Fanfic Name / Nombre del Fanfic: Choices and Aces

Chapter / Capitulo: Chapter 20

Author / Autor: Anonymoose_Au

Rating / Clasificacion: AP15 (For Teenagers = Para Adolescentes)

Romance

Action / Accion

Alternate Universe / Universo Alterno

Fanfic: “Living with the micronians is not exactly what Rico, Konda and Bron promised us, I suppose that had to do with the fact that the first time they were aboard, the micronians never knew. Now they do…and not all of them are as welcoming as others.” Mardul Kioka, Zentraedi Defector 
 
*** 
 
True to the words of Mayor Tommy Luan, within a week Macross City was almost back to normal. The buildings had been mostly pre-fabricated, the roads patched up, even the skyway that had collapsed had almost been rebuilt. 
 
The Zentraedi defectors had watched it all in absolute amazement, never had they been able to imagine such a thing. The ships of their fleet were self-repairing to some degree, but not one was in complete working order and certainly no Zentraedi aboard was able to do anything to fix even the simplest leak from conduit pipes. 
 
Mardul, Furel and Tezel had stuck together since arriving on the ship, this new form of togetherness, which Rico, Konda and Bron described as ‘friendship’. 
 
Originally, the three had figured they would simply assimilate with the micronians, rather than draw attention to themselves. 
 
It had not taken too long for the micronians to figure out something was not quite right with the three men who had tried to join a construction team. 
 
The fact they had picked up their shovels the wrong way up had been the give away. 
 
Not too long after that, the military had come by with Rico, Konda and Bron to round up the defectors and debrief them on a number of things that the three spies would have wished to have known the first time they came aboard. 
 
Now, the twenty-three Zentraedi were housed near the Defence Force Base, Mardul was not quite sure whether that was for the micronians safety or the Zentraedis. 
 
Every afternoon since their arrival the defectors would crowd into the common room in front of a display screen to watch Minmei’s daily performance. 
 
None of them had seen her in person yet, but none could wait. Mardul, Furel and Tezel had taken it upon themselves to memorise what the micronian’s called ‘sweet nothings’ in preparation for the day. 
 
At that particular moment however, Mardul was preparing to strike out on his own to see what assistance he could provide. He had borrowed a number of non-combat instructional videos from the nearby RDF Base and was now certain he could ‘hammer’ and ‘nail’ as good as any micronian. 
 
He had invited Furel and Tezel to come, but neither had been keen to. They had been introduced to an activity called ‘cards’ and were at that moment thoroughly engaged in the pursuit. 
 
Mardul met Karita in the hall and asked him if he wanted to venture into Macross City. 
 
“Uh...um...” Karita tugged on the collar of his shirt in a nervous manner, then looked resolute. “All right, then.” 
 
The two Zentraedi headed into Macross City, which was as usual buzzing with activity. 
 
Both Mardul and Karita shared the benefit of having skin tones that allowed them to pass for micronians and therefore were inconspicuous. There had been a few incidents all ready, with the more ‘alien’ looking Zentraedi defectors getting roughed up on the streets. Furel and Tezel in particular had had this problem, their skin tone been greenish and reddish, respectively. 
 
Mardul and Karita were nearly knocked off their feet as two of those smaller micronians screamed down the pavement on top of wheeled boards. Rico, Konda and Bron had described the transport devices as ‘skateboard’ and the smaller micronians as ‘kids', Mardul hadn’t yet figured out the point of either. 
 
Just up ahead, a colourful strip of plastic had been stretched across two signposts, closing off the stretch of street beyond, where a group of micronians were putting doors back on buildings. 
 
“Aha,” Mardul murmured to Karita, “there’s our chance to help our new shipmates.” 
 
Without waiting for Karita he rushed over towards the group. 
 
“Hello there!” Mardul called, waving an arm. “Need some help?” 
 
One of the micronians looked over, then scrutinised Mardul and Karita as if looking for tell-tale signs… 
 
Finally he nodded. “Yeah, sure, come on over.” 
 
Mardul ducked under the yellow strip of plastic and came to stand in front of the male. 
 
“What’s ya name?” 
 
“Mardul.” At the moment he spoke a drill whirled. 
 
“Martin, huh? Pleased to meet you, I’m Tom,” he held out his hand, which Mardul shook enthusiastically, pleased that he remembered that all important micronian custom. Tom then turned to Karita. “And you?” 
 
“Uh, um...” Karita looked abashed. “Kari-“ there was a loud shout from one of the micronians nearby and a crash. 
 
“Kerry, good to meet you too,” Tom gave a firm nod, holding his hand out. 
 
Karita looked completely perplexed, until Mardul surreptitiously hissed. “Shake it.” 
 
Introductions made Tom lead them over to where three micronians were putting up a door. 
 
“This is a lot easier than the sliding doors most of the buildings have around here,” he remarked. “All it takes is some muscle and good ol’ fashion know-how. You guys done much building?” 
 
“Uh...not really,” Mardul decided it was best to admit it right out. 
 
“Well, like I said, anyone can do it,” Tom shrugged good-naturedly. “All you gotta do is hold up the door and move it when I tell ya.” He gave a wink. “And if you’re real good you’ll move up to hinge duty.” 
 
Mardul had no idea what that involved, but really didn’t care. He was about to learn how to rebuild something!  
 
Having his name mispronounced was a small price to pay for that. 
 
*** 
 
“Lisa, I must ask you again, are you SURE you want to do this?” Captain Gloval stood facing the observation window of his office, hands clasped behind his back. “You realise, of course, that your father will certainly make it difficult, if not IMPOSSIBLE for you to return?” 
 
Lisa looked at the Captain’s back for a moment, then spoke. “Yes, I do, sir, I want you to know I won’t give up getting back to my post. But this report MUST be seen by the Council,” she picked it up from where it was lying on the Captain’s desk. “Once they see how similar we are to the aliens, they’ll open their eyes, I KNOW they will.” 
 
Captain Gloval kept his back to her for a few seconds more, then turned to her, his pipe clenched between his teeth. He took a puff, then removed it. 
 
“I know, Lisa,” he nodded to her. “I wish, though, that there was some other way.” 
 
“You won’t be left all alone, sir,” she smiled, “Sammie will take my place. 
 
Captain Gloval gave a short laugh and shook his head. “Sammie is as loyal and dedicated as they come, but you two could hardly be compared.” 
 
Lisa’s cheeks flushed, the Captain was hardly the sort to lavish compliments on anybody. “Sammie won’t let you down, sir, and you’ll have Claudia, Vanessa and Kim, of course.” 
 
The Captain took another puff of his pipe. 
 
“You’re as right as ever, Lisa,” he said once he had exhaled, “but I will miss you greatly, we all will.” 
 
Lisa felt tears sting her eyes, she blinked them away rapidly. “I’ll miss you all, too.” 
 
Silence fell and Lisa watched as Earth blue, green and tranquil appeared in the observation window. Part of her looked forward to getting back there, but it was only a small part.  
 
The Captain folded his arms. “Your shuttle will depart in two hours,” he said finally, his own looking bright as he added. “And on the behalf of myself and everyone aboard, I wish you all the luck in the universe.” 
 
Lisa saluted sharply. “Yes, sir! I won’t let you down,” she promised. 
 
Gloval smiled and taking his pipe from his teeth again, extinguished it and set it on his desk. “I know you never could,” he replied, saluting her back. 
 
*** 
 
“You know, I never knew we had this much stuff, aren’t we supposed to have some sort limit on possessions in the military?” Claudia muttered, trying to find somewhere to put a box. 
 
Roy, who had become distracted by one of her books, merely grunted in response. 
 
“Put that down and help, would you?” Claudia ordered, then her brow furrows. “What is it anyway?” 
 
“Oh nothing,” Roy snapped the book closed and turned to her with his most innocent look. 
 
Claudia narrowed her eyes, but let the matter go. “Well, come on, get over here.” 
 
“I don’t know why you’re picking on me,” Roy said as he came over to look into the box. “This is all YOUR stuff after all.” 
 
“And there’d be room for it if weren’t for all YOUR crap,” Claudia snapped back. 
 
“Crap? This isn’t crap, all this is necessary for my mental health,” Roy gave her an infuriatingly droll grin. 
 
Claudia reached out and picked up the nearest thing she could lay her hands on. “'Macross Weekly' is essential to your mental health, is it?” 
 
Roy tried to take the magazine from her. “I have NO idea how that got here.” 
 
“Suuure,” Claudia teased, and holding the magazine out of his reach flipped it open. “Hmmm, 'What does your wardrobe say about you?' Oh, well of COURSE you to do this, how could you survive?!” 
 
“For your information, that was uncannily accurate,” Roy shot back, managing to get the magazine from her. He tossed it aside and drew her into a tight hug. “Now, don’t you think there’s better things we could be doing?” 
 
“Hmmm? Maybe...” 
 
Roy began to lean towards her. “Like deciding whose plates we should keep, I think mine, they’re certainly a lot nicer than yours.” 
 
Roy groaned. “Oh, who cares?” 
 
Claudia detangled herself from his arms. “I care and you will too, where are we going to sleep if we don’t clean up this place?” She gestured towards the bed, which was currently covered with uniform jackets and skivvies. 
 
“OK, OK, I can take a hint.” Roy sighed and went to clear off the bed. 
 
“Why on Earth do you have all those civilian clothes anyway, it’s not like you ever get to wear them.” 
 
“You know, one day this war will be over, and when it is I want to be totally stylin’.” 
 
Claudia rolled her eyes and returned to emptying the box, which was filled mostly with photos. 
 
Then there was a knock at the door. 
 
“You get it!” Roy called from halfway inside the wardrobe. 
 
“How chivalrous,” Claudia muttered, walking over and pressing the release hatch. 
 
“Lisa! How are you?” 
 
She gave a small and shaky smile. “All right,” she looked about the room. “God, this place is a dive.” 
 
“Hey!” Roy poked his head out from the wardrobe. “We prefer the term ‘lived in’, thank you.” 
 
Lisa shook her head, but she quickly looked nervous again. 
 
“Is anything wrong, honey?” Claudia asked, laying a hand on her friend’s arm. 
 
“Can I talk to you for a moment,” Lisa said in a low voice. 
 
“Of course,” Claudia nodded and the two stepped out into the hallway. “What’s on your mind?” 
 
Lisa heaved a deep sigh. “I’m leaving for Earth-“ 
 
“WHAT?” Claudia’s eyes widened in disbelief, this was the first she’d heard of this! 
 
“In an hour,” Lisa added. 
 
“But...why?” 
 
“To deliver a report about the aliens to the UEG, it’s the only way to get through to them, I know it is.” 
 
Claudia nodded, slowly. “I’ll miss you, though.” 
 
“I know, I will too.” 
 
“Why did we have to come out here for this? It’s not as if Roy would bring out the noisemakers and party hats if he heard you were leaving.” 
 
Lisa gave a small laugh. “I know, I know…it’s just…well…” 
 
Claudia gave her friend a shrewd look. “You haven’t told Rick yet, have you?” 
 
Lisa’s shoulders slumped slightly. “I just couldn’t think of what to say...I mean, what if he just didn’t care? It would be so…embarrassing.” 
 
Claudia shook her head. “Lisa, embarrassment isn’t the worst thing in the world and sometimes you have to risk it if you’re going to get anywhere in your relationships.” 
 
Lisa hid behind her hair. “I’m just not ready, Claudia.” 
 
'When will you ever be?' Claudia almost asked, but held her tongue. 
 
“Look, you know what my opinion of all this is, but at the very least I think you should at least call him to say goodbye. Maybe he’s not in love with you –“ Lisa winced – “but he is your friend, and friends don’t just leave friends without so much as a word.” 
 
Lisa swallowed hard, then nodded. “You’re right. I will.” 
 
“That’s my girl!” Claudia cheered and gave her a warm hug. “Now are you going to say goodbye to my dear husband in there? Or isn’t he friend enough?” 
 
“He is, he is,” Lisa said with a laugh and the two re-entered Roy’s quarters, to find him sitting on the edge of his bed going through the 'Macross Weekly'. 
 
“Aha!” 
 
Roy tossed the magazine aside. “What? I’m just taking a breather.” 
 
Claudia threw up her hands. “You’re completely ridiculous, you know that?” 
 
“Hello, Lisa,” Roy said pleasantly, choosing to ignore Claudia’s remark. 
 
“Fokker, I never would have pegged you as a trash fan.” 
 
“You’ve read it during off times in the Bridge,” Roy wagged a finger at her, “don’t pretend you haven’t.” 
 
Lisa flushed a little, which made Claudia burst into laughter. 
 
“Ahem, the reason I’m HERE though, Fokker, is...well...to say goodbye.” 
 
Roy got to his feet. “Huh? What do you mean goodbye? You’re ditching us, Hayes?” 
 
“I’m afraid so,” Lisa straightened her shoulders. “I’m going to Earth to reason with UEG, now that we have this new information about the aliens.” 
 
“So, you’ve been proclaimed a miracle worker, hmmm?” Roy half joked. 
 
“They’re not that bad,” Lisa objected, though not too strenuously. “The point is...I have to try this, but I mightn’t be back.” 
 
Roy looked thoughtful. “I guess not...Well, let me tell you, you may be a complete stickler, but I’m gonna miss you a bunch. Now I’ll have to listen to ALL of Claudia’s problems.” 
 
Claudia placed her hands on her hips and made a show of looking affronted. 
 
“Yeah, well, you might be a total jerk most of the time, but I’ll miss you too,” Lisa smiled, “and you be nice to Claudia, she’s the only one who’ll put up with you for any extended period of time.” 
 
“Oh, I know it,” Roy promised, then suddenly planted a quick kiss on her cheek. 
 
“Hey!” 
 
“For luck,” he told her, a look of complete seriousness on his face. “A kiss from me has been known to work the unexplained.” 
 
Lisa, her cheeks red, looked towards Claudia, who only rolled her eyes. “Unexplained illness, that is,” she drawled. 
 
“We’re such giddy newly weds,” Roy sighed, then gave Lisa a salute. “All the best to you, ma’am, I know if anyone can convince those guys down there to look past their noses, it’s you.” 
 
Lisa grinned and saluted back. 
 
Claudia rendered a salute of her own as well. “Good luck, Lisa,” she added. 
 
“Thank you, both of you,” she said and then with one last wave, left. 
 
“There goes a dedicated officer,” Claudia remarked. 
 
“And now, we get to take our orders from little Sammie,” Roy added, then made a show of looking terrified. “May Lord have mercy on our souls!” 
 
“Oh shut up, you!” 
 
*** 
 
Rick was wandering through Macross rather aimlessly, being off duty and having nothing to do. 
 
'As usual,' he thought to himself. 'This isn’t how I pictured my life.' 
 
And it certainly wasn’t. He had planned to return to the US after the Launching Celebrations for the SDF-1 were over all those months ago. 'Pop Hunter’s Flying Circus' had still existed (it had certainly been foreclosed by now) and Rick had planned to keep it going. 
 
Of course, all that had gone to the wind when the Zentraedi attacked and the SDF-1 and Macross Island had ended up past Pluto. 
 
“Phone call for Rick Hunter,” a computerised voice suddenly sounded. “Lieutenant Rick Hunter, phone call for you.” 
 
A spark of hope lighted in his heart, he knew it was stupid, but maybe...just maybe... 
 
Hurrying over to the nearest bank of phones and picked up the first one, press the star key as he did. “This is Lieutenant Rick Hunter.” 
 
“Thank you,” the computerised voice said, “connecting you now.” 
 
“Hello?” Rick gripped the phone cord tightly. 
 
“Rick?” 
 
“Lisa? Is that you?” Rick’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, this was the last person he expected. Although, I was going to ask her out for diner, wasn’t I? He reminded himself, remembering how they had talked while cleaning up the White Dragon. 
 
“Yes, it’s me.” 
 
“What’s going on with you? Where are you anyway? Do you get off duty soon, because I-“ 
 
“I’m...I’m not getting off duty any time soon,” Lisa interrupted him, “at least, not soon enough.” 
 
“What are you talking to about?” 
 
“I’m calling from a shuttle, I’m...returning to Earth.” 
 
“You’re WHAT?!” Rick yelled, shocking the woman who was on the phone next to him, he gave her an apologetic smile, then turned away and spoke almost in a whisper. “But why?” 
 
“I have to deliver a report, on the aliens, to the UEG, it’s the only chance we’ve got to get their support.” 
 
“When do you get back?” Rick stomach sank, he was pretty sure he knew the answer. 
 
“I...I don’t know…My father is part of the Council and…I don’t think he’ll want me to come back to the SDF-1.” Lisa confirmed his feelings. “I’m going to try and get back, but I can’t promise...So, I thought, I should say goodbye. I’ve enjoyed our talks these past few weeks.” 
 
Rick had as well, in fact, he only realised at that very moment, just how much. “Lisa, when are you leaving? Can I come see you, I don’t want to say good bye on the phone!” 
 
“I’m sorry; Rick...the shuttle is leaving in two minutes.” 
 
“But-!” 
 
Suddenly there was talking on Lisa’s end of the line and suddenly she spoke quickly. “The captain of the shuttle has just confirmed we’re ready for take off. I have to go…Goodbye, Rick, take care of yourself...” 
 
“Lisa...” 
 
“I hope we’ll meet again some day,” she continued, almost breathless now. “Goodbye.” 
 
“Go-goodbye,” Rick finally managed and no sooner had he got the word out then there was a click and the dial tone sounded. 
 
'Lisa!' He thought, shaking his head, he couldn’t believe it! She was leaving!  
 
Slamming the phone down, he raced to few feet to the huge observation window which looked over the bow of the ship. 
 
And he saw the shuttle, slowly leaving one of the bays. The shuttle carrying Lisa. 
 
Rick pressed his hands against the thick glass of the window, as if somehow he could reach through and pull the shuttle back. 
 
'Damnit! Why didn’t I say more to her...I can’t believe that the last word I may ever speak to her is a stuttering goodbye.'

Continue / Continua: Yes / Si