Episode 1: Lost Christmas
-December 25, 2069-
On the bridge of Macross Veneficus a man with shoulder-length raven hair and blue eyes is sitting on the captain's seat while tapping the armrest restlessly while staring at the fold space. Beside him standing right next to his seat is a young woman with shoulder-length violet hair and red eyes who looks calmer than the man but she is also as anxious as him.
"Captain, we'll be defolding in ten minutes."
One of the operators of the Macross Veneficus reported. The commander nodded and stood up from his seat.
"Alright everyone, all hands, battle station! Tell the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Omega, and Theta platoons to prepare themselves. Once we're out, have all fighters scramble and then transform! The enemy will be strong. This alien species known as Daat had managed to cripple the majority of Fleet 35's combat capability. Once we arrive, we'll give them everything we got!"
"""Yes sir!"""
The whole bridge chorused. The man, Captain Shinomiya Kazumi, sat back on his seat and adopted a serious look as he heard his order being broadcasted throughout the ship by the comms officers.
Yesterday, NUNS and Chaos received a broadcast for help from the Macross 35 immigration fleet requesting for immediate assistance to repel the alien life-form known as Daat that they have encountered. The fleet had suffered massive casualty over the course of their battle against the alien life-form that appear to came out of nowhere. The fleet was one of the few tasked to explore the outer regions of the galaxy that mostly still remains a great mystery to them.
This species called Daat has crystal-like form with body akin to mercury. They attack in swarms not unlike the Vajra. Their numbers are lesser but they attack with ferocity with one of their most frightening ability, the ability to assimilate what they touch and turn them into crystals.
Everything they touch turn to crystal and shatter. Conventional weapons like bullets and missiles will be assimilated by their body at moment of contact rendering them ineffective so instead, energy weapons and dimensional weapon was used but even then these aliens possess some resistance to energy weapons.
With these aliens fighting mostly in close combat, the deployment of dimensional weapon is limited. The battle against these aliens codenamed Daat slowly crippled Fleet 35's combat ability. But luck did not completely abandon the fleet during one of their own 'Miss Macross' competition which coincided with an attack from these aliens.
During the attack, some Daat managed to break into Island 1 and attack the competition building. It was then that one of the contestants, Yuzuriha Mana, who was left behind during the evacuation, trapped among the debris of the demolished building, began to sing earnestly and the Daat stopped.
It was found out that Daat was affected by the massive fold wave coming from Mana. When subjected to extremely strong fold wave, the Daat began to harden, making conventional weapon effective on them. Furthermore, the stronger the fold wave is, the weaker these aliens get. Mana's singing managed to turn the tide of the subsequent battles with Daat.
That day, Macross 35 fleet managed to finally push back the Daat, having found their one weakness… only to find out that there was more to them than meets the eye.
Just yesterday, the Daat launched another attack on the day of their fleet's Diva, Yuzuriha Mana's Anniversary Concert. The attack was unlike anything previously seen and they were gradually being pushed back. The aim of the attack is simple. The abduction of Yuzuriha Mana as Daat swarmed the concert hall immediately. The last transmission they got from Fleet 35 was that Yuzuriha Mana was taken and Fleet 35 lost their Macross.
In response to this, Macross Veneficus under the command of Captain Kazumi Shinomiya was sent to rescue Fleet 35. Kazumi is determined to succeed, and succeed he will, with one of the greatest songstress the galaxy had ever seen by his side. Once they defolded, the crew of Macross Veneficus and the supporting fleet saw fleet 35 being attacked by numerous silver monsters.
-December 25, AD 2069, Lost Christmas-
"So those are Daat."
Kazumi muttered as the Veneficus' main monitor showed zoomed images of the enemies being fought by Fleet 35's complement of VF-171, VF-25 in Tornado pack, and several VF-29. The VF-25 in Tornado pack and the VF-29 fared much better than the more common VF-171 with their complement of beam weapons but the enemy will overwhelm them in number, especially now with the absence of their diva.
Fighters fell by the dozens as the battle rages on. If Kazumi doesn't do anything fast, the fleet will fall. He then turn to the young woman beside him and nodded. The woman nodded back and ran to the edge of the bridge and jump down onto a stage below the bridge. Her Chaos uniform then transformed into black, white, and indigo concert outfit of the well-known Walkure lead singer. She brought a mic to her lips as music began to play.
"Lend an ear to the song of a goddess!"
The Daat began to freeze and turn towards the newly arrived Macross Veneficus as music blared from the mighty Macross battleship's specially installed fold speakers. Numerous platoons of VF-31 in both Super pack and Armored pack took off from the ship as it transformed into its gigantic robot form while firing countless amount of beam cannons.
'Mitsumeatte koi wo shite
Mu ga muchuu de oikakete
Dakedo motto shiritakute meramera shiteru"
The Star Singer, Mikumo Shinomiya's voice began to echo throughout the battlefield. The powerful fold wave projected by the Star Singer immediately made an effect on the Daat as many of them began to hold their faceless head with their lance-like arms as if they were in pain.
"Now! Begin the counterattack! Charge the Macross cannon!"
Kazumi ordered. Everyone on the bridge complied as the Macross Veneficus entered the battlefield with the Star Singer on board. Keeping the enemies at bay with a barrage of cannon fire, the crew quickly work on charging the main cannon, the signature weapon of every Macross-class battleship.
"Target the enemy swarm in front of Island 1! Alert every allied unit in the area to stay clear of the blast radius! Once allied units have retreated, mow them down!"
Kazumi instructed. Following his instruction, the weapon control crew work on targeting the enemy swarm with the Macross cannon while the communication officers issue the alert to steer clear of their blast radius. Once every allied units have retreated, the Macross cannon fired.
'Negau hodo nazo ga fue
Omou hodo netsu ni naru
Dakara motto tobikomu no mikai no sekai ah'
The cannon fire decimated the swarm of Daat by the thousands as the interference by Mikumo's powerful biological fold wave caused them to be unable to evade properly. Seeing the decimation, Captain Shinomiya grinned. But that grin immediately disappear when he looked towards the fleet and saw its condition. It doesn't look very good. Many support ships had been damaged and Island 1 is in a bad shape. It will take some time and a lot of resources to fix the fleet. Fortunately, he had the foresight to request to bring such resources.
"What's the status of the battlefield?"
Kazumi asked. One of the operators immediately work on finding out the condition of the battle.
"40% of the enemy forces was decimated by the Macross cannon but there are still many of them left. But thanks to miss Shinomiya's song, the Daat forces' combat effectiveness had dropped significantly and our forces' morale had risen. We're gradually pushing them back!"
Kazumi nodded. That's a very good news. Their initial attack fortunately managed to take out a large chunk of the enemy forces. They managed to caught the Daat off guard from the flank and Mikumo's song kept them in place long enough to be mowed down from a perfect position. The battle is going well.
'Koi toka yume toka
Daredemo shinjiru kedo
Sokosoko semenakya tsumannai yo'
The Captain then looked at his singing wife. The violet haired beauty is singing one of her signature songs with great fervor as expected of her and it is affective against the Daat. That's good. He's at least relieved that she doesn't have to go Star Singer mode at the moment. That is only an absolute last resort.
The Macross battleship continued advancing, destroying enemies by the dozens with its many guns as it flew through the battlefield. There's still some time until the Macross cannon is charged once more but with how the battle is slowly tilting to their side, it is possible that they could win the battle without firing a second shot.
At that moment, a screen appeared on the main monitor of Macross Veneficus' bridge. Someone from Island 1 had just contacted them. On the screen, the image of a middle-aged man with white hair and thick facial hair appeared. From his uniform, Kazumi can tell that he's a NUNS officer.
"This is Commodore Yan of the NUNS. We thank you for your assistance. May I know the name of the fleet's commanding officer?"
The man requested so Kazumi introduced himself.
"This is Captain Shinomiya of Chaos. We will assist you in repelling the enemy forces."
"Thank You. At present, we have lost 60% of our forces. We will require assistance in wiping out the Daat inside Island 1."
"Acknowledged. We'll get to it immediately."
As the transmission ended, Kazumi got up from his seat and turn around to walk out from the bridge. Seeing their captain about to leave, someone asked where he's going.
"The battle in space seems to be going smoothly so I'm joining the battle inside Island 1. Tell the hangar crew to prep my Valkyrie."
'Girigiri ai ikenai borderline
Nanido G demo subete kowashitemiseru
Kirikiri mai saranaru G he to
Ishiki ga tokeru karada wa seigyo funou
Icchau kamo ne'
Kazumi walk to the hangar after changing into his pilot suit. Once there, he saw that his custom unit is prepped and ready. It is a unit designated as VF-31F/sk, a custom Siegfried unit with an enhanced Fold Wave Resonance system. As with most Siegfried unit, its primary body color is gray added with the pilot's personal color over it, which is bright red in Kazumi's case. On the center of the unit's back is Kazumi's personal emblem, a raven in flight.
The Captain grinned. While he had worked hard to reach the position he has today and is proud to be entrusted with a Macross-class battleship, this is where his heart truly lies. Before he's a battleship captain, he is a pilot first and foremost. That single fact will never change no matter how high up in the rank he goes. With trained ease, the Captain jumped into the valkyrie's cockpit. He closed the canopy and brought his unit out to the runway.
"Shinomiya Kazumi, launching."
Engaging his thrusters, Kazumi launched from the Macross-class battleship. He quickly deployed his container weapon which had been switched from its original gunpod setup with a twin MDE cannon setup. Shooting down any approaching Daat with trained ease, the ace pilot headed straight into Island 1 through a hole on its outer layer followed by Alpha and Beta platoons.
Once he's inside, he was greeted by a very unusual and horrifying sight. Many parts of the island, from the streets, buildings, and even the lakes are covered with crystals. There are fire and destruction everywhere. Moving quickly, he began dispatching more Daat through some quick shooting.
'Fuzakeatta tomodachi to
Motomeatta ano hito to
Mata aeru hi no tame ni giragira shiteru'
"Captain, there are civilians still in the city!"
The recon unit of Alpha platoon told him while pointing at the city. Various images appeared on his monitor showing several groups of civilians running from the battle. Some of them are even chased by some crystal humanoids. Are they some kind of Daat foot soldiers?
"Alpha and Beta platoons, spread out and protect the civilians. Help them evacuate to the shelters!"
The Captain ordered. All pilots acknowledged his order and spread out as they began dispatching the Daat forces one by one while heading to areas where civilians are. Kazumi then observe the battlefield. There's a large number of enemies inside the Island. It will take a while to clear them all out. Finding some civilians to help evacuate, joined the battle.
"We'll need a new pack to handle these guys."
The ace pilot muttered as he destroyed another Daat after several shots from his railguns. Sighing, he flew down to the city in fighter mode, firing missiles at Daat as he passed them by, setting the missiles to explode upon contact. Once he reached near ground level, he noticed a group of civilians being chased by some smaller Daat with one large type behind. Kazumi transformed his unit to gerwalk mode to stomp on the smaller units and fired his railguns at them. The large type saw him and launched a crystal projectile. Using his cannon, he shot them and the large type down easily.
"Quickly, run to the nearest shelter!"
Kazumi ordered the civilians who all nodded and continue running. He began sweeping the streets and destroy any enemies he came across. The large number of smaller Daat type is a major threat for civilians. Using all his guns, Kazumi decimate them by the dozens.
Just as he was about to make another turn, his instinct suddenly told him to stop. He did it just in time as something soar through the air in front of him and hit a building close to him. Surprised, Kazumi immediately follow the trajectory of the projectile and saw a Daat aiming its right arm at him, a right arm that is in the shape of a long rifle and firing somethine very similar to a bullet.
"What the hell? That one is different from what we've been facing! Another type of Daat?"
Kazumi wondered. He immediately pulled up just as the new type fired at him once again with its arm rifle. He responded by firing his MDE cannon at it. With his accurate shooting, he dispatched the new type easily but had to move as he noticed more of the new type closing in.
'Hikaru hodo kage wa deki
Moeru hodo hai ni naru
Hashiru hodo mietekuru abunai line ah'
Kazumi opened fire with his railguns… but they only did some damage instead of outright destroying the new types. The ace clicked his tongue. The new types are more durable than their common counterpart. He fired at them with his cannon while evading their shot. Two more of those new type fell to him when he decided to get in close with battroid mode. A compartment then opened on his unit's leg. A folded blade shoots out from the compartment and he grabbed it, cutting down two other new types in a single swing.
"They're a tough one even with Mikumo's song weakening them. Now I can see why they are so dangerous."
The ace pilot then proceeds to cut down more enemies. He dodged several shots from another new type and shoot it down with his cannon. Several of the older type then converged on his position when they noticed their stronger brethren being destroyed one by one by the Star Singer's knight. Not worried at all about being surrounded, the Siegfried grab its sword tightly, waiting for them to attack.
They lunged at him with their lance-like arms but Kazumi easily dodged and cut them. Changing his cannon to its container form so it won't get damaged in the melee, he focuses on close combat, cutting down the older type as they come at him while expertly evading their attacks. He had cut down more than a dozen when they stopped coming and kept their distance. Kazumi realized that they have become wary of him and are keeping their distance.
"They are watching huh? Does that mean that they have sentience?"
He wondered. But that's a question that can be asked later when the battle is over. He then looked out for more enemies. He then saw some of the new types firing down on the city. That means they are attacking something, most likely civilians. Turning to their direction, Kazumi stored his sword and transform to fighter mode.
'Jiyuu mo heiwa mo
Nozomeba umareru kedo
Motamota shitetara kusacchau yo'
He shot down two of the new types first. When they fell, he immediately looked for any civilians that might be in the vicinity. To his horror, he was too late. A group of civilians were here but they had been killed by the Daat attacking them before. Their bodies have been torn apart by the new type's bullet and what was left of their flesh now has some sort of crystal growing from them.
But his attention was then taken by an explosion occurring not far. Heading there as fast as he can, his monitor showed him an image of a family of three running away from a wrecked Nightmare Plus. They are being followed by a new type Daat. With the Nightmare Plus protecting them gone, the Daat aimed its right rifle arm at the family. Alarmed, Kazumi deployed his cannon and fired.
Unfortunately, he was too late. The moment his blast destroyed the Daat, the bullet had been fired, and the family was caught up in the blast. He looked down at the point of impact and saw the family's scattered body parts sprouting crystal like the previous group he failed to save. Closing his eyes and offering them a brief prayer, he was about to move on when his sensors alerted him of some movement on the ground below. The monitor zoomed it on a spot not far from the point of impact and he saw a girl lying there, the daughter of the couple that had just died.
'Girigiri ai abunai borderless
Hijoushiki da ne
Mada kasoku shiteru yo'
Kazumi's eyes widened. The girl is still alive. She looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. She has some bruises but otherwise, she is alive. As the girl groaned and try to stand up, she winced. Kazumi transformed his Valkyrie to gerwalk mode and landed nearby. Opening his canopy and flying to where the girl is with his EX gear, he try to help her up.
"Can you get up?"
"N-no sir, my leg hurts when I try to stand."
Like the girl had said, her legs are injured by debris when the blast caught her and her family. It looks bad but at least she is alive. Since it can't be helped, Kazumi knelt down and pick up the young girl.
"Thank you sir. Umm, what about my parents? Where are…"
The girl did no manage to finish whatever it is that she wanted to ask because she turned behind her to see the fate of her parents with her own eyes. Kazumi cursed. With both his hands occupied, he couldn't cover her eyes and the girl had to see her dead family. The only silver lining is that the sight is not exactly as gruesome as it should be. Due to the crystals growing from parts of their corpses, there's not as much blood and gore. But seeing body pieces covered in crystals is still disturbing.
"No… papa, mama…"
Adjusting how he hold her, Kazumi pulled the girl into a hug as he let her cry on his shoulder. The girl wailed loudly. It reminded Kazumi of the time when his own mother, the only family he had ever known, passed away. Though it can't become a comparison because his mother passed away peacefully, not through getting shot by a large caliber gun. She's a strong one though. She hasn't gone into shock like some people did. That's a plus.
"Don't worry, everything is going to be alright."
Kazumi try to console her.
"B-but…"
Another explosion happened not far away. He nearly forgot that the battle is still raging. Flying back to his Valkyrie with the young girl, Kazumi restart his machine and flew up with the girl now sitting on his lap.
"Let's get out of here first. Hang on tight."
The girl nodded. Kazumi smiled seeing her trying to act strong. Then he plunged back into the battle, but this time so he can get back to Macross Veneficus outside. Since he has an injured passenger on board, he tried to fly a bit more smoothly than usual, keeping the speed on a more normal level so that the girl wouldn't be affected by the G much, especially since it would aggravate her injury. Even now, she is wincing whenever he move suddenly.
'Kirikiri mai genkaiten nara
Nurikaete ii
Hakai to saisei kara
Watashi ga dekiru'
Skillfully flying through the battlefield while shooting down enemies right and left, it took Kazumi only a moment to reach the hole on Island 1's canopy where he previously entered from. Just when he got out of Island 1 though, he saw a surprising sight. The Daat are beginning to retreat. Every each one of them began to fly out of the battlefield. Even the ones inside Island 1 are also starting to escape. With the Daat retreating, Mikumo also stopped singing, watching the enemy leave from her stage in Macross Veneficus.
"They are retreating."
Kazumi muttered. He then opened a channel to Macross Veneficus in response to this sudden retreat.
"This is Shinomiya speaking. The Daat have begun to retreat. I want confirmation that this is truly the case and when we have confirmed that they have all left the battlefield, have all soldier began cleanup operation. I'll be returning to the ship in a moment."
Kazumi ended his transmission. He then took off his helmet and loosen his collar. That's when he noticed that the girl he rescued is look up at him curiously.
"Is there anything wrong?"
He asked. The girl tilted her head and inquired.
"Mister, your name is also Shinomiya?"
"Also?"
The girl happily nodded.
"Yes. My name is also Shinomiya, Shinomiya Ayase. Thank you for rescuing me, mister!"
Kazumi blinked. That was a surprise. Who would've thought that such a coincidence can happen? The ace pilot chuckled as he directed his Valkyrie towards his Macross. That battle has ended, but he knows that this won't be the last time they're seeing the Daat. The Lost Christmas Battle had ended, but the war has only begun.
Well damn, this would be my third rewrite of this story, but don't worry, this will be the last rewrite because now I have a much better idea about what I'm doing and a concrete plot. Anyway, once again, for those who had never read any of the previous version, this crossover story is based on my own Macross Delta fic which is a sequel to the series. This is the sequel to Song of the Stars RE though that story is not done but the general plot is quite obvious. I'll only reveal the obvious things from that story in this one. Anyway, unlike before where I just mentioned the battle, this time I added the Lost Christmas Battle into the story, granted I only write it from Kazumi's side but I think it's better than before. Anyway, the second chapter is almost done but I won't post it until after a full 24 hours.