That was the headline the next day. I wrote about what the military officially released. Rick Hunter, Max Sterling, Ben Dixon, and Lisa Hayes had been captured by the enemy. They managed to escape somehow and steal an enemy battle pod. They were examined in the SDF-1 Macross's sick bay and then they were released. I gathered statements from their co-workers, as the four of them were not available for interviews.
But there was one sad note. Third Lieutenant Lew Badnarik was killed in the enemy attack that led to their capture. I interviewed his parents.
"We flew to Macross to see Lew before the ship launched from Earth," said Mrs. Badnarik, wiping tears from her eyes. "We were supposed to fly home the day after."
"Lew helped us adjust to life on board the ship," said Mr. Badnarik. "He took the time to visit us after he got off duty. He made sure to spend at least one evening a week with us. We had dinner the evening before he was sent out to his death."
"Badnarik wasn't qualified for combat flying," said his wingmate Lieutenant Danning. "He and I were assigned to operate the Cat's Eye recon planes. 'He was a good friend."
The day that Lew Badnarik's obituary was published, the military decided to release some information that the four crew members gathered while they were in enemy custody. I and the other reporters went inside the SDF-1's press briefing room. Lieutenant Commander Ward spoke.
"The enemy call themselves the Zentraedi," said Commander Ward. "They are about forty feet tall according to reports from our recently recovered crew members."
At least I knew how to refer to them in future articles. The description did not surprise me, since I saw one of them the day I met Jenna.
"What do the Zentraedi want?" someone asked.
"We don't know."
"Where is their home planet?" asked another reporter.
"We don't know. The four only saw the inside of an enemy ship."
"And how many ship are there in their fleet?" I asked.
"That information is classified, sir," said the commander.
oooooooooo
Abig welcome home celebration as held at the Macross Amphitheater, the same place where Jenna competed in the Miss Macross competition. Ben Dixon, Lisa Hayes, Rick Hunter, and Max Sterling were all on stage, dressed in their full uniforms. Ben Dixon was this big fellow with brown hair, Lisa Hayes was a woman with brown hair reaching her shoulders, Rick Hunter was shorter than Ben and had black hair, and Max Sterling had blue-dyed hair and wore glasses, unusual for a combat pilot.
Lin Minmei walked out and gave flowers to each of them. She gave Rick Hunter a kiss. I made sure to take notes.
The four of them walked through the aisle.
"It was amazing that you four managed to escape an enemy ship," said Lani Hart. "Considering you're Spacy pilots."
"Hey, lady," said Ben Dixon. "We're the guys that haul your veritechs out into space. And how would you deal with giant aliens? Fortunately, Max, the skipper, and Commander Hayes had me to watch out for them. With those stunts we pulled, those aliens couldn't keep us locked up. Haw! Haw! Haw!"
"You sure talk big," said Katie Taney.
I walked up to speak with this guy. "How was it like?" I asked.
"it was huge!" said Ben Dixon. "I mean, the ship was huge. You could fit a highway in one of their corridors! And these aliens were huge. But they were no match for me."
"Dixon!" barked Commander Hayes. "Watch what you say to this reporter."
"Sorry, ma'am."
I asked Max, the blue-haired boy about his experience.
"I had to do some creative thinking to escape the alien ship," he said.
I turned to Lieutenant Hunter. "How do you feel?" I asked.
"I just want to go home and sleep," said Rick. "I had enough excitement to last me forever."
Jenna looked at me. "How about we have our own celebration?" she asked.
"Not done working yet," I said. "I have an idea on how to get more information. Follow me." I took Jenna's hand and then I ran into the street. "Ben Dixon!" I yelled. "Hey Ben!"
"What is it?" asked the Spacy pilot.
"I was really impressed with how you escaped from the enemy," I said. "We should buy you a drink."
And so I did.
oooooooooooo
Jenna and I took Ben Dixon to the Bright Star Casino. The casino was busy as usual, with patrons gambling their money in slot machines, table card games, roulette, and craps. We went to the bar. Some lady named Susie was bartending, as Vince was still in the hospital.
"This man escaped from the Zentraedi ship," I said. "I'm buying him a drink."
"Hi, my name is Jenna," said Jenna. "I'm a veritech pilot just like you, except I'm in the Marines."
"Ben Dixon," said our guest. "Call me Ben."
And so we made sure Ben had all the drinks he could swallow.
"So tell me Ben," said Jenna. "What happened? Start from the beginning."
"Uh, we were flying cover for Lisa," said Ben, his speech slurred. "And...and then they attacked. They got Lisa and we flew out veritechs into the ship. We got into a fight with the crew. And then there was this really big guy with a plate on his face. He smashed us up good. We were taken to their headquarters. We met this really big guy. His name's Dolza and he's like the king or somethin. They kept asking us aboiut this protoculture. There was something interesting."
"What was it?" asked Jenna.
"They didn't know how we made babies. When Rick and Lisa kissed, they got all disgusted. You know, if we want to win, we should just show them pornos or something."
"And then?"
"And then Max came. He was in his battloid, dressed like a Zentraedi. He got us out, but then his battloid blew up. We managed to find out way to another ship. We hid there and then we stole a battle pod and we were rescued."
"I saw them take the battle pod in."
I whispered to Jenna.
"Ben," she asked, "could you please tell us how many ships the Zentraedi have in their fleet?"
"Four or five."
"What?" I asked. "Hundred? Thousand?"
"Million," said Ben.
oooooooooo
Jenna and I left the casino. Ben would probably gamble away his bonus pay, and wake up with a hell of a hangover. We went to the observation deck. We could see outside into space.
"Four million ships," I said. "The Spacy does not even have two thousand ships."
"Maybe the Zentraedi have other enemies," said Jenna. "I mean, there have been long periods of no enemy attacks against us. We might be a low priority compared to their foes."
"I have absolutely no idea of what interstellar politics are like," I said. "If the Zentraedi have poweerful enemies, I hope they stay at war. If we become their only enemy, there won't be anything left of the ship bigger than a baseball."
"I see it," someone said.
"I told you," said someone else.
I looked and saw two boys. One was wearing a Dragonball T-shirt. The other kid was wearing a New York Yankees cap. The boy with the cap had been looking through one of the telescopes mounted on the observation deck.
"What do you see?" I asked.
"Earth," said the boy.
I went to the telescope. I saw nothing but star-studded space and the Zentraedi warships following us.
"Let me, Mister," said one of the boys.
He moved the telescope. I saw something.
Something blue.
I moved slightly and zoomed in. It was Earth!
"Earth!" I shouted. "I can see Earth!"
"let me see," said Jenna. I let her look through the telescope. "Yes! I can see Earth! And there's the moon! We're almost there!"
"How long until we reach Earth?" I asked.
"Two days," said one of the boys.
I'm only two days from home.
But I looked at the Zentraedi fleet, and I wondered if we can bust through.
I would learn the answer later.
oooooooooo
All of Macross City learned quickly how close we are to Earth. There was much talk of what they would do, whom they would call.
I called the telephone operator to ask if I can speak to someone on Earth, since we were close enough for realtime radio communication.
"No, you can only call on board ship," said the Macross telephone operator.
"Patch me in to SDF-1 Communications Control."
"Hello," said a female voice.
I told her my name. "Can you get me a call to New York?'" I asked.
"We can't access the telephone satellites," she said.
I was certain the enemy would try to stop us from reaching Earth orbit. On the morning we were predicted to arrive, I went to the observation deck. I could see Earth without a telescope. I pointed the telescope and then put a quarter in. I moved and saw the continents. It looked unfamilar until I realized we were flying such that I was looking at Earth with the south pole on top. I tried to look at the continents, see if I could recognize the shapes even if they appeared upside down.
I recognized Africa. I could see Europe with its Italian peninsula. I could see the British isles. I zoomed in. I could see North America. I looked up and down the coastline.
As Earth was rotating clockwise in relation to us, I could see relatively large island near North America's Atlantic coastline. That was Long Island. the island entered the lit side of Earth. I could see Queens and Brooklyn. Then a much smaller island appeared. Manhattan.
It would be nice if SDF-1 were to land right in New York Harbor, next to the Statue of Liberty. But it was not to be.
The alarm sounded, and I knew this was it. We were going to break through the enemy lines and make it to Earth. I saw the veritechs launch out of the deck of the Prometheus.
"ALL HANDS PREPARED FOR MODULAR TRANSFORMATION!" I heard through the loudspeaker.
Fortunately, the observation deck remained intact after the transformation, as it was rebuilt after the first transformation. I could see fireballs out in space. The veritechs were engaging the Zentraedi fighters and pods.
I prayed that Jenna would be there to greet me when we return to Earth.
Then the fireballs stopped. I wondered if we repelled the enemy attack, or if all of our fighters were destroyed and the Zentraedi would then destroy us.
The Earth got closer and closer and I could see some of the veritechs. We broke through! We were going back to Earth.
I sat down on one of the seats. The seats here had seat belts. I made sure to fasten my seat belts. I would be in for a very bumpy read.
I saw one of the veritechs next to us flashing its lights while none of the others did. That was Jenna! She made it and she knew I would be in the observation deck
The Earth consumed more of my view until it filled the whole window. The window showed nothing but an expanse of blue streaked with white. I could soon see some sort of light, like a corona. The SDF-1 was re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. I stared for many tense minutes. I could see these coronas surrounding our veritech escorts.
Then the corona effect disappeared. We were slowing down. I could see clouds pass us. I waited many more minutes.
Then I felt shaking and I saw water splash against the window. Water filled the view of the window for a few seconds. then it receded to reveal a clear blue sky.
The Earth's sky.
I got out of my seat and looked at the sky. It was so beautiful.
"WE HAVE JUST TOUCHED DOWN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN!" yelled an excited female voice over the intercom. "THE CAPTAIN AND CREW WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR YOU SPLENDID COOPERATION DURING THIS LONG AND DIFFICULT UNDERTAKING. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY ON EARTH! THE SUN IS SHINING AND THE SEA IS CALM! IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!"
I immediately ran through the streets of Macross City and trhough one of the hatches. I took a big whiff. I was breathing air from Earth! Hundreds of people were with me. I saw one guy doing cartwheels.
I looked up and saw veritech fighters greeting us. They were probably from a UN Navy vessel nearby, coming to greet us all home. I then saw veritechs on their landing approach from Promotheus. One by one they landed until the SDF-1's air wing was all in the hangar deck.
There was one more thing. I ran back inside the ship and headed to my apartment in Macross City. I saw a blinking light on my answering machine.
I pressed the play button.
"It's me, Jenna," said the message. I won't be seeing you for a few hours. I just want you to know that I made it back to Earth and I'm in the office. See you later."
I lay down in my bed. It was good to be back!