"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Chapter 13

February 6th, 2015

It was nearly 2am and a very weary Rick Hunter was sitting in his office with his head down on his desk. Despite all that had gone on the day before, he could not keep awake. He was totally exhausted.
He felt himself drifting off to sleep but fought hard to try and keep awake. Sammie was still missing and he needed to find her. He thought back to the past couple of days that he had spent with her, their working together and numerous breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and found that they worked very well as a team, they were efficient and capable and he felt comforted. He remembered the various topics that Sammie would talk about, some of which were very similar to what Minmei talked about, however though the topics were the same, the content of those conversations were vastly different from the conversations that he had had with Minmei.
When Minmei would talk about the topic of eyeshadow, she would go on and on about how such and such a color made her look such and such a way. When Sammie happened to bring up the same topic during lunch one day, Rick had initially braced himself for the conversation he remembered having with Minmei, which consisted of Minmei asking Rick how he thought such and such a color would look on her. To his surprise and relief, Sammie tackled the topic of eyeshadow in a completely different way. She gave Rick a rundown of which color looked best on who (Kim, Vanessa, Claudia...etc) and then went into a history of how eyeshadow was used in ancient times, what kind of chemicals and compounds went into eyeshadow, and then she went back to the topic of her friends and the various traits that she admired in them. During the whole hour that she had talked, Sammie only talked about herself, at the most, 5% of the time. 95% of the time she talked about her friends and other people. Rick didn't have to do any calculation to know that Minmei's self-talk ratio was the exact opposite, 95% Minmei, 5% someone else.
The more quality time he spent with the Trio, the more he came to value their friendship, and they were beginning to become like sisters to him. He tried to analyze this new relevation more but was interrupted by a light knock at the door. He quickly got up to answer it and when he opened the door he saw Sammie standing there.
"Rick..." was all she could weakly utter before collapsing into his arms.
"SAMMIE!!" yelled a terrified Rick. He looked her over and saw that her uniform was dusty and scorched and her face was smudged with soot.
Rick began to pull out his phone to call for help but as he was doing so he saw a man running towards him.
"There she is!!" the man shouted, then Rick saw a couple of other soldiers following behind him, one of them carrying a medical bag.
Rick looked up at the rapidly approaching man. The man snapped a salute then explained himself, "Sir! I'm Lt. Stone. Some of us caught sight of Captain Porter several minutes ago but we were too far away to catch up to her. Sir, we've already called a medical team, they should be right behind us."
Rick saluted back and moved out of the way as the woman with the medical bag came over to take a look at Sammie.
Rick was tapping his foot anxiously as the woman checked on Sammie. She looked up at him and said, "Sir, I think she should be ok, but we won't know for sure until we get her to the hospital."
Rick said nothing and just nodded. A minute later the medics came and placed Sammie on a stretcher and headed towards the base hospital.

"Captain Hunter? I'm Doctor Reed. I'm happy to inform you that Captain Porter will be just fine, a little sore, but fine. She has suffered a dislocated shoulder and there is some muscle damage but with some physical therapy she should be back to new in no time."
Rick breathed a sigh of relief and asked if he could see Sammie.
"I'm sorry Captain, she's been through quite an experience, and she has a lot of pain in her shoulder and arm, so we gave her something for the pain. She was sleeping soundly when I checked on her 5 minutes ago."
"Can I just look in on her?" asked Rick, feeling that he wouldn't be able to breathe a sigh of relief until he saw for himself that Sammie was ok.
The doctor saw the determination on Rick's face and knew that this young man would not leave until he saw his friend, so the doctor nodded his head and walked down the hallway.
Rick opened the door quietly and peeked into Sammie's room, then quietly walked over to the chair next to her bed and sat down. He looked at her and smiled, she looked like an angel, and even though she could be very mischievious, loud, and nosey at times, everyone knew that Sammie was one of the most good-hearted people around.
Rick was greatly relieved that no serious injury harm had come to Sammie. If there had, he would never be able to forgive himself. He got up to leave and bent over to give Sammie a kiss on the forehead. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she looked up at Rick and smiled.
"That was nice, can you do that again?" said a more alert Sammie.
Rick chuckled and retook his seat next to Sammie's bed. "How are you feeling Sam?" he asked quietly.
"Sore as hell, but overall, pretty good," replied Sammie. She then continued with, "How about Fumi?? Is she ok? How about her son and her grandson??"
Rick's answering grin put Sammie at ease immediately. "Fumi and her family are doing just fine. The baby got a few scratches and bruises but nothing serious and Fumi has a couple broken ribs, so they will be keeping her in the hospital for awhile," Rick reported.
Sammie let out a huge sigh of relief and Rick added, "You were really brave to do what you did today Sammie."
Sammie shook her head, "No, it was a no-brainer. Everyone else would've done the same thing."
Rick chuckled a bit, "I don't know, you'd be pretty surprised at how easily some people would run away and save themselves."
Sammie looked at him earnestly, "I couldn't leave her behind, she's my friend. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I had just walked away and not done anything to try and help her."
Rick patted Sammie's hand, "I know what you mean Sammie."
Sammie continued, "That's why I am proud that I joined the service, so that I would have the know-how to protect my home, my family, and my friends."
Rick nodded his head, "That's so very true Sammie. I think people seem to forget that soldiers join up because they want to help defend their loved ones, not because they like to play wargames."
Sammie nodded her agreement. Rick noticed the time and decided that he had better let Sammie get some rest. He stood up and they waved to each other as Rick left the room and Sammie went back to sleep.

* * * * * * *

"Good morning Captain Leeds, I'm Captain Newcastle, I'll be supervising you during your land-based training."
The man seemed friendly enough, didn't seem like a Maistroff-type, so Vanessa gave him a genuine smile and shook his hand.
"I know that this probably wasn't your preferred assignment, but I have heard a many good things about your capabilities so I know you were picked for a reason," said Newcastle.
Vanessa just smiled but didn't reply. She thought to herself that Newcastle seemed sympathetic to her having been shifted over to an assignment that wasn't exactly anyone's first choice. Hopefully this was a good sign and that he wasn't in cohoots with Maistroff. She chided herself for being so suspicious and paranoid, but there had been too much going on lately that she did feel justified for being suspicious. Submarine duty was loathed by mostly everyone because there were so few subs on patrol nowadays and the ones that were on patrol were there for long stretches of time. The notion of cabin-fever induced pschosis was a real and serious threat.
Vanessa sighed as she followed Captain Newcastle to the sonar simulation room. There she was given the tour and tutorial on the typical workings of a sonar station. They let her sit down at the console and ran a simulation and much to everyone's surprise, including her own, Vanessa picked up extremely rapidly and handled her first simulation without one single mistake or misreading. The instructors were indeed impressed.
Vanessa was given a small break after her sonar exercise then told to report to the underwater training pool. Vanessa wasn't looking forward to the underwater training. She knew how to swim well, but she didn't like swimming very much, and if given the choice, she'd stay out of the water. She sighed as she stood on the edge of the pool. Today they were going to practice learning how to maneuver around the water in full uniforms, to simulate the event of the crew having to abandon ship while still submerged. The exercise would consist of a small cabinspace being dropped below water, then the space would begin leaking water and the crew would have to quickly put on their life jackets and then swim through the hatch and up to the surface.
Vanessa and a crew of 3 other officers were in the small cabinspace and were being lowered to the bottom of the 25 foot pool. When they reached the bottom, they were then suppose to pretend there was a breach in the cabinspace and then evacuate it as soon as possible.
Vanessa and two other officers had made it to the surface quickly, but one other officer had not surfaced yet. There was a silence for several more seconds before Newcastle called for the standby rescue divers to go down and get the officer. The underwater instructor however, negated Newcastle's command and told the divers to wait another minute.
Vanessa was incensed, a minute could be too late, so she quickly dove back down to find the woman. She was shocked when she realized the woman was no longer in the pool. She scanned the pool once again, then headed back up to the surface when she could no longer hold her breath. When she surfaced she struggled to catch her breath and was greeted with a round of applause. She looked around her and found that she was the only one in the pool. The other two officers were standing on the deck, as was the woman whom had supposedly still been underwater.
Vanessa was confused, but Newcastle quickly spoke up to dissolve her confusion. "Captain, you are to be commended. You see, this was a little test, as well as a training exercise. And I must say you reacted exactly as we predicted. They told us you former SDF Bridge girls were a spunky lot, but we needed to see it with our own eyes."
Vanessa was still confused and Newcastle continued his explanation, "You see, we needed to test your commitment to your crew, even if you had just met them. You passed with flying colors, just as we expected, but Maistroff had said that you all Bridge crew were incapable of any heroic efforts, so we needed to make sure he was wrong, and he is. You must understand Captain, that your role on the submarine will be of great importance. You will be third in the Chain of Command. If anything is to happen to the Captain and Executive Officer, you have been designated to be third in command, and we must make sure you have what it takes to hold this very important post."
Vanessa smiled meekly, not wanting to show her annoyance. She wondered how many other little tests they were going to put her through. Whatever with and whenever they decided to test her, she resolved to be ready for their tests.

* * * * * * *

Rick was listening to a telemetry tech explain the workings of his console and didn't notice that a guest had entered the command center. The guard at the door didn't noice the stars on Lisa's uniform and mistook her for a Captain, although he couldn't figure out why she had a black uniform, and didn't announce her presence to the room. Only after she had walked a few paces away from him did he realize his oversight and was in a quandry as to what to do. He thought he should announce her presence but she didn't seem to be bothered by it so he remained quiet, but fearful, hoping he wouldn't be reprimanded.
Lisa walked by the first row of stations and no one at that row noticed her high rank either. Then she walked past the second row and the person on the end of the row stood up quickly and snapped a salute. After gawking at their row-mate for a second, the rest of the row stood up, and then the first row followed them.
Lisa smiled and saluted back and then continued to head towards Rick's direction.

Male Tech 1: "Hey, who's that? She's pretty!"
Male Tech 2: "I dunno who that is but she's got some nice legs!"
Female Tech 1: "Oh stop drooling!"

Male Tech 1: "You are telling us not to drool?? Who sits here all day and sighs every time Captain Hunter looks in this direction??

Female Tech 2: "Leave her alone, just because you guys can look, doesn't mean we can't look either."
Male Tech 2: "Oh oh oh, excuse me! As if Captain Hunter is gonna take you out."
Female Tech 1: "You never know..."

Female Tech 2: "Yeah, maybe he is attracted to her but doesn't want to approach her because he doesn't want to appear unprofessional.

Male Tech 2: "And you two oogling over him isn't unprofessional?
Female Tech 1: "And you guys oogling over an Admiral is?

Male Tech 1: "Hey, come one. Guys like us will never have a chance with an Admiral so let us have our daydream.

Female Tech 2: "So there, you've just admitted that we might have a chance with Captain Hunter."
Male Tech 1: "I didn't say that."

Male Tech 2: "Hey, I wonder if Captain Hunter knows her well? Maybe he can set up a date for us, you know, just like a meeting lunch or something."

Female Tech 1: "Hey look, let's see how they interact. Hey Molly! Come here for a moment would you?"

Male Tech 1: "Great, now you're gonna have Molly do her famous lip-reading?"
Female Tech 2: "As if you guys don't want to know what the Admirals says."
Male Tech 2: "Well..."
Female Tech 1: "I thought as much."

The tech's watched as Lisa walked up to Rick, who still hadn't noticed her arrival. His back was turned to her as he was listening intently to what the telemetry tech was telling him. His conentration was broken when someone in back of them announced, "Admiral on the deck!"
Rick snapped his salute even before he turned around and when he turned around he was totally surprised to see Lisa standing in front of him. She wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her because this was suppose to be his assignment after all, and after all the protests he had about her taking the assignment instead of him, to have her show up after the argument they had had that he go instead, might not sit well with Rick. So Lisa did the only thing she thought would take off the edge, she smiled at him, and to her relief, he smiled back at her.

Male Tech 2: "Wow, I've never seen an Admiral smile before. Usually they are all snobs."
Male Tech 1: "They seem pretty happy to see each other."
Female Tech 1: "What? Don't tell me he's taken? Molly, what are they saying?"

Rick told the tech he would be back later then walked with Lisa to the corner of the room.
"I'm surprised to see you here Admiral," said Rick.
Lisa knew what he meant and quickly said, "I told Kim and Vanessa I'd come to check on Sammie. Rick, don't take it personally, you know they trust you and know you would be able to take care of her, but they were both ready to go AWOL to make sure she's ok, so I told them I'd come. That seemed to have calmed them down abit."
Rick shook his head, "No need to explain. I would do the same if I were in their shoes."
Lisa looked down at the floor and said, "I guess it must've seemed rather hypocritical of me to come here-"
Rick cut her off by putting a finger to her lips, the gesture making her happy yet nervous at the same time. They were in a public area after all, with many subordinates.

Male Tech 1: "Well, does that answer your question? And we didn't even need Molly to read their lips."
Female Tech 2: "Darn it!"

Rick stuck his hands in his pocket and said, "Let's not talk about that issue now. I...I've missed you. I'm glad you came."
Lisa looked at him intently and said, "I've missed you too, you don't know how much I've missed you."
Rick sensed the urgency in her voice and wondered if anything was wrong. He said quietly, "When I get off duty why don't we go and have dinner at someplace nice and quiet."
Lisa sighed, "That sounds like a wonderful idea."
Rick said, "Why don't you wait for me in the Officer's Lounge, I'll be there in a few minutes after I've finished up here."
Lisa smiled and turned around and headed back the way she came. She couldn't believe her own behavior. Here she was, an Admiral almost in her 30's, yet she felt so youthfully happy, just like a high school girl would after the cutest guy in school told her to meet him at his table at lunch. She told herself that after all the hell she'd gone through for the past 12 years or so, that she deserved this happiness. True happiness, at last.
As she passed the techs that had been eavesdropping on she and Rick, she inclined her head for a small bow and they all stood up and saluted and watched her leave the room.
"Admiral off the deck!!" snapped the doorman. He was relieved he wasn't reprimanded for his initial oversight and was a bit taken back that the Admiral had smiled at him.

Female Tech 1: "They remind me of high school sweethearts!"

Male Tech 2: "Yea. Hey wouldn't it be great if those two were our commanders instead of those the grouchy brass we have now? Man, things, would be so much easier around here."

Female Tech 2: "Yeah well fat chance. I heard Rick is leaving day after tommorrow. Maybe that's why the Admiral came, to pick him and Captain Porter up."

Female Tech 1: "Rick's leaving? So soon?"

Male Tech 1: "Oh boo hoo, you're all heartbroken now."

Female Tech 2: "Oh shut up! Now with Hunter gone then there will be absolutely NO cute guys to watch."

Male Tech 2: "Hey hey hey, come on now, you still got me"

Everyone groaned and returned to their work.

Fifteen minutes later, Rick was walking down the hallway, nearing the Officer's Lounge, when he heard the sound of a piano. He stopped to listen. The song was played with a passion that was a bit frantic. The song made him picture someone running along the shoreline, trying to catch a kite that was flying away from them. The song's pace started to slow down and settle to into what he could only describe as a 'determined' or 'resolute' sounding quality. The song ended and he started walking again but after a few steps another song started and he stopped to listen. He was now closer to the Officer's Lounge and thought that the music seemed to be coming from the Lounge. The song was slower than the first and a tad bit melancholic sounding. Rick walked up to the door but didn't go in, so as not to disturb the pianist, although he couldn't be sure it was a person playing, it might have been someone listening to a CD, the skill of the pianist was extremely good that it being a recording was a possibility.
The song finished after about 2 more minutes and Rick decided it was ok to walk into the Lounge. When he door swished open he was surprised to find Lisa sitting at the piano. Her back was turned to him so she didn't know he was the one who entered the room. No one else was in the room, just Lisa and the piano.
Lisa hadn't heard the door open, so wrapped up was she in the lingering memories of the music she had just finished playing.
Rick didn't want to startle her so he said quietly, "That was beautiful, I never knew you played the piano."
Lisa turned around and looked at him, feeling rather embarassed. "I...uh...I used to play, when when I was a child, up until I went to the Academy. I must have sounded awful, it's been years since I last touched a piano."
Rick shook his head and went to stand next to her, "You sounded terrific Lisa."
Lisa stood up and Rick locked his arms around her waist and held her tightly. Rick's strong embrace felt so comforting that she let a small sob escape.
Rick was immediately concerned and asked quickly, "What is it Lisa?"
Lisa sniffled once and then said with a shaky voice, "I passed by someone in the hallway on my way here, he reminded me of Admiral Gloval."
Rick squeezed her tighter and didn't say a word.
After a few minutes of crying, Lisa exhaled loudly, "I'm sorry Rick. It just, it just comes like a wave sometimes, you know? Like everything is fine, then something makes me remember him and then it's just like a wave of sadness that washes over me."
Rick shooshed her, "You don't have to explain babe. I know exactly what that feels like." They both knew he was referring to Roy.
They held onto each other for awhile then Rick smiled at her and told her how much he missed her. Lisa returned his smile and was feeling in better spirits so she kissed him.
"I'm so glad I have you Rick. You make me feel so much better. I used to think that I'd be alone forever, but now you're here, it's like a dream."
Rick grinned at her, "Baby, it's not a dream, it's real. You and me, what a perfect team."
Lisa forced herself to smile, remembering the news she had to tell him sooner or later. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and tried to enjoy the precious quiet time with Rick.
Rick ran his hand up and down her arm lazily, "So. We still set for this evening?" he asked.
"Of course handsome," Lisa managed to say a bit teasingly.
"Alright then, I get off duty at 4pm. Why don't we meet back here at that time, then go check on Sammie, then after that, have a wonderful evening, just the two of us," said Rick cheerfully.
"Sounds like a perfect plan to me," said Lisa, regaining her happiness.
The couple kissed again then slipped out of each others arms and headed out the door, anticipating what promised to be a nice, quiet evening alone.

* * * * * * *

Kim and Vanessa headed to the payroll office with great relief after having found out that Sammie was ok. They now could concentrate on looking forward to seeing their first paychecks that would reflect their pay raises that were due to their promotions.
"I wonder if my payrate will be the same as Claudia's was when she was Commander..." pondered Kim.
"That was just about 3 weeks ago, I don't think it would have changed," retorted Vanessa.
"Yea, but oh well, at least it's a raise. We have a lot of shopping to do since we had to leave half of our stuff behind in New Macross." said Kim.
Vanessa smiled slightly at the word 'shopping.' "You know, we haven't been shopping, I mean real shopping, for a long time huh?"
Kim thought for a moment, "Hey...you know you're right! When Sammie gets home we better make sure we hit all the malls and make up for lost time!"

"Here you are Captain, Commander. And here's the paychecks for Captain Porter and Admiral Hayes," said the payroll clerk cheerfully.
The payroll clerk knew the Trio well so he didn't have any reservations about handing over Sammie's and Lisa's checks to them, especially since Kim was now Lisa's aide.
Kim and Vanessa took the checks and held them as if they were a precious gem, but their celebrating was dampened when the payroll clerk said awkwardly, "I...I'm sorry, Captain, Commander, but the payroll office has to inform everyone that there will be a delay with the deposits. We estimate it will be about a week. They are still working out on re-establishing all the records from the base bank's records from Macross."
Kim stared at the clerk, "So what you're telling us is basically this piece of paper is useless?"
"No no, well, right now it is, but in a week it will be good," said the clerk hurriedly.
Vanessa added, "So then there's no point in going to the bank now then right?"
"Actually ma'am, I think you can. Other officers have told us that the banks are accepting the deposits, but they cannot give you any cash until the checks clear, which will be in about a week," explained the clerk.
Kim and Vanessa looked at each other and shrugged.
"I'm very sorry ma'ams. Once we have the Macross accounts completely transferred over then this won't happen again," said the clerk apologetically.
Vanessa waived her hand, "Don't worry about it Jim, we understand. This happened before, when the SDF-1 came back to earth remember? And it wasn't just a week before we got paid, it was 2 months! Don't worry, we know how to get by."
"Thank you ma'am, good day to you ladies," said the clerk.

Kim started the car and Vanessa set down her bundle of folders and reports down on the floor in front of her seat. She picked up one of the paychecks and said, "Well, let's see how much more we get from these promotions." She opened one check and said, "Hey! You got a pretty good raise!"
Kim smiled, "Thank goodness, because I need to stock up on pantyhose! You know, when we were just working in the command center, there was no worries if we had any runs in our hose, but now that I'm Lisa's aide and we're meeting with bigwigs and other crapheads, I need to make sure there's no runs anywhere. It will not only make me look bad, but Lisa as well."
Vanessa mused, "Yea, you're right," as she opened up another envelope.
Kim ever impatient, asked, "Well?"

Vanessa: "Holy s--t!"
Kim: "What?!
Vanessa: "Holy s--t!"
Kim: "WHAT?!"
Vanessa: "I opened Lisa's paycheck by mistake."
Kim: "You what?! I thought I told you to put that in my folder! What if you had lost it!?"
Vanessa: "Damn, is Lisa going to be happy when she sees her new payrate."
Kim: "What is it?!"

Vanessa held out the paycheck stub so Kim could see.
"Vanessa, you know I can't read while I'm driving!" scolded Kim.
Kim managed to catch a glimpse of the stub, then did a double take, and then slammed on the brakes, "HOLY S--T!!"

Vanessa: "I told you."
Kim: "Are you sure that's not a typo?"
Vanessa: "It's no typo."
Kim: "Let me see it. (vanessa hands Kim the stub) Damn! That's almost as much as yours and mine and Sammie's combined!!"

Vanessa: "No kidding. What a huge increase that is from Captain."
Kim: "Well, if you think about it, she did jump several ranks up, and she's not any little 2-star or 3-star Admiral, she's 4-star, so I am sure they get paid alot."

Vanessa: "Yea. Well, good for her, she deserves it you know."
Kim: "Yeah she does."

As Kim had finished her sentence, someone darted out in front of the car and Kim slammed on the brakes but didn't think she could stop in time so she then swerved to the left to avoid hitting the pedestrian.
"WHAT THE F-" Kim exclaimed. She didn't get to finish her sentence because the pedestrian, whom they had expected to stop and cuss at them for almost hitting her, took off running back towards the direction from which she came.
"Hey, waita minute! Tell me my eyes were deceiving me..." said Vanessa in a disbelieving tone.
"It was the b---h!!" said Kim.
"What the hell was she in such a rush about?" pondered Vanessa.
"This seems really fishy. Why was she running like that? As if she were trying to get away from someone or she'd done something and was escaping, then she went back towards the direction she had run from," said Kim as she looked around the vicinity they were in.
"Should we tell someone about this?" asked Vanessa, her eyes searching the area.
"I don't know. It seemed kind of odd don't you think?" asked Kim.
Vanessa shook her head and suggested, "Well, let's just drive around and see if we can find her again."
Kim groaned, "Why don't we just leave it as is, it's none of our business anyways if she's running around town like a nut."
Vanessa laughed and sat back in her seat as Kim sped off towards the bank, not giving anymore thought to what had just occurred.

* * * * * * *

It was nearly dinnertime and Claudia and Miriya were the only ones who had arrived home yet. Claudia was sitting on the couch staring into space when Miriya came from the kitchen with two cups of coffee in hand and set them down on the coffeetable. Miriya looked at Claudia for awhile then asked her, "You are thinking deeply about something are you not?"
Claudia gave Miriya a confused look and picked up her coffee mug.
Miriya took a sip of her coffee and said quietly, "I know I am not Jean or Lisa, and my understanding of Micronian culture is not yet as good as it should be, but I am ready and willing to listen to you if you have a problem. As you Micronians like to say, 'try me.' "
Claudia smiled at Miriya and asked her, "Miriya, what is it like being a mother?"
Miriya raised her eyebrows, not expecting such a question from Claudia. "That is an interesting question you ask Claudia."
Claudia chuckled, "Yes, I know. You see, I'm thinking of adopting the little boy I met when I was in the hospital."
Miriya put down her coffee and sat forward in her seat, "Is that so? You are thinking of becoming a mother yourself?"
Claudia looked at her for a moment then looked down at her coffee mug, "Yes, I...yes."
Miriya sat back in her seat and tried to analyze the situation. She knew Claudia would make a good mother although she never pictured her as having children of her own for some reason, and didn't children need to have a mother and a father? Miriya realized she needed to be careful in what she said to Claudia, so as not to say the wrong thing to Claudia.
"That is very interesting, and I think it's a good idea. I believe that every woman should experience the joys of motherhood eventually. Children...I do not know how to describe it in words, but children and taking care of your children, makes one feel complete, I think. It's a very difficult feeling to describe," said Miriya thoughtfully.
Claudia nodded, then asked, "Miriya, do you think I would be a good mother?"
Miriya didn't hesitate a second and said, "Of course you would. Dana and Bowie love you and you get along so well with them. I am sure that if you had a child of your own, you would be an excellent mother."
Claudia continued, "It's such a big responsibility and I don't want to let him down."
Miriya waved her hand dismissively, "Your friends and family will help you make the transition and I know that you won't let the child down. You've never let any of us down."
Claudia let out a small sigh of relief. If Miriya, who still hadn't grasped everything there was to being Micronian, had no doubt that James could be well taken care of, then that was definitely a good sign.
"And," added Miriya, "the best part of the way you will acquire your child is that you won't have to go through labor."
Claudia laughed and picked up her coffee mug again and listened as Miriya told the story, for the umpteenth time, of when she was in labor with Dana.

* * * * * * *

Lisa was pacing nervously in the Officer's Lounge. There were two other officers there having a coffee break and they had invited her to join them but she had graciously declined. She was anxious to see Rick, she had missed him tremendously.
Finally, after 10 minutes, Rick entered the lounge. He saluted the two officers then smiled at Lisa, although it was killing him to be hands-off of her, but he had to since they were in the presence of others. They bid farewell to the officers and then walked down the hall without speaking very much since it was dinnertime and the hallway was a buzz with other soldiers going home or changing shifts.
They made their way to Rick's quarters so that he could wash up and sit down for a few minutes before they went to see Sammie. Once inside the room, the door had barely shut when Rick hugged Lisa tightly. When Rick loosened his embrace somewhat, Lisa took the initiative and kissed him. They kissed for awhile, making up for lost time, the Rick suddenly broke away from her and ran to the bathroom saying, "I better go wash up, I'll be right back."
Lisa was left standing by the door shaking her head. This wasn't the first time Rick had just suddenly broke away from a kiss and ran off to do something. She hoped this wasn't going to become a bad habit, because it was slightly annoying. She shrugged and went to sit down on the couch and kick off her shoes to rest her weary feet for awhile. When Rick came back Lisa went to the bathroom to freshen up and then the pair were headed to see Sammie.

Sammie was in good spirits, although in quite a bit of pain still, and they were very happy when they got permission from the doctors and high command to transfer Sammie back to Monument the next day. Lisa and Rick volunteered to pack up Sammie's stuff for her and it was one less last minute worry on Sammie's mind. She was grateful to her friends and insisted on paying for their dinner. Rick and Lisa could not leave Sammie's room unless they agreed so they finally gave in and Sammie smiled with pride. Rick and Lisa bid her a goodnight and Lisa told Sammie she'd come to pick her up around noon time the next day.

"That girl is too much," Rick said as they headed towards the restaurant Sammie had suggested they go to.
"I know. Rick, are they going to commend her for what she did? I really think they should, I would recommend her for citation but this isn't my jurisdiction," said Lisa as she was trying to figure out a way in which Sammie could be recognized.
"I've already made a report to the high command. I know there's alot of people who are also recommended, and this isn't our home jurisdiction, but I do believe Sammie went beyond the call of duty yesterday and deserves to be recognized for it," said Rick, picking up on Lisa's train of thought.
"I hope it comes through, she works so hard and has never been recognized for it," replied Lisa.
"Yea well, it's hard for anyone to be recognized when you have a jackass like Maistroff running things," said Rick a tad bit scornfully.
"Something's not right with him. The more the Trio talk about him, the more I really do believe that he's out to get us all," said Lisa.
Rick thought back to the day when he and Sammie had flown over to New Portland and wondered if Maistroff had anything to do with the control malfunction.
"Oh, and get this, Vanessa got reassigned. You know she was working on the radar failure case, and had also picked up your VT malfunction case as well," commented Lisa.
"Where did she get reassigned to?" asked Rick.
"More like what she got reassigned to. She is in training for submarine duty. She'll be headed down in about a month or so," explained Lisa.
"No way. That's insane! She's clausterphobic, and not a strong swimmer! Don't tell me Maistroff's behind this too?" said Rick angrily.
Lisa shook her head 'yes' and Rick huffed in anger and mumbled curses at Maistroff.
"I'm worried Rick. See, Maistroff IS after us all, everything just can't be so coincedental. And what frustrates and angers me the most is that I can't do a damn thing about it. He's got the rest of the command, except for a small minority like Reinhardt, eating out of his hands. He could have any of us reassigned or demoted at the snap of his fingers. Why he allowed us all to be promoted is beyond me; it must be part of his plans somehow," said Lisa, shaking her head.
Rick looked at her then said, "Normally, in this case I'd say you were growing paranoid like the Trio, but I believe you girls. Everything is just too coincedental. We need to do something soon, find out what's going on, before someone gets hurt."
"I think once we get back to Monument, we need to all get together and have a meeting to figure out how to deal with this. I'd say we invite Reinhardt too but I don't absolutely 100% trust him fully yet," proposed Lisa.
"I agree. I know a few squadron leaders who have trouble with Maistroff too. I won't tell them any of our suspicions but I'll talk to them to see what else they can tell us about Maistroff," said Rick.
"Good idea," answered Lisa.
"Alright, that's settled then. Ah, here we are. Now, let's just put work away right now and enjoy each other's company and dinner," said Rick, trying to sound upbeat.
Lisa nodded and smiled as Rick held the door open for her. The restaurant was packed; it was 5pm, the beginning of the dinner rush. The couple had to wait 10 minutes for a table to become available. As they sat in the waiting area they looked around the restaurant and took in the scene. The patrons seemed to be primarily military and primarily officers.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was pleasant and something they had never experienced before, a Mediterranean sort of ambiance. Back in Monument there was a Greek restaurant that they had been eyeing but hadn't had the time yet to try it out.
The host led them to their table, which was smack in the middle of the large dining room, and they got many a look as they weaved their way in between the neighboring tables.
Lisa sat down and Rick said teasingly, "I guess they've never seen a 4-star Admiral before."
Lisa grinned and shrugged, "I guess not."
"Or, at least not one this gorgeous," said Rick with a wink and a leer.
Lisa laughed as she picked up the menu. They didn't have too much trouble deciding what to order since Sammie had given them the lowdown on the dishes and had made suggestions about what to order. Rick also ordered one glass or red wine and an extra glass. When it arrived he poured Lisa only a quarter of a glass. She frowned but Rick shook his finger at her, looking like a scolding parent, and Lisa gave him a mock mad glare.
Their food arrived and they enjoyed their dinner with just a few scattered comments here and there. When they ordered their dessert and were waiting for it to arrive, they wound up somehow on the subject of high school and high school pranks. Lisa listened amused as Rick told of some of the pranks he had pulled when he was in high school, most of them, thought up by Roy.
Their dessert, Baklava, had arrived and they liked it so much they ordered another serving. Finally, after they finished their second helping of dessert, they decided they couldn't eat anymore and paid the bill and headed home.
The restaurant wasn't too far from the base so they had walked. The evening was pleasantly mild and there was a slight breeze blowing. The avenue was brightly lit by the neon signs of the shops and old-fashioned streetlights and there were many people milling about.
Rick thought about taking hold of Lisa's hand, but they were still in uniform and there were many soldiers and officers on the street as they neared the base. He sighed and Lisa heard it.
"What's wrong Rick?"
"I wish we had changed into regular clothes, so that way I could put my arm around you, hold your hand, let everyone know that you're my girl," said Rick despondently.
"It's ok Rick. I think if anyone looks at us long enough, they can see it. But...I know what you mean. If we were in Monument, it would be alright, but here, we're outsiders."
Rick nodded and quickened the pace as they neared the base. Once there they went to Sammie's quarters to begin packing her stuff. Surprisingly, the many suitcases that Sammie had wanted to bring with her were not brought, and what she had brought didn't take very long to pack up.
Rick and Lisa sat on the couch to rest and Rick took hold of Lisa's hand. Lisa closed her eyes and rested her head on Rick's shoulder. She felt so comforted knowing he was there with her. In the bygone days she had only dreamed that she could be this close to him and that he'd want to be this close to her and now it was a reality.
Rick's neck was in such close proximity that Lisa couldn't resist it. Rick gave a small, throaty laugh, then grew serious when she moved from his neck to his lips.
It was Lisa's goal to make sure that Minmei's physical memory would be flushed from Rick's mind. Lisa assumed that Rick and Minmei had slept together, at least once, when Minmei had been staying at Rick's house those several weeks. The thought of Rick and Minmei together had hurt her to the core, but she accepted it as something necessary, so that way Rick would not wonder about it, it would not be a 'what if' for him down the road.
Lisa's determination to flush out Minmei's memory spurred her to deepen the kiss. She knew she was having some success because Rick was having trouble breathing. She would show him that there was no way Minmei could outdo her.
Lisa's neck was starting to cramp however, so she decided to move and ended up straddling Rick. After just a few seconds Rick lept off the couch, spilling Lisa onto the floor.
"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back," Rick said over his shoulder, not realizing that Lisa had landed on the floor.
Lisa sat there, staring at the closed bathroom door. Then she laughed and shook her head in annoyance and disbelief. She decided to sit there and wait until Rick came back, before getting up.
Rick came back and found Lisa sitting on the floor, then he remembered and held out his hand to help her up. Lisa dusted herself off and looked at him with a look of someone expecting an explanation.
"Is there something wrong Rick?" Lisa asked when Rick didn't speak up right away.
"Uh...uhh...no Lisa there's nothing wrong," stammered Rick.
Lisa gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Well...there must be something wrong because everytime we're sharing a private moment, all of a sudden you just run off. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong?"
"No no no, you haven't done anything wrong at all Lisa, please don't think that," said Rick hurriedly and surely.
"Rick, then why do you just keep running off like this?" asked Lisa, unable to hide her frustration.
"I...I..." stuttered Rick.
The phone rang and Rick quickly headed to the phone to pick it up. It was Sammie, asking them if they had remembered to pack all her stuff that she had in the bathroom. Rick assured her that they had and when he hung up the phone he turned back to see Lisa picking up her purse.
Lisa looked at Rick tiredly and said, "I've had a long day, I think I'll go turn in early."
Rick walked up to her quickly and said, "No. Please don't go. I'm sorry. I'll...I'll try and explain."
Rick took Lisa's hand and walked her back the couch. She dumped her purse down and looked at him, waiting for an answer.
"I...you see...I mean...when you...uhh...I..." was all Rick could say.
Lisa stared at him and wanted to laugh as his obvious tongue-tiedness. "Ok Rick, I see you're having some trouble, let me help you out. The situation is this, when we kiss, intensely, you suddenly run off. Now my question is why?"
Lisa looked at him and then the answer suddenly dawned on her. She saw that Rick was still trying to formulate his answer so she let a sly and proud smile pass across her face and held up her hand and said, "Ok, wait, I think I know why."
Rick looked at her with surprise, "You do?"
Lisa tilted her head, "I think so."
"I'm not a lecher or anything like that! It's just that when you kiss me the way you do, I just can't, you just...I...you drive me crazy," Rick finally managed to say.
Lisa was secretly triumphing but needed to know if she'd won for sure so she asked Rick a question, even though she knew she shouldn't, "Did Minmei ever make you feel like that?"
Rick laughed aloud and waved his hand in the air, "Definitely not. I found that out right away. You know, I must've been stupid to chase after her."
Lisa grew quiet and decided that while they were on the topic of Minmei, she might as well get more of her questions answered, "Rick...did you and Minmei...I mean, I know it isn't any of my business, but I just wanted to know if..."
Lisa couldn't finish her sentence. Rick stood up and said, "Of course it's your business, you can ask me anything you want and I'll be absolutely truthful with you." Rick took a few steps then said quietly, "Yes... we did...unfortunately."
Lisa was confused, "Why do you say that Rick?"
Rick, looking at the floor said, "Because...I shouldn't have been with her. I should've been with you Lisa."
Lisa thought for a moment then said, "But, in a way, maybe it's better that you were with her, so that way you wouldn't have any lingering questions about it, you know, there would be no 'what if'. Now that you know then that part of your relationship with her you won't have to wonder about anymore."
Rick barked a short laugh, "I guess you're right. Still though, if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't have done it."
Rick walked to the window and looked out and continued, "Something like this, this is a very important matter. I mean, maybe you can call me old-fashioned or something, but it's something I take very seriously. All the guys tease me all the time about it, but I'm not like them. I can't just run out and find some one-night stand and then go out the next weekend and find another one. This is all about being committed to someone, showing them you love them and that you're true to them, not about fulfilling personal needs."
Lisa looked at Rick intently as he was showing her yet another example of why she had fallen in love with him, his sense of morality and selflessness. He was not a skirt-chaser like so many other men she had met, he was a man of integrity, one that would be true and faithful to her. She walked over to him and hugged him, not bothering to try and stop crying.
"Do you see why I fell in love with you Rick, why I held on for so long when everyone told me to move on? You're a good man, a decent, honest man."
Rick held onto her, managing to clear his mind of all regrets, doubts, and guilt, and replacing them with thoughts about the future with the woman who was in his arms.
After a few quiet moments, Lisa broke the silence, "So...I am still a bit confused as to why you feel you need to run off from me. Is it because you don't want me to think you're a lecher? Or is it because that if we don't stop right then, that things might end up going all the way? Rick, you know I won't pressure you into anything that you're not ready for."
Rick kissed Lisa's cheek before looking at her and saying, "It's a combination of all of those things I guess. I am kinda embarrassed that I mean, maybe you think that my fire gets lit quickly, but it doesn't, only you have the ability to do that. It's not like if I just see some girl in a bikini then I'm set off."
Lisa laughed, "It's ok Rick. I know you're not like that. And you say that it's just me who has this effect on you, well then...actually, I take that as a compliment. I'm uh...kinda...proud that I have the ability to that."
Rick raised his eyebrows at her and said teasingly, "Aha, so you mean to tell me you've been doing this on purpose eh?"
Lisa shoved Rick's shoulder, "No, I have not. But now that I know I have this magical power over you, I'll be sure to take make use of it."
Rick laughed and tickled Lisa, "You wicked woman you!"
Lisa slapped Rick's hands away, "Oh come on, as if you don't enjoy it!"
Rick held onto Lisa then they both fell silent for a moment before Rick said, "Uh...about...the other issue...I guess while we're on the subject then we should maybe talk about?"
Lisa started to feel a little bit apprehensive, she thought she could pretty much predict what he was going to say, based on his previous talk. She took his hand and they sat back down on the couch.
Lisa didn't feel like beating around the bush and knew that Rick would probably stutter his way through his explanation so she decided to take charge of the conversation and started off saying, "Rick. Now that we know why you run off suddenly and now that you know my thoughts on it. I want you to know that..." Lisa's sentence slowed down, she realized why Rick had so much trouble talking about it too. It was a serious matter indeed.
Lisa thought over how she wanted to convey her thoughts to Rick. Rick looked at her hesitation and laughed, "Not that easy is it?"
Lisa smirked and then took a deep breath and said in a rush, "I'm ready whenever you are."
Lisa heard her own words and raised her eyebrows, making sure she had heard herself correctly. She then looked at Rick with a dumbfounded look and he started laughing at her and she joined him.
"Is that what you really wanted to say?" asked Rick.
Lisa narrowed her eyes and thought about it. She was ready, she had no doubt about that, but the way it came out sounded funny.
Lisa squared her shoulders and looked straight into Rick's illuminating blue eyes, getting lost in them for a moment, then saying clearly, "Yes. I meant what I said."
They looked at each for a few seconds then Lisa continued, "I know, well, based on what you've told me and how you've acted, I take it that you're not ready yet, and that's perfectly fine. I can wait. What I am trying to say though, is that if it comes the time when you are ready, when you want me, then you don't have to be so hesitant or afraid that you might seem to be taking advantage of me, because you're not. Do you understand Rick?"
Rick thought for a moment then slowly nodded his head.
Lisa continued, "I know this is a very important matter, and I'm sure we still need to talk more about it, but I just wanted you to know where I stand on the subject."
Rick leaned on her shoulder and said quietly, "I hope I won't make you have to wait too long."
Lisa rubbed Rick's forearm, "Don't worry about it. You take as long as you need, and if one night, or day, when we're kissing or hugging and that feeling just comes over you when you think you're ready, just let things go with the flow, I'll be able to pickup on it too I think."
Rick flung his arm across Lisa's stomach and hugged her, "You see, this is why I love you so much. I can talk about anything with you. You're so understanding and patient with me...and...you're drop dead gorgeous."
The couple laughed and Lisa turned on the television. They watched an old movie and then fell asleep in each others arms on the couch.

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chapter notes here: http:// www.geocities.com / sphersian /chapnotes7.html