fanfic_name = Skull Leader

author = Dwparsnip

dedicate = Everyone at DYRL.

Rating = AP15

Type = Romance

fanfic = News of Khyron's final vengeance spread throughout the population of Earth like a blazing wildfire.



Among the human populace, the reaction was what would be expected: shock, anger and terrible sadness.



Most Zentraedi experienced a mixture of sadness, loss and guilt over what had been perpetrated against the Micronians at the hands of one of their own. They also felt relief that the deranged warlord was finally no longer a threat to them or their Micronian friends.



Other Zentraedi however, celebrated at the destruction of the very object that embodied their defeat: the SDF-1. The destruction of the SDF-1 and its successor was a step on the ladder of the return of the Zentraedi to their rightful place as conquerors and soldiers. They celebrated at the crippling blow that their Lord Khyron visited upon the Micronians that embarrassed them those short years ago And they celebrated, not mourned the death of Khyron, for to them he was a hero of the highest order. He had never surrendered. Never gave up.



They would follow the path laid out before them by their Lord Khyron. They would plan, they would attack and they would kill. They would have revenge.

------------------------------ ----

0730, exactly two weeks after the attack, Lisa Hayes stepped out of one of the temporary housing units that had been rapidly set up in Monument to accommodate some of the New Macross survivors. She just stood there for a few seconds and let the sun bathe her face in its warmth. The weather had been unseasonably warm since Khyron's attack and she had heard someone remark that the Earth was giving humankind a break after all of the destruction and heartache.



She believed it.



She hadn't been promoted yet, but the rumors were flying that it was in the works and would come through in short order. Still, she was the highest-ranking member of the SDF-1 to survive, and still one of the highest-ranking officers left in the RDF. All of this meant that she was entitled to a car and driver. She didn't really want it and didn't think she deserved it, but there was a monumental task to be completed and she was grateful not to have to worry about getting from point A to point B. It was one more thing she didn't have to worry about.



She went over the agenda for today in her head while waiting for the car to come. She had a meeting with the council to discuss the threat of further violence from some Zentraedi, Malcontents they had been labeled. Yesterday's attack on the garrison in New Detroit was the most recent example of it. Then there were decisions to be made concerning the continuing relocation of residents of New Macross. She went over the rest of the day and sighed. "Not enough time in the day", she thought sadly.



The car pulled up and she got in the back seat.



"Good morning, Captain Hayes", her driver, Lt. Archer said cheerfully.



"Good morning, Terry", she said with as much good nature as she could muster.



Archer drove into Monument towards the defense headquarters. It had been the same routine for the last two weeks now. For the first couple of days he had repeatedly tried to engage her in small talk, asking how she was doing, how work was going and the like. He gave up after three days after receiving the most rudimentary answers to his inquiries, and she never initiated any conversations herself.



He looked in the rear view mirror to take in the beautiful woman in the back seat. 'Sad', he thought to himself, 'It's so sad that such a beautiful woman is so sad.'



Lisa stared out the car window, daydreaming of the days before the attack that so damaged their lives. The days when Claudia and the girls, Sammie, Vanessa and Kim would laugh with her on the bridge of the SDF-1 about something or other. And Admiral Gloval, sitting their pretending not to listen and pretending not to laugh too. The car hit a bump in the road and it shook her from her escape.



Then she thought of the man she loved more than life itself. He was out there somewhere in the wild blue yonder around New Detroit. It was the disturbance yesterday that took him from her arms and into the arms of uncertainty and danger.



She remembered.

------------------------------ ----

"Please be careful Rick", she had said to him as was getting ready to leave for Fokker Base.



He took her into his strong arms and embraced her like she had never been held before.



"Don't worry", he told he. "I have the best reason of all to come back in one piece: you'll be waiting for me." He looked into her emerald eyes and smiled his best reassuring smile, and she couldn't help but to smile back at him.



"I won't be too long Lisa, and Max and Miriya are going with me. You know I couldn't have any better wingmen than them."



She nodded and he kissed her, passionately on her lips.



He broke from her, reluctantly, and said, "I love you Lisa Hayes." He kissed her again and said, "More than you could ever know."



He turned to leave but she couldn't let go of his arm. "Lisa..." he began but she stopped him with a kiss of her own.



She broke away from him. "I love you Rick", she said with heart wrenching concern, "Please come back safely so I can show you how much."



He smiled as he said, "You don't have to show me anything Lisa, or prove anything to me. I know. I hope you know I love you too."



She nodded and let him go. Max had come to pick him up. Rick turned to see her when he reached the car and their eyes met, saying everything that needed to be said. He waved and got in, and she blew him a kiss as they pulled away. The last thing she saw was Rick reaching up to catch the kiss.

------------------------------ ----

"Captain Hayes? Ma'am, are you all right?"



She came back to the present to see Archer looking at her with alarm.



They were in front of her office complex on the base.



"Yes Lieutenant, I'm fine. Thank you very much for your concern."



"Permission to speak freely, Captain?'



Surprised, Lisa nodded her assent and he said, "Please don't worry about Captain Hunter, ma'am. He's one the absolute best pilots we've got, and with everything else that you've got on your plate, well, he'll be fine ma'am."



She was about to respond when he got out and opened the door for her. When she got out he gave her a crisp salute, which she returned. He was getting into the car when Lisa said, "Lieutenant.Terry, thank you."



He smiled and nodded his head. "See you this afternoon, Captain."



She walked into the office complex, showed the appropriate identification at the checkpoints and finally reached her office. General Reinhardt had assigned her one of his trusted subordinates as her aide, Commander Cindy White. No matter how early Lisa came to work, White was always there ahead of her. She often wondered how she did it.



White was there now in Lisa's office, placing a steaming hot cup of coffee on her desk as Lisa walked in.



"Oh, Cindy," she said picking up the coffee and taking a sip, "you just earned your first raise."



White laughed and said, "Was it that bad, Captain?"



"No", replied Lisa, "I just really needed it. Thanks. I don't now how Reinhardt ever brought himself to let you leave his office."



White's cheeks turned a light pink at the compliment and said, "Well I'm glad that he did, ma'am."



It was Lisa's turn to feel a slight burn in her cheeks.



"You're first meeting is in thirty-five minutes Captain."



"Thank you Commander."



She sat down at her desk and took another sip of her coffee. 'Just right', she thought to herself.



She looked over some of the material for her first meeting. Included were casualty lists, civilian and military, damage estimates to property and mecha, and so on and so on.



She looked over at the picture of her and Rick on her desk. It was taken not long after Dolza's attack. Her heart ached for him.



She pressed the intercom and said, "Commander White, could you ask the Tactical Information Center for a report on the disturbance in New Detroit yesterday please?"



"How about I give you first hand report Captain," a male voice said from the doorway.



It seemed as though her heart skipped a few beats when she heard his voice, and she looked up.



"Rick!", she cried as she jumped up and hugged him. "I've missed you." She could feel the tears in her eyes, and she didn't care.



White slowly moved in and took the door handle in her hand. She gave Lisa a wink as she gently closed the door to give them some privacy.



Rick held her with a passion and when he spoke, he spoke softly. "I told you I wouldn't be long, Lisa. I told you I had the best reason to come back."



He gently kissed her neck and then pulled back to see her face.



"Come on now, no need for tears", he said gently wiping them from her cheeks, and then kissing where each tear used to be.



Just when she thought she was daydreaming again he kissed her mouth, his strong lips reinforcing the fact that he was real and that he loved her.



They broke their kiss, reluctantly.



She looked at the clock on her wall and said, "I'm sorry Rick but I have to go to this meeting."



The intercom buzzed.



"Go ahead Commander."



"Sorry to disturb you Captains, but General Reinhardt's office just called to inform you that the meeting this morning has been cancelled. You're free until after lunch, Captain Hayes."



"Thank you Commander", she said and terminated the connection.



She looked at him. He was still in his flight suit and he looked tired. She looked at the clock. 0815. Her next meeting was at 1400 hrs. She went to the door, opened it and said to White, "Cindy, I'll be leaving the base and will return before 1400 hrs."



"Yes, Captain. Lt. Archer will be out front by the time you get to the door." She peeked around Lisa to make sure Rick couldn't hear her and whispered, "Well, what are you waiting for, get out of here!"



Lisa finally realized why Lisa liked White so much: she was just like Claudia.



Twenty minutes later, Rick and Lisa got to her quarters. She opened the door and went in, but only got two steps inside when Rick put his arms tightly around her. She could feel him breathing deeply, as though trying to keep control.



They stayed there like it for a short time, and when she was finally able to turn around to look into his blue eyes, she saw it. The pain and torment that comes with being a flight Captain in a Veritech squadron. The pain and torment that comes with seeing terrible, terrible things that once upon a time could only be found in the most gruesome works of fiction. It was especially so with Rick, leader of the celebrated Skull squadron since Roy Fokker died. His squad, containing the most lethal couple in the RDF, Max and Miriya, was the front line for the RDF in the recent months. For every disturbance, riot, demonstration and attack the first order to come down was 'Scramble the Skull' or 'Get me Skull Leader' or something like it.



She chided herself for not noticing sooner.



She led him to the couch and sat him down. She was about to go and get him some tea, but he said with a shaky voice, "No.please, just sit here with me."



She did as he asked and sat down next to him. He moved away from her to the other end of the couch, and for a moment she thought he was avoiding her nearness, but he did it so he could lie down on his back with his head resting on her lap.



Her heart pained at seeing him like this. The last time she saw his eyes so hollow was when Roy died. She rubbed his cheek with her hand, instinctively wanting to touch him and help him.



She wanted to ask him what had happened, for him to tell her, but she knew he would do it when he was ready, and not before.



His hand reached up and took her hand, kissed it and held onto it, resting their joined hands on his chest. He felt calmer just being with her.



He closed his eyes and remembered. As he remembered, he told her.

------------------------------ ----

'Skull Leader to tower. Navigational computers are set for flight path to New Detroit. Request permission to depart.'



'Roger that Captain. Skull One cleared for departure on runway 2-Alpha.'



'Roger. Skull One departing in 5.4.3.2.1.Mark'



A mere seconds later he was in the blue sky above Fokker Base, waiting for Max and Miriya to join him before heading to New Detroit.



It didn't take long for Max's blue and Miriya's red Veritechs to join Skull One, and they were off.



Rick looked to starboard and saw Max give him a thumbs up. Rick nodded to his best friend. Then he looked to port, and Miriya gave him a small salute. He gave her a smile.



He was lucky to have them in his group. Both were more than qualified to lead their owns squads, and he was sure that very soon they would be. He had, in fact, recommended them both for citations and promotions for their valiant actions of the last month.



By themselves, they were incredible pilots. Fast, skilled, accurate and deadly. Together, they were angels of death to the enemy and angels of mercy to everyone else. They were unstoppable.



The information about what was happening in New Detroit was sketchy to say the least. The mayday from New Detroit command had been interrupted, but what had gotten through was ominous: ".dozens of .need immediate.overrun.."



Rick opened the comm channel and said, "Okay guys. Our ETA at New Detroit is fifteen minutes. We'll do a cautious fly over and see what happens. If that goes okay, we'll begin a sector-by-sector sweep, starting in sector one going up to sector five. I've had the computer calling New Detroit command every few minutes, but they haven't responded. We do it by the book. We have no idea what we're up against, so we go slowly until we determine the threat level. It'll be another half an hour before the squad from New Toronto will get there, so watch yourselves."



"Roger, Captain", said Miriya as Max said "Affirmative Skull Leader."



Rick laughed. He always laughed when Max got official and called him that, instead of Rick, or as he had been doing lately, Boss.



A minute later they could see the smoke, black smoke billowing up from the Earth in the distance. No one said a word.



Twelve minutes later, Rick was adjusting the display panel in his cockpit when he heard Miriya softly say something in Zentraedi over the TAC net, followed by Max's "My God."



He looked out at the destruction. It was total. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words just wouldn't leave his mouth.



His threat warning systems were quiet, and they continued their recon. They had swept three of the five sectors when the Eagle squadron out of New Toronto arrived, led by Lieutenant Williams.



"Skull squadron will begin the ground search and evacuation of sector one while you finish the aerial sweep of sectors four and five. When you're finished break your squad up and begin the search and evacuation of other sectors. Keep your eyes and communication channels open."



"Understood, Captain", said Williams. He was young, and the scene laid out before him affected him greatly. It had affected them all.



Rick conjured up his most confident voice and said, "Remember your training, Lieutenant. You'll be fine."



"Yes, sir", came his reply.



Rick went to join Max and Miriya, already on the ground in Battloid mode.



He walked his Battloid up to Max's and called up his image on the communication frequency. Max looked at Rick over the channel and solemnly shook his head.



"What do you make of it Max", he asked.



Max took a couple of seconds to respond. "Definitely Battle Pods, Rick."



"I agree", came Miriya's opinion. "However, I have seen indications that Quadrano power armor caused some of the damage as well."



"I noticed that", said Rick. The gruesome image of one destroyed Destroid flashed in his mind. "I would estimate at least twenty-five Battle Pods, and maybe three or four Quadrano Power Suits."



"I concur", said Miriya.



"All right, we keep looking for survivors. There was a population of over twenty thousand people here. If we can save even one person out of this destruction, it will be a good day."



Every corner they turned was a new scene of death and destruction. 'Barbarism', thought Rick. 'No. slaughter. They were slaughtered.' They came upon scene after scene of carnage. Damaged mecha was everywhere. 'VTs, Destroids of all types, Defender, Tomahawk, Phalanx.'  Rick turned the head of his Battloid around to inspect a damaged Spartan. 'Its arms have been ripped off.' He zoomed in closer. 'So has the front armor.'  The cockpit was open, empty and stained dark red. Rick was beginning to feel sick. He forced himself to keep going and found scene after scene of destruction and death.



Over the next couple of hours they were joined from forces from various bases. By nightfall, search and rescue teams from New Philadelphia had arrived.



There was nothing more for them to do. More reinforcements arrived shortly after the search and rescue squad, and they were free to leave. They volunteered to stay, and through the night they searched. When morning came, the ranking officer ordered them home. They had searched for hours and hours and hours for any sign of life.

------------------------------ ----

He opened his eyes and locked onto Lisa's intense green eyes, full of worry, worry for him he could see.



Tears were filling his eyes, faded with grief, and he tried desperately but in vain to keep them from spilling onto his cheek.



Full of profound and heart breaking sorrow he whispered, "It wasn't a good day."



"Oh, Rick", she said with a cracking voice, her own tears now flowing freely from her emerald eyes.



He closed his eyes again and tightened his grip on the only thing that seemed to be keeping him from going over the edge: the hand of the woman he loved.





State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = dparsnipAThotmail.com