On one night, Jenna and I decided to go out to the Bright Star Casino. We haven't had a date since leaving Mars. She wanted to relax, and I knew why fighter pilot needs to relax.
We played some of the slot machines and several hands of blackjack. I won sixty dollars in blackjack. Jenna spent a lot of money, money that she earned from basic pay plus flight pay plus hazardous duty pay. She mentioned that at this rate, she's be a millionaire- if she doesn't get blown to pieces.
We both ordered beer from Vince. He asked Jenna how it was going, and Jenna said she was tired and streesed out from all the combat. The television was showing images, and it was not from DVD's. The Macross Broadcasting System went online today. Now Macross City had a television station where people can watch news and sports and TV shows.
"Excuse me, are you Jenna Murphy?" asked a male voice.
We turned to see a young man dressed in a Spacy uniform. I recognized him.
"You're Rick Hunter," I said. "You're the guy that was below decks for two weeks."
"That's me. Anyway, I want to talk to Jenna Murphy."
"For what?" asked Jenna.
"Roy told me what you did back on Mars. I want to thank you. Lisa and I would have been killed."
"You're welcome. You should thank my boyfriend too. He saw that battle pod that was gonna shoot you."
"Thank you," Rick said to me.
"You're welcome," I said. We shook hands.
"I'd better get some sleep. Minmei's birthday's tomorrow."
And then he left the casino.
ooooooooooooo
The next morning, Jenna called me and told me she felt fantastic. She said that she could take on an entire enemy fleet by herself. I was happy that she was in a good mood. I went to my office. As usual, I looked over the stories I was working on. There was a press conference in City Hall and a basketball game at Macross High School.
I received a fax in the afternoon from Commander Ward's office. It contained a list of medals and awards to military personnel. I saw that Rick Hunter received the titanium medal of valor that day for his actions on Mars.
If Hunter got a medal, then Jenna deserves one too. She shot the enemy pod that was aiming at him.
At the end of the day, I was closing up shop. Jenna knocked on the door of my office.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I'm gonna be a contestant on the Miss Macross competition in December," she said.
"Congratulations!"
"I'll be one of twenty-eight contestants," she said.
"Will you even be able to attend?" I asked. "I mean, the enemy might attack."
"Colonel Maistroff himself told me that I would not be on duty that day. I'm the only Marine who's a contestant and he figured it would get some good publicity. I could even pose for recruitment posters or something."
"Jenna Murphy, Miss Macross. I like the sound of that. Let's go celebrate at the Chinese restaurant."
And so we went there.
ooooooooo
When we got there, we were greeted by a sign that read, "PRIVATE PARTY- SORRY WE'RE CLOSED."
"This is closed?" asked Jenna.
"Yup," said the doorman. "Minmei's having her sixteenth birthday. She's the owner's niece."
"That figures," I said. "Jenna, let's go get some Italian food."
So that was what we did.
oooooooo
We ordered spaghetti with marinara sauce. The sauce was meatless, as we did not bring cows or chickens with us when we went to Pluto. The place was quiet, and it was just the two of us. I hoped we can spend the night together.
But then the siren blared, and the announcer called for all veritech pilots. That included Jenna.
"Got to go," said Jenna. "I'll go to your apartment after this is over."
I saw her run off. I headed for the observation deck to watch the battle.
Looking at the stars, I saw explosions as the veritech fighters took on the enemy's fighters and pods. Missiles and laser beams flew every which way. Occasionally, I would feel jolts as enemy fire hit the ship.
I saw one particular veritech, painted blue and in battloid mode, ripping apart the enemy pods. That guy was good. I made sure to videotape it.
The enemy pods got closer and closer to the ship. I could tell that some of them were right on top. The battle waged on and on. And then it stopped. The enemy pods and fighters flew back to where they came from. We beat them again. I just wish I knew how many more of them are out there.
the all-clear signal was sounded, and I went back to my apartment. I wrote an article on the battle, about how the brave defenders of SDF-1 successfully repelled another alien attack. I heard a knock on my door.
When I opened it, Jenna was not there. A brown-haired woman in uniform stood there instead. She was Lieutenant Lani Hart.
"Hi," I said. "What's up? Is Jenna asleep?"
"Jenna's veritech was hit in combat. She was taken to the hospital."
"Is she still alive?" I asked.
"Katie's at the hospital. No visitors are allowed to her room. Last I heard she was alive."
I bolted out of my apartment, my feet running the rest of me to the hospital as fast as they can go.
oooooooo
I woke up the next morning, and I was not in my apartment. I was in a hospital lobby. I saw Lani and Katie, Jenna's wingmates, also sleeping. A nurse entered the lobby.
"Is Jenna Murphy all right?" I asked.
"She's still alive and in intensive care," said the nurse. "Right now there's nothing you can do."
It's not fair! She was lying in the hospital injured and there was nothing I can do! I stormed out of the hospital, frustrated. I dreaded the moment that Katie or Lani would tell me, with tears flowing down their eyes, that Jenna was dead.
Even while working, I could not stop thinking of Jenna being in the hospital. She wanted to participate in the Miss Macross competition. But she might not even survive to that day. At evenings I would go to the Bright Star Casino, gamble some money, and have drinks at Vince's bar.
One evening I was sitting at the bar drunk.
"Hi Vince," a female voice said. "What's wrong with him?"
"He was dating a veritech pilot. She was injured in battle a few days ago and she's in a coma in the hospital."
"How sad. I can't imagine what I'd feel if something were to happen to Roy."
"Maybe he needs a woman to talk to him."
"Hi there," she said to me.
I looked at her, a woman in a green uniform with curly black hair. I introduced myself.
"I'm Claudia," she said. "Vince told me about what happened with your girlfriend."
"She's in the hospital," I said.
"Yoiu should be grateful she's alive."
"I don't know if she'll recover," I said.
"Maybe you should visit her."
"You mean right now?"
"Right now would be the best time. I have a car; I'll drive you there."
oooooooooooo
Claudia was nice enough to drive me to the hospital. I went in to the intensive care unit. I saw Jenna in bed, with all sorts of tubes and wires sticking into her. I was careful not to touch her. I just wish I could reach out to her.
I fell asleep. Images, sounds, smells, and tastes went through my dreams.
I was in Jenna's veritech, with her flying it. We were in space, in combat with the enemy.
"Oh no!" she yelled. "Three thousand enemy missiles are heading for us."
"The enemy launched three thousand missiles at one veritech fighter?" I asked. "That's insane."
Then the missiles hit and we were blown apart. Strangely, I continued to live. I saw body parts- our body parts.
Then I was back in Macross City. It was still on its island in the Pacific Ocean, with the SDF-1 proudly in the center, Then colored lights filled the place, and the island and I were in deep space. There was only light and cold. In the place where the SDF-1 once stood, I saw a huge monument with letters carved into it.
JENNA MURPHY - DEAD AND NEVER COMING BACK
I heard Jenna call out my name.
I was back in the hospital intensive care ward. I saw Jenna lying down. her eyes were open.
And she was saying my name.
"Jenna, you're awake," I said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a hundred enemy pods stomped on my head," she said. She smiled.
And I smiled too.
oooooooooo
I visited Jenna frequently in the hospital, as did her wingmates. I would often play card games with her.
One day, Colonel Maistroff entered the room. He was accompanied by a doctor.
"I have good news," said the colonel. "Doctor, if you will."
"You can go back to duty," said the doctor. "We've reviewed the test results and you should be able to perform your duties."
"And I will deliver the other news," said Maistroff. "You have been awarded the titanium medal of valor."
"I am honored, sir," said Jenna, holding the medal.
"If that Hunter kid gets a medal for saving Lieutenant Hayes, I figure you should get one for saving them both."
"Congratulations," I said to her. "We should go celebrate your recovery and your medal."
"The baby's coming," said someone passing through the adjacent hallway.
The baby? I know of only one person who is having a baby. I ran outside to find the maternity ward. After a few minutes,. I reached the maternity ward. I saw a bunch of doctors in a room.
"Push!" yelled a doctor. "It's a boy."
I looked and saw Andrea La Belle holding a baby boy.
"Congratulations," said the doctor. "The first baby born in space. What's his name?"
"Glenn," said Andrea. "Glenn with two n's. Glenn Harold La Belle."
Jenna and I looked at the baby Glenn. History was made in this room in this hospital in this spaceship millions of miles from Earth.