But ultimately the powers of evil proved superior and the Destroyer’s dreadnought tore loose, taking great hunks of earth and forest with it as it climbed toward freedom and headed north for its rendezvous with vengeance and death.
The end of the world, Lisa cried to herself.
Two weeks had passed since Khyron’s Christmas morning attack, and Macross had yet to recover. Initially the residents of that often devastated place had rallied, once again prepared to pick up the pieces of their lives and rebuild the symbol of their dreams. But then a sort of delayed shock set in, sapping even the strongest of the will to prevail. People remained in their homes, leaving the streets deserted, the recent damage untouched; some had even taken up what amounted to residency in the shelters themselves. And yet others fled to other cities or wandered off into the wastes, a new breed of pioneer, abandoning the one thing that had brought salvation and devastation alike—the SDF-1.
Lisa Hayes was on the lookout bridge of the fortress now, her inner world as overturned as that one she glimpsed along the curve of the lake. Rick was lost to her, and his leave-taking had emptied her, much as the city itself. She contemplated the single decision that would free her, sobbing for all that might have been.
“Lisa!” Claudia yelled from behind her.
She wiped her eyes and turned around.
“Admiral Gloval sent me to look for you,” her friend told her. “Why aren’t you on the bridge?”
“I needed to be alone,” she answered, the cold wind mussing her hair. “I’m thinking about resigning.”
Claudia had sensed this coming for weeks now but found herself surprised nonetheless. “You’ve got to be joking,” she said plainly.
“No, I’m serious, Claudia.” Lisa’s voice cracked. “I just can’t take it anymore. The army … Rick … I’m giving up—I’m just not as tough as everybody seems to think I am.”
Claudia sized her up for a moment, deciding to get tough herself. “Come off it, Lisa—you’re not fooling anybody but yourself!”
So much for the sympathy, Lisa thought, startled by Claudia’s reaction. Maybe she just wasn’t explaining all this properly—Claudia wasn’t seeing it through her eyes.
“You’re talking like some silly, simpering, weak sister schoolgirl!” Claudia stepped in to confront her further. “You’re a military woman, born, bred, and trained, and you’re too much of a scrapper to give in like this without a fight!”
But Lisa held her ground. “There’s no use fighting—it all comes down to a battle with myself, Claudia. And I’m losing. If Rick prefers Minmei, that’s just the way it is, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“Except get over it and move on!” Claudia emphasized. “The military is your life, girl. You give up and resign your commission, you might as well throw everything else away.”
Lisa’s lips narrowed to a thin line. “I have to get away.”
“You mean run away.”
Lisa turned her back to Claudia. “Call it what you want. I can’t work with Rick and then watch him go home to her every day. If you can’t understand that …”
He shouldn’t have the power over you, Claudia wanted to tell her. You shouldn’t permit him that power! But her heart understood only too clearly. “I do understand,” she said quietly.
The loneliness of command, Gloval said to himself for the third time that morning. He wished Exedore hadn’t chosen to return to the Robotech factory satellite so soon; he missed him, finding in the gnomish Zentraedi a keen mind unencumbered by emotional restraints. And yet far from being pure intellect, cool and remote like Lang, the man—and Gloval would always refer to him thus—the man had a loyal and unbiased nature, along with a compassion rarely encountered among Humans or aliens alike. The two had forged a unique friendship, built on shared interest, mutual trust, and nothing less than awe for the events that had shaped their histories, both racial and individual.
Gloval was in his favorite chair, the command seat on the SDF-1 bridge, staring out at Macross through the wraparound permaglass bays. Everyone knew to look for him here, more than anything his place of retirement. And indeed, the issue of retirement weighed heavily on his mind; he wanted the untaxed freedom to think back through the past two decades and make personal order out of the chaos he had so often seen there in moments of reflection. He needed to take a hard look at his successes and failures and evaluate his performance record, if for no other reason than to justify the decisions that had affected so many lives … countless lives.
He recalled saying once that he was allowed to make more mistakes than the rest of the crew, and indeed he had. He only prayed that his latest decisions wouldn’t fall into the same category.
When Lisa finally reported to him, he stood and walked to the forward portion of the bridge, his hands behind his back.
“I have called you here to brief you on your new assignment, Captain.”
“I’m … sorry, sir, but I can’t take a new assignment,” Lisa told him directly.
Gloval pivoted through his rehearsed turn, raising his voice a notch. “And why not?!”
Lisa’s head was bowed. “Sir, I’ve decided to resign. In my state of mind I’m no good to myself or the service.”
“And what state of mind would that be?” Gloval wanted to know.
“I … I need to get away for a while, Admiral—for personal reasons.”
Gloval beamed. “Well, that’s perfect, then, because this assignment calls for a certain amount of travel.”
“No, sir.” Lisa shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Another tack, Gloval said to himself. “Nonsense. You can’t disregard your duty just because of some unrequited romance—you’re just going to have to get over it because I need you now more than ever before.”
Lisa was staring at him wide-eyed. “You mean, y-you know?!”
The admiral made a dismissive gesture. “Good grief, I have eyes, don’t I?! I’ve probably known about you and Captain Hunter longer than you have known!”
Lisa brightened somewhat and smiled. “I’ll bet you have, sir … This new assignment, then—is it in the way of a favor?”
“Nonsense,” Gloval snorted. “You’re the most capable and experienced officer in the entire command. The choice was an obvious one.”
“Sir …”
Gloval cleared his throat. “As you know, construction of the new fortress has just been completed. I want you to command it.”
Lisa put her hands to her breast. That she was to command the SDF-2 had been hinted at but never actually stated. “What?! My own command?”
“It’s a long-term commitment,” he cautioned her.
“I accept—whatever it is.”
“Good,” he said, asking her to step over to the forward bay. She did so and began to follow his gaze.
Stratified layers of blue sky and crystalline white arced across the eastern horizon. Above this was a darker, more menacing ceiling of swiftly moving storm clouds pierced by brilliant rays of winter sunlight. It was a majestic morning sight, breathtaking.
“Yes,” Gloval was saying, “our Earth is a beautiful planet. And we must preserve its glories. That’s why I must ask you to leave our world behind for a time.”
Lisa experienced a fleeting moment of fear.
“The time has come for humankind to grow up and leave its cradle behind,” the admiral explained. “To go forth and claim its place in the universe … Your assignment is to lead a diplomatic mission to the homeworld of the Robotech Masters.”
“To Tirol, sir?!” Lisa said in disbelief. “But how?”
“That is the new purpose of the SDF-2. Commander Breetai and Exedore will accompany you, although it might be easier to follow Khyron’s lead.”
Lisa’s brow furrowed.
“We let him have that Protoculture cell for a reason, Captain. I’m only sorry we hadn’t anticipated the explosions.”
“Khyron’s ticket home,” Lisa mused. “But why Tirol, Admiral?”
“Because the Human race couldn’t possibly survive another holocaust like the last one. Our defense system has been vastly improved, but even that would prove useless against the sophisticated technology of the Masters—or worse yet, to hear Exedore tell it, the Invid. It’s essential that we make peace with the Masters, perhaps for the sake of both our races.”
“Peace,” Lisa said, as though hearing the word for the first time. “And we have to travel clear across the galaxy to secure it.”
The downside of getting your wish, thought Rick.
From the picture window of his suburban quarters, he watched a formation of Veritechs streak overhead. He hadn’t been airborne in more than a week, having taken the leave to spend time with his new roommate/partner/significant other … and that didn’t begin to tell the tale of his confusion. As pleasant as it was with Minmei, Rick felt unfulfilled; without flying, without a mission, without something to strive for, it was just the two of them playing house. They would sleep late, cook together, watch the screen, and suddenly there would be nothing to talk about. She had stopped writing love songs, and he had stopped telling tales.
Minmei entered the room just then and seemed to pick up on his distance. Was he tired of her already?
“Rick, why not just quit the service? We could move somewhere else if you want. I mean, could you be happy if we settled down to a normal life?”
“Normal?!” he said, more harshly than he had to. “Take a look outside, Minmei. There isn’t any more normal!” He shook his head. “I don’t think we could even if there was.”
“But why not? There’s so much more to life than this, and we’re missing it.”
Rick held his breath, then exhaled slowly through clenched jaws. “People are depending on us. They look to people like me for protection, and to you for inspiration. How can we just walk away from that?”
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Life is funny, isn’t it? Nothing turns out the way you think it will … When we first met, I was totally caught up in romantic dreams, and some of those actually came true. But not the dream I had for you and me, Rick.”
“What dream?”
She tried to hold his eyes with hers. “Let’s get married.”
Rick reacted as if he’d been punched. Wasn’t she listening to anything he said?… But even as he thought this, he knew that it was more black and white than he was making it out to be: Somehow the war and their separate careers weren’t the real issues at all. It was something else …
When the doorbell rang, both of them jumped up to answer it, thankful for the intrusion. Lisa was standing there demurely, her uniform as bright as the patches of snow on the front lawn.
“I came to say … good-bye, Rick. I’ve received new orders, and I’ll be going back into space soon.” She pushed on through Rick’s surprised reaction, fighting to maintain her even tone. “It’s true. I can’t believe it, but Admiral Gloval has given me command of the SDF-2.” She grew almost cheerful now. “It’s like a dream come true. Aren’t you happy for me, Rick?”
“When are you leaving?” he asked her anxiously.
“Transfer of the reflex engines from SDF-1 will begin tomorrow. But we’re bound for deep space soon afterward. To Tirol, the homeworld of the Robotech Masters. It’s going to be a diplomatic mission—a mission of peace.”
That could take years! Rick thought.
“So I just wanted to say good-bye and … see you in a few years.” Lisa smiled at Minmei. “It’s been a pleasure, Minmei. Your music has been a great inspiration to all of us.”
Minmei thanked her, warily at first but more sincerely when Lisa wished Rick and her happiness in the future.
“I just have one more thing to say,” Lisa stammered, her voice failing her all of a sudden. “I love you, Rick! I always have! And I always will!”
Rick was speechless. Minmei had latched on to his arm with a tourniquetlike grip. Lisa was apologizing, holding back tears.
“I may never see him again,” she was explaining herself to Minmei. “And I had to tell him … Take care of him for me.”
She saluted Rick, turned, and began to run.
Rick stood in the doorway a moment, then shook himself out of his stupor and called for her to wait. He took off down the walk, but Minmei was there in front of him, her arms stretched out to stop him.
“You can’t go!” she said in a frightened rush. “What about me?! You’ve already done more than your share! How could you even think of going back into space again?!”
“Because … they need me,” Rick lied.
And all at once the sky fell …
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Entropy—your belief that systems, biophysical and otherwise, are predestined to move from a state of order to disorder—is the one concept that continues to fascinate me; and I do believe that it has indeed shaped your thinking as a race as powerfully as Protoculture has shaped mine. This dissolution, this winding down … how typical of your thinkers to conjure up such a poetic ending.
Exedore, as quoted in Dr. Lazlo Zand, On Earth as It Is in Hell: Recollections of the Robotech War
Good-bye, blue sky, good-bye …
Twentieth-century song lyric
A hail of missiles fell on unprepared Macross, turning the sky a radiant yellow and leveling the heart of the city. Rick and Minmei were thrown to the ground by the concussion of a thousand blasts that filled the air with suffocating heat and fiery debris.
When Rick saw that Minmei was unhurt, he began a frantic search along what was left of the street in the direction Lisa had run. The sky was an orange fireball now, much of the city a memory. High-rise towers had crumbled like sand castles; houses imploded. Park Street and Macross Boulevard were buckled and heaved like roller-coaster courses.
Rick heard the high-pitched whine of secondary assaults above the howling of an alien wind; then that deadly thunder returned as explosions continued to punish the city and the surrounding hills.
He found Lisa lying in the street, miraculously alive though the buildings on the block had been utterly destroyed.
“What happened?” she yelled above the firestorm.
“We’re under attack!” he returned, helping her to her feet. “The Zentraedi! One ship!”
Khyron! she said to herself. “We’ve got to get back to the SDF-2!”
Lisa took a step forward and would have collapsed, but Rick held her, his hands under her arms. “You’re too weak,” he spoke into her ear. “Let me take care of you … I love you!”
She turned in his arms and took his face between her scorched hands. “Am I dreaming this?” she said weakly.
Minmei was suddenly alongside them, urging them to get to the shelters and pleading with Rick to stay with her.
Projectiles shrieked like banshees in that chrome sky.
“Get yourself to safety!” Lisa told her. “Rick and I have our duty to perform!”
Minmei took a faltering step forward, confused.
“If you really love him,” Lisa continued, “let go of him! He’s a pilot—that’s his life!”
“Life?” Minmei screamed, hysterical, her arms flailing about. “You call this a life?! War! Devastation! Battle after battle until everything is destroyed!”
Rick took her by the arms and tried to calm her, urging her to leave. “We’re trying to put an end to all this. We hate it as much as you do, but the future of our race has to be preserved!”
Missiles exploded nearby, raining vengeful lightning on them and erasing words and thoughts. The three of them huddled together, showered by cinders and unheavenly tongues of airborne fire.
Minmei looked at Lisa and Rick, angry now. “There is no future!”
Rick turned to leave, and she grabbed hold of him, begging him to remain by her side. If he loved her, he would stay with her.
But he shook himself free.
“Someday you’ll understand!” he shouted.
“I’ll never understand!” s
he screamed to his back.
Lisa entered the bridge of the SDF-2 at a run, making straight for her station. Vanessa was already at her console, the threat screen in front of her flashing with display information.
“Give me a status report!” Lisa ordered.
“A single battlecruiser—ten degrees southwest. Present position twenty-seven miles but closing very fast.”
“Right,” said Lisa, and reached for the air com net switch …
* * *
The projecbeam field on the bridge of Khyron’s cruiser showed the Micronians’ new battle fortress, sitting in its circular puddle back to back with its crippled cousin, the SDF-1—Zor’s ship, cause of so much undoing.
The Destroyer stood proudly in the observation bubble command center, his facial features distorted by intense hatred.
“The dimensional fortress now coming into range, sir,” Grel reported from his station.
“Main gun at full power and standing by,” said Azonia.
“My revenge was well worth waiting for! Admiral Gloval is going to wish he’d never heard of me!”
Azonia straightened in her seat. “Awaiting your orders, m’lord.”
“Take out the new ship first,” he commanded. “Then we’ll finish them off. Zor’s ship will soon be little more than a footnote in Zentraedi history!”
“Enemy ship still closing!” Sammie told Lisa from her station below the balcony area of the SDF-2 bridge.
Kim suddenly swung from her console screen. “I’m getting high-level radiation readings!”
“Vanessa?” Lisa said, asking for confirmation.
“They’re firing on us, Captain!”
Glyphs of unharnessed lightning began to take shape along the blunt bow of Khyron’s leviathanlike cruiser, leaping pole to pole across what could almost have been a full-lipped mouth, crowded and underscored with twin-muzzled spiked cannons like tusks on its armored hull. The energy danced and stretched, animated by the Protoculture charges enlivening the dreadnought’s weapons systems.
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