The city was reconstructed in a matter of weeks. some places where buildings once stood were now empty. Streets were rerouted. The mayor and the Spacy liaison officer both expressed confidence that future transformations won't cause as much damage.
The military began recruiting efforts among the citizens of Macross City. It was a crash course, as the new recruits had to become crewmen, marines, or pilots quickly due to the threat of alien attack.
In the meantime, Jenna Murphy and I started seeing each other. Fortunately, the enemy had not attacked since the transformation, so we started talking. One by one, we learned more about each other. By now, Macross City had alibrary, a school, coffeeshops. There was even a casino with a full bar.
One thing that disturbed me was the fact that the Lins' Chinese restaurant seemed to have a fresh supply of food. I was wondering where it came from. And I leanred the answer.
"We grow food in these hydroponic bays," says Dr. Ewing, a botanist who taught at Macross City College. "We receovered seeds from some of the warehouses on the island. Using bioengerring, we increased the growth rate."
And I saw the hydroponic c omplex, with the huge tanks filled with water, and the various crops growing inside them. "you can grow meat, right?" I asked.
"Not yet," said Dr. Ewing. "But at least we won't starve to death on the way to Earth."
"I'm glad for that." It seemed so long ago that I was worried about starvation.
The next day, I published my report on where we get our food.
ooooooooo
One day, a woman spoke to me with an interesting message.
"Are you that reporter?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. She appeared to be in her early thirties, with reddish brown hair. "And you are?"
"My name is Andrea Hawk LaBelle," she said. "My husband, Mark LaBelle, is a firefighter in the Macross Fire Department. We have one child and another one the way." (1)
"Another on the way?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm pregnant. I'm two months along. I guess we conceived during the reconstruction."
"So you're gonna have a baby in December, three months shy of our return to Earth."
"That's why I wanted to talk to you, sir. I'm going to be the first woman to have a baby in space."
"Congratulations, Mrs. LaBelle."
"Excuse me," said a male voice. "Are you that reporter?"
"Yup," I said. I introduced myself. "You having a baby too?"
"Uh, no. My name is Jake Austin. I'm the editor for the Macross Gazette. You're a really good reporter. We're going to restart the newspaper and we like your articles. We'll pay you top dollar for them."
"Thanks," I said. "But I work for the Associated Press, so you make your checks out to them. They pay me whether or not I sell stories. Of course, if my stories don't sell, I lose my job, so I should thank you for buying my stories."
"You know, we're gonna have TV soon. The city is going to install a cable network for a computer data net and television."
"You know. This woman here is going to have the first baby in outer space. I will seel the article on her baby's birth to you for a rrasonable price."
"Define reasonable."
ooooooooo
I covered the gradation ceremonies of the new recruits. Captain Henry J. Gloval himself addressed the newest members of the U.N. Spacy.
"Welcome," he said. "I am Captain Gloval, your commanding officer. You have all taken on a huge responsibility. Whether fixing things, operating the weapon batteries, keeping order, reviewing communications, or even flying our veritech fighters, you will be doing an important job to protect your neighbors on this ship. I have complete confidence in you. You will make valauible contributions to the SDF-1 and the United Nations Spacy."
The recruits tossed their hats up.
oooooooooo
Later on, I went to the Bright Star Casino. The casino was started by the old manager of the Macross Hyatt. There was no business for a hotel, as we do not get any visitors, but there are fifty thousand people available to gamble. Jenna and I sat at the casino's bar. The bartender, Vince, served us drinks. I got to know Vince over the past few weeks. He was a bartender before the launch of SDF-1, and he resumed his career after the transformation.
"Look at that," said Vince, a man with a shaven head. "New recruits."
"They just went through training and now they want to celebrate," said Jenna, who was wearing a yellow sweater and jeans instead of hwer Marine uniform. "You know, we're now having enlisted fly the veritechs."
"I know jack shit about the military," said Vince.
"I thought your sister was an officer on this ship," I said.
"She is," said the bartender. "But we never discuss her work. She is seeing someone though. He's a great guy. I only hope you two can have that kind of relationship."
"I don't know your sister and her boyfriend," I said. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it."
"I hope there isn't another enemy attack," said Jenna. "I've enjoyed the past few weeks."
"Maybe the enemy leaders called off the attack," said Vince. "We have ships back on Earth; maybe they whooped E.T.'s ass."
"You know, I will get the cover the birth of the first baby in space," I said. "I would never imagine all of this happening when I stepped on that plane back in JFK."
"JFK?" asked Vince.
"John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City," I said.
"Hey man, what will you do when you get home?"
"Go back home, visit my parents, and then submit my articles to my boss."
"Let's play some blackjack," said Jenna, pulling my arm.
ooooooooooo
And so I wrote more articles for the Macross Gazette. My articles had my name and identified me as a reporter from the Associated Press. I covered events such as festivals and city announcements and other stuff. It was a far cry from covering world events which I used to do. Local reporting did have its charm. I got a small office near City Hall, where I can write my stories and send it to whoever wants to publish them.
One morning I received a call in my office in the morning. It was Jenna.
"Hi there," she said.
"You must be on duty," I said. "I hope you don't get into trouble with your commander."
"He ordered me to call you. Meet me outside the squadron office."
So that was what I did.
oooooooooo
Minutes later, I was in this room with all sorts of equipment. Jenna was there with Lieutenant Colonel Angus Beckett and Major Dan Colmes.
"We want you to fly the veritech simulators and write a report on it," said Colonel Beckett.
"It's an honor, sir," I said. I was excited. Jenna flew these things every day, now I would get my chance.
"Major Colmes will be here with you," said Beckett. "Lieutenant Murphy, you will go back to your post."
"Yes, sir," she said to him. "Good luck," she said to me.
"Okay," said Major Colmes. "you step into one of these things." The things were cockpit-shaped capsules with cables running into them.
One of the capsules opened and I sat in the seat. There were lots of controls, not only for fighter but for the other two modes.
"Those levers change your mode," said Colmes. "F is for fighter, G is for guardian, and B is for battloid. Fighter is the fastest mode, guardian i sued to hover and provide air support, and battloid is for the ground. I will give you an open space training mission first."
And the canopy was closed over me. I placed the helmet on. Images appeared.
"The images of the enemy match the enemy we are fighting," said the major. "you are fully armed, fully fueled, and cleared for takeoff. The lever to your left is the throttle."
So I pushed the throttle forward, and I looked at the instruments. I did not appear to be flying.
"am I moving?" I asked.
"Check your instruments," said Colmes. "you can see your speed. you're in space and there are no local landmarks. It's all by instruments."
I saw the instruments, reading the speed and the attitude and all that shit. I saw three signals on the radar.
"Enemy fighters," said Colmes. "Take them."
And so I did. I turned the stick and pressed the pedals.
"One of them has got a lock on you! Evasive maneruvers!"
I turned the stick and pressed the pedals and even pushed the throttle. But then the mesage MISSION FAILURE appeared.
"The enemy blew your veritech up with a missile," said Colmes.
"i'm not exactly an ace pilot."
"let's try a different mission."
And so I did I tried various missions in space, the air, and the ground. Each time, I failed.
Finally it was over. Colonel Beckett came to greet me.
"Did you enjoy it?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. "I'll write an article. It will reflect well on your service."
"Thank you for your time."
I left the training room and headed for the city. I saw Jenna along the way.
"How'd you like it?" she asked.
"You do the flying," I said.
oooooooo
That night, I was closing up my small office.
"Hello," I said.
"It's me, Jenna," said my girlfriend. "Colonel Maistroff briefed us all. Tomorrow we go on a mission."
"A mission?" I asked.
"It's an offensive against the enem. They're still out there. We're gonna strike first. I'd like to see you before I go."
And so that was what she did.
oooooooooo
We didn't go out to the Bright Star Casino, even though the rest of her squadron went there. Instead, we went to the Lins' Chinese restaurant for some takeout.
"Two Chow Fun to go please" I said.
"Sure," said Lin Lena. We waited for the food and then Mrs. Lin gave us the takeput boxes. "Enjoy your meal."
We left the building as someone else entered. I turned and looked at the man who entered. He looked familiar
"I know that guy," I said.
"Never mind him," said Jenna. "I'm hungry."
We both walked back to my studio apartment.
"It's been two months since we started seeing each other," said Jenna. "I wish I could talk to my parents so I can tell them what a wonderful man you are."
"Me too," I said, washing the chow fun down with some soda.
"You know, there's going to be a beauty contest. It's called Miss Macross. I'm gonna sign up after I return from my mission."
"You're beautiful," I said, looking at her soft skin and her silky blond hair and the crystal blue eyes. "You're sure to win Miss Macross. You're beautiful and you're a fighter pilot."
We finished our food.
"How about we play a song?" asked Jenna. "I have a CD."
"Sure."
Jenna put a CD into the Sony CD player I had in my room. A tune started playing. "It's called You Got It all. It was sung by the Jets some time ago."
"I love some of that old school stuff."
And so the song played. Feelings within me started to intensify. I gazed into Jenna's blue eyes. The feelings soon became more powerful than the ship's main gun. I took her and kissed her. I touched her bare soft skin. We kept going and going and there was no stopping us. Not even a million enemy spaceships could get in our way.
ooooooooo
"OH SHIT!" yelled Jenna, waking me up. "I'M GONNA BE FUCKING LATE!" She ran for the door.
"You should put your clothes on first," I said.
"Oh." She picked up her clothes and put them on.
"Amazing how you can dress that fast," I said.
"They teach us that in the Marines," she said. "Remember, you have the best view of the battle in the observation deck."
"Okay," I said. I left my apartment and went to my office so I could transmit my articles to the Macross Gazette via the computer data net. Then I walked to the observation deck. I had been here before, gazing into space, looking at the Prometheus aircraft carrier attached to the shift. I once wrote an article on the ship's crew that died after the fold operation. I looked out and saw the planet Saturn, with its famous ring. I never been to Saturn before.
"ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!" announced a female voice. "SKULL, WOLF, AND KNIGHT SQUADRONS REPORT TO PROMETHEUS."
I had a Sony digital video camera with me. I watched as the veritech fighters took off from the aircraft carrier. I saw the black-and-red Knight squadron VF-1 Valkyries take off and fly into Saturn's rings. I wonder which one Jenna was flying. I wanted to tape this battle to write an article on it.
I prayed to God that Jenna will make it back safely.
I soon saw the fireballs as our fighters engaged the enemy fighters. I could see the destruction of the craft on both sides.
"Hey mister, are you tape recording this?" asked a male voice.
I looked and saw two boys. One had blue-dyed hair and glasses, and his friend was huge with brown hair.
"Yeah," I said. "I'm a reporter from New York."
I then saw the enemy cruiser. It was green and shaped like a cigar, just as Jenna said. I loloked through the camera's viewer. I can see the fighters. I noticed one fighter- a white fighter with the Jolly Roger insignia on the tailfin- shred the enemy fighters to bits.
I then saw a black veritech fighter blow up. I dropped the camera.
"Jenna," I whispered. I hoped to God that wasn't her.
The enemy cruiser approached closer to SDF-1. It was firing on us. I saw these green shie;ds moving about, blocking the laser fire.
I then felt shaking. The enemy scored a hit on the ship.
The enemy ship approached, apparently seeking to fire point blank. Then I saw something else appropach the enemy ship.
It was Daedalus, the amphibirous landing ship that was brought to outer space and attached to SDF-1. It rammed into the enemy cruiser. Bulges appeared and I figured what was going on. The Marine destroid battalion must be blwoing the ship uo from the inside. I noticed a white veritech fighter coming out of the ship. Daedalus was withdrawn, and the enemy ship blew up.
"All right!" yelled the big teenage boy. "SDF-1 kicks alien ass!"
I shared his sentiment. But then I remembered the Knight Squadron fighter that blew, I hoped Jenna was alive.
ooooooooooo
Jenna came to my apartment after she got off duty. I had already finished the article on the Battle of Saturn, and I came home. Her wingmate Lieutenant Hart told me that Jenna came back alive and well.
When I opened the door, I gave her a kiss. "I'm glad you came back, I said. "I then noticed her etes were tearing."
"We lost Major Colmes," she said.
I remembered Major Colmes; he watched over me when I trained in the veritech simulator just yesterday. "I'm sorry."