Experimental fic.
Macross Frontier Gaiden.
Prologue F.
Without another word, Alto stormed out of the Saotome house.
Yasaburo, his adoptive brother stood beside the silent father as the angry son put more and more distance between them.
"I will not become you heir! I've been a prisoner on your stage my entire life!"
"You have no choice, you are born into this! You are my son, so you will take my place and your family name when I'm gone!"
"You have never treated me like your son! Ever since mother died, you just tightened your rope around me! I have my choice now, between your stage and my sky, between your prison and my freedom!"
To Yasaburo's surprise, his master chuckled.
"They say you can't have two male lions in the same den." The older Saotome mused without humour.
"Sensei…." The young man did not know what to say. Surely, as much as he desired, he himself cannot be named heir.
"His mother always told him to follow his heart." The sickly man spoke again, half to himself, "His destiny will guide him, wherever he chooses to go. That silly boy always wanted to fly in a real sky…One day! One day, Alto will learn that no matter how high he flies, no matter how far the horizon seems to be, gravity will always pull him back where he belongs."
Sheryl Nome, Galaxy Fairy, squinted at all the flashing cameras, welcoming her arrival. Frontier was to be the last stretch of her tour, rumoured to be the most fabulous show planned yet.
Groups and groups of fans hovered around the area where she was to descend from her plane, piloted my none other than her body guard, chosen from Galaxy's army: Major Brera Sterne.
"Are you sure you will utilize Frontier's stuntmen?" Brera asked Sheryl as they descended from the steps, into the cheering throngs. "After all, Frontier is known to be subjected to random Vajra raids these days. Once you're lifted off the stage by the stunts, we cannot protect you. At least on the ground, you have our cover."
Sheryl laughed, "This is my last and final performance, I plan to put my 100% into this. I am THE Sheryl Nome after all; the Vajra will have to wait."
The major said nothing, but smiled at the songstress. She has the character of a good soldier, something he admired in women.
"I'm going to be late! Oh no!"
With her squishy cell phone gripped tightly in one of her hands, Ranka Lee ran with all her might to the plaza where Sheryl was to reveal her queenly presence to Frontier for the first time.
Her heartbeat sped up when she caught a glimpse of Sheryl's pink hair, live, too! Ranka picked up her speed as she joined the crowd.
She did not realize that at that very moment, she is like a beacon for a certain fleet of monsters traveling straight towards Frontier.
Alto wasn't happy that his quite "thinking place" is now the noisy makeshift landing port for the universe's favourite singer. He sat behind the plaza's monument, half spying on the horde of people only a few meters below him, and half trying to concentrate on his dilemma he was presented by his father. Sheryl was beautiful, waving patiently at her admirers, Alto thought to himself. He should be lucky that he was chosen to be her stunt in her show two nights away….he would be happy, if it were not of his fight with his father earlier….
He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.
Buzzing sounds.
Where? Here? Now?
He looked up towards the sounds, and saw, with dismay, the incoming army of bugs, dubbed, the Vajra. They've made it through Frontier's defence lines again. Like a wave, all the people of the plaza cried out in fear, as all the screens on the fleet flashed red with caution.
Alto stood up and surveyed the scene from his elevated position.
Men, women, children, running wild, dodging, looking for shelter, on the ground. In the sky, defence pilots from the army were coming in, gunfire and bombs exploded like dying stars.
A peaceful landscape suddenly turned into a ravaged battle-ground. Amidst the furious melee, a green hair girl crouched down and screamed in fear; a soldier stood with machine-gun in hand, scanning the sky, focused on protecting one person; and Sheryl, calm and defiant, every inch the calm, cool idol she claimed to be.
A run-away, a soldier, a pop idol, a schoolgirl.
The rook, the knight, the queen, the pawn.
Four unlikely people, four different pasts, brought together for the same tragic future.
Fate has chosen unlikely pieces for her musing.