fanfic_name = Separate Lives

chapter = revised chapter 7

author = LisaV

Rating = O18

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 him as she began to play 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 it over and over again.

This time, Lisa choose Sir Elton John’s Candle in the Wind ’97, a tribute to 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 greatest 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, thinking how bewitching she looked when she slept.

She was unique in his experience, and remarkably invigorating. He prized cleverness in an enemy or ally above all and in truth; she greatly underestimated her own appeal, believing she had no claim to beauty or cleverness.

Her comeliness was not readily apparent at first glance, he reflected, staring at the silky softness of her skin. There was a quiet, fine-boned quality to her features that he found soothing and enjoyable to look upon.

Perhaps in his resentment at being forced so many times to loose to the micronians in battle he had indeed misjudged her. She had a spirit he could admire, Khyron conceded, recalling the defiant tilt to her chin.

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“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!

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“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.

Azonia, 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.

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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.

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“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. It's really important that she's okay.”

“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 pilots; we are behind you a hundred percent. 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 watched it as 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, he said with sincere honesty.

Then with a confidence he didn’t know he had he continued. "You’ll be okay. 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 were always a star. I believe in you. 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. I'll never forget you.”

She moved into his arms then and they held each other for a few moments before she turned and walk back to Kyle who was looking at them with agitation.

As he watched her and Kyle leave the room together he took a deep breath and felt as if a heavy weigh had been lifted from his heart. At the door, he saw her turned back once again to look at him and gave him a sad good-bye smile.

“Good-bye, Minmei,” he said quietly as he watched the door closed after them. “You’ll always have a place in my heart but it is Lisa… she’s my future.”

When had he fallen in love with Lisa? He wondered and at this moment he finally understood that he didn’t care anymore, when or why, he just wanted to see her again and be able to tell her so.

A wave of longing swept through him and his heart thudded in his chest with happiness, excitement and anxiety at seeing her yet there was fear and apprehension too for she could be hurt.

I’m coming for you, Lisa, hand on!

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“We will be annihilated once Dolza gets here. I will not stay around to die when I could leave,” Khyron barked at her. “I’m destined for greatness. I must live.”

“You have thirty battlecruisers under your command,” Lisa pleaded, “joined with Breetai’s and the SDF-1, we could have a fighting chance…” but Khyron interrupted her before she could finish.

“Dolza has over five millions and he’ll bring all of them. There is no chance. There never was.”

That comment stunned her speechless.

Impaling her with his glare, he gave Grel the command to have all his ships separate from Breetai’s main fleet and prepare for a space fold.

“Then let me go!” A wave of panic broke and she searched desperately for a way to escape.

His dark purple eyes narrowed and he leaned forward in her direction. “You’re not going anywhere but back to your cage if you don’t behave.”

He was so close to her that she could see his eyes glittering dangerously and she knew it was hopeless to beg. She bit her lip and suddenly wanted to cry. She wished she could wail, in fact and beat some senses into him.

The weight of her sorrow knew no bound and her heart hurt when she thought of Rick, her father, Claudia, the Captain, the Trio and all those people on board the SDF-1. She had never felt more heartsick in her twenty-five years of life. Loosing her mother and Karl didn’t compare to the pain she was experiencing now.

Tears stung her cheeks as she stared him dead in the eye and begged anyway.

“I want to be with my friends and colleagues. I’m a solider. My duty is to fight, to defend my ship and my world. I belonged on the SDF-1. I need to leave, please, please if you have any compassion in your heart, let me go.”

Hearing Lisa begged angered him and he didn’t know why. “No! I find that you amuse me, Commander and you will continue to amuse me...”

“Run!” Lisa snapped. Impatience, anger, frustration and helplessness surfaced.

“Go ahead and run and hide like the coward you are. I always knew you were one. My first impression of you proved true. You are nothing but an over-grown bully and a coward! Coward!”

The noise in the command room suddenly quieted and she gritted her teeth hard, fighting the trembling that had seized her. She wouldn’t cower before him! She had never betrayed her fear, and she would not do so now.

“Kill me, then, and have done with it!” she challenged him. “Slaughter me, slice me to ribbons. I don’t care! Do you hear me, I don’t care!”

With that Lisa turned and began running toward the end of the command table but before she could do anything else, Khyron’s hand reached out and caught her.

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = lisa_vangATmsn.com