Fanfic Name / Nombre del Fanfic: Choices and Aces

Chapter / Capitulo: Chapter Eight

Author / Autor: Anonymoose_Au

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

Romance

Action / Accion

Alternate Universe / Universo Alterno

Fanfic: “Man, just give up will ya? It’s totally hopeless…besides there’s plenty of fish in the sea, just forget about her. In fact I bet you will, I bet by the next month you won’t even remember her face.” A friend’s advice to Roy Fokker about his pursuit of Claudia Grant. 
 
 
 
Claudia was completely stunned…for a moment she thought she must have hit her head and was imagining the whole thing. 
 
Had Roy just said he wanted them to marry right now?  
 
“What?!” Was all she managed to say. 
 
Roy was looking at her in dead seriousness. “You never know what’s going to happen…we lost Ben Dixon today.” 
 
Claudia’s eyes softened, she knew there was nothing that haunted Roy more than losing men. “That’s terrible, how is Rick taking it?” 
 
“I haven’t seen him,” Roy admitted, “but what I’m saying is we just don’t know what could happen.” 
 
“Are you really serious?” Claudia asked, stunned. 
 
“I am,” Roy frowned, “unless…you don’t want –“ 
 
Claudia laughed nervously. “Of course I do! But get married right now?” 
 
“Well, sure, right this second if you want.” 
 
A few years ago, Claudia would have jumped at this; after all, it had taken Roy a good five years just to propose to her. She figured it would be about five more before there was a wedding. 
 
Of course, now they were at war….  
 
“Didn’t we agree to wait until after the war is over?” Claudia reminded him. 
 
“But who knows when that will be? In fact, let’s face it, chances are against us, I mean Lisa, Rick and Ben saw it all…more than a million alien ships out there.” 
 
“Well, this is romantic…” Claudia couldn’t help saying. 
 
Roy gave her a sheepish grin. “Well, you wanted to know why…as if me asking you wasn’t enough.” 
 
“You think very highly of yourself, don’t you?” Claudia gave him a wink. “Why should I contribute to your swell-headedness hmmm?” 
 
“Because you love me, I know you do,” he pulled her into his arms. 
 
Claudia found herself kissing him rather than making a glib remark. 
 
“And I love you, of course,” Roy added when they broke apart. 
 
“Of course,” Claudia rolled her eyes. 
 
“But you’re not taking this seriously are you?” Roy said, pulling her over to the couch. “Well, I am.” 
 
Claudia looked into his eyes and smiled. “In that case…sure!” 
 
*** 
 
Millions of light years away from Earth an important conference was taking place between Dolza, Grand Commander of the Zentraedi and Breetai, along with Exedore. 
 
“We’ve just received this footage of a recent battle with the alien fortress,” Dolza began and a screen appeared at the centre of the table the three Zentraedi sat around. 
 
As Breetai and Exedore watched, Zor’s ship was surrounded by a green shield as it was attacked by four small Zentraedi cruisers. 
 
Their eyes widened in disbelief as the green shield suddenly turned to red and expanded in a huge explosion that almost blinded them. 
 
When the white light cleared everything around the fortress was desolate. 
 
“These micronians are more ruthless than we thought,” Dolza commented, “they were willing to sacrifice over half a million of their own kind merely to repel four small divisions!” 
 
Exedore shook his head. “I never would have guessed…the micronians are totally unpredictable, Your Excellency.” 
 
“They are dangerous,” Dolza shot back, “and it is evident that Lady Azonia does not have the skills necessary to command the assault against them.” 
 
Breetai suppressed a triumphant grin; he had always known that a female would be no match for such a tactical battle. 
 
“Therefore,” Dolza continued, “I am placing you back in command.” 
 
“I thank you, Your Excellency,” Breetai inclined his head. “I would ask though that I be given command of an Imperial Fleet.” 
 
Dolza raised his eyebrows. “An Imperial Fleet? That seems rather extreme, Lord Breetai.” 
 
Breetai gestured towards the screen hovering in the centre of the table, which was replaying the footage of exploding shield. “Those are very extreme tactics, You Excellency.” 
 
“Hmmm…” Dolza grumbled and folded his arms. “Very well then, you will begin preparations to leave immediately.” 
 
Breetai and Exedore rose to their feet, saluting their Grand Commander by beating a fist against their chest. 
 
“Yes, Your Excellency.” 
 
Dolza nodded, but as the two headed out the door he spoke. “By the way Breetai, I certainly hope you have better results this time…We are running very low on supplies, as you know, don’t waste them.” 
 
Breetai bristled at this, but held his anger in check. “Certainly, Your Excellency.” 
 
He and Exedore strode quickly through the halls passed various Zentraedi who saluted. 
 
“M’lord, do you have a plan in mind?” 
 
“Hmmm…not yet,” Breetai admitted, at Exedore’s surprised look he hastened to add, “but upon our return our spies will return with information for us, we will use that to find the micronians weakness and attack it ruthlessly. Needless to say I believe we have been far too careful not to damage the ship at all…on our return we will plan a…stronger attack, no doubt Zor hid the Protoculture Matrix deep inside the ship, if a few outer layers are destroyed it will be of no consequence.” 
 
Exedore had to agree with this assessment. 
 
The two fell silent as the climbed aboard a platform that carried them swiftly to their ship. For the more than twenty lon they had not been on it and Breetai was glad to be back, despite the fact that the command bubble on his bridge remained shattered from the path of the micronian mecha that their captives had used to assist their escape. 
 
“We will fold immediately,” Breetai announced to the techs below. “Alert the 1st Imperial Fleet.” 
 
The instructions were issued and in small bursts of light, one million Zentraedi ships disappeared from the field heading for the micronian planet, and Zor’s fortress. 
 
***  
 
Rick stared at the blank page in front him. 
 
As team leader it was his responsibility to write the condolence letter to the Dixons. 
 
'What am I suppose to say?' Rick asked himself. 'They were both so proud of him!' 
 
He picked up his pen and wrote 'Dear Mr and Mrs Dixon…I regret to inform you that your son, Sergeant Benjamin Dixon, has been killed in combat. 
 
Please take comfort in the fact –' 
 
The pen skipped over and a dark line marred the paper, followed by a tear drop. 
 
Rick tossed the pen aside and pressed his palms against his eyes. “I’m sorry, Ben, I’m sorry!”  
 
Getting to his feet, Rick staggered to the door of his quarters and leaned against it, anything to get away from that piece of paper. 
 
'Hey, Boss!' 
 
Rick jumped, startled…that voice… 
 
'Man, don’t look so down in the dumps, Lieutenant, you did your best.' 
 
Rick looked over his shoulder, blinking away tears. His eyes were deceiving him, because he could see a ghostly figure leaning against his desk, looking at the letter Rick had written. 
 
It was Ben! 
 
'It was just my time to go…' 
 
Rick’s heart ached at the sight, Ben was as big and good natured as he had been in life…but was he really there…was he really trying to speak to Rick, or was Rick just desperately trying to assuage his grief. 
 
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, surprising him. 
 
“Wh-who is it?” He asked. 
 
“It’s Max, Boss…” 
 
“Max,” Rick mumbled, wondering for a moment if Max had come to berate him…after all, Ben had been Max’s best friend. 
 
“Yeah, ah…are you up for a walk?” 
 
Rick swallowed hard, and pressed the door release. 
 
Max’s eyes were dry behind his blue tinted glasses, but he looked a little pale and much more subdued than Rick had ever seen him. 
 
“Sure, I am,” Rick answered, stepping out his room, “got anywhere in particular in mind.” 
 
Max shrugged. “Nah, let’s just…walk.” 
 
So, the two set off. Rick taking one last look over his shoulder, down the corridor where Ben’s quarters had been. 
 
And he thought he saw that ghostly figure again, giving him the thumbs up. 
 
*** 
 
Captain Gloval wished he could shut off the comm. screen, but he couldn’t allow himself. 
 
“I hope you are happy, Gloval,” the face of General Abernoth filled the screen, staring at him with cold, unsympathetic eyes. “We warned you! But you thought you knew better and now more than half a million people are dead.” 
 
Gloval set his jaw. If you and the Council had agreed to let the civilians off in the first place, this never would have happened. He felt like responding angrily…but no. 
 
“If you were any one else we’d have you on trial for High Treason in a heart beat,” Abernoth went on in a sneering tone. “But Admirals Hayes and Tutsuako insisted that you couldn’t have known what would happened-“ 
 
Gloval jerked in surprise…Hayes? 
 
Abernoth continued. “- So we are hereby ordering you to leave this planet.” 
 
“Leave it?” Gloval echoed. 
 
“We will furnish you with as many supplies as the SDF-1 can carry,” Abernoth looked as if even this simple condescension was too much. “Once this is done, you will have twelve hours to clear from the earth’s orbit.” 
 
“Where do you expect us to go?” Gloval couldn’t help but demand. 
 
“Anywhere beyond the moon,” Abernoth returned. “No closer.” 
 
Gloval took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. “Sir, please, I understand why you want the fortress removed and I am more than willing to do so. But the civilians, please –“ 
 
“No, Captain,” Abernoth cut him off. “You are not to come with two hundred and fifty miles of any populated place. We will allow you to land in the ocean and we will deliver supplied to you there.” 
 
“But why not take the civil-“ 
 
“This is not negotiable!” Abernoth yelled, slamming his fist on the table. “The civilians are your responsibility! You have kept them relatively safe since the war with the aliens began. The UEG is not willing to allow the civilians to spread fear throughout this planet. The Grand Canon will soon be capable of firing and we will be able to destroy the alien fleet. After that is done you will be granted permission to return…do you understand me?” 
 
Gloval considered objecting; after all according to Lisa’s report the aliens had in excess of two million ships…the Grand Canon would be unable to finish off that many. 
 
But he knew that the Council did not want to hear it and they were too scared of losing their grip on the world to extend amnesty to the innocent aboard SDF-1. 
 
“Roger,” he answered instead. 
 
“We will give you ten days,” Abernoth said, shortly. “Inform your crew and your civilians.” 
 
And with that Abernoth broke the connection without waiting for a salute or rendering one. 
 
Gloval felt his shoulders slump. 
 
How was he going to tell the civilians this? 
 
*** 
 
Claudia’s heart and head felt light….well, at least when guilt wasn’t trying to sink them. 
 
“Obviously,” she had said to Roy. “We can’t get married tonight. We’ve got people who would kick our asses if we did.” 
 
After making a bit of a show of pouting, but had then agreed. “You’re not trying to back out on me are you?” 
 
“If I was smart I would be,” Claudia had given him a wink. 
 
“Ha, ha.” 
 
“We have to get permission first, you know,” Claudia had continued. “From the Captain.” 
 
Roy had winced. “Oh great…” 
 
“Hey, he likes you well enough, when you’re not mouthing off at him,” Claudia had given him a nudge with her elbow. 
 
“I don’t mean that, I mean, when exactly are we going to find a good time to ask. In between all the funerals?” 
 
Claudia had frowned; he was right about that…It seemed particularly callous, but then… 
 
“Life goes on, at least, that’s the idea…Maybe we should wait for a few days.” 
 
“Well, we’re probably gonna have to anyway,” Roy had said, “after all, we’ve probably all ready got our marching orders from the Brass…It’ll be all hands on deck until we can get back to space.” 
 
Claudia sighed, now, shaking her head. 
 
Though there hadn’t been any reports yet, she was pretty sure that when she reached the Bridge that morning the news wouldn’t be anything good. 
 
Claudia entered the elevator, wondering where Lisa was, before Roy had left the night before, he had mentioned running into Lisa and how upset she was. 
 
That morning, Claudia had attempted to call her friend, but Lisa was not in her quarters, even though she was not due for duty until 0800 hours. 
 
The elevator reached Bridge level and she headed down the hall to the hatch door, ducking as she entered. 
 
To her surprise, Lisa was not there, she checked her watch. It was fifteen minutes to 0800, but usually Lisa could be counted on to show up even an hour early for duty. 
 
Sammie, Vanessa and Kim were there, extremely subdued. 
 
“Hi, Claudia,” Vanessa greeted her, looking up from the threat board. 
 
“Hey girls,” Claudia replied in a low voice, “how you all holding up?” 
 
“We’re fine,” Kim said. 
 
“I can’t stop thinking about the people of Hamilton,” Sammy burst out, her big eyes filling with tears. 
 
Claudia put a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I know it’s just not fair.” 
 
Silence fell. 
 
Then Claudia cleared her throat. “Have you girls seen Lisa this morning?” 
 
They shook their heads. 
 
Claudia felt a stab of worry and considered sending out a page for her friend. 
 
But at that moment the hatch slid open and Lisa appeared, looking haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair nowhere near as neat as usual. 
 
Claudia went over to her immediately. “Lisa, honey, are you OK?” She asked in a low voice, putting an arm around her shoulders. 
 
Lisa nodded, but refused to meet her eyes. 
 
Sammie, Vanessa and Kim were watching with concerned eyes, Claudia gave them a brief look then led Lisa a few feet away. 
 
“Honey, you can talk to me,” Claudia told her quietly. “Please tell me.” 
 
Lisa looked up at her with haunted eyes. “I keep seeing them, Claudia,” she said her voice so low, Claudia had to lean forward to hear. “Those people…” 
 
“I know, I know,” Claudia had deliberately thought of just about anything else the night before, just so she could get to sleep.  
 
“Maybe we should do what Kyle says,” Lisa said then, “I saw him…giving his conference…maybe we should just lay down our arms.” 
 
“Honey, we’d have to negotiate first,” Claudia reminded her, “otherwise…well…they’d just wipe us all out.” 
 
Lisa’s eyes stopped looking haunted, instead they simply looked empty. 
 
“Maybe that would be the best thing.” 
 
*** 
 
Miriya had expected to be able to adapt to life aboard Zor’s fortress very quickly, after all, she was a Zentraedi. 
 
But the micronian way of life was something she simply hadn’t anticipated. 
 
Unlike the ships of the Zentraedi, the space where the micronians congregated when not on duty was a dazzling array of lights and sounds. 
 
Micronians in a variety of uniforms that made no strategic sense bustled about and most sickening of all, males and females mixed! 
 
She had been deposited upon the ship dressed in nothing but an improvised toga; it had not taken her long to see there was no way she could continue in that. 
 
Fortunately, the micronians had been careless enough to leave articles of their uniforms hanging on ropes outside their buildings. The reasoning for this was something Miriya could not determine, although at this point she didn’t really care. 
 
She had grabbed as many as she could carry and now, dressed appropriately or close to it, she was able to examine the micronian buildings more closely. 
 
She watched as the enemy crowded around tables and were served by other micronians what she could only assume was food, but it looked nothing like the rations she was used to. Odd smells filled the air. 
 
Many of the micronians appeared anxious, however, but Miriya to her embarrassment had not picked up the language well enough to understand why. 
 
She had memorised one line in particular, but had not yet had a chance to speak it, but she ran it over in her mind now. Hello, I am looking for a pilot, I am not sure what rank he is, but I’m sure he a leader of an attack group, do you have any information? 
 
Miriya was distracted by the sight of vehicles pouring down what the micronians around her called ‘streets’. The vehicles appeared to have no offensive or defensive purpose, but from behind her she heard a male micronian say. “This is it, then? They’re giving us the big kiss-off.” 
 
Another male answered. “At least they’re gonna love us before leavin’ us.” 
 
Miriya shook her head. 'Complete nonsense is all these micronians can talk of!' She thought, sneeringly. 
 
But that word ‘love’, it was a word that she had heard spoken about more often than just about anything else. She did not understand it though, it did not describe a weapon, or a place, she had briefly believed it to be a form of address, since many micronians said it to each other, but that did not seem right either. 
 
'Perhaps it is a code,' Miriya mused, stopping and looking more closely at the vehicles, wondering if they word pertained to them. 
 
But what was she doing? She was here for a military purpose; she was here to destroy the pilot who had defeated her. What did she care of what the rest of the micronians did? Especially since they appeared to be slaves, she was quite certain she hadn’t run into a single combatant since her arrival! 
 
'No wonder they are so pitiful,' she thought, cruelly as she continued on her way, pushing by one of the short micronians that so populated the place. 
 
Once she got rid of the one who had bested her, she was sure the rest of them would crumble like the weaklings they were.

Continue / Continua: Yes / Si