Orbit Chapter 2

Greg Bates led Bron and Vanessa out of the cavernous space of the main club area and up the twisting metal staircase between the interior and exterior walls. With the noise of the evening's activity muted, he explained further.

"You'll remember Miss Minmei and I met during the rehearsal for her performance at the memorial. We kept in contact, and she signed me on as her new manager a couple of months ago."

Vanessa looked back at Bron, who had a shell-shocked expression on his face. He'd only been able to meet his idol a handful of times in person, and never like this.

"That's good to hear. I know from your work on the committee that you're more than qualified. But where do we figure into any of it?" Vanessa asked.

"Well as I said, I noticed the two of you dancing before Minmei went on stage, and mentioned to her that you were here. She wanted to see you both." Bates reached the uppermost landing and turned to wait for them. "She seems rather fond of you, Mister Nantes," he added.

"Really?" Bron chuckled nervously and scratched at the shaggy red hair at the back of his head. Vanessa thought he was handling things rather well, considering the way she had seen Rico and Konda carry on sometimes when they secured tickets for a Minmei event. Bron's shabby and much loved singing Minmei doll still held pride of place above his desktop.

Greg took them across a dizzying metal mesh bridge that ran between the lighting gantries and into the club's VIP area, overlooking the dance floor. Minmei waited at a table in the plush, upholstered room, along with Rico and Mary. The former sociologist gave Vanessa a wicked grin, and Rico was somehow smug and star struck at the same time.

Minmei stood and rushed over. "Bron! I'm so glad you came here tonight!" she gushed, throwing her arms around the startled Zentraedi. "Can you forgive me for not making time to see you sooner?" she begged, kissing him on the cheek. Vanessa smiled as Bron's face turned a shade that nearly matched his hair. The arch-Minmei fan stammered something that might have been a reassurance.

"And Vanessa! It's great to see you again!"

Vanessa's laugh came out as a squeak of surprise when she suddenly found a warm, supple body pressed against her. Minmei squeezed her tight and planted a second kiss on her cheek before releasing her. Vanessa colored from head to toe, not missing Mary's amused cackles.

"I was very impressed by everything you said at the memorial," Minmei continued, "and of course I saw all of your interviews with Aria Stockton. Oh, how is Aria? Have you seen her lately?"

"I, um, no, not recently," Vanessa managed, fluffing her fingers through her shoulder length hair to try to cool herself. Minmei, of course, had been interviewed by the military affairs reporter for her award winning documentary on the legacy of the SDF-1, just like Vanessa, but their sessions at the MBS studio had never overlapped. "I haven't been off the base for several weeks, what with flight training."

Minmei's eyes widened. "Wow! You're going to be a fighter pilot, just like Rick?"

Vanessa couldn't seem to regain her balance. "Not exactly, I'm-"

"Oh, you shouldn't all be standing, come sit down," Minmei interrupted. "There's a wet bar, and refreshments over there, and I'm sure Myrmid's people can find anything else you might want, he's a wonderful host." She took Vanessa by the wrist, starting to lead her toward the table and then looked down again.

"Vanessa! Your poor arm!" Minmei was cradling the pale blue cybernetic limb, running her fingertips lightly across it. Vanessa stifled another squeak. "But, I had no idea it was so beautiful!"

Vanessa blushed all over again. A few technicians, and Miriya, had handled her cybernetics before now, always in a completely clinical manner. Bron and Lisa had been the only others to touch them, the only ones to call them beautiful.

"This blue is nice," Minmei commented, touching a slender finger to her chin, "but have you thought about color coordinating? Maybe a burnt orange would compliment your hair and eye color better. The eye patch too. It's very dashing."

"Um, I-" Vanessa looked around at the others. They all suddenly had serious expressions on their faces, even Mary. "The blue is special to me," she finally said.

"Oh!" Minmei looked back up at Vanessa, her expression bright. "That makes sense. Well, come on then, we have some catching up to do!" Vanessa released a breath and relaxed as Minmei breezily tugged her the rest of the way to the table, asking, "Bron, please be a dear and grab that bottle of champagne from the ice bucket would you?"

"Ah, sure!"

"So, Minmei, it looks like things are working out well for you with Greg here as your new manager," Mary mercifully broke in, giving Vanessa some time to get a handle on the bewildering situation.

"Oh yes!" Minmei agreed, looking over at Bates, who was still standing a short distance from the table. "I went through some difficulties last year, but Greg understands that I need someone to manage my schedule and contracts, not my life." She made a face.

Bates shrugged and adjusted his glasses. "Miss Minmei is a once in a generation talent, and has her pick of venues, media, and public appearances. She just needed someone to organize everything and keep her in good contact with all the players in the industry. Speaking of which, I thought I saw the VP of Big Sun out there. Please enjoy your evening," he said, excusing himself.

Minmei chatted happily with Bron as he poured the champagne, asking after his new home with Rico and Konda. With her attention elsewhere, Vanessa turned to Rico.

"You knew she was going to be here tonight, didn't you?" she asked discreetly.

Rico chuckled. "Yeah, I knew. I always get the inside information on her schedule." Mary cleared her throat, and Rico smiled sheepishly. "Though, I didn't know she was going to invite us up here."

"She… she hasn't ever done that before, has she?"

"No," he admitted.

Vanessa looked over at Minmei. She was talking like they were all old friends. It might be true enough of Bron and Rico, even if they had never spent much time together, but she acted the same way towards Mary and Vanessa as well. There was nothing superficial or insincere about her manner that Vanessa could see. She seemed genuinely interested and excited.

"You're really going back into space, Vanessa?" Minmei suddenly asked, and Vanessa shook herself, realizing that Bron had just mentioned it.

"That's right. I'm supposed to take command of one of the new Tokugawa class carriers they're building at the Lunar Yards. I'm not quite ready for that yet. I'm going to be aboard Armor Seven and then the Factory Satellite for a special course of training for the next few months."

"Soon Vanessa will be one of those lordly admiralty types, fancy coat and all," Mary teased.

"Yeah, and we'll have to salute whenever we see her," Rico added with a grin. He and Mary straightened to attention and exchanged exaggerated salutes.

"Yes, Captain!"

"At once, Captain!"

"Guys," Vanessa shook her head, smiling. "We don't even know that I'll pass, let alone get the command."

Mary scoffed loudly at that, muttering something about friends in high places, but Minmei's face had fallen.

"It seems like a lot of the people who are important to me are going back into space. Sometimes… sometimes I think those years on the SDF-1 were the best." She looked back up, her eyes widening. "You don't think that's terrible of me to say, do you?"

Bron shook his head. "How could we? I mean, we defected from the armada to go there. Partly because of you." He looked over at Vanessa to be sure she hadn't taken his statement the wrong way. She nodded.

"Life there was fortress, family, and hometown all rolled into one."

Mary waved a dismissive hand. "Far be it from me to judge you. I'd have been happy to trade sitting in a shelter through the Rain of Death for a seat on the battlefortress." Her tone was light, but a shadow passed over her face as she remembered that time and the nightmarish months that had followed the near extinction of Earth and Zentraedi alike.

"I don't think life after the war turned out to be anything like we thought it would," Rico said. "Maybe our dreams weren't very realistic. I mean, how were we gonna fit millions of Zentraedi aboard the SDF-1 anyway?" In spite of the joke, his smile was sad.

There was a silence, which Minmei broke. "Then… then we're just going to have to build new dreams, and do our best to make them real!" She raised her glass. "I wanted to celebrate tonight. To celebrate the end of my tour and my return home, to celebrate all the hope that's been born these last few months, and to reconnect with the people who are important to me. So drink with me. To the future, and new dreams!"

They all drank deep, and even as Vanessa agreed with her words, she thought about how much sacrifice had already been demanded, and how much more was to come. The mood had lifted, just the same. Minmei was in her element, and had a way of making everyone in the room feel noticed and special, jumping from topic to topic with breath-taking speed. Even Mary, certainly not a person to be intimidated by anyone's status, kept her teasing mostly in check.

"Well, the integration plan is going forward, in spite of a lot of complaints and resistance. The Zentraedi are behind it, the government is behind it, and most of the public is at least going along with it to avoid being left out of the rehousing and education programs. Armed forces enlistment is up thirty percent. Soon my VIP's here are going to work themselves out of their jobs," she said with a wave at Bron and Rico. "They'll have to move on to bigger and better things."

The pair groaned good-naturedly, but Minmei nodded. "You've done so well! I know a lot of people didn't take you seriously at first, but all those visits around the cities in the north have made a real difference. And it was going to take more than one of my concerts to get the rogue groups in the Southlands to start laying down their weapons."

"It was a good outcome," Vanessa agreed. "But next time, Bron, I'd rather not find out about it by seeing you suddenly appear on the news, macronized, standing in the jungle surrounded by battlepods." She smiled pointedly at Mary. "Especially after all the flack you gave me about attending the protest march in April, Mary."

"Well, let's say you showed us the way," Mary said with an easygoing grin.

"You told me it was going to be a good-will tour of the South American cities!"

Mary shrugged. "Operational security. You're a soldier, I'd expect you to understand."

Bron put a hand on Vanessa's shoulder. "I'm sorry I worried you. It was important to me, but you are too."

"No, Bron, I do understand, and I'm proud of what you did." They locked eyes, until Minmei made a happy sound, her hands clasped under her chin.

"Oh, you two are so sweet together! I'm so glad I got to see all of you tonight. I just wish you weren't going back into space so soon, Vanessa."

Vanessa sighed. "The training schedule is pretty inflexible."

"A far away shore," Bron muttered.

"Well it's just Earth orbit. After traveling on the SDF-1, that doesn't seem so far as if used to," Minmei pointed out. "Who knows what might be possible?"

Monument's oppressive summer heat had passed, and the October night was pleasant and cool. Bron put an arm around Vanessa's shoulders as they walked back to the condo he shared with Rico and Konda. Fewer stars marked the night sky, many of them drowned out by the city's lights as it grew week by week, but the immense Factory Satellite, a megastructure that was visible even in the day, could easily be seen, traveling across the heavens in a slow but noticeable arc, like a cluster of ghostly moonlets. Rico and Mary had offered to share a cab, but Vanessa and Bron had declined, wanting to stretch out the time they had to themselves.

Bron had alternated between excitement and disbelief during their evening with Minmei, and Vanessa had enjoyed herself as well, in spite of the strangeness of it all. Nevertheless, for a long time, they said nothing, and they both knew why. They continued walking in the quiet streets. The entertainment district was lively and densely packed, but not large, and they had quickly entered one of the districts that served the city's infrastructure. Bron broke the silence first.

"You're leaving." Vanessa's heart lurched at his words. "We have to talk about this, while we still can."

"You're right." Her lips felt numb and clumsy. Here, in the moment, she had no idea what to say. They had talked about this before, at least partially. But that was months ago, when they hardly even knew what they were to each other. Their separation had still been far away. She knew she loved him, and he loved her, but what would he say now?

"I've known we needed to deal with it for a long time. I'm just not sure where to start," she admitted.

He put his arm around her waist and drew her close. "Then we'll start with the simplest part," he encouraged. "The official plan. Go back through that."

"Ok," Vanessa agreed with relief. His touch did much to reassure her. She went through the schedule in her head, and began, haltingly. "So, I board a trans-atmospheric shuttle to the Factory Satellite early Monday morning. A connecting shuttle will take me to Armor Seven."

"Which is a carrier," Bron prompted.

"Sort of. The Advanced Reflex Missile Defender series is a sort of hybrid carrier and heavy missile platform. The UN Spacy needed a capital ship while the SDF-1 was being reconstructed. We didn't realize at the time that the SDF-1 was no bigger than the typical Zentraedi cruiser. The Tokugawa class will be our first true heavy carriers, but the first is still months away from leaving the Lunar Yards," she explained. She knew she was getting side-tracked, but it gave her time to organize her thoughts. "Anyway, Armor Seven is the only ARMD to survive the war. When I get there, I'll be learning to conduct veritech operations in space. That's supposed to take a month."

"Right," Bron said, "and then you'll be qualified to command."

"Well, I'll be over the first hurdle. In the UN Spacy, you have to be fully flight qualified, and fully starship qualified, to command a carrier."

They passed one of the city's water purifiers, transferred intact from the recycling systems of the Quel'Vatal. It was as tall as an office building, its pump systems generating its own waterfall that constantly refilled a good sized reservoir. A mist surrounded it and cooled the evening further, but the view was worth the minor discomfort. After the initial team of Robotech engineers had helped to move and set up the machinery, Zentraedi residents cleverly set up vertical spotlights that caught the mist and cast a coruscating display of prismatic color throughout the night. Vanessa and Bron pressed closer to one another, enjoying the rainbow array, before continuing.

"So after Armor Seven," Bron went on, "it's back to the Factory Satellite?"

"Yes, I'll spend another two months there, training on space warfare operations. My job on the SDF-1 was highly specialized. Everything I know about sensors and information analysis will be very useful, but there are a million other things I need to learn about astrogation, engineering, beam, kinetic, and missile weapon systems, reflex weaponry, leadership, strategy and tactics, deployment of veritechs and other strike craft… It's a terribly compressed curriculum, and it's only being done this way because we're having to rebuild the fleet almost from scratch." She shook her head doubtfully.

"General Maistroff thinks you can do it," Bron pointed out.

"Maistroff has always had his own agenda in pushing me into this," she said sourly.

"I thought you trusted him."

"I trust he's trying to do the right thing as he sees it, but he's from the Army. He doesn't know the first thing about space warfare."

"Well," Bron said after a moment's thought, "Admiral Hayes believes in you too."

"Lisa is…" Vanessa had no ready counter to that. "Lisa is sentimental," she finally said. "I'm sure part of her still wishes we could be together on the bridge of the SDF-3. She probably thinks keeping me on the Pioneer Mission is the next best thing."

"Vee." His voice was softly admonishing. "The Pioneer Mission is too important, and she's too committed and honorable to play favorites like that. I know her well enough to see that. You're going to be searching for my people's masters. Masters who built five million ships, and created an entire race to crew them. Lisa only wants the best for the Pioneer Mission. During the war, Admiral Breetai offered Rico, Konda, and me cruiser commands as a reward for spying on the SDF-1," he reminded her. "You're a thousand times more capable than we were."

"You won't give an inch, will you?" Vanessa replied, with a smile.

"I learned that from you."

"Fair enough. But you are capable. You couldn't have pulled off that stunt in the Southlands otherwise."

"You aren't angry are you?" Bron asked worriedly.

"No, I was scared. I didn't know you were going into danger. But my point is, even though there are people who might call you a traitor for defecting during the war, I think it's obvious to anyone who actually meets you that you are a person of integrity."

"Some would say that defecting to the SDF-1 to enjoy a more comfortable life was pretty selfish," he replied.

"You told me yourself, it was never just about comforts and luxuries denied to a warrior race. It was about hope and peace, and the caring for others that you saw on the SDF-1. And you didn't hoard it within your little group, you shared what you learned with the crew of Breetai's flagship, at great risk to yourself."

"We were just showing off. Or at least that's what Rico says."

Vanessa frowned. She disliked it when Rico said things like that. He had a tendency to be self-deprecating, but he often pulled Bron and Konda into it as well, and caused them to doubt themselves. "It wasn't just that, or you wouldn't have taken all those other crewmates with you when you defected, and you wouldn't have turned yourself in to the authorities once you got to the SDF-1. You didn't know if you might have to spend the rest of the war in a prison cell. It's that sincerity and integrity that convinced Bokur, Vasha, and the other warlords to accept the amnesty offer from the UEG and come out of the jungle. Thousands of Zentraedi have a second chance at a peaceful life because they trusted you."

Bron ducked his head. She knew praise made him just as uncomfortable as it did her. Neither of them had ever liked being singled out.

"We're, uh, getting off track again. After you finish your courses on the Factory Satellite, then what happens?"

"I'm going to be with the Allied Zentraedi Fleet for six weeks. An intensive practicum on Zentraedi systems, ships, and fleet level tactics. There are potentially hundreds of small, leaderless Zentraedi flotillas in the path of the Pioneer Mission. We'll be guests on board a destroyer called the Kardis."

"Really? That's… going to be a major adjustment for you."

"It's been done before," Vanessa said. "Lisa, Claudia, and all of Skull Squadron stayed on Breetai's flagship for the operation to capture the Factory Satellite."

"Hmm. Like living in Brobdignagia."

She gave a pleased chuckle. "You read it! My copy of Gulliver's Travels!"

"I'm not done yet. It gets a little slow after Gulliver leaves the castle in the sky."

"Right, the windy intellectuals at the university. Swift is a little on the nose at that part."

They paused at a cross-walk, and a giant strode past, shaking the earth. A few streets away, they could see the moving lights of an elevated highway bridge, lifting to allow him passage. They continued into one of scores of nearly identical residential neighborhoods.

"You know, being on that ship won't be the same as visiting Monument," he warned her.

"What do you mean?"

"In Monument, it's still your world. The full-sized Zentraedi are, well, giants. It won't be like that in the fleet."

Vanessa looked at him quizzically. "I'm not sure I understand."

"You're still yourself here. When Rico, Konda, and I were micronized - two different times - before we left the flagship, we learned what it was like to feel shrunk down, in a world not made for you. You don't feel like you're normal, but surrounded by giants, instead, you feel reduced. Vulnerable. Powerless. When Miriya delivered us to the SDF-1, we were just cargo. We weren't able to do anything for ourselves. Disembarking on the SDF-1 was a relief."

"Do you think I'll have trouble dealing with it?"

"I know you can handle it," he assured her, "I just want you to be ready for it. You may feel different about yourself, and the Zentraedi in the fleet may treat you differently than you're used to."

"Ok." She was touched by what he told him. He wasn't just thinking of what it would be like for him while she was away, he was seriously thinking about what she would be experiencing. "Thank you."

"Sure. So will you get to come home after that?"

"I hope so… but it will depend on how quickly the Tokugawa is completed. They'll want me at the Lunar Yards to familiarize myself with the ship and to help organize and train the crew as they arrive. As executive officer, I'll have a big job ahead of me preparing for its launch and space trials. It'll probably be late spring before we're through with all of that. Then I'll be transferred to take command of my new carrier and prepare it for launch."

"And after that," Bron continued, "the Pioneer Mission begins. Years of searching and exploration. Trying to find the planet Tirol, and the Masters. There could be another war, if they won't negotiate."

They had reached Bron's neighborhood, and their pace slowed further as they grappled with what everything they had talked about was going to mean for their relationship. She swallowed. Her chest was tightening.

"There's danger everywhere, but I won't be entirely gone all of those years. The carrier groups aren't self-sufficient enough to do that. They'll need to be repaired and re-supplied. The SDF-1 was the most advanced ship Earth ever built, with factories, recycling systems, and an entire city inside, and after one year in space, it still needed many weeks to refit and re-supply."

He walked in silence for a moment. "I don't suppose it would help if I re-enlisted?"

Vanessa heard the doubt in his voice, and her heart sank. "You don't really want to be a soldier again, do you?"

Bron hung his head. "No. And I know what I'm doing right now is important. I can't let everyone down. They wouldn't assign me to your ship anyway, would they?"

She shook her head.

He sighed. "That song…"

They had reached the front yard of the condo. Vanessa stopped and faced him. "It isn't going to turn out like that, I promise. It wasn't about us. It was about Minmei, and her regrets about Rick Hunter and Lisa. We're not like them." She tried to put conviction in her voice. And yet - if he felt it was better to move on, what right did she have to pressure him?

"There's truth in Minmei's music," he said, as he led her to the stoop. "Just like she didn't write 'We Will Win' to be a war ending song or a Zentraedi anthem, but there was a connection, a truth, for both of those things in it. But tonight…"

Cold claws sank into her soul. She had completely given her heart to him. She wanted to love him, and receive his love in return, even if the work they did kept them apart for months or years. She knew she had started on this path from the moment she woke in a hospital room, her body literally torn to pieces, to find Bron holding her hand.

He looked down at her gravely. "The song made me think of how badly I want to avoid their mistakes. Vee, I love you. I want to be a part of your life, forever. Even if we have to spend time apart, I know that it's for a good reason. What you're willing to do for everyone makes me love you even more."

Vanessa felt dizzy. She closed her eye and bowed her head. Bron leaned down and touched his forehead to hers.

"Bron," she said, choking with emotion, "I feel the same. I thought…" Her vision blurred. "I thought you would decide being apart would just be too hard, too long, too painful."

He tilted her chin up with two gentle fingers to see her face again. "Don't underestimate me, remember?" Her self-admonition had become a private joke that they shared. He had that sweet smile on his face that always set her fingertips tingling. They kissed slowly, softly, fully.

"Will we be able to talk, when you go into orbit?" he asked after they stopped to breathe again.

"Only part of the time. We won't be in a stationary orbit. Sometimes my free time won't line up with our position relative to North America. We probably won't be able to talk directly at all while I'm on the Zentraedi destroyer."

"Can't you use a satellite?"

Vanessa shook her head. "The Rain of Death wiped out every satellite, civilian and military. The new satellites are all heavily shielded ones for military use, and they aren't going to share bandwidth for personal communications. We'll have to make do with email a lot of the time."

"Ah." Bron looked at his feet glumly.

Vanessa squeezed his forearm. "It'll have to be an epistolary romance."

"A what?"

She smiled. "It's kind of an archaic word. Epistolary. Told through letters, notes, messages. Sharing not just what we are doing day by day, but our thoughts and our feelings."

"You know I'm not the best with words."

She poked his brawny bicep. "I know you can be just as bad as I was about underestimating you. You've shown me what's in your heart ever since… New Macross. Don't worry about being poetic, just be honest."

"I can do that. If we have to be apart, then I'll give you all I have, my voice and my words."

The way he said it made every inch of her skin prickle. "When we go inside I'll need to call a cab to get back to base. Maybe we could go to the couch and wait there together." Her smile and tone were conspiratorial.

"Yeah," Bron agreed with soft heat.

"Or, maybe, we could just go to the couch first…" she suggested.

"Yeah…"

Vanessa's back bumped against the front door as their arms intertwined. Bron, who a few months ago had kissed her hand and asked if that was too bold, pressed his body to hers in a way that left her breathless.

The front door to the condo swung open on a dark entryway and living room. Vanessa backed through and reached for the light switch, awkwardly fumbling for it because she was still holding herself against Bron with her other hand. His own hands were roving in a pleasingly distracting way. She finally flipped the switch, between hot, breathy kisses, and bathed the main living area of the condo in light.

Vanessa and Bron were both startled by a surprised yelp that was immediately followed by a muffled thud and two simultaneous murmurs of "oof." They broke apart and peered into the living room. On the carpet next to the couch, Rico and Mary were entangled with each other. Rico, rumpled and looking dazed, straddled Mary, who, in spite of looking rather disarranged herself, began laughing.

"This - this isn't what it looks like!" Rico stammered, his eyes wide.

"Rico, dear, it's alright," Mary said, reaching up to cup his cheek.

Rico's expression turned to one of relief as he rolled off of Mary, helped her back onto the couch, and sat next to her. "It - well, it is what it looks like," he told Bron and Vanessa, who exchanged looks. Slow grins were spreading on their faces. After all of Mary's teasing of her and Bron from the first day they met, Vanessa was enjoying the moment, particularly because she and Bron had been planning to put the couch to similar use.

"You know, you haven't exactly kept it a secret how much you two like each other," she said.

Mary shrugged and smoothed down her blouse and skirt. "The Director might have something to say on the matter, so we were trying not to make a big deal of it. We got a bit carried away waiting for the two of you to catch up.

"Rico, do you love her?" Bron suddenly asked. Rico spoke before Mary or Vanessa had time to react to the blunt question.

"Yes! I -" The answer burst from his lips, and then he looked with apprehension at the shocked woman. "Mary, I love you!"

"Rico!" she cried out in amazement, turning a shade of crimson that Vanessa would savor for a very long time. "I - well, I love you too!" The couple laughed, a laugh that mingled happiness and disbelief, and held each other.

Vanessa and Bron took each other's hands and locked eyes. They didn't begrudge the odd pair. It was surprisingly nice to think that they had friends whose lives and relationships were a little less complicated than their own.

Konda's door slid open at the back of the condo, and they could hear his voice, sounding drowsy, but dryly amused. "If you're finished sorting everything out now, some people are trying to sleep here tonight."

Next time… farewells, ignition, and Lightning…