That was the headline for the morning after the SDF-1 Macross left Earth. I wrote the cover article. I made sure to include every word of that speech by Lin Minmei. Jake Austin, the publisher of the Macross Gazette, was very pleased. His newspaper was sold out within two houts after hitting the newsstands. They actually ran out of paper and had to wait hours before more could come.
Aside from that Jake had other things going on. His wife was about to have a baby, and I was invicted to cover it. I made sure to scrub my hands before putting on the blue surgical gown. His wife was on the delivery table.
"Push," Jake said to his wife.
His wife replied with a scream.
"It's a boy!" yelled the doctor.
I watched as Jake Austin held the newest addition to his family. the baby was then weighed.
"Eleven pounds," said the doctor. "He's gonna be a big boy."
"His name is James," said Jake. "James Austin."
It was a good start to the SDF-1's second deployment into space. I wondered if James Austin would ever set foot on Earth.
ooooooooo
I learned in a press conference by Commander Ward that more Zentraedi cruisers folded to our solar system, in orbit around Earth's moon. They did not attack; they just seemed content in sitting there in space. I suppose Jenna was grateful, as she would have more to do besides stay in her quarters all day. Jenna changed her phone number so I could not call her. Lieutenant Wolfe told me that Jenna has been isolating herself from everyone. She eats alone in the officers' mess and she never goes out.
I decided to go to have some drinks. I too have been working a lot, covering news from the city, the SDF-1 crew, and Minmei. I try to make contact with the friends I have made. There was this loneliness within me.
I sat at the Bright Star Casino's bar. Vince served me a couple of drinks.
"Maybe you should move on," said Vince. "I mean, she wants to be alone, fine. Right, Claudia?"
"Right," said Claudia, who was sitting two stools to my left. "I'm so glad that Vince and Lisa and Kim and Sammie and Vanessa are there for me. That poor girl is gonna go nuts."
"I guess she doesn't want to deal with it," I said. "She thinks that if no one cares for her, no one would be hurt if she died, and if she doesn't care about anyone, she wouldn't be hurt if they died. She actually told me I'd be better off if I never met her." I downed another drink. "She did not want me to experience the pain of losing someone I loved very much- as if I didn't already lose her." I began to think. "Maybe she was right. I wish I never took that stupid assignment. Then I wouldn't be here; I'd be back in New York."
"Cheer up," said Claudia. "There are tons of women on this ship. You don't have to be alone."
"Okay," I said.
"She's a fucking fighter pilot, what do you expect?" asked this man. I looked and saw that this man was Lin Kyle, sitting two stools to my right. "She did you a favor, man. She's gonna die anyway. It will never work out. My cousin Minmei's in love with this fighter pilot. One day, he's gonna die and she will be broken and she won't be able to work. Trust me, man, you're better off without her."
"Whatever," I muttered.
"I'd better go get some sleep," said Claudia.
"Uh, Claudia," I said. "I know that you miss Commander Roy Fokker. Do you regret ever knowing him? Do you think you'd be better off if you never met? Do you wish you never met him so that you wouldn't have gone through all that grief?"
"Never," said Claudia. She stood up and left the casino.
oooooooooo
The next morning, I went to my office after the breakfast to review my articles and notes. I saw Lieutenant Claudia Grant standing in front of the door.
"I wanted to see you before I started my shift," said Claudia.
I unlocked the door and we both entered my small office. I sat behind my desk.
"So what's up?" I asked.
"I read your obituary of Roy," she said.
"I hope you didn't find it offensive."
"It was inadequate," she said. "It didn't tell the whole story. It didn't mention me."
"I thouhg tit was a bad idea to interview you at the time."
"And it was. But now I'm ready. Could you meet me at the Variation Tea and Coffee Shop at about 1800? That's 6 PM."
"Sure, I'm free," I said. "It's not like I have a date or anything."
And so that was what I did.
ooooooooo
Claudia and I ordered coffee. I put creamer and sugar into my coffee as I sipped it.
"Tell me about Commander Fokker," I said.
"Where do I begin?" asked Claudia. "I suppose I could start at the beginning. It was a few years ago. We were younger than you are now. We were both stationed at a UN Spacy airfield. He was a fighter pilot- veritechs were not being deployed yet, and I was an ATC officer. The United Earth Government had already been established, but there were factions that wanted to destroy the UN. He kept trying to pursue me, leaving me little presents. One time Roy was gonna pick me up on a date and he was accompanied by three women."
"Yikes," I said. "I find it remarkable you even got together with him!"
"I look back and sometimes I wonder how that was ever possible. One day he told me these words. These girls mean nothing to me. He loved me. From that point on, we were dating. I don't know what happened to those three girls; maybe they're on Earth. I wonder if they knew what happened to Roy."
"When did Roy start flying veritechs?"
"He was selected as a test pilot. He told me that this robotech thing is in the blood. The flights for fighter mode were conducted in the Macross City Air Base; the test flights for guardian and battloid were conducted somewhere in Alaska. Skull Squadron was created the day the VF-1 began operational deployment, a month before the launch. Roy was a hardass on duty, but once he's off duty he's a real softie. He's so sweet and kind. I'm just glad he stayed that way instead of becoming bitter and withdrawn. He actually wept for every pilot he lost. I was there for him, and I wouldn't have had it any other way."
"Thank you, Claudia," I said.
"You know, the night he died, I made pineapple salad for him. He never got to eat it. I ate the whole thing after there were no more tears to cry. I want what I felt for him to be recorded, so that people can read about my story long after we both join Roy."
"I'll stay up all night writing this article if I have to," I said. I got up, leaving behind my enpty coffee mug, and I headed out to the street.
I looked and saw a blond-haired woman in a red blouse and blue jeans. the outfit looked familiar, as well as her height and build.
"Jenna," I said.
She just kept walking.
ooooooooooo
The Macross Gazette published my article on Roy Fokker. They were not the only ones, other newspapers sprang up in competition. Once again, the Gazette was sold out along with the other papers. Lieutenant Rick Hunter called me from his office thanking me for writing the article.
"I will always keep this article with me," he said. "Someday, I will share it with my children so they will know about my big brother."
I continued to work on other stories. I went to the City Hall for a press conference by the mayor, and I asked Lin Kyle about the update to the movie. That evening, I went to my office to review notes and articles before I had dinner.
"Hi there," said Claudia. she was holding something, a styrofoam bowl.
"Did you want to add anything else about Roy?" I asked.
"No, I just wanted to thank you for your article. I'll always keep it. You know, Vince is dating Jean."
"Who?"
"She's the nurse that took care of him when he was wounded in last year's terrorist attack."
"I can never forget it." After all, I was arrested in connection with that attack.
"Here's some pineapple salad. This is what Roy was looking forward to eat before he died."
I took the pineapple salad from Claudia. "Thank you," I said.
"Just make sure you eat it before you die."
"I will," I said.
Claudia then walked away. I went into my office and ate the pineapple salad as I finished up my day's work.
ooooooooooo
I continued living and working in Macross City. The enemy made a few attacks, but it seemed they were testing our defenses and not trying to destroy us. I came to visit Jake Austin, whose baby had just come home.
"Jim's already gained six pounds," said Jake.
I looked at the baby. He had a flat nose, a full head of brown hair, and brown eyes. "He's cute," I said. "He's probably gonna be a heartbreaker when he grows up."
ooooooooooo
A few months after leaving Earth, something happened.
It would be the first and only time Jenna Murphy ever struck me.
I was playing the veritech fighter arcade game on evening after work. I managed to score some kills. Of course, this place was frequented by veritech pilots. I didn't see Jenna come here though; she preferred to fly the simulators.
"Hey there," said this bespectacled man with blue dyed hair. I recognized him as Max Sterling, the pilot who escaped from the Zentraedi warship seven months ago."
"Hi," I said. "Do you want an interview?"
"How about we play against each other?" he asked.
"Sure."
And so we did. I was operating the red veritech, while Max Sterling operated blue. We then battled. I kept chasing after him and firing on him. I would get him in my sights, but he would just barely get away. We did this for a minute. I looked and I was almost out of ammo.
"There you are," I said. I was gonna line Sterling in my sights.
Then his fighter disappeared. I wondered where it went.
Then the GAME OVER message appeared.
"You were just playing with me," I said.
"Well, I did have training and experience," he replied. "If you flew veritechs in combat for more than a year, you'd have experience."
I then saw a bunch of people from Knight Squadron arrive. I recognized Katie and Lieutenants Wolfe and Ichijo and Corporal Dow and there werwe a few people whom I was not familiar with.
And there was one person whom I was very familiar with.
Jenna.
"Hi there," I said. "I haven't spoken to you in months. How are you doing?"
"Fine," she said. "I've been busy."
"So you are finally going out."
"They insisted I come along. These machines are not as good for training as the simulators."
"there's more to life than working," I said. "You should talk to Vince sometime. He's dating Jean."
"That's great," said Jenna. "But the simulators won't feel pain when I get killed out there. Neither will strangers. Vince is a great guy and he's happy and I want him to stay happy. I already have a family to grieve over me, I don't want my death to cause grief for anyone else."
"hey Jenna," said Katie. "This is Max from Skull Squadron."
"Hi," said Max. "Lieutenant Max Sterling, Skull Squadron.
"Captain Jenna Murphy from Knight Squadron," she said. "You're the guy that escaped from the Zentraedi ship."
"That's me. Your friend Katie told me you needed to cheer up. Why not play a game with me?"
"It will be a good training exercise," she said.
So Jenna and Max started playing against each other. Jenna was good, much better than I was. Katie and the others of Knight Squadron cheered Jenna on.
"You scored a hit," said Max. "But I'm still in the game."
The two continued playing, and it lasted a lot longer than my game with Max. Knight Squadron was cheering. I saw members of Skull Squadron, and they were cheering for Max.
Then the game was over.
"Looks like Sterling won," said Lieutenant Ichijo.
"Skull Squadron rules!" yelled a Skull pilot.
"You're good," Max said to Jenna. "Listen, your friend Katie told me about what happened to Lani Hart. She told me you were shutting everyone else out and you even broke up with your boyfriend because of this. She asked me to talk to you. Maybe someone who knows what you're going through would..."
"How could YOU possibly know what I am going through?" Jenna asked angrily. I never saw her this mad. "LANI WAS MY BEST FRIEND! I SAW HER DIE! I HEARD HER SCREAM FOR HELP! HOW DARE YOU TELL ME HOW I FEEL! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND!"
I saw Jenna clench her hand into a fist. I walked up to her.
"Jenna, please," I pleaded.
Then I felt something hit me hard, and I fell down. I got up and I saw Jenna running down the street, sobbing loudly.
oooooooooo
Minutes later, I was sitting on a bench just outside the arcade. Lieutenant Wolfe was pressing an ice pack on my head. I can feel the coldness.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"I'd hate to be a Zentraedi pilot flying anywhere she is," I said.
"At least I broke your fall," said Max Sterling.
"Thanks," I said.
"I know how she is feeling," said Max. "I felt that way when Ben Dixon was killed by the barrier overload. For months I just kept to myself, wondering how I could go on, and why I couldn't save him."
"And how are you doing?"
"I still miss him. I didn't have any close friends other than Ben, so the others in my squadron didn't notice me shutting them out. But then I reached out to some of them, as well as Ben's parents. I knew they lost close friends too, not to mention the Dixons losing a son."
"Jenna thinks if she shuts everyone out, no one will care if she gets killed. She told me she did not want me to grieve for her."
"Ben wouldn't have wanted me to do that," said Max. "He would have rather grieved over my death instead of having never met me. I guess, I guess I feel the same way. Listen, none of us can make Jenna open herself to anyone. She has to do it on her own."
"Thanks for trying to reach her," I said. "A part of her died when Lani was killed. She will have to bring that part back to life."