Even though these things give you about as much legal coverage as a G-string on a stripper, I am going to include it anyways. Most of the characters in this story are the property of Harmony Gold, and a whole lot of other companies who's names escape me at the moment, and are used without their permission. However, since this is a not for profit undertaking, I dont think its neccecary to worry about it. At any rate, I'm so broke suing would be a waste of time. The few original charecters in here are mine, so please ask before using them in a fic of your own. Comments and Criticisms welcome: E-Mail Starrngr@aol.com. Flames will be promptly filed in file 13 and ignored. Previous parts of this story can be found at: Ranger HQ: HTTP://home.talkcity.com/TheSanitarium/Da_Muck/Libr/wndr/ AND at Sofaspud's Couch HTTP://www.sofaspud.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tales of the Wanderer: Book Two: Wandering Aces: Episode 2: Reactions. Lieutenant Commander Claudia Grant's smile was warm and genuine as Commander Lisa Hayes and Captain Gloval ducked through the hatch to the bridge, though it faltered a bit at their grim expressions. She couldn't help but wonder at what had happened during the meeting at Alaska base, but at the moment she was more concerned with welcoming her friend and her captain home. Vanessa, the communications specialist got the first word in, however, with a relayed message. "Captain, CIC reports the Minmei special is on final. They will be aboard in five minutes." This information only increased Gloval's dour expression as he settled into his chair. "Thank you, Vanessa," Gloval replied. "Now I just have to find a way to break the news to the population of Macross that we can't set them ashore." This grim statement evoked a chorus of gasps from the bridge crew even as Lisa confirmed the bad news. "The council declared everyone dead after the fold mishap, so we have been ordered to keep everyone aboard indefinitely," she confirmed with a voice that revealed a despair her expression had not. "But that's not fair!" protested Kim Young, the quartermaster of the watch. "Yeah! Its like we're prisoners here!" chimed in the impetuous Sammie, and Gloval could only feel his worries deepen. During the past two years in space these five young women had become the team that solved far too many crisis. If they were dismayed at these events, he could only expect a more severe reaction from the citizens of Macross City itself. As usual, it was Claudia who managed to put things into perspective first. "Orders are orders, even if there are a lot of idiots up at headquarters who have no idea of what they are doing!" she observed. Lisa couldn't help but nod at this basic summation of military life, but Sammie was not yet ready to relent. "But there must be something you can do, Sir! Please tell us your not going to accept this quietly. You will change their minds, won't you sir?" the young tech pleaded. "Won't you Captain?" Kim added. Gloval's face grew even more somber as he dropped into the command voice he used when giving orders that absolutely would be obeyed. "You lack of discipline is only compounding the problem, so get back to your duty stations immediately. I appreciate your concern, but right now I have to begin deciding how to break the news to the surveyors of Macross," he declared, his shoulders stooping slightly as he stood and made his way to the bridge hatch. "You will excuse me." Even the timid Vanessa felt compelled to try and add something. "But Captain, Cant you..." But Gloval cut her off stiffly. "That will be all, Vanessa," he declared curtly, and the young communications tech bowed her head meekly. "Yes, sir," she mumbled as the hatch slid open and Gloval stepped through, and paused again. "Please, try to understand," he asked softly over his shoulder before the hatch slid shut behind him. * * * * * * * * * Captain Gloval had just gotten his pipe drawing smoothly when the knock came at the door to his quarters. 'Well,' he admitted to himself, 'I was just wondering what else could possibly go wrong, and it looks as if the universe is going to oblige me.' "Enter", he commanded, not quite surprised when he swung his chair around from his contemplation of the broad view of the Pacific Ocean to see Commander Grant standing there. "I hate to disturb you with this, sir," she began hesitatingly, her usually cheerful face quite concerned. "That's quite all right, Claudia. I know you wouldn't unless it was important," Gloval reassured her as he indicated for her to sit down. "Has Colonel Maistroff said anything to you about an incident on the Prometheus hanger deck?" "No, he hasn't, why?" "I'm not sure, Sir. When I took over the watch this morning, I noticed that MP's and paramedics had been dispatched to the Prometheus hanger deck, but there was no follow up reports filed. And there is someone being held in the sickbay under guard, under Maistroff's personal orders." "Hmmm. Yes, you were correct in bringing this to my attention. Maistroff didn't say anything about this to me when I came back aboard," Gloval agreed as he reached for the phone on his desk. "Communications? This is Captain Gloval. Please contact Colonel Maistroff and have him come to my quarters immediately." Claudia stood. "Thank you, Sir. I should probably go now, sir." "No, Claudia. You're the one who brought this to my attention, so its only right that you should find out what it's all about." As she sat back down, Gloval half turned back to the large window that formed one wall of his quarters and took a long draw from his pipe. A deep silence descended over the room for a long moment, before Gloval broke it once more. "What do you think, Claudia?" "About what sir?" "About our orders." "Disappointed, Sir. We did our best to get them home safely, and now we have to expose them to danger again. But, unless High command changes our orders, we don't have any choice in the matter," Claudia admitted. "More to the point, do you agree with Sammie and the rest that I should try to get them off anyway, Commander." Gloval pressed. "I would feel better if we didn't have to take them back into space with us, Sir. Our oath was to defend the people of Earth, not endanger them." The conversation was cut short by the hatch opening and Colonel Maistroff entered. He glowered briefly at the presence of Lt. Commander Grant, then focused his attention on the Captain. "You asked to see me, sir." "Yes, I did. Commander Grant was kind enough to inform me there was an incident of some kind on the Prometheus while I was away. Since you were the Command Duty Officer at the time, I thought it would be best to hear about it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak." Claudia managed to hide a grin at the tone of the captain's voice. She'd heard that calm and reasonable tone before... right before the captain dropped the hammer on some poor soul at Captain's Mast. Colonel Maistroff paled slightly, but quickly composed himself. "Yes sir. I didn't mention it because we still don't know that much about it. I was waiting until I had all the pieces before telling you, sir." "Of Course," Gloval replied, his tone now about as warm as a Siberian blizzard, "And of course you never had any intention of using that information to undermine my authority." The threat in his voice was implicit. Such actions could, in wartime, be considered Mutiny, and under wartime conditions it was a capitol offense. Maistroff blanched, even as Gloval continued in a slightly warmer tone. "But, since it has come to my attention, why don't you tell me what we do know." "Yes sir," Maistroff replied as he struggled to regain his composure. "Basically, at about 1545 two days ago, we captured what I believe to be an enemy agent. He set off some sort of flash device and attempted to escape along the length of the Prometheus Hanger deck in an antique four-wheel drive vehicle. In the confusion, he collided with one of the deck vehicles and crashed, sustaining a blow to the head which rendered him unconscious. At that point he was taken into custody. He is presently being held in Sickbay under guard but has not yet regained consciousness." "I see." The ice had returned to Gloval's voice. "And what was the basis for making this decision, seeing as how the average enemy stands some 50 feet tall?" "Well sir, his fingerprints don't match those of anyone in the crew or the population of Macross. In addition, he was carrying an outdated form of identification under the name of Micheal Thunders, a legal resident of Japan. Japan has no records of him, but the prints DO match one Commander M. Thunders of then United States, reported KIA during the endgame of Operation Desert Storm at the start of the global civil war, sir." "So it is your belief that the Zentraedi somehow kidnapped this man over 22 years ago and then somehow inserted him into the SDF-1 without our knowing, even though we have no indication that they even knew where earth was until they first appeared in orbit two years ago. Is that correct, Maistroff? And this wasn't important enough to bring to my attention immediately?" Gloval's eyes were as cold and hard as the tone of his voice. Maistroff found himself automatically drawn to attention by Gloval's demeanor and swallowed nervously before nodding. "Very well, Colonel. You are to hand over all materials about this incident to Commander Grant immediately. After that, you will return to your quarters and consider yourself on report until such time as Commander Grant's investigation is complete and I decide if your actions were warranted. Is that understood, Colonel?" Maistroff's voice deserted him, forcing him to nod again. "Dismissed, Colonel." Maistroff swallowed once more before turning and exiting the cabin, still at attention, while Gloval turned his attention back to Claudia. "I apologize if this changes your plans, Commander, but we need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible." "Of course sir. I'll get right on it," Claudia replied as she stood and saluted. "Have our 'guest' transferred to Macross General as well. I want them to give him a complete going over. At the very least it will prove if he is human." "Yes sir," she replied and turned to the hatch. Just before she stepped through, Gloval's voice stopped her once more. "And Claudia? Thank you." Just for what she wasn't sure, but to her that didn't really matter. "Your welcome, sir." As the hatch closed behind her, Gloval was reaching for the phone once more. "Communications, this is the captain. Please inform Mr. Fortespiel that I will have a ship-wide announcement for him to distribute in about 15 minutes." * * * * * * * * * Lisa Hayes' stride faltered for a moment as she entered the waiting room of Macross General and saw Lieutenant Sterling and Corporal Dixon already ensconced within. She considered leaving for a moment, but before she could Ben noticed her and waved her over. "Hi Commander. The doctor just told us that Rick's in the ICU. He's pretty banged up, but they expect him to be ok," the young gregarious flight officer noted. Lisa half mumbled something along the lines of 'that's good' as Ben continued on. "That was pretty spectacular flying he did, too. I don't think anyone else but maybe me an ol' Max here could have pulled it of." Lisa's wan smile faded as the guilt of her being the one responsible welled up again. It was the more perceptive Max who noticed that and took steps to keep his wingman from sticking his foot so far down his throat he could taste his kneecap. "It's kind of late, Ben, and we need to get back to base. Why don't you go on down and get the jeep and I'll be down in a minute, willya?" "But the doc..." Ben's protest died as he caught the look in Max's eyes. "On it, Max", Ben agreed and headed for the elevator. Max waited until Ben was out of earshot before turning back to Lisa. "I'm sorry about that, Commander. Ben's good people, but sometimes he just doesn't think," the blue haired pilot observed apologetically. "It isn't anything worse than I've said to myself," Lisa admitted, caught off guard by Max's candor. "They were about to let us go in and see him for a moment, Ma'am. Why don't you go instead, and see for yourself. Rick Hunter is a survivor Ma'am. You'll see." Max gave Lisa one of his quirky half smiles before heading to the elevator himself. He paused at the door, and looked back over his shoulder. "And Ma'am, it really was an accident. It could have happened to anyone... Even me." And with that, Max was gone, leaving Lisa alone with her thoughts. The doors to the elevator dinged just as Max reached them, and disgorged two MP's and an orderly pushing a stretcher holding the guy from the hanger deck the other day. This small gaggle of people was presided over by none other than Lt. Commander Grant herself. Remembering the MP's grizzly warning from the other day, Max quietly stepped out of the way before taking the elevator down to meet Ben. * * * * * * * * * Claudia was headed back to the elevator on her way back to her quarters when Roy Fokker's voice cut through her thoughts. "Hey there," he greeted her from his spot just inside the waiting room doors. "I had no idea my little brother was so darn popular." Claudia filed her thoughts about Macross's newest addition to the population and smiled at her lover. "Afraid Rick Hunter is going to steal your reputation as the SDF's biggest heart-throb?" she teased. Roy's response was to sweep her into a hug. "He can have it, as long as I get to keep you," the tall blonde pilot replied with his quirky smile. "So, how is he?" "He's in ICU," she replied. "But I'm afraid that's all I know. I'm actually here taking care of something for the Captain." "OH? Sounds interesting." He replied with a gleeful twinkle in his eyes. "Can you talk about it?" "Sure I could... But then I'd have to kill you," she replied in a teasing tone that took the two of them back to the heyday of the reconstruction of the SDF-1, when at times security was so tight that statement would have been true. Roy quirked an eyebrow at that, but changed the subject anyway. "So, you're heading back to your quarters then?" Roy asked, the question of alone or not both unsaid and implicit. "Not tonight, flyboy. Mama Grant's little girl needs to actually sleep tonight." "Ah well. I did want to look in on Little Brother before I turned in anyway. Breakfast in the senior officers mess?" "0700, flyboy." Claudia replied as she slipped from his arms and walked over to the elevator. "Don't be late" "Yes Ma'am!" Roy smirked as the elevator doors closed between them. * * * * * * * * * Claudia was already ensconced at 'their' table by the time Roy appeared in the senior officers' mess the next morning. Regardless of what mode the SDF-1 was in, the table next to the expanse of armored glass always had a spectacular view of the surrounding area. From the reports next to her, it was clear to Roy that even if they were having breakfast together, for her, at least, it was going to be a working meal. "You know, reading does bad things to your brain... it makes you think," he quipped, a line that went back to the early, tempestuous days of their relationship. "Something you flyboys know nothing about, of course," Claudia replied good-naturedly even as she collected the reports and stuck them in a folder, also recalling that conversation long ago. "Yup. Stick, throttle, and instinct are all a really good fighter jock needs," Roy finished as he sat down with his tray. He indicated the folder with his chin even as he loaded his fork with food. "Your take poison before reading project, I assume?" "Uh hmmm," she replied as she sipped at her coffee, before changing the subject. "Any word on Rick's condition?" "The hospital expects him to come too in a couple of hours. I was going to drive Max and Ben in to see him once he did." "Isn't Skull the alert squadron this morning?" "Yup, but I took shameless advantage of my rank and re-arranged the flight schedule. Since Vermilion is so undermanned, I thought I'd take over Rick's spot till he gets back on his feet. And it would probably be a good idea to give Kramer a bit more experience as CO. I expect they'll be tapping him for a squadron of his own once the new class graduates," Roy explained. "Even if he wasn't, I was going to suggest him for the job." Claudia lifted an eyebrow in confusion, so Roy continued. "We have to do something to help our newer pilots stay alive. Right now a quarter of our new pilots are dead by their fifth mission and another quarter in their tenth. Even if every single eligible person in Macross enlisted, we can't take those sorts of casualties for much longer. So until Dr. Lang is able to get those super Veritechs of his off the drawing boards and into the air, our only other option is to try and give the newbies someone experienced to watch over them. Even if it wasn't, Muck taught me that one of the jobs of any pilot is to nurture the next generation." "Muck?" Claudia asked as a sense of D‚j… vu washed over her. "Captain Micheal Thunders, my first flight leader. He was KIA during the Iraq Campaign." "How well do you remember him?" "Muck? Even when I turn 100 and we're surrounded by our great grand kids I'll still remember him." "Roy, there's something I'd like you to see..." * * * * * * * * * Claudia thanked the doctor and was putting a copy of the test results in her folder as the door to the guarded room opened and a very shaken Roy Fokker stepped out. A small shake of his head stopped he question before it started, and his eyes indicated the direction of a nearby office. "Well?" she asked as she closed the door of the office behind them. "It's him, but it can't be him. Its impossible," Roy replied flatly. "He died almost twenty years ago. I was with the SAR team that found the body, Claudia. I don't know who or what that is in there, but its not the man I few with in Iraq!" "Maistroff thinks it could be some kind of clone, programmed to act as a spy." "I suppose it could be, but that's even more impossible. How did they get it aboard? Heck... how were they able to get him to clone? None of this makes sense, Claudia!" "That is the understatement of the year, Roy. At this point I don't know what to think. Can you think of any way to settle the issue once and for all?" Their conversation was cut short by a commotion outside. They burst out of the office and saw that the commotion was centered on the subject of their conversation. They followed the nurse in, and what they saw next surprised them to the core. The prisoner was in the middle of some sort of convulsion or hallucination, thrashing wildly on the bed as the doctor attempted to administer a sedative. That wasn't the odd part, the odd part was that the prisoner seemed to be transforming... sections of his skin seemed to shift between flesh and metal, and at one point Claudia gasped as the prisoners head became that of a battloid. Then the sedative took effect and the prisoner relaxed, becoming a totally normal appearing human once more. Roy led an equally shaken Claudia back to the office they had been using. Even then it was a long moment before Claudia spoke. "Roy, what could that... that thing possibly be?" "I don't know. If anyone on board does, though, it would be Doctor Lang." A knock on the office door interrupted them again. "Yes?" snarled a now irritated Roy. The door opened a crack and a nurse poked her head in, "Um, sorry to interrupt you, Commander, but you wanted us to let you know when Lt. Hunter regained consciousness." Roy pasted on his best girl killer smile. "That's good to hear. I'll be in to see him in a little while. Thank you." "Your welcome sir," the young nurse replied before closing the door. "You'd better go get Max and Ben, Roy," Claudia decided, slowly composing herself. "I'll go see the captain and Dr. Lang." * * * * * * * * * Claudia looked up as Lisa entered the bridge. Although Claudia had been temporarily removed from the duty roster to pursue her investigation, Captain Gloval had been in a meeting when she had arrived on the bridge, so she had offered to take over for Lisa for a few minutes to allow her friend to visit Lt. Hunter. "So, how IS Lt. Hunter, Lisa?" She asked, then frowned as she caught her friend's downcast expression. "Come on baby; it can't be as bad as all that." "You're wrong." Claudia folded her hands to her bosom. "And now the sting of Cupid's arrow strikes home!" Lisa's mouth dropped open. "WHAT?" "You needn't be ashamed to talk about it, Lisa. I know what it's like to be in love, y'know. Roy and I started out the same way." "But you two love each other!" Claudia set her hands on her hips. "Of course, silly. So, what's the difference?" Lisa fought down an overwhelming desire to gnaw on her fingertips. "I don't think Rick cares." Claudia leaned close, slightly exasperated with her friend. "Its very simple, Lisa. If you're in love with him, go after him! You ARE in love with Rick Hunter, aren't you?" Lisa felt her cheeks redden as she nodded. "What should I do, Claudia?" "Be a woman! Stop moping and-" she gave Lisa a light cuff on the shoulder. "Smile more often!" Behind them, the hatch slid open and Captain Gloval stepped onto the bridge. "Lisa, let me know as soon a Logistics has finished loading all supplies." Lisa felt her blush grow even deeper. "Its already been ordered sir. Commander Grant was just taking a moment to instruct me on some other military procedures while she was waiting for you, sir." Captain Gloval studied the two women as he stroked his moustache. "Umm. Well, its unlikely we'll need much hand to hand combat expertise up here on the bridge. I hope this means you have something to report, Claudia?" "Yes I do, sir." "Very good. I'll be in my cabin if you need me, Lisa." Authors Notes: Well, not much to say at this point except to note that action fans take heart, I'm not about to try and write a Robotech story that doesn't involve action. Hang in there, things are going to be picking up shortly. I also want to apologize for the long delay between chapters 1 and 2... That old bugaboo of real life commitments raised its ugly head. Its going to be a while before Chapter 3, though, because I have a couple of other projects I need to finish up as well... Coming eventually, Chapter 3: Repercussions.