Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Part 1

Be Careful Whom You Invite to the Dance

Pretending to read his newspaper, Kester verified one last time that no one was around except the targets, then casually lowered his left hand and pointed two fingers at the ground. The four men across the street, hiding in the shadows between buildings, nodded. In the distance, Brog signaled back and rushed to join Zykon and Kerida.

Thirty meters to Kester's right, the street ended at the command base. Fifty meters in the opposite direction, where Brog had been standing, the street curved out of sight to the left. Another 50 meters beyond the curve, a smaller street split off at a T intersection.

Kerida and Zykon were waiting at the intersection. As soon as they saw Brog approaching, Kerida sliced open Zykon's right pants leg and quickly applied some red food coloring.

Zykon lay in the middle of the intersection and clutched his right leg. Brog and Kerida hid between buildings just a few feet away, and Brog activated his communicator twice.

As soon as Kester heard the two bursts of static, he sprang from the bench and rushed forward. Across the street from him, Stam, Fareek, Lako, and Pakab burst from their hiding places. Together, they jumped the four women walking down the sidewalk.

The Micronian females screamed loudly and put up one hellacious fight. The shortest one kicked Fareek right between the legs and he went down, his eyes bugging out and his face pale.

At the same moment, Brog and the rest of the diversion team were put to the test. Two cars came along about twenty seconds apart, approaching the command base. Each car came to a stop when its driver saw Zykon lying in the intersection, writhing in pain.

The drivers, both men, got out of their vehicles.

"Hey, buddy," the first one said. "You okay?"

Brog and Kerida rushed forward. "Oh, man!" Brog said. "We saw the whole thing! Some guy in a fancy sports car just hit him and took off that way!" He indicated the smaller street.

"Oh, my leg!" Zykon called out.

"Let me take a look at it," the second driver said.

Both drivers knelt to care for the "injured" man, unaware of the real crime taking place further up the road, just out of sight.

Despite the females' resistance, the team managed to secure their hands and gag them. Strack drove the stolen van out of its hiding place in an alley and pulled up alongside them. Lako climbed into the front passenger seat. The rest of the team piled into the back with their prisoners, and Strack calmly drove away.

The men covered the prisoners with a tarpaulin. Kester took out his communicator and spoke into it. "Prepare secondary target."

Strack arrived at the scene of the fake accident and rolled down his window. "What happened here?"

"Hit and run," Kerida said. "We need to get this guy to a hospital."

"We can take him," Strack said. The van's side door opened and Kester got out.

"You sure it's not a problem?" the second driver asked. "Because I can-"

"Nah, it's no problem," Strack said, as Kester helped Zykon into the van. "We're headed in that direction anyway."

"Mind if we go with him?" Brog asked. "We saw the accident. The police might want us to give a statement."

"Sure, hop in," Strack said.

"Hey, take care, guy!" the first driver said to Zykon.

Zykon waved his thanks. Brog and Kerida jumped in, the van door closed, and they were off.

The van's back seats had been ripped out. Everyone was packed together uncomfortably, the prisoners especially so.

Fareek pulled the tarpaulin away.

"My name is Kester," Kester said. "I'm going to remove your gags, but if you scream, I will replace them. Nod if you understand."

The four women looked at him with terrified eyes, but they were calm enough to nod.

Kester signaled to his team and the gags were removed.

To one of the prisoners, he said, "You, I know. You are Commander Lisa Hayes, second-in-command of the SDF-1." He turned to the others. "You three are unknown to me. You will state your name and rank."

"Don't answer him," Lisa said, then addressed Kester. "I am their commanding officer. Anything you need from them must come through me. I demand to know who you are and why you have abducted us!"

"Power posturing will accomplish nothing," Kester said. "I am in charge, and you will answer my questions, not the other way around. You are valuable to me, but these others are not. I will not hesitate to kill them if you do not comply."

"Very well, I will comply," Lisa said. "But I know you Zentraedi understand the chain of command."

"How do you know we are Zentraedi?" Kester asked.

"I was born at night, but I wasn't born last night."

Kester gave a small smile. He could tell that most of his team didn't get the clever wordplay, or at least, didn't understand why she would bother to phrase it that way. But Kester, of course, was a little smarter than they were.

"I appreciate your wish to retain your dignity and your command," he said. "Tell your subordinates to comply with my order."

"I want assurances that we will be treated as prisoners of war and will not be harmed."

"I promise all of you will be treated well as long as you comply with my demands. That's the best offer you'll get."

Lisa glowered, but said, "Tell him. Don't antagonize him."

The dark-haired one spoke first. "Kim Young. Ensign."

The small one who had nailed Fareek in the crown jewels spoke next. "Sammie Porter. Ensign."

The one wearing glasses said, "Vanessa Leeds. Lieutenant Junior Grade."

Sammie looked at her in surprise. "When the hell did you make LTJG?"

Vanessa was equally surprised. "Last month, remember? We had a party and everything!"

"She doesn't remember anything from that party," Kim said.

"Silence!" snapped Kester.

"Cannon fodder!" Zykon said in his own language. "They are dead weight! Let's get rid of them."

"No, for two reasons," Kester replied, also speaking Zentraedi. "First, I gave my word they would not be harmed if they complied with my instructions. Second, I have often seen these three walking with Commander Hayes. I decided against abducting Commander Hayes each of the previous two days because I wanted to take her alone, but when I saw them walking together for the third day in a row, I decided to take them along with her. If they work together on the bridge, these three may still possess vital knowledge despite their low rank."

"Our mission does not allow for more than a few prisoners!" Zykon said. "The more people we take, the harder it will be to escape this ship, and the greater the chance of discovery!"

"I am the leader, and our mission is what I say it is," Kester replied calmly. "And we will deal quite capably with all difficulties, and we will do so without complaint."

Zykon growled but said nothing more.

Although Lisa didn't understand their language, she could tell an argument with a subordinate had just occurred. If there was dissension in the ranks on Kester's team, perhaps she could use it to her advantage. She stared at the floor of the van, pretending she hadn't noticed the harsh tone of the exchange, but she had a strong feeling Kester knew perfectly well that she had.

A man's voice came through Kester's communicator, also speaking Zentraedi. "All is ready."

"Confirmed," Kester replied. "ETA two minutes."

Sitting at her desk with a pencil in her hand, Minmei stared at the paper in front of her and sighed.

Battle calls all of us to learn more,
as we yearn for
a new life.

Her agent, Vance Hasselwood, came into the office. "How's the new song comin'?"

Minmei barely raised her eyes to shoot him a laser glare. "No different than the last time you asked, ten minutes ago."

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm nervous. What's the problem? Anything I can help with?"

"Yes, there is something you can do to help."

"Great! What is it?"

"Leave me the hell alone when I'm writing songs!"

"Come on, Minmei. Really. What's the problem?"

She slammed the pencil down. "Dammit, Vance, if I knew that I'd have finished by now! It's a creative process, and it will take as long as it needs to take, and you are only aggravating the situation!"

"That won't pay the bills, honey. We promised your fans a new album in three weeks, and you haven't even written all the songs yet! I wish you'd let other people write some of your songs for you. This stubbornness to write them all yourself is going to be the death of us!"

Minmei stood up, stuffed the paper and pencil in her purse, and stormed out.

"Oh, what now?" Vance asked wearily, following her into the hall. He was grateful the building was empty except for them, so no one would hear them bicker like this.

"You've made me so angry I can't even concentrate any more!" She walked down the corridor in a huff. "So I'm just going to play in the studio for a while. I'll go back to writing the song when I cool down. If you continue to bother me, I'll just go home!"

Minmei entered the studio and slammed the door in his face.

Vance sighed. He wanted to go in after her and make her see sense, but they both knew he was completely at her mercy.

He walked away, wondering if it was too late to earn his accounting degree.

Close to tears, Minmei slammed her purse on the bench by the sound board and sat at the piano. This is the show business life I wanted so much! she thought bitterly.

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and launched into the instrumental version of "It's You." The tempo was faster than usual, and she pounded on the keys.

"What pretty noise you make," the man said.

Minmei was so lost in her music that at first she didn't fully register that anyone had spoken. After a few seconds, she stopped and looked up to see two strange men standing beside the piano.

"Hi!" she said instantly, with a big smile. Damn! she thought. Fans got into the building! Smile and make them happy, give them an autograph, then gently tell them invading a recording studio without permission is not proper behavior. Don't agree to a photo with them unless they seem hostile.

"I'm beginning to understand why your music means so much to you Micronians," the man on the left said. He was the same one who had spoken before.

Minmei blinked. Micronians? she thought. Only the Zentraedi speak like that. These must be some of the defectors.

The man continued. "But unfortunately, we have to cut short your performance. Come with us."

Minmei's smile disappeared. "What are you talking about?"

"I am brigade leader Kester Hikolam, Zentraedi Army," the man said. "We are kidnapping you. Don't force us to become violent."

Minmei was aghast. "We give you asylum and this is how you repay us?"

Kester laughed good-naturedly. "You misunderstand. We are not defectors. We are not traitors. We are true Zentraedi. We infiltrated this ship to kidnap you."

"Me?"

"Come with us now, or we break your legs."

"Is this a sick joke?"

Kester spoke to the man beside him. "Break her left leg. Just below the knee."

The man stepped forward.

"No!" Minmei shouted and jumped up. "I'll come quietly! I promise!"

Kester held up his hand to stop him. "Excellent."

"Just...let me get my purse."

Kester lost his patience. "Now!" he shouted.

Minmei raised her chin. "I am a star," she said haughtily. "I don't go anywhere without my makeup." She walked to the sound board.

"Leave your purse here," Kester said sternly.

Minmei glared at him, and made a point of grabbing her pencil and half-finished lyrics and stuffing them into her pants pocket. "Zentraedi infiltrators, you say," she said calmly. "And just where would a bunch of Zentraedi infiltrators be taking me?"

"Back to our fleet, of course," Kester said.

Minmei's face paled, but she stayed strong. She glanced at the clock. "It's 4:14 PM. You don't have time to get away. I'll be missed when I don't show up for my 5:00 meeting. They'll come after me."

"You have no 5:00 meeting, and you're just stalling for time. Come with us now or we'll break both of your legs and drag you away."

"You're just going to kill me anyway, so why should I go with you?"

"We will not harm you. After we are through interrogating you, we will set you free."

"And why should I believe that?"

"You will find me an officer of my word. Really. For you have no choice."

Minmei slowly walked with them to the door. "Are we going back to your fleet immediately?"

"As fast as possible. I repeat, we will not hurt you. But if you scream, it will be the last thing you ever do."

They headed for the exit, Minmei shaking with every step but determined to remain calm and brave. She wondered where Vance was. She wanted to ask if they'd done anything to him, but they might not know about him, in which case she should keep her mouth shut.

"Why me?" she asked.

"You are the psychological weapon which has persuaded some of our army to defect," Kester said. "We want to know how you do it."

Minmei laughed, a short sharp laugh. "You people really are pretty stupid, aren't you?"

"Perhaps we are." Kester was completely calm. "Interrogating you will make us smarter."

"Doubtful. And how do you know whether or not I have a 5:00 meeting?"

"We have been observing you closely for approximately one week. We know your schedule."

Minmei's heart went ice cold. How could they have been watching me so closely and I never noticed?

They stopped at the building's front door and waited until a couple of people walking down the sidewalk had passed. When Kester saw no one about, he nodded to his companion. They each took one of her arms and opened the door. "Get in the van," he said.

The van was parked nearby. They propelled her towards it. Minmei knew the time to scream was now.

If she entered that van, she was doomed.

She tried to scream, but the moment she took a breath Kester moved like lightning. He had anticipated it. His hand clamped over her mouth like a vise. The van door opened, she was thrust inside, and the door closed.

Her chance was gone.

"Minmei!" a voice exclaimed in astonishment.

Minmei looked up to see Commander Hayes and three other young women in RDF uniforms staring at her in amazement. They were tied up.

Fareek tied Minmei's wrists together as the van pulled away. Although she was ashamed of her weakness, Minmei couldn't stop the tears.

Vance came knocking, carrying some donuts as a peace offering, but Minmei was no longer in the studio. Taking this as a good sign, he went to her office, but she wasn't there either. So, not a good sign.

Vance scowled and went back to the studio. Had the girl done anything?

He saw her purse by the sound board, then the blinking light on the sound board which indicated it was currently recording. That's odd, he thought. And it's wasting our tape!

He turned off the recording, then had a bright thought. Of course! Minmei must have been recording her progress and playing it back, and she just forgot she left the machine on! Let's see what our little prodigy has come up with.

He rewound the tape and pressed "Play."

"Zentraedi infiltrators, you say. And just where would a bunch of Zentraedi infiltrators be taking me?"

"Back to our fleet, of course."

"It's 4:14 PM. You don't have time to get away. I'll be missed when I don't show up for my 5:00 meeting. They'll come after me."

"You have no 5:00 meeting, and you're just stalling for time. Come with us now or we'll break both of your legs and drag you away."

"You're just going to kill me anyway, so why should I go with you?"

"We will not harm you. After we are through interrogating you, we will set you free."

"And why should I believe that?"

"You will find me an officer of my word. Really. For you have no choice."

"Are we going back to your fleet immediately?"

"As fast as possible. I repeat, we will not hurt you. But if you scream, it will be the last thing you ever do."

The sound of the door opening and closing, then silence.

By the time Vance heard the final words, his knees were knocking.

Practical joke! Please be a practical joke! He played the tape again.

It's no joke! Oh no oh no oh no oh no!

He frantically looked around, wondering what to do. Call the police! No, the police don't fight the Zentraedi, the army does. Call the army! What's the army's phone number? Why doesn't the army publicize their phone number? Wait, Minmei has a friend in the army. Her not-boyfriend. What's his name?

Vance raced down the hall to Minmei's office and frantically tore through the papers on her desk and in the filing drawer. Nothing. Hyperventilating, he looked around and spotted Minmei's list of friends and their phone numbers tacked to the wall.

Vance snatched up the phone and dialed the number for Rick Hunter. Only as the phone was ringing did he remember he could have dialed the operator and reached anyone he wanted.

The prisoners watched silently as Fareek and Brog removed a pile of junked machine parts and a large piece of sheet metal to reveal a hole cut into a bulkhead. The hole was about six feet high and two feet wide, and it had not been neatly made; its edges were so jagged that a person squeezing through it without care wouldn't survive the trip.

Fareek and Zykon went through first. Kester nudged Minmei towards the opening.

"All that sharp metal is going to cut us," Lisa said. "You'll have to untie our hands so we can get through safely."

Kester said, "You are all in good physical condition, and your hands are tied in front of you, so you should have no problems with balance. Your hands will remain tied. Proceed."

Minmei carefully stepped through the opening and found herself in a disused section of the SDF-1. It instantly brought back terrible memories of the time she had been trapped in a similar part of the ship for two weeks. That experience had almost destroyed her, and in a strange way, it suddenly gave her hope. I survived that ordeal. I can survive this one, too!

Kester alternated sending through captives and captors so that at no time, on either side of the opening, would the prisoners feel they outnumbered their captors and thus be tempted to run or fight. Nor were they.

As she twisted her way through the opening, Lisa thought about intentionally cutting herself to leave some blood as a trail, but decided against it. It was such a long shot that the risk was probably not worth the reward. Only tracker dogs would have been able to pick up such a trail, anyway, and there had never been any animals on board the SDF-1.

Brog was the last one through. He reached back through the hole and awkwardly dragged the sheet metal back into place so that it once more covered the opening.

They descended further into the dark recesses of the ship, following pipes and conduits. Minmei was grateful she had chosen to wear pants and ordinary shoes that day. The other captives were still in their skirt uniforms and wore flat, functional shoes.

After about ten minutes they reached what was obviously the infiltrators' den. It contained cots, a fire pit, and three battle pods.

Strack climbed into one of the pods, and Kester pointed to it. "All prisoners will enter this pod."

Lisa said, "You'll have to untie our hands so we can climb-"

Fareek picked her up and handed her to Strack, who roughly grabbed her by the sides of her stomach and hoisted her up.

"Hey!" she shrieked. "Watch it!"

None of the Zentraedi replied. The women were unceremoniously manhandled into the pod, their protests ignored. Each woman's hands were tied to a ring near the floor, forcing her into an uncomfortable kneeling position.

While this was happening, the other team members climbed into the remaining pods, except Kester, who impassively watched the prisoners being loaded.

"You promised us we'd be well treated!" Lisa barked down at Kester.

"You Micronians are such babies!" he snapped. "We didn't hurt you."

From within one of the other pods, Kerida called down to Kester and spoke frantically in Zentraedi. Kester replied with a look of puzzlement on his face.

Lisa instantly took hope. Nothing so far had rattled Kester, so whatever news he had just received had to be something monumental.

Kester was thoughtful for a moment, then hopped into the pod containing the prisoners. He knelt next to Lisa.

"It seems your colleagues somehow know about us," he said. "Almost all of your fighter squadrons launched within the last ten minutes and are patrolling very close to the ship, as if they are waiting to catch someone leaving it. Now, how could they possibly know to do that?"

"You tell me," Lisa replied calmly.

"No, you tell me," Kester said menacingly. "I know our operation was not witnessed, so the only possible explanation is that you have some kind of communicator on you. You can either tell me where it is, or I will rip you apart to find it. I will give you no further warning."

"I have no such communicator. I have no idea how the army could know-"

Kester snarled and reached for Lisa. Sammie, Kim, and Vanessa screamed at him.

"I'm the one who told the army!" Minmei shouted.

Kester stopped and looked at her, his left hand holding the back of Lisa's neck, his right hand in a fist, poised to strike.

"When you kidnapped me, I turned on the recorder in the studio!" Minmei said. "All that talk about who you were and where you were taking me was being recorded! I even made sure to mention the time. By now, someone has discovered the recording. They'll have heard everything! You're finished!"

Kester and Minmei glared at each other for several long seconds. The other prisoners stared at both of them.

Finally, Kester released Lisa and stood, a small smile on his face. "Well done. I have obviously underestimated the civilian. It is a mistake I will not make twice."

"Surrender now and I promise you will be well treated," Lisa said.

"Surrender?!" Kester exploded, laughing at her. "What makes you think I'm going to surrender just because of a minor setback like this? You are all far too valuable to give up. It just means my people will have to send a battalion to retrieve us instead of a squadron as originally planned."

Grinning with the exhilaration of the upcoming battle, he hopped out of the pod and turned to face his captives.

"Buckle up, ladies!" he said. "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Chapter Text

"Captain," Jeff said. "Two of Khyron's battleships have broken formation and are approaching. Mark-seven-five, A-four-zero."

"What about the rest of the Zentraedi fleet?" Captain Gloval asked.

"No movement."

"Claudia, keep those two battleships in front of us at all times," Captain Gloval said.

"Yes, sir."

Captain Gloval briefly considered calling Lisa, Vanessa, Kim, and Sammie back to the bridge, but decided against it for two reasons.

First, they needed rest, and a bridge crew needed to be as mentally sharp as possible.

Second, their backup personnel – Margaret, Jeff, Sandra, and Alice – were not nearly as good, and desperately needed more experience. Since the enemy was attacking with only two ships, the battle probably wasn't going to be that complicated, so this seemed like the perfect occasion for some on-the-job training.

"Sorry, sir," Claudia said. "When we turn, the battleships match our movement. They're determined to approach us from the direction of starboard aft."

"That must be where the kidnappers will break out of the SDF-1 with Miss Minmei," Captain Gloval said. "Direct all squadrons to that point."

"Yes, sir," Alice said.

"Claudia, instruct civil defense to send a squad to that area of the ship and search for the kidnappers."

"Yes, sir."

All pilots watched the two battleships approach. Skull Squadron had point.

Max lodged a rare complaint. "I know we need to be watching the hull of the SDF-1 so we can apprehend the kidnappers the moment they bust out, but that's a simple job. We don't need every squadron to do that. If we attack the battleships now, we take the battle away from the SDF-1. Why are we just sitting here?"

"That's a good question," Rick said. Technically, a pilot – even a squadron commander – couldn't question orders, for a variety of reasons. If Lisa had been directing the battle, he would have felt comfortable enough to ask what the delay was, because he and Lisa shared a very good and informal rapport. But he didn't know Alice, and he didn't want to risk violating protocol. Ultimately, Captain Gloval was still in command, and that eased his mind a great deal.

"Something about this doesn't feel right," Miriya said.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"I don't know. I'm trying to put my finger on it." Miriya thought quickly. "The enemy kidnaps Minmei, and Khyron picks them up?" She shook her head. "That would suggest this is Khyron's operation. But Khyron doesn't care about kidnapping people. He wouldn't know how to kidnap someone if you gave him written instructions. He just wants to blow stuff up."

Max said, "Perhaps this was an operation ordered by Zentraedi high command, and Khyron was simply the one ordered to pick them up whether he liked it or not."

"No," Miriya said. "He'd find some way of misinterpreting his orders, or violating them completely. No, this doesn't feel right at all. It doesn't feel like something Breetai would do, either. The whole thing really smacks of Azonia."

"But the Zentraedi infiltrator whose voice we heard on the recording was male," Max pointed out.

Miriya grimaced. "I know. But I still can't shake the feeling that this is a ruse. It's too obvious."

Rick looked back at the SDF-1, then at the approaching battleships. His gut tugged at him. "Miriya, I trust your instinct more than anything else right now. How sure are you that something's wrong?"

"Very sure."

Rick keyed the bridge comm link. "This is Skull One. Permission to follow a hunch."

"Negative, Skull One," Alice replied crisply. "Maintain position."

Rick let out a low growl. He hated to do this, because a good working relationship between bridge controller and pilots was crucial. But that relationship worked both ways, and he needed Alice to understand that he never would have made his request without a good reason, so he really had no choice but to go over her head. Time was of the essence and her feelings didn't matter a damn to him. "Bridge, I require a direct communication with Captain Gloval."

There was silence for several seconds. Rick was about to repeat his request when he heard Captain Gloval's voice. "Yes, Lieutenant Hunter."

"Sir, Miriya's instinct is that this is a subterfuge, and I agree. I request permission to investigate on our own."

"Granted," Captain Gloval said, without hesitation. "But only a few people, not the whole squadron. If this really is a trick, we don't want to let them know we're onto them, and if it isn't, we need every plane to defend against those battleships."

"Understood. Thank you, sir. Max, Miriya, with me. If this is a ruse, the kidnappers' real exit point is probably on the other side of the ship. Amanda, take command until I return."

"Yes, sir," Amanda replied.

Rick, Max, and Miriya peeled away, reversed direction, and flew under the SDF-1, flying slowly and close to the hull.

"Why Minmei?" Max wondered, partially to fill up the tense silence which gripped them as they searched.

"I don't know," Rick said. "But if they hurt her..."

"I have spoken with many of the other defectors, and they are all obsessed with Minmei," Miriya said. "They cite her influence as the main reason for their defection. It's only natural the enemy would target her as a threat."

Max's eagle eyes spotted some bright dots which moved against the background of stars. "Skipper, mark-three-three-one, A-minus-fifteen."

Rick and Miriya both aimed cameras at those coordinates and magnified. Their screens showed three enemy pods speeding away from the SDF-1.

"Full speed!" Rick ordered.

They hit their afterburners and rocketed forward on an intercept course.

"Bridge, we have a visual on three enemy pods moving away from the SDF-1 at mark-three-three-one, A-minus-fifteen, relative," Rick snapped. "Are they not showing up on your radar?"

Alice had trouble focusing the scanner on those coordinates. The word relative in Rick's message meant the coordinates he gave were based upon his own location. To view those coordinates, she first had to determine his location relative to the SDF-1, then determine the target's location relative to him, then use that information to calculate the target's location relative to the SDF-1. It was simple astrogation, and she had been trained to do it, but doing it in a classroom and doing it for real were two different things. She fumbled with the numbers.

"Bridge, do you copy?" Rick asked, growing more alarmed by the second.

"I copy," Alice said, flustered. She finally focused the scanner on the coordinates.

Captain Gloval took one look at the pods and snapped, "Jeff! Are those three pods not showing up on radar?"

Jeff's face burned with shame. "Yes, sir. I was so intent on watching the progress of the battleships that I forgot to continue monitoring the rest of surrounding space. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"For your sake, it had better not!" Captain Gloval barked.

"Sir, approximately 150 pods have launched from the battleships," Alice said. "All squadrons are engaging."

"Tell Hunter's team to get those three pods!" Captain Gloval snapped. "Inform him all other fighters are busy and they are on their own!"

"Yes, sir." Alice relayed the message to Rick.

"I copy," Rick said. "Max, Miriya, it's up to us to rescue Minmei!"

They slowly closed the gap. The enemy had a huge head start, but the veritechs were much faster, as pods were designed for maneuverability rather than speed.

Rick closed his comm link to the rest of Skull Squadron and tried not to think about their dogfight. I've never been separated from my squadron during a battle before, he thought. It doesn't feel right. I should be back there with them! But this is a bizarre situation, and bizarre situations sometimes call for bizarre solutions.

After about a minute, it was obvious where the pods were going.

"I knew it," Miriya said grimly. "That's Azonia's flagship."

"But pods are usually flown by male pilots, and the kidnappers are male," Rick said. "What gives?"

Miriya explained. "Zentraedi males and females do not mingle, and rarely find themselves in one another's presence, but joint military operations are not unheard of. There's nothing untoward about male Zentraedi on board a female commander's battleship if they have a military reason for being there. What I find most intriguing is that Azonia somehow got Khyron to provide a diversion. I have no idea how she pulled that off."

"Skull One to bridge," Rick said.

No answer.

"Bridge, this is Skull One, do you copy?"

Nothing.

"Guys, I think the enemy is jamming us," Rick said. "We're truly on our own."

"They're almost there!" Max said. "It's gonna be close."

He was right. It was evident to all three pilots that they would catch up to the pods at almost the same instant the pods would reach the battleship.

Rick grit his teeth. What are we going to do when we reach them, anyway?

It suddenly became a moot point. A dozen Quadrano fighters launched from the flagship and flew towards the three veritechs.

Miriya gasped, her heart in her throat. My old command! She had killed her fellow Zentraedi in battle, but she had never had to face Quadranos. She had hoped it would never happen.

These Zentraedi had been her comrades for years.

She ruthlessly set her feelings aside. She could never go back to being the old her, and the ones she had once commanded would never understand that.

She thought she recognized some of the fighters. She tried not to think about it. She thought of them as nothing more than an enemy who wanted to destroy her new way of life, who wanted to destroy Max and all her new friends. She shut down her emotions, switched to Battloid, and let loose with the cannon.

Rick and Max did the same. Max and Miriya were impeccable as always, and no one was getting between Rick and Minmei. In half a minute, all the Quadranos were dust and the veritechs hadn't even been scratched.

Miriya indulged in a moment of satisfaction. Azonia sent twelve fighters to deal with three veritechs, and she got stomped! She must be shitting bricks right now!

"Everyone in!" Rick ordered. "Miriya, we'll be depending on your expertise. You know this ship."

Probably anticipating that their fighters would easily handle three veritechs, the Zentraedi had not bothered to close their landing bay. The RDF pilots took advantage of this and stormed in. They experienced only the slightest resistance at the edge of the landing bay as they passed through the weak energy barrier which held in the atmosphere.

Now Miriya fought back a tsunami of emotion. She was intimately familiar with this landing bay, having flown in and out of it thousands of times.

She had never expected to return.

Female Zentraedi warriors rushed forward to do hand-to-hand combat with the battloids.

Miriya was suddenly overcome with rage at the years, and the happiness, which she and so many others – on both sides of the battle lines – had been robbed of. The Robotech Masters created us to be killers, to bring only misery to other people, and to die for nothing! she fumed. This ship represented that monstrosity, and she let out an uncharacteristic battle cry as she opened fire, cutting down her old comrades.

She'd never really liked them, anyway.

The landing bay was at least half a mile wide, and they were near one end of it. At the other end, Rick saw the three pods they'd been chasing. Making sure he wasn't in danger for the moment – Max and Miriya were handling the enemy quite well – he focused the camera on the pods and magnified. He saw several people climbing out of the pods. He guessed some of them were micronized Zentraedi.

Rick magnified the image further and gasped.

"Lisa!" he yelled. "Max, they've got Commander Hayes prisoner, too! And Kim, Sammie, and Vanessa!"

"How did that happen?!" Max exploded.

Miriya finished off the last of the enemy combatants.

"Miriya, anything special we should know?" Rick asked.

"Reinforcements will arrive through the door at the far end of the landing bay, in the rear corner. It's the only way in or out. They'll have pulse rifles, but no armor."

"All right, let's make this quick," Rick said. "Switch to Guardian and punch it! Don't use missiles."

They switched to Guardian, which was the best configuration for traversing the distance while still being able to use their cannons, and rushed to meet the enemy.

The micronized Zentraedi ushered their captives towards the door. Miriya angled to cut them off while Rick and Max continued straight ahead. The pods opened fire, but with poor aim; Rick guessed a pod's controls were more difficult to use when the crew was micronized. Rick and Max shot back with their cannons, quickly disabling the pods.

A squadron of Quadrano fighters flew into the landing bay from space and blasted away with energy bursts.

Miriya cursed and switched to Battloid. She instantly understood what was happening, and how wrong she'd been. She had naively considered the inner door to be the only way in or out of the landing bay. But Azonia had instructed a squadron of fighters to take off from the landing bay on the opposite side of the ship, circle around, and attack from space. It was so simple.

Since she was near the rear of the landing bay, having attempted to cut off the captors heading for the door, she wasn't hit by the first barrage. Rick and Max, however, got hammered.

Rick's veritech slumped as it lost all power. He ejected and hit the ceiling hard. Miriya couldn't tell what his status was.

Max, with his lightning-fast reflexes, dodged at first and tried to bring the cannon to bear, but his ship was also hit with energy bursts. He, too, had no choice but to eject.

While Miriya observed all of this, she wasn't watching out for herself. She didn't notice more Zentraedi troops burst through the door behind her. She gasped in pain as one of them grabbed her battloid and flipped it over her shoulder onto the floor. Miriya was suddenly staring at the ceiling.

Her attacker came at her again, and another crouched beside her to pin her down. Miriya raised the battloid's leg and blasted its jet into the first attacker's face, forcing her back, while simultaneously maneuvering the cannon to blow away the second attacker at point blank range.

Every Zentraedi turned her attention towards Miriya. Rick and Max were as good as captured. Miriya instantly knew this battle was lost. She had only one duty now: survive.

She rolled her fighter backwards, feet over head, spinning and changing to Veritech as she did. She sped back along the length of the landing bay, then turned sharply to head back out into space. Everyone fired energy pulses at her but missed. None of them had expected her to do that.

Now that she was in space, Miriya knew they would expect her to run because she was outnumbered, and once again, she used their expectations against them. She banked sharply, arcing around and back into the far end of the landing bay, where she, Rick, and Max had first entered. The Quadrano pilots scrambled to keep up with her sudden turns.

Miriya blew a hole in the back wall with a missile. She came to a sudden stop, switching to Battloid as she did, and stepped through the opening. She turned, shot another missile at the ceiling, and ran.

The landing bay collapsed. Debris rained down, covering the opening. Her pursuers came to a halt.

After a second, one of the Quadrano pilots ran her fighter to a point along the back wall about 50 meters away, where there was no debris, and punched her way through to the corridor beyond. But the mysterious and daring veritech pilot was long gone.

Because Miriya knew the layout of the ship perfectly, she was able to do what no other RDF pilot could have done: find a storage room and hide.

She waited in the darkness, thinking carefully about her next move.

Chapter Text

Rick grimaced as Lisa gently removed his helmet. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like an elephant's tap-dancing on my head."

"Normal, then," Lisa said.

"Very funny." Rick groggily looked around and found Minmei kneeling next to him, looking concerned.

"Well, hi there," he said.

"Hi, yourself."

Rick saw that he, Lisa, Kim, Vanessa, Sammie, Minmei, and Max were on a trolley being pushed by giant Zentraedi. More Zentraedi accompanied them. All were female.

Rick groaned. "Oh...not again!"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I'm afraid so," Lisa said.

"And this time, I can't rescue you," Max said.

Rick tried to stand, but both Lisa and Minmei gently pushed him back down.

"Don't, Rick," Lisa said. "That's an order. There's nothing you can do at the moment, anyway. You will do us the most good by resting every moment you can."

"I'll rest until we reach our destination, Lisa. But when we confront the Zentraedi, I'll do so standing up."

"Yes," Lisa said softly. "I understand."

Max took off his uniform top, revealing an undershirt. He wadded his uniform up so Rick could have a pillow. Rick nodded his thanks.

"Where's-" Rick began to ask.

"Where are they taking us?" Lisa quickly cut him off, anticipating his question. "I have no idea, Lieutenant."

Lisa caught Rick's eye and gave the tiniest shake of her head. Rick instantly understood. Don't mention Miriya. He had almost asked, "Where's Miriya?" and Lisa had stopped him just in time.

They saw a platoon jog past, going in the opposite direction, armed with rifles. They looked like they meant business.

The captives all looked at each other without saying a word, each thinking the same thing: Evidently, they haven't found Miriya yet.

Their captors parked the trolley in a storage room. Two Zentraedi stood guard.

"Wonder what the wait is for," Vanessa murmured.

"That's a good question," Lisa murmured back.

"I have to pee," Sammie said.

They all glared at her.

"Right," she said, sulking. "I'll shut up now."

After that, no one spoke. Rick was grateful for the delay. He concentrated on relaxing his muscles and letting the pounding in his head die down.

After about 45 minutes, more Zentraedi came to get them and the trip resumed. The captives endured it in silence. They glumly watched the featureless corridor roll past.

Five minutes later, they stopped at a door which slid open, and the trolley was wheeled into a room. Waiting for them were Zentraedi of both genders. Lisa recognized Kester and some of his men, who had returned to their normal size. Some of the women wore what they knew by now were officers' uniforms.

Rick quickly stood, and Max put his uniform back on.

"That's what the delay was," Lisa murmured to Vanessa. "They were restoring our captors to giant size."

The trolley came to a halt in front of the Zentraedi officers.

"Greetings, Micronians," one of them said. "I am Commander Azonia, and you are my prisoners."

She addressed Kester in her own language. "Seven! I had hoped for two. You've done very well, Kester!"

Kester saluted. "You do me honor, Commander."

"What value do they have?" Azonia asked.

"The female with orange hair is second-in-command of the battle fortress," Kester said. "Her name is Commander Lisa Hayes. The other three females in uniform are of low rank, but work closely with Commander Hayes. The two males are merely fighter pilots, although their skill in battle is commendable. The remaining female is the source of their psychological assault."

"Oh," Azonia said, looking intriguingly at Minmei. The other officers looked at Minmei as if she might magically bite them at any moment.

Kester said, "I warn you, Commander – she's more dangerous than she looks. Her wits are quick and she can deceive. She almost prevented me from completing my mission."

"Did she, now?" Azonia asked. "Well, then, I shall certainly take great care with her." She looked over the other captives, and peered intently at Max. "Wait just one moment," she breathed.

She leaned down and took a good, long look at Max. He returned her gaze evenly.

"I recognize this one!" Azonia whispered. "This is the Micronian mate of Miriya!" She stared at Max in awe. "Oh, happy and glorious day that I could strike back at Miriya by destroying her mate!" She reared her head back and laughed.

None of the humans spoke Zentraedi, but they had heard the word Miriya, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why Azonia was suddenly so giddy. Max was impassive. He refused to give Azonia the slightest bit of satisfaction.

"I am pleased you are so happy with the prisoners," Kester said. "Permission to return to my battalion."

Azonia grinned at him. "Granted, and give my compliments to Lord Khyron. May you win every battle."

"And you, Commander." Kester saluted and walked away. His remaining men fell in line behind him.

Although Lisa hadn't understood their conversation, it was clear Kester had been dismissed and probably wasn't coming back. "Wait!" she cried. "You gave me your word as an officer that we would not be harmed! Does Commander Azonia know of your promise, and will she honor it?"

Kester turned to look at her. "My promise was valid for the time you were in my custody. I have honored my promise. Whether Commander Azonia will offer you the same protection, I cannot say."

"That's not good enough!" Lisa shouted.

"What about the promise you made to me?" Minmei asked. "You said I would be returned safely once you were through with me!"

Azonia looked at Kester in surprise. "Did you really tell the poor girl we would send her back?"

"I did," Kester said, and looked at Minmei. "I respect all worthy opponents, and I would never lie to one. Anyone who faces me in battle is due all honor. But you are merely a civilian. You do not face opponents in battle honorably; you hide yourself away and use psychological assaults, like a sorceress. You are due no honor whatsoever. I have no problem lying to an individual such as yourself."

Max gave a contemptuous snort and shook his head. Sammie's mouth dropped open and she stared at Kester in shock.

"I do not launch psychological assaults!" Minmei screeched. "I just sing to make myself feel better! If you Zentraedi are affected by that, that's not my fault! So, yes, as a matter of fact, you do owe me honor!"

Kester shook his head, baffled. "Everyone serves the battle in some capacity, and we know yours."

He and his men walked away.

"Come back here!" Lisa ordered, to no avail.

Azonia smiled, thoroughly amused by Lisa's strong spirit.

Sammie fumed. Kim recognized the signs and put a hand on her shoulder.

Minmei was dumbstruck. "What...what did I do?" she asked, close to tears.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Minmei," Vanessa said. "Kester is just like most Zentraedi. He can't comprehend anything which doesn't serve a military function."

"That's right," Max said. "Telling him you sing to make yourself feel better is like telling a mathematician two plus two equals purple. It's just gobbledegook to them."

"Enough!" Azonia ordered. "The interrogation will now begin!"

Sammie looked like she was about to shout at Azonia, but Kim squeezed her shoulder. Sammie shook her off and took a few steps forward, but Lisa beat her to it.

"The hell it will!" Lisa thundered. "I will submit neither myself nor anyone under my command to your questions!"

Rick had never seen Lisa so angry. He tensed for a fight.

"Does that include the non-combatant?" Azonia asked mockingly. "The...what do you call them...civilian?"

"Commander Hayes knows what's going on a lot more than I do!" Minmei snapped. "As long as I'm here, I'll answer to her exactly as if I were in the military! So she speaks for me, too!"

Minmei turned to Lisa. "I mean it, Commander. I'll do whatever you tell me to."

"Thanks, Minmei."

"You Micronians baffle me," Azonia said. "In some ways, you are intelligent, and in others, you're about as dumb as rocks. Do you truly not comprehend that you are prisoners and that I am in charge?"

"And do you truly not comprehend that you can get down on your knees and kiss my ass?!" Sammie roared.

Kim, Vanessa, Lisa, Max, Rick, and Minmei all stared at Sammie with faces which clearly said, Oh, shit.

But the power had been unleashed.

Lisa started to tell her to be quiet, but Vanessa put a hand on Lisa's arm. "It's too late, Commander. She's rolling."

Ensign Sammie Porter, all five-foot-one-inch of her, glared up at Commander Azonia. "Do any of you monsters have a brain more powerful than a light bulb?" Sammie screamed. "Do any of you have jackasses have the slightest concept of living in peace and not murdering innocent people?"

"Does she often do this?" Minmei whispered.

"Usually only when she's drunk," Kim whispered back.

"How freaking stupid do you have to be to call a song a psychological assault?" Sammie raged. "If you tried listening to one for once in your life you'd see what hollow monsters you are! You'd actually let a ray of sunshine into that corpse you call a soul! But you can't be bothered to do that because you've got the combined brain power of a slug and the compassion of a lump of cold lead! My friends and I can run rings around you, and we're only ensigns!"

"Lieutenant junior grade," Vanessa said calmly.

"Whatever!" Sammie screeched.

Sammie stood there, glaring up at Azonia, her face red, panting like she'd just run a marathon. Every Zentraedi in the room stared at her with eyes as wide as saucers, stunned into silence.

"Dammit," Kim muttered. "We should have just let her pee."

Max said to Rick, "Wellllllll, skipper, it was nice knowing you."

"Oh," Azonia finally said, staring at Sammie with fascination. "I owe you my thanks, Micronian. We haven't had this much entertainment in years!" She smiled. "Breaking you is going to be a treat!"

"Bring it on!" Sammie screamed.

"Oh!" Vanessa gasped, executing a perfect facepalm.

"Ensign Porter, that is enough," Lisa said firmly, yet gently. She could strangle the woman for what she had just done. She could also pin a medal on her.

"Come on," Kim said, putting her arm around Sammie. "We're probably going to die in a few minutes, so let's not spiral."

"No, you brave little warriors, you're not going to die yet," Azonia said. "But whether you do or not is for you to-"

The Zentraedi all looked up as the alarm sounded and the door opened. Then they looked at each other in shock for a second, then bolted from the room in a blind panic, jabbering at each other in their own language, leaving their captives completely unguarded.

Sammie pumped her fist after them. "And don't you forget it!" she roared triumphantly.

Chapter Text

The storage room Miriya was hiding in contained uniforms and overcoats, which was fortuitous. She wrapped two layers of overcoats over each of the battloid's feet, using their sleeves to tie them in place. They wouldn't hold for long, but that was okay. They just had to muffle the sound of her footsteps for a little while.

Miriya turned up the volume of the speakers to the external microphone as far as she dared. Once she determined no one was moving anywhere nearby, she quickly lowered the volume back to normal, ripped a hole in the floor, and dropped through.

She had hoped to emerge in the fighter repair shop. Instead, she found herself in the machine parts supply room next to it. Still, not too bad, she thought. The room was deserted.

She again used the microphone to determine if anyone was near. She waited until what sounded like a platoon in the corridor marched past. Then, shuffling on her padded feet to make as little noise as possible, she left the room and crept down the corridor to the infirmary.

The infirmary was the least-used room on any Zentraedi battleship. Zentraedi had incredibly strong constitutions, and they ignored injuries and fought until they dropped dead, so not much ever happened to a Zentraedi which required medical attention.

Miriya had a plan, and it began in the infirmary. The enemy was searching for a veritech loose on the ship, but they had no way of knowing that the pilot was someone who knew her way around. That gave her an enormous advantage, one she intended to exploit to the fullest.

The medical computer was linked to the main computer, and Miriya was amused to find that her access codes had not been deactivated or changed. Such a thing would never occur to the Zentraedi. She pulled up schematics of the battleship, particularly the engine room. Since Zentraedi and human computer systems were incompatible, she couldn't load the schematics onto the veritech's computer, so she studied the plans intently, committing to memory what she needed to know. Since she already had an excellent idea of the general layout of the ship, it wasn't too difficult.

Once she had memorized her intended route, she activated each of the veritech's jets a tiny bit, one at a time, just enough to burn the padding off the battloid's feet. Then she told the medical computer to initiate emergency procedure Zeta 37.

Alarms immediately blared throughout the ship. She and the humans on board now had roughly 90 seconds to live or die.

She ran back to the machine repair shop, punched another hole through the floor, and dropped into the engine room, right in front of a startled Zentraedi who was trying to evacuate. Miriya killed her and searched for the self-destruct mechanism.

She quickly realized that looking at schematics was vastly different from looking at the real thing. It took her longer than she liked, but she found the relevant section of machinery. Instead of trying to isolate the self-destruct mechanism, Miriya just blasted the entire thing, then blasted it again for good measure.

Eliminating the self-destruct bought her maybe a couple of extra minutes.

Now for the tricky bit.

The lowest deck was the least populated, and due to the evacuation, the center of the ship would be deserted by now. So Miriya made her way to the central corridor on her current level, changed to Veritech, and just roared straight up the middle of the ship as fast as she dared.

A straggler blundered into her path. So the center of the ship isn't deserted, after all, Miriya thought. The slowpoke turned around at the sound of the veritech's engines and died with a look of shock on her face as Miriya's wing clipped her on the way by.

It took Miriya just a few seconds to reach the command deck, but it seemed much longer. It was deserted. By now, the entire ship is probably deserted, she thought. She changed back to Battloid and studied the controls.

Now for the really tricky bit.

The alarm did not shut off. Through the open doorway, the humans could see Zentraedi rushing down the corridor in a state of panic.

"What in the world is going on?" Max asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Lisa said, "but I think your wife might have something to do with it."

"Let's hope so," Rick said.

"Should we make a break for it?" Vanessa asked.

Minmei looked over the trolley's edge. "It's a long way down."

"It sure is," Lisa agreed. "I can't see any safe way off this thing. Let's stay put for the moment."

The corridor was now deserted. The only sound was the incessant alarm.

"Something else that's strange," Max said. "All the doors on a Zentraedi battleship are closed all the time, and only open when you approach. But this door is now standing open."

"I think it opened the moment the alarm started," Kim said.

Trembling with fear, Azonia sat in her personal escape pod and watched her flagship from a safe distance.

One of her senior officers contacted her. "Commander Azonia, the self-destruct time limit has passed."

Azonia opened a comm channel to her battalion. "All ships, we have a Zeta 37 on the flagship. Target the flagship and open fire at once!"

"Yes, ma'am!" they responded.

All the other battleships under Azonia's command slowly faced their own flagship and fired.

Just before the cannon barrage reached the ship, it executed a space fold and vanished.

Azonia stared in shocked silence. It took her at least ten seconds to work out what just happened. When she did, she was consumed with a white hot humiliating rage such as she had never experienced. "No!" she shouted, slamming her fist against the viewport again and again and again.

The captives felt a familiar vibration which filled them with dread.

"Minmei, back away from the edge!" Lisa ordered.

Minmei ran to join the others. "What's going on?" she asked.

"A space fold!" Lisa exclaimed, her voice full of distress.

Space twisted itself inside out and everyone was knocked over. A few seconds later, space reverted to normal.

"No!" Lisa wailed. "Don't take us away from the SDF-1!" She pounded her fist on the trolley again and again and again.

On the command deck, Miriya looked out the viewport and smiled. The stars were different. There were no battleships.

Ironically, it took her longer to figure out how to shut off the alarm than it had taken her to do anything else.

She opened the public address system and made an announcement to the entire battleship. "This is Miriya. Believe it or not, we're safe now. I don't know where you are, and you can't contact me, so just stay put and let me come find you. I'm on my way."

The others looked up, hardly daring to believe their ears.

"Safe?" Kim asked. "For real?"

Max, of course, was grinning from ear to ear.

Lisa calmed down. She wasn't happy about the space fold, but she had to admit that her situation had improved a million percent in the previous few minutes.

They waited. After about fifteen minutes, they heard a distant metallic thumping.

"That's the sound of a battloid walking!" Max said.

"It sure is," Rick agreed.

They shouted for Miriya, and she heard them. Her red battloid appeared in the doorway and they all cheered.

Miriya entered the room, switched to Guardian, and knelt so that the cockpit came into contact with the trolley. She raised the canopy and jumped into Max's arms and a long embrace.

When they finally pulled apart, Vanessa said, "Boy, are we glad to see you!"

"And I, you," Miriya said. "I'm pleased to see you all unharmed."

"What happened?" Lisa asked.

"The Robotech Masters built us well, but there is a disease we Zentraedi fear very much," Miriya said. "It's called Zeta 37. It's rare, but it's highly contagious and incurable. Any Zentraedi afflicted with this disease dies a prolonged, horrible death full of agony and torture.

"Every Zentraedi battleship has a special alarm, and a special protocol, to deal with Zeta 37. If the virus is detected on board, the alarm sounds, all doors open, and everyone has roughly 90 seconds to evacuate because the ship will self-destruct. If the ship fails to self-destruct, all nearby Zentraedi battleships are to destroy the ship with utmost priority. The survivors are picked up and held in quarantine for about four days.

"My race fears this disease so much that I knew a Zeta 37 alert would clear the ship, and I knew they would not take you with them. I also knew they wouldn't question the alert, because they would simply assume you are the ones who brought it on board. So I triggered the alert and disabled the self-destruct."

Miriya gave Lisa a sad look and said, "Unfortunately, the only way I could stop us from being destroyed by all the other battleships was to perform a blind space fold."

"You folded blind?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, Commander Hayes, I'm sorry. There was no other way."

"I understand," Lisa said.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Kim asked.

"It means the space fold was random," Lisa said. "It will take days, maybe even weeks, to figure out where we are and how to get back. If we can figure it out at all."

For a moment, everyone was speechless.

Sammie finally spoke. "So, basically, the eight of us have a honking great big Zentraedi battleship all to ourselves, but we're too small to use it, and we have no idea where we are or how to get back to the SDF-1?"

"That's about the size of it," Miriya said. "Welcome aboard!"

End of Part 1

Chapter Text

Part 2

All Together Now

Miriya, back in her battloid, pushed the trolley through the deserted ship.

Sammie's voice was beginning to sound strained, but that didn't stop her. "You know, when I became an officer in the Robotech Defense Force, I told people, 'One day, I'll get lost in deep space, and I'll be pushed around a giant alien battleship on a cart by a defector from an alien civilization in a shape-changing fighter plane.' But my astrogation instructor just didn't believe me. If only he could see me now!"

"You're only thinking about your astrogation instructor because you had a crush on him," Vanessa said.

"Yeah!" Sammie said dreamily. "Because he was so cute!"

"Because he was male and breathing," Kim said.

Sammie scowled at her.

"Sammie, rest your voice," Lisa said. "You used it all up screaming at the Zentraedi, and you sound like a frog."

"She screamed at Azonia?" Miriya asked.

"You should have heard her!" Max said. "If Sammie's voice was a weapon, we would have won the whole war!"

"My voice isn't a weapon," Sammie said. "That's Minmei you're thinking of."

Minmei was melancholy. "I never wanted my voice to be a weapon," she said softly.

"Oh, I know you didn't," Sammie said sympathetically. "I didn't mean it like that."

Minmei gave her a little smile to show she understood.

Lisa pointed at Sammie. "You. Silent. Now."

Sammie almost said, "Yes, ma'am," but realized that would violate the order, so she settled for saluting.

Kim and Vanessa grinned at each other. "Oh, glory hallelujah!" Kim said. "Commander Hayes, can you please make that order permanent?"

Sammie folded her arms and scowled at them both.

"Sorry, ladies," Lisa said, smiling. "I'm afraid not."

Sammie gave them a triumphant smile.

"Minmei, how are you holding up?" Rick asked.

Minmei gave a brave smile. "I'll be all right. Don't you worry about me!"

"Miriya, is your fighter fully functional?" Lisa asked.

"Yes."

"Good. We'll be depending on you and it almost exclusively. What armaments do you have?"

"Twenty-eight missiles, cannon charge at 86 percent."

"Are we absolutely sure there are no enemy combatants left on board?" Rick asked.

"If there were, they would have attacked us by now," Miriya said. "I broadcast my message throughout the entire ship. And after a Zeta 37 alarm, I would be beyond shocked if any of the crew were still aboard, even by accident."

"What about your veritechs?" Lisa asked Max and Rick. "Are they salvageable?"

"They lost power when we were hit with energy bursts," Max said. "But we might be able to get them running again."

"You ejected," Kim said. "Doesn't that mean the cockpits are no longer useable?"

"The fighters simply eject the seats," Rick said. "And the seats can be reattached. I think."

They reached the end of the corridor. To the left and to the right were open doorways. A third open doorway was straight ahead, through which they could see control consoles.

Once again, Miriya switched to Guardian, lowered the cockpit to the trolley, and hopped out. It was easier to speak with everyone that way.

"This is the command deck," Miriya said, indicating the room in front of them. "On the left is Azonia's quarters, on the right is Azonia's day cabin. Whatever we're going to do, we'll be doing it here."

"Are there any shower or bathroom facilities on board for people of our size?" Lisa asked.

"I'm afraid not, Commander."

"All right, here's what we'll do," Lisa said. "Miriya, I've noticed that some Zentraedi officers wear long, thick overcoats. Can you procure one?"

"Yes."

"Do so, and lay it down lengthwise on the floor in Azonia's quarters, near the door. We'll use the folds of the heavy cloth for a latrine. We'll set up camp in her day cabin, and we'll use her quarters to dump any waste we generate. Does anyone have any questions or concerns about that?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"All right. Miriya, we'll also need some cloth cut into human-size towels and rags for general purposes, such as washing. And we'll need cloth cut into human-size blankets for bedding."

"Not a problem," Miriya said.

"What should we do about water?" Lisa asked. "Any suggestions?"

Miriya said, "The best thing I can think to do is put water into the smallest bowls I can find, set them on the floor in the day cabin, and lay down objects next to the bowls so we can climb up to get the water. We would need several bowls, and I would need to refill them regularly to keep them sanitary. We should designate one for drinking only."

"Very well," Lisa said. "Unless anyone has a brighter idea, that's what we'll do. If I've done my math right, the emergency rations from three veritechs will feed the eight of us for about three days. Miriya, would it be safe for us to eat Zentraedi food?"

"I have no idea. I don't think you should risk it, but if we're stuck here for a long time, you eventually might not have any choice. I'll eat Zentraedi food instead of using the rations. That will allow the rations to last a bit longer among the rest of you."

Sammie stuck her hand in the air.

Lisa sighed. "Sammie, I only gave you that order to save your voice. If you have something to say that's not frivolous, by all means, say it."

"If the Zentraedi can make themselves as small as humans, why can't we make ourselves as large as Zentraedi?" Sammie asked.

Everyone stared at her.

"Make her stop talking again," Vanessa said.

"You outrank her," Kim said. "You could make her stop talking."

Vanessa's face lit up. "Hey! That's right!"

"I'm being serious!" Sammie said. "If we were giant size, all these logistical problems go away!"

"Yes, it is a serious and ingenious suggestion, Sammie, and I thank you for it," Lisa said. "But I highly doubt it's possible."

"I also doubt it's possible," Miriya agreed. "Our genetic makeup is similar, but not identical. For example, I can survive unprotected in open space, whereas you cannot. My race was artificially constructed by the Robotech Masters, and we were specifically designed to be resizable."

"Besides, if we made ourselves giants, our food intake would skyrocket," Max said. "We'd have to start eating Zentraedi food immediately."

"All right, here's the plan," Lisa said. "The most important thing is this: I want the eight of us to stick together as much as possible. At the very least, be within shouting distance of at least one other person at all times, unless my orders dictate otherwise. Don't wander off. This area we're standing in will be our base of operations and our community while we're on board this ship.

"I want us to adhere to a strict and shared schedule, and continue a normal human cycle of day and night as if we were aboard the SDF-1. Doing anything else would lead to confusion, disorder, and fatigue. We'll all go to bed at 2200 and get up at 0600, at which point we'll eat breakfast. Lunch will be at noon, dinner at 1800. We'll eat our meals together so we can track our rations exactly. We'll sleep in a group and post guards during the night, just in case. Vanessa, create a night watch schedule."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Miriya, once you have retrieved the cloth and water we need, take Rick and Max to their veritechs and assess their damage. If they can be repaired quickly, do so, and bring them back here. If they can't be repaired at all, salvage any missiles and supplies you can and destroy the veritechs. If they can be repaired but it will take a long time, bring the veritechs here and station them in the corridor; then Rick and Max can work on them without being separated from the rest of us."

"Understood," Miriya said.

"Why not station the veritechs inside the day cabin?" Kim asked. "If we're attacked, the lieutenants could then just jump into their fighters and be ready to go immediately."

"Once the veritechs are operational, we will station them in the day cabin," Lisa agreed. "But if they need to be repaired, I want them in the corridor in case Rick and Max need to continue repairing them while the rest of us sleep."

Kim nodded.

Lisa continued. "Once we get the veritechs sorted out, Miriya, Kim, Vanessa, Sammie, and I will spend every waking moment figuring out how to perform a space fold back home. Miriya, this means you might be pulling double duty. We'll need you and your veritech on the command deck to translate for us and to operate any controls, yet Rick and Max might need your veritech to help them repair their veritechs. You might be moving constantly back and forth between them and us, as needed."

"As well as keeping our water fresh," Miriya said with a smile. "I can do all that."

"Wonderful. Also, once we're on the floor, park this trolley somewhere close by in case we need it again. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Minmei asked.

Lisa blinked at her. "No, Minmei, nothing I can think of."

"Well, I'll do whatever you need," Minmei said. "Night watch, retrieving food, passing wrenches, making notes. You name it, if you need it done, tell me, and I'll do it."

Lisa smiled at her. "Thank you very much. I'm sure we'll all be very busy. Does anyone else have any questions?"

No one said anything.

"All right. Before we begin, I just want to say something to all of you. Each of you has performed splendidly, and you are a credit to your service and to the SDF-1. None of you panicked. Minmei, you kept your composure and secretly made that recording, which led to our rescue. We're alive because of your quick thinking. I can never thank you enough for that."

Minmei blushed. "Well, I'm alive because of everything all of you in the army do to protect me every day. So the feeling's mutual."

Lisa nodded. "And Kim, Vanessa, and Sammie, you performed admirably, in a very difficult situation which you were never trained to deal with. Rick, Max, and Miriya, you came after us alone, and attacked this ship against incredible odds, and pulled off a miracle. Miriya, you, in particular, are a godsend. You singlehandedly rescued the rest of us, and we would be completely lost without you and your knowledge.

"I appreciate each and every one of you, and if I had to be stranded in deep space with anyone, I'm glad it's you."

They were all smiling at her.

"Now, let's get moving," Lisa said.

Sammie held up a finger. "I vote we lay down that latrine, first."

"Seconded," Vanessa said.

"I'm on it," Miriya said.

Lisa chose a spot beneath Azonia's desk to be their campsite. Miriya, back in her veritech, set three bowls of water, each ten feet high, on the floor nearby, then dumped a load of miscellaneous objects on the floor. While the others began arranging these objects to form staircases so they could reach the water, Miriya ripped an officer's overcoat to shreds, providing the group with far more rags, towels, and blankets than they would probably ever need.

Then Miriya lifted Rick and Max onto the trolley and the three pilots went to assess the damaged veritechs and to retrieve their emergency rations. While they were gone, the others finished building the staircases, then arranged eight piles of cloth in a circle, each pile of cloth forming a crude bed. Since they had so much cloth and could afford to pile it on, each bed was actually very deep and soft.

The pilots returned just as they finished. Lisa was disappointed, but unsurprised, to see only one battloid returning instead of three. Miriya set Rick and Max on the floor. Each carried a box of emergency supplies.

"Our veritechs are still in the landing bay," Max said. "We figured out how to replace the seats. The electrical systems can be repaired, but it won't be easy. Miriya will have to move them here."

As he spoke, Miriya – still in her battloid – carefully laid a Zentraedi uniform shirt on the floor near the wall, laid a white bar about twenty feet long on top of it, then began grinding the bar into tiny pieces.

"What's she doing?" Lisa asked.

"That bar is Zentraedi food," Max said. "She's says it's some kind of tasteless nutrition bar. She's grinding it into crumbs so she can eat it."

"How long will the repairs take?" Lisa asked.

"About 20 man-hours for each veritech," Rick said. "Some of the circuit boards are burned out, but we can't tell which ones. And they're all buried deep, so we have to pull out some other stuff to get to them. We each have some spare circuit boards, but we won't know if they work until we plug them in because the energy bursts may have fried them, too. And even if they work, we might not have enough."

"I understand," Lisa said. "We'll just hope for the best. For now, let's eat our first dinner."

When Lisa divided the rations by meal and by person, she found they had food for almost five days. They had no human-sized cups, so they had to cup their hands and drink directly from the bowl.

"If anyone has any diseases, now's the time to share," Vanessa said as they took turns drinking. Max got a chuckle out of that.

"The veritechs have medical kits, right?" Sammie asked. By now, her voice was very hoarse.

"Yeah, we brought them," Rick said. "They include some wide-body antibiotics."

Each person chose a bed and sat down to eat. Minmei chose a bed next to Rick. As he sat down, she said, "Plane rations again, huh? Think we can find a tuna floating in space?"

Rick laughed, and the others gave them odd looks.

"What's that about?" Kim asked.

So Minmei and Rick filled the time by telling the others about the two weeks they'd spent trapped deep inside the SDF-1. They laughed as they recounted their attempt to bring in a giant frozen tuna. The story was hugely entertaining.

As Lisa observed the easy camaraderie between Rick and Minmei, and heard them talk about all that time they had spent alone together, she grew increasingly jealous. She tried to snap herself out of it. Come on! she thought. You've got more important things to worry about! But the jealousy refused to die.

In completing their tale, Rick and Minmei told the others how they had felt they were going to die, but they had made it through because of a miracle. The story lifted everyone's spirits, and the entire group was in a good mood as they finished dinner.

"I've worked out a night watch schedule," Vanessa said. "Everyone will have to remember it because we don't have any pen or paper."

Minmei took her song lyrics and pencil from her pocket. "I've got this. There's just half a sheet of paper left, but it's yours."

"Thanks," Vanessa said, smiling. "But let's save that in case we need it for something more urgent."

Minmei set the paper and pencil beside the rations, which were stacked in the middle of the circle. "This is for whoever needs it."

"We have eight sleeping hours and eight people, so that works out nicely," Vanessa said. "Normally, I'd have teams of two people keeping watch for two hours each, so each person could keep the other company. But we'll be under a lot of stress over the next few days, maybe longer, so we'll desperately need all the sleep we can get, and I think if I deprive people of two hours of sleep each night, that will add up and we'll start to make mental mistakes and morale will deteriorate. So I think it's much more important for each person to stand watch alone for just one hour. I also base this decision on the fact that the chances are very low that anyone is left on this ship to harm us. Does that sound reasonable, Commander Hayes?"

"Perfectly," Lisa said. Listening to Vanessa reminds me why we promoted her, she thought. The girl really has her head on straight.

"This is the watch order," Vanessa said. "Remember who comes after you, because you'll be waking that person up. Minmei will be first, followed by me, then Kim, Sammie, Lieutenant Max Sterling, Lieutenant Miriya Sterling, Lieutenant Hunter, and Commander Hayes will be last. Any complaints?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Good, 'cause I wasn't gonna change it anyway," Vanessa said.

"Thank you, Vanessa," Lisa said. "Lieutenants, go get those planes."

Rick, Max, and Miriya had thought it would take several hours to move the veritechs, but Miriya found she could lift them quite easily. Since each veritech had been frozen in Guardian mode, maneuvering them along the corridors wasn't too difficult. In just under an hour, both veritechs were stationed in the corridor outside the day cabin.

No one could do anything on the command deck without Miriya's help, so while the pilots moved the planes, the others wandered around the day cabin, but there wasn't much to see from the floor.

"I find it better not to look up too much," Minmei said. "Constantly seeing giant-sized furniture makes my head ache."

"I know what you mean," Kim said. "It feels like we all shrank. It's sort of like vertigo."

"I wonder if Zentraedi ships have the equivalent of giant cockroaches or rats," Vanessa said.

Kim groaned. "I could have gone my whole life without hearing that."

Sammie looked up at Azonia's desk and (hoarsely) said, "It'd be really nice if we could get into their computer and take back a serious load of intel."

"It sure would," Lisa agreed.

They wandered back to camp at the same time the pilots did. At this point, lights out was 30 minutes away, and while Lisa was anxious to spend those 30 minutes on the command deck because she didn't want to waste a second, she knew it would be pointless to start this late in the day. So they just sat and talked.

Kim noticed the paper Minmei had set on the floor earlier. She picked it up and scanned it. "Are these lyrics?"

"Yes, but they're not finished, and I don't really like what I've come up with," Minmei said. "I was trying to write a song for the new album when I was kidnapped. Ha! The new album! It won't be finished in time, now. My manager will be so upset."

"War messes up schedules," Vanessa said.

"This is interesting," Kim said, reading the lyrics. "I sort of see what you're going for, here. Is it like...love and war at the same time?"

Minmei's face brightened. "Yes! I'm trying to write a powerful song, the most powerful I've ever written. I've already written the music, but the lyrics are being a pain. I want a song that's about fighting a battle, the great battle of a lifetime. I want it to be kind of melancholy, with a hint of tragedy, but also inspiring, and ultimately triumphant. And I also want it to be about love, the love we all fight for. I don't want it to be a war song, or a battle hymn, or anything like that. The song is about battle, but it doesn't celebrate battle. I want a song which gives a voice to what all of us on the SDF-1 have experienced over the last two years, the weariness, but also the hope. A song that's about fighting for a brighter day. I want to unveil it at the most special moment possible. I'm hoping it will become my masterpiece. Right now, though, it's in masterpieces."

As Minmei spoke, the others listened intently, mesmerized by her passion and creativity. They experienced that beautiful sensation one has when someone else gives a voice and words to things which are so very true, and so heartfelt. Even Lisa saw her for the artist she was, not the girl who was her rival in love.

"That sounds wonderful!" Sammie said dreamily. "I can't wait to hear it. Sing a few bars!"

"All right. Just as long as you understand that the lyrics kind of stink, and I will come up with something better."

Minmei sang. Her voice echoed around the cavernous room.

Weariness of battle overtakes us,
but our love wakes us,
makes us go on.
Each and every day we dream of winning,
and beginning
a new life.

Minmei shrugged sheepishly.

"That was beautiful," Miriya whispered.

"Thanks," Minmei said. "I kind of like the dream of winning lines. I'll probably keep those. But it still needs some work. I really want the first word of the song to be life, and I want the final word to be win. That's really, really important."

Lisa smiled. "I'm sure you'll work it out, Minmei. And your album may not be released on time, but I swear to you, we will get back to the SDF-1, and we will hear you sing this song in concert."

"Amen!" Vanessa said. Everyone was smiling.

"To make that promise come true, we need to be well rested and sharp," Lisa said. "So let's hit the sack." She looked at the ceiling, suddenly realizing she had forgotten something. "Uh...Miriya, I guess you can turn the lights off."

Miriya laughed. "I can do that."

Chapter Text

In the morning, they hit the ground running. Rick and Max set to work on their fighters; Sammie, Vanessa, Kim, Lisa, and Minmei tackled the space fold problem; and Miriya spent most of the day in her veritech, fetching supplies, helping Rick and Max, translating, and pressing buttons on the command deck.

Minmei specifically wanted to be with the others on the command deck, and Lisa agreed they should stay together as much as possible. Minmei kept an eye out for any opportunity to be useful, but there weren't many, so mostly she stayed quiet and out of the way. She quickly became bored, and hated herself for feeling that way.

Figuring out the controls which operated the fold system was easy. The main problem was the math. Lisa could perform the necessary steps with the help of the RDF computer with which she had been trained, but her knowledge of the actual math – which was deeply complex – was limited. Sammie had some rudimentary knowledge, but not nearly enough to help them. (It was also difficult for Sammie to communicate because her voice was now just a whisper.)

The second problem was translation. Miriya understood enough math to pilot a fighter plane, and she spoke everyday English fluently, but she hit a major obstacle when translating complex mathematical terms and formulae because she knew neither the math to perform a space fold nor the English words to express that math. Lisa had a basic grasp of quantum differential calculus, but had no idea how to explain it to Miriya in English, much less in Zentraedi. But they slogged on diligently, because they had no other choice.

At each meal, Minmei insisted on being the one to prepare and clean up everything. The others gladly let her do it, knowing she needed to feel useful.

During lunch, Minmei asked, "Commander Hayes, do you mind if I keep Rick and Max company for a while?"

"Sure," Lisa said with a smile. She knew perfectly well Minmei was going stir-crazy.

But Minmei quickly learned that spending time with Rick and Max wasn't any better. Their work mostly consisted of calling out a part number, poking it with an electronic gizmo to see if it had power, saying "Yes" or "No," and moving to the next one. And apparently, a veritech had about a billion parts. She spent the afternoon sitting against the wall between the planes, staring at the ceiling. Just as with the other team, they didn't need her help.

At least sitting on the ground was preferable to relying on Miriya to lift her up to the command deck console. Also, Minmei had brought a huge pile of cloth, so she had something comfortable to sit on. Her lyrics and pencil lay beside her, but she was in no mood to write songs at the moment.

Late in the afternoon, a vibration swept through the ship, as if something had struck it with a giant hammer.

Minmei looked up at the pilots, who immediately stopped and looked at her. The expressions on their faces made it clear they had all felt it.

Rick keyed his comm link. "Miriya, did you and the others feel that? Are you okay?"

"Yes, we did, Lieutenant, and yes we are. I'm investigating."

Everyone on the command deck was still recovering from the brief shock. Vanessa had been standing near the edge of the console. If the vibration had been much worse, it might have knocked her off, and it was a long way to the floor. She quickly stepped away from the edge, her heart pounding.

Miriya, in Battloid mode, was bending over the console, rapidly flipping through various systems. Then she said something swift and harsh in Zentraedi.

"Commander Hayes, we are adrift in an asteroid field," Miriya said. "I apologize. I should have scanned surrounding space upon arrival."

"I should have thought of it, too, but I didn't," Lisa said. "Were we hit?"

"Yes, but not too badly. The hull is intact. But we are surrounded by rocks, and they will periodically strike this vessel."

"Can we activate shields?" Lisa asked.

"No. When I destroyed the self-destruct machinery, I destroyed the shield controller, as well."

"Can the computer determine if any more asteroids are going to hit us, and when?" Lisa asked.

"I think so," Miriya said with a sigh. "I'm unfamiliar with such things, but at the very least, I know the computer needs to track the asteroids for a long time to extrapolate their paths."

"Do what you can, and inform Max and Rick," Lisa said.

Kim, Vanessa, and Sammie shared a quick look, for each had noticed it. While Lisa referred to her friends by their first names often enough, there were certain situations in which she absolutely would not do that because her ingrained training subconsciously took over. When she went into full officer mode and asked rapid-fire questions and issued terse commands to dismantle a problem efficiently, first names suddenly disappeared from her speech. This was one such situation, yet she had just referred to the pilots by their first names, instead of saying "Lieutenant Hunter" or "Lieutenant Sterling" as she normally would have. It wasn't a big deal, given their bizarre predicament, but to anyone who knew Lisa as well as the Terrible Trio did, it was noteworthy.

Rick relayed Miriya's discovery to Max and Minmei. Max just said, "Well. More good news."

Back on the command deck, Kim said, "This ship is so huge, it must be pulling asteroids towards us. Which means the hits will become more frequent the longer we're here."

Sammie whispered, "I guess we never truly appreciated the gravity of the sit-"

"Sammie Porter, if you finish that sentence, you will face court-martial upon our return," Lisa said.

Sammie just grinned and rubbed her hands together like an evil genius.

Azonia's face burned in a way she never knew possible. Breetai and Khyron, each on a separate monitor, couldn't stop laughing. Even Exedore was shaking his head and smiling.

"I'm telling you, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption!" Azonia shouted. "And I know for a fact that either of you would have done the same!"

"I'm sorry you think so, Azonia," Breetai said with a grin.

Azonia growled. "Remember that these Micronians don't fight like warriors! The little cowards use trickery! And one of them was the sorceress with the bewitching voice!"

"You allowed a handful of Micronians and a traitor to frighten you off your own flagship!" Khryon said, laughing so hard his eyes were watering.

"Not for long," Azonia said through gritted teeth. "I will regain my ship, and they will suffer like no living being has ever suffered before!"

"If you say so, Azonia," Khyron said. "Just make sure you don't abandon any more ships before you do!" He, Breetai, and Exedore exploded with more laughter.

Azonia roared, cut the communication, rounded on her lieutenant, and screamed "Where are they?"

"We have determined thirteen possible destinations," the lieutenant said smoothly. "But within two days, we should be able to narrow that to four or five. Shall I order a battalion to each possible destination immediately?"

"No," Azonia breathed. "When you've narrowed the choices, send a small scout ship to each. They are only to locate those vermin and report back. When they do, I will retake my flagship personally!"

As they ate dinner near the end of their first full day on the ship, Minmei had a thought. "We should give this ship a new name."

"Why?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah," Kim said. "I really have no desire to become emotionally attached to it."

Minmei shrugged. "Because there's no reason not to. And I don't have much else to do."

"What name would befit a stolen Zentraedi battleship?" Max asked.

"Azonia's Humiliation," Miriya said proudly.

"You don't want something a little more beautiful or poetic?" Max asked.

"That is beautiful and poetic," Miriya said.

"The name should be more about us than about our enemy, though," Sammie said.

"So, apparently, we are gonna name it," Vanessa said to no one in particular.

"Zentraedi ships remind me of caterpillars," Minmei said. "But I don't think Caterpillar is a good name."

"Larva," Rick said. Minmei made a face at him.

"I do like how Miriya thinks, though," Kim said. "The name should say something about our achievement."

"Zeta 37," Rick said. Minmei just shook her head at him.

"Well, we achieved quite astonishing things," Lisa said. "Most notably, Miriya's trick to force the Zentraedi to evacuate, and Sammie shouting at Azonia. But most of all, I simply find it astonishing that we little, fragile Micronians boarded a ship of giants and won."

"Like little mice against the lions," Kim said. "Ha ha! 'Hear us roar.'"

Hearing these words, Minmei looked into Sammie's face and inspiration struck. "That's it!" Minmei said. "The perfect name for our ship! The Mouse's Roar!" And she gestured to Sammie.

Everyone laughed good-naturedly. Even Vanessa had to admit that was good.

The second day passed much like the first. By now, Minmei had built herself quite a comfortable nest between the two damaged veritechs, and she lounged in it, pretending she was lying on a float in a pool soaking in sunshine. She could hear everything Rick and Max said and did. Sometimes she drifted into slumber but could still hear them, and so dreamed that she had joined the army as a fighter pilot and they were her instructors.

Every now and then, an asteroid bumped the ship. So far, the collisions hadn't hurt anything major, as far as they could tell.

About half an hour after dinner on the second day, Rick and Max started cheering. Minmei wondered why her flight instructors were making so much noise, then groggily rose into waking.

"Miriya, tell everyone the good news!" Rick said. "Max and I have repaired my veritech! And if his plane has the same problem, we won't have to spend days searching for it, and we'll have enough spare circuit boards to make it work!"

Minmei stood and looked up at Skull One. It now hummed slightly, even though what seemed like a quarter of its innards was still arranged neatly on the floor around it. She smiled.

"Hey, Minmei," Max said. "Did you know you snore a lot?"

Minmei stuck her tongue out at him.

Minmei watched, fascinated, as Rick and Max eagerly tackled Max's veritech. As they predicted, his fighter's damaged circuit boards were almost the same as Rick's veritech. Within a couple of hours, it, too, was humming.

"If we were attacked right now, would you really be able to use your fighters?" Minmei asked. "You haven't put them back together, yet."

"Right now, they can't fire thrusters, change out of Guardian mode, or walk," Max said. "But they can turn at the waist and they can fire their weapons. That's the main thing."

Everyone who had been working on the command deck all day joined them. It was almost lights-out, and they had wanted to see the veritechs themselves, especially Lisa. They heard the exchange between Max and Minmei as they approached.

"Excellent work, Lieutenants!" Lisa said. "How long will it take to reassemble them?"

"We should have them all back together by this time tomorrow," Rick said.

"When you do, will they be in perfect working order?" Lisa asked. "They'll be able to do all those things Max just said they couldn't?"

"Don't see why not," Rick said. Max nodded.

The next day, Minmei didn't nap. She watched closely as Rick and Max put their fighters back together. Sometimes she even asked questions, as long as she felt she wasn't interrupting them. At one point, she had even been able to help when Rick couldn't find Skull One's gravimetric analyzer and she reminded him that he had set the cockpit canopy on top of it.

At each meal, Minmei noticed that the people working on the command deck looked a little more haggard, talked a little less, and looked at each other a little less. They were getting frustrated, and it was showing. She hoped they wouldn't start arguing with each other or losing their tempers. She always felt awful when the people around her did that. She, Rick, and Max never asked, "How's the space fold analysis coming?" They knew better than to stir that pot.

Just after dinner on the third day, Rick and Max's veritechs were completely reassembled. They walked in Battloid mode to the flight deck, flew around in space for a few minutes, and tested their weapons. Max's forward targeting system was off line, but other than that, they were in perfect working order.

They walked the fighters back to their camp site, where Minmei was waiting for them. The ones on the command deck were about to end their day and would join them shortly.

"Whatever shall we do tomorrow?" Max asked Rick when they were back on the ground. "I don't suppose Commander Hayes will allow us to rest."

"I doubt it," Rick said.

"Actually, I have a request," Minmei said. "If we're stuck here for a few more days, would you...would you teach me how to fly a veritech?"

Rick and Max stared at her in astonishment.

"I mean, just because it looks like fun to learn, and because it doesn't look like we'll be doing anything else for a while," Minmei said.

"I don't think Commander Hayes would like it," Rick said.

"Surely, this is one of those situations in which it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission," Minmei said.

"She's got you there, skipper," Max said. "Besides, I really don't think Commander Hayes would mind all that much."

Rick nodded. "All right by me. If Commander Hayes doesn't give me any other orders or duties, sure, Minmei, I'll teach you to operate a veritech!"

Minmei grinned.

"And what'll I do?" Max asked.

"Stand back and enjoy the entertainment," Rick said. "I don't think we'll damage too much."

"Hey, now," Minmei said. "Remember, I was there when you first learned how to operate a veritech! So you have no room to talk, O Destroyer of Buildings."

"Ugh," Rick said. "Thanks for reminding me. Luckily I had a great teacher." His face slowly fell into melancholy and he stared at the floor, draining the mirth from the room.

Minmei stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. "I've been meaning to tell you. I...I'm so very sorry to hear about Commander Fokker. You know I adored him, too."

"I know," Rick said. "Thanks, Minmei."

The others joined them, their morale soaring at the sight of the two repaired veritechs. "Oh, it's so wonderful!" Kim exclaimed. Miriya parked her veritech next to Max's and hopped down.

"Excellent work, Lieutenants!" Lisa said.

"I'm just happy I can read a manual, ma'am," Max said.

"Commander, do you have any specific orders for me and Max tomorrow?" Rick asked.

"No, Lieutenant Hunter, I do not," Lisa said. "Unless either of you knows anything about space fold operations."

"I can't read a manual that well, Commander," Max said. Rick shook his head.

"Then I guess just guard us from any enemy who might appear."

Rick opened his mouth to ask about letting Minmei operate a veritech, but Lisa had already turned away. Rick just closed his mouth and said nothing. Only Max and Minmei noticed.

The next morning, after the others had finished breakfast and gone to the command deck, Minmei sat in the cockpit of Skull One. Rick occupied the rear seat. The fighter stood in Azonia's day cabin in Guardian mode.

"Okay, you know the old saying, 'Walk before you run, run before you fly?'" Rick asked. "Well, with a veritech, that's literally true."

"It actually starts with crawling," Minmei said.

"I know, but...we don't crawl. Anyway. There are a lot of levers, but I manage to keep them straight by separating them into groups. For now, just know that these five operate the left leg in Battloid mode and these five operate the right leg in Battloid mode, and they're positioned so that they respond to your natural leg movements. The trick is not to be forceful with them. When you're excited, and especially when you're being shot at, a person tends to shove the levers one way or another as hard as they can. No matter what else is happening, just move casually. Now, we'll start by going from Guardian to Battloid."

"When do I get to fire the cannon?" Minmei asked eagerly.

"Uhhhhh...remember what I said about walking before you fly."

Max lay on his bed watching them, his hands beneath his head, and grinned.

The first time Minmei transformed the veritech to Battloid, it fell over. Instantly, Miriya's voice came over the comm link. "Lieutenant Hunter, we heard a noise. Are you all right?"

"We're fine," Rick said. "That's just me teaching Minmei how to operate a veritech."

Silence.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. Did you say you were teaching Minmei how to operate a veritech?"

"I did, indeed. You might hear a few more bangs throughout the day."

Silence for a few more moments.

"Lieutenant Hunter, Commander Hayes would like a word with you," Miriya said. Rick stole a glance at Max who was listening on his own comm link and laughing his ass off.

"Lieutenant Hunter, just what do you think you're doing?!" Lisa barked at him, having taken over Miriya's comm link.

"Teaching Minmei to operate a veritech fighter plane, Commander," Rick said smoothly.

"Why?"

"Three reasons. First, it doesn't hurt anything. I'm in control of the situation. Second, we've got nothing else to do. Third, if something really terrible happens to the group, we may find ourselves in a bizarre situation in which Minmei will have to defend herself because we won't be able to."

"Uh huh," Lisa said, clearly unimpressed with that last bit of logic.

"So, anyway, uh...how are you?"

There was silence for a few more seconds, then Lisa said, "Just don't damage our planes impressing your girlfriend, Lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am," Rick said, thinking he really could have done without that last comment.

Still laughing so hard his face was red, Max gave him a double thumbs up.

The lesson continued. To her credit, although she was still clumsy, Minmei managed not to fall over on her second attempt.

Minmei made absolutely sure she had lunch ready when the others arrived. She knew if she was even the tiniest bit derelict in her duties, Lisa would be steamed at their frivolous behavior impacting their schedule. She expected Lisa to be angry anyway, and mentally prepared for it.

But surprisingly, Lisa was completely over it. "How do you like operating a veritech, Minmei?" she asked.

"Oh, it's exciting, Commander! The veritech doesn't seem so mystifying any more, but knowing what it can do makes me appreciate the engineering all that much more."

"Wonderful!" Lisa said, and no one said any more about it.

A few million kilometers away, space ripped apart and came back together with a Zentraedi scout ship where nothing had been moments before.

"Ugh," Kantilly said. "Asteroids."

"Are we in danger of being hit by any?" asked Prackett, her copilot. The two women were the ship's only occupants.

"No. The nearest is about fifteen kilometers away. It's nothing we can't handle, but it'll make searching for the flagship that much harder."

"Or that much easier. The battleship's fold operation would have pulled some of the surrounding asteroids towards itself. And the battleship's gravity would attract even more. So if we find a cluster of asteroids, we might find the ship."

"Huh," Kantilly said, and operated a few controls. "There is a slight cluster at four-sigma-two-point-five. Let's see what's at the center of it." She directed the long-range camera to zoom in on that location, and they smiled. The monitor showed Azonia's flagship.

Prackett nodded. "Like I said: easy. Azonia will be pleased."

"Wait," Kantilly said, still watching the monitor closely. She operated a few more controls for about a minute, then pulled back the zoom and pointed to an asteroid on the monitor. "This big one's about to hit the flagship, and I think it'll hit the engine room."

"So?"

"So, the Micronians obviously don't know about it or they would have moved the ship by now. They're about to have a crisis. Why return to Azonia with news when we can take advantage of this situation and return as the two who recaptured her flagship by themselves?"

"Azonia won't like being disobeyed. And she certainly won't like being deprived of her personal vengeance. Don't think this will give us any promotions."

"After being humiliated, I don't think Azonia will be making those decisions any more. Breetai will be looking for new leadership. Won't he?"

They shared a look of understanding.

"Sounds good to me. What's your plan?"

By early afternoon, Minmei had become very good at running, crouching, and switching from Guardian to Battloid and back again. Max was impressed. By late afternoon, she could target the weapon systems reasonably well, although Rick wouldn't let her actually fire anything.

"Oh, come on," Minmei teased. "Just one burst from the cannon."

"No."

"A missile?" She thumbed the firing trigger.

"Don't you dare."

There was a distant, thunderous boom. The Mouse's Roar shook.

Minmei snatched her hand from the trigger like it was hot. "That wasn't me!"

Miriya's voice was instantly in Rick's ear. "Lieutenant Hunter, please tell me that was you and Minmei."

"It wasn't us," Rick said.

Her face scrunched up in worry, Minmei whispered, "I didn't accidentally set anything off, did I?"

"I don't think so," Rick whispered back.

Miriya, in her battloid on the command deck, quickly scanned a bank of monitors. "We've just suffered a major collision from an asteroid," she announced grimly. "It hit the engine room. We've got intermittent power failures throughout the ship."

"Miriya, get down there and see what you can do," Lisa said. "Take Sammie with you."

Miriya said, "Lieutenant Hunter, Commander Hayes is ordering me and Ensign Porter to the engine room." She switched to Guardian and lowered the cockpit so Sammie could climb into the rear seat.

"Shouldn't Max or I go?" Rick asked. "You're needed on the command deck."

"I believe Commander Hayes is sending me because only I have a chance of understanding anything down there," Miriya said. After a moment, she added, "Commander Hayes wants you, Max, and Minmei on the command deck. She's feeling a little antsy and wants everyone together."

Miriya took off for the engine room.

"Ooh, I've never actually been in a veritech before!" Sammie said.

"Isn't it neat?" Minmei asked enthusiastically over the comm link.

"It's pretty cool!" Sammie replied.

Miriya sighed good-naturedly.

Privately to Rick, Minmei asked, "Can I walk Skull One to the command deck? It's only a little ways."

"Let's not push our luck. Commander Hayes can be quite the sourpuss when she's tense."

Max climbed into his fighter, Rick and Minmei switched seats, and they joined the others on the command deck.

Prackett and Kantilly watched the lights flicker on and off across Azonia's flagship.

"Just as I thought," Kantilly said. "The hit on the engine room caused power failures. They'll have to send someone there to investigate, probably several people. And they'll have to use a fighter to do that because they're too small to traverse the distance on their own. This mean's they'll be split up."

"Shall we attack the ones in the engine room, first?" Prackett asked.

Kantilly shook her head. "Their leader will be on the command deck. She's the one we want. But we need a diversion so we can surprise them. I wish we had a second ship."

"We don't need a second ship when we can nudge some more asteroids onto collision courses and wait for them to strike," Prackett said.

They grinned.

Miriya and Sammie arrived in the engine room to find it full of smoke with a greenish tint to it. To one side, raw power cables hung from the ceiling, throwing off sparks.

Sammie gasped. "There's an enemy combatant on the floor! Right there!"

"She's dead," Miriya said. "I killed her several days ago." She looked at the hole in the ceiling where she'd dropped into the engine room that day, and noticed something. "This smoke isn't rising."

"It's heavier than the air," Sammie agreed. "So to ventilate this room, we need to punch holes in the floor? What's below this engine room?"

"Open space."

"Oh, good."

"No, bad. Opening a hole into space would clear the room all right, but the sudden depressurization might damage something else. Something critical."

"Oh. Bad."

Miriya stepped over the body and cautiously made her way forward, but even a little ways in, the smoke became too thick to see anything. "We've got to figure out some way to ventilate the room," she said.

"Shouldn't we put the fire out, first?"

"We don't know that this smoke is coming from a fire. It might be some other kind of chemical reaction." She took another step forward and barely stopped herself from running into some machinery. The battloid almost toppled over.

"I can't see where I'm going, and I can't risk damaging anything in this room any further," Miriya said. "I...don't know what to do. Yet."

"I still think our priority is to stop more smoke from being created, no matter what's causing it," Sammie said. "Until we do that, any attempt at ventilation will be useless, and we can't do anything else until we get rid of the smoke."

"But if we can't move and can't see, how can we find what's causing it?"

"Veritechs have emergency gas masks, right?"

"Gray compartment by your right foot. It has enough oxygen for half an hour."

Sammie found the gas mask and put it on. Miriya put one on, also.

"Comm check," Miriya said.

"I can hear you. Can you hear me?" Sammie's voice was still a whisper.

"Yes. The temperature's a little hot, but it should be tolerable. I'll extend a manipulator cable. Grab hold of it and don't let go. If you do, we'll never find each other again."

"Even if we find the source of the smoke, how will we find our way back out? For that matter, how will we know we're not going in circles?"

"As we go, I'll use the cannon to burn direction marks on the floor."

"What if this weird green smoke is flammable?"

"If it was, those live power cables we saw would have set everything off a long time ago."

"Good point."

"Ready?"

Sammie gave a thumbs up. Miriya switched to Guardian and opened the cockpit just long enough for Sammie to slide out. During the few seconds it was open, an uncomfortable amount of smoke entered the cockpit.

"Comm check again," Miriya said, returning to Battloid

"I can still hear you." Miriya was right, the room was hot. The gas mask was tight and uncomfortable. Sammie's breath was loud inside it. The smoke felt greasy on her skin.

Miriya ventilated the cockpit as best as she could. That got rid of most of the smoke, but not all of it. She kept her mask on.

She extended a manipulator cable. It was one of several cables with a claw on the end which allowed a pilot to perform delicate tasks from the cockpit. Sammie grabbed it, wrapped it around her wrist several times, and headed off. Within seconds, she could no longer see Miriya's fighter; the cable was her only lifeline back to it.

Sammie stumbled through the thick smoke. After a moment, she realized she didn't have to squint; it was a reflex from seeing smoke everywhere. She relaxed her face and breathed calmly, knowing excitement would waste oxygen. She tried as best as she could to search from left to right and back again, slowly moving forward as she did. It was impossible to tell how successful she was at keeping this pattern.

A few minutes passed, then Sammie said, "I've found some machinery which looks like it was destroyed by some kind of energy projectiles."

"That's probably the self-destruct which I destroyed."

"Let's hope so." Sammie walked on and was brought up short by the cable. "The cable's out of slack. Is there any more?"

"No. Stand still."

Sammie heard the battloid's slow footsteps, punctuated by the intermittent sounds of the cannon, and the cable began to slacken. Seconds later, the battloid appeared out of the smoke and stood next to her. The cannon burned another mark into the floor.

Sammie headed off again. Minutes later, she again reached the end of the cable, and Miriya again followed the cable safely through the smoke to stand next to her, marking the path as she went. Sammie set off a third time, deeper into the engine room.

A minute later, Sammie said, "Found it."

Miriya followed the cable, marking the path, moving slowly so she didn't accidentally step on Sammie. The woman was short enough as it was. Did I actually just think that? Miriya wondered. Good grief, I'm so naughty. Come on, Miriya, focus.

She found Sammie standing in front of a large gray structure as tall as the battloid. It was obviously damaged, and its 30-degree tilt to the right didn't look too healthy, either. Miriya couldn't see how far back the structure extended; the smoke only allowed her to see the front of it. "Why do you say this is the source?" Miriya asked.

"I can sort of see it from down here. I think this is a tank or something. There's a huge hole in the left side, just above the floor. That's where the smoke is coming from." Sammie indicated the area she was talking about.

"Move far to the right, please," Miriya said. Sammie did so, and stood to the right of the battloid.

Miriya carefully lifted the battloid's left leg so that it pointed forward, and activated its jet the tiniest bit. It blew the smoke away enough for her to see, just for a moment. She shut the jet off, put the leg down, and keyed her comm link. "Lieutenant Hunter, I need to speak to Commander Hayes."

"Roger," Rick said. A few seconds later, Lisa said, "Status."

Miriya said, "As best as I can tell, some kind of machine with high-spinning rotors ruptured, and the rotors broke free and sliced through the engine room as projectiles. Several of those rotors punctured another structure and pushed it partway off its mooring; we think it's a fuel or chemical tank of some kind, and the chemicals inside have reacted in such a way to produce thick smoke. The engine room is full of it; it's impossible to see. We need to neutralize the chemical reaction and ventilate the room, and since I haven't figured out how to do either of those things yet, I don't know how long it will take."

"Understood. Keep me informed."

Another boom thundered throughout The Mouse's Roar, and the room lurched sideways. The ruptured tank began to tilt further.

"What was that?" Miriya asked.

"Another asteroid hit us!" Lisa exclaimed.

Miriya saw the tank tilt even further, gathering speed. She started to lunge forward and to the right to grab it, but suddenly realized she would step on Sammie if she did. The crucial fraction-of-a-second window of opportunity passed, and with horror, Miriya helplessly watched the tank topple over.

It ruptured at the base directly in front of Sammie. Hundreds of gallons of a mysterious green chemical burst forth and washed over her.

Sammie's vocal cords could only produce a whisper, but Miriya could still tell she was screaming.

Chapter Text

One of Miriya's gifts was the ability to shut her emotions down entirely and become ruthlessly logical when she needed to. Whether that was pure talent or a product of her Zentraedi genes was open to debate. Either way, Miriya rarely needed this special talent more than in the moment Ensign Sammie Porter was engulfed in a strange chemical which burned her skin.

Miriya had one chance to save Sammie's life, and it was the longest of long shots.

She scooped Sammie into the battloid's hands and ran for the exit as fast as she dared, following the marks on the floor. Another asteroid collision rocked The Mouse's Roar, threatening to knock her over. Only her superior reflexes and skill kept the battloid on its feet.

Once out of the engine room, she switched to Guardian and sped to the resizing room.

Only the battleship's infirmary computer could save Sammie now.

But the equipment in the battleship's infirmary wasn't designed for Micronians.

Miriya barged into the resizing room and laid Sammie on the floor of the first chamber. Sammie was convulsing badly, and her skin was red and blotchy all over.

Miriya had to get Sammie's clothes off first, and there was no way to do that from inside the cockpit. She would have to spend precious seconds getting out of, and then back into, the veritech, but it couldn't be helped.

Then Miriya's cold logical brain clicked with an observation, and she swore. Sammie couldn't undergo the resize process lying down. The chamber was built for people who were standing up! If Sammie resized while lying on the floor, her expanding body would meet the sides of the chamber and she would die a horrible death.

The only solution was for Miriya to join her in the chamber and hold her upright.

Miriya switched to Battloid so she could operate the chamber's controls. She initiated the resize process, then set it on a delay the rough equivalent of one minute. The only reason Miriya knew what to do at all was that she had watched the technician carefully when she had been Micronized herself. She hoped her memory was good enough.

The countdown started and the chamber door began to close. Miriya switched to Guardian, lowered the veritech's nose to the floor, scrambled out of the cockpit, hit the floor, ran, and dove through the chamber door just before it sealed shut.

She frantically ripped Sammie's clothing off. The ensign's pulse raced and her breath came in quick, shallow gasps. The red splotches were deepening in color, and spreading.

Then Miriya frantically removed her own clothing. The countdown had ended and she could already feel the resizing begin.

She got the last of her clothing off just in time. Already it was tiny compared to her.

She picked Sammie up beneath her armpits, then held her around her waist and chest, keeping her roughly vertical. Then there was nothing to do but wait the agonizing minutes until the resize was complete.

Sammie's breath convulsed. Blisters and open sores appeared all over her body.

The resize finished, and it hadn't killed Sammie. At least some humans were resizable, after all. First major obstacle overcome.

The chamber opened. Now giant-sized, Miriya picked up Sammie completely, carefully maneuvered the injured woman through the narrow chamber doorway, and ran like hell for the infirmary.

Another asteroid collision rattled the ship, throwing Lisa off her feet and straight into Kim. They both went down. Sparks erupted from the command deck console about twenty feet away.

"Commander, we can't stay here!" Rick said through the veritech's external speakers.

"The collisions will stop any moment, I'm sure," Lisa said, climbing back to her feet. "We just need to wait them out."

"I think there's more to it than that," Kim said, also getting to her feet. "Something's terribly wrong. Four asteroids just hit us in a matter of minutes. That can't be a coincidence, Commander!"

Lisa thought about this.

"She's right," Vanessa said. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"All right," Lisa said. "Lieutenants, take us back to Azonia's day cabin. We'll hide behind her desk while you investigate."

Rick and Max held out their battloids' hands. Vanessa stepped onto Max's hands; Lisa and Kim stepped onto Rick's. The pilots returned to Azonia's day cabin and gently set the ladies on the floor by the back of the desk.

Rick switched to Guardian, lowered the fighter's nose to the ground, and opened his cockpit. "You need to join them, Minmei. Max and I may be going into battle."

"Be careful, Rick," she said.

"I will."

But Minmei never got a chance to move.

"Watch out!" Max yelled. Lightning-fast, he fired his cannon at the doorway, but Prackett ducked and fired three rounds from her rifle at Rick's veritech before pulling back out of sight.

Two enormous bullets slammed into Skull One and knocked it off balance. Only its port wing stopped it from tipping over completely. Minmei was violently thrown against the seat in front of her, and Rick was thrown out of the cockpit. He hit the ground hard.

"Two fighters," Prackett said, speaking Zentraedi. Kantilly, standing behind her, nodded.

Max rushed for the entrance. Prackett, sensing the timing, tried to charge into the room. She and Max clashed in the doorway and began wrestling.

His head swimming, Rick looked up to see Lisa lying a few meters away. She was bleeding from a cut behind her right ear and moving feebly. The third bullet from Prackett's rifle had impacted the wall behind Lisa, and the shrapnel had gotten her.

"Lisa!" Rick croaked. He started crawling towards her, but Vanessa and Kim quickly dragged her behind the desk.

Groggily, Minmei looked down at Rick. Even in the midst of the crisis, she saw the look on Rick's face as he desperately reached for Lisa, heard the anguish in his voice. In that moment, she understood where Rick's heart lay.

Kantilly spent several precious seconds trying to enter the room, but Prackett and Max were blocking the doorway. So she shot a dozen rounds into the wall beside the door, then lowered her shoulder and charged, screaming. She burst into the room.

Fighting her dizziness, Minmei scrambled into the forward seat.

"Target their commander!" Prackett said through gritted teeth as she grappled with Max. "If you can't find her, target the sorceress! The one they call Minmei!"

Minmei couldn't speak Zentraedi, but when she heard her own name, she understood perfectly.

"No need to find me," Minmei said. "I'm right here, bitch." And she fired Skull One's cannon.

The shot took Kantilly clean through the chest. The Zentraedi fell against the wall and slowly slid to the floor.

Prackett let out a war cry, trying to wrestle Max's cannon away from him.

Someone politely tapped Prackett on the shoulder.

Baffled, Prackett risked a glance back.

Sammie's fist smashed into her nose.

Prackett screamed and went down. Max kicked her against the far wall.

A rifle shot came from behind Sammie, further down the corridor. It struck Prackett in the chest.

Prackett glared at Miriya in hatred and tried to stand. Miriya advanced, and fired again. Prackett fell and lay still.

Rick had watched it all, incredulous. He was just now climbing to his feet.

Kim crept to the edge of the desk to peek out. Behind her, Vanessa knelt by Lisa, who was still lying on the floor, moaning.

Kim blinked. A lot.

"Vanessa," she whispered, completely spooked. "Come here."

Vanessa peeked out also, and gasped.

Sammie looked down at them. She wore an oversized Zentraedi uniform. "It's all right," she said. "We don't think there are any more." Her voice was no longer hoarse. Miriya appeared beside her, also wearing a Zentraedi uniform (which fit).

Everyone was speechless. Max, Minmei, Rick, Vanessa, and Kim stared at Sammie, their mouths hanging open.

"I don't believe it," Vanessa whispered.

"I know, right?!" Sammie said, and flapped the oversized sleeves around. "It's not fair. Thousands of uniforms, and not a single one fit. Even when I'm big, I'm still small!"

Chapter Text

"But how is this possible?" Lisa breathed. She stared up at Sammie as Vanessa applied a healing salve to Lisa's wounds.

Rick and Max, in Battloid mode, stood guard in the corridor just outside Azonia's day cabin, but still listening to the conversation. Everyone else, including Minmei, had regrouped at the campsite.

"Humans are resizable, just as Sammie postulated," Miriya said. Her voice echoed eerily around the room, a product of giant-sized vocal cords. "But perhaps not all humans; it's possible that only some are resizable and Sammie is lucky to be one of those. Also, the resize might be unstable."

"Okay," Kim said carefully. "Next question: why?"

Miriya and Sammie told them what happened in the engine room.

"I apologize for not telling you about Sammie's wounds earlier, Commander," Miriya said. "But I was so pressed, both for speed and for precision, that I could not afford the time to talk."

"I understand," Lisa said. "Your quick thinking saved Sammie's life. Thank you so much for that. Is your veritech still in the resize room?"

"Yes, it is."

"How did you know the Zentraedi medical computer could save a human?" Kim asked.

"I didn't."

The lights and air circulation died. Darkness surrounded them for about two seconds, then everything came back on.

"Until the engine room is repaired, that will keep happening," Miriya said. "Probably with greater frequency as time goes on."

"Earlier, you both said you didn't think any more Zentraedi were on board," Vanessa said. "Why do you think that?"

"My people would never send two attackers while holding more in reserve," Miriya said. "Almost certainly, they were a couple of scouts who felt they could make an impression by retaking this ship by themselves."

"But there's no guarantee they were the only two?" Lisa asked.

"There's never a guarantee, Commander," Miriya said. "But my confidence is high that these two were acting alone. Which means we got lucky; had they returned with knowledge of our location, we would be surrounded by a Zentraedi fleet right now."

"When the scouts don't return, the Zentraedi will realize why," Kim said.

"They certainly will," Lisa agreed. "Which means our deadline just got even tighter."

The lights went off again, for five seconds this time, then came back on.

"And that makes our deadline tighter still," Kim said.

"And we're making no real headway in figuring out how to fold back to the SDF-1," Vanessa said sadly.

"Maybe the scout ship has the route back pre-programmed into it," Minmei said.

They all looked at her.

Then Lisa looked at Miriya, who shrugged and said, "It's worth a shot."

"All right," Lisa said. "Return yourself and Sammie to normal size. Even though you're okay being a giant, I'd still feel a lot better with you in your veritech."

"That will actually have to wait a while, Commander," Miriya said. "The infirmary computer stabilized Sammie temporarily, but it needs to give her a second treatment about eight hours after the first to make the cure permanent. And as long as Sammie is giant-sized, I'd like to remain so, also, in case I need to help her."

"Understood," Lisa said, and addressed Sammie. "How are you feeling?"

"Moderately okay. All the burns are gone, but I'm a little wobbly. The smoke got inside my body through my skin, and my muscles keep cramping. On the plus side, the medical computer detected my damaged vocal cords and healed them."

"All right," Lisa said. "While you are giant-sized, stick close to Miriya at all times. Tell her the moment you feel any change for the worse. And if you feel the need to rest, swallow your pride and do so immediately. The rest of us will make allowances for you; you're in uncharted territory, so I'm not taking any risks."

"Yes, ma'am."

"All of us will now go, as a group, to investigate the scouts' ship, and see if it can get us home," Lisa said. She hesitated, then added, "In fact, pack up everything we might need, including the bowls of water. If the scout ship can get us home, we will not be returning here. Lieutenant Hunter, would you be so kind as to collect Azonia's computer?"

"With pleasure!" Rick said.

Rick pulled Azonia's computer to pieces and, under Miriya's guidance, extracted a black flat rectangular metal box about three feet long by two feet wide. Miriya said the Zentraedi name for it roughly translated to data storage and operations unit.

Sammie wheeled in the trolley and Rick set the data storage unit on it. Moments later, the bowls of water, staircase objects, and cloth joined it.

Sammie then gently lifted her best friends, Kim and Vanessa, onto the trolley. They all felt the awkwardness of Sammie's unusual situation, so Vanessa dispelled it by saying, "You know I still outrank you."

"Whatever," Sammie said, and they all smiled.

Everyone headed for the landing bay, with Sammie pushing the trolley.

Max and Miriya walked beside each other, and traded bemused looks. Neither could think of anything to say.

They found the scout ship in the landing bay. Rick and Max stood guard while the others boarded it.

Miriya sighed as she lowered herself into the pilot's seat. "Ah. It's so nice to use my own hands to operate controls." Lisa, Kim, Vanessa, and Minmei stood on the console, and Sammie sat in the copilot's seat.

Miriya accessed the ship's flight commands and spent a few minutes scrolling through them slowly, studying them intently. Then she smiled.

"Our day just keeps getting better," she said. "I am pleased to report that as long we do not tamper with the fold controls at all, and merely execute its current stored command, this ship should take us home."

Her proclamation was greeted with a chorus of squeals, sighs, and, in Kim's case, a little dancing.

"Wonderful!" Lisa said. "We'll set up a new camp beside this ship. Miriya, find us another officers' coat to create a second latrine, a little distance away. As soon as you and Sammie resize, we're going home!"

Sammie grunted softly. She put one hand on the console and another on her stomach, and closed her eyes. She looked pale.

"Sammie?" Lisa asked.

Sammie shook her head a little and whispered, "Not feeling very well, Commander."

Lisa nodded to Miriya, who gently helped Sammie out of her seat. Sammie took her arm and they headed to the infirmary.

"We want to be with her, Commander," Kim said. Vanessa nodded.

Lisa looked at their set faces, and nodded. "Until Sammie is back to normal size, I want her to remain in that infirmary, and since I want us all to stay together, I guess that means the infirmary is our new campsite."

The ship's power flickered twice on their way to the infirmary.

Kim and Vanessa sat on the trolley and gazed at Sammie, lying on the infirmary table with her eyes closed.

"I'm off to fetch another coat to use as a latrine, Commander," Miriya said. "Permission for Max to accompany me?"

Lisa nodded, and the newlyweds left.

Minmei sat beside Kim, and Lisa sat beside Vanessa. Rick, in his battloid, stood guard in the infirmary's doorway.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Minmei said softly.

They were all silent for a moment.

"The first time we ever met Sammie, she almost hit me with a pair of headphones," Kim said. "Remember that?"

Vanessa smiled a little.

"We were with a group of people, just walking down the sidewalk," Kim continued. "We were headed to a party off campus, and suddenly the front door of a coed dorm opens and someone starts throwing things. It was Sammie breaking up with her boyfriend, and she was throwing his stuff onto the front lawn and screaming at him. I mean really screaming! Out comes this portable TV. Wham! It hits the ground and busts open. Then comes the record collection. Whoosh! Records all over the place. Then she flings these headphones out the door. They miss my head by an inch!

"She immediately stops arguing with her boyfriend, rushes up to me, and starts apologizing. Then she turns around and resumes arguing with her boyfriend. Then she turns back to me and apologizes. Then she turns around and argues with her boyfriend some more. She keeps doing this, back and forth, apologizing to me and breaking up with this guy at the same time. And her mouth is moving a mile a minute, spewing this word salad we can barely understand. I just died! It was the funniest damned thing I'd ever seen." Kim shook her head. "My only thought was, I have got to get to know this girl. So we did."

"And she's been a pain in the ass ever since," Vanessa said.

"Yeah, and now she's a giant pain in the ass," Kim said.

"I can hear you," Sammie whispered without opening her eyes.

"We know," they both said.

Minmei chuckled, then said, "You three are the coolest people I've ever met. Please tell me I can continue seeing you when we get back to the SDF-1."

Vanessa and Kim were both surprised. "Absolutely!" Kim said. "Do you like dancing at the disco?"

"Probably. I've never actually been."

"Really?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, I lived a pretty subdued life before the Zentraedi came. Then I became a star, and suddenly that became my life, so...I've never actually been out dancing."

"We have to change that," Vanessa said.

Minmei sighed dejectedly. "But how? Being a huge star, I get mobbed if I step out in public. It's so difficult to do anything normal."

"Well, you know," Kim said, "some people hit the disco all glammed up in their '70s best, and a few even wear wigs and really outlandish glasses or makeup to get into the spirit."

"Hmm," Minmei said. "I see where you're going with this."

"So, yeah, we'll fix you up with a look which doesn't look like you," Vanessa said. "And we can come up with a cool fake name and everything!"

"So exciting!" Minmei said.

"Yes," Sammie said weakly, opening her eyes a bit to look at them. "Dancing is the purpose of life, Minmei. Without dancing, we might as well be plants. Dancing is everything. And whatever obstacle gets in the way of dancing, we'll help you overcome it. Because life is only what we choose to make it."

"Amen," Vanessa said softly.

Sammie and Minmei stared at each other, and Minmei's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Sammie!" she exclaimed. "You're a genius!"

"I know," Sammie said, closing her eyes again. "Please tell the others. It's so frustrating."

Minmei pulled out her pencil and lyrics and began scribbling furiously. "Life is only what we choose to make it!" she said gleefully. "So...so...let's just take it. Let us be free! Oh, this is wonderful!"

"Glad I could help," Sammie said. "Send royalties to Ensign Sammie Porter."

"There won't be any royalties, I'm afraid. Long ago, I decided that all proceeds from this song will go to the relief effort."

"And there goes my shot at being rich," Sammie whispered. "Ah, well. Easy come, easy go."

Except for Rick, they all took turns napping over the next few hours. Even Minmei, as eager as she was to work on her song, dozed a little.

Each time the ship's power went out, it was only for a few seconds. But the blackouts were happening more frequently.

Miriya stopped in front of a doorway and looked in.

"Are the overcoats in here?" Max asked.

Miriya didn't answer. She gingerly stepped into the room. Max followed her.

It was an ordinary bedroom. It contained a single, uncomfortable-looking bunk bed, a sink, a desk, and a chair. No decorations. No personality. Miriya looked around with an odd expression that was partly blank, partly full of quiet distress.

"Why are we here?" Max asked.

"This was my room," Miriya said softly. She fingered the coarse blanket stretched over the bed. "I lived here for...hundreds of years."

"Hundreds?"

A tear drifted down her cheek. "Hundreds. Here in this empty place. Unchanging. Stagnant. Soulless."

Max didn't know what to say.

"How did I not see how horrid this is?" Miriya whispered. "How could I be so blind?" She turned to Max. "I'm sorry you're seeing this."

"I'm glad. I want to know you, Miriya. All of you. Including your past, and any pain you're still dealing with."

She gave a weak smile. "It's so strange being back here. And having you here with me, in this place." She looked around. "This is not a place meant for living. Merely existing."

Another moment passed, then she said, "Someone wise once told me that dancing is everything. That without dancing, we may as well be plants. The moment I heard that, something clicked inside me, like the entire universe tilted ninety degrees and became a completely different picture." She looked around the room. "But this place was never meant for dancing."

"Oh, I don't know. Someone wise once told me that life is only what we choose to make it." Max activated a recording, part of his personal collection which he stored on his veritech, and Minmei's voice filled the room.

Sometimes I dream with open eyes.
I dream of falling in love.

Max held out the battloid's hand. Weeping, Miriya took it, then wrapped her arms around his battloid – the fighter she had tried to destroy the first time she ever saw it. Shoulder to shoulder, they danced.

To be in love must be the sweetest feeling that a girl can feel.
To be in love, to live a dream, with somebody you care about like no one else.
A special man, a dearest man, who needs to share his life with you alone.
Who'll hold you close and feel things
that only love brings.
To know that he is all your own.

To be my love, my love must be much more than any other man.
To be my love, to share my dream, my hero, he must take me where no other can.
Where we will find a brand new world, a world of things we've never seen before,
where silver suns have golden moons,
each year has thirteen Junes.
That's what must be for me.

To be in love.

They held each other. Silence filled the room.

Miriya rested her forehead against the battloid for a moment. Then, with a smile, she tapped the cockpit. "Open up."

And she unzipped her Zentraedi uniform.

Intrigued, Max raised the seat out of the battloid and walked onto Miriya's palm.

Miriya thumbed her panties open long enough to drop him inside, then lay on the bed.

Sammie squirmed and shifted position. "I'm hungry," she said.

"What do we feed a giant Sammie?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know," Kim said. "But I really don't want to suffer the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman."

Minmei said, "You know, Kim, it's really weird, but sometimes I could swear you sound exactly like my little cousin, Jason."

"Oh, neat!" Kim said. "I can't wait to meet him."

Max and Miriya returned with an overcoat. Miriya laid it along the far wall.

"Mmm, you two took your time," Lisa said.

"Yes, well," Max stammered. "It's a big ship."

"Mmm hmm," said Lisa, Kim, Vanessa, Sammie, Minmei, and Rick at the same time.

"Hey, Miriya, Sammie's hungry," Kim said.

Miriya asked Sammie, "Would you like to try a Zentraedi nutrition bar?"

Sammie groaned. "I want a burger and fries."

"Well, an appetite at least means you're feeling better," Lisa said.

"How long until the next treatment?" Sammie asked.

Miriya checked a readout and did some math in her head. "About three hours." Then she helped Sammie drink some water.

Max put his battloid's hand on Azonia's data storage unit. "What are we actually going to do with this? Can we read Zentraedi computer systems?"

"We can but try," Lisa said. "Remember, the SDF-1 originally came from the Zentraedi, or at least from the Robotech Masters, so we already have experience decoding alien computer systems. And the defectors can make themselves useful by helping us translate anything we find."

Despite the increasingly frequent power outages, they passed the next three hours pleasantly, except for Sammie, whose hunger deepened. They chatted, and somewhere along the way, the lyrics to Minmei's new song became a group project. Together, they helped her finish it. Minmei loved the final version.

She titled the song "We Will Win," then sang it for them. Her voice echoed around the room.

Life is only what we choose to make it.
Let's just take it.
Let us be free.
We can find the glory we all dream of,
and with our love,
we can win.

Still,
we must fight or face defeat.
We must stand tall and not retreat.
With our strength, we'll find the might.
There's no fight we can't fight
together.
All together, we can win.

Blessed
with strong hearts that beat as one,
watch us soar!
And with love that conquers all, we'll win this battle!
This last battle!
We will win! We must win!
We will win! We can win! We can win!

As the battle goes on we feel stronger.
How much longer
must this go on?
Each and every day we dream of winning,
and beginning
a new life.

Still,
we must fight or face defeat.
We must stand tall and not retreat.
With our strength we'll find the might.
There's no fight we can't fight
together.
All together, we can win.

Blessed
with strong hearts that beat as one,
watch us soar!
And with love that conquers all, we'll win this battle!
This last battle!
We will win! We must win!
We will win! We must win! We will win!

We can win!

The others wept as she sang, and applauded when she finished.

Minmei blushed.

"I agree with your assessment, Minmei," Lisa said. "I do believe you have written your masterpiece!"

"We all wrote it," Minmei said. "Together. I couldn't have done it without you."

"And it was a pleasure to be a part of it!" Vanessa said.

The medical computer buzzed, telling them it was time to heal Sammie.

Everyone except Miriya and Sammie left the room and took a position further down the hall so they couldn't see inside the infirmary, then Sammie stood up, disrobed, and lay back down.

A row of nozzles descended from the ceiling, and Sammie screwed her eyes shut as they sprayed a fine mist all over her. Then two needles injected her with who-knew-what. The computer instructed her to lie still for five minutes, then pronounced her reasonably well but still slightly ill for reasons unknown.

"Why does it think I'm still sick? I feel fine."

Miriya checked some more readings, then shrugged. "I can only assume the difference between humans and Zentraedi is confusing the machine. Our normal body temperature is different by a few fractions of a degree."

Sammie put her Zentraedi uniform back on, then she and Miriya joined the others in the corridor.

"How do you feel?" Lisa asked.

"Peachy keen, Commander!" She even stood to attention and saluted for good measure. The oversized sleeve flopped against her forehead.

"Excellent!" Lisa said with a grin. "Let's get you back to normal."

They moved quickly. Now that Sammie was cured, they no longer had the luxury of taking things easy. Every second brought them closer to another possible Zentraedi attempt to retake the ship.

"What happens if there's a power outage while you're resizing?" Lisa asked.

"I have no idea," Miriya said.

Miriya and Sammie entered the resize room. The others again waited in the corridor, some distance away so they couldn't see inside.

Miriya and Sammie disrobed, and Sammie entered the first chamber. By her feet, still lying on the floor, were her and Miriya's RDF uniforms.

Sammie looked at the tiny clothing and a thought struck her. "I don't suppose you could actually stop the resize a little early so I'm maybe six inches taller?"

Miriya smiled. "Let's not tempt fate." She operated the controls and set the resize on a brief timer, just long enough to let her enter the second chamber.

About halfway through the resize, the power died. Sammie and Miriya waited in silence and darkness, hardly daring to breathe. Seconds later, the power returned, and the resize continued with no further interruption.

When it finished, Miriya ran to the first chamber, where Sammie was already putting her original clothing back on. "Are you all right?" Miriya asked.

"I think so. You?"

Miriya nodded.

"Are our eyes, nose, fingers, and toes all in the right place?" Sammie asked.

Miriya giggled, then held up fingers and waggled them around. "I think so!"

A 20-second power outage struck while they dressed. It lasted so long that they thought for a moment the power wouldn't come back on at all.

Then Miriya hopped into her veritech, changed to Battloid, picked up Sammie, and carried her back to the others.

The moment Sammie's feet touched the trolley, Kim and Vanessa wrapped her in a hug. For several moments, the Terrible Trio was silent in a world of their own.

"Did the power go out while you were resizing?" Lisa asked Miriya.

"Yes. But as far as we can tell, it merely paused the process harmlessly."

The Terrible Trio finally pulled apart, their eyes moist, and Vanessa handed Sammie an entire emergency ration.

As famished as she was, Sammie made sure to eat it slowly. Even as she ate, they were moving back to the landing bay.

They eagerly boarded the scout ship, taking the trolley with them since it was easier just to wheel it on board. Miriya squeezed her battloid into the pilot's seat. Neither Rick nor Max tried to sit in the copilot's seat. With two standing battloids and a trolley, the ship's cabin was cramped, but they fit.

Miriya flew the scout ship into space, then turned it so they could take one last look at the battleship.

"I'm going to miss The Mouse's Roar," Sammie said.

"I'm not," Kim said.

"You're right," Sammie agreed. "I'm not, either."

"She served her purpose, and did it well," Lisa said.

"I'd love to see the look on Azonia's face when she discovers what's waiting for her in her engine room," Miriya said.

"I'd love to see the look on her face when she discovers what's waiting for her in her quarters," Max said.

They all thought of the latrine, and laughed mightily.

"Ready, Commander?" Miriya asked.

"Hit it!" Lisa said.

Miriya instructed the ship to execute its stored fold operation. Space turned inside out, and they were suddenly surrounded by Zentraedi battleships.

The SDF-1 was nowhere in sight.

Chapter Text

Lisa's first instinct was fight-or-flight, but she remembered they were in a Zentraedi scout ship which had every reason to be there. They were okay for the moment.

The ship's computer connected to the fleet network. Miriya scrolled through the synchro updates.

After a few moments, she said, "We are back in Earth's solar system. The ships around us are all under the command of Azonia, who has been ordered to a reserve position by Breetai. The fleet doesn't really need a reserve position in this situation, so that's just Breetai's way of humiliating Azonia for letting us escape. Breetai's and Khyron's ships are forming the cordon around the SDF-1 two million kilometers away; that's why we can't see the SDF-1 at the moment."

Lisa relaxed a little. "Can we approach the SDF-1 without raising suspicion?"

"We might be able to approach Breetai's battalions. It all depends on how well we can bluff and how gullible the traffic operators will be today. But I will get as close to the SDF-1 as I can."

Miriya ripped the covering off the ship's comm link and pulled out several of its power connectors. Then she piloted the ship towards the SDF-1.

Half a minute later, the first message came in. It contained a lot of static due to the comm link's low power. "Scout ship 14, status," said a female voice in Zentraedi.

Miriya covered her mouth with her hand, deepened her voice just a bit, and replied.

"What did you tell them?" Lisa asked.

"I said we were struck by asteroids and the comm link was damaged. Because of the comm link's low power, they're hearing mostly static at their end, so they'll believe that. I also said our steering was damaged, but that we could cope and did not need assistance."

They flew on in silence, leaving Azonia's battalions behind.

Another message came in from a female. Again, Miriya replied in Zentraedi, then told the others what was going on. "They know this ship belongs to Azonia, so they want to know where we're going. I told them we had been ordered to report directly to Breetai."

"Azonia will know that's a lie, won't she?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, but it will take a while for this situation to filter its way up through the chain of command to reach her ears. By then, we should be beyond her reach."

They neared Breetai's battalions (Miriya absolutely refused even to approach Khyron's battalions). A third message came in. This time, it was from a male. Miriya responded.

"I told them the same thing, that we're to report to Breetai personally," Miriya said. "But this is obviously a Quadrano scout ship, which makes this very unusual. I'm not sure how long they're going to buy it."

They flew on. They could now see the distant speck which was the SDF-1.

Lisa's heart lurched. Home. It was agonizingly close!

Another message came in, and Miriya again responded in Zentraedi. As subtly as she could, she edged the ship's speed up a notch.

They were almost through the cordon when the nearest battleship launched a squadron of pods.

"Bluff's over," Miriya said, kicking the ship's speed to maximum. "The pods will have orders to capture us only, but I have no faith they can follow those orders. Hang on!"

The pods swooped down onto the scout ship, and Miriya dipped and swerved. Everyone on the trolley lay flat and held hands.

Energy bursts struck the ship. Sparks flew inside the cabin.

"We're not gonna make it," Miriya announced grimly. "Plan B."

The pods encircled them and fired repeatedly, trying to damage the engine without destroying the scout ship.

Which suddenly exploded.

And three veritech fighters shot out from within the exploding fireball, heading for the SDF-1.

By the time the pod pilots realized what had happened, the veritechs had a good seven-second start. They pursued. Even though the veritechs were faster, the pods were still well within range, and would be for quite a while.

Max, Miriya, and Rick dodged all enemy fire. Kim sat in the rear seat of Miriya's fighter, holding Azonia's data storage unit; Sammie and Vanessa occupied the rear seat of Max's fighter; and Lisa and Minmei shared the rear seat of Skull One.

"SDF-1!" Rick called. "This is Lieutenants Hunter, Sterling, and Sterling, along with Commander Hayes, the bridge crew, and Minmei! We are escaping Zentraedi captivity and require assistance!"

"Roger," Alice said, and it was one of the sweetest sounds Rick had ever heard. Then Alice said, "Captain Gloval says to duck."

The three pilots shoved their joysticks forward, plunging their veritechs down at almost 90-degree angles.

And the energy stream from the SDF-1's main gun blasted right through the space they'd been in moments earlier, and through the attacking pods.

"Yeah!" Max cried.

"Way to go, SDF-1!" Kim shouted.

"Woohoo!" Rick screamed.

The Zentraedi attempted no more pursuit.

The veritechs headed home.

Captain Gloval didn't even wait for Dr. Fredericks and his staff to finish checking them over. He went straight to the hospital to see them immediately.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you all," Captain Gloval said. His face was tight; the proud captain was holding back tears.

"Actually, we do," Lisa said. "Because it's equally good to see you."

Captain Gloval stopped short of hugging his first officer, but they were all treated to the rare display of him taking hold of her hands. His own hands were shaking. He looked her in the eye. Lisa started to weep.

"I am so happy you are back," was all he could say.

Lisa nodded.

Captain Gloval let go of her hands and straightened up. "I am so happy you are all back." He eyed the Terrible Trio as well, and failed to conceal the look of fatherly love in his eyes. They were grinning at him, and weeping, also.

Oh, for the love of everything, hug them, you old fuddy-duddy! Rick thought. But he knew Captain Gloval never would.

"Lieutenants," Captain Gloval said, addressing Rick, Max, and Miriya. "Exceptional does not even begin to describe what you have done. All of you shall receive our highest commendations. Our highest."

"We're just glad to be back, sir," Rick said.

"And I am so happy to see that you are safe and sound, as well, Miss Minmei," Captain Gloval said.

"The army brought me home," Minmei said. "You should be so proud of them!"

"I am, Miss Minmei. I am. Commander Hayes, I expect a report from you within 48 hours."

"Yes, sir. But I warn you, you'll need to brace yourself."

"After the miracle of seeing you all alive and well again, I doubt there will be anything in your report which could possibly shock me."

"Wanna bet?" Sammie asked.

With a smile on his face, Vance Hasselwood entered the studio building. His little songbird was back, rescued from captivity! His golden goose. His moneymaker. His gravy train.

He strode into Minmei's office and found it empty. He sighed.

He saw the envelope. It had been placed carefully in the center of the otherwise-clear desk. He moved closer, and saw his name on it.

He opened it and pulled out two sheets of paper. The first was a letter; the second contained lyrics.

Vance,

Here are the lyrics to the new song. We'll begin recording tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, I'm going out with friends. And no, I'm not telling you where, you old fussbucket.

I realize this means the new album won't be finished in time. But that's life. And life isn't about deadlines, it's about dancing. The fans will understand. I know they will, because they also know life is about dancing. And if they don't know this, they soon will, because my songs will tell them.

See you tomorrow,

Minmei

Vance sat at Minmei's desk, put his chin in his hands, and harrumphed.

Then, despite himself, he smiled. Just a little bit.

In the mirror, Minmei admired the silver wig which hung straight down on all sides and which gave her the most outrageous bangs. "What's my name again?"

"Rebecca Forstadt," Sammie said. "If anyone asks, you do animation voice acting. It's close enough to your real job that you'll be able to speak the lingo, but far enough away that no one will suspect who you really are."

Vanessa handed Minmei a huge tacky pair of pink glasses in the shape of stars.

"And people really wear this stuff to the disco?" Minmei asked.

"Oh, this is tame compared to some of the things you'll see there," Vanessa said.

"Awesome!" Minmei said, and slid the glasses on. "Are we all ready?"

"We're ready!" Kim squealed.

"Let's dance!" Sammie roared.