"And you're sure this information is correct," Miriya was saying
I pondered the remark carefully before I replied. Max was faster on the draw, saying, "He's never been wrong before. How else could we have destroyed that armor convoy last week?"
"Past performance doesn't necessarily indicate future performance, Max," I said. "However, there is a certain logic to his information. And Howe is surely hot on our trails now, isn't he?"
"Maistroff certainly put a lot of faith in Howe's skills," Max remarked.
"Well, he did wipe out the majority of our VT losses," Miriya said. "And he's denied us every other base of operations thus far. This may be our first opportunity to gain an ally in our mission…"
"No way, there must be an alternative," Lisa declared.
We all looked at her. This was definitely not the way she usually behaved. "Uh, Lisa?"
"He was in my class at the Academy, the son of my father's rival for power in the former government. He was accused of sexual misconduct, but, due to his father's influence, and the fact that the woman involved recanted her story, the charges were dropped, and he was permitted to graduate," Lisa growled.
"We can always hope he's changed, Lisa," I said, half-heartedly. "Besides, we need all the help we can get. We need to get back to Gloval, don't we?"
"True enough, Rick, but I will not ally myself with that reprobate, that refugee from an asylum!"
"Well, with luck, you won't have to deal with him, only me. But we are going to move out and try to get to Seattle in order to reach that repair station. At 0000, we move. Meantime, we break for chow and some last minute rest. Wake the pilots in three hours, we'll prep an hour before we leave."
"A word about our present status, Rick?" Miriya asked
"Fire away."
"May I remind you that we're low on fuel for the mechs, and are at especially critical limits on hydraulic fluid for the VT transformation plant. If we take more losses and push the mechs farther than the designers intended, then we run the risk of losing their transformation abilities. And the missile tubes are running low on reloads."
Three months ago, if anyone had suggested that we'd be engaged in a guerilla war against our own military, we'd have laughed in his or her face.
"Miriya, I understand that we're running low on supplies, but that's why we're trying to make the run to Seattle. We should be okay, as long as we don't encounter a column of assault mechs. But we need to get to Seattle, for the sake of our survival. Now, get some food, grab some sleep, and make sure the pilots, especially the scouts, are fully aware of their roles. Dismissed."
Max and Miriya both left, but Lisa remained, as I dropped my head into my hands. "I don't think allying ourselves with Barton is the right decision, Rick."
"I have my doubts, Lisa. But we need allies, too. And I hope that his offer is genuine, because it's the only offer that we can feasibly take in order to preserve our efforts."
"A forced march over 60 miles of terrain, to meet with a dubious ally, with our mechs at this level of performance…"
"I know what we're facing, dammit!"
She let her jaw drop, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. "I don't know where that came from, Lisa, I'm sorry."
"No, you were right. I shouldn't have added stress."
"I'm sorry. The way we're going, we'll be married and buried on the same day."
"Don't think that way, Rick. You'll bring us through all of this. And I will never leave your side, not for a minute."
"Thanks, Lisa. Time for some food and a nap, don't you think?"
She grinned. "Depends on what you wanted to dine on, Mr. Hunter."
"You're a mind-reader now," I joked playfully.
We joined the pilots in the mess tent, joyfully wolfing down some Shepherd's pie, and tried to banish the realities of war from our thoughts. However, I couldn't help, as de facto commander of this mini rebellion, but replay the previous maneuvers and battles that had brought us this far.
The afternoon that Periscope Flight went down, Gloval was shot, in a brilliant coup executed by Maistroff. Pilots from Rogue Squadron evacuated Lisa, Max, Miriya, and me; two pilots decided to grab us before obeying the squadron leader's order to save themselves and regroup. We made a frantic run into the surrounding hills to avoid the search and destroy crews, but half of the escaping forces were destroyed or severely damaged. New Macross was built near to the location of the old city of Juneau, so we knew it wasn't too far from the old boundary of Canada. We hightailed it out of Juneau, avoiding Maistroff's nightly bombing raids.
Now, we had about 65 miles to march the pilots and mechs in order to reach the relative safety of Col. Barton's resupply base. And it was relatively forested terrain; if we were caught in a bombing raid, there wouldn't be much we could do to evade the firebombs that he'd drop on us, given half a chance.
The nightmares haunt me frequently, and my hair is tinged ever so slightly with a vague hint of gray on the back of my neck. I'm only 24, but my body is starting to look and feel like a man ten years older. Lisa's hand trembles as we walk towards the tent together, knowing as I do that every night together may be our last. The service is a hell of a way to meet and fall in love, but I guess it worked for us.
I stopped in front of the tent, signaling for attention.
"Good evening, guys and gals.
"In three hours, we break camp and head south towards Seattle. We have been promised a refuge and resupply area by Col. James Barton of the 406th. There is a distance of 65 miles to cross, and we'll have six hours of darkness in which we could cloak our movements.
"Before we form up, I want each scout pilot up and ready fifteen minutes before the rest of the main body. We will deploy in four columns, marching four deep, two pairs shoulder to shoulder. I want scouts flanking every part of the line; two in front, two in back, and two on the left and right flanks. Keep alert; we may have company waiting for us. Now, go back to your tents and get some sleep. We'll all need it."
Lisa held my hand as we both collapsed on our cots, completely exhausted, unaware of a truly restful sleep, and not sure if we were prepared for this next journey.