DEDICATION

To James Bateman, a.k.a. Zen.  He sent me a tape, out of the blue, 
that was probably the single greatest gift I've gotten in years.  
It was a subbed version of "Macross: Do You Remember Love" (I had 
already purchased the dub some years ago, which is widely 
considered one of the worst dub jobs of all time), and it allowed 
me to remember how deeply affectionate my feelings were for 
Robotech, and Rick and Lisa and Minmei.  It was Zen's gift that 
inspired me to write this story so I could once again reacquaint 
myself with them, and for that, I am eternally grateful.



TO BE IN LOVE

by Richard Lawson


Lisa Hayes-Hunter looked at herself in the mirror, examining 
herself for signs of age.  Her skin was not creased, except a 
little at the corners of her eyes.  Her body was fit and trim; she 
believed in keeping herself naturally in top shape.  Her muscle 
tone was good, her bones were strong, and her eyes were clear.

She hated the youthfulness of it all.

Her hair, however, was streaked with gray.  She'd had to fight to 
keep it that way; the bioagent used to counteract aging was not 
terribly selective, and she didn't want to dye it.  They'd had to 
apply blockers around her scalp to keep her natural soft brown 
from reasserting itself.

It was important to her.  She needed to look old.  After all, she 
was one of the oldest human beings alive.

She leaned away from the mirror, done with the ritual for today.  
She washed her hands, and stepped out of the bathroom.  She walked 
over towards her desk with the intention of sitting at it, and 
instead stood facing the large window, her hands clasped behind 
her back.  It was exactly the right time of day: the sun stood 
atop the twin pylons representing the main gun of the SDF-1, 
making the monument in the middle of the park look as if it were 
on the verge of firing.  Some visitors to her office thought the 
sight awe-inspiring.  Lisa saw it as a grim reminder.  The reason 
why, at seventy-two, she was considered positively ancient was 
because billions of her race had been eradicated in the Zentraedi 
Rain of Death.  Only the SDF-1 had survived.  And of those who had 
been older than her on board the fortress-cum-city, many had died 
in the later wars that followed.  Including Admiral Gloval.  
Including Emil Lang.  Including Claudia.

All because an alien spaceship had fallen from the sky over sixty 
years ago.

Lisa turned away from the window and sat at her desk.  So much 
work to do, as always.  So many responsibilities.  So much that 
needed to be done.  No time for idle contemplation.  No time for 
gallivanting around and having fun and ignoring all the problems 
that were so *obvious*...

She viciously cut off that train of thought.  She'd brooded, 
debated, and yelled about the subject far too often lately.

She spoke into the monitor.  "Lieutenant Morales."

Immediately the visage of her adjutant appeared on the screen.  
"Yes, Admiral?"

"Are we ready for our 1300 meeting?"

"Almost, Sir.  Still waiting for a tactical evaluation from 
Admiral Hunter."

Damn.  Not again.  "Try to reach him again.  If you can't, just 
have some charts available and I'll wing it.  Other than that?"

"We're ready.  In fact, Miriya wants us to hurry so she can join 
the strike force."

Lisa snorted.  Miriya was a strange creature.  A micronized 
Zentraedi, she'd had enough bizarre things happen to her to drive 
ten other people insane.  Yet she managed to fit in well with the 
human society she'd married into while maintaining the ferocity of 
her Zentraedi heritage.  She'd officially resigned from any and 
all military allegiances, but she still found ways to keep 
involved.  Lisa valued her input - she was second only to Exedore 
in her understanding of human-Zentraedi issues.  And Miriya's 
skill with single-pilot combat machines - of *any* configuration - 
was second only to the man she had married.

Miriya was also a good friend.  One of the few Lisa had left.  
Living, that is.

"Very good, Lieutenant.  Also, make sure up-to-date telemetry is 
available in the conference room."

"Aye aye, sir."  Morales closed the connection.  Lisa smiled 
slightly; he had the uncanny knack of knowing when she was done 
issuing orders.  He was supposed to wait for a dismissal, but he 
also knew that she didn't like to be kept waiting.  She liked this 
quirk of his, but one of these days he was going to be wrong, and 
she was going to enjoy calling him on it.

The smile felt strange on her face; she'd had it on very seldom of 
late.  It quickly disappeared, leaving behind a strange aftertaste 
of regret.  Lisa put it all behind her and concentrated on the 
task at hand.

***

Rick Hunter felt a buzzing in his ears.  It was coming, of course, 
from the implants.  All he had to do was blink hard and the 
message would appear in front of him.

He didn't feel like blinking.

He gave the mounting bolt a final turn, then applied the bonding 
charge.  Satisfied, he closed the access panel and stepped back.

The Veritech was one of the last remaining in the galaxy.  Without 
protoculture to power them, all transforming mecha were basically 
useless.  While other power sources could fuel them, only 
protoculture had given them the responsiveness and flexibility 
that had been almost life-like.  So much had been lost when 
protoculture had left the universe.

Rick snorted to himself.  Good riddance.

His personal Veritech, which he still called Skull One, could 
transform after a fashion - it just couldn't do anything useful in 
Battloid mode.  It could still function as a fighter, although 
modern air- and spacecraft could out-perform it.  He used it 
mostly to get around from place to place, both on Earth and around 
the galaxy - the Nichols drive he'd installed gave it FTL 
capabilities.

He'd installed a lot of things into Skull One.  Technology was 
moving at such a rapid pace that any component he installed was 
outdated within six months.

Rick had high hopes for technology.

He vaulted onto the wing, then clambered into the cockpit.  
"Computer, initialize systems."

"Initialization complete."  The computer's voice was a monotone 
that was neither male nor female.  He had never bothered loading a 
personality into it, like everyone else did with their AI's.  He'd 
never quite trusted computers that far.  Not after Haydon IV.

"Diagnostic."

"Systems nominal."

"Run program Alpha-one."

"Running."

The calculation would take a minute.  Rick tried to control the 
excited beating of his heart, the breath that wanted to come 
rapidly.  He stilled his body and his mind, patiently awaiting the 
computer's output.

"Program Alpha-one complete."

Rick swallowed.  "Results?"

"Forty-two point three seven percent."

"Damn."  Rick pounded the console in frustration.  He'd been so 
sure.  The new component was supposed to be an order of magnitude 
more capable than its predecessor.  He'd appropriated one of the 
first production models to install into the Skull.  All it had 
done was add three points.

"Computer.  Run program Alpha-two."

"Running."

Rick grunted and clambered out of the cockpit.  He leapt to the 
ground, absorbing the impact easily.  Lisa grumbled sometimes, but 
Rick enjoyed feeling twenty again.  He sauntered along, wondering 
idly if he would be on time for the briefing.

He was slightly disappointed that he was not the last to arrive.  
He nodded at Miriya and sat next to Max.  He didn't look at Lisa 
sitting at the far end of the table.

Max leaned over and spoke quietly.  "The Admiral is not favorably 
disposed towards you, Rick.  Are you ready?"

Rick shrugged as Major-General Walton arrived.  Lisa tapped the 
table to indicate the meeting was now commencing.

Her adjutant - Rick could never remember his name, and always 
thought of him as Friday - rose.  "Good afternoon, sirs.  At 0045 
Galactic Standard Time, the Karbarrans moved en force into the 
Dialtre system.  This is in direct violation of the ruling sent 
down by the Tribunal three weeks ago.  The Karbarrans have so far 
refused to comment."

"The Karbarrans have had their eye on the Dialtre system's 
habitable planets for some time now."  Exedore spoke quietly and 
deferentially, as always.  Yet his voice demanded the attention 
and respect of everyone in the room.  Rick always wondered how he 
did it.  Spending centuries as Breetai's advisor probably helped.  
"They have plans to rapidly colonize several marginally habitable 
systems, and will need to provide those colonies with large 
supplies of food.  Dialtre II and Dialtre III will likely be 
turned into purely agricultural planets."

Lisa shook her head.  "They know that those planets have been 
promised to the Perytons.  Their need is much greater."

Rick saw the nods, and knew what people thought.  The Perytons had 
slowly come to realize that they could no longer live on the 
planet where their race had undergone a generations-long torture.  
They hoped that transplanting their race to a new home world would 
allow them to put the past firmly behind them and begin to 
revitalize their culture.

The problem was that there were far fewer habitable planets than 
anyone had hoped for.  While plenty were capable of sustaining 
life of some sort, those that could support humans - or Perytons 
or Karbarrans or *any* of the known sentient races - were 
exceedingly rare.  Haydon had apparently found all that were so 
capable within a thousand light years and populated them with the 
known sentients.  Rick had witnessed the destruction of two of 
them.  And Earth had come damn close to being a third.

Exploration had been a high priority of the new UWG Space Force.  
Dialtre had been a prize find: nearly three hundred light years 
distant from Earth, it was not necessarily close but not so far as 
to be unmanageable.  Plans were being made to move the Perytons 
there.  Careful plans that the Karbarrans were disrupting.

Rick was certain that that, more than anything else, annoyed Lisa.

Lisa turned her gaze to Rick, her eyes flashing a challenge and 
accusation that never reached her voice.  "Can you brief us on the 
tactical situation, Admiral Hunter?"

Rick tapped the table in front of him.  As he suspected, that aide 
of Lisa's had the tactical charts ready.  He sent it to the main 
display; from the center of the table, a holographic image 
displayed the Dialtre system and Karbarran emplacements.  Rick had 
glanced at these pictures two hours ago, and had thought about 
them on and off while working on the Skull.

"The Karbarrans have a perimeter of thirty-six sensor drones 
outside the edge of the system, any one of which could detect a 
ship entering the system from any direction.  They have six major 
carrier groups in relatively stationary positions just inside the 
orbit of the sixth planet.  Two more carriers guard each of the 
planets.  Twenty smaller groups of between three and six ships 
move throughout the system in constantly changing patrol routes."

He heard a soft whistle from Max, and nodded in agreement.  "This 
represents the majority of the Karbarran fleet.  I am certain that 
they do not fear reprisals on any of their own systems."  This he 
said as neutrally as possible, trying not to let his contempt 
show.  "They are firmly entrenched and are not going to be 
expelled without a major application of force."

"No one said anything about force," Lisa said, more to say she 
understood Rick's implied criticism.

Exedore sighed.  "I am afraid the Karbarrans may not respond to 
much else.  They have cast themselves as the dominant race of the 
galaxy now that the Masters have gone and the Invid returned to 
dormancy.  This is a direct challenge to the United Worlds of the 
Galaxy; the Karbarrans will not abide by their rulings, and will 
instead set their own policies, which they believe we will have no 
choice but to follow.  I am certain that within a few hours we 
will be receiving a missive from them, offering their own solution 
to the Peryton resettlement problem."

"We can't let them get away with this."  Miriya had two distinct 
voices: the almost humble tone she used when she was unsure of 
herself or trying to fit in with humans and other races, and the 
fierce, arrogant tone she used during times of crisis.  Rick 
rather liked the warrior voice.  "We *must* stop them here before 
they establish their own mastery of the galaxy."

Rick offered up a suggestion he was pretty sure would be hotly 
debated for hours before being finally agreed to.  "I think a 
blockade is the only answer.  We must prevent ships from entering 
or leaving the system.  If we can get place enough gravity wells 
around the system, and position our fleets to protect them, that 
puts the Karbarrans in a position of having to start a fight if 
they want to keep the system.  And *if* they start a fight, 
they'll lose sympathy in the galaxy."

"It also sounds like an excellent way to start an all-out galactic 
war."  Lisa kept her voice one shade from disgust.  "We given them 
a choice between leaving the system in defeat or fighting us for 
control of this part of the galaxy.  Are we certain what their 
answer would be?"

Exedore leaned forward.  "We need to bring them to the negotiating 
table, and the best way to do that is to place ourselves in a 
position of strength, or at least equilibrium.  Admiral Hunter's 
proposal has merit."

Rick resumed his seat, satisfied.  Lisa would rather talk for 
years than take any decisive action.  She was fortunate that she 
had people like himself and Exedore who could talk some sense into 
her.

He began to tune out the debate as it dragged endlessly to its 
inevitable conclusion.  Instead, he thought about forty-two 
percent.

---

Lisa stared at the screen intently.  "So, you understand, 
Captain?"

"Yes, Admiral."  The Captain's voice was dangerously close to 
insubordination.  It came, Lisa knew, from long experience of 
ignoring the orders of superior officers and doing what the 
Captain thought was right.  It was only because the Captain *was* 
right almost all the time that had kept her from being tossed out 
of the service on numerous occasions.

Still, Lisa knew she had her respect.  And the respect of Dana 
Sterling was hard to earn.  "All right, Captain, carry on.  Just a 
reminder, we are at Fleet Condition Two.  We will be continually 
monitoring your bridge and telemetry."

Dana's eyes flashed.  "Understood, sir.  Just stay out of my way 
when the action gets hairy."

Lisa quirked a smile.  "Aye aye, Captain," she said with just a 
trace of gentle mockery.

A sigh escaped Dana's lips.  "I mean, once you've given your 
orders, Admiral."

Lisa nodded, satisfied.  Dana's greatest strengths were her 
tactical genius and ability to improvise.  Channeling those 
strengths in productive ways was a Herculean task sometimes.  Lisa 
trusted Dana, however, and knew that she wouldn't initiate any 
unauthorized actions that would precipitate war.  "Carry on, 
Captain."

"Aye aye, Admiral."  Dana cut the connection.

Lisa called up the tactical display.  Dana commanded the 
_Portland_, a mid-sized ship.  There were many that were larger 
and with more firepower.  Dana called them 'slugs' and refused to 
command one.  The _Portland_ was among the fastest and most 
maneuverable craft in the fleet, and it suited Dana perfectly.  
>From it, she had been given direct responsibility for a group of 
eighteen similar vessels.  Their job would be to patrol around the 
edges of the Dialtre system, ready to respond to any attempted 
breakout.  Dana would keep them occupied until help arrived in the 
form of the more massive battleships stationed around the system.

Lisa looked at the setup for a while.  It seemed adequate; Rick 
really *was* good at these kind of things, and she could find no 
flaws.  She continued to try and probe for weaknesses, trying to 
see it as an enemy would.

Eventually she gave up.  From what she knew, the barricade should 
hold.  The Karbarrans would no doubt attempt something soon, but 
without further intelligence Lisa could see no reason to waste 
time going around in circles.  She needed to rest and try to have 
her mind and body fresh for when the inevitable flare-up occurred.

Unfortunately, this meant going home.

Bolstering her resolve as best she could, she stood up and let her 
office, nodding at Morales as she strode by his desk.  He'd leave 
in a bit; he had to be at least as tired as she was.

She walked along the corridors, taking her time.  Eventually she 
reached her quarters.  She spent a moment staring at the door, 
then pressed her palm on the lock.  The door slid open and she 
stepped inside.

Rick was home, she knew that from the flashing lights and sounds 
from the living room.  She stepped down the hallway and looked in.  
The living room had been transformed into a Veritech's cockpit.  A 
Martian landscape surrounded it, as well as a dozen Battlepods.  
The Veritech had just finished destroying one, and was veering 
around to acquire another target while evading the erratic fire of 
the rest.

Lisa growled and turned away.  Let him play his games, she didn't 
care.

The lights and noise immediately diminished behind her.  She 
looked over her shoulder to see normal furniture restored, and her 
husband powering down the VR system.  He looked over to her.  
"Anything interesting happening?"

She sniffed.  "Nothing you need to worry about.  Were you having 
fun?"

His expression hardened; he'd heard the unspoken criticism.  He 
replied as if he hadn't heard it, though.  "It's not terribly 
realistic.  No gee forces, for one.  The training simulators are 
much better."

"Then you should spend your time there."  She looked forward again 
and began moving down the hall towards the bedroom.

A hand on her arm stopped her.  He was very quick when he wanted 
to be.  "Please, Lisa."

She didn't turn to face him.  "Please, what?"

"Don't be like this.  Do we have to be mad at each other all the 
time?"

She whirled to face him.  "Rick, we could be going to war very 
soon.  You don't respond to pages, make no effort to stay in 
contact.  Instead you sit here and play games and expect me to not 
be mad!"

Rick tsked.  "I didn't respond to your page because I didn't need 
to.  I was ready for the meeting.  Afterwards, when everything was 
set, I came home to relax, because I know very soon things will 
get hot."  He raised his chin a little.  "You relax by trying to 
find mistakes in everyone around you and yelling at them about 
it."

"I do not."  Lisa stopped herself before she got *very* angry.  "I 
don't need this, not now.  I'm going to bed.  Do whatever you 
want."

Shaking her arm out of his hand, she walked stiffly into the 
bedroom.  She more or less ripped her uniform from her body, too 
tired and angry to be neat at this point.  She ran through her 
bedtime preparations quickly before settling into bed.

Rick stood in the doorway.  Lisa felt his eyes on her body and 
shook her head.  "Don't even think of it, Hunter."

His eyes found hers.  "And when was the last time *you* 'even 
thought about it'?"

Lisa blinked.  It *had* been a while.  It wasn't because her 
desire was any less; she'd just never found the time.  Or the 
inclination.  Too much time spent worrying.  Too much time in 
squabbling.  In wallowing in what was going wrong, not focusing on 
what was right.

She tried a slow, wide smile.  "Well, perhaps I can be persuaded 
to think of it now."

Rick was honestly surprised.  Lisa felt her amusement rising; she 
seldom surprised him any more.

He stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed with her, turning 
out the lights as he did.

She felt his hand reach over her and grab her shoulder.  He drew 
her in and they kissed passionately.  Lisa sighed through the 
kiss; this *was* good.

He broke the kiss after a while.  Her eyes had adjusted enough to 
be able to make out the mischievous smile she loved so.  "Y'see, 
Admiral?  It doesn't have to be all protocol and negotiation."

Irritation flared in her.  "And what is that supposed to mean?"

The smile vanished.  "Nothing, dammit.  Don't make a big thing of 
this."

"And don't make snide comments either, Rick."  She pushed him 
away.  "I don't have the energy for this."

"You always have to make things so damned difficult."  Rick rolled 
away, positively radiating disgust.  "Can't you ever just once let 
yourself go?"

She turned on her side, facing away from him.  "Can't you ever 
just once try and stay in control?"

"Good night, *Admiral*."

Lisa didn't respond, didn't make a sound as the sheets below her 
face grew increasingly wet.

---

Rick ran along the corridors.  He didn't need to work out any 
more, of course - a trip to the doctor's and an application of 
bioagents could make any body physically fit in a matter of hours.  
Rick agreed with Lisa, however, that keeping naturally fit was 
better for the body and soul.

It was Lisa that filled his thoughts this morning.  Lisa, that 
strange mixture of needs, desires, and duties.  Always trying to 
balance them out, never quite succeeding.

It had gotten worse lately.  Lisa was in charge of the fleet, the 
cobbling together of the remaining RDF and Sentinel forces.  All 
of the remaining active sentient races supported the new fleet, 
and abided by its decisions.

Technically, the fleet was under the control of the United Worlds 
of the Galaxy.  The UWG had been established as an ad hoc 
government until the sentient races could devise a permanent form 
of government.  Such a task had proven much more difficult than 
anyone had imagined.  It was easy for the races to cooperate when 
face with an implacable enemy like the Invid, or the Master-
controlled Zentraedi, or Haydon.  Removing the threat of 
extinction had brought to light how *different* the races were.  
They each had unique ideas on how the UWG should govern.  Even 
finding a common terminology to discuss issues had proven almost 
impossible.  The end result was that after decades of effort, an 
effective galactic government had yet to be established.  Indeed, 
more and more the sentiment was such that one would never be 
formed.

With the UWG busy debating what "free will" meant, most planetary 
governments had turned to the fleet to help adjudicate inter-
system disputes.  Slowly over the years it was the fleet that had 
assumed the task of governing the galaxy.

And Lisa assuming the mantle of benevolent dictator.

Rick shook his head.  Lisa, of course, listened to her advisors 
and depended on them heavily to help her run the fleet - and, by 
extension, the galaxy.  But when she gave an order, it was 
understood that it would be carried out without further debate.  
There was no one to check Lisa's power.

The power had changed Lisa.  She had become obsessive about her 
job, often spending twenty hours or more a day in her office 
trying to stay on top of everything.  Everything else had become 
of secondary importance.  She had become used to being obeyed 
without question, to having her will decide the fate of the 
galaxy.  She almost took it as a personal affront when trouble 
flared up, and would work ruthlessly to resolve all conflicts as 
quickly as possible.

Rick stopped running and leaned against a wall, enjoying the 
tiredness he felt and the sweat running down his body.  He also 
forced himself to admit that Lisa had done a good job of running 
the galaxy.  Things had been good and relatively peaceful.  Most 
planets had been focusing their attentions on rebuilding after the 
ravages of the Invid.  Only the Karbarrans had focused more on 
expanding their little empire.  Rick certainly couldn't lay the 
current crisis at Lisa's feet; it was perhaps inevitable given the 
Karbarran's aggressive nature.

Shoving off the wall, Rick ran down the corridors again.  What he 
*could* blame Lisa for was forgetting what she worked so hard to 
maintain.  That family, friends, and time spent with loved ones 
meant as much or more than working out trade disputes.  She needed 
to stop being so serious and have fun once in a while.

Rick tried to remember the last time they'd done nothing all day 
but spent time together.  He tried to remember the first time.  
Any time.  He couldn't.  Their honeymoon had been a few hours 
spent on a space station similar to this one before launching the 
SDF-3 on its mission to Tirol.

As always, with Lisa it was duty.  Duty above all else.  Damn her.

Rick found himself in the hangar bay.  He hadn't consciously 
directed himself here, but he knew why his feet had led him this 
way.  He walked over to the Skull and looked up at it.  Forty-two 
was the answer so far.  It wasn't nearly good enough.

He turned and ran back to his quarters, thinking of the duties he 
had and the choices he'd made, and wondering if they'd been right.

---

Lisa sat at the small conference table in the center of her 
office.  She'd ordered lunch, then sent Morales off when hers had 
arrived, with strict orders to enjoy his own lunch and not come 
back for an hour or more.  She wanted this time alone.

She idly picked at the salad, taking a bite or two.  She was 
certain that the anti-aging bioagents had diminished her sense of 
taste.  The doctors assured her that it was all in her mind, that 
her senses were as sharp as ever.  Lisa wasn't so sure.  She was 
certain that there was a price being paid somewhere for the 
apparent immortality the bioagents offered like an apple.

The door to her office opened, and she smiled widely.  At last, he 
was here.  "Lieutenant," she said by way of greeting, her voice 
warm.

"Admiral," was his usual reply.  He came up and kissed her on the 
cheek.  She basked in the affection, now as much as ever.

She indicated a seat opposite her, where another lunch was 
waiting.  "Please sit."

He did, his unaccountably tall, whipcord, handsome body settling 
easily into the chair.  He smiled at her, full of the confidence 
and cheerfulness of youth.  "Looks like things are getting 
exciting, eh?"

That brought her out of her dream-like state very quickly.  
"That's one way of putting it, yes.  I wish I could tell you 
more."

He raised his hand.  "You know that I'd never expect our 
relationship to be the reason you gave me classified information."

Lisa nodded.  "I *do* know that.  Sometimes, I wish I could share 
the burden of that knowledge with someone I love."

A grimace crossed that gorgeous face of his, like a cloud blocking 
the sun.  "You mean, someone other than Dad?"

Lisa realized too late the trap she'd set herself.  "Um, I didn't 
mean-"

"Maybe not consciously.  But, no matter how much you and Dad try 
to shield me from it, it's obvious you guys are having a lot of 
problems.  I'm not blind, Mom."

"No, you're not.  You always were an intelligent and observant 
boy."

"And you're not going to change the subject.  Anything you want to 
talk about?"

Lisa took a sip of her orange juice, more to gain time than 
anything else.  "I appreciate the offer, Roy.  Maybe I'll take you 
up on it sometime.  But I think it's best that you not be in the 
middle of any problems your father and I are having."

Roy thought about that for a moment, then nodded.  "I guess I 
don't want either one of you to think I'm taking sides.  I just 
want you both to be happy."

"I know."  Lisa sat back and rubbed her eyes.  "Maybe after this 
is over we can try... something."

She heard him get up and walk behind her.  His strong hands began 
massaging her neck and shoulders, and she sighed in contentment.  
"You do that so well."

"Dad taught me."

"Yes."  Lisa remembered when Rick used to give her such massages.  
How long had it been since the last one?  A decade?  Lisa sighed, 
allowing more of her sorrow show than she intended.

Roy heard and understood and didn't say anything.  Lisa 
appreciated that, appreciated her son more than anything else in 
the galaxy.

And, as always, her thoughts drifted back to the confrontation to 
come.  She wondered, when all was said and done, if there would be 
a galaxy left for Roy to exist in.

---

The buzzing Rick felt seemed to convey a sense of urgency he'd 
never felt from it before.  He looked up from the Veritech's main 
display and stared at nothing at all before deliberately blinking 
his eyes.

The message appeared in his field of visions, letters hanging in 
the air that only he could see.  KARBARRANS ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE 
DIALTRE SYSTEM.  CAPTAIN STERLING MOVING TO ENGAGE.  YOUR PRESENCE 
REQUESTED BY ADMIRAL HAYES-HUNTER.

Rick spoke to the words.  "Message received.  On my way."  He 
blinked again, and began scrambling out of the cockpit.  
"Computer.  Run program Alpha-two."

"Running."

He jumped to the ground and began running himself.  Dana.  He was 
glad she would be the first to meet the Karbarran fleet.  She was 
a damn fine soldier, the best possible combination of talents from 
her parents.  Rick hoped it would be enough.

He flew into the situation room, finding that Lisa and Max were 
already there, along with other staff.  Rick stopped at the 
railing and looked at the main tactical display floating in the 
center of the room.  Ten large cargo vessels protected by forty 
small-to-medium fighter craft and two larger battleships were 
being met by Dana's group.  Rick glanced over to one side of the 
room, where a flat viewscreen showed the bridge of the _Portland_ 
and Dana giving orders, positioning her forces.  Her eyes gleamed 
and her voice was intense and excited, but she was firmly in 
control and speaking clearly.

He looked over to Max.  "Time to intercept?"

"About three minutes."  Max could just as well be talking about 
when the next rainshower was due.  Rick envied his friend's calm, 
collected frame of mind.

"Any suggestions for Captain Sterling, Admiral?"  Lisa's voice was 
all business.

Rick looked over the formation and shook his head.  "If she's 
going to do what I think she's going to do, she's got it set up 
about right.  We've already talked about this, and she's got a 
good plan in mind.  If we're lucky this will all be over in 
fifteen minutes and casualties will be minimal."

Lisa nodded.  "Let's hope so."

Rick watched the conflict unfold.  The Karbarrans had their main 
fighting force forward, prepared to meet Dana's fleet head-on.  
One battleship supported those fighters while the other hung back 
to protect the cargo vessels.

As one, all of Dana's ships fired missiles.  The representations 
of their flight path turned the tactical display to spaghetti in 
an instant.  They all detonated in a wall two clicks long and one 
click high, creating a temporary barrier between the two groups of 
vessels.  Rick nodded in approval as the enemy targets began 
veering wildly, instinctively trying to avoid an attack that had 
never actually reached them.

Meanwhile, Dana's fleet had dissolved as each ship broke off in 
seemingly random directions.  More missiles were fired by both 
sides, most missing and a few exploding harmlessly on target 
shields.  Dana's ships weaved in and around the enemy vessels, and 
on her signal suddenly reformed into formation behind the main 
force of enemy vessels.

Rick studied the formation and shook his head in admiration.  Dana 
had played it beautifully.  The heavier ships of her group 
surrounded the smaller ones, protecting them from direct attack.  
The small ships began firing volley after volley of missiles at 
the cargo ships while the larger ones launched diversionary 
missile attacks at both battleships.

The Karbarran forces appeared to be in disarray, caught between 
defending the battleships and the cargo vessels.  They were not 
launching effective counterattacks on Dana's forces, so her 
smaller ships had plenty of time to knock out the cargo vessels' 
shields and disable their engines.

Rick waited until the third cargo vessel had fallen to Dana's 
attacks, then spoke to Lisa.  "That's enough.  She needs to get 
out of there."

Lisa nodded and pressed a button on the console in front of her.  
"Captain Sterling.  Withdraw."

Rick looked up to the viewscreen of the _Portland_'s bridge in 
time to see a mild look of irritation cross Dana's face.  Rick 
couldn't help but smile; her Zentraedi heritage and her own 
inclinations would have her stay until the last cargo vessel was 
out of commission.  But she also knew that it was a superior force 
she faced, and if given time to organize, they would cause her a 
lot of grief.

Dana barked her own orders, and Rick watched the tactical as the 
smaller ships ceased firing on the cargo vessels and turned to 
fire more missiles in a path leading away from the enemy fleet.  
The few enemy targets in that path cleared quickly away, and the 
small ships flew past their larger brethren to assume a position 
where they could cover their retreat.  Soon all of Dana's vessels 
were disengaged and moving away from the Karbarrans.

Rick sighed when he saw that the Karbarrans were not pursuing.  
Lisa spoke to Max.  "Casualties."

"For Dana's fleet: minor damage to seven vessels.  No loss of life 
reported so far."  Just a hint of pride colored Max's words, and 
Rick smiled in response.  "For the Karbarrans: four cargo vessels 
incapacitated, three fighting craft with minor damage."

Rick nodded.  "Great.  The Karbarrans won't leave their vessels 
behind.  They'll tow them back to the system and come up with 
another plan."

Lisa nodded again.  "Yes.  Next time won't be nearly so easy.  
Dana used up most of her missile ordnance; we'll need to resupply 
her quickly."

Max began tapping the console in front of him.  "I'll see to 
that."

"Good.  Admiral Hunter, please continue to closely monitor the 
situation."

Rick had to bite down hard on the growl that threatened to escape 
his lips.  "Aye aye, sir."

She looked into his eyes for a fraction of a second before turning 
away.  "I will be in my office, contacting the Karbarrans."

"You do that."  Rick made a show of examining the tactical 
display, pretending to ignore the way her shoulders stiffened 
slightly as she left the situation room.

"Rick."  As always, Max spoke softly.  "You two need to work this 
out.  You can't go on like this.  It's eating both of you up."

"I know, Max, I know."  Rick watched lazily as Dana's forces began 
to form a more orderly formation, with the damaged ships being 
protected by the others.  It was a wise but probably unnecessary 
move, since the Karbarrans were not pursuing.  "How do you do it, 
Max?  You and Miriya still seem as happily married as you were 
that first night."

Max shrugged as he tapped into the console.  He was, of course, 
quite capable of doing two or more things at once.  "I wish I had 
a secret formula to give you, Rick.  Some Zentraedi secret to 
long-term thinking.  But the simple fact of the matter is that our 
love for each other has never stopped growing."

Rick tsked.  "Damn platitudes.  I've been hearing them and 
thinking about them for years, and they're not doing me any good 
at all."

Finishing whatever task he was doing, Max looked up at Rick.  
"Okay, try this.  Expectations."

Rick blinked.  "What?"

"Expectations.  Miriya had literally no idea of what a marriage 
was supposed to be like.  Of what a relationship was supposed to 
be like.  Whatever happened between us was a miracle to her.  Ben 
Franklin said it best: Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he 
shall never be disappointed."

"Disappointed."  Rick grunted.  "Why should I be disappointed in 
Lisa?  She's the leader of the whole freakin' galaxy."

Max looked back down at his console.  "Why, indeed."

Rick frowned.  "What?  Spill it, Max."

Max's voice was soft and apologetic.  "It is not my place to 
comment."

"Max, you've been my friend for... what, fifty years?  I'd never 
hold anything against you, you know that.  Tell me."

Silence reigned for a moment as Max continued to tap at his 
console.  Finally he looked up again.  "Rick, your problem is that 
you don't know what you want.  In a way, it's been your defining 
characteristic - wanting what you don't have.  Now, at last, you 
have everything you ever wished for.  You've had it for years.  If 
you have nothing left to strive for - no impossible goal waiting 
to be achieved - you get bored."

Rick felt his breath leave him.  "Are you saying that I'm taking 
out that boredom on Lisa?"

"I would not speak ill of either one of you.  I'm only saying that 
you either need to find someway to channel your energy, or find a 
way to be satisfied with what you have."

"Damn."  Rick looked up at the tactical display again.  "Is it 
possible, do you think, for people to do that?  It didn't used to 
be, not with most people being dead before they got as old as me.  
Does living forever mean you gotta find a way to change who you 
are every few decades?"

"I don't know the answer to that.  All I can offer is that many 
Zentraedi - including Miriya - had to completely change who they 
were in order to live in a post-war society.  Those who couldn't 
followed Khyron into oblivion."

Max turned back to his work.  Rick continued examining the ships 
on the display and thought for a long time about Lisa and Miriya 
and Khyron and how he fit into all of that.

---

Lisa walked slowly through the corridors, exhausted.  Eight hours 
spent talking with the Karbarrans had produced nothing useful.  No 
movement had been made, despite Lisa's attempts to offer some 
middle ground.

It was looking more and more like the Karbarrans were using 
Dialtre as an excuse to provoke an all-out conflict with the UWG 
fleet.  The Karbarrans wanted to impose their own version of 
benevolent rule on the galaxy.  And they apparently didn't care 
how many died before that happened.

Lisa's shoulders sagged with that thought.  Many *would* die.  
Dana had made the Karbarrans look far more incompetent than they 
were.  The Karbarrans would be a tough, cagey foe.  While the 
Invid used little more than savage, brute force to win their 
battles, the Karbarrans understood the tactics of war and would 
use those tactics to make sure that any conflict with them would 
be a long, bloody affair.

War.  The thought horrified Lisa.  Her whole tenure as Admiral had 
been spent trying to prevent war from happening again.  Despite 
decades of effort, war was coming.

Lisa wondered which of her friends would die this time.

She palmed open the door and stepped in.  The quarters were dark; 
she assumed that Rick was in bed.  She stepped into the kitchen to 
prepare herself a cup of decaf tea to try and drive from her mind 
the images of watching the world die in the Rain of Death while 
she cowered with a few others in Alaska.

"Lisa?"

It took a few seconds for Rick's voice to register.  She looked up 
at him as she began to sip her tea.  He was still dressed in his 
uniform, although it looked a little rumpled.  She imagined that 
he'd been lying in bed waiting for her.  "Yes, Rick?"

He spoke in a calm, serious tone of voice.  "We need to talk."

Great.  *Now* he wanted to talk.  "This is not a good time, Rick."

The irritation flared on his face.  "Why not?"

"Why not!"  Lisa couldn't believe her ears.  "Rick, the Karbarrans 
are-"

"Duty?  Is that all you can ever think about is duty?  This is our 
*life*, Lisa!"

She slammed her cup on the counter top, liquid flying everywhere.  
"We've got other, more important concerns right now.  We could be 
going to war any day; now is not the time to start squabbling."

"Who says I wanted to squabble?  Don't you listen to me any more?"  
Rick pounded the door frame once with his fist.  "You know, things 
don't always happen the way you expect them to.  You're not some 
puppetmaster that can watch in amusement as her little charges 
dance to her tune.  We're real people, Lisa."

"Dammit, that is not fair!  I've spent my whole life trying to 
keep order.  Don't you dare compare me to the Robotech Masters."

Rick laughed once.  "I didn't make that comparison.  Interesting 
that you thought of it."

Lisa raised her hands.  "I'm not going to do this, not now.  I am 
going to bed."  She tried to push past him.

He didn't move.  "Is that your answer?  Run over anyone who 
challenges your authority?"

"Oh, you're just *wonderful* with the analogies, Hunter.  What do 
you do next, break into song?"

She saw the hurt in his eyes, quickly turned to anger.  "What the 
*hell* was that?  Your specialty - finding the enemy's weak spot 
and exploiting it?"  He was trembling slightly.  "Am I the enemy 
now?"

Lisa was losing control.  Words flew off her lips.  "No, you're a 
spoiled child, doing what he wants, whenever he wants, and not 
living up to his responsibilities as a husband, an admiral, or a 
father.  You hang on to your toy Veritech in the vain hope that it 
will somehow transport you back to your youth, and you take it out 
on me when it doesn't.  Because deep down, I'm still the 'old 
sourpuss' to you."

Rick seemed to have difficulty breathing.  "Damn straight.  More 
caught up in duty than life.  For some stupid reason I thought 
there was more to you than that.  It took me fifty years to find 
out I had it right the first time."

Lisa looked up into his eyes, her jaw clenched, breathing rapidly 
through her nose.  He glared back at her.  The anger saturated the 
air and turned it to jello.

She reached up, put her hands on his chest, and shoved him bodily 
backwards.  "Get the hell out of my way."  She walked into the 
hallway and turned toward the front door.

"Running away?  Afraid of the truth, 'Admiral'?"

She spun on her heel and shot him a look of such anger that he 
recoiled.  "If it weren't for our son I'd think that I'd wasted 
the past fifty years with you.  If I had it all to do over again 
and it wouldn't affect Roy, I'd let you stay in that damn cottage 
with *her*."

He took a step towards her, and for an instant she was certain he 
was going to attack.  She stepped back, bringing her hands up, 
ready to meet him.

They stood like that for long seconds, and Lisa felt a barrier 
dropping into place, one she feared would never be lifted.

Through his anger, something akin to anguish spilled through.  "I 
was waiting for you so I could tell you that I loved you."

She dropped her hands to her side.  "Lack of love was never the 
problem between us."

His face turned calm and neutral.  "No.  It wasn't."

Lisa stood for a while, waiting for him to go on.  He seemed to be 
waiting for her to say something.  When it became clear that 
neither of them had anything to say, she turned slowly around and 
opened the door.  She stepped through it into the corridor, then 
looked over her shoulder at her husband until the door slid shut 
behind her.

---

Rick stared at the door long after it had closed, hoping that the 
pressure around his heart would eventually lift.  And yet it 
continued to be squeezed by the memory of his wife walking out on 
him.

How could it have gotten so bad?  Why did it have to be so 
acrimonious?  So painful?

He walked forward and the door opened for him.  The corridor was 
empty - it was late and most sensible people were in bed.  And who 
knew where Lisa was.  Most likely returning to her office to do 
her duty for King and Country.  Except there was no King, no 
Country.  Just Lisa the heartless, soulless leader of the war 
machine.

Rick ran down the corridors, trying to work off his adrenaline.  
He remembered a time when he'd hated the military, had seen the 
armies of the world as the reason for the endless fighting.  The 
fall of what would become the SDF-1 had brought a measure of peace 
to the world as the unknown threat of alien invaders terrified 
everyone into cooperating.  And yet, even then Rick hadn't 
understood Roy Fokker's decision to stay with the military.

And now, fifty years later, Rick was part of that same military.  
He'd learned some painful lessons about why an army was necessary, 
and how sometimes it was necessary to fight - and kill - to try 
and protect life and peace.  Somehow, though, it had changed.  
Changed into just making sure that Lisa stayed in control of the 
known universe.

He reached Skull One and jumped on the wing.  "Computer, access."

The canopy obligingly popped open.  He jumped in.  "Computer, 
current results of program Alpha-two."

"Forty-two point four six percent."

Still forty-two.  If he let the program run for another year, it 
might reach forty-three.  If technology progressed at its current 
rate, he might reach fifty in five years.  Or ten.

If the galaxy didn't destroy itself before then.

Forty-two.  Hell, he'd faced much worse odds all during the first 
Robotech war.  It wasn't so bad.

But back then, the stubbornly rational part of his mind whispered, 
he'd had protoculture as his unknown ally.  Protoculture was power 
with a purpose, and it had followed Zor's shapings of it to allow 
the impossible to happen - the defeat of the Zentraedi armada.

Now he would be alone.  Protoculture was gone, Zor was gone, it 
would be just Rick and his ancient Veritech and the computer's 
forty-two percent.

Rick laughed, a strange laugh born of humor he couldn't trace.  
"What the heck."

He strapped himself in and prepared Skull One for flight.

---

Lisa sat behind her desk, drinking tea again.  Her eyes were 
focused on reports of the situation in Dialtre but her thoughts 
were full of Rick.  Of the argument they'd just had, and how she 
might have done things differently.  Of how mad she was at him, 
and how much she needed him.  Of the pain that filled her from 
head to toe, making every move and every thought an exercise in 
agony.

Her display began flashing and an soft ringing filled the room.  A 
phone call, important enough to get through the filters she'd set 
up.  She sighed deeply.  "Accept."

The display changed to a picture of Morales.  His uniform had 
obviously been put on somewhat hastily.  He looked very tired, but 
also quite concerned.  "Admiral.  My apologies for disturbing you.  
Admiral Hunter has left the station and Earth System.  He did not 
receive clearance from Earth Control and did not indicate where he 
was going."

Lisa took a sip from her tea.  She found the news mildly 
interesting.  "Where was he heading?"

"His exit vector made Dialtre a highly likely destination."

"No."

Morales blinked.  "Begging the Admiral's pardon?"

She sighed again and put her tea down, forcing her mind to work.  
"Admiral Hunter's style is one of misdirection.  It's how he won 
his battles, by making the enemy think he was doing one thing and 
then doing something completely different.  If he really was going 
to Dialtre, he'd try to make us think he was going somewhere 
else."

"Oh."  Morales absorbed her words, looking more than a little 
confused.  "Then, once again begging the Admiral's pardon, where 
is he heading?"

Lisa closed her eyes, fighting against the sleep that wanted to 
overtake her.  Where, indeed?  She was well aware of the extensive 
modifications he'd been making to the Veritech, and had always 
idly wondered what possible use he would get out of them.  No 
matter how skillful Rick was, he wouldn't last a minute against 
modern fighting craft in that old tin can.  So what could he-

And suddenly, it all came together in Lisa's mind.  And her heart 
dropped into her stomach.  "My God."

Morales sounded alarmed.  "Admiral?"

She flung open her eyes.  "Morales, contact Captain Sterling and 
order her to send her fastest ship to Ranaath's Star as quickly as 
possible."

---

Rick sat in his Veritech and stared at the black hole.

Even at nearly a light year's distance, it was an impressive 
sight.  A hole in the fabric of space that sucked everything in.  
Almost everything.

Rick swallowed.  The trip here had dulled his certainty.  Suddenly 
his mind was full of his son and - as much as it pained him to 
admit - his duty as an Admiral.  He was about to risk his life.  
And for what?

An alarm was triggered.  His sensors showed three ships on an 
intercept course.  He had to chuckle; he should have known that 
Lisa would figure it out.

He had to make a decision, and very soon.  To go back to Earth 
would be the sensible thing to do.  He had things he needed to do 
there, duties he had to fulfill.  Even if it was over between him 
and Lisa, there were so many possibilities for him to explore.

And yet, to go back would be to admit defeat to Lisa.  It would be 
an acknowledgement that she was right about certain things.  And 
he would never, ever live that down.

Besides, Rick had never been known for doing sensible things.

Smiling grimly, he spoke to the Skull.  "Computer, compile program 
Alpha-three using results from Alpha-two."

"Completed."

"Execute."

The ship moved forward.  It made a quick jump with the Nichols 
drive, then began to spiral in towards the black hole.

Rick studied the readouts.  So far everything was lining up with 
predictions.  The Skull was barely shaking, the compensators 
dealing with the added stress quite nicely.  The Nichols drive 
activated again, making sure space-time stayed where it should for 
now.  Rick felt his hopes rising; it was working.  If the 
Haydonites could do it, he could too.

He felt the first serious tremor, and his confidence faltered.  
Then again, the computer usually knew what it was talking about, 
and a forty-two percent chance of success meant that it was quite 
likely he was about to die.

The Skull shook again, and the readings were begin to seriously 
drift from the projections.  "Computer, run program Alpha-one."

"Running."

The next tremor was accompanied by the groan of overstressed 
metal.  Rick looked at the readings with alarm.  They were very 
quickly approaching the limits of his scales.

"Program Alpha-one complete."

He was almost afraid to ask.  "Results?"

"Seventeen point nine four percent."

Oh damn.  Rick tried to swallow in a mouth gone dry.  His arrogant 
presumption had finally caught up with him.  The computer now gave 
him less than one chance in five that he'd live through this.  And 
he was certain that a fresh run, with the current set of readings, 
would be even worse.

He looked around at the swirl of color that indicated that the 
Nichols drive was still valiantly fighting the good fight against 
the forces of the black hole.  The Veritech shook again and didn't 
stop shaking.  The groaning rose again, along with an ominous 
crunch.

Rick hoped the end would be quick and painless.

Oh God.  Lisa, Roy, I am *so* sorry.  In a moment of weakness and 
insanity I threw away my life for foolishness.  Please believe me, 
I had no intention of hurting you, ever.  Lisa.  Oh God, Lisa, 
*please*...

The crunching grew, and the shaking grew so violent that he was 
regularly banging his head against the canopy.  Enough force was 
transmitted through his helmet to make coherent thought 
impossible, and he squeezed his eyes shut preparing to feel heat 
and gravity reduce him to a smoldering raisin.

The end, when it came, was surprisingly painless.

Rick listened to the silence, thankful that he didn't have to 
listen to the Skull disintegrate any more.  He idly wondered what 
would happen next.  Was there a God and would he forgive Rick his 
sins?

Rick opened his eyes.  The first thing he saw was the Veritech's 
control console, dark and lifeless.  He stared at it for a while, 
then looked outside the canopy.  He still appeared to be in space; 
the Veritech was floating in an inky blackness pierced with the 
occasional point of light.

As he continued looking around, it slowly occurred to him that he 
might have actually succeeded.

He looked back at the Veritech's controls.  All indications where 
that it was completely dead.  He tapped ineffectually at a few 
buttons anyway.  When that didn't work he pulled out the emergency 
kit.  It had quite a few little items, among them an emergency 
signal beacon.  He took it out and tried to activate it, only to 
find it was dead, too.

Rick bit his lip, thinking hard.  The beacon should be working; 
its power source was self-contained and would last a hundred 
years.  If he were still in his universe.  This above all was an 
excellent indication that he wasn't.

Rick stowed the emergency kit and looked around once more.  His 
plans had called for nothing more than to have him break on 
through to the other side.  Now that he was here, he had no idea 
what to do.

"Computer," he said with no real expectation of success.  
"Computer."

He hit the console in frustration and in the vague hope that it 
would suddenly come to life.  He unbuckled his harness and tried 
to peer around the blackness.

Over his head and behind him one point of light seemed... 
brighter.  Rick frowned.  Something was special about that point 
of light.  He couldn't quite place his finger on it.  The point of 
light seemed to be the focus of... something.  Rick strained to 
make out what it was that made it unique.

The point of light began to drift.  It moved along the canopy, 
slowly moving to a position directly in front of the Skull.  Rick 
studied it intently; it appeared to be growing.

He blinked suddenly and looked about.  The dozen or so points of 
light had changed position relative to the Skull.  Which meant 
that the light wasn't moving towards him; he was moving towards 
it.  A neat trick in a dead Veritech.

The Skull appeared to slow and stop.  Rick frowned and chewed his 
lip.  He then looked at the small globe of light in front of him 
and began to concentrate on it again.  As he did, the Skull moved 
forward.

Wow.  This put a whole new slant on the 'thinking cap' concept.

The globe slowly expanded.  It seemed to be... an island.  An 
island surrounded by water to the edge of the globe.  There were 
palm trees and lots of foliage and nice sandy beaches.  On tall 
hills in the middle of the island rested large metal containers 
that looked vaguely familiar to him.

There appeared to be activity of some sort on the other side of 
the island.  How Rick knew this, he wasn't sure.  Just that 
something was happening, and somebody was watching it.

The Skull's nose reached the perimeter of the globe.  Rick tried 
to will himself through, wondering idly if all the air would leak 
out or something.  The Veritech slipped through the surface of the 
globe like it was a soap bubble.  Rick was inside.

And there was singing.

Rick gasped at the beauty of it.  Pure notes of varying pitch and 
intensity permeated his body, forming a free-flowing melody that 
brought tears to his eyes.  No words, no instruments, just a 
voice, singing pure joy.

Rick wasn't sure how long he sat there, letting the voice carry 
him away.  When he finally attempted to regain his rationality, he 
found himself still in the Skull, floating high above the water.  
He drew in a shaky breath and tried to move the Skull down towards 
the island.  After a couple of false starts, it began descending 
smoothly towards one of the beaches.  Rick thought briefly about 
the landing gear and felt it drop into place.  He carefully slowed 
his descent as the beach moved up towards him.  The landing was 
perfect.

Rick frowned at the canopy, and it popped open.  He clambered out 
onto the wing and examined the Skull.  It looked to be in good 
shape.  More than good; perfect.  It gleamed white and yellow and 
black, and looked ready to tackle a hundred Battlepods at once.  
Whatever had crunched and groaned during his trip through the 
black hole had magically fixed itself.

The singing seemed to be increasing in intensity.  Rick thought he 
could detect a sliver of pain in the melody.  Alarmed, he jumped 
off wing and ran towards the trees.

He stepped through the vegetation.  He glanced at it, looked at 
it, stared fixedly at it.  The plants were known to him.  The 
Flowers of Life.  From whence came protoculture.  Gone from the 
universe, the key to Haydon's power, growing in abundance on this 
island on the other side of the black hole.  What that meant, 
exactly, Rick didn't know.  And he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

After a moment, he tore his gaze off the Flowers and looked 
forward.  There didn't appear to be a path, yet as he moved he 
always seemed to find a clear spot in front of his feet.  He 
trotted along as the singing grew louder in his ears and soul.

He was coming to the center.  Of what, he didn't know.  The 
universe, it seemed like.  Everything that *was* in this universe 
was focusing on a spot just ahead.  He stepped around a tree, 
pushed aside a fern leaf, and froze.

A person was on his knees about fifteen feet directly in front of 
Rick.  Whoever it was had their back to Rick and appeared to be 
supporting someone who was lying on beach.  Rick couldn't see that 
other person, but he could hear the singing.  It was rising again, 
the intensity piercing Rick's soul.  There was pain in that song, 
pain and joy.  It rose to a crescendo, and Rick gritted his teeth 
trying to bear with it.

The song came abruptly to an end.  The silence was filled with... 
exultation.  Exultation that originated not from the singer, but 
from whatever was focusing its attention on this spot.  The 
universe, Rick decided, for lack of a better term.

And then, to Rick's ears, came the sound of wailing.  Of a baby, 
crying its lungs out.

A gentle cooing quickly quieted the baby.  The person in front of 
Rick rose to his - Rick thought it was a man - feet, evidently 
helping someone else to theirs at the same time.  The man stooped 
his head, looking over the other person's shoulder, and Rick got a 
glimpse of that person's hair.  Black, jet black, and long.

A *presence* made itself known.  Rick saw a newborn baby floating 
in a tiny bubble in front of the couple.  The baby cried for a 
moment, then vanished.

The universe suddenly stopped caring about this island.  Rick no 
longer felt like the beach ahead was under the lens of a 
microscope.  He drew a breath, feeling free for some reason.

Ahead, a woman wearing a simple blue sundress stepped around the 
man that had been holding her.  She walked unhurriedly up to Rick.  
Without pausing, she stepped into Rick and hugged him closely, her 
head resting on his shoulder.  "I'm glad you're here, Rick."

Rick swallowed, putting his arms around her.  "I will always come 
for you."

"I know."  Lynn-Minmei lifted her head and smiled into his face.  
"We had better hurry while Haydon is focusing on baby Zor.  While 
right now they are not paying any attention to us at all, we had 
better get out before one of them notices you and decides to trap 
you here with us."

"Um, okay."  He was completely nonplussed by Minmei's low-key 
greeting.  Like she had been expecting him.  He looked down at her 
legs; what he could see of them below the hem of her dress were 
clean and perfect.  For a woman who had evidently given birth five 
minutes ago, she seemed to be in remarkably good condition.

Reluctantly, he removed his arms from her as she stepped back.  
"I've got my Skull on the other side of the island."

"Hunter.  How did you get here?"  The words were knives of ice 
shattering the mood.  Rick turned to see the man - Rem, he finally 
recognized him to be.  He was covered head to toe in a blue 
bodysuit that seemed to glow slightly.  He peered at Rick with 
ice-blue eyes full of anger.

Rick furrowed his brow.  "I just told you; in my Veritech."

"That is not possible for one of your capabilities."

The hair on the back of Rick's neck rose.  "Do you wanna try out 
my capabilities some time, Rem?"

Rem raised an eyebrow.  "I have abilities you cannot imagine, 
Hunter.  You do not know of what you speak."

"Oh, please."  Minmei sounded a little distant, as if her 
attention was elsewhere.  "Must you two always be fighting?"

They both turned to look at her.  Rick was running his 
relationship with Rem over in his mind.  The almost-clone of Zor 
created by the Tiresian scientist Cabell.  The only one of the Zor 
clones to actually live for more than a few months.  He had 
apparently gained all of Zor's memories and knowledge.  He had 
been helpful during the conflict with the Invid Regent during 
Rick's time with the Sentinels.  While Rick had never been exactly 
friendly with Rem, neither had they disliked each other.  When the 
SDF-3 had escaped the pocket universe created by the Invid Regis 
and co-opted by the collective known as Haydon, Rem had been left 
behind, evidently taken by Haydon.

As had Minmei.

The only thing Rick found to truly dislike Rem for was his 
treatment of Minmei.  They had become lovers, and Minmei had at 
last found a measure of stability in her tumultuous life.  But Rem 
had always taken Minmei for granted, at least in Rick's eyes.  She 
had seemed nothing more than an interesting experiment to Rem, and 
he didn't appear to have a deep emotional investment in her.  
Minmei didn't seem to mind; she seemed willing to accept whatever 
Rem gave her.

Rick had always thought Minmei deserved better than that.

Still, it had never come to a head between him and Rem, and they'd 
worked well together.  Or as well as anyone could work with Rem, 
who had become cold and distant after having Zor's memories 
reawakened in him.

Rem seemed as confused as Rick was.  "Minmei, what are you 
referring to?"

"Hmm?"  Minmei frowned, the cute little pout Rick remembered well 
and tugged at his heart.  "Oh, maybe that hasn't happened yet.  
I'm a little confused now."  She took Rem's hand with one of hers 
and reached for Rick's with the other.  "Please, let's hurry."

Rick met Rem's gaze over Minmei's head.  He could still see 
hostility in those eyes, held barely in check.  Rick shot back his 
own challenge before deliberately looking away.  Now was not the 
time for stupid posturing.

He began moving, and the three of them strode abreast.  As before, 
the foliage seemed to part before them.  Minmei began humming, a 
soft, sad melody that evoked painful images of loss.  Rick 
suddenly had to swallow hard against the ache in his throat.

Soon the Veritech came into view.  Rem released Minmei's hand to 
stride forward and stare at it skeptically.  "Minmei, you can't be 
serious.  We are supposed to use this to escape Haydon?  We will 
surely not succeed."

Minmei broke off her humming, to Rick's disappointment and relief.  
"Love, we must try.  I will not allow any more of my children to 
be taken.  It was necessary for Zor to go back and do what needed 
to be done.  I make this sacrifice because I have to.  But no 
longer.  Trust me.  Trust Rick."

Rem looked skeptically over at Rick and harumphed loudly.  Rick 
wanted to stride forward and knock some respect into him, but he 
didn't want to let go of Minmei's hand.

She seemed to sense his restraint.  She looked up at him and 
smiled, giving his hand a squeeze.  Rick looked into her eyes, 
wanting to lose himself in them.

Her smile widened slightly, then she turned her head forward and 
began leading him towards the Skull.  "Come, dear.  We really must 
hurry."

Rick sighed and followed.  They reached the Skull.  Rick leapt 
onto the wing and turned to lift up Minmei.  Or he intended to; 
instead, he watched wide-eyed as she floated slowly up and onto 
the wing next to him.  She landed daintily, her dress billowing 
around her.  She laughed prettily at his expression, then turned 
towards Rem, still standing on the beach below.  "Hurry, love."

Rem crossed his arms and came off the ground as if riding an 
invisible escalator.  He was deposited efficiently onto the wing 
and looked around distastefully.

Rick looked into the cockpit.  It was actually quite a bit roomier 
than the original design, bioelectronics replacing much of the 
bulkier older circuitry.  Still, three would be a tight squeeze.  
He bent forward and cleared out some of the miscellaneous junk he 
had in the second seat, tossing it onto the sand below.  "You guys 
first.  I, uh, think it'd be better if you had Minmei sit on your 
lap, Rem."

Rem seemed aware of how uncomfortable that admission made Rick 
feel.  He smirked once at Rick, then stepped past him into the 
Skull.  Minmei followed, arranging herself easily into his arms.  
Come to think of it, Rick realized, she'd done this before.

Rick jumped into the pilot's seat.  He gazed at the canopy for a 
while.  It was more difficult this time for some reason, but 
eventually it slid shut.  The console was still dead, but after a 
while he managed to lift the Skull off the ground.  As the island 
fell away beneath them, he reminded himself to retract the landing 
gear.

The perimeter of the globe came up to meet them very quickly.  As 
before, the Skull passed easily through it.  They were back out 
into open space.  Rick took them a small distance away from the 
globe, then stopped.

He craned over his shoulder.  "Now what?"

"You don't know?"  Rem's voice was full of disdainful disbelief.  
"Are you incapable of even the most basic-"

"Hush, love."  Minmei's gentle voice easily cut off Rem.  She 
moved her head a little forward so she could look into Rick's 
eyes.  "You must remember how you got here, and repeat the 
process."

Rick frowned, not having to look at the console to know that it 
was still dead.  "But none of my machinery is working.  I can't 
repeat it."

"It wasn't your machines that brought you here."  Minmei's voice 
was patient and gentle.  "There are limits to what machines are 
capable of.  It is your soul that guided the machines here, 
including the machine that is your body.  Now you must use it 
again to get us out."

This was well beyond Rick's ken.  He wished Aurora was here.  "Uh, 
can you guys help?"

"We cannot.  We are bound here by Haydon, who in this place holds 
sway.  But you are not, and you can take us with you.  It must 
only be you, or we will not escape."

Rick sighed and looked forward.  His soul had guided him here.  
How?  Certainly he'd felt some yearnings for Minmei, some small 
regrets that he hadn't done what was necessary to be with her.  
That, and his desire to have a personal adventure of some sort had 
driven him to attempt this crossing.  Not to mention his crumbling 
relationship with Lisa.

Lisa.

As the ship had begun to dissolve around him, he'd thought of 
Lisa.  His whole mind had been filled with images of her, of how 
he wanted to survive so he could see her again.  He'd been so 
certain he was about to die, and he'd wanted thoughts of Lisa to 
comfort him.

He closed his eyes and pushed Minmei from his thoughts.  It wasn't 
easy.  Her presence, so close, was an intoxicant.  Thoughts of her 
had consumed so much of his life, both fifty years ago and most 
recently.  Now, her very existence so near to him took his breath 
away.

And what of Lisa?  While Minmei had floundered from one disaster 
to another, bringing chaos wherever she went (however unintended), 
Lisa had stood with him, providing stability and control.  She had 
been an anchor, her strength of character exactly what Rick needed 
during the endless wars that followed the launch of the SDF-1.  
Those wars had pushed his sanity to the limit several times, and 
Lisa had been the one to keep him from falling over the edge.  
She'd given him a son, the joy of both their lives, and raising 
him had been the best thing Rick had ever accomplished.

He loved her, and wanted to go back to her and Roy.  He wanted it 
very, very much.

The sound of crunching metal slammed into his ears.  He opened his 
eyes to see readings off the scale on the console.  He peered 
through the maelstrom of color in front of him and tried to point 
the Skull in the direction he thought was out.  He tried to nudge 
it forward, away from the well that wanted to suck him to 
oblivion.

The problem was that he'd designed the systems to survive a trip 
into the black hole, not to get him out.  He'd been hoping that 
would take care of itself.  Now he pushed the already overstressed 
Nichols drive even harder, hoping he could get away from the 
crushing forces of the black hole before the drive exploded.

A vague shape loomed in front of him.  Rick identified it as a 
small fighter, one of many the fleet had in existence.  It latched 
onto him with a docking beam.  Rick cursed, wondering what 
possible good that could do.  The other ship certainly didn't have 
the power to pull him out of here.

And yet, as we watched with growing amazement, it *did* pull him 
out.  The readings began to go down and the Skull began to protest 
less loudly.  Rick eased back on the Nichols drive a little and 
finally shut it off before it could take him FTL.  He floated in 
his seat, having forgotten to strap himself in.  He was clear and 
free of the black hole.

He looked ahead - his sensors were destroyed, so his eyes would 
have to do - and saw about twenty similar fighters strewn around.  
As he watched, the docking beams they'd used to hold on to each 
other flickered out of existence, including the one from what had 
to be the _Portland_.

Rick suddenly laughed.  Dana had done it again.  She'd linked all 
of the fighters together, like people lying on the ice and 
grabbing each other's ankles trying to reach one who had fallen 
through the ice.  Risky, to be sure - a single break and she could 
have lost a lot of her pilots.  But she inspired those she 
commanded, enough for them to go along with a crazy stunt like 
this.  And, like always, she made it work.

Rick blew out a relieved breath and looked over his shoulder.  He 
blinked and knelt backwards in his seat to gaze at the empty spot 
behind him.  His stomach twisted violently as his thoughts raced 
around in circles.  Had Haydon's block of Minmei been effective 
after all?  Had they snatched her away as she had been about to 
escape?  Or - and this was truly terrifying - had it all been a 
dream of some sort, an illusion born of panic and near death?

He turned slowly around and collapsed back in his seat, despair 
draining him of all will.  He was being towed towards the 
_Portland_ and he didn't care.  They could drop him back in the 
black hole and he wouldn't care about that, either.

Light was blinking at him from the console.  He wanted to ignore 
it, but something made him read the words that had appeared on the 
display:

   Rick,

   Thanks ever so much for coming and rescuing me.  Again.  My
   love and gratitude go with you.

   Rem and I no longer belong to the same worlds you do.  We must
   go our own way, find a new place for us to exist.  My life is
   bound with his, and his will governs mine just as mine governs
   his.  It is perhaps not the best kind of relationship to have,
   but it is constant, and that is what I have always yearned for.

   You were my first love, Rick.  You always will hold a special
   place in my thoughts, but my heart belongs to someone else.  As
   does yours.

   I know that you looked for no reward, expected no payment as a
   result of your coming to my aid.  But Rem feels that we should
   not be in your debt, and insisted that we give you something in
   return.  I hope you find it useful.  I trust you will know what
   to do with it.

   I know this is not the result you were hoping for, Rick.  But
   it is the best I can offer.  And, I think, it will be better
   for you than you know.

   Again, my heart-felt thanks.  We will meet again, I promise.

   Love Love LOVE,

   L. M.

Rick read the words over and over again.  They didn't change.  He 
had found her and lost her in one fell swoop, and it hurt more 
than he would have thought possible.

Gravity suddenly reasserted itself.  He fell into his seat and 
looked around.  The Skull was being lowered onto the hangar bay 
floor of the _Portland_.  He wondered how bad the Skull was going 
to look; there was no magical universe to repair it this time.

He looked once more at the console, reading the message a final 
time, burning the words into his soul.  Then he cleared the 
display.  Another page popped up, filled with all sorts of 
information.

He studied it as technicians outside the Skull tried to open the 
canopy.  Dana appeared and tapped on it, trying to get his 
attention.  He ignored her while he read through to the end.  Then 
he laughed loud and long as Dana looked on in concerned 
puzzlement.

---

Morales's voice spoke from the computer.  "The Karbarran 
ambassador is online."

Lisa turned from the window.  "Put him through."

The image of the Karbarran envoy - Kitelek, by name - filled her 
display.  Despite the thick fur that covered his face - and made 
him look like a giant teddy bear - she had gotten pretty good at 
reading his expressions.  He seemed puzzled and wary.  Which was 
good.

"Sentinel Hayes-Hunter."

Lisa felt a warm glow.  To the Karbarrans, the greatest title of 
respect for an alien was "Sentinel", one of the ragtag disparate 
fleet that had freed the local group from the Invid.  Kitelek had 
not given her that respect recently, trying to portray strength 
and just a measure of contempt.  Now he was unsure, and was 
falling back on civility.

"As you may have noticed," she said as she sat, "we are 
withdrawing our ships from Dialtre.  We have lifted the blockade.  
The Perytons have given up their claim to the system.  Dialtre is 
yours."

She looked serenely at him.  Kitelek seemed to have trouble 
believing her words.  He moved his head from side to side, a 
slightly nervous habit common to many Karbarrans.

After several repetitions of his movement, during which Lisa 
maintained her calm, slightly superior demeanor, Kitelek spoke.  
"Sentinel Hayes-Hunter is not know for such maneuvers.  Hers has 
been the bold attack, taking the fight to the enemy no matter the 
odds.  She is not one to back away from a challenge."

Lisa widened her smile.  "No, she is not."  She shrugged and 
turned her expression neutral.  "And if we were in need of Dialtre 
for the Perytons, we would still be there.  But Dialtre has become 
superfluous."

"Superfluous?"  Kitelek scratched his snout.  "How so?"

Lisa made a show of checking another display on her desktop.  "We 
recently came across information about a group of systems rich 
with planets capable of supporting the Perytons, or any of the 
known sentients."

"Indeed?"  Kitelek sounded suspicious.  "Where might such planets 
exist?"

Lisa touched a control, and a map appeared in the display.  Over 
twenty systems scattered along the rim on the far side of the 
galaxy were blinking.

Kitelek studied the map.  "Even if this information is accurate, 
these systems are too far away to be of use to the local group.  
It would take a year or more to reach them.  Establishing colonies 
would not be practical."

"Normally, that would be true.  However, we also have information 
about a new kind of fold system, one that works without 
protoculture and is much more reliable.  With it, we can precise 
jumps to anywhere in the galaxy.  Indeed, anywhere in the 
universe."

Kitelek blinked once, a sign of great shock.  "But how is this 
possible?  From where did you receive this information?"

Lisa leaned back in her chair.  "Ah, those are good questions.  I 
would happy to answer such questions, to friends.  To those who 
work with their neighbors peacefully, who do not threaten and 
bluster.  Those we can trust, we give this wonderful new 
information."  She shrugged.  "Those we cannot trust, we wish well 
and hope that they are content with the planetary systems they 
have, for they will surely obtain no more unless they can develop 
such drives for themselves."

She sat up straight and put her finger on the disconnect button.  
"When you and yours are ready to throw off the taint of the Invid 
and the Masters and join the other sentients in peaceful 
cooperation, we will gladly welcome you.  I wait anxiously for 
such a moment.  I hope it will come soon."

She cut the connection and smiled again.  War would come no more.  
Thanks to Rick.  And Minmei.

Lisa mulled those thoughts over against a backdrop of relief.

---

Roy Hunter looked up at the pseudo-sky of the station.  The EVE 
system that had so nicely simulated sun and sky over Macross City 
during the SDF-1's long voyage had become standard on all large 
space installations.  Earth Station Three, in permanent orbit 
around Earth, was large enough to comfortably support a million 
people.  Mother's office was in a building that overlooked a large 
park that sported actual trees and grass.

Roy wandered through the park, enjoying the breeze.  He was both 
anxious and reluctant to keep his appointment, so he had 
deliberately altered his path to come through here.  The sun 
shining on his brow made him feel good until an artificial cloud 
blocked it.

He chuckled at the appropriateness of it.  He'd always lived under 
a huge cloud of expectations.  The son of Rick Hunter, one of the 
great pilots of the first Robotech War.  The son of Lisa Hayes-
Hunter, one of the most extraordinary leaders of all time.  Named 
after Roy Fokker, another great pilot who had been among the first 
to venture into the SDF-1 and bring back the secrets of Robotech.

It would have been easy to be crushed under the weight of those 
shadows.  Fortunately, his parents had shielded him well from 
undue outside scrutiny.  They had always encouraged him to be his 
own person.  He'd grown up in a nice, loving environment that had 
made him feel very comfortable in himself.

But ever since he had moved out on his own - and, indeed, a little 
before that - a sort of tenseness had grown between his parents.  
Every time he'd seen them together, they'd been less civil towards 
each other.  Something troubling had boiled underneath the surface 
of their relationship, until seeing them together had actually 
begun to cause Roy pain.  And then it had begun to erupt until it 
was obvious to everyone how serious the problems between his 
parents were.

And yet, Roy had reason to hope.  Father had been quite open about 
what had happened to him on the far side of the black hole at 
Ranaath's Star.  How thoughts of Mother had allowed him to pass 
through unharmed, and how those same thoughts had allowed him to 
escape that prison.

Father's adventure had made headlines, of course.  As had the 
knowledge Minmei had left in the Skull's computer.  War had seemed 
so inevitable; now everyone was rejoicing in the wonderful new 
opportunities made available by the new fold system.  Instead of a 
future of death, the promise of new life.  So wonderful.  Roy 
could now allow himself to worry about other things.  Like his 
parents.

Roy snorted.  If truth be told, he'd never stopped worrying.  He 
loved them so.

He finally reached fleet headquarters.  He rode the elevators, his 
stomach doing all sorts of flip-flops.  The doors opened, he 
walked down the corridor, and was waved inside by a smiling 
Morales.

Mother and Father were seated at the center conference table.  
They were eating lunch, and had obviously just been laughing 
together at some joke.  They looked up at him, and the smiles that 
were already on their faces grew wider in an instant.  Mother 
nodded at him.  "You're late, Lieutenant."

He would have none of that.  He walked up to her and hugged her 
tightly.  "Sorry, Mom."

She laughed and hugged him back.  He was pulled out of her grip by 
father, who hugged him as well.  Roy exulted in all of the good 
feeling around the table.  Everything was going to be all right.

Father released him and indicated a chair where a third lunch was 
waiting.  "Eat, son.  We've already started so you'd better hurry 
if you want to catch us."

Roy laughed.  His parents had always been fast eaters - as if they 
always had much more important things to do than dawdle over their 
food.  Roy had developed the habit of eating very slowly, mostly 
out of pure contrariness.  It had become a family joke.  And, at 
this moment, a very comfortable one.

He sat and began picking at his food.  His parents were both 
looking at him, and their expressions were sobering.  He took a 
sip of soda and waited for them to get to the point.

As usual, Mother wasted little time.  "Son, your father and I 
asked you here to let you know what has happened between us."

Roy slowly nodded and put a fork full of salad into his mouth.

Father leaned a little forward.  "Roy, your mother and I are 
getting a divorce."

Roy stopped chewing.

He looked back and forth between them.  He detected no anger, no 
tenseness between them.  But those words... Father could not have 
just spoken them.  Roy hastily swallowed.  "But... why?  I mean, 
you told me... how Mother... how much your love for Mother..."

Father sighed.  "Yes, I love your mother.  Still.  But... it's 
changed.  She's the mother of my son and I will always love her 
for that.  But..."

"But we can't live together."  Mother's voice was gentle, not an 
admiral giving orders but a person speaking of sorrow.  "We can no 
longer give each other the peace we both need.  Our relationship 
was built in a time when extraordinary circumstances had brought 
extraordinary pressure on both of our lives.  Now things are 
different.  We are different.  And we don't offer each other the 
right things any more."

Father reached over to grab Roy's shoulder.  "It's important for 
you to know that your mother and I have no regrets.  Finding each 
other was great, a wonderful, special thing.  It brought you into 
our lives."  He shook Roy affectionately.  "We could not have 
asked for anything better."

The facts still did not compute.  "But, Minmei..."

Father leaned back.  "What Minmei allowed me and your mother to do 
was to realize how much we had once loved each other, and also to 
realize how much we still loved each other, but differently.  
Without Minmei, we would probably have gone through weeks or 
months more of painful fighting before finally breaking up amidst 
tons of acrimony."

"Minmei spared us that."  Mother's eyes turned inward.  "And, if 
truth be told, I don't wonder if that wasn't her true gift to your 
father."

Roy stared at Mother, stunned.  She focused on him.  "Son, how are 
you feeling?"

"I... I don't know."  He looked back and forth between his 
parents.  "I don't know why I'm supposed to be thankful that 
you're getting divorced."

Father grimaced.  "Bringing a marriage to an end is never 
something to rejoice in, Roy.  But we've brought an end to a 
source of pain between us, something that was spilling out and 
causing other people misery.  You especially.  Now, at last, we 
can put the negative behind us and concentrate on some more 
positive aspects.  That is why your mother and I are happy and 
relieved."

Mother stood up, walked behind Roy, and hugged his shoulders.  
"Please don't hate us, son.  We had to do this.  We regret that it 
will cause you pain, but if you'll work with us, we'll all get 
over this and to the better times ahead."

Father nodded, rose, and hugged Roy from the other side of the 
chair.  Roy drew in a deep, shuddering breath and reached up to 
awkwardly wrap an arm around each of his parents.  He realized he 
was crying, and that his parents were crying too.  But there was a 
release there, and Roy knew that eventually everything *would* be 
all right.  In time.

---

Rick stood with an arm around his ex-wife, looking out at the 
monument of the SDF-1.  The pseudo-sun was resting atop the twin 
pylons, and he wondered if he could try to talk someone into 
turning the monument ninety degrees or changing the route the sun 
took.  The image those two things created no longer seemed 
appropriate.

Lisa sighed.  "It's over."

Rick wondered if she meant the potential war with the Karbarrans 
or their marriage.  He decided probably both, and nodded.

The past couple of weeks since his return from the black hole had 
been full of activity.  The new ships were already in the 
preliminary stages of construction in highly secure facilities.  
The Karbarrans were desperately trying to make amends, and Lisa 
had strung them along nicely so far.  It would be a period of 
months, perhaps years, but eventually Rick was sure that the 
Karbarrans would become a willing part of the emerging UWG 
government.

Which reminded him.  "How did the meeting go today?"

"Amazingly well.  Suddenly the whole assembly seems energized.  
We've made more progress in the past few days then we've made in 
the past few decades.  I think the prospect of discovering new, 
habitable worlds is finally giving everyone the impetus they 
needed to come to terms.  Already a charter is being discussed."

"Wow."  That was far better than he'd hoped.  "You realize, of 
course, that they're probably going to insist that you step down 
as Admiral of the fleet."

Lisa chuckled.  "I know.  I've wielded far too much power for far 
too long.  For any new government to succeed the old institutions 
have to give way."

Rick laughed.  "Well, Lisa, I've never heard of you being referred 
to as an 'institution'."

She looked up at him, her eyes full of mischief.  "Isn't that 
another word for 'sourpuss'?"

Now Rick really laughed.  Lisa joined him, and it felt good.

He wound down after a while.  He wiped his eyes and managed to 
sober his voice.  "Will you be okay with that?"

Lisa nodded emphatically.  "Yes.  Something Winston Churchill once 
said, after being voted out of office immediately after the Second 
World War:  'They are perfectly entitled to vote as they please.  
This is democracy.  This is what we've been fighting for.  Now, 
hand me my towel.'"

"Towel?"

"He liked to take baths."

"Evidently."  Rick cocked his head.  "So what are you going to 
do?"

She shrugged.  "I don't know.  Maybe go across the galaxy, retire 
on one of those planets."

Rick raised an eyebrow.  "Retire?  You?"

Lisa chuckled, evidently still in a good humor.  "Well, long 
enough to write the next chapter of my memoirs."

"Didn't Churchill also say, 'I know history will treat me kindly 
because I intend to write it.'?"

Lisa actually guffawed.  She wiped her eyes and grinned.  "Rick, 
you haven't made me laugh this much in years."

"Too long.  So, really, you're all right?"

She looked him in the eye again, her face serious.  "Yes.  I will 
be all right."  She reached up to touch his cheek.  "Thank you for 
caring."

Rick felt an old tingling, a memory of why he'd fallen in love 
with her all those years ago.  He smiled into her eyes for a small 
eternity, and they shared pleasant memories in that space.

Finally she drew her hand away.  "And you?  What are you going to 
be doing?"

Rick sighed and turned to look out the window again.  "I don't 
know yet.  I've got a lot to sort through.  For now, keep doing 
what I've been doing.  Only better."

"Will you rebuild Skull One?"

"No.  That was just me holding on to the past.  You know, in a 
strange sort of way, I think I wanted war to happen.  For some 
reason, I thought I would return to the 'good old times' of the 
SDF-1."  He gestured towards the monument.  "Thankfully, Minmei 
helped me remember what made those times good.  Not the war, but 
the people."

"Minmei."  Lisa spoke the name somewhere between a curse and a 
blessing.  "Will you go looking for her?"

"Well, I've thought about."  Minmei had been in his thoughts a lot 
lately.  "But... well, she's not in love with me.  She's in love 
with Rem.  Besides, she said we'll meet again.  I can wait."

"Hmm."  Lisa sounded thoughtful.  "Eternal life puts an 
interesting perspective on things."

Rick furrowed his brow slightly.  "I don't know we've quite 
reached that yet.  Think of how close we came to killing each 
other."

Lisa frowned as well.  "Do you mean the UWG and the Karbarrans, or 
you and me?"

Rick shrugged.  "Either or both."

Lisa was silent for a moment.  "I think you're right.  We've still 
got a ways to go as sentients.  We have to be careful not to fall 
into the same traps Haydon did."

"Yes."

"So, is that what we're each going to do in our own way?"

"Yes.  With help."

"From each other?"

"Well, yes, that too.  But I was thinking of someone else."

Rick heard Lisa draw in a sharp breath.  "Minmei?"

"Amazing, isn't it, how well things have been going this past 
couple of weeks?  Everything we've done has been *right*.  Beyond 
our wildest expectations, as the saying goes."

"Are you saying... Minmei is God?"

Rick snorted.  "No.  I was thinking she's become something between 
Zor and Haydon.  You should have seen her, seen the way she 
behaved.  She's on a different level now.  I don't know if she's 
become less human or more human.  I don't know if the word 'human' 
applies to her anymore."

Lisa seemed slightly scared.  "And you're still in love with her."

Rick considered that for a long time.  "I'm willing to wait for 
her."

Lisa turned and grabbed his forearm, squeezing it tightly.  
"Rick."

"Yes?"

Her words were delivered with a sense of urgency.  "Be careful."

He smiled.  "Aren't I always?"

"I'm serious.  I don't want to see you hurt."

His smile vanished.  "I know.  I'm sorry.  I *will* be careful.  
Rem especially seems to have it in for me.  He's got her bound to 
him somehow; I have to figure that out.  There's a lot I have to 
learn yet."

Lisa shook her head in disbelief.  "And who's going to teach you?"

"I think our children.  Roy, Aurora, the others.  Remember what 
they did for us when we were the ones trapped in that black hole?"

Lisa shifted uneasily.  "Can we learn?  Is it possible?"

Rick laughed quietly.  "Lisa, after all we've done, do you think 
there's anything we can't do?"

Lisa studied him for a long time before releasing his arm.  "No 
limits?"

"I think there were never any limits.  I think Zor learned it, and 
Haydon, and Minmei."

"And look what damage they did."

"And what good they accomplished."

"Rick."  She moved forward a little, invading his space.  "Do you 
trust me?"

"Um."  What a weird question.  "Yes."

"Even when I'm no longer your commanding officer or your wife?"

"I will always trust you, Lisa."

"Good."  She stepped back.  "Then talk to me before you attempt 
anything.  Sometimes you lose perspective, and I want to be there 
to balance you out."

Rick slowly nodded.  "Okay.  That sounds good.  You've always been 
my strength and rationality."

"And you've always been my sanity and joy of life."

"Will we lose those things now?"

"I don't think so.  Fifty years means that there are parts of us 
deeply ingrained in each other, and those parts will always be 
with us."

"Good."

They stood side by side, looking out at the park again, very close 
but not touching.

Lisa finally turned from the window.  "I'm going to go see Roy.  I 
need some time with him."

"Give him my love."

"I will."  She took two steps away, then stopped.  "If... if you 
ever see Minmei again tell her... tell her that I missed her when 
she was gone, and that I would like to see her back with the human 
race.  That if she ever gets tired of godhood, we will always have 
a space ready for her.  Send her my love.  And give her plenty of 
your own."

Rick stared again into the depths of Lisa's eyes.  As he did, the 
last curtain of their life together fell shut.  His heart skipped 
a beat as it finally dawned on him that he and Lisa were no longer 
together.  And never would be again.

Of course, he thought to himself, eternity is a long time.

Lisa quirked her mouth one last time, turned, and left the room.

Rick looked at the monument again, the artificial sun setting 
behind it and casting it into dramatic shadows.  Something had 
come to a close just now.  He mourned its passing, but at the same 
time felt excited for the new life ahead.  So many possibilities.

And somewhere among those possibilities lay Minmei.

He found himself humming a song he knew well.  A simple song from 
his youth.  He changed the lyrics in his mind a little to make it 
appropriate for him to sing.  He liked the feeling of the lyrics 
so much he began to sing them out loud.

Something affectionate washed over him as he did, seemingly 
flowing from the song.  As he brought the song to a close and sang 
the last four words, he was certain that, just for a moment, he 
had accompaniment.

Rick grinned, turned, walked out of Lisa's office, and began 
preparing for the day when the melody would be complete.

~*~


Author's Notes:

In case you're wondering:  No, I did *not* hope Rick and Minmei 
would get together during the original series.  Like everyone 
else, I was rooting for Lisa all along.  However, the Rick/Lisa 
marriage has known significant problems all throughout the 
McKinney books, so I thought this was a logical outcome.

Minmei the demi-god is not my idea, but McKinney's.  I merely had 
her rescued from the black hole.  What she does now that she's 
back in the universe is anyone's guess.

Well, what do you think?  I'd really like to know.  Like I said, 
Robotech is the series I have the greatest emotional investment 
in, and I'd really like this story to be special, so *any* 
suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for coming this far.  ^_^  Please please, write back and 
tell me your thoughts.

-Richard
sterman@sprynet.com

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