Genesis

Rick's eyebrows went up. 'Well, now, that was pretty dumb.'

'Sorry.' But as he started off again, Rick put his foot right in a puddle of oil and nearly landed flat on his face, flailing and slipping.

'Um, what was that again?' Minmei asked sweetly. Rick grunted and strode off again.

But they came at last to a big compartment filled with scrap, discarded machine parts. 'I think it's a dead end,' Rick judged.

'You mean,' Minmei said with a tremor in her voice, 'we can't get back?'

'You can't go searching for your friend now, Roy!' Claudia shouted at the screen.

'But I know Rick's out there somewhere,' the Skull Leader insisted. 'I can't just abandon him.'

As much as Roy meant to her, Claudia couldn't help wishing she could reach through the screen into his cockpit and throttle him. 'Listen, you can't just leave your post any time you feel like it! What if-'

Gloval was clearing his throat meaningfully. 'Lieutenant Grant, let me talk to him.'

She bit her lower lip but answered, 'I'll patch you through on channel eight, sir.'

Gloval took up his handset. 'Commander Fokker, your request is denied. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, but we have over seventy thousand civilian survivors aboard this ship, and we'll need every hand working full-time to ensure their safety.'

Roy's eyes narrowed. 'Aye-aye, Captain. I guess friendship's a little more important to some of us than it is to others. Sorry to bother you, sir.'

Roy signed off, and Gloval slammed down the handset. 'Insolent pup!'

'Hothead,' Claudia said under her breath, while Lisa tried to get her mind back on what she was doing, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. She hoped she never heard Rick Hunter's name again in her life.

'Where are we? What is this place?' Minmei wanted to know.

'I dunno; it's huge,' Rick exclaimed. Not that she couldn't see that for herself; the compartment was the size of a hangar, with piles of crates and equipment. But the astonishing thing about it was the cyclopean hatch at the far end.

'Why don't we climb up and get a closer look at it?' Minmei proposed, heading for a nearby hill of boxes. As he helped her make the ascent, she bubbled, 'Maybe there's a doorway at the top that's open and leads to a hallway that leads to the outside! Why, I could be home in time for dinner!'

But while she rushed off in one direction, he spotted markings in another. 'Hey, that thing is a giant air lock! Built to scale for those giant aliens!' He suddenly felt mouse-size and very vulnerable out there in the open. 'I hope they don't come back… Minmei? Minmei! Where are you?'

He dashed off to find her at a viewport, staring out as if hypnotized, into space. The debris and wreckage were much thicker, drifting past the ship.

'Look at that,' she said sadly. 'What do you think happened?'

'I don't know where all that stuff came from. It looks like a whole city blew up.'

Minmei seemed about to burst into tears. 'Could… could all that be from home? From Macross?'

The bridge crew was taking its first break in what seemed like years, sipping coffee, while Gloval was off on a personal inspection of the ship's situation.

Lisa was shaking her head. 'If the aliens attack us again, we won't have a chance.'

Vanessa said, 'We should have standard communications working very shortly! Maybe Earth can tell us what's going on.'

Lisa was skeptical. 'If we use conventional transmissions, we'll be taking a big chance. The aliens might get a fix on us; we could give away our location.'

'Commander Hayes,' Sammie piped up from her duty station, 'resettlement team five leader wishes to speak to you. He says it's urgent.'

Lisa put aside the coffee, knowing she wouldn't be finishing it any time soon.

'Well, this one doesn't go anywhere either.' Rick frowned, shining his light on the blank bulkhead before him. 'How does your leg feel? Any better?'

Minmei rubbed her ankle. 'My leg's a lot better; I just twisted it, I guess. But I'm getting kind of thirsty.'

Rick considered that. 'I've got some emergency rations in my plane, but I haven't got any water.'

But suddenly inspiration struck. 'There's water all around us! Just wait right here!'

He sprinted away while Minmei murmured. 'I wonder what in the world he's talking about?'

He was back in moments with a length of steel bar he'd spotted. 'Ta-dum! I believe madam requested some water? Refreshments coming right up!'

He wedged it into the junction of two pipes and began pulling at it to break them apart. 'Careful! Don't hurt yourself!' Minmei warned.

'Harder… than I thought,' he said through gritted teeth.

Minmei kicked off her shoes. 'Let me help you!' Together they threw all their strength into the effort, the pipes creaking. It took everything they had, but at length there was a snapping of metal and the gushing of water.

Luckily, it was tepid rather than superheated. Rick and Minmei fell backward to the deck as it fountained high to fall back on them like a downpour. 'We got it! It's a geyser!' Rick shouted jubilantly. Minmei laughed, and he joined in.

After a few moments of it she got up, sopping wet, and went to catch the streaming water in her hands. 'Wow, this is wonderful! Well, I think I'll take a shower.'

'Huh?' was all Rick could think of to say.

'Well, I might as well take advantage of this while it lasts.' She began unfastening the back of her dress, then stopped to glance at Rick, whose mouth was a big O. 'Ahh, Rick…'

'Oh! Um. I, uh, guess I better go scout around a little, hmm?'

She grinned, nodding. 'And don't peek. Would you push that over here so I can use it as a shower curtain?' He lugged a big hunk of sheet metal into place across the open passageway hatch as he retreated.

'Thank you!' she called over the splashing water. He noticed a small hole in the sheet metal and bent to inspect it, just checking of course, putting his eye to it.

Minmei shrieked. Rick was back on the other side of the partition in a split second, visions of menacing alien giants daunting him. 'Minmei, what's wrong? I'm coming-'

He slid to a halt. She was gazing at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, long dark hair plastered flat against her by the falling water, arms folded, still wearing her dress. 'I thought I saw something, there by the shower curtain.'

'Your imagination, maybe?' he said weakly.

'Su-uure.' She nodded sarcastically.

'Yeah.' He coughed. 'Well. Excuse me, I-' He turned and hurried off.

Minmei lost track of time, singing and humming, luxuriating in the feel and taste of the water. Then she heard a sound, too faint to identify.

She, too, thought of alien giants. 'Rick? If that's you, stop playing tricks!' She felt a wave of panic. 'Rick, you answer me right now.'

A small roll of cloth was tossed through the gap in the makeshift partition. 'Brought you some fresh clothes,' he called. 'It's an extra work shirt I had in the Mockingbird.'

After Rick grabbed a quick shower, they started back for the plane, guided by his inertial tracker and the markings he'd made at various passageway junctions in the course of their explorations.

Rick tried not to be too obvious about ogling Minmei. The shirt was baggy on her but barely covered the tops of her thighs. Her lovely, coltish legs seemed to go on forever.

She was in high spirits-it seemed to be her natural state. 'That was just what I needed! I feel a whole lot better now. And thanks for the shirt, Rick.'

'You're welcome-'