fanfic_name = Separate Lives
chapter = Six
author = LisaVang
Rating = AP15
Type = Angst
fanfic =
“You are just like me, you know,” Lisa said for what seemed like the hundredth time to Khyron as he paced the room. “Dr. Lang and our scientists have proved it from the blood of the Zentraedi who had defected to our ship. We are part of the same species.”
“You’re telling me unless information, Commander. You are telling me information that I have no interest in. I want to know about the Protoculture on that ship!” Khyron said as he turned to give her a hard, angry stare.
“You’re not interested!” Lisa spat and hoped the look she gave back to him was one of disbelief. “How could you not be interested in something as important as this? Don’t you understand that this means we could stop the fighting between our two races?”
“Impossible! I tell you,” he growled softly. “Everything coming out of your mouth is nonsense. Do you know, Commander,” he paused significantly, “if I didn’t find you so entertaining I would crush you right now?”
Lisa clenched her teeth as she forced herself to look up at him, to call his buff without fear or emotion. “You’re weak, Khyron. Fighting is an easy way out and weak men always want the easy way.”
She heard his screamed of blinded hate and frustration. She closed her eyes then, knowing he was going to kill her now for she had finally pushed too far. Calmly she waited for death but it never came instead she heard his door opened. Holding her breath, she opened one of her eyes to peek out and saw that he was stalking out of the room.
Lisa’s shoulders slumped as she dropped to the floor. “How long,” she muttered quietly to herself, “how long before I go crazy and tell him everything I know about the SDF-1’s defense or before I drive him crazy and he kills me?”
Looking around, she could almost pretend that this cage, this glass box that she was living in now for the past week and a half was her quarters on the SDF-1; for she had been given a sofa, a mattress and a table to make herself comfortable.
Khyron had informed her when he set them in her cage that he had gotten them from Grel who had gotten them from their ex-spies- Rico, Bron and Konda who were now defectors on board the SDF-1. However Lisa knew that this was not her quarters on the SDF-1, for one thing, it did not have Rick, Claudia, the Captain or the Trio.
Instead what it did have was one spoiled, angry Zentraedi warlord who enjoyed taunting her, giving her hope one minute then dashing it the next over and over again; who seemed to thrive on her anger, her isolation and fear. Who is as unpredictable as the wind and crazily in love with everything that was war- killings, destruction, violence and deaths.
Rick, where are you? Do you still think of me?
--------------
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing, Khyron?” Azonia asked from the communication screen as she stared in shocked at Miriya Parino- her captain of the Quadrono clinging to the arm of a blue haired micronian as if her life depended on him.
“I’m not blind, Azonia,” Khyron answered and turned slightly away from the monitor to Grel. He whispered something to Grel that she could not hear and she watched with suspicion as he disappeared from the room.
“Well? Can you tell me what she is doing?” Azonia demanded lifting her chin and narrowing her purple eyes a bit further to let him know that she didn’t appreciate him brushing her off.
“Stop pestering me, Azonia! Miriya is your problem, your responsibility. She is your captain of your precious Quadrono,” Khyron drawled bitingly.
“Just set her down there,” Khyron said when he heard Grel coming back into the room and indicated to a high table next to his chair in the command station. Once done, Grel quietly moved back and out of sight of the communication screen and for the first time, Azonia saw what Khyron’s micronian captive looked like.
Why she’s nothing but a pale little thing. So tiny, so weak and fragile; a flickering of my finger would send her flying. Khyron’s a fool to have been so protective of her!
“Tell me, micronian, what that is?” Khyron said and pointed to the screen that had captured all the Zentraedi’s attention on the bridge.
Looking up, Lisa could see Max and a young woman with long green hair standing together in front of a priest. The young woman was in a wedding dress and Max in a tux. They looked happy and totally engrossed in each other.
Max getting marry? When did this happen and who is that woman? I’ve seen her before... but where and when?
“Well?” Khyron’s impatient voice boomed into her and she quickly snapped out of her private thoughts.
“My name is Commander Hayes, how many times do I have to repeat myself and it’s a wedding ceremony. Corporal Sterling and whoever that woman is… are getting married,” Lisa answered in a taut but amazingly quiet tone.
“Married? What is married?” Azonia asked and stared down at Khyron’s micronian prisoner from the screen with confusion and disgust.
Turning her head to the short haired female Zentraedi on Khyron’s communication screen, Lisa explained. “It a custom, a human custom that unites two people together as man and wife. It declares to the world that they are in love and want to be with each other forever and ever, till death do they part.”
“Impossible!” the female Zentraedi exclaimed with haughty aloofness from the screen. “Miriya is not a micronian; she’s the captain of my Quadrono. She’s the best there is. She would never consent to such hideous custom! She must have been captured, tortured and forced into it. There is no other explanation.”
“I don’t think so,” Lisa mused. “From the look on her face, she’s obviously very happy and in love with Corporal Sterling. You can’t force love, it just happens when you least expect it. This Miriya person who you claim in a Zentraedi is definitely in love and has defected to our side."
“Looks like you made another bad decision again, Azonia,” Khyron said almost cheerfully and laughed. “If I were you, I’ll be begging for Breetai’s forgiveness right now for loosing Miriya instead scowling at my prisoner.”
Against her will, Azonia found herself admitting that Khyron was right and she hated him at that moment more than anything else in her life. Turning a cold look at Khyron’s micronian prisoner once more she quickly cut her communication with Khyron.
“You look extraordinarily pleased with yourself, Commander,” Khyron said from behind her and shut off the broadcast. “Could you be enjoying yourself for getting the best of Azonia?”
Lisa’s green eyes gleamed with an unaccustomed brightness as she stared up at him. “It’s not my fault if she needed to be taken down a peg or two from her high pedestal of knowing it all.”
“Well said,” Khyron retorted and for the first time since she’d met him, Lisa could have sworn she saw humor stirred in those dark purple eyes of his but it was gone almost at once and she wondered if she’d been mistaken.
“Grel! Put her back where she belonged.”
“You know what this proves, don’t you?” Lisa yelled up at Khyron as if she hadn’t heard what he had just told Grel to do and went on, smiling almost appealingly. “It proves that I’m right, that both of our races could co-exist; that there could be peace among us!”
For a highly charged instant their glances clashed across the long distance between them, and then Khyron smiled cruelly at her. “Now Grel! I want her off...”
“Sir,” Grel interrupted, “Lord Breetai has ordered a full-scale assault on the SDF-1!”
“No!” Lisa yelled but knew Khyron could no longer hear her anymore for he was now busy giving out orders to his men to prepare for battle; a battle that the SDF-1 would surely loose, a battle that Rick would lead his Team to and die.
It’s now or never!
Looking around, Lisa saw that no one was watching her and she was just about to make a run for it when she felt a hand, Khyron’s hand picking her up, squeezing her into his palm and taking her back to her cage.
--------------
‘How can you be more beautiful than the first time we’d met, Minmei?’ Rick thought bitterly to himself as he watched her sing.
Then he called himself a fool for thinking of her when it's so obvious that she'd hadn't given a thought to him since winning the Miss Macross title but he couldn’t help it. She was all he had ever wanted for a long time now that missing her and wanting her to love him had become a part of his life.
Turning away from her, Rick saw Claudia and his heart went out to her. He knew she was remembering Roy for she had tears slipping silently down her cheeks but didn’t seem to notice them. He wondered how she managed to smile everyday knowing her heart was broken. Claudia Grant was a lot stronger than he had given her credit for and for the first time, he understood why Roy loved her of all the women he’d known.
Everywhere he turned, he saw couples either holding hands, holding each other, or slow dancing to Minmei’s song. He wished he could leave now for he had never felt more alone in all his life but knew he had to stay until the reception end. He was after all, Max’s best man.
Walking to a viewport, he stared into the emptiness of space and thought of Lisa. He wondered if she was okay and thinking of him. He wondered what she was doing at this very moment and what he wouldn’t give to be with her right now. They had so little time together yet he felt like he knew her, had always known her.
Take care of yourself, Lisa. I know you’re not dead. Faith is all I have at the moment but it’s all I need to find you and I will see you again.
Suddenly an alert siren began sounding, it cut through Minmei’s singing and the mood it had put everyone under. Captain Gloval stood up and told everyone to move it.
------------------
“Damned them! Damned them all to death!” Khyron yelled.
Frustrated beyond anything he’d ever felt before he tossed his helmet onto the table that Lisa’s cage was on without care.
Created by the Masters to become a great warrior, he had survived every war he’d fought in and won countless battles without much effort. He was feared by friends and foes alike and there was nothing greater for a Zentraedi warrior than being known that he was a great warrior. He knew he was destined for greatness. It was just a matter of time until everything he’d ever wanted- including Breetai’s position would be his.
However at this very moment, there was nothing he hated more than having to retreat from a battle that he should have won and he laid the blame squarely at Breetai’s door. How he hated Breetai for being weak and decisive! Not to mention that annoying bitch, Azonia who was always butting into his business and carrying tales to Breetai on his every move and decision. There was nothing more disgusting to him than a tattle teller.
The crashing noise of the helmet speeding across the table and onto the floor sounded like an explosion of a bomb to Lisa’s ear but she didn’t care for the SDF-1 was still in one piece; her friends and colleagues were alive! There could be no other reason for Khyron’s foul temper and she kept quiet.
“You!” he shouted and turned eyes full of anger on her. “I hate you! Your micronian ways are making my men weak and foolish. Can you believe that some of my men had actually refused to fight? The cowards! And all because of this little toy that sings to them.”
He threw the toy onto the table and Lisa could see that it was a toy of Minmei in a traditional Qi Pao however it was now crushed beyond recognition.
“And what is it about you that drive me crazy with frustration? Why can’t I kill you?” he screamed and inhaled deeply as he picked her up from her cage. “You’re nothing, nothing, Commander, but a tiny bug that needs to be stepped on and smacked into the wall!”
“Stop!” Lisa yelled at him in panic and struggled to free herself from his tightening grip. “You’re hurting me. Let me go, I can’t breathe!”
Khyron quickly opened his palm as if realizing what he was doing and laid her back down on the mattress in her cell then turned to leave. He couldn’t believe it that he almost killed her. He didn’t know what it is that kept forcing him to want to be near her but he knew whatever it is; it was strong and electrifying, almost as strong and powerful as the feel of being under the influence of the dry Protoculture leaf.
“Tell me what happened, Khyron.” It was a statement, not a plea or a request.
She saw that he had stopped but didn’t turn around and hope bloomed within her but it quickly died when she saw that he’d resumed his walking toward the door again.
Then, without warning, she felt the most absurd, unexplainable longing for home. Not the SDF-1 per se, but the manor in Maryland that was really home. The proud Georgian house with its rolling acres of cool, green landscape, half-quarter horses…and she smiled sadly, her eyes out of focus, remembering.
She blinked and met a pair of piercing purple eyes and quickly snapped out of her trance to give him a cool, collected determined stare back.
“Breetai order a retreat,” he said quietly. “After he saw that the micronian pilots were disabling our pods instead of blasting them into nothingness. Why would they do that, Commander? Are they mad?”
State = Continuará/To Be Continue
feedback = Sí/Yes
fanfic_name = Separate Lives
chapter = Seven
author = LisaVang
Rating = AP15
Type = Angst
fanfic =
“Again,” a faint voice from somewhere in the room said and Lisa didn’t turn to look where he was or what he was doing for she was too tired to care at the moment. She just wanted to get some sleep and rest her poor hands. She hadn’t played in ages and her fingers were screaming at her to stop.
“I’m tired,” she said ruefully, “I’ll play for you again tomorrow.”
“No, one more time,” he demanded dryly.
“Okay, alright already,” she murmured, the nonchalance of her comment went unnoticed by Khyron as she began playing again and he closed his eyes to everything else but the soothing sound that was coming from the little machine she’d called “a piano”.
He didn’t know how she got it to make such enjoyable, weird and fascinating sounds but he knew he just wanted to listen to them over and over again.
This time, Lisa choose Sir Elton John’s Candle in the Wind ’97, a tribute to Great Britain’s Princess Diana and she hoped this piece would be the last one for tonight or forever if she had her wish for she was out of classical selections to play from memory.
How she wished now that she’d never told Khyron what a piano was when he brought it to her to identify yesterday; claiming that Grel had confiscated from one of his men who had just come from Breetai’s flag ship.
She wondered how Rico, Bron and Konda had brought all these stuff back with them to Breetai’s ship without anyone in Macross noticing it. But more importantly, how the SDF-1’s sensor could have missed a fifty foot pod launching from one of its’ launching deck. She made a mental note to herself to ask the ex-Zentraedi spies these and the many other questions she’d developed since her captured as soon as she was back on the SDF-1 again.
As she played, Lisa became lost in the music; she’d forgotten how much she loved this piece. She didn’t really care for the lyrics but the notes, they were something else; she was eleven years old and like millions of people around the globe, was watching Princess Diana’s funeral when she first heard it. It had called out to her somehow and touched that part of her that had died with her mother two years ago.
She’d spent the next day searching for the musical score everywhere on the internet without success until three days later when she found it on Ebay. She could still remember the excitement of waiting for it to come in the mail and the feel of actually playing it for the first time on her mother’s grand piano. Since then, whenever she played it or heard someone else play it, it always brought back memories of her mother and the good times they had together.
Finishing the last note, Lisa turned to Khyron and saw that he was sitting quietly in his chair with his eyes closed as if he was really into the music and had forgotten everything else. She stared at him, pondering what this could mean and how she could use it to her advantage.
Could my playing have the same effect on him as Minmei’s singing has on Rico, Bron, Konda and the rest of the Zentraedi warriors who had defected? Could music be the bridge between our two races?
It was obvious from his relaxed posture that listening to her play had calmed him slightly yet she knew him well enough now to know that Khyron was one dangerous warlord-- calmed or pacing. He was clearly an intelligent being; his eyes absorbed everything they pierced. But he was also starkly greedy, impulsive and cocky. In her professional opinion, that was his greatest weakness and his strength.
More importantly, she knew he would always be a threat to the SDF-1. Khyron was one warlord she would never underestimate whether he was an ally or an enemy. He was one of those people who would sell his mother to the highest bidder without a twinge of guilt if it would further his ambition. She trusted him only as far as she could throw him which was not very far, considering she’s the size of his pinky finger.
Stretching, Lisa slowly got up and walked to her lumpy mattress.
“God, what I wouldn’t give to have a long hot bath right now and a hot cup of Claudia’s herbal tea,” she mumbled tiredly to herself then grinned sadly when she realized where she was.
“Rick,” she whispered, feeling cold to the bone, alone and so very tired that she fell upon her mattress without another thought and within minutes she was sleeping deeply.
Unknown to her, the warlord she had been assessing for weaknesses had gotten up from his chair and came to pause in front of her, staring at the silky softness of her skin and thinking how bewitching she looked when she slept.
-----------------
“Where is Commander Hayes?” Rick demanded after Exedore had finished stating Breetai’s reason for wanting an alliance and everyone had been excused from the conference for a break before convening again in two hours.
Slowly Exedore got up from his seat to face Rick. “I’m sorry Lieutenant, but I have no idea what you are talking about. Who is Commander Hayes?”
“Minister Exedore,” Gloval explained, “about three weeks ago, my First Officer, Lt. Commander Lisa Hayes was captured by some of your forces. She was on her way to Earth when her shuttle was literally carried off to one of your battlecruisers.”
“I’m sorry, Captain, but I have not heard of this. You see, three weeks ago, my lord Breetai was ordered to report back to our Supreme Commander, Dolza. We just got back in time to catch Miriya Parino’s pairing ritual with her mate however; I do know who to ask to give you the answer you seek. I will look into this matter as soon as we conclude this alliance,” Exedore said as he picked up his glass of orange juice from the table again.
Rick Hunter felt like shaking the frail-looking emissary until he did “get it” how important Lisa’s whereabouts was however, the look Gloval gave him stopped him from taking another step toward Exedore. Holding in his frustration, he nodded and turned away from them.
Walking back to his seat he could feel the fury and indignation coursing through him like nothing he’d ever felt before.
If you’re hurt Lisa, I’m going to kill them, all of them! I don’t care if they want peace or not!
------------------
“Khyron, Lord Breetai is on the screen, sir, he wants to talk to you,” Grel said as soon as he came into Khyron’s ready room.
Quickly he stole a look at the micronian female and hoped Khyron hadn’t seen him doing it but he couldn’t help himself; all day yesterday and today, Khyron had literally ordered everyone not to bother him and locked himself up in this room with her.
Then they, everyone on the bridge had heard strange noises coming from the room, noises that left them all feeling weird and uneasy, noises that made them want to do nothing but listen.
“Get out!” Khyron snapped. “Tell him I’m unavailable.”
“Sir, Lord Breetai said if you won’t talk to him, he’ll personally come on board and strip you of your rank,” Grel said and quickly turned on his heel to leave.
“No!” he commanded as Lisa stopped playing. “This will be but just a minute, Commander, continue playing... please,” he added and hoped the ridicules silly word she had gotten him to say would keep her playing but it didn’t. “I’m tired,” was all she’d said in reply to his request and got up from the piano.
The infuriating creature! Why won’t she obey him?
Thinking about it now, he realized that she had never obeyed him and had never been afraid of him either. Right from the beginning, she’d been just as stubborn as she was now, even more and had matched him stare for stare without a care for her life. Maybe that was why he kept her around. She was such a mixture of feistiness and vulnerability; she amused him like no one before.
Letting out a frustrating growl he left her and swore he was going to teach her some obedience as soon as he finished seeing to what Breetai wanted. He hoped it was another plan to attack the battle fortress again; this sitting around, waiting and brooding was driving him crazy.
“Breetai,” he drawled as he made a curt bow. It was humiliating, degrading and it grated at his soul to acknowledge Breetai as the leader of this little expeditionary mission-- recovering Zor’s ship and the lost Protoculture Matrix when it should have been him. He should have been the one Breetai must bow to; not the other way around!
‘Someday,’ he thought to himself, ‘someday very soon, Breetai, you will beg me for mercy…’
“Khyron,” Breetai replied in a cool and distance tone. “I want her here within the hour or your rank will not be the only thing you’ll be losing.”
He paused and waited by crossing his arms in front of him. Khyron stared at Breetai for a long moment, scarcely able to believe that not only had Azonia rattled him out; she had also told him about Commander Hayes.
The bitch! I’m going to enjoy squeezing the light out of her eyes personally before we leave this pathetic micronian galaxy.
“Sir,” he said crisply, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Khyron. I’m not a fool and don’t keep me waiting,” Breetai said and gave him another hard look.
“By the way, Exedore is on the battle fortress, on a diplomatic mission and if you do anything, anything that could jeopardize his well being or his mission; I will blast you into pieces all the way to Haydon IV without a second thought. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” Khyron muttered and reached out to cut the transmission.
“Sir,” Grel said from behind him, “I’ll have a transporter ready in 15 minutes.”
“You impudent little--” Khyron broke off his words and suddenly his hands went around Grel’s throat like steel. “Don’t ever presume to know what I’m thinking about or you’ll regret it. Do I make myself clear, Grel?”
Fear snaked through him and Grel could do nothing but nod.
--------------------
Exedore returned the handset to its cradle and turn to look at Gloval.
“I was hoping we’ll have more time, Captain, but it is not so. My Lord Breetai has just informed me that even as we speak, Dolza’s Grand Fleet of four million strong is on its way here and once he realized that the Protoculture Matrix is no longer on the SDF-1; he’ll kill everything in this galaxy including us-- Breetai’s force before leaving since we’ve been contaminated by your culture.”
Gloval said nothing and everyone else around the conference table said nothing either.
“Captain,” Exedore continued. “In the next three hours, your space will be filled with Zentraedi battlecruisers of all sizes, shapes and fire power beyond your imagination. You must prepare your ship to leave this galaxy as soon as possible. You can not win this fight. Your only hope is to run. My lord Breetai has recognized the importance of your culture and he will do everything in his power to help you. We will give you our fold system.”
“No,” Gloval said finally and he could hear the gasps of his junior officers around the conference table. “We will fight. We will not leave Earth defenseless. We have sworn an oath to defend our planet and defend her we will.”
Exedore nodded wearily but smiled. "I understand, Captain and let me be the first to say, it’s an honor to fight alongside your ship.”
“Then it is settled,” Gloval said, more to himself than anyone else.
-----------------
“Minister Exedore!” Rick called as he saw Gloval leading him out of the conference room and quickly ran to catch up with them at the door.
“Commander Hayes’ whereabouts, have you looked into it yet? I need to know, sir.”
“Yes, I have Lieutenant. Commander Hayes has been a captive on board Khyron’s ship since she was captured. My Lord Breetai assures me that he will have her in his care and she will be returned to the SDF-1 as soon as possible.”
“Thank you,” Rick said with relief and turned to Captain Gloval.
“Sir, I speak on behalf of all the VT fighters; we support you a hundred perfect. When the time comes, we’ll be ready. We know what’s at stake and are willing to give it all.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Hunter,” Gloval said and felt a sudden déjà vu of another young lieutenant with the same determination, courage and giving him a similar speech and salute-- Roy Fokker.
Rick saluted until they stepped out of the conference door and it closed behind them before a smile of joy and relief spread across his face.
Lisa’s alive!
“Let me go, Kyle,” Minmei said loudly from behind him and he turned to see her walking away from Kyle and towards him. He sighed deeply then and mentally prepared himself to greet her.
“Rick, I’m …”
“Minmei,” he said softly, the slightest tone of perplexity in his voice. “I understand. It’s okay. It’s not your fault how things turned out. I’m happy for you. I really am.”
“I… I just wanted to say, good luck and take care.” Her voice was faint but audible and steady. “I’ve missed you.”
Rick froze for more than a second.
This just wasn’t fair!
“Rick?” Her voice was soft this time. It was tremulous and throatily sexy, it sounded just a shade unsure, just a shade frightened.
She was so beautiful; so breathtakingly beautiful. Her skin so fine, her eyes shimmering seas of blue crystals and she was so close to him that he could just reach out and touch her.
God, he had missed her! But it was not the same as he’d missed Lisa this past month.
“I’ve missed you too, Minmei. You’ll be okay,” he said with a confidence he didn’t know he had. “The whole world will be listening to you, today. Just sing your heart out like you’ve never sang before in your life. You’re a star, Minmei; you can do it. I know you can and know that I’ll always be your friend no matter what.”
He gave her a warm sincere smile then and hoped she would understand too why he’d changed.
“Good-bye, Rick,” she replied and he could see the tears pooling in her dark blue eyes. “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
She moved into his arms then and they hugged for a few moments before she turned and walk back to Kyle who was looking at them with agitation.
“Good-bye, Minmei,” he said and left to his quarters to prepare for a battle that could be the end of mankind.
State = Continuará/To Be Continue
feedback = Sí/Yes
email = lisa_vangATmsn.com