TWO OF A KIND
CHAPTER SEVEN
TRAPPED AND CAUGHT
"Hi Rick, its Lisa; I have gotten your phone number from ship's information. We are watching the pageant on the view screen here on the bridge and we noticed that you are not happy. If there is anything you would like to talk to me about, just call the bridge or leave a message on the voice mail to the phone in my quarters and tell me when you would like to meet up okay? Talk to you later, Rick. Bye."
"End of message. Please press one to hear again, press two to save, press three to delete."
Rick pressed the button to delete Lisa's voice mail message.
"Message deleted."
As Rick was taking off his tux jacket and untying his bow tie and sitting down in an easy chair trying to wind down after a very eventful evening to say the least, Rick began to think about Lisa, and he likes what he is thinking. Rick is beginning to like Lisa. She is a good listener, she is not judgmental, and she is good looking, and she does have a nice body. Her body does fit her uniform perfectly. Most women in the RDF do not fill out their uniform the way Lisa does.
'I wonder what she does to keep herself in that great figure of hers. It makes me wonder why Lisa does not get any offers from other officers and pilots for dates. Most guys will be knocking down her door asking her for a date. I have been hearing stories about her being a cold fish, but I do not see it. I have to admit it Roy you're right, she is a nice person.'
Rick knew more about Lisa in the past weeks then when he did when he first arrived on the SDF-1. He likes her but there is there something inside of him that is holding him back from fully committing in trying to pursue a serious relationship with Lisa. He did not want to give himself to her too soon. Besides, she is his superior officer and superior officers are not supposed to date junior officers. Also, he does not want to forget Cathy.
Rick then looked at his aviator's watch that is on his left wrist. 'Hmm, it's almost midnight. I wonder if she still is on the bridge. I doubt it but I'll call anyway.'
He picked up the telephone that is on a table that is next to his easy chair and dialed the number to the bridge.
"Bridge…Lieutenant LeAnn Hathaway speaking. May I help you sir or ma'am?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Hathaway, this is Lieutenant Hunter. Is Commander Hayes still on the bridge?"
"No sir. She left hours ago. Can I leave a message for her?"
"No, I'll try to catch up with her later tomorrow. Is she on duty tomorrow?"
"Let me check the duty roster sir. No sir, she's not."
"I'll call her at her quarter's tomorrow morning. Have a good night lieutenant."
"You have a good night also sir."
After hanging up the phone and letting his mind clear. He made up his mind to ask Lisa to spend the day with him in town. The tux rental shop is usually closed on Sundays but because of the pageant, the owner said he will open his shop to take in tux rental returns, so the escorts do not have to pay an extra day's rental.
Rick got up from his easy chair, went into the kitchen and turned on the light and got a glass out of the cupboard and filled it quarter way with ice from the freezer part of the refrigerator. He then turned on the cold water to the kitchen faucet and filled the rest of the glass with water. He drank several glasses of ice water to rehydrate himself. After drinking several glasses of water, he turned the water to hot, pumped several squirts of liquid detergent soap into the glass and cleaned the glass and placed the glass in the dish drain to let it dry. He then turned off the kitchen light and walked to his bedroom and turned on the light on his nightstand. He took off his watch and rental tux, hanged it on the hangar that came with the tux, put on his pajamas, got into bed, turned off the light and went to sleep.
The next morning, Rick began to stir out of his sleep and looked at the alarm clock that is on his nightstand. 7:30am it said. Rick does not know how early or how late Lisa gets out of bed, so he risked calling Lisa hoping she is more of an early riser than a night owl. Rick picked up the telephone and dialed the number to Lisa's quarters. Lisa picked up the phone on the second ring.
"Hello."
"Hi Lisa, this is Rick."
"Hi Rick." Rick heard Lisa answer in a cheerful voice. "I assume you've listened to the message I've left on your voice mail."
"Yes, I did. Thanks for leaving the message. Say…uh…Lisa…you're not…doing anything…later today…aren't you?"
"No, I'm not. Why did you ask?"
"I'm wondering…if…you…uh...if you would…uh…like to spend the afternoon with me?"
"Why Rick, are you asking me out on another date?", Lisa asked coyly.
"Well…uh…no…I'm just wondering if…you would…uh…like to spend the afternoon with me…and we can have dinner later…so I can repay you for last week's dinner."
Lisa was smiling at Rick's boyish flustering. Rick maybe an officer and a commander of a veritech fighter squadron but he still has a boyish quality and charm to him that Lisa loves.
"Rick, I'm just teasing you. Of course, I would love to spend the afternoon with you. I am just finishing eating breakfast and I will spend several hours cleaning up my quarters and I will take a shower and eat a light lunch. How about you meet me at my quarters at 1300 hours?"
"Great! I'll see you at 1300 hours then."
"Okay, I'll see you then Rick. Bye.", Lisa said with a smile.
"Goodbye Lisa."
After she hung up the phone, Lisa smiled to herself. She never knew she has that kind of effect on anyone. Even Karl never got flustered whenever they got together.
Rick arrived at Lisa's quarter's door at 1300 hours exactly. He knocked on her closed and locked door.
"Stay where you are, Rick. I'll be out in a minute."
It only took a moment for Lisa to open the door. Lisa was dressed in white running shoes and ankle socks, blue jeans that was flattering to her legs and was snug on her hips and was wearing a snug pastel pink tee shirt and she was lightly perfumed. But what made Rick really stare at Lisa was she was not wearing a bra underneath the tee shirt.
"Okay Rick, I'm already to go.", Lisa said cheerfully as she turned around after locking the door to her quarters.
But Rick was not going anywhere. He kept staring at Lisa.
"Rick…Rick…are you alright? SDF-1 to Lieutenant junior grade Rick Hunter, are you there? Hello!"
Rick vigorously had to shake his head to get out of the trance Lisa put him under.
"Oh…yeah…I'm alright Lisa. Let us go."
Lisa could not help but evilly laugh to herself at the effect she had on Rick and she liked it. But she kept that notion to herself. 'You'll never know when things like that will come in handy.',Lisa said to herself.
Lisa looked at the white zippered clothes bag Rick holding in his arms.
"So, you're turning in your tux I see."
"Yes. Even though he is closed on Sundays, the owner of the tuxedo shop I rented the tux from said he will open his shop today to take in tuxes all of us wore last night at the pageant, so we didn't have to pay an extra day's rental."
"That is nice of him."
"Yes, it is. So, is there anything special you want to do today or go anywhere special Lisa after I drop off the tux?"
Lisa nodded her head. "No. Anywhere our feet take us is fine with me."
Rick and Lisa went down to the outside of the gate, there Rick hailed a taxi. The taxi stopped in front of the tux shop where Rick paid for the fare. After turning in his tux, Lisa was waiting for him outside of the tux shop.
"So, where do you want to go to next Lisa?"
"It doesn't matter to me. Let us just start walking."
Rick offered his arm like he did Minmei at the pageant last night. Lisa was very flattered that Rick would do that.
"That's sweet of you Rick. I almost feel like a beauty pageant contestant myself.", Lisa said.
"Blame it on all the practice we had to do.", Rick said as he smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
They started walking for several blocks when they came upon a bridal shop. Lisa stopped and looked at the window wistfully.
"You want to go in and look around Lisa? I don't mind."
"No, it's okay Rick. I don't think I'll ever get married.", Lisa said quietly.
"Why did you say that Lisa?"
"I don't think anyone on this ship will ever want to marry me much less date me. The way I am going, I'm married to the military and my job."
"Why do you say that?", Rick asked genuinely curious. "I mean, you're beautiful, you have a nice figure, nice hair and nice eyes. I'm surprised not many guys are asking you out on dates."
Lisa smiled a sardonic smile. "I see you don't hear the stories or the names the pilots and the other male officers on the ship say behind my back."
"I do but I don't put much credence into it.", Rick said sincerely.
"You don't?", Lisa asked with a surprised look on her face.'
"No, I don't. C'mon, let us go inside and look around. The shop is open. There is no harm in looking around. There's not a sign on the window that says you can't go in unless you're getting married."
"I guess you're right Rick. There's no harm in looking around."
Rick and Lisa went inside the bridal shop. The owner looked at Rick with a surprised look on her face. "Aren't you the one who escorted the winner of the Miss Macross Pageant last night?"
"Yes, I am but we're just friends like she said ma'am. Sometimes I wished I weren't part of that damned pageant.", Rick said to Lisa in a low voice.
"Can I help you miss?", the owner of the bridal shop asked Lisa.
"No ma'am, I'm just looking around. We are just friends too. We're not getting married."
"Oh, I see.", the owner said genuinely disappointed because she was hoping she was going to make a sale.
"What happened at the pageant that made you not want to be there?"
"It's a long story, Lisa. But it's what happened after the pageant that made the night all that much worse."
"What happened?"
"I tell you all about it later over dinner."t Rick said in a low voice.
After leaving the bridal shop, Rick and Lisa walked around the city some more and went into some shops and stores until they decided to go to the city park and rest their feet on a bench at the city fountain. They talked about each other's childhood. Rick talked about what it was like going around the country during the summer with the flying circus. He even told Lisa some juicy stories about Roy and the girls he ran into. Lisa almost blushed hearing the stories and wondered out loud about either telling Claudia about what Rick told her or to use it as leverage against Roy if she ever needed it.
"It's up to you Lisa."t Rick said.
It was getting late evening when they decided it was time to eat. They walked towards the center of the city when they came upon a little French bistro. Lisa immediately recognized the place.
"Oh, I heard of this place. It's one of the places a lot of the pilots and officers like to take their dates to."
"Oh, it's a 'date trap' restaurant."
"Yes, it is."
"Well, even though we're not officially on a date, it looks like a nice place. Besides, I'm hungry and I don't want to go any further."
"Okay, I don't mind."t Lisa said shrugging her shoulders.
The place was very crowded but there were some tables available. A waiter immediately walked up to them and walked them to a window table. After giving them the menus and taking their drink orders, the waiter walked away to give them a few minutes to look over the menu. As they were looking over their menus, Lisa took the chance to talk to Rick.
"So, what happened last night at the pageant that made you so unhappy?"
"It was the fakeness of it all. Everything was fake, the smiles, the tears, the handshakes, everything. I felt that I really did not belong being there. But it was what happened after the pageant that just took the cake."
Before Lisa could ask what happened, the waiter came with their drinks and then taken their orders. After the waiter left with their orders, they continued to talk.
"So, what did happen after the pageant?"
Rick answered but in a low voice. "Well, it was at the after-pageant party at the Macross Regency Hotel. Jan Morris was in a corner of the ballroom drinking bottle after bottle of champagne. I mean, she was getting really blitzed. She then got up to go to Minmei and give her what look to be a fake congratulatory hug. Well, she was so drunk that she stumbled over her own feet and she had a full glass of champagne in her hand. The champagne just flew out of the glass and landed on the front of Minmei's gown. Well, Minmei just flew into a rage. She began to scream and curse, yelling at the pageant officials to throw Miss Morris out or she will resign her title and hold a press conference saying that the pageant was a fake and a fraud for letting Miss Morris into the pageant. She called Miss Morris a bitch and a washed up has been actress. It was too much for me to take, I had to lie to Minmei and tell her that I had to leave early because I was on flight duty."
Lisa just could not believe what she had just heard. Her eyes got big and all she could say was "Wow! I can't believe that kind of language can come out of a mouth of a 16-year-old Chinese girl."t Lisa said after managing to recover from the shock.
As they were talking, a group of paparazzi was chasing after a limousine Minmei was riding in. She just finished a holding news conference and was going back to the hotel. The paparazzi gave up chasing after the limousine after a while. A paparazzo happened to look over at the bistro where Rick and Lisa were at and did a double take. He recognized Rick because the paparazzo was at the pageant last night taking pictures. He looked around to see if any of his colleagues were looking in the same direction and did not. He then took a quick picture of Rick and Lisa at the table. He knew he was going to get a lot of money for that picture. After he took the picture, he ran off. Rick and Lisa were so wrapped in their conversation, they did not notice the paparazzo taking their picture.
After finishing their dinner and Rick paid for the check and the tip, Rick hailed a taxi outside the bistro. The taxi stopped and Rick and Lisa got in the back of the taxi. Lisa was so tired that she literally laid her head on Rick's shoulder and sighed.
"Tired, aren't you.", Rick said.
"Um-hmm, I never did so much walking in a long time. You know how to wear me out. I believe I'll fall asleep soon as I get into my quarters."
"But it's only after 1930."
"Well, if you didn't make me do so much walking, I wouldn't be this tired.", Lisa teased.
"You agreed to spend the afternoon with me walking around the city.", Rick reminded Lisa.
"Yes, but you didn't tell me we would be doing so much walking."
"Sorry."
"Oh Rick, I'm just teasing you. But I am tired. Can you wake me up when we get to the gate please?"
"Sure, it's not a problem Lisa."
"Thank you.", Lisa said as she snuggled up against Rick with her head on his shoulder.
Before long, the taxi stopped at the gate, Rick paid for the fare, waked Lisa up and walked with her to her quarters.
"Well, I guess this is where we say good-night to each other Lisa.", Rick said with a boyish smile that Lisa has grown to love in such a short time.
"I guess it is Rick. Thank you for inviting me to spend the afternoon with you. I do not get invited to spend the day with anyone, so thank you. I had a wonderful time."
"I did too Lisa. Well…good night."
"Good night Rick." Lisa said as she unexpectedly kissed Rick on the cheek.
Rick bowed his head slightly and blush a little as he smiled that boyish smile as he walked off.
Lisa could not help but smile as she saw Rick walk away. She is beginning to like the young lieutenant.
THE NEXT DAY
Roy was walking to the air operations office to give the morning operational and intelligence briefings to the squadron commanders when he came upon a rack of newspaper stands. Something in one of the racks caught his eye. It was a picture of Rick and Lisa at the La Françoise Bistro, a place he is familiar with because he took Claudia to that place many times.
"What the" Roy said to himself as he looked at the picture. The picture was on the front page of "The Macross Post-Ledger", one of Macross' most notorious tabloid and gossip rags. On the front page of the tabloid were the words "ESCORT X 2?" in big white letters. Roy fished in his pocket for change to buy a copy of the tabloid. He inserted the change into the slot and opened the door and began to read the story. The article was written by Amy-Sue Adams. One of the tabloid's most well known and most notorious gossip columnist. The headline read: "Escort of the Winner of the Miss Macross Pageant Seen Escorting another Young Lady."
"The unknown RDF pilot who was the escort of Miss Lynn Minmei, the winner of Saturday night's Miss Macross Pageant was spotted yesterday evening at the well-known dating hot spot hangout restaurant, The La Françoise Bistro with an unknown young woman. My confidential informant inside the RDF and the SDF-1 told the Post-Ledger under the condition of anonymity say that the unknown RDF pilot's name is Lieutenant junior grade Richard Hunter, and the young woman is Commander Lisa Hayes, Executive Officer of the SDF-1 and a member of Captain Henry J; Gloval's senior staff. Captain Gloval as you may remember was one of the judges of the Miss Macross Pageant. However, officials at the Miss Macross Pageant, the RDF and Public Affairs Officer on board the SDF-1 refuse to comment.
What does this all mean? It could or could not mean anything at this moment in time, but one must seriously have to wonder if this young man is not doing something more than just providing escort service to more than just one young lady or if he has another 'friend' on the side.
Meanwhile, I've got some juicy gossip about what happened at the after-pageant party at the Macross Regency Hotel."
Roy had read enough. "Oh man! The captain is going to have a cow over this. Not to mention Lisa and Rick."
Roy knew that Rick was not much of a newspaper reader, so he hoped that no one in his squadron or another squadron showed him that picture. He ran to Rick's office door and knocked.
"Come in."
"Roy, it's great to see you. How's"
"Rick, have you read any of this morning's newspapers?"
"No, I haven't. Why did you ask?"
"I think you should see this before it hits the fan.", Roy said as he dropped the tabloid on Rick's desk.
"What are you talking about Roy?" He then looked at the cover picture of him and Lisa at the bistro. "What the"
He then opened to the page of the article and began reading. His face became red with rage. "I can't believe what this rag is saying about me! They're making me out to be a gigolo!"
"Rick did you and Lisa did anything out of the ordinary at that restaurant?"
"Of course, not Roy all we did was talk and ate dinner there that's it! We spent the afternoon walking around the city after I dropped off the rental tux and we decided to eat there because we were hungry, and our feet were tired! We didn't want to go anywhere further!"
"Is that all you did? Because that place is"
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I know I know I know. Lisa told me all about it. It is a notorious 'date trap' restaurant. But all we did there was to have to dinner! I 'm telling you the truth! It wasn't even a date for crying out loud!"
"Okay, okay, okay! I believe you. But we have to get ready to go through a serious media firestorm and some"
The telephone on Rick's desk rang. Rick picked up on the second ring.
"Vermillion Squadron, this is Lieutenant Hunter speaking. May I help you?"
"What are you doing to me Rick?" It was Minmei and she was letting Rick have it with both barrels. It was obvious that she read the article for herself or someone showed her the newspaper because they know Rick from the pageant.
"What are you talking about Minmei?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about! What were you doing with that other girl at that restaurant?"
"We were having dinner Minmei, that's all."
"You told me when you left the after-pageant party that you were on flight duty the next morning!"
"I know that and I'm sorry I lied to you Minmei but after that scene you had with Jan Morris, I didn't feel comfortable being there."
Roy's eyes got big when Rick mentioned he lied to Minmei.
"Then you could have just told me you wanted to leave. You did not have to lie to me! And what's with that other girl?"
"She's a friend of mine and one of my superior officers. We were just enjoying a day off, that's all."
"You didn't tell me you have another female friend. I thought I'm your only female friend."
"Minmei, just because we're friends, doesn't make you my only female friend. I like to have other female friends. I bet you have male friends too."
"Alright, I see your point there. But I wish that the next time you want to leave, just please tell me the truth."
"I'll remember to do that next time. Look Minmei, I am almost late for my morning briefings. I have to go."
"Okay Rick.", Minmei said in a resigned voice. "Will you remember to call me when you get the chance?"
"I'll try to remember that Minmei. Bye.", Rick said as he hung up.
"Rick! I can't believe you lied to the girl!"
"Roy, I had to!"
"What do you mean you had to?"
"It happened at the after-pageant party at the Macross Regency Hotel. Jan Morris was in the corner of the ballroom getting drunk on bottle after bottle of champagne. She got up to do what I think was to give was a fake congratulatory hug to Minmei. Well, she was so drunk that she stumbled over her own feet and the glass of champagne she had in her hand."
"It's a flute."
"Excuse me Roy?"
"It's a flute. A champagne glass is called a flute."
"Whatever. Anyway, the champagne flew out of the glass and it landed on the front of Minmei's gown. She got angry, started cussing calling Miss Morris a bitch and a washed up has been actress, yelling and screaming at the pageant officials to throw Miss Morris out of the ballroom or else she threatened to resign her title and hold a press conference saying that the pageant is a fraud for letting Miss Morris enter the pageant. That was too much for me to take and I had to tell Minmei that I had to leave by lying to her that I have to leave early because I had flight duty the next day."
"Rick whatever you do the next time don't ever lie to a woman because she is eventually going to find out one way or the other. Take it from me, I should know!"
"That not the worst part Roy. Ever since we were rescued form that cargo hold, Minmei almost been calling me every day asking me to do things with her like to go shopping with her, be at her Sweet 16 party and now I had to be her escort at the Miss Macross Pageant. I mean…she won't leave me alone!"
"It sounds more like a teenage girl crush to me Rick. I wouldn't worry about it."
"Roy, it more than just teenage girl crush. It's more like she's obsessed with me."
"Obsessed? You got to be kidding me Rick! She's only 16 years old!"
"So? That does not mean she cannot be obsessed with someone! You should have heard the telephone conversation I had with her just now!"
"Rick, I think you're being paranoid. Besides, we have got to go. We're already late as it is for the morning operational and intelligence briefing."
"Okay Roy, but I think you're wrong about her just having a crush on me."
Rick and Roy walked down the flight operations room. As they entered the room, many of the squadron commanders were reading the tabloid. When they saw Rick, they started whistling, clapping and cheering, calling Rick "Lieutenant Gigolo" and other not so terms of endearment. Rick and most especially Roy did not see the humor in what they were doing. As Roy walked up the podium, he let everyone know he was serious and not in the mood for elementary school hi-jinks.
"ALRIGHT! AT EASE! KNOCK IT OFF! TAKE YOUR SEATS SO WE CAN GET THIS OPERATIONAL BRIEFING UNDERWAY! All of you are professional military pilots and grown-up men! Not 10-year-olds back at the playground in elementary school! Alright! Item number one, for today, Vermillion, Tomcat, Ghost and Wolf Squadrons are on alert for immediate take-off when the scramble alert goes off. Skull, Intruder and Eagle are on alert 5, Maverick and Mustang are on standby. The rest of you are either on reserve or off flight rotation.
There has been decreased activity from the enemy. J-2 says that RDF Intelligence thinks that the Zentraedi are building up for a big offensive as we get closer to Earth so let us stay sharp and be on alert just in case if the scramble alert for all squadrons goes off.
Alright…and one last thing before I let you go, if ANY of you are the 'confidential informant' for the story in this piece of trash," Roy said as he was holding up the tabloid in his hand, "you better stop being the 'confidential informant' starting right now! You know damn well that the names of pilots or people in command are not to be released to the press unless it goes through the PAO and as far as I know Lieutenant Hunter and Commander Hayes' names were never cleared through the PAO! You should know that is not only a violation of privacy rights, but it is also a security violation! If any of your pilots or subordinates gave their names to Ms. Adams, you are looking at a letter of reprimand be put in your 201 file or even worse, you could be forced to resign your commission. If any of your enlisted people did the same, they are looking at a captain's mast or even worse, they are looking at being thrown in the brig and they could be court-martialed! It is something we cannot afford because we need all hands involved in this long fight. And I am not saying this just because Lieutenant Hunter happens to be my adoptive brother. I would say that if it happened to any of you. So, if ANY of you are yakking to the gossip rags, you better stop it right this instant! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
"YES SIR!", the squadron commanders yelled in unison.
"THAT IS ALL! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
PASSAGEWAY OF THE SDF-1
Claudia was holding a copy of the same tabloid rolled up in her hand. She was walking to the bridge of the SDF-1 at a furious pace with an equally furious look on her face.
'I told those three not be spreading gossip and rumors, but would they listen to me? Hell, no they wouldn't!"
Claudia found Sammie, Vanessa and Kim talking with the night watch people they were relieving. They were looking at the same tabloid, talking and whispering about Rick and Lisa. About the only one who was not joining in on the talking was Kim. She was off to the side away from the gossiping quartet shaking her head. She knew that sooner or later, one of the three of them was going to get caught and get in trouble for giving the tabloid Rick and Lisa's names. Claudia motioned the night bridge commander, Lieutenant Nikki Mitchell to leave by moving her head from side to side. The five enlisted women were talking and whispering when they were startled by the voice of Claudia yelling at the top of her lungs in her loudest and most commanding voice they have ever heard since being on the ship.
"SAMMIE! KIM! VANESSA! GET YOUR ASSES OFF OF THAT BRIDGE AND INTO THE PASSAGEWAY RIGHT NOW!"
"I told you two not to go blabbing to that tabloid, but would you listen to me? No!" Kim said in a harsh whisper.
"It wasn't me Kim I swear!", Vanessa said.
"Well don't expect me to bail you out if it was you Sammie."
In the passageway just outside the bridge, Claudia lit into the Bridge Bunnies. "DID ANY OF THE THREE OF YOU BLAB TO THIS TABLOID? DON'T STAND THERE AND SAY YOU DIDN'T WHEN YOU DID AND WHEN I SPECIFICALLY ORDERED THE THREE OF YOU NOT TO DO IT!"
"It wasn't me ma'am. I am being honest. I had no part in this nor did I want to be any part of this.", Kim said.
"It wasn't me either ma'am. I'm telling you the truth.", Vanessa said.
Claudia then looked at Sammie with a stern look. After a long and awkward silence, Sammie lowered her head, nodded, and told the truth in a low and timid voice. "It was me ma'am. I am the one who told Ms. Adams Lieutenant Hunter and Commander Hayes' names. I am the 'confidential informant'. But I didn't know she was going to write that ma'am."
Claudia looked at Sammie with an equally angry and disappointed face. "Sammie I specifically ordered you, Vanessa and Kim not to spread gossip and rumors! Why can't you follow a simple direct order?! When you raised your right hand when you enlisted, you swore that you will obey the orders of the officers appointed above you! Why you of all people did you have to do it? You could be brought up on charges of dereliction of duty, violation of security and privacy regulations and disobeying the direct order of a superior officer! How did you give their names to that tabloid Sammie?"
"Ms. Adams somehow found out that the three of us work on the bridge and she offered us money to tell us the names of Lieutenant Hunter and Commander Hayes. Vanessa and Kim said no. I was the only one to take the money."
"Why did you take the money Sammie?"
"Because I needed the money ma'am, you know we enlisted people do not make much money for all the work we have to do."
"That is not an excuse Sammie to disobey the direct order of a superior officer and to violate the security and privacy regulations of the RDF! I have the very mind to call the Master at Arms up here, have you arrested and thrown in the brig until the day of your court marital, but I am not going to do it because we need you. Instead, Miss Wanna-Be Gossip Columnist, you are going to do this.
First, you are going to call Ms. Adams and tell her that you are no longer her 'confidential informant' and if she asks you why, you will tell her that you had a change of heart. Second, you are going to personally apologize to Lieutenant Hunter and Commander Hayes for what you did. Third, as of right now, you are restricted to the ship for the next 30 days including the weekends and off duty days and you have two weeks extra duty.
And to make sure you stay on the ship and not try to sneak off base, I am going to make sure that the MA and the MP's have your picture with them, and I am personally going to watch you perform your extra duties. If you do not like it, I'll recommend that you go to captain's mast and I can assure you that Captain Gloval will not be as kind to you as I am."
"Yes ma'am."
"And for your sake Sammie, you better hope Captain Gloval will accept the punishment I gave you. Now get back on the bridge and relieve the night crew! And that is all you are going to do. No talking and no gossiping. I do not want to hear a peep out of any of you from now on! And for the reminder of your watch, you are just going to do your jobs and nothing else. And I am talking most especially to you Seaman Porter!"
"Yes ma'am.", Sammie said with her head bowed, thinking that going to captain's mast was better than the punishment Claudia was doling out to her.
"Whenever any of you leave the bridge to go get coffee or tea, for a break, go to the head or go to lunch, you are going to go one at a time. And when you are at lunch, you are just going to eat your lunch in the galley and leave! Do I make myself clear to all three of you?", Claudia said with a stern voice.
"Yes ma'am.", the three said together.
Claudia then pointed in the direction of the bridge. "Now you three get back to the bridge and relieve the night watch and I don't want to hear or see you three talking to them!"
"Yes ma'am.", the Bridge Bunnies said in unison in a solemn voice.
When the trio left the hallway, Claudia could nothing but shake her head in frustration as she began to walk into the bridge. 'I can't believe the nerve of that girl! I distinctly and directly told her not to do it and she went ahead and did it anyway.'
When Claudia got on the bridge as the relieved night crew walked past her without saying a word to her or looking at her, she picked up the telephone. "Sammie! You have someone to call first if I remembered correctly!"
'"Yes, ma'am I do.", Sammie said as she took the telephone from Claudia's hands and started dialing a number.
"Hello, this is Sammie Porter on the SDF-1. May I speak to Miss Adams please? Thank you. Hi Miss Adams, this is Sammie Porter…I am doing fine ma'am. Miss Adams, I have called to tell you that I am afraid I can no longer be your confidential informant on the ship. I have a change of heart that is all. No ma'am no one found out about me and I did not tell anyone. I am being honest with you ma'am. No…it is okay ma'am; you can keep the rest of the money. I do not want it. Thank you for being so understanding Miss Adams. Thank you, ma'am…you too have a good day…good-bye."
"That's good Sammie. You can apologize to Commander Hayes when she gets in. You apologize to Lieutenant Hunter when you see him. You will start your extra duties once you get off watch."
"Yes ma'am."
Lisa came into the bridge steaming mad. Claudia did not have to think twice what she was mad about. Someone either showed her the tabloid or she found out about it herself. Either way, she cannot blame Lisa for being angry. You are just enjoying the day off with someone, enjoying dinner at a bistro thinking nothing out of the ordinary is happening only to wake up the next morning and find yourself on the front page of a tabloid in a photograph taken by a paparazzo because your friend was the escort of the winner of a pageant and to have that tabloid tell half-truths and outright lies about you. If does not make you mad, there is something wrong with you.
"I can't believe someone would do something like that!"
"I know Lisa, I know. I found about it earlier myself. I don't know what to say Lisa because I never been in the position you're in now."
"Can you believe what that gossip columnist wrote about Rick? She made him out to be like he is a male prostitute and I hired him to be my 'date' for the day! I can't believe the nerve of that woman to write things like that!"
"Nice going Sammie.", Kim said in a low whisper.
"Shut up Kim! I already feel bad enough as it is. I didn't know she was going to write that!"
"Well, you weren't exactly shocked or ashamed when you read it! As a matter of fact, I remember you giggling about it! The only thing you are feeling bad about is you got caught and now you are being punished for it! Maybe next time you'll know better, but I seriously doubt you will!"
"Alright! Alright! You made your point Kim! You don't have to rub it in!"
Just then, Captain Gloval came in yelling and cursing in Russian. No one on the bridge needed a translation to know what Captain Gloval was upset about.
"I can't believe that gossip rag would write something like that! If I ever found out who that 'confidential informant' is, I am going to"
"Uh excuse me sir, Commander Hayes,", Sammie said as she stood up at her workstation. "I have something to tell you. I am Miss Adams'…I mean I was Miss Adams' 'confidential informant'. I am the one who told the newspaper Lieutenant Hunter and Commander Hayes' names. I am sorry sir and ma'am. I didn't mean for all of this to happen."
"SAMMIE! HOW COULD YOU? I THOUGHT YOU ARE MY FRIEND! HOW COULD DO THIS TO ME AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH!", Lisa yelled at Sammie in shock.
"I'm sorry ma'am.", Sammie said meekly.
Captain Gloval fast walked to where Sammie was standing and stopped mere centimeters of her face. His face was a mask of anger. "Seaman Porter would you mind explaining yourself on why you would do something like that knowing very well you have violated security regulations!", Captain Gloval asked Sammie in anger.
"Miss Adams and the newspaper somehow found out that me, Kim and Vanessa work on the bridge and offered us money if we would tell them the names of the people in the photograph. Kim and Vanessa refused but I was the only one to take the money. I'm sorry sir."
"Sammie I should call the Master at Arms up here to have you arrested and thrown in the brig until the day of your court"
"Sir…sir", Claudia said as she touched Captain Gloval's arm. "I'm sorry to interrupt you but if you don't mind, I've found out earlier what Seaman Porter did, and I already verbally corrected her for what she did, and I told her that she is being punished for what she did."
"What kind of punishment have you meted out Claudia?"
"I've ordered Sammie to first call Miss Adams and tell her that she is no longer the newspaper's confidential informant. I also made her promise that she apologizes to Lisa and Lieutenant Hunter for what she did. She is also restricted to the ship for 30 days and she also has two weeks extra duty. She has already called the newspaper and quit being Miss Adams' confidential informant. She has already apologized to Lisa and she can apologize to Lieutenant Hunter later. I will be watching her do her extra duty and I will make sure the MA and the MP's have her picture just in case she tries to sneak off base. I hope you do not mind for what I did but we need her sir. She is a good worker, captain. The only problem she has is that she sometimes does not follow orders. Hopefully, the punishment I gave out will teach her a lesson."
Captain Gloval then started wagging his index finger at Sammie as if he were correcting a child. "Sammie, you are incredibly lucky that you have a good supervisor in Lieutenant Commander Grant looking after you! Otherwise, if she did not intervene on your behalf, you would have found yourself in the brig by now! You better say thank you to Claudia for saving your military career!"
"I will sir."
"Claudia, I accept the punishment you've dealt to Seaman Porter."
"Thank you, sir."
Sammie then slowly walked to Lisa's workstation with her head down. "I'm sorry I told Miss Adams' you and Lieutenant Hunter's names Lisa."
"It's Commander Hayes Seaman Porter!"
"Yes, Commander Hayes. I am sorry I talked to the newspaper. I did not mean for all of this to happen. I hope you'll accept my apology."
Lisa stood silent looking at Sammie for a long time just to make her squirm in her shoes. "Somehow or the other Sammie, I think you're only sorry that you got caught but I'll accept your apology. But do not think for even one second that I will ever forget what you did! As for Lieutenant Hunter, you are on your own! You apologize to him yourself! I told him that you apologized for calling him a "leacher". He accepted your apology without question. But I sincerely doubt he will accept your apology this time! Not after what you did!"
"I know ma'am. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't accept my apology this time.", Sammie said quietly.
"I couldn't have said it better myself Sammie! Now get back to your station Seaman Porter!", Lisa said pointing her finger in the direction of Sammie's workstation.
"Yes ma'am.", Sammie said quietly.
Just as soon as Sammie got back to her workstation, a barrage of laser fire aimed at the tower of the bridge began to shake the bridge. One of the barrages hit and destroyed both the short range and long-range radar domes, blinding the SDF-1, and leaving her vulnerable to an enemy attack without warning. Other barrages began to hit various parts of the spaceship sending jostling shockwaves throughout the streets of Macross City like an earthquake. In a music studio in the city, Minmei even though it was a school day was receiving private singing lessons from one of the city's top singing coaches. One shockwave knocked Minmei off her feet and sent her tumbling towards a wall. A grand piano the teacher was using to teach Minmei how to control her pitch started rolling towards her, but it stopped several inches away from her, barely missing pinning her to the wall. The coach ran towards where Minmei was with a look of concern on his face.
"Miss Minmei, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm alright just a bit shaken that's all."
Up on the bridge there was chaos but Gloval managed to calm his crew down.
"Sir both radar scopes are out! The enemy must have destroyed both radar domes!", Lisa said alarmed.
"Sir, I'm receiving a message, but I do not know where it's coming from. It's not coming from our forces." Sammie reported.
"Put it on the speakers so I can hear it."
"Yes sir."
"In the name of Zentraedi Forces, I order you to surrender! The last attack on your ship was a warning of what we can and will do! You cannot escape! If you want to save the lives of your crew, you must surrender at once! In the name of the Zentraedi Forces"
"Shut it off! I have heard enough! 'Damn these aliens are good. What better way to render your enemy helpless than to knock out their radar! And to demand their surrender in the language of your enemy, that's impressive!'"Sound the general quarter's alarm! Claudia, notify the electronic technicians and ask them how long it will take them to affect repairs or to at least come up with a makeshift radar unit."
"Yes sir."
Claudia picked up a telephone and called the electronic technician section. After talking with them for less than two minutes, she hung up the telephone.
"The electronic technicians say it will take a minimum of 6 to 8 hours to effect repairs, 12 hours to make a makeshift radar unit."
"And that is time we don't have. Alright, get a Cat's Eye recon jet ready to take-off right away. Lisa, you will be on the jet. You'll be our eyes and ears for the next 6 to 12 hours."
"Yes sir." But in the back of her mind, she was not enjoying the prospect of being in that skintight space suit again. 'Oh joy, just what I want to be in, in that skintight white space suit for the next 6 to 12 hours.'
"Call Lieutenant Anderson Claudia and tell her that she has to replace Lisa for at least the next 12 hours."
"Yes sir." Claudia answered as she picked up the telephone to call Nikki's quarters. "Hello Nikki, this is Claudia. I am sorry to wake you up, but you have been ordered by Captain Gloval to come to the bridge to take over Commander Hayes' position. I will tell you what is going on once you get up here. Thanks Nikki and again I am sorry to have to wake you. Thank you, Nikki…we will see you in a couple of minutes. Good-bye."
"Sir, Lieutenant Anderson said she will be on the bridge just as soon as she freshens up a little, puts on a little make-up and get a cup of coffee."
"That's good. Lisa, who do we have on the catapult launch?"
Lisa smiled when saw the squadron's name. "It's Vermillion Squadron, sir."
"Good. Alert them to get them on the flight deck and get them up in the air just as soon after we launch the Cat's Eye. Why don't you go on ahead and change out of your uniform and into your space suit Lisa? I'll have Claudia alert Vermillion."
"Yes sir.", Lisa said as she left the bridge.
Claudia walked over to Lisa's station and pressed the scramble button for Vermillion Squadron.
"ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! VERMILLION SQUADRON REPORT TO THE FLIGHT DECK FOR IMMEDIATE LAUNCH! YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR FLIGHT ORDERS ONCE YOU ARE IN YOUR COCKPITS BEFORE YOU ARE LAUNCHED!"
"Alright guys you've heard her! Move it!", Rick yelled. As he went to his locker to retrieve his helmet and suit up, he wondered why Claudia's voice came over the loudspeakers to alert the squadron and not Lisa. Rick, Ben, Max, and two other pilots ran to their veritechs. Rick's crew chief helped Rick get strapped in and gave him last minute instructions. After Rick got himself situated, Lieutenant Anderson's face came over the video radio screen.
"Vermillion Squadron, this is the bridge. Your orders are to give air cover to the Cat's Eye recon jet. The enemy has knocked out both our short range and long-range radar units. Commander Hayes is in the recon jet being our eyes and ears. The Cat's Eye's call sign is "Falcon", your flight's call sign is "Linebacker." You will take off immediately after the Cat's Eye is launched. Over."
"Acknowledged bridge. Linebacker Leader out." Rick then switched to plane-to-plane radio. "Alright guys listen up. Things are going to be a little bit different for us. Our main job is to protect the Cat's Eye. If you do see enemy battle pods closing in, you can intercept but try to stay close to the Cat's Eye as much as you can. We'll try not to let the Cat's Eye do too much evading."
"Roger Vermillion Leader.", Max said.
"Roger Wreaker.", Ben said.
"Tower, this is Cat's Eye two-zero-niner, requesting clearance for take-off. Over."
"Cat's Eye two-zero-niner, you are cleared for take-off once I turn you over to the catapult officer. Over."
"Acknowledged tower. Cat's Eye two-zero-niner out."
The Cat's Eye pilot looked over to see the catapult officer salute him to let him know he is cleared for take-off. The pilot returned the salute and the crew with Lisa in the back of the jet braced themselves for the catapult to fling the recon jet forward. The magnetic catapult shot forward shooting the jet down the 60-meter-long runway at over 160 knots an hour.
"Tower, this is Falcon. We are now airborne."
"Roger Falcon. Linebacker Flight should be right behind you in a few minutes."
"Falcon this is Linebacker Leader. We are now airborne and in route to your position."
"Roger Linebacker Leader."
In the back of the jet, Lisa was felt calm and reassured when she heard Rick's voice. Rick's a good pilot and a good leader, Lisa really felt confident that Rick and his squadron will be able to protect her.
"Falcon this is Linebacker Leader we are now on your port, starboard, stern, above you on your 12 and below you at your 6, so we have you covered. Over."
"Roger Linebacker Leader thanks for the cover. Falcon out."
"Skipper, we have a flight of battle pods closing in on us at our 10!" Ben called on the radio.
"BREAK OFF! BREAK OFF! INTERCEPT BUT TRY TO STAY CLOSE TO THE CAT'S EYE!" Rick yelled over the radio.
As the veritechs were fighting the battle pods, a Zentraedi battle cruiser came across the recon jet. The Cat's Eye tried to evade but ran into an asteroid breaking off the radar dome of the Cat's Eye and severally damaging the jet instantly killing both the pilot and co-pilot. The jet crashed onto the one of the decks of the battle cruiser.
"Falcon this is Linebacker Leader we've lost contact with you please respond! Falcon this is Linebacker Leader please respond! Commander Hayes you're there?"
"Sir!", Max said over the radio. "The Cat's Eye has crash landed on the deck of that enemy ship!"
Rick noticed that two veritechs in his flight were destroyed leaving only him, Ben, and Max. "Let us go after her! We need to save Commander Hayes and the pilots!"
On the deck of the Zentraedi ship, Rick, Ben, and Max switched to battloid and tried the best they can fighting off the enemy even though they were beginning to be outnumbered and running low on ammunition.
"Commander you're alright?"
"Yes, I am lieutenant but I'm afraid my pilot and co-pilot's dead."
"Hold on ma'am, I'm going to break the canopy glass to get you out."
"I'm out of ammo sir!", Ben reported.
"Same here skipper!" Max said.
Rick broke the glass canopy of the wrecked Cat's Eye with the hand of his battloid. Lisa got out but instantly became alarmed.
"RICK LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"
A giant alien with a metal plate covering almost the whole right side of his face began fighting with Rick by trying to tackle him. As the alien and Rick were tussling, Max wrapped the empty gun around the alien and pinned him against the body of his battloid. Max was struggling to keep the alien from breaking free.
"UGH! This guy is strong! Ben, direct your missiles to fire up at 12 o'clock!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
"Okay! Okay!"
Ben fired his missiles. A hole created by the explosion of the missiles began to suck up Max and the alien. Max fired his jets as he and the alien slowly began to go up. As soon as they were in the vacuum of space, Max let go of the alien but somehow or the other, the alien managed to grab hold of the empty battloid gun. Also unbeknownst to Max; the alien managed to grab hold of a jagged piece of the ship's hull and held on.
"We need to find a way to get out of here but how?", Rick asked.
"Use the lasers on the head of your battloid and try to burn a hole onto the side of the ship. That should do the trick.", Lisa suggested.
"Good idea ma'am."
Rick, Ben, and Max began to use their lasers to burn a hole, but it was doing no good. The metal was too thick, but they were not about to give up. Lisa just happens to look up and a look of fear came across her face.
"RICK! ABOVE YOU! LOOK OUT!"
Rick looked up to find the alien jumping down on him screaming holding the empty gun off Max's battloid above his head like a giant club. The empty gun smashed on the top of Rick's battloid. Rick and the alien began to wrestle again. This time Zentraedi reinforcements arrived with their guns blazing.
"Commander Hayes! Try to make a run for it!"
Lisa tried to run away but was covered and scooped up by a cloth bag.
"I got the Micronian female sir!", a Zentraedi soldier said.
During the fire fight, one Zentraedi solider fired a rocket propelled grenade creating a gigantic hole. The vacuum created by the hole sucked Max out of the hole. Two Zentraedi soldiers held Ben in his battloid against a wall while another soldier began to tear apart the battloid until the cockpit was exposed. The soldier then reached in and grabbed Ben.
Meanwhile, the alien was beginning to get mad but had to admire the toughness of this Micronian.
"I have had enough of this!"
The alien then tossed Rick's battloid over his shoulder and slammed it down on the deck like a professional wrestling move. He then picked up the battloid and pinned Rick against the wall, tore off the battloid's head and ripped apart the chest until he can see Rick shaking in the cockpit seat. Rick knew it would be a hopeless move, but he had to try anything to get away. He pulled the cord to the ejection seat. The jets to the ejection seat fired and Rick went straight up but unfortunately, Rick did not go far. The alien easily reached up and grabbed Rick.
"We got what we came for. Have the engine room execute a hyperspace fold so we can immediately leave this area Exedore."
"Yes, my lord."
BRIDGE OF THE SDF-1
"Falcon this is the SDF-1 do you read me come in over. Linebacker this is the SDF-1 do you read me over. Sir, I've tried raising the Cat's Eye and Vermillion Flight for several minutes now and none of them are answering my calls.", Claudia said in a worried voice.
"Sir we can't give up on them. They may still be alive.", Sammie said from her workstation.
"Of course, not Sammie, we are not going to give up on them, but we have to face reality. We cannot stay here and wait for them to return. Staying here could be a trap for the enemy to come back and finish us off and I am not staying here and let that happen. I am not going to risk the lives of other crewmembers and more than 70,000 displaced civilians on this ship just for the sake of eight missing crewmembers…even if that one of the eight is Lisa. Claudia, notify the engine room and tell them to start up the engines. We are leaving but only at half speed just in case the missing Cat's Eye crew and Vermillion Flight shows up."
"Yes sir."
"How are the damage control teams doing Claudia?"
"They're reporting that they are progressing along fine sir. They should have repairs completed to the ship within a few hours.'
"And what does Macross Civil Defense say?"
"They report that several buildings have been damaged, several cars have been destroyed and some streets are torn up very badly, but they should be repaired by tomorrow."
"That's good news Claudia. Okay, release the ship from general quarters. I am going back to my office. I need to be alone for a while. You're in charge of the bridge Claudia."
"Yes sir. Uh…sir, what should we do about Lisa and the pilots?"
"List them as MIA but not presumed dead. We need to hold out hope that they're still alive."
"Yes sir."
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE
MILITARY ACRONYMS
MA – Master at Arms. Naval equivalent of a civilian police chief on a ship. They are usually senior enlisted people from Chief Petty Officer (E-7) on up.
MIA – Missing in Action.
MP – Military Police.
PAO – Public Affairs Office. Military equivalent of a civilian public relations office. The PAO acts as a go-between for the command and the general public, usually the civilian media.