"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Chapter 4

January 21st, 2015

It was 7am in Costa Rica and Lisa had just finished her breakfast and was nearly ready for her trek down river, or up river, whichever way they travelled depended on Edwards. Lisa finished packing up a small backpack which contained a few essentials, just as a precaution incase they accidently got lost. Once she felt she had all she needed, she collected her backpack and headed outside her tent to see Edwards standing outside his tent, ready and waiting to go.
Edwards walked over to her when he saw that she was ready, they saluted, and Edwards then led Lisa to the riverbank. There was a canoe tied to a tree and a backpack inside the canoe.
"I think things will go faster if we explored the river by canoe, don't you think Admiral?"
Lisa looked downstream and then upstream and saw many jagged edges of the bank. She reasoned exploring by water actually would be the best way because they wouldn't have to deal with getting entangled in the brush or having to ward off any large reptiles or insects, which Lisa had seen many of already. The river was about 25 feet wide, so even if they had to abandon the canoe for some reason, the swim to either edge of the river would be very minimal. Lisa gave Edwards her answer by placing her backpack in the canoe, then stepping into it and picking up an oar and saying, "Shall we Major?"
Edwards tried to hide a look of amusement and suprise, he was sure that he would have to do some negotiating and compromising to get her to agree to the canoe trip. Then he remembered several of her 'bravery under fire in the field' commendations her father had told him about and realized that Lisa would not chicken out of anything. Edwards thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was an admirable quality, if a little bit dangerous. He hoped that whatever they came upon she wouldn't want to run off and explore everything, especially anything dangerous. Edwards was a brave man, if it served his purpose, but if it didn't, he saw no need to put himself in danger unnecessarily.

It was now 8am and the last hour had been uneventful. They saw plenty of the same environment on the bank; a very small clearing of about 10 feet, then the rest was jungle. Edwards suggested they stop and take a stretch break so they tied up the canoe at a spot that Edwards pointed out as being a good place to stop. They looked around for several seconds then Edwards turned to Lisa and said, "If you'll excuse me Admiral, nature calls."
Edwards walked back towards the tree as Lisa walked in the opposite direction. Once at the tree Edwards made sure he was in a spot where Lisa couldn't see him, he looked around the tree again and saw that she had her back turned to him and was examining some of the indigenous plants. He quickly started digging in the dirt with his bare hands until he saw a small canvas pouch. He shook the bag but didn't open it and then stuffed it in his pants pocket. He covered the hole back up quickly, and dusted his hands off quietly, then after checking his pocket once again to make sure the bag was secured, he stood up straight and headed towards Lisa's direction.
They were about to resume paddeling when they heard what sounded like explosions in the direction of the camp. Edwards tried to raise some of his aides on the radio but no one was answering his transmissions. Lisa looked around them, listening carefully, and heard shouting voices that were speaking in Zentraedi. Her eyes widened as she heard the low rumble of approaching Zentraedi soldiers and noticed that the canoe was now being lifted and dropped by large waves that made her believe that the Zentraedi were coming down the river. She grabbed her backpack and told Edwards to do the same and jumped out of the canoe.
They were about to take off into the jungle when Lisa shouted, "We must hide the canoe!"
Edwards didn't say anything but just ran to the canoe and helped Lisa lift it out of the water. They carried it over to a place that had thick foliage and then quickly broke off some nearby branches and pulled some tall grass and threw it on the canoe to camoflauge it.
Lisa looked around, trying to figure out which way to go when Edwards said commandingly, "We'll try and head back to the camp through the interior, once we get back there we can try and radio back to base for some reinforcements."
Lisa, unfamiliar with the area, put her trust in Edwards and hoped he knew his way around. They were about to take their first step when they heard the sound of Zentraedi battlepods closing in. Edwards stopped and listened for a moment, then grabbed Lisa by the hand, "This way!"
They had been running for several minutes when suddenly they saw a strange mound of dirt, oddly shaped. They stood frozen still, fearing it might be a Zentraedi pod. There was no noise coming from it, a good sign at least. Lisa's curiosity started to get the better of her and so she approached it cautiously. "Admiral, let's go, let's not waste time on this, we have to get back to the camp," argued Edwards.
Lisa hadn't heard a word he said and was now standing right in front of the mound, she reached out her hand to touch it and was surprised that the dirt fell away easily. Edwards, seeing that it wasn't a battlepod, yet, and not wanting to appear a coward, stepped forward and helped Lisa wipe away some of the dirt.
Underneath the layers of dirt seemed to be something of a stony texture. Lisa pushed against it and then immediately jumped back when the stone started to move. Edwards and Lisa had their pistols drawn, incase anything came out of the now exposed opening. Nothing came out or flew out so Lisa peerd through the opening, "It looks like some type of small door, but I can't see where it leads to, it's too dark." She was about ask for Edwards' flashlight when they heard the sound of a group of Zentraedi battlepods overhead then heard the running of some foot soldiers that were closing in on their position quickly.
Edwards scanned the area quickly then made his way through the small door, "Come on, in here, we have no choice, we'll see if this will hide us until they leave."
Edwards crouched in the entrance and then walked further in as Lisa followed behind him. They heard the laser cannons of the pods outside and realized that they had escaped just in the nick of time. Suddenly they heard a shot hit the door and then rocks and debris falling. Lisa ran back to the door and was terrified to see that their exit had now been completely blocked by heavy stones. Edwards supressed his worried look and announced, "Don't worry, I'm sure there's more than one way out of here." He knew he was not sure of his own words, but he didn't want her to panic.
"Come on, it looks like there's some light just ahead of us."
Lisa said nothing in reply and followed Edwards.

* * * * * * *

It was almost 6am, almost time for Sammie's alarm clock to sound off, but her pager beat the clock to it. She always left her cellphone on silent, so as not to wake her 'wicked stepsisters', and slept with her pager under her pillow, so that she could hear it when it went off, yet not have it wake up Kim and Vanessa.
Sammie looked at the message on the pager, thinking it was probably her new aide, Lieutenant Antell, giving her a wake up call. As she scrolled through the message her eyes widened and she felt as if she was going to hyperventilate...

"Message from Lt. Moon, Ghost Squadron. Camp ambushed by Malcontents, all but 2 dead. Major Edwards and Admiral Hayes missing."

Sammie didn't know what to do, her heart was pounding and she still couldn't find her tongue to speak. She ran to the closet and yanked her uniform off the hanger then went to her dresser and opened the drawers loudly.
Kim and Vanessa started to stir and Vanessa was the first to sit up, "Sammie. What's wrong?"
Sammie just looked at her with a panic look and continued to gather up her clothes. Kim, never as patient as Vanessa, got out of bed and grabbed Sammie by the shoulders, "What's wrong with you?!"
Sammie held out the pager, her hand shaking. Kim took the pager as Vanessa got out of bed and came over to see what it said.
"Oh my god..." whispered Kim.
Vanessa took the pager from her and read it, remained silent for a moment, then whispered hoarsely, "Nobody is to a say a word of this to Rick!"
Sammie and Kim stared at her as if she were crazy. Kim tried to keep her voice down as she said, "Are you crazy?! We have to send Rick to go find her."
Vanessa shook her head, "No. I promised Lisa I wouldn't get Rick involved unless it was absolutely necessary."
Kim grabbed the pager from Vanessa and held it up to Vanessa's face, "This IS 'absolutely necessary'!"
Vanessa looked at Sammie, who had tears running down her face, "Sammie, this is your mission, it's your call."
Sammie looked tearfully from Vanessa to Kim, then said quietly, "Rick will hate me forever...I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to Lisa..."
Kim huffed at Sammie, "As far as we can tell nothing has happened to her YET."
Sammie thought for a moment, "I agree with Vanessa, let's not tell him just yet, I can see if I can get Max or Miriya to go out there--"
"Are you two out of your mind?! Rick is the one who can save her, now stop stalling or else I'm going over there to tell him myself!" exclaimed Kim.
Vanessa looked at Kim, then said to Sammie, "Sammie, go and take your shower and get ready ASAP. I'll handle this."
Sammie left the room then Vanessa whirled on Kim, "I made a promise to Lisa, and I don't intend to break that promise."
"Even if it means getting her killed?!"
"Kim, look. You know me and my 'instincts' about things. Most of the time, I usually am right aren't I?"
Kim looked at her and calmed down a bit, "Yea, well, MOST of the time, not ALL of the time."
Vanessa waived her hand dissmissively, "We just need to send another team out there, maybe we can get New Detroit to help us out even..."
They heard Sammie's pager go off again and went to read the message...

"New Detroit sending a team to the area by order of Field Marshall Anatole Leonard. No further assistance from Monument/Macross REF is necessary."

Vanessa shrugged, "I guess someone read my mind."
Kim looked at the message again, "Hey wait a minute, this mission was ours. New Detroit doesn't have jurisdiction over it, how can they go sticking their noses in our business?"
"Kim, I would think this would make you happy?"
"Yes I know but it is our mission, we started, we need to finish it. And I don't appreciate New Detroit usurping our authority, even if we do need their help. That's what they can do, help, not take over. And Vanessa, don't you see what this also means? This will make Sammie look very bad, it will look like she couldn't handle it and New Detroit had to go and bail her out."
Vanessa thought for a moment, "So then what do you think we should do about it?"
"I think we should send someone over there, even if New Detroit told us not to."
"Who do we send?"
Kim turned her back to Vanessa and walked to the other side of the room and announced, "I'll go over there, I'll take a small team with me and we'll find Lisa."
Vanessa's mouth dropped open, "Now who's the one who's out of their mind?! You're insane. You don't know anything about jungle warfare or search and rescue!"
"I used to live in Australia remember? I have pretty good familiarity with tracking, trailing, and wilderness survival."
"Kim, that's not the same, this is jungle not wilderness."
"The principle is the same," countered Kim.
Vanessa then realized, "Wait, aren't we going to need permission for this?"
"Sammie already got permission for the initial operation, backups shouldn't also have to get permission."
"Kim, you know Maistroff will have Sammie's head when he finds out."
Kim smiled, "Don't worry about Maistroff, I'll take care of the windbag if I need to."

* * * * * * *

Rick had been woken up by the commotion but put it down to just the usual Trio tirade and tried to go back to sleep. As the muffled conversations subsided Rick didn't feel he could fall back to sleep and was reminded of the box that was sitting in the corner of the room. He stared at it for a long while, wrestling over what to do, then he stood up and went over to it and picked up one of the photo albums. He held it in his hands thinking to himself, "I shouldn't be nosey, but..."
Rick opened the photo album and saw 4 pictures on the first page. Two pictures were of Lisa and Karl, one picture was of Karl and Lisa's father, and the last picture was of Karl by himself. Rick concentrated on the two pictures of Karl and Lisa. He noticed how happy Lisa looked and how cute she was when she was a teenager.
Rick flipped through several more pages, more photos of Riber and Lisa. He finished all the pages and was on the very back page when he saw a piece of plain paper with handwriting on it. He knew he shouldn't read it, it wasn't any of his business, but he couldn't help himself.
The paper was very worn, obvious from being handled numerous times. The handwriting didn't look like Lisa's. It read:

---------------------------------------------
My dearest Lisa,

You don't know how happy I am that you have accepted my marriage proposal. The guys can't calm me down, I'm bouncing off the walls! I am so sorry I couldn't give you your ring in person, nothing would've made me happier than to see the look on your face when I slipped the ring on your finger.

Your father tells me that you're doing well at the Academy. I think it shouldn't be too much longer before you can join me here on Mars Base, then we can build the life that we have talked so much about.

Some of the guys have seen your pictures that I keep in my room and have asked me about you, now they can't get me to be quiet. I think they are jealous now! I really do think I am the luckiest man alive. The woman I am going to marry is beautiful, intelligent, witty, charming, and has the kindest, most gentle and loving soul I've ever known.

I am counting the days until I can be with you again, until we get married, so we can live the rest of our lives together forever, hopefully in a world that has embraced peace.

Love always,
Karl Riber

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

Rick finished reading the letter, feeling guilty for letting his nosiness get the better of him, and now feeling totally undeserving of Lisa and even more jealous of Karl Riber.
Rick put the letter back in the album and placed it back into the box. His eye caught sight of a small black box that he hadn't seen before. He picked it up. It looked like a ring box. He knew that if he opened it, he would feel worse than he already did, but he opened it nonetheless.
The ring was dazzling. Rick could tell that it was a real diamond and must have been worth a small fortune. The band looked as if it were real gold and the diamond itself had to be at least one carat. Rick looked at the inside of the band and found the simple inscription, "To Lisa, love always...Karl."
Rick put the ring back in its box and placed it carefully back in the box in the spot where he had found it. He saw the stacks of letters again. Before he had felt a nagging urge to read one or two of them, but after reading the short one he found in the photo album and seeing the engagement ring, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Rick paced around the room, he felt confused, he needed to do something to try and compete with the memory of a man that seemed so superior to him in every way.
Rick wanted to tell Lisa how he felt about her, he wanted to hug her and hold and kiss her and try and make her laugh with a dumb joke or a funny face. He wanted to take her out and let everyone see that they were happy together. He wanted to dance with her and have a candlelight dinner by the fireplace. He wanted to know about the things she liked to do or read or listen to when she was a teenager. But Lisa wasn't there, instead, Rick was alone in an empty room, nursing an equally empty heart. He wanted to find someone that would sit with him and just talk about Lisa, but everyone would be going to work soon.
Rick looked at the box once again and thought about writing Lisa a letter. It wasn't an original idea, but it was a good way to get out everything he wanted to say and was dying to say but couldn't because Lisa wasn't there. This way at least, he reasoned, she could read his letters when she came home, and perhaps his pen could say the words better than his physical voice could.
Rick looked at the clock, he had an hour left before he needed to get ready for work,
so he picked up a pen and seated himself at the small desk, and determined to write a letter to Lisa. A letter that would only begin to convey all that he had in his heart.

* * * * * * *

"Is everyone ready??" whispered Sammie.
"Ready!" replied Kim.
"Affirmative!" said Vanessa.
The three women quietly and quickly exited their room then took off their shoes and tiptoed down the stairs. They hurriedly put their shoes back on before closing the front door gently.
Kim put the key in the car ignition and started the motor with Sammie adding, "Kim, drive carefully and don't screech your tires out of the driveway like you always do!"
Kim rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry!"
Sammie, seated behind Kim, poked Kim's shoulder and cried, "Don't worry?!! Don't worry?! You drive just as bad as Miriya, don't tell me not to worry!"
"Will you two just shut up already. You're making so much noise that we don't even need to have Kim screech the tires to wake people up," said an exasperated Vanessa.
Kim and Sammie, to Vanessa's great surprise, didn't say a word. Kim pulled the car out of the driveway quietly and headed towards the airfield.
Unbeknownst to Sammie and Vanessa, Kim was exteremely nervous about her trip to Costa Rica. What happened if her dream was indeed a bad omen and some kind of foreshadowing of things to come? But Kim volunteered for a reason, not just because she thought she could find Lisa and Edwards, but also because she needed to face her nightmare and extinguish it as soon as possible, before it consumed her and chained her with the shackles of fear for the rest of her life. It was something Kim had been thinking about for the past two days now. She was afraid of her dream coming true, but she knew that she did not want to be a prisoner of her fears of what 'might' happen.
"Kim, are you ok?" inquired Vanessa.
Kim looked in the rear view mirror and could see the concerned look on Sammie's face and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me, just making some mental preparations, that's all."
Vanessa and Sammie exchanged concerned looks. Were they doing the right thing by letting Kim jump back into the action so soon after she had had such a traumatic experience? Would this cause her anymore harm? They both knew their friend well and knew that they needed to let her do what she thought was right, because if they tried to stop her, they'd be doing her a disservice.
The car was at a stoplight when Sammie suddenly exclaimed, "OH S--T!!!"
Vanessa, suddenly concerned, asked, "What is it?"
"Antell," Sammie groaned. "That know-it-all is going to go squealing to Maistroff the minute we start this operation."
Kim let out a growl, "Oh let the b---h snitch! I'll take care of Maistroff when I get back."
"But he can courtmartial you!...and me!" protested Sammie.
Kim laughed, "No he can't, Lisa will see to it that he can't lay a finger on us."
At the mention of Lisa's name, Kim had a sudden flashback of Lisa's image that she saw in her dream. Kim slammed on the brakes and the three women were projected forward rather violently.
Vanessa's glasses landed on the floor and she didn't bother picking them up as she stared at Kim, "Kim..."
Kim looked at Vanessa and Sammie and started driving again. She could sense that Sammie and Vanessa were still staring at her and said firmly, "I'm fine, now will you two stop gawking at me, gosh!"
The three women travelled the rest of the trip in complete silence.

* * * * * * *

Dr. Jean Grant heard a knock at her door, "Come in!" she called.
"Hi Jean." The voice was Miriya's and Jean told her to sit down.
"What can I do for you Miriya? Is Dana alright?"
"Yes Jean, Dana is fine. I had some questions..."
"About?"
Miriya looked up at Jean anxiously, "Well...about Macronization."
Jean raised her eyebrows, "Macronization?! What for Miriya?"
Miriya thought it best to tell her the reason behind the inquiry so she told Jean the whole story about Hialeah and the negotiations.

"Miriya, Claudia is right you know. This is too risky. I am also telling you from the medical standpoint. For most Zentraedi, macronization wouldn't be a problem, but you've had a child, and have gone through hormonal changes. We have yet to complete our study on what happens to micronized Zentraedi females after they have given birth and we haven't even begun to assess whether there is an increased risk to them if they macronize. Miriya please. If Claudia says there is another
way around Hialeah, then trust her on it."
Miriya remained silent for a few seconds, then asked Jean, "Please, do you promise you'll not mention this to anyone?"
Jean looked at her straight in the eyes and said, "Only if you promise not to go and get yourself macronized."
Miriya looked away from her and left the office.

Miriya sat in her car and looked up a phone number, found it, then waited for the person on the other end to answer.
"Rico? This is Miriya. I have a question for you. Where is the resizing chamber right now?"
Rico paused for a few seconds, making sure he had heard correctly. "The resizing chamber? That's on Fifth street, in Monument City."
Miriya smiled, "That's all I needed to know, thank you Rico."
"Miriya wait-" Rico heard the dialtone and stared at the phone.
Bron had just come around the corner and saw Rico standing there staring at the phone, "What's wrong Rico?"
Rico gave him a puzzled look, "I don't know, exactly. Miriya called me just now and wanted to know where the resizing chamber was..."
"Why, does she want to be macronized or something?"
Rico's eyes went wide, "She can't macronize! She had a baby already, no one knows what will happen if she macronizes!"
"Did she say that's what she wanted to do, macronize?" asked Bron.
Rico scratched his head, "Well no, she didn't say she was going to be macronized, but..."
Bron thought about it, "Should we tell Max?"
Rico tapped his chin, thinking. "Well...what if she doesn't want Max to know about it?"
Bron countered, "But it'd be dangerous for her to macronize, and at least Max could stop her."
"But we don't know if that's what she's intending to do, and we don't want to get her in trouble with her husband based on a false assumption," Rico reasoned.
The two men thought for a moment then Bron came up with an idea, "Why don't we call Vanessa or Sammie and mention it to them, they might know what's going on."
"Good idea!"

"She what?" said Vanessa in disbelief.
"She didn't say that's what she was going to do, but we just want to make sure she doesn't go through with it," explained Bron.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it, thanks Bron."
Vince waited for Vanessa to hang up the phone then he asked her, "What is it?"
"I don't know Vince, but it could be bad. I'm going to call Claudia. I think Miriya is going to try and macronize."

"I told her not to even consider it!" exclaimed Claudia. "Are you absolutely sure Vanessa?"
"We're not sure, but after what you told me, I think that's what she's planning to do."
Claudia put her hand to her forehead and sighed, "Dammit Miriya, I told you not to do it. Alright Vanessa, I'm going to take Rick with me and try and stop her. If Max asks about us, tell him we are 'busy', which is true actually."
Vanessa exhaled loudly, "Alright don't worry about it, the secret's safe with me."
Claudia thanked her and hung up the phone.
Vanessa looked at Vince and then put her head down on her desk to rest her eyes, 'Why does everyone trust me with their secret missions...' she wondered to herself. First the news about Lisa, now the news about Miriya. Vanessa wished she was having a bad dream and that all this wasn't happening.

Rick had about two pages of his letter written when he got a priority ring on his phone. He ran over to answer it, his heart racing, hoping it wasn't bad news about Lisa. "Captain Hunter."
"Rick, it's Claudia. I want you to meet me at the resizing chamber in Monument, on Fifth Street. Hurry, it's an emergency! And don't tell anyone where you're going."
Rick was trying to stammer a reply when he realized that Claudia had already hung up.

Miriya didn't have much trouble trying to convince the workers at the macronization office that she needed to be macronized for a 'particularly important reason' and was waiting in the micronian waiting room patiently.
After about five more minutes, a technician opened the door and announced,
"Miriya Parino, Ace of the Quadranos." Miriya stood up with about half a dozen eyes following her every step. She heard a few whisperings like, "That's the great ace pilot that Azonia praised so highly!" and "Breetai said there was no pilot like her."
Miriya stepped into the large room and the technician proceeded to read her some general instructions. As Miriya listened only partially, she started to feel anxious. What if Jean was right, what if this might end up as being dangerous to her health? Would this affect Dana's health as well? Miriya took a deep breath and tried to push the worries out of her mind, chanting to herself that there was an
important duty that she had to complete.
The technician finished reading the instructions to Miriya and escorted her to the resizing chamber and the macronization process began.

"Get the hell out of my way, this is a military emergency!" yelled Claudia to a long row of cars in front of her. She had been stuck in traffic for 15 minutes and was extremely exasperated. She quickly searched the area for a place where she could leave her car parked. She spotted an alley, it was the closest thing she could get to with all the traffic, so once she got within distance, she turned down the
alley and left the car there.
Claudia had run for a few blocks, stopping to ask for directions every now and then. Someone finally pointed her in the direction of Fifth Street, but she was angry when she found out that the resizing chamber was at least a good three miles away. She took a deep breath, then started on the long sprint. Along the way she stopped to try and call the resizing facility but to no avail. They told her that she did not have official jurisdiction and refused to comply with any of her requests.

The resizing process had received several modifications and was now running at an efficient 10 minute turnaround time. Miriya's resizing went without a hitch and she stepped out of the chamber, standing at her original height. The technician gave her a robe and then handed her some clothes that she could change into. After she dressed, Miriya took some time to stay perfectly still and get
reaccustomed to being so tall. She had not been at her full height for over two years and it was a very strange feeling.
She asked for a cloak, so that she could hide her identity for fear that Max, possibly flying overhead, might recognize her. She put the cloak on then left the building and headed for Lady Hialeah's office.
The walk only took about 5 minutes. Miriya knocked on the door and it opened immediately. Inside, she saw Uradana standing in the middle of the room, waiting for her to speak.
Miriya took off her cloak, looked at Uradana sternly, and announced, "I am Miriya Parino Sterling. I have come to speak to Lady Hialeah," then she took a few steps closer to Uradana, keeping her stern look.
Uradana cowered a bit, then quickly put her mirror down on the table and said, "W-wait right here."
Miriya smiled to herself, satisfied with Uradana's reaction.

Rick arrived at the resizing chamber office about one minute after Miriya had left. He was greeted hostily by the full-sized and micronized Zentraedi, so he decided to distance himself from the office by waiting a couple blocks away. After about five minutes he spotted Claudia running towards his Valkyrie, "Rick! Have you seen her??"
Rick was confused, "Seen who??"
"Miriya!"
"No, I haven't seen her at all, why?"
Claudia beckoned for Rick to lift her up so he did and she told him about Miriya wanting to macronize.
"My god..." was all Rick could say.
Claudia told Rick that she would try and get some answers from the micronized Zentraedi and that Rick should try talking to the full-sized Zentraedi that were walking about and see if they could find out whether Miriya had been there or not.
After about 20 minutes, Rick overheard the conversation of two Zentraedi leaving the area, "Did you see her? The great Miriya Parino was back at her full size!" Rick's heart sank as he called Claudia to give her the bad news.
After getting off the phone, Claudia ran back to Rick's VT, which was now in fighter mode, and climbed into the co-pilot seat, determined to find Miriya.

"Uradana, bring Miriya some more tea."
Uradana bowed slightly then left the room.
"So Miriya," continued Lady Hialeah, "Your very noble to take the risk of macronization for these micronians, even though they don't deserve the attention of a warrior as great as yourself."
Miriya disregarded the comment and instead asked, "Will you agree to our request? It is very important."
Hialeah raised an eyebrow and frowned, "Miriya, don't waste your greatness in their society, return to us."
Miriya shook her head.
Hialeah gave her a pained look, "Miriya, you could be as powerful as me. I will make you my right-hand. I am tired of Uradana. She has become obsessed with the micronian ways of vanity." Just then they noticed Uradana standing at the door with a very sour look on her face.
Uradana stormed up to Miriya and threw the cup of tea down on the floor and shouted, "You will not replace me, Quadrano! You have insulted my integrity! I will not let you get away with this!"
Hialeah held up her hand, "Calm down Uradana," then she smiled mischieviously and said, "I have a little proposal. Uradana wants to reclaim her pride, and you Miriya want to gain my assistance, and I am extremely bored. I know of a way to almost solve everyone's problems."
Miriya and Uradana looked at Hialeah and waited for her to continue, instead she beckoned them to follow her to another room.
The room was huge. Hialeah clapped her hands and two male Zentraedi came into view. Hialeah went to them and whispered something, the men nodded their understanding and left the room.
Hialeah then snapped her fingers and an elevated booth appeared in the center of the floor. She climbed the steps and sat down. The two men appeared, this time carrying long swords. Hialeah smiled wickedly as she said, "I am bored and you two each have something on the line. The rules are simple. You two are to duel for what each of you want. Uradana, you wish to reclaim your honor, and Miriya, you wish for my support. If you win Miriya, you receive whatever support you want from me. If you win Uradana, I unfortunately, will have to keep you as my right-hand."
Uradana scowled at both Miriya and Hialeah but said nothing.
Miriya tried to protest, but to no avail.

Rick and Claudia had reached Hialeah's office and were suprised to find no one at the front desk. They looked around and saw a door and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.
Rick and Claudia mulled over the idea of shooting down the door. They couldn't just go barging in without considering some of the political ramifications. Hialeah was extremely powerful, any trouble with her could mean problems with the Zentraedi in the entire region.
Rick suddenly remembered the trick that Lisa had vermillion try when they were trapped on the Zentreadi ship; burn through the lock with the lasers. The idea was still not without its consequences, they would still be entering Hialeah's office without authorization, but at least it was better than blasting their way in.

Hialeah wore a pleased look as she saw Miriya and Uradana standing in front of her, swords in hand. She stood up and announced, "You may proceed with the joust."
Uradana shouted loudly, "Miriya Parino! I shall defend my honor! I am not afraid of a Quadrano!"
Miriya remained quiet and stood on her guard.
Uradana lunged at Miriya but Miriya quickly sidestepped the advance and kicked Uradana from behind, sending her tumbling to the ground. Hialeah laughed and applauded. This made Uradana even more angry and she charged at Miriya again, this time swinging her sword. The swords made contact and they held each other to a standstill for a few seconds until Miriya managed to overpower Uradana and push her away.
Hialeah was beside herself, laughing and teasing Uradana, "Uradana, you'll never beat Miriya, you are too weak!"
Uradana's face turned a bright crimson red and she was about to scream when she the Battloid's hand reaching through the opening in the door. She ran to the door and when Rick stepped through, Uradana brought down her sword which sent the Battloid head tumbling to the floor.
Rick, trying to think fast, transformed into Gerwalk mode and tried to fire his gun but it was kicked aside by Uradana's fast foot. The Gerwalk tipped over on its side, the canopy smashed open. Uradana reached for Rick and Claudia but they managed to hurl themselves out of the cockpit and took off running in opposite directions.
Uradana picked up the gun and turned around with an evil look on her face. She stared at Hialeah and aimed the gun at her. Miriya took off running towards Hialeah, apparently unnoticed by Uradana and managed to push her down to the floor as Uradana got off a shot. Miriya and Hialeah both tumbled to the floor, Miriya and Hialeah both groaning in pain.
Claudia from her vantage point, saw that Hialeah and Miriya were done for if something wasn't done to stop or distract Uradana so she ran in front of Uradana's path waving her arms.
Uradana looked amuse and stooped down a little bit so she could see Claudia better. "What have we here...a brave little micronian eh? Lady Hialeah would be pleased to have you work for her I think. Bravery. That's what she's hung up on. She never liked me, and we both knew it. 'Oh Uradana, you're so pathetic. Uradana, you're obsessed with micronian ways.' 'Uradana, you're such a coward, you have no intelligence.' 'Uradana I keep you around because I feel sorry for you.' 'Uradana, you should be a
great warrior like Miriya Parino.' 'Mi-ri-ya PA-RI-NO!'" Uradana scowled at Claudia and kept her gun on her. "I'm so sorry micronian, you were so brave..." She raised her gun and Claudia could see straight down the barrel...

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1. Oh my, it seems that everyone is having a bad day there in Macross Land! What will happen to Claudia?!!

2. Again, like I said before, I hadn't read the entire Zentraedi Rebellions book, and I think Miriya gets quite a bit of airtime in that novel. So if this scenario sounds similar to anything in the book or comics (I don't think it does, but I say this just as a general disclaimer) let me know so I can re-write it.

3. Comment replies:
jdchs (aka Judith) - Don't worry at all about commenting. Go ahead and comment as many times as you like. I enjoy reading the comments and am happy that you like the story. No, I still insist I'm not a professional writer. Writing Macross stuff is just a hobby of mine, but...if some Hollywood studio out there wants to hire me for anything, I'll surely be willing to change professions! :)

aikiweezie - Yes, Lisa and Rick will definitely get to spend more time together once all the chaos goes away. There'll be lots and lots of Lisa-Rick scenes coming up, that's the reason why I started writing the story in the first place :) Gotta love those two, such a great couple! Remember, in the story's timeline, Valentines Day is just around the corner ;) Hopefully things will settle down by then. I do already have something planned for Lisa's telling her side of the relationship with her father. I think it was a sub-plot that never got fully developed and should've because it had a lot of potential. I hope to write quite a bit about Lisa and her father in the upcoming chapters. I might do some scenes with Lisa and Karl but I'm working on the translation of the Misa Hayase: White Reminiscances book (originally in Japanese) and that has a ton of stuff about Riber. So I want to get a better understanding of his character before I write more about him.

SailorCallie - Yes, there will be a scene with T.R. Edwards meeting both Rick and Claudia. It should be very interesting indeed. Edward's is surrounded with Fokker people. Let's see what he'll do about it, if anything. ;)

Newtype Alpha - Yeap, it seems that the novels never let Rick mature. He seemed to stay at the same maturity level all the way till the end of the Sentinels, and that really annoyed me. So I'm trying to show how he has matured over the past 4-5 years and continues to mature. :) p.s. I Love your Megaroad stories btw, I'm always looking forward to the new chapters, especially the Misa/Hikaru scenes ;)