"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Chapter 11


January 28th, 2015

Kim opened one eye and looked at the clock on her nightstand, it read 5:00 AM. She had been awakened by the aroma of coffee that had whiffed into her room. It was warm under the covers and she didn't want to move, but the coffee smelled so good that she reluctantly threw off her covers and put on her slippers, then shuffled into the kitchen.
"Good morning Kim, I hope I didn't wake you up," said Lisa, who was seated at the table, looking ready to head off to work.
Kim scratched her head and yawned, then said, "No, you didn't wake me up, the coffee did. It smells wonderful, I couldn't resist."
Lisa chuckled and got up to fix Kim a cup while Kim went to the table and sat down on a chair with a thud. Kim scratched her head again and said groggily, "All these years in the military and I still can't manage to get used to waking up early."
Lisa smiled and set Kim's cup down on the table. After Kim took a few sips and seemed to wake up a bit more, she asked Lisa, "How come you are up so early? We don't have to be at the meeting until 8am right?"
Lisa tapped her pen nervously, "I couldn't sleep. There's so much going on right now that everytime I try and sleep I just end up thinking about everything. I was thinking of going over to see Rick one more time before he and Sammie leave."
Kim asked cautiously, "So uh...did you two make up yet?"
"I think so...I left his apartment last night on good terms, but that doesn't mean that the dust has settled, not even in the slightest," answered Lisa.
Kim took another sip of her coffee then said, "That's good. It's not good to be going away on missions and leaving things on bad terms."
Lisa nodded her agreement then put her pen down and stood up and said, "I'm going to go see Rick right now, I'll meet you at the office at 7:30?"
Kim saluted her, stood up, picked up her coffee mug then shuffled back to her room.

Lisa looked at her watch as she neared Rick's room, it was only 5:30 AM, most likely Rick was still asleep. She waited as the housing attendant unlocked Rick's door for her. "Here you are Admiral." The ensign saluted her then returned back to his desk at the end of the hall.
Lisa entered Rick's room quietly, not wanting to wake him up. She crept over to the bedroom of the doorway and was surprised to find that he wasn't in his bed. She then became aware of the sound of the shower running and went to sit on the couch and wait for him.
As she sat there a thought occured to her. Rick didn't know she was there, and he was in the shower. She didn't want to catch him offguard, or did she? She snickered wickedly but then had a change of heart and decided to turn on the tv, loud enough for Rick to hear from his bedroom, that way he would now someone was there and make sure he was dressed appropriately.

Rick turned off the shower and grabbed a towel and dried his hair a bit then headed back into his bedroom. He stopped in his tracks when he heard the television. He hadn't remembered turning it on, nor leaving it on from the night before. He decided to investigate, making sure he wrapped a towel around his waist before venturing into the living room. He peeked into the living room and saw Lisa sitting on the couch watching the news. Rick decided to sneak up on her and surprise her so he walked up very quietly behind her then was about to put his hand on her shoulder when Lisa said calmly, "Good morning Rick."
Rick stopped his hand before it reached her shoulder and stammered, "How'd...how'd you know I was here?"
"I have eyes in the back of my head," Lisa said teasingly. She turned around on the couch and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rick standing there, white towel around his waist, hair wet, and beads of water glistening on his strong chest and broad shoulders.
Rick picked up on her reaction immediately and couldn't resist the urge to be teasingly mean. He smiled slowly at her then stooped down a bit so that he was eye-level with her and said lazily, "So...my dear Admiral, what brings you out here so early?" His eyes locked onto hers and he grinned as he waited for her answer.
"I...I...wanted..." was all Lisa could utter.
Rick gave her a toothy grin as he said, "What's the matter Admiral, cat got your tongue?"
His arrogant tone finally brought her out of her daze and she snapped back to alertness, countering with , "No, no not at all. I just thought I'd be nice and come and visit you again before you left, that's all."
Rick chuckled, "How gracious of you."
Lisa rolled her eyes and got up and walked around the couch and put her arms around Rick's shoulders and said quietly, "I just...I just needed to see you again before you left. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to keep away from you."
Rick tightened the embrace and kissed her cheek and asked her, "Do you know where I was heading right now?"
Lisa uttered, "No."
Rick pulled back from her so he could look at her eyes and said, "I was heading over to see you. I needed to see you one more time too...because...no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to keep away from you either."
Rick kissed her on the forehead then told her that he was going to get dressed. Lisa followed him to the door of his bedroom. Noticing that she was following him, Rick turned around and asked, "Hey lady, where do you think you're going?"
Lisa shrugged and pretended that she didn't realize what she was doing. Rick laughed at her feeble attempt to fake innocence.
Lisa narrowed her eyes, wondering if she should go through with the little practical joke she had concocted while she had followed Rick to the door. She could just hear Sammie and Kim giggling and shouting, "Do it!"
Rick looked at her and said, "Now if you'll excuse me..." and then turned around. Lisa let out a sinister giggle as she took hold of a section of Rick's towel and turned around and ran back to the couch, towel in tow.
"Hey what the-!!" exclaimed Rick from his room.
Lisa lay on the couch laughing hysterically. She thought the Trio would be very proud of her if they knew what she had done.
"Hey you evil woman!!!" shouted Rick, still hiding in his room, his voice betraying his amusement.
Lisa was still fighting her bout of laughter and could not reply back. A few minutes later Rick came out of his room, dressed in his uniform and sat down on the couch next to Lisa. They stared at each other, smiles frozen in place, then Rick burst out laughing. Lisa smirked and said, "What's the matter, I thought you said you liked me to be mischievious?"
Rick blushed but said nothing, instead he slowly leered at Lisa and said, "You better watch your back the next time YOU are in the shower. I will need to even up the score somehow."
Lisa smiled then Rick grabbed her by the hand and pulled her off the couch saying, "I forgot, I need to go pickup Sammie. We can all grab some breakfast before we're scheduled to leave."

Vanessa swung the door open and said, "Good, both of you are here, maybe you can help me talk some sense into Sammie. She wants to take the entire apartment with her for this trip."
"I DO NOT!!" they heard Sammie yell.
Rick and Lisa entered the living room in time to see Sammie dragging a suitcase across the floor. Vanessa pointed to her and said matter-of-factly, "See what I mean? She thinks she needs a year's supply of shampoo and conditioner and hair dryers."
Sammie stomped her foot, "Oh Vanessa! I told you I need my hair dryer and a spare, just incase it breaks! You never have to worry about drying your hair because it's so short! I need lots of time to dry my hair because it's so long and-"

Vanessa: "THEN CHOP IT OFF that way you won't have to worry about drying it."
Sammie: "Ohhhhh don't give me that! You and Kim just have short hair because you're too lazy to spend anytime fixing your hair, it's just wash-n-wear, you two are so lazy!"
Vanessa: "You're not going to New Portland for a beauty pageant, you're going to work!"
Sammie: "Just because I'm going to work doesn't mean I can't look good!"
Vanessa: "Who ever said you look good!?"
Sammie: "Oh you four-eyes be quiet, you're just jealous of me!!"
Vanessa: "What the hell is there to be jealous about?!!"

"Ladies!!" hollered Lisa. Vanessa and Sammie stopped their shouting for a moment then resumed again.

Vanessa: "Lisa she doesn't need all that stuff, look! She's got four suitcases full already!"
Sammie: "I need all that stuff!"
Vanessa: "You don't need 6 bottles of shampoo!!"
Sammie: "I do too! You know that I like to alternate fragrances!!"
Vanessa: "Nobody cares what your hair smells like if they're busy fighting malcontents!!"

Vanessa took hold of the suitcase and started to drag it back to the bedroom but Sammie ran after her and tugged the suitcase in the opposite direction.

Sammie: "I need that suitcase!!"
Vanessa: "No you don't!!"
Sammie: "You just want to steal my shampoo!!!"
Vanessa: "I don't want any of your stinkin' shampoo, it makes my hair oily!!"
Sammie: "GOOD!"

Rick grabbed the suitcase from both of them and Lisa walked up and stood between them, hands on her hips, and glared first at Sammie then at Vanessa.
Lisa looked at Sammie and said calmly but firmly, "Captain Porter. If I hear one more peep out of you I am going to send Lieutenant Antell with you."
Sammie's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open and she then started shaking her head furiously, "No no no, don't send her, ok I promise I'll be good."
Lisa smiled knowingly then swung around to face Vanessa, who gulped and looked very nervous as she waited for Lisa's scolding. Lisa smiled then walked back to stand next to Rick.
"Hey waita minute that's not fair, how come Vanessa didn't get scolded-" started Sammie, but Lisa held up her hand and pointed towards Antell's room. "Yes, ma'am," Sammie said in defeat and stopped her protest.
Rick chuckled and said, "Besides Sammie, I don't think all of that will fit in the VT."
Lisa quickly looked at Rick but he beat her reply, saying, "It's just me and Sammie, so I saw no need to load up a shuttle and escort squadron. They are more needed here anyways."
Sammie and Vanessa looked at each other with worried looks, wondering what Lisa's reply would be. They sighed in relief when Lisa simply shrugged.

After breakfast the foursome gathered in the small briefing room that was near the hanger that housed Rick's VT.
"I haven't worn a flight suit in a long time!! What do you think Lisa, think I'll get alot of attention with it?" asked Sammie excitedly.
"Yea, you'll get alot of attention with that big butt of yours," snorted Vanessa.
"Why you-" started Sammie.
"Vanessa, don't antagonize her!" Lisa said loudly and warningly.
"Alright alright..." moaned Vanessa.
"Well, uh...I guess it's time for us to be going now," said Rick rather reluctantly.
Sammie and Vanessa's glare at each other turned into a smile and the best friends hugged.
"Sammie, if you find any hunky guys there, don't forget to pick some up for me and Kim too," said Vanessa.
"I will, don't worry," said Sammie with a wink.
Rick and Lisa looked at each other and then Vanessa slapped Sammie on the shoulder and said quietly, "Come on, let's go wait outside."
After Vanessa and Sammie had left, Rick pulled Lisa to him and kissed her, then said, "You stay out of trouble while I'm gone ok?"
Lisa smirked, "Look who's talking."
Rick laughed and shook his head, "Yea you're right, especially if I have Sammie with me, I'm sure it will be difficult to stay out of trouble."
Lisa laughed, kissed him again, then stepped out of his arms and said, "You better go now, while I still have the willpower to let you go."
Rick winked at her, "You wanna stowaway?"
Lisa chuckled then pushed Rick out of the room.

Lisa and Vanessa took a car back to the command center to watch the launch and Sammie and Rock checked over the planes exterior one more time. When they were finished Rick asked Sammie, "Hey Sam, what do ya say? You wanna fly her to New Portland?"
Sammie's mouth dropped open, "What do you mean fly to New Portland?"
Rick: "Exactly that, you know, fly the VT. You fly the VT and I'll sit in the back and take a nap."
Sammie: "Are you serious??"
Rick: "Yes I'm serious. You girls had some VT training right?"
Sammie: "Yea but that was a long time ago..."
Rick: "Well then, time for some more training."

Sammie looked at him, still trying to figure out if he was serious. When she saw how sincere he looked, she realized that he wasn't joking. She and all the bridge crew, especially those who would be
doing any flight coordinating duties on the SDF-1, had undergone basic VT flight training, so that they would be more in tune to the pilots cockpit point-of-view during skirmishes.
Sammie looked at the plane intently then swung around and wore a big smile as she said, "Come on co-pilot, let's have some fun!"

Back at the command center, Lisa would be handling the start of Rick and Sammie's flight monitoring. Vanessa was there to take over when it was time for Lisa to go to her SDF-3 meeting.
"Skull One you are cleared for take-off on runway seven, over," said Lisa calmly, but that hid her true feelings of worry, one she felt every single time she heard Rick's voice over the comm line, especially when he was in the middle of a big skirmish.
"This is Skull One, Captain Porter here with my co-pilot Captain Hunter. Take-off instructions are acknowledged, over," chirped Sammie.
Vanessa gasped as she, Lisa, Antell, and another flight tech nearby all looked at each other in surprise.
Lisa got on the comm quickly, "What do you think you guys are doing??"
Rick laughed, "Don't worry. We're just getting in some flight training time for Sammie."
Lisa snapped back, "Are you-" then she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Vanessa on the other hand, picked up where Lisa left off.
Vanessa: "Are you guys crazy?!"
Rick: "Don't worry Vanessa, at the first sign of any trouble, we'll switch places."
Sammie: "Yea Vanessa, don't worry, Rick's here with me and will bail me out if I get into trouble. Isn't that right Rick?"
Rick: "Absolutely Sammie!"

Lisa tapped her foot nervously. It was bad enough that Rick was going to New Portland. Worse still that he was going via single VT, without any backup, and even worst yet, Sammie was flying. For days Lisa had been telling herself that she needed to swallow some of her pride and temper some of her stubborness and not get so upset and get into fights with Rick. However this situation could be a recipe for disaster and she wanted to nothing more than to explain why this was such a bad idea, but she knew that neither Rick nor Sammie would listen to her and rather than getting into a huge fight with Rick and Sammie, most likely involving Vanessa too, she decided to bite her tongue and all she could do was pray they wouldn't run into any trouble along the way.
Lisa sighed and remained quiet as Sammie waved to them then shut off the visual transmission and, with the aid of Rick's verbal instructions, maneuvered the plane to the runway.
Vanessa walked up to Lisa and whispered to her, "You can't be serious, you're not actually going to let Sammie fly are you?!"
Without facing Vanessa, Lisa whispered back, "You know that no matter what we say, they won't listen to us." Lisa then faced Vanessa and said, "Just make sure you pray until they touch down in New Portland," then folded her arms and walked over to her right to watch the take-off on a larger monitor.
Vanessa sighed and then noticed that Antell was looking at her, she turned her head and looked at Antell, who quickly looked back at her console.

The flight had been uneventful and they only had about 45 minutes left before they landed in New Portland.
Rick: "Hey Sammie, you've been doing great."
Sammie: "Really?!"
Rick: "Yeap, see, you're not as rusty as you thought."
Sammie: "I'm never rusty...hey, what's that over there?"

Rick strained his eyes and saw several mounds of dirt on an otherwise flat, barren, ridge.. "I don't know Sammie, I'm not showing anything on my monitors."
"Maybe it's just old debris?" asked Sammie.
"Could be," answered Rick, still straining his eyes to make out the shapes, then checking his monitors one more time.
"What's going on you guys?" cut in Vanessa through the comm line.
"We got some strange looking mounds over on a ridge," said Rick slowly.
"Hey Rick why don't we go check 'em out?" asked Sammie.
Rick was perplexed at the site on the ridge and would've felt better if he had some radar signatures on the unidentified shapes but he decided that the area looked harmless enough and said with a shrug, "Alright Sammie, you think you can handle it?"
"Yes sir!" answered Sammie happily.

Vanessa: "Wait you guys, maybe we should-"
Sammie: "Oh V, don't be such a worry wart! Rick is here with me if there's any trouble but those just look like old mounds of dirt, I doubt if it's anything to worry about."
Rick: "We'll be alright Vanessa, I'll take over at the first sign of trouble."
Vanessa: "Lieutenant Antell, anything on those mounds yet?"
Antell: "Nothing yet Captain, they are too far out of range, I doubt if we'll get anything."
Vanessa: "Keep trying."
Antell: "Yes ma'am."

Sammie circled around the ridge as Rick tried to get a better shot of the mounds on the monitor. Rick thought it would be better to manually inspect them so he told Sammie, "Let's switch to Battloid and see what we can make of these things."
"Roger, Rick," said Sammie, then she started laughing, "That's funny isn't it!? Roger. Rick."
Rick rolled his eyes and waited for Sammie to switch modes but just as Sammie laid her hand on the lever, the radar picked up signatures of Zentraedi battlepods.
"Battle pods!" shouted Rick, looking desperately out the canopy to see if he could spot them by sight.
"Where?! What?! Oh now!!" shouted a very scared Sammie.
"Damn! Look! They were buried under the mounds! We fell for it! But how did they hide their signatures?! Ok Sammie, hang on, I'm going to take control now, I'll have to fly from back here since we can't stop to switch places. But you'll have to help me on a lot of stuff because co-pilot's seat doesn't have all the controls I need."
"Rick....I'm scared!" said Sammie, starting to sniffle.
"It's ok Sammie, just sit tight, I will get us out of here. Beginning control transfers now..." Rick stared at a monitor then started to smack it and then shouted, "No! Dammit!! Come on, not now!! What the...?!"
"What's wrong Rick?!" said Sammie as she looked in her rear view mirror.
Rick swallowed hard and then told her quietly, "I don't know but I can't transfer controls, I keep getting the message, "'The requested operation is not available, please examine Operating System or have the requested component installed.'"
"No!!" shouted Sammie.
"What is it?" asked Rick, gravely concerned.
"I've seen this before, that error message means that the program that handles the transfer procedure is either corrupted or has been deleted! It takes hours to install and configure the program, let alone debug it if it's installed but has an error!" Sammie felt her heart race at a furious pace, she'd have to get them out of this one, but she knew she couldn't.
"S--t!! Ok, we've got no time to waste, it looks like they're still powering up, get us out of here as fast as you can, now!" said Rick.
Sammie accelerated as Rick radioed to New Portland for backup.
"What do you mean you can't send anyone now?? We've got damaged controls, we need some cover!" shouted Rick.
Tears were running down Sammie's face as she said, "They're pursuing us Rick."
Rick gave up trying to get help from New Portland and decided to concentrate on calming Sammie down and talking her through the situation, because if he did neither, they were gone for sure.
"I'm sending over a squardron right now!" shouted Vanessa, fighting internally over whether she should call for Lisa or try and handle the situation herself. Not that there was much she could do, except what she just did, send a squardon over to help.
"Captain Leeds, the squad expects an arrival time of 30 minutes," said Antell calmly, as if there wasn't an emergency.
"Thirty minutes?!!" exclaimed Vanessa. All she could do was pace over to the other corner of the room and slam her hand down on a desk. She again considered calling Lisa, but she knew what kind of explosion would errupt if she did so she decided to take a chance on the faith she had in Rick and finally decided to handle the situation herself.
"Sammie, listen to me. I need you to do everything exactly as I tell you. First of all, I need you to try and stay calm and concentrate. I know you're scared but you must make sure you calm down and concentrate on everything I tell you. You trust me don't you?" said Rick in as gentle a voice as he could muster.
"I trust you Rick," said Sammie, trying to stop sniffling.
"Good girl. Now, what you need to do is keep on flying away from them as possible and try and shake them while you're at it. I still have some weapons controls back here so I'll do all the shooting, you just concentrate on running and dodging. I know you have got the skills, you know how VTs worked and I've heard you save the lives of pilots on several occassions because you had aerial awareness and could translate what you saw on your screens to commands over the comm. I believe in you Sammie, I know you'll get us out of here," said Rick, finishing in a confident tone.
Sammie nodded her head then Rick thought to add, "And...uh...hey, now's your chance to show up Kim and Vanessa."
Sammie sniffled again but Rick could hear the strength returning to her voice, "I never thought of that..."
Rick smiled then his eyes widened as he saw a pod closing in on them from the left. "Sammie, starboard!" he shouted, and in a split second Sammie had them rolling to the right but also landing them in the direct path of another pod. "I got it!" shouted Rick as he scored a direct hit on the pod.

Rick: "Climb Sammie, let's see if we can lose them with altitude."
Sammie: "Climbing!"
Rick: "Looks like they're still pursuing, ok, there's nothing we can do except take them all out. Sammie, how's your training on the Battloid mode?"
Sammie: "Uhhh...not very good, it tires me out very quickly."
Rick: "Ok, let's see...it looks like we're down to 6 pods right now...let's do a frontal attack and try and take out a few more first before trying Battloid mode."
Sammie: "Ok."

Sammie flew straight at a group of four pods, turning in whichever direction Rick told her in order to dodge the pods' laser fire. She was still amazed that they were both alive and even more amazed that she was actually doing something she had thought she was completely incapable of. Realizing that, she didn't feel as scared as she was when the skirmish first started, and she knew that Rick knew what he was doing so she was actually able to concentrate on flying, knowing that there was a pretty good chance they could get out of it without a scratch.

Rick: "Good, got one!"
Sammie: "Shall I follow that other one that's leaving?"
Rick: "No, let's take care of these first and then worry about that guy."
Sammie: "Ok boss."
Rick: "Sammie, we're losing altitude, what's going on?"
Sammie: "We are? I didn't notice..."
Rick: "Sammie, we're dropping rapidly, how can you not notice?!"
Sammie: "Oh, but I was concentrating on that guy that was running away."
Rick: "Sammie, pull up now!"
Sammie: "I'm trying! It's stuck!"
Rick: "How can it be stuck?!"
Sammie: "It's stuck! Wait...oh no! I forgot, I put my purse on the floor. The strap has gotten tangled up on this lever thingy."
Rick: "Untangle it and pull up now!!!"
Sammie: "I'm trying!! I can't, wait..."

Rick saw the ground rushing up to meet him and he was sure they were going to crash but when they were about 200 feet from the ground he felt the VT shake and then the canopy covered his view. Sammie had switched to Battloid mode just in the nick of time. Rick was genuinely surprised, he was just about to suggest that to her but she had beaten him to it, she could think and act quicker than he had thought.
They were now in Battloid mode, lying face down on the groud. Rick managed to talk Sammie through bringing the Battloid up to a standing positions, all the while scanning the area for any incoming pods, luckily they were still off in the distance, but rapidly approaching, "Sammie, take cover behind that boulder over to your left!"
Sammie did as she was told but her unfamiliarity with the Battloid mode showed and the VT stumbled awkwardly and nearly fell over, but at least they made it to cover. Rick had her peek around the corner and they spotted two pods coming at them. He didn't have control over the weapons system this time so it was all up to Sammie. Sammie listened closely to Rick's instructions, then took a deep breath and then made her attack. She fired off shots at the pods as she ran to take cover behind another boulder that was about 200 feet away from their current position. Sammie managed to cripple the pods, but not destroy them. Rick scanned the area again and seeing that the remaining pods were still some ways off, he told Sammie to switch to VT mode so that they could exchange places.
The exchange was done rapidly and successfully and Rick was back up in the air and took care of the remaining pods, much to the relief of himself, Sammie, and Vanessa.

Vanessa: "You guys nearly gave me heartattack!"
Sammie: "Calm down, look, it all turned out well."
Vanessa: "But what if it hadn't?!! What would I have told Lisa?!"
Rick: (laughing) "Hey Vanessa don't be so rough on her, it was my idea anyways, I take full responsibility."
Vanessa: "I'm going to keep our squadron heading over there, just incase there's more of those pods."
Rick: "It's ok, you can call them back, we don't need them, we are about half an hour's away from New Portland, and I'm flying now so there should be no further troubles."
Vanessa: "Are you sure Rick?"
Rick: "Yes ma'am I'm sure."
Vanessa: "Very well then, Lieutenant Antell, tell the VTs to withdraw."
Antell: "Yes ma'am. By the way ma'am, shouldn't Generals Maistroff and Reinhardt be made aware of this?"

Vanessa turned around so that Antell wouldn't her see her look of disgust and anger. She knew that Rick and Sammie could get in trouble with Maistroff if he knew that Sammie was in control of the plane when she shouldn't have been. Vanessa thought though, that Maistroff really could not do much damage except to reprimand them both. Vanessa stood up straight and turned to face Antell with an icy look as she said, "I will mention it to them myself Lieutenant, thank you for the recommendation."
Antell nodded her head once then returned to her work.
When Rick and Sammie arrived at New Portland, Vanessa went back to her office and got on the phone quickly, first asking Rick about the loss of backup controls, then getting in touch with the Chief VT mechanic at New Portland and making sure that he found out the exact cause of the malfunction and get back to her with the information as soon as possible.

After a debriefing, meetings and introductions, Rick and Sammie were finally shown to their quarters, which were next door to each other. Rick had finished hauling in the last of Sammie's suitcases and plopped on the small couch, completely exhausted.
Sammie sat down next to him and said, "Hey Rick, do you wanna go try and find someplace for dinner? My treat."
Rick thought about it for awhile. He was certainly hungry and didn't feel like eating cafeteria food so he smiled at Sammie and told her he thought it was a good idea.

After a few minutes of walking down the main street in the downtown section of New Portland, they found a small but intriguing Japanese restaurant and decided to eat there.
The ambience was very good for their tired states of mind. The place was somewhat dimly lit and old-fashioned Japanese music was playing quietly in the background and they were the only customers there at the moment.
An elderly Japanese woman greeted them and showed them to a table near a small aquarium and then handed them their menus and afterwards brought out two cups of green tea for the tired officers.

Sammie: "Ohhh this tea is so good, just what I need after a crazy day like today."
Rick: "I can't wait to eat, I don't think I've eaten anything for the past 10 hours."
Sammie: "I can't wait to eat, then go home, take a hot bath, and go to sleep!"
Rick: "That sounds like a good plan to me."
Sammie: "Hmm...I hope that Vanessa doesn't get in trouble, or that we get in trouble over what happened this afternoon."
Rick: "Nah, I doubt anyone will get in trouble."
Sammie: "Well, I wouldn't be so sure. Antell was there."
Rick: "That's your aide right?"
Sammie: "Yeah, and the biggest snitchy b----h on the planet. She's working for Maistroff, I'm convinced of it. Not only is she a spy and a snitch, she's also the biggest know-it-all and complainer that you'll ever meet. Nobody likes her, but I doubt if she even cares."
Rick: "Thanks for the warning, I'll make sure to stay away from her."
Sammie: "And that's not all, she's a huge Minmei fan."
Rick: (with a groan) "Now I'll DEFINITELY make sure to stay away from her."
Sammie: "Ugh. Let's stop talking about Antell now, my appetite's starting to sour."
Rick laughed and looked at his menu and decided on having the beef Teriyaki. Sammie settled on half a dozen California Rolls. After giving their order to the elderly waitress, they waited quietly for about 10 minutes and then their food was served to them.
Sammie had finished all of her California rolls, which were rather large, and called the waitress back so she could order another order.
Rick gawked at her, "Sammie, you're still hungry?! Those rolls were huge, and you ate them all, you're actually going to eat 6 more?!"
Sammie smiled proudly, "No one can eat more sushi rolls than me! I'm the undisputed sushi queen amongst the bridge crew! Nah, I probably will eat about 3 more, than take the other 3 home for a midnight snack."



* * * * * * *

"Well look who we have here, hello Admiral," said Claudia as she saw Lisa walk through the door.
Lisa smiled and sat down in the chair that was next to Claudia's nightstand, then said, "How are you feeling?"
"Much better. A little woozy now and then but hopefully I can get back to at least minimal work, very soon," answered Claudia confidently.
"What have you been doing to pass the time while you've been in here," asked Lisa slyly, knowing that Claudia absolutely hated being idle.
Claudia rolled her eyes, "Watching tv, and it's driving me crazy."
Lisa laughed lightly but didn't comment.
Claudia perked up a bit and said, "Oh, but I have been going to visit with the children in the pediatric ward, and one in particular."
Lisa eyes widened and her jaw dropped before saying, "You've taken a strong liking to children all of a sudden?"
Claudia chuckled, "Yeah, I knew that would surprise you. Well, you know that I've never been overly fond of kids. Of course I love my nephew very much, but never could picture myself as the sort that was overly attentive to children. Well, there's this little orphan boy who I have yet to hear speak one word, and it seems, according to the staff, that he's a bit anti-social as well, but for some reason he seems to respond to me, the doctors and nurses even mentioned it to me, so I'm not just tooting my own horn here. I don't know, there's just something about him that makes me want to take care of him."
Lisa, eyes still very wide, asked in amazement, "You're thinking of adopting him?"
Claudia laughed loudly, "You know, when you said that you sounded and looked just like one of the Trio, well, Sammie actually. I don't know about adopting him, you know how important a decision like that would be, and I barely know the kid. But I don't know, something just seems to pull me to him, and vice-versa."
Lisa looked at Claudia blankly and Claudia could not help but laugh again as she said, "You've been spending too much time with Rick and the Trio I think, you're starting to pick up their mannerisms."
Lisa blushed and Claudia continued in a more serious tone, "I don't know Lisa, maybe it's also because every time I look at James, that's the boy's name, that I see the child that Roy and I would've had, had we had children..."
This time Lisa didn't have wide eyes or a mouth hanging open. This time, as Lisa looked at Claudia, Claudia could see that Lisa fully understood.
"It's not just because he looks like half of me and half of Roy, it's because, I don't know, it seems like he needs me and I can't get rid of this feeling of wanting to take care of him," said Claudia, more to herself than to Lisa.
"I understand perfectly," said Lisa softly.
Claudia looked at her with misty eyes and smiled weakly, then said, "Would you like to see him?"
Lisa hesitated and Claudia laughed at the muddled look on Lisa's face.
"I swear, you've only been with Rick less than two weeks and you already are starting to act like him," said Claudia with a laugh.
Lisa blushed in embarrassment and Claudia could not resist the opportunity to further induce Lisa to turn as bright red as possible. "So, Admiral, speaking of you and your new boyfriend, how are you two getting along, hmm?? Have you been enjoying each other's company? The Trio say that when you and Rick aren't fighting, that you two can't keep your hands off each other, is that true? Hmm?? It's the quiet but confident ones like you that guys have to be careful of! What's the matter Lisa?? Why, honey, you are turning so red that I think I could mistake you for a stop signal!"
Lisa could feel her ears burning with embarrassment and smiled and tried to change the subject, "So, tell me more about this little boy of yours."
"Oh no you don't dear Admiral, you're not going to get off the hook that easily," countered Claudia.
Lisa looked like she was a deer caught in the headlights of a car and Claudia could not help but burst out laughing again. "Don't worry, Lisa, you know my questions are always much more tactful and less invasive than anything the Trio asks. So now, tell me, how are you and Rick getting along?"
Lisa smiled, not able nor willing to hide the glow on her face, and said, "I think that we are actually a couple now. We've had our many ups and downs these past few days but I think finally, my dream has come true. Everything seems too unreal. I'm just afraid that everything is one big dream and if I wake up I will find myself alone again."
Claudia rolled her eyes and said in an exasperated tone, "Lisa. Enough of that doubtful talk." Then Claudia switched her tone to teasing and continued, "From what the Trio have been telling me, I can't wait to see you and Rick when you guys are in one of your ups. I'll have to make sure to bring a crowbar with me though."
Lisa grinned from ear to ear and Claudia shook her head knowingly and said, "Aha, you see, Aunt Claudia can read you like a book."
Claudia noticed that Lisa looked exhausted and decided to let her off the hook for now by saying, "Admiral you look tired, why don't you go home and get some rest and dream about your man."
Lisa got up wearily and told Claudia, "Alright, you let me off the hook this time, but I'm going to come back tommorrow so I can hear more about that little boy of yours."
Claudia's eyes widened, "I didn't say he was MY little boy."
"Not yet, anyways, but soon, maybe, right?" Lisa replied, then she laughed when she saw the look on Claudia's face and teased, "Now WHO is the one who resembles Rick and the Trio?"
Claudia waved her hand at Lisa and laughed, "Go on get out of here and stop bugging me."
Lisa chuckled and waved as she left Claudia alone to think about the thought of James being her son.

Lisa walked through the lobby of the hotel and nearly ran into T.R. Edwards as she rounded the corner.
"Major Edwards, good evening," said a startled but very tired Lisa.
"Good evening Admiral, I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's alright, I am half asleep right now, my own shadow would probably startle me," Lisa said with a quiet laugh.
Edwards looked at her for a moment then said, "May I interest you in a nightcap?"
"I'm sorry Major, maybe some other time, I'm ready to drop, as you probably can tell, just by looking at me," said Lisa.
Edwards could tell that she was indeed exhausted. Her eyes looked like they could barely stay open, so Edwards did not take her reject of his offer personally.
"Alright, perhaps another time Admiral. Oh, by the way, I left some staffing reports with Commander Young, that is why I came by here in the first place," said Edwards in monotone.
Lisa nodded her head and waited for him to leave so she could go up to her room, but he managed to get in one last topic of discussion.
"I heard that Hunter and Porter went over to New Portland to try and contain the Malcontents there," said Edwards in as neutral a tone as possible. He was eager to see Lisa's reaction, which luckily for Lisa, was not much of a reaction since she was so tired, and therefore deprived Edwards of the satisfaction he had hoped for by trying to upset her.
"Yes, they went over there this morning, hopefully they can take care of the problem quickly," replied Lisa, sounding very sleepy.
Edwards saw that Lisa was in no condition to react to anything the way he had hoped so he bid her goodnight and left.

Lisa dragged herself through the front door and then let herself plop on the couch. Kim came over and dumped a stack of reports down on the coffee table and said, "That creep Edwards came over and dropped these off for you. I swear there's something evil about that guy."
Lisa laughed in amusement, which seemed to irritate Kim.
"I'm telling you Lisa, I think there's something fishy about that guy and I wouldn't be surprised if he was up to no good. He's power-hungry, you can see it written all over his face," said Kim, starting to become a bit hyper.
Lisa stood up and headed towards her room saying, "Come on Kim. You're being paranoid. He served under my father for years and there was never any problem."
Kim countered, "That was then, this is now. People change over time, and not necessarily for the better."
Lisa stopped and regarded Kim for a moment, then resigned and said, "Very well. I will be extra careful around Edwards."
That reply wasn't good enough for Kim but she let the subject drop for the time being and went to her own room for some much needed rest.



* * * * * * *

Vanessa was ready to turn out the lights to go to bed when she got a call from New Portland telling her that the flight transfer control program on Rick's VT had appeared to suffer from a virus that was activated only when the flight transfer sequence was initiated.
This worried Vanessa greatly, she had yet another case of sabotage on her hands and she knew she needed to find out the culprit or culprits, as soon as possible to prevent anymore incidents like this one.
She called Rick and Sammie immediately to tell them to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. After getting off the phone with them she decided to call General Reinhardt and inform him of her findings. To her relief, he was extremely concerned and was going to immediately assemble a team to investigate.
She hung up the phone and looked over at the wall, knowing that Antell was on the other side. Could it be possible, that Antell was behind this. Antell was a strange one indeed, and there was no doubt she was working as eyes and ears for Maistroff. The thought trouble Vanessa greatly and she knew she had to figure out some way to figure out once and for all if Antell was a danger or not.
Vanessa also still had her own radar investigation to complete and all this caused her insomnia for the rest of the night.

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Next time, it will be one week later (in this macross calendar timeline) because I want to speed things up so we can get to the big Valentine's Day party! :) Also, there will be some action for Rick and Sammie at New Portland, and a suprise for Vanessa.

You can find the chapter notes here: www. geocities.com / sphersian / chapnotes5.html