Disclaimer: This story contains various characters from different anime used for the purpose of both the reader and author's entertainment. Characters of these anime and Robotech/Macross are the property of ADV, Harmony Gold and Shoji Kawamori.
Semper Fi: The UN Marine Corps
By Bud
Chapter 3: Marines Can Fly Too!
July 2005. The Anti-U.N. strike hard against several cities around the world. The United Nations fight back and peace is broken, an official War on Terrorism begins. Guerrilla warfare breaks out all over America due to an invasion of terrorist factions, but are soon quelled by the end of August. Due to the heavy loss of civilian lives in cold blood at the hands of terrorist, the U.N. orders the immediate man-hunt of all Anti-U.N. military organization leaders.
February 2006. Trail and test productions of the Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1 Valkyrie aerospace superiority variable fighter and Douglas/Shinsei VF/A-3 Strike Eagle multi-role strike variable fighter. Mass Production began immediately.
April 2006. OTEC develops and complete the first super-small-scale thermonuclear reaction plant. A smaller fusion reactor, the MT808, is developed and first used in a Viggers/Chrauler MBR-04 Mk VI Tomahawk Destroid and is proven safe for both mechanics and pilots after long-term testing.
December 25th, 2006. Anti-UN terrorist secretly infiltrate Mars Base Sara and set off a Neutron Bomb that wiped out all life on the base. Communications were completely cut off and the base was officially declared obliterated and abandoned. No investigation of the base was needed, the whole world saw everything on CNN.
March 2007. The Marine Corps new Armored Tactical Assault Division has adopted the MBR-04 Mk VII Tomahawk with the new thermonuclear reactor as their main battle robot. The ATAD also adopted the smaller and older ADR-01 Cheyenne Destroid and upgraded them to the LAR-01 Mk. III Rifleman, which was equipped with the newer MT828 reactor, jump-jet capability, X band Doppler and pulse short/long-range radar, and was also equipped with a 40mm 6-barrel high-velocity vulcan gatling cannon on each arm. Training for the Marines of the ATAD was nearing completion and all the battle worthiness of the whole division was tested when Anti-U.N. forces attacked Australia and were successfully eliminated.
July 2007. All combat pilots of the ATAD have earned the new air/armor wings and will be sent to Macross Island Air Base to be trained in the use of the VF-1 Valkyrie by the Skull Squadron until their own VF/A-3 Strike Eagle are delivered late 2007.
Macross Island Air Base
Macross Island, Pacific Ocean
The U.N. Spacy's new VC-27 Heavy VTOL cargo jet, the "Tunny" began it's descent from the clouds on a direct course toward Macross Island. The 120 Marine Corps pilots of the 1st Marine Aerospace Wing, 1st ATAD, were being transfered from Halls Creek Base to Macross Island for training of the VF-1 Valkyrie fighter from U.N. Spacy's Skull, Green and Blue squadrons which will help in training and adaption to the VF/A-3 upon their arrival in later in the year.
Lt. Colonel Ayame Kusanagi watched as the Tunny descended below the clouds and observed the sea of orange water as the sun rose from the east. She felt a sense of peace come over her and feeling joy when the rays of the sun shined in her green eyes. Then there is was, slowly growing as the Tunny descended. Surrounded by a growing city was the huge Super Dimensional Battle-Fortress, SDF-1. It was an amazing sight to behold and hard to believe. Just only seven years ago the SDF-1 was just a torn and heavily damage piece of alien hardware that crashed to the Earth, something no human could understand at the time. But now, it was almost completely reconstructed and would see service once it is completed.
"Beautiful." she whispered, keeping her gaze on the vessel.
"Sure is, sir!" said the Tunny pilot. "And it's still hard to believe that the thing was FUBAR when it hit Earth-side."
Ayame nodded. "I'm wondering whose going to Captain such a ship."
"No clue, sir. But I heard that the might choose that Russian Captain uhh... Henry or something like that." he said.
"I'll inquire when you get us down safely to the deck."
"Yes, sir!" The co-pilot contacted the island. "Macross Tower this is CV-27 Flight 2236B transporting Marines from Halls Creek. Permission to land, over."
They replied. "Permission to land at runway 3. Welcome to Macross Island, Marines."
The pilot looked at Kusanagi, who was still standing. "Uhh.. You might want to strap in, sir."
"I'll be fine."
The VC-27 Tunny touched down on Macross Base without trouble and was taxied to the staging deck to unload the compliment of Marines. While her men and women were being lead to their barracks on base, Ayame was off to the side, gazing up into the morning sky. The sounds of deep engines were approaching, deeper than those of the F/A-18 Super Hornets that she was use to, shaking the tarmac beneath her feet. She watched the new VF-1 Valkyrie fighters pull off overhead, turning into the sun.
"Beautiful..." she whispered.
"Admiring the new jets?"
Kusanagi blinked, turning around and looking at the man that addressed her. The man was a few inches taller than her, lean, with blonde hair rakishly pulled over one eye. A cocky grin sat naturally on his features and she noticed that he definitely needed a shave. The gold oak leaf glittering on the lapel of his flight suit was all that she needed to know. Navy. Pilot. Jock. Playboy, she thought sourly, though she didn't show it.
"Maybe I am? Whose asking?" she replied.
"Lt. Commander Roy Fokker, Ms...?" Roy extended his hand. It was only then that he noticed the silver oak leaf pinned to the shoulders of the woman's service uniform. "Oh shi- I mean, sir!" He quickly snapped to attention and saluted. "Lt. Commander Fokker, Commander of the Air Group!"
Kusanagi gave him a crisp salute in return. "Lt. Colonel Ayame Kusanagi. UN Marine Corps Armored Tactical Assault Division. Pleasure to meet you." She offered her hand.
"Same here, sir." He visibly winced when they shook hands and his missed the brief smirk on her lips. "Welcome to Macross Island. I'm assuming that the Marines my squadron will be training would be yours, sir?"
"That's an affirmative, Commander. I'll be expecting the best from you and your squadrons. Put my Marines through hell." she said, smirking.
"Yes, sir! That we will."
There was a long pause as she continued to watch another pair of fighters performing combat maneuvers overhead. Highly maneuverable, variable-sweep geometry wing design, high acceleration, she noted while observing. They are just like the F-14 Tomcat, except smaller, faster and more maneuverable. She glanced at Fokker, who was also watching.
"You don't remember me, do you?" she asked.
He looked confused. "Sir?"
She sighed. "Maybe this will help you." She unbuttoned her uniform to show a generous amount of cleavage. "Paris, France ring a bell?"
"Oh yeah! Now I remember! You're that..." He saw her fist coming right for his face. "Oh sh!"
She walked off feeling good about herself. "Who would of known I would find that fresh bastard that grabbed my ass in that restaurant. Damn, I feel good! Ooooo-RAH!"
Roy laid twitching on the flight deck with the signs of a black eye forming.
The following day began the training. The 1st Marine Aerospace Wing were divided into their respective squadrons - two doing class time, two in the simulators and one out on the flight deck for a first hand explanation of the VF-1. Out on the deck were the "Black Knights", lead squadron of the 1st and 2nd MAW. They were being instructed by the U.N. Spacy's Skull squadron on the cockpits of the VT-1, a two-seated trainer for the VF-1.
Roy Fokker sighed. Yesterday was a really rough day for him. First he flirts with a Marine Corps ranking officer by accident, then received a black eye from said officer because he grabbed her ass a few years back. Then he had to walk around with an ice-pack covering his black eye. Then he was teased by his wing-mates and had his toes ran over by a jeep full of Marines. He was lucky that nothing was broken. And all that happened before lunch time.
"Fokker!"
He turned to the source of the voice and immediately snapped to attention, saluting Lt Col Kusanagi. "Good morning, sir!" He noticed she was wearing the standard issue flight suit.
"At ease, Commander." She returned the salute. "You don't seem to be busy at the moment. Why don't you show me how this puppy works." She started climbing into the front cockpit of the VT-1 trainer.
"Sir?"
"I'm a combat soldier, Fokker." she stated firmly, putting on her flight helmet. "I may be a division commander, but I'd rather die than work behind a desk."
He nodded. "Alright then, sir." He reached into the rear cockpit and put on his own helmet. "I'm going to assume that you already know about the OTEC "Thinking Cap" system that was utilized in the Destroids. The same system is used in the VF-1's, so I'll skip that whole explanation on that. First we'll go over the gross motor controls?"
"What about the flight manual?" She saw a few of her Marines reading the manual by their own VT trainers.
"You can read it later or learn about it in class. I've always held that it's better, with this particular bird, to get the hands-on experience in it." he said, smirking.
"And if I screw up, flame us out, or do something stupid?"
"I've read your file, sir. You're a Top Gun Ace like myself, so I know you won't do anything stupid." Roy grinned. "But anyway, it's really hard to crash a Valkyrie by accident. Anyway, in this configuration, the HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) is very similar to the F-14 Tomcat, except the flight stick is located here on the right hand side. The foot pedals act as a combination rudder and vectored thrust control."
"Manual vectoring?"
He nodded. "They designed the fighter to be computer light. Automated vectoring was found to interfere with some of the transformation systems. I'll get to that later." He pointed at the stick. "Feel the trigger? That fires the main cannon, a Howard GU-11 gatling gun pod, fifty-five mike (55mm). Fires 1200 rounds per minute with an internal 600 round capacity. No reload."
"Got it."
Roy pointed at the console located near the throttle. "Primary arming mechanism, selects one of nine firm-points. You've got two pivoting soft points on each wing and two hard-points on the fuselage. Standard armament for Valkyries would usually be twelve AMM-1 Stiletto long-range all-purpose missiles. We're running dry today." He pointed at several instrument screens and guages. "Your engine and flight instrument clusters are here, here and here. The VF-1 is powered by twin FF-2001 thermonuclear turbine engines and you also have small vernier thruster ports at certain locations along the fighter for high-maneuverability."
"I read that the AWG-20 radar and fire-control systems can track up to 20 targets." said Kusanagi. She looked at Fokker.
"That's right. It's also covered in the manual. You have two flip-lids on the HOTAS. The flight stick contains your missile pickle and will only release when a pylon is armed. The cover on your throttle controls the laser turret." He grinned at that. "The turret is located on the under-belly, just behind the seat, and tracks your helmet gyro. Pickle it once to bring the laser on-line, a second time to fire. The second trigger on the throttle is for a pair of anti-aircraft pulse-laser cannon that fire 6000 pulses a minute. The might sound like machine guns at first, but they are lasers." He tosses her a pair of gloves. "Here put these on, then connect them here and here on the HOTAS."
She did so and was surprised to feel the faint vibrations of gyros spooling up inside. "This is similar to the Tomahawk and Cheyenne." She adjusted the calibration for the gyros in her gloves without the need on instruction.
"I'm dropping the canopy." Stated Roy. The canopy dropped down and the twin cockpits were sealed and pressurized. Two ground crew technicians completed the pre-flight inspection and gave him a signal. He powered up the twin fusion engines. "Okay, listen, Sir. This is were the similarities end with the Destroid and conventional fighters. This bird is not just piloted, it's lived." The VT trainer was taxied out to the runway and was given the go-ahead signal from the tower. The throttle was increased and the fighter powered down the runway. Within a few seconds the fighter was airborne and soon flying over the Pacific.
Supersonic, she noted when she glanced at the guages. And we're fairly close to the deck..
"Like the Destroid system, the Valkyrie system utilizes the many electrodes and sensors in your helmet and gloves, so the bird knows what you want to do before you know it. You have to be gentle, like the first time you make love to a woman." He stuttered. "I mean- Err..."
She laughed. "It's okay, Fokker."
"Err... right. You need flexibility like the water to adapt to the changing situations. If the bird can figure out what the hell is going on in your mind, you get a whole knew level of control and if you can grasp that control, the bird will not just be a tool, but an extension of your body." He explained.
Ayame had this curious look in her eyes that Roy saw from the mirror in the cockpit. "H- how do know that you gained this kind of control?"
"Well, it depends on the posture data level and the pilot. The higher the level, the more control you have. If the level is too high or too low, for example, if you are under a lot of pressure and panic or become frantic, or if you are spacing out." He said, adjusting the course of the fighter to stay within reach of the island. "I always tell my pilots, that if they can feel the wind under their wings, see what the sensors see, then they have achieved that level of control."
"Like right now?"
"What do you mean, sir?" He gasped! Don't tell me she!
She blinked, smiling as she felt everything around her. Around the outside of the fighter. She could feel the air passing under and over the wings, past the tail fins. She could see, in her mind, the information displayed on the HUD as if she was seeing with her eyes alone. She only had one word to describe this feeling.
"Magnificent..."
Roy could only stare at his superior officer and student. Even though she had similar training with the Destroid system, it took him almost a year of test piloting the proto-type models before he achieved the connection she was possibly feeling. He looked down at the console and was surprised to see that the posture data level was in green. Amazing, he thought, this is her first time in a Valkyrie and she has already reached a near perfect synchronization with the bird!
"Think you're ready, sir?"
She smirked. "You don't even have to ask!"
"Pilot has the plane."
"Front seat's plane."
Ayame eased the stick to the right and banked at a long 90 degree angle in a heading back toward the island. She was surprised at how smooth and effort-free the turn was. She eased the stick back, increasing the throttle to the max, but not going into after-burn. The fighter climbed rapidly and broke pass the cloud banks into the open blue skies. She immediately leveled the fighter off and looked back at Fokker, showing him the smile of a kid with a new toy.
And for some reason, Roy didn't like that smile.
"How is the construction of the SDF-1 coming along?" she asked.
"External construction was completed recently and they are just finishing with the engine and internal construction. The fortress will have it's own weapons fabrication and production factory on-ship so only raw resources will be needed for resupply. It's gonna be very interesting when it's done."
"What about the command tower? Is it operational?"
He nodded. "As a matter of fact, yeah. The bridge training crew should be on station, although there isn't an official captain as of late. Why?"
"Heh.."
Roy realized why he didn't like that smile of hers.
The fighter suddenly turned inverted and Ayame pushed the throttle to the max as she pulled up into a power-dive past the clouds and on a direct course for the ocean. She pulled up hard on the stick, manipulating the foot-pedals to vectoring the exhaust ports of the engines, pulling up from crashing into cold Pacific waves by just a few meters. The throttle went into after-burn, g-forces pressing her body into her seat as they passed the 1500 mph mark, Mach 2.0, soon nearing Mach 2.72, 2020 mph, it's maximum speed between sea level and 10,000 meters.
They were on a direct course back to Macross Island and the SDF-1. Specifically, the SDF-1's tower.
SDF-1 Tower Sail - Bridge
Macross City, Macross Island, Pacific Ocean
The bridge of the SDF-1 was calm and relaxed. The women of the U.N. Spacy were enjoying a break from the training and work that was required of a bridge crew, especially of a battle-fortress that was one of a kind. The bridge of the SDF-1 was a nexus of information and control in which the ship could operate with only a skeleton crew if all systems were in working order.
The bridge officers, though having been training for the past few months, were still fresh out of the U.N. Spacy academy. The ranking officer was Lt. Commander Lisa Hayes, Air Group Chief Tactical Officer. Next in line was Chief Weaponry Officer and Navigator 1st Lt. Claudia La Salle, then Surveillance Officer and Navigator 2nd Lt. Vanessa Leeds followed by Administration Officers Ensigns Kim Young and Sammie Porter, who also doubled as a communications officer.
As of now, the crew was on a much needed break. They were sitting at the head of the bridge drinking coffee while they made small talk about what has been happening lately on the island.
"Did you see the Marines that landed yesterday?" asked Kim, sipping her cup of joe from an SDF-1 mug. "A few of them came into town and this one guy was so... handsome."
Claudia raised an eyebrow. "Marine? Handsome?" She chuckled. "The only Marines I've even seen were kids, scarred warriors and a couple dykes. They were anything but handsome."
"Well you can't really look anyway, Claudia. You already have a man." Kim stuck her tongue out at the dark skinned female, making the other laugh.
Lisa paused. "How is Roy anyway? He looked pretty shaken up when he reported in this morning. Eye was pretty swollen, too. What happened?"
"Well, it seems that the Marine Division commander and Roy go back a long ways and they finally met each other." Claudie started giggling. "And the first thing she does when she see's him she clocks him one."
"But, why did she do that?" asked Lisa, curious.
"Oh, Roy was just being Roy."
"Oh... that." she dead-panned.
The group began to feel vibrations and they were steadily growing.
"Hey, what's that?" asked Vanessa, listening closely.
Claudia looks at Lisa. "Are they're suppose to be any flights today?"
She shakes her head. "Just the Skull squadron in training flights with the Marine Corps. Nothing near the SDF-1 or the city, though." She tipped her cup back to drink...
... just as a VT-1 trainer buzzed the tower with a roaring pass, creating a shock-wave that startled the crew and made Lisa spill her hot coffee all over her uniform!
"Ahh! Son of a!" she cried, pulling her uniform front from touching her skin. "Goddamn Skull! What the hell do those idiots think their doing!"
"Hey Lisa, I got a read on that fighter." said Vanessa. "That was commander Fokker."
Lisa Hayes growled, watching the Valkyrie training doing another fly-by as if it was taunting her.
"OOOOO-RAH!" Ayame cheered, laughing hysterically at the stunt she just pulled. "D-Did you see... the looks on their... faces?" she gasped between breaths.
Fokker would of answered but he, too, was laughing out loud.
The radio suddenly cut in.
"VT-102, WHAT IN BLAZES ARE YOU DOING!" came an angered female voice. "TOWER PASSES ARE STRICTLY A BREECH OF REGULATIONS AND I SWEAR, CAG OR NO CAG, I'M GOING TO GROUND YOUR ASS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"
Ayame settled down. "Who is that woman?"
"Lt. Cmdr Lisa Hayes, Air Group Tactical Officer. Youngest officer to ever graduate the U.N. Spacy Academy. Only child and daughter of Admiral Donald Hayes of U.N. Spacy Supreme Command."
"I see." She smirked. "Communications on, Fokker?"
"They are now, sir."
"Tower, VT-102. Who is making this communication? Identify yourself." she said in her cold, icy voice.
"WHO THE HELL IS THIS? YOU'RE NOT FOKKER! IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY AND LAND THAT BIRD OR I WILL HAVE YOU BROUGHT DOWN BY FORCE!"
"If you're really that upset about a little spilled coffee, you you can just send me the bill." she said with clear sarcasm.
Roy spoke up so only Kusanagi could hear him. "We've been locked on by SAMs."
"YOU HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF AND LAND THAT FIGHTER OR YOU'LL BE SHOT FROM THE SKY!"
Her voice became series. "SDF-1, you will break lock with those surface-to-air missiles. This is Lt. Col. Ayame Kusanagi of the 1st Armored Tactical Assault Division, U.N. Marine Corps. Not only have you threated to shoot down a U.N. aircraft giving off a friendly IFF, but you're using profane language on an open military channel. On top of that, you were going to shoot down an aircraft over a civilian population, endangering the lives of innocent people. I should have you reported and relieved if your duty!"
"OOH... UMM..." came the reply.
"Fokker, cut communication and give them static." she sighed. "Let's get this bird down. I've had enough fun for one day without being threatened by some kid in a nice safe control tower."
Roy shook his head. This chick is crazy... I like that. "Yes, sir."
After two months of training, the 2nd Marine Aerospace Wing, a small 3 squadron group compared to the 1st MAW's 5 squadron group, arrived on Macross Island via VC-27 Tunny to begin their phase of training. Due to the surplus of VF-1 Valkyries on the Island, U.N. Spacy allowed the 1st MAW, 1st ATAD to allocate 48 VF-1D two-seat and 72 VF-1A standard single-seat variants for temporary usage. The order was established that 3 squadrons of the 1st MAW will work along side the U.N. Spacy Aerospace Wing while 2 squadrons will be used to train the 2nd MAW. Battalion support groups were being flown in to begin immediate maintenance on the VF-1's.
At the same time, the 1st Armored Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Heavy Assault Battalion and 3rd Light Recon Assault Unit arrived at Macross Island in the new SLV-111 Daedalus, the new Super-large-scale semi-submersible assault landing vessel and by huge Colossus-Class naval transport ships. But the Marines arrived in half their numbers, which was really a sour point for Lt. Col. Kusanagi. It seemed that the Earth U.N. wanted protection for the Grand Cannons that they have been constructing, so they split her division in half, taking half of the 1st AEU, 2nd HAB, 3rd Recon and even her 20th Combat Service Support Group! She was thankful that they didn't touch her 1st and 2nd MAW. What originally started as 20,000 Marines when the project began, was reduced to 14,000 troops due qualification requirements and transfers. Now they take nearly half of her forces, leaving only 8500 Marines in her command, 2000 of which were combat-ready.
This didn't sit well with Kusanagi. But there wasn't anything she could do about it.
"That's a bunch of bullshit!" snapped Master Gunnery Sergeant Kuonji. She was sitting Sergeant Major Tendo and Lt. Col. Kusanagi in one of the local restaurants in Macross City, a Chinese establishment that was a favorite of the U.N. Spacy pilots. "How can they pull such a fucked up stunt like this when our soldiers haven't even completed their training?"
"It's simple, they hold our pay-checks, they have our asses. They can do whatever they want." Nabiki sipped on a cup of green tea. "They could of at least waited until they completed their training, though. Soldier morale dropped slightly because of this."
"Damn poli-fucking-ticians!" grumbled Ukyou
Kusanagi sighed. "Alright you two, stand-down. I don't like this just as much as you do, but we Marines usually get the ass-end of the deal when it comes to funding and the brass now-a-days. We just have to adapt and reform the division. MAW's will remain the same, but for the VT and Recon units, we'll have to reduce platoon size and spread the love."
Nabiki nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll get the staff working on it tomorrow."
"So, what's the new ship like?"
"You mean the Daedalus?" Ukyou paused. "Well, for one thing, it's fucking huge. We can hold the whole 1st AEU inside and still have space to move around freely. Torpedo tubes. Pop-up laser turrets. Boomer-capable. If we had that boat during the war, we could transport the whole 15th MEU, troops, light armor and tanks, helos, artillery and supplies in one go. One of the most advanced ships I've seen."
"Their chow could use some work, though." Nabiki added, making the three giggle.
"Oh, I almost forgot..." Kusanagi pulled out a manila folder and slid it toward them. "We're going to get these new heavy weapons VTs sometime next year. They're going to be attached to the 2nd HAB."
The Sergeant Major opened up the folder and began looking through it. "Heavy Weapons Robot Destroid-00." She raised an eyebrow at it's armament. "Isn't that a bit much?"
"No shit, that's what I thought so too. I don't see any application of how we're going to use those. Their slow, designed only for long-ranged bombardment and have only a 24 round capacity. Their basically a mobile battleship turret." Ayame shook her head. "You never know what the egg-heads in research and development have in those screwy heads of theirs."
Macross AFB Flight Deck - Late November
Macross Island, Pacific Ocean
The day finally came, the arrival of the VF/A-3 Strike Eagle multi-role variable assault fighters. A total of 120 VF/A-3E's for the five squadrons of the 1st Marine Aerospace Wing and 72 VF/A-3C for the three squadrons of the 2nd MAW. The primary pilots, mechanics and support crews for the squadrons were ecstatic! The VF/A-3, like how the VF-1 was based off of the F-14D, was a designed after the F/A-18E Super Hornet. Compared to the VF-1, the Strike Eagle was lighter, just as fast as the Valkyrie, could carry twice the Valkyrie's payload, had more armor, could conduct S/VTOL operations without having to transform and was more maneuverable at sub-sonic speeds.
The Strike Eagles main power-plant were two Shinnakasu/PW/Roice FF-2010J thermonuclear turbine engines with over-burn, which were smaller, though, just as powerful as the VF-1S's FF-2001D engines. Eighteen PW LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters were strategical located along the VF/A-3's body combined with the wing, tail and canard forward-wings located aft of the cockpit were the reasons for the fighters exceptional maneuverability while four PW NBS-3 high-thrust vernier thrusters that were connected directly to the engine provided it's VTOL and hovering capabilities. Flight controls had similar cockpit configuration to the VF-1, but were slightly different altogether. A 20-channel digital fly-by-light three section flap, conventional rudders with honey-combed construction in outward-canted vertical tail surfaces and two-dimensional vectored thrust nozzles which operate in lieu of conventional and horizontal stabilizers and worked in tandem with wing, body and VTOL thruster control system. The Strike Eagle utilized the same avionics and radar of the Valkyrie.
Armament for the fighter included a single Mauler REB-20B converging anti-aircraft energy cannon that fired 6000 pulses per minute, mounted under the left side of the nose in fighter and guardian modes. The head turret mounted twin Mauler ROV-20 laser cannons for 3C variants while 3E variants had twin REB-20B converging AA energy cannons on each side of the head facing forward and were only available in soldier mode. The fighter had 11 firm points - three on the fuselage, a total of six under-wing hard points and two wing-tip soft points - that can mount any current U.N. Spacy and Marine Corp ordinance.
Main armament was totally different from the VF-1. Marines had a weapon that was designed by and for Marines: The Rheinmetall GU-12 assault gun pod. The design of the weapon was a single hyper-velocity 78mm case-less auto-cannon that was current deployed on the ADR-04 Defender Air Defense Destroid. The auto-cannon was modified, originally firing 100 hyper-velocity rounds per minute, to fire 300 rounds per minute with an initial shell velocity of 3300 meters per second, or 10,800 feet per second. It held 100 rounds of MKPF-AP (Multiple Kinetic Penetrator Fleschette Armor Piercing) and APHEI-T (Armor Piercing High Explosive Incendiary Tracer) ammunition in disposable magazines that mounted to the back of the weapon. Because of the extra room provided by the FF-2010J fusion engines, spare magazines were stowed in special compartment on the fighter's legs - two magazines each, a totally of 500 rounds on the fighter.
Unlike the VF-1 Valkyrie which was mostly designed as an aerospace superiority with the option to combat giant alien species. The VF/A-3 Strike Eagle was designed from the ground up with this quote in mind:
"To take the battle directly to the enemy. In the land, air, sea or even space. In the open deserts of Australia, the urban cities of New York, in the jungles of South America, the open skies, rain or shine, in orbit, on the moon, on Mars, even inside the aliens own ships. We need a weapon."
And they got it.
"Damn, those birds look shit-hot!" said Roy Fokker, standing off to the side with a group of his Skull squadron wing mates. They were watching their Marine Corps counter-parts, the Black Knights, look over the new fighters. "First time I saw one of those was back when the Valkyrie just finished it's final trail production testing. They were just starting trial flight tests when I left."
"So... you know what their like?" one pilot asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on who you ask. All I know is that their more maneuverable than the Valkyrie when sub-sonic, VTOL without going into Guardian-mode, lighter and tougher than the Valk's Soldier-mode."
Another pilot nodded. "Damn, you're right. That is shit-hot."
"The only thing we got on them is our capabilities in the air and space. It's mainly a close-combat support bomber and ground assault mecha."
Suddenly, loud sirens started to go off all around the base, causing ground crews to scatter and Marines to rush to their post. The members of the Skull, who have been on the Island for the past couple of years, knew what was going on when another siren started blaring in the distance and the lights of Macross City's few skyscrapers suddenly cut off.
Air-raid. The Anti-U.N. Forces were attacking.
"Oh, shit! We need to get to the barracks and suit up!" said Roy, grumbling when they realize that they had a long run. They were on the Marine Corps side of the base. "Damn it!" The sound of screeching tires caught his attention.
"Get in, boys!"
"Thanks a lot, sir!" said one of the Skull members, climbing into the rear of the HMMWV (Humvee). They a all jumped in and took a seat, Fokker taking the passenger side.
"Appreciate the ride, Colonel." he said.
Kusanagi looked over her shoulder at the Black Knights. "Knights! Suit up! I want you leather necks ready to take-off ASAP! Pass the word on to the Red Devils!"
One of the Knights shouted back. "But, sir! We don't have any ordinance!"
"Bullshit, Marine!" She pointed at the GU-12 sitting under the VF/A-3E. "You got that weapon and that's all you need! Get prepped and ready to take-off, we have incoming from all sides!"
"Yes, sir!"
She jammed into the gas and peeled out across the tarmac. The Skull wingmen had to hold on for dear life as she zoom passed building at speeds way above regulation. Roy spoke out.
"What's the situation, sir!" He had to raise his voice for her to hear him.
"AWAC's reported a large Anti-U.N. fleet bearing due east and an amphibious assault force to the south that are five hours out! They're coming with a whole battle group!" she shouted back, jerking the wheel to the right and placed enough pressure on the gas and break to fish-tail the HMMWV to a stop. She killed the engine and stepped out of the vehicle.
Macross AFB - U.N. Command HQ
Macross Island, South Pacific
"Goddamn terrorist always have to fuck up a good, day." grumbled Kusanagi.
Standing around a huge digital map where the senior commanding officers of Macross AFB, CAG Roy Fokker, U.N. Spacy intelligence and surveillance officers, Sgt Maj Tendo and MGSgt Kuonji and the senior officers of her combat battalions. The map they surrounded showed Macross Island's location in the middle of the Pacific and several thousand miles of ocean that surrounded it. Reconnaissance reports were coming in and the position of the enemy formations were being displayed. The base commander, Major General Jonas Gaffey spoke out.
"Report."
"1730 hours Macross Time, Tiger-Eye AWACS spotted two fleet formations bearing 21N 160E and 32N 178E at distances of 2200 miles and 550 miles. The closest fleet consist of an amphibious assault force group supported by frigates and the furthest group has been identified as a two carrier task force with Kirov-class guided missile cruisers and Udaloy-class destroyers support." stated the recon officer. "Air group consist of MiG, Sukhoi and stealth variants of the Marines new fighter."
Kusanagi furrowed her eyebrows and spoke up. "Can you confirm that? They are stealth, after all."
"Fighters have been visually identified by AWACS while they were still on the deck. Two confirmed, possibly more."
The General looked at the CAG. "Fokker?"
"Red squadron flights were launched immediately by the SDF-1 control tower and are on station. Blue squadron is on Alert-Five and Skull is on stand-by." he stated.
"Colonel?" Kusanagi looked at the General, then nodded to Nabiki.
"Alpha through Fox Companies of the 1st AEU and the 1st MAW are ready for deployment with the 2nd HAB, 3rd Recon and the 2nd MAW on stand-by if needed." She snickered. "We haven't had any live trigger time in a couple months, sir."
"How many Destroids in the first AEU?"
"144, sir," said Ukyou. "Exactly."
"Alright, this is different from the last couple of times the Anti-U.N. forces attacked the Island. This time their bringing in both land amphibious forces, sea and naval air power into play. I'm more concerned about the landing forces, though. Their approach will place Macross City in direct danger since the south is their target beach head." The General looked at Fokker. "Lt. Commander Fokker, the Skull and Blue squadrons will launch to join Red squadron and maintain air superiority within a 200 mile radius of Macross Island. You'll have permission to engage and destroy any and all confirmed enemy aircraft that interdicts our aerospace."
"Aye-aye, sir!"
"Lt. Colonel Kusanagi, deploy your armored companies along the southwest, south and southeast port and beaches and set a perimeter in preparation for an amphibious landing by the enemy. Reports from similar attacks at other bases confirm that the Anti-U.N. has some form of amphibious submersible destroid units along with their armored and infantry units. Do not allow the enemy into the city or near the SDF-1."
Ayame studied the map and the plan of action that the General asked for her follow. She found one major flaw. "Sir, permission to send a Fox company along the ridge of the mountain? Our ADR-01 Riflemen can act as anti-aircraft batteries while still covering the northern sides of the island. If they do get into trouble, the 2nd MAW can mobilize and provide close air support."
"Do it."
Kusanagi nodded to Tendo and Kuonji. "Move out."
"Yes, sir!" Tendo looked at the 1st AEU's Battalion commander. "Let's go Marines!"
An orderly handed the General a message. "Directly from supreme command, sir."
General Gaffey paused. "Well, it seems this job has just got harder." He looked at his junior officers. "U.N. Supreme command wants us to sink or disable any and all vessels of the Anti-U.N. fleet by any means necessary that is short of reaction weaponry." He shook his head. "Any recommendations?"
"We can do it if we had some harpoon missiles, sir." said one of the 1st MAW officers, a young black man that was in his prime.
"What's your name, son?"
"Sir, Captain Steven Hiller, Black Knights, 1st MAW."
"You just got those fighter, Captain Hiller. Can you and your squadron handle them?" Captain Hiller nodded firmly. "Commander Fokker, once your wing is in the air, have your ordinance specialists load their birds with whatever they need."
"Aye-aye, sir. I'll have them get on it ASAP." Roy replied, turning to leave.
General Gaffey narrowed his eyes at the map. "Defense of the city takes precedence over the SDF-1. We can always repair and rebuild a ship, but we cannot bring civilians back from the dead. I'm counting on you Marines."
"We won't let you down, General." Kusanagi saluted the man then made her exit of the HQ. She addressed her squadron leaders. "Call in all squadrons for a quick mission brief and planning in hangar 2356. Make sure their suited and ready to fight."
"Aye-aye, sir."
Kusanagi stood before the assembled squadrons in front of the map that showed the location and possible formation of the two fleets. Like her Marines, she was wearing her flight suit, but more importantly, she wore a serious look.
"Listen up Marines. AWACS off the coast of Macross Island detected two Anti-U.N. fleets heading directly to the island in a combined air, land and sea attack. General Gaffey has called on the Marine Corps." She pointed at the island. "As of right now, the Sergeant Major, Gunny and the 1st AEU is building a perimeter along beach heads and placed units on the mountain range in preparation for an amphibious assault by Op-For mecha. 2nd HAB will remain in reserve until needed while the 2nd MAW will provide close air support with VF/A-3Cs. At this very moment, Skull, Blue and Red squadron ordinance specialist are working with our own crews loading harpoon anti-ship missiles on the new VF/A-3Es."
"The 1st MAW will deploy on a strike missions against both fleets." She pointed at the location of the farthest target. "Our main targets are the Kirov-class Russian cruisers and Udaloy-class destroyers. Once we take out at least half of their numbers, we can hit the carriers themselves. Air superiority will be provided by the Skull, Red and Blue squadrons, but don't let you guard down because we'll be flying out farther than their cover area. Once we get into range, we'll drop down to the deck. Pilots will transmit their target lock-on information to all fighters so we won't fire at the same vessel."
"Today is a day of first. This will be the first operation of the Armored Tactical Assault Division and the first combat mission for our Strike Eagles, even though we just received this very day. We've been training for nearly five years for this moment... and now it has come."
She lowered her voice slightly, to let her soldiers know the seriousness of the next words from her mouth.
"This will be a trail by fire, people. Marines will die." She picked up her helmet and smirked. "So let's make sure we kill more of those fucking bastards before they do it to us! Ooo-RAH!"
"Ooo-RAH!"
End of Chapter 3
Author's Notes:
AWACS - Airborne Early-Warning Control and Surveillance
FUBAR - Fucked Up Beyond All Repair/Relief
S/VTOL - Short/Vertical Take-Off and Landing
HMMWV - High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
The VF/A-3 is base off of the F/A-18E Super Hornet, but primarily the SV-51 from Macross Zero, the same fighters used by D.D. Ivanov and Nora Polyansky. In Macross Zero, incomplete plans of the VF-1 Valkyrie were used to create the SV-51 by the Anti-UN forces.
Credit for this chapter goes to Tail Tinker, author of Macross 1/2, which it was partially based on.
Next is Chapter 04: Trial By Fire