Disclaimer: I do not now or have I ever owned the characters of Sailor Moon, Robotech. People I want to say something about Miss Lynn Minmei. I don't like her. I like the Rick/Lisa romance and Minmei just gets in the way. So if you like her don't read this, however, if you want to see a new bitchy side to Minmei please enjoy! At first she'll be nice until the Miss Macross pageant then watch out people Rick will leave her in the dust for Lisa don't worry I slowly bring Rick and Lisa together. Again I want to thank Chibi Halo who wrote 'Sailor Moon Macross' without this story wouldn't have existed. As always please R&R this so I know how it is coming across to people! Chibi Halo I would like to know what you think as well! Chibi Halo there might be a few scenes in my story but I pray you won't mind. One more thing for the beginning of the first few chapters I will use your chapter names, I will come up with my own after the last chapter you named. People who haven't read her story yet please do it is a great read! Please enjoy and now on with the story! This is the only Disclaimer I will write! I just wanted to thank Chibi Halo for being my beta reader!

Robotech Warriors Book 1 By thunderbird with Sections From Chibi Halo

The SDF1 executed the Space fold and disappeared from the face of the Earth taking with it an Island, a small plane, and two high powered aircraft carriers. As the Super Dimensional Fortress traveled through space three things went terribly wrong. The space fold engines began to melt down and fail, the entire population of Macross Island and countless other innocent bystanders aboard the aircraft carriers and the small plane were caught in the fold, and the fold miscalculated the final destination of the jump bypassing the far side of the moon. As the SDF1 rematerialized from the fold the Island and two aircraft carriers landed on the surface of a cold and desolate world. The small plane was immediately covered in a sheet of ice. For now the SDF1 was also safe from harm.

The two occupants of the small plane awoke to find themselves floating in the middle of nowhere out in space. Wiping the frost from the canopy of the plane the pilot saw the SDF1 not to far from where they were. He knew something had gone wrong and they were in a lot of trouble. To make things worse the Earth was nowhere to be found. Below them was a frozen wasteland of ice.

The SDF1 floated above the small ice covered wasteland in total darkness. The ship's systems had gone offline leaving the bridge of the SDF1 in total darkness as well. The crew scrambled to get the ship wide systems back online. When the lights went back on in the bridge the crew got a surprise of a lifetime when they saw where they were.

*****

Part 3: The Dark side of Pluto

*****

Meanwhile inside the emergency underground shelter things were getting worse. The people were beginning to suffer from hypothermia and Kathy Mizuno was desperately trying to keep them warm. With things looking bleak Justin decided it was time to act before people died from the cold.

"That's it guys I'm not letting these people die!" He said.

"Justin what are you going to do?" Kevin asked.

"I'm going to start a fire and warm these people up!" he told him.

"Buddy I hate to tell you this but we don't know how much oxygen is left in here and we don't know how long we'll be stuck down here!" Zack informed Justin.

"Zack I hate to say this but right now your friend has the right idea. If we don't warm these people up they may die!" Kathy told Zack.

"But won't we run out of air?" He asked.

"Under the circumstances I think people would rather die warm than cold!" Kathy put back.

"I guess ma'am but I'm just worried that we'll run out of air before help gets here!" Zack informed her.

"Zack calm down I'm sure the SDF1 knows we're here where ever we are that suddenly made it freeze!" Kevin shot back to his youngest friend.

"Thanks Kev. I needed a dose of reality! If we die from this cold before help gets here than there will be no saving us, however, you're right that if Justin's idea saves us for just a little longer than maybe we should try it!" Zack said finally giving into the idea.

Kevin walked up to Justin and whispered, "Just make sure no one sees how you make that fire Justin! I don't think you would like our secret getting out right now right?" Kevin asked.

"Understood! I'll gather what ever wood is down here and begin!" Justin said heading off.

After Justin walked off to find the means to the end of his task. Over by Hotaru, Sammy decided it was time for the old question and answer game. He knew that the two cats that laid on her lap belonged to Serena and her blonde friend Mina so he kind of figured that she must know them.

"Excuse me but Hotaru was it? May I ask you a personal question?" Sammy asked.

"Sure what's up? Your Sammy right Serena's brother? She talks about you a lot!" Hotaru asked.

"She does? All bad I'm sure! Anyway How do you know my sister?" he asked her.

"Oh long story! Let's just say we met through your cousin Rini!" Hotaru partially lied for she did meet Serena through Rini. The only lie was the fact that Rini was Serena's future daughter from the 30th century.

"Oh I see well what brought you to Macross in the first place?" Sammy asked.

"Well you see my foster parents! Serena's older friends joined the RDF as well! And since I'm living with them I was given permission to stay with them on the base!" Hotaru told him.

"Oh I see!" He said.

Elsewhere in the underground shelter deep in the shadows a luminous green cloud appeared and because it was in shadow no one would have seen it. A second later a tall figure stepped out of the cloud. She had long dark green-black hair that went down to you waist. And she wore a dark green and purple sailor scout uniform. She was the scout of the planet the poor people of this city were on and she had to make sure that all was to happen the way it was suppose to! After closing the portal to the gates of time Sailor Pluto detransformed and walked out of the shadows as Trista Meiou. Trista knew these people would be saved, however, she also knew she'd have to look out for her younger friends in this time and period. So she set out to find the youngest of the nine sailor scouts. As she walked through the freezing shelter she caught a glimpse of the four generals. Then she saw the person she'd been looking for over in a corner near Serena's mother and father Hotaru Tomoe was sitting with a 19 year old Sammy Tuskino. Trista smiled at this site for she knew that some how these two would get together and be just like several other couples on the huge ship outside. As she walked up to the group of people she saw Justin putting anything wooden in several piles so he could help keep people warm for as long as possible. Zack Amy's boyfriend was helping Kathy Mizuno Amy's mother to try and keep people warm. Nathan helped by passing out the day's rations. While Kevin ever vigilant played high and mighty leader more so cause he didn't know what to do so he just sat there and waited to be needed. When Trista walked up to the two young adults she saw that Hotaru's communicator was broken and she knew that in order to be saved that small device would need to be fixed but she couldn't tell them how to escape for although she was now aloud to stay with the others. She still was forbidden to help them figure out things that would help them get out of this predicament.

******

Elsewhere on board the SDF1 the bridge crew was shocked to find out what laid before them Claudia upon doing a scan found that below them stood the tiny planet of Pluto and that the entire Island and the two aircraft carriers were on the surface.

"Captain we have a major problem out there!" Claudia announced to Captain Gloval.

"What is it Claudia?" The captain asked.

"Sir from what I can see we've bypassed our original coordinates and come up behind Pluto! But I'm afraid that's not all sir!" Claudia said looking alittle angry.

"What else is it Claudia?" Gloval asked looking green in the skin.

"Sir exactly what I was afraid of sir! When we fold jumped we ended up taking the two aircraft carriers plus the entire Macross Island!" she told him really looking mad now.

"Oh all those poor people!" Mina stated.

"Not for long Mina not for long! Okay Mina I want you to call med. Bay have them prepare of the sick and injured! And Lisa I want you to call out the Veritech squads to search for the missing people that are no doubt in that city! Michelle try and raise the aircraft carriers and see if they are alright! Oh and Mina also see if the engineers can devise a way to attach the Prometheus and Dadelous to the SDF1!" The captain ordered.

"Aye Sir!" The three women said.

"This is the bridge calling Med. Bay! Amy can you hear me? We may have sick and wounded people coming on board and we'll need you on stand by as soon as they get on board!" Mina told her friend over the radio.

"We'll be ready down here Mina!" Amy's voice came back over.

"Bridge to engineering room! Bridge to engineering room come in please!" Mina asked.

"Engineering room go ahead bridge!" the voice called back.

"We have a problem up here that needs your help in solving!" Mina told them.

"And that is ma'am?" they asked her.

"The Prometheus and Dadelous were both stuck on the Planet Pluto as soon as we fold jumped. The captain wishes for you to find a way to attach the two ships to the SDF1!" Mina informed them.

"Tell the captain we're on it ma'am!" The voice said.

"Thank you! Captain Med. Bay is on stand by and the engineers are working on a plan to attach the two aircraft carriers as we speak!" Mina informed Captain Gloval.

"Good job corporal! Michelle how goes communications with the two ships?" Gloval asked.

"Sir the aircraft carriers haven't reported in yet!" Michelle said.

"Okay thank you Michelle keep trying! Lisa that is your que to dispatch the Veritech squads to start a rescue party!" The Captain informed her.

"Aye sir! Attention all Veritech pilots prepare for standard search and rescue procedures." Lisa ordered.

******

Meanwhile down in the ready room Amara was sitting just reading a book when the call went out to do a search and rescue. As she was about to rise Roy stepped into the room.

"Amara do you know anything?" Roy asked.

"No Lt. Commander sorry!" she informed him but just as she said that her communicator went off. Amara bent down and tried to look at her communicator in such a way as not to draw attention to herself by the Lt. Commander. She failed miserably for he saw her doing it.

"This is Amara go ahead!" Amara said.

"Amara it's me Michelle! We have a problem!" Michelle's voice sounded scared.

"Michelle calm down and tell me what's wrong!" Amara said.

"Okay sorry Amara!" Michelle said.

"Don't be sorry just tell me!" Amara ordered.

"Well we preformed the space fold jump as ordered only we took the entire Island and the two aircraft carriers too! That, however, isn't all we over shot our destination!" Michelle said her friend.

"We did what? Then where the heck are we? Oh and Michelle don't worry the guys and I will save them okay?" Amara informed her.

"We landed on the other side of Pluto! Yeah and Amara thanks!" Michelle said. Then the communicator went off.

"So what is it?" Roy asked.

"Michelle said when we preformed the space fold jump we took Macross Island as well as the two aircraft carriers with us to the other side of Pluto!" Amara told him.

"Looks like we over did things a bit. Oh well as long as the two civilians I helped out earlier are okay then I don't see anything wrong with a little search and rescue."

"You don't have anything to worry about then but I do. My foster daughter and my best friends' cats are down there. I have three people I can't let down. I have to bring them back safely."

"Well good luck."

"Damn let's go!" Roy ordered when he remembered the planet they were talking about.

"Yes sir!" she said following him out the door.

******

Amara wasn't the only one worried about someone down on the surface of the planet. Serena was going out of her mind worrying about her family, friends and Luna. As she raced to the hanger Serena hoped her best friend and guardian was all right. Mina gave Serena the news of their location right after Lisa had ordered the Veritech pilots to begin the search and rescue procedures.

True to form and nature Serena crashed into someone while rushing to her fighter. Serena found herself sprawled over Darien who had been knocked over by her many times since they first met. As Serena peeled herself off her boyfriend she apologized for running into him.

"Sorry about that Darien." Serena said.

"No need to apologize Serena you were in an obvious rush to get to the hangers." He told her.

"Yeah but I should have been watching where I was going. My mind was elsewhere."

"What were you thinking about?"

"My family and friends long with Luna!" Was the answer she gave him.

"But aren't they all with Hotaru and Artemis?"

"That's just it. The island got caught up in the jump and now they're on the planet below us."

"Then we'd better hurry."

******

Roy got to the hanger only to find his Veritech and the damaged fighter Rick had 'borrowed' during the initial battle with the Zentreadi. He knew Rick and the girl had used his plane to go back to the island. The search and rescue mission the captain had ordered became personal. Roy now had to find his 'little brother' and his new friend before it was too late. Roy wished Rick had listened to him and stayed on board the SDF1.

Roy hopped into his Veritech and began take off procedures. He now knew what Amara was feeling when she found out the little girl she cared for was in danger. Roy didn't know how long they would be able to survive in space. He hoped they made it to the island and got into the city's shelters before the fold. If they didn't then it was going to be a race against the clock.

******

Rick knew he and Minmei needed to get back to the SDF1 before they froze to death. The heaters in the small experimental plane, like everything else, were barely working. To make matters worse the rear propeller was frozen over and not working. The rudders however were barely turning which offered Rick some comfort. But the biggest relief came when the boosters on the plane were able to fire offering the pair of teenagers some means of returning to the battlecruiser.

As Rick maneuvered the small plane towards the battlecruiser he spotted a hole in the ship's hull. It wasn't the hanger he was hoping for but in his current situation anything was better than floating in space without the proper equipment. Rick fired the boosters on the plane to push it closer to the hole. Piloting the small craft proved difficult with Minmei in his lap. The one-person cockpit was beginning to feel like a sardine can.

As the plane entered the hole in the ship Rick discovered the landing gears were malfunctioning. The plane would have to do a belly landing.

"Hold on tight we're going to have to make an emergency landing." Rick informed Minmei.

Minmei wrapped her arms tightly around Rick's neck cutting off all air and circulation. Rick's face began to turn red as the young pilot struggled for air.

"Not that tight." He told her.

Minmei loosened her grip on Rick's neck. The young daredevil pilot took a few labored breaths before preparing for the belly landing. The plane struggled to keep its nose up as Rick maneuvered it into the opening. The small plane bounced once before skidding to a halt in the large deserted cargo hold. The plane's two passengers were safe for now.

******

The skull squadron like many other Veritech squads was busy searching the city for survivors. It was amazing how the entire island and two aircraft carriers remained in tact after the fold. Serena and the others tried to do their best without their commanding officer. At the moment Lt. Commander Roy Fokker was busy with his own search and rescue mission. With him gone the leadership role fell on the shoulders of one Serena Tuskino.

Serena was doing a pretty good job of leading the squad through the city. It helped that Darien, Lita, and Amara were there for backup and support. And while Amara was concerned for Hotaru's safety, Serena and Lita were worried about Serena's Family, the guys, Amy, Mina and Rei's families as well as for Luna and Artemis. The three female members of the squad were going out of their minds with worry. And so far they hadn't spotted a single survivor.

"This is Commander Lisa Hayes calling Skull Squadron come in please." The voice called out over the com. system sounding quite frustrated.

"This is Corporal Tuskino go ahead commander." Serena responded.

"Corporal where is Lt. Commander Fokker?" the commander asked her.

"He didn't join the squad when we began the rescue mission. His Veritech was in the hanger where he took the two civilians he helped out during the initial battle with the aliens. We all figured he would catch up with us but no one has seen him since the ready room." Serena explained.

"Then who's leading your squad corporal?" Lisa wanted to know.

"I am commander." Serena told her.

"Alright then continue with what you've been doing corporal! I'll try and contact Lt. Commander Fokker and have him return to the squad." Lisa said.

******

Roy was going out of his mind trying to find Rick and Minmei. So far he hadn't seen them anywhere in the city. Not knowing where the shelters were located wasn't helping things any either. This was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Roy had thought he was on a secure channel but when the com. system on his Veritech began to go off Roy knew he was in trouble. There before him on the tiny screen was every pilot's worst nightmare Commander Lisa Hayes and she didn't look too happy.

"Lt. Commander Fokker return to your squad at once." Lisa yelled at him.

"But commander my best friend is somewhere out there." Roy tried to explain.

"I gave you an order lieutenant commander now either you follow them or you return to the SDF1 so you can be thrown into the brig." She said continuing to yell at him.

"Yes commander." Roy answered a bit down.

******

Things were not going well on the bridge of the SDF1. Claudia was still mad at the captain. Lisa was now livid over the stunt Roy pulled. And Mina and Michelle were worried out of their minds about Hotaru, Mina's family, Kevin and Artemis. To top it all off reports were now coming in from every part of the ship some good and some bad.

"Captain, ship wide sensors indicate numerous hull breaches throughout the ship." Mina told him.

"Begin procedures to seal off all hull breaches." The captain ordered.

"Aye sir." Lisa said.

"Sir I'm receiving transmissions from both the Prometheus and the Dadelous they say that all personnel are present and accounted for and the carriers are unharmed." Michelle reported.

"Good. Mina call down to engineering and see how the planning for attaching the ships is coming! I also want you to call the engine room and check on the status of the engines." The captain said to the girls.

"Aye sir." Mina began, "Sir I'm receiving a transmission from the engine room right now. They say they wish to speak with you directly."

"This is Captain Gloval go ahead." The captain said.

"Sir I've got some good news and some bad news for you. First the good news. The main engines received no damage during the fold and should be back on line soon, and now for the bad news sir. The Space Fold Engines were completely fried by the fold. We've looked at every possible way of trying to repair them but the alien technology is making that impossible. I'm afraid we've just lost any way of getting home in any reasonable amount of time sir." The engineer reported.

"Thank you for that information." Gloval replied.

The bridge was silent as the crew digested the latest piece of information. Everyone wondered what was going to happen next. The people of Macross City were going to be staying on the ship a lot longer than they originally thought. The next few days were going to be hard on everyone.

"Captain if you don't mind my asking but what are we going to do with all the people from the city?" Lisa asked voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"The answer is simple we help them build temporary housing in the internal cargo hold of the ship. It should be big enough to hold all of them until we reach the Earth." The captain replied.

"What's our next move sir?" Claudia wondered.

"After we get all the civilians on board we go about repairing the ship and attach the carriers to the SDF1. Once that is done we begin the long trip back to Earth." Gloval explained.

******

The citizens of Macross City huddled together in the underground shelters trying to stay warm. Justin had already started the fires to help try and keep them warm as well. This, however, wouldn't last long and the people who bunched up around the warm blazes knew this. They were just thankful someone cared enough to try and help them out. Trista watched as Hotaru was busy messing with her communicator while Sammy huddled up against her to help her stay warm. Just then the guys noticed Trista standing there for the first time.

"Trista how long have you been there?" Kevin asked.

"Oh long enough to see that!" Trista smiled as she pointed at Sammy and Hotaru.

"Oh great Amara and Michelle will kill us and this time we're not brainwashed to be evil!" he commented.

"Kevin those two are adults!" Trista said.

Just then Serena and Sammy's father walked up to them. "They might be adults, however, I told Serena and I'll tell Sammy no getting intimate until after your married!" he said.

"Ah hello Mr. Tuskino! Where is your wife?" Nathan asked.

"Over helping your friend Zack and Amy's mother." Kenji told him. Just then Kenji saw what Hotaru was doing. As he walked up to her he asked, "Hello young lady may I help you with that piece of equipment?"

Hotaru looked up to him and then towards Trista who smiled and nodded her acceptance for allowing him to help her out. "Thank you I can't get it to work!" she told him. She had tried a number of times to get a hold of Amara and Michelle on her communicator to let them know she was all right. But her current location along with the atmosphere and the fact she was two stories below ground in a subbasement was making that virtually impossible. At the moment trying to get a hold of her foster parents and letting them know she was okay was the farthest thing from her mind. Right now the most important thing was keeping Luna and Artemis warm. The two cats were huddled close to the small Scout wrapped in one of the blankets kept in the shelter for long stays. The people then noticed the sad look on her face.

"Hotaru are you alright?" Kevin asked looking worried.

"I just hope they find us soon." Hotaru said to her friends.

"I'm sure they will once you fix your spy communicator!" Trista said for all those who didn't know the truth about the scouts and generals.

However, Hotaru wasn't the only one wondering when they would be rescued. Half the people in the shelter were voicing the same concern she had. The mayor of the city decided to address the people in the shelter in hopes of calming them down.

"Citizens of Macross City I know you're cold and tired but don't worry. I realize that something has gone wrong but I assure you steps to return all of us to Earth are underway as we speak. Until then we're going to have to ration our emergency rations. I know this is a bit extreme but we don't know how long we'll be in the shelters. Have faith in the military they're doing everything they can to help us. Keep warm and try and get some sleep. Stay close to your loved ones and keep the blankets around you. I know in the end we'll be just fine." The mayor said.

"But what if they don't find us. We could all freeze to death down here." Someone yelled out.

Hotaru stood up and came out of her corner of the shelter. She joined the mayor in front of people of Macross City. She had one last hope of trying to contact any one of the Scouts other then Pluto who was there with her. Someone in the shelter had opted in helping to repair the communicator and she knew with it working they'd get out.

"Excuse me but I believe I can help us escape!" She said holding up her wrist communicator.

"Listen young lady this is no time to be joking with people." The mayor said to her.

"This is not a joke as you put it sir! It's a communicator. With the help of one of my friends fathers! I believe we might just get out of here!" Hotaru explained.

"And who do you know who could help us?" Minmei's uncle asked her.

"I have eight friends on the SDF1 and seven of them have communicators like mine. I could contact any one of them. Three of them work on the bridge. Four of them are pilots and one of them works in the infirmary. I'd say that's pretty good help right there." Hotaru explained.

"You know my daughter?" Kathy Mizuno asked walking up behind the mayor.

"Yes ma'am I do! In fact I know all the girls!" Hotaru said looking towards all the inner scout's relatives.

"Well then let's give this little lady some help." The mayor said.

"Already prepared to do that sir! Hello I'm Captain Kenji Tuskino of the RDF. With a little elbow grease and a little ingenuity I believe I can help this little girl get all of us out of here!" Kenji said.

"Well then by all means sir please do what ever you must to help us all get out of here!" The mayor said.

******

Rick and Minmei hadn't been in the cargo hold very long when the automatic measures to seal off the hull breach activated covering the hole they had come through. The two teenagers had gotten out of the plane and were now assessing their current situation. One look at his plane and Rick knew she would never be able to fly again. But the most important thing was getting out of the cargo hold.

"Well that's the end of my plane." Rick said.

"Oh that's too bad. I hope we can find our way out of here." Minmei replied.

"I don't think this area's been used by anyone in years. I doubt if anyone will ever find us here." Rick told her.

"Now I'll never see my family again." Minmei said as she started to cry.

"Hey don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that they wouldn't know where to find us." Rick apologized.

"That's okay. It's just that this whole situation has me a bit scared is all. I've never been away from my family for more than a week." Minmei told Rick.

"Well it looks like we're going to be down here for a while. I have some jerky and dried fruit in my plane for long flights so at least we have some food. And we could use those tarps over there for bedding and blankets. We're gonna be just fine."

******

Serena was about to give up all hope of ever finding anyone alive down in the city. The lieutenant commander had rejoined the squad and informed them that his initial search was a bust. Roy didn't sound too pleased to be back with the squad. In the back of her mind Serena wished Trista were around to tell her everything would work out for the better but the guardian of time and the princess of the planet below was unreachable. Little did Serena know that Trista was already on the planet helping to save the people of Macross Island. All Serena could do now was hope and pray that it would all workout. It was then she heard a faint beep.

Serena looked down at her communicator and saw the small dark blue light flashing signaling Hotaru had set off her distress beacon. The light was faint and there was a long pause between each flash indicating to Serena that she was nowhere near Hotaru's present location. Serena knew she would need some help with this one and hoped that Lita and Amara had noticed the signal as well.

"Lita, Amara it's Serena. Do you two have your communicators on you?" Serena called over their private channel.

"Yeah why?" Lita wanted to know.

"Take a look at it. Hotaru's indicator light is flashing. It may not be strong and steady but it's flashing. She must have turned on her distress beacon." Serena told her.

"I see it too but it's faint." Amara said.

"Mine's a bit stronger." Lita told them.

"Good I figure if we fly around the city we're bound to get a good strong signal. My thinking is we should split up. We can cover more ground that way. The first one to get a good signal should not only inform the others but the lieutenant commander and the ship as well." Serena explained.

Both Lita and Amara were a bit surprised at the strong leadership qualities Serena was starting to display. They knew this day would eventually come but they didn't know if it was because Serena was finally maturing mentally or if it was their friends and families well being and safety that was the main factor. The three friends set off in separate directions to look for their small teammate and the citizens of Macross City.

******

The hours seemed to pass by quite slow for Rick and Minmei. At first all their time was occupied with gathering the things necessary for their survival. The two teenagers dragged the heavy tarps over to the plane. Rick then climbed back into the plane and pulled out the bags of dried fruit and jerky he had in the plane. Rick didn't know how long they would be in the cargo hold and hoped the food supply wouldn't run out on them. Once the makeshift camp was established the two teens sat under the wing of the experimental plane in silence.

"I'm thirsty do you have anything to drink in your plane?" Minmei said breaking the silence.

"I'm afraid not but I could cut into the lines that run to the cooling system. There should be enough water in there to last us for some time if we ration it." Rick told her.

"That would be wonderful." Minmei replied.

Rick hopped back up into the plane and pulled out his emergency tool set and began cutting away at the appropriate place to access the cooling system. He hoped the water tank was more than half full. Rick hated having to hack up his plane but it was the only way the two would ever survive.

The water from the plane wasn't cold but it was cool enough to drink. The pair knew that the only way they would survive would be to have water. If the food ran out they would always have the water. Both Rick and Minmei hoped and prayed that they would be found soon. A few short moments after they had their ration of water Minmei drifted off to sleep. Rick sat there watching Minmei sleep while he thought things over. She's not so bad for a kid, he thought before drifting off to sleep.

******

Michelle was relieved when she received word that the Skull Squadron had located the civilian shelters. She knew their success was due in part to some quick thinking on Hotaru's part. Somehow the small Scouts was able to get her communicator working. The very faint distress signal had confirmed that.

It had been a few hours since the commander of the Skull Squad had called the bridge of the SDF1. Michelle, Mina, Rei, and Amy were now waiting in the hanger for the transport to return from the city with the citizens of Macross City their families and the two lunar cats. Mina couldn't wait to get her arms around her parents, Kevin, and Artemis and smother them with hugs and kisses. Michelle was playing the role of the worried mother hoping Hotaru was all right and hadn't had an attack while on the planet. Amy was there more to give the survivors the once over and check for signs of frostbite, however, she was worried about her mother and Zack. Rei came not only to give moral support but also to greet her grandfather and boyfriend Justin.

"I hope she's okay." Michelle said.

"Don't worry if she's had an attack or has any signs of frostbite I can take her and the others to the infirmary and have the doctors look them over." Amy told her.

"I just hope your palmtop has cat anatomy charts in there because I don't think there are any vets on this ship." Mina said.

"That's part of the reason I volunteered to help with the survivors." Amy replied.

"Who would have ever thought that meatball headed Serena would actually come up with a good plan on her own." Rei commented.

As the transports landed the Scouts present in the hanger waited for one of their own to come out. Scores of civilians exited transport after transport all the while Amy did her job while Michelle watched and waited for Hotaru to get off.

The last transport plane to land in the hanger had the least amount of passengers on it. The first to step off were four gentlemen, a tall dark green haired woman who was walking with an equally tall blue haired lady. Behind them was Serena's family followed by the mayor and his staff plus a small girl with dark hair and a pasty white complexion who was next to Serena's father. The girl was unmistakable she was Hotaru. Not too far behind her were Luna and Artemis who both looked happy to get off the planet.

Michelle didn't know whether she should cry or run up and hug Hotaru. Amy who was happy her mother was safe checked on the first to disembark the plane then went to make certain Hotaru was in one piece. After a quick scan from her data computer Amy gave Michelle a nod that let her know everything was okay and she could see Hotaru before moving on to the lunar cats.

Before Michelle could get close to Hotaru the mayor stepped in between the two Outer Scouts.

"Young lady just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded to know.

"I think I'm going to go see my daughter." Michelle said to the mayor.

"It's okay sir that's Michelle-mama my foster mother." Hotaru explained.

"But Miss Tomoe I thought you said that pilot who found us was your foster mother." The mayor said quite confused.

"Well yes but I think of her more as my papa." Hotaru told him.

The mayor who didn't want to go into any specifics about Hotaru's home life let the little girl see the aqua haired woman in front of him. It was obvious she knew the woman quite well.

******

The captain of the SDF1 met with the mayor shortly after the arrival of the citizens of Macross City. Both men didn't think they would see each other quite soon after the incident in the limo while on route to the SDF1. Now they had no choice because the lives of thousands of individuals depended on the decisions made by the two men.

Captain Gloval informed the mayor of his decision to allow the people of Macross full access to the interior Bay of the ship. The unused part of the ship would be large enough to house all of the citizens of Macross in temporary housing until the ship returned to Earth. The captain also explained to the mayor that their return to Earth would most likely be at least a year away due to the fact that the Space Fold Engines were no longer operational. The mayor understood what the current situation was and wanted a few minor details cleared up by the captain before speaking to the people of his city.

"Captain Gloval when are you planning on beginning our return trip to Earth?" the mayor asked.

"There are a few things we must do before we can leave for Earth. The two carriers that were in the harbor at the time of the alien attack were also brought to the surface of the planet. Once we retrieve the crews and finish connecting the two carriers to the SDF1 we will be head for the Earth." The captain explained to the mayor.

"That sounds like the logical thing to do." The mayor commented trying to butter up the captain.

"Yes we feel the Prometheus and the Dadelous can be of great use to us."

"Captain if you don't mind my asking just what were you planning to with us?"

"Well we decided to allow you and your people to use this area for housing facilities until we reach Earth. As you can see it is quite large and can accommodate all of the people of Macross."

"That I understand but what I want to know is how are we going to live here? Will we be subjected to living in tents like refugees or will we be able to try and rebuild the city?"

"You can do whatever you want to in order to live normal lives on this ship."

"Do you think this ship will be able to hold the buildings of the downtown area inside it?"

The captain was quite certain that if he understood what the mayor was planning on doing so he decided to clarify the mayor's last question.

"Mr. Mayor let me get this straight are you actually planning on moving the city inside the ship?"

"Please my name is Tommy Luan, and if it will fit that's what I intend on doing. So do you think it will?"

"I believe a good portion will be able to."

"Good then I'll have the local architects and construction crews meet with your engineers before we begin rebuilding. The sooner we get your people and the people of my city working together the better it will be for both sides."

******

Roy was in a foul mood. He wasn't mad at anyone specifically but he was mad. The only person Roy was mad at was Roy. The commanding officer of the Skull Squadron was constantly kicking himself in the pants over Rick's disappearance. It was one thing that Rick was gone but he was somewhere with a girl from the city. Roy felt as though he were personally responsible for the missing girl.

Claudia had noticed Roy's foul mood and decided that the simple dinner for two she had planned would now be a dinner for six. She wanted to have something that would take his mind off the current situation and a small dinner party would do just the thing. Claudia had extended her invitation to Michelle and Amara and Michelle's friends Serena and Darien. With any luck the dinner party would ease Roy's mind and get him in a much better mood. Just then the doorbell rang.

"Thank you for coming. The old grouch is sitting on my couch over there." Claudia said to Amara and Michelle as she answered the door.

"Thank you for inviting us lieutenant." Michelle replied.

"Your friend Serena seemed pretty excited about coming tonight." Claudia commented.

"Anything that allows those two to be a public couple is a big deal in her book." Amara said.

"You did notice the age difference between them. That was part of the reason they kept the relationship out of the public eye when she was in high school, I think it had something to do with her father at least that's what Rei and Mina have told me." Michelle told Claudia.

A few minutes later the bell rang once more and Claudia went to answer it. Standing on the other side of the door was Serena and Darien. Serena was hanging off Darien's arm with a huge smile on her face. Darien was just glad to have an evening free of any thought of the recent situation.

"Come on in. Dinner should be ready soon. Roy's over on the couch." Claudia told them.

"Thanks for the invitation lieutenant. I hope you made enough food because Serena here can eat enough for an entire army." Darien said jokingly.

"Ha, ha Darien. Real funny." Serena shot back.

Serena took one look towards the couch and saw Roy sulking. Serena knew right away that something was wrong. Going over to the couch Serena sat down next to Roy ready to dispense her distinctive brand of therapeutic conversation.

"You look like you could use a sympathetic ear lieutenant commander." Serena offered.

"You probably wouldn't understand it if I told you." He said.

"Try me because you never know. I just might surprise you."

"If you insist. You remember the whole incident with the stray Veritech during the initial alien attack. Well the pilot in the fighter was a friend of mine from my days before the military. I thought I had left him in one of the hangers with a girl from the city that we rescued during the attack. But when I went to go get my Veritech he wasn't there and neither was his plane. I'm assuming he tried to get the girl back to the city. I don't know if they got caught up in the fold or not because I couldn't find them during the search and rescue. I'm hoping they're okay. I feel responsible for them corporal. I don't know how I could face Rick's parents or the girl's family if something tragic happened."

"So that's why the commander was looking for you. Look I've been in your shoes before and believe me it does you no good to beat yourself up over what happened. I've had all the ups and downs in life and I've learned that all it takes are a few good friends to give you support and lend a shoulder to cry on. You obviously have someone who loves you in Lieutenant Grant."

"I guess your right but what would you know about feeling helpless about someone being missing and not knowing where to even begin looking for them."

That statement brought back Serena's memories of loosing Darien to the Dark Kingdom. She knew all too well what he was going through. The constant worrying and the not knowing if he was okay or where he was. Serena could sympathize with him fully.

"I do know what it's like. And I know that it's a lot worse when it's someone you love who's missing. I was there when it happened and afterwards I wanted to give up on life. Talk to anyone of my friends who were there and they'll tell you I was no picnic to be around." Serena explained.

Claudia could see that Serena was getting through to Roy. She wondered how the young woman was able to get him to open up the way he was. At the moment Roy was pouring out his heart and soul to Serena about the whole situation with Rick.

"How in the world does she do that?" Claudia asked Darien.

"Serena's a bit on the empathic side. She can sense a person's emotions and usually get them talking about them. I was a total wreck before she came into my life." Darien explained.

When dinner was being served Roy gave Claudia one of his famous flyboy smiles. Claudia could tell that whatever Serena had said to Roy worked because he was in a better mood than when he had first arrived at Claudia's quarters.

"What was that for?" Claudia wondered.

"That my dear Ms. Grant was to tell you how lucky I am to have you in my life." He answered.

Dinner soon got underway and Michelle could tell that the subject of the last couple of days had been kicked around enough for one night so she decided to change the topic of conversation.

"I've heard from a reliable source that they're going to rebuild the city inside the ship." She said.

"Who told you that?" Serena wondered.

"Hotaru." Michelle answered her.

"How did she learn about that?" Darien asked.

"The mayor of the city wanted to repay her for what she did in the shelter and he invited her to have supper with him last night. Hotaru said that was all he could talk about during dinner. Although I think she also enjoyed have your brother there too Serena. " Amara said with a smile.

"The captain hadn't said anything about that taking place to the crew yet." Claudia told them.

"I'm sure the captain will say something when the time is right." Roy commented.

"At least this makes up for what he did the other day. He could have killed thousands of innocent people by executing the fold that close to the island." Claudia said a bit angry.

"Looks like the lieutenant commander hit one of Lieutenant Grant's buttons. That happens to be a sore subject between her and the captain." Michelle explained to the others.

"To heck with that what was that about my brother and Hotaru?" Serena asked with a grin on her face.

"Oh I believe our two young adults are starting to like each other!" Amara told her.

"Oh man this I have got to see! Do you remember how your father was with me?" Darien asked Serena.

"Yes but with us he can't really say anything anymore! With those two he gets to have a field day all over again!" Serena laughed out.

"Oh yes that would be fun to see!" Darien commented.

"Why what went on with your father and Darien when you were younger?" Amara asked.

"Let's just say when it comes to my father Darien can be as fast as me!" Serena said behind a grin.

******

The days seemed to pass by slowly for Rick and Minmei. Minmei would count off the days they were in the cargo hold by scratching them into the side of what was Rick's plane. The pair passed their time by talking about this and that. Rick had learned that Minmei was living with her aunt and uncle and Minmei had learned that Rick flew racing planes in his father's air circus. That was about as personal as the conversation ever got. Every once in a while they would check things out in the cargo hold but they didn't go too far from the plane.

"Wow we've been down here for a week already." Rick said in amazement as Minmei marked off another day on the side of the plane.

"I don't think anyone knows we're down here Rick because if they did they would have come looking for us a long time ago." Minmei replied.

"This is a big ship so even if they do know we're lost they probably don't know where to find us."

"Oh I hadn't thought about that."

"I know Roy will get us out of this jam. I just know he will."

"You really like him don't you?"

"Yeah he and I go way back. I first met him when I was six years old. That was the year he joined my family's air circus."

"I hope we see them real soon Rick."

"Yeah me too, me too."

******

Two weeks had passed since the SDF1 had executed the space fold. Life on board the battlecruiser was beginning to return to normal. The crew of the SDF1 was beginning to adjust to the changes taking place on the ship both inside and out. The addition of the Prometheus and the Dadelous to the ship added much needed space and a launching area for the Veritechs.

The people of Macross were moving on with their lives as well. In the short time they were on the SDF1 they had begun to rebuild the city down to the last detail. They knew their stay on board the battlecruiser was going to be a lot longer than they had originally thought. The fact that they would have their own houses back instead of living in tents helped to brighten their spirits and get work finished a lot faster than normal. The girl's boyfriends moved in with them since they had an extra room in their crew courtiers. Serena's family was given crew courtiers since Kenji was an officer in RDF. Kathy Mizuno got a job working for Macross General and got an apartment close to work. She also took time to be with Amy when Amy wasn't around Zack all the time that is. Grandpa Hino opened up a Shinto shrine to allow for people to pray for a safe trip home. Mina's parents just moved into an apartment and enjoyed their daughters company on her time off.

Rick and Minmei spent the three weeks talking about everything imaginable. Rick was trying not to go out of his mind with worry. Minmei on the other hand was taking everything with a 'grain of salt' attitude thinking of it as one big adventure. She spent each day playing the happy homemaker keeping the little area beneath the plane neat and tidy while Rick went and searched for a way out of the cargo hold. If it weren't for Minmei Rick would have given up a long time ago.

******

Rick watched as Minmei scratched off another day on the side of the plane. Fourteen days had come and gone since they crashed on the SDF1. The two teenagers had thought of every way possible to pass the time. The days seemed to drag on and became repetitive. Every morning Minmei would mark off another day they were in the cargo hold while Rick divided their rations for the day. Rick would spend a few hours searching for a way out of the cargo hold. And everyday he would come back and sulk for a half- hour before starting their daily conversation. Even though they talked about many different subjects Rick barely knew much about Minmei.

Rick came back from his search of the cargo hold to find Minmei standing in front of the plane with a handkerchief on her head like a veil and her hands folded in a prayer like position. Rick didn't know if Minmei was flipping out or not. This was the first time she had ever done anything like this since the crash. Rick was about to ask her what she was doing when Minmei started speaking to him.

"Rick I've never told you my fondest hopes and dreams. Someday I hope to get married and have two children all my own. When I was little I would play wedding with my toys lining up my dolls and marrying two of them. By the time I grew out of that phase I think I had everyone of them married. Then like all girls I would talk about what kind of wedding I would like to have. I still do that sometimes. Do you have any dreams Rick?" Minmei said.

"I think I'd like to someday take over my family's air circus. If not that then maybe I'd like to become either a commercial pilot or a cargo pilot." Rick told her.

"Have you ever thought about going into the military? I think you'd look cute in a uniform."

"I don't really care too much for being a military pilot. I guess it had to do with Roy leaving to go into the military. I know he loves it but it really hurt the air circus business when he left. Things didn't pick up until I started flying and winning races."

"You don't blame your friend for leaving you blame the military for his leaving and what it did to your family. That's why you don't like the military is it."

"You could say that."

"Rick if we don't make it out of here soon we're gonna have to marry each other." Minmei joked.

"If we don't make it out of here soon we're gonna run out of food." Rick said being serious.

Rick was careful with the rations but he had to admit they would soon run out. He didn't know how much water was left in the cooling tank. He only hoped it wouldn't run out on them before the food did. As the thought of trying to survive without food raced through his mind Rick was totally unaware of the commotion going on above him. He was soon brought back to reality when chunks of asphalt no bigger than a sandwich hit him on the head.

"Now you've done it you knucklehead." A man in a hard hat yelled to another.

"Okay so I didn't know the jackhammer would go through the street." The other man said.

Minmei who was both excited and embarrassed at the same time was jumping up and down trying to catch the attention of the construction workers above them.

"Hey up there we're down here!" she kept yelling.

"Hey do you hear something down there?" the first man asked the second.

"Yeah it sounds like a kid." The second one replied.

The two construction workers looked down and saw Rick and Minmei in the large cargo hold below them. They were taken back to see the pair of teenagers down there. Something had to be done to get them out of there.

"Call the fire department there's a couple of kids trapped down below the city." The first man yelled to the rest of the crew.

Within ten minutes the Macross Fire Department was on the scene. The rescue crew began lowering ropes to the two stranded teens pulling them trough the hole in the street. When Rick and Minmei reached the street they were amazed to find the entire city inside the ship.

"Wow looks like they've been busy for the past two weeks." Rick commented.

TBC

Please read and Review! And as always remember to read Sailor Moon Macross by Chibi Halo! Part 4: Changes. Coming soon!