Rand and Rook's Moment of Truth

I suppose it's not a secret by now, though it was a long time till Pop knew it. When the team members complained about what bothered them the most, Rand agonized over how the books and films and tapes were dying, how human history was passing away. And I guess sometimes he admitted he was trying to be a one-man databank/preservation society.

A lot of things happened that after that, but if you want my opinion, that's when Mom fell in love for the first and last time

Naturally, she didn't tell him right away.

Maria Bartley-Rand, Flower of Life: Journey beyond Protoculture

--- An Excerpt from Jack McKinney's Robotech: Symphony of Light #12

Rand remained at ground level, taunting the blue devil with trick shots, while Rook came in from behind to drop the thing. But a second Invid appeared out of nowhere and swatted her from the air with a cannon twist that smashed one side of the armor's backpack rig, shearing away one of the mecha's tires. She went into an uncontrolled fall with her back to the larger ship, but Rand swooped in to position himself between the two of them.

"It's okay I've got you covered."

"Leave it to me," voice full of anger, as Rand triggered off a series of futile shots.

"If I'd left it to you, you'd be a pile of smoking rubble by now, and I'm just too fond of you to let that happen!"

"You're what?!"

Rand risked a look over his shoulder at her. "You heard me- I'm fond of you, dammit!"

It was a heck of a time to be confessing his feelings, she thought, but it eas turning out to be one of those days. "I-I don't know what to say..."

Rand swung back to his opponent and saw that the Invid ship's cannons were about to fire. "Don't say anything," he yelled in a rush, "just moooove!"

The cannons traversed and followed the Cycloners up, but the pilot's aim was off, and Rand managed to sweep in and bull's-eye the ship from behind.

"Nice shooting there, cowboy," Rook said coming alongside later. "I bet you try to impress all the girls that way."

There was a sweetness in her voice he had never heard before and a smile behind the faceshield of her helmet that lit up his heart. "No, only the ones that can outshoot me," he laughed.

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