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, Shoji Kawamori and/or their respective owners.

Semper Fi: The UN Marine Corps

By Bud

Chapter 9: Prelude

Zentraedi Fleet Command Ship
Nupetiet-Vergnitzs Class Flagship

Inside the flagship of the Zentraedi command ship, a pair were reviewing the previous battles between their fleet and the sole Micronian ship, the SDF-1, which was originally the ship of a man named Zor. The Zentraedi are a race of cloned beings that were bred for war, and their society was mostly based around a military chain of command. To the Zentraedi, humans were Micronians, or micronized beings of little significance. Breetai, the commander of the Zentraedi fleet tailing the SDF-1, considered Micronians inferior by all standards. Yet, this Robotech ship of Zor, which was refitted by the Micronians, has been causing him much trouble for the past few months.

Breetai and Execedor, a small person compared to Breetai's hulking height, were examining the previous battle between their reconnaissance detachment and the SDF-1. They were mainly reviewing the fire-power delivered by her array of particle cannon turrets and the transformation the ship under went before firing her main gun.

"Hmmm..."

"Hmmmm," Breetai looked down at Execedor. "Well, have you found an answer?" he asked in the Zentraedi language.

"Commander, I have tried every form of analysis that I know, yet I cannot understand why they found in necessary to change to this format. However, a structural modification of this nature will most surely diminished the gravitational control forces to practically nothing. Of this I am most certain."

"The Micronian Captain of the battle-fortress is most formidable. They destroyed three cruisers and two troop carriers and damaged several others ships before conducting a fold operation, in atmosphere no less. Then destroyed a heavy cruiser and two light cruisers with only one salvo from their particle cannons before finishing off the rest with the main battery." Breetai frowned. "These Micronians are dangerous and by all rights I should have them destroyed, but my orders from Commander-in-Chief Dolza were to capture that battle-fortress."

Execedor nodded. "Recon analysis of the Micronian ship says that their weapon systems is on par with a Sian Macross-class Border Fleet Battle-fortress." That piece of information made Breetai frown. "While having the sufficient gunnery power to destroy any Zentraedi vessel, their targeting is pin-point accurate." A vid-screen showing the impact of the SDF-1's particle cannon salvo destroying a heavy cruiser appeared. "In the previous battle, their first salvo ripped through the ship and destroyed the primary reflex furnace and the resulting explosion cascaded and destroyed the other two ships. Add onto this that their main gun at full-power equals the fire-power of six Rineunadou Lojmeuean-class Monitors."

Breetai's frown became deeper. It was not only the fire-power that made a ship, but a crew that ran it. "In whichcourse is that ship heading?"

"Their current course will take them to the sixth planet of the solar system." And image was displayed of the planet Saturn. "It is possible that they would attempt to use the gravitational field of the planet to increase their speed, or hide within the rings to escape detection. If they use electronic counter-measures within the rings, we will not find them."

"That would be the logical decision for them." noted Breetai.

"Then what is your decision."

"Continue to monitor the ship. If they choose to hide, I'll allow them to conduct their cleaver little plan."

Fold System Section
SDF-1 Macross - Engineering

The plan to use Uranus's gravitational field to sling shot the Macross was a success and the ship was now set on a course for the planet Saturn to duplicate the maneuver. It has been nearly a month since they departed from orbit over Uranus and it would be another month until they reach their target destination. Originally, the distance between Uranus and Saturn would of taken four to five months of travel time, but the sling-shot maneuver shaved off a good eight weeks. During this time, maintenance and engineering crews worked hard on around-the-clock shifts to repair the huge battle-fortress both internally and externally. By the end of the month, hull, weapon and systems damage have been repaired along with the buildings in Macross city, which would now be able to withstand the changes involved with a modular transformation.

Thankfully, the enemy has notattacked them since their last encounter, in which six of their ships were destroyed by the combined power of the Macross' turrets and main gun. This was good news since that gave the ship, crews, soldiers and civilians time to recover from the last attack. The bad news was that they all knew that this lull between the two sides would end soon.

Inside the Macross were the fold system generators were originally housed, engineering crews were standing about observing a strange phenomenon. In the exact spot were the generators stood before they suddenly vanished, the area was filled with some form of sparkling light that reminded several crewmen of fire-flies on Earth. Doctor Emile Lang, Chief Engineer of the SDF-1 and the premier scientist and founder of Robotechnology, stood to the side near the entrance waiting for the Captain and first officers arrival.

The doors slid open with an audible hiss and the two ships commanders entered. Sesshoumaru was the first to notice the strange phenomenon. "Is this what you reported, Doctor?"

"That's right, Captain. I've never seen another reaction like it." answered the Doctor.

"It looks really fascinating." noted Lisa. "Since this is the area the fold system generators were originally located, could there be a possible relation to their disappearance?"

Lang nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Perhaps when the fold system disappeared, the space/time fabric was distorted. This could be the result."

"..." Sesshoumaru took a brief moment to gather his thoughts. "Space/Time fabric? That would possibly mean that this would be the result of a fold."

"Possibly, sir. That is the only explanation that we have as to the systems disappearance. A fold within a fold."

Lisa blinked. "A fold within a fold? Could you explain, Doctor?"

"Certainly. Though we still do not have as much extensive knowledge of fold technology and theory, we know the basic principles of how the systems works. My hypothesis would be; while the SDF-1 conducted a fold operation in low Earth orbit, the gravitational field of our planet somehow, possibly, effected the fold system and caused a secondary fold to occur within the system itself. When the system disappeared, the ship was still folding, which resulted in a mis-navigation to Pluto's elliptical orbit near Neptune." He shrugged his shoulders. "But, this is all hypothesis and theory that hasn't been proved. So, you're assumption is as good as mine."

"I'm relieved," Lisa dead-panned.

"Did you find any other side effects to this... phenomenon?" the Captain asked.

"Nothing has shown up yet, Sir."

"Very well. Continue with the investigation. I want a full report." Sesshoumaru and Lisa turned to leave, but the Doctor had a little more to say.

"Captain," Sesshoumaru paused in mid-stride. "I know it is only theory of course, but there may be a way to utilize this reaction as some form of barrier." That peaked his interest.

"Barrier? Can you develop it?" Lang nodded. "Start on it ASAP and keep me posted."

"Yes, sir."

The two officers exited the area and began ascending the elevator. The silver-haired captain had a passive, contemplating look on his features. Commander Hayes also seem to be thinking of the information that was just handed to them. "Barrier, hmm?"

"The ship has much offensive capabilities," he said. "A defensive barrier of some sort would provide a little balance and increase our survivability."

"I just hope he gets it up and working before the enemy attacks again." She frowned. "They've been tailing us ever since we left Uranus and they haven't attacked. I wonder what their planning to do."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Yes, I am curious, also. They are most likely waiting for us to make a move, then react accordingly, or possibly waiting for the right time to attack."

Mecha Holding Bay
SDF-1 Macross - On-board Factory

Engineers and officers of the UNMC stood in one of the huge empty bays within the Macross near the production factory. It was a bay that was normally use to house finished products that were ready to be transported to their destination. Usually the bay was crowded with destroids, VF-1 Valkyrie variants and many types of missiles and ammunition, but today it housed four large shuttles that were large enough to carry a full platoon of destroids each.

"The crew and I are calling them Marauders," Keiichi said to Colonel Kusanagi. "But their official designation would be ASC-1 Assault Drop-ship, according to the UN Spacy guys."

The ASC-1 seemed box-like in appearance from the side, but from a frontal or rear view, they looked more like wide hexagon-shaped hulls. The forward section of the Assault Boat was conical and tapered off into a board point with the cockpit on the upper half, while the lower half contained a section for communications and electronic warfare. Colonel Kusanagi seemed to be impressed with the over-all look of the transport.

"So, how many VTs can each carry?" she asked.

He made a motion with his hand. "Why don't you ask them?"

All four of the Marauders opened up from each side, displaying that each ship held at least six destroids. There were six Tomahawks in one ship, another held a mix of four Riflemen and four Tomahawks, the third held six of the new MBR-07 Spartans that they stole from the UN Spacy/Army, while the fourth and last held as much as eight Riflemen. All four had enough space and head room to clear the ship without any hassle and locking bays so VTs could be secured during transport.

"That many, huh?"

"Yes, sir. They're powered by twelve over-tuned FF-2001D fusion turbine engines that we acquired," he said the last word using finger quotes. "and modified from the Prometheus, and around 10 NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters that we managed to scrape up from around the production plant. There is a 300 ton limit on what you can carry, but even if you... somehow fit a Heavy Howard in it, I can still guarantee you'll have a maximum delta-v of 3.8 kps in space and at most 805 kph in Earth atmosphere."

She raised an eyebrow. "Atmosphere? But I only specified that we needed a boarding craft in space."

He shrugged. "We got bored, what can I say. It hasn't been tested on actual re-entry yet, of course, but we did put it through several tests that we were able to conduct. The other day, we had Hotel company come in and blast away with their flame throwers to test the heat resistance of the ships underbelly. Passed with flying colors."

"Those flame throwers are really hot. Especially since they could be used in a vacuum where there isn't any air." She patted him on the back. "I've seen enough, Lieutenant. I want a full report by the end of the day that and a proposal written up that I can give to the First Officer. If these babies perform well in combat, you might even get promoted." She grinned.

"Really?" He sounded excited.

"Nah, I'm just fucking with you." His face fell. "But it will look good on your next promotion review. I can guarantee you that much."

UN Spacy Gymnasium
SDF-1 Macross - UN Spacy Base

A large crowd of both Spacy soldiers and Marines were gathered inside the base gymnasium. They all were surrounding a large floor mat, shouting and cheering on as a pair of soldiers were duking it out in a good ol' boxing match. It was Spacy verses Marines and much to the displeasure of the Marines, they were losing. Three rounds have already passed and their pugilist, one of the younger Marines, was getting his ass handed to him by the stronger Spacy pilot.

"Come on, kid." taunted the pilot, jabbing him right in the face. "I've been holding back all this time just to give you a handicap. Boxing really isn't my thing, you know."

"Just shut up and fight," grumbled the kid, already sporting a swollen eye and lip. It really irked him that he couldn't land a decent hit on this guy.

"Alright, kid, you asked for it."

The Spacy pilot came in quickly, landing a strong hook punch that flew past the kid's defenses. The boxing glove connected square on the jaw, rocking his head and body back. In the few seconds he stumbled after the hit connected, it took even less to hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Easy, easy!" exclaimed the pilot, hopping over to his squadron buddies. "I didn't even break a sweat. That kid was a push over."

"How about you try me then, hmmm?" came a teasing female voice.

"Huh?" The pilot looked over at a short Marine Corps female with short brown hair wearing a white karate gi with a black belt. He noticed that she had the stripes of a Sergeant Major sewn onto her sleeves. What he really noticed was that she was a little more than half his size. "Girl, are you crazy? You'll get hurt. I'm a 3rd Dan in Shotokan Karate."

Nabiki sent him a sultry smirk. "I'm a 3rd Dan in Kempo, what's your point?" She moved into a pondering pose. "Maybe your... chicken..?"

That got a few reactions from the audience. The Marines were shouting and cheering on their Sergeant Major while the majority of the Spacy soldiers and pilots were egging on their fellow pilot, telling him to teach her a quick lesson.

"Hey, you didn't just call me chicken, did ya?" He narrowed his eyes. "I'm telling you right now that I'm not scared of nothing."

She rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease, if the shoe fits, wear it, right?" That got more reactions from the Spacy side and a few were trying to instigate a match. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, baby."

One of his squadron mates grabbed his arm. "Man, don't fight her. She's a tough one. Really tough. I've seen her and her girlfriend spar and those chicks are nuts!"

He pulled his arm away. "Dude, you must of been drunk when you saw them. They were probably clawing at each other like a couple of cats. I got this." His friend threw his hands up in the air. He warned him.

"Kick his ass, Sarge!"

"Beat him down, Joker!"

"Give him one for the Corps!"

"Biki-chan, don't beat him too badly!"

Nabiki waved off her supporters, trying to settle them down. "Yeah, yeah. I'll do my best."

"You ready to get beat down, girlie?" taunted the pilot. She only smirked and held up one finger. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"She's gonna beat you in one minute!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Is that so?"

She shook her head, narrowing her eyes and forming a smirk. "One hit."

"That's it!"

The pilot threw off his boxing gloves and came at Nabiki with a flying kick. She quickly performed the splits, ducking down and rolling forward into a squat. Turning, she blocked an incoming punch, diverted another away from her face then hopped over a low roundhouse kick. She flipped in mid-air, landing on her hands and cart-wheeled to the side to avoid an axe-kick. Finding her footing, she ducked low, shifting her footing to move under and around his strong roundhouse kick then block the follow-up back-fist. Nabiki took a step back, blocking a flurry of punches from the pilot with a smirk that seemed to egg him on.

"You're a 3rd Dan Shotokan Karate, right?" she asked in a teasing voice. She noticed that he was breathing hard. "What's wrong? I haven't finished stretching yet. Don't tell me you're going to quit now."

"How come you're not attacking?" he asked, a pissed off tone in his voice.

She shrugged. "I told I'm going to end it one hit. I don't want to embarrass you that much." She resumed smirking. "But if you want to get owned that badly, that's fine by me."

"Screw you!"

She held out her palm. "Think you can afford that?"

He charged at her, a pissed off anger in his eyes and face. Nabiki sighed and took up her a basic kempo stance. When the pilot neared and threw his arm in a hay-maker aimed at her face, she reached out with her left hand and slapped the arm down in a block, then struck with her right fist. She connected with his jaw and powered through, launching the pilot off his feet sailing across the mat. He landed with a loud thud and bounced twice, flipping over once so that his body remained face up, but his legs pointed away from Nabiki. He was out cold.

"Holy shit..." muttered one of the Spacy squadron pilots.

The pilot's wing-mates went to check on him and gasped. "Oh my God! Someone call a Corpsman. She broke his jaw!"

The Sergeant Major simply bowed to the pilot's unconscious body before placing her hands on her hips. "Anyone else?" No answer. "This ends today's lesson: Never underestimate the size of your opponent, especially when she's the sole Master of Tendo Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu. Right, Marines?"

"OOH-Rah!"

SDF-1 Macross - Bridge

"This is the Bridge to all hands. The SDF-1 will be disengaging and reverted back to standard ship format. All citizens please move to the nearest shelter immediately." Lisa announced over the PA system. "I repeat, the SDF-1 will conduct a transformation and return to standard ship-mode. Please report to the nearest section shelter for the time being. The Captain apologizes for the inconvenience. Transformation will commence in T-minus three minutes and counting."

It has been two weeks into the second month of their travel to Saturn and the 2nd largest planet in their solar system was within visual range. It was still be another two weeks before the Macross achieves satellite orbit within the planets ring system. Still the enemy hasn't reared their ugly heads, nor have they increased their trailing position from the SDF-1's flank.

"All section chiefs reporting the streets are clear, sir." Kim informed the Captain.

"Proceed."

"Transformation under-way, sir. Thirty seconds and counting until transformation is complete." said Sammie.

"Video transmission from engineering, sir. I'm patching it to your station." said Kim.

"Ah, Chief Engineer Lang." Sesshoumaru seemed amused that Lang would contact him in such a way. Usually he arrived in person or use a voice-only connection. "What bad news do you have to report to me today?"

The dark-eyed engineer chuckled. "Ha ha, none of that today, Captain. I would like to inform you that my staff and myself have finished developing a working barrier system using that reaction inside the fold system section."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you have?"

"Yes, sir. Except that we cannot cover the whole fortress at one time."

"I see. I guess she is too big."

"The best we were able to come up with is this," Lang's image was replaced by a diagram of the SDF-1 after a modular transformation, or attack-mode. "Our system can be utilized as an effective counter-measure. These photon barriers can be moved to deflect any incoming lasers, thus." The diagram displayed three little bubbles moving along the ship, deflecting simulated enemy attacks.

A small audience consisting of Claudia, Megumi and Lisa appeared behind the Captain, also watching his display. "..." He rubbed his chin.

"The barriers are controlled by universal gyros that we have set-up in another section of the bridge. We call it the Pin-Point Barrier."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "That's pathetic." she said, mostly to herself but Sesshoumaru and Lisa had to agree with her.

"Doctor Lang, have you actually tested these barriers?" Sesshoumaru asked, being a little skeptical of such a small barrier. "As ingenious as they sound, would they actually hold against enemy fire? And how would the energy requirements of these... pin-point barriers effect the ships weaponry systems?"

"Ah, thank you for asking, Captain. For the later question, I will conduct a thorough vibrational analysis as soon as possible. For the integrity of the barriers power, I have set-up a simple demonstration using the Marine Corps Mike company, 2nd Heavy Assault Battalion."

The screen changed and split to show the an external view of the SDF-1's bridge and radar sail to the left, while the right split showed a UNMC HWR-00 Mk. II Monster, or Heavy Howard as it's nickname, rising from a lift toward the ship's bow. The displays were obviously from a VF-1 or VF/A-3's head cameras.

"As you know, Captain, with the exception of the Mk.1 Heavy Rail guns, the HWR-00 Monsters 406mm cannons are the strongest conventional projectile weapons that the ship has available." On the left side of the screen, a glowing bubble appeared over the fore-castle, covering the huge viewing port that separated several bridge levels from the vacuum. "Prepare for incoming, Bridge."

Lisa looked at Sesshoumaru. "Is he going to do what I think he's doing?" He nodded. "Doctor, stop this right now!"

"Roger that, Doctor. Beginning fire-mission." This came from the destroid commander inside the huge mammoth.

On the screen, the Heavy Howard open fired, shooting each 406mm (16 inch) cannons one after the other. The girls inside the bridge screamed as they felt the shock-waves created from the 1125 kg high-explosive shells impacting the bridge. But, their screams quickly died down when they discovered they were not dead and the Heavy Howard was still firing. Eyes turned to the bubble obstructing their view of open space and they were surprised to see that the powerful 16 inch shells were exploding against the barrier, causing it to ripple. When the 28th shot from the Heavy Howard smashed and exploded against the barrier, it stopped firing since it depleted it's ammunition.

The screen flickered back to Doctor Lang's visage. "Sir, are you okay in there?" His voice sounded very worried.

Lisa looked over at the Captain. "Sir, permission to head down to engineering to personally strangle Chief Engineer Lang?"

"Denied." he stated firmly. He switched his attention to the doctor. His eyes narrowed and sent the man a glare. "Doctor Lang. I will only warn you once. If you perform a test like that again, Founder of Robotechnology or not, I will have you placed in front of a firing squad and executed. Do you understand me?"

Lang had a frown on his face. "Ah.. I apologize, Captain." he said sincerely. "I instructed one of my engineers mates to place the barrier on the Mk1 Particle Cannon turret that we had evacuated earlier in preparation for a live-fire test. The imbecile took it upon himself to place the barrier on the forecastle and redirect the destroids weapons fire. This will definitely not happen again, Sir."

Lisa furrowed her eyebrows. "I know it won't, Doctor. I want a full report on that individual. As a matter of fact, I want him relieved of duty and confined to quarters until an appropriate trail by court marshall is arranged. I..." Sesshoumaru held up a hand to stop her.

"Doctor Lang, though I would usually allow a situation like this pass, I have to agree with my executive officer. Please relieve the individual of his duties and call a Marine military police detail to escort him to his quarters remain he will remain in confinement."

"Yes, sir." Lang sighed. "I will get on it right away. Lang out."

Sammie turned to the Captain. "That was really scary!" she exclaimed. "How could that guy do such a thing like that?"

"He probably wanted to prove that the barrier system worked since the Captain was obviously skeptical about it." said Megumi. "We're actually lucky that the barrier did work." Everyone else agreed.

"That's enough. Return to your stations." grumbled Sesshoumaru.

"Sir, what about the Marine unit that open fired?"

He shook his head. "They were only following orders. Even though it was not an order they should have followed in the first place. In times of war, soldiers have duties to perform and it is understood by many officers that the individual soldier is made to take orders from a ranking officer. Which is why during war crimes trials, NCOs almost are never held responsible if their orders came from any one ranking O-1 or higher."

"So... they're going scott free?"

"No. If I know Colonel Kusanagi, she should be reprimanding her soldiers at this very moment."

ATAD Destroid Bay
SDF-1 Macross - Daedalus

The HWR-00 MkII Monster came to a complete stop after moving from the section of the SDF-1 back to the Daedalus. Crews quickly approached and began looking over the third Heavy Howard, built from the on-board factory.

The HWR-00 MkII Monster was a mammoth of a machine. It stood approximately 74 ft high, a body length of 73ft long without barrels and 135 ft long with barrels, and was 80 ft wide due to it's arm span. The Monster was not only named for it's weaponry or size, but for it's massive 285.5 metric ton weight when fully loaded. It was powered by a Galland WT 1001 thermonuclear reactor with back-up CT 8P thermonuclear reactor. The Monster was clearly twice the height, width of any destroid or battloid and it's weight equaled up to 10 MBR-04 Tomahawks.

The most unique feature of the Monster, or Heavy Howard as many call it, were the four 406mm (16 inch) Vickers Mk6 auto-loading, liquid fueled, liquid cooled cannons. The cannons were mounted on the top of the Monster and can fire 1125 kg high-explosive, 1300 kg armor piercing, 987 kg anti-aircraft or 1254 kg nuclear shells at an astounding firing rate of one round per cannon every five seconds. The maximum range of the Monsters guns were 21 km on Earth with the VT at zero degrees of inclination. If it were standing on an inclined surface or if it were leaning back, the maximum range will be larger due to the increased barrel elevation. At the optimum angle, the maximum range will exceed 50 km, though accuracy will be limited at that range. The shell room can house 28 rounds. The secondary weapon for the Heavy Howard were a pair of Raytheon LSSN-20G triple-tube long-range missile launchers that were built into the arms. Each tube can carry two RMS-1 Angel of Death nuclear reaction missiles, a total of 12 on the Monsters, each armed with a W-120 nuclear reaction warhead with a selectable yield between 25 kt to 100 kt. But the Marines were planning to replace the Angel of Death warhead with a conventional high-explosive type and save the nuclear warheads for special missions.

"Wow!" Ayame exclaimed after stepping out of the Monster's cockpit and climbing down a ladder. "These things pack quite a punch. I'm just glad that Doctor Lang's barrier thing actually worked."

"Yeah," agreed the tank commander, following right behind her. "The Doc's been borrowing the Howard's and has had us firing off the guns inside one of the empty bays against some sort of shield. We could never penetrate it, even when we doubled and compressed the fuel charge using the AP shells." He petted the armor of the mecha as if it was a pet. "And this baby just rolled off the assembly lines. What a good way to test it out."

Ayame nodded. "I was a little skeptical of these things at first, but..." She shook her head. "If only they had more ammunition, they could cause more havoc against an enemy force."

"16 inch cannons are great, but we don't have a battleships storage capacity. 28 rounds is the limit." He jerked his thumb at the Monster. "But those RMS-1's are a little too much. I mean, if we're providing artillery support, we can't fire them since they'll be to close to our own troops."

"I've talked to the guys at the production plant. They said to just keep our stock of RMS-1 Angel of Death missiles and they'll roll out similar variants with conventional warheads for the Monsters and fighters called the AMM-54 Firebird." He stretched out. "They were suppose to get some of them on ARMD-10, but you know what happened."

"Rather not think about it, boss."

"Lost someone close?" He nodded. "Alright, I won't bring it up anymore." She jerked her thumb toward the locker rooms. "Let's get changed and I'll treat you to some chow in the city."

"Hey, thanks!" He exclaimed, following her lead. "Do you think the Captain is pissed off, sir?"

"Oh hell yeah!" She said, grinning. "I bet you that he's expecting me to be chew and spitting you out right now. Little did he know that it was I, Ayame Kusanagi, that was the gunner on that Monster."

"Ha ha ha." he laughed.

"You know, the designers should of considered life-span of those things. Drop down the shell size to 305mm (12 inches) and it can carry at least triple the ammunition capacity. Seven salvos isn't really going to do much."

"Imagine they put a small version of the SDF-1's rail guns on it?"

"Woo! Over kill!"

Shopping District
SDF-1 Macross - Macross City

Basic training was complete for the many young men and women that volunteered to join the Robotech Defense Force and UN Spacy. Now that the eight weeks of basic were complete, the new soldiers were able to enjoy time off on leave before they return for active duty. Many decided to spend their time with family that were on-board the ship, while many, including a young new recruit named Rick Hunter, were going around town with their girlfriends.

"Rick, let me carry that." said Lynn Minmei. The two of them were walking down the streets of the shopping district of Macross City. Rick was in his duty uniform, which consisted of a white dress jacket with blue and red trim, navy blue pants with red trim, and a black belt with gold buckle around the waist. He was carrying a large brown bag full of shopping items.

Rick joined UN Spacy and the RDF because he had nothing better to do. All he ever wanted in life was become a a great pilot like his adoptive big brother Roy Fokker. But ever since the Marines pulled him into the ship that fateful day many months ago when the ship first folded, his dreams of ever flying again were shot down. It was war time and flying in the vacuum of space in his fan-jet was out of the question. Roy and Minmei have been trying to convince him to join the military, but he continued to put it off. Then the day came where Minmei almost died during the transformation of the ship and he realize that if he wanted his girlfriend to be safe, he would have to actually do something about it. Which is why he enlisted as a pilot for UN Spacy. As a more selfish and personal reason, he also wanted to fly with his big brother and get in the saddle of a Valkyrie again like he did back on Earth.

"It's okay."

"But it looks bad."

He shook his head. "Stop worry about the uniform already."

"Well, if you don't mind." She stopped when she spotted a clothing store. "Ooo.. Please, Rick, stop just a minute." She started ogling the clothes in the window.

"Huh?" He noticed what she was looking at. "Yeah, uhh... it's really nice." He didn't have a clue what she was looking at.

She grabbed his hand. "I promise it will only be a second."

He realized what kind of store it was. "Hey umm.. I can't go in there."

"Hmm... What else did you have in mind?"

Rick knew he couldn't do anything about it, so he reluctantly followed her in. The clothing store was a women's boutique and was filled with an array of outfits, dresses, shoes and accessories - nothing he was really interested in, though if Minmei wanted to shop here, he doesn't mind. But just being in the shop itself made him feel a little nervous.

Minmei examined two dresses that she had in her hands, trying to decide on which one to buy. "Hmmm... Ah." She back right into one of the few changing room, winking at Rick. "Okay now, no peeking."

"... right." he said, wondering why he would peek in the first place. The store clerk behind him laughed out loud at him, and he accidentally tipped the large bag he was holding, spilling a few items on the floor. He knelt down to pick them up, only to drop even more. "Ah!"

"Good morning, ladies." The female clerk greeted a trio young women.

"Do you have a selection of lingerie?" one of them asked.

"Of course we do. Please, step right this way."

"Colonel, I'm surprised to see you here." said a familiar voice.

Uh-oh, thought Rick, remembering that voice from somewhere, but he really couldn't really place where he heard it. Colonel? I didn't see any other guy here besides myself. He shrugged his shoulders and continued gathering the items he dropped while under a table, hoping none of women could see him. He saw three pairs of legs appear to his left and a single pair to his right. He was surprised to find that this Colonel was a women.

"Well, I do like to shop when the time permits, Lisa." the Colonel replied in a deep and smooth feminine voice. "I may be a Marine, but I'm still a woman. You wouldn't mind if I joined your little shopping group, would you?"

"Oh, we wouldn't mind at all. Actually, I was hoping to get to know you better, Colonel. Oh, this looks nice."

"... darn paper bags..." he barely muttered.

"You know..." began the voice of the Colonel. "Looking up a woman's skirt is usually done by little kids. So I would suggest that you get out from under there."

Rick crawled out from under the table, holding the bag securely within his arms. He had a bad case of blush on his face, embarrassed from being accused of looking up girls skirts. His level of embarrassment increased even more when three of the four women were gasping in surprise when he stood up. But the fourth woman, the Colonel, almost made him pass out. The olive drab tube top that barely contained her large bosom and the matching lace-up mini skirt showed a lot of her brown tanned skin which contrasted her long silver-like hair.

"Ah..!" He fumbled with his bag, spilling it's contents once more. He mentally thanked himself for turning away and for the bag spilling. Now he could calm down before he really did pass out.

"Umm... we'll come back later." said Lisa, Sammie and Kim following right after her.

"Bye-bye, little boy." Giggled Ayame, joining the trio of bridge officers.

"Oh boy..." Rick breathed.

Later in the day, Rick was walking near the base with Roy. The veteran pilot and big brother was explaining to Rick about a few responsibilities as a pilot and some perks that he would be receiving because of his status.

"From today on you're a real fighter pilot. You even get you own room. Congratulations." he said. "But remember, even though you have your own room, it doesn't mean you can fool around." He noticed something. "Oh and one more thing..."

"What?"

"Atten-shun!" Roy stood straight and saluted the group in front of them.

"Ah!" Rick gasped at seeing the same girls and that Colonel lady from the boutique.

Lt Colonel Kusanagi, in her sexy and revealing outfit, Lt Commander Hayes, and Lieutenants Porter, Leeds and Young were returning Roy's salute. Ayame had an amused smirk on her lips.

"..." The new Skull squadron pilot was speechless when Lisa stepped up to him. He even blushed when he saw Colonel Kusanagi's gaze sizing him up. "Ah..."

Roy also seemed amused, but for different reasons. "Why you little devil! I didn't know you knew Commander Hayes and Colonel Kusanagi. She's even checking you out."

"Well, kind of.. you know what I mean."

"It's him!" exclaimed Kim, giggling like a school girl.

"That's Mr Lingerie." said Sammie.

Vanessa had a questioning look. "Mr. Lingerie?" Kim whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my goodness!"

"Commander Fokker, is this the brilliant new pilot that you've been raving about to everyone? Why don't you introduce him." Lisa said.

"Sure thing. Rick?"

Hunter saluted the brown haired and silver-haired women. "Uh, umm.. I'm Rick Hunter."

"Lieutenant Colonel Ayame Kusanagi, 1st Armored Tactical Assault Division, United Nations Marine Corps." saluted Ayame, then shaking Rick's hand. She smirked when he winced from the strength of her grip.

"And I'm Lieutenant Commander Hayes," said Lisa, also saluting. Her smile dropped when she suddenly thought of something. "Rick Hunter? Where have I heard that name before...?" She gasped! "You're that loud mouth pilot, aren't you?"

Rick sweated. "And your that sour-"

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Yup."

"Oh no!"

Roy chuckled. "I'd say you should watch that mouth of yours for now on, because she's your superior officer and second in command of the SDF-1."

"Ah, sir!" He quickly saluted.

Lisa started walking off. "I hope for his sake that he takes your advice." She stopped after walking a few feet. "Oh, and by the way, I don't know what you particular problem is, but you should be hanging around in lingerie shops, let alone hiding under tables to peek at other women."

Sammie stood right next to him and look at his face. "Lecher!"

He sighed when everyone seemed to have passed by, or so he thought. The sound of a womans giggle caught his attention and he felt like a deer caught in the head-lights of a car when he laid his eyes back on Colonel Kusanagi. The blush that he had earlier formed on his cheeks once again when she stepped close to him and Roy.

"Geez, Colonel, you're gonna give the kid a heart attack with that outfit." said Roy, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, where'd you come from anyway, a strip club? Do we even have one on ship?"

"Hah, you wish, Fokker. As a matter of fact, I was out shopping with the girls and getting to know the commander a little better." She trained her eyes onto Rick. "So, tell me about the newbie. Is he shit-hot as you claim him to be?"

"Ha ha ha, yeah, you could say that. Rick actually had a crash course in Valkyries back on Earth during the invasion."

"Well, welcome to the military, kid." She passed by Rick and patted his head, much to his annoyance. "Don't die."

Rick blinked when she said those words. He turned and watched her walking away, though his gaze immediately went down to her round rear-end that moved when she walked. Even if he did like Minmei, he'll have some dreams tonight about the Marine Corps commander.

Zentraedi Fleet Command Ship
Nupetiet-Vergnitzs Class Flagship

"So, the Micronians have made it to the 6th planet, eh?" Breetai grabbed what look like a radio. "Communications, hail Captain Zureal."

A large floating projection of another Zentraedi, a male that was very stocky and had a double-chin, appeared outside the command point where Breetai and Execedor stood. He saluted Commander Breetai. "Ready for your orders, Commander Breetai."

"Captain Zureal. Once we are in range, you will proceed to the 6th planets ring zone along with your destroyersquadron to search and capture the battle-fortress. You may use force, but I want that ship intact, do you understand?"

"Sir, I understand clearly."

Breetai nodded. "Very well. As you know, that ships armament is very lethal so the mission danger increases for you and your comrades. I will give you 48 Micronian hours to devise a plan before you mission begins. I suggest that you plan well, as you know, they can be very resourceful when pressed."

"Yes, Commander. My staff and I will work on a plan then begin our assault on the battle-fortress. Zureal, Out."

"Do you really think he can do it, Commander?" asked Execedor.

"No, actually, I don't." he replied, frowning. "But Captain Zureal has been one of my best commanders in my fleet for the past few cycles. He's loyal and he knows well about conducting battle tactics. It's also unfortunate that the Micronians are also very familiar with the war... Zureal will have a very difficult challenge placed before him."

SDF-1 Macross - Bridge

Saturn was a relief to many on board the battle-fortress. It was a sign that they were just one step closer to home, to Earth. But, it was an indication that the enemy was being too lax, unlike their first encounter and the enemy assault before the sling-shot from Uranus. Captain Sesshoumaru was the main character that was more worried about the enemy attack them at this point. To him, there was no chance in hell that an enemy force would just sit idle for no reason.

The enemy would be attacking them here at Saturn. He knew it.

"Captain, I just switched on ECM and in the next twelve minutes we should be undetectable by the enemy." Sammie informed the Captain after completing his order.

"So, Sir, what shall we do now?" asked Lisa. "I suggest that we take advantage of the enemy fleet and immediately begin the sling-shot maneuver around Saturn. The faster we get home, the better. But you have the last say, sir."

Sesshoumaru leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows against his knees and laid his chin on his hands. He seemed to be in deep thought. "The enemy fleet allowed us to come to Saturn. I believe they are planning to attack within the next couple of days, probably throw in a surprise or two. They'll most like send in a search team to find the Macross and then attack in force." He looked at Vanessa. "Ms Leeds, relay coordinates to Claudia. Set a course for Janus, one of Saturn's satellites."

"Aye-aye, sir. Claudia, I'm uploading to your terminal."

"Roger, setting course for the Cassini quadrant."

Lisa stood next to him. "What do you have in mind, sir?"

"Wars are won by information. When you know more about your enemy, you gain vital information that will help you when fighting and an upper-hand in the intelligence game." He leaned back. "We're going to capture an enemy ship."

Many of the officers gasped. "Sir!" exclaimed Claudia.

"But Captain...!" Lisa began to protest, but a simple look from him shut her up.

"The alien fleet will attack and they will come in force. We know that they are trying to capture us, which we will use it to our advantage. When we do leave Saturn, the enemy will still be toward our flank and it would be nice to give them reason not to follow us." His voice seemed amused and a little eager. "Once we have the enemy ship, Doctor Lang and his engineers can have a field day reverse engineering enemy technology and we can use salvage from their ship to top-off our supplies."

Lisa placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have been planning this for a while, sir?"

"That is correct."

"Very well, the SDF-1 will prepare for an immediate counter-offensive."

End of Chapter 9
Author's Notes:

Unlike many Macross/Robotech stories, no one ever mentions the Zentraedi until they actually meet them. I decided, since there have been many drastic changes, that I would introduce them and get their side of the story. This chapter spans the total of one month before the battle of Saturn's Rings in episode 6 Blitzkrieg.

The martial arts duel was just something I wanted to add in. Because of the lack of battles within the two months, I just wanted to show the readers a couple activities that the Marines and UN Spacy/RDF soldiers participate in when they're not on duty. And it also shows Nabiki's status. Since she lost he whole family, including Ranma and his family, she trained herself throughout the years in Tendo Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu, or Anything-Goes, and became the sole-master in the Art.

Things will be a little different at Saturn in Chapter 10: Battle of Saturn's Rings