fanfic_name = Every Silver Lining

chapter = 1

author = Kitsune-Baka

dedicate = To Lisa A., who dared me.

Rating = AP

Type = Angst

fanfic = Robotech and all characters thereof belong to Harmony Gold, I'm just playing with 'em and not for profit either. Please don't sue me!

a/n: This doesn't take place in the same continuity as A Modest Proposal. Lisa hasn't been promoted yet, and things are going to diverge into even more AU wackiness as the story progresses.

Chapter One: Aftermath of Nightmares

With a supply truck on his left and a cab on his right, Captain Rick Hunter threaded the needle as if he'd been strafing between two battlepods. The only difference was, bicycles didn't come with weapons. And, to his knowledge at least, battlepod pilots didn't insult the paternity or hygiene of their fellow drivers.

He waited until the cab slowed, then darted quickly ahead of it and through the gate that separated the airstrip from the rest of the base. With the cabbie's insults still ringing in his ears, he pedaled toward the hangar.
Running late, he chided himself, was not a good example to be setting to the new pilots who'd just been assigned to Skull Squadron. He could just imagine Lisa's voice; "You're late, Hunter. Again."

But for some reason, they'd been getting along much better since he'd finally figured out that he loved her. Funny how that worked. Besides, she'd already been off-duty for--he risked a glance at his watch--fifteen minutes.

He'd been hoping to catch her before she went home, even for just a minute. Just to reassure himself that last night's nightmare had been only that. Usually when he woke from them, she was there--they'd been spending a lot of nights at each others' places. But for the past two weeks, Lisa had been working nights. They'd been able to have dinner a few times, but that was about it.

He wondered if that separation was what brought the nightmare on. It was the same one he'd had since Khyron's final attack, though the frequency had decreased from two or three times a night to just once a week or so. But when it did show up, it never failed to shake him. In it, he was watching the SDF-1 disintegrate, hearing Lisa's final scream as the force of Khyron's ship reduced her to component atoms.

Just as he'd realized how much she meant to him.

He took a deep breath, shutting the nightmare out of his mind by an act of will, and forced a smile to his face as he came around the corner to the hangar. The newbs, Fernandez and Mackey, were waiting by their planes. They snapped to attention when they saw him.

"At ease," Rick said, and they both went to parade rest. "No, really. You can relax."

They did, and Rick stepped off his bicycle to give them the rundown on the day's assignment. They would be flying over the northwest quadrant; just patrol duty. "It should be pretty routine," he said, wrapping it up. "So don't worry."

Mackey, a wiry kid with red-blond hair, grinned. "No chance of running into Zents?"

"Let's hope not, your first time out."

"Why not?" Mackey asked. "You don't want us to be bored, do you?"

Rick shrugged his shoulders, trying to loosen the tension that was already tightening its way up through his neck to his temples. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Night shifts--she hated night shifts.

Captain Lisa Hayes blinked as she stepped out of the Monument command center, into the too-bright morning sunlight. Night shifts never failed to throw her sleep cycle out of whack, and the worst thing was, just when she had finally gotten adjusted, they'd told her that they were putting her back on days.

Well, days would at least let her spend more time with Rick. Every cloud had a silver lining, she supposed. Like the shuttle bus being seconded to the refugee camp--sure walking back to her quarters was a pain, but at least she got some fresh air. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

It had been a month and a half since Khyron's final attack, and things were finally getting--if not back to normal, then at least settled. The refugee camp they'd so hastily set up to receive the New Macross survivors was slowly being emptied, as the relocation teams worked with communities to set up support for people who had been, literally, left with nothing.

It was a job she was just as glad she didn't have to do; it would have ripped open her own wounds.

Besides, she had more than enough on her plate. As she walked, she mentally inventoried the tasks; patrol schedules to be drawn up, reports to be written... theoretically, her next duty shift should be the last one for two days, but there was so much to do so much to do before she could even think of taking a day off.

Before she knew it, she was turning down the street to the Bachelor Officer's Quarters. Almost home...she'd take a shower, have grab a bite to eat, and get some sleep. Then maybe she'd get up in time to meet Rick. He'd been talking about having dinner tonight, assuming nothing popped up while he was on patrol.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone who didn't belong; a gaunt and bearded man wearing a backpack. Probably one of the refugees. Well, as soon as she got inside, she could have someone come and take him back where he belonged.

But to her surprise, it was her doorstep he was standing on. He had his back to her; it fleetingly crossed her mind that maybe she walk past and call security from somewhere safer. But no...whoever he was, he'd been through enough. Lisa turned down her path, walked toward him.

Judging by the battered state of his clothes, he'd probably walked all the way from New Macross. Judging by the smell of him, too--he probably hadn't showered in weeks. Well, just get him to the shelters, they'd take care of him.

"Excuse me, sir?" she asked, carefully breathing through her mouth. "Could I help you find someone?"

He turned around, and she got her first good look at him. Caught sight of eyes that had watched over her all her life, though the face was wrong, different... She felt her knees go weak, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.

It can't be, she thought. I saw him die...this is just my mind playing tricks on me...

But then he spoke. One word. Her name. And though whatever hell he'd been through in the past two-and-a-half years had changed his face, his voice was the same as the last time they'd spoken.

She looked up at him, through eyes gone blurry with tears. "Father...is it...is it really you?"

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