[RFC] Being You is Deculture

[classicdrogn]

Good to hear, BA. As long as progress does continue, getting the quality up to something you're happy about showing off is worth the extra time. It's hobby writing, after all, not some product churned out for vulgar money

edit: and apparently URLs don't work that way here. Meh, here's the one I tried to embed:
http://www.thetick.ws/wavs/ep7/iammighty.wav
and here's the source page:
http://www.thetick.ws/carsound.htm

[itsune9tl]

Good to hear, BA. As long as progress does continue, getting the quality up to something you're happy about showing off is worth the extra time. It's hobby writing, after all, not some product churned out for vulgar money

edit: and apparently URLs don't work that way here. Meh, here's the one I tried to embed:
http://www.thetick.ws/wavs/ep7/iammighty.wav
and here's the source page:
http://www.thetick.ws/carsound.htm

Right then Here you go


It helps if you use the Video insert tool, and remember to choose the correct site you're posting from...

[Black Aeronaut]

Taking a bit longer than I'd like. I'm happy to have my old job schlepping pizzas again, but once again the place I work at suffers from chronic understaffing. At the very least the money is starting to come in now.

[classicdrogn]

Maybe money can't buy happiness, but a lack of it can sure bring on the stress. Not mad, bro.

[Black Aeronaut]

Ho-kay, not a whole helluva lot happening in this one, but it's worthy of its own little chapter all the same.

More to come after this - I'll be spending some of my free time over the next week making sure it's good to go.

---

I rarely set foot in my C-Space for several reasons.  Mainly the fact that it would be a bad thing if I were missed for some reason.  That could lead to questions that would be difficult, at best, to answer.

But there were times that I had to make use of it.  For one, I wanted to make regular visits with Katherine and perform my regular routine, as well as maintain the rest of my garden.  For another, there was the correspondence with home.  So it was that I sat in front of primary console for Heater and tried to organize the swirling thoughts and notions in my head.  And most primarily among them: Minmei.

I didn’t know where to start, but one of Washu’s admonishments came readily to mind: when faced with any complex issue, start by focusing on a relatively easy part of it, and work your way up from there.
With that, I immediately settled on writing Noboyuki first.

---

Noboyuki-san,

You, sir, are a saint.  Thank you so much for those accounting books - especially all the annotations.  I would have been completely lost without those.  However, if you happen to come across an ‘Investments for Dummies’ or the like, I’m not gonna complain if you send it my way.  (Don’t laugh.  That DOS for Dummies book is just the first in a series that will cover just about any and all topics.)

There’s a lot to cover here, so get ready to take some notes.  The wave that is the start of the Digital Age is cresting and is about to hit the world in full force, and I intend to take full advantage of that.

-

First of all, be on the lookout for two men: Jeff Bezos and Nick Hanauer.  Bezos is going to start up a company called Amazon (though it will be called ‘Cadabra’ at first) and it’s going to start out selling just books.  But over the next decade, they will come to sell just about anything under the sun and become an even bigger retailer than Walmart!

Bezos is the main man behind the operation.  Hanauer is one of his first investors - the very first outside Bezos’s family, in fact.  Hanauer will reap great rewards and will become a bonafide plutocrat.  I intend to do the same.

The moment you hear about Amazon (nee Cadabra) I want you to dump pretty much everything of mine that’s available into that company, and then keep an eye on them.  They’re supposed to start out with books.  Bezos figures that books are pretty much a universally demanded product in every culture, and on top of that they do not typically vary in quality, so a customer looking at a book online will be able to buy with the confidence in knowing that what they see is exactly what they’re gonna get.  And now you see his utter brilliance.

He will later move on to multimedia formats - music, movies, tv shows, all of it available in formats that can be played even as they’re still downloading.  (This becomes known as ‘streaming’.)

Once Amazon’s trustworthiness is all but beyond question, they will move on to selling personal electronics, computers, and soon household goods, apparel, toys... pretty much anything and everything - even food.

Get us in on this and it will make us some of the wealthiest men on Earth.

-

Next will be a revolutionary search engine called Google.  It’s an intentional misspelling of the word ‘googol’ - the number one followed by a hundred zeroes.  This is to imply the wealth of knowledge that Google will make available to people, and it is no stretch by any means.

Google is so wildly successful that the rank and file employees become on-paper millionaires.  They wind up having their hands in just about everything on the Internet and eventually develop a suite of online software based in something that will come to be called ‘cloud computing’ (basically, massively distributed data processing and data storage across server complexes all over the world).  They will even have their own line of portable computers with their own operating system.

Names to look out for will be Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University.  It’s going to start out as a project in 1996, but it will become the very core of their business later on when they incorporate in 1998 as a privately held company.

Jeff Bezos enters the picture here as an angel investor, providing startup capital in exchange for equity.  I want to see if we can do the same - if our foot is already in the door with Amazon, then getting in on Google shouldn’t be a problem.

One important thing is that I would dearly like to have a controlling interest in the company.  Google will tout a ‘Don’t Be Evil’ corporate culture - and they do strive hard on that front.  However, if I am able to have input I may be able to help them head off some of the controversies that they will run across, and hopefully make them into a stronger company in the long run.

-

I would like more investment into Microsoft.  Reason being?  By this time, they’re getting Project Chicago all ironed out and it’s going to be coming out in 1995 as Windows 95.

Windows 95 will be the first OS for Microsoft that boots straight into a graphical interface - and a very user friendly one, at that.  Once a person gets used to how it works, it becomes incredibly intuitive, and the term ‘right click’ will quickly become part of just about everyone’s lexicon.  (Basically, Microsoft figured out a perfect use for the right mouse button.  Clicking the right button on just about anything will pop up a drop-down menu with items within the specific context of what you just clicked.)

Windows 95 is going to be utterly revolutionary for the world of personal computing, and I want us to be able to capitalize on that.

-

APPLE.

HOLY FREAKIN’ HELL.

Okay, I know this one sounds crazy, but believe it or not, Apple is on the cusp of a comeback the likes of which God has never even seen.  Just nobody realizes it yet.

It’s going to start with a completely new and revolutionary line of personal computers called the iMac.  Steve Jobs will want to call it MacMan at first, but he quickly comes around on it.

The iMacs are special not only because they make personal computing user friendly and easy, but also because of the incredibly colorful and friendly look the machines will have.  Trust me, you’ll see.

Riding on this success, they will eventually debut an even more revolutionary device: a personal digital media player about the size of a palm pilot called the iPod.  The iPod will utilize compressed audio and video codecs to store and play media files, and have it all be on a highly portable device with enough battery life to last through a whole day of even heavy usage.

After a few evolutions of the iPod we get to the really spectacular shit: the iPhone - a cellular phone that is, in all essence, a palm pilot, a cell phone, and an iPod - all in one neat and trim package with a high definition touch-screen interface.

No big rush - the iMac won’t even be announced until some time in 1998 - at this point in time Apple begins a closely held culture of being incredibly tight-lipped about new products until the very moment they’re ready to ship out.

But all the same, keep your ear to the ground.

-

Other warnings: You want to be very cagey about real estate in the coming decades.  In 2008 there is a housing market bubble that pops, and it pops HARD.  How hard?  Let’s just say that Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac wind up getting nationalized for a while to cover all the foreclosures.

Yeah.  You may now freak out.

Please, by all means.  Get it out of your system now so you can stay on top of it later.  Just keep in mind that this is gonna put the US into a recession (some would say that it’s actually a depression and that they’re just calling it a recession to keep everyone from panicking and completely crashing the market) and it will last for years to come.

This recession is not going to be helped in the least by the terrorist attacks that take place on September 11th, 2001 - that kicks off the longest running military conflict America has ever been in.  It was still going on when I got yoinked in the year 2017!  Seriously, if there’s something that can be done to head this off, then it needs to be done.  Otherwise life is gonna suck really bad for the next decade or three.

All of this will also play into the beginnings of class warfare in the USA.  Simply put, when I got yoinked the top 0.1% wealthiest Americans held the same wealth in America as the combined lower 90%.  It is so bad that even the top 1% are starting to become alarmed.

Mostly it has to do with the fact that inheritors of vast dynastic wealth have taken to buying out the system in the form of campaign donations.  They will literally make a donation of some exorbitant amount of money and they call in a favor with their bought-man in the legislature.

The biggest thing will be the Citizens United Supreme Court Ruling.  That ruling, based entirely on a technicality, will open the floodgates for corporate sponsorship of politicians’ careers, and we need to do whatever we can to fix the ‘corporate personhood’ laws in the USA before it gets bad.

Which is pretty much what I’m trying to do here.  By aiming at becoming one of the top 0.1% I’ll have legitimate power to make things happen.  Granted, this will be a sword that cuts both ways as taking away the very tools the uberwealthy would use to make themselves even wealthier could keep me from exerting more of my potential financial power.  But I never once thought this would be an easy battle.

Such is life when you fight the good fight.  And believe me, this is definitely the Good Fight, because the alternative, I worry, is going to make the French Revolution look like a teddy bear picnic in the park.

I’ll write later on with more details, but for now let’s focus on acquiring that wealth to begin with.

Sincerely,
Garrick

---

Washu-sensei,

Attached are the technical publications relevant to this letter.  Of course, I’m not holding any pretenses at all that this counts as a dissertation or anything of the sort.  But as you said, you’re grading my ass on this.  Therefore, you’ll find another attachment containing all the technical details and mathematics involved composed by myself.  This letter shall only serve as an abstract.

Overtechnology is based primarily in warping localized areas of space-time to suit a specific purpose.  One most relevant to myself is in the fusion turbine engines of my VF-1A Valkyrie.  So called ‘Dimension Folders’ around the combustion chambers of the engines warp the space-time within so that the pressure and temperature developed by a conventional turbo-jet compressor are sufficient enough that with the correct hydrogen isotopes, a fusion reaction is easily achieved.

Of course, this is all fine for atmospheric flight, but for vacuum flight it’s a different matter.  There’s no atmosphere to feed these hungry engines with a steady supply of atmospheric gas.

Fortunately, the fusion reaction is one that can be operated on a ‘rich mixture’ where the compressor fans are used only in the startup to achieve the initial heat and pressure needed to start the reaction.  Afterwards, the passage between the compressor and the combustion chamber is sealed and the exit is tightly throttled.  Liquefied atmospheric gas is injected into the combustion chamber along with the hydrogen isotope fuel.  This transition can be performed seamlessly - something that was perfected over the course of the development of the VF-0 Phoenix.

The FTL travel application of this technology is a grand expansion of the utilization in the fusion turbine engines.  It is, in fact, eerily similar to the description of ‘space folding’ given in Frank Herbert’s Dune.  The transition is so complete that no motion at all is required.  The ship, and anything else caught in the ‘fold wake’ are simply transitioned from one portion of the space-time continuum to another.

And yes, I am using that phrasing correctly.  With this system it is entirely possible to punch through space-time entirely.  However, those that have done so have never returned to tell the tale, so the general practice is DON’T.

Unfortunately, as you may know, SDF-1 nearly achieved this by folding from too far within Earth’s gravity well and winding up way the hell out in Pluto’s orbit instead of Earth-Lunar Orbit.  We consider ourselves lucky that worst that happened (other than winding up where we did) was that we lost the space-fold engine.

Now, while that bring us to the shielding technology, I unfortunately have only been able to speculate on that thus far.  The shielding system that Dr. Lang cooked up is highly classified and on a need-to-know basis.  I will not be gaining access to that information anytime soon, however as my endeavors to self-educate continue, I will be also continue to work it out for myself with the intention of using that for my dissertation.

In the use as a weapon, space-time warping is used to contain, amplify, and direct a massive emission of X-rays as a phenomenally destructive X-ray laser.  How destructive are we talking here?  Well, guess what, Sensei.  The anime was actually lowballing a little.  While the most lethal area is directly in the beam-path, there is sufficient enough scatter that within one-thousand kilometers there is a three-degree cone-shaped ‘lethal zone’ all around the beam.

I’ve seen it at work, Sensei.  The Zentradi ship looked like an onion getting its layers peeled away.

Granted, this may not seem like much to the likes of you, Sensei.  But you’re used to dealing with shielded targets.  Here, the idea of shields are something new, even to the Zentradi.

That said, however, I would not be surprised if we could fine-tune this weapon system into something that might even scare the crap out of a First Generation Tree.

Pretty sure that it won’t take much with this tech base.  Not to sound like a sales pitch, but overtechnology is the definition of overpowered.
More to come later, Sensei.

Your faithful student,
Garrick Grimm

--

To my Honorable Father and Mothers,

I apologize for not writing as often as I should, but I know you understand how it is.  It’s not easy to assuage my fiances by written word alone, and then there’s Washu-sensei...

At any rate, I understand from Grandmother that I’ve caused quite the uproar.  While I hope that I haven’t made things terribly difficult for you...

...I’m glad.

While I don’t like ruffling feathers, at the same time I do not want to be taken lightly.  The moment I come home I want to set about making a reputation for myself that I am not a man to be trifled with.

If this means that I hand some people their asses on a silver platter, then I will do so with a smile on my face.

I miss all of you already.  I know, I was only on Tenju for a short time, but during that time you made it clear, and in no uncertain terms, that I am family, full stop.

I don’t know if any of you can possible imagine what it was like for me before - cut off from everything I had known and feeling so alone until the first time Sasami-chan put her arms around me and called me her brother.

I nearly died of heartbreak on the spot and I did not want to let her go - not until I knew for sure I wasn’t dreaming.  Not until I knew for sure that I had not, in truth, run my truck into a ditch and was hallucinating everything as my life faded away.

Sasami-chan may have started this whole thing, but you decided in fairly short order that I was worthwhile and brought me into your family.
You will forever have have my love and gratitude.

Your diligent son,
Garrick

---

Brother,

I’m glad to hear that things are getting better.  I just wish that things hadn’t gone this way.  God is definitely getting a piece of my mind once this is all done and over with.

I gotta tell you, man, once I get back home, NEVER AGAIN.  Any and all omnipotent beings or people that would like to think they’re omnipotent had better not mess with me or let it get back to me that they’re screwing around with shit in my general vicinity because I swear in Tsunami’s name I’m gonna find a way to force them down into a corporal form just so I can kick ‘em in the genitals so hard that all of existence will wince in sympathy.

You can take a turn at it, too, if you like.

At any rate, just do your best, brother.  I’m working hard on my end as well - I’ve been keeping up with my swordplay.  To put the play on words, I’m not just keeping myself from getting rusty, I’m honing my edge.

You better not fall behind or else I might wind up kicking your ass in front of Yosho-sensei when I get back home.

Your brother,
Garrick

---

My Dearest Aeka,

I miss everyone in a special way.  Minagi as a lover and trusted confidant.  Yuki as someone who lifts my spirits and fills me with pride and joy.  Yume who tasks me and challenges me to be better.  And even Achika for being my playmate and co-conspirator.

And you, my dearly beloved sister.

I know you hide it, but deep down inside you’re nearly as much of a tomboy as Achika and every bit as passionate as your mother.

No, I’m not saying that to tease you, sister.  I know you take great pains to be the refined princess that you are, and I love you too much to speak lightly of you that way.

I miss my beautiful, passionate, yet refined sister.  The one who laughs when I whisper what I really think about certain people in her ear.  The one that will return a tight hug when no one is looking.  The one that makes me laugh when she snipes at her best friend.

I wholeheartedly agree, sister.  Once my ladies have had their fill, I am going to hold you for a long time, and I cannot guarantee that I won’t be crying.

I’ll try to remember to bring something for that.

Love,
Garrick

---

My Beloved Sasami-chan,

I can never express how grateful I am to you - both you and Tsunami.

Sasami gave me a new family.

Tsunami gave me Katherine.

They both give me their love.

When I get home, I have every intention of giving you even more nieces and nephews than the ones that are on the way now.  And I know that they’re all going to absolutely adore their Aunt Sasami, if only because they see how much their poppa loves his little sister.

Don’t grow up on me too quickly.  I want to watch as you become the magnificent and loving woman I know you’re going to be.  In return, I’ll try to get home as quickly as I can.  Even if I have to break the laws of physics do do it.

Love,
Garrick

---

Hey buddy.

I’m gonna be looking forward to those sparring sessions.  Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that I’m strong enough to square off with you.

Washu-chan is working the issue.  With any luck, we might have a work around - a sort of ‘Bring the mountain to Mohamed’ kind of thing.  But let’s not count our chickens until they’ve hatched.

Keep working on keeping everyone’s spirits up.  Do that for me and in return, once everyone’s gotten their special time with me, you and me will go get utterly plastered and paint the town red.

Your partner in crime,
Garrick

---

My Ladies,

I’m writing you all as a group because I’ve hit upon a major problem.

Namely, one named Lynn Minmei.

I don’t know if any of you have watched Super Dimension Fortress Macross just yet.  However, you won’t really need to, because this young lady isn’t quite how she was portrayed.  Or rather, seen through the lens of that particular anime, it does Minmei very little justice.
While in SDF Macross she comes across as a typical teenage air head that grew somewhat arrogant with her sudden rise as a pop idol, the real girl is quite different in-person.

For one thing, she is dreadfully smart.

I don’t mean ‘highly educated’ as more like ‘a very quick mind’.  One that has been steeped in music, pop culture... and her father’s native culture of China.

This is where things get awkward.

Minmei wants to marry me, and she sees no issue with my age.

Alright, I know some of you are wondering how the hell it happened.

It started out when I arrived in this world.  I showed up right at Episode 4 where Hikaru and Minmei got stranded inside the bowels of the SDF-1.  Instead of Minmei acting like she was going to wind up spending her remaining days lost in the SDF-1 with Hikaru and giving him the idea that she had a thing for him (which she kinda did, it was just lost in the background noise of everything else going on), I made it clear that we were getting out of there in no uncertain terms.

And apparently I just punched all of the right buttons for Minmei - good looking, foreigner (in her eyes, at least), assertive but kind about it, smart, and able to keep his head in a bad situation.

The fact that I decided to join up with the UN Spacy as a Valkyrie fighter pilot simply sealed the deal.  I’m pretty sure she’s been working on the lyrics for My Boyfriend is a Pilot.

I’ve been doing what I can to fend her off, but she’s been every bit as determined as Yuki was.

Minmei may be a bit naive, but as I said before she is dreadfully smart.  She is very quick to catch on to things and she’s been learning how to punch MY BUTTONS at an alarming pace.  (Yuki, I know you learned pretty quickly yourself, but you had Sasami’s help in that.  Minmei is managing this without any outside assistance!)

And really, it’s no wonder to me.  This is the same girl that manages to take the entire world by storm and become so popular that she inspires generations of singers to come in this world.

That takes more than just a pretty face and a good set of pipes.  Minmei isn’t simply a singer, she is a musician.  I would not be surprised if it turned out she had classical training as well as training in music theory.  Add in a natural talent for singing and a mind that can pen song lyrics on the go...

To put this into perspective, Achika should know about The Beatles and how they were so wildly popular that they even gained fame in the USSR despite the Communist state’s attempts to quash it.  Where the Beatles were popular enough to overcome the Communist propaganda machine though, Minmei dominated the scene not only throughout Earth, but everywhere else Earth-culture went.

This level of popularity won’t be seen again until the likes of Neki Basara and his band, Fire Bomber, more than 25 years later!  (You’ll see this soon when Macross 7 comes out in Japan if it’s not out already.)

Her biggest feat, however, would be the cultural conversion of the Zentradi warriors.  While it was not simply her music alone - the rest of Earth culture had a lot to do with it as well - her music spearheaded the revolution that became known as ‘Deculture’.

(I know, it’s weird sounding.  But it originated from the Zentradi word ‘dekulcha’ which was an exclamation of disgust or dismay.  Of course, Earth culture being what it is, it got turned around pretty damn quickly.  It will continue to persist as a word pertinent to good food, good music, and good times.)

At any rate...

I have not yet revealed anything to her.  As far as she knows now, I’m just another normal human like her.  Albeit a rather gifted one.  (I had to start making up all kinds of excuses when she caught me doing my sword katas - Jyuraian fencing is different enough from traditional Japanese forms that even she saw the difference.  I had to tell her it was my own devising.  I’ll apologize to Yosho-sensei in seperate letter.)

I’m not certain how she will take it.  With all the weird crap going on around here, what’s a slider to her?  But then there’s the fact that if she REALLY wants to go through with this, then there may be no way to be sure we can bring her back when she gets homesick.  And I know Japanese girls - while they enjoy their jaunts on the outside, they will always want to come home to roost.  (Yes, Minmei is ethnically Chinese, but she was raised in Yokohama, so even though there’s a lot of Chinese culture in her upbringing, she’s effectively Japanese.)

I’m not going to ask for your thoughts just yet, but you’re welcome to voice them.  I am simply doing my part in keeping all of you informed.  Like I said, she doesn’t know my secret yet and once she does she might decide to settle for someone else.

But if she doesn’t...

...I have to admit.  She’s good.  I mean, REALLY good.  She’s been working on me every chance she gets, and by Tsunami’s sweet and tender fruits IT’S WORKING.  I can even see it in her eyes - she wants me with every fiber of her being.  And while I won’t discount the idea that it might just be her hormones getting to her (she IS fifteen after all) she’s actually been pretty careful about that.  The physical contact she makes with me is actually pretty chaste despite her acting so familiar with me.

Although she does get pretty damn coy sometimes.

Sweet Tsunami, save me.

Love always,
Garrick

---

Dear Grandmother Seto,

I have already told my fiances about this in a separate letter, but I feel it’s best to inform you as directly as possible: It seems that yet another bird wants to make her nest in my tree.

While I understand that this is cause for great happiness for you, know that I have not yet revealed my nature as a slider to her just yet.  She knows nothing about Jyurai or the Royal Trees, or even my fiances.

As for the girl herself, her name is Lynn Minmei.  She is a Chinese-Japanese girl of fifteen years (sixteen here in a few months).  And yes, she has a very nice figure with good child-bearing hips.  (Yes Grandmother, I have your number.)  But most importantly, she is soon to become an insanely popular pop idol in this world.

If she decides that she still wants to marry me once I reveal everything (especially the fact that she is not going to have me all to herself) then I think she would make a good addition to my family.  She would make an excellent cultural ambassador, spreading the infectious disease that is Earth’s pop music.

I’m not even going to question whether or not I’ll love her enough.  She is a sweet, lovable, and endearing personality with just enough fire in her belly to stand up to both Mother Funaho and Mother Misaki and maintain her composure without even batting an eyelash.  (No.  Really.  Watch the anime she’s in.  She fearlessly faces off with a Zentradi commander in Episode 32 - not that she doesn’t get stymied, but still...)  And she’s been working me over with her charm as well asa good deal of genuine affection.  I hate to admit it, but it’s working.

I know you might be pleased about this, but I really hope that I don’t wind up breaking her heart later on here with the truth.

Anyhow, I’ll keep you in the loop, Grandmother, as long as you promise not to get too carried away with things.

From your Grandson with Love,
Garrick

---

Yosho-sensei,

I must humbly apologize, Sensei.  I was caught practicing my sword kata in the open and the style was recognized to be very unorthodox.  Due to this and the need to keep my true nature secret, I had to falsely claim that I was the originator of the style.

I am sincerely sorry, Sensei.  When I return home, I shall submit myself for disciplinary measures at your convenience.

Sincerely,
Garrick

---

Dear Mihoshi,

Thank you for your letter.  I know a lot of people may not appreciate how detailed your letters are, but I am grateful for it.  I almost feel like I am there watching everyone.  It makes me glad, even if the situations you’re going through aren’t the happiest.

In return, I’ve had Katherine generate an equally detailed report about everything that’s been going on since I last wrote you.

Give everyone a big hug for me.  Yes, even Noboyuki and Yosho.

Love,
Onni-san

##

Things were mostly quiet after Saturn.  With our offensive and defensive capabilities clearly outlined, the Zentradi were more than happy to observe us from afar, it seemed.

During this time, we trained, drilled, and patrolled frequently.  Of course, there were other things as well.

Roy spent as much time as he could get away with at the Nyan-Nyan, keeping an eye on the situation between myself and Minmei.  But apparently that wasn’t enough for him.

You see, Roy Fokker is a sadistic bastard.  Which is why he walked in one night in civilian attire with Claudia LaSalle on his arm while I was having an early board with Minmei (made just for me by her, of course).

“Grimm!  There you are!” said Roy jovially, nearly making me choke on my melon soda.

“Sir!” I gasped while Minmei giggled.

“I don’t believe you’ve met my fiance,” said Roy casually.  “Grimm, this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Claudia LaSalle.  Claudia, this is Perspective Petty-Officer Third-Class Garrick ‘Cradle Robber’ Grimm.”

“Ah, the ever newsworthy Cradle Robber - the only man I’ve ever seen that Misa doesn’t quite know how to handle.  And I believe that this young lady is what makes you such a hot topic during our coffee breaks.”

“That’s me alright!” chirped Minmei.  “I’m Lynn Minmei.  It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mizz LaSalle.”

“Mr. Fokker,” came the voice of Minmei’s uncle.  “Staying for dinner again?”

“Yes.  We’ll be sitting with my subordinate if he’s fine with that.”

I thumped my chest to get the last of the coughing under control and said, “Not a problem, sir.”

“So what’ll it be tonight, Mr. Fokker?” asked Minmei’s Uncle.

“General Tso’s Chicken for me.”

“And I’d like to try that Walnut Chicken.”

One of the nice things about being on the Macross was that were were not hurting for food.  When the ship lifted off, the deep freezers and dry storage were packed with enough food to feed the entire city for six months.  Of course, with us coming up on the four month mark this meant that there was talk of stricter rationing in the future.

“Hah!  One of Gar-kun’s ideas, that!  I’ll get right on it.”

Roy gave me a curious look.  “One of your ideas?”

“I know!” piped up Minmei.  “He kinda surprised us with that one.”

“Hey, it’s not like I came up with the recipe or anything like that,” I said in an effort to defend my modesty.  “It was just a favorite of mine from a restaurant back home.  I just told them about it and they did the rest.”

“But you helped us fine-tune the recipe,” said Minmei, folding her arms and giving me this look like I had better accept recognition for my deed or suffer the consequences.

“Well, that doesn’t make me a master chef or anything!  I just have a layman’s knowledge of seasonings.  I mostly guessed!”

“After smelling and tasting all the spices in our pantry,” countered Minmei.  “I guess you’re gonna have to live with the recognition of being a savant in the kitchen.”

Claudia chuckled at that.  “My, you’re so lucky, Minmei, finding yourself a guy as capable as the Perspective Petty-Officer.”

“I hope he’s respecting your virtue,” said Roy with a wicked grin.

Claudia glared at Roy and elbowed him sharply, which he took with his trademark devil-may-care smile.

“I have no idea what makes everyone here think I’m a loose woman,” said Minmei with mock piety.  “Until there is a wedding band on my finger he is going to have to wait.”

“Maybe something to do with the way you flirt with me out in public?” I grouched.

That got a laugh from both Roy and Claudia because it was no secret that Minmei would practically drape herself over me when given the chance.

“Really though,” said Minmei, “all joking aside, I don’t want to get Gar-kun into any trouble, so I’m gonna be a good girl and be patient.  (But it’s just so much fun to tease him though!)”

“Oh, I’ve noticed,” said Roy with a grin.

“God help me they’re all conspiring against me,” I muttered, which got a laugh from everyone that time.

##

Life in Macross City was a strange thing to be a part of, really.  And make no mistake, I was a part of things here.  Minmei was not FAMOUS-famous yet.  But with her glowing, upbeat, tour de force personality and the Nyan-Nyan quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best restaurants in town, Minmei was quickly becoming a known face in Macross City.

And she made damn sure people knew I was her boyfriend.

Her Aunt and Uncle took the situation better than I thought they would.  I was quietly pulled aside, not in a rude way, and told that even if this was just a phase for Minmei, they didn’t mind one bit - the ones I’d have to worry about, really, were her parents in Yokohama.

Yikes.

After that, though, Roy was officially in on the act of making my life off-duty into a living hell.  He did so mainly by forwarding Minmei our duty rotation schedules so she knew exactly which days I’d be free.  At the very least, though, he did keep an eye on things by visiting the Nyan-Nyan at least twice a week.

That was, in a ways, a relief.  However, he would also take the opportunity to razz me mercilessly for it.  Still, I could take some comfort in the fact that he was still taking the situation seriously enough to keep on eye on it.

Otherwise, life went on at an almost idyllic pace.  However, once we made it past the Asteroid Belt things got hairy once again.

##

All around my craft, the plane crew scrambled to secure the Valkyrie for post-flight checks - silent in the depressurized flight deck save the the noises that traveled through my Valkyrie’s airframe.  But in the cockpit there was a brief moment of tranquility.  I just sat there for a second more, relishing the relative calm inside the little bubble of space.  But I couldn’t stay like that forever, so I sighed as I opened the cockpit at last.

It was another close one for us.  Once again, while the Zentradi battle pods were not that great, they would always beat us down mercilessly with sheer numbers.  And because no target worthy of the Main Gun never appeared, there was nothing to help clear the field except for the point defenses of the SDF-1.

"What’s up?  You boys look tired," said Roy as we trudged towards the airlock leading to the pilots lockers.  I gave Roy a sidelong look through the face bowl of my helmet.

"You saw how it was out there, Mother."

Hikaru looked at me in surprise at my remark, but didn't say anything.

Roy was taken aback, too, but not for long.  "Let's not dwell on that fact, shall we?"

No Roy.  Let's not dwell on it.  Let's not dwell on the fact that I know about these events in advance.  Let's not dwell on the fact that there's not a God damned thing I can do to save my fellow pilots except to kill as many Zentradi as possible...

He does have a point, chimed in Katherine suddenly.  Gar-kun, there’s not much we can do about it.  You need to take your mind off it before it drives you cray-cray.

And right on cue, Roy went on, "What you guys need is to take a bit of time off.  Go into town and relax."

"I guess so," said Hikaru noncommittally.

Inwardly I winced.  That was the last thing I wanted to do because there was a certain girl I knew that would seek me out like an anti-radiation missile on a SAM site.

##

"News from the bridge: we have been attacked by 120 enemy pods, but our first, fourth, and seventh fighter squadrons have succeeded in completely destroying them.  Our casualties are light and our navigational system has not been affected.  That is all."

It was a bunch of bullshit, but I knew it was well intentioned.  The reality would have taken a much harder toll on the civilians.  In all honestly, I'm not sure how badly they would have taken it, but odds are that it wouldn't have been pretty at all.

Though at least the bit about navigation being unaffected was the complete and unvarnished truth.  However, what nobody mentioned in public was how the Captain had the bridge bunnies all brushing up on their celestial navigation and dead reckoning skills.

Just in case.

"Hello!" said a familiar voice.  I turned and just as I had predicted, Minmei had tracked me down.  What's worse was that she was still wearing her high school uniform.  Warily I cast my eyes around to see if anyone was taking any notice.

No one was... just yet, anyhow.

"Minmei... did you have to come and find me right now?  What about your school?"

"School was closed down because of the attack.  So, Garrick, how're you doing?"  This girl was going to be the death of me.  Death by lynching, that is.  I wondered briefly what Breetai would think of my reasons for defecting to his side.

"So-so," I said.

"Well you don't even seem so-so to me.  What's got you down in the dumps?  I would have thought you'd be happy about that battle."

I scoffed at that.  "Walk with me, Minmei."

"Okay, sure!"  And right away she latched onto my arm.  I sighed and bore it as we went to the engineered bluff where we first had it out.  I knew that no one really hung around there.

"That announcement was a lie," I said as I settled down some protruding bit of metal - probably some kind of modular port.

"What do you mean?" asked Minmei in surprise.

"120 pods is about all we destroyed alright.  The enemy force was more like twelve-hundred pods.  And believe me, with numbers like that we took some serious casualties.  Even in my squadron we're down by two men."

Minmei frightened me in some ways.  Contrary to her portrayal, she was not at all naive.  Far from it, in fact.  You don’t get to being a star like her on just good looks and a nice set of pipes.  You had to have a mind that had a keen insight to be able to write the lyrics in her music.  The girl knew how to read between the lines and knew exactly what was going on all around her.  And the scariest thing of all was that she was learning how to read me like a book.  She was learning how I react to everything.

For example, with any other person, Minmei might have brushed this aside with something about nothing being accomplished by being depressed and trying to cheer me up with some diversion.  She's tried that before and it only made me cringe.

Instead, she does this.

She gently takes one of my hands, and says, "I know you’re sad, Garrick.  You’ve lost friends.  People you care about.  But you're still here and that matters.  It matters because as long as you are here, you can change things.  I know it.  I can feel it in you."  She then looks out over the city, and begins to sing, filling the air with her gorgeous voice.  Much to my surprise, it’s Peter Gabriel’s Don’t Give Up.

Direct hit to the heartstrings!  Mayday!  Mayday!

Sweet Tsunami’s fruits, this was such torture!  She was working so hard on me and it was WORKING.  I don't want to fall in love with this little girl, but she was fighting me tooth and nail on the matter, and I was losing the fight.

This is why I had taken to avoiding town the last few days.  I was hurting inside, and Minmei would have - has! - noticed it.  And having noticed I'm hurting, she would do whatever she could to comfort me, which she knew took a gentle, loving touch as well as a reminder of what I must do.  Which was coming up right about...

She finished singing and turned to me with a smile.  "I need you to fight for all of us, Garrick.  Please, do your best."

...Now.

I sighed.  "Alright, alright," giving in for just the moment.  I can’t stay like this forever, and Minmei was, despite everything else, good medicine for me.  "C'mere you little pest and give me a hug."

Minmei giggled gave me a hug fit for a bear.  "Feeling better now?" she asked.

I nodded.  I have to admit I honestly felt better then.  "I take it you have other distractions in mind?"

"Well, there was another dress I saw in the store and-"

"Save it!" I cut her off.  "I'm not going to that store with you alone again.  That is just plain uncomfortable for me.  Besides, I know that whatever it is, you have good taste enough that I'm sure it's going to look spectacular on you."

She sniffed at that.  "Well you're no fun.  I just wish you'd stop fighting me on this."  I may have stopped arguing the point but that doesn't mean I've given up entirely.

"Not until you're old enough."

"How about next week?" she asked coyly as she passed me a card.  Looking down, I saw that it was an invitation for a party to be held on the Tenth of October.

Wait, what? ...Oh no.

~Gar-kun’s in trooouuuu-bllleee!~ sing-songed Katherine gleefully in my head.

Hush you!

Her giggles were the only comeback and I had to resist rolling my eyes.

"Your birthday?" I asked.

"Yup.  I'm turning sixteen," she stated proudly, striking a pose that, fortunately for my sensibilities, was cutesy and not really suggestive.

Sixteen.  The legal age of consent.  Still not an adult, but as far as she was concerned it was another step towards her ultimate goal.  Now, she knew that even if she was of the age of consent, she was still not an adult and between her and I that could lead to trouble.  Except if we were married.  And you can bet as soon as the day after her birthday she was gonna broach the subject with her aunt and uncle.  And if they didn't like it (which was not likely because not only were they still renting me that room, but have also taken to calling me Gar-kun), then chances were pretty good she'd just bide her time and come after me with full burners once she was a legal adult...

...But she will definitely be pressing harder after her birthday.

Grand.

"So, are you coming to the party?" asked Minmei, turning up the coy-factor a notch.  "I've invited all of Skull Squadron."

"Hate to say it, small stuff, but we're all gonna be busy for your birthday."

Hands on hips, Minmei glared at me.  "Doing what?"

"We're on the hook for rapid response."

Minmei immediately deflated.  "Oh.  Well, at least you and I can do something when you're free again."

"As long as it is appropriate for you and I to be doing together."

"Hey, don't make me sound like some sort of loose woman, mister," she said with mock haughtiness.  "I told you before: until you put a wedding band on my finger you are out of luck!"

"Thank God."

Minmei slugged me in the shoulder.  I may have had it coming, but I'll be damned if I'm not gonna give as good as I get.

[classicdrogn]

Sorry I haven't gotten to this yet, BA, but I'd just gotten started on The Carnivorous Muffin's Ellie Potter stuff, which is long and plentiful, and still haven't finished due to certain other distractions as well. I will get to it and will do my best to comment meaningfully when I do.

[Black Aeronaut]

Hrrmmm....

---

Mars.

The Red Planet.

I had always dreamed of coming here.  And even though I knew what was coming, it wasn't going to keep me from enjoying the view.

There were a few observation points accessible to the civilian population of Macross City.  It was here that Minmei found me, camped out with a book.

"Heya Garrick.  Whatcha reading?"

I looked up to Minmei, this time smiling.  "A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Buroughs."  Minmei scrunched up her face in puzzlement and just a hint of disgust.

"Never heard of it."

"Oh, you're missing out on something special here.  It's the story of a cavalry man from the old American Frontier who was somehow transported to Mars.  He had incredible adventures there, and he even fell in love with the beautiful and highly sought-after Martian Princess, Dejah Thoris."

Minmei blinked at that.  "For real?"

I grinned back at her.  "Fiction, actually, but that's what's in the book."

That got a giggle out of her.  "Look at you!  You're all smiling and everything, and I didn't even have to do anything.  What's up with you, Garrick?"

I just smiled back up at her and said, "I've always wanted to go to Mars."

"Well, if you like it so much then why don't we go honeymooning there?"

I rolled my eyes.  "Sorry.  Malaquite Beach first.  Then we'll do Mars if we got the time or money for it."

"What is Mal-"

"Look it up."

"And now you're no fun."

##

Of course, my fun time couldn't last forever.  We soon touched down on Mars and right away we were sent off to patrol the area.

I'd been thinking about the best way to blow the lid on this whole thing, but a conversation with Roy came back to mind.

With that in mind, I keyed my PTT button.  "Mother, you know how you told me last time to let you know when I got a funny feeling?"

"Yes?  Is your old man sense tingling again, Cradle Robber?"

"Jangling is more like it, Mother.  Request permission to take Fuzzy along with me on a patrol of the outer perimeter in Battloid mode."

"Denied, Cradle Robber.  We got our assignment and you know it.  However, I can have the higher-ups rustle up a couple of free pilots to go check it out for us.  Got anything else to add?"

"Yes sir.  I was looking at the maps of the surrounding region, and those canyons to the East look like an awful nice place to stage a surprise attack from."

"There you go again, Cradle Robber,” said Roy mock-chidingly.  “Better be careful about that sort of thing or else someone is gonna look at your file and say 'Early Promotion'."  After recently being promoted to Petty-Officer Third Class along with Hikaru it was no secret that I was actually quite happy where I was at.  

"What'sa matter, Cradle Robber?  Afraid of that big shiny S-Model Valkyrie?" came Hikaru, ribbing me.

"Yuck it up, Boneheads," I shot back, using our own derogatory nickname for our squadron.  "And Mother, no way in hell.  If that happens I'll wind up taking your job.  Better Fuzzy than me, anyhow - he's the better pilot.  I'll settle for being his XO."

I caught snippets of raucous laughter as people had forgotten to turn off VOX, Roy included.

##

Just as Misa had made it into the base to look for signs of her old crush, the alert came from a Catseye flight that had been diverted as per my suggestion: a whole mess of Zentradi battlepods, just waiting for the right moment.

At that the word came to hold our positions.

Bullshit.

"Gunsight, Black-4 Skull Squadron.  If they're waiting for something, then it really does not behoove us to be here when that something happens."

"GRIMM!  Just what the hell are you doing, Pilot!?" thundered Roy.

"Belay that, Lieutennant-Commander Foker," came the voice of the grand old man on the radio, Captain Gloval himself.  "Black-4, this is SDF-1 Actual.  Please explain yourself."

Gulp.

"Yes sir.  If they're setup for an ambush and we're already in the trap, then why haven't they sprung it?  I think they're waiting for some sort of special condition that will provide them with a key tactical advantage over us, and when it happens... Checkmate, sir."

"And what do you think could give them such an advantage, pilot?"

"I couldn't tell you, sir.  God only knows what these aliens are really capable of, but I get the suspicion they've been holding back their strong arm."

"You're not the only one that feels so, pilot.  In that case, say that they are waiting for something else.  What would you suggest?"

"We bug out, sir.  Pack up the SDF-1 and have the Valkyrie squadrons cover your ascent.  And as a further suggestion, sir, I say we leave a trap of our own.  A base this big in such an isolated location has to have a reflex furnace.  Rig it to blow and it will take care of any pursuing forces from the surface.  Aside from supplies, the base is useless to us, and even more so to the Spacy if these aliens have really compromised it."

"That's a little cut throat, isn't pilot?"

"Survival has the highest stakes, sir.  It's gonna get more than a little ugly."

"Hmm.  Well said, pilot.  SDF-1 Actual, out."

Right afterward, Roy's voice came over my radio and he did not sound happy.  "Grimm, you better hope that this is in our best interests, because if it isn't, your ass is mine."

"Understood, Black-Leader."

Suddenly all transport vehicles received an order to drop what they were doing and return to the Daedalus at once.  The destroids were to cover their retreat, and then they too were to fall back to Daedalus.  And finally, Lieutenant-JG Hayase received the order to overload the reflex furnace and get the hell out of there.

Oh man, I knew Kamjin was gonna be pissed!

Sure enough, once our withdrawal was noticed, Kamjin didn't waste any time and was on us like white on rice.  In return, we hit his forces from above with every bit of ordnance we had on our pylons, and then dove into the fray.

Here I finally got to put my new toy to the ultimate test.

The standard issue GU-15 gunpods were good stuff, but it was felt that we could use something for the designated marksmen such as myself.  Thus, we have the GU-16.

Unlike the 15 with its tri-barrel rotary canon and 35mm shells, the GU-16 used a single-barrel canon based loosely on the venerable OTO Malera 76mm gun.  It carried far fewer rounds than the GU-15, but its caliber and single-shot nature more than made up for it with it’s far greater range, outstanding accuracy, and devastating stopping power.

That was the idea, of course, and thus far it had proven itself well in the trials.

But this was to be its first actual combat use.

Once my missiles were expended, I called for Hikaru to cover me while I settled into an outcropping of boulders, shifting to batroid mode as I did so.  The Zentradi battle pods were still outside their own effective weapons range as I bracketed my first target - a heavy missile pod - and squeezed the trigger.

WHAM.

I felt the shot clear through my seat, though it wasn’t enough to jar my Valkyrie out of place.  Not unlike firing an actual rifle at human scale.

The battle pod at the other end of the field, though, ceased to exist in any meaningful fashion and I lined up another pod - this time one of those pesky ECM pods known for jamming our radars.

WHAM.

And another one bit the dust.

“Mother, I think I’m in love with my new gun!” I called out as I lined up yet another pod and wasted it.

“Don’t get too cocky down there, Cradle Robber,” came Roy’s reply.  “We still got a lot of these guys to take down.  Keep hitting those troublesome targets, though.  You’re doing good.”

Suddenly, a sizzling beam of light zipped by my Valkyrie’s head, causing the display to fuzz up momentarily from the electrical interference.

“Yipe!” I cried out as I got behind cover in a hurry.  “Mother, I think I got someone’s attention out there.”

“Mother to all elements - Everyone keep your distance from the unit that just targeted Black-4; that’s an elite commander unit!  Robber, if you get a clear shot, take it, but otherwise you keep your head down.  He’s way out of your league.”

“Understood, Mother.”

I moved through the cover and settled into a position behind another ridge that gave me decent cover, but with enough room for getting my head down whenever Kamjin took an interest in me.

Everyone’s heard about playing cat-and-mouse.  What I was doing might seem similar, except it was actually more like cat-vs-cat.  Really, have you ever seen cats stalk each other?

While I was to keep an eye on Kamjin in the event he ever turned his back on me, I went ahead and tried to isolate him from covering fire by taking out units in his vicinity.  I could tell it was working from how Kamjin would stop to find cover until another battle pod came to give him covering fire.  And the volunteers for that job were quickly starting to taper off.

Either they were too afraid of getting annihilated by my GU-16... Or Kamjin had wised up and told everyone to back off and let him handle me.

Both were pretty flattering sentiments.  I didn’t let it get to my head, though.  I was simply satisfied that I was able to keep him pinned down and not be an utter menace for our guys.

While we held up Kamjin's forces, the SDF-1 started lifting off.  Slowly at first because the gravity mines that had been planted were only partially effective, but soon enough the SDF-1 was out of range.

Roy's voice then came over the radio.  "Fuzzy!  Take the Cradle Robber and retrieve Lieutenant Hayase."

Well, I kinda expected this.  It was part of why I suggested we overload the reactor anyhow.

"Hikaru, I'll cover you while you get her."

"What?  Why me?"

"I'm the better marksman and you're the better pilot.  You figure it out."

"Yeah yeah," grumbled Hikaru.  "Leave me to deal with the old sourpuss."

I kept Hikaru covered like a mother hen.  I was bouncing all over the place, from fighter, to gaurdian, to battloid, and back again, putting my VF-1A through its paces.  I wasn't THE best pilot, but I was hell unleashed at keeping the Zentradi occupied.

Too bad I couldn't meet Kamjin in battle, but then again I'm pretty sure he was eager to deal with me as well, and I could certainly deal without that tsuris.

Right about then I heard those two over the radio - Misa with her wounded imprecations at Hikaru coming to save her, and Hikaru giving her guff for acting so offended when he was just following orders.

Fortunately, I didn't need to prod Hikaru into doing what needed to be done.  Once he was boosting to orbit, I did the same.  Maybe Kamjin won't take the defeat quite as hard since the trap hadn't been properly sprung.

Later on when we got back I spotted Hikaru lingering in the cockpit of his Valkyrie.  He was keeping an eye on Misa as she looked longingly out into space at Mars.

I knew better than to interfere.

Instead, I got showered and went to the park.

##

"So, John Carter of Mars returns," said Minmei as she draped herself over my shoulders.  "Did you fall in love with a martian princess while you were away?"

"Nah.  I think someone else found their princess, though."

"Oh?"

"Hikaru and Lieutenant Junior Grade Hayase."

"Really?  Oh I do hope they work it out.  The Lieutenant really is a pretty woman.  She deserves someone nice like Hikaru."

I snickered.  "Yeah, if they could ever quit sniping at each other to notice."

Minmei giggled at that.  "Yeah, no kidding.  So what about you then?  No princess?"

"Are you kidding?" I grouched.  "I already got more than enough princess to deal with as it is."

Minmei only giggled again and let it go at that.

[robkelk]

... Or Kamjin had wised up ....

I recognize all of those words, but the phrase doesn't parse...

More likely IMHO that Kamjin has decided Grimm has made the fight personal.

[Star Ranger4]

Gotta agree with Rob on that one. Confirmation, though... Hikaru is 'Fuzzy'?

[Black Aeronaut]

Yes, Hikaru has been blessed with the callsign 'fuzzy' because he's such a kid he barely even has his peach fuzz in.

As for Kamjin... Bit of column A, bit of column B. He's no idiot when it comes to tactics. And basic tactics says that if you're pinned down by a sniper and he's picking off anyone that tries to come and help you, then you tell everyone to back the hell off and see if they can flank the sniper.

Of course, the battle line being what it was at the moment, a flanking maneuver would have had a snowball's chance in hell.

Of course, it's only now that I notice a plothole in that Kamjin should have been on Garrick like white on rice the moment he started covering Hikaru while Hikaru went to retrieve the Lieutenant. *Makes a note to fix that*

[classicdrogn]

Well, first off, Minmei really is making a full-on charm offensive, isn't she? She knows what she wants and has a solid idea of how to get it, that's for sure. At the same time, I don't think the differences are truly that great from her canon character - it's just that she's chasing a person who's more experienced and settled in their own skin than Hikaru, who is after all her own age and just feeling his way around life himself. Adjusting her approach to appeal more to a mature viewpoint rather than hanging out, having silly fun, and not dwelling too deeply on heavy subjects is only natural given that difference.

In the letters section, it's nice to see Garrick's appreciation for Mihoshi as a person. She often gets shortchanged in the fics I've read, blown off as nothing more than a ditz who's always popping up just in time to be the biggest annoyance, or comedy relief. Sort of fanon-Minmei only even more so, I guess you could say...

I don't think it's all that odd for Kamjin to be depicted as a canny commander - he canonically is, it's just that he places no value on anything but victory. Even then, he still gets around to grokking something as far out of his world view as love with Azonia by their last appearance, in one of the most underplayed character arcs of Macross as a whole. As for keeping him occupied when they get sent to pick up "Sourpuss," maybe Roy could decide to give the order at that moment because he's disposed of his previous opponent and dialed in on Kamjin's Glaug to take over keeping him occupied himself? You wouldn't even need to change anything above, just have Garrick wonder about it later, and have Roy say something about how it was an interesting few minutes before he broke contact again.

[Black Aeronaut]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was going for with Minmei.  That, and given her cultural background, I wouldn't have been surprised if it turned out that her mother encouraged her to seek out a mature man, citing many of the things that Garrick has already demonstrated.  As a bonus, Garrick is not at all emotionally distant as she might have expected from someone his age.  While he is very much grounded, he is also someone that is very much in touch with his emotions and not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.

As for Mihoshi, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for her.  She's every one of us who are flailing their way through life, struggling for things to make sense, and yet somehow getting those insanely lucky breaks at the last possible second.

As a person, I adore her sweet and goofy personality.  Despite all that airheadedness, there is a brain in there.  You just have to learn Mihoshi's language before you can grok how her mind ticks.  And really, when you get right down to it, Mihoshi is probably one of the sweetest girls in Tenchi's Harem, and yet at the same time also one of the most dangerous.  Cross her at your own peril.  While she may unconsciously use her causality-bending powers to handle the riff-raff in general, it's not a good thing to earn her direct ire.  Doing so will possibly trigger one of her exceedingly rare flashes of hyper-competence, which was her normal game face back before the mysterious Mihoshi Incident made her the airhead she is now.  (Yes, the reason she has the rank she does now is because despite being fun loving and goofy off the job, on the job she was a total nightmare for people caught on the wrong side of the law.)

Regarding Kamjin... I'll just go back and fix that.  Regardless, that is the primary purpose of posting here on DW Forums - so that I can get this kind of feedback.

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh man, it is so hard to hold back on some of this stuff. I want to build up a buffer for this story... But I shall be posting soon.

How soon?

I already have the post saved as a draft. All I gotta do is go in there and hit "Post Reply".

Catch you guys on the flipside~.

[classicdrogn]

Oh come on, that's just teasing. Do I have to get Luca, Mina, and Freya up here to break out their puppy dog eyes? I'll do it if I have to. I even have Mao and Isamu on standby as well.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, okay, but you asked for it! 

Hey kids, what time is it?

IT'S BIG DAMN HERO TIIIIIMMMME!!!

(Brace yourselves, guys.  It's a DOOZY!)

---

Seven days in planetary orbit over Mars, and Kamjin was not letting up.  Casualties had been picking up and SDF-1's point defense system, in spite of the pin-point barriers, had been reduced to nearly nothing.  In order to compensate, we started deploying destroids along the hull.  They don't have quite as much punch as some of the original point defenses, but their advantage is that they are mobile.  It's not much, but we'll take it.

I sighed heavily as I flopped back onto my bed at Minmei's place.  That night was her sweet sixteen party and in spite of everything else, Roy had pulled enough strings that we weren’t on rapid response that night.

Fortunately, unlike poor Hikaru, I had already thought of a present - a pair of jade earrings carved into a simple, teardrop shape.  The real bonus was, however, that despite being simple, they perfectly matched the color of her eyes.

This old man is just a sucker for a girl in love, I guess.

I hadn't really given in, but I honestly couldn't say that I wasn't at least fond of the girl.  She always did her best to cheer me up when I was feeling down and she made it a point to always be the one to cook the meals she served to me.

On top of all that, there was also the fact that her aunt and uncle knew all about it.  The fact that they have said little about it, let alone continued to rent the room to me, spoke volumes on how they felt on the matter.

I am doomed.

Well, I thought as part of my mind played devil's advocate, if her legal guardians are fine with it, then why let it be an issue?

Because, dimwit, there's the odds that I might jump again!

Whoa.  That was something I hadn't thought about in a long time.  Fighting for your survival can do that to you, though.

Happy thoughts, Gar-kun! said Katherine suddenly.  Minmei!  Think about Minmei - just as frustrating, but less painful!

Why you little... I thought back with ire that was almost entirely false while she giggled at me.

Well... I'll just see what happens with Minmei.  She's supposed to attend the Miss Macross competition soon, and that will jump start her entire celebrity career.  Once she's too busy with her fans she won't have time for me.  If I somehow jump during that time, then that will be fine.  But otherwise...

We'll see, I guess.

My reverie was interrupted by the 1MC speaker that had been installed in all rooms of all buildings in Macros City.  A list of people who were to report to HQ was being rattled off.  At first I paid it no real mind, up until I heard the words, "And also Petty-Officers Garrick Grim and Hikaru Ichijyo."

"The hell," I grumbled as I hauled myself up off the bed.

Hikaru met me in the hallway.  "Any idea what this is about, Robber?" he asked as we made our way downstairs at a brisk trot.

"Not a clue, Fuzzy."

"Hey!" came Minmei's voice.  "What's going on?"

"No idea," answered Hikaru for us both.

"Will you be back in time for the party?" she asked worriedly.

"We'll do our best to get here on time," I answered with a smile.

"I'll hold you to it Garrick," she said, leveling an index-finger at me.

I grinned then turned to Hikaru.  "C'mon, let's take my truck."

##

We were directed to the main conference room in the Headquarters building where the top brass held their own briefings.  I was as nervous as Hikaru was when he reached to knock on the door when it hit me.

I knew what was going on now.  This was where Hikaru was given some award for valor, and Roy took him aside and told him about his meteoric promotion into mustang territory.

I wondered what would happen with me.

A female Yeoman with a huge volume of orange curls directed us to toe the line with all the other awardees.  Before us in a large set of tables arrange in a U-shape sat all the senior officers of the SDF-1.  So many Commanders and Lieutenants.  Roy was there at the very end of one table, where he gave us a subtle wave.  Hikaru's nervousness got worse, nonetheless.

"Fuzzy, knock it off," I hissed at him soto voiced.  "We're not in trouble here, so get at attention."

Hikaru thought of that for a moment, then realized what I meant as he straightened himself out and stood at attention like the rest of us.

And with that, the award ceremony carried on.

##

The Titanium Medal of Valor was a lot nicer up close and in person.  It really was made of titanium, and so it had a very attractive gold and red sheen from the oxidation of the titanium.

"Hey, you two.  Hold on a minute," came Roy's voice behind us as we were making our way out.  Sure enough, there he was behind us in one of the smaller conference rooms.  "Come on over, let's talk for a minute."

"What's going on?" asked Hikaru as we entered the conference room which looked more like a lounge than anything else.

"Have a seat," Roy told us.  With nothing better to do, we both sat down in the nice, plush seats.  "So, how'd you boys like that award ceremony?"

I guffawed at that, much to Hikaru's surprise.  "Kinda funny.  I got an award sprung on me like that back when I was in the Navy."

"Oh?" said Roy.  "How so?"

"Remember that perfect score on INSURV you mentioned before I decided to join up, sir?  Well, we had a Captain's Call about a month afterwards.  The CO would dole out awards and things like that on a pretty regular basis, but I was humble enough to think that I wouldn't ever be getting called up for anything.  So, there I am in filthy coveralls and utility jacket because it's just a Captain's Call - the old man knows we got work to do - and then they call my name.  Next thing I know they're pinning a Navy/Marine Corps achievement medal to my chest for that perfect score."

Roy chuckled.  "In dirty coveralls, huh?  I don't think the Captain would have stood for that at all."

The SDF-1 was home to an entire flight of strike fighters, composed of four groups with four squadrons a piece, and each squadron with four wings a piece.  Wings are commanded by Lieutenants, squadrons by Lieutenant-Commanders, and groups by Commanders.  And, of course it was a Captain that was in overall command of the flight.  When Roy said 'Captain' here, he wasn't talking about Gloval.  While Gloval was a Captain by rank, his actual title was ‘Commodore’.  There were other Captains aboard and ours dealt with the day-to-day operations of the Valkyries aboard SDF-1.  I didn't really like the man much myself because he was such a pompous blowhard.  The way he acted you’d almost think the man never spent a single hour inside a cockpit.

"Well, in that case I'm glad I was in a nice clean uniform," said Hikaru.

Roy laughed.  "Well, I hope you boys are ready for some more surprises then," he said as he then tossed us both a small box each.  "Congratulations on your new promotion!"

"Oh you gotta be kidding me," I muttered as I opened mine.  Sure enough, there was a set of a brand new Ensign's bar in there.

"Ensigns?" said Hikaru in shock.  "Isn't that skipping several paygrades?"

"I put you boys into the Enlisted-to-Officer program," said Roy.  "Sorry for not telling you, but your talents will be put to better use as line officers.  Especially you, wise-ass," said Roy with mock-anger, leveling an index finger at me.

"Who, me?" I said innocently.  You could practically see the halo.

"Yes you.  I told you that if you kept on saying things like that you were gonna regret it.  Just you keep it up and see where it lands you."

"Yes sir, Mother!"

"Now, Fuzzy, what I'm going to do is that I'm going to put you in command of your own flight.  Normally a flight only has one Lieutennant, but since I can't really split up you and Cradle Robber here, he's going to be your Exec."  At this Roy gave me a meaningful look.  "Any problems with that, Cradle Robber?"

I smiled ruefully.  "No sir, Mother.  All I can say about this is that I asked for it."

Roy grinned back.  "Damn right you did.  Anyhow, now that you two are in charge of a flight that means you two have some subordinates to be assigned to you."  With that, Roy turned a monitor to face us as the computer rattled off the names, ranks, and school grades of two green pilots.

Miximillian Jeneus.

And Hayao Kakizaki.

I knew we weren't going to have a problem with Max.  It was Hayao Kakizaki that worried me.  But I was going to do whatever I could to make sure that Hayao got through the First Robotech War in one piece.  This war was already costing too many lives.

There was a knock at the door and Roy called for them to enter.  In came our two new rookies.  Hayao with his bear-like height and build and hair that was stolen from Dragon Ball Z, and Max for whom everything was blue, like the song from Eiffel 65.

The two stood to attention and saluted.

"Spaceman Hayao ‘Dragonball’ Kakizaki reporting as ordered, sir!"

"Spaceman Max ‘Cornflower’ Stirling reporting as ordered, sir!"  Roy, Hikaru, and I stood and returned the salute.

"Ensign Garrick 'Cradle Robber' Grim."

"Ensign Hikaru 'Fuzzy' Hunter."

"Lieutennant-Commander Roy 'Mother' Focker.  At ease, Gentlemen," Roy said after Max and Hayao dropped their salutes.  After that, we all exchanged handshakes because we all knew what this was about.

"Gentlemen," said Roy after all the pleasantries and ceremony was aside.  "You are now Red Wing of the Skull Squadron."

“Yech,” I said as the potential jokes came to mind.  “Being called ‘Cradle Robber’ is bad enough without being in ‘Red Wing’.”

Now, some of you might be going, Hey, what about Vermillion?

Well, simply put, the military doesn’t put on airs like that in real life.  Vermillion is so close in color to just plain old Red that it actually was the basis for red before modern chemicals rendered the pigment obsolete.  And having two colors in a Group that so closely resembled each other was just begging for mix-ups and confusion.

"Ah, don't let it get you down, sir!" said Hayao bawdily.  "Why, with me in your wing you won't have to worry about anything.  AH-HA-HA-HAH!"
Hooo boy.  I had my work cut out for me.

"Well, at least we got introductions aside.  Why don't you boys all go out and get acquainted with each other.  There is that sweet sixteen Minmei's throwing tonight.  And I made certain that all of Skull Squadron had the night off so that you, Cradle Robber, didn't have an excuse for -not- attending."

"God," I swore, “That call sign.  You might as well just hang a neon sign over my head that screams ‘Lock up your daughters!’"

Everyone broke up laughing at that.  "Are you really serious, sir?  A sixteen year old girl wants to marry you?"

"I can hardly believe it myself," said Hikaru.  "But she's about as determined as they come.  Any worse and she'd join the UN Spacey just so she can fly as wingman."

"And don't any of you dare even whisper that idea to her," I snapped.  Knowing Minmei at this point, she'd do it on a lark, and then keep right at it because it challenged her.  The dynamics of Macross city would probably let her balance celebrity life with military life.  Hell, that'd be a heck of a promotional stunt.  She sings, dances, acts, and is even a combat pilot.  It'd be a throwback all the way to World War Two, when celebrities like Clark Gable gained notoriety for setting their acting careers aside to fight in the war.

You never saw celebrities like that there afterwards.  The artists would always support the troops, but never become one of them.

After another round of getting ribbed by my superior, my peer, and my subordinates, I cut them all off by saying,

"Okay guys, that's enough.  If we're gonna make it to Minmei's party, then we better go now.  Especially if certain people are gonna snag her a last-minute gift!"

"Uh-oh," said Hikaru as he turned red.  Despite what all had happened, he did like Minmei, only more like she was the little sister he never got to have.

##

And so we took off.  For all the world we looked like the good ‘ole boys coming hot off the college campus for a night on the town.  It didn't help matters any that I had recently brought out Scooby.  The old four-door Ranger did look a bit out of place in a city where, for some reason, many civilian vehicles had three axles.  And Scooby turned even more heads for having the full-length seven-foot bed where as the four-door Rangers only had a five-foot bed.

But at least the diesel-electric drive was pretty standard as far a vehicles here went. 

A quick stop by the shopping district to get everything we needed, and we ended our rounds at the Restaurant.

Minmei was dressed in her finest for that evening, and that meant the nice cheongsam with the long slit up the side so she can show off what her mother gave her.

That meant there was nothing keeping her from running up and trying to tackle me.

"You CAME!" she squealed with delight as I canceled out her momentum by spinning her around.  Hikaru, Hayao and Max had been smart enough to move aside when they saw Minmei coming.  Jeering cheers and playful catcalls from everyone already present filled the air and the sentiment was all the same: "Go for it, Cradle Robber, you dog."

"Yeah yeah," I called out to everyone.  "Not like I came looking for this one.  She came after me!"

More jeers.  Minmei only giggled and asked me to introduce everyone.  Minmei made sure we got seated at her table as Hayao and Max got introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," said Minmei.  "So, Garrick, Hikaru?"  Do you two have something for me?" she asked, batting her eyelashes coyly.  The little imp.

"Gee, I wonder if I should even give you a gift, with you vamping it up around all these people."

I was promptly attacked by just about every napkin in the restaurant, much to Minmei's delight.

I rolled my eyes as I shrugged off the sudden assault of cloth napkins and said, "Okay, okay, yes, I got your a gift.  Happy birthday Minmei."

I then handed her the neatly wrapped box.  Hikaru, Max, and Hayao handed theirs over as well.

Minmei was delighted and tore into the boxes right away.  From Hayao, it was flowers - a tasteful arrangement that, fortunately, he took my advice in having the girl at the shop make the arrangement for him so there wouldn't be some mistaken message in there.  Max got her a set box of the best chocolates in Macross City - I had to say that I was actually kinda jealous.  I hadn't had really good chocolate in a while.  And Hikaru, inspired by the shine of his own Titanium Medal, got her a lovely titanium alloy pendant that had the same attractive rainbow sheen, cut in the shape of a feather.

"What about mine?" I asked as she put everything away.

"I'll open yours later.  I'm saving the reaction for you and you alone, Mr. Grimm."  More cat calls for that one.  It just wasn't my night.

But that was when the festivities got cut short - the alarm rang out and all Valkyrie pilots were called in... which was just about everyone in a uniform inside the Nyan-Nyan.

"Duty calls, Minmei.  I'll com back later."

"Wait!" said Minmei as she then wrapped her arms around my head and put a fast one on my lips.  Yet more cheers, this time they were the loudest of all.  "Go knock 'em dead for me."

"Yes ma'am!" I said with a salute.  "C'mon guys!  Plenty of room in my truck!"  With a further cheer, everyone went charging out of the restaurant in a stampede and started cramming themselves in and onto Scooby.

"Alright everybody!  Make sure you got a good handhold out there, cause I'm gonna open this sucker up!"  The stroppy little diesel clattered to life as I threw Scooby into Sports Mode and gunned it.

Scooby did not peel out.  With the traction control of all four wheel motors, Scooby positively launched itself like a Valkyrie off the catapult.  I knew from the rebel yells and war whoops there were a couple of genuine Good Ol' Boys that definitely approved.

The best thing about this situation was that we didn't have to stop for anything short of another military transport.  All traffic had to pull off the roads whenever a call to scramble went out.  Ours was one of the few vehicles out there, and once people saw us coming they got the hell out of the way.  We made it over to the Prometheus before any of the military transports and got fitted out with practiced ease.

Already, Hikaru and I had VF-1J's waiting for us, along with Hayao and Max's VF-1A's.  Apparently this was not some off-the-cuff idea of Roy's.  This had been in the works for a while, and the Spacey with its typical efficiency had made preparations in advance.  Strips of red on the ruddervators along with our squadron number set us apart.

We were Red Wing of the Skull Squadron.

With little time for formalities, Hayao and Max got acquainted with their plane captains while ours assured us that theirs were in good hands - both plane captains had been promoted out of their crews.

Our planes were good to go - the paint had just barely dried.  Hikaru and I were up on deck first, followed by Hayao and Max.

"Okay you guys, here's the deal,” explained Hikaru on our wing’s private channel while we waited for our turn at the catapults.  “I'm nominally in charge, but if Cradle Robber says something then you'd better be paying attention.  He's usually dead-on with his hunches, and even when he's not he's close enough for government work."

"Yes sir!" chorused the two green pilots.

“Hey, Robber.  Which one of these new pilots you wanna take?”

"You go ahead and take Cornflower with you, Fuzzy."

"You sure about that, Cradle Robber?"

"I got a good feeling about Cornflower.  I don’t think he’ll give you much trouble.  Dragonball, you're with me, and don't you try any funny business.  When I say jump you say how high.  You got me, pilot?"

"Sir, yes sir!"  I could tell that I had his attention now.  I was gonna make an outstanding pilot out of him yet.

##

Once we got into the vacuum, our marching orders weren’t long in coming.  Naturally, since we had some greenies with us, we got posted all the way to the last defensive line.

“Aww man!  We’re never gonna get any action back here.”

“Stow it, Dragonball,” I said, cutting him off tersely.  “Look at your tactical plot and you tell me if you think any of that furball is gonna come our way.”

“What?  Let’s see...  oh.  Wow.   That’s...  That’s a lot.”

“Exactly, pilot.  Whole lotta them.  Not many of us.  Now you stay on my wing like glue.  The instant these guys separate us is the instant you get skewered.  Your life literally depends on you not losing track of your wingman.”

“Yes sir!”

Say what you will about Kamjin - he may be a show boat and a glory hound, but he is also a damn fine tactician.  Within minutes he had peeled all the defensive lines back like an onion, leaving only ours.

“Look alive!” called Hikaru.  “Robber, you got the DM gun.  Think you can plink those EWAR Pods?”

“With a vengeance, Fuzzy.  Dragonball, watch my six for me and take notes.”

“... Yes sir.”

“No need to ‘sir’ me while we’re in the cockpit,” I said as I went to Batroid form and brought up my GU-16 and set my targeting radar to standby.  “Cradle Robber or just Robber will do fine.  One other thing.”

“What’s that, Cradle Robber?”

“Once I start taking out the high-value targets, there’s a command pod out there that’s probably gonna single me out real fast.  He and I have prior history.  If he shows up, you stay the hell away from him - the instant he knows you’re there he’ll eat you alive.   Got it Dragonball?”

“... crystal,” said the pilot, his voice almost cracking.  Good.

I sized up the group coming at us with optics only - no need to let the know they were being bracket by my targeting radar.  Besides, we were holy-fuck close in terms of space combat.  They were saving their munitions for when they got to the SDF-1.

I was not going to give them that luxury.

There were only two EWAR pods - their massive antenna arrays mounted over the tops of their mechs made for dead giveaways.  I’d have to be quick about this, because I definitely saw Kamjin’s command pod out there.

“Gunsight, Red-2 Skull Squadron - be advised: commander unit sighted.”

“Red-2 Skull, Gunsight - copy that, pilot,” came Misa Hayase’s cool, professional work-voice.  “Do what you can to slow them down.”

“Red-2, Gunsight: Understood.”

I lined up my shot and pulled the trigger.  The GU-16 bucked against my Valkyrie’s unyielding grip and my RCS thrusters fired automatically to compensate.  The EWAR pod popped like a balloon and I quickly did the same for the other one.

Kamjin’s unit scattered like a startled flock of birds, but Kamjin himself fired his mains and came barreling straight for us.

“Here he comes!” cried out Fuzzy.  “Robber?”

“I got him, Fuzzy.  You got your wingman, so you do you for a bit.  No need to mother hen me.  Dragonball, hang back and try to stay out of his firing arcs.  Don’t even try for a missile lock until I tell you!”

“Right!”

I charged ahead on my main engines in Batroid mode to meet Kamjin head on.  It didn’t take more than a few seconds for my laser designation warning to blare, so I snapped to the side and narrowly avoided getting fried by those twin canons he’s got for arms on that thing.

And then it was just Kamjin and me, dancing in the vacuum and trying to get a bead on each other all while trying to herd each other with our secondaries.  It was hard work - those Command Pods may be bigger, but they sure as hell ain’t slower.

While I certainly had his attention, he wasn’t oblivious.  He was definitely pushing us back towards the SDF-1.  But I wasn’t going to let that be any sort of hinderance.

“Dragonball, when I give the word, light him up for a missile lock.  If you get a lock, go ahead and let one go, but get evasive the moment he turns his attention on you.  Then I’ll light him and and he should bug out once he realizes it’s two-on-one.  Once that happens, we’re gonna fall back to the hull and assist the Defender teams - especially the Monsters.”

“Got it!”

I must have really had Kamjin’s attention, because he never noticed Dragonball settling on his six until he got painted by the Valkyrie’s acquisition radar.  I could almost see the shocked look on his face as his Command Pod swung around.

“Oh no you don’t!” I growled as I raised my gunpod and took two snapshots.

My movement’s were somewhat too quick, but I did hit him - the first shot completely destroying his right cannon, and the second neatly severed his left one.

Kamjin was no fool.  He booked it so fast that I’m surprised he didn’t leave an outline made of the space dust that was on his hull.

“Dragonball!  To the hull, now!” I snapped out, firewalling my throttles as I dove for the relative safety of the Macross’s hull.

“Right behind ya, Robber!”

“Jesus Christ!” came Rick’s shocked voice on the radio.  “Are you okay down there, Robber!”

“Yeah, just a little shaken up, Fuzzy.  Those Command Pods are no joke.”

“Good.  Cornflower and I are coming in - he’s cleaning up out here, but we still can’t hold them all off.”

“Okay, Dragonball and I are gonna take up position  overlooking the Monsters and try to give those poor bastards some cover - you know they’re shit when the fighting gets too close.”

And that was the gospel truth.  The HWR-00 MkII Monsters lived up to their name with their massive 40cm canons and fiendish tri-barrel missile launchers on each arm.

However that is the extent of their armament.  They have no real means to defend themselves when the fighting gets up close and personal.  And I knew for a fact that just about every one of our precious Monsters were about to get wiped out if we didn’t do something about it.

The lead Monster saluted us as we settled on the platform overlooking their position and no sooner than when Hikaru and Max join us did Kamjin’s battle pods come to ruin the day.

We weren’t gonna let that happen.

The moment the battle pods crested over the edge of the SDF-1’s hull they were met by a wave of 35mm and 76mm rounds.  One did get close enough to make the Monster jockies sweat, but a sweet somersault by Max put him at a perfect angle to eliminate the battlepod with a flourish.

“Holy hell Red Wing!” came the voice of the lead Monster commander.  “You guys saved our asses.  Next time we see each other the drink are gonna be on us.”

“Thanks,” replied Hikaru, “But we got a birthday party to get back to once we mop up out here.  You can come along, though, as long as you promise to behave yourselves.”

“Birthday party?  Oh!  You mean that cute waitress at the Nyan-Nyan...  then that means...  HAH!  Hey guys!  Get a load of this!  Cradle Robber is in Red Wing!”

“oh god here we go,” I grumbled to myself.

And that was when it happened.

Kamjin’s command unit settled down on the deck in front of us.  The cockpit opened and Kamjin himself stepped out, pointing a finger clearly at me.

“The commander!” squawked one of the Monster commanders.  “I’m gonna light his ass up-”

“Belay that!” I snapped.  “He’s calling me out.”

“What!?” cried out Hikaru in shock.  “Why!?”

“He wants to settle things between us.  Just him and I.”

“A duel!?” said Max in surprise.

“Yeah.  Why do you think he’s been hounding us all this time?  He’s had it out for me ever since Mars.  Watch my back, guys.”

“Are you serious, Robber!?  What if he beats you?”

“I’m no pushover, Fuzzy.  I got this.  Besides, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.  If I settle this, then the raids will probably stop.  If not, then they’re gonna keep coming at us until they bleed us dry.”

“Alright, but be careful, dammit!”

“I will.”

With that, I boosted up over the ledges and settled down before Kamjin.  I couldn’t make much out since he was in a proper combat-rated vacuum suit.

There was a wrecked Defender next to me - no sign of the pilot.  It had taken a direct hit to one of the magazines.  Keeping an eye on Kamjin, I wrenched the pair of gun barrels off the wreck and tossed one to Kamjin.  I kept the other and took my Jyuraian fencer’s stance.

Kamjin took up the gun barrel.  There was a crackle of static and I heard his voice.  He was speaking Zentran, but it was plainly evident from the tone in his voice that he definitely approved, and took his own fighting stance as well.

All kinds of chatter started filtering through my headset, all of it focused on Kamjin and I.  The battle had come to a dead stop so that everyone on both sides could watch.  Hell, people were starting to take bets.  Odds leaned slightly in my favor from the sound of things, but Kamjin was something of a dark horse.

And just when things were getting good, Kamjin exploded in outrage, throwing down the improvised weapon and jumping into his command pod.

Ah, the recall order.  Breetai is finally putting his foot down.  However, I knew that with him keeping a close eye on the developing situation, he was all too aware of what had been going on between Kamjin and myself.  Did the venerable Zentradi Commander have a reason for stopping things there and then?

“All units, Gunsight: break off,” came Misa Hayase’s voice.  “Do not pursue enemy forces.  Fall back to final defensive line and hold position until enemy withdrawal can be verified.”

Reluctantly, all the Valkyrie’s pulled away, like as though they were sullen boys being called back home by their mothers, scolding them for roughhousing with the kids from the next neighborhood over.

But the background chatter carried on.  Cradle Robber was the hot topic - the guy that had the balls to stand up and face an elite Zentradi commander all on his own.

##

Ours was an eerily silent wing as we landed on the Prometheus and went through post-flight procedures.  They were all in shock.

Hikaru was an incredibly talented pilot - nobody could match his skills.  Except maybe Roy, but that was only on a good day.

Max was a prodigy and already an ace on his first sortie.

Hayao was a man full of bravado and gusto.

But me?  I was the mad-eyed crazy sunuvabitch that stood toe-to-toe with the elite of the Zentradi and lived to tell about it.

I could almost see their thoughts.  That is my wingman?  How the in the hell am I supposed to keep up with that!?

I sighed.

Hey, Katherine?

‘Sup?

I did it again, didn’t I?

You mean you went out, acting like a bad ass, and owned the heck out of it?  She giggled and went on, Yeah, you sure did, Gar-kun.

Well ain’t that just Jim-Crackin’-dandy.

“Robber!” came Roy’s voice crisply in my headset.  “Word from the very top.  Captain Gloval wants you in his office ASAP.”

Holy.

Fuck.

And judging by the tone in Roy’s voice, even he wasn’t really sure what this meant for me.

##

I stood at attention outside the Captain’s office waiting.

Waiting for what, I had no idea whatsoever.  But as soon as the Captain was able to get away from his responsibilities on the bridge, I would find out soon after.

I heard the tall Russian’s heavy footsteps and stood a bit straighter, my gaze carefully kept forward as the Captain paused to inspect me.

“Hmm.  Very well then.  Inside with you, Ensign,” he said as he keyed open the door and went inside.

“Yes sir,” I said smartly as I followed the Captain in, marching crisply the whole way, and stood attention in front of his desk.

“At ease, pilot,” said the Captain as he sat wearily into his seat.  “We’re both fighting men here.  No need for ceremony now.”  He then ducked his head down as he opened a drawer in his desk.  “Do you drink, pilot?”

“Occasionally sir,” I said as I relaxed into an at-ease posture.  “I try to stay sober as much as possible since our enemies have taken to attacking with great frequency.”

“Hmm.  Very good of you, pilot,” said the Captain as he came back up with a bottle of Russian Standard Vodka and two tumblers.  “As you may know, it is tradition that once the bottle is opened, we do not stop until it is emptied.  But as you said, it’s best to remain sober, no matter how often I wish to finish one of these bottles with a friend.  Please, sit down.  Grimm, was it?”

“Yes sir,” I replied, to both the request and the clarification.  “Call sign is Cradle Robber.”

The Captain chuckled as he poured a jigger of vodka into each tumbler.  “Ah yes.  Because of that girl.  Don’t think that I haven’t heard about that, pilot.  With all the gossip my girls get up to, I hear all kinds of things.”

He then looked at me with a mischievous grin and a glint in his eyes.  “You really are one hell of a lucky dog, you Cradle Robber!”

With that, he raised his glass, so I raised mine to meet his.

“That’s what they tell me, sir.”

And we both drank.

I’ll say this about Gloval - he sure knew where to get the good stuff.  That was the smoothest Vodka I’ve ever had, and I’ve actually gone drinking in Vladivostok!

“Hmm,” said the old Russian as he savored the burn of his Vodka.  “The age difference aside, Mr. Grimm, I think the two of you are good together.  I’ve heard that she’s entering the Miss Macross competition.”

“Yes sir.  She has her heart set on becoming a pop singer.”

The old captain smiled, no doubt thinking fondly of how the young can dream so big.

“I’ve been tapped to be one of the judges, you know.  Personally, I think it’s silly for me to be involved in such things, but the rest of the citizens think its wonderful.  Although, I must say, impartiality be damned, that I think I know who’s going to be taking home the crown on that night!”

I smiled a bit and tilted my head in a ‘wellll, you knowwww’ gesture.  The captain laughed and began to pour a second round.

“I’ve lost many friends over the years,” said the Captain, a bit more sober now, though with a wistful sort of fondness in his tone.  “During the Cold War and the Anti-Unification War...  And now there is yet another war that Humanity must bear through.  And here before me is a pilot with the guts to put all the rest on this ship to shame.  I don’t think even the venerable hero, Lieutenant-Commander Fokker, could pull what you did out there today.

“Mr. Grimm, as of late you have been a source of insight and inspiration that has been sorely lacking.  We lack the tacticians that we should have gotten underway with as this was originally intended to be a sort of dog and pony show put on by the UN.

“Additionally, you managed, quite by accident I am sure, to single-handedly stopped that battle cold.  You did so by making yourself known to their Commander on Mars, and continued to do so until he finally sought you out.

“And you answered in kind.”

Gloval shook his head in grim amusement.  “I don’t think that sort of thing has been seen in centuries of our history of war - one man calling out another to a solo duel in the midst of battle.  That, my friend, is the very essence of a warrior - to answer a challenge given so directly.

“Yes.  This day forward, I call you friend.  Not only because you are a good man, Mr. Grimm, but because you do what you can to save lives out there by putting yours on the line.  And, might I add, not so rashly and brazenly as others, but with a calculated consideration of what you can get away with.”

And with that he raised his glass once more, so I did the same and we both drank.

“Now,” sighed the old Captain.  “I must say, Mr. Grimm, how did you come to learn swordplay?  Your style seems to have a distinct flavor of Japan to it.”

I nodded.  “Yes sir.  When I left the US Navy, I was at a sort of loose end.  Since I was already in Japan, I traveled the country for a bit until I got stranded in Okayama prefecture.  I took on an odd job as a farm hand for one of the old families that had been there for generations and they wound up taking a shine to me.  Pretty much all but adopted me, sir, and the head of their family even took me on as a student in their style of swordplay.  Well... I studied the style for a year or so, but then circumstances arose forcing me to go my own way.  I’ve been improvising on what I had learned of the style ever since.”

The Captain nodded along, taking out that lewdly carved wooden pipe of his, adding a bit of fresh tobacco and tamping it down, and then lighting it with a match before settling into contented puffing.

I wasn’t going to begrudge the man his vice.  He got enough of that from the bridge bunnies.  Besides, he smoked the good tobacco - the stuff that actually smells... delicious.

“I get the impression that you’ve had to break a few hearts in that time,” said the Captain with a knowing smile.
I sighed.  “There were a few girls there vying for the spot as my girl.  To be honest, it was very disconcerting because it isn’t like I could date them at the same time.”

The captain chuckled heartily at that.  “Ah yes.  The young ladies, always wanting to monopolize the man.  I suppose then it’s good that little Minmei has made it clear to all that you’re hers and hers alone!”  He broke into hearty laughter at that.

Oh wow, if only he knew the truth! cried out Katherine gleefully.

“Oh brother, don’t I know it!”

The captain recovered himself quickly and went on, “At any rate, Mr. Grimm, I wish to congratulate you.  Not only on capturing the heart of such a lovely little lady, but also on your acknowledgment as a worthy adversary by our enemy.  You can rest assured that they will fight you with a great degree of respect from this day forward.  I only ask that you return that courtesy.  It is said that chivalry is dead, but I suspect that our enemy has not quite gotten that memo.  Or some of them, at least.

“Now, I think I’ve kept you long enough, pilot.  Isn’t there a girl waiting for you?”

“Ugh, she’s like an anti-radiation missile, sir.  She has the uncanny ability to home in on me like I was a mobile SAM-site.”

The captain guffawed once more as he stood up, motioning for me to do the same.  “Yes, such is the mysterious power of women, eh?  No obstacle in the universe will stand in their way, and sometimes not even death itself is immune to their perspicacity and persistence!”

He took ahold of my shoulder in a comradely way and went on, “You go now, friend, and make that girl happy, eh?”

“Yes sir.”  And with that, the Captain sent me on my with a hearty slap on the back.

“And Mr. Grimm?”

“Yes sir?”

“We’ll be having more of these little chats.  I think we would all benefit if I picked your brain from time to time.”

And with that, I knew that I was a lot more than just ‘on the radar’.

I was Captain Gloval’s special project.

Sweet Tsunami, what have I gotten myself into?

##

When I finally got back to the Nyan-Nyan, it was not, as I had originally expected, closed for the night.

Instead, the place was absolutely ablaze as raucous laughter came streaming out the open door.  Just outside, an A-frame sign had been set out that read:

“Celebrate our very own Lynn Minmei’s Sweet Sixteen”

But hastily added on in black sharpie marker, it also read,

“...And Cradle Robber’s Daring-Do Victory!”

“oh boy,” I muttered to myself and prepared myself for the worst.

And the worst was what I got.

Just about every Valkyrie and Destroid jockey had to be crammed into the place, along with the Bridge Bunnies, Misa Hayase, and Claudia LaSalle.

Someone had setup a karaoke machine and Claudia was up on a makeshift stage that appeared to be one of the restaurant tables with its legs removed.  And she was belting out one of the bawdiest love songs a woman could possibly sing with a perfectly affected Celtic lilt.

A handsome young sailor to London came down,
He'd been paid off his ship in old Liverpool town.
They asked him his name and he answered them, “Quite,
I belong to a family called nine times a night.”

Well a handsome young widow who still wore her weeds,
Her husband had left her his money and deeds,
Resolved she was on her conjugal rights
And to soften her sorrows with nine times a night.

So she's called to her serving maids Ann and Amelia
To keep a watch out for this wonderful sailor,
And if ever he happened to chance in their sight
To bring her fond tidings of nine times a night.

She was favoured by fortune the very next day
These two giggling saw him coming their way.
They've rushed up the stairs full of amorous delight,
Crying, “There comes that sailor with his nine times a night.”

She's jumped out of bed and she's pulled on her clothes
And straight to the hall door like lightening she goes.
She's looked him once over and gave him a smack
And the bargain was struck: no more sailing for Jack.

The wedding was over, the bride tolled the bell,
Jack trimmed her sails five times and that pleased her well.
She vowed to herself she was satisfied quite
But she still gives sly hints about nine times a night.

Says Jack, “My dear bride, you mistook me quite wrong,
I said to that family I did belong:
Nine times a night's a bit hard for a man;
I couldn't do it myself, but my sister she can.”

All the men were absolutely howling with laughter, and Roy was getting cuffed and pelted from left and right with napkins as it was quite well known that he and Claudia were engaged.  Even the Bridge Bunnies weren’t immune and were nearly rolling on the floor as the clutched their sides.

Misa, on the other hand, looked absolutely torn between utter horror and laughing herself silly - she seemed to be settling somewhere in the neighborhood of completely flabbergasted as she had no idea her best friend and coworker had this side to her.

I held no pity for her, because she of all people should expect nothing less from a woman marrying a hot-dog fighter ace like Roy.

And Minmei...  Minmei was filling the air with peals of scandalized delight as she knew full well who ‘Nine Time A Night’ was supposed to be this time around, despite herself not being a widow.

Claudia wasted no time, having spotted be well before she had finished the cant, and point me out for everyone that hadn’t noticed my presence yet.

“And here is the man of the hour himself, Mister Garrick.  CRADLE ROBBER!  GRIIMMMMMMM!!!”

Wheeeee!  Claudia sure know how to work up a crowd, huh Gar-kun~?

Oh hush you!  I was saying that a lot to her lately.

Much to my surprise, instead of merely being applauded, I was suddenly mobbed.  Hands grabbed me, hauled me over to a chair, which was then whisked away to Minmei’s table.  The whole way, everyone sang ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow’ with the crescendo coming right as I was deposited across from the delighted girl.

A plate of Walnut Chicken was placed before me, piping hot, and chopsticks shoved into my hands.

Minmei only beamed at me and I knew without a doubt that she had prepared this herself, and somehow without landing a single drop of anything onto her beautiful cheongsam.

Now that was some serious skill.

Minmei giggled at the bewildered look on my face.

“Eat up, Gar-kun.  Today is our special day together~.”

I couldn’t help it.  I laughed, albeit a small one, at that remark.

“Only you, you little imp, could be so happy about us having dinner together with this many people watching us like hawks on nitrous oxide.”  Minmei only smiled gleefully back, and I could only shake my head in bemusement as I dug in.

##

Later that night, once everyone had been gently ushered out (or in a few cases, not so gently by their superiors), Minmei and I had the restaurant all to ourselves as her aunt and uncle cleaned up in the kitchen.

“So, are you gonna tell me what it is?” she asked coyly.

I gave her an amused, cock-eyed look and said, “Just open it, you adorable little imp.”

Minmei put on the face of someone that was supposed to be offended, but couldn’t hold it for even more than a second.  She laugh and then opened the box.

And there it was.  That wide-eyed look of wonder as she saw the contents.

“Oh, Garrick!  How did you find real jade here!?” she asked as she lifted the earrings out of the box.  “And in the color of my eyes, too!”

I shrugged.  “I’ve been looking around for a while now.  Since you made sure to tell me when you birthday was long ago, I kept my eyes open for something that would be as unique and special as you.”

Minmei lunged over the table to wrap her arms around me, almost forgetting about the earrings in her hand as I felt the hooks pricking against my back through my uniform.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said it until now, but I love you Garrick.”

She let go, but only enough so she can come back in for a kiss.  I stopped her gently though, and I knew that I had one of those looks on my face when there was something very heavy on my mind.

“What?” asked Minmei, her own face worried as she read the look perfectly.

I sighed.  “Minmei, I need you to know something.  I have some secrets - not the military kind - that I’ve been keeping from everyone.”

The look of worry on Minmei’s face deepened and I rushed on.

“No, nothing bad.  I’m not secretly some enemy spy or evil villain or anything like that!” I said with a grin and instantly she smiled back, no doubt imagining me dressed in a black cloak with satin red lining, a long, thin mustache perfect for twirling, a monocle, and a cackling evil laugh.

“However,” I went on, “it’s something that I can’t reveal just yet.  But when I do reveal it... you may decide that I’m not someone you should marry.”

Minmei blinked at me, her mind no doubt trying to come up with all sorts of scenarios.

But then, she simply said, “How could I marry anyone else when you make me feel safe and loved no matter what’s happening?”

I looked at her in surprise and Minmei grinned back at me.

“I know you love me, Garrick.  You try so hard, but it’s there.  I saw it the moment you would look at me after we first met.  You probably never even realized it yourself - you’re such a sucker for a pretty little girl like me, aren’t you?”

I felt ashamed.  She was right.  During that time, I would steal looks at her when Hikaru wasn’t watching, and admired how beautiful she is.  But I hadn’t realized that she’d noticed.

Minmei continued, “That week that we were all stranded, I got to see someone with an unshakable confidence.  Not some swaggering sense of superiority so many other guys use.  But you give off the sense that everything is going to be okay.  And because of you I knew that we were going to be just fine, that someone would find us soon, and we wouldn’t spend the rest of our lives lost inside a strange place.”  She then grinned a bit impishly.  “Though it does sound kinda romantic when I say it like that.”

I scoffed in amusement at that.  “Of course you would.  You’re such a romantic girl,” I said as I brushed an errant bit of her hair aside.  “But do you think you can handle it?  I mean, I come from a home with a lot of very strong personalities.  Lovers and fighters, princesses and pirates, mad scientists and plucky detectives...  It’s a real nut house, you know.  And it would be a very very long ways from your home.  Think you could handle it?”

Minmei smiled back at me.  “I can handle anything,” she said with the quiet sort of conviction that only a girl in love could muster as her face grew closer to mine.

I couldn’t help but grin as well.  “We’ll see about that.”

Our eyes closed and for the first time, my lips willingly met hers, and I would never forget it.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, damn. Now I want to see the moment when he Reveals All to her. I know I haven't said anything on this recently, so let me make it up to you with a simple, heartfelt, "Great work".

[robkelk]

Miximillian Jeneus.

...

"Spaceman Max ‘Cornflower’ Stirling reporting as ordered, sir!" Roy, Hikaru, and I stood and returned the salute.

I don't mind seeing Robotech in my Macross, but the references should be consistent...

Either way, "Miximillian"?

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh, damn.  Now I want to see the moment when he Reveals All to her.  I know I haven't said anything on this recently, so let me make it up to you with a simple, heartfelt, "Great work".

Thanks!  That actually won't be that far off.  Garrick will reveal everything to his Wing and LtJG Hayase once they're captured by Breetai.  And the reveal to Minmei won't be long afterwards in coming.

Miximillian Jeneus.

...

"Spaceman Max ‘Cornflower’ Stirling reporting as ordered, sir!"  Roy, Hikaru, and I stood and returned the salute.

I don't mind seeing Robotech in my Macross, but the references should be consistent...

Either way, "Miximillian"?

Ugh!  I thought I exterminated all those gremlins.  And also, leave it to me to make weird typos like 'Miximilian'.  At any rate, thank's for the catch, Rob.

[Black Aeronaut]

The next update is very soon in coming.  Just wanted to do another letters segment for plot reasons.

In the meantime, though, I've had some insights into how Yuki is probably going to be developing...

Sweet, deadly little Yuki.  She will never allow you to feel a thing unless she wants you to.  She twists the blade.  He feels it.

Since there isn't much art out there for the original character that was the seed for Yuki Mihara, it's kind of hard to visualize her.  So, I decided last night to find a character that closely matches her physique and coloration.

And then I found Akemi Homura.

Which makes perfect effin' sense.

Yuki has had her foundations rocked by recent experiences, forcing her to completely renovate herself in an effort to stay in the game.  We see the beginnings of this in her grief-fueled, raging, screaming challenge to Dr. Clay.  Later on in the story, she will run afoul of the political intrigues of the Amake-Clan, which shakes her up even more.

Afterwards she makes a resolution to become Garrick's 'Hidden Knife' - the one that quietly slips out when no one is looking, and eliminates or neutralizes a credible threat.  In public, she will have Homura's cold mask of a face.  But when it is only family (which includes the Masaki and Kamiki Clans), she becomes animated and gives off a beautiful smile - something that she feels that only her family is worthy of seeing.

But the real kicker is going to be when she shows up to her wedding like this:



At the horrified gasps, she turns at the altar to make her declaration...

"Know this.  My name at the moment is Yuki Masaki Jyurai, adoptive daughter and former apprentice to Her Royal Majesty, Funaho Masaki Jyurai.  I have already renounced my Earthly name of Mihara so I may learn at the foot of my new-found mother.  And mother has taught me exceedingly well.

"I know of your petty intrigues.  Attempting to dig your grubby fingers into our family and rip away power that you have no right to, let alone the capacity to properly wield.

"That ends today.

"Behold me!  Witness me!  The Black Bride of Garrick Grimm Jyurai!  I forsake yet another name to take up his, and in his name I shall serve my husband.  Already you know: I am an assassin and a murderer.  Virtue?  I have none for I gave it to my husband before anyone else could take it from me!  Let this be a warning to all.  Cross my Clan at your own peril, for if you do there will be no place for you to hide.  No hole dark enough to keep you safe.  For I am the shadows.  I won't even need to find you.  I will be there, waiting for that moment when you feel safest before I remove you from this mortal existence."

And then all eyes turn to Garrick, but they find no pity from him.  His eyes say everything: You made her like this.  Now, she is your nightmares given flesh.  Deal with it.

The overall dynamic is going to be interesting, with Nanami being in overall charge of household affairs (and Garrick's final line of defense), Achika taking charge of the rank and file soldiers, leaving Minagi to take charge of the Body Guards.  Yuki will occupy a very interesting niche: the Zeroth Line of Defense.  She becomes something of a modern age Kunoichi (as well as the Clan's intelligence expert who is second in skill only to Funaho herself) and works to subvert plots against her Clan in any way she can.

Thoughts?

[robkelk]

Dayum, BA - you got balls, taking a sweet kid and turning her into a dark and edgy powerhouse while keeping her in character.

I know you rarely asked me for writing advice in the past, but I think that I have nothing left to teach you.

[Black Aeronaut]

Whew!  I'm honestly relieved to hear that, Rob.  I was worried that upon posting that I'd get flak in the form of "AAAAUUUGGGHHH!  TOO MUCH EDGE!!!"

But yes, she is indeed edgy, but justifiably so.  She was nearly raped once on Yatsuka, and that triggered the transformation process.  This was only quickened when she later falls prey to House Amaki's intrigues.  If not for Seto's timely actions, then the situation would very likely have wound up with Yuki dead or worse and House Grimm irrevocably tarnished by having Garrick implicated in her death.

And once again, House Amaki makes with the Karma Houdini act and gets off scot free.

Yuki is fucking pissed and goes as far off into the deep end as someone can go and still come back with some semblance of their former self.  She specifically seeks out assassins who are willing to teach her what they know and does a stint as a bounty huntress, taking down some very dangerous people.  When she comes back, it's with a reputation as 'That bitch you don't fuck with' and then seals that reputation with the whole Black Bride thing.

She will not tolerate any more intrigues.  The next time someone steps out of line, she will have blood and not feel one iota of regret.  And she will be watching for it very, very carefully.

House Amaki has just collectively shat their pants.

Except for Anya Amake.

Yuki-chan?
Yes Gar-kun?
Don't look now, but Anya is doing a celebratory dance...  In fact....  is she....  NO WAY.
What!?
SHE'S DOING THE GODDAMN DIRTY BIRD!!!
....must...keep...straight...face...
I'm just wondering where the hell she learned it!

Anya tells her clan where to shove it and how far when she knows full well she's being recorded, but doesn't care because she wants people to remember her giving her family the Dirty Bird while flipping them The Bird.

So anyhow, I finally wrapped up the next letters bit....  Wooooo.  It's a chapter all unto itself, folks!

---

Dear Garrick,

Great news!  I have successfully coded up a protocol for handling digital media files!  Within this letter is embedded code that will upgrade the messenger system on your end to receive digital media!  And you’ve got a lot of pictures coming.  Better make sure you got someplace special for them.

So, here’s what up.  Your ladies pregnancies are all going well, but recently we all came to the decision that we should put your daughters into stasis for the time being.  Rest assured, Minagi, Achika, and Yume did not come to this decision lightly.  In fact, they’ve all (including Yuki) spent many evenings over the last couple of weeks carefully debating the matter.

Now, I want you to know that, of course, I’ll be performing the procedure myself, so you don’t need to worry for your daughters well being.

However, this is going to upset your ladies biochemistry as this is going to feel like an abortion to them.  I will do what I can, but they are going to need your love and reassurance.  In fact, I’ve arrange for Airi to stay over for a few weeks.  She herself has undergone the same process and knows very well what it does to an expectant mother, so she’ll be able to give your ladies the support they need.

Now, on to your work on Overtechnology.

So far your research looks pretty good, at least with the information you have access to thus far.  The only thing I have to nitpick about is your work on dimensional fold theory as applied to FTL travel.

Now, just so you know I’m not counting this mistake against you because without computers like mine you would never have noticed the difference with the data you have on hand now.

The issue is that Space Folding is actually not an instantaneous transit.  It only seems that way on hops shorter than ten or twenty light years.  Longer than that, though, and there is a noticeable passage of time during the transition.  Additionally, there is also a mild relativistic effect.  Even though you are warping space to make this happen, you still drift relative to space you occupy during the transit.  This leads to a passage of time outside the space fold that is proportionate to the passage of time within it.

I will leave the finer details to you to suss out.  Get cracking, boyo!  Let’s see what you got!

Sincerely,

Washu-sensei

---

Dear Washu-sensei,

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  You probably do understand how much this means to me, but even so!!!  Katherine is already running off prints and I’ll have them framed and hung in no time.

Sweet Tsunami, I miss all of you so much that it’s almost unbearable to see your pictures, and yet have none of you here to hold.

Yuki - sweet mother of trees! - she’s growing into such a beauty.  It doesn’t seem she’s going to get much taller, but that is fine.  I actually quite like such small-framed women.  Especially when their seemingly delicate forms hide the sort of strength that Yuki possesses.

And Yume...  Wow.  Just wow.  Tiny, yet curvy, but not over-endowed.  And why would she be?  If her kind are really hunters, then it would make sense that they would be light and agile.

Anyhow, enough about me gushing over how beautiful my Ladies are.

I can see now what you mean about not only the perceived time passage, but also the time dilation effect.  This could have repercussions in the future as the later colonies would truly be separate from Mother Earth, but at the very least the fold-wave communication will operate quickly enough.  It may be more like a throwback to having to wait for letters to come in the mail, but in a digital format.

I’ll get straight to work on it.  Now that I know how I messed up, fixing this will be easy.  Tedious, yes, but easy.  I’ll also have more refined data models later in my next letter.

Your faithful student,

Garrick Grimm


---

Dearest Grandson,

Oh Garrick!  Another one!  And she’s so lovely, too!  And that VOICE!  I can already tell that I’m going to need to set her up with one of our best agents!

In case you haven’t guessed, I approve of her entirely.  I hope that you weren’t worried that I’d say no on account her her not pursuing any sort of combat experience.  It is actually perfectly fine by me if her heart’s desire is to make people happy with her music.  That said, however, if she does not learn at least one solid methodology of self-defense by that time she gets here, then I’m afraid that I’m going to have to have my daughter put the poor dear through the wringer.

Don’t worry, though.  Misaki will be kind to her.  It will not be like what you had to put dear little Yuki-chan through.  Besides, I know that my daughter will absolutely adore her.  She’s already started humming My Boyfriend is a Pilot.

Now, of course there is a proviso that will need to be met in order for Minmei to be accepted as a Woman of Your House.  And that would be the fact that your First Wife must absolutely be of one of our existing Clans.  This is not something that I can give much leeway on as there was quite a bit of political capitol burned by my daughter abdicating that position in their house.  The Council does not want to see it happen again.

I will admit, it may be possible, but whoever the lucky woman is would have to be a woman of such caliber that she would be able to stand face-to-face with me and show absolutely no fear.  Unfortunately, I don’t think your Minmei is capable of that just yet.

However, there is a sort of work around.  You can keep Minmei as a concubine for the time being.  While I know it is not the same as marriage, at the very least in our eyes it would legitimize your being together until you take your First Wife.

Of course, now that you have my blessing, you just have to deal with your ladies.  Good luck, Grandson~.

Love,

Seto

---

Dear Grandmother,

Thank you kindly for the advice.  I know Minmei won’t like it - one of her fondest dreams is to be a bride in the first place.  But at least I can assure her that her wedding will be one that she will never forget - a beautiful starlet being wed to a warrior-prince...

...I just worry how she will take to the idea of having four sister-wives.  I have hope, though.  Her upbringing is traditional Chinese with a good deal of Japanese cultural contamination.  Granted, there’s a good deal of Western contamination as well, but Minmei is very partial to her ethnic roots - a proud daughter of the Imperial China that does not bow to the communist regime.  And concubinage has made a resurgence in both China and Taiwan.

Only time will tell.

Love,

Your Grandson, Garrick

---

To My Son:

I am sorry that all of this has happened.  rest assured, my son, if it were in my power to do something, I would.  You’ve proven your worth, not only in your actions, but by assembling a household that will stand on even ground with that of young Seina’s House... and yes, I admit, even Tenchi as well.

I have had my reservations about the boy.  He is soft and slow to commit.  But lately he’s been changing.  Noike tells me that he stands taller now, and while he is polite he is no longer afraid to make his presence known.

I had been worried before about the idea of giving my two precious daughters to him, but he changed my mind just recently.

Just after your last letter had arrived, I received word about the attempt to kidnap Aeka by Prince Garyu of Oku II.  While it was you’re forewarning to Washu that gave them the chance to prevent it from happening, it was Tenchi’s strong leadership that stopped the Prince cold.  Unfortunately, the Prince did not survive, but I am heartened that my beautiful and precious Aeka did not fall into his hands - let alone what he would have done to her!

But in all reality, I should be thanking you, son.   It is because of you that Tenchi now stands as he does now - a leader of a strong household of the Masaki Clan. And it is because of you that I can now accept him as my son-in-law.

I want you to know that we think of you always, Garrick.  We greatly anticipate your homecoming, and the seat of you Clan on the council awaits you, occupied for now by Seto until Achika is able to do so in your stead.

And as a final note, son, Seto has told us of this new girl, Lynn Minmei, and I agree with her assessments.  Bring her home, my son, and we shall make her feel as welcome as we did you.

Sincerely,

Your Father,
Emperor Azusa Masaki Jyurai I

---

To My Father:

It’s alright, Father.  As you said, there was nothing that could be done.  All we can do now is move forward.

In regards to my warning about Garyu, I’m just glad that my sisters are safe.  If I could have been there I would have given that brat the beat-down of his life.

It is my most sincere hope that Washu Hakubi’s transmat project is successful.  That said, is it possible for me to carry out my responsibilities by remote?  I understand that I will have to have someone, likely Achika, sit in my stead at the Royal Council meetings.

As for Tenchi, I’m just glad that my Brother has come into his own.  I myself have no doubt that your crown will one day rest on Tenchi’s head.  And I am certain that it will weigh heavily upon him indeed.

In that time, I will endeavor to have my House and Clan do everything we can to ease that burden.

For now though...   Tenchi is coming up on an age where he is what is called a ‘Ronin’.  Unlike Mother’s time on Earth, being a Ronin in Japan in this modern day means that you are a young person  who has graduated from high school, but have failed to enroll at a university.

If I may make a suggestion, Father? Let us all encourage Tenchi to study under Washu Hakubi for a time and then take his final high school exam. And once he has his diploma in hand, have him enter an institution of higher education on Earth.  I feel that the exploit will enrich his character and give him much needed experience in managing his time - which is going to be critically important for him in the future.

As for what degree he’ll pursue, I feel we should leave that up to him.  It won’t matter in the long run because once he has completed his higher education on Earth, then he should move on to the Galaxy University and study galactic diplomacy, politics, and civics.

Of course, this is all only an idea.

At any rate, I feel I should tell you that I have recently gained quite a measure of notoriety among our opposition in this universe.  Over the last several weeks I have been making it a point to harass a commander of an elite unit, one Kamjin Kravshera, in order to make sure that he is too busy dealing with me to slaughter our men in droves.

I seem to have left quite an impression on him because he called me out to a one-on-one duel.  And as if that wasn’t enough, everyone stopped fighting so they could spectate and place wagers.

It would have been quite the scene, except that his entire unit got recalled before the duel could actually start.  Kamjin was not pleased at all by this turn of events, and in a ways I can’t blame him.  Their leader, Commander Breetai Kridanik, had to have been monitoring the proceedings and chose that exact moment to issue the recall.  Whether it was because the duel violated some ordnance of theirs, or their leader felt the timing was not right, I don’t know.

As for Minmei...  Well, we’ll know more about that once I reveal the truth to her.  I just hope that she takes it well.

Sincerely,

Your son, Garrick Grimm Jyurai

---

HI GAR-KUN!!!

It’s Auntie Misaki here~!  I know Mother already told you, but I am looking forward to meeting this new girl!  She sounds like such a nice girl.  And don’t worry.  I’ll treat her like my own daughter when she comes to me for training.

Okay, Big Sister’s got a few things to say, too!

HUGS!!!

Auntie Misaki

---

Hi Auntie!

It’s great to hear from you, and I’m glad you’re looking forward to meeting Minmei.  I just hope that she is fine with the situation she’d be in if she still wants to marry me.

Give my love to everyone.

HUGS!!!

Garrick

---

My Dear Son,

I never cease to be amazed at how you seem to gain the attention of all these very impressive eligible women.  Even though I know what it is.

A warm heart.  A strong shoulder.  A gentle touch.  A keen mind.  And a steadfast will.

I know you are wondering.  What was different in my life before?  To that, I cannot answer for certain, my son.  But from what I do know, you were already being ground down by life in your old world before your mother passed away.

I dearly wish I could have met your mother, Garrick.  She had to be a singular person for raising someone like you.  Instead, I find myself with the honor of her legacy.  I want you to know that I have made a special place in the Masaki Clan Shrine for her.  She deserves nothing less, and I strongly suspect that I would love to have called her ‘friend’ or even ‘sister’.

Now, on to this new wrinkle.  Even now I cannot help but smile.  Lynn Minmei seems like a perfectly lovely young lady and I look forward to inducting her into House Grimm as one of my daughters-in-law.

Now, we have some idea of what she looks like, but I am certain that the caricatures in the animations pale in comparison to the girl herself, and Washu-chan now assures me that transmitting pictures as well as other digital media is now a feature in this system.

Let her know that she has family here waiting for her, should she choose to accept this life.

From your Mother with Love,

Funaho

---

My Beloved Mother,

It warms my heart that you would do that for my birth-mother.  And I know that she would have appreciated the gesture.

I’ve included a few photos of her, along with many others.  Photos of Minmei, myself, my friends (both from Equestria and here on the SDF-1), my Valkyrie, and even a few of my Garden.  I also included a few recordings of Minmei singing.

And I’ll make sure that Minmei knows that my family is eager to welcome her.  Hopefully that will ease the shock of the big reveal that’s coming.

I’ve been doing well fr myself over here.  Maybe a little too well.  I’ve gained notoriety not only among the Zentradi but also among the citizens and crew of the SDF-1.  Just mostly me being me.  Can’t leave well enough alone, gotta make things even better.

But if things are honestly better, then I think that all the notoriety in the world will be worth it.

Love,

Your Son, Garrick

---

My Dearest Garrick,

I’m missing you, as always.

Everyday I tell myself, “Don’t worry.  He’s coming.  He’ll get here because he’s Garrick and he’s never going to give up.”  Some days it works.  Some days, I find myself crying on one of my sister’s shoulders.

Mother is still working on the transmat.  The ability to send pictures has made us all happy.  We can’t wait until you send us photos!  I want to see what your friends from Equestria all look like.  I want to see the look on Celestia’s face when you called Discord “A budget-rate reject of a Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Knock-Off”

But I’m also very curious to know more about Minmei.

Don’t worry, I think she’s great.  It’s just that now I want to know so much more about her!  If she agrees to come with you, then I would love to write her as well.

As Mother told you, we all decided to put our daughters in stasis.  We all have our reasons, but even so we all wanted to be sure that each of us was on board with the idea before we went through with it.

The consensus was that we either all do this together or none of us at all.  And from there we all talk to each other, taking turns at ferreting out our honest feelings on the matter.  Even Yuki, as she had interesting insights as well as her own feelings to express.  (I can’t wait until we can see what her children are going to be like.)

I won’t speak for the others, but for myself... I simply want you to be here for her.  I don’t know if it’s my advanced mental capabilities and that which I’ve passed on to her... but I think she senses that you’re not here.

Garrick.  Our daughter is crying for her father.

I cannot let her continue crying like this.  I’ve decided that for her wellbeing that she will sleep, peaceful and dreamless, until either you come home, or Mother can send us to you.

Stay strong, Garrick.  Come back to us safely.

Love always and ever,

Minagi

---

My Sweet Minagi,

Even though things are going well for me, hardly a day goes by when I don’t think of your gentle touch.  Not even the adorable girl I have chasing me could ever chase away my memory of you.  And now that I have your pictures, even more memories from before have been rekindled.

I still love that one that Sasami-chan snuck in and took with you passed out in my arms just after our first meeting.  It was so strange that in that brief moment you were so aluring.  Despite trying to kill be earlier, you felt soft and warm in my arms, and your scent was enticing.

And then you woke up and I looked into your gorgeous golden eyes.  If you had kissed me then, I would not have questioned it at all.  I would only have returned the affection in kind.

I am sorry that it has come to this - having to place our daughter into stasis.  Hopefully your Mother will have success with the transmat project and can not only see each other again, but also bring our beautiful daughter into the world.

I can’t wait to see her.

Oh, and wonder no more about the look on Celestia's face.  Rainbow Dash knew I was gonna say something good and had her camera on a hot-standby.  Let me tell you, that was the ultimate spit-take!

In regards to Minmei, you should find a good number of photos and recordings of her.  There’s even a mock interview I did with her, asking her all kinds of things like her childhood, her thoughts on various things, and her dreams, goals, and aspirations.

And of course, there’s photos of my as well, along with my friends and even a few of my Valkyrie.  (You’re gonna love this thing.  It is SO COOL!)
Be strong, my love.  This time of hardship will pass, and we’ll be together again.  Look after the others as they’ll look after you.  Support each other.  Love each other.

Love forever,

Garrick

---

Dear Garrick,

So, another bird comes to roost, eh?  Normally I’m lukewarm towards pop-princesses.  But Minmei... she strikes me as being different.  That bit about standing up to Kamjin you mentioned impressed me.  She definitely has guts, and that counts for a lot in my book.  She’s got my vote, provided she decides that she wants in on this.  Like Minagi, I too would like to start writing her.  No time like the present to start getting to know my new sister, after all.

Okay, the stasis thing... I’ll admit I was very reluctant about this.  I had been preparing myself mentally for the possibility of you not being here for our daughter.  After all, I’ve had one or two of my sisters in the Army have had to set their careers aside because they didn’t have a husband to raise their children with them.  And while they regret that it came to that, they never regretted having their children.  And so I had told myself that I would be no different.

But then, when we discussed about the notion, I began to wonder more and more how she might grow up without you around.

And I found myself looking down where our little Akatsuki lay inside me.  I want to bring her into this incredible world so much, Garrick!  I want to show her how much of a bad-ass her mommy is and show her how to be a bad-ass too!

But I know she’s also your daughter, and that she will need you to teach her about the parts of her that come from you.  Otherwise she won’t know why it is that when she looks at something she imagines how it comes apart the way you do.  Or how to channel your ability to hyperfocus and wear a problem down to its barest parts.  Or how you make that horrific howl and monstrous face that you’ve used to send grown men running for their lives.

It broke my heart, Garrick.  Sweet mother of trees, I never thought I would feel heart break again, but there it was!  She is my daughter.  Part of her is me.

But part of her is you, too.

And without you, there is a part of herself that she will never really understand.

This is going to hurt me.  I know it’s going to hurt so much, but I have to do this for her sake.

For the first time since I was a girl, Garrick, I am scared.

And I can’t even say that I don’t know why.  I know exactly why.  And yet even knowing doesn’t make this fear go away.

I never thought I would say this to another man Garrick...

...but I need you home.

Love,

Achika

---

My Beautiful Achika,

You are such a brave woman, doing what you’re doing for the sake of our daughter.  I know that when she is old enough to understand, she will love us all the more when we tell her.

It is only for a time, my darling.  It will pass, and then we can enjoy raising our children.  Don’t be afraid to lean on your sisters for support - both your birth-sisters and your soon-to-be sister-wives.  They care about you more than you’d imagine.

I hope that you don’t feel too burdened with learning the responsibilities of being my First Wife.  I know you can’t possibly be looking forward to having to sit through those Royal Council meetings.

I’m so happy to see these photos of you and everyone else.  You look so beautiful in that furisode!  I didn’t think a tom boy like you would have gone for that, and I hope that you continue to show more of your feminine side.  Besides, it’s so delicious to lure the bad guys into thinking that you’re just another delicate flower, when really you have venomous thorns waiting for their unwary hands.

I’m doing okay here, even though I miss you so much.  Minmei has been a balm for that pain, but she could never be you.

Speaking of Minmei, make sure you have a listen to the recordings of her.  Her VA is good, but Minmei is in a class all her own.

And I just know you’re gonna love the pictures of me in my various uniforms and of me with my Valkyrie.

I won’t tell you to be strong.  I know you are.  You’re a soldier.  But even the best soldiers need to lean on the squadmates sometimes.  So don’t forget that your sister-wives are your squadmates over there.

Love,

Garrick

---

To My Own:

What an interesting turn of events, My Own.  A little girl like her with a voice that can move entire worlds, and she falls for you.  If you ever needed more proof that you are alpha material, then there you have it.

Surprised that I think nothing ill of her?  Silly human.  We have culture on my home.  And the ones with the sweet voices and keen minds like Minmei were the ones who were quickly set apart among our clans to be the story singers, the oracles, and most importantly those who would speak to the gods on our behalf.

This is the legend among my kind.

That the Gods were cold.  Heartless.  Negligent.  They created us and the world we lived in, but left us out in the cold to fend for ourselves.
Until one day, during a time of great famine and suffering, there was a young female whose heart was filled with a passion like no other and her song could move an entire people like lovers calling to each other.

She knew full well that she had these gifts, but knew not what to do with them except to comfort her people.  Until one day she realized that if her song can guide and move entire clans, then what may it do to a God?

And so, one night when a storm raged, she went out to a great stone that thrust up into the sky.  And from there, she sang like she had never sung before.  She sang of hunger, of famine.  She sung of the sickness that claimed the lives of their pups before they could even taste the air.  She sung a desperate cry for help, and she sung it so that all below her wept at the beauty and the sorrow of her song.

And the Gods did hear her.  Their cold hearts melted.  They eyes opened to see our sorry state.  And they did grant us blessings - good harvests, good hunts, many pups born healthy and strong and their mothers with full teats for them to suckle.

And ever since that day, those with such a voice were considered the holiest of our people.  For they were the most favored of our gods, and only they could gain their ear to deliver our gratitude and our prayers.

Bring home this girl, My Own.  Bring her home and, if she will have it, then she will have my love, my respect, and my adoration.  Bring her home and let me beg of her to let me teach her our ways.  It has been far too long since the Gods have heard tell of me.  I have much to ask forgiveness of, and much to give thanks for.

I know that it might seem strange for this side of me to suddenly appear.  But it has simply been that long since I have known of a female with a voice that could reach the Gods.

-

And so, as you know My Own, it has been decided that we three sisters shall put our unborn daughters to slumber for a time.  For me, the choice was easy.  Even though I do not truly want this, I know it is best for our child.  I have said it before and I will say it again: she cannot achieve her true potential unless you are here with me to help guide her.

I know that I do not say such things often, My Own... but my heart aches for you.  And it will continue to do so until I hold you close to me in our bed and our daughter nestled against my teat.

Until the end and beyond,

Yume

---

To My Mate:

Now I finally get to see you as you are now...

Yume, you are gorgeous.  I know that you didn’t quite hit the height you were hoping for, but you have a wonderfully balanced figure that is not too much and not too little.  And you with those crazy amber eyes and those ears!  It just drive me nuts!  I can’t wait until we can be together again and I can hold you close.

I miss the fire that burns within me whenever you are near, and I’m sure you do as well.

I’m so sorry that I cannot be there - both for you and our child.  You are right - she won’t be able to reach her true potential.  Not without me to measure herself against; to know where her other half comes from and why it makes her the person she is.  But that doesn’t make this any easier on me.  It make me want to tear the multiverse apart to get back to you and our child.

I will tell Minmei about how important songs are to you, and how gifted singers are revered among your people.  I hope that she will decide to sing our songs to your Gods.  If anyone can reach them, she certainly could.

That, and I would love to see this ceremony and hear the songs of our family.

I think that our prosperity will please your Gods greatly, my wild-eyed love.

Until we are one again,

Garrick

---

My Gar-kun.

I hope that Minmei says yes.  I hope that she comes home with you.  I hope that I get another sister to love.  And I hope that when you come, I will be ready for you.

My sisters are all so sad right now.  They don’t want to be separated from their daughters.  And I don’t blame them at all.

I know that I am becoming a woman.  I know this not only because I can feel my womanhood stirring on my moon-days, but because it also stirs every time I think of having to do something like that... to have a life inside of me that I would love and cherish so much... to have it removed and leave only emptiness behind...

It nearly makes me sick to think of it.  How Achika’s mother was able to deal with it, I don’t know.  But I am glad that she’s coming here to be with us when it happens.  Achika is going to need her the most.

I have never seen Achika like this before.  I keep trying to comfort her, but it never seems to be enough.

I’ve never been so glad to have Sasami-chan as a friend.  She is a huge help in getting me through these days without you.  BUt now with this, it’s almost more than I can take!

At the very least, I can write you these letters.  I know I can say thing here, things that I know you would understand.  Because you know better than most others what it means to hurt.

Oh, I almost forgot!

I just know you’re gonna love the pictures we’re all sending you!  Once we knew we’d be able to send things like that soon, we all turned into shutterbugs!  Everyone has their own camera now, and it’s almost became a game to see who can get the funniest, the coolest, and even the sexiest pictures~.

We even got some of the others in on it, like Mimi and Anya!  Mimi looks so cute in her bathing suit.  It’s kind of a shame that she’ll never really ‘grow up’, but at least she’ll always look super-cute.

Tell you a little secret!  I’ve been having so much fun teasing Mimi about wanting to do naughty things with her!  It’s just she always has this super-dramatic reaction!  Though I guess it doesn’t help that I actually do think she’s really pretty.  And sometimes I start thinking about things I could do with her or any of the other girls...

...It is frustrating being the age I am at right now.  My body is changing and I’ve been thinking more and more about SEX and what it would be like.  I’m getting that warm feeling now just writing about how it feels.

Gar-kun, what do I do?  I don’t want to be one of THOSE kinds of girls, but it’s so hard not to think about these things!

Love,
Your Yuki-chan

---

My Beloved Yuki,

I know it sucks being a teenager.  But let me let you in on a secret: There’s nothing wrong with exploring your sexuality, even at your age.

Sure, there’s a lot of people that say it’s improper.  But as far as I’m concerned, that kind of thinking just adds to the stress of being your age.  But if it is that important to you, you can do it in secret.  In fact, I’ll go one further for you: go ahead and look at echi and even H stuff.  Get an idea of what kind of echi stuff you like - everyone has kinks.  There is nothing wrong at all in trying to figure out what kind of person you are.

As a matter of fact, talk to Sasami-chan about it.  She’s probably going through the same thing you are, only with less yuri tendencies.  Though I wouldn’t say it’s a bad bet to say that she’d be willing to experiment with you.  Trust me, this kind of stuff is always a lot more fun with a friend you love and trust.

Finally, I’ll pass word along to Washu-chan.  We know she’s trustworthy about matters like these.  And I’m pretty sure she can source you some of the ‘good stuff’ that a young lady like you might like.  Trust the 20,000 year old super-genius.  She won’t steer you wrong, nor is she going to make undue light of your situation.  (She might rib you a bit, but not much.)

OH.  I should also include a copy of The Hite Report.  Don’t tell anyone I sent you that except maybe Washu-chan.  With this, you’ll learn a lot of the basics that no one every teaches you about.  Stuff like common methods of masturbating (very useful!), why some women prefer women as sex partners over men, preferred positions and why, and a whole lot more.  You will find it in the attachment in this letter - the filename is ‘Recipes for Spring’ and the password is the date you and I first met.  (I’m sure you remember that!)

The only thing I’m going to really caution you against is jumping right into sexual intercourse.  Even with Sasami-chan.  Down that road lay consequences.

I know, “What about you and your fiances?”  They and I did that understanding what might happen.  Things like STDs (admittedly unlikely given that we all have great health care) and pregnancy (though that kinda was the point).  Although I will say that doing it with another girl kinda renders the pregnancy thing moot, just be careful all the same.  In fact, I’ll also ask Washu-chan to set you up with some contraceptives, just in case.  Worrying about becoming pregnant is the last thing you need right now, and it’s always better to be prepared.

Additionally, intercourse tends to draw you into a relationship that you may not want later down the line.  Such is the nature of the beast - evolution has made it so the first person  we start with is the person we tend to want to keep doing it with.  Make sure that you and whoever you do it with understands that things change with time.

Don’t forget, my tiny love: I love you very much and I want you to be happy.  If that means that you fool around a bit with a good and trustworthy friend, then I’m fine with it.  You’re young, after all.  Get out there and enjoy it!

Love always,

Your Gar-kun

---

Dearest Brother,

How do you keep doing that?  I’m speaking rhetorically - I know how you do it.  Even so, it still simply boggles the mind.

My astoundment regardless, I am pleased about this turn of events, and I do hope that Miss Lynn feels equal to the challenge of being a woman of Your House.  As the others have expressed, she does seem like a lovely girl and I myself would enjoy having a chance at getting to know her.

As of late it has been one of the more difficult times, with your fiances making the heavy choice to place their daughters into stasis.  All of us understand with crystal-clear certainty why they made this choice.

That is part of why it’s been hard on the rest of us.  We see ourselves in their place, and we sometimes have that terribly selfish though: “I am glad that I do not have to even consider such a thing.”  And then I feel horrible for having that thought.

Yosho-nii has reassured me, telling me that it’s only natural to think such a thing.  And what makes me a better person is that I regret that thought.  Words cannot express how glad I am to have him back in my life.

In other events, I’m sure you’ve heard about that thing with Garyu.  You may know about this, but he was some brat of a young prince that came to Jyurai during a diplomatic summit.  He was so dismissive, calling our trees ‘wasteful’ and then killing a bird off-hand.  He was lucky that a slap was all I gave him.

But now I have reason to regret that, as my willingness to stand up to him is why he has apparently ‘fallen in love’ with me.  As if that immature and arrogant child could understand what love really is.

At the very least, Washu-chan was able to, as you say, “put the kibosh” on Garyu’s plot to kidnap me.  And when his subtler attempts where not successful, he attempted something far more direct.

Needless to say, we have a few new craters in the area that need to be filled in before they become stagnating ponds.

Everyone worked hard at this.  Everyone played a crucial roll, for while Garyu may have been a spoiled brat of a prince, he was by no means an easy foe.

And yet, for all that, we all know and recognize who is really responsible for allowing us this chance to fight back.

From the bottom of my heart, Dear Brother, I thank you.  Without your Sibylline Contingency Garyu would have been able to strike without warning... and I shudder at thinking of how he might have violated me.

Thank you, my dearest brother.  You have protected me even when you could not be here to do so yourself.

Thank you.

With love and adoration,

Your sister, Aeka

---

My Dearest Aeka,

I am so glad to know that you are safe and sound and that Garyu was never even able to lay a finger on you.  I wish I could have been there to see it.  You are a magnificent fighter, dear sister, and it is always a joy for me to see my beloved sister show  how she protects those around her.

And I’m also glad for you to have Yosho-nii back in your life.  He is a very wise man.  I don’t know what I would have done without him myself.

As for my Ladies...  Please try to be there for them, my dear sister.  They need all the love and support they can get right now, and Airi won’t be able to do it all by herself.

As for Minmei... if she chooses this path, then I’ll do everything I can to bring her safely over.

---

Hi Onii-sama!

It’s Mihoshi here!  Mihoshi just thought she’d write a little something herself to go with the REALLY long part.

Thanks for reading those~.  Mihoshi is super-happy that it makes Onii-sama happy.  Mihoshi will do whatever it takes to help her Onnii-sama stay strong.

Mihoshi is happy that Onii-sama’s family is getting bigger!  Or will be bigger?  I hope that Min-chan will come.  Oh no, wait!  Minagi is Min-chan, so Mihoshi guesses Minmei with have to be Mei-chan.  That works much better.  Minmei is definitely a Mei-chan!

Mihoshi misses her Onii-sama and wants him to come home soon.  Onii-sama’s girlfriends are super-sad and lonely.

Love,
Mihoshi~

---

Dear Mihoshi,

You are like a priceless gem and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!

I’m really happy that you want to meet Mei-chan so much.  And thank you for the nickname!  I would never have thought of it myself.

I wish I could come home right away, little sis, but unless your mother somehow finds me while she’s working, then I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
Stay strong, little sis.

Love,

Onnii-sama

---

Hey, Gar-kun.

Glad to hear that your gonna get stronger.  It’s gonna be so cool when we can go all-out.

So, who’s this little cutie, ehhh?  Sure sure has a nice voice.  I definitely like her moxy.  Wonder if she’ll be able to hold her liquor once she’s old enough to drink.

Your pal,

Ryouko

---

Yo Ryouko!

You mean like 20% cooler?

Sorry.  Dash still has that affect on me, even if I can’t be with her now.

Mother of Trees, I miss those crazy girls.  I hope that Washu-chan figures out how to retrace my path.  I really did want you to meet Rainbow Dash - her being your kind of fun, you know.  Complete with mid-day naps.

And yeah, Minmei definitely has moxy to spare.  You’re gonna love her - she’s like Aeka, except without the holier-than-thou princess-act to get past.  Don’t say you were never warned!

Cheers, buddy!

Garrick

---

My Dearest Gar-kun,

I am happy for you and sad for your fiances.  Big Sister Airi can’t get here quickly enough!  I have no idea how to help with this.

But hearing about Minmei... this helps me a bit, because I know that at least you’ve found a bit of happiness.  I just wish we could all share in it.
I want to make Minmei feel like she has family here.  I want to love her and hug her and be a good sister to her.

Fight hard, Gar-kun, so you can come home.

Love,

Sasami-chan

---

My beloved Sasami-chan,

I am so sorry that you have to bear up under these conditions.  But I know you can tough it out until Airi gets there.

And I’m also glad that you’re willing to welcome Minmei.  I just hope that she accepts this life that I will offer her.  It is not for the faint of heart, and even one as strong as hers might falter at the prospect.

I pray that she doesn’t.

Love,

Gar-kun

---

Dear Garrick,

It’s been pretty wild out here, brother.  I honestly wish you were here - it’s nice to have another guy around that isn’t my father or grandfather.  Especially one who knows about all the craziness.  And with Achika, Minaho, Noike, and Tenyo added to the mix, there’s new surprises every day.  And what’s nice is that a lot of them are really good surprises.

Having Noike and Minaho added in as future brides for me has been a bit strange, but somehow things have become... smoother.  Noike make sure the house operates on an even keel and Minaho has been helping me with my swordplay.  She’s really good!  I’m shocked that you were able to gain a victory over her, even if you did cheat.

In fact, it’s starting to feel like a dojo up there at the Shrine.  Grandfather, Achika, Minaho, Noike, and Yuki, all at the same time.  It’s a little crowded, but it’s nice, too.  It makes me feel like I actually belong to something special.

There’s been some talk going around lately.  The rest of the Masaki family has been asking about you.  They want to know when you’re coming home, and it’s been hinted that we’ll have a matsuri when you do.

I don’t know if I could deal with that much attention myself!  But knowing you, I think that sort of thing would fit you like a glove.  Better you than me!

Anyhow, as you’ve probably read already, we’re all really eager to meet Minmei.  We’ve been playing her music and even though it’s a bit dated, she does have a very nice voice.  At least her VA does.  Does she sound like her VA?

But at any rate, take care of yourself, Garrick.  I really do want you to come home.  Even with Noike and Minaho smoothing things out, I think your ability to confront problems before they get bad is something that I miss.

Sincerely,

Your brother, Tenchi

---

Dear Tenchi,

I’m glad that you’re hanging in there, and just as glad to hear that it’s hardly ever boring over there.  Man, if only I could be there!  And I bet we’d all make for a hell of an interesting looking student body if we actually did have a dojo.

File that one away under “Ideas for Later”.

Heh-heh-heh.

And are you being serious about a Matsuri!?  Wait, you’re Tenchi.  You wouldn’t lie about something like that.  Silly me.

Really, I would be honored, but to be honest I wouldn’t know what to do with myself!

And as for Minmei sounding like her VA...  Yes... for the most part...

It’s hard for me to put my finger on it, but her real voice has a certain quality to it that her VA lacks.  Minmei’s voice haunts you.  But in a good way.

Weird, I know.  But that’s the best I can come up with.

The situation over here has been heating up.  Kamjin has been stepping up his assaults... but I went and did something that was typically me.

See, I’ve been making it a point to keep him distracted so he’ll spend more time focusing on me and less time making mincemeat and scrap of our Valkyries and pilots.  And then he did the last thing I would have expected of him.

He called me out!!!

And of course, I accepted.  No joke, it stopped that battle cold.

Funny thing is we never got to actually fighting.  Commander Breetai issued the recall order before we could get started.  But even so, it was a done deal.  I was officially a hero, and I’m probably now infamous among the Zentradi.

Oh well.  I guess it was gonna happen sooner or later anyways.  Even Katherine was not surprised.  But at least I’m not the only one pulling off heroic feats.

Take care, Tenchi.  There are still adverities for you to overcome, but with the people I helped bring into your life, maybe it will be a bit more bearable than it original should have been.

Sincerely,

Your brother, Garrick

---

Garrick,

Noboyuki here.  Thank you for all that information.  I’ll start moving on it right away - for both our parts.

That thing about corporations taking so much control in America... it’s bad enough they have such sway here in Japan, but for it to happen to the heart of Western Culture?  That would be the worst!  And since you warned me about that, I started doing some research of my own.

This is chilling stuff, Garrick.  Especially if the trend continues in the manner you claim it will.  It’s like they’re slowly eroding your Democratic Process by funding the campaigns of your lawmakers - just like you said!  And on top of that, my research shows that the stifling of the middle class has been going on for some time.

Granted, the Clinton Administration seems to have been effective in thwarting the worst of it, but it’s still there, plainly evident in how middle income wages are stagnating relative to inflation.  And all this business of deregulating energy utilities... It might make sense from a fiscal perspective, but it makes very little sense from the standpoint of ensuring public services actually serve the public.

I worry what merely the two of us will be able to do.  Who do you think we can count on as allies in this battle?  The Clintons themselves seem affluent enough, but the recent scandals seem to have somewhat tarnished that image.

Any advice is welcome.

Sincerely,

Noboyuki Masaki

---

Noboyuki,

I’m glad you see what I mean.

In the business sector, we can count on Nick Hanauer.  He’ll be one of the very few plutocrats that will see what we see.  But like us, he can’t make things change without allies.

We may want to try getting Bill Gates on our side.  Yes, he is a very cut throat businessman, but you cannot deny that he has excellent business acumen.  If we can get him to see that the direction things are going in will be detrimental in the long run, then I’m sure he’ll work with us.

In fact, pretty much any big player left standing in the wake of the Dot-Com Bust - especially the rest of the what I like to think of as The Big Four: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Linus Torvalds.

(I forgot to mention this.  Once the advantages of selling online is realized, people will go nuts with startups trying to sell anything they can think of over the Internet... and a lot of them flop HARD.  Do not invest in anything pertaining to the Internet without checking with me first.)

A rather unseeming political ally can be found in Senator Bernie Sanders.  He’s a career politician, an Independent, and lobbies for things like socialized medicine, fair wages, and tax reform.  He also likes to push for the decriminalization of marijuana.  Note that this is not necessarily a bad thing, as its criminalization was originally born out of one of America’s fits of xenophobia back in the 1920’s.

If he hasn’t hit the scene yet, keep an eye out for Barack Obama.  He eventually becomes the first African-American President and was a key figure in making the first comprehensive American healthcare system a thing...  An ugly and grotesque thing, no thanks to Conservative backlash against a black president, but it’s a start.

You’re going to need to talk to people.  Find us allies and get them on board.  I’ll have to figure out a way of making ‘public appearances...

MY ALTERNATE!!!

Find my Alternate!  He’s an nuclear engineering officer in the Navy!  See if he’s interested.  From what I’ve seen of him, he is very much like me, only even more so because he hasn’t had such a damaged upbringing.  He’s intelligent, charismatic, and good looking.  He’ll have a solid military history and a damn good grasp on nuclear power.  And on top of it all he should be highly civic minded.  You can’t ask for much more in a newly fledged politician!

We need to get him into studying law and politics as soon as possible!  I’ll even bankroll his education for whatever his Montgomery GI Bill doesn’t cover.  Even his living expenses - within reason.  No questions asked.

Noboyuki, on my personality alone I have courted some very powerful women and made myself into the rising star of the Empire of Jyurai.  Yes, I had help, but I would never have gained that help in the first place if I wasn’t me.  Imagine what this kid can do if we unlock the doors for him and point him in the right direction.

Keep me posted!

Sincerely,

Garrick Grimm

---

To My Student,

You needn’t worry about the lie you told.  It is perfectly understandable, and is really not far from the truth.

Continue to grow and develop, Garrick, and we’ll see what you’ve learned when we meet again.

Sincerely,

Yosho-sensei

---

Yosho-sensei,

Thank you for your kind words.  I will, as I have been, endeavor to grow and develop my technique.

Respectfully, my I request that you give your wife my regards as well as my gratitude for me when she arrives?  Her emotionally supporting my ladies is something that I am most grateful for.

Sincerely,

Your student, Garrick Grimm

---

(AN: In reality, there would be a lot more pictures than this, but these were the few good ones that came up that looked like great candid and posed shots.  You can be sure, though, that these all wound up getting framed.  Enjoy!)


Our little family.  Minaho was the one taking the picture.



Sasami-chan caught a rare moment where Aeka and Ryouko were happy to be doing something together.  I've always known that Aeka has a pretty smile, but it's very special to actually see Ryouko smile like this.


Ryouko is taking photobombing a little too seriously.  (;^^)>


Dad, Rea, and me.  Washu-chan just kinda wandered in there without noticing what was happening. Dad says that he has something special coming up and that it should brighten everyone's mood.  I hope it does.


We don't know why, but Tokimi has been spending a lot of time with Mihoshi-chan.  But we're not complaining, especially when we get to capture moments like this!


Another one with these two!  This time Sasami spooked Mihoshi, though I don't think Tokimi understood why this was so funny.


Oh no.  Minaho looks like she's planning something.  I'm told by Tenyo that Seto gets that same look on her face sometimes, too!


Working the fields with Minaho and Ryo-Ohki.  I was surprised that she actually came out to help me.  It was really nice for a change - not just the help, but also getting to know more about Minaho.


Something just happened.  I won't say what or who it was to protect their dignity, but the look on Ryouko's and Washu-chan's faces speak volumes.


Tenyo Onee-san reminiscing with one of the books Mother used to read to me.  She looks so much like Mother that I should probably be weirded out, but somehow... this feels right.

---

(AN: Second post due to 15 image limit per post.)


I don't normally do these kinds of things, Gar-kun, but for you, I will.  And even with a smile on my face, as you can see~.


It took a lot of work, but I finally figured out how to adjust my furisode so I can run and jump.
Tell you a little secret~.  I'm wearing the traditional undergarments, too~.  Bet that just made you hot~.


So I hear you have a thing for schoolgirls~...
All joking aside, I was surprised that this old uniform of mine was not only still hanging around, but in perfect condition, too.  It even fits me perfectly still.


Did you honestly think I was gonna pass up the chance to give you sexy swimsuit pics?~  I want you in your bunk and thinking of me, Gar-kun~.


Sasami-chan and I decided to do something special for you Gar-kun.  I hope you like it.
This was my school uniform.  A lot of the girls thought they were too stuffy, but I thought it made me look very cute.


Super-cute, even~


Though if I'm not careful, it could get a little echi~  I hope that some pervert didn't see up my skirt!~ 


I wanted to wear this for the first time you and I go out on a date.  I hope Washu-sensei gets the transmat working before I grow out of it.


These next few pictures are my secret present to you, Gar-kun~.


I almost felt like Princess Serenity wearing this.~


Summertime memories of Yuki-chan~


Whoops!~  I got a tan!~

(PICTURE OMITTED FROM RECORD!!! O_o )
I know I'm still a little girl, but Washu-chan says you might like this anyways.~  I'm waiting for you, Gar-kun.~

---

(EDIT: Oh WOW! It appended the images into one post!

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh, something I think you guys might find interesting - a log of how many words I've been putting down over the last few weeks. I've been on quite the streak lately.

2/21 - 1747 words
2/22 - -0-
2/23 - 1813 words
2/24 - 9209 words
2/25 - 2811 words
2/26 - 2751 words
2/27 - 1848 words
2/28 - 1239 words
3/01 - 525 words
3/02 - 210 words
3/03 - 399 words
3/04 - 1929 words
3/05 - 3595 words

Burn baby burn...

[Black Aeronaut]

Macross city was positively abuzz, and with just cause.  Because that day was the day that the highly anticipated Macross Broadcasting Network would go on-air.

It had taken quite a bit of finagling to make it happen I learned as I had read the news.  The original television station of Macross City had been severely damaged in the disastrous space fold that brought the island and a sizable chunk of the Pacific Ocean out to the orbit of Pluto.  So the TV station staff had to content themselves with salvaging as much of their studio and computer equipment as they could, along with their not-so-small library of cassette tapes with a broad scope of television serials and movies, and wait until a new television station and news studio could be built.

Of course, that ranked pretty low on the list of priorities.  But seeing as it was for the citizen’s morale, it did get done nonetheless.

And as fate would have it, Hikaru and I were stuck on patrol.  But if my recollection was correct, this wasn’t going to be a boring one.

“Man, this sucks,” grumped Hikaru as we left the Prometheus behind us.  “I wanted to see that beauty pagent.”

“I dunno, Hikaru.  I think the LT has been softening up on you lately.”

“What?  That old sourpuss?”

“Dude, you’re such a kid.  Have you ever stopped to look at her?  She’d be a showstopper in a swimsuit.”

“You boys do realize I can hear you, right?”

I blinked and then looked to my channel settings.  Sure enough, we were on the tactical channel that included SDF-1’s Air Boss.

“Shit,” I grumbled, with my finger off the PTT button.  I keyed it and said, “Ah, sorry ma’am.  No offense intended.”

“Uh, sorry!” squeaked Hikaru.

“Hnnn.  Apology accepted, Mr. Grimm, though I would have thought you would have eyes for Minmei alone.”

“Respectfully, ma’am, just because Minmei is my girl doesn’t mean that other women are invisible to me.  Oh, speaking of which, ma’am, would you mind sending us updates on how she’s faring in the pageant?”

“I suppose so.  It’s the least I can do since you’re stuck out there.  You sure you don’t want to wait until you can watch a recording later?”

“Thanks ma’am, but I prefer to use my zen-like patience when the matter can’t be helped.  It’s a precious commodity, you see.”

There was a short pause, undoubtedly because she actually got a laugh out of that, and then a highly amused LtJG Hayase came back, “I see.  You’re just a kid that pretends to be a grown up.”

“Guilty as charged, ma’am.  So, can ya do it?”

“Fine, fine.  The rest of the girls are watching it anyhow, so I guess we can let you know whenever you check in.  But you better be doing your jobs out there.”

“Of course, ma’am.  Fuzzy and I may be overgrown kids, but we can handle a bit of responsibility.”

“Uh, yeah,” chimed in Hikaru weakly.

“Honestly, I don’t understand what was going through the Lieutenant-Commander’s head when he made you the subordinate.”

“Simple, ma’am.  It’s always the XO’s job to keep the CO from lighting his own pants on fire.”
A longer pause this time.  “Understood,” replied Misa, this time sounding like she could barely keep her composure.  “You two have your orders.  Get to it.”

A moment later while we were vectoring towards our patrol point, Hikaru came on the radio, this time on the proper channel.

“Did you really have to do that, Robber?”

“Sorry Fuzzy, but sometimes the truth hurts.  And besides, I seem to recall Mother lecturing me specifically on keeping you out of trouble before we even graduated from pilot training school.”

“Yeah yeah.  Switching on active radar now.  You take the passive scans.”

##

It was, just as I had expected, boring work.  I started up some music on my iPhone to help while the time away - my music library was now supplemented with a few recordings Minmei had made just for me of her singing.

Seriously, she had a gorgeous voice.

Hikaru and I chatted on and off between reports to Misa, along with her own reports on how the pageant was going.

Surprisingly enough, her shell cracked just enough that she spent a minute or two chatting with us as well.

“Grimm practices kenjitsu?” said Misa in surprise.

“Yeah, it turns out he wasn’t playing around when he took up that challenge against that Zentradi commander.”

“Well, I might actually have to go sparring with him.  I’ve been neglecting my own kenjitsu.”

“You’re a swordswoman, ma’am?”

“Of course I am.  The Hayase family were Samurai before the dissolution of territories, and we’ve served in Japan’s military ever since then.”

“CONTACT!” snapped Hikaru suddenly and then we were all business.

“Contact confirmed,” replied Misa.  “They’re not radiating.  LIDAR shows that they’re too big to be a lone fighter, but far too small for one of their capitol ships.  I suspect that it’s a scouting vessel of some kind.”

“Have they seen us yet?” asked Hikaru.

“It doesn’t seem so.  They’re probably distracted.  But they could be faking it.”

“Let’s keep it that way.  Killing my active radar.  We’ll rely on the tactical feed from the SDF-1.  Robber, vector in on an intercept with me and kill your engines - we’ll coast on in and see if we can get the drop on them.”

It was a tense thirty minutes as we quietly crept up on the seemingly unsuspecting ship, so I decided to lighten the mood and opened a laser-com with Hikaru.

“Betcha five ration-credits that they’re watching the pageant.”

“What!?” squawked Hikaru in surprise.

“Well, it’s the only damn thing that’s being broadcast.  And the only communications have been between us and the SDF-1.  We ain’t gotten anything out to Earth because they’ve been jamming us so much.

“I guess that makes sense,” said Hikaru.  “In that case, that’s a sucker’s bet.  I, however, bet you five ration-credits that they’re actually enjoying it.”

“You’re on!”

“Alright, we’re in range.  Got your gun ready?”

“As always.”

“Okay.  Let’s...  see if you can hit their engines.  That’ll keep them from going anywhere.”

“You got it, Fuzzy.  Switching on optical sights.”

The tactical display in front of me switched to a feed from the high-definition camera mounted in the Gu-16 overlaid with a targeting reticle.

The ship before us was the cyclopean Quel-Quallie reconnaissance ship.  Despite their peculiar image of being like an airstreamed cyclopean turtle with catfish-like spines extending backwards, they are incredibly practical little ships.

For instance, you can remove the ventral sensor array and use the space as a cargo hold or even cram a single mecha in there. And on top of all that, they were well armed and well armored - real stroppy little ships.  It’d be pretty awesome if we could capture one relatively intact.

“Think we can take them alive, Fuzzy?”

“Yeah, but why bother?”

“If it’s a recon ship, then there’s probably an intelligence officer on board.  And that’s to say nothing of getting a leg-up on cracking their encryption.  It’ll be just like when the US Navy captured a German U-Boat.”

“Right, gotcha.  Think you can disable it with your lasers instead?”

“Since we’re in these J-types, maybe.  Lemme see what I can do.  Be ready for the shit to hit the fan.”

It was easy to find the engines on these things.  They used the traditional bell-thruster configuration - a pair of them tucked under the Quel-Quallie’s ducktail.

Switching to my precision lasers, I felt the vibration through my Valkyrie as the head emerged from its spot just behind my cockpit and angled the lasers.  One of the neat things about these setups with more than one laser is that you can individually target them or use them as a group.

And the J-types had two lasers mounted to the head.

With just a bit of futzing, I managed to get the lasers lined up with the thruster nozzles and let them have it.

And then with two small puffs, the engines gave up the ghost.

“Alright, let’s go!”

In a heartbeat, Hikaru had found the hatch and triggered some kind of emergency jettison function, sending it pinwheeling out into the black yonder.

I wasn’t long in following him in.

The only way I could describe what happened was that it was like a knife fight in a phone booth.

The Quell-Quallie has enough room for a three man crew, and not much else.  With two Valkyries in Battroid mode squeezed in it was damn-near claustrophobic.

With a loud racket, a great deal of jostling, and an undoubtedly great number of bruises and dented armor plates, we had somehow tied up our enemies with some sturdy cabling I’d ripped from the equipment cabinets.

I wasn’t worried too much about the damage - the SDF-1 itself was evidence that we’ve repaired worse.

“Red Lead, Gunsight: We have captured three combatants and a small craft.  Requesting an extraction and recovery team at the following coordinates...”

##

The Zentradi were, to put it mildly, sullen and angry.  And a bit scared, too.  Granted, I understood why, but I couldn’t explain it to everyone else.

Simply put, these guys were expecting Supervision Army and... well, the Supervision Army wasn’t the sort of outfit to take prisoners.

As the prisoners were searched carefully for hold-out weapons or potential suicide implements, Captain Gloval debriefed myself and Hikaru.

“Hrm,” murmured the old Russian officer thoughtfully as he worried at the stem of his pipe.  “This puts us in quite the quandry.”

“Sir?” asked LtJG Hayase, who’d been tasked with recording the debriefing.

“What do we do with giant prisoners?  While we might be able to rig one of the old spaces on this ship to act as a brig, we have the logistical issue of keeping them fed and healthy.  The supplies we were able to come bay at Mars are already being stretched.”

“Sir, why not just send them back?” asked Misa.

“Oh?  As a gesture of goodwill?  How do you propose we do that?  We do not understand their language and they still jam our communications so much that I don’t think they’d ever notice us hailing them.”

At this, I piped up.  “Sir, I think the captured craft may offer a solution.  While I was in there I saw something that looked very much like some kind of escape pod.  If we can remove it from the craft, we can send them off in that.”

“Excellent thinking, Mr. Grimm.  Lieutenant, send word to Mr. Lang immediately.”

“Aye sir!” replied Misa smartly and left to carry out the deed.

“As for you two,” said the Captain with a smile.  “I am granting the both of you 72-hour passes.  Now go!  The time is for business, the hour is for fun.”

##

Hikaru and I made it down to the stadium in record time, and not a moment too soon.  A thunderous gaggle of reporters, hangers on, and would-be talent scouts were positively mobbing Minmei as she exited the building, spoils in hand.

“Minmei!” I called out.  Apparently my voice cut through the noise and Minmei’s head snapped in my direction.

“GARRICK!” she called out happily and, crowd be damned, she made a beeline for me, pushing people aside as only someone who’s experienced Japanese mass transit could.

“Hey!  HEY!” cried out a man in a business suit and aviator style bifocals.  “We haven’t talked about that contract yet!”

I stopped the man cold with a palm to his chest - nothing hard, just enough to stop him.

“Look, I get she’s popular now.  That’s why I’m going to spend a nice long evening taking her out so we can celebrate the occasion.  You know where she lives.  She’ll be there in the morning.  Now git!”

But right away, the reporters began to clamor.  I was, after all, some big damn hero.

“Oi!” I snapped.  “What part of ‘quiet evening’ do you people not understand?  You can interview the both of us tomorrow at the Nyan-Nyan!”

With that, Minmei, Hikaru, and I all piled into Scooby and got the hell out of there.

“Garrick,” pouted Minmei.  “What about all my fans?”

“Minmei, don’t worry your cute little head off about them.  They’ll be there tomorrow, waiting for you like a school of hungry piranha.”

“That’s awful morbid,” kibitzed Hikaru from the back seat.

“But accurate,” I shot back.  I then looked to Minmei, smiled, and took her hand.  Then with my eyes turned back to the road I did that one thing that girls all around just love.  I pulled her hand up to my lips and gave it a tender kiss.

Girls love this because of the implicit message there: Even though I’m busy with something really important right now, I still love you.

Just like I expected, Minmei snuggled up close, hugging my right arm to herself.

“Minmei?”

“Hmm?”

“I get that you want to keep your fans happy.  And I’m fine with that.  But there’s something you have to remember.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to take care of yourself first and foremost.”

“But isn’t that selfish?”

“Nope.  Not one bit, and I’ll tell you why.”

“Oh?”

“The thing is, Minmei, you can’t be there for your fans if you work yourself to the bone.”

“But doesn’t that show dedication?” she asked.

“Some might think so, but most won’t care.  All they want is for you to be in their lives as much as possible.  That’s why you need to know how to put your foot down on people like that agent in the sports jacket.  I know guys like that - they’ll squeeze you for everything you’re worth and then some.  And then they’ll lament the fact that you’re actually human when you inevitably pass out and have to go to the hospital.

“Besides, how are we gonna find time to spend together if you can’t make them give you a day off now and then?”

“Well, I guess when you put it that way... I mean, after all, you are my biggest fan~.”  She then reached up with her head and planted a kiss on my cheek.

“You’re my biggest fan, too,” I replied, giving her hand a squeeze.

We pulled up to the Nyan-Nyan and, to my dismay, it was already getting mobbed.

Hikaru looked at us and smiled.  “You can just let me off here and go ahead.  I’ll make sure none of these clowns come after you.”

“Thanks, Fuzzy.  I owe you big time.”

Hikaru waved it off.  “This is nothing.  Don’t worry about it.”

Just as he hopped out, Minmei’s aunt came charging out the restaurant with a bundle in hand.

“Here!  It’s food,” she said breathlessly as Minmei accepted it through the window.  “Hurry up and go!”

“Thank you auntie!” we both chorused as I put my foot down on the accelerator pedal, making Scooby take off like a startled cat.

##

We circled around town for a bit until I was sure that no one was following us, and then I drove over to our little getaway - that engineered bluff where Minmei kissed me the first time.

I pulled a tarp over Scooby so no one would recognize the truck while Minmei unpacked the lunch.

Auntie Lynn had been very thoughtful, putting together a picnic lunch with our favorites from the Nyan-Nyan’s menu.  With  the blanket that had been used to bundle the food spread out and our take-out cartons open, we enjoyed the meal in relative silence.

“Hikaru and I caught some prisoners while you were busy at the pageant.”

“Alive!?” said Minmei in shock.

“Yep.  There were a bit roughed up, but perfectly fine as far as we could tell.  We’re gonna be sending them back, though.  The ship we captured has an escape pod and we’re gonna let them use it to get back to their home ship.”

“That’s awful nice to do.  Think they’ll remember that?”

“Pretty sure they will.”  I then sighed and stretched out.  “I just wish this conflict would end.  Too many people are dying and we don’t even know for sure what these guys want from us.”

Minmei sighed and laid back, using my chest as a pillow.

“I’m glad you think so, Garrick.  It’s good that you’re willing to fight to protect us, but it’s even better that you wish you didn’t have to.”

We then lapsed into companionable silence while I stroked Minmei’s head, wondering what I was going to do about this mess.

It was official now.  I loved her.  And it’s so hard not to, not when she was doing everything she could possibly do to make me happy.  And not in some sickeningly saccharine way, but with honest feeling and warmth.  Even when she was yanking my chain, she was doing it with a smile that reached her eyes.

To her, I had become more than just a dependable guy that she found attractive enough to go after.  I was her good friend, confidant, and even a sort of playmate.

Minmei’s fit into the group would form an interesting gradient between Achika and Yuki.

Younger in looks than Achika but definitely more mature than Yuki.  And Minmei had a lot of that same ‘no holy cows, let’s see how much we can get away with’ attitude that Achika has combined with Yuki’s earnest and innocent passion.

We dozed off for a few hours - first Minmei and then me - shifting positions now and then until she had wound up with her soft chest pressed up against my side and our legs intertwined, enjoying each other’s warmth in the relatively cool air.  We didn’t really stir from there until it was well past lights-out.

When we woke up again, we simply looked into each other’s eyes and gave way to soft, gentle, probing kisses that steadily progressed to a full-on make out, tasting each other’s lips and getting hints of the meals we had eaten earlier.

As she pressed herself more tightly against me, though, I knew I had to put on the brakes.

“Easy there, little starlet.  I haven’t put a ring on your finger yet,” I whispered in her ear, teasing her gently.

“Just let me stay like this for a few more minutes.”

I chuckled softly in her sweet smelling hair.  “Alright.  But I’m sure Auntie and Uncle want you home soon.  Just for their peace of mind.”

Minmei sighed the sigh of the put-upon.  “Can’t wait until we can get married.”

“Patience, little starlet.  Patience.”

##

The following morning, I had been called up to the main conference room where Hikaru and I had been awarded our Titanium Medals.

Much to my surprise, all the commanding officers were present, as well as Hikaru, Roy, Misa, and Claudia.

“Sirs!” I announced as went to attention and snapped off a smart salute.

“At ease, Pilot,” said Captain Gloval amiably.  “Come, be seated.  There is much to discuss and not much time.  As old saying in the Motherland goes, we must take our feet in our hands and move forward.”

“Understood, sir,” I replied as I went to the only empty seat left - the one next to Hikaru.

“Now that we are all gathered we can move forward.  I’ve called this meeting because there has been some... debate over what to do with these prisoners.  While we all agree that sending them back in their escape pod is for the best, it has been suggested that we send them with a... how do you say?  A primer of sorts.”

“Absolutely preposterous,” grunted Colonel Maistrof - a Marine commander born of the stiff upper lip British, and not the friendly sort.  He was in overall command over the Destroid battalions on the Deadalus.  “Why in the blue blazes would we assist our enemies like that?”

The other Captain said nothing, but nodded his head.  This stone of a man was our own commanding officer among the strike fighter squadrons.

Captain Gloval, or I should say in this situation, Commodore Gloval, looked like he could use a shot of that Vodka he kept in his desk right about now.

“It is felt,” said the Commodore, with just a hint of weariness in his voice, “that any effort to promote some kind of understand between us may lead to a cessation of hostilities.”

“Hostilities?  Cessation?  Not bloody well likely!  Not when they made the first encroachment!”

I wasn’t about to let that one go unchallenged.

“Sir, we shot first.”

The Colonel and Captain both glared at me.  I just gave it right back at them.

“Excuse me, pilot?” with a flat tone that indicated he wanted to rip off my butter bars and toss me out an airlock.

“The booby trap left by this ship’s original masters.  It automatically fired the main gun once their ships came into range and line of fire.  How are they supposed to know that it was not our doing, but a booby trap in the first place?”

“It hardly matters.  Once those ships were destroyed it became political ammunition for them to hold against us.”

“I don’t think the ships matter to them, sir.”

The Colonel looked about ready to rip my head of, but Captain Gloval interceded.

“Hold on, Colonel.  I’m curious to hear what the man thinks of our enemy.  He has shown keen insight in the past.”

Maistrof went purple, but Gloval looked intrigued.  He knew right then and there that I was on to something, and he was not about to see me silenced by someone who’s pride had just been pricked.  Gloval motioned for me to continue.

“Respectfully, sirs, I would look to how many men they send at us each week.  They are grinding us down, but at what cost?  How many hundreds of their own have we killed thus far?  By my humble estimations, far more lives than those that crewed those two ships that fell to our guns.  And far more tonnage in fighters and capital ships that those two.

“Sirs, I suspect that they think very little of the resources and men they’ve expended so far.  If we were somehow able to negotiate a ceasefire, I suspect that they will view their losses as being well worth... well, whatever they want from us.”

“Hmm.  I have suspected as much myself,” said the Commodore thoughtfully as he took out his pipe and nibbled at its stem.

“You agree with him!?” said the Colonel, aghast.  “Since when do we take advice from an upstart shit of a butter bar!?”
A southern twang cut through the air.

“I reckon it was about when that same upstart stared down one of their elite and, for the love of god, did not flinch.”

The Captain had at last broken his silence.  Captain Edmund Duke.  Yes, just like the General from the Starcraft game by Blizzard.  The man was a pompous blowhard by any measure, but he knew his tactics inside and out, and he knew damn well how to run this rodeo show, as he would say.

“Son.  Yer not the kinda pilot we expect these days.  Yer the crazy sort of sumbitch that’d go tear-assing around the skies with nuthin but flai’un leathers and canvus keeping the bullets away from yer hide.  And all while flai’un by the seat’uv yer goddamned pants.

“Yer one of the Old Blood, son.  Yer the kind of fly boy that my grandpappy used ta fly with.  And while ah don’t like it much, it seems that yer the type ah pilot we need in the skies these days.  Hot like a branding iron and sharper than a whittling knife.”

The Captain then leaned over the table to stare me down.

“So let’s talk turkey, son.  Ya say we oughta send these fellers back where they came from?  With everything they need ta learn our language?”

“More than that, sir.  I say we give them our culture, too.  Give them Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin.  Give them Madonna, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.  Hell, Michael Jackson and the B-52’s.  Teach these guys the Moon Walk and the Rock Lobster.  Have them learn why we don’t like Mondays.  Give them the King of Rock and Roll that people swear is just around the corner despite being dead all these years and the dearly missed but never forgotten Buddy Holly.  Give them Freddy Motherfucking Mercury with his bicycles and fat bottomed girls!  We can’t get no satisfaction!

“Give them Celtic cants and the tribal drums of the Congo.  Give them sitars and dulcimers.  Give them operas that will haunt their ears for years to come.  Give them the Greek Tragedies and Shakespeare’s Comedies.  Show them why the Raven quoth ‘Nevermore’.   Teach them why we rage into the dark night.  Give them the songs of the pipers in the Andes and the mariachi serenades of Mexico City.  Teach these guys to Samba!”

“I think we get the point, pilot,” said Gloval, firmly, but not quite as steady as he might have liked as he fought to keep a grin off his face.

I guess I’d gotten a little too far carried away.  Even the Captain and the Colonel looked at an utter loss for words.

“Yep,” agreed the Captain mildly.  “I reckon we do.”

Maistrof had one more jab to work in though.  “Pilot, just why do you think that’s a great idea?  This isn’t some free love hippie revolution.”

“Sir, that doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize revolution in the making.  Western culture is contagious, sir.  It swept through Soviet streets in clandestine music exchanges and brazen pirate radio stations.  It played a heavy role in the fall of the Soviet Union.  I don’t see why the same thing can’t happen here.”

“I remember those times well,” said the Commodore thoughtfully.  “The propaganda office tried desperately to stop the infection, but for every boil they lanced, two more would spring up.  It was a battle they eventually lost.”

“Are we seriously doing this?” cried out the Colonel in astoundment.

“Yes, Colonel, I believe we are,” replied Captain Gloval.  “Mr. Grimm.  Seeing as you came up with such a colorful cross section of human culture, I want for you to curate the collection we’ll be sending prisoners back with.  Have it on my desk for review within two hours.”

“Yes sir!”

“And one other thing, Pilot.”

“Sir?”

“Once the prisoners know exactly who it was that captured them, I suspect it may loosen their tongues a bit.  I want you to go down there and... talk with them a bit.”

“But sir, we don’t even know their language yet.”

“Don’t worry.  Doctor Lang has a bit of a work around for that.”

##

That workaround was a touch-screen tablet computer linked to a much larger touch-screen display.

The prisoners had been holed up in one of the untouched spaces in the SDF-1, not too far from the inhabited portions of the ship.  Guards in MBR-07 Spartan destroids were posted.  Their hulking figures cut an imposing silhouette, especially when combined with their mecha-scale combat clubs.

A mezzanine had been hastily installed inside the cell, along with a lift to get to the door (also hastily installed).

Getting only acknowledging nods from the Spartan jockies, I entered the room.

The three Zentradi inside immediately locked their eyes onto me as I came in, looking at me with suspicion.  Littering the table were wrappers from the ration bars that Hikaru, Minmei, and I had found during our first week on the SDF-1.

I gave them a cheerful wave, and then began drawing on the tablet.  As I did, the lines appeared on the much larger screen inside the cell.  Slowly, it took shape.  A Valkyrie in battroid mode with a stick in hand, facing off against a Zentradi standing outside of a Glaug.  I then pointed at the Valkyrie, and then at myself.

The Zentradi all gaped and made sounds that seemed a close approximation of “Holy shit that was YOU!?”

I tilted my head to the side, then gestured to the lager display.  They got the message and went up to it all together.  The one in apparent command, the smallest of the three, gestured between the drawing and me, the question clearly evident on his face.

I nodded in reply and the reaction was immediate.  Their faces all lit up and at first they seemed to want to come up to me and shake my hand, but stopped short as they realized that at this scale that was impossible.  So instead, he went to the display and used it’s touch-screen to sketch out a crude drawing of him and a Valkyrie raising glasses in a toast.

Well whaddya know?  Looks like some things were universal after all.

I gave them a curtain call bow in thanks for their appreciation.

They began sketching again, this time drawing three figures in a cage, along with what I assume was an interrogative symbol for the Zentradi language.

I nodded, then started drawing again, this time it was a rough outline of the SDF-1, then one of Earth.  I put an arrow from the SDF-1 to Earth, then drew an X through the arrow.  Then I drew a three ships, each of them resembling a Zentradi ship class that was known to us, and drew an arrow from that towards the X-mark.  I finished it off by making several of their interrogative marks around the X.

The question here was simple: Why are you keeping us from Earth?

The three looked at each other and the two larger ones shrugged, as if to say, “Well, it can’t hurt at this point.”  The smaller one sighed, then began to draw over my drawing: a net covering the the SDF-1, with action lines showing that it had come from the Zentradi ships.

I countered by drawing in another interrogative.

In quick reply, they drew an odd looking symbol.  It was a superellipse - a shape like a rhombus only rounded - with a sharp right-angle cut out of the top-left corner.  The lower right corner was covered by what looked like a scowling helm, sweeping in from that right-angled cut-out.

I wasn’t quite sure what that was, but I’d be willing to bet dollars to donuts that it was the symbol of the Supervision Army.

I drew in a bunch of interrogatives, and then viciously crossed out the symbol, and then drew in the double-triangle roundel sigil of the UN Spacy, with an arrow pointed at the netted drawing of SDF-1.

Translation: I have no idea who that is.  We’re this.

The three Zentradi all looked at each other and then began to nod their heads as it began to sink in.  “Of course.  It all makes sense now.”

Suddenly, Dr. Emil Lang’s voice crackled through the speaker that was mounted inside the cell.

“Ensign Grimm, that’s good enough.  We have a memory chip from their ship with the primers and cultural package recorded on it.  The Captain feels it’d be best if you gave it to them.”

There was nothing else after that, so I made the universal ‘wait one’ gesture, then dashed to the door.

Sure enough, there was a pair of technicians outside with a large rod of some resin-like material with a myriad of what appeared to be circuit traces scattered throughout its interior.  Because of it’s size, it was loaded on a motorized cart normally used for moving munitions.

They both saluted me, and I returned it as they were both enlisted technicians.

“Thanks guys,” I said as I accepted the wired remote control from them.

“No problem, Sir.”

They held the door open for me as I moved the cart in.  The Zentradi all looked at me quizzically as I undid the strap securing the device to the cart, then gestured from it to them.

They gave me looks as though to say, “Are you serious!?”

I nodded.  Go on, take it.

The leader did so, gingerly as if it might suddenly come to life and bite him.  But after examining it, he placed it in one of his pockets.

I then pulled up a picture of the escape pod that Dr. Lang’s team had successfully extracted from the Quell-Quallie, then drew three figures, and arrow from them to the escape pod, and then an arrow from that to the Zentradi ships.

They all shouted in surprise and the leader drew a long series of interrogatives.

I shrugged, and then began to draw an equally long series of figures.  I made sure to use a myriad of colors for each one, and each one was a different size.  But most importantly, they were all holding hands.

It doesn’t matter.  You’re people and so are we.

The three all looked at each other once again and they nodded.  They then all turned to me, stood at attention, then held their fists over their hearts in a salute.

I saluted back in my own style, then turned to leave.

With any luck, this would allow things to simmer down.

I hope.

##

Later the next day...

“Commander.” greeted Exedore, the relatively tiny Zentradi archivist and good friend of many many years to Britai, as he entered the ready room of the Commander of the Autoclass Fleet.

“Ah, Exodore,” said Commander Breetai from his desk.  “I’m glad you finally came.  I was just finishing this paperwork.  I take it you have news about those three that we recovered from that intelligence mission.”

“Indeed, sir.  It is... most perplexing.”

“Well, go on.”

“To be honest, sir, I find their behavior utterly baffling.  First, they disable that Quel-Quallie like a crack stormtrooper squad and subdue the crew.  Without, I might add, any fatalities or serious injuries.  And then they are taken prisoner.  The Supervision Army never takes prisoners, and I am starting to wonder if these micronians ever had any actual contact with the Supervision Army.”

“Hmm.  Strange, but if I recall correctly this is not the first time this has happened.”

“Indeed, it has before.  Though unfortunately in these cases the planets that have had such ships land on their surface were sterilized before we learned otherwise.  But this may very well be the case with these micronians.”

“Oh, how so?”

“They used a computer to communicate with our men by drawing crude pictures.  The Intelligence Team drew the sigil of the Supervision Army and the reaction was quite interesting.  The Micronion Ace was confused, then crossed out the symbol, quite vehemently I might add, and drew their own sigil instead.”

“Fascinating.  But that still does not prove for certain that they are not at least allied with the Supervision Army.”

“Perhaps not, but it is indeed compelling.”

“Yes, indeed.  By the way, you mentioned a Micronian Ace?”

“Yes sir.  It seems that Micronian Warrior that Kamjin called out to a formal duel not only took a turn at questioning our men, but was part of the two-person element that captured them.  Our men report that they feel awed and humbled by the encounter.”

“Is this so then?  Well, I certainly won’t begrudge them their humility.  It is not often that when underdogs such as these are given the opportunity to remove their enemies from existence instead grant mercy.  What else, Exedor?”

“Yes sir.  What was most strange of all was not only were the crew permitted to return using the Quell-Quallie’s escape craft, but they had also been granted meals, bathing privileges, beds to sleep in... even their undergarments had even been laundered!”

Breetai blanched at this revelation.  “Are you certain they didn’t hit their heads on anything?”

Exedore shook his head.  “The medical officer reports that aside from some bruises that the three of them were perfectly healthy.  They could return to their duty stations right now if we saw fit.”

“How strange of these Micronians.  If not for the guards posted at their cells, I would swear that they were treating our men as guests.”

“That’s not even the half of it, sir.”  Exedore then produced a data rod - it was fairly mundane as these things go for the Zentradi - they were used in virtually all consoles on all ships - especially the quell-quallies.  “The Micronians gave this to our men before letting them go.  I was suspicious at first, but to my surprise this memory rod carried primers that seem to have been made with the express intent that we are now able to develop a translation matrix for several of their languages!”

Britai’s lone eye shot wide open in shock.  “Truly!?”

Exedore nodded.  “Indeed.  And what’s more, they included a myriad of other files, including a recording of the broadcast that was being monitored originally by the intelligence team.”

“Exedore, I’m afraid I don’t understand.  What motive could they possibly have?”

“Sir, I believe they wish to talk to us.”

“Talk to us?” parroted the Commander in surprise.  He then leaned back in his chair as he stared off into space thoughtfully.  “Talk to us...  Could it be that they actually wish to parley, old friend?”

“I am not certain, sir, but that is the only possibility I could think of.”

“Very well then, we’ll get back to that momentarily.  What of these other files?”

“I... am sorry, sir.  I am at a total loss.”

“Exedore?”

“I apologize, sir.  It is probably best if you listen for yourself.  I have implanted the translation matrix into this audio player.  It is reasonably accurate, but there are a few words that there are no translation for.”

“Very well then, Exedore.  Go ahead and play it for me.”

“Yes sir.”

“Hello Gar-kun!  I want you to know that I made this song just for you.  I call this ‘My Boyfriend is a Pilot’...  I love you, Garrick.  Come back to me safely.”

And with that, the sounds of Minmei singing her trademark song filled the air.

[Bob Schroeck]

More great stuff, BA. I meant to note after the previous installment that I am looking forward to the Big Reveal when Minmei finally learns what she's gotten herself into, but I am in no hurry as long as more like this is in the offing.

[ECSNorway]

... why do I now have this image of Khamjin looking up at Big Brother Gar-kun and having a "Sempai noticed me!" squee?