Lisa-Minmei was still a bit out of sorts as she entered her temporary
quarters. Breetai did intend to have her sing in case Zelaenna wasn't
convinced that he had control of Protoculture here. Sing. In all her days,
'Lisa' never sang seriously and her only recollection of ever doing so was
for her father's birthday just a year before she decided to join the
academy. Even so, it took a lot of prodding from her mother and her aunts
for her to sing the birthday song. Oh, she could carry a tune but in her
opinion, it wasn't decent enough to called singing.
Yet this predicament she was in left Lisa-Minmei feeling eager to sing as well. This stemmed from 'Minmei' who right now, was enthusiastic about the whole thing. 'Minmei' for her part wanted no one to be hurt and if her singing could prevent a further loss of lives, then she'd be more than happy to play her part. All in all, it was a huge clash of emotions within Lisa-Minmei and right now, she couldn't make up her mind.
She was stirred from her thoughts by the beep of the room's systems, signifying the presence of a visitor. She righted herself and gave permission to whoever it was outside to come into the room. It was Miriya who was holding Dana as she lay sleeping in her mother's arms.
"I hope you don't mind my bringing her here, Lisa. The area where our quarters were had to be shut down temporarily as the technicians made repairs. They said it would take two hours more until they're done," Miriya explained.
"Oh, it's quite alright. I don't mind having you and Dana over. I mean, this isn't the first time we've been on this satellite together, right?" Lisa-Minmei replied.
"Thank you, Lisa," answered Miriya. She took a few minutes as she adjusted Dana's sleeping position so as not to awaken the baby. She looked at Lisa- Minmei for a few seconds before saying anything.
'By the way, how are you now, Lisa? Or should I say Minmei?" Miriya queried.
"Whichever you prefer, Miriya. I'm fine, as far as the definition of "fine" goes. I'm not sick or anything if that's what you mean." Lisa-Minmei replied.
"That's good to hear. I am not familiar with how you micronians deal with things like these; I mean I'm not even sure half the time if what I'm doing with Dana is correct but I am aware though, that what has happened to you is a rare occurrence which no human has ever experienced. I do know that if there's anyone who can handle this better than anyone, it's you." Miriya stated.
"Thank you, Miriya. I appreciate it. How about you? How does seeing your 'sisters' again affect you?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"Like I said, I don't even know where to begin. It's been one surprise after another for me. I guess you 'micronians' are really catalysts for the unexpected," Miriya jokingly added. "Oh? How so?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"It was here in your system that I experienced defeat for the first time. Here as well where I asked to be micronized for the first time. And here where I fell in love for the first time, got married for the first time, had my first baby. Not to mention all the other events which I never thought nor even expected beyond my wildest imagination considering I didn't have any at all to begin with. Imagine: we triumphed over Dolza's Main Imperial Fleet!" Miriya replied.
Lisa-Minmei took a bit of time digesting what Miriya had just stated. Indeed, for a Zentraedi like her, such things were a paradigm-shift, a wild roller-coaster ride whose thrill never ceased.
"And now, it is here where I just learned that my clones, sisters, are still alive." Miriya added.
"What do you intend to do about it then?" asked Lisa-Minmei who saw Miriya try to grasp at the various emotions she was currently experiencing.
"I am not sure. But one thing I do know is that I do not want them to lose their lives in a meaningless battle. I share in Lord Breetai's sentiments and I'd much rather have them as allies." Miriya replied.
"I'd hate to be the devil's advocate here but what if they don't side with us? Will you still fight them?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"To protect what we've achieved, I will. But more than that, to protect Dana and Max and all those I hold dear to me, I will fight them," Miriya replied grimly.
"That's why I came here to you as well. Lisa, Minmei, whoever you are now, I don't care. All I know is that you are my very good friend. Both of you. If and only if the need arises, will you please sing for all of us? Lord Breetai informed me of that aspect of his backup plans. Max and I agree that your singing might just be what's necessary in this situation. I still remember how your singing was able to turn many of my brethren over to our cause and I believe the same will hold true here. However, I am aware that it is still your decision and I for one agree that you should not be forced to do this. I hope Commander Zelaenna doesn't become a problem for all of us," Mriya explained.
Their conversation was cut short as a slight stench began to fill the room: Dana. She was on the verge of "divesting her past meal", as Miriya would put it. While Miriya detested the stench, she still held a reverence of sorts for each and every menial aspect of motherhood, with diaper-changes being on the forefront of these. She decked out her supplies of disposable- diapers, baby-wipes, cotton balls, a pair of gloves, a plastic-bag for used diapers, and mild alcohol. Hands which spent centuries piloting mecha and shooting enemies in battle were just as quick and precise in their motion of cleansing and replacing Dana'a diapers. Lisa-Minmei stood in awe at all this and oddly enough, she recalled the same feeling whenever she saw Max and Miriya in battle. Again, Zentraedi-adaptation surprised her. Little did she know that Rick was currently thinking the same thing about the Zentraedi trio on earth. Mriya by then, had finished storing Dana's hygiene supplies and she stood up to take her leave of Lisa-Minmei, as she gathered up the still sleeping Dana in her arms.
"Oh well, we have to go now. I hope Dana and I didn't take up too much of your time. I have to meet Max in the ready-room as we'll need to map out a strategy in case Zelaenna proves to be an equinne with a rigid behind," Miriya stated.
Lisa-Minmei did a double at Miriya's last words. As it stood, Zentraedi were yet to learn the nuances of human language.
"Stubborn-ass, Miriya. The word is stubborn-ass," Lisa-Minmei half- explained, half-laughed.
"Oh, I see. I remember Max saying something similar to me before, about when not to switch words for another regardless of their similar definitions," Miriya said with an introspective look.
"Well, your husband was correct. But don't admit it to him outright. Earth- men have a nasty habit of letting it go their head when you tell them they're correct. I'll tell you all about it when we're back planetside," Lisa-Minmei explained as she walked with Miriya to the door.
After Miriya and Dana went out of her quarters, Lisa-Minmei was still giggling to herself at Miriya's attempts at human-language; though she had to admit that it was only in this particular aspect of human-behavior where Miriya stumbled. Beyond that, Miriya was actually excelling in one of humanity's most basic yet noblest calling: motherhood. She then fell asleep on the bed with her last thoughts in Rick as she wondered about what he was doing right now.
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Back in the hangars, Rick Hunter was currently inspecting the tech-crews progress in repairing and reinforcing the veritechs and other battle-mecha. As per his and Captain Hayes plans, major weak-points on various areas of earth-mecha were pointed out and duly addressed while major-enhancements were made on the Zentraedi mecha that were stationed here. An earlier report he received from the factory-satellite confirmed that effectiveness of their plans. Male-power armor and rearticulated battlepods could go toe- to-toe with female Quadrono armor which, according to Exedore, were meant for intense close-quarter combat as well. Though he was yet to see an actual Invid scoutship, Rick shivered at what their appearance and capabilities actually were if he were to base it on the way Quadrono armor was designed. It was actually the only Zentraedi-mecha which he and Lisa left virtually untouched as they felt it was already perfect, the only additions were an increased fuel-supply and bigger variety of missiles that could be installed in them. As for the veritechs, he and Lisa took their cues from Max and Miriya's battle aboard the SDF-1 when he was still hospitalized. Max's winning against Miriya back then was treated as an exception rather than the rule since more often than not; veritechs were at a substantial disadvantage when pitted against Quadrono armor. But thanks to Dr. Emil Lang's latest research, the best earth-metal alloy currently used on the veritechs was further enhanced by adding the properties of the metal found on Zentraedi ships which could repair itself if the damage wasn't too great. A few more maneuvering thrusters were also added so as to enable quicker, more fluid movements especially in battloid-mode given the dexterity that Max demonstrated when he made his battloid don a Zentraedi uniform.
Rick felt a bit odd as he wasn't really used to this aspect of command. He was more at home with being just a fighter pilot rather than actually take part in fighter-designs. But it was a mild discomfort he had to bear since he knew that when all this was done, the lives of pilots were at least further protected and their chances of survival would be greatly increased. Rick had to smile a bit as he remembered Lisa arguing with him when they were still in the process of ironing out the designs. He had only planned on having Lisa submit the plans to Admiral Gloval, stating that that was the extent of his participation. But Lisa thought otherwise and told him it would be a lot better if Rick joined her in presenting the plans to the Admiral. Rick was still adamant about his decision when Lisa countered him further by quoting him with one of his statements which Rick used against her before: that of not considering the hazards of outer-space that pilots like him faced every time they went out. Rick fell silent at this, and after a few minutes of wrangling with his conscience, dropped all his objections and gave in to Lisa's demands. Try as he might, he couldn't fault her logic in that last statement. He would accompany her to Admiral Gloval's quarters and together, they would present their plans to him.
Ordinarily, Rick felt a bit of relief at what he and Lisa were, nowadays. He had been looking forward to spending some time with her after Khyron's attack but given that Lisa was now experiencing a unique identity-crisis, all his plans involving them as couple had to take a backseat. "Backseat, yeah," Rick muttered to himself. "Of a jumbo-jet," he groaned. And now Lisa and Minmei were one. Life didn't just throw a wrench in the works of his life: in Rick's opinion, it changed the whole god-danged engine. As far as Minmei was concerned, he thought he had just jilted her, choosing Lisa over her. Indeed, what could he say to her now? Rick almost jumped out of his skin when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. It was a Sergeant Williams who just wanted to give him an update of how things were progressing. Though most of the mecha would be finished by late afternoon, the number of mecha that was available at any given time was quite low and even a small attacking contingent would greatly drain the RDF's current defense capability. Newer mecha had to be produced and that entailed having the factory-satellite back to running condition immediately.
Rick actually wanted to begin immediate construction of an SDF-3 and was about to make suggestions to Lisa about it during their meeting but in the light of the recent developments, decided not to put the idea forward for now. The loss of the SDF-1 and 2 was still too fresh on everyone's mind especially Lisa. But the need for added military capabilities was glaringly obvious and what the RDF had in technology, they still lacked in numbers. Heaven forbid that the Invid arrive earlier. According to Exedore, the Invid numbered twice as much as the Zentraedi whose advantage lay in the fact that their weaponry was usually more powerful than the Invid's. Of course, at that time, the Zentraedi had yet to see evolved Invid Troopers. After satisfying himself with further inspections, Rick headed back to the lockers in order to change out of his flight suits. He had to give a lecture to a new class of fighter-pilots and this would be his first time. Before he died, it had always been Roy Fokker who did most of the lectures and briefing to new recruits. Rick's lecture was supposed to have been held a few days ago but Khyron's last blitzkrieg disrupted the class-schedules and even now, most of them had not yet been feasible as the only hangar ideal for holding such classes was the carrier Prometheus which was destroyed with the SDF-1 as well. Rick fondly recalled his first day at class with this big brother who, despite his free-spirited nature, was actually a strict but brilliant teacher. Given his current frame of mind, Rick was second-guessing himself and was unsure if he would be able to do the same in his class.
Things went by without much of a hitch though. Almost all of the cadets were aware of whom Rick Hunter was and even those who didn't, knew of his exploits at least. Rick was able to carry himself quite well and was actually enjoying himself until one of the cadets posed a touchy question: what to do if a pilot sees that what needs to be done goes conflicts with direct orders from the command-center. Rick hesitated and was actually beginning to sweat if not for the bell, which signified that classes were over. Rick breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seemed that the cadets were aware of more details of his exploits than those which he cared to share.
Rick then headed for the gym for his scheduled workout and on the way; he decided to pass by the cafeteria in order to make reservations. He made a beeline for Sergeant Bess McMillan who was in charge.
"Hey there, Bess! Looks like we're packed today, huh?" greeted Rick as he dropped his duffle bag and started rummaging in the fridge for some Gatorade.
"Yep. These people are working on double shifts so they have two lunches scheduled for them," Bes replied.
True enough, Rick saw most of the salvage crews and rescue teams from yesterday among them, Rico, Bron and Konda who waved at him from the far side of the room.
"So what brings you here, Captain?" Bess asked.
"Just getting two bottles of this stuff; I'm due at the gym for a workout. Also, can you reserve me a table in the right side near the windows? Plus, I'd like some pineapple-salad, for two," Rick stated as he stuffed the two bottles into his bag.
"Pineapple-salad for two, indeed. You just love that stuff, don't you? Much like Roy used to. Wait a minute, did you say for two? You expecting someone to join you today?" Bess asked as she didn't get the last part of Rick's request immediately.
Rick just gave Bess a sly smile then headed off to the gym, leaving a bewildered yet smiling Bess at the counter. As far as Bess could remember, Rick often ate alone save for those instances when Max or Ben was around or even Roy. Well Roy and Ben were dead and Max was married already so Rick's reservation meant only one thing: he would be having a late lunch with a girl. Bess snickered and then hummed as she went back into the kitchen.
------------------------------------- ===================================-------------------------------------
Back on the factory-satellite, Lisa-Minmei was doing her rounds of inspections as she wasn't able to get any sleep at all, thanks to Breetai's bomb and Miriya's visit. She found herself greatly disturbed yet expectant of the coming meeting with Lord Breetai and Commander Zelaenna. Though she wanted no conflict to arise and hoped that Zelaenna would join them peacefully, she knew that Zelaenna needed something more in order to be convinced. Spending millennia in war meant that the Zentraedi would be more convinced with a much more tangible proof of things or be beaten into submission with something overwhelming, and add to it the results of the past conflict with Dolza; Lisa-Minmei was more inclined to believe that she would be singing very soon.
What Lisa-Minmei didn't understand with herself now was that fact that it was her being Minmei who was now becoming nervous about singing. Her initial eagerness ahd changed and now that part of her felt like doing so this time was tantamount to "whoring" or demeaning the whole essence of her singing altogether. "Lisa" on the other hand shared the sentiment but was more or less resigned to the possibility. Being more than of two minds on the matter, she decided to divert her attention to other matters.
Thus, her next few hours were spent inspecting the work that the tech crews were busy with on the satellite. Given their very limited number, it was quite surprising to see that their work was a bit ahead of schedule, though what the crews accomplished were miniscule in respect to the actual amount of work that they needed to finish. Yet the task was less daunting as it seemed. The Zentraedi who qualified as "apprentices" were learning very quickly and after just a few hours of observing and taking lessons from the macronized tech-crews, were now installing new conduits and circuits on their own. In fact, the twenty technicians were now working on twenty different locations throughout the factory-satellite and were assisted by their own team of the qualified Zentraedi. Lisa-Minmei was more than satisfied with what she saw. She didn't hear Max Sterling as he sneaked in closer to her form behind.
"Find everything to specifications, Captain Hayes?" Max suddenly spoke. He laughed as Lisa-Minmei spun round immediately to face him while gasping her surprise.
"Maximillian Sterling! I can have you court-martialed for that! You mad me jump out of my skin there!" Lisa-Minmei remarked as she calmed down a bit.
"Whoa! I didn't know you were that deep in your thoughts. I'm sorry. Oww!!" was all that Max could say as Lisa-Minmei pinched him on the upper arm.
Max had to laugh in spite of the pain. The look on Lisa-Minmei's face was too precious to ignore. Max noted that the slight pout she wore was similar to that which she gave to Rick before when Rick asked her where 'Minmei' was, since neither Rick nor Max was aware that a melding had occurred.
"I said I'm sorry! Ha-ha-ha! Calm down, will you? Man but you're really quite out of sorts today, huh? Miriya was right, Breetai's decision did affect you a lot," Max declared as he rubbed his triceps where the sting was still evident.
"She told you? So what is this now, you here to convince me as well?" Lisa- Minmei asked albeit in a slightly irritated manner.
"No, not really," Max replied.
"I'm actually the one needing some advice here. I know you're aware of those two particular Zentraedi warriors we fought a while ago, right? Well, from the looks of things, seems they are indeed Miriya's clones or sisters, as she puts it. Frankly, that whole thing puts me in a bind. I mean, what am I supposed to do if they refuse our offer? I may not be Zentraedi but those two are Miriya's sisters, heck, they're the closest thing I'll ever have to in-laws and the possibility of having to eliminate them leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Max stated.
Lisa-Minmei was quite surprised at Max's statement. Up until his marriage to Miriya, Lisa-Minmei had always thought of Max as being cut from the same cloth as Rick. Two of a kind, she always said to herself. Young men who deep down inside were still boys and thus having a great time in their veritechs. Rick surprised her with his depth when he argued against her orders during that time when Major Roy Fokker was still alive. Max showed his depth when he argued in favor of Miriya's suggestion to not destroy the enemy pods totally but merely disable them. And now here was Max, thinking about the fate of those two Zentraedi warriors. What was unnerving was Max was stating this plainly because he could indeed defeat them should the need arise. Other pilots would doubt their ability to fight or kill effectively but such was not the case as far as Max Sterling was concerned. Along with Rick, the two were the only veritech pilots whose skill was such that if you could give them an unending supply of fuel and ammunition, they would probably take on a whole fighter complement of battlepods and Quadronos with the possibility of winning.
"I don't know, Max. I myself am lost and undecided right now. I just hope and pray that Commander Zelaenna does side with us. I viewed her available records that were stored in this factory's archives and I was quite impressed. She was what Khyron should've been: a brilliant and effective Zentraedi officer. Did you know that her division and the Boturu Battalion were neck and neck as far as achievements and victories were concerned? However, her achievements stemmed from precise, calculated tactics while Khyron's had a touch of viciousness in them. I definitely agree that eliminating them would indeed be a big loss for us," Lisa-Minmei concurred.
Max nodded in assent. He then righted himself from the leaning position against the wall he had settled in and straightened his uniform.
"Well, I'd best be getting back to Miriya and Dana now. I've got only two hours left to rest before these new Zentraedi arrive. I won't try to convince you to do anything for me or Miriya but I do know one thing: you always do the right thing Lisa; Minmei; and I believe in you. Later, then," declared Max as he made his way back to his quarters.
The two hours passed by uneventfully and Lisa-Minmei heard the comm. as it prompted her to report to the bridge of the factory-satellite. She was greeted by the sight of Exedore, Breetai, Dr.Lang, etc as she went inside. She saw on the holo-dsiplay that the B'Elarna Division was currently a few thousand miles away from the satellite. It was a fleet of 345 ships, with each ship possessing its own fighter/Quadrono complement. A new holo- display flashed into existence, and they were greeted by the face of Commander Zelaenna and her first and second officers, Lt. Gela and Lt. Adlea Parino.
"Greetings, Lord Breetai. You are prompt as ever," uttered Commander Zelaenna.
"Greatings, Commander Zelaenna. I trust you have reviewed everything in the communiqué we sent a while ago?" queried Breetai.
"Indeed, I have," she replied.
"And what is your decision then?" Breetai asked.
"We reject it," Commander Zelaenna replied.
A collective gasp and groan was heard throughout the factory satellite. All had assumed that once the other Zentraedi knew of the events that transpired in this part of the universe then they would gladly side with Lord Breetai and company but such was not the case here now.
"I do not believe that what you've shown me is possible. To defeat a world- ship like Lord Dolza's would require two or more Imperial Fleets and from what we saw, you did not have that number of ships under your command. It was amusing, however. But now, prepare to die," Commander Zelaenna declared and the holo-screen went blank. Breetai just looked straight into the area where the display was and clenched his fists. He then turned to Exedore and nodded his command.
"All units, prepare to repel the enemy. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill," Exedore announced over the tach-nets.
"Deploy battle strategy-zero nine gamma. I repeat, zero nine gamma!" Exedore added.
Strategy zero nine gamma was actually the end product of Miriya's suggestion where enemy pods and fighters were to be disabled only. Fighting them was one thing but killing these other Zentraedi was another thing altogether.
And so the combined RDF and Zentraedi fighter-groups were launched and they engaged the enemy head-on. The ensuing battle went as Breetai expected it would: a win in their favor. Still, the battle was considered an unnecessary undertaking. Things took a different twist however when the enemy suddenly regrouped and employed a new strategy which totally put the odds in their favor. To an untrained eye, it seemed like they were employing a blitzkrieg maneuver but Breetai knew otherwise. He himself had developed new battle tactics as they fought the Invid in various areas of the galaxy in order to cope with the newer, evolved Invid Troopers and Shock Troopers which were twice as fast and powerful as an ordinary Invid Scoutship. One by one, the RDF defense groups were being overwhelmed and soon, the enemy units were nearing the satellite. Max and Miriya had to leave their groups as they had to rejoin the inner defense units if ever the outer defense groups failed. The two barely caught up with the Quadrono group that was taking out the Destroids and veritech/battlepod groups one by one. Once Max and Miriya caught up with Gela and Adlea, the deadly ballet began anew. Miriya was faring better this time as she was no longer distracted with the fact that she was fighting her sister but rather she was focused on defending the satellite for inside was one precious object: her daughter Dana. Once Gela and Adlea were fighting Max and Miriya, the odds tilted back in favor of the RDF defenders. The veritechs and augmented battlepods were able to repel the remaining Quadronos and tri-thrusters. However, Max and Miriya didn' count on Gela and Adlea being able to enter the satellite.
"Damn! Not again!" Max said in frustration over the comm.
It was de ja vu for Max as he recalled his initial battle with Miriya inside the SDF-1. At least there were no buildings and civilians to watch out for now. However, the amount of damage wrought by their conflict was nothing short of enormous as whole sections of the inner walls collapsed or got riddled with ammunition. He and Miriya chased and fought Gela and Adlea and in the end, the outcome was the same: Gela had lost to Miriya while Adlea lost to Max. Unknown to them, Adlea's armor had struck the crew quarters which Max and Miriya were using and the whole wall had fallen down. Adlea opened the hatch of her armor and stepped out. She stood in front of Max's veritech, held the muzzle of his gatling-gun, and pointed it to her forehead; signifying her intent to be slain in battle by a worthy opponent. Max didn't realize however that Dana had crawled out of her fallen crib and was crawling to the side of the room where there once was a wall. He was surprised when Miriya suddenly shrieked his name, and told him to rescue Dana as she was too near the edge of the room. Max was too far to reach Dana in time and he griited his teeth as he desperately tried to reach his daughter who fell from the second level (This WAS a Zentraedi base so even the second level is way too high for a human). But something happened that totally shocked Max. Miriya and a host of other friendly Zentraedis who saw what happened next.
Dana wailed as she fell from the edge and her cries touched something inside Adlea. Max saw Adlea stretch her hand out and she caught Dana halfway. Adlea then brought Dana closer in order to inspect her. "A micronized micronian?!! How can it be?" Adlea thought to herself as she echoed the sentiments her brethren felt when they first saw Dana.
Dana on the other hand stopped crying as she no longer felt like she was falling. She then opened her eyes and gazed at her rescuer. A few seconds passed then Dana smiled as she held out her hands and tried to reach Adlea's face, and she uttered her second word: MAMA. At that, Adlea felt her emotions churn further and before she knew it, she was crying yet smiling at the same time. Gela, who had just stepped out of her own armor, was surprised as well as she too was shedding tears. Miriya then reconfigured her battloid into fighter mode and she too stepped out and ran to Dana. Max gazed in awe as he saw his wife and her sisters congregate around Dana.
"Miriya. What is this micronized micronian? Why did I feel the need to save her when I heard her scream?" Adlea asked.
"This micronized-micronian is my baby. What you felt is what I felt when I saw her fall," Miriya replied.
"You mean this baby wasn't cloned?" Gela asked.
Miriya shook her head.
"No. This baby came from my womb. She is the fruit of my union with that man over there; my mate, Maximillian Sterling," Miriya replied as she gestured towards Max who had alighted from his veritech as well.
"May I hold her?" Gela asked and Adlea handed Dana over.
Exedore saw all this transpire and noted down everything. It seemed that the bonds of Zentraedi clones were a lot stronger than they expected. Adlea and Gela immediately shared in the maternal bond that Miriya had with Dana.
"Well, that takes care of two of them at least," Breetai remarked.
Lisa-Minmei could hardly contain her surprise at what she saw. Dana's cries pierced through centuries of hard, military existence and now the two foremost Quadrono pilots of the enemy were effectively out of the picture.
Commander Adlea was seething at this turn of events. While her new organized blitzkrieg was still working, the loss of her two best fighters was still a major blow to her plans. She meant to take over the factory- satellite herself and then rejoin the other Zentraedi fleets that were still out there. But such was slowly becoming impossible as her strategy was beginning to lose it's effectiveness as the veritechs and augmented battlepods slowly turned the tide of battle.
"It seems I have no choice then," Zelaenna thought to herself.
"All units, prepare to deploy battle-strategy seven-three omega!" she blared over the comm..
Her plan was uncannily similar to Khyron's during his last maneuver. The only difference was that five other main ships would precede her ship and upon nearing the satellite, the escort ships would veer away while her ship would fire its main-battery a few seconds before impact. She hoped to fatally cripple the satellite with this move.
On the satellite, Breetai saw this and began to think of ways to counter it. Unfortunately, the maneuvering thrusters of the satellite were yet to be repaired and only a few main-batteries were operational. Exedore then chose this time to take Lisa-Minmei to the adjacent room.
"What is it you want, Exedore?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"That which we hoped not to happen has now occurred. But I believe we can still stop them and save as many Zentraedi lives as possible," Exedore replied.
He opened a cabinet and produced an outfit form inside. Lisa-Minmei could hardly believe her eyes as she saw the dress that Exedore was holding.
"I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of having on of your outfits replicated in anticipation of something like this. I hope it fits you well," Exedore said as he gave the dress to Lisa-Minmei.
They were about to exit the room when a huge blast rocked the satellite. One of the enemy escort-ships had fired upon them and the others were priming their own batteries in order to follow up the attack. Lisa-Minmei then saw the doors open to reveal a distraught Max holding his daughter as Miriya was slightly injured from debris falling from the ceiling of the hangars. Gela and Adlea were looking from the outside as their faces showed the same concern that Miriya was displaying.
"Lisa! Minmei! Miriya got hurt but she's okay. However, Dana can't seem to calm down and the other quarters were heavily damaged so I'd like to leave Dana here with you whole I take Miriya to the infirmary. Lisa-Minmei nodded her assent as Max carried his wife to the infirmary. Dana was still bawling out so Lisa-Minmei decided to do the only thing that might calm her down: sing Dana a lullaby.
Breetai and the rest were surprised as they heard the soft, sweet tunes emanating from outside the bridge. True enough, it was Lisa-Minmei singing softly to Dana as Dana slowly but surely ceased her crying.
"Exedore, transmit that frequency on all bands now," Breetai ordered.
The effect was instantaneous. Commander Zelaenna and her escorts ships ceased their attack and so did all their other fighters. Soon, all skirmishes had ceased. On the bridge, a holo-display flashed into view.
"Ah, Zelaenna. I see you've heard this as well. What do you think?" Breetai queried.
"Is that what they call a 'song'? Just how powerful is that, to stop a battle." Zelaenna asked.
Breetai only nodded and gave her a smirk.
"What do say about an alliance now, Zelaenna?" Breetai asked.
Commnder Zelaenna could only nod as she agreed to Breetai's proposal. Lisa- Minmei was aware that they broadcasted her singing but she didn't mind at all as she was focused on calming Dana down.
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Yet this predicament she was in left Lisa-Minmei feeling eager to sing as well. This stemmed from 'Minmei' who right now, was enthusiastic about the whole thing. 'Minmei' for her part wanted no one to be hurt and if her singing could prevent a further loss of lives, then she'd be more than happy to play her part. All in all, it was a huge clash of emotions within Lisa-Minmei and right now, she couldn't make up her mind.
She was stirred from her thoughts by the beep of the room's systems, signifying the presence of a visitor. She righted herself and gave permission to whoever it was outside to come into the room. It was Miriya who was holding Dana as she lay sleeping in her mother's arms.
"I hope you don't mind my bringing her here, Lisa. The area where our quarters were had to be shut down temporarily as the technicians made repairs. They said it would take two hours more until they're done," Miriya explained.
"Oh, it's quite alright. I don't mind having you and Dana over. I mean, this isn't the first time we've been on this satellite together, right?" Lisa-Minmei replied.
"Thank you, Lisa," answered Miriya. She took a few minutes as she adjusted Dana's sleeping position so as not to awaken the baby. She looked at Lisa- Minmei for a few seconds before saying anything.
'By the way, how are you now, Lisa? Or should I say Minmei?" Miriya queried.
"Whichever you prefer, Miriya. I'm fine, as far as the definition of "fine" goes. I'm not sick or anything if that's what you mean." Lisa-Minmei replied.
"That's good to hear. I am not familiar with how you micronians deal with things like these; I mean I'm not even sure half the time if what I'm doing with Dana is correct but I am aware though, that what has happened to you is a rare occurrence which no human has ever experienced. I do know that if there's anyone who can handle this better than anyone, it's you." Miriya stated.
"Thank you, Miriya. I appreciate it. How about you? How does seeing your 'sisters' again affect you?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"Like I said, I don't even know where to begin. It's been one surprise after another for me. I guess you 'micronians' are really catalysts for the unexpected," Miriya jokingly added. "Oh? How so?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"It was here in your system that I experienced defeat for the first time. Here as well where I asked to be micronized for the first time. And here where I fell in love for the first time, got married for the first time, had my first baby. Not to mention all the other events which I never thought nor even expected beyond my wildest imagination considering I didn't have any at all to begin with. Imagine: we triumphed over Dolza's Main Imperial Fleet!" Miriya replied.
Lisa-Minmei took a bit of time digesting what Miriya had just stated. Indeed, for a Zentraedi like her, such things were a paradigm-shift, a wild roller-coaster ride whose thrill never ceased.
"And now, it is here where I just learned that my clones, sisters, are still alive." Miriya added.
"What do you intend to do about it then?" asked Lisa-Minmei who saw Miriya try to grasp at the various emotions she was currently experiencing.
"I am not sure. But one thing I do know is that I do not want them to lose their lives in a meaningless battle. I share in Lord Breetai's sentiments and I'd much rather have them as allies." Miriya replied.
"I'd hate to be the devil's advocate here but what if they don't side with us? Will you still fight them?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"To protect what we've achieved, I will. But more than that, to protect Dana and Max and all those I hold dear to me, I will fight them," Miriya replied grimly.
"That's why I came here to you as well. Lisa, Minmei, whoever you are now, I don't care. All I know is that you are my very good friend. Both of you. If and only if the need arises, will you please sing for all of us? Lord Breetai informed me of that aspect of his backup plans. Max and I agree that your singing might just be what's necessary in this situation. I still remember how your singing was able to turn many of my brethren over to our cause and I believe the same will hold true here. However, I am aware that it is still your decision and I for one agree that you should not be forced to do this. I hope Commander Zelaenna doesn't become a problem for all of us," Mriya explained.
Their conversation was cut short as a slight stench began to fill the room: Dana. She was on the verge of "divesting her past meal", as Miriya would put it. While Miriya detested the stench, she still held a reverence of sorts for each and every menial aspect of motherhood, with diaper-changes being on the forefront of these. She decked out her supplies of disposable- diapers, baby-wipes, cotton balls, a pair of gloves, a plastic-bag for used diapers, and mild alcohol. Hands which spent centuries piloting mecha and shooting enemies in battle were just as quick and precise in their motion of cleansing and replacing Dana'a diapers. Lisa-Minmei stood in awe at all this and oddly enough, she recalled the same feeling whenever she saw Max and Miriya in battle. Again, Zentraedi-adaptation surprised her. Little did she know that Rick was currently thinking the same thing about the Zentraedi trio on earth. Mriya by then, had finished storing Dana's hygiene supplies and she stood up to take her leave of Lisa-Minmei, as she gathered up the still sleeping Dana in her arms.
"Oh well, we have to go now. I hope Dana and I didn't take up too much of your time. I have to meet Max in the ready-room as we'll need to map out a strategy in case Zelaenna proves to be an equinne with a rigid behind," Miriya stated.
Lisa-Minmei did a double at Miriya's last words. As it stood, Zentraedi were yet to learn the nuances of human language.
"Stubborn-ass, Miriya. The word is stubborn-ass," Lisa-Minmei half- explained, half-laughed.
"Oh, I see. I remember Max saying something similar to me before, about when not to switch words for another regardless of their similar definitions," Miriya said with an introspective look.
"Well, your husband was correct. But don't admit it to him outright. Earth- men have a nasty habit of letting it go their head when you tell them they're correct. I'll tell you all about it when we're back planetside," Lisa-Minmei explained as she walked with Miriya to the door.
After Miriya and Dana went out of her quarters, Lisa-Minmei was still giggling to herself at Miriya's attempts at human-language; though she had to admit that it was only in this particular aspect of human-behavior where Miriya stumbled. Beyond that, Miriya was actually excelling in one of humanity's most basic yet noblest calling: motherhood. She then fell asleep on the bed with her last thoughts in Rick as she wondered about what he was doing right now.
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Back in the hangars, Rick Hunter was currently inspecting the tech-crews progress in repairing and reinforcing the veritechs and other battle-mecha. As per his and Captain Hayes plans, major weak-points on various areas of earth-mecha were pointed out and duly addressed while major-enhancements were made on the Zentraedi mecha that were stationed here. An earlier report he received from the factory-satellite confirmed that effectiveness of their plans. Male-power armor and rearticulated battlepods could go toe- to-toe with female Quadrono armor which, according to Exedore, were meant for intense close-quarter combat as well. Though he was yet to see an actual Invid scoutship, Rick shivered at what their appearance and capabilities actually were if he were to base it on the way Quadrono armor was designed. It was actually the only Zentraedi-mecha which he and Lisa left virtually untouched as they felt it was already perfect, the only additions were an increased fuel-supply and bigger variety of missiles that could be installed in them. As for the veritechs, he and Lisa took their cues from Max and Miriya's battle aboard the SDF-1 when he was still hospitalized. Max's winning against Miriya back then was treated as an exception rather than the rule since more often than not; veritechs were at a substantial disadvantage when pitted against Quadrono armor. But thanks to Dr. Emil Lang's latest research, the best earth-metal alloy currently used on the veritechs was further enhanced by adding the properties of the metal found on Zentraedi ships which could repair itself if the damage wasn't too great. A few more maneuvering thrusters were also added so as to enable quicker, more fluid movements especially in battloid-mode given the dexterity that Max demonstrated when he made his battloid don a Zentraedi uniform.
Rick felt a bit odd as he wasn't really used to this aspect of command. He was more at home with being just a fighter pilot rather than actually take part in fighter-designs. But it was a mild discomfort he had to bear since he knew that when all this was done, the lives of pilots were at least further protected and their chances of survival would be greatly increased. Rick had to smile a bit as he remembered Lisa arguing with him when they were still in the process of ironing out the designs. He had only planned on having Lisa submit the plans to Admiral Gloval, stating that that was the extent of his participation. But Lisa thought otherwise and told him it would be a lot better if Rick joined her in presenting the plans to the Admiral. Rick was still adamant about his decision when Lisa countered him further by quoting him with one of his statements which Rick used against her before: that of not considering the hazards of outer-space that pilots like him faced every time they went out. Rick fell silent at this, and after a few minutes of wrangling with his conscience, dropped all his objections and gave in to Lisa's demands. Try as he might, he couldn't fault her logic in that last statement. He would accompany her to Admiral Gloval's quarters and together, they would present their plans to him.
Ordinarily, Rick felt a bit of relief at what he and Lisa were, nowadays. He had been looking forward to spending some time with her after Khyron's attack but given that Lisa was now experiencing a unique identity-crisis, all his plans involving them as couple had to take a backseat. "Backseat, yeah," Rick muttered to himself. "Of a jumbo-jet," he groaned. And now Lisa and Minmei were one. Life didn't just throw a wrench in the works of his life: in Rick's opinion, it changed the whole god-danged engine. As far as Minmei was concerned, he thought he had just jilted her, choosing Lisa over her. Indeed, what could he say to her now? Rick almost jumped out of his skin when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. It was a Sergeant Williams who just wanted to give him an update of how things were progressing. Though most of the mecha would be finished by late afternoon, the number of mecha that was available at any given time was quite low and even a small attacking contingent would greatly drain the RDF's current defense capability. Newer mecha had to be produced and that entailed having the factory-satellite back to running condition immediately.
Rick actually wanted to begin immediate construction of an SDF-3 and was about to make suggestions to Lisa about it during their meeting but in the light of the recent developments, decided not to put the idea forward for now. The loss of the SDF-1 and 2 was still too fresh on everyone's mind especially Lisa. But the need for added military capabilities was glaringly obvious and what the RDF had in technology, they still lacked in numbers. Heaven forbid that the Invid arrive earlier. According to Exedore, the Invid numbered twice as much as the Zentraedi whose advantage lay in the fact that their weaponry was usually more powerful than the Invid's. Of course, at that time, the Zentraedi had yet to see evolved Invid Troopers. After satisfying himself with further inspections, Rick headed back to the lockers in order to change out of his flight suits. He had to give a lecture to a new class of fighter-pilots and this would be his first time. Before he died, it had always been Roy Fokker who did most of the lectures and briefing to new recruits. Rick's lecture was supposed to have been held a few days ago but Khyron's last blitzkrieg disrupted the class-schedules and even now, most of them had not yet been feasible as the only hangar ideal for holding such classes was the carrier Prometheus which was destroyed with the SDF-1 as well. Rick fondly recalled his first day at class with this big brother who, despite his free-spirited nature, was actually a strict but brilliant teacher. Given his current frame of mind, Rick was second-guessing himself and was unsure if he would be able to do the same in his class.
Things went by without much of a hitch though. Almost all of the cadets were aware of whom Rick Hunter was and even those who didn't, knew of his exploits at least. Rick was able to carry himself quite well and was actually enjoying himself until one of the cadets posed a touchy question: what to do if a pilot sees that what needs to be done goes conflicts with direct orders from the command-center. Rick hesitated and was actually beginning to sweat if not for the bell, which signified that classes were over. Rick breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seemed that the cadets were aware of more details of his exploits than those which he cared to share.
Rick then headed for the gym for his scheduled workout and on the way; he decided to pass by the cafeteria in order to make reservations. He made a beeline for Sergeant Bess McMillan who was in charge.
"Hey there, Bess! Looks like we're packed today, huh?" greeted Rick as he dropped his duffle bag and started rummaging in the fridge for some Gatorade.
"Yep. These people are working on double shifts so they have two lunches scheduled for them," Bes replied.
True enough, Rick saw most of the salvage crews and rescue teams from yesterday among them, Rico, Bron and Konda who waved at him from the far side of the room.
"So what brings you here, Captain?" Bess asked.
"Just getting two bottles of this stuff; I'm due at the gym for a workout. Also, can you reserve me a table in the right side near the windows? Plus, I'd like some pineapple-salad, for two," Rick stated as he stuffed the two bottles into his bag.
"Pineapple-salad for two, indeed. You just love that stuff, don't you? Much like Roy used to. Wait a minute, did you say for two? You expecting someone to join you today?" Bess asked as she didn't get the last part of Rick's request immediately.
Rick just gave Bess a sly smile then headed off to the gym, leaving a bewildered yet smiling Bess at the counter. As far as Bess could remember, Rick often ate alone save for those instances when Max or Ben was around or even Roy. Well Roy and Ben were dead and Max was married already so Rick's reservation meant only one thing: he would be having a late lunch with a girl. Bess snickered and then hummed as she went back into the kitchen.
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Back on the factory-satellite, Lisa-Minmei was doing her rounds of inspections as she wasn't able to get any sleep at all, thanks to Breetai's bomb and Miriya's visit. She found herself greatly disturbed yet expectant of the coming meeting with Lord Breetai and Commander Zelaenna. Though she wanted no conflict to arise and hoped that Zelaenna would join them peacefully, she knew that Zelaenna needed something more in order to be convinced. Spending millennia in war meant that the Zentraedi would be more convinced with a much more tangible proof of things or be beaten into submission with something overwhelming, and add to it the results of the past conflict with Dolza; Lisa-Minmei was more inclined to believe that she would be singing very soon.
What Lisa-Minmei didn't understand with herself now was that fact that it was her being Minmei who was now becoming nervous about singing. Her initial eagerness ahd changed and now that part of her felt like doing so this time was tantamount to "whoring" or demeaning the whole essence of her singing altogether. "Lisa" on the other hand shared the sentiment but was more or less resigned to the possibility. Being more than of two minds on the matter, she decided to divert her attention to other matters.
Thus, her next few hours were spent inspecting the work that the tech crews were busy with on the satellite. Given their very limited number, it was quite surprising to see that their work was a bit ahead of schedule, though what the crews accomplished were miniscule in respect to the actual amount of work that they needed to finish. Yet the task was less daunting as it seemed. The Zentraedi who qualified as "apprentices" were learning very quickly and after just a few hours of observing and taking lessons from the macronized tech-crews, were now installing new conduits and circuits on their own. In fact, the twenty technicians were now working on twenty different locations throughout the factory-satellite and were assisted by their own team of the qualified Zentraedi. Lisa-Minmei was more than satisfied with what she saw. She didn't hear Max Sterling as he sneaked in closer to her form behind.
"Find everything to specifications, Captain Hayes?" Max suddenly spoke. He laughed as Lisa-Minmei spun round immediately to face him while gasping her surprise.
"Maximillian Sterling! I can have you court-martialed for that! You mad me jump out of my skin there!" Lisa-Minmei remarked as she calmed down a bit.
"Whoa! I didn't know you were that deep in your thoughts. I'm sorry. Oww!!" was all that Max could say as Lisa-Minmei pinched him on the upper arm.
Max had to laugh in spite of the pain. The look on Lisa-Minmei's face was too precious to ignore. Max noted that the slight pout she wore was similar to that which she gave to Rick before when Rick asked her where 'Minmei' was, since neither Rick nor Max was aware that a melding had occurred.
"I said I'm sorry! Ha-ha-ha! Calm down, will you? Man but you're really quite out of sorts today, huh? Miriya was right, Breetai's decision did affect you a lot," Max declared as he rubbed his triceps where the sting was still evident.
"She told you? So what is this now, you here to convince me as well?" Lisa- Minmei asked albeit in a slightly irritated manner.
"No, not really," Max replied.
"I'm actually the one needing some advice here. I know you're aware of those two particular Zentraedi warriors we fought a while ago, right? Well, from the looks of things, seems they are indeed Miriya's clones or sisters, as she puts it. Frankly, that whole thing puts me in a bind. I mean, what am I supposed to do if they refuse our offer? I may not be Zentraedi but those two are Miriya's sisters, heck, they're the closest thing I'll ever have to in-laws and the possibility of having to eliminate them leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Max stated.
Lisa-Minmei was quite surprised at Max's statement. Up until his marriage to Miriya, Lisa-Minmei had always thought of Max as being cut from the same cloth as Rick. Two of a kind, she always said to herself. Young men who deep down inside were still boys and thus having a great time in their veritechs. Rick surprised her with his depth when he argued against her orders during that time when Major Roy Fokker was still alive. Max showed his depth when he argued in favor of Miriya's suggestion to not destroy the enemy pods totally but merely disable them. And now here was Max, thinking about the fate of those two Zentraedi warriors. What was unnerving was Max was stating this plainly because he could indeed defeat them should the need arise. Other pilots would doubt their ability to fight or kill effectively but such was not the case as far as Max Sterling was concerned. Along with Rick, the two were the only veritech pilots whose skill was such that if you could give them an unending supply of fuel and ammunition, they would probably take on a whole fighter complement of battlepods and Quadronos with the possibility of winning.
"I don't know, Max. I myself am lost and undecided right now. I just hope and pray that Commander Zelaenna does side with us. I viewed her available records that were stored in this factory's archives and I was quite impressed. She was what Khyron should've been: a brilliant and effective Zentraedi officer. Did you know that her division and the Boturu Battalion were neck and neck as far as achievements and victories were concerned? However, her achievements stemmed from precise, calculated tactics while Khyron's had a touch of viciousness in them. I definitely agree that eliminating them would indeed be a big loss for us," Lisa-Minmei concurred.
Max nodded in assent. He then righted himself from the leaning position against the wall he had settled in and straightened his uniform.
"Well, I'd best be getting back to Miriya and Dana now. I've got only two hours left to rest before these new Zentraedi arrive. I won't try to convince you to do anything for me or Miriya but I do know one thing: you always do the right thing Lisa; Minmei; and I believe in you. Later, then," declared Max as he made his way back to his quarters.
The two hours passed by uneventfully and Lisa-Minmei heard the comm. as it prompted her to report to the bridge of the factory-satellite. She was greeted by the sight of Exedore, Breetai, Dr.Lang, etc as she went inside. She saw on the holo-dsiplay that the B'Elarna Division was currently a few thousand miles away from the satellite. It was a fleet of 345 ships, with each ship possessing its own fighter/Quadrono complement. A new holo- display flashed into existence, and they were greeted by the face of Commander Zelaenna and her first and second officers, Lt. Gela and Lt. Adlea Parino.
"Greetings, Lord Breetai. You are prompt as ever," uttered Commander Zelaenna.
"Greatings, Commander Zelaenna. I trust you have reviewed everything in the communiqué we sent a while ago?" queried Breetai.
"Indeed, I have," she replied.
"And what is your decision then?" Breetai asked.
"We reject it," Commander Zelaenna replied.
A collective gasp and groan was heard throughout the factory satellite. All had assumed that once the other Zentraedi knew of the events that transpired in this part of the universe then they would gladly side with Lord Breetai and company but such was not the case here now.
"I do not believe that what you've shown me is possible. To defeat a world- ship like Lord Dolza's would require two or more Imperial Fleets and from what we saw, you did not have that number of ships under your command. It was amusing, however. But now, prepare to die," Commander Zelaenna declared and the holo-screen went blank. Breetai just looked straight into the area where the display was and clenched his fists. He then turned to Exedore and nodded his command.
"All units, prepare to repel the enemy. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill," Exedore announced over the tach-nets.
"Deploy battle strategy-zero nine gamma. I repeat, zero nine gamma!" Exedore added.
Strategy zero nine gamma was actually the end product of Miriya's suggestion where enemy pods and fighters were to be disabled only. Fighting them was one thing but killing these other Zentraedi was another thing altogether.
And so the combined RDF and Zentraedi fighter-groups were launched and they engaged the enemy head-on. The ensuing battle went as Breetai expected it would: a win in their favor. Still, the battle was considered an unnecessary undertaking. Things took a different twist however when the enemy suddenly regrouped and employed a new strategy which totally put the odds in their favor. To an untrained eye, it seemed like they were employing a blitzkrieg maneuver but Breetai knew otherwise. He himself had developed new battle tactics as they fought the Invid in various areas of the galaxy in order to cope with the newer, evolved Invid Troopers and Shock Troopers which were twice as fast and powerful as an ordinary Invid Scoutship. One by one, the RDF defense groups were being overwhelmed and soon, the enemy units were nearing the satellite. Max and Miriya had to leave their groups as they had to rejoin the inner defense units if ever the outer defense groups failed. The two barely caught up with the Quadrono group that was taking out the Destroids and veritech/battlepod groups one by one. Once Max and Miriya caught up with Gela and Adlea, the deadly ballet began anew. Miriya was faring better this time as she was no longer distracted with the fact that she was fighting her sister but rather she was focused on defending the satellite for inside was one precious object: her daughter Dana. Once Gela and Adlea were fighting Max and Miriya, the odds tilted back in favor of the RDF defenders. The veritechs and augmented battlepods were able to repel the remaining Quadronos and tri-thrusters. However, Max and Miriya didn' count on Gela and Adlea being able to enter the satellite.
"Damn! Not again!" Max said in frustration over the comm.
It was de ja vu for Max as he recalled his initial battle with Miriya inside the SDF-1. At least there were no buildings and civilians to watch out for now. However, the amount of damage wrought by their conflict was nothing short of enormous as whole sections of the inner walls collapsed or got riddled with ammunition. He and Miriya chased and fought Gela and Adlea and in the end, the outcome was the same: Gela had lost to Miriya while Adlea lost to Max. Unknown to them, Adlea's armor had struck the crew quarters which Max and Miriya were using and the whole wall had fallen down. Adlea opened the hatch of her armor and stepped out. She stood in front of Max's veritech, held the muzzle of his gatling-gun, and pointed it to her forehead; signifying her intent to be slain in battle by a worthy opponent. Max didn't realize however that Dana had crawled out of her fallen crib and was crawling to the side of the room where there once was a wall. He was surprised when Miriya suddenly shrieked his name, and told him to rescue Dana as she was too near the edge of the room. Max was too far to reach Dana in time and he griited his teeth as he desperately tried to reach his daughter who fell from the second level (This WAS a Zentraedi base so even the second level is way too high for a human). But something happened that totally shocked Max. Miriya and a host of other friendly Zentraedis who saw what happened next.
Dana wailed as she fell from the edge and her cries touched something inside Adlea. Max saw Adlea stretch her hand out and she caught Dana halfway. Adlea then brought Dana closer in order to inspect her. "A micronized micronian?!! How can it be?" Adlea thought to herself as she echoed the sentiments her brethren felt when they first saw Dana.
Dana on the other hand stopped crying as she no longer felt like she was falling. She then opened her eyes and gazed at her rescuer. A few seconds passed then Dana smiled as she held out her hands and tried to reach Adlea's face, and she uttered her second word: MAMA. At that, Adlea felt her emotions churn further and before she knew it, she was crying yet smiling at the same time. Gela, who had just stepped out of her own armor, was surprised as well as she too was shedding tears. Miriya then reconfigured her battloid into fighter mode and she too stepped out and ran to Dana. Max gazed in awe as he saw his wife and her sisters congregate around Dana.
"Miriya. What is this micronized micronian? Why did I feel the need to save her when I heard her scream?" Adlea asked.
"This micronized-micronian is my baby. What you felt is what I felt when I saw her fall," Miriya replied.
"You mean this baby wasn't cloned?" Gela asked.
Miriya shook her head.
"No. This baby came from my womb. She is the fruit of my union with that man over there; my mate, Maximillian Sterling," Miriya replied as she gestured towards Max who had alighted from his veritech as well.
"May I hold her?" Gela asked and Adlea handed Dana over.
Exedore saw all this transpire and noted down everything. It seemed that the bonds of Zentraedi clones were a lot stronger than they expected. Adlea and Gela immediately shared in the maternal bond that Miriya had with Dana.
"Well, that takes care of two of them at least," Breetai remarked.
Lisa-Minmei could hardly contain her surprise at what she saw. Dana's cries pierced through centuries of hard, military existence and now the two foremost Quadrono pilots of the enemy were effectively out of the picture.
Commander Adlea was seething at this turn of events. While her new organized blitzkrieg was still working, the loss of her two best fighters was still a major blow to her plans. She meant to take over the factory- satellite herself and then rejoin the other Zentraedi fleets that were still out there. But such was slowly becoming impossible as her strategy was beginning to lose it's effectiveness as the veritechs and augmented battlepods slowly turned the tide of battle.
"It seems I have no choice then," Zelaenna thought to herself.
"All units, prepare to deploy battle-strategy seven-three omega!" she blared over the comm..
Her plan was uncannily similar to Khyron's during his last maneuver. The only difference was that five other main ships would precede her ship and upon nearing the satellite, the escort ships would veer away while her ship would fire its main-battery a few seconds before impact. She hoped to fatally cripple the satellite with this move.
On the satellite, Breetai saw this and began to think of ways to counter it. Unfortunately, the maneuvering thrusters of the satellite were yet to be repaired and only a few main-batteries were operational. Exedore then chose this time to take Lisa-Minmei to the adjacent room.
"What is it you want, Exedore?" Lisa-Minmei asked.
"That which we hoped not to happen has now occurred. But I believe we can still stop them and save as many Zentraedi lives as possible," Exedore replied.
He opened a cabinet and produced an outfit form inside. Lisa-Minmei could hardly believe her eyes as she saw the dress that Exedore was holding.
"I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of having on of your outfits replicated in anticipation of something like this. I hope it fits you well," Exedore said as he gave the dress to Lisa-Minmei.
They were about to exit the room when a huge blast rocked the satellite. One of the enemy escort-ships had fired upon them and the others were priming their own batteries in order to follow up the attack. Lisa-Minmei then saw the doors open to reveal a distraught Max holding his daughter as Miriya was slightly injured from debris falling from the ceiling of the hangars. Gela and Adlea were looking from the outside as their faces showed the same concern that Miriya was displaying.
"Lisa! Minmei! Miriya got hurt but she's okay. However, Dana can't seem to calm down and the other quarters were heavily damaged so I'd like to leave Dana here with you whole I take Miriya to the infirmary. Lisa-Minmei nodded her assent as Max carried his wife to the infirmary. Dana was still bawling out so Lisa-Minmei decided to do the only thing that might calm her down: sing Dana a lullaby.
Breetai and the rest were surprised as they heard the soft, sweet tunes emanating from outside the bridge. True enough, it was Lisa-Minmei singing softly to Dana as Dana slowly but surely ceased her crying.
"Exedore, transmit that frequency on all bands now," Breetai ordered.
The effect was instantaneous. Commander Zelaenna and her escorts ships ceased their attack and so did all their other fighters. Soon, all skirmishes had ceased. On the bridge, a holo-display flashed into view.
"Ah, Zelaenna. I see you've heard this as well. What do you think?" Breetai queried.
"Is that what they call a 'song'? Just how powerful is that, to stop a battle." Zelaenna asked.
Breetai only nodded and gave her a smirk.
"What do say about an alliance now, Zelaenna?" Breetai asked.
Commnder Zelaenna could only nod as she agreed to Breetai's proposal. Lisa- Minmei was aware that they broadcasted her singing but she didn't mind at all as she was focused on calming Dana down.
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