Disclaimer:I don't own Robotech or any of the characters. The following fan fiction is written for entertainment purposes only.
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CHAPTER SIX
"You are just like me, you know," Lisa said for what seemed like the hundredth time to Khyron as he paced the room. "Dr. Lang and our scientists have proved it from the blood of the Zentraedi who had defected to our ship. We are part of the same species."
"You're telling me unless information, Commander. You are telling me information that I have no interest in. I want to know about the Protoculture on that ship!" Khyron said as he turned to give her a hard, angry stare.
"You're not interested!" Lisa spat and hoped the look she gave back to him was one of disbelief. "How could you not be interested in something as important as this? Don't you understand that this means we could stop the fighting between our two races?"
"Impossible! I tell you," he growled softly. "Everything coming out of your mouth is nonsense. Do you know, Commander," he paused significantly, "if I didn't find you so entertaining I would crush you right now?"
Lisa clenched her teeth as she forced herself to look up at him, to call his buff without fear or emotion. "You're weak, Khyron. Fighting is an easy way out and weak men always want the easy way."
She heard his screamed of blinded hate and frustration. She closed her eyes then, knowing he was going to kill her now for she had finally pushed too far. Calmly she waited for death but it never came instead she heard the door opened.
Holding her breath, Lisa opened one of her eyes to peek out and saw that he was stalking out of the room. Her shoulders slumped as she dropped to the floor.
"How long," she muttered quietly to herself, "how long before I go crazy and tell him everything I know about the SDF-1's defense or before I drive him crazy and he kills me?"
Looking around, she could almost pretend that this cage, this glass box that she was living in now for the past nine days was her quarters on the SDF-1; for she had been given a sofa, a mattress and a table to make herself comfortable.
Khyron had informed her when he set them in her cage that he had gotten them from Grel who had gotten them from their ex-spies- Rico, Bron and Konda who were now defectors on board the SDF-1.
However Lisa knew that this was not her quarters on the SDF-1, for one thing, it did not have Rick, Claudia, the Captain or the Trio. Instead what it did have was one spoiled, angry Zentraedi warlord who enjoyed taunting her, giving her hope one minute then dashing it the next over and over again; who seemed to thrive on her anger, her isolation and fear.
Rick, where are you? Do you still think of me?
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"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Khyron?" Azonia asked from the communication screen as she stared in shocked at Miriya Parino- her captain of the Quadrono clinging to the arm of a blue haired micronian as if her life depended on him.
"I'm not blind, Azonia," Khyron answered and turned slightly away from the monitor to Grel. He whispered something to Grel that she could not hear and she watched with suspicion as he disappeared from the room.
"Well? Can you tell me what she is doing?" Azonia demanded lifting her chin and narrowing her purple eyes a bit further to let him know that she didn't appreciate him brushing her off.
"Stop pestering me, Azonia! Miriya is your problem, your responsibility. She is your captain of your precious Quadrono," Khyron drawled bitingly. "Why should I be interested in her business?"
"Just set her down there," Khyron said when he heard Grel coming back into the room and indicated to a high table next to his chair in the command station. Once done, Grel quietly moved back and out of sight of the communication screen, and for the first time, Azonia saw what Khyron's micronian captive looked like.
Why she's nothing but a pale little thing. So tiny, so weak and fragile; a flickering of my finger would send her flying. Khyron's a fool to have been so protective of her!
"Tell me, micronian, what that is?" Khyron said and pointed to the screen that had captured all the Zentraedi's attention on the bridge.
Looking up, Lisa saw Max and a beautiful woman with long green hair standing together in front of a priest. The woman was in a wedding dress and Max in a tux-- looking very serious and … happy! He was staring at the woman as if she was the most important person in the universe and she was just as enchanted.
Max getting marry? When did this happen and who is that woman? I've seen her before... but where and when? I remember now… the day after the Zentraedi had attacked Macross and Rick and I were walking the streets, surveying the damaged. She had walked right in between us…
"Well?" Khyron's impatient voice boomed into her and she quickly snapped out of her private thoughts.
"My name is Commander Hayes, how many times do I have to repeat myself and it's a wedding ceremony. Corporal Sterling and whoever that woman is… are getting married," Lisa answered in a taut but amazingly quiet tone.
"Married? What is married?" Azonia asked and stared down at Khyron's micronian prisoner from the screen with confusion and disgust.
Turning her head to the short dark haired female Zentraedi on Khyron's communication screen, Lisa explained.
"It a custom, a human custom that unites two people together as man and wife. It declares to the world that they are in love and want to be with each other forever and ever, till death do they part."
"Impossible!" the female Zentraedi exclaimed with haughty aloofness from the screen. "Miriya is not a micronian; she's the captain of my Quadrono. She's the best there is. She would never consent to such hideous custom! She must have been captured, tortured and forced into it. There is no other explanation."
"I don't think so," Lisa mused.
"From the look on her face, she's obviously very happy and in love with Corporal Sterling. You can't force love, it just happens when you least expect it. This Miriya person who you claim is a Zentraedi is definitely in love, and has defected to our side."
"Looks like you made another bad decision again, Azonia," Khyron said almost cheerfully and laughed. "If I were you, I'll be begging for Breetai's forgiveness right now for loosing Miriya instead scowling at my prisoner."
Against her will, Azonia found herself admitting that Khyron was right and she hated him at that moment more than anything else in her life. Turning a cold look at Khyron's micronian prisoner once more she quickly cut her communication with Khyron.
"You look extraordinarily pleased with yourself, Commander," Khyron said from behind her and shut off the broadcast. "Could you be enjoying yourself for getting the best of Azonia? Not very many Zentraedi can claim that right."
Lisa's green eyes gleamed with an unaccustomed brightness as she stared up at him. "It's not my fault if she needed to be taken down a peg or two from her high pedestal of knowing it all."
"Well said," Khyron retorted and for the first time since she'd met him, Lisa could have sworn she saw humor stirred in those dark purple eyes of his but it was gone almost at once, and she wondered if she'd been mistaken.
"Grel! Put her back where she belonged."
"You know what this proves, don't you?" Lisa yelled up at Khyron as if she hadn't heard what he had just told Grel to do and went on, smiling almost appealingly.
"It proves that I'm right, that both of our races could co-exist; that there could be peace among us!"
For a highly charged instant their glances clashed across the long distance between them, and then Khyron smiled cruelly at her. "Now Grel! I want her off..."
"Sir," Grel interrupted, "Lord Breetai has ordered a full-scale assault on the SDF-1!"
"No!" Lisa yelled but knew Khyron could no longer hear her anymore for he was now busy giving out orders to his men to prepare for battle; a battle that the SDF-1 would surely loose, a battle that Rick would lead his team to and die.
It's now or never!
Looking around, Lisa saw that no one was watching her and she was just about to make a run for it when she felt a hand, Khyron's hand picking her up, squeezing her into his palm and taking her back to her cage.
Rick!
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How can you be more beautiful than the first time we'd met, Minmei? Rick thought bitterly to himself as he watched her sing.
Then he called himself a fool for thinking of her when it's so obvious that she'd hadn't given a thought to him since winning the Miss Macross title. But he couldn't help it. She was all he had ever wanted for a long time now that missing her and wanting her to love him had become a part of his life.
Turning away from her, Rick saw Claudia and his heart went out to her. He knew she was remembering Roy for she had tears slipping silently down her cheeks but didn't seem to notice them.
He wondered how she managed to smile everyday knowing her heart was broken. Claudia Grant was a lot stronger than he had given her credit for and for the first time, he understood why Roy loved her of all the women he'd known.
Everywhere he turned, he saw couples either holding hands, holding each other, or slow dancing to Minmei's song. He wished he could leave now for he had never felt more alone in all his life but knew he had to stay until the reception end. He was after all, Max's best man.
Walking to a viewport, he stared into the emptiness of space and thoughts of Lisa drifted through his mind. When he found himself in Lisa's quarters, thinking of her, wishing for her and coming to a conclusion that he could be in love with her, he'd panic and ran from her empty quarters like an idiot.
He ran because he was unprepared to accept the possibilities. Granted, after their date, he knew without a doubt that he was attracted to her, physically, damned she all but set him on fire!
But more importantly, he liked her as a person and loved being with her for she made him laughed. She inspired him and made him feel special like he was the ONE but… in love with her? That had scared him to death but now… the thought wasn't so scary anymore, in fact, it was down right, right.
Taking a deep breath, he wondered if she was okay and thinking of him too. He wondered what she was doing at this very moment. He missed her, he realized and cursed himself again for not being able to protect her. They had so little time together yet he felt like he knew her, had always known her.
Take care of yourself, Lisa. I know you're not dead. Faith is all I have at the moment but it's all I need to find you and I will see you again.
Suddenly an alert siren began sounding, it cut through Minmei's singing and the mood it had put everyone under. Captain Gloval stood up and told everyone to move it.
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"Damned them! Damned them all to death!" Khyron yelled.
Frustrated beyond anything he'd ever felt before he tossed his helmet onto the table that Lisa's cage was on without care.
Created by the Masters to become a great warrior, he had survived every war he'd fought in and won countless battles without much effort. There was nothing greater for a Zentraedi warrior than being known that he was a 'great warrior'.
He knew he was destined for greatness. It was just a matter of time until everything he'd ever wanted-- including Breetai's position would be his. However at this moment, he didn't feel like a great warrior at all, not even a warrior for he'd failed once again to win a battle against the micronians. And he laid the blame squarely at Breetai's door!
If only Breetai hadn't ordered a retreat… they could have won that battle! How he hated Breetai for being weak!
Not to mention that annoying bitch, Azonia who was always butting into his business and carrying tales to Breetai on his every move and decisions. There was nothing more disgusting to him than a tattle teller.
The crashing noise of the helmet speeding across the table and onto the floor sounded like an explosion of a bomb to Lisa's ear but she didn't care for the SDF-1 was still in one piece; her friends and colleagues were alive! There could be no other reason for Khyron's foul temper and she kept quiet.
"You!" he shouted and turned eyes full of anger and frustration on her.
"I hate you! Your micronian ways are making my men weak and foolish. Can you believe that some of my men had actually refused to fight? The cowards! And all because of this little toy that sings to them."
He threw the toy onto the table and Lisa could see that it was a toy of Minmei in a traditional Qi Pao however it was now crushed beyond recognition.
"And what is it about you that drive me crazy with frustration? Why can't I kill you?" he screamed and inhaled deeply as he picked her up from her cage.
"You're nothing, nothing, Commander, but a tiny bug that needs to be stepped on and smacked into the wall!"
"Stop!" Lisa yelled at him in panic and struggled to free herself from his tightening grip. "You're hurting me. Let me go, I can't breathe!"
Khyron quickly opened his palm as if realizing what he was doing and laid her back down on the mattress in her cell then turned to leave. He couldn't believe it that he almost killed her.
He didn't know what it is that kept forcing him to want to be near her but he knew whatever it is; it was strong and electrifying, almost as strong and powerful as the feel of being under the influence of the dry Protoculture leaf.
"Tell me what happened, Khyron." It was a statement, not a plea or a request.
She saw that he had stopped but didn't turn around and hope bloomed within her but it quickly died when she saw that he'd resumed his walking toward the door again.
Then, without warning, she felt the most absurd, unexplainable longing for home. Not the SDF-1 per se, but the manor in Maryland that was really home. The proud Georgian house with its rolling acres of cool, green landscape, half-quarter horses…and she smiled sadly, her eyes out of focus, remembering.
She blinked and met a pair of piercing purple eyes and quickly snapped out of her trance to give him a cool, collected determined stare back.
"Breetai order a retreat," he said quietly. "After he saw that the micronian pilots were disabling our pods instead of blasting them into smithereens. Why would they do that, Commander? Are they mad?"