Interlude IV: Minmei LIVE!
Aboard the Factory Satellite, nearly fifty thousand UN Spacy soldiers, dock workers, and Zentraedi crew, both micronized and full-sized, filled the strangest concert venue in history. Mega-scaled partitions had been nudged into position by zero-G construction pods and carefully angled to improve the acoustics of the circular space. Audience members pulled themselves along anchor lines and then strapped themselves into seats welded to the deck to avoid drifting away. For all the enormous size of the temporary amphitheater, it was a tiny patch on the interior hull of the Factory Satellite's primary dry-dock bay; a pressurized space meant to contain, construct and maintain entire star fleets. Miles above, the nascent SDF-3 brooded, its keel and structural members suggestive of the spine and ribs of a great beast, shrouded by the wispy clouds generated by the chamber's many micro-climates.
The concert attendees were nearly all in their seats, murmuring excitedly and looking around in the pale green light of the bay. There was no obvious stage, just an unidentifiable machine module nearly thirty meters across set into the hull plates at the center of the amphitheater.
With no warning, every light in the bay switched off, an event which had not happened since the combined RDF and Allied Zentraedi strike force had launched their assault to capture the facility for Earth. The area of the amphitheater was now lit only by the rainbow array of the tens of thousands of fluorescing bracelets and wands carried by audience members, along with the vests of the hundreds of event staff. A surge of anticipation passed through the crowd, which built even higher as endless pre-positioned colored lamps activated in every corner of the bay, their rays catching and refracting in the clouds. To the audience, it seemed as if the entire cosmos- stars, warm suns, red giants, white dwarfs, and nebulae- had just spread before them.
Then a pulsing signal echoed through the bay, slow, plaintive and lonely. The air rippled above the amphitheater, and a vision of the Earth, blue, brown, green, white, took shape, rotating majestically. The pulse grew louder, closer, and a tiny metal capsule, like a truncated cone, drifted into view over the southern hemisphere. Its surface was a mirrored chrome, with black and gold inlaid between its panels. The pulse became a steady rhythm, and then the most famous voice in the Solar System reached the ears of the audience.
Is anyone there?
I'm feeling lost,
Cast adrift in orbit.
As the audience members watched, their cheers swallowed by the dark emptiness around them, the seams of the capsule were lit from within by a warm light, and it came apart in dozens of spinning, glittering fragments. Minmei floated at the center, clutching her knees to her chest, motionless, like a dreaming star child. Her spacesuit was solid, glossy black, clinging to her slender frame, and her helmet was a wide, transparent bowl that let her midnight tresses sway like silky ropes.
Blue skies have turned dark,
Blue oceans, drained and gone,
Green lands, brown and dry,
Seeing them, from orbit.
Minmei slowly, gracefully uncurled, stretching her legs out until her toes formed a narrow point, and arching her back so that she could gaze out at the Earth with huge, shining blue eyes. A dozen projec-beams, taller than battloids, broadcast her image in all directions, ensuring that her every expression and feature could be seen.
I ask myself, where lies hope,
What answers still to find?
Who can I reach,
Circling in orbit?
Minmei reached out slender, gloved fingers, flying forward on tiny jets of reaction mass, and then jerked to a stop, still tethered to the skeletal frame of the orbiting capsule by a thin silver cord. She snapped gently back toward it, curling in on herself again.
Is anyone there?
I'm feeling lost,
Still trapped in orbit.
The blackness above shimmered, the Earth vanishing and the stars flaring bright. There were spinning orbs, worlds of many hues, whirling in the void, and Minmei threw out her arms in welcome as a spray of comets streaked past in shining glory, leaving after-images in everyone's vision.
I look out to the stars,
Bright points of hope,
Whole worlds still to find,
Way out beyond orbit!
Who, then, will answer?
Who will touch me with
A voice beyond the stars,
Reaching me in orbit?
New points of color moved in the firmament. New signals pulsed. What at first appeared to be the strobing of orbiting satellites was revealed to be spacesuited figures lit with glowing panels, red, green, and blue. They maneuvered delicately on thrusters, surrounding Minmei in a complicated three dimensional dance which she joined, to the swelling strains of the song.
A long-limbed figure clad in a sea blue spacesuit approached Minmei, their features obscured by the reflective golden dome of their helmet. The pair of them drew together slowly, arms swept behind them, and delicately touched their helmets to one another in a gesture that somehow felt more intimate than a kiss.
Then the silver cord drew Minmei away from the figure, their hands reaching and missing by the barest fingertip. The stars faded, and the dancers disappeared in new darkness. Only Minmei's face was visible, lit from within her helmet. A single tear could be seen suspended in the air, glinting like a tiny shard of ice.
Is anyone there?
I'm feeling lost…
Seeing stars from orbit!
The music surged back with new strength, as supernovas burst and the galaxy returned in full brightness. Minmei sang and spun among the flashes of star-fire.
The future lies out there,
Healing, hope, and love!
Finding Fate and Truth,
Far away from orbit!
A formation of Valkyries, black, red, green, blue, and yellow, traced with white flames, screamed into view, retros burning, and halted at five points around Minmei, converting to battloid mode and regarding her through glowing visors. She set her thrusters to maximum power and flew up, defiantly, reaching the end of the silver cord and snapping it with a pure, clear sound of shattering crystal. Freed at last, she seated herself in the palm of the green Valkyrie's gauntlet and wrapped her arms around its thumb. The young woman looked down at the audience, and there was true joy on her face. Holographic numbers appeared in the air and counted down, crackling like compressed lightning.
Now we're revving engines!
Prepare for the launch!
Lighting up the skies,
Five, four, three, two, one!
We're launching now from orbit!
Breaking free from orbit!
Leaving now, will I find you there?
Blasting out of orbit!
Minmei gave a final wave of farewell and then the Valkyries flared blue and carried her off into the stars. Great ships of cobalt and gold followed them; stylized, leviathan shapes that were a dream and a promise of humanity's future beyond the Solar System. The deck vibrated at their passage, and then there was darkness and silence.
The crowd's cheers didn't begin to subside until the great machine at the center of the amphitheater rose up, narrow and elongated, counter-rotating sections illuminated and spinning like the modules of a space station. Its ascent revealed hidden platforms for the band and back-up singers. Minmei dove back into view, smoothly somersaulting and landing on the uppermost platform, her boots magnetically locking into place. The gravity generator concealed inside the cylinder of the multi-story staging platform spun up to full power, and her hair settled around her shoulders. The audience greeted her wildly as she took the wide bowl of her helmet in both hands and unlocked it with a sharp twist.
"Oh, thank you, everyone!" she called out, discarding the helmet and shaking her hair free as the audience roared their approval. "I am so excited to be back in space with all of you for the first time in almost three years!"
As she spoke, she unclasped the closures on her spacesuit and tugged it down from her shoulders, peeling away the clinging material and letting it drop around her ankles, revealing a white, leotard-like undersuit. She stepped out of the boots and stored the spacesuit in a recessed compartment in the deck.
"It is a true privilege to sing again among the stars, and sharing that experience with all of you makes it even more wonderful!" Minmei went on, retrieving a shimmering silver fabric and cinching it around her hips like a mini-skirt. She tied her hair back with a large white ribbon in a quick, practiced motion, and then pulled on calf-high, heeled silver boots and a short, matching jacket.
"I want to thank the UEG and United Earth Forces for making this visit possible, and I would also like to recognize my dear friends, Admirals Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter, for their leadership and dedication, and for their hospitality to me. Hi Rick, hi Lisa!" She waved down at them exuberantly.
Spotlights converged on the admirals in their seats as the audience applauded them. Rick smiled and waved, but Lisa paled and shrank visibly from the sudden attention. Seeing her distress, Rick whispered something in her ear and met her gaze lovingly. She relaxed and waved back at Minmei, her own green eyes catching the light as a smile reached her face. Rick took her hand, and they leaned into one another. There was no point being coy; half the Defense Force had been following the ups and downs of their relationship before they were even aware of it themselves.
Back on the stage, Minmei's own smile widened. "I hope you all enjoy the night I have planned for you! This is just the beginning, soon I'll be visiting L5, the Lunar Yards, and Moon Base ALUCE! Next I'd like to perform one of my favorite songs-"
Vanessa blinked in surprise as Minmei disappeared from the screen set into the back of the seat ahead of her in the shuttle's passenger compartment. The singer's image abruptly flickered to the UN Spacy seal, and then the face of Lieutenant Jose Reyes replaced it. He was looking healthy and in good humor, wearing a green and white flight helmet.
"Sorry for interrupting the concert, Lieutenant Commander," he said with an apologetic look. "The Sal-Dezir has given us clearance to approach, so you'll be docking soon."
The bittersweet smile fell from Vanessa's face. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll let the rest of the cohort know. You're sounding better. Happy to be back in the cockpit?"
Reyes grinned. "Well, I'd rather be flying the Lightning, if it wasn't still in pieces, but flying a Valk again and getting another chance to tease you and Hazard will have to do."
"Glad to have you with us," Vanessa said, smiling weakly.
"Seeing a Zentraedi ship from the inside, and flying combat scenarios against real Regult, Gnerl, and Queadluun-Rau units, with real, veteran pilots? Should be interesting." He suddenly frowned. "You ok, Tang? You look like something's bothering you."
"It's fine. You'd better get ready to dock," she answered curtly. It was certainly no matter for discussion over an open frequency.
"I- Yes ma'am. Of course. Escort One, out."
The shuttle carrying Vanessa, May, and the rest of the trainees made a last course adjustment, its escort squadron keeping formation with it, and then began its final approach to the waiting ships of the Allied Zentraedi Fleet.
Command continues in part 2, 'Descend'.
Next time… the Inspector General, limits of command, and the arsenal…
