Chapter Three - Ride The Lightning
Even though it was only separated by two hundred kilometers from Monument City, New Macross was as far removed from its counterpart as if it were on the other side of the planet. The skyline of the city was not as expansive as Monument's was, but was instead dominated by a large lake in the middle of the city. Known locally as Lake Gloval, the lake was also home to the most recognizable landmark, the recently decommissioned SDF-1.
Like a guardian spirit rising from the lake, the venerable ship had resided there for the past three years since it's remarkable victory over the invading Zentraedi fleet that was hell-bent on eradicating humanity. It had lain dormant during this time until events of a month prior had what the locals had nicknamed "The Old Lady" coming out of retirement to once again protect the citizens of Macross and Earth. A well placed cannon burst from the ship's mighty guns had removed one of Earth's most implacable foes in Khyron, or at least that was what was assumed by the RDF forces that called the city home.
Housing most of these resolute forces was the expansive military complex known simply as Macross Command. Home for the massive RDF Air Forces, a good contingent of the RDF Ground Forces, and the Central Command for Earth's defending force, the facility spread over a good chunk of the southern and western coastline of Lake Gloval, with the city of New Macross itself dominating the eastern coast and north.
It was in one of the central command buildings where two of the heroes of what became known around the base as "Big Ugly's Last Ride" were sitting in one of the many offices, deep in conversation over an upcoming event of importance.
Inside of the office, sitting on a sofa with a large table in front was Captain Rick Hunter, commander of the RDF's elite squadron, the Skulls, and also Commander of the Air Group for Macross Command. Despite his age, Hunter was one of the most decorated and most skilled pilots in the entire Air Force. This was evidenced by his rapid rise up the ranks from mere Corporal five years prior to nominally third in overall command on the base.
With the rise up the chain of command came some new responsibilities, such as the one that was facing him now. Turning slightly towards the back of the office, he made eye contact with the other person in the room and began to give voice to his thoughts.
"Look, I don't really see why I have to tag along with this. I mean, you and the Admiral would be much better for this one. You both have experience dealing with the big wigs over in Monument."
This response was met with an agonized sigh from the office's other occupant.
At the desk in front of the sofa and table sat an increasingly frustrated Commodore Lisa Hayes, second in command at Macross Command and one of only two officers that outranked the brash young man sitting in front of her.
Breathe, Lisa, she thought to herself as she collected her thoughts on how to proceed next. You really can't get too mad at him over this. It's not exactly a good intro to the whole political process dealing with him.
What had triggered the reluctance from the base's CAG was an upcoming briefing with one of the more powerful members of the UEG, Senator Ulysses Russo, regarding the status of the RDF's request to proceed with a new SDF. The nearly completed SDF-2 had been a casualty of the Last Ride, suffering complete destruction in a surprise attack right before he launched his suicide run.
He does have a point in that he's never had to deal with the likes of Russo before. But, if he's going to be a full commander, he's got to realize there's a bit of politics involved. Not that I like it any better, but it's part of the territory. Eventually, he's going to have to face scenarios like this.
She smiled as she looked over at the dark-haired pilot. As much as Rick could frustrate Lisa at times, she found herself unable to stay mad at the pilot.
Then again, Rick, your idea of negotiations with an unfriendly adversary usually involves a Veritech's gun pod or a well-placed Wildfire missile and usually results in something breaking. How did you describe it? 'Aggressive negotiations'?
Her smile grew thinking of the conversation that brought that little tidbit up.
It's like watching a kid drag his feet over going to visit relatives he doesn't know and doesn't want to be around. It's cute in its own endearing, yet frustrating way. You're very lucky I love you, Rick. If it were anyone else, I would have probably put up with a hell of a lot less push-back about it.
"Rick," she said in a less threatening tone than was expected. "I'm not a fan of these things, or politics either. But, if we want to convince the Senate and Council that we should be able to go ahead with building the SDF-3, we have to present a good case. We could use your expertise on this one."
"It's not that I don't want to, Lisa. I want to get this built as much as you and the Admiral, especially knowing what could be coming. Plus, God only knows what else is out there to boot." He had recently sat in on a briefing with the RDF's Zentraedi ally, Breetai, and got a crash course about a threat that could make the Zentraedi and the Masters look like nothing. The stories about these Invid, they're enough to make your skin crawl, he thought. And they even give the Zents some pause in attacking. That's saying something.
Resuming his thoughts, Rick continued. "It's more of who we're dealing as to what we're dealing with here that has me apprehensive."
Lisa nodded her head. Of all the Senators we could be having this meeting with, it would have to be him, she thought darkly. In light of who he's related to, it'll probably end up being a case of if he can't get any cash out of this, he'll hold things up.
"Senator Russo isn't exactly one of my favorite people, Rick. He's corrupt as they come, much like his late uncle. Probably looking to make a killing out of giving us sub-standard parts that will end up costing personnel their lives. Not that I ever saw that happen or anything."
"Plus, the little bastard royally screwed you over on the promotion."
Lisa's eyes flared a vibrant green, which was a valid indication that her guest had broached a touchy subject.
Rick gulped as he saw her eyes change. And once again, I trigger the Hayes Death Stare. Been on the business end of those one too many times. Collecting himself, he looked up at Lisa apologetically. "Look, I didn't mean to bring it up. I know that's still a touchy subject."
Lisa shook her head. "No, you have every right to. And I'm really appreciative of your protectiveness, even if it may go over the top every once in a while." She thought back to when the news had arrived that her promotion to Rear Admiral had been downgraded to Commodore courtesy of Senator Russo. I remember Rick making a comment about flying over to Monument and having a "slight weapons malfunction" occur right near his office right after that happened. It took a lot of convincing to keep him from deviating from any of his assigned flight paths and making a bee-line for his office.
A smile came across Rick's face. "Well, it is part of the job description and all."
Lisa smiled back. "It's also in my job description to keep you from doing something stupid, even if I wouldn't have been overly upset if it did happen."
"I will say, maybe it's a good thing it's a remote briefing. If we were there face to face, I can't guarantee I wouldn't take a swing at him."
"I would," Lisa said plainly. Before Rick could respond, she continued. "Only because I would've already knocked him on his ass," adding a smile for good measure.
Rising up from her desk, she moved towards the couch and sat down next to Rick.
Rick started to laugh and put his arm around Lisa. "I don't doubt that for a second, Forever Girl."
Lisa leaned in and kissed Rick. "You know me too well, Flyboy." She sat back and smiled.
"And Admiral Gloval knows us too well," Rick added with a chuckle.
"Maybe that's why the Admiral insisted this one be done remotely." She looked back over at Rick and smiled as she took his hand in hers. As crazy as the last few months have been, I'm glad this was one of the outcomes of it all. Looking to change the subject to something a bit lighter than dealing with the machinations of the United Earth Government, Lisa asked a very simple question.
"So, what else is on your agenda today?"
"I'm heading out to the Proving Grounds later today with Wilcox and the Sterlings. Final check-outs on the new fighters Dr. Lang's been promising for the last year."
Lisa nodded. "So, the VF-4's are a go then?"
"Pretty much. Everyone at Macross has been running the new configurations on the sims non-stop over the past few weeks. Thankfully they're not that different than the VF-1's, so it's been a pretty quick learning curve. Skull, Rapier, and Azure are slated to get them fully in about two or three weeks if the final check-out goes OK."
"So, does with the VF-1's going away, that means..."
Rick sighed. "The Old Girl's getting retired sooner rather than later. I knew this day was coming. Progress marching forward and all of that. But I didn't see it being as tough as it was going to be."
Lisa moved a bit closer. "Has to do with Roy, doesn't it?"
Rick nodded. "Yeah. The Old Girl is the last tangible link I have left with him now. And that link looks to be going away."
Lisa leaned in. "You know, Roy's always going to be in two places, Rick." She gently pointed at his forehead. "Here." She then pointed to his chest. "And here."
Rick smiled. "I know that. Still, I've been to hell and back in that fighter."
"And knowing Roy as we both do, I doubt he would have been as sentimental about this."
Rick laughed. "That too. He'd probably tell me to grow a set, stop whining like a bitch, and get over it already."
Lisa nodded. "Well, I expect an update as to how the new fighters handle. They do look a bit different, that's for sure."
"As I said, progress marches forward." Rick stood up. "I should be getting back over to the hangars before Tom and Max start forming the search parties."
Lisa stood up and hugged Rick tightly.
"Be careful out there. And try to get back here on time tomorrow. The briefing is at 1300."
"Yes, ma'am. And I will be careful. Besides, as I always say..."
"You have a good reason to come home," Lisa finished with a smile.
"And there you go finishing my thoughts again," Rick said with a laugh. "You know how you have those 'many reasons', Lisa? I have them too, and that's up there on the list," he said with a wink.
She leaned closer and kissed Rick. "I love you, Flyboy."
"I love you too, Forever Girl."
Rick gave a quick salute as he exited the office, leaving Lisa to mull over the proposal regarding the SDF-3 and what looked to be a potentially contentious conversation the next day. As much as you don't want to be there for it, you may need to be, Rick. For my sake if anything.
Located about two hours south of New Macross was an expanse of flat terrain that had not recovered after the attack on Earth by Dolza's fleet. Almost immediately, the RDF set about making it into a specialty base for testing the next generation of Veritech fighters and Destroid ground mecha to be utilized by the force. Run by Dr. Emil Lang's Engineering team, the facility was officially known as the RDF Proving Grounds. To the members of the RDF, it was dubbed "Dexter's Laboratory", after a pre-Dolza's Rain cartoon that had been popular.
Near one of the hangars, four RDF pilots were walking towards a section of hangars. Most notable among the group of pilots was a shorter dark-haired man. Captain Rick Hunter smiled as led the others towards their destination. Through his sunglasses, Rick took in the area the facility. Pretty plain looking, but seeing Dr. Lang runs the show here, looks are always a bit deceiving, he thought.
"Well, this should be fun," cracked Commander Tom Wilcox. "Should be interesting to see how these new Veritechs handle."
Rick nodded as the conversation pulled him out of his thoughts of the overall base aesthetics. "Yeah, it's a bit of a weird design, Tom. But, from what I read with the concepts and testing it in the sims, it seems like it has a bit more oomph than the VF-1s did."
"Trust me, you guys should have fun with these," Commander Max Sterling stated with a knowing smile. "They're faster and they've got a lot heavier weaponry than before. Plus the armor's a bit more robust."
"Kinda unfair you got first crack at these, Max," Rick said with a mock pout.
"I guess I should be thankful I will have a chance to pilot one of these," Lieutenant Commander Miriya Sterling replied. "From what Maximillian has told me from testing the prototype and from the schematics Captain Hunter provided, the weaponry is impressive. I would think if these fighters were rolled out earlier, it may have meant another outcome before I came over."
Wilcox smirked. "And knowing a few of your pilots, Hunter, they'll be very happy with the new toys."
"I can think of one off the bat, Tom," Rick said with a smirk. Knowing how much Nibs likes to make things go boom, she'll be overjoyed. The smile she had after the first run in the sims was like seeing a kid on Christmas Day.
"And if I heard was true, Dixon will be very happy with that," Wilcox responded with a sly grin. Rick and Max both shook their heads. The day after the first run in the sims, Ben had come in late and had one of the goofiest grins on his face the rest of the day. It didn't take much for either Rick or Max to figure out what had exactly happened that night between Ben and Amelia.
Pushing back the vivid and somewhat unwelcome image Wilcox had just planted, Rick attempted to steer the conversation back towards what was at hand.
"The only concerns I have are about the sub-orbital handling. Been hearing that they're a little more sluggish up top than the VF-1s were."
Max nodded in agreement. "It was one big thing I had pointed out to the developers after one flight with the prototype. They assured me they would get that squared away before it deployed."
"Then again," Wilcox deadpanned, "As much as I don't want to be that guy and say it, but maybe it might have been a bit of fortune that Big Ugly targeted the Deuce like he did. If these things handle like a refrigerator trying to take a hairpin turn up in space, better to find out now before finding out when up against God knows what."
The others nodded. It was just then that the group arrived at a closed hangar. Standing in front of them were two men. One was in an RDF Ground Forces uniform and was wearing a red beret. The other man was dressed in a white lab coat and black pants and was holding a tablet and stylus. As Rick walked closer, the man in uniform snapped to attention and saluted briskly before walking towards him, extending a hand and smiling broadly.
"Captain Hunter, Commander Sterling, it's been a while," the man in the RDF uniform stated in an impeccable English accent.
Rick cracked a smile as he shook the other man's hand. "That it has, Leftenant Major, that it has," he responded, using the British pronunciation of the other's rank.
The man in uniform turned his attention towards Max and shook hands. Turning to the others, he then stepped forward.
"Commander Wilcox, Leftenant Commander Sterling, allow me to introduce myself. I am Leftenant Major Cyril Gasgoine, commander of the 880th Mechanized and ranking officer here at the Proving Grounds. It's an honor to finally meet you two." Salutes and handshakes followed. Continuing on, Gasgoine motioned to the man next to him.
"This is Doctor Koromatsu, one of our lead engineers on the Lightning project. He will go over some of the specifications and answer any questions you may have about the VF-4."
The engineer bowed slightly towards the officers in front. "It is an honor to meet all of you. However, I think a visual may be more in order when going over the newest member of the RDF's arsenal." He nodded towards Gasgoine, who then motioned to one of the ground techs nearby. A loud grinding noise came up as the doors to the hangar opened.
As the doors opened, a sparkling white jet began to move forward slowly. The four pilots watched in admiration as the sleek craft began to move past. It did have the look of the original VF-1 in the front with the traditional cockpit area, but that was where the similarities came to an end. Two large engines sat on each side of the main fuselage of the craft. In front of the engine intakes were two very large cannons. Next to the cannons were three notches close to the cockpit on either wing. The wings spread out from the engines and the back of the craft tapered off in the back towards a third engine. On each wing were two groupings of what appeared to be air to air missiles.
"I present the VF-4 Lightning."
The four pilots nodded and took in the sight of what was to be the new standard for the RDF's air wing. Rick was the one that broke the silence after a few minutes.
"Looks really good, Doctor. What kind of engines are we looking at with this?"
"The Lightning comes equipped with two variable Glatt-Windsor JB-377 engines, capable of regular turbine flight in atmospheric conditions and reflex pulse power in sub-orbital. The third engine was a recent addition after some concerns were raised by Commander Sterling after a sub-orbital test. The middle engine is a Glatt-Windsor JC-923 pulse engine that boosts the overall speed in sub-orbital by at least one hundred kilometers per hour and increases the reaction time by about point three seven seconds."
Glad to hear Max's concerns were covered, Rick thought. The sims hadn't accounted for this new addition. We'll have to modify that before we deploy for real so everyone gets used to that. Rick looked over at Max and nodded. The nod was returned by the other pilot, a silent acknowledgment that his lobbying was heard, much to the betterment of the entire project.
The engineer continued on. "Also, you will notice something with the two primary engines. They have the ability to pivot a full 90 degrees, thus allowing for VTOL capabilities in fighter mode as well as in Guardian and Battloid." This news was met with silent nods of approval.
"It does look a bit more robust than the VF-1," commented Wilcox. "How's the armor on this bird?"
Doctor Koromatsu smiled. "Well, Commander, the Lightning has the same Duranium skin as the VF-1, but a bit thicker in some of the more critical spots. We studied the saved telemetries from a good number of the VF-1s that were shot down during the initial conflict with the Zentraedi and also through the most recent Malcontent uprising. In critical spots, we doubled the thickness of the skin without adding much to the weight. Overall, the Duranium skin is about 2.5 centimeters thick. It can repel most light arms fire without much damage down here on Earth."
"So, basically if some jackass with an AK-47 decides to take a few pops at this bird..."
"It would be like a mosquito biting an elephant on its arse, Commander," Gasgoine stated. "It would take at least something in the 50 millimeter range of ordinance to actually have a chance of piercing the skin."
Wilcox whistled and nodded at this news.
"Obviously surface to air missiles, air to air missiles, and particle beam fire are a much different story. Robotech can work miracles, but some things still elude us as of yet."
Pointing towards the canopy, Doctor Koromatsu continued. "The biggest development is with the canopy itself. Take a good look at it. It looks to be glass, correct?"
The pilots all nodded as the Doctor smiled.
"Well, looks can be very deceiving. The canopy cover is actually transparent Duranium at a thickness of 3 centimeters. It also is infused with some of the latest in nanocircuitry as the canopy will also project the HUD on the canopy itself. Once in the main seat, you will notice that the traditional TacNet panel is now a touch screen made of the same Duranium materials as the canopy itself."
Miriya asked the next question. "What kind of firepower is on this fighter?"
Gasgoine grinned. "I think, my dear, you will be very pleased with what the Lightning has on board. The two cannons in front? They are variable ordinance cannons. In atmospheric conditions, they fire regular explosive tipped shells."
"How big? They're definitely bigger than the GU-11 on the VF-1," Rick asked.
"75 millimeter shells, Captain."
Rick whistled. Yeah, that's gonna really suck for any pod that gets in the way of that, seeing the GU-11 can already make them into confetti, he thought. A sharp elbow from Wilcox broke Rick's thought pattern.
"Well, that seals it," Wilcox said softly. "Dixon will be the luckiest bastard on the face of the Earth once Nibs gets a hold of this thing."
Rick shook his head as he tried not to laugh. Gasgoine continued on with the rundown.
"Obviously, 75 millimeter shells won't do much good in orbit. So, as they're variable ordinance, they convert to particle beam cannons. Power comes from the reflex reactor that powers the engines. The beam cannons only take a very minimal amount of power, so there's no chance of draining the power by firing the cannons."
Gasgoine then pointed to recessed tubes midway between the cannons and the cockpit. "On each wing, there's three of these recessed tubes. Each one has a brand new bit of ordinance in place. Namely, a newer, larger version of the Wildfire called the Banshee. So, it comes with six standard. You also may have noticed the quad launchers on the wings. Those are something a bit newer, namely the MDS-4 Mini Launcher. The missiles are a bit smaller than a regular Wildfire, but have about the same stopping power. As for the Banshee? They're at least twice as strong."
The pilots all nodded and smiled as this fighter was a potential game changer if any of the scattered Malcontents decided to rise up.
"Well, on to the big question," Wilcox drawled. "How does it look in Batteloid mode?"
Doctor Koromatsu smiled and tapped on his tablet. In an instant, the Lightning fighter changed from its regular fighter mode into a large mecha. All four pilots looked and smiled.
"It's a little smaller than the VF-1 version, but with a little better armor and a much more powerful gun pod, I think it will compensate nicely."
"Nice touch with having the cannons come together to be the gun pod for the mecha," Miriya stated.
"They're also variable ordinance as well, Lieutenant Commander."
Max, who had a pretty good handle on what the fighter was capable of due to the testing flights he had made, was the next to speak.
"Has the Guardian issue been fixed yet?"
The others turned towards their colleague in curiosity at the reasoning behind the statement.
"OK, one of the times I was on a test flight with the prototype, it wouldn't go in to Guardian, no matter how many times I smacked the G button on the panel."
"We saw that issue, Commander, and it was addressed," Koromatsu replied. "I've run the program numerous times and I cannot get that same error you had to reappear. Observe." He tapped the tablet. The fighter quickly changed from a full mecha to a half mecha, half fighter configuration.
Max nodded. "Figured it was a one-time bug. If it's working, then we should be all set."
Doctor Koromatsu tapped the tablet one more time, causing the Veritech to change swiftly back to a regular fighter and then turned to Gasgoine.
"OK, if there's no more questions, feel free to go over to the other three hangars as there are Lightnings waiting for each of you. We also did get your cockpit setting preferences from your old VF-1s, so it won't be that strange in the new birds." He then turned to Rick. "Captain, this one here is yours. We kept it white for the time being, but we'll be adding the black and gold to it later on. But, as you can see, we did have to go ahead with this."
Rick looked at the tail fins of the craft. They were painted black with a very familiar white skull. The skull this time, however, had a bit of a twist as it looked a bit more like the inspiration for Rick's call sign. Nice touch, guys, he thought. Running his hand along the wing towards the cockpit, he thought back to the first time he officially flew in a Veritech. I was in awe then, I'm in awe now. It may not be the Old Girl, but I think it's got enough of her inside to make for a bit smoother transition.
Rick climbed up the ladder to the cockpit and strapped in. Checking over the setup, he didn't notice much of a difference between the new VF-4 and the more familiar VF-1. I think they did that on purpose, he thought as he started up the engines. A familiar whine came up as the turbines came to life and the fighter began to taxi towards the runways. Tapping the console, the face of the flight controller came up.
"Proving Grounds Command, this is Skull Leader requesting permission for takeoff."
"Roger that, Skull Leader. You and the others are cleared for takeoff. Runways seven and eight are clear. Also, Lieutenant Major Gasgoine wanted me to remind you that this is a strict 'you break it, you buy it' zone."
Rick laughed at the comment. "Well, I just got a pay bump, but not enough to cover one of these. Anyways, thank you Command. Skull Leader out."
He pulled back on the throttle and the fighter shot down the runway, lifting off the ground gracefully and soaring into the clear sky. Within a few minutes, Rick was joined by the others and were flying a standard diamond formation.
"OK, I see everyone's up and airborne," Rick stated with a smile. "First impressions?"
Wilcox was the first to pop up on the HUD. Like Rick, he was grinning ear to ear. "This is pretty damn nifty. Definitely has some horses under the hood, built like a tank, and has enough firepower to make any dumb Em Zee think twice about getting froggy."
Max popped up on the screen. "Told you guys you'd like it. I also pretty much knew what this had to offer. That's why I kept my mouth shut, well, with the exception of the Guardian issue and the sluggishness up top."
Miriya came up next. "This is probably the finest craft I have ever flown," she stated in her usual matter of fact style. "I piloted the best armored pods the Zentraedi had, and they do not even compare to this. If these had been in the RDF's arsenal earlier, it would have changed things."
"Yeah," Rick deadpanned. "I probably would have vaped Khyron a hell of a lot sooner and saved us a lot of headaches."
"Hindsight is twenty-twenty, Rick," Max chimed in. "Also, if what I heard was true, maybe things happened for a reason. The sluggishness in sub-orbital got the guys at the Skunk Works thinking again. They're already planning the next one. One that would be more exclusive for anything off planet, if you catch my drift."
Wilcox put his thoughts into words. "So, as nice as this bad boy is..."
"There'll probably be something for when they go ahead with the Three," Max added. "Speaking of that, Rick. Any news?"
Rick shook his head. "Nothing. There's a briefing tomorrow back home with Senator Russo about that. The Admiral and Lisa asked me to sit in on it."
"Sounds like a lot of fun, Rick," Wilcox said with a frown on his face. "Is he actually stupid enough to come to Macross after what he pulled with Lisa?"
Rick shook his head. "No, and we're not going to the hive of scum and villainy that is Monument either. It's thankfully going to be done remotely."
"Probably a really good idea," Max added.
"The Admiral's no dummy," Rick stated. "He figured if it were face to face, something would have happened."
"He figured you'd take a swing at Russo," Wilcox assumed.
"No," Rick corrected. "He was more afraid Lisa would. She flat out told me I wouldn't have gotten a chance because she would have knocked the little bastard on his ass."
"That I do not doubt," Miriya stated. "Commodore Hayes was not happy about the change in rank. This Russo seems a lot like Khyron, someone that cannot be trusted."
"I'd rather deal with Khyron if you ask me," Rick admitted. "At least I knew he wanted me dead and was pretty straight forward about it. Have to admit, for as insanely homicidal as he was, at least he was honest about it. Russo? That's a different story entirely." Thinking for a second and noting the time, Rick cracked a grin. "Excuse me for a few minutes. I have to test something out."
Back at Macross Command, it was a quiet day. The activity levels from the Malcontents had dropped off steeply after the attack by Khyron was repelled just a month prior. Up on the bridge, Commodore Lisa Hayes was doubling between her usual station as the flight controller and being in overall command as Admiral Gloval was easing her into the role of just being the overall commander. This day, she was sitting in Admiral Gloval's usual seat, allowing the others to run things. Taking care of the flight controller duties was Lieutenant Sammie Porter, one of the infamous Trio on the bridge.
As she was keeping an eye on things, she caught an incoming transmission on the TacNet. Punching up a screen, she saw something she had never seen before.
Enter encryption key to continue? What the hell?
She turned towards the top of the bridge.
"Ma'am? Can you come down here for a second."
Lisa nodded and walked down. Sammie looked over at Lisa and asked, "Any idea what this is? I've never seen an encrypted call over the TacNet before. Have you?"
Glancing over, she rolled her eyes. I should have known.
"I know what this is. I'll take care of it." She looked over at the nervous woman next to her. "Go ahead and grab a cup of coffee, Sammie. I'll fill you in later."
Sammie saluted and made her way towards the back of the bridge while Lisa settled in to what was her usual spot on the bridge. Eyeing the source of the transmission, she smiled as she entered in a sequence of keys. The screen blinked quickly and the image of one Rick Hunter popped up on the screen.
"Really, Rick? Even when you're at the Proving Grounds?" Lisa responded half jokingly
"Well, I had to test if the channel worked. I see it still does."
"And you confused the hell out of poor Sammie. I sent her on a quick coffee break." She smiled. "So, how's the VF-4 working out?"
"The Skunk Works outdid themselves with this one. It's pretty solid. Definite step up from the VF-1."
"Good," she added with a smile. "Well, after you left, I did talk to the Admiral. He's letting you off the hook for tomorrow. He seems to have a feeling its not going to go well and wants you to huddle up with Doctor Lang to see what we can do to get a more precise plan as to what we would need for the Three."
"Probably a good idea to be honest. Especially with what Max told us earlier that the guys here have something in mind for when we go ahead with the Three. The VF-4 is probably going to be one of the last primary Earth based fighter in our arsenal. They're thinking a bit bigger."
"Something that can help our case?"
"Probably not right now."
"Anyways, I should probably get Sammie back in here and back to work. She's going to be doing a lot more of the flight control for us. The Admiral is starting to push me more towards his role," she said with a sigh.
"The curse of responsibility," Rick said. "It's probably why Max is doing more of the flying on the prototypes than I have."
Lisa nodded. "Now you understand. Be safe out there, Flyboy. I'll see you when you get back."
"I always am, Forever Girl. See you later!"
"And Rick? Don't use this channel again unless you know I'm on Flight Control."
"Or we can patch it over somewhere else," Rick said with a wink.
"Get back to work already," she said with a smile. With that the screen went black.
As the four pilots made their way back to Macross Command aboard a modified EC-33 used as a simple transport, Rick was looking out the window, thinking of what potentially awaited the RDF the next day. Part of me wants to be there, just to keep Lisa from going off on Russo. But I also understand why she and the Admiral are thinking it's better I don't attend. We're going to need a plan B, plan C, and possibly plan D if Russo decides to not go along.
"Something on your mind, Boss?" Rick had barely noticed Max grabbing one of the seats across from him.
"Mostly about that briefing tomorrow regarding the future of the Three."
A snort came from Wilcox, who was sitting nearby. "Seeing that Uncle Pennybags Russo is involved, he's going to want some considerations to get that up the chain, Rick."
"And the Admiral is not one to pay bribes," Rick stated plainly. "I may or may not have talked to Lisa while we were checking out the new birds and found out I don't have to attend tomorrow," he added.
"So that's why you went silent," Max said with a smile. "Good to know our encrypted channels still work."
"You knew I was going to test that out, Max," Rick said with a laugh. Returning to what he was discussing earlier, Rick sighed. "They're pulling me off because they think Russo's gonna bin the proposal and they want to have some contingency plans underway. I meet with Doctor Lang first thing tomorrow."
Miriya heard part of this and shook her head. "They're foolish if they don't proceed with this. The Masters are just as dangerous as any of my former colleagues are, maybe even more so. And then there's the Invid." Her voice trailed off and she shuddered after mentioning the main enemy of the Zentraedi. "Those parasites are a bigger threat, maybe even more so than the Masters."
"So Breetai told me," Rick added. "I'm sensing a bit of a relaxation on the part of the UEG after we took out Big Ugly."
The others nodded.
"It's definitely been noticed," Max added. "If anything, they're probably pinning their hopes to some sort of ill-advised super weapon, like another Grand Cannon or something like that," he continued with a sense of bitterness. "It's what I like to call a 'Pre-Dolza Mentality'."
"That makes sense," Wilcox chimed in. "Russo's uncle got quite a bit in kickbacks when they commissioned the Grand Cannon. The man probably died counting his money when the reflex beam vaped him and most of Chicago."
"So," Rick continued. "Tomorrow, I want to meet up with you guys and Ben to see what we can do to make the SDF-3 an offer that even Russo can't refuse, outside of letting the little weasel skim off of the contracts without impunity."
"Isn't Ben running the sim training?" Max thought.
"Nibs can handle it. She's been his partner in the training after she was the first one to pass. Besides, she's a bit more patient with the others when they screw up in the sim. Ben usually just makes a joke about it and doesn't explain why they failed. She takes the time to explain the error and gives some pointers."
"As long as he does not make an ill-timed joke, Ben is pretty perceptive about some things," Miriya added. "The joking just gets in the way. Although, Amelia has started to break him of that habit with the training." She looked over at Rick. "It was a pretty wise decision to pair those two together."
"Ben agrees in more than one way," Wilcox added with a smirk.
Rick turned his counterpart. "So, Tom. How many of your guys pass the final yet?"
"About half. The issue with the sub-orbital handling is the big stumbling block. I guess the sim is going to be updated pretty soon to reflect the change?"
Rick nodded. "Yeah, that's getting put in place as we speak. I called Ben before leaving. He and Nibs are going to add it in with some help from one of the coders in Engineering."
"Better that than doing it yourself," Miriya added.
"Or getting Baker involved," Max said with a wry grin.
Wilcox turned towards Rick. "OK, Hunter. How many of yours are still not fully checked out on the sim?"
"Would you believe just one?"
Wilcox shook his head. "Let me guess, Baker screwing up intentionally?"
"Nope. Graham's the lone one not to pass."
Miriya had a look of distaste cross her face at the mention of Sue Graham. "There is something about Sergeant Graham that I cannot put my finger on. It is some sort of..of..."
"Vibe, dear," Max added.
"Yes, vibe! There is some sort of vibe I get whenever I am around her. It just doesn't seem right."
"Well, that's for another time. Right now, we need to focus on the SDF-3. I'll be meeting with Doctor Lang at 0900 tomorrow. I would say we would want to meet at 1100 hours. The briefing starts at 1300 and probably won't finish for a while. Seeing Lisa is swinging over after it ends to update me, I'd like to have something out there for her to bring back to the Admiral as a potential counter."
The others nodded. Rick sat back and shook his head.
No pressure, guys, he thought. Just the survival of the human race and the aligned Zentraedi is at stake. Nothing huge or anything.
A/N - So, the setup is going to spread to at least one more chapter. The story will make some more sense with the back stories in place and I am a fan of the slow burn with setting up the action :). In the meantime, I did do some research and picked up on the info for the VF-4 (which was the model plane Rick was playing with in the final episode, right before Lisa showed up and Khyron decided to attack). Found the specs for the fighter over at the Robotech Saga Wiki. So, all credit to those guys for culling the basic info, but I had some AU fun with it, especially with the weaponry and some other aspects.
A/N #2 (3/28/18) - Caught a spelling error to a character's name that needed correction. Done.