Return to Macross
A sequel to Earth Wanderers
chapter 7
Minmay was standing inside a transparent soundproof chamber arranged just beneath the main bridge and it was like she was fully inside the battle that was raging above the planet earth: Whichever way she turned she could see the huge Zentraedi carriers ramming into the smaller Micronian ships. It was much more impressive than she had expected and she felt her nerve wane. She decided not to look and focus on the lyrics of that song, scribbled on that crumpled paper that she was squeezing in her trembling hands. She was scared. As Kaifun gave her the accord signal from the control booth, Minmay took the sheet, placed it in front of her own face. Her eyes glistened.
She had read it a 100, 150 times in the dressing room while the assistants were preparing her clothes and make-up... those lines had already become part of her mind, part of her heart. Those were really beautiful words, and that song...that song was hers.
She thought of Hikaru, who had gone out into the battle and felt a dull ache deep in her chest
-Oh Hikaru... be safe...
she murmured.
Then she started to sing
"Right now, I hear your voice
saying Come here to me...
Just when it seemed loneliness had beaten me
Now I see you walking over to me
I close my eyes and wait for you to come.
Do you remember? The time when our eyes first met?
Do you remember? The time when our hands first touched?
That was the very first time I went on the journey of love.
I love you so"*
On the main bridge Misa and Claudia listened carefully to the first notes of Minmay's chant. Her voice was as clear as the Earth's sky before the catastrophe. Like the oceans, the woods and the countless pristine shores.
Misa tightened her lips in worry and a small dimple appeared on her right cheek. Claudia placed a hand on her shaky shoulders.
Captain Global was trying for the impossible. Getting through the battle between Zentraedi and Meltrandis by playing music. According to what they had learned during the momentary peacetime, the warrior race had been in search of that song, which came from the Protoculture, for thousands and thousand years.
The three delegates of the Britai fleet had repeatedly confirmed it: that the music and Minmay's singing had caused a sort of "awakening" among them
We got that song, we got Minmay-san
thought Global
Maybe we can succeed...
-Shammy, connect to all fighters and all stations and units aboard Macross.
-Aye, sir!
The captain stood up and walked toward the large screen in front of him. He stood silent for a moment, coughed once, twice... then he started to speak.
-To all Macross crew, we are now shifting into the battle between Zentraedis and Meltrandis: Lynn Minmay's song will be played on all your devices for the entire length of the broadcast and will be sent to all the frequencies on Golg Boddolezer and Moruk Lap Lamiz's fleets... I only ask you... I only ask you to observe the most absolute radio silence. And may God be with you.
Global laid a hand on Shammy's shoulder, signaling her to stop the transmission. She glanced back and saw that the man's eyes were covered with a lustrous veil of tears... The Captain was waving goodbye to his courageous, brave fleet.
Hikaru had listened with a pounding heart to Commodore Global's words. His hands shivered on the controls and suddenly he was thinking about how his lighthearted days of the flying circus had been lost, who knows just where.
He thought of his father, and how he had often reiterated that he would like to die while flying, as he had*. He clenched his jaw and shook his head slightly. No, the time had not come.
I can't die now
Then he set off to the crossfire with his comrades
-Sir! The Zenetraedis and Meltraendis fighters seem to be frozen! They are going to be shot down massively!
Vanessa cried, gripping her desk tightly.
-Affirmative!
replied Kim
-the Main Vessels keep dropping fighters but then are crippled in the battlefield!
Global pulled out his pipe, stared at it for what seemed like an infinite time.
Misa and Claudia turned to look at him in waiting, but his face did not seem to utter any sign.
Minmay's song soaked through every single bit of the Macross, leaving a trail of hope in every single person alive on board.
Misa's heart was racing, it had only been a few minutes and yet they were successfully experiencing the Minmay Attack: it had seemed impossible, but yet the aliens were reacting to the song exactly as they had assumed: the music had quenched their hunger for fighting, tamed their fury. It was at that very moment that Shammy yelled:
-Captain! Sir! A request from a Zentraedi Fleet! the 7018th!
Global dropped the pipe from his hands. The small item bounced off the floor and rolled by his feet.
-What!? Britai!? Set him up on speakerphone immediately!
Global came back in front of the screen, his brows furrowed, his lips tightened into a thin line: the screen was blank but a solemn voice began to speak:
-Our genetic culture providers has been awakened, trascending the time of 500mila cycles! Culture is returning to us!
Suddenly the imposing figure of Commander Britai Kridanik appeared on the screen and Shammy shook with surprise and terror.
-7018 Adoclass fleet to Macross!
Global gasped
-From now on our fleet and our armies will provide support and help to you!
-Help!?
replied Global in disbelief
-We cant' afford to lose the legacy with the Protoculture!
The line was jammed, but everyone on the bridge could hear Britai's voice:
-To all Zentraedis and Meltrandis listening to Lynn Minmay's song: we have only one enemy from now: Golg Boddolezer! We will defeat him and regain Culture in our hands forever!
Misa and Claudia looked at each other: they were both eagerly awaiting
-Captain!
Global nodded, inspiring noisily, then returned to his seat.
-Hayase-kun! Set up all the Valkyrie squadrons! Vanessa, deploy all Destroids and Defenders, Macross is preparing to attack the Zentraedi Main fleet!
Hikaru aboard his armored fighter kept on escorting the Macross in its hard journey. Britai's words had reached his comm as well and he had listened incredulously in absolute silence to his offer of aid: so it was still possible...
peace...
Distracted by that momentary revelation he did not immediately realize that a request for a comm. was arriving promptly on his line.
The monitor flashed repeatedly one two, three, times.
Hikaru gasped. He immediately thought of the Macross Bridge.
-Misa!
he cried out as he swiped his index finger on the display
-I mean, Major Hayase!
A steady noise greeted him, then the system picketed a buzz of unknown EM waves: the ship's CG was processing very slowly. The image on the screen was garbled, but still confirmed that the call was solely directed to the Skull 1.
-I'm sorry, I'm not Commander Hayase but... I'm pleased to see you too, Ichijo-chuii!*
Hikaru's eyes and mouth widened as the image became sharper.
The young pilot checked the data, frantically, several times: the request was coming... from an enemy ship!
-Max?! Max, is it really you?
Max... it was really his blue eyes, his amiable and quiet look. He just wasn't wearing his glasses, his unmistakable aviator glasses...but... he was wearing a helmet which Hikaru didn't know.
-In person!
he grinned back
Hikaru was shocked
-Max where... where are you... where have you been?
-It's a long story Ichijo-kun but I'm fine!
Hikaru just could not believe his eyes
-I'm on a Meltrandi ship, now ... just now Commander Britai is giving us the new orders.
-But... but.. how?!
stammered Hikaru
-Go ahead Skull Leader. Milia and I will be right behind you!
-Behind me? Milia, who!? hey wait, what!?
Just then the line faltered, split and went dead. Misa's face showed up, instead of Max's.
-Skull Leader this is Delta1 do you copy? Lieutenant Ichijo can you hear me!?
Hikaru grinned spontaneously at the screen
-Major Hayase! Roger! I do!
Misa, on the other side of the screen, struggled to breathe regularly. Her gaze showed a great relief
-Ichijo-chuii the Adoclass 7018 fleet with both Zentraedis and Meltrandis forces has just assigned full support to Macross so...
-I just came to find out, and believe me when I say I can't believe it!
-But... what do you mean?
Misa was genuinely stunned
-Max ... Lieutenant Jenius, he contacted me from an enemy Queadluun, I don't know why I... it's just incredible I...
Hikaru could see Misa raising both hands to to her mouth in surprise, and Claudia's head popping inside the screen
-So... the Genius is still alive!
Max was standing in the enourmous hangars of the ship commanded by Milia 639, the Meltrandi warrior he had defeated inside the Moruk Lap Lamiz fortress a few days earlier. After the scramble he had been trapped and pulled into a fold a few thousand light years from Earth. But now the fleet was back and in the end he hadn't gone too far in realizing his dream of meeting a beautiful alien and befriending her.
Milia walked toward him: her long, green, loose hair brushing her waist. She held her red helmet under her arm, her beautiful face still bearing the scars from her fighting with Max.
However, it seemed that there was no longer hostility among them, but some strange form of complicity.
Milia squeezed her eyes shut as if struck by a sudden pang of neuralgia.
The music had flooded into the hangars and spread throughout the ship.
The statuesque Meltrandi felt a dull ache and brought her hands to her forehead
-Max... what is it?
she said with a broken voice.
Max looked at her in disbelief
-this... this is... Minmay's song!
At that moment Breetai's Adoclass Fleet summoned the ship to the aid of Macross. Max was ecstatic.
So ... they are... still alive!
In the few frantic moments since Breetai's announcement, Macross had reorganized its defensive position and along with the Zentraedis, new found allies, started preparing for an offensive. In a quick, hurried exchange Misa and Global agreed to break into Boddolezer's fortress: they had precious limited firepower and the Pinpoint barrier had a runtime of a few minutes. Not more. Macross would break into the tentacular fortress and launch its Super Armored Valkyries into the organic substance that housed the Zentraedi Supreme Leader. Misa had no illusion: it could be a suicidal move. Nevertheless, they had to try.
The selected squadron was the Skull, of course.
-Lieutenant Ichijo!
ordered Captain Global from main viewscreen
-Your mission is extremely dangerous, but you are currently the most capable pilot. No one has your speed and aptitude for flight. You have to break into Golg Boddolezer's core and... kill him! Your Skull Squadron comrades will back you up along with the Queadluuns of Milia 639's fleet and the Reguults from Britai's one. Is everything clear?
Hikaru felt an ice cold shiver down his spine through his hips and down his legs. The palms of his hands were drenched in sweat. Despite this, he nodded resolutely, and in a voice strange even to himself replied
-Sir! I will do it! I will accomplish the mission!
-The Macross will be at your back behind the Pintpoint Barrier!
Misa stepped in, her voice cracking with emotion.
-As soon as you make the attack, turn around immediately. Come back immediately... to Macross...
Hikaru could see her sad green eyes glistening with tears and nodded. Then he cut off the comm.
-Misa
he said wilfully, as he pushed his engines to the limit.
-Misa... I'll be back to you...
Minmay had listened with excitement to Britai's voice reaching all of the corners of the ship. For a moment she quit singing, squinting her eyes overwhelmed with emotion. She could not believe that that song had pulled aliens and humans in the same direction. She recalled the month she had spent in the Zentraedi fortress. If all this had served to get this far, then she would have peacefully accepted her fate. And if the Macross was doomed to defeat, well... she would have die, yes... but she would do it singing, for all the people on board. She lifted her face and in that moment she saw Hikaru's Super Armored Valkyrie. Yes, it could only be him: he had approached the bridge in Battloid mode and was stepping a solemn salute.
A sad, somewhat resigned smile came across Minmay's beautiful face.
Yeah, he's saluting her, who else...?
she thought. Then she lifted her head, squeezed the mic and went on singing.
Godspeed Hikaru...
On the bridge, the crew was completely quiet. It was hard to say what was going through Global's mind. Claudia looked at the old sailor, the Unification Wars hero, and tried to decode his face but could not.
-Lieutenant La Salle, go ahead with all engines, we are entering Boddolezer fortress!
Claudia felt her eyes filling up with tears and looked down at the screen, her hands shaking.
-Aye sir...
she muttered
Then she called the order. She thought faintly of Roy. Maybe this was the end.
Roy...
Misa sensed her bewilderment and instinctively took her hand.
-He will make it...
she murmured, clasping her fingers in her frozen palm.
-We...we will make it...
Claudia smiled
-Yes, Misa... yes...
Boddolezer's flagship was like a large stratified fruit. Britai's fortress pierced open the way: followed by countless Zentraedi ships and the Meltrandi allied was the last outpost: around the ship an incredible gathering of Valkyrie squadrons and Regult spacepods cut through the thick bionoid system that spread its tentacles throughout the black sky. The pulsing core where the Supreme Commander laid, was discharging a flickering, sick light.
Hikaru pushed at full speed ahead of the Macross. Max and Milia on the Meltrandi Queadluuns covered him as his wings, defeating all the Zentraedi's defence forces. Together they were two perfect gears that did not miss a single shot. Behind them, in attack formation, the entire Skull Squadron; behind them, again, countless more ships. The assault would be merciless. Everything was on the line.
Hikaru set off all his backup missiles as he darted into fighter mode. Then, he quickly switched to gerwalk firing all the weaponries set on the arms: amazingly, time just seemed to be stopped. He could barely feel his own hands on the controls. The light inside the fortress' eye had become crystallized. And in that very moment Minmay's voice reached its peak in height and intensity.
She was crying out, but it was a cry of hope
Hikaru was inside that eye and at the same time he was beside himself
Minmay was repeating non-stop
"I'm not alone
Im not alone anymore
Because you're with me"
No, he was not alone, anymore.
Then Misa's voice broke that suspended moment and time started to flow again.
-Skull Leader! The Macross has just entered the Pinpoint barrier! Main target at A133- Z165!
Her voice was as tense as a rope hanging over a very high cliff
-Roger, Delta 1! How much time I have?!
he said, in terror
-Just one minute! You can do it Lieutenant Ichijo, shoot! Now!
She was pale and trembling
-Hikaru, be careful!
she added in a whisper
-Misa!
Lieutenant Ichijo was right in front of the huge sprawling monstrous Bodollezer. He didn't think he had ever seen something so unreal and was facing the immensity of War.
He switched to Battloid mode in a flash.
One shot... one single shot.
Hikaru squeezed his eyes, pulled the trigger of his rifle. Minmay's voice surrounded him like in a dream. His whole body shuddered in the explosion. Then, silence.
"Hey little brother! what's up Hikaru-chan? Did you get scared? It was just a shot. Just one shot and you hit it. Who would've thought? You've gotten a lot better, you know? I'm proud of you..."
Roy...
Hikaru opened his eyes wide: in the darkness the Valkyries lights drew mystical signs around the petrified fortress. Yes... the fortress had crystallized and was falling apart all around them and... the Macross.
-Macross!
Immediately a nameless fear took hold of him. He pressed the emergency button with a shaky finger: it was the first time in his service that he was using it.
-Skull 1... to Delta 1...
Misa opened the comm. and Hikaru's face appeared on the bridge main screen.
-Mission accomplished. I' m coming home!
Misa let out a little moan. She ran a hand over her face and slowly she felt life coming back to her.
-Roger Skull 1...
she said
-We are waiting for you...
And then suddenly the cries of jubilation and cheers swirled in perfect unison inside the vessels and in every single corner of the battleship. They exulted in victory.
Minmay let go of the microphone and put his hands together towards the sky, then applauded at the brave human and Zentraedis pilots and officers who had defeated an incredibly stronger enemy.
Her beautiful face showed up on all the screen and monitors, simultaneously. She still didn't understand that her voice had been crucial to the resolution of the war.
Then she turned toward the bridge. They were surprisingly close. Minmay looked into Misa's eyes and Misa looked into hers for very long time... then, Minmay lifted an arm and held out the paper, acknowledging her triumph and her own defeat. A small tear fell from the corner of her eye and Misa spotted it as it glistened on her face and disappeared into the darkness. She shook her head as if chasing that thought away and gave her her warmest smile. Minmay smiled back, too, with joy...
In that moment their truce was sealed. In that very moment their rivalry for the pilot Hikaru Ichijo was over. Their eternal friendship would just begun.
Misa took off her earphones and shook her hair, in a way that was so uniquely hers. She met Claudia's eyes was looking at her with pride: they smiled at each other.
-But in the end...what was that song truly about?
Claudia was genuinely curious
Misa took a few random steps around her desk. Then she glanced behind. Captain Global had lowered his hat over his eyes. Kim was stretching in her chair. Vanessa had taken off her glasses and was rubbing her temples and Shammy, well... Shammy seemed to have fallen asleep. She smiled: everything was as it had always been.
She leaned back against the desktop and relaxed her arms.
-Well it's ...it's just a love song
Claudia frowned
-A love song?
-Yes, a love song that was very popular in an Alien City... 500 million years ago...
-Love, huh?
Claudia let out a giggle
Misa turned to watch her, she was tracking the Valkyries' landing on ARMD-02
-Hey, what you doing? That's supposed to be my job.
-I have your back. And speaking of love... why are you still here? Are you not going to meet the boy? Look, he's just landing, right now.
Misa immediately flushed and turned to Global. She hoped he hadn't heard anything.
-Major Hayase, you can leave the bridge, Lieutenant La Salle will be in charge of the landing.
Misa, if possible, flushed even more.
-But I...
she murmured
Claudia answered her with a pretty heavy pat on her back
-So what you doing? Hurry up!
Misa spun on her heels, and like lightning she ran for the exit. Her hair swirled in the tense air. A trail of lighthearted giggles followed her as she disappeared in the corridor.
Global adjusted his hat even more down over his eyes, but some might have said that a small smile had lit his face.
Misa ran towards the hangars with a very different mood from when she had last done so. She smiled coyly, realizing that both times she hadn't done it for an official purpose, but for a strictly personal reason. And that reason was named Hikaru Ichijo.
She arrived on ARMD-02 in a daze, and as she climbed the big staircase that led to the pilots' walkway, her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She saw him.
The techs were just helping him to get off Skull 1. He was still wearing his depressurized suit and helmet: nevertheless, the pilots and all the personnel in charge at that moment ran towards him screaming and shouting: whistling and clapping and backslapping greeted him. Cheers of jubilation and typical Aviation choirs welcomed him. Lieutenant Ichijo couldn't even take off his helmet, as hugs and handshakes swept over him.
The Skull Squadron airmen scooped him up in their arms and made him jump high like a gold medal athlete. Hikaru wiggled and blushed.
-Hey! put me down!
That was when he saw her. She was resting with both arms on the front balcony of the runway, her hair slightly tossed by the low gravity. On her face was the sweetest smile Hikaru had ever seen. He pulled free from the hugs of his friends and from the top of his spacesuit.
-Excuse me guys!
Their eyes met. Hikaru grinned, feeling that all the tension and exhaustion was leaving him and giving way to a deep happiness.
He crossed with large strides the few meters that divided him from the balcony. His face was radiant.
Misa...
in an instant he was with her. And he realized that he wanted to hold her, he had to feel her. He had to feel her body against his, he had to feel his heart beating in sync with hers...
-Misa!
-Oh Hikaru!
she mouthed as she swept into his embrace. Hikaru literally lifted her off the floor feeling her as light as the air.
Misa flushed and hid her face in the crease of his neck, inhaling his scent, mixed with fuel and burnt... she could bet that all the people on the hangars were watching them in amazement.
Misa shyly raised her face to his, they parted a little and she placed her feet back on the floor. She could not utter a word because she was lost in his blue gaze, blue like the sea, on an August morning. Storms might have stirred and clouded it, but in the end the sun would always be back.
-Hikaru I...I'm so...you were just ... incredible, you...
she mumbled, unable to speak a complete sentence. She cupped his face in her hands and caressed it, still amazed.
-Hikaru you...
He smiled sweetly
-shhh
he cut her
-Misa... I... there's something I have to tell you
Misa opened her eyes wide, surprised.
Hikaru took her hands and squeezed them. He was still wearing gloves.
-And it's something I should have told you a long time ago...
Misa suddenly shivered... She squeezed her eyes shut trying to decipher the look on his face, but he, as usual, was glancing at her tenderly.
-Wh... what...
Hikaru swallowed. He squeezed her hands even tighter, narrowed his eyes, opened his lips and breathed, loudly.
-I love you Misa... I love you! Forgive me for not telling you before but...
Misa's eyes and mouth opened wide and was seized by a shudder. Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes started to wander around the room.
Her heart was beating so fast, she swore he could hear it: then, she focused on him again and saw that he was staring at her, without even breathing.
Misa's whole face lit up with pure joy.
-Oh Hikaru!
She threw herself in his arms, hugging him desperately and clutching him as tightly as she could.
-I..
she murmured in his ear, through his messy hair
-I love you too, I love you... I love you so much...
Hikaru raised an arm and slowly stroked the back of her head, her hair... and wrapped the other one around her thin waist.
Their tears, their sighs, their smiles... all came together and melted into a sweet and desperate kiss.
They stayed on that balcony for an indefinite time until they heard a rumble that ran across the floor and made it shake... it was the Macross: it had reactivated its engines and was preparing for its journey back home.
epilogue on chapter 8
Notes:
*Lines from the tv series ep.2- Countdown
** English translation of "Ai oboete imasu ka?" Macross DYRL? theme, performed by Mari Ijima-Lynn Minmay
*** Chuii, Lieutenant in japanese
Hello!
Hello everyone. We finally got to the ending of this story but dont worry its not yet time to say goodbye bc I wrote down an epilogue... as I promised last time hehe!
I only want to thank you once again for being here, for reading and leaving so many lovely reviews. I love you :)
See you next chapter. Coming!
Mao