Mospeada Fan Fiction / Macross Fan Fiction ❯ Invid Lullaby ❯ Freedom Lost ( Chapter 4 )

Invid Lullaby

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Chapter 4

Freedom lost

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"De shuttle vill arrive in five days, Lisa," informed Dr. Lang in his heavily accented voice. " Preparations to receive 'our guest' started as soon as Rick spoke to me, but thees eez as fast as ve kould make it."

"Nine days is impressive for all you had to arrange, Dr., thanks for your promptness," she replied.

"You don't have to thank me, Lisa, Scott eez my godson, after all." The old Doctor shook his head lightly, " und I am koncerned about him."

"I know, Emil. Nevertheless, your help has been invaluable," she insisted. He nodded.

"Rick still has some work to do on the Kouncil. De Karbarran delegation eez not sold on de idea. 'Her' arrival will be kept sekret. I rekommend you maintain all your kommunications enkrypted for now. "

"I understand, Dr."

"See you soon, Admiral," he saluted.

"Good bye," she said returning the gesture.

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Marlene sighed. She looked through the window of the space she was confined to. Admiral Hayes Hunter had placed Scott and her under house arrest.

"Freedom," she thought, had been so close, yet it had escaped her. It was farther now than the tiniest lights blinking at her from the nearby city. She couldn't go for many reasons, her feelings for one; they were like invisible forces which tied her down subtly, like the glass in front of her. She placed her palms on it and felt the cold, inert surface.

Her prison was cozy. The Admiral made sure Marlene got what she needed. And for that, she was grateful. The questioning had stopped and at least Scott and her were together. But for all in life, she had learned, there would be a price to pay.

Scott couldn't escape the despair he felt. He sat on the bed and watched Marlene. If not for the Admiral's decision to keep them together, his worries for her and the baby would have driven him crazy. Soon though, uncertainty would rule their lives once more. Scott didn't know what would happen when the deal the Admiral offered them entered its next stage.

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"That takes care of Lancer," announced Rand after he hung up the archaic phone. "His assistant's expecting him to call soon. She'll give him the message," he added, coming closer to Rook. " Only one call left to make," he said.

"Mhmm," she agreed while her eyes evaded his look.

"It's your turn, Rook," he grinned, placing his hands behind her back and driving her closer to the old phone booth. " Don't tell me you're nervous now? It was your idea to call everyone."

"I know, I know," she gave in grudgingly. "Just gimme a minute, ok?" she said, swooshing him away. She dialed nervously thinking about the best way to tell her friend. Ring one, Ring two... Rook gulped. Scott had just lost Marlene. No matter what she said, the news was just going be like pouring salt in his wound! Ring three... "Maybe he's not home," she hoped but then he answered. It was too late to back away.

"Hi Scott," she said.

"Rook!" he answered, surprised that the call had been allowed to go through. He was sure it would be monitored and therefore he had to be careful.

"Be casual Rook... Or better... Be fast," she told herself. "Scott... Uh, Rand and I, we, well... We are getting married... And it would really mean a lot to us if you made it to the ceremony," she added. A tomb would have made more noise than he would. God, she felt so bad. "You're probably busy and with what happened... I... Rand and I... Didn't mean anything... Jeez, Scott, say something... Are you all right?"

"Congratulations to you both," he said sincerely. Then he thought of how to explain all that had happened to him.

"What?!" Rook froze.

"What is it?" inquired Rand noticing Rook's perplexity.

"Ma... Marlene's back!" Rook let out ecstatically. " And she's... She's pregnant?!"

"Marlene's back and she's pregnant!?" Rand scratched his head in disbelief. "The old soldier's really gone mad this time." Yet, something on Rook's expression told him that it was true.

"My God! How is she?" Rook asked Scott, managing to get a hold of herself.

"Wait a minute there... Transferred? Where?" she inquired and heard an answer she didn't like. Scott was being incredibly evasive. "Why?" She added. For a man who got the love of his life back and was going to be a father, Scott sounded awfully down. Something wasn't right. "Why can't you tell me, Scott?" She pressed.

Meanwhile, Rand couldn't take it anymore. He gestured Rook to give him the phone. At first she brushed off his attempts to take the antique from her, but then released it with frustration.

"Damn, Scott! You drop all these news on us and now you can't tell us what's going on? How is Marlene? Where the hell are you going? And why?" He yelled.

Rook could hear Scott yelling back on the line. After a while, both men calmed down. Rand listened quietly for what seemed an eternity.

"At least tell me, is she ok?" Rand asked. Rook grabbed his hand. He nodded. Scott had told him Marlene was ok.

"We'll be waiting for news. And one more thing, Scott, take care and tell Marlene that we love her and the baby..." Then, Rand hung up the phone. "Something's stinking here," he mumbled.

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The moon shuttle's lights glowed at New Liberty's airstrip. Ground personnel scrambled to get everything ready for the ship's departure. Flanked by two guards, Scott and Marlene reached the main platform's end. They would take the few remaining steps toward the door by themselves.

Through the narrow glass tunnel, against the dark blue sky, Marlene distinguished bright, dusk tones on the vanishing clouds. This planet was supposed to be their home. Why did it have to end this way? She felt Scott's hands on her arms.

The Admiral waited by the entrance. " It's time," she said.

The door closed behind them.

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Scott saw Marlene's silhouette against the shuttle's observation window. Earth's luminous contour slowly drifted away. He gently took her hand in his. She turned to look at him for an instant with sparkling eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Our friends."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, caressing the small belly that was starting to show on her and feeling her soft back against his chest.

"I wish we could have attended the ceremony," she said.

"Me too," he replied. He remembered seeing a picture of Marlene in a bridesmaid's dress from Lancer and Sera's wedding day. His thoughts wandered... Would Marlene want a wedding like that? Would it have a real meaning for her? As an Invid, was she even interested in that bygone human ritual?

A faint memory came to him: a sweet girl with long brown hair and big eyes. It had been a long time ago... The Captain kissed the beautiful woman in his arms and he felt how much she meant in his life. Maybe soon the time would come for him to tell her exactly how he felt.

But then and there, Scott couldn't escape his acute worries for mother and baby. In the difficult position the couple had been - apart from each other, incommunicado, and even sedated at times - accepting the Admiral's offer was their only option. They took it, strongly suspecting that it would entail more than a free ticket for the moon shuttle.

Admiral Lisa Hayes Hunter had offered protection in exchange for them cooperating fully with a scientific team assembled on the moon that was led by Dr. Lang, his godfather. Scott wondered, what exactly full cooperation meant? Nevertheless, if things went well, Marlene would get the best possible help with her unusual pregnancy at Moon Base.

Despite the assistance Admiral Hayes Hunter's intervention had proportioned, her real plans continued to be a mystery for Scott. He wasn't sure she would stand by them in the future, but he found Dr. Lang's involvement comforting. He hadn't seen him in years, but in spite of the old man's rabid obsession with science, Scott kept a fond memory of him.

Their departure was handled with secrecy. Partly because of the xenophobic state of earth and partly, Scott suspected, because of obstacles within the RDF Council headquartered on the planet's natural satellite. Not surprisingly, Admiral Hayes Hunter hadn't let him in on all the details.

On the Moon, tolerance for alien races was much higher than on Earth. Diplomatic representatives of many worlds had moved there and with them came dozens of medical specialists. Maybe their experience would help when Marlene needed it. But would they be willing to help her? Scott wasn't blind to the fact that these races came from the Sentinel's region, where the Invid had enslaved, killed and destroyed.

Not knowing what was coming their way made Scott uncomfortable and anxious. If worse came to worse, would he be able to defend his family single-handedly?

Admiral Rick Hunter had been informed about the situation and thanks to his wife, agreed to help get the Council's approval, but the task proved to be more difficult than initially thought.

Marlene saw the silent worries in his blue eyes. "I love you Scott. Thanks for caring for us," she told him.

"I am the one who's thankful, my love, for having you back in my life," he replied. She cuddled against him, feeling safe. It felt so right to have her in his arms and he couldn't help but wonder what she would think about him asking her to marry him.

"What do you remember of Lancer and Sera's wedding, Marlene?"

"Well... You couldn't make it," she said, " I thought about you a lot that day."

"You did?"

"Mhmm." He hugged her tighter and wished he had been there.

"I remember my sister a lot too. She was as happy as a child with a new toy," she giggled. "Lancer had explained to her what it meant to be married and Sera decided she wanted to do it for him. It was something so new to my sister, something so different from the Invid way... Two people promising to be together for better or worse on their own free will... "

Scott pondered Marlene's words for a while. "Would you want to be married in a ceremony like that one day?" he ventured nervously.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Being with you is all I want Scott, I don't need a ceremony to promise to be with you through good and bad times."

"Oh." He sounded somewhat disappointed.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sad voice. " Maybe a human bride would feel a different way… I will never know," she looked down.

"Never be sorry of being what you are, Marlene. You are more kind and human than many I've known. I love you and I promise here and now that I will stand by you through good and bad times too." He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

"It wouldn't hurt, though -if we have a ceremony... One day, when all this is over," she said once their lips parted. He smiled and hugged her, not wanting anything but to hold her like that. But the danger they were in throbbed in the back of his mind. A wedding would have to wait for calmer times.

"When all this is over," he repeated in his mind.

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