Somewhere, somehow, Micronians had evidently given the Zentraedi good reason to shun them. But why?
"I wonder…" he said aloud, only partly in reply to Breetai's question.
"Enemy ships disintegrated!" Vanessa cried. The bridge was in a joyous uproar.
What those people at NASA used to call a "whoopee," Gloval reflected, recovering his hat from where it lay on the deck.
He cleared his throat, and the «whoopee» was over. "Get me a full damage report on all sections immediately," he said. As after-action reports started coming in, the thought of the losses the people in the Macross hold had suffered seriously dampened the festive mood.
In the shattered ruins of Macross, people were moving around again. Ambulances and stretchers and rescue teams swarmed through the aftermath of the latest disaster.
A voice on the PA was saying, "We have suffered grave losses both in the military combat squadrons and within SDF-1. However, we fired our main gun and completely destroyed the enemy attack force that was attempting to obliterate us. We thank and salute the residents of Macross City for their gallantry and courage."
There was more, about where to bring casualties and how the clean-up would proceed. And the rebuilding, of course. Rick Hunter, looking down from the tower, knew that rebuilding had become a part of the people of Macross. Whatever didn't kill them made them stronger and more determined to overcome any adversity.
Minmei stood beside him. Her brush with death had left her in a strange state-flushed with life and yet remote somehow. Rick knew the feeling, knew that all he could do was wait for her to come out of it before they started the long descent to Macross.
"Well, Rick," she said softly. "You said once that you wouldn't mind if the whole town were wiped out of existence, remember? How d'you like it?"
He stared down at the ocean of human suffering before him. "I didn't actually want anything to happen! I never wanted this."
She tried to identify city blocks from the fallen remains of buildings. "I wonder if the White Dragon is still there."
He turned to her. "Minmei, I'm gonna do it." He drew a deep breath. "I'm gonna join the defense forces."
"What?"
"You're right. It's no good, my moping around, especially when we're in the middle of a thing like this. I don't know if my father would understand; I think he would, though. I'm gonna enlist."
They turned to take a last look at the shattered city before going down to be of what help they could. Minmei took Rick's hand.
Roy had Skull Team back in some order, and the other surviving VT teams were forming up too. Instruments indicated that the aliens were withdrawing. Roy didn't blame them a bit, after that shot from the main gun.
Human losses had been considerable, though, and that was from an attack that could have involved no more than a tiny fraction of a percentage of the enemy forces. It was a sobering thought, and he tried not to think too hard about what the next set-to would be like.
No time to sound doubtful now, though. "Awright, boys," he drawled over the tac net, "let's head for home."
Yessir, mosey along. But as the other Veritechs formed up on his ship and their drives lit the eternal night on the solar system's edge-as they returned triumphantly to a ship that was now an armored techno-knight dominating its part of space-Roy couldn't help wondering how many more miracles were left in the magic hat.
Luck doesn't hold out forever; it never does. There were too many gaps now in the elite ranks of the Veritechs. Too many; filling them must be top priority, starting today. The very best of the best had to be in those seats.
Roy knew who it was that must be persuaded to join the Robotech warriors. Even if I have to ram his head against a wall!
The surviving VTs sped home; the Zentraedi paused for cold calculation. Decisions were made, and all eyes looked to the overwhelming distance SDF-1 would have to cross in its journey back to Earth.
Unknowns… the situation was filled with unknowns. And the only good thing about unknowns was that they allowed marginal room for hope.
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Genesis r-1 Page 20
