"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Chapter 3, part 2

January 20th, 2015

Rick and Kim got home without any difficulties and Rick was about to leave the house when he heard Kim holler at him from the top of the stairs, "Hey Rick! I think this box belongs to Lisa."
Rick bounded up the stairs to see what box she was talking about. When he got to the top of the stairs he saw Kim in the hallway and a box on the floor. "The stuff on top was mine, but the rest of this is Lisa's I think," she said pointing down at the somewhat large cardboard box.
Rick looked at it and then picked it up and took it to their room, noticing that there seemed to be a couple of photoalbums in the box. He set the box down gently, making sure he didn't accidently break anything, since he wasn't aware of what other things might be in the box.
He turned and started to walk back towards the door when he heard a small 'clank' type of sound, like something metallic. He went back to the box to see what it could be and, after some digging around a bit, he found a star, bronze in color, with a scarlet ribbon attached to it. Rick picked it up and inspected it to make sure it wasn't damaged and he saw that there was an inscription on the back, "HEROIC ACHIEVEMENT : Elizabeth Hayes, May 2007."
Rick saw some award cases and opened a few up to see if he could find the case that this medal should be housed in. He went at least half a dozen cases, with another half dozen more to go, when he opened the 7th case and found that it was empty. He carefully put the medal back in its spot and then tried to organize the cases neatly, since they looked rather tossed about.
As he was moving stuff around, Rick saw several stacks of letters. One stack of letters looked as if none of the letters had been opened. Rick, not wanting to be nosey, but already very very curious, took a look at the address. The stack of unopened letters was addressed as coming from Lisa's father's office. Rick fanned through them and there were at least two dozen, with postmarks varying from 2006 up to a month before Lisa had left for her Alaska Base post. Rick had not heard much about Lisa's father and wondered why all these letters were unopened.
There were three other stacks in the box and Rick was wondering if these might also be from Lisa's father. He picked up on stack and looked at the return address: "Riber, Karl. Lt. JG. Mars Base Sara." Rick knew that name, he had heard it several times and seen a few photos of the man, Lisa's dead fiancee. He flipped through the stack and then picked up another stack, which was also full of letters from Karl, and then the last and largest stack, all addressed from Karl.
When he and Claudia had been to their old quarters a couple of days ago, to grab what belongings they could and wanted to take with them to their new home, they also stopped by Lisa's place since she couldn't break away from her duties. Claudia had run into Lisa's small house and filled up a large box with things she thought Lisa should and would want to save. It was the 'should' that made Rick now think that Lisa herself had not thought to save these items, because when they asked her what she wanted them to make sure to bring back with them for her, Lisa said to only bring back a photo album of family pictures.
Rick was trying to sort out his feelings as he looked at the letters from Karl Riber when Kim came into the room without knocking, "Hey Rick, before you go...what's all that?" she asked looking at the stack of letters in Rick's hand. Then she came closer so she could peek at the writing and when she saw the name, she was rendered speechless. She didn't know what to say and watched for some type of reaction from Rick.
Rick said quietly and absently, "Look at all these letters he sent her...what does that say to you Kim?"
Kim needed some time to think of her answer, not wanting to give an answer that might get Lisa in trouble, though she couldn't tell if Rick was upset or not. "What does that tell me? Well...if a man spent all that time to write me all those letters, I would say that I knew he loved me."
Rick remained quiet, then finally put the stack back into the box and moved the box over to a corner of the room. He faced Kim with an unreadable look, then asked her, "Can you tell me about him? When I get home later?"
Kim gave him a surprised look, "Well...I don't really know that much about him..."
"But you do know a little bit about him don't you?"
"Well, yeah, a little bit."
Kim waited for Rick to speak but instead he checked his watch and told her he had better get back to the airfield before Claudia got mad at him. As he was about to leave the room, Kim, called for him to wait.
"Rick, you're not mad at Lisa are you?"
Rick gave her a suprised look, "No, I'm not mad. She doesn't even know that this box is here."
"Ah...I see...well...Rick, what are you thinking? I see this, this look on your face, but I don't know how to describe it..."
Rick looked at her and gave her a weak smile, "Well, I don't really know what I'm thinking now, but I know what I'm feeling."
Rick saw that Kim was waiting for him to continue, so he said, "I...seeing all these letters and remembering how she used to talk about him and how happy they looked together...Right now...I feel very ashamed of myself. From the little bits that's she's told me, I can tell he treated her like gold. Then I think about myself, and these past 4 years I've known her and how I've treated her...I treated her like dirt..." His voice cracking on the last phrase and his eyes welling up with tears.
Kim stared at him, she had never seen him this emotional before and tried to comfort him by putting a comforting hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off saying, "I better get going, Claudia probably is wondering if I'm going to show up today."
Kim started after him, "But Rick, wait awhile, until you've calmed down."
Rick shook his head, "I'll be alright. If Claudia calls, please tell her I'm on my way, thanks," and then he hurried down the stairs and a few moments later Kim heard the front door close.
Kim turned around and stared at the box, wishing she actually had been her usual nosey self and taken a closer look at Lisa's box, maybe then she might've decided to hold onto the box until she could give it to Lisa herself. But then again, as painful as it was, maybe this was a good eye-opening experience for Rick.

* * * * * * *

"Captain Leeds, ma'am. Here is the updated case file for this morning. Ma'am I think you will find this morning's report rather interesting," said a short, but stocky Intel officer, of about thirty years of age.
"Thank you Lieutenant," replied Vanessa as she tried to not make it look obvious that she was watching the man walk away.
"Ahem," was Vince's way reminding her to get back to business.
She blushed and whispered to Vince, "Sorry, I'm not use to being a Captain yet. I'm sure neither is Sammie. It will take us awhile to get rid of our old habits, or at least stifle them when we're on duty."
Vince Grant, standing there looking rather imposing, arms folded across his chest, laughed and shook his head in disbelief at Vanessa's comment, "How on earth did my sister put up with the three of you crazy women?!"
Before Vanessa could retort, a female Intel officer came over and told her, "Captain Leeds, we are ready to begin the briefing whenever you are ma'am."

The briefing took about twenty minutes and when the last presenter was finished speaking, he asked, "Captain Leeds, is there anything you would like to add ma'am?"
Vanessa saw that everyone was looking at her. This time she was the one giving the orders instead of taking them. She was not used to this and it made her nervous. She hoped she didn't look scared, or dumb, or worse, incompetant. She called on her inner strength and said calmly, "No Commander, I have nothing to add. Thank you for the excellent detailed report." She then stood up, somewhat hesitatingly, and said, "And...I want to thank you all for the hard work you're doing on this case. We are all aware of how important this investigation is. We owe it not just to ourselves, but to the citizens of Macross, and to heros like Admiral Gloval, to find out what happened."
Everyone there stood up and gave her a, "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am!" in unison.
As the people scattered about the hanger to get back to work, Vanessa went to look at the grid blueprints that were hung up on a wall with Vince Grant by her side.
"You sounded very much like a Captain back there, Vanessa."
"Is that good or bad?" she asked worriedly.
Vince leaned over so she could hear him clearly, "Vanessa, that's a good thing."
Vanessa smiled and turned her attention to the vast board of blueprints in front of her. She studied a section of the blueprint that detailed the portion of the main grid that held the main power control unit. She had had some training on the unit but nothing extensive because she would have no hands on with the physical unit itself, still, she had read some of the documentation and made it a point to at least be familiar with the basic manual controls. As a radar operator she prided herself on learning and refining her craft as best as possible. She had seen Lisa, renowned for knowing more about the SDF-1 than anyone else, except for Dr. Lang and Dr. Zand. Vanessa wanted to be that knowledgeable as far as radar went, and she nearly could match Lisa's knowledge of the radar system now because she had poured herself into learning the systems inside out over the past two years. Although she never let anyone onto it, not even Sammie and Kim.
Vanessa had a type of split personality when it came to who she thought she could be in the military chain of command. She enjoyed her work immensely but was often frustrated by having her hands tied by superiors like Maistroff and Carruthers. She thought that if she, Claudia, and Lisa were in charge, that things would run better and more would get done. Now she had her wish, but the thought of new and larger responsibilities scared her. She didn't want to fail herself nor her friends and the countless other's who looked to her for leadership.
She was at least glad that she had been put in charge of something that she could do well and had vast knowledge about, but she wondered what kind of other missions were awaiting her around the bend. She knew that this self-doubt wasn't going to get her anywhere, in fact, it would handicap her. She she took a deep breath and resolved to go about the day confidently but no smugly. She knew that when Lisa came back from her mission, Vanessa was going to sit down with Lisa for a long talk about handling the stresses of being a Captain.

* * * * * * *
Miriya arrived at Lady Hialeah's office with half an hour to spare. She looked for a spot to park her car and saw a row of head in parking (vertical) spots but got confused and thought it was for parallel parking so the car ended up taking up two spots and then some. She got out of the car, saw that she was pretty much within the lines, and smiled proudly.
The building that housed Hialeah's office was very large, as was to be expected, since Hialeah wasn't micronized. After some searching, Miriya found the entrance for micronians and knocked on the door, since she didn't see any doorbell in sight. She waited for 30 seconds and knocked again. She waited another 30 seconds and was about to knock one more time when she heard the door creak open.
She waited for someone to appear in the doorway but didn't see anyone so she cautiously stepped through the doorway.
"What business do you have hear Micronian?" The voice was a female's but startled Miriya nonetheless.
Miriya looked around for the source of the voice because it seemed like it came from everywhere, then she saw a woman, at least 45 feet high, sitting in a chair, staring at her, waiting for an answer.
"I say again Micronian, what business do you have here?"
Miriya pulled out her ID and held it up and shouted, "I am Captain Miriya Parino Sterling, sent here by Captain Grant. I wish to speak to Lady Hialeah."
The woman's eyes went a bit wide with surprise but she said in a neutral tone, "Miriya Parino, the great Quadrano ace?"
Miriya nodded her head as she watched the full-sized Zendtraedi pick up a mirror and start fixing her hair. After a few seconds, the Zendtraedi looked at Miriya and told her, "Put your hand on that sensor pad there, we must validate your identity." Miriya did as she was told and after a couple seconds her identity was displayed up on a screen for the Zendtraedi to look at. The woman looked at Miriya and raised an eyebrow, then told her, "I am Uradana, aide to the great Lady Hialeah. I will tell her you wish to speak to her, wait here."
Miriya did as she was told, hoping that this would be much easier than she thought. After 5 minutes Uradana came back and sat down, picking up her mirror again, this time fiddling with her eyebrows. Miriya waited and Uradana then looked at her as if she had forgotten she was there. Uradana sighed in annoyance and said plainly, "Lady Hialeah will not see you. She does not hold an audience with any Zentraedi warrior that has been micronized. She says if you wish to speak to her, you will have to be full-sized. Especially you, a reknowned warrior, should not meet the great Lady Hialeah as a puny Micronian."
Miriya tried to protest, "But this is important business!"
Uradana raised an eyebrow at her and said louder, "A micronized Quadrano ace does NOT hold an audience with someone as distinguished as Lady Hialeah. If you wish to speak to her, you must be full-size, like all true Zentraedi warriors. Now good day to you." With that Uradana picked up a metallic object and started filing her nails.
Miriya was trying to think of something to say that might get Uradana to go back and try and talk Lady Hialeah into seeing her but she knew that it was no use, so she made her way out of the office, got back into her car, and headed back to tell Claudia the bad news.

* * * * * * *

It was noon time and Rick was taking a much needed break in the mess hall. Max had finished paying for his food and turn around to let his eyes scan the scene for an empty table when he saw Rick sitting alone at a table in the corner.
As he made his way towards Rick, he noticed Rick was just sitting there, poking at his food with his fork, seemingly downcast.
"Why does this scene seem like deja vu to me?" wondered Max.
Max set his tray down and looked at Rick, waiting for Rick to say the first word.
"Hey Max," said Rick quietly.
Max wanted to sound cheerful and bring Rick out of his down mood so he said, "Hey guess what? Miriya's been given a bit of a diplomatic mission! She was really nervous about it this morning but I think she'll do well. This is a bit of a change for her, being out of the cockpit and all but I think we all need a little bit of a mix of duties, don't you think?"
Rick was surprised since he hadn't heard anything about Miriya's new assignment yet. "Hey that is pretty interesting, what's she going to be doin'?"
"Well," continued Max proudly, "She's gonna be Claudia's deputy and try and handle the relocation negotiations with Lady Hialeah."
"Lady Hialeah?" asked Rick with some surprise. "She's a tough one."
"I know, but if anyone can bring her around, I'm sure Miriya can," beamed Max.
Rick smiled slowly as he became aware of the proud smile Max had on his face.
Seeing that Rick's mood had pepped up a bit, Max carefully asked, "So...how are you doing today?"
Rick shrugged one shoulder, "I dunno, I could be better. Lisa's going to be gone for a few days, she got sent away on some mission in Central America. I'd feel a lot better if I could've gone with her."
"That's understandable," said Max agreeingly.
Rick sighed and remained silent. Max knew his friend well and was used to Rick's moodiness and moping about.
"I'm sure she'll be fine Rick," said Max confidently.
"Yea, I know she will..it's not just that..."
"What is it Rick?" asked Max with his usual infinite patience.
"It's...I just...I just can't stop thinking about all that she had to go through with me...all those times we'd fight, all those times I'd go over to her place so I could whine about Minmei to her when the whole time she loved me. How could she endure all that?" Rick looked down at the table, lost in thought.
"I don't know Rick, that's something you'll have to ask her yourself."
"You know, I remember the time when we went to the Factory Satellite and we had drinks at your's and Miriya's quarters. Lisa was playing with baby Dana, and I couldn't help but watch them. It was like a side to Lisa I'd not seen before. I don't think I can recall seeing her ever smile so much like she did on that day. And she and the baby looked so natural, they didn't look awkward or afraid of each other...then we went back to her quarters and she wanted to talk to me, and I was trying to find a way to get out of it and the first thing I mentioned when I opened my big mouth was Minmei..."
Max recognized Rick's guilty state of mind because he had seen it many times before when Rick would talk to him about what he shoudl've said or hadn't said or wished he'd said differently to Minmei. Max wondered if his friend was eternally doomed to have bouts of self-doubt and regret. He knew this would be bad for the new relationship that Rick and Lisa would be starting.
"Listen Rick, what's done is done. Put all those things behind you now and concentrate on your future with Lisa, and don't keep fixating on how guilty you feel, because then Lisa will think that you are with her only because you feel guilty for what happened in the past."
This brought Rick around, "You think so?"
Max nodded his head and pushed his glasses back up, "Yeah. It's ok to talk about the wrongs of the past and right them by apologizing for them. But don't dwell on them, discuss it, apologize, learn from it, and move on. It's not going to do you two any good by replaying your past mistakes over and over. Take me and Miriya for instance. Miriya was quite upset that she had been so bent on beating me in the air, but I told her that it didn't bother me at all and I didn't hold it against her, so why should she be upset over it."
Rick interrupted him, "Yeah but the thing is, I did a lot of things that upset Lisa and things that probably hurt her. It's not like Miriya wanted to hurt you on purpose because of you, she didn't even know who you were, all she was seeing was a pilot in a blue VT. So that's a bit of a different situation."
Max shrugged and said, "OK, so maybe it's not the exact same scenario, but the principle is the same in general. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
Rick nodded, "Yeah I do...so what do I do now?"
Max tapped the table as if he were waiting for Rick to ask him that question, "Here's what you do. You think about all the wonderful things you love about Lisa and you tell her about it. I always tell Miriya how I love it when she calls me 'Maximillian' and she smiles the biggest smile you can imagine. Let your mind become preoccupied with the things you love about Lisa, not about the regrets or the hurts you've caused her. Trust me, both of you will benefit from it."
Rick smiled and felt his depressed mood dissipate, "Thanks Max, you're the best friend a guy could ever have."
Max chuckled and replied, "I always try my best, boss."

* * * * * * *

Claudia tried not to betray her disappointment as she asked Miriya, "So that's all they said, that they weren't going to talk to you unless you were your full height?"
"That's right...I'm sorry, I have failed at my task."
Claudia looked at Miriya who seemed quiet dejected, then she looked at the framed picture of Roy on her desk and thought for a moment, then said to Miriya with a short laugh, "You know, this reminds me of the time when I refused to go out with Roy one time because he wouldn't change out of his dirty clothes."
Claudia saw that Miriya was waiting for her to continue and so she started the story....

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Hey there cutiepie, let's go out to eat, I'm starving," said a jovial Roy.
Claudia was still at her station when he had dropped by, in a grease stained jumpsuit. Apparently he had just finished helping the mechanics tune up his fighter. He had grease on his clothes, grease on his face, and even some grease stains in his hair.
"Roy?! What are you doing here, especially like THAT?! I'm still on duty, come on Roy, please wait for me outside before I get into trouble."
Roy laughed loudly, "What's the matter?! The old windbag is out on the airstrip trying to impress pilots with how much he knows about our fighters, but I tell you that jackass doesn't know crap."
Claudia looked around her making sure there weren't any snitches around, "Roy! Keep your voice down!"
Roy, ever persistant, continued, "Okay so, come on let's go eat."
Claudia looked at her watch, then up at Roy who winked at her, and told him, "Alright, I'll be off duty in half an hour, I'll meet you at The Grill in an hour."
Roy narrowed his eyes and tried to impersonate an old movie star of the past, "Yes, m'lady, I shall see you there," and sauntered out of the room.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Well, we did meet at The Grill and had a nice lunch," finished Claudia.
"Did he change his clothes?" inquired Miriya.
Claudia smiled nostalgically, "No he didn't change his clothes, he wore those same greasy clothes that he first showed up in."
Miriya smiled, managing to grasp the humor of the story. "Roy sounds like a very interesting person. Will you please tell me more about him sometime, I mean...if it doesn't upset you much."
Claudia, misty-eyed, gave Miriya a wide grin and said, "You bet."
Claudia took some time to compose herself and then sighed, "Well...now we're going to have to figure out a way to garner an audience with the high and mightly holiness Hialeah."
Miriya looked at Claudia pensively, "I...have an idea..."
"Alright honey, let's hear it."
"I think it's very important we talk to Lady Hialeah, and I think the only way we can talk to her, is if I'm macronized to my full size."
Claudia flew out of the chair, "You will do no such thing Miriya, it is too dangerous. We will find another way to speak to her. I cannot ask you to take the risk."
Miriya stood up to face her, "Captain, I think it is the only way, and I think it is a necessary risk I must take."
Claudia shook her head adamently, "Out of the question Miriya."
"Claudia I must!"
"Miriya, don't argue with me dammit!"
Miriya was told to stay away from Claudia when she was angry and as brave as she was, Miriya couldn't help but feel slightly afraid of Claudia's reknowned temper. She looked at Claudia and calmly said, "Please reconsider, we both know how important it is to have Lady Hialeah on our side. I am going to find Max and see if he needs any help today, I'll see you at home later on." She then turned around and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Claudia sat down, exhaled loudly, and then picked up the picture of Roy, "Roy, dear, help me get through this..."

* * * * * * *

"Captain Porter, I am Lieutenant Antell, I was told to report to you ma'am."
Sammie looked at the woman who addressed her, she was a bit on the short side, pale, dark-haired, and had a very bored look on her face. This was the new transfer that was suppose to be Sammie's aide. Sammie looked at her for a moment, hoping she didn't betray her dismay, then saluted the woman and tried to strike up some conversation, "So...is there anything you have any questions about? I'd be happy to help you get orientated and settled."
"No thank you ma'am. I think I am more than prepared to handle my duties without any hiccups," said Antell, flatly.
Sammie wanted to roll her eyes. Even Lisa wasn't this bad when they first worked together, at least Lisa tried to be friendly when the time allowed for it. Sammie had a bad feeling that working with Antell was going to be very boring and frustrating. "Very well then, Lieutenant. Please take your seat."
Antell sat down and swiveled her chair a few times and then announced, "This chair isn't very comfortable. I will have to correct this problem soon. And this console, it isn't designed very well is it? Why are these buttons on this side? They should go on the other side."
Sammie stared at her blankly. The lieutenant hadn't been here for more than 10 minutes yet she had already given Sammie a headache with her unsolicited inspection of the station. Sammie couldn't wait to get home to tell everyone about her aide from hell.

* * * * * * *

Lisa was glad that the trip to Costa Rica was uneventful and she was greatly relieved to feel her feet on solid ground. The weather was nice and sunny, but not hot, and the air was dry. A row of soldiers saluted Lisa and she returned their salute and looked for the senior officer. Edwards stepped into view and headed towards her.
"Good afternoon, Admiral. If you'll follow me, we can start the debriefing in my office," said Edwards in an informative tone.
It was a short walk to his office and once there he offered Lisa a chair and then sat down behind my desk. After spending twenty minutes going over the details he thought that Lisa should know about, he waited for her to ask any questions she had, which she didn't have.
"Very well then, after you've rested a bit we can take a quick tour of the area, then tommorrow we can do a full inspection," suggested Edwards.
Lisa nodded her approval and silence enveloped them. Edwards cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry about your father, I hope you know how proud he was of you."
Lisa was surprised. She had heard that Edwards was a cold man, who didn't show any kindness to anyone and mostly kept to himself. However she had heard her father praise him and say what a good soldier he was and that her father enjoyed working with Edwards, so she really didn't have any opinion of him one way or the other.
Edwards continued, "We almost had a chance you know, if we had just been able to fire the first shot, we would've had a chance. Their rear flank had not fallen into formation yet."
Lisa's eyes widened a bit, she was at Alaska Base for several weeks and hadn't seen Edwards once. "You were at Alaska Base? But...how come I never saw you?"
"I was working on a project down in the core most of the time, unless you went down there, you woudln't find me anywhere else."
Lisa remembered going to the core only twice and hadn't seen Edwards either time.
"I was with your father before he died. He kept saying to me how he had hoped you had gotten out of the base. Half of his worry was for the Grand Cannon and the other half was for you."
Lisa tried to process what Edwards had said, then she had a terrifying realization, "You were still there?! But...the radio was dead, I couldn't raise the Control Center again, I tried everything! How did...?"
Edwards saw that she genuinely didn't know that he was there that fateful day. His old animosity and anger had been building back up again as he retold the story, but when he saw Lisa's face, he couldn't hold it against her for very long. "I tried to answer you, but I guess our transmitter wasn't working anymore."
Lisa looked at the floor, she didn't know what to say.
"Well now, shall I show you to your tent Admiral?" Edwards had stood up and was ready to lead her to her temporary quarters, saving himself and Lisa from anymore awkwardness.

"As you can see Admiral, this seems to be the perfect location for the outpost. We have good camoflauge covering, we are near an abundant water source, all we need to do now is start building the main building and a few storage sheds and we're set." Edwards sounded like a used-car salesman but was correct about the ideal location.
Lisa looked at the creek and followed it as far as her eye could see, "Where does this river go?"
"Well, that we aren't sure of yet, we were planning to investigate that further tommorrow," said Edwards plainly.
Lisa and Major Edwards spent about 10 more minutes wandering around the lush foliage and hiking over tiny hills and then Edwards suggested they return to camp because it was already getting dark.
When they reached the camp, Lisa was about to head into her tent when Edwards called for her to wait and then asked her, "Would you care to join me for a nightcap Admiral?"
Lisa was unsure how to answer, she had no real reason to think of Edwards as a dangerous or unpleasant man, but she also didn't feel very comfortable around him. She didn't want to insult him with a rebuff but she knew it wouldn't be wise to appear too friendly, so she tried to come up with an answer quickly, "Major, thank you for the offer, perhaps another time? I am quite tired I'm afraid."
Edwards kept his pokerface look and then nodded and bowed slightly, "Very well Admiral, another time. Good night."
Lisa was glad she managed to get out of that situation without much difficulty, now her attention turned to the thing that had been bugging her for quite some time. The question of where the stream, creek, river, whatever you called it, was nagging at her. She was worried that if someone followed it long enough, they would stumble upon the outpost. If it just opened up into a small lake, then that was fine, but what if it opened into some larger tributary? She was hoping that this question would be put to rest tommorrow.
She was indeed very tired and fell fast asleep soon after she laid down.

* * * * * * *

Claudia was exhausted when she got home a little bit after 10pm. She worried a bit at what Miriya might do when she came home. Claudia went into the kitchen to make some hot tea and she found Max at the table reading the newspaper.
"Hey there Claudia, let me make you something to drink."
"Thanks Max, you're a lifesaver as well as a mindreader," she said tiredly as she sat down. Judging by Max's demeanor, Miriya hadn't mentioned anything about macronizing, because if she had, surely Max would've already mentioned it.
Max set Claudia's cup in front of her and sat down, "Miriya said that she couldn't get a meeting with Hialeah, but that she will try again soon."
Claudia nodded and said nothing.
Max continued, "She's really determined to get some good results out of these negotiations with Hialeah. I've never seen her so wrapped up in an assignment."
Claudia made sure that she worded her response carefully, "Well, Max, she is a very good and efficient officer, it doesn't surprise me really. That's why I chose her for this duty. But you make sure she knows that even if things don't go as she wants them to, it is ok. We can think of some other solutions. Hialeah is the key to our best solution, but if we can't get her to work with us, then we'll just have to work around her some how. Please make sure Miriya is aware of this. I've already told her myself, but it's good that she hears it from you too."
Max smiled at her, "Sure thing."

* * * * * * *
Vanessa and Sammie were standing at the door of their house, bickering over who should open the door when the door opened up and they saw Kim standing there in front of them. Vanessa and Sammie screamed in surprise and they all rushed inside in a huddle. "I could hear you two coming from a mile away! You make so much noise!" laughed Kim.
The three friends were in a group hug as Sammie exclaimed, "You didn't tell us you were coming home today, this is such a great surprise!"
Kim smirked, "Well...I just turned on the old charm for the doctor and talked him into releasing me a day early."
Vanessa gave her a bit of a disapproving look and asked her, "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
Kim rolled her eyes, "Yes mother, I'll be fine. I need to go see the doctor twice a week for awhile, so it's not like I'm not going to be free yet."
Vanessa breathed a little sigh of relief then she and Sammie worked out who was going to use which of the two bathrooms and the women headed upstairs to gather a change of clothes and then go to their respective bathrooms for a much needed hot shower.
After twenty minutes Sammie came back to the living room, stopped in the middle of the room and looked around her, "Hey...who fixed the heat?!!"
Kim through a couch pillow at her, "You retard, this place was an icebox! How could you stand it?? There's no way I'm going to live in a refrigerator for the rest of the winter!"
Sammie pouted but said nothing and sat down on the couch next to Kim, "Where's Rick?"
"He's upstairs taking a nap. Hey Sammie, by the way, he's depressed about Lisa being away, so don't stick your foot in your mouth, just let him do the talking."
Sammie wore an insulted look, "Stick my foot in my mouth?! Since when do I do that?"
Kim was about to snip back at Sammie when Vanessa came downstairs, towel drying her hair. As she got to the bottom of the stairs she looked back up the stairs and then back at Kim and Sammie and announced that Rick was awake. Kim glared at Sammie until Sammie finally answered, "Alright alright I won't say anything, stop staring at me!"
Rick came down the stairs and saw the three women and smiled, "The gang's all back together again huh?"
Kim answered loudly and proudly, "That's right! We're back to full strength now, a triple knockout punch!"
Everyone laughed for a few seconds then Rick turned to Sammie, "How did Lisa's flight go Sammie?"
"Everything went perfectly Rick, not one problem whatsoever."
Rick breathed a sigh of relief and then announced that he was going to fix some drinks for everyone. He returned in about five minutes and everyone claimed there cup and quietly drank their drinks.
Since no one had said anything for a couple of minutes, Rick decided to ask one of the many questions he sought an answer for, "So what did you girls do for Christmas? What did Lisa do for Christmas?"
The girls froze and made sure they didn't make eye contact with each other and waited to see if someone would speak up. Kim took the initiative and spoke, "We had a very nice Christmas dinner with Rico, Konda and Bron, then we walked around downtown to see all the Christmas lights and displays."
Rick nodded, "That sounds very nice. They had lovely displays this year."
Silence befell them again and the girls were praying that Rick wouldn't reask the question that he didn't get an answer too, but he did, "What did Lisa do for Christmas? Do you know if she went anywhere?"
Vanessa spoke up this time, "Uh...no, no, we have no idea what she for her holidays."
Sammie piped up, "Hey, I almost forgot to tell you guys about my new aide!"
Vanessa and Kim sat frozen, waiting to see if Rick had caught onto the obviousness of Sammie's trying to change the subject so quickly. Everyone waited for a few seconds, then Sammie decided to tell her story.
"...and she's just so....arrghhhhh! She makes me want to scream! Everything is wrong and should be done differently, and if you get the most insignificant detail wrong, she doesn't let it go, she has to make sure she corrects your error. I know people do that all the time, but the thing that makes her so annoying is that the subjects being discussed are not important subjects. They are leisure and entertainment type of things, why be so hung up on the details over something that isn't suppose to be so complex?"
Kim sneered at the thought of having to put up with Lieutenant Antell, "Why the hell did you get an aide like that for?"
"Maistroff assigned her to me, I had no choice."
Vanessa rolled her eyes, "Oh well that explains everything. You know Maistroff is out to get us and make us look bad...and it's all your fault Kim!"
"My fault?! Oh come on, you guys can't stand Maistroff either, just because you two are too cowardly to stand up to him."
Sammie protested, "I don't want to get in trouble and it's not worth fighting with him if it means getting into trouble."
"Well Sammie, you just make sure you keep an eye on her," said Vanessa firmly.
"Oh don't worry I plan too. I'm not gonna let her take my job."
Rick had finished his tea and announced he was going to sleep and wished everyone a good night. He was halfway up the stairs when Kim remembered that he had wanted to talk to her, so she ran up the stairs and asked him, "Hey Rick, I know you wanted to talk to me tonight, did you want to still talk?"
Rick shook his head, "Nah, it's ok. Another time is fine, you have some catching up to do with Vanessa and Sammie."
"No Rick, it's alright, if you need to talk to me, don't worry about it."
"Nah Kim, it's alright, thanks."
"Ok Rick, goodnight."
"Good-night Kim."
Kim went back downstairs and Rick went to his room. Once there he let himself fall back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. He wanted to know what Lisa had done for Christmas, besides help mop up after Khyron's attack. He thought the Trio was hiding something but he didn't want to press them on it. Rick remembered Lisa telling him that she had stopped by on Christmas Eve to wish him a Merry Christmas. He wondered what would've happened if Minmei hadn't shown up that night...

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Rick heard his doorbell ring and wondered who it could be. He didn't think it would be Lisa, since she seemed to still be mad at him. He opened the door and was surprised to find Lisa standing there. A chilly breeze blew into the house and he quickly asked Lisa to come in. Once inside the living room, she took off her coat and brushed some snow out of long hair. They looked at each other shyly and Rick was the first to speak, "I...uh...I was just thinking about you..." Lisa smiled at him then held out a present. Rick took the present and opened it and saw that it was a very comfortable looking knit sweater. Rick was genuinely grateful for the gift and told her he'd put it on that second. After he put on the sweater he saw the approving look on Lisa's face, then he realized he had not gotten her a gift.
"Lisa...I...I'm sorry, I hadn't gotten you anything yet..."
"Don't worry about it Rick. My gift is being able to spend this quiet time here with you."
That was not the first time she had told him something along that line, but he still felt guilty for not getting her a gift. He thought of ways to make this a festive and pleasant evening for her.
"I tell you what, you sit down here and relax, I'll stoke the fire and get us some wine or champagne and I had already put something on the stove for a little Christmas Eve dinner and there's enough for two people. How does that sound to you Lisa?"
Lisa smiled at him, "That sounds great Rick."
After twenty minutes, Rick had dinner ready and he dragged the small dining table out of the kitchen and placed it in front of the fireplace, pulled out the chair for Lisa, then seated himself, and they ate their dinner quietly.
After they finished eating Rick brought out a bottle of wine and filled two glasses. They toasted the holiday and their friends and a hope that the upcoming year would be peaceful. Rick was then struck with another idea, "Would you care to dance Lisa?"
Lisa gave him a surprised look and then stood up and waited for him to move the table out of the way and turn on some music. Rick found a station playing "White Christmas" and explained to Lisa that he hadn't really ever danced before and apologized beforehand if he stepped on her feet.
They slipped into each others arms and danced slowly, unbothered by the coldness outside, unbothered by the blaring of air raid sirens, unbothered by Minmei.

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Rick smiled, pleased with his daydream, and drifted off to sleep.

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Author's Notes:

1. Thanks for the comments and reviews, please keep them coming so I know which direction to head with the story :)

2. I just read in Wildstorm's Robotech issue #0 comic that they plan to make a series with Karl Riber as the main character, it supposedly follows some of his adventures at Mars Base Sara. Yippee!! I always wondered about that guy, and he seemd like a very nice character, even though we only saw him in one episode, it would be great if there was more stories about him.

3. Thanks to Alpha Newtype for the Zentraedi name suggestion. For "uradana" I just browsed through an online Japanese dictionary until I found something Zentraedi sounding. Oddly enough, "uradana" translates into "tenament slums", definitely the opposite of Uradana's character in the story here. :)

4. A note about Edwards: We know that Edwards and Roy were enemies, and in the Sentinels novels we saw that Edwards was always picking on Rick, and in the last book he says he blames Rick and Lisa for what happened to him at Alaska Base. But to me it seems pretty lame to blame Lisa, she was in the same situation as Edwards was, and it wasn't her fault that Rick managed to lock onto her signal and find her. I think Edwards hates Rick more than Lisa because Rick was Roy's "little brother" and also the remote possibility of some jealousy that Rick wound up with Lisa. Yes yes, I am being blatantly Lisa-centric. Mwahahahahaha! But think about it, Edwards is an opportunist, and all indications are that he did get along with Lisa's father. Perhaps Edwards thought he deserved to be in a prestigious military family like the Hayes' family, and it wouldn't surprise me if maybe even Admiral Hayes had hinted to Edwards that he'd approve of Edwards dating Lisa. You know how old-fashioned fathers can be, especially overprotective ones.