenardais, was actually taking off! This was becoming too much to take at once. He nearly fell of the ladder, so weak he suddenly felt. As it was, he barely managed to get down in one piece. He went down on the deck heavily and sat there, aware of many curious eyes upon him and far too drained to care. His mind was wildly spinning, and he put his head down in his hands to calm himself. He tried to adjust himself to what he had experienced. It was far from an easy task. A noise of tearing metal made him look up quickly, once again bringing him back sharply to the present. A woman's voice came hastily from the COM.
"The Anti-Gravity engines have failed! All hands brace for impact! Repeat: all hands, brace for impact!"
"What? The ship's falling?" asked a technician, as others around him went about grabbing something solid.
Give the guy a pat on the back for stating the obvious, thought Lenardais with a sneer as he grabbed the ladder of his plane for support. The fool saw his question would not receive an answer and finally braced himself. Then the shock of the landing swept just about everyone's feet from under them. Swearing and cursing, the technicians and the few pilots present struggled to their feet.
Alex had also been brought to the ground, and as others found himself swearing as he got up. The anti-gravity engines had failed, huh? In his mind, they weren't installed at all. Another unsettling piece of information for his overwrought mind. Fed up with being so lost, fed up with the helplessness he felt, the young man firmly pushed this far to the back of his mind and composed himself. If they managed to lift off, he might have a chance to have explanations later. As of right now, he had to be fit and ready for anything. He analyzed the situation from what he had seen thus far.
All right. Macross City is under attack by enemy forces. Hmm. From what I saw, the enemy utilizes craft that are much inferior to the Veritech fighters we obviously use, as much as I don't want to believe it. Now, I'd say a veritech can hold its own against maybe three of these...ostriches...but from what I've seen, the odds are far worse than that. If the SDF-1 took off, we would regain something like an advantage. He stopped. He had reached the very much sensitive condition that would be pivotal for this battle: The SDF-1 just had to take off.
_______________________________________________________________________
The situation on the bridge of the SDF-1 was more restrained. After all, these were officers who knew what was going on around them and who had not cheated death quite literally. Even so, the tension had been almost solid ever since the aliens had appeared. The automatic firing of the main guns had frayed everyone's nerves, and the subsequent attacks had only made matters worse. And now, with the anti-gravity system ripped out of the ship, a streak of panic had inserted itself, slowly drowning the officers in dread.
Henry Gloval, Fleet Captain and commander of the SDF-1, felt this wind of panic just as much as the other officers around him, he only did not show it. Decades of military service had strengthened his strong willpower into the thickest of iron. It had drawbacks; sometimes he appeared unfeeling, although he was as far from the case as could be put. However, right now this iron will was useful, as he maintained his calm despite the situation. He had reached the conclusion a far younger pilot had reached: the SDF-1 had to take off. And there was only one way to do so. Gloval turned to Lisa Hayes, a brilliant brunette who was his second-in-command.
"We have no choice." he said to her steadily. "We must use the main engines and go out into space. I don't like it, and the risks remain to us, but we might buy the United Earth Forces more time to activate their defenses." How great and confident you sound, Henry. A very nice little speech. But who are you encouraging here, your officers or yourself?
"What if the main engines don't work sir?" asked Lisa. Gloval did not respond to the question directly. He did not need to. The six people of the main bridge were more than bright enough to know what would happen.
"They'll work, Lisa. They weren't made on Earth." Gloval stated, somewhat wryly. It was true, thought.
Lisa, ever-efficient, did not hesitate. "Aye sir. Activating engines now." The bridge became active again. Lisa and Claudia Grant, a tall African woman who was third-in-command, went about the business of activating the main engines. Vanessa Leeds, the Communication Analyst, was keeping track of the battle and of the alien fleet in Earth's Orbit. Kim Young, the Ship Administrator, was intent on the status of the vital parts of the SDF-1 and Sammie Porter, of the Internal Communication, was speaking with the Chief Engineer of SDF-1 on the matter of the main engines. The words exchanged between the five officers were few. Everything was well meshed, calm and professional. Gloval saw that the bridge officers had been well chosen, for they worked very finely.
"Engine activation in ten...nine...eight...seven..." Lisa droned on calmly, as everyone else on the bridge, even Gloval -inwardly- tensed in anticipation. If this didn't work, they were all dead, that much was certain. If they could lift off, hope, however slim, would remain.
"Three...two...one... activation!"
At first nothing happened, and Gloval's heart sank a little. But then a rumble was heard, and the ship started to lift from the ground again. The captain heard a sigh of relief behind him. He did not turn to see who it was. He felt like doing the same action, but his personality prevented him from making it so. Still, he was glad all had turned out well.
All had turned out well. He had to admit that nothing was well still. With thousands of enemy ships over their heads and a battlefield below, it certainly was no time for elation.
"Vanessa, what is the battle situation in space?" he inquired.
The glasses-wearing slim brunette did not turn around to give her report. She kept her attention on the screen were details were constantly changing. Her voice was calm if hurried. Her report was to-the-point and direct.
"According to sensors, ARMD two and three are destroyed, ARMD one is slightly damaged but maintaining position. However, sir, only a dozen space destroyers remain battle ready."
"In short, we're getting wiped out." This was from Claudia, prompt to comment shrewdly on grave situations.
"Looks that way." admitted Vanessa.
"It is a very depressing thought, " said Gloval, "but I must admit I am not surprised of this."
"What do you mean, sir?" asked Kim. Gloval turned to her for a moment, then calmly walked to his chair. For a moment, it seemed he would not elaborate. But fiddling with his pipe -smoking was a vice he delved into eagerly- the captain finally spoke.
"From Vanessa's first report, we must assume that the enemy fleet totals one hundred thousand ships. Let us take it as an established fact. Now, our fleet numbered, at full strength, four ARMD platforms and eighty-seven space destroyers. This makes an approximate that is most distressing: more closely, over a thousand-to-one odds. What would you think of our chances?"
"Slim to nonexistent, depending on what was the level of technology of the larger fleet." stated Lisa. The captain nodded.
"And since we can safely assume that their level of technology may approach the SDF-1, we may say our overall chances are, simply put, nonexistent."
Very silent it was on the bridge then, as everyone on the bridge reflected on this bleak truth. Sammie then looked toward the captain chair and asked the question that bothered everyone.
"Um, sir, then why haven't they simply destroyed us?" she piped.
"Why, indeed?" mused Gloval, lighting his pipe. Normally Sammie would have told him - as she had before - that smoking was prohibited on the bridge but everyone - including her - was too preoccupied to care.
"They want this ship captured, else they would have stopped our leaving. They also seem to direct their attention on the SDF-1 solely. There must be something of this ship or on it which important to the aliens. There, lies, I must say, our glimmer of hope."
"But what if you are wrong, sir?" asked Claudia.
"We will know whether my theory proves correct soon enough, my dear." replied Gloval with determination in his voice.
_______________________________________________________________________
Lenardais felt that the ship was powering up its engines, and deduced that the commander of the SDF-1 had decided to leave the old-fashioned way. He hoped that this time the ship would continue to go up instead of going back down. He knew the people around him shared his opinion on the subject. He had ordered his plane removed and stored, in the most probable case the space it occupied would be needed by a more essential fighter. That done, and with nothing else to do, he decided to go to the bridge.
He asked for directions from the computer and got on his way, leaving behind a very active hangar deck. He was a bit far from his goal, as such he had the time to marvel at how vast this ship was. Then an idea suddenly took hold of him. It was one he had had before, but it had been pushed away by all the other events he had had to cope with in the very recent past.
He stopped at the first computer monitor he found and switched it on. He then typed in his request.
Give me the current day, month and year.
He almost did not send it, so downright scared he felt about the answer. His finger stayed poised over the 'send' button until, with an almost wild mental push, he decided to stop cowering like a child and to find the truth in the matter. He sent his request. He did not wait long, barely a moment, and the answer appeared on the screen before him, as big and as real as life.
16 of February, 2009
It was like his entire world suddenly came crashing down on him. He was two and a half years later than he had been an hour ago! No wonder the SDF-1 was completed. No wonder there were Veritechs roaming around. In two or three years, it must have easily passed from prototype to mass production. Lenardais had survived the explosion, but somehow it meant nothing to him. He felt like no less than a frightened child for a moment. Fortunately such moments pass quickly to a combat pilot, who is trained to expect the unexpected. He gathered himself, his senses spinning, his mind locked on automatic drive. Somewhat like an automaton, he continued his way to the bridge.
It was only a matter of time, of course, before his mind and thoughts caught up with him. Two years and a half! he raved blindly. They must think I'm dead. My parents, my sister, my friends, everyone I know. But I'm dead, ain't I? Or I'm supposed to be. Is this real? 2009! This is terrible. My stuff must be wrinkled. Did I get a decent burial? Wait, how can they bury me if I'm not dead?. Arrrgh!! Stop, STOP IT!! Pull yourself together. Deal with the here and now!
His thought had been such a whirlpool of confused musings that he heard someone calling to him only diffusely. He paid heed only when the voice returned, stronger this time.
"Are you all right? Are you wounded?" asked a black-haired young woman in a blue uniform. A lieutenant like him. She sounded concerned about him. It was then that he actually remembered where he was. On the bridge, most likely. With five women and one man regarding him with varying degrees of curiosity and irritation. Being surrounded in a very actual sense by a female-dominated group did not suit his weakened state of mind, who reminded him that he had a chronic, unexplainable fear of women. Being the sudden center of attention did not help any.
"N...nn...no. I'm fine, thank you. Just kinda lost, I think." he replied, trying to put his chronic fear to rest as he answered the question. He did not meet her eyes exactly, just fixed a point that looked as if he did meet her eyes - a good tactic for him in such circumstances.
The only man on the bridge, the captain obviously, walked toward him. Lenardais put himself at attention and saluted, briefly examining the man. He was taller than he, in his early fifties probable, with a graying black mustache and eyes that, while not cold or unsympathetic, were almost glowing with command and strength. The captain saluted him briefly, then quietly regarded him for a moment. The women went back to their respective duties.
"At ease lieutenant." the mustached men said with a heavy Russian accent. "It is quite normal to get lost in such a ship like the SDF-1. But let me ask you your identity."
Alex complied, thought he knew not what the reaction would be. "I am first lieutenant Alex Lenardais of the Macross Island Garrison."
The captain nodded, then started as if he had remembered something very peculiar. Both men did not see the African woman in a green uniform turn sharply, in shock, when Alex had told his name.
"Correct me if I am wrong, lieutenant," said the captain, watching Lenardais intently "but would you be the Alex Lenardais who saved half of Macross Island from a Reflex explosion in 2006?"
Not being the kind to lie when the truth was so blatantly told, Alex could only nod in response. A startled gasp caused both men to turn around in alarm. The African woman was looking at Lenardais with a pale face and wide eyes, causing the pilot to get nervous under this type of scrutiny. What was worse, this drew the attention of everyone else on the bridge again.
"But, this can't be!" said the staring African. "You're dead! Roy told me you had died while saving the city!" This drew stares from everyone on the bridge. Shocked stares, except for the captain, who remained quite calm. He had a pipe in his hand - Alex had not noticed it before - and he calmly took a puff of it before speaking again.
"That's right, Claudia. This concords to the reports and rumors I heard of this incident. Among the things I've heard - beside you being the model for cadets everywhere in the RDF, the most important detail was that you did not survive the explosion but that you were vaporized."
"I don't know how to answer that, sir." replied Lenardais truthfully. "The only thing I do know is that what is an historic event to you, to me is something that happened just over an hour ago. That's all I can say."
That drew a comment from the brunette next to the one named Claudia. "Are you saying you are out of the past. A time traveler?"
Alex had not really considered that. Yet, this had to be it. Maybe Reflex technology was related to time or some sort of nonsense. He didn't know, he wasn't a scientist. But an answer was needed to the question. Steeling himself, he launched ahead. "Yes ma'am.", he said formally and politely, in a perfect show of military rigidity. "That is my only theory as of now."
The brunette looked at him dubiously, then nodded and turned back to her consoles and monitors. To her, it was clear, the subject was closed. The same might not have been said of Claudia, who looked at Alex for a long moment before turning back herself. He was wondering about her, and her relation to Roy Fokker - it had to be him - when the captain talked to him again.
"This is a very peculiar event, to be sure." he said. " However, we might need a hand on the bridge as of this moment, and since you don't have anything else to do, we will use you. What is your secondary talent?"
"Well, um, tactics, sir."
"Good. You will then help lieutenant Leeds for the time being." the man gestured toward a console on the side of the bridge, where a slim brunette with glasses was studying different sets of radar screens. She looked quite busy, and disturbing a woman was not something Lenardais did for fun, far from it!. But an order was an order, and this certainly was no time to act like a child.
"Aye, sir." he said, turning to the side and walking to stand beside - and just behind - the woman at the console. His intention was simple and should have worked: He'd look at the screens, make up a few theories about what they said, then wait until asked about them. That way, he would not attract attention and would not immerse himself in a world he did not know. When he had said tactics, he meant battle tactics, in the field, not tactical analysis! It was thus a very logical plan to stay somewhat away from it all.
It didn't work. The young woman noticed his lagging back and called out to him. He had no choice but to come forward to stand right beside her. He busied himself with the monitors - not really looking at them, but pretending to - for long moments, while the officer was busy typing commands into her analysis grid. Not really knowing why he did, he turned to stare at her. He stared.
And stared.
And stared.
By most male descriptions, Vanessa Leeds - he did not know her first name yet, but soon would - was a very cute woman, although not really beautiful. Her expressive green-blue eyes and short brown hair - not to mention her lithe figure - always made a nice impression on guys. But to Alex Lenardais, she was beautiful, extremely so. To him, her face was angelic, and her eyes were pools of green-blue light he felt he could loose himself in. Her lithe figure clicked something within him too, but it was her face, and mostly her eyes, which fascinated him in such a way.
"Be careful not to trip on your jaw on the way out." said an amused voice.
Reality reasserted itself. It had not been lieutenant Leeds speaking, but the black-haired officer seated not far from her. Leeds and Lenardais both turned to her as she spoke, one in puzzlement, one in the most complete dismay. The raven-haired girl - a real cutie herself- was looking at Alex with an almost menacingly teasing gaze. One of her eyebrows was raised mischievously, giving a twisted suggestion on what he had been staring at, and what he had been thinking. To his credit, he did not shoot himself - he didn't have a sidearm, anyway - but instead flushed light rose and swiftly looked up to the monitors with such an intensity that it was a surprise they didn't melt. He heard a short hushed discussion between lieutenant Leeds and her comrade and felt her look up swiftly at him. He turned from rose to dark red when he heard the soft giggles emanating from the two control desks occupants.
This is so godbedamned GREAT! I'm making a fool of myself and I've only been on this bridge a few minutes. he cursed silently. That's why I prefer the company of men - if you stare at them they ask if you're ok, they don't gossip around like the people here do.
Ah, but women are soooo beautiful, even when you're scared witless of them. said a small part of him. He squashed the thought quickly, but he knew that was the truth. As far afraid of women he could be, he was anything but a homosexual.
Oh, well, life is always full of weird things...
_______________________________________________________________________
While Lenardais was philosophizing with himself, an old friend of his was coming back from a mission he had given himself.
"Skull One to Control. " said Roy Fokker "I'm returning. Over."
The answer form Lisa Hayes was quick but tinged with annoyance and suppressed irritation.
"Did you find him, commander?" her voice was such that if he had said no, he was almost certain she would have shouted 'hurray!'. He smiled. Rick really had a knack for making people love him sometimes! He almost hated to disappoint her, so he chose to make light of the matter.
"He was annoying a young lady, so I had to rescue her as well." he responded.
"You rat!" said Rick Hunter hotly. Being treated like an incompetent was not to his liking.
"So, there's the civilian." mocked Lisa. "No wonder he couldn't utilize his Veritech properly."
That's when he said it. Rick Hunter always found great rebukes and sarcastic jibes at the worst of times. This was one of them. "Who's the old sourpuss, Roy?"
"OLD SOURPUSS!" shouted Lisa, but whether it was in anger or complete shock was hard to say. It could have been both. Still, Roy found it to be a good one.
"Heh. This is our communication manager, lieutenant-commander Lisa Hayes." He smiled then. "And if you think she's an old sourpuss than you're not as grown up as I thought you were." he laughed then, just a moment, but it was enough to make Lisa explode directly in his face.
"Commander Fokker, you had better have an explanation for letting a civilian pilot a Veritech!" she shifted her ire to Rick. " And you mister Hunter, you're in big trouble whether you know it or not!"
"Ouu, she's mad." said Fokker, more to himself. This wasn't good, in a way. Making Lisa Hayes angry was always an event to be avoided. Yet, he was glad of this time to relieve the tension all the same. The chorus of snickers that he faintly heard seemed to say the bridge crew agreed with him on that point.
Rick mumbled something about everything being Lisa's fault, while her passenger - Lynn Minmey - said that he should apologize, for women her age get awfully mean. Lucky he had blocked comtransmissions coming from them, or Commander Hayes would really have killed them all for it!
"Well, now, do you have a place where we can land or not..." Roy found the new nickname to irresistible and went in teasing. "...you old sourpuss?" Then he laughed. Snickers erupted anew from the bridge but Lisa silenced them with her Look of Ice. She turned back, fuming, to the vid screen to face Roy.
"Affirmative." she growled. " Take landing bay 5-0-4. Over and out." The screen went blank.
Now we're in for it. thought Roy grumpily. He directed the Veritech toward the designated landing bay.
"Rick?" he said.
"Yes?"
"You talk too much." And so do I.
_______________________________________________________________________
Orbiting the Earth, surrounded by thousands of vessels just as big - if not as powerful - as the SDF-1, was the immense Flagship of the Zentreadi fleet. Six times as large as the SDF-1 and six times more heavily armed, this green-hulled behemoth's sensors were directed towards their goal - the Earth Flagship. Two men - almost relatively normal if not for their size - 30 feet tall and 45 feet tall - were contemplating the information.
"So, what do you think, Exedor?" asked the taller man, a blue-skinned man with his right eye covered with a metal plate. He was Breetai, commander of the Zentreadi Fleet.
"It would appear the land attack has not discouraged them, sir." mused Exedor, a very brilliant Zentreadi. "I propose to shift to a more aggressive posture."
Breetai crossed his arms, considering this. He was under orders from Dolza, the High Commander, to bring back the ship they were monitoring undamaged. But there were many smaller ships around it now - two of which were in the middle of a docking maneuver. Destroying them would show these...micronians... what they were really up against.
"Perhaps you are right, Exedor." he said finally. He immediately called up his weapons officer and gave him his strict orders.
_______________________________________________________________________
The bridge had quieted down after the Ice Look. Now everyone was focused on the docking of the ARMD platforms one and ten to the SDF-1. The aliens had made no further moves against the Earth Fleet, which struck many officers - and especially Captain Gloval - as simply too odd.
"They have the advantage but they don't attack. There must be a reason." he had said, and many had seemed inclined to agree.
Vanessa was one of those who agreed the most with this theory. What the radar screen showed was an almost one hundred thousand enemy vessels, enough to pulverize the whole Earth Fleet in seconds. There was no way the enemy could be holding back out of fear. Was it because the SDF-1 had originally been one of their ships? Perhaps. But then again, the reason could be other than that.
As she worked, she felt lieutenant Lenardais turn hesitantly to Claudia, then walking to her even more hesitantly. Vanessa didn't know what to make of him. He seemed on edge on the bridge, yet contrastively he had looked at her with rapturous abandon - at least if Kim was right. Knowing her younger friend's somewhat mischievous style, she could not take that for granted. But he had turned beet red when they had both looked at him.
The short conversation with Claudia ended, and Lenardais started to walk back to his previous place. Vanessa looked him over subtly as he did so. He was of slightly-higher-than-average height, relatively well-built. His light-brown hair was dishelved, but that was only because he had just been on a patrol. His pilot uniform, thought outdated, fit him well. He walked with a fine, confident gait, even if it was somewhat nervous. And he had bright, gray eyes that brimmed with life. Yes, he was cute. Yes, she might consider him dating material, if circumstances were different. But circumstances were different. She turned back to her work abruptly as he noticed her looking at him. He didn't say a word about it. He just came to stand beside her quietly.
A quiet moment which was shattered by a gasp from him, which almost made Vanessa jump, so dismayed did it sound. She turned to him, asking what the problem is on the tip of her tongue...
...and she stopped when she saw his face. He was staring at the enemy tactical arrangement with a very pale face. His eyes were wide, and his mouth worked words she could not understand. The enemy had shifted position, that she could see. But she was too inexperienced to understand what it could mean. Obviously, Lenardais knew it quite well.
"What's going on?" she asked worriedly, not daring to say it out loud. He didn't seem to hear her, just stared at the screen. She stood up next to him, meaning to ask again what was wrong. At that very moment, Lenardais turned to Captain Gloval in frantic haste.
"Captain." he said it levelly, yet there was an urgency that could not be denied in his voice. He received immediate attention. "Captain, they're about to bombard us."
"What?!?" exclaimed Gloval, a cry which was echoed more forcefully by other bridge crewmen.
"I'm positive they've shifted to a bombardment position. It resembles what we..." Lenardais said hurriedly, but he never had a chance to finish..
Multiple laser beams struck the ships surrounding the SDF-1. ARMD one and ten never had a chance. Most of the escorting destroyers were also pulverized or heavily damaged. They never knew what had happened or, if they did, they didn't have time to do anything about it.
Strangely, the SDF-1 itself did not seem damaged by the attacks, but it received a few significant shockwaves. One of them almost knocked Claudia down, but she stopped her fall with a grip on her console. Vanessa was also knocked down, but in her situation there was nothing to cling to, and she was seeing the floor come closer.
But an arm suddenly put itself between the floor and her, and brought her back up. Vanessa looked in surprise at Lieutenant Lenardais, who seemed oblivious to the fact he was still holding her...and close, at that. He was using his other hand to get a firm grip, and he looked at the readouts on the screens in intense, but cold, fury. Something told her he did not think much of high bombardments. Not much at all.
The shockwaves passed. Everyone righted himself. Captain Gloval was giving hurried but controlled orders to descend back down to Earth to five thousand feet above sea level. Lisa and Claudia immediately complied. Sammie was speaking with damage control teams and Kim was examining ship status in detail, relating her information to the Captain.
As for Vanessa, she swiftly slid out of Lenardais's grasp - he hardly seemed to notice - and resumed her seat in bewilderment. She had liked it. She had actually liked being held close to this near-total stranger! What did it mean?
No time for fooling around, she admonished herself. There was a lot to be done still.
"Once at five thousand feet, you will activate the Hyperspace Fold at my command." the Captain was telling Claudia.
That got everybody's attention, although Lenardais looked more confused than worried. A Hyperspace Fold could, in theory, teleport a ship very long distance by calculating a wavelength trajectory based on the nearest star and by entering exact coordinates. Again, in theory. The Fold system, after all...
"Has never been tested, Captain!" said Claudia. Gloval nodded at this, but his demeanor did not change any. He was decided.
"I know this, Claudia, but as it seems clear that the SDF-1 is the enemy's target, we should take the ship away from Earth at all cost. We will de-Fold on the other side of the Moon and try to fool the enemy into thinking we have left altogether. I have slim hopes that this will work but it is better than the present situation. Prepare the operation."
"But, sir," protested Claudia "we must have an authorization from headquarters to activate the Fold and..."
"I know the procedures. We don't have the time to wait for answers. Activate the Fold system."
"But..."
"Claudia!" shouted Gloval, his patience finally spent. "I have given you my orders!"
Claudia flinched at this rebuke. She turned back to her controls.
"Aye, Captain. Preparing Fold system."
Kim turned to Vanessa. "Looks like it's going to be a big trip after all. Vanessa could only nod. The bridge than prepared for the most dangerous operation the SDF-1 had attempted to date.
_______________________________________________________________________
"We are about to attempt a Fold Maneuver. All ship personnel report to emergency stations. I repeat, we are about to attempt a Fold Maneuver. All ship personnel report to emergency stations." Lisa Hayes's voice resonated from the inter-ship comlink.
Roy had just been showing to Rick Hunter the circus jet the boy had come to Macross Island with when he heard the general call. He instantly jumped inside the jeep he had used to transport his charges to the jet.
"You two stay here." he said. " If you wander around, you'll get lost. You have no idea how enormous this ship is!"
Rick's face had been indecisive and Minmey's face somewhat blank at this. He really did not wish to leave those two out there, but he couldn't ignore the general call. He was a soldier, after all. He started the engine and drove off. He had the intention of going to the pilot garrison of the SDF-1. His thoughts were interrupted with a personal call. He responded immediately, knowing it could be important.
"Commander Fokker here." he said. He was surprised when he heard Claudia on the jeep's COM.
"Roy, could you come to the bridge?" she asked.
"What? Claudia, you know I have to go the other pilots. It's my place. I can't go to the bridge right now."
Claudia seemed to hesitate on the COM, which troubled Roy to no end - Claudia was not of a hesitant nature.
"Its special. It was...requested." she said hesitantly.
"Requested? But who besides captain Gloval has the authority..." Roy started to ask.
"Ohh, just come, all right Roy?" she said, a little exasperated.
Roy was still very confused, but accepted to come immediately. He drove toward the nearest elevator that led to the bridge, all the while wondering what was going on. This type of call was completely unorthodox! He couldn't make a coherent theory about it.
He finally arrived to the elevator he wanted. As he disembarked and punched the call button for the elevator, he started to feel strange. Like stretched and a little nauseous. He leaned on the door of the elevator in shock and weakness, wondering what was wrong with him. Then he realized it: the Fold must have been activated! They were in the middle of it. Knowing this, Roy relaxed and waited for it to pass. It did not last long. A few seconds at most. As soon as the sickness passed, he went inside the elevator and went to the bridge. He was starting to wonder of the status there, anyway.
When he arrived, the activity on the bridge was subdued, efficient. Just as if a Fold had not happened. Sammie was a little green still however, which meant she probably had been unable to fully stomach it. Roy was about to ask what was the status of the ship when a man beside Vanessa turned in his direction. Both men froze. Roy's mind froze in stupefaction and fear.
It..
It...
It couldn't be...
Could it?
"Hi Roy" said Alex Lenardais, an old friend, a very good friend. A very dead friend!
I need a vacation real bad, he thought savagely. This just can't be!
Could it?
Could it?
Yes.
It would seem so.
In fact, he realized soon...
It was so.
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