Chapter 3, part 2
January 20th, 2015
Rick and Kim got home without any difficulties
and Rick was about to leave the house when he heard Kim holler at him from
the top of the stairs, "Hey Rick! I think this box belongs to Lisa."
Rick bounded up the stairs to see what box
she was talking about. When he got to the top of the stairs he saw
Kim in the hallway and a box on the floor. "The stuff on top was
mine, but the rest of this is Lisa's I think," she said pointing down at
the somewhat large cardboard box.
Rick looked at it and then picked it up and
took it to their room, noticing that there seemed to be a couple of photoalbums
in the box. He set the box down gently, making sure he didn't accidently
break anything, since he wasn't aware of what other things might be in
the box.
He turned and started to walk back towards
the door when he heard a small 'clank' type of sound, like something metallic.
He went back to the box to see what it could be and, after some digging
around a bit, he found a star, bronze in color, with a scarlet ribbon attached
to it. Rick picked it up and inspected it to make sure it wasn't
damaged and he saw that there was an inscription on the back, "HEROIC ACHIEVEMENT
: Elizabeth Hayes, May 2007."
Rick saw some award cases and opened a few
up to see if he could find the case that this medal should be housed in.
He went at least half a dozen cases, with another half dozen more to go,
when he opened the 7th case and found that it was empty. He carefully
put the medal back in its spot and then tried to organize the cases neatly,
since they looked rather tossed about.
As he was moving stuff around, Rick saw several
stacks of letters. One stack of letters looked as if none of the
letters had been opened. Rick, not wanting to be nosey, but already
very very curious, took a look at the address. The stack of unopened
letters was addressed as coming from Lisa's father's office. Rick
fanned through them and there were at least two dozen, with postmarks varying
from 2006 up to a month before Lisa had left for her Alaska Base post.
Rick had not heard much about Lisa's father and wondered why all these
letters were unopened.
There were three other stacks in the box and
Rick was wondering if these might also be from Lisa's father. He
picked up on stack and looked at the return address: "Riber, Karl.
Lt. JG. Mars Base Sara." Rick knew that name, he had heard it several
times and seen a few photos of the man, Lisa's dead fiancee. He flipped
through the stack and then picked up another stack, which was also full
of letters from Karl, and then the last and largest stack, all addressed
from Karl.
When he and Claudia had been to their old
quarters a couple of days ago, to grab what belongings they could and wanted
to take with them to their new home, they also stopped by Lisa's place
since she couldn't break away from her duties. Claudia had run into
Lisa's small house and filled up a large box with things she thought Lisa
should and would want to save. It was the 'should' that made Rick
now think that Lisa herself had not thought to save these items, because
when they asked her what she wanted them to make sure to bring back with
them for her, Lisa said to only bring back a photo album of family pictures.
Rick was trying to sort out his feelings as
he looked at the letters from Karl Riber when Kim came into the room without
knocking, "Hey Rick, before you go...what's all that?" she asked looking
at the stack of letters in Rick's hand. Then she came closer so she
could peek at the writing and when she saw the name, she was rendered speechless.
She didn't know what to say and watched for some type of reaction from
Rick.
Rick said quietly and absently, "Look at all
these letters he sent her...what does that say to you Kim?"
Kim needed some time to think of her answer,
not wanting to give an answer that might get Lisa in trouble, though she
couldn't tell if Rick was upset or not. "What does that tell me?
Well...if a man spent all that time to write me all those letters, I would
say that I knew he loved me."
Rick remained quiet, then finally put the
stack back into the box and moved the box over to a corner of the room.
He faced Kim with an unreadable look, then asked her, "Can you tell me
about him? When I get home later?"
Kim gave him a surprised look, "Well...I don't
really know that much about him..."
"But you do know a little bit about him don't
you?"
"Well, yeah, a little bit."
Kim waited for Rick to speak but instead he
checked his watch and told her he had better get back to the airfield before
Claudia got mad at him. As he was about to leave the room, Kim, called
for him to wait.
"Rick, you're not mad at Lisa are you?"
Rick gave her a suprised look, "No, I'm not
mad. She doesn't even know that this box is here."
"Ah...I see...well...Rick, what are you thinking?
I see this, this look on your face, but I don't know how to describe it..."
Rick looked at her and gave her a weak smile,
"Well, I don't really know what I'm thinking now, but I know what I'm feeling."
Rick saw that Kim was waiting for him to continue,
so he said, "I...seeing all these letters and remembering how she used
to talk about him and how happy they looked together...Right now...I feel
very ashamed of myself. From the little bits that's she's told me,
I can tell he treated her like gold. Then I think about myself, and
these past 4 years I've known her and how I've treated her...I treated
her like dirt..." His voice cracking on the last phrase and his eyes welling
up with tears.
Kim stared at him, she had never seen him
this emotional before and tried to comfort him by putting a comforting
hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off saying, "I better get going,
Claudia probably is wondering if I'm going to show up today."
Kim started after him, "But Rick, wait awhile,
until you've calmed down."
Rick shook his head, "I'll be alright.
If Claudia calls, please tell her I'm on my way, thanks," and then he hurried
down the stairs and a few moments later Kim heard the front door close.
Kim turned around and stared at the box, wishing
she actually had been her usual nosey self and taken a closer look at Lisa's
box, maybe then she might've decided to hold onto the box until she could
give it to Lisa herself. But then again, as painful as it was, maybe
this was a good eye-opening experience for Rick.
* * * * * * *
"Captain Leeds, ma'am. Here is the updated
case file for this morning. Ma'am I think you will find this morning's
report rather interesting," said a short, but stocky Intel officer, of
about thirty years of age.
"Thank you Lieutenant," replied Vanessa as
she tried to not make it look obvious that she was watching the man walk
away.
"Ahem," was Vince's way reminding her to get
back to business.
She blushed and whispered to Vince, "Sorry,
I'm not use to being a Captain yet. I'm sure neither is Sammie.
It will take us awhile to get rid of our old habits, or at least stifle
them when we're on duty."
Vince Grant, standing there looking rather
imposing, arms folded across his chest, laughed and shook his head in disbelief
at Vanessa's comment, "How on earth did my sister put up with the three
of you crazy women?!"
Before Vanessa could retort, a female Intel
officer came over and told her, "Captain Leeds, we are ready to begin the
briefing whenever you are ma'am."
The briefing took about twenty minutes and
when the last presenter was finished speaking, he asked, "Captain Leeds,
is there anything you would like to add ma'am?"
Vanessa saw that everyone was looking at her.
This time she was the one giving the orders instead of taking them.
She was not used to this and it made her nervous. She hoped she didn't
look scared, or dumb, or worse, incompetant. She called on her inner
strength and said calmly, "No Commander, I have nothing to add. Thank
you for the excellent detailed report." She then stood up, somewhat
hesitatingly, and said, "And...I want to thank you all for the hard work
you're doing on this case. We are all aware of how important this
investigation is. We owe it not just to ourselves, but to the citizens
of Macross, and to heros like Admiral Gloval, to find out what happened."
Everyone there stood up and gave her a, "Yes
ma'am, thank you ma'am!" in unison.
As the people scattered about the hanger to
get back to work, Vanessa went to look at the grid blueprints that were
hung up on a wall with Vince Grant by her side.
"You sounded very much like a Captain back
there, Vanessa."
"Is that good or bad?" she asked worriedly.
Vince leaned over so she could hear him clearly,
"Vanessa, that's a good thing."
Vanessa smiled and turned her attention to
the vast board of blueprints in front of her. She studied a section
of the blueprint that detailed the portion of the main grid that held the
main power control unit. She had had some training on the unit but
nothing extensive because she would have no hands on with the physical
unit itself, still, she had read some of the documentation and made it
a point to at least be familiar with the basic manual controls. As
a radar operator she prided herself on learning and refining her craft
as best as possible. She had seen Lisa, renowned for knowing more
about the SDF-1 than anyone else, except for Dr. Lang and Dr. Zand.
Vanessa wanted to be that knowledgeable as far as radar went, and she nearly
could match Lisa's knowledge of the radar system now because she had poured
herself into learning the systems inside out over the past two years.
Although she never let anyone onto it, not even Sammie and Kim.
Vanessa had a type of split personality when
it came to who she thought she could be in the military chain of command.
She enjoyed her work immensely but was often frustrated by having her hands
tied by superiors like Maistroff and Carruthers. She thought that
if she, Claudia, and Lisa were in charge, that things would run better
and more would get done. Now she had her wish, but the thought of
new and larger responsibilities scared her. She didn't want to fail
herself nor her friends and the countless other's who looked to her for
leadership.
She was at least glad that she had been put
in charge of something that she could do well and had vast knowledge about,
but she wondered what kind of other missions were awaiting her around the
bend. She knew that this self-doubt wasn't going to get her anywhere,
in fact, it would handicap her. She she took a deep breath and resolved
to go about the day confidently but no smugly. She knew that when
Lisa came back from her mission, Vanessa was going to sit down with Lisa
for a long talk about handling the stresses of being a Captain.
Miriya arrived at Lady Hialeah's office with
half an hour to spare. She looked for a spot to park her car and
saw a row of head in parking (vertical) spots but got confused and thought
it was for parallel parking so the car ended up taking up two spots and
then some. She got out of the car, saw that she was pretty much within
the lines, and smiled proudly.
The building that housed Hialeah's office
was very large, as was to be expected, since Hialeah wasn't micronized.
After some searching, Miriya found the entrance for micronians and knocked
on the door, since she didn't see any doorbell in sight. She waited
for 30 seconds and knocked again. She waited another 30 seconds and
was about to knock one more time when she heard the door creak open.
She waited for someone to appear in the doorway
but didn't see anyone so she cautiously stepped through the doorway.
"What business do you have hear Micronian?"
The voice was a female's but startled Miriya nonetheless.
Miriya looked around for the source of the
voice because it seemed like it came from everywhere, then she saw a woman,
at least 45 feet high, sitting in a chair, staring at her, waiting for
an answer.
"I say again Micronian, what business do you
have here?"
Miriya pulled out her ID and held it up and
shouted, "I am Captain Miriya Parino Sterling, sent here by Captain Grant.
I wish to speak to Lady Hialeah."
The woman's eyes went a bit wide with surprise
but she said in a neutral tone, "Miriya Parino, the great Quadrano ace?"
Miriya nodded her head as she watched the
full-sized Zendtraedi pick up a mirror and start fixing her hair.
After a few seconds, the Zendtraedi looked at Miriya and told her, "Put
your hand on that sensor pad there, we must validate your identity."
Miriya did as she was told and after a couple seconds her identity was
displayed up on a screen for the Zendtraedi to look at. The woman
looked at Miriya and raised an eyebrow, then told her, "I am Uradana, aide
to the great Lady Hialeah. I will tell her you wish to speak to her,
wait here."
Miriya did as she was told, hoping that this
would be much easier than she thought. After 5 minutes Uradana came
back and sat down, picking up her mirror again, this time fiddling with
her eyebrows. Miriya waited and Uradana then looked at her as if
she had forgotten she was there. Uradana sighed in annoyance and
said plainly, "Lady Hialeah will not see you. She does not hold an
audience with any Zentraedi warrior that has been micronized. She
says if you wish to speak to her, you will have to be full-sized.
Especially you, a reknowned warrior, should not meet the great Lady Hialeah
as a puny Micronian."
Miriya tried to protest, "But this is important
business!"
Uradana raised an eyebrow at her and said
louder, "A micronized Quadrano ace does NOT hold an audience with someone
as distinguished as Lady Hialeah. If you wish to speak to her, you
must be full-size, like all true Zentraedi warriors. Now good day
to you." With that Uradana picked up a metallic object and started
filing her nails.
Miriya was trying to think of something to
say that might get Uradana to go back and try and talk Lady Hialeah into
seeing her but she knew that it was no use, so she made her way out of
the office, got back into her car, and headed back to tell Claudia the
bad news.
* * * * * * *
It was noon time and Rick was taking a much
needed break in the mess hall. Max had finished paying for his food
and turn around to let his eyes scan the scene for an empty table when
he saw Rick sitting alone at a table in the corner.
As he made his way towards Rick, he noticed
Rick was just sitting there, poking at his food with his fork, seemingly
downcast.
"Why does this scene seem like deja vu to
me?" wondered Max.
Max set his tray down and looked at Rick,
waiting for Rick to say the first word.
"Hey Max," said Rick quietly.
Max wanted to sound cheerful and bring Rick
out of his down mood so he said, "Hey guess what? Miriya's been given
a bit of a diplomatic mission! She was really nervous about it this
morning but I think she'll do well. This is a bit of a change for
her, being out of the cockpit and all but I think we all need a little
bit of a mix of duties, don't you think?"
Rick was surprised since he hadn't heard anything
about Miriya's new assignment yet. "Hey that is pretty interesting,
what's she going to be doin'?"
"Well," continued Max proudly, "She's gonna
be Claudia's deputy and try and handle the relocation negotiations with
Lady Hialeah."
"Lady Hialeah?" asked Rick with some surprise.
"She's a tough one."
"I know, but if anyone can bring her around,
I'm sure Miriya can," beamed Max.
Rick smiled slowly as he became aware of the
proud smile Max had on his face.
Seeing that Rick's mood had pepped up a bit,
Max carefully asked, "So...how are you doing today?"
Rick shrugged one shoulder, "I dunno, I could
be better. Lisa's going to be gone for a few days, she got sent away
on some mission in Central America. I'd feel a lot better if I could've
gone with her."
"That's understandable," said Max agreeingly.
Rick sighed and remained silent. Max
knew his friend well and was used to Rick's moodiness and moping about.
"I'm sure she'll be fine Rick," said Max confidently.
"Yea, I know she will..it's not just that..."
"What is it Rick?" asked Max with his usual
infinite patience.
"It's...I just...I just can't stop thinking
about all that she had to go through with me...all those times we'd fight,
all those times I'd go over to her place so I could whine about Minmei
to her when the whole time she loved me. How could she endure all
that?" Rick looked down at the table, lost in thought.
"I don't know Rick, that's something you'll
have to ask her yourself."
"You know, I remember the time when we went
to the Factory Satellite and we had drinks at your's and Miriya's quarters.
Lisa was playing with baby Dana, and I couldn't help but watch them.
It was like a side to Lisa I'd not seen before. I don't think I can
recall seeing her ever smile so much like she did on that day. And
she and the baby looked so natural, they didn't look awkward or afraid
of each other...then we went back to her quarters and she wanted to talk
to me, and I was trying to find a way to get out of it and the first thing
I mentioned when I opened my big mouth was Minmei..."
Max recognized Rick's guilty state of mind
because he had seen it many times before when Rick would talk to him about
what he shoudl've said or hadn't said or wished he'd said differently to
Minmei. Max wondered if his friend was eternally doomed to have bouts
of self-doubt and regret. He knew this would be bad for the new relationship
that Rick and Lisa would be starting.
"Listen Rick, what's done is done. Put
all those things behind you now and concentrate on your future with Lisa,
and don't keep fixating on how guilty you feel, because then Lisa will
think that you are with her only because you feel guilty for what happened
in the past."
This brought Rick around, "You think so?"
Max nodded his head and pushed his glasses
back up, "Yeah. It's ok to talk about the wrongs of the past and
right them by apologizing for them. But don't dwell on them, discuss
it, apologize, learn from it, and move on. It's not going to do you
two any good by replaying your past mistakes over and over. Take
me and Miriya for instance. Miriya was quite upset that she had been
so bent on beating me in the air, but I told her that it didn't bother
me at all and I didn't hold it against her, so why should she be upset
over it."
Rick interrupted him, "Yeah but the thing
is, I did a lot of things that upset Lisa and things that probably hurt
her. It's not like Miriya wanted to hurt you on purpose because of
you, she didn't even know who you were, all she was seeing was a pilot
in a blue VT. So that's a bit of a different situation."
Max shrugged and said, "OK, so maybe it's
not the exact same scenario, but the principle is the same in general.
Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
Rick nodded, "Yeah I do...so what do I do
now?"
Max tapped the table as if he were waiting
for Rick to ask him that question, "Here's what you do. You think
about all the wonderful things you love about Lisa and you tell her about
it. I always tell Miriya how I love it when she calls me 'Maximillian'
and she smiles the biggest smile you can imagine. Let your mind become
preoccupied with the things you love about Lisa, not about the regrets
or the hurts you've caused her. Trust me, both of you will benefit
from it."
Rick smiled and felt his depressed mood dissipate,
"Thanks Max, you're the best friend a guy could ever have."
Max chuckled and replied, "I always try my
best, boss."
* * * * * * *
Claudia tried not to betray her disappointment
as she asked Miriya, "So that's all they said, that they weren't going
to talk to you unless you were your full height?"
"That's right...I'm sorry, I have failed at
my task."
Claudia looked at Miriya who seemed quiet
dejected, then she looked at the framed picture of Roy on her desk and
thought for a moment, then said to Miriya with a short laugh, "You know,
this reminds me of the time when I refused to go out with Roy one time
because he wouldn't change out of his dirty clothes."
Claudia saw that Miriya was waiting for her
to continue and so she started the story....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Claudia was still at her station when he had dropped by, in a grease stained jumpsuit. Apparently he had just finished helping the mechanics tune up his fighter. He had grease on his clothes, grease on his face, and even some grease stains in his hair.
"Roy?! What are you doing here, especially like THAT?! I'm still on duty, come on Roy, please wait for me outside before I get into trouble."
Roy laughed loudly, "What's the matter?! The old windbag is out on the airstrip trying to impress pilots with how much he knows about our fighters, but I tell you that jackass doesn't know crap."
Claudia looked around her making sure there weren't any snitches around, "Roy! Keep your voice down!"
Roy, ever persistant, continued, "Okay so, come on let's go eat."
Claudia looked at her watch, then up at Roy who winked at her, and told him, "Alright, I'll be off duty in half an hour, I'll meet you at The Grill in an hour."
Roy narrowed his eyes and tried to impersonate an old movie star of the past, "Yes, m'lady, I shall see you there," and sauntered out of the room.
"Well, we did meet at The Grill and had a nice
lunch," finished Claudia.
"Did he change his clothes?" inquired Miriya.
Claudia smiled nostalgically, "No he didn't
change his clothes, he wore those same greasy clothes that he first showed
up in."
Miriya smiled, managing to grasp the humor
of the story. "Roy sounds like a very interesting person. Will
you please tell me more about him sometime, I mean...if it doesn't upset
you much."
Claudia, misty-eyed, gave Miriya a wide grin
and said, "You bet."
Claudia took some time to compose herself
and then sighed, "Well...now we're going to have to figure out a way to
garner an audience with the high and mightly holiness Hialeah."
Miriya looked at Claudia pensively, "I...have
an idea..."
"Alright honey, let's hear it."
"I think it's very important we talk to Lady
Hialeah, and I think the only way we can talk to her, is if I'm macronized
to my full size."
Claudia flew out of the chair, "You will do
no such thing Miriya, it is too dangerous. We will find another way
to speak to her. I cannot ask you to take the risk."
Miriya stood up to face her, "Captain, I think
it is the only way, and I think it is a necessary risk I must take."
Claudia shook her head adamently, "Out of
the question Miriya."
"Claudia I must!"
"Miriya, don't argue with me dammit!"
Miriya was told to stay away from Claudia
when she was angry and as brave as she was, Miriya couldn't help but feel
slightly afraid of Claudia's reknowned temper. She looked at Claudia
and calmly said, "Please reconsider, we both know how important it is to
have Lady Hialeah on our side. I am going to find Max and see if
he needs any help today, I'll see you at home later on." She then
turned around and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Claudia sat down, exhaled loudly, and then
picked up the picture of Roy, "Roy, dear, help me get through this..."
* * * * * * *
"Captain Porter, I am Lieutenant Antell, I
was told to report to you ma'am."
Sammie looked at the woman who addressed her, she was a bit on
the short side, pale, dark-haired, and had a very bored look on her face.
This was the new transfer that was suppose to be Sammie's aide. Sammie
looked at her for a moment, hoping she didn't betray her dismay, then saluted
the woman and tried to strike up some conversation, "So...is there anything
you have any questions about? I'd be happy to help you get orientated
and settled."
"No thank you ma'am. I think I am more
than prepared to handle my duties without any hiccups," said Antell, flatly.
Sammie wanted to roll her eyes. Even
Lisa wasn't this bad when they first worked together, at least Lisa tried
to be friendly when the time allowed for it. Sammie had a bad feeling
that working with Antell was going to be very boring and frustrating.
"Very well then, Lieutenant. Please take your seat."
Antell sat down and swiveled her chair a few
times and then announced, "This chair isn't very comfortable. I will
have to correct this problem soon. And this console, it isn't designed
very well is it? Why are these buttons on this side? They should
go on the other side."
Sammie stared at her blankly. The lieutenant
hadn't been here for more than 10 minutes yet she had already given Sammie
a headache with her unsolicited inspection of the station. Sammie
couldn't wait to get home to tell everyone about her aide from hell.
* * * * * * *
Lisa was glad that the trip to Costa Rica was
uneventful and she was greatly relieved to feel her feet on solid ground.
The weather was nice and sunny, but not hot, and the air was dry.
A row of soldiers saluted Lisa and she returned their salute and looked
for the senior officer. Edwards stepped into view and headed towards
her.
"Good afternoon, Admiral. If you'll
follow me, we can start the debriefing in my office," said Edwards in an
informative tone.
It was a short walk to his office and once
there he offered Lisa a chair and then sat down behind my desk. After
spending twenty minutes going over the details he thought that Lisa should
know about, he waited for her to ask any questions she had, which she didn't
have.
"Very well then, after you've rested a bit
we can take a quick tour of the area, then tommorrow we can do a full inspection,"
suggested Edwards.
Lisa nodded her approval and silence enveloped
them. Edwards cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry about
your father, I hope you know how proud he was of you."
Lisa was surprised. She had heard that
Edwards was a cold man, who didn't show any kindness to anyone and mostly
kept to himself. However she had heard her father praise him and
say what a good soldier he was and that her father enjoyed working with
Edwards, so she really didn't have any opinion of him one way or the other.
Edwards continued, "We almost had a chance
you know, if we had just been able to fire the first shot, we would've
had a chance. Their rear flank had not fallen into formation yet."
Lisa's eyes widened a bit, she was at Alaska
Base for several weeks and hadn't seen Edwards once. "You were at
Alaska Base? But...how come I never saw you?"
"I was working on a project down in the core
most of the time, unless you went down there, you woudln't find me anywhere
else."
Lisa remembered going to the core only twice
and hadn't seen Edwards either time.
"I was with your father before he died.
He kept saying to me how he had hoped you had gotten out of the base.
Half of his worry was for the Grand Cannon and the other half was for you."
Lisa tried to process what Edwards had said,
then she had a terrifying realization, "You were still there?! But...the
radio was dead, I couldn't raise the Control Center again, I tried everything!
How did...?"
Edwards saw that she genuinely didn't know
that he was there that fateful day. His old animosity and anger had
been building back up again as he retold the story, but when he saw Lisa's
face, he couldn't hold it against her for very long. "I tried to
answer you, but I guess our transmitter wasn't working anymore."
Lisa looked at the floor, she didn't know
what to say.
"Well now, shall I show you to your tent Admiral?"
Edwards had stood up and was ready to lead her to her temporary quarters,
saving himself and Lisa from anymore awkwardness.
"As you can see Admiral, this seems to be
the perfect location for the outpost. We have good camoflauge covering,
we are near an abundant water source, all we need to do now is start building
the main building and a few storage sheds and we're set." Edwards
sounded like a used-car salesman but was correct about the ideal location.
Lisa looked at the creek and followed it as
far as her eye could see, "Where does this river go?"
"Well, that we aren't sure of yet, we were
planning to investigate that further tommorrow," said Edwards plainly.
Lisa and Major Edwards spent about 10 more
minutes wandering around the lush foliage and hiking over tiny hills and
then Edwards suggested they return to camp because it was already getting
dark.
When they reached the camp, Lisa was about
to head into her tent when Edwards called for her to wait and then asked
her, "Would you care to join me for a nightcap Admiral?"
Lisa was unsure how to answer, she had no
real reason to think of Edwards as a dangerous or unpleasant man, but she
also didn't feel very comfortable around him. She didn't want to
insult him with a rebuff but she knew it wouldn't be wise to appear too
friendly, so she tried to come up with an answer quickly, "Major, thank
you for the offer, perhaps another time? I am quite tired I'm afraid."
Edwards kept his pokerface look and then nodded
and bowed slightly, "Very well Admiral, another time. Good night."
Lisa was glad she managed to get out of that
situation without much difficulty, now her attention turned to the thing
that had been bugging her for quite some time. The question of where
the stream, creek, river, whatever you called it, was nagging at her.
She was worried that if someone followed it long enough, they would stumble
upon the outpost. If it just opened up into a small lake, then that
was fine, but what if it opened into some larger tributary? She was
hoping that this question would be put to rest tommorrow.
She was indeed very tired and fell fast asleep
soon after she laid down.
* * * * * * *
Claudia was exhausted when she got home a little
bit after 10pm. She worried a bit at what Miriya might do when she
came home. Claudia went into the kitchen to make some hot tea and
she found Max at the table reading the newspaper.
"Hey there Claudia, let me make you something
to drink."
"Thanks Max, you're a lifesaver as well as
a mindreader," she said tiredly as she sat down. Judging by Max's
demeanor, Miriya hadn't mentioned anything about macronizing, because if
she had, surely Max would've already mentioned it.
Max set Claudia's cup in front of her and
sat down, "Miriya said that she couldn't get a meeting with Hialeah, but
that she will try again soon."
Claudia nodded and said nothing.
Max continued, "She's really determined to
get some good results out of these negotiations with Hialeah. I've
never seen her so wrapped up in an assignment."
Claudia made sure that she worded her response
carefully, "Well, Max, she is a very good and efficient officer, it doesn't
surprise me really. That's why I chose her for this duty. But
you make sure she knows that even if things don't go as she wants them
to, it is ok. We can think of some other solutions. Hialeah
is the key to our best solution, but if we can't get her to work with us,
then we'll just have to work around her some how. Please make sure
Miriya is aware of this. I've already told her myself, but it's good
that she hears it from you too."
Max smiled at her, "Sure thing."
Vanessa and Sammie were standing at the door
of their house, bickering over who should open the door when the door opened
up and they saw Kim standing there in front of them. Vanessa and
Sammie screamed in surprise and they all rushed inside in a huddle. "I
could hear you two coming from a mile away! You make so much noise!"
laughed Kim.
The three friends were in a group hug as Sammie
exclaimed, "You didn't tell us you were coming home today, this is such
a great surprise!"
Kim smirked, "Well...I just turned on the
old charm for the doctor and talked him into releasing me a day early."
Vanessa gave her a bit of a disapproving look
and asked her, "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
Kim rolled her eyes, "Yes mother, I'll be
fine. I need to go see the doctor twice a week for awhile, so it's
not like I'm not going to be free yet."
Vanessa breathed a little sigh of relief then
she and Sammie worked out who was going to use which of the two bathrooms
and the women headed upstairs to gather a change of clothes and then go
to their respective bathrooms for a much needed hot shower.
After twenty minutes Sammie came back to the
living room, stopped in the middle of the room and looked around her, "Hey...who
fixed the heat?!!"
Kim through a couch pillow at her, "You retard,
this place was an icebox! How could you stand it?? There's no way I'm going
to live in a refrigerator for the rest of the winter!"
Sammie pouted but said nothing and sat down
on the couch next to Kim, "Where's Rick?"
"He's upstairs taking a nap. Hey Sammie,
by the way, he's depressed about Lisa being away, so don't stick your foot
in your mouth, just let him do the talking."
Sammie wore an insulted look, "Stick my foot
in my mouth?! Since when do I do that?"
Kim was about to snip back at Sammie when
Vanessa came downstairs, towel drying her hair. As she got to the
bottom of the stairs she looked back up the stairs and then back at Kim
and Sammie and announced that Rick was awake. Kim glared at Sammie
until Sammie finally answered, "Alright alright I won't say anything, stop
staring at me!"
Rick came down the stairs and saw the three
women and smiled, "The gang's all back together again huh?"
Kim answered loudly and proudly, "That's right!
We're back to full strength now, a triple knockout punch!"
Everyone laughed for a few seconds then Rick
turned to Sammie, "How did Lisa's flight go Sammie?"
"Everything went perfectly Rick, not one problem
whatsoever."
Rick breathed a sigh of relief and then announced
that he was going to fix some drinks for everyone. He returned in
about five minutes and everyone claimed there cup and quietly drank their
drinks.
Since no one had said anything for a couple
of minutes, Rick decided to ask one of the many questions he sought an
answer for, "So what did you girls do for Christmas? What did Lisa do for
Christmas?"
The girls froze and made sure they didn't
make eye contact with each other and waited to see if someone would speak
up. Kim took the initiative and spoke, "We had a very nice Christmas
dinner with Rico, Konda and Bron, then we walked around downtown to see
all the Christmas lights and displays."
Rick nodded, "That sounds very nice.
They had lovely displays this year."
Silence befell them again and the girls were
praying that Rick wouldn't reask the question that he didn't get an answer
too, but he did, "What did Lisa do for Christmas? Do you know if
she went anywhere?"
Vanessa spoke up this time, "Uh...no, no,
we have no idea what she for her holidays."
Sammie piped up, "Hey, I almost forgot to
tell you guys about my new aide!"
Vanessa and Kim sat frozen, waiting to see
if Rick had caught onto the obviousness of Sammie's trying to change the
subject so quickly. Everyone waited for a few seconds, then Sammie
decided to tell her story.
"...and she's just so....arrghhhhh!
She makes me want to scream! Everything is wrong and should be done
differently, and if you get the most insignificant detail wrong, she doesn't
let it go, she has to make sure she corrects your error. I know people
do that all the time, but the thing that makes her so annoying is that
the subjects being discussed are not important subjects. They are
leisure and entertainment type of things, why be so hung up on the details
over something that isn't suppose to be so complex?"
Kim sneered at the thought of having to put
up with Lieutenant Antell, "Why the hell did you get an aide like that
for?"
"Maistroff assigned her to me, I had no choice."
Vanessa rolled her eyes, "Oh well that explains
everything. You know Maistroff is out to get us and make us look
bad...and it's all your fault Kim!"
"My fault?! Oh come on, you guys can't
stand Maistroff either, just because you two are too cowardly to stand
up to him."
Sammie protested, "I don't want to get in
trouble and it's not worth fighting with him if it means getting into trouble."
"Well Sammie, you just make sure you keep
an eye on her," said Vanessa firmly.
"Oh don't worry I plan too. I'm not
gonna let her take my job."
Rick had finished his tea and announced he
was going to sleep and wished everyone a good night. He was halfway
up the stairs when Kim remembered that he had wanted to talk to her, so
she ran up the stairs and asked him, "Hey Rick, I know you wanted to talk
to me tonight, did you want to still talk?"
Rick shook his head, "Nah, it's ok.
Another time is fine, you have some catching up to do with Vanessa and
Sammie."
"No Rick, it's alright, if you need to talk
to me, don't worry about it."
"Nah Kim, it's alright, thanks."
"Ok Rick, goodnight."
"Good-night Kim."
Kim went back downstairs and Rick went to
his room. Once there he let himself fall back on the couch and stared
up at the ceiling. He wanted to know what Lisa had done for Christmas,
besides help mop up after Khyron's attack. He thought the Trio was
hiding something but he didn't want to press them on it. Rick remembered
Lisa telling him that she had stopped by on Christmas Eve to wish him a
Merry Christmas. He wondered what would've happened if Minmei hadn't
shown up that night...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Lisa...I...I'm sorry, I hadn't gotten you anything yet..."
"Don't worry about it Rick. My gift is being able to spend this quiet time here with you."
That was not the first time she had told him something along that line, but he still felt guilty for not getting her a gift. He thought of ways to make this a festive and pleasant evening for her.
"I tell you what, you sit down here and relax, I'll stoke the fire and get us some wine or champagne and I had already put something on the stove for a little Christmas Eve dinner and there's enough for two people. How does that sound to you Lisa?"
Lisa smiled at him, "That sounds great Rick."
After twenty minutes, Rick had dinner ready and he dragged the small dining table out of the kitchen and placed it in front of the fireplace, pulled out the chair for Lisa, then seated himself, and they ate their dinner quietly.
After they finished eating Rick brought out a bottle of wine and filled two glasses. They toasted the holiday and their friends and a hope that the upcoming year would be peaceful. Rick was then struck with another idea, "Would you care to dance Lisa?"
Lisa gave him a surprised look and then stood up and waited for him to move the table out of the way and turn on some music. Rick found a station playing "White Christmas" and explained to Lisa that he hadn't really ever danced before and apologized beforehand if he stepped on her feet.
They slipped into each others arms and danced slowly, unbothered by the coldness outside, unbothered by the blaring of air raid sirens, unbothered by Minmei.
Rick smiled, pleased with his daydream, and drifted off to sleep.
===========
Author's Notes:
1. Thanks for the comments and reviews, please keep them coming so I know which direction to head with the story :)
2. I just read in Wildstorm's Robotech issue #0 comic that they plan to make a series with Karl Riber as the main character, it supposedly follows some of his adventures at Mars Base Sara. Yippee!! I always wondered about that guy, and he seemd like a very nice character, even though we only saw him in one episode, it would be great if there was more stories about him.
3. Thanks to Alpha Newtype for the Zentraedi name suggestion. For "uradana" I just browsed through an online Japanese dictionary until I found something Zentraedi sounding. Oddly enough, "uradana" translates into "tenament slums", definitely the opposite of Uradana's character in the story here. :)
4. A note about Edwards: We know that Edwards and Roy were enemies, and in the Sentinels novels we saw that Edwards was always picking on Rick, and in the last book he says he blames Rick and Lisa for what happened to him at Alaska Base. But to me it seems pretty lame to blame Lisa, she was in the same situation as Edwards was, and it wasn't her fault that Rick managed to lock onto her signal and find her. I think Edwards hates Rick more than Lisa because Rick was Roy's "little brother" and also the remote possibility of some jealousy that Rick wound up with Lisa. Yes yes, I am being blatantly Lisa-centric. Mwahahahahaha! But think about it, Edwards is an opportunist, and all indications are that he did get along with Lisa's father. Perhaps Edwards thought he deserved to be in a prestigious military family like the Hayes' family, and it wouldn't surprise me if maybe even Admiral Hayes had hinted to Edwards that he'd approve of Edwards dating Lisa. You know how old-fashioned fathers can be, especially overprotective ones.