Prologue:
Not that Rick�s approval meant anything to Max, but he did feel relieved. Rick�s rank and notoriety got Max and Miriya right through to Captian Gloval. And now, the three were standing before Gloval and Commander Hayes, waiting for the silence to end. Max had explained everything, he hoped, with Miriya�s assistance.
Some of Miriya�s observations had been both startling and gratifying. Max was flattered to hear how he looked to her - Miriya, not being used to human interpersonal communication, had confessed everything to Gloval. Commander Hayes looked particularly amused by the recitation, something that was rather embarrassing to Max. His one consolation was that Lisa didn�t gossip - the Terrible Trio would hear very, very few particulars.
Gloval stroked his moustache and tried to mentally weigh the pros and cons. Military logic argued that he should not only deny the request, but take Miriya into custody, hand her over to the scientists. But he hadn�t taken that track with the three defectors, and he was not about to do so with Miriya.
Smiling a little, Gloval said, �Well, children, when shall we make the wedding?�
Chapter 1:
Miriya regarded the scientists around her with little pleasure. The Captain had insisted that she go through a series of examinations prior to the wedding. Plans were already in motion for the ceremony. Lisa Hayes and Claudia Grant had commandeered much of the organizing for the ceremony. Miriya found herself now in the novel position of having two �girl friends�. Max had tried to explain the intricacies of female friendships at first, but eventually admitted that the whole phenomenon bewildered him. He did say that if Miriya should come to understand �the bathroom thing�, he hoped she�d explain it to him. Miriya filed that mystery away for later contemplation.
Right now, she sat patiently while three �doctors� argued animatedly over some pictures they�d taken of her insides. The idea that there were Micronians who were especially trained to be able to repair OTHER Micronians was a revelation bordering on miraculous to Miriya. Zentraedi didn�t repair themselves. They didn�t even know how to repair their equipment. Such things were the province of the Robotech Masters. These Micronians not only knew how to repair bodies, they could take pictures of the insides. It was these pictures that so excited them.
Now one doctor was talking into the �telephone� communication device. Miriya caught that he was asking yet another doctor to join them.
�Miss Parino,� a second doctor addressed her respectfully. �I assume you�d like to know what this is all about.�
�An explanation would be appreciated,� Miriya agreed.
�Ahem, well, according to our CATscans, bloodtests, and MRIs, your internal organs, neural systems, and genetics are basically identical to ours.�
�Meaning?� Miriya asked.
�Meaning that for all intents and purposes, the Zentraedi and Humanity are the same race.�
�And that is amazing because?�� Miriya asked.
At this point, the doctors, all male, began to hem and haw, and generally avoid answering her question directly by pointing out all this technical information that meant little to Miriya. This continued for a few moments until the door suddenly swung open. All three doctors immediately clammed up as a middle-aged woman entered the room.
�Well�� she drawled, leveling a glare at the three microbiologists. �You can tinker and poke and prod all day, but when it comes to real life, you call in me, huh?� The three didn�t respond coherently, but rather quickly gathered up their things and left Miriya alone with this new woman, who�s tone reminded her rather forcefully of Azonia-commanding.
This new woman wore a white coat just like the men did, but she was easily 50 pounds heavier than any of them. Her brown-gray hair was pulled up into a rather sloppy bun, and laugh lines surrounded her eyes. The instant respect she received from the men indicated to Miriya that her rank was sufficiently high to honor Miriya.
Sitting, the woman doctor glanced at some of the files left behind, then grinned at Miriya. �SO! Miss Miriya Parino, late of the Zentraedi! I am Doctor Serena Santos, head of OB/GYN here at Macross City Hospital.�
�What is �O-B-G-Y-N?�
�OB stands for obstetrics, which is the medical specialty of human reproduction, and GYN stands for gynecology, the medical specialty of human female peculiarities. Those jokers called me in here to explain the birds and the bees to you.�
�Pardon?�
An hour later, Miriya had a much greater understanding of the Micronian reproduction system than she�d ever suspected from her limited independent research while undercover on the SDF-1. She fully understood how �infant� Micronians were developed, no matter how queasy the whole thing made her feel.
�And this process is voluntary?� she asked.
�Yes, indeedy.�
�But this is for female micronians. My Maximillian is male. Explain the applicability of this information.�
Dr. Santos began to laugh. �My dear, don�t you see? They told you that you were as human as the next person, right? Genetically identical.� Miriya nodded. �So,� Serena continued, �That means you could very well get pregnant yourself!�
Miriya gaped. This strange reproduction system could happen to her? �How is that possible??�
Serena chuckled. �You were listening to the part on sexual congress, weren�t you?�
�Uh, yes, I understand it is an activity of mating��
�It�s a bit more than that, dear! You�ll see!�
�But I am not Micronian, I am Zentraedi!�
�Well, you don�t have a menstrual cycle now, so it�s possible you might NOT be able to get pregnant, but I wouldn�t entirely rule it out. You do understand that Max may wish it?�
Miriya blinked. �Max does not wish to hurt me, why would he wish this nonsense on me?�
Dr. Santos sighed. �Well, I�m no psychologist, but let me see if I can explain it.�
It took another two hours before Miriya felt she had a grasp on the concepts of marriage, procreation, and sexual recreation. Being a very forthright and practical woman, Dr. Serena Santos made sure Miriya was aware of the enjoyable aspects of physicality as well as the procreative aspects, which she sensed disgusted the patient. Still, like any good surrogate parent, Dr. Santos made sure Miriya had a lot to think about, with only two days to prepare.
Max was waiting when she left the medical office. He greeted her with a happy smile and a kiss. But before Miriya could let herself sink into these new and pleasant emotions that the kiss evoked, they were hailed.
"Max! Miriya!" Waving as they came, Commander Lisa Hayes and Lt. Commander Claudia Grant laughed at the young couple.
"Hey, save some of that for the wedding night!" Claudia teased, eliciting a blush from Max. Miriya did not understand the reference.
"Commanders, what are you doing here?" Max asked.
"Why, Corporal Sterling! Someone has to take you bride to shop for her dress." Lisa's sweet smile had a sly edge to it. "You certainly can't do it. The groom cannot see the bride in her dress before the wedding day."
"Dress? What is wrong with this dress?" Miriya asked.
Claudia and Lisa laughed again. "Dear, you're supposed to have a fancy dress for your wedding, and Lisa and I will help you pick out the best one!" Claudia linked her arm through Miriya's and shooed Max away. "Go on, off with you. I promise we'll take care of her."
"But..."
Lisa jumped in. "No buts, Corporal. I'm sure you have a staff meeting or a tactics session to attend." She hailed them a cab, and in the blink of an eye, the ladies were off, leaving poor Max to shrug and head back to base.
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Rick Hunter stared at the various things in the store. "What do you get a pair of newlyweds?" he asked the salesperson. "I've never shopped for a wedding present before!"
The salesperson smiled indulgently. "Well, appliances are always good. Any sort of food your friends particularly like?"
"Well, I don't know about the bride, but the groom can't get through the morning without coffee."
"A coffeemaker is an excellent wedding gift! They're right over here...."
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"Oh, I don't know, Claudia. Don't you think that's a bit... um... risque?"
"Lisa, she has the figure to carry it off!"
Miriya examined her image in the mirror. The tight white dress had a very fitted form, even more fitting than her old pilot suit. The slit in the skirt enabled her to walk, but the upper part was so fitted she felt afraid to take a deep breath. "It is not comfortable."
Lisa shook her head. "She's a virgin bride, so I agree with the white, but I just don't think the style is right. Besides, Max's eyes will pop right out of his head, and he won't be able to say his vows!"
Claudia laughed at the image. "Good point! He gets tongue tied around the bridge crew!"
Miriya looked at them quizically.
"Max is a charmer, but only after he relaxes," Claudia explained. "Oh, the girls on the bridge adore him, but really, he never did more than flirt."
"Flirt?"
Lisa tried to explain. "Flirting is talking to someone nicely, complimenting them. Flattering a girl. Men do it all the time, and women do it too. But some men mean more, like they want to get a girl into bed with them, but Max was always just being sweet."
"Does this flirting ritual take much time? And by 'getting a girl into bed', do you refer to sexual congress?"
Lisa turned pink while Claudia laughed. "Flirting can take a long time, depending on the people involved. And, yes, she means sex!" She plucked another dress from the rack of options, and directed Miriya into the dressingroom. "See," she explained as she helped Miriya change, "Humans need some time, to get to know each other. Flirting is a way to see if they want to spend that time."
"I see. A form of competition, combat. To see if the other is worthy of attention."
"Uh, sort of." Claudia just smiled.
Miriya nodded wisely. She was beginning to understand. "So, when I attacked Max, he thought I was flirting with him. Obviously, despite my defeat, he felt I was worthy of his attention."
"What?!? Attacked him!"
Miriya blinked, confused by Claudia's reaction. "Yes. I came to this ship to find him and kill him. He had bested me in combat. That had never happened before. When I identified him, through a session at one of your training consoles, he invited me to meet with him. I had thought, from reading some of your records in the Library storage, that the mating rites were more symbolic, but this does explain why Max was so eager to invite me to join him in marriage."
She smoothed the top of the new gown with her hands, as Claudia merely stared, openmouthed.
"I have GOT to pump Max for more info!"
A dozen dresses later, and Lisa and Claudia were still unsatisfied. From pure white to nearly gold, they'd made Miriya change clothes over and over. Miriya could not quite understand all the fuss in selecting a garment that as far as she understood, would only be worn once.
"You have to look just fantastic for your wedding day. Not only is it the most important day in a woman's life, but everyone on this ship will be watching!"
Claudia smiled, a little sadly. "And how good you look will stick in Max's mind forever. Years from now, he'll look at you, and he'll remember how beautiful you were on your wedding day, and smile."
Lisa leaned over and squeezed Claudia's hand. Miriya did not know why, but decided to save her questions for later. Glancing around the store, she spotted a dress they had not selected. "What about that dress?"
The pink gown was almost American South in it's design. Rows of ruffles layered down the skirt, and the upper part was simple.
"Oh, I don't know. Pink? Claudia?"
"Well, let's get it on her and see."
Ten minutes later, the gown was paid for.
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"So, you got a dress."
She nodded.
"And picked out flowers."
"Yes. Thought I do not see the point. Why are flowers, a plant which has no purpose, be so important?"
Max shrugged. "I don't really know. Well, they are decorative, that's their purpose, and a wedding ceremony has to look nice. Actually, the other pilots have something a little more interesting in mind."
"Oh?"
"They want us to take a spin in my Veritech before the ceremony. I think they have something planned."
"I would enjoy flying with you."
Max smiled. "Then I'll set it up."
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