Quinn and I took the subway to Broadway and Liberty Street the day I had to go back to work. I was dressed in my suit. We got out of the subway and went inside the office building. A few minutes later, I was back in my office. I went straight to Mr. Chegwidden's private office.
"Good to see you back," he said to me. "How was your vacation?"
"It was fine, sir," I said. "I got reacquainted with the city, and then I paid a visit to Apollo Colony on the moon."
"It must have been very expensive."
"Yes, it was. I must have spent three months' worth of salary on my vacation."
"Well, you have a lot of work to do. The first thing I want you to work on is a summary article of the SDF-1's two-year journey."
Mr. Chegwidden gave me some papers, and I took them to the main office.
"Here's your desk," said Quinn, pointiong to an empty cubicle.
"Okay," I said, turning on the personal computer. I looked through all the notes and articles I had written on the SDF-1. I thought about the people I met while on board that ship. It would be a lot easier to keep in touch if SDF-1 landed in New York Bay. I turned on the word processing program and I began writing the summary article. I started with the pre-launch ceremonies the day the battle fortress launched.
I was back.
ooooooooooooooo
I spent the next few days on the feature article I was writing summarizing the SDF-1's two-year journey. I even worked on it at home.
One day, I received a letter from Jenna and I leanred about her life. she had been promoted to major and she was reassigned as an executive offiver of a veritech training squadron in Palm Springs, California. She was now training a class of twenty candidates, teaching them about the operations of the machines and training them in the simulators. The war had greatly reduced the number of flight instructors and the best pilots were needed to teach a new generation of pilots how to fly the VF-1 Valkyrie veritech fighters. I took time off from my article to write a letter to Jenna, telling her that I was fine and back at work and I included my Greenwich Village return address.
I finally finished the article on the SDF-1 after two days. I saved it to disk and delivered the disk personally to Mr. Chegwidden's office.
"Very good," he said after skimming the article. "I'll have marketing shop this article to newspapers. You may go now."
"Okay then," I said, heading back to my desk.
For the next few days, I covered stories about the reconstruction efforts by the United Nations and the state of New York and geopolitical events. There was still leftover fighting from the Zentraedi survivors that refused to join Supreme Commander Breetai. The United Nations controlled only a small part of the world. It expanded its sphere of infl;uence by offering protection to ciommunties which had little contact with any larger government. I made sure to write to Jenna at least once a week. As for Macorss City, construction was still going on just outside the SDF-1. For recreation, I started working out at the NY Fitness gymnasium just down the street from my apartment in Greenwich Village.
Then one day there was an international crisis.
oooooooooooooooooo
On that day, Quinn and I were riding the subway on the way to work. We were both standing, as all the seats were taken by riders from the northern parts of Manhattan. It weas then I heard a news bulletin from nearby radio.
"And this just in. A military force has surrounded the United Nations Headquarters and laid siege to it," said the voice of a radio news repoerter. "The whole block has been sealed off. There is no word yet on whose authority this siege was conducted. The Governor of New York has denied responsibility for the siege..."
And then the radio's owner changed the station.
oooooooooo
Once Quinn and I got to the office, we went to a meeting room. The Sony television was on, and all channels had the specical report of the siege on the UN. It clearly was not Zentraedi leftovers, I recognized Humvees, M-1 Abrams tanks, MBR-04 Tomahawk destroids, and a HWR-00 Monster destroid. Soldiers were blocking access to the streets near the United Nations building.
"We've received reports that all active UN military bases are on red alert," said a CNN reporter. "The UN High Command has spoken with the Governor of New York, who has denied mobilizing the National Guard to lay siege to the UN. Wait, we are receiving a transmission."
"We've received a transmission," said the CNN anchor. "We have not yet determined the source of the transmission. We will play it for you."
An image appeared, and this sallow man in a suit appeared before a podium. Standing beside him was a man in a U.S. Air Force dress uniform.
"My fellow Americans," said the man in the suit. "My name is Hayden Ridge. I was the Secretary of the Treasury during the event known as the Rain of Death. After the Rain of Death, the military brought me to a secure location. One month ago I took the oath of office to serve as President of the United States of America and commander-in-chief of its armed forces."
"The President?" asked Art.
"No one has heard from the U.S. government since the Rain of Death," said Mr. Chegwidden.
"Let me, let me assure you that the fundamental institutions of this nation continue to exist," said Hayden Ridge. "i was fortunate that my home was not located near any ground zeroes of the Rain of Death. The laws of succession gave me this duty to serve in this office, a duty I do not take lightly. With me here is the new Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Air Force General William Waverly."
"Thank you," said General Waverly. "I was appointed to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Ridge after he was sworn in. First of all, I want to say to the American people that we are doing our best to reconstitute the federal government. We have made contact with survivors from all fifty states. We have gathered enough senators for a quorum, and we will held special elections to fill the House delegation. Most importantly, we have offensive military capability which will allow us to fight the Zentraedi survivors and anyone else. As you know, President Ridge mobilized the New York Army National Guard and ordered them to lay siege to the United Nations Headquarters. We have one demand. Our demand is the withdrawl of all UN military personnel from the United States and its teritories, and the surrender of the United Nations Headquarters."
"This is a bad time to do this," said one of the reporters.
"Let's see what we know about Hayden Ridge and that general," said Mr. Chegwidden.
And so we did research on the Internet, looking up our own archives as well as those of the New York Times, the New York Post, CNN, and Fox News.
I went inside Mr. Chegwidden's office.
"What did you learn?" he asked.
"Hayden Ridge was the Secretary of the Treasury," I said. "I got that from our old archives as well as the world almanac. His appearance on TV matches that of the photos of him on the net. As for General Waverly, he was the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command."
"The U.S. military was downsized after the formation of the United Earth Government."
"Yes, it was. It still maintained Reserve and National Guard units as well as the Selective Service System. The President simply mobilized the Reserves and National Guard. Now the U.S. military is upsized."
"You and Sullivan will go to the United Nations Headquarters and find out what is going on."
And so we did.
ooooooooooooooo
Quinn and I arrived near UN Headquarters in a Ford Crown Victoria taxicab. The New York City Police Department had blokced access to the street. Ahead I could see the Humvees and tanks and destroids and soldiers.
"Excuse me," I said to a soldier. "I'm a reporter from the Associated Press. I'd like to talk to someone inside the building."
"You may not enter," said the soldier. "No one may enter or leave."
"What is going on?" I asked.
"Our orders were to seal off the UN Headquarters."
"Whom did you receive your orders from?"
"Our orders came from our commander-in-chief, the President of the United States."
I spoke with a New York City police officer.
"Dio you have any plans?" I asked.
"Listen," said the police officer. "I don't know what the big deal is. I'm just trying to keep people from getting caught in the crossfire of a shooting war between the U.S. and the U.N."
Quinn and I asked the crowd of people that had gathered about what was going on. None had reported any shots fired. One person, a hot dog vendor working across the street from United Nations Headquarters, mentioned that the Humvees, APC's, and tanks rolled in at about eight o'clock, and that helicopters airlifted destroids minutes later.
I wondered if any other UN bases were under siege. I wondered if Jenna was all right. Would this situation turn into a shooting war?
oooooooooooo
U.S LAYS SIEGE TO U.N.!
That was the headline for the New York Post the next day. The article mentioned the announcement from Hayden Ridge. There was much speculation whether or not Hayden Ridge was whom he said he was, since no one knew where he was.
The siege of the UN was the top priority for the Associated Press's New York Bureau. All of us were calling leads.
Then we heard an update on CNN.
"We have just been informed that the President will be sending diplomats to the UN to conduct negotations as to the withdrawl of its forces," said the CNN anchorman. "They will be arriving shortly. The President has also said that the negotiations will be public and open to the press."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mr. Chegwidden asked me. "Get to the UN. I will make arrangements"
"Okay," I said.
oooooooooooo
I later arrived at the United Nations and showed my passport to the soldier at the blockade. He called someone on his radio.
tThen another soldier walked to the barricade and spoke to me. "Wait here," he said. He spoke into his radio. "You may go in," he said.
I walked towards the front entrance of the United Nations building, escorted by U.S. Army soldiers. I stepped through the glass door, and was immediately greeted by a squad of U.N. Space Marines.
"Stop right there," said a gunnery sergeant. He spoke into his radio as the other marines searched me. "Okay, you will follow him."
"I'll be taking you to the room whewre the negotiations will be held," said a Marine lieutenant. He led me throiugh the lobby into an elevator. He inserted a key and pressed a button. Soon we were moving up. He then led me across a hallway to a pair of double doors. Two marines stood guard. They stepped aside and let me in.
The room was huge, with a three tables forming a U-shape. There was a fourth table and I was led here; it was for reporters I guessed. There were microphones on the three tables where the delegates would meet. In the back was the United Nations logo. There were several delegates, both civilian and military.
One of the delgates apporahced me, a woman with black hair tied in a ponytail.
"Hello there," she said. "My name is Jessica Davis. President Ridge sent me here to be his representative."
I took down her name in my notepad. "Nice to meet you," I said.
"The UN is bringing in another delegate from outside the headquarters," said Jessica Davis. "Then we can begin."
The woman went back to the table, sitting on a chair in front of a microphone. The other reporters and I waited.
And waited.
And then a woman with shoulder-length brown hair came in, escorted by marines. She was dressed in a UN Spacy uniform.
"Hello there," said one of the men.
"I am Commander Lisa Hayes of the UN Spacy," said the woman. "I am the XO of the SDF-1 Macross. I believe my experiences will get all of us to understand."
That name sounded familiar. I knew I heard of a Lisa Hayes during my stay on the ship.
"Here are our demands," said Jessica Davis. "The United Nations will turn over its headquarters to the United States. All United Nations military forces will be withdrawn from the United States and its territories. All United Nations ocean vessels will leave for international waters. We believe this can be achieved without firing on you. We will make arrangements for the relocation of your headquarters and your military forces to any willing country or UN territory."
"I ask you to please reconsider," said a UN delegate. "We are still fighting hostile Zentraedi forces, some of who are hiding in your territory. They threaten the rebuilding of Earth. You must reconsider. Commander Hayes will explain it better."
"I spent two years on board SDF-1," said Commander Hayes. "I have seen first hand the threat of the Zentraedi. I was even a prisoner on their ship for a while. I was later transferred to EDC Headquarters in Alaska and that was where I heard of the Rain of Death. You must know that hostile Zentraedi are hiding out in your country. You need our help."
"This war with the Zentraedi was started by the UN," said a US Marine general. "Our intelligence indicated that your ship fired first, thus provoking the war. You brought the Rain of Death which killed two hundred million Americans. And don't say we can not deal with renegade Zentraedi on our own. You have satellite surveillance, you know what offensive capability we have."
"So you know about the war with the Zentraedi," said the UN delegate. "Then you must know that the Zentraedi fleet commander Breetai formed an alliance with us against the rest of the Zentraedi, and is assisting us in the reconstruction efforts. He has provided raw material and labor for the reconstruction. But he is only providing it to the United Nations. It is the only Earth entity that he will deal with."
"And you trust him?" asked Jessica Davis.
"Yes," said Commander Hayes. "He fought against the Supreme Commander Dolza. He has no desire to destroy us; he is no longer our enemy. His advisor Exedore now works with us. We have to keep up the attacks agains the renegade Zentraedi, before someone unites the factions and renews the war."
"We don't want to fight your war," said Jessica Davis. "Your war devastated our country. As for the UN, it is basically a country club for brutal dictators. We are declaring our neutrality in your war with the hostile Zentraedi factions. You forces are to leave, and you can start by removing the SDF-1 from U.S. soil."
"The SDF-1 can no longer fly," said Commander Hayes. "And we have a civilian population who lived with us the past two years. They are rebuilding their city right here on Earth. You can't expect them to relocate again."
"We will grant the civilians U.S. residency," said Jessica Davis. "They can live right where your ship landed. But you and the crew must leave U.S. soil. And since you can not take the ship with you, we will take possession of it."
"And don't think we can't do it, Commander," said the US Marine general. "You have seen our demonstration of a nuclear explosion. We still maintain a nuclear arsenal, left untouched by the Rain of Death. Surely your SDF-1 can not survive a direct nuclear strike."
"What of the civilians?" asked Commander Hayes.
"They don't have to die, Commander," said Jessica Davis. "Relocate the ship's crew, turn it over to us, and they will not be harmed. They can continue to build their city and live under U.S. jurisdiction."
"Listen," said Commander Hayes. "The enemy Zentraedi factions will ignore your neutrality. They view all humans as the enemy."
ooooooooooooooo
Later on, the negotiations were recessed. I got into the elevator to go to the lobby. Commander Lisa Hates was inside the elevator too.
"You were that reporter on the SDF-1," she said.
"That's right," I replied. "How's the construction of Macross City going along?"
"Well, the streets are being paved," said the commander. "I'll be going back to my hotel until the second day of negotiations. I just can't believe that in this day and age, they would still be fighting. Their rhetoric sounded like Lin Kyle."
When I reached the lobby, I headed for the main exit. I was immediately searched by American soldiers. Then I went straight home, as it was late afternoon. Turning on the TV, all the channels were covering the siege of the United Nations Headquarters.
"How were the negotiations?" asked Quinn.
"They obviously have some issues," I said, typing an article on the personal computer.
ooooooooooooooooo
The next morning, I went back to the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan. Once again, I had to show my ID to the UN Space Marine security people. I then was escorted in to an elevator, through the hallway, and into the room where the negotiations would take place. Once again, I sat at the reporters' table with my notepad and pen in hand. I waited until all the delegates came in.
"After consultation with my superiors," said Jessica Davis, "we are willing to alter our demands. We are willing to grant the United nations sovereignty over SDF-1 and the surrounding area as shown by the map. In return, we require that all UN military forces operating in US soil be placed under US operational command."
"That seems reasonable," said UN Spacy Commander Lisa Hayes. An aide hands her a piece of paper, presumably the map that Jessica Davis was talking about.
"The United Nations General Assembly will debate this," said the UN delegate.
I soon left to go back to my office. That was short. And anticlimactic.
ooooooooooooo
The next day, I went to a press conference at the United Nations Headquarters.
"We have passed the United Nations Resolution accpeting our treaty with the United States," said a UN spokesman. "Our treaty will place all UN forces on US soil under US operational command. The areaaround the SDF-1 has been cederd to the UN for the crew of that ship."
After the press conference was over, I went back to my office to write an article.
ooooooooooo
That evening, Quinn and I had dinner where the main course was steak. Steak was a little bit cheaper than it was two months ago, though it is something we could not afford to have every day or even every week.
There was a special report on TV. US Air Force General William Waverly appeared on the screen.
"I have announced that we destroyed a renegade Zentraedi vessel in Minnsota yesterday," said General Waverly. "We launched an ICBM towards the site of a crashed Zentraedi vessel being used as a base by a renegade faction. We make this ultimatum to all Zentraedi still here. If you do not leave, we will destroy you."
"So what are you up to?" I asked.
"Not much," said Quinn. "I think I'm gonna see a movie on Friday. It's release was delayed because of the war."
"Right now, I want to get my work done and get some sleep," I said. "I would like to catch a movie."
"The theater's just two blocks away."