"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.