posted 11-08-2002 07:01 PM            

Ensign Kohji Ozaki frowned as he banked his VF-1J Veritech fighter low across the rings of Saturn, yanking back on the control yoke he picked out a Zentradi battle pod streaking in against one of the other Veritechs. Kohji smiled grimly as he heard the faint hum of his targeting system and the brackets around the battle pod turned from green to red. The hokkiado/Doberman mix depressed the firing trigger and felt the thrum of the multi-barrel chain-gun mounted underneath his fighter roaring to life in the vacuum of space. The iridium-tipped tungsten rounds rocketing towards the target at ultra-sonic speeds ripped into the pod. The left leg of the ostrich-like vehicle spiraling off before it exploded in a brief fireball, expending the atmosphere of the pilot’s compartment then snuffing out in the airlessness of space.

“Thanks Skull Twelve,” the pilot of the other Veritech called out as Kohji bank away and began searching for more targets. He found one, but not where he wanted to see one. A battle pod had slipped in behind him and was already firing its energy cannon at him. Kohji thought quickly, trying not to panic he reached out and yanked down a lever in his cockpit marked ‘B’ all the while actually thinking an image in his mind of his fighter transforming into a giant mechanized knight, one of the three modes of the Veritech fighter. Kohji was slammed against his restraints as his Veritech’s feet kicked out ward, slowing him down as the machine completed its transformation, the chain-gun that was once slung under the fighter, now grasped in the battleroid’s hands as a rifle. Kohji, through the mental connection shared with his machine because of the unique Protoculture power system thought the Veritech through a pirouette, spinning the fighter and bringing the chain-gun to bare on the battle pod. Kohji jammed his finger on the trigger and once more the Veritech shuddered, and once more, a battle pod disappeared in an all to brief fireball.

“All squadrons!” the soft, very feminine, but calming voice of Commander Ami Shepherdson called out over the communication’s nets. “Pull clear of the battlecruiser! I repeat! Pull clear of the battle cruiser!!”

Kohji frowned as he yanked down on the ‘F’ lever, thinking the Veritech back into fighter mode and banking away from the ugly green craft that he had been trying to line up a shot on before he had been distracted by helping the other pilot. What in blazes was that girl doing Kohji thought as he snapped his neck behind him to see the Super Dimensional Fortress One, the giant spacecraft that he, several hundred military personnel, and an entire small city of civilians called home as it barreled in towards the battlecruiser it was facing off against. At that moment the SDF-1 was in its humanoid form, the two arms, once ocean-going carrier craft that had been grafted to the SDF-1 after it had accidentally folded itself, and the island of Macross along with the two carriers and the people of the city to Pluto-space some months before after the Zentradi’s first sneak attack at the SDF-1’s commissioning ceremony. Then, the SDF-1 pulled back the massive right arm, the ship known as Deadalus, and then thrust it forward.

“What in the Blazes!!” Kohji called out in his Japanese accented voice. “What are they planning to do! Wreck the entire Deadalus?”

“Wait for it Kohji,” the familiar voice of Hunter Retriever, commander of Skull Squadron called out and Kohji focused on the arm. There, at its tip was one of the four point defense energy shields. It was then that Kohji understood as the Deadalus plunged into the battlecruiser, it was a new form of attack. It simply stayed that way for several moments till the battlecruiser began to bulge, seemingly ripping apart at its seams, then, disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. As the light faded, all that was left was floating debris, and the SDF-1.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

“All Squadrons,” Ami’s voice called out calmly, though a bit of a lilting shake to it. “Return to base, I repeat, return to base.”

“You hear ’er boyos,” Hunter called out. “Back to the Barn.”

***

Kohji sighed as he flopped down into a chair in his squadron commander, and adoptive big brother Commander Hunter Retriever office. He still wore his flight suit and carried his ‘thinking cap’ flight helmet that read the pilot’s brain waves to help with the control of the fighter. “What was Ami thinking today with that crazy stunt?”

Hunter tried not to laugh as he set his own flight helmet down on the stand behind his desk then sat in his chair. The golden retriever mix thought his little brother a bit brash at times, but, the same could be said of him as well, probably one of the key ingredients of a good fighter jock was his next thought. “Actually, I thought it was pretty good idea, after all, you yourself have been known for hair-brained stunts little brother, like piloting your Veritech through a Zentradi battlecruiser a couple missions ago?”

Kohji winced at that. “You know that was a complete accident on my part.”

“Still, it was gutsy, even if it was an accident, that’s why the higher-ups decided you deserve this.”

With that, Hunter tossed a small box to Kohji, who opened it, displaying the silver twin bars of a full Lieutenant. Kohji’s eyes went wide as he looked at the insignia. “are you serious?”

Hunter nodded, then tossed a computer printout to Kohji. “Yup, they want to give you command of an independent three-ship squad, here are your pilots.”

Kohji scanned it for a few seconds; attached to each sheet of paper was a photo. Kohji frowned at the first one. “This mutt wears glasses?”

Hunter smiled and shrugged. “Yeah Ensign Chaser McLoude, surprised the heck out of me, but, then, I saw the kid’s psychomotor skills and reflexes, they are completely off the charts, five fold past anyone else, so, they over-looked that little flaw in his abilities, he’s a good guy too.”

Kohji harrumphed and flipped over to the next one, Ben Dixon, a husky mix, looked more promising that Chaser, even with the fact of his outstanding reflexes, still didn’t lend much to Kohji’s confidents shearly on the fact that he wore glasses.

“When do I meet them?” Kohji asked.

“Right now,” Hunter returned and the door to his office swung open again and admitted the two pilots. Chaser, Kohji found, not only wore glasses, but was also a rather tall and broad fellow. While Kohji himself was not exactly short, he was still a bit shorter than this Chaser fellow, and not nearly as broad. At first thought Kohji wondered how he fit into the cockpit of a VF fighter. Ben was shorter, but no less broad, he seemed to have a permanent smile brazened on his muzzle.

“Chaser, Ben,” Hunter said with a smile. “This is your new boss.”

Ben immediately smiled even wider as he saluted. “At your service sir,” he said almost jokingly.

Chaser was quiet, and in all respects, did not seem to have that over zealous air that Ben, Kohji, or Hunter had. It was more a quiet confidence, not brashness, not strut, just a knowing that he could do what had to be done. “Sir,” his deep, powerful voice said quietly.

Kohji returned the salute and tried not to smile, he was beginning, in spite of himself, to like the two pilots, for different reasons but still all the same liking them.

“Tell you what,” Hunter said with one of his classic smiles. “Why don’t you three hit the town, get to know each other, you are all on leave till I call ya’ up again. That clear?”

“Yes sir,” All three said at once and snapped a salute. As the three turned to leave, Ben and Kohji immediately struck up a conversation, and while Chaser remained mostly quiet, he did interject here and there. Well, he isn’t as inside a shell as we thought Hunter thought to himself as he saw Ben and Kohji crack a joke, and Chaser smile and laugh himself. Those three would work well together.

Just as the three young laughing Veritech pilots were exiting the office, a slender collie with long hair and blue eyes in a green and gold uniform walked in, smiling and waiting for the door to slide close before speaking. “So, ‘e found out eh?”

Hunter nodded as he motioned for the gorgeous collie to move toward him. Without standing, he collected her in his arms and pulled her down into his lap. “Careful Commander, this is fraternizing,” she said slyly.

“How is it fraternizing when I am doing it with my own bride?”

“Oh, I donno, so, in that case ‘un, I’ll allow it.”

Hunter sighed in playful frustration at his new wife of just over three months. Theirs had been the first marriage in space, and even though it had not obtained celebrity status, it was still something people talked about from time to time. “How are things doing?” he asked as he nuzzled inter her long hair and neck fur.”

“Hmmmmmmm,” Colleen cooed before answering, wrapping her arms around her husband. “A might good, we don’t show any Zentradi ships on the scope, though Captain Rikes is thinking they’re just waitin’.”

“I am not surprised,” Hunter returned. “Old War Horse is never happy it seems.”

Colleen slapped hunter playfully. “Now you really don’ mean that about the Captain.”

“Naw,” Hunter confessed. “If it wasn’t for him and you girls on the bridge, we’d be in, as an old friend of mine says ‘deep doggie donuts.’”

Colleen laughed deeply, her cockney accent even permeating her laugh. “Well, I must be admitin’ Ami’s been a big measure of success to us as well, she’s a smart one that girl. Even at nineteen.”

“How is she doing? Personal wise?”

Colleen shrugged. “I think she is still a might ticked at Kohji for that ‘Sour Puss’ comment.”

Hunter laughed. “And I suppose I didn’t help much either.”

“No, ya didn’t,” Colleen replied truthfully. “Also, I think that encounter at the women’s shop while ‘e was waitin’ for that other girl fueled the confrontation as well.”

Hunter almost laughed at that, Ami had accused Kohji of looking up her skirt, and Kohji insisted that he was picking up dropped groceries. Hunter was inclined to believe his Little Brother honestly. Kohji was many things, cocky, moody, a bit of a show-off but never a peeping tom.

“Honestly though, I think lil Ami ‘as developed a likin’ for Kohji.”

Hunter stopped laughing at that. “You can’t be serious.”

Colleen nodded with one of her knowing ‘female’ smiles. “I am, she doesn’t want to admit it, in fact. She’s quite content with letin’ the annoyance build in ‘er at the boy. But, deep inside, there’s a glimmer, I can see it.”

Hunter frowned at that, Little Brother and Ami, who boy, he thought, THAT was a pairing he would never have thought of. But, if his wife saw something…

He shook that out of his mind for the moment, after all, why did he need to be in his adoptive little brother’s love life if he had a gorgeous one of his own sitting in his lap. “Come on, I am taking you to that dinner I promised you before the last attack….”

***

Ami Shepherdson sighed as she flipped several control on her console. At the moment, she as examining the radar readouts for the current watch hour along with her normal on shift duties. However, if there had been anyone else on the bridge, they would have been able to tell that her mind was not, for once, actually on her duty. And one dog did notice that.

Ami almost jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned, her black hair flying about her as she spun around to face Captain Allen Rikes. “Oh, Captain, I, I’m sorry, you startled me.”

Rikes gave one of his warm, fatherly smiles. “So it seems. However, young lady, you have been on duty for the last fifteen hours.”

Ami winced, had it really been that long? She checked chronometer above her station, well, the clocks hardly ever lied she thought and sighed. “Sorry sir.”

“It is ok Ami, and besides, it seems that you were not concentrating on your work as it was anyway.”

“Sir.”

“I think this has to do with a certain cocky fighter pilot doesn’t it?”

Ami frowned, although she was only nineteen, she was still second in command of the SDF-1, but at times she was glad Captain Rikes took on a fatherly air with her, much as Colleen took on the role of a big sister. “Sir, if you are talking about Kohji Ozaki, I will have you know I find him the most annoying reprobate we have aboard this ship.”

“That is saying something considering there are seventy-thousand souls aboard.”

Ami blushed under her brown cheek fir. “Well, he already has that glamour of a school girl, ‘Miss Macross’ Kieko.”

“And you think that all he cares about is looks when he can have looks, brains, and someone who is not so fickle as that girl?”

“Sir?”

“I believe that this Miss Kieko is simply a phase, after all, he did spend nearly two weeks trapped with her inside the bowels of this ship, once he realizes that women don’t have to be fickle to be desirable, I think he will come around to you.”

“I am not so sure sir.”

“Why is that.”

Ami was about to make the comment that she thought herself in no competition with Kieko’s beauty, but she still wasn’t quite ready to admit her attraction to someone she thought to be the most annoying person aboard. “Besides, it wouldn’t be good for discipline…”

Rikes sighed. “Ami, you are a good officer, too good at times for your own personal good. Take some time of, go into Macross City, have some fun, forget about Kohji for a bit.”

Ami sighed, “All right sir,” she returned as she walked off the bridge, ducking low to avoid banging even her head against the hatch.

“And for goodness sakes, get out of uniform!” Rikes called after her as the bridge hatch slid shut with a hiss, his tone both ordering and pleading at the same time it seemed. However, Ami let that go as she walked off towards the barracks where her quarters were, she did need some time, but she had a sneaking suspicion the universe wasn’t done with her and her personal pain in the butt/confusion, Kohji Ozaki.

***

Kohji smiled as he lead his two charges down the streets of Macross City, though granted, it wasn’t quite the same as it use to when he had haunted these streets, mainly because of the events surrounding the ‘Miss Macross’ pageant, and the girl that had won it, Kieko Korozchi.

Hunter at one time thought he and the gorgeous shiba-inu girl would be together for a long time. Especially after they had been trapped for nearly two weeks inside the bowels of the SDF-1 after the accidental fold to Pluto-space. However, while Kohji had enlisted and joined the Veritech squadrons, Kieko had continued to drift farther from him. At moments, she seemed like she was about ready to fall into his arms and come back to him. However, those moments seemed to have disappeared almost completely, especially with Kieko’s winning of the Miss Macross. She was now the entire ship’s domain, she was a celebrity, and because of that, he could never see her, unless one counted the diminishing video-phone calls and the billboards that had begun to spring up about the transplanted city with her growing singing career.

Chaser, while the quiet one of the two other pilots, seemed the most empathetic, walked up beside him. “Something wrong Lieutenant?” he asked softly as he saw his eyes trace to the billboard of Kieko, and his mood, and muzzle suddenly soured. Chaser actually had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but, instead, wanted his boss to tell him about it if he felt like it, no sense in pushing after all.

Kohji sighed, but shook his head. “Ever have a girl Chaser?”

“I’m sorry to say no Lieutenant,” Chaser said with what seemed like a regretful look. “One hasn’t come along and grabbed me by the collar and drug me off to her house yet.”

The comment, while true in most sense, was more meant to break a smile onto Kohji’s face, and it did. Truth be told, Chaser never really thought much of love, oh, he had thought of dating many times, but in the end, his conscious had told him not to, knowing that it wouldn’t be fair to a girl to get into a relationship with someone he really didn’t want to be with for the long haul.

Kohji however, didn’t know this was on the other, quieter pilots mind, he simply chuckled at the statement, and then turned to Ben. “How about you?”

“Me? Ben asked, pointing to himself, smiling mischievously. “Nothing to report here Lieutenant. “I’m a ladies man sure, got girls roundin’ the corner,” again, it was a not wholly false remark, but still one meant to cheer up Kohji, and it would have, if fate hadn’t dictated that Kieko Korozchi round the street corner at that moment.

“High Kohji!!” She said in the eternally peppy voice that she seemed to always have, walking up with several followers, mostly girlfriends of some sort or the other.

“Hey Kieko,” Kohji said with a week smile. It tipped both Ben and Chaser off right away, but to the bubbly Kieko, it meant only one more smile from Kohji, and that was all that matter.

“Oh I am so glad I found you!” she said, reaching in her bag. “There is a celebration tomorrow night at the White dragon, I wanted to be able to deliver your invitation by hand Kohji,” she said with a smile as the little lavender envelope with a red heart seal sticker on it appeared in her hand and was slipped into his. “Unfortunately, I need to go to my singing lessons now, I am sorry we haven’t spent much time together recently Rick, with the singing career and all my duties as Miss Macross and everything.

To the two pilots, the voice that came out didn’t seem to sincere, but in Kieko’s own way it was, Kohji tried to smile, and took her hand for a second. “Its okay Kieko, I know you have a lot of responsibilities,” it was weak and he knew it, in the back of his mind he was really screaming: I don’t care about Miss Macross, I just want you Kieko, the way you use to be! However, even though it was plain that thoughts along those lines were clear on his face to everyone, Kieko, never one to be brought down even by Kohji’s sometimes irritable moods, simply giggled, kissed him on the side of his muzzle and waved her goodbye.

“Hmm, I think I get it now!” Ben called out before Chaser could silence him with a quick jab to the ribs with his own elbow. “Ow!!”

“Lieutenant, I know I am not the best of sources but if you want…”

Kohji cut Chaser off with what he hoped would be a nonchalant wave of his hand. “Its ok Chaser, we were heading for something to eat why don’t…”

It was then that Kohji himself was cut off by a female voice, “Lieutenant Ozaki.”

It was curt, matter of fact and seemingly cold on the surface, yet, the voice itself had soft, sweet, and soothing undertones to it, at least in Kohji’s mind. Kohji looked and blinked even as he stiffened to attention and saluted. It was Ami Shepherdson as he had guessed, but instead of her white and emerald trimmed uniform, she wore a simple skirt and sweater blouse that made her very attractive, even in competition with Kieko…

Kohji shook that thought out of his head as quickly as it had appeared there; this was Ami after all, his personal annoyance. “Commander? What are you doing here?”

Ami sighed, trying to keep a reign on her emotions. “I am taking some leave time Lieutenant, is there something wrong with that?”

Ami cursed herself for the way it had come out. She had wanted straight, and matter to the fact. Instead, she sounded argumentative and confrontational to Kohji, who she could tell was readying a response to what she had said when all four of their beepers went off, signaling they were being recalled to duty.

Ami sighed and looked up, but Kohji and his two charges were already receding, having spun to and started jogging for the nearest military transport station as fast as they could. Ami simply sighed. “Kohji Ozaki,” she said in exasperation, “you will either be the death, or the life of me.”

***

“All Veritech Squadrons! Ready Alert! I repeat! Ready Alert!” the deep voice of the ‘Flight Boss’ called out as Kohji, Ben and Chaser all suited up and strapped into their fighters. It had become practice to allow pilots to personalize their fighters, as it was seen that a pilot had a short time to live in this world, he or she should be able to identify with his machine. Kohji had chosen a extension of Hunter’s Skull One, white fighter with black tails sporting white skull and cross-bones, the symbol of the ‘Jolly Rogers’ squadron that Skull Squadron had grown from. Ben chose a mottling of brown and white in a camouflaged pattern, a popular color scheme it seemed, Chaser’s fighter was a white base color with blue and red trimmings at the leading edges, tailerons, radom and the control surfaces. It was a simple design, and seemed to suit the young pilot’s personality.

Just then, Ami’s soft voice came over the combat net. “You are rear guard tonight Vermilion One,” she said, her expression soft, even though Kohji smiled rather un militarily.

“Thanks Ami, don’t want to put these two in the thick of it just quite yet,” Kohji returned as he saw Hunter’s Skull One race down the deck of the Prometheus, the left arm ship that had once been an ocean going super-carrier and was now used as one of the main avenues to launch ship from SDF-1, especially in the configuration that required the firing of the main gun.

Ami sigh, then looked up at Kohji. “Don’t get them killed on their first mission Ozaki.”

Kohji felt the thump of his fighter’s catipult gear connecting with the deck, while not needed in space, it was the quickest way to get off the deck. “Don’t worry Ami, I won’t.”

With that, Kohji was hurled forward off the deck and into the void of space. “Vermilion One! Airborne!!!” he called out confirming his launch, the strictly speaking, there was no ‘air’ to be had or aloft in, but the old atmospheric slag and terminology still translated in the void of space.

“Vermilion Two! Airborne!!” that was Ben, all cockiness and adrenaline.

“Vermilion Three, airborne,” Chaser called out, his voice just as soft as it had been on the ground.

“All right boys,” Kohji called out, amazed at how much like Hunter he sounded, form-up for patrol, we have rear guard sector duty.

“Roger,” two other voices called out, but, as the spherical explosions of fighting in the void of bloomed on the forward section of the defense quadrant, all three pilots were getting a little twitchy.

“Common boss, lets get into the fighting!” Ben had called out.

Kohji was in the same mind to join him, but, he remembered what Ami had said, and, what Hunter had always told him: When you are the boss, you have to think of not just your own neck, but those of your pilots, and the people aboard the SF-1. “Negative Ben, stay close, you’ll get your chance, but, we have a job.”

Ben grumbled an affirmative, but it was obvious he didn’t like it. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t have to wait long for his shot at the enemy.

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(Krystie) Shawn, I think I am pregnant....