That morning, I went to the Knight Squadron Office to speak with Lieutenant Colonel Angus Beckett. I was not talking to him about the Daedalus Manuever, but about Major Dan Colmes.
"He was a fine XO," said the colonel. "He kept the pilots and the air crew in top shape. I visited his widow and four children to tell them the bad news."
"They lived in Macross City?" I asked.
"No, they flew in to say goodbye to daddy. The enemy attacked, and they found themselves on this ship. Listen, you shouldn't ask anyone else in my squadron about Major Colmes. We fighter pilots have a tradition of not mentioning the names of those in our squadron that we lost. And I know you don't want to get Lieutenant Murphy upset."
"Of course not," I said.
"I have work to do," said Beckett.
I left the office. Along the way I encoutnered Lieutenant Ichijo.
"Can I talk to Lieutenant Murphy?" I asked.
"She's training in the sims now," replied the lieutenant. "She gets off at 1700."
That evening, Jenna and I went to the Bright Star Casino. The ship transformed back into its regular mode at around noon, and the city remained intact after the transformation. We played slot machines and blackjack, and we ordered drinks from Vince the bartender. We enjoyed each other and we spoke to her friends Katie Taney and Lani Hart. But then, the war got in the way.
ooooooooooo
The enemy soon started attacking the SDF-1 constantly. I would often stand watch at the observation deck while Jenna went out to fight the enemy. Of course, this meant that Jenna did not have much time to spend with me.
I did speak to Andrea La Belle, who was pregnant. "I'm now six months along," she said. Six months. It had been six months since the launch of the SDF-1. We were about halfway home.
Jenna then got some leave. I could see she was worn out from the constant battle with the enemy.
"Don't ask me about the battles," she said. "the last thing I want to talk about is that veritech."
"I'm doing fine," I said. "I'm busy. I'm writing about more than the war. I cover sports and social events as well. Adn there's this Miss Macross thing coming up in two months. I heard this famous actress who was visiting the island is running for the competition. Her name is Jan something; I look up my notes when I go to work tomorrow."
"I might not live to compete."
"Don't say that." I loked into her battle-worn eyes. "We should enjoy the moment we have."
"You're right." She kissed me full on the lips. I looekd around the street at the passers-by. They all look familar, since there were no tourists coming in since the launch.
Then I saw him.
I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine. I searched my memory for where I saw him before.
"Oh shit," I said.
"What?' asked Jenna.
"I saw someone," I said. "When I attended the laucnh ceremony, I saw a scuffle. The Spacy police dragged him away. I saw a dynamite belt on him. He's a terrorist!"
I looked at the crowd, loking for the man who tried to bomb the festivities. I searched for a few minutes, but could not find him.
"Jenna, there's a terrorist on board SDF-1," I said. "We have to tell the authorities."
"Do you think he's gonna try to blow up the ship?" she asked. "I mean, we're in deep space and being attacked by aliens."
"I'm from New York. I know how these terrorists think. I lost an uncle to people like that eight years ago. I'm gonna file a police report."
And so I did.
oooooooooo
I went to the Macross City Police Headquarters, located in the City Hall's first floor.
"I have to tell you something," I said to the desk sergeant.
"What?" he asked.
"There's a terrorist on board. I'm a reporter from the Associated Press. When I was watching the launch ceremony, I saw the police drag away a guy wearing dynamite on his waist. He's tall and thin and has short black hair.
"What is going on?" asked a gruff male voice.
"This guy tells me that there's a terrorist on board," said the desk sergeant.
I looked at the man. He was in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair. Four stars were pinned to the collar of his police uniform. I saw ther namtag BERNARD pinned to his left chest. I introduced myself.
"I'm Scott Bernard, Chief of the Macross City Police Department," he said.
"Chief, there's a terrorist on board. On the day the ship was launched, I was watching the festivities when I saw a scuffle. I looked and saw the Spacy police drag this man away. I looked closely and he was wearing dynamite. He was tall and thin with short black hair. I just saw him on the street minutes ago when I was walking with my girlfriend."
"Who is your girlfriend?" asked the chief.
"Lieutenant Jenna Murphy. She is in the veritech Knight squadron."
"Do you know the name of this alleged terrorist?"
"No, I don't. I remember what he looks like. If I see him, I'll know him. You have to find him, sir."
"Are you sure he will blow up the ship?"
"Yes. I think he's an Islamic terrorist. They operate by doing suicide attacks. I saw what they can do eight years ago. I'm from New York. We need to find him."
"I can talk to Lieutenant La Salle," said Bernard. "In the meantime, we'd like you to give a description to the sketch artist so she can draw a composite sketch of your terrorist."
"I will do that, Chief. Find him. he was willing to bomb the launch ceremony; he might bomb something else."
oooooooooo
One day, Lieutenant Colonel Angus Beckett visited my office.
"Hello, Colonel," I said. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm inviting you to come along with us on a mission. We are currently approaching Mars, and we will begin landing procedures in ten minutes. Have you ever been to Mars before?"
"This is my first space flight," I said. "Of course I'll go."
"You will ride in one of our veritechs. Lieutenant Murphy will be the pilot. Our mission is the retrieval of supplies from Sara Base."
"I thought Sara Base was destroyed."
"So did we."
"WE ARE NOW INITIATING LANDING PROCEDURES," says a female voice. "ALL CIVILIANS INDOORS; ALL HANDS TO STATIONS."
"I'd better stay here until we land on Mars," said Colonel Beckett.
And so he did.
ooooooooo
"WE HAVE NOW LANDED ON THE PLANET MARS," announced the same female voice. Colonel beckett and I immedaitely headed for the Knight Squadron office. He led me to the men's locker room. He opened a locker and gave me a flight suit.
"Put this on," he said. "it goes over waht you're wearing."
And he was right, I put the suit on and it went over my business suit. "good thing you have a suit to spare," I said.
"Captain Barnes was killed three days ago in battle," said the colonel. "You look his size."
Since the Prometheus hangar deck was unpressurized, we went into an airlock. I made sure I had enough air.
"I guess we'll fly together again," said Jenna, in her black-trimmed flight suit.
"So you're the reporter," said a male voice.
"You are?" i asked.
"Colonel Maistroff, commander of SDF-1's Marine detachment. I'm a qualified veritech pilot and I have my own VF-1S Valkyrie. this is a very important mission so I'll lead it myself."
"Commander Fokker of Skull Squadron is the only other person assigned that particular model," said Colonel Beckett.
The airlock opened into the hangar deck. I could see all sorts of veritech fighters- the tan-colored Spacy fighters, and the black Marine fighters of Knight Squadron. I noticed several veritechs of unusual color. Two of them were parked side-by-side. One was olive drab in color; the other was white with distinctive skull and crossbones on its tailfin.
An air crewman in a spacesuit pulled down the ladder for one of the veritechs.
"That's us," said Jenna, tugging my hand. We both climbed into the cockpit. I sat in the back, and Jenna sat in front.
"This is a VF-1D Valkyrie," said Jenna. "It's a two-seater used for training. I'm going through the pre-flight checklist. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," I said. I looked at the instruments and the engines are already running. I looked and saw the olive-drab veritech and the skull-and-crossbones veritech being lifted to the flight deck. Other veritechs were being lifted up after those two.
"Air Boss to Knight Ten," said a female voice. "Prepare for takeoff."
"Copy," said Jenna. she taxied the veritech to the lift and then we wernt up. "Don't touch the controls," she said to me.
Whern we reached the flight deck, I gazed upon the Martian landscape. I saw pocutures like these in books and newspapers. I never imagined I'd be here. I wondered if Ned felt the same way.
"All systems are go," said Jenna. "Knight Ten ready for takeoff."
"Takeoff," said the control officer.
I found myself pushed bac k against my seat. The Martian landscape disappeared and I knew we were flying in ther Martian air. After a few seconds of ascent, we acheived level flight.
"Knight Ten is in the air," said Jenna. "Setting course for Sara Base."
I could see other veritechs ahead of us in the distance. To my left and right I can see the Martian landscape. I can see the canyons and mountains. I remember once reading that the tallest mountain on mars is taller than the tallest mountain on Earth.
"We're at Sara Base," said Jenna. "We are reducing airspeed. Switching to guardian mode."
I looked to my right and I can see the arm holding the gunpod. I knew the legs were bent down. I could see Sara Base ahead. It was a cluster of buildings. It used to be a UN outpost, until some anti-UN faction attacked it. I thought the base was destroyed. Still, I wondered what happened to Ned and the others.
"Switching to battloid mode," said Jenna. The cockpit shield was raised and then the monitor went up. I could see the builkdings of Sara Base and the other veritechs in battloid mode. I noticed the skull-and-bones veritech and the olive-drab veritech. Both had identical-looking heads- four antennae, a trinagular face, and a crescent-shaped sensor.
"How are you doing, Knight Ten?" asked Colonel Maistroff.
"Fine, sir," replied Jenna.
"And the reporter?"
"Nice ride," I said.
"Here are the destroids," said Maistroff. I looked and saw the destroids- ground mecha operated by the Marines. They came in all sorts of shapes. One had hands like the veritech battloids, the others had cannon-arms, and there was this huge one with two cannon-arms and a wicked-looking cannon assembly on the head. They walked to various positions in Sara Base.
"Sara Base secure," said Colonel Maistroff. "You may send the salvage teams."
And then I saw land vehicles going into Sara Base, passing beneath us. I saw the Marine infantrymen get out of the vehicles and go inside the warehouses of the base. Soon they were loading supply crates.
"I like this," said Jenna. "After all that combat."
"This is SDF-1 Control," said a woman with curly-black hair whose image appeared on the comm screen. "Lieutenant Lisa Hayes is going into the base. She will be looking for survivors."
"My infantry reports they are just ten minutes away from finishing loading the supplies," said Colonel Maistroff.
"Maybe I should have brought a book," I said to Jenna.
A few minutes later, Colonel Maistroff said, "The Marines finished loading. The last of the supply trucks will reach the Daedalus in three minutes.
"Lieutenant Hayes is still inside the base," said SDF-1 Control. "Once we get her back, you will all return."
"Copy that," said Maistroff.
"Enemy forces detected!" yelled the control officer. "Get ready for battle."
"Here we go," said Jenna. "Brace yourself."
"We need to protect the supply trucks!" yelled Colonel Beckett. "Knight Squadron move out. Skull Squadron, stay here to protect Hayes."
"Copy that," said a male voice. "Skull Squadron protect Sara Base."
Jenna switched the veritech to guardian mode and we flew to the SDF-1. We could see the enemy pods racing towards it. We can also see the supply trucks trying to make it to Daedalus. Jenna and the others fired missiles at the enemy pods, obliterating them. We then landed on the ground and switched to battloid mode and shot the enemy pods with our guns.
"Supply trucks are safe," said Beckett. "Now we reinforce Skull Squadron."
We transformed into guardian and flew back to Sara Base. I could see the Skull Squadron veritechs and the destroids fighting the enemy pods and fighters. We fired a missile salvo at an enemy fighter formation. Then we changed into battloid and started brawling with the enemy pods. Missiles, laser beams, and bullets flew every which way. I saw more and more enemy pods and fighters fall before Jenna. It was like my being in the veritech with her made her a better fighter. We transformed every couple of seconds to deal with new threats from our relentless foes. Jenna was adept at using the buildings of Sara Base as cover to hide from the enemy pods until she can get a clear shot.
Then we suddenly found ourselves in front of an enemy pod, ready to fire. Then it blew up, but Jenna did not fire the gunpod. I then saw the skull-and-crossbones veritech flying in in guardian mode. It switched to battloid mode.
"Stay alert, marine," the veritech's pilot said.
We took cover behind a building and fired on the enemy pods from a distance. I could see the olive-drab battloid shredding the enemy pods. Then it transformed to a fighter and it blew up three enemy fighters.
As Jenna was fighting with the enemy pods, I could see a white veritech guardian flying in and blowing up a bunch of pods with its missiles. It then stopped right at a building. I saw it punch through a window.
I also saw an enemy pod with a missile battery on top.
"Jenna!" I yelled. "Shoot that battlepod to the right."
The battlepod fired missiles at the veritech guardian, whose pilot was unaware of the threat. But Jenna fired her gunpod at the enemy pod's direction, blowing up the missiles and the enemy pod. The veritech guardian flew up into the sky. I could see it was holding something.
"Lieutenant Hayes is secure!" yelled Colonel Beckett. "Move out!"
Jenna transformed the veritech to fighter mode and we flew high into the sky. I looked below, and I saw Sara Base consumed by a fireball. Soon the red sky was replaced by a starry spacescape.
We waited in orbit until the SDF-1 reached Martian orbit. Then we were cleared for landing.
I braced myself as the veritech fighter made contact with Promotheus.
"Knight Ten has landed," said Jenna.
We got out of the fighter, went through the airlock, and took off our helmets.
"Well, I have to debrief," said Jenna, going into the women's locker room.
"See you tonight," I said. I then went baxk to my office to write my article.
ooooooooo
Jenna joined me at the Bright Star Casino. The casino was packed with the noises of the slot machines and the clinking of coins. We approached the bar and ordered two screwdrivers from Vince.
"Lieutenant Jenna Murphy," a male voice said.
We looked and saw a man in a Spacy uniform.
"Yes, sir?" asked Jenna.
"Lieutenant Commander Roy Fokker of Skull Squadron," said the Spacy officer. "I was reviewing the battle record after the incident on Sars Base. You see, Lieutenant Lisa Hayes entered the base to look for survivors. But the enemy laid a trap and SDF-1 couldn't lift off. So Hayes set the reflex furnace to blow."
"So that was why the base blew up," said Jenna.
"But she was trapped in there, so I sent Sergeant Rick Hunter to get her out. He got her out, saving her life."
"Hunter deserves a medal," I said.
"But I noticed that while Hunter was getting Hayes out of the base, a battlepod was about to fire on them. Neither of them saw the pod. It was you, Lieutenant Murphy, who destroyed the battlepod. You saved their lives."
"Well, sir, I didn't see the battlepod either. But he did."
"You?" the commander asked me..
"I was riding in the back seat for an article," I said. "I saw the veritech land next to the building, then I saw the pod. I told Jenna to shoot it."
Commander Fokker sat at the bar. "Vince, I'm paying for their drinks!" he says.
"Okay, Roy," replied Vince.
And so he did.