Robotech Freedom Fighters
							by Naia Zifu

		   Chapter Four: Spicy Food and Regults

	"You didn't say you were _sympathisers_," Quelt'san said with a warm
smile.
	I told him, "Yes, well, we were living in the South American jungles
at the time, and Nyankomago had always harboured sympathy for the T'sentrati,
so it was only natural..."
	"How do you know Maggie, Naia?" asked Nyankomago.
	"Magdomilla was my first officer on the Isa Tanari," Naia replied.
"And my dearest friend and confidante.  But I lost touch with her after we
came to Earth until two years ago when she contacted me and suggested we
come here."
	Quelt'san explained, "We knw the Invid were coming, and we had to do
what was best for our son, so of course we accepted."
	"And don't misunderstand, I really _do_ like living here, but after
a while you kind of start to miss the sunlight and fresh air," Kaeisuan said.
	Tracey remarked, "Well, it's not too pretty up there right now,
Kaeisuan.  Trust me, I know.  Right now I'd much rather have peace but no
sunshine, than sunshine and get blown to bits."
	Nyankomago promised, "We'll make it safe again on the surface soon
enough.  Then you'll all be free to go wherever you like."
	"But there are so few of you..." Quelt'san observed.
	The T'sentrati war strategy had always been to obtain victory
through sheer numbers.  Our group was very small, but we knew there were
others like us out there-- we'd even met some of them-- who had the same
goal we did.  The idea was that we'd join forces at the Reflex Point,
and with the combined resources of all our mecha and manpower we hoped to
defeat the Invid and free the world of their control...  Thinking about it
just then I suddenly realised I liked the T'sentrati strategy better.
	"Do you need any help?" he offered.  "We are T'sentrati.  Battling
Invid is what we were made for."
	I considered the offer carefully.  We _could_ use the assistance,
particularly at Reflex Point.  But to accept would be to invalidate
everything Paranka stood for.  I couldn't do that.  I respectfully declined
the offer.
	"You are fools," Naia opined, "but you are courageous fools."
	She embraced my wife again, telling her, "May all your shots strike
true, my sister."
	"May you win all of your battles," replied Nyankomago.
	Tracey whispered to Kaeisuan, "What did all that mean?"
	He replied with a smile, "It means Mrs. Afrifa is now T'sentrati."
	"Huh?"
	"Not genetically, of course.  But it means my mother no longer
thinks of her as a micronian."
	"Oh," Tracey said, still sounding confused.

	The party was still far from over when Nyankomago and I returned to
our apartment.  We had advised the others of our group to do the same, as we
had only hours left before we had to leave.
	"Did we have to leave the party so early?" she complained.  "Just
when people were starting to get drunk enough to be fun..."
	"Yes.  You know that, Nyankomago.  It's nearly two in the morning
and we're leaving at five-thirty."
	"We didn't even stop for a bite," she reminded me, chuckling at her
own joke.
	That was true.  We'd been so busy enjoying the celebration that we
had ignored our own hunger.  And there wasn't another town for hundreds of
kilometres in any direction.  I agreed that going out for a bite was indeed
in our best interests.  Suddenly excited, Nyankomago rushed to get something
from her bag and went into the other room, calling that she'd be back in a
moment.
	When she returned she was dressed all in black leather, with a long,
swirling black cape.  Her face was made up dramatically and her eyes were
ablaze, with the look of a predator.  I was appalled and delighted all at
once.  She looked so gaudy and unnatural, yet somehow also appealing.  I'd
never seen her that way before.
	"Do you like it?  I picked it up in town yesterday for just such an
occasion."
	I searched for words but found none.  She went to the window and
struck a provocative pose beside it, gazing down to the city.
	"Look at all that activity," she mused wistfully.  "I'm sure there's
plenty of crime going on down there as we speak.  Oh, Agyei, let's go find
some!"
	And then she was gone.  I pursued her, hoping to prevent her getting
into any trouble.  When I found her she was in a dimly-lit alley where two
humans were breaking into a jewellery store.  She acknowledged me with a nod,
then without warning leapt out, startling the humans.  She was on one of
them before he could even cry out.  I caught mine as he tried to run.  They
were young, possibly early-twenties, and Hispanic.  _Perfect.  Spicy
food..._  His brief life flashed through my mind.  He was nothing but a
typical street thug.  I grew weary of those and longed for someone more
interesting.
	"Ah, jalapeno," joked Nyankomago.  "Haven't had any of that in a
while."
	Wiping my mouth with my hand, I asked, "So, what now?"
	"Let's see..."
	Two muggings and a gang rape later, we returned to our apartment.
My wife was in high spirits.  It was the most we'd fed in months and the
first live meal we'd had in days.
	"That was the best time I've had in ever so long," Nyankomago
announced.
	"I know.  I enjoyed it, too."
	She wondered, "How can I sleep after all that?"
	Knowing I shouldn't, but feeling strangely compelled, I told her,
"Well, we don't actually _have_ to go to sleep if you don't want to..."

	"Are you sure you have enough supplies?" asked Magdomilla Rau.
	Looking around, I replied, "I think so.  I don't see that we've room
for anything more."
	"Thank you for your generosity."
	"No need to thank me, Nyankomago.  Just consider it compensation for
all you've done for me."
	Yasuharu rolled out from under an ATV, dirty but smiling.
	"Last-minute checkups complete," he told me.  "All systems are go.
We can leave whenever you're ready, sir."
	"Thank you, Yasuharu.  Take a moment to clean up and visit with your
friends," I said.  "It could be a while before we're back this way again."
	Kaeisuan and his parents arrived shortly.  Tracey practically
tackled her boyfriend as he entered.  She'd been worried he was never
coming.  Tired of hearing her complain, we were _all_ glad when Kaeisuan
finally arrived...
	I'd noticed the night before that Naia didn't look very T'sentrati,
but out of uniform she was nearly indistinguishable from a human.  Actually,
at her diminutive height, and with the Pizzicato Five t-shirt, faded jeans,
and excessive costume jewellery she wore, she resembled nothing so much as a
teen-ager.  Quelt'san, every bit as tall as myself, was dressed more
conservatively in a heather-grey sweater and black slacks.
	"Not much mecha," he observed.
	I conceded, "No, there isn't.  Just a red Alpha and three scavenged
Cyclones, that's all we've managed to find so far."
	"You aren't going to make it like that," Naia stated matter-of-
factly.
	Kaeisuan suggested, "Why don't we give them some Regults?  We aren't
really using them, but I'm sure they could, and we've got plenty here."
	"Aren't we a little small for those?" Tracey argued.
	"Well, most are retrofitted for use by micronised pilots," he
explained, "so you'd be able to work them fine.  What d'you think, T'sen
Rau?  Couldn't we spare just a couple?"
	Magdomilla considered the idea.  Humans piloting T'sentrati mecha?
It was practically unheard of.  But it could be our only hope against the
Invid.  So finally she consented and spoke to some armoured T'sentrati
standing nearby.  They seemed puzzled by the request but did as they were
ordered.  Shortly two of the ostriches were brought out.  I was amazed to
see that they had been fitted with human-sized pilot seats and tiny controls.
Yasuharu wondered aloud how they worked.  He was taken inside of one and
shown firsthand.  Raymond volunteered to pilot the other of them.
	I checked my watch.  It was twenty-five past five.  I told everyone
that we were about to go.
	Kaeisuan helped Tracey into her Alpha.  They kissed good-bye several
times before Tracey could bring herself to close the canopy.  Even then they
still waved to one another and threw kisses.
	"Kaeisuan," Quelt'san called, "she can't come back if you don't let
her leave."
	"Her not coming back is what worries me," muttered Kaeisuan, turning
to wave one last time.




©1996/1998 Naia Zifu, all rights reserved.  Originally published in the
Backstabber Preservation Society publication "Sten Yar" Volume 1, Issue 4,
Dec 1996/Jan 1997.  Slightly altered for electronic use.  Robotech and all the
borrowed elements thereof are trademarks of Harmony Gold, used without
permission.  I'm not trying to infringe on anyone's copyrights or
trademarks, or profit from anyone else's ideas.