Chapter 7

Abandoned Space Barge, Space,

August 22, 2012

The interior of the barge had been transformed into adequate living condition, although electrical wirings hung from the ceiling and water seeped from cracks on the wall. The air purifier didn't work properly, evident in the putrid air inside the barge. But dozens of miclones that lived there didn't seem to mind. They lived their lives as if they had all the luxury of SDF-1.

"Who are you?" Misa asked, cringing by the sight of the living condition. "And how can you live like this? This is not satisfactory by any health standard."

"We are the Black Hammer squadron," a woman, obviously the leader of the pack, explained. "My name is Lieutenant Aylene. My Zentradi fellows and I defected to UN Spacy by the end of 2009. UN Spacy created the Black Hammer as a Black-Op squadron. We did the dirty work, putting down Zentradi insurrections, killing our own kin. You probably haven't heard of Black Hammer squadron before. That's because we never existed. UN Spacy will disavow any knowledge of us."

"Alright, what's with the research facility?" Milia asked impatiently.

"UN Spacy is developing a new biological weapon, a virus called Nemea. This virus is totally harmless to human, but extremely deadly to miclones like us. One cee-cee of that virus can wipe out an entire colony of miclones within 3 minutes."

"What?" Hikaru jumped off his seat. "Why don't I know about this? Do you know?" he turned to Misa.

"No," Misa frowned, "although it makes sense that they develop this virus at moon, far from prying reporters. The research facility is isolated, so the damage would be minimal if something goes bad."

"That doesn't make sense," Max jumped in. "UN Spacy asked Milia to guard the research facility. Why would they ask a miclone to guard a weapon of mass destruction for miclones?"

"They asked Milia," Aylene replied, pausing for effect, "so if something goes awry, she will not survive."

"Oh my god," Milia put her hand on her mouth. "I'm putting nails on my own casket!"

"This is outrage!" Hikaru fumed. "Zentradi is a part of our society. You are an integral part of humanity. Why would somebody make such a horrid weapon?"

"I don't know," Aylene sighed. "Maybe because UN Spacy has never fully trusted us. Maybe the Nemea was their insurance in case another Zentradi insurrection broke out. Or maybe it's the guarantee that humans, not miclones, rule planet Earth."

"And your solution is to destroy the research facility," Max asked rhetorically. "Don't you ever think that you're just giving UN Spacy a reason to use Nemea?"

"We are Black-Ops, remember? We never exist," Aylene snarled. "We could reveal this secret, but would you believe miclones that you never knew existed? Destroying the facility is the only way we know to slow down, if not destroy, the development of Nemea. That's why we stay here. We'll continue to fight for the sake of our children. Nemea has to be stopped."

"Do you know who UN Spacy fears the most?" Misa said. "The press. Reporters. Newspapers. Mass media. You can't win a weapon contest against UN Spacy. You hit the research facility, they'll make a bigger one. You destroy their ships, they'll bring in SDF-1. But expose this fact to the media," she paused, clearing her throat before continuing, "I guarantee you, UN Spacy will break down into pieces."

"But you have to have a solid proof, something that UN Spacy can't deny," Hikaru added. "Do you have some hard evidence, or all this talk is just a talk?"

Aylene reached into a crate and pulled out a small glass container. Bluish liquid was visible through the clear glass. "This is Nemea," Aylene said, "or part thereof. I don't know how advanced it is in development, and I don't want to find out. But this is the real thing, because a lot of myclones lost their lives to get it to me."

"Then let's get to Macross City," Misa rose up. "I know some friends in WNMC that can confirm if this is really a developing weapon of mass destruction. If that is true, I will explode this fact in the media."

"Now wait," Aylene halted her. "You are a war hero, a respected UN Spacy officer. Why would you sacrifice your life for somebody that doesn't exist... like me?"

"I'm not doing it for you," Misa smiled. "I'm doing it for Milia."

"But still, you'll destroy UN Spacy, the one thing that makes you a celebrity."

"We're all outlaws, no matter what we are before," Hikaru joined in. "If you want to do something wrong... do it right!"