fanfic_name = Gotterdammerung

chapter = VII

author = Cicero Phelps

Rating = O18

Type = Alternative Universe

fanfic = Chapter VII

Lisa was brought into the intensive care ward, once more a patient onboard the SDF-1. One of Vice Admiral Gates' doctors had already come aboard, and he hooked Lisa up to the scanning unit. Lisa, meanwhile, was starting to have strange dreams while she was unconscious.
*********
Where am I?
[Alaska Base.]
Why am I here again?
[Because your psyche associates pain and loss with this place.]
The command post is frozen in time, like a wax museum. Lisa took some deep breaths, let the tension flow out of her nose, into the air around her. She looked at the women sitting next to my station; Christine to her left, Alexandra to her right. They were sipping their coffee and bullshitting each other about their idol dujour ? the good-looking Lieutenant Hauser. The words died on their lips two years ago, but she still remembered the way they looked, their body language and pose on their final shift.
I don't want to relive this night.
[It is your choice entirely. If not here, then where? When?]
The scene changed to the corridor outside the SDF-1 bridge. She looked down at her uniform, and her hands were bloody. She felt her back ache, and there was a small gash in her left thigh. Then, she noticed that, slowly but surely, the lights were going off in the ship; she could feel the power fluctuate and the decks shudder. She staggered towards the bridge, and pried the door open. Inside, the bridge window is shattered, with huge bits strewn across the deck. She stepped into a pool of sticky stuff; a quick look down confirms that it is blood. She jumped back in shock, recoiling at the sight. She backed into a semi-frozen body, and she whipped around into-
Into Sammie's face.
She tried to scream, but no sounds come out. She turned around and tried to run away, but at the bridge console, she saw Claudia's body lying across Lisa's terminal.
Lisa scanned the rest of the bridge, as well. Admiral Gloval was still in his chair, transfixed to his command post by a huge steel beam that had formerly edged the window. His eyes were staring straight ahead, lost in wonder that bespoke a child's curiosity with a shooting star. Vanessa was bent over her console, her spine snapped in two, and Kim had taken a header into her console.
Why Lisa was alive at all was a mystery to her. Why wasn't she at the bridge when they died? What caused the accident? Those questions would have to wait; the soldier in her demanded to know the tactical situation, so she forced herself to roll Claudia's body off her terminal and onto the deck, trying to cushion the fall as much as possible. Then she looked at her board, and hated what she saw.
As enemy VT flights circled overhead, in the gathering dusk and smoky air, the damage reports came rolling in. Main generator: damaged. Communications: barely working. Vehicle hanger: demolished, and the mecha within worthless. The air defenses were being taken out systematically, and it wasn't fun for Lisa to watch the whole board light up like a Roman candle. She scanned the sky for friendly transponders, and saw three flashes. There were fifty enemy VT fighters swarming all over the place, and a dozen land mechs assaulting the ground fortifications. The three friendlies in the sky were diving, climbing, swerving and sliding, but their fuel reserves were almost gone, and they were low on ammunition, as well. She surveyed the landscape, and saw the wreckage of countless VT's strewn across Macross City.
"Veritech group, this is the bridge," she managed to get out. "Who am I addressing?"
"Lisa, is that you," came a pained response.
"Rick, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not. My left arm is useless, I'm leaking fuel, and I'm almost out of ammunition. Max and Miriya are dead, and so is the bridge crew."
"Rick, I'm so sorry," she trembled, her lips quivering, her eyes tearing.
"Me, too, but in a few seconds, sorry won't matter a damn. We've lost, Lisa. All I can do is try and take as many of these bastards with me as possible."
"No, Rick, no, please," she started bawling.
"Lisa, it's okay. I love you, and I'll see you on the other side."
Rick's fighter flattened out, and the rays of the fading sunlight caught the paint job on his VT fighter, the grinning skull of his squadron icon begging for the enemy to show themselves, which was actually very easy at that specific moment. His wings were scored with burn marks, and the flaps were slightly damaged. Lisa saw his engine monitor start the climb towards overload, and head out over the ocean, where the enemy aircraft carrier Vercingetorix was anchored.
"Rick!"
The most famous plane of the post-apocalyptic Earth hurtled at full velocity towards the behemoth aircraft carrier. The sunlight faded across the horizon, bringing the gold, the orange, and then the red rays of light to bear on the bridge. Lisa couldn't bear to watch what was going to happen next, but she forced herself because she couldn't not watch it, either. Skull One hit the enemy ship at maximum speed, tearing a gaping hole in its deck and sending it on its way to the bottom.
Goodbye, my love, my one true star, she thought.
"All surviving friendly units, this is Captain Lisa Hayes," she began, trying to fight off tears. "Captain Hunter and our air force are all dead. The other RDF officers are dead. Whoever can hear me, you're the last remnants of our cause. The SDF-1 is dead, there is no hope for resurrection. Please evacuate yourselves and try to rescue as many civilians as you can from your immediate area. The enemy is all over us."
She began weeping openly, "There is no hope, this is our last option. Can anyone hear me?"
Satisfied that no one could hear her, or respond, she picked her way across the bridge to the Engineering panel, where Sammie used to sit. She punched in a code, and a red button popped up. Sobbing hysterically, she punched it with all her might.
******
And then, she opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling, wondering what brought her to that dream, what could have possessed her to think such thoughts. She looked at the doctor, who was looking her over in a worried manner, and she saw Rick at her bedside. "Oh, Rick, you wouldn't believe the dream I just had."
He looked into her eyes and smiled. "As long as you're all right now, it's okay," he grinned, leaning in for a kiss.
She grinned back, accepting his kiss.
It was good to be back to reality.