Chapter 4
January 21st, 2015
It was 7am in Costa Rica and Lisa had just finished
her breakfast and was nearly ready for her trek down river, or up river,
whichever way they travelled depended on Edwards. Lisa finished packing
up a small backpack which contained a few essentials, just as a precaution
incase they accidently got lost. Once she felt she had all she needed,
she collected her backpack and headed outside her tent to see Edwards standing
outside his tent, ready and waiting to go.
Edwards walked over to her when he saw that she
was ready, they saluted, and Edwards then led Lisa to the riverbank.
There was a canoe tied to a tree and a backpack inside the canoe.
"I think things will go faster if we explored the
river by canoe, don't you think Admiral?"
Lisa looked downstream and then upstream and saw
many jagged edges of the bank. She reasoned exploring by water actually
would be the best way because they wouldn't have to deal with getting entangled
in the brush or having to ward off any large reptiles or insects, which
Lisa had seen many of already. The river was about 25 feet wide,
so even if they had to abandon the canoe for some reason, the swim to either
edge of the river would be very minimal. Lisa gave Edwards her answer
by placing her backpack in the canoe, then stepping into it and picking
up an oar and saying, "Shall we Major?"
Edwards tried to hide a look of amusement and suprise,
he was sure that he would have to do some negotiating and compromising
to get her to agree to the canoe trip. Then he remembered several
of her 'bravery under fire in the field' commendations her father had told
him about and realized that Lisa would not chicken out of anything.
Edwards thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was an admirable
quality, if a little bit dangerous. He hoped that whatever they came
upon she wouldn't want to run off and explore everything, especially anything
dangerous. Edwards was a brave man, if it served his purpose, but
if it didn't, he saw no need to put himself in danger unnecessarily.
It was now 8am and the last hour had been uneventful.
They saw plenty of the same environment on the bank; a very small clearing
of about 10 feet, then the rest was jungle. Edwards suggested they
stop and take a stretch break so they tied up the canoe at a spot that
Edwards pointed out as being a good place to stop. They looked around
for several seconds then Edwards turned to Lisa and said, "If you'll excuse
me Admiral, nature calls."
Edwards walked back towards the tree as Lisa walked
in the opposite direction. Once at the tree Edwards made sure he
was in a spot where Lisa couldn't see him, he looked around the tree again
and saw that she had her back turned to him and was examining some of the
indigenous plants. He quickly started digging in the dirt with his
bare hands until he saw a small canvas pouch. He shook the bag but
didn't open it and then stuffed it in his pants pocket. He covered
the hole back up quickly, and dusted his hands off quietly, then after
checking his pocket once again to make sure the bag was secured, he stood
up straight and headed towards Lisa's direction.
They were about to resume paddeling when they heard
what sounded like explosions in the direction of the camp. Edwards
tried to raise some of his aides on the radio but no one was answering
his transmissions. Lisa looked around them, listening carefully,
and heard shouting voices that were speaking in Zentraedi. Her eyes
widened as she heard the low rumble of approaching Zentraedi soldiers and
noticed that the canoe was now being lifted and dropped by large waves
that made her believe that the Zentraedi were coming down the river.
She grabbed her backpack and told Edwards to do the same and jumped out
of the canoe.
They were about to take off into the jungle when
Lisa shouted, "We must hide the canoe!"
Edwards didn't say anything but just ran to the
canoe and helped Lisa lift it out of the water. They carried
it over to a place that had thick foliage and then quickly broke off some
nearby branches and pulled some tall grass and threw it on the canoe to
camoflauge it.
Lisa looked around, trying to figure out which way
to go when Edwards said commandingly, "We'll try and head back to the camp
through the interior, once we get back there we can try and radio back
to base for some reinforcements."
Lisa, unfamiliar with the area, put her trust in
Edwards and hoped he knew his way around. They were about to take
their first step when they heard the sound of Zentraedi battlepods closing
in. Edwards stopped and listened for a moment, then grabbed Lisa
by the hand, "This way!"
They had been running for several minutes when suddenly
they saw a strange mound of dirt, oddly shaped. They stood frozen
still, fearing it might be a Zentraedi pod. There was no noise coming
from it, a good sign at least. Lisa's curiosity started to get the
better of her and so she approached it cautiously. "Admiral, let's
go, let's not waste time on this, we have to get back to the camp," argued
Edwards.
Lisa hadn't heard a word he said and was now standing
right in front of the mound, she reached out her hand to touch it and was
surprised that the dirt fell away easily. Edwards, seeing that it
wasn't a battlepod, yet, and not wanting to appear a coward, stepped forward
and helped Lisa wipe away some of the dirt.
Underneath the layers of dirt seemed to be something
of a stony texture. Lisa pushed against it and then immediately jumped
back when the stone started to move. Edwards and Lisa had their pistols
drawn, incase anything came out of the now exposed opening. Nothing
came out or flew out so Lisa peerd through the opening, "It looks like
some type of small door, but I can't see where it leads to, it's too dark."
She was about ask for Edwards' flashlight when they heard the sound of
a group of Zentraedi battlepods overhead then heard the running of some
foot soldiers that were closing in on their position quickly.
Edwards scanned the area quickly then made his way
through the small door, "Come on, in here, we have no choice, we'll see
if this will hide us until they leave."
Edwards crouched in the entrance and then walked
further in as Lisa followed behind him. They heard the laser cannons
of the pods outside and realized that they had escaped just in the nick
of time. Suddenly they heard a shot hit the door and then rocks and
debris falling. Lisa ran back to the door and was terrified to see
that their exit had now been completely blocked by heavy stones.
Edwards supressed his worried look and announced, "Don't worry, I'm sure
there's more than one way out of here." He knew he was not sure of
his own words, but he didn't want her to panic.
"Come on, it looks like there's some light just
ahead of us."
Lisa said nothing in reply and followed Edwards.
* * * * * * *
It was almost 6am, almost time for Sammie's alarm
clock to sound off, but her pager beat the clock to it. She always
left her cellphone on silent, so as not to wake her 'wicked stepsisters',
and slept with her pager under her pillow, so that she could hear it when
it went off, yet not have it wake up Kim and Vanessa.
Sammie looked at the message on the pager, thinking
it was probably her new aide, Lieutenant Antell, giving her a wake up call.
As she scrolled through the message her eyes widened and she felt as if
she was going to hyperventilate...
"Message from Lt. Moon, Ghost Squadron. Camp ambushed by Malcontents, all but 2 dead. Major Edwards and Admiral Hayes missing."
Sammie didn't know what to do, her heart was pounding
and she still couldn't find her tongue to speak. She ran to the closet
and yanked her uniform off the hanger then went to her dresser and opened
the drawers loudly.
Kim and Vanessa started to stir and Vanessa was
the first to sit up, "Sammie. What's wrong?"
Sammie just looked at her with a panic look and
continued to gather up her clothes. Kim, never as patient as Vanessa,
got out of bed and grabbed Sammie by the shoulders, "What's wrong with
you?!"
Sammie held out the pager, her hand shaking.
Kim took the pager as Vanessa got out of bed and came over to see what
it said.
"Oh my god..." whispered Kim.
Vanessa took the pager from her and read it, remained
silent for a moment, then whispered hoarsely, "Nobody is to a say a word
of this to Rick!"
Sammie and Kim stared at her as if she were crazy.
Kim tried to keep her voice down as she said, "Are you crazy?! We
have to send Rick to go find her."
Vanessa shook her head, "No. I promised Lisa
I wouldn't get Rick involved unless it was absolutely necessary."
Kim grabbed the pager from Vanessa and held it up
to Vanessa's face, "This IS 'absolutely necessary'!"
Vanessa looked at Sammie, who had tears running
down her face, "Sammie, this is your mission, it's your call."
Sammie looked tearfully from Vanessa to Kim, then
said quietly, "Rick will hate me forever...I promised him I wouldn't let
anything happen to Lisa..."
Kim huffed at Sammie, "As far as we can tell nothing
has happened to her YET."
Sammie thought for a moment, "I agree with Vanessa,
let's not tell him just yet, I can see if I can get Max or Miriya to go
out there--"
"Are you two out of your mind?! Rick is the
one who can save her, now stop stalling or else I'm going over there to
tell him myself!" exclaimed Kim.
Vanessa looked at Kim, then said to Sammie, "Sammie,
go and take your shower and get ready ASAP. I'll handle this."
Sammie left the room then Vanessa whirled on Kim,
"I made a promise to Lisa, and I don't intend to break that promise."
"Even if it means getting her killed?!"
"Kim, look. You know me and my 'instincts'
about things. Most of the time, I usually am right aren't I?"
Kim looked at her and calmed down a bit, "Yea, well,
MOST of the time, not ALL of the time."
Vanessa waived her hand dissmissively, "We just
need to send another team out there, maybe we can get New Detroit to help
us
out even..."
They heard Sammie's pager go off again and went
to read the message...
"New Detroit sending a team to the area by order of Field Marshall Anatole Leonard. No further assistance from Monument/Macross REF is necessary."
Vanessa shrugged, "I guess someone read my mind."
Kim looked at the message again, "Hey wait a minute,
this mission was ours. New Detroit doesn't have jurisdiction over
it, how can they go sticking their noses in our business?"
"Kim, I would think this would make you happy?"
"Yes I know but it is our mission, we started, we
need to finish it. And I don't appreciate New Detroit usurping our
authority, even if we do need their help. That's what they can do,
help, not take over. And Vanessa, don't you see what this also means?
This will make Sammie look very bad, it will look like she couldn't handle
it and New Detroit had to go and bail her out."
Vanessa thought for a moment, "So then what do you
think we should do about it?"
"I think we should send someone over there, even
if New Detroit told us not to."
"Who do we send?"
Kim turned her back to Vanessa and walked to the
other side of the room and announced, "I'll go over there, I'll take a
small team with me and we'll find Lisa."
Vanessa's mouth dropped open, "Now who's the one
who's out of their mind?! You're insane. You don't know anything
about jungle warfare or search and rescue!"
"I used to live in Australia remember? I have
pretty good familiarity with tracking, trailing, and wilderness survival."
"Kim, that's not the same, this is jungle not wilderness."
"The principle is the same," countered Kim.
Vanessa then realized, "Wait, aren't we going to
need permission for this?"
"Sammie already got permission for the initial operation,
backups shouldn't also have to get permission."
"Kim, you know Maistroff will have Sammie's head
when he finds out."
Kim smiled, "Don't worry about Maistroff, I'll take
care of the windbag if I need to."
* * * * * * *
Rick had been woken up by the commotion but put it
down to just the usual Trio tirade and tried to go back to sleep.
As the muffled conversations subsided Rick didn't feel he could fall back
to sleep and was reminded of the box that was sitting in the corner of
the room. He stared at it for a long while, wrestling over what to
do, then he stood up and went over to it and picked up one of the photo
albums. He held it in his hands thinking to himself, "I shouldn't
be nosey, but..."
Rick opened the photo album and saw 4 pictures on
the first page. Two pictures were of Lisa and Karl, one picture was
of Karl and Lisa's father, and the last picture was of Karl by himself.
Rick concentrated on the two pictures of Karl and Lisa. He noticed
how happy Lisa looked and how cute she was when she was a teenager.
Rick flipped through several more pages, more photos
of Riber and Lisa. He finished all the pages and was on the very back page
when he saw a piece of plain paper with handwriting on it. He knew
he shouldn't read it, it wasn't any of his business, but he couldn't help
himself.
The paper was very worn, obvious from being
handled numerous times. The handwriting didn't look like Lisa's.
It read:
---------------------------------------------
My dearest Lisa,
You don't know how happy I am that you have accepted my marriage proposal. The guys can't calm me down, I'm bouncing off the walls! I am so sorry I couldn't give you your ring in person, nothing would've made me happier than to see the look on your face when I slipped the ring on your finger.
Your father tells me that you're doing well at the Academy. I think it shouldn't be too much longer before you can join me here on Mars Base, then we can build the life that we have talked so much about.
Some of the guys have seen your pictures that I keep in my room and have asked me about you, now they can't get me to be quiet. I think they are jealous now! I really do think I am the luckiest man alive. The woman I am going to marry is beautiful, intelligent, witty, charming, and has the kindest, most gentle and loving soul I've ever known.
I am counting the days until I can be with you again, until we get married, so we can live the rest of our lives together forever, hopefully in a world that has embraced peace.
Love always,
Karl Riber
----------------------
Rick finished reading the letter, feeling guilty
for letting his nosiness get the better of him, and now feeling totally
undeserving of Lisa and even more jealous of Karl Riber.
Rick put the letter back in the album and
placed it back into the box. His eye caught sight of a small black
box that he hadn't seen before. He picked it up. It looked
like a ring box. He knew that if he opened it, he would feel worse
than he already did, but he opened it nonetheless.
The ring was dazzling. Rick could tell
that it was a real diamond and must have been worth a small fortune.
The band looked as if it were real gold and the diamond itself had to be
at least one carat. Rick looked at the inside of the band and found
the simple inscription, "To Lisa, love always...Karl."
Rick put the ring back in its box and placed
it carefully back in the box in the spot where he had found it. He
saw the stacks of letters again. Before he had felt a nagging urge
to read one or two of them, but after reading the short one he found in
the photo album and seeing the engagement ring, he just couldn't bring
himself to do it.
Rick paced around the room, he felt confused,
he needed to do something to try and compete with the memory of a man that
seemed so superior to him in every way.
Rick wanted to tell Lisa how he felt about
her, he wanted to hug her and hold and kiss her and try and make her laugh
with a dumb joke or a funny face. He wanted to take her out and let
everyone see that they were happy together. He wanted to dance with
her and have a candlelight dinner by the fireplace. He wanted to
know about the things she liked to do or read or listen to when she was
a teenager. But Lisa wasn't there, instead, Rick was alone in an
empty room, nursing an equally empty heart. He wanted to find someone
that would sit with him and just talk about Lisa, but everyone would be
going to work soon.
Rick looked at the box once again and thought about
writing Lisa a letter. It wasn't an original idea, but it was a good
way to get out everything he wanted to say and was dying to say but couldn't
because Lisa wasn't there. This way at least, he reasoned, she could
read his letters when she came home, and perhaps his pen could say the
words better than his physical voice could.
Rick looked at the clock, he had an hour left before
he needed to get ready for work,
so he picked up a pen and seated himself at the small desk, and determined
to write a letter to Lisa. A letter that would only begin to convey
all that he had in his heart.
* * * * * * *
"Is everyone ready??" whispered Sammie.
"Ready!" replied Kim.
"Affirmative!" said Vanessa.
The three women quietly and quickly exited
their room then took off their shoes and tiptoed down the stairs.
They hurriedly put their shoes back on before closing the front door gently.
Kim put the key in the car ignition and started
the motor with Sammie adding, "Kim, drive carefully and don't screech your
tires out of the driveway like you always do!"
Kim rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry!"
Sammie, seated behind Kim, poked Kim's shoulder
and cried, "Don't worry?!! Don't worry?! You drive just as bad as Miriya,
don't tell me not to worry!"
"Will you two just shut up already.
You're making so much noise that we don't even need to have Kim screech
the tires to wake people up," said an exasperated Vanessa.
Kim and Sammie, to Vanessa's great surprise,
didn't say a word. Kim pulled the car out of the driveway quietly
and headed towards the airfield.
Unbeknownst to Sammie and Vanessa, Kim was
exteremely nervous about her trip to Costa Rica. What happened if
her dream was indeed a bad omen and some kind of foreshadowing of things
to come? But Kim volunteered for a reason, not just because she thought
she could find Lisa and Edwards, but also because she needed to face her
nightmare and extinguish it as soon as possible, before it consumed her
and chained her with the shackles of fear for the rest of her life.
It was something Kim had been thinking about for the past two days now.
She was afraid of her dream coming true, but she knew that she did not
want to be a prisoner of her fears of what 'might' happen.
"Kim, are you ok?" inquired Vanessa.
Kim looked in the rear view mirror and could
see the concerned look on Sammie's face and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine,
don't worry about me, just making some mental preparations, that's all."
Vanessa and Sammie exchanged concerned looks.
Were they doing the right thing by letting Kim jump back into the action
so soon after she had had such a traumatic experience? Would this
cause her anymore harm? They both knew their friend well and knew
that they needed to let her do what she thought was right, because if they
tried to stop her, they'd be doing her a disservice.
The car was at a stoplight when Sammie suddenly
exclaimed, "OH S--T!!!"
Vanessa, suddenly concerned, asked, "What
is it?"
"Antell," Sammie groaned. "That know-it-all
is going to go squealing to Maistroff the minute we start this operation."
Kim let out a growl, "Oh let the b---h snitch!
I'll take care of Maistroff when I get back."
"But he can courtmartial you!...and me!" protested
Sammie.
Kim laughed, "No he can't, Lisa will see to
it that he can't lay a finger on us."
At the mention of Lisa's name, Kim had a sudden
flashback of Lisa's image that she saw in her dream. Kim slammed
on the brakes and the three women were projected forward rather violently.
Vanessa's glasses landed on the floor and
she didn't bother picking them up as she stared at Kim, "Kim..."
Kim looked at Vanessa and Sammie and started
driving again. She could sense that Sammie and Vanessa were still
staring at her and said firmly, "I'm fine, now will you two stop gawking
at me, gosh!"
The three women travelled the rest of the
trip in complete silence.
* * * * * * *
Dr. Jean Grant heard a knock at her door,
"Come in!" she called.
"Hi Jean." The voice was Miriya's and
Jean told her to sit down.
"What can I do for you Miriya? Is Dana
alright?"
"Yes Jean, Dana is fine. I had some
questions..."
"About?"
Miriya looked up at Jean anxiously, "Well...about
Macronization."
Jean raised her eyebrows, "Macronization?!
What for Miriya?"
Miriya thought it best to tell her the reason
behind the inquiry so she told Jean the whole story about Hialeah and the
negotiations.
"Miriya, Claudia is right you know. This
is too risky. I am also telling you from the medical standpoint.
For most Zentraedi, macronization wouldn't be a problem, but you've had
a child, and have gone through hormonal changes. We have yet to complete
our study on what happens to micronized Zentraedi females after they have
given birth and we haven't even begun to assess whether there is an increased
risk to them if they macronize. Miriya please. If Claudia says
there is another
way around Hialeah, then trust her on it."
Miriya remained silent for a few seconds,
then asked Jean, "Please, do you promise you'll not mention this to anyone?"
Jean looked at her straight in the eyes and
said, "Only if you promise not to go and get yourself macronized."
Miriya looked away from her and left the office.
Miriya sat in her car and looked up a phone
number, found it, then waited for the person on the other end to answer.
"Rico? This is Miriya. I have
a question for you. Where is the resizing chamber right now?"
Rico paused for a few seconds, making sure
he had heard correctly. "The resizing chamber? That's on Fifth
street, in Monument City."
Miriya smiled, "That's all I needed to know,
thank you Rico."
"Miriya wait-" Rico heard the dialtone
and stared at the phone.
Bron had just come around the corner and saw
Rico standing there staring at the phone, "What's wrong Rico?"
Rico gave him a puzzled look, "I don't know,
exactly. Miriya called me just now and wanted to know where the resizing
chamber was..."
"Why, does she want to be macronized or something?"
Rico's eyes went wide, "She can't macronize!
She had a baby already, no one knows what will happen if she macronizes!"
"Did she say that's what she wanted to do,
macronize?" asked Bron.
Rico scratched his head, "Well no, she didn't
say she was going to be macronized, but..."
Bron thought about it, "Should we tell Max?"
Rico tapped his chin, thinking. "Well...what
if she doesn't want Max to know about it?"
Bron countered, "But it'd be dangerous for
her to macronize, and at least Max could stop her."
"But we don't know if that's what she's intending
to do, and we don't want to get her in trouble with her husband based on
a false assumption," Rico reasoned.
The two men thought for a moment then Bron
came up with an idea, "Why don't we call Vanessa or Sammie and mention
it to them, they might know what's going on."
"Good idea!"
"She what?" said Vanessa in disbelief.
"She didn't say that's what she was going
to do, but we just want to make sure she doesn't go through with it," explained
Bron.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it, thanks
Bron."
Vince waited for Vanessa to hang up the phone
then he asked her, "What is it?"
"I don't know Vince, but it could be bad.
I'm going to call Claudia. I think Miriya is going to try and macronize."
"I told her not to even consider it!" exclaimed
Claudia. "Are you absolutely sure Vanessa?"
"We're not sure, but after what you told me,
I think that's what she's planning to do."
Claudia put her hand to her forehead and sighed,
"Dammit Miriya, I told you not to do it. Alright Vanessa, I'm going
to take Rick with me and try and stop her. If Max asks about us,
tell him we are 'busy', which is true actually."
Vanessa exhaled loudly, "Alright don't worry
about it, the secret's safe with me."
Claudia thanked her and hung up the phone.
Vanessa looked at Vince and then put her head
down on her desk to rest her eyes, 'Why does everyone trust me with their
secret missions...' she wondered to herself. First the news about Lisa,
now the news about Miriya. Vanessa wished she was having a bad dream
and that all this wasn't happening.
Rick had about two pages of his letter written
when he got a priority ring on his phone. He ran over to answer it,
his heart racing, hoping it wasn't bad news about Lisa. "Captain
Hunter."
"Rick, it's Claudia. I want you to meet me
at the resizing chamber in Monument, on Fifth Street. Hurry, it's
an emergency! And don't tell anyone where you're going."
Rick was trying to stammer a reply when he
realized that Claudia had already hung up.
Miriya didn't have much trouble trying to convince
the workers at the macronization office that she needed to be macronized
for a 'particularly important reason' and was waiting in the micronian
waiting room patiently.
After about five more minutes, a technician
opened the door and announced,
"Miriya Parino, Ace of the Quadranos." Miriya
stood up with about half a dozen eyes following her every step. She
heard a few whisperings like, "That's the great ace pilot that Azonia praised
so highly!" and "Breetai said there was no pilot like her."
Miriya stepped into the large room and the
technician proceeded to read her some general instructions. As Miriya
listened only partially, she started to feel anxious. What if Jean
was right, what if this might end up as being dangerous to her health?
Would this affect Dana's health as well? Miriya took a deep breath and
tried to push the worries out of her mind, chanting to herself that there
was an
important duty that she had to complete.
The technician finished reading the instructions
to Miriya and escorted her to the resizing chamber and the macronization
process began.
"Get the hell out of my way, this is a military
emergency!" yelled Claudia to a long row of cars in front of her.
She had been stuck in traffic for 15 minutes and was extremely exasperated.
She quickly searched the area for a place where she could leave her car
parked. She spotted an alley, it was the closest thing she could get to
with all the traffic, so once she got within distance, she turned down
the
alley and left the car there.
Claudia had run for a few blocks, stopping
to ask for directions every now and then. Someone finally pointed
her in the direction of Fifth Street, but she was angry when she found
out that the resizing chamber was at least a good three miles away.
She took a deep breath, then started on the long sprint. Along the
way she stopped to try and call the resizing facility but to no avail.
They told her that she did not have official jurisdiction and refused to
comply with any of her requests.
The resizing process had received several modifications
and was now running at an efficient 10 minute turnaround time. Miriya's
resizing went without a hitch and she stepped out of the chamber, standing
at her original height. The technician gave her a robe and then handed
her some clothes that she could change into. After she dressed, Miriya
took some time to stay perfectly still and get
reaccustomed to being so tall. She had not been at her full height
for over two years and it was a very strange feeling.
She asked for a cloak, so that she could hide
her identity for fear that Max, possibly flying overhead, might recognize
her. She put the cloak on then left the building and headed for Lady
Hialeah's office.
The walk only took about 5 minutes.
Miriya knocked on the door and it opened immediately. Inside, she
saw Uradana standing in the middle of the room, waiting for her to speak.
Miriya took off her cloak, looked at Uradana
sternly, and announced, "I am Miriya Parino Sterling. I have come
to speak to Lady Hialeah," then she took a few steps closer to Uradana,
keeping her stern look.
Uradana cowered a bit, then quickly put her
mirror down on the table and said, "W-wait right here."
Miriya smiled to herself, satisfied with Uradana's reaction.
Rick arrived at the resizing chamber office
about one minute after Miriya had left. He was greeted hostily by
the full-sized and micronized Zentraedi, so he decided to distance himself
from the office by waiting a couple blocks away. After about five
minutes he spotted Claudia running towards his Valkyrie, "Rick! Have
you seen her??"
Rick was confused, "Seen who??"
"Miriya!"
"No, I haven't seen her at all, why?"
Claudia beckoned for Rick to lift her up so
he did and she told him about Miriya wanting to macronize.
"My god..." was all Rick could say.
Claudia told Rick that she would try and get
some answers from the micronized Zentraedi and that Rick should try talking
to the full-sized Zentraedi that were walking about and see if they could
find out whether Miriya had been there or not.
After about 20 minutes, Rick overheard the
conversation of two Zentraedi leaving the area, "Did you see her? The great
Miriya Parino was back at her full size!" Rick's heart sank as he
called Claudia to give her the bad news.
After getting off the phone, Claudia ran back
to Rick's VT, which was now in fighter mode, and climbed into the co-pilot
seat, determined to find Miriya.
"Uradana, bring Miriya some more tea."
Uradana bowed slightly then left the room.
"So Miriya," continued Lady Hialeah, "Your
very noble to take the risk of macronization for these micronians, even
though they don't deserve the attention of a warrior as great as yourself."
Miriya disregarded the comment and instead
asked, "Will you agree to our request? It is very important."
Hialeah raised an eyebrow and frowned, "Miriya,
don't waste your greatness in their society, return to us."
Miriya shook her head.
Hialeah gave her a pained look, "Miriya, you
could be as powerful as me. I will make you my right-hand.
I am tired of Uradana. She has become obsessed with the micronian
ways of vanity." Just then they noticed Uradana standing at the door
with a very sour look on her face.
Uradana stormed up to Miriya and threw the
cup of tea down on the floor and shouted, "You will not replace me, Quadrano!
You have insulted my integrity! I will not let you get away with this!"
Hialeah held up her hand, "Calm down Uradana,"
then she smiled mischieviously and said, "I have a little proposal.
Uradana wants to reclaim her pride, and you Miriya want to gain my assistance,
and I am extremely bored. I know of a way to almost solve everyone's
problems."
Miriya and Uradana looked at Hialeah and waited
for her to continue, instead she beckoned them to follow her to another
room.
The room was huge. Hialeah clapped her
hands and two male Zentraedi came into view. Hialeah went to
them and whispered something, the men nodded their understanding and left
the room.
Hialeah then snapped her fingers and an elevated
booth appeared in the center of the floor. She climbed the steps
and sat down. The two men appeared, this time carrying long swords.
Hialeah smiled wickedly as she said, "I am bored and you two each have
something on the line. The rules are simple. You two are to
duel for what each of you want. Uradana, you wish to reclaim your
honor, and Miriya, you wish for my support. If you win Miriya, you
receive whatever support you want from me. If you win Uradana, I
unfortunately, will have to keep you as my right-hand."
Uradana scowled at both Miriya and Hialeah
but said nothing.
Miriya tried to protest, but to no avail.
Rick and Claudia had reached Hialeah's office
and were suprised to find no one at the front desk. They looked around
and saw a door and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.
Rick and Claudia mulled over the idea of shooting
down the door. They couldn't just go barging in without considering
some of the political ramifications. Hialeah was extremely powerful,
any trouble with her could mean problems with the Zentraedi in the entire
region.
Rick suddenly remembered the trick that Lisa
had vermillion try when they were trapped on the Zentreadi ship; burn through
the lock with the lasers. The idea was still not without its consequences,
they would still be entering Hialeah's office without authorization, but
at least it was better than blasting their way in.
Hialeah wore a pleased look as she saw Miriya
and Uradana standing in front of her, swords in hand. She stood up
and announced, "You may proceed with the joust."
Uradana shouted loudly, "Miriya Parino!
I shall defend my honor! I am not afraid of a Quadrano!"
Miriya remained quiet and stood on her guard.
Uradana lunged at Miriya but Miriya quickly
sidestepped the advance and kicked Uradana from behind, sending her tumbling
to the ground. Hialeah laughed and applauded. This made Uradana even
more angry and she charged at Miriya again, this time swinging her sword.
The swords made contact and they held each other to a standstill for a
few seconds until Miriya managed to overpower Uradana and push her away.
Hialeah was beside herself, laughing and teasing
Uradana, "Uradana, you'll never beat Miriya, you are too weak!"
Uradana's face turned a bright crimson red
and she was about to scream when she the Battloid's hand reaching through
the opening in the door. She ran to the door and when Rick stepped
through, Uradana brought down her sword which sent the Battloid head tumbling
to the floor.
Rick, trying to think fast, transformed into
Gerwalk mode and tried to fire his gun but it was kicked aside by Uradana's
fast foot. The Gerwalk tipped over on its side, the canopy
smashed open. Uradana reached for Rick and Claudia but they managed
to hurl themselves out of the cockpit and took off running in opposite
directions.
Uradana picked up the gun and turned around with
an evil look on her face. She stared at Hialeah and aimed the gun
at her. Miriya took off running towards Hialeah, apparently unnoticed
by Uradana and managed to push her down to the floor as Uradana got off
a shot. Miriya and Hialeah both tumbled to the floor, Miriya and
Hialeah both groaning in pain.
Claudia from her vantage point, saw that Hialeah
and Miriya were done for if something wasn't done to stop or distract Uradana
so she ran in front of Uradana's path waving her arms.
Uradana looked amuse and stooped down a little
bit so she could see Claudia better. "What have we here...a brave
little micronian eh? Lady Hialeah would be pleased to have you work
for her I think. Bravery. That's what she's hung up on. She
never liked me, and we both knew it. 'Oh Uradana, you're so pathetic.
Uradana, you're obsessed with micronian ways.' 'Uradana, you're such a
coward, you have no intelligence.' 'Uradana I keep you around because I
feel sorry for you.' 'Uradana, you should be a
great warrior like Miriya Parino.' 'Mi-ri-ya PA-RI-NO!'" Uradana
scowled at Claudia and kept her gun on her. "I'm so sorry micronian,
you were so brave..." She raised her gun and Claudia could see straight
down the barrel...
==============
1. Oh my, it seems that everyone is having a bad day there in Macross Land! What will happen to Claudia?!!
2. Again, like I said before, I hadn't read the entire Zentraedi Rebellions book, and I think Miriya gets quite a bit of airtime in that novel. So if this scenario sounds similar to anything in the book or comics (I don't think it does, but I say this just as a general disclaimer) let me know so I can re-write it.
3. Comment replies:
jdchs (aka Judith) - Don't worry at all about
commenting. Go ahead and comment as many times as you like. I enjoy
reading the comments and am happy that you like the story. No, I
still insist I'm not a professional writer. Writing Macross stuff
is just a hobby of mine, but...if some Hollywood studio out there wants
to hire me for anything, I'll surely be willing to change professions!
:)
aikiweezie - Yes, Lisa and Rick will definitely get to spend more time together once all the chaos goes away. There'll be lots and lots of Lisa-Rick scenes coming up, that's the reason why I started writing the story in the first place :) Gotta love those two, such a great couple! Remember, in the story's timeline, Valentines Day is just around the corner ;) Hopefully things will settle down by then. I do already have something planned for Lisa's telling her side of the relationship with her father. I think it was a sub-plot that never got fully developed and should've because it had a lot of potential. I hope to write quite a bit about Lisa and her father in the upcoming chapters. I might do some scenes with Lisa and Karl but I'm working on the translation of the Misa Hayase: White Reminiscances book (originally in Japanese) and that has a ton of stuff about Riber. So I want to get a better understanding of his character before I write more about him.
SailorCallie - Yes, there will be a scene with T.R. Edwards meeting both Rick and Claudia. It should be very interesting indeed. Edward's is surrounded with Fokker people. Let's see what he'll do about it, if anything. ;)
Newtype Alpha - Yeap, it seems that the novels never let Rick mature. He seemed to stay at the same maturity level all the way till the end of the Sentinels, and that really annoyed me. So I'm trying to show how he has matured over the past 4-5 years and continues to mature. :) p.s. I Love your Megaroad stories btw, I'm always looking forward to the new chapters, especially the Misa/Hikaru scenes ;)