Subject: [FFML] [fanfiction][TM/RT]No Need For Protoculture, chapter 7
From: Andrew Wilson
Date: 2/7/2003, 11:06 PM
To: ffml


Wow, been a while since I posted anything.  Hope someone remembers who I
am...

Previous chapters are availible at http://templar.anifics.com/  comments
are welcome.

Disclaimer: the text below is a work of fanfiction.  the characters are
used without permission and are not intended for profit

No Need For Protoculture
by Andrew Wilson

Chapter 7: Homecoming

The Prometheus hanger bay was a multi-level affair that held several
squadron's worth of Veritechs.  Vermillion group was mid-way between the
deck and the keel, which would normally indicate a long wait before
launch.  This time was far from normal.  They were about to make planet
fall on Earth after nearly a year in space.  Communications with the
ground side RDF and the United Earth Defense Council were intermittent
at best due to the constant jamming by the Zentradi ships.  Because of
that, Captain Gloval wanted as many Veritechs in the air as possible in
case someone decided to object to their landing.  Oddly enough, the
Zentradi themselves were not expected to be in that group.  Aside from a
few light skirmishes (one fought as the SDF-1 was in final approach),
the aliens had been silent every since the battle in the asteroid field
that allowed Vermillion group and Commander Hayes to return to the
SDF-1.

The ship began to rumble as it entered Earth's atmosphere.  There was no
sense of falling, because the ship's gravity drive gave the finger to
conventional physics by not only nullifying the effects of gravity upon
an object, but also by allowing said object to generated a gravitational
field as strong as it wanted (within reason) and in whatever direction
it wished.  Of course, that didn't stop momentum from building up as the
SDF-1 engaged in a controlled free-fall toward a spot in the Pacific
ocean several hundred miles from any island.  The reason for the ocean
drop was two fold, Tenchi's briefing had stated.  The first reason was
in case anything went wrong with the drive, there was a pool of water
several miles deep to cushion the fall and possibly to allow the
inhabitants of the ship to survive the impact.  The second reason was
that they needed the ocean to cool off the hull after the trip through
the atmosphere.  While there was no worry of the heat damaging the ship,
there was a chance of the heat preventing smaller craft and mecha from
operating for several hours after landing.

Of course, thinking about such details didn't really help when dropping
through the sky at over a kilometer per second.  Tenchi tried not to
think about anything as his Veritech stood ready to launch in Guardian
mode.  While Jet mode allowed for greater speed, Guardian was uniquely
suited for this launch since there was no runway.  Instead, the side
hatches and airlocks (installed during the flight across the system for
this very purpose) would fly open and the Veritech squadrons would be
mobilized in a matter of seconds.  They couldn't build up the speed of a
catapult launch, but the VTOL mecha didn't have to worry about speed to
generate lift, and the reflex turbine engines didn't have to worry about
running out of fuel for years.

"Attention," Commander Hayes said over the intercom, "we're at twenty
thousand meters and falling.  Brace for landing."

'Landing' was not an apt description of what happened.  It was only
seconds between Hayes cutting off and the rushing of air being cut off
in a huge, jarring rumble that nearly sent the Veritechs to the floor. 
Artificial gravity cut out and Tenchi felt momentum press down on him as
the SDF-1 stopped sinking and shot up to the surface.  The entire room
bounced a few times before finally settling.  An instant later, the
boarding and loading hatches flew open along the hull.

"Go go go!" Commander Fokker shouted over the tac link.  The entire wing
responded immediately and the Veritechs hustled out the hatches and into
the clear air.  Tenchi wasn't the only one to perform a barrel roll as
he switched to Jet mode.  The shear exhilaration of being under blue sky
again was contagious.

*******

Ayeka hummed in pleasure as the sun and wind caressed her skin like an
old friend.  They had been cramped up in that ship for far too long. 
Sasami and Ryo-ohki were playing over near the bow of the Prometheus,
and even Ryoko was joining in from time to time.  The residents of
Macross were crowding the flight deck and preventing any serious flight
operations.  For the moment, Ayeka had her little corner of the deck to
herself.

She didn't waste the opportunity.  She dropped down to an catwalk just
below the level of the deck.  Originally, it was part of the emergency
system for preventing the deck crew from going overboard due to
mistakes.  For now, it was just what Ayeka needed to prevent any
wandering eyes from seeing what she was about to do.

Ayeka mentally activated her Key and send a mental (and verbal) command
through the circlet to a location only a few thousand kilometers away.

"Azaka!  Kamadiki!"

The two log-shaped guardian's shimmered into existence instantly.
"Princess Ayeka!" they cried.

"It has been an entire Terran year since we lost contact," Azaka said.

"We were stuck at the house keeping Mr. Masaki company," Kamidaki
commented.

Ayeka giggled slightly at that comment, the resumed her serious
expression. "I have a few messages for you to deliver to him," she
reached into the pocket of her earth-style windbreaker and extracted
several envelopes. "After that, wait until I call you back.  And be
prepared to teleport cloaked."

Azaka took the envelopes with a repulsor beam and tucked them into an
internal storage space. "Yes ma'am!" both guardians intoned before faded
from view.

Ayeka smiled as she climbed back to the flight deck.  Perhaps they were
going home, and the letters were unnecessary.  But Washu had been
monitoring the broadcasts from Earth for the past week, and there were
no reports of alien or even military activity in the reports.  One
tidbit was a reference to the anniversary of the destruction of Macross
island...by a terrorist attack.  Something was definatly up.  Perhaps it
would be made clear when Captain Gloval left to make his report in the
morning.

*******

The euphoric air had not diminished by the time Captain Gloval and
Commander Hayes left.  The entire population, it seemed, had shown up on
the Prometheus' deck a few hours later when Minmei and Rick flew off so
that the former could see her family.

Of course, Rick left all the flight group's paperwork to his dedicated
and hard-working XO.

"He get you again, kid?"

Tenchi looked up and quickly rose to attention when he saw Commander
Fokker in the doorway.

"Back to work, Sargent," Fokker said with a wave of his hand. "The War
might have reduced the paperwork we grunts have to deal with, but
there's still a lot there.  But, there's good news in that regard."

"Sir?"

Fokker dropped a small packet onto Tenchi's desk. "Make sure you tell
Rick before your two subordinates." The blond officer left the room
without another word.  Tenchi slowly opened the folder and glanced at
the documents inside.

*******

Nobuyuki Masaki had to read through his father-in-law's message twice to
be sure of what was written.  The letters from Tenchi and the girls had
mostly been vague assurances of their health, but Yosho's was different.

He slowly reached for his phone and punched the speed dial for his
office.

"It's Masaki.  Yeah, something came up.  I'll mail my latest for the
Tendo account, but I won't be able to make it in for a while.  No, it's
a family matter.  Thanks, you too."

Nobuyuki replaced the phone in its cradle and stared at the message
again.  Something big must be happening, but what?

*******

"Tenchi?  Are you alright?"

Tenchi started as he suddenly found Sasami's face just inches from his
own.

"Oh...I'm alright Sasami," Tenchi felt his cheeks heat. "I guess I zoned
out a bit there."

Sasami smiled as she stepped back. "Yosho wanted me to tell you that
there's been a fight at the White Dragon.  I think a couple of your
friends were hurt."

"What!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Why didn't anyone-how long has that been
blinking?"

Sasami glanced at the blinking light on Tenchi's terminal. "I don't
know, since before I got in here."

Tenchi shook his head as he keyed the message. "Oh man, I was really out
of it.  I wonder what this is..."

"What's wrong?"

Tenchi shook his head. "I have to go Sasami.  How about I give you a
ride back to the city?"

"Sure!"

*******

"When did the doctors say I could take these off?" Ben asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Max replied as he sat in the back of the jeep. "That
cut wasn't very deep."

"You should have gotten out of the way," Rick commented.

"You shouldn't have been in that fight in the first place," Tenchi
commented as he attempted to concentrate on the road.

"Lighten up, Tenchi.  It was just an old-fashioned barroom brawl."

"Well, as long as Commander Fokker doesn't take away the good news."

Rick sat up suddenly. "What good news."

Tenchi paused for a moment. "At the end of next week, we're being
transferred.  Vermillion is being disbanded."

"WHAT?" came a shout from the other three men in the jeep.  Tenchi
simply nodded.

"Where are we being transferred to, Tenchi?" Rick asked.

Tenchi slowed as the main motor pool for the Prometheus came into view.
"Skull."

The cheers were heard all the way on the bridge.

*******

The cheer didn't last long.  Tenchi and Rick were going over the last
performance reviews before the transfer went through when the alarm
sounded.  Rick turned to his terminal and called up the situation report
as Max and Ben dashed through the door.

"What's the scoop, Lieutenant?" Ben asked.

"A Zentradi battleship is approaching," Rick replied quickly. "We're
handling mecha interdiction."

"Let's roll," Max commented as he dashed out the door.  The other three
weren't far behind.

*******

"Change of plans," Rick said, "we need to head to block 3 to take out
those pods."

"Roger," Max acknowledged.

"Sure," Ben said.

"Great," Tenchi commented.  

Tenchi braced himself as the squadron launched off the Prometheus into a
sky full of missiles, lasers, and death.  He jinxed to the side as a
swarm of missiles cut through the sky, and dove toward the sea as four
fighter pods latched onto his tail.  The others flew on into a swarm of
fighters as Tenchi simply cut his thrusters and transformed to
Battleoid.  He immediately began to plummet to the ocean, but his
pursuers overshot him and were perfect targets for his gunpod.

The fighters blew apart, and Tenchi shifted back to Jet seconds before
he hit the water.  He pulled up into a climb that would have caused a
normal human to gray out before leveling off and firing his gunpod into
a swarm of battlepods.  He was able to take out two pods that were
attempting to destroy a Gladiator destroid on deck when another message
came from CIC.

"Attention, Vermillion squadron, proceed to enemy penetration at block
number 7."

Each pilot acknowledged the command and swarmed as one into the melee. 
Moments later, another swarm of opponents arrived in the air above the
SDF-1.  Tenchi had not encountered the green, humanoid mecha before, but
had heard stories from some of the survivors of the battles between the
asteroids and Earth.

"I got the missile mech," Tenchi called over the com.  He immediately
rolled through the incoming swarm of warheads and launched his own
missiles at the Zentradi mecha.

The enemy pilot wasn't about to be killed by such a simple tactic.  It
wove through the missiles with an agility that any Veritech pilot would
be hard pressed to duplicate.  Tenchi kept a dogtail on the pilot for
several moment, but every shot he got off was avoided with contemptuous
ease.

*What's he trying to do?* Tenchi mused. *If he has this much extra
maneuverability then he could easily evade-WHA!*

Tenchi's thoughts broke off as the mech he was pursuing pulled up and
his Veritech plunged into the ocean.  The impact threw him against the
flight harness and nearly caused him to crack his head on the HUD.  The
engines, still in air-breathing mode, cut out immediately.  Luckily, the
structure of the Veritech was strong enough to avoid any damaged from
the impact.

Tenchi shook his head to clear it and shifted to Guardian.  The engines
restarted in non-aatmospheric mode and lifted him free of the ocean
where he was able to switch back to Jet and air-breathing engines.  He
swung around to the SDF-1 just in time to see the Deadelus plunge into
the ventral armor of the Zentradi ship.  A feeling of dread came over
him as the prow of the Deadelus cleared the ventral edge of the ship
before opening the assault bay doors.

"SDF-1, abort firing!" he shouted over the com. "Abort firing!"

"Say again Vermillion two," Lieutenant Grant replied. "You're
transmission was garbled."

"Lisa, this is Rick, I'm in direct line of the missiles!" Rick's
panicked voice said over the com. "Mayday, mayday!  I'm hit!"

Tenchi could only stare as Rick's Veritech disintegrated.  He felt a
shred of hope kindle at the sight of a parachute descending to the
waves.

"This is Vermillion two, requesting Search and Rescue.  Man down!"

*******

Tenchi barely noticed when Ryoko appeared (literally) at his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked.  When she received no answer, she
continued. "We're worried about you.  It's been days since the accident
and-"

"It wasn't an accident," Tenchi said in a cold voice.

"Yes it was, Tenchi," Ryoko said with force. "You think that Hayes woman
doesn't blame herself for what happened?  I've seen her here just as
often as I've seen you."

Tenchi sighed. "It's too much.  All this fighting.  The Zentradi have
millions of starships, billions of battlepods, and all we have is one
ship.  I doubt even the Galaxy Police or Jurai could stand against
that."

"What would you rather do?" Ryoko asked. "Give up?"

"No!" Tenchi shot back. "But what am I supposed to think?  Is there
really any hope of getting out of this alive?"

"I once thought that.  I asked if there was any hope that I would ever
stop being a prisoner in my own body.  I was trapped by Kagato for
longer than you could imagine, but I kept fighting his influence.  Every
day, for millennia."

Tenchi's face burned as she saw the tears in her eyes. "I..."

Ryoko leaned into Tenchi's shoulder, and Tenchi instinctively wrapped
his arm around her. "Just shut up, Tenchi."

*******

The alert sirens where the first notice Tenchi had of another attack.

"Another, so soon?" Ayeka said almost incredulously.

Tenchi shrugged and dashed to the phone.  This was the first time he was
able to get any down-time since Rick's surgery.  And the girls had gone
through the trouble to make him lunch.  But there was also his duty to
everyone on the SDF-1 and, by extension, the people of Earth.

"This is Masaki," he said after dialing the dispatch desk.

"Commander Fokker is already up there with Corporals Dixon and
Sterling," the desk Sargent replied. "They have the situation in hand."

The room shook for a moment and Tenchi braced himself against the wall.
"'In hand'?"

The dispatcher didn't seem affected. "An enemy mecha has penetrated into
the Macross block.  Orders from Control.  Report to Prometheus. 
Corporal Sterling has the enemy mech taken care of, but the rest of the
squadrons are in trouble."

"Right," Tenchi hung up the phone and shrugged at Ayeka.

"Go," she said. "They're counting on you."

Tenchi nodded and dashed out the door.  He guessed that a few
centimeters of rubber were left on the street as he peeled out and raced
for the tube to the Prometheus while the sounds of battle echoed over
the city.

*******

Roy waited until the medics were gone before pulling the IV out of his
arm.  *Gotta see her one more time,* his groggily though as she sat up
in the hospital bed.

A slim hand grabbed his shoulder before he could rise and pushed him
back on the bed with surprising force.

"You're not going anywhere, flyboy," a feminine voice purred in his ear.
"What is it about pilots that insure they never get help when they need
it?"

*******

Tenchi winced as Lisa Hayes stepped out of Rick's room.  He hadn't been
able to do anything other than look dumb when Skull 1 had taxied into
the hanger.  And now...

"Does he..."

Lisa shook her head. "He knows," she whispered through her tears. "He
said he needed time alone."

Tenchi nodded.  Roy Fokker's death was hitting everyone on the SDF-1,
especially Rick Hunter and Claudia Grant.  Grant's first indication that
something was wrong was when Fokker never showed up for a dinner date
they had arranged.  By the time she arrived at the hospital, Fokker was
gone.

*******

Washu peeled off her surgical glove and admired her handiwork.  The
regenerative tank was still in its prototype phase, but it should be
enough for the simple (if extensive) damage her patient had received. 
Now all that was needed was enough time for the her creation to do its
work.

"Do you plan to tell Lieutenant Grant?" Ayeka asked from Washu's
shoulder.

"No, not until he's out."

"That's being rather cruel to the woman.  But he still might not make
it, is that what you're saying?"

Washu smiled. "Nah, I want to record her reactions to his being alive
again."

Ayeka giggled. "Of course...Little Washu."

End Chapter 7

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