Macross Frontier: Conspiracy

Disclaimer:

All characters and machines of Macross Frontier and other Macross-related works are under the copyright of Shoji Kawamori, Studio Nue, Big West Advertising, Bandai Namco Games, Artdink and Satelight. All other characters and machines made for this fanfiction story are under my jurisdiction.

Summary:

Mikhail Blanc wanted to know if his disgraced older sister, Jessica, had committed suicide from a court-martial ruling that declared her guilt for killing her superior officer or if it was from something else. As he investigates the case again, the SMS contractor gets caught in a conspiracy that can undermine Frontier from within. AU of Macross Frontier as a technothriller story.

Chapter 1: Mystery Man

February 22, 2059

19.5 kilometers away from Macross Frontier airspace

Several VF-25 fighters with markings from the private military contractor Strategic Military Services were seen taking out several Shinsei VF-11C Thunderbolts with a black finish, most of them still in fighter mode with their Howard GU-17A gatling guns fired. They were on a mission to defend the Uraga-class ship from being taken out or captured since its engine was taken out carefully in order to make sure everyone inside was taken into custody alive.

"Apollo Squadron to Skull Squadron, we've successfully cleared the airspace around rogue Uraga-class ship," Someone from the SMS' Apollo Squadron said over an SMS-only frequency, which was encrypted to protect the channel from unwanted intrusion.

"Thanks for the assist, Apollo Squadron," A man with a tough-sounding voice replied over the comm, who was clearly from Skull Squadron. "Now we just wait for the cavalry to arrive and then..."

A couple of black VF-11C Thunderbolts arrived from behind the rear of Skull Squadron, changing to Battroid Mode and were about to land a kill when they were taken out from a distance.

"Thanks a lot for saving our butts, Skull-2!"

A Shinsei VF-25G Messiah in Battroid Mode was on the offensive, already equipped with its SSL-9B Dragunov anti-armor sniper rifle. It was very easy to tell it apart from most of the other VF-25s because of its white and blue line finish.

"Not a problem, Skull Leader. The Marines should be arriving by now."

The pilot of the VF-25G lowered his Dragunov after the last rogue Thunderbolt was taken out with a shot to the chest. This was followed by an incoming transmission sent from NUN forces through SMS channels.

"This is the New United Nations Marine Corp." A transmission coming from NUNMC forces was heard by all SMS Variable Fighter pilots in the vicinity. "Colonel Blake sends her regards to everyone in the SMS. We'll take over in taking all the pirates into NUNMC custody."

"Understood, NUNMC. Apollo Leader out."

A few seconds later, both Apollo and Skull Squadrons received a transmission from the Macross Quarter that they needed to get back at once since the Marines are taking over.

"This is the Quarter. Captain's requesting everyone from both squadrons to return at once."

"Understood, Quarter. We're heading back now."

Apollo and Skull Leaders made contact with their respective subordinates to fly back to the Quarter at once.

The VF-25G was among the first to comply with the order, quickly transforming from its Battroid Mode to Fighter Mode as it flew back to the main SMS mothership.

As the SMS VFs withdrew, a couple of NUNS Uraga-class ships were seen dispatching several General Galaxy VF-171 Nightmare Plus fighters in Fighter Mode. A few more were dispatched to provide armed escorts for NUNMC transport ships carrying armed marines to secure the rogue ship and its crew.

February 23, 2059

Hangar, SMS Macross Quarter-class ship

All SMS-manned VFs were present and accounted for as the ship moved closer and closer to Frontier airspace. All maintenance personnel were on-duty helping the pilots leave their taxied VFs.

"Good work today, Mikhail." A SMS maintenance crewmember of African descent approached the VF-25G that had already parked itself in a spot in the ship's hangar. "As usual, your sniping skills have impressed the NUNMC."

The VF-25G pilot retracted the visor of his helmet and took it off before he came down from the cockpit. He then climbed down slowly via retractable ladder, eventually making it down. The helmet was tucked underneath his right armpit while he used his left hand and feet to slowly climb down since his right hand (and arm) was occupied with his helmet.

Mikhail Blanc (Hiroshi Kamiya/Andrew Francis)

"Not at all." Mikhail smirked at the crewmember when he heard his remarks. "That's the reason why I'm the best sniper in SMS."

"Geez Mikhail. I can't believe that you're leaving us out of the mix."

Mikhail turned around to see a fellow SMS contractor, much older than him. He had brown hair and some face painting on his cheeks that are... let's say maybe a bit hard to comprehend on what they're suppose to mean.

"Good work out there, Captain Gilliam." Another SMS maintenance crewmember, who was a female of East Asian origin with short hair, greeted the older SMS contractor. "Seems that those pirates were easy to take out."

Henry Gilliam (Takashi Ohara/Brad Hawkins)

"Come on now." Henry groaned after he heard her praises. "Don't make it sound like all the contractors are invincible heroes or something straight out of a movie or a comic book, yeah? I mean, me and Major Lee were nearly killed if Mikhail didn't help us out."

Mikhail had smirked at Henry's disappointment after the crewmember left to help out with her colleagues.

"Though, it should make you wonder regarding that ship," Henry spoke to Mikhail, now being a little serious.

"What do you mean?" Mikhail now was getting curious about what Henry was going to tell him.

"Doesn't it make you wonder how those pirates were able to get an Uraga-class ship as their main mobile base around these parts?"

"Now that you think about it... it does boggle the mind."

"Unless these pirates are being backed by someone with a lot of money and influence, we might see the likes of them again to the point that they may have the same toys like we use in SMS."

The blond contractor was a bit worried over that idea.

I sure hope that we don't go there someday.

February 24, 2059

Mikhail Blanc's Room, Blanc Apartment, Shibuya Area, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Mikhail "Michael" Blanc had just finished wrapping up his homework he needed to submit to his class in Mihoshi Academy tomorrow, which consisted of a two-page report for his aeronautics program on his reflection after he and his classmates watched a two-hour documentary talking about the future of Variable Fighters in military service. The documentary had specifically talked about whether other aerospace manufacturers can have a chance in competing with General Galaxy and Shinsei Industries, two major aerospace corporations currently responsible for making VFs for the New United Nations Spacy.

"At least I read about the documentary that I didn't have to type a lot of text to cheat my way through as BS." Mikhail sighed as he sat down in front of his desk when he booted his personal computer.

He needed to do one more thing before he turned in for the night.

Logging in on a web-based messenger program, the blond-haired teenager reclined back on his seat while he typed his username as "DaGreatestMan" and his password. Mikhail also made sure to uncheck the box icon that asked if he wanted for retain his info when he wants to log in again in the future.

I don't want to get caught with that in case some things go south from here.

Satisfied, Mikhail read the message that he typed after he entered it on his messenger.

DaGreatestMan: Are you online now?

Mikhail waited to see if the person, known by his messenger name "TruthSeeker", was online despite having a green circle icon next to the name. He was told by a classmate of his in school that he's the best person to ask for any rumors or gossip that you want to confirm or deny, whether it's on Frontier, Earth or in some other place and that any info he gives is absolutely correct, no matter how big or small. Mikhail spoke to him online a few days as a test to see if the rumors are indeed true, mostly talking about rumors on whether Sheyl Nome would make her last stop at Frontier based on forum posts online that revealed the said information, despite local and overseas media suggestions that it was not announced.

The person had confirmed through reliable sources that it was true and that he should expect it to be in the papers or in the net a few days on or after the 26th. So far, the response was proven true. Now Mikhail wanted to see if he can ask him on something else.

The next reply came in a few minutes after he initiated the conversation.

TruthSeeker: Sorry I'm late. Had something to do. You okay?

From there on, Mikhail and TruthSeeker talked with each other on the net.

DaGreatestMan: I'm okay. Just about to relax for a bit before I sleep.

TruthSeeker: Ah... BTW, did you see the documentary released on Channel 4 about unsolved cases from within NUNS? Had to do a one-page report on it before the week ends.

The SMS pilot sighed when he read TS' reply. He caught a glimpse of the said documentary when some of his senior SMS colleagues watched it in the cafeteria when the program talked about some cold cases that the NUNS' Military Police Command were still trying to solve. Among them included the death of his older sister, Jessica. The MPC said that although they can't find any concrete evidence that she killed herself, there was enough indirect evidence to suggest that she did it due to an affair with a senior NUNS officer after she supposedly shot him under friendly fire.

Didn't know that TS is in school like me and Luca... Maybe, I'm not sure.

Mikhail tried his luck to see if he can something going on.

DaGreatestMan: I know. That's been bothering me again and again. You mind if I can ask you about the Blanc case?

Another few minutes elapsed and he got another reply.

TruthSeeker: Don't tell me that you want info related to that case, mate? Last I heard, MPC declared it as a cold case and had to close it with no other substantial evidence available to help them JAG guys make a conclusion except that Ms. Jessica offed herself on purpose.

TS' new reply made Mikhail a bit frustrated and upset. He knew that while he was told by immediate family and close friends of Jessica that she killed herself, he was not very sure that it may have to do with her affair. Mikhail didn't get why she would have an affair in the first place.

TruthSeeker: Are you related to her in some way?

This was when Mikhail sat back and read the new reply that came in. Should he reveal his actual surname to him or not? This was his biggest question.

Mikhail sighed again. He decided to forego telling his real name to be safe.

DaGreatestMan: No. I know her brother who wants some answers if whether her death is really a case of suicide or whether someone else manipulated evidence to make it look like that.

A few minutes after the last reply, the sniper felt that his bluff may not have worked. Although he decided to wait and see what would happen next.

Then came in a favorable response.

TruthSeeker: I see. I don't blame him if he thinks the LEOs aren't doing enough. Tell him to get ready to make contact. I'll provide a mobile number he can use to make contact. It may not be safe to conduct further exchanges via computer.

Mikhail nodded in relief. Looks like this was going to get somewhere. All he needed to do was to end the conversation and head to sleep for now. He had to go to Mihoshi Academy again in the morning.

Least that problem is resolved.

February 25, 2059

Somewhere in Griffith Park Hill, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

After school was over, Mikhail went to the main entrance of Griffith Park Hill. It was a good thing that the park was next to the academy. This gave him the opportunity to scope out the park and search for what he needed to look for.

TS mentioned that I needed to locate the closest park bench to the fountain. Said he has something for me.

The blond teenager fixed his gaze towards the park's central fountain. He was able to ascertain the closest park bench.

There it is. Now to give it a look and see what I need to look for.

Mikhail looked over and under the bench, checking every spot slowly until he something clamped underneath via magnet since it was placed beneath the bench, which was mostly made of metal.

"Here we are. A dead drop."

Taking the magnetic object from the bench, he sat down on the bench and opened it by sliding the top off. Inside was a mobile phone with a piece of paper folded on top. He took the paper and unfolded it, which had a hidden message.

Contact me later at 1900 hours. The number is on the phone. Get rid of this message after you've read it.

Deciding to heed the warning, Mikhail crumpled the paper and threw it to the trash can that was meant for paper products. Luckily for him, a garbage man came by to take out the contents in order to take them to the island's processing facility to be recycled. This way, no one would know that Mikhail was making contact with someone.

"Not a bad phone, despite that it looks like something from the early 21st century."

The student made sure he kept the secret phone in his school bag before he proceeded to commute towards SMS Headquarters. There was suppose to be a briefing since some of the contractors, all of them students at Mihoshi Academy, were ordered to provide stuntwork for Sheryl Nome's upcoming concert.

Mikhail smirked. If he was lucky, he could try to make fun of Alto Saotome, his classmate in school since he was also selected to provide stuntwork alongside him. Even though the two students got the details, SMS officials wanted a debriefing of their own since the PMC was footing part of the bill in making sure the concert tour goes through smoothly.

And that also included securing the colony fleet from any potential attacks.

Let's hope that they don't show up. I could use some time off from SMS.

February 26, 2059

Arrivals Area, Frontier Spaceport, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Out of the 300 passengers who had disembarked from the spacecraft after it had defolded near Frontier airspace and docked at the Frontier Spaceport, a pink-haired woman wearing everything pink from her dress to her brim hat and high-heels was directed to another path from the main one all the other passengers used after they went through immigration.

The pink-haired woman was accompanied by a blue-haired woman with a green pantsuit jacket and skirt with high heels. The two women were escorted by uniformed officers from the Frontier Spaceport Police, an armed police service responsible for securing the spaceport, the people working in the facility and the residents and visitors who go in and out. They are also responsible for deploying their elite teams whenever a criminal or terror attack occurs in the spaceport.

"This way ladies," A FSP officer of African descent told Sheryl and Grace showed them the entrance of an airlock that was cordoned off by four FSP officers as they were directed to another route towards the spaceport's lobby. "We cleared a path for you Ms. 'O Connor, so travel to the lobby ought to be fine. I hope immigration wasn't a problem after your disembarkation from the spacecraft."

Grace 'O Connor (Kikuko Inoue/Bridget Hoffman)

"Thank you very much, officer," Grace thanked the officer for his hard work. "I'll be sure to commend your actions to your superior."

"Airlock's opening up," Another FSP officer of Korean origin told his colleagues.

"Not a problem." The African FSP officer showed Grace the way out of the area. "Just be mindful of the artificial gravity."

"Of course," Grace replied to the officer's advice before she and the pink-haired girl got into the airlock with the doors closing behind them. "Thank you for the warning, officer."

"Man, that was a handful." The Korean FSP officer sighed in relief when he saw other FSP officers arriving to disperse the small crowd of passengers trying to take pictures of pop star with their mobile phones and electronic tablets.

"You don't say." A FSP officer of Caucasian origin with blond hair took out his peaked cap and wiped off the sweat off his forehead with his left arm. "Looks like immigration lines are gonna be long again since the Galactic Fairy's here in the colony."

February 26, 2059

Arrivals Airlock Corridor, Frontier Spaceport, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Grace floated down the airlock corridor towards the direction of the lobby, moving alongside the Galactic Fairy. On the way there, a PA announcement stated that artificial gravity in the airlock was going to be turned off and that anyone in the lobby should watch their step.

"Be careful, Sheryl." Grace moved slightly ahead of Sheryl, who was also moving alongside Grace down the corridor via artificial gravity.

Sheryl Nome (Aya Endo/Emily Neves)

"I know." Sheryl nodded as she landed down safely without a hitch, making sure that her pink brim hat was still worn on top of her head. The pop star, however, felt some slight pain towards her chest for... complicated reasons. Although in the end, it went away once normal gravity was used in the corridor.

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit tired," Grace asked Sheryl after she saw her pant a bit.

"The space fold sickness with the jet lag is somehow making me a bit tired," Sheryl voiced out her complaint to her manager.

"If that's the case, shall I make arrangements to have the press conference at the spaceport moved to the hotel?" Grace further asked Sheryl after the former heard the latter's reply.

The pop star turned her head to the side to face Grace with a confident smirk on her face.

"Just who do you think I am? I'm Sheryl Nome and I won't take no for an answer."

February 26, 2059

Main Lobby, Frontier Spaceport, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Several FSP officers were seen in the lobby, securing the area as well as making preparations to conduct crowd control to make sure that any Sheryl groupies don't act rowdy while helping passengers exit the spaceport. Near the airlock where Sheryl and Grace are located, three men wearing black suits, red neckties and black shades with earpieces placed on their ears. A brown-haired woman in a female New United Nations Spacy uniform and high heels, including a side cap, was seen waiting with the suits in front of the airlock.

While the press were gathered in front of the airlock where Sheryl would make her entrance, a young man with East Asian features was present in the lobby. He leaned his back on the pillar, just seemingly trying to wait for the Galactic Fairy to show up.

This better be worth the trouble I had to do for leaving even though the last class was cancelled 'cause the teacher called in sick at the hospital.

The young man wore a black Condor Phantom Softshell Tactical Jacket with rectangular-shaped Velcro loop provisions on both shoulders to place patches with Velcro hooks on. He wore a pair of black Oakley Radar shades and Adidas GSG-9.2 High Boots. The only thing that was not black was his jeans with a brown belt worn around his waist.

Looks like she's here.

The airlock gate opened up and the cameras began to take photos of Sheryl and Grace walking out before they were met by the officer. After some introduction between both parties, FSP officers began to form up human barriers to form up a safe corridor for the women to leave the spaceport. During this time, the NUNS officer approached Sheryl and Grace and they introduced themselves to each other despite almost being surrounded by photographers and cameramen alike.

"Let's do this."

As he approached the women walking out of the lobby, a suit-wearing man raised his hand to stop the young man from approaching the safe corridor while he was warned that he would be arrested.

"I should have figured that coming." The young man procured his Almighty Support Enterprises identification card from his front jacket pocket and showed it. "You guys in the Presidential Security Division are aware that someone from ASE has been assigned as Ms. Nome's bodyguard for the duration of her stay in Frontier, right?"

"Let him through," The NUNS officer told the PSD officers, allowing the ASE agent through. He subsequently stored it in the same place again.

"First Lieutenant Catherine Glass," The young man introduced himself, never taking off his shades. "I apologize if I legitimately spooked any of the PSD's finest from the Frontier Police Bureau."

The brown-haired woman heard the young man's apology and raised an eyebrow.

Catherine Glass (Sanae Kobayashi/Lesley Pedersen)

This was before Catherine rolled her eyes when she heard his apology to her, walking alongside the young man while Sheryl and Grace followed them from the back. "It would have been avoided if you just approached FSP and informed them of your status when you arrived here."

"I can't help it if traffic got in the way before and after I got here, especially with those Sheryl groupies."

"Excuse me, but do you mind if I can scan through your ASE ID card?" Grace politely asked the agent.

The shades-wearing agent raised an eyebrow when he heard the question.

Odd request. I thought the top brass cleared my name with Ms. Nome's talent agency.

"I've been told by my boss that I need to check your ID to make sure that you're not someone posing as a legitimate contractor." Grace calmly explained to the ASE agent the reason for her request.

"Here." The agent fished for his ID from his front jacket pocket, accepting Grace's request. Let's get this over with.

Unknown to everyone, except for Sheryl, Grace used her prosthetic eyes to scan the bar code printed on the ASE ID card via infrared beams set to invisible mode so that no one on Frontier would be freaked out. Frontier laws does not allow anyone residing in the colony to convert their bodies or some of their body parts via cyberization, including the use of a cyberbrain. Exceptions are only given if a person's natural limb or organ is beyond saving as deemed by doctors with a prosthetic replacement being the alternative in order to save their life on a case by case basis only.

In addition, she was able to use her implant network interface to get a full picture of the agent. A few seconds later, Grace was able to obtain it. She checked out his name, Marc Chua, which was verified to be a legitimate name used under the employ of ASE with a short bio of him. From what the talent manager found out, he was 5'7 in height with short crew cut black hair and was of Chinese-Filipino origin who had just immigrated to the fleet a few years ago.

"Thank you very much, agent Marc Chua." Grace happily handed back his ASE ID card back to him. "I'm able to verify your identification with the Almighty Support Enterprises."

Marc stared at Grace, this time lowering his shades so that she (and Sheryl) could see his brown eyes as he looked at the talent manager.

Marc Chua (Shuhei Sakaguchi/Patrick Poole)

"Your talent agency sure is very cautious, Ms. Grace." Marc sighed as he approached the main entrance of the spaceport. "Must be the reason why ASE was hired, considering that the Galactic Fairy's a big hit in the pop scene." He then wore his shades again.

Catherine, after hearing the agent's comments about Sheryl's popularity in the Milky Way, said nothing but to roll her eyes again as a form of sarcasm.

"Better get ready. We're expecting a lot of visitors ready to greet you, Ms. Nome," Marc advised his client as he adjusted his Radar shades.

Sheryl smirked at her bodyguard. "You can count on it."

February 26, 2059

Outside Arrivals Terminal Building, Frontier Spaceport, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Both Catherine and Marc were the first ones to exit the spaceport's arrivals terminal building, seeing a multitude of Sheryl fans trying to get a closer look at the pop star. FSP officers were trying their best to keep them back by linking hands together to form a human fence.

"This'll be messy," Marc muttered under his breath as he slowly walked towards the awaiting vehicles. As he did so, the ASE agent looked from the left to the right to assess the crowd quickly since he needs to get Sheryl to the waiting car provided by the PSD.

Looks like this'll be an easy job.

The young contractor felt lucky that his latest job was going to be a walk in the park.

"DAMN YOU SHERYL! YOU STOLE THE SPOTLIGHT FROM AMAGI!"

Until he heard someone shout from the crowd. And the said shouts of anger made the crowd disperse in panic, forcing the FSP to retreat near the entrance.

"SHE DESERVED THE SPOTLIGHT MORE THAN YOU DO!"

"He's got something in his hands!" One of the FSP officers was about to use his taser pistol to subdue the incoming offender when Marc moved to the side and ran towards him.

Catherine moved in front of Sheryl to protect her from the troublemaker in case things would get literally FUBAR. Grace was also ready to move in and shield Sheryl from whatever was about to take place.

The ASE agent got a closer look at the offender. Based on his physical features, he was of Caucasian origin with blond hair and semi-muscular arms. He appeared to be wearing a jacket that belonged to a local university based on the initials. The bodyguard planned to check it out later.

"A pie?!" Marc was startled when the offender had a pie with him on his right hand. A couple of male PSD officers joined up with Marc to corner the pie-wielding man from the side and back in order to arrest him.

"LET ME THROUGH!" The offender shouted when he was about to hurl the pie at Sheryl's face.

"Oh yeah?!" Marc shouted back, using his left hand to grab the offender's right hand at the wrist and twisted it hard. "You and what army?!" After a few seconds of pressure was applied to the wrist, the offender was forced to let go of the pie.

"Get him down!" The ASE agent subsequently kicked the offender at the back of his legs so that he can be forced to kneel.

"I'M NOT DONE YET! I'M DONE YET!"

"SIT YOUR ASS DOWN AND SHUT UP!"

Some of the bystanders began to either film or take photos of Marc and the PSD officers forcefully restraining the offender on the ground. A female PSD officer of South Asian origin applied plasticuffs on his wrists after his arms were placed behind his back. They were now being forcefully pressed on as Marc used his right knee to do it.

"You're under arrest." Marc tightened the hold of the plasticuffs on the offender's wrists to ensure it was secure. After the arrest was made, two male PSD officers got the offender up from the ground by pulling him simultaneously from the arms while they proceeded to read him his rights.

"Take him to the car! We'll process him at once!" The supervising PSD officer told his subordinates as they took the offender into custody, with his rights already read. A couple of uniformed FPB officers placed him in their squad car before they drove off to the nearest precinct.

Is it just a pie or does it hold something else?

Marc knelt down next to the dropped pie pan made of aluminum foil. He saw that the pan showed its bottom, which means the pie is now ruined ever since it made contact with the tiled floor.

The ASE agent quickly drew out a Sheffield Fairbarn Sykes Commando Knife from the belt sheath strapped on his belt, located on the left side of his waist. With the bladed weapon out, he gently stabbed the pie pan with the 7" blade to ascertain if it was safe.

"Okay..." Marc murmured, taking the knife from the pan slowly. When he was able to get a good look at the bladed tip, he noted that it had some smears of pie cream on it.

"So it was nothing after all." The knife's blade was wiped clean of the pie cream when Marc opted to carefully use his fingers to remove them to avoid being cut by the sharp blade. He then stored the knife back in the belt sheath.

"All clear, Ms. Grace." Marc stood up and spoke to the talent manager. "It's just a harmless cream pie."

"Thank goodness." Grace was relieved that the "weapon" the offender had was just a simple piece of pie.

"This is going to be all over the news later on," Catherine said as uniformed FSP officers conducted crowd control and told bystanders to leave the area since it's now being treated as a crime scene. "I need to get Ms. Nome out of here right now."

"Yes, ma'am." A female PSD officer of East Asian descent with short hair got on her radio and requested that the car sent to pick up Sheryl and Grace be ready to leave now.

Two PSD officers, who happened to be female also, secured the waiting 2058 Rolls-Royce Phantom bearing Frontier government license plates.

"Please come with me," Catherine spoke to Sheryl and Grace as they were lead to the British-made car. "Your luggage is already inside before you got here."

Sheryl nodded as she was approaching the parked car.

"I'll be serving as your liaison officer during your stay in Frontier. Let me know if you encounter any problems."

"Thank you very much, Lieutenant Glass." Grace thanked Catherine before she got inside the rear section of the black car, the right passenger side door already opened by Catherine. "I'll be sure to commend your actions to your superior."

"It's nothing," Catherine replied, trying to be polite. "This is just part of my job after all. I'm used to this sort of thing."

Sheryl noted that Marc made his approach to the parked 2059 BMW K1600GT in a light grey metallic finish, already with his black fingerless gloves worn on his hands. The pop star noted that his tactical jacket had a shoulder tab patch of the (former) Philippine Constabulary with another patch shaped like a square that had the image of a white praying mantis with the words PRAYING MANTIS in bold white letters. He hopped onto the bike, raised the black neck gaiter to cover his nose and mouth and wore a BMW System Helmet 6 Evo over his head.

Is he even allowed to use those patches? Sheryl pondered on the patches he wore, wondering if he was in some sort of unit under ASE control.

"Sheryl?" Grace called the teenager's attention, who wasn't paying attention.

"S-sorry Grace!" Sheryl quickly blurted out as she got inside the Phantom.

"Is something the matter, Ms. Nome?" Catherine asked the Galactic Fairy when the officer got inside the Phantom from the front passenger side via right side.

"No." Sheryl shook her head. "Nothing to worry about." She then frowned and then asked, "Is he going to accompany me in my stay as well, Lieutenant Glass?"

Catherine replied to Sheryl's question after she finished putting on her seat belt. "Yes, he's one of the bodyguards assigned to you. The president personally made the call to Almighty Support Enterprises and requested for a bodyguard to be on your side 24 hours a day."

"Thank you very much," Grace thanked Catherine before she asked Sheryl and whispered to her. "Were you scared from that person back there?"

Sheryl replied and sighed softly. "Lylith..."

"Don't let that man's ranting get into your head, alright?"

"Okay, Grace."

The driver of the Phantom saw that Marc gave a thumbs up after he turned on the ignition of his motorbike. He then gave a thumbs up in return.

"Let's go." Catherine told the driver.

"Yes, ma'am."

February 26, 2059

Cafeteria, Mihoshi Academy, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Mikhail was about to sit down and have a snack after classes were over for the day when he read the news on his personal mobile phone that there was attempt on Sheryl at the Frontier Spaceport.

"Never expected this to happen," Mikhail said to himself when he read that the offender had been arrested with the FPB taking the credit for it.

"Hey, Mikhail. What are you doing?"

The glasses-wearing student turned to the side to see a girl, who happens to be very, very short in terms of height, right next to him. She had long blue hair and pointy ears while wearing the female Mihoshi Academy school uniform, though the pinkish color indicates that she's a year above Mikhail and the other students in his class and the rest of his batch. Right now, she was staring at Mikhail to see what he was looking at through his phone.

"Nice to see you, Klan Klang." Mikhail smirked at his childhood friend. "Hopefully the others won't think that I'm some kind of molestor or something."

Klan Klang (Megumi Toyoguchi/Maryke Hendrikse)

"Mikhaill..." Klan was upset by Mikhail's joke and was about to burst into anger when the part-time SMS contractor raised his hands. Please don't tempt me to kill him. Please don't tempt me to kill him for making fun of my macronized height.

"Okay, okay. I give, just don't hurt me." Mikhail chuckled. "Besides, there's something I've been reading up on."

"Is it about the attempted assault on Sheryl Nome?" Klan asked him, opting to sit down next to him. The Zentradi felt relieved that she can sit down for at least a few minutes.

"Yeah. Someone called TruthSeeker confirmed her arrival on the net despite the big media outlets not announcing it until later."

Klan frowned when she heard the name. "Did Luca or the others put you up to this?"

"Not at all." Mikhail raised an eyebrow. "I only got the info 'cause I wanted to test out his reputation. A lot of the guys in my class mentioned about his rep on the net."

"Anything else on the assault on the pop star?" Klan decided to drop the topic and ask about the arrival of Sheryl.

"Her protection detail's being handled by the Almighty Support Enterprises." Mikhail said as he browsed through the article until he read the company's name on it. "Although the article did say that the FPB's PSD is going to handle it together with them whenever she's in public."

"Hey, isn't he..."

"Last I heard, he got a job there. I just don't know what he's going to be doing."

Mikhail received a SMS alert on his mobile phone, indicating that he is needed in SMS Headquarters right away.

"Sorry that I can't entertain you any longer, Klan. But HQ's calling for me." Mikhail said before he chuckled to grab his bag and stood up from his seat.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go." Klan sighed and waved him off. "I'll be fine from here."

February 26, 2059

Unknown Location

INITIATE BOOTUP SEQUENCE...

.

.

.

BOOTUP SEQUENCE. LOGIN COMPLETED.

A black screen flickered on. Some moments later, three names appeared on it. The names consisted of Wōdanaz, Freyja and Tiwaz.

"MAY THE FATHER OF UNDERSTANDING GUIDE US...!" Wōdanaz began, his digitally distorted male voice booming when he spoke up.

"MAY THE FATHER OF UNDERSTANDING GUIDE US!" Freyja and Tiwaz replied in unison, their voices sligtly altered digitally, although the former is clearly voiced by a woman with the other by a male with a much younger voice as a way of telling him apart from Wōdanaz.

"How goes the preparations on Frontier?" Wōdanaz asked the two as their meeting began.

Freyja was the first to reply to Wōdanaz. "Things are going smoothly right now, despite the news of some anti-Sheryl youngster who did try to assault Fairy 9."

"What? Was he killed?"

"No. Fairy 9's bodyguard from the Almighty Support Enterprises was quick to apprehend him alongside close protection officers from the PSD."

"Tiwaz, has there been any complications with NUN forces so far?"

It was Tiwaz's turn to speak after Freyja had said her piece. "Nothing complicated as far as I can tell, sir. Everything's been set up prior to her visit in the Frontier colony aside from the incident report I got from the FPB that details about the assault at the spaceport."

"Blast it!" Wōdanaz was clearly upset by the turn of events that he heard. "The last thing we need is for her to be killed by someone who can ruin all of our plans!"

"I can assure you that this is an isolated incident. Social media sites and forum boards from her fans are pouring out support for her with other messages are showing signs of condemnation towards the attempted assault. The FPB has the Criminal Investigation Bureau investigating it as we speak."

"Good work. Make sure that they don't leave anything out."

"Understood, sir."

"It seems that the others couldn't make it in time for this meeting. No matter, we'll cut this short for now."

"I'll report as soon as I can if anything changes with Fairy 9, Wōdanaz."

"Understood, Freyja. As we end the meeting, let the father of understanding help guide us to our goals," Wōdanaz said before he first ended his connection. "May the father of understanding guide us."

"May the father of understanding guide us..." Freyja and Tiwaz said in unison before they too ended their connection.

ENDING SESSION...

The black screen flickered on for a few seconds after the three connections ended before it was eventually turned off.

February 26, 2059

Briefing Room, Strategic Military Services Headquarters, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Now wearing his official SMS uniform, including jacket, Mikhail took his seat with a few other young SMS contractors. He adjusted his glasses and saw on the whiteboard that the operation name was written up for Sheryl's debut concert in Frontier. So far, he counted around three to four, including himself.

Strange. Just a few of us.

"Operation..." Mikhail looked at the whiteboard carefully after he made that the lenses of his glasses were focused on it so that he can read the removable black ink carefully. "Sagittarius 9 PM?"

Henry was the first to enter the briefing to see that everyone called in for the briefing session was just either loitering near their seats or were now seated in their respective seats.

"Okay everyone! Attention! Major Lee's going to lead the briefing!"

All the SMS contractors stood up at attention and saluted a man in his late 20s with black hair in a ponytail and unshaved chin. He was seen in his SMS uniform with some folders tucked underneath his left armpit.

Ozma Lee (Katsuyuki Konishi/John Michael Tatum)

"Alright, Major Lee. They're all here." Henry greeted the man and briefly saluted him.

"Thank you, Captain Gilliam. I'll begin the debriefing." Ozma saluted Henry back briefly before he moved to the wooden podium right next to the whiteboard. He then placed the folders on a small table next to the podium.

"All right..." Ozma started the debriefing after the contractors sat down. "You're all aware that Mr. Bilrer has agreed to a request from Frontier Records, courtesy of Frontier Entertainment Corporation, that they wanted to recruit SMS contractors who have experience in handling EX-GEAR suits for Sheryl Nome's debut concert here in the Frontier fleet."

All of the contractors, including Henry and Mikhail, nodded in reply.

"Good. Then I don't need to explain the fine details of this little operation we're doing for the Galactic Fairy's fans," Ozma said before he continued on. "Basically, those with EX-GEAR suit experience are going to be selected for the concert, but only those who are highly skilled and are either still in high school or are in college slash university. But the government wants to also select those who have prior experience from pilot training courses in the various schools in order to make it a joint effort."

Mikhail heard what Ozma had mentioned. Looks like the Princess is going to be there with me. He's got good scores in the aptitude tests, so the government would select him from the roster of candidates from the civilian field.

"Excuse me, sir." A SMS contractor raised his hand, who was seated at the back of the briefing room.

"What is it?" Ozma figured out some of the contractors may have some questions in mind.

"Is the joint effort done to make Frontier look good before the media?"

Ozma was a bit surprised to hear the question. The contractor was being direct.

"Honestly, I don't know," The ex-NUNS Spacy officer replied before he tapped his knuckles on the whiteboard behind him. "Though your suggestion may not be incorrect on that mark, but we're not paid to ponder on these things. Right now, we're suppose to be doing the job since our client made this request. They want to give the fans a good time in the upcoming debut concert. Let's not disappoint them when the time comes."

"Sir," The contractors said in unison before or after they nodded, understanding Ozma's instructions.

Henry then spoke up next. "Be sure to take the folders from the table near Major Lee when you leave. It has further details on when and where you guys need to meet up and what you need to do before the start of Ms. Nome's concert on March 2. That clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The contractors shouted back in unison.

"That's all for now. We'll have another debriefing tomorrow after the government gives word to us on who the other performers are from the civilian sector and from Frontier Records on how the concert is suppose to be handled." Ozma reminded the contractors as they got their folders. "Apologies for making this short, everyone."

"They're never this quick." One of the contractors mumbled as he left the briefing room.

"That's what PMCs like us exist after the end of SWI, especially with the NUN forces being created from the remnants of the UN military. With the additional problem of red tape, they'll have a hard time working this out..." Another contractor said his thoughts out loud to his colleague after he walked out.

Mikhail was the last one to leave, taking the folder with him before he departed the briefing room.

February 26, 2059

En route to Frontier Records Building, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Marc's K1600GT drove alongside a PSD 2058 Tata Pr1ma sedan in escorting the Phantom away from the spaceport, having just arrived on the main highway. The light grey metallic sedan had the red and blue emergency siren lights, attached behind the grille, turned on so that civilians can know that a VIP convoy is coming up in order to get the path cleared up with vehicles parking on the right side of the road to give them priority. The FPB didn't provide any motorcycle escort since Sheryl was in Frontier as a pop singer and not some kind of important VIP like the head of state coming to visit the place and see some politicians.

At least we're going to get to the destination a bit faster.

The ASE agent mused to himself when he drove the motorbike at a regular pace to allow the unmarked PSD sedan to go ahead of him. When they drove off the highway to the nearest exit ramp, which led them to Island 1's downtown area. After all, he didn't want to give the wrong impression that the company itself is fully taking charge of the Galactic Fairy's close protection detail away from the police.

As the small convoy got closer and closer to the downtown core, Marc looked from the visor of his motorbike helmet to see crowds of teenagers and adults in their 20s cheering for Sheryl, some of them waving signs and banners, to welcome her first visit to the colony fleet. Thankfully, the FPB has deployed uniformed officers, seen on horses from its mounted unit, with anti-riot officers on crowd control duties and traffic enforcement officers directing the crowds to move along and/or redirect vehicles away from the closed streets that are used for the PSD convoy. Barriers were used on close off sidewalks in order to ensure that the crowds don't spill off into the streets in case someone gets pushed off the sidewalk by accident.

Anti-riot and mounted officers are on full force today alongside those from the motorcycle unit. Looks like the president's going all out to give a good welcome.

A few FPB police motorcycles were present to ensure that the route to Frontier Records was cleared of all vehicles until the PSD convoy can safely go drive down the road and reach their destination.

"Arriving at destination in two minutes."

The motorbike's female GPS voice indicated to Marc that he was almost near the Frontier Records building. It was a good thing too that his helmet has bluetooth built into it, which means that he can hear the GPS voice without loosing focus.

The Pr1ma began to decelerate as the convoy began to make its approach towards the building's inverted U-shaped driveway. It later parked on the side, being adjacent to the main entrance. Marc later parked his K1600GT on the curb in front of the double glass doors that served as the main entrance.

Once the Phantom was parked on the curb behind the Pr1ma, the four close protections officers got out of the latter and secured the entrance of Frontier Records's building, which serves as the only branch of the colony fleet.

"Here goes." Marc kept his helmet in a storage case attached at the rear of the motorbike before he checked to make sure the kickstand was down. Once that was done, the ASE agent moved in as Catherine opened the Phantom's door, allowing Grace to leave first. She was then followed by Sheryl.

A few members of the press snapped pictures or made videos of Grace and Sheryl walking towards the building entrance. Marc took the lead in escorting the two women inside. Catherine followed behind Sheryl with the PSD officers walking alongside Catherine and Sheryl once building security guards took over from them by providing crowd control to prevent any bystanders and unaccredited media personnel from trying to sneak inside. Only those with media ID tags issued by the FPB were allowed inside.

February 26, 2059

Lobby, Frontier Records Building, San Francisco Area, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

"Welcome, Ms. Nome." A Caucasian man with brown combed hair in his 30s with a grey suit and tie, blue necktie and white dress shirt, greeted the Galactic Fairy by shaking her hand when she showed up at the lobby. "I appreciate your presence in Frontier Records. This will be a big day for us since we'll be able to officially put your next album out for release tomorrow with a ceremony."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Sheryl accepted the greeting from the head of Frontier Records and shook his hand. "I'm glad to have this opportunity to actually witness the official release of my latest album to my fans here in Frontier."

"And I do apologize for the incident that happened at the spaceport on behalf of the company. I hope that it won't deter you from enjoying your visit in Frontier..."

The press began to take pictures and record videos of the two as they shook hands while they continued to exchange pleasantries with one another.

"Ms. Grace," Marc asked Sheryl's talent manager as the two stood on the sidelines alongside Catherine as the former's presence was not required for the time being. The two female PSD close protection officers were present as they were behind the pop star.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Chua?" Grace asked the ASE agent, waiting to see what he needed her attention for.

"Will Ms. Nome be all right?" Marc shot the question to Grace about his client. "I mean, she was almost humiliated by an anti-Sheryl person in public at the Frontier Spaceport a few hours ago despite the fact that she's fine and isn't making a big fuss about it."

Grace thought about the agent's legitimate concerns for a few seconds.

Okay... Now I may not be able to get a...

"You don't have to be concerned about Ms. Nome's state of mind." Grace reassured the young man.

"Are you sure, Ms. 'O Connor?" Marc felt that the manager's words were not that convincing enough. "I apologize if I sound too nozy for you, but it's in my company's interest if Ms. Nome would allow me to assess her security again in Frontier..."

"You may not know about this..." Grace began to explain to Marc as Sheryl and the president of Frontier Records posed for the media. "But Ms. Nome has gone through similar incidents in the past when she was very young and trust me, she is much stronger than you think she is."

"I just wish that you're right on the mark, Miss 'O Connor."

For both our sakes, I hope Sheryl Nome isn't going to be affected by that incident in the spaceport.

February 26, 2059

En route to Blanc Apartment, Shibuya Area, Island 1, NUNGS Macross Frontier

Being done for the day, Mikhail had read the news from his personal mobile phone that Sheryl had arrived at Frontier and was safe after an attempted altercation was foiled by a bodyguard dispatched by the ASE alongside PSD close protection officers.

Damn it. Of the many things that can happen.

Mikhail couldn't help but wonder what made the suspect do such a thing, considering that Frontier has one of the largest Sheryl Nome fanclubs among the immigration fleets in the Milky Way.

From what the part-time contractor had found out from public information released by the FPB, the suspect was a full-time university student who had just entered the Frontier Institute of Technology under its BS Computer Security course. So far, the FPB's CIB had investigated his background and found that there was nothing unusual about his mental state of mind. Furthermore, initial interviews with FIT students and faculty have suggested that the suspect wouldn't be able to do such a thing, being known to be a responsible and kind student.

Because of this, the FPB has called in the Security and Intelligence Bureau aka the Special Branch to assist their colleagues in the CIB to check on the suspect's background even more, including family background checks. So far, the FPB commented that his name won't be released due to "privacy laws" that do not allow them to release a suspect's name until the investigation is complete or the chief warrants the release of the suspect's name to the public, depending on the circumstances at hand.

The public mobile phone Mikhail acquired from Griffith Park had a beeping tone for a few seconds, which indicated that he got a message.

"Better remind myself to put this mobile phone on vibration mode." The blond teenager reminded himself as he got to the phone's settings to select Vibrate Mode after he placed it in Silent Mode.

After the phone was placed in Silent and Vibrate Modes, Mikhail saw that it received a SMS message in the inbox. He decided to open it and see what it was about.

It seems that you've been able to secure this phone, Mikhail Blanc.

Mikhail was a bit alarmed. He looked around to see if anyone was conducting surveillance on him. But he couldn't find anyone suspicious since most of the pedestrians were either minding their own business or were simply talking with someone else. He wondered if the mysterious caller knew about him 'cause he was wearing his SMS jacket.

He then received another SMS message, which he opened again.

We know who you are, Mikhail. Student in Mihoshi Academy under the Pilot Training Course and a part-time contractor for the Strategic Military Services...

Dammit... Mikhail kept walking down the street, knowing that whoever was sending him these SMS messages are probably keeping a close on him. How do they know these details about me beside the guys from class and from SMS? Don't tell me that my bio's leaked out from SMS somewhere?

In case you're wondering, my associates and I didn't make contact with anyone from your school or from SMS.

Mikhail decided to force the question from these people by sending out a SMS message to the unregistered mobile phone number after he read up on the latest message.

Who the hell are you and how you do know about my life?

The blond teen didn't wait for the message since he decided to walk as fast as he can, making the decision to get out of the street as much as possible, not knowing if the mysterious contact is a friend or foe. He placed the phone in his right pants pocket for now.

It's like these guys have been keeping an eye on me ever since I left SMS HQ... Whoever they are, their intelligence capabilities are probably good to rival even intelligence agencies from the FPB or from NUNS.

A minute later, he got another SMS. He decided to indulge the person trying to contact him and read his message.

Let's just say that we have a mutual interest. We were told that you'd like to solve the mystery of your older sister, Jessica Blanc.

"What?"

Mikhail murmured as he read that his mysterious contact had a shared interest with him. As he was getting near his apartment, the next message that he got shocked him.

Just who's the mystery man behind all of this?

TruthSeeker has told us that you requested for his help in solving the case. As such, we will assist you in resolving it with any means necessary.

Chapter 1 END

PS - Hello to everyone and thanks for reading this chapter. This is a first for me to head back to fanfic writing in 2014 due to personal issues, most of them related to health reasons while I have been studying Japanese again as of late after a "talk" that wasn't a talk at all since my parents are frustrated a bit with me a few months ago. For personal reasons, I won't elaborate on the matter in order to let it rest. In that period, I had little to no time to get back to writing fanfiction once more and finish what I started.

Also, I am aware that writing more than two fanfic stories will potentially set things back since I may not be able to concentrate on my writings and finish them off properly before I consider leaving the fanfic scene, with the exception of "The Stories" since it's more of a side project than anything. Which is why I decided to do this as an experiment to see if I can do a Macross Frontier story with technothriller writing thrown in the mix since I love that genre. It's also an attempt to jumpstart my writing part in the brain to get back into the rhythm as well.

Anyway, I hope that I can some interest with you readers with regards to the concept of the story. A hint that I can say is that one franchise crossed over with MF is from Ubisoft. It should be easy to figure it out from the story. He he. I have another one coming up (if I can keep going that is), but I won't say what franchise it is to keep it a secret. And maybe a surprise or two.

In case people are wondering where I got the dates as shown, it's from Sketchley's site courtesy of the Macross Compendium from various linear notes released on MF DVDs/Blu-Rays IIRC. Note the way that I introduce the characters (at least those from Frontier for now in this chapter onwards) is in the style of the Metal Gear series from Solid onwards with the name of the character is shown alongside the voice actor's name in both Japanese and English. I have a hard time doing the English one since I can't tell who can do a good job for... let's say, Mikhail or Sheryl. I'm trying my best on this one, but it's not like I can tell who has a good voice role with whom with the Frontier cast (again... mostly) aside from hearing/listening from their past performances in other stuff the VAs voiced in English, especially since it's my own idea for this fic on an ideal cast provided that the geography for North American voice actors is not a problem. -_-;;

Title is from a title sung by the band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Please drop a review or two and let me know what you think about this story idea. Do let me know if I made a mistake somewhere regarding canon stuff. This idea's been in my heads for weeks now. The only thing I refuse to tolerate is personal flames for no reason.

Before I go, I must let you readers know that I'm not sure when I can update again since I need to leave for Canada to pack whatever things I can bring home since my old man is going to sell the house that I lived in from 2007 to 2014. If anything, an update to this or "Hostages" and "Peacekeepers" may come in July.