Episode 1: Arrival on Ragna

-Vajra War, AD 2059-

"Virgo 2, can you hear me?! There's a Vajra hot on my tail and I can't shake it!"

Kazumi Shinomiya in his VF-171 heard the voice of his squadmate, Virgo 4. He himself is being chased by a Hound Vajra and it is taking him all his skills to avoid being torn to pieces. The 171, although a good machine, is not really a high-performance unit compared to the upgraded VF-171EX and the more advanced VF-25 and VF-27 which Kazumi had been hoping to get his hands on for quite some time.

As a result, Kazumi has to compensate his craft's deficiency with his skill. He and the Virgo squadron had just arrived as part of the reinforcement from Macross Fleet 22. The distress call from the SMS Frontier branch turns out to be worse than he can imagine as they came face-to-face with a legion of Vajra.

"I'm a little busy here! Virgo 5, can you go help Virgo 4?"

"Can't! I can't shake this large bug- Uwaah!"

Kazumi heard the scream of one of his long-time friend and saw a nearby VF-171 exploded in a ball of fire. A hound Vajra emerged from the flaming wreckage.

"Virgo 5! Jun! Dammit!"

Kazumi deployed his valkyrie's legs to the front as he push the thruster to its fullest, propelling him and his valkyrie backward as he move his control to avoid the vajra behind him. Once the vajra passed him, he switched to battroid mode and pull the trigger on his gunpod. He aimed at the implant stabbed into its neck. Once it was destroyed, the Vajra calmed down. He also aimed at the implant on the Hound Vajra that killed his friend and shot it.

He grit his teeth in anger and look down onto the planet where the perpetrators who are using the Vajra awaits. He is not angry at the Vajra they are fighting right now. The alien creatures are just as much victim as them.

"Damn Galaxy pulling a stunt like this."

Kazumi cursed as he once again switch to fighter mode. He sped towards Virgo 4 who is still trying to shake off her pursuer. With the Vajra's attention focused on Virgo 4, Virgo 2 closes in from behind as Kazumi carefully takes aim at the implant embedded into the green Vajra. Once again he pull the trigger and the implant was destroyed, calming the Vajra.

"Carol, are you alright?"

He asked Virgo 4 through the comm. The girl piloting the VF-171 breathe out a sigh of relief as she got a temporary reprieve from intense combat with most of the battle in space nearly done thanks to the combined effort of the NUNS and SMS fleet. Kazumi saw a certain custom VF-19 of the infamous Isamu Dyson flew by earlier, shooting more Vajra than he and his squadron combined.

"I'm alright Kazumi. But Jun and Josh! They're…"

Both pilots wanted to cry at the lost of their longtime friends. They have been together since their academy days and were inseparable but now two of them were killed in a split second. It is simply unbelievable and today they have learned that war is very different from what they imagined.

"Virgo 2, Virgo 4, Kazumi and Carol, are you guys okay?"

Virgo 1, the leader of Virgo squadron appears on the comm, looking worried. Like Kazumi and Carol, Virgo 1, Alisa Ivanov, had also known both Virgo 3 and Virgo 5 since their academy days as their senior and their loss also hit her hard. But There is war to be fought right now.

"We're fine Alisa-senpai. What's our next…"

Kazumi never finished his question when a massive energy beam shot out from the atmosphere not far from them. Everyone was shocked with the massive energy shot from a macross canon that tears through quite a lot of the reinforcement army. Standing on the surface of the planet just in front of Frontier's main Island is the Frontier fleet's trump card and its very own Macross, the Battle Frontier. It is now covered in what appears to be body parts of a massive Vajra.

"Is that…"

"Battle Frontier?!"

Kazumi cannot believe his eyes at the thing that was once Battle Frontier. Have Galaxy become so crazy to do something like that to their sister fleet? And that shot, it's firepower is even stronger than what the original Battle Frontier's Macross cannon is capable of!

"…Virgo squadron, we got a new order. The fleet will descend and use the Quarters' quantum canon to hit the Battle Frontier simultaneously. We're going down."

""Roger!""

Obeying their captain's command, the Virgo squadron descend onto the planet. What happens next will be something Kazumi will never forget for the rest of his life. His first major battle and his first time entering an atmosphere and flying in the real sky… and his first time witnessing the golden wings.

When the Virgo squadron reached the planet's surface, they are again faced with opposition, this time not from the Vajra. Kazumi barely avoided a beam shot that grazed his wing in the process and the three Virgo squadron pilots spread out as some very fast units fly past them.

"CWhat the hell… where did that come from?!"

Kazumi look around and finally found the unit that nearly killed him. It is a fighter, a VF with green color and a long rifle. Kazumi recognize those characteristics and considering who their enemy is, he should've expected to see one sooner or later.

"Kazumi, Carol, be careful! That's a VF-27. Those units are monsters piloted by cybernetically enhanced humans."

"Tch, enhanced or not, I'll take them down!"

Kazumi turn his Nightmare Plus around to chase after the Lucifer with Carol following him from behind. He looked around to find other squadrons that had entered the atmosphere also engaged in their own battle against Galaxy's elite. He locked on his target with both missiles and gunpod. Once he pulled the trigger, the VF-171 unleash its payload on the VF-27.

Unexpectedly, or predictably considering the pilot and machine's spec, the Lucifer valkyrie transformed to battroid mode and shoot down all the missiles while avoiding the shots from Kazumi's gunpod. Kazumi too turn his 171 to battroid mode and engage his thruster to its fullest when the 27 return fire with its own gunpod. Kazumi avoided the shot as Carol flew by, unleashing her own missiles at the Lucifer unit.

"Kazumi, don't face it alone! The VF-27's spec is above even the VF-25! You can't win in single combat!"

Carol warned. Kazumi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Carol is right. The difference in spec between their machines is just too great. Kazumi knew he is a good pilot but there's only so much he can do with a vastly inferior machine. Kazumi and Carol regrouped with Alisa as they prepare to face the Galaxy's elite unit.

"We'll take it down together!"

"Right, let's do this!"

"Chiheisen wo yusaburu kaze
honoo wa mada moeteiru ka"

Suddenly the three of them heard a song carried by the wind. The source came from Frontier's Island 1. Their eyes widen as they recognize the voices singing the song.

"Ehh… this is…"

"Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee?"

For a moment Kazumi's attention was entranced by the source of the song he is hearing. Inside the Island 1 right in front of SMS Frontier branch's Macross Quarter on a stage stood Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee together. Singing in the middle of the battlefield. This reminds Kazumi of the stories of how Lynn Minmay's song ended the first ever space war.

Kazumi had always wondered about that. A single song can end war? How does that even work? There are records of Macross 7's Sound Force being effective but Kazumi still finds it dubious. And now he is witnessing something similar happening.

"Furuenagara sekai no iriguchi ni tatsu
omoi todokeru made shirenai."

But if there is one effect he could notice immediately is that everyone's spirit seems to go up. Carol and Alisa's faces appeared on his monitor, both of them grinning.

"Kazumi, let's finish this!"

"Yeah, let's."

"Sono tsubasa wa valkyria
kizutsuita senshi no mae valkyria."

"Ghost-V9 approaching."

Carol warned.

"They're just AI!"

Now flanking the VF-27 are eight Ghost V9 units, fighter drones that are particularly fast and tricky to shoot down. But this does not deter Kazumi at all. Transforming into fighter mode he push the Nightmare Plus' thruster to its limit as he charge ahead towards the enemy.

"Take down the Ghosts first. Shooting down that 27 will be harder with those things around."

Alisa instructed.

""Roger.""

Carol and Kazumi replied as the three of them split up to break up the enemy forces. Two Ghost V9s followed Kazumi while the Lucifer chase after Alisa.

"Maioriru gensou no koibito
sono tamashii michibiku tame niji no hashi wo wataru valkyria"

Kazumi felt his head clear as he focus on taking down the Ghosts first. His hands on the controls of his unit. He could feel it.

"Even if you have better spec… I'm still the better pilot!"

The Ghosts opened fire. Kazumi calmly move the controller of his unit and managed to dodge the volley of bullets all by mere inches. His fighter made precise movements as he tilted it left and right to avoid being hit. If the Ghost units have pilots, they would've been surprised.

"I can see it."

Though following the Ghosts' movements is hard, Kazumi felt like he could see it. Taking aim with his gunpod, Kazumi calmly wait while dodging the shots from the enemy units. As he finally got closer, Kazumi pull the trigger and shot down one of the Ghosts. Changing his unit into battroid mode, he also took another shot when Carol passed by. He destroyed one of the Ghost chasing Carol while carol shot the Ghost chasing him from behind.

"Unmei ni somuite mo valkyria
namida ni hikisakarete mo valkyria"

"We got them!"

"Not yet!"

Turning backward and passing by each other, Alisa and Kazumi destroyed anoter Ghost unit each. Alisa look at them proudly as she also shot down another Ghost unit. But she had lost the Lucifer and is now searching for it.

"That's quite easy."

Kazumi smirk, feeling his confidence rising, failing to pay attention to his surrounding.

"Right. Time to attend to our frie- Kazumi, look out!"

Carol suddenly shouted when she saw that the VF-27 is flying above them in battroid mode with rifle extended and barrel opened aiming at Kazumi. Virgo 2 was surprised that he did not notice and had no time to evade with the speed his machine has. Just as the Lucifer fired its cannon, Kazumi was ready to accept his fate when a VF-171 in gerwalk mode appeared and pushed him away. Kazumi's eyes widened when the unit Virgo 1 piloted was hit by the shot meant for him and starting to lose altitude.

"Alisa!-senpai!"

Kazumi call out her name in worry but there was no reply. Kazumi watch in horror as his squad leader's VF exploded.

"Alisa!"

"Yoake mae ni kagayakanai inochi wa nai
Aishiteru"

Tears flow out from Kazumi's eyes as the leader of Virgo squadron fell in battle.

"I… I never got to tell you how…"

"Kazumi, snap out of it!"

Carol called him. The remaining female member of the Virgo squadron is also in tears after losing more than half her friends in a single battle.

"Let's… let's just get this over with."

Kazumi did not verbally reply, only nodding to her.

"So this is war huh."

Kazumi switched his fighter to battroid mode and once again push it to its limit. Utilizing all thrusters available, Kazumi maneuvered through the rain of bullets and missiles that the VF-27 unleashed. Kazumi kept shooting down missiles as his 171 danced through the barrage while Carol kept the remaining Ghost V9 away from him.

The 27 switched to fighter mode once Kazumi got too close for comfort.

"Hikari no yoroi kono mi ni matoi sora o kakeru
valkyria… SAYONARA NO TSUBASA"

Kazumi gave chase in his fighter mode. He kept the enemy unit in his sight as he chase the Lucifer while firing shots that the cyborg pilot only barely able to avoid using his superior reaction time and the unit's high spec.

And then once more Battle Frontier shot.


-March, AD 2068, Planet Ragna-

-Macross Elysion-

"Hah, a replacement for Messer? I thought we don't need one."

"Why do we need one now, commander?"

The entirety of the famous Delta platoon gathered in the briefing room together after their commander, Major Arad Moulders, called for them. Instead of Arad though, it was Kaname Buccaneer who answer Hayate Immellmann's question. Kaname manipulated her terminal and shows a holographic image of each Walkure member and then an image of the protoculture ruin in the star system.

"I understand your feeling but we're not just replacing Messer. We do it because we need to and it is an order from Chaos main office. After the final battle against Roid Brehm, we were informed that some NUNS higher up have become aware of Walkure's role in the battle, especially Mikumo and Freyja."

"The official story is that Mikumo was captured due to her strong fold wave and was brainwashed to sing for Windermere as replacement for the Wind Singer to manipulate a protoculture superweapon."

Arad said. Everyone is now paying attention to what Kaname will say next once Mikumo and Freyja's name came up. They dreaded it and hoped that the incident will be an isolated one but of course such a large battle will be made known sooner or later. As expected, the aftermath is something they should worry about. Kaname begin her explanation.

"The details still remain classified to everyone but some NUNS people knew about Mikumo's role as the Star Singer and Freyja's song was the one that stopped her. We received words from Lady M that there are elements in the NUNS military that are targeting her for her power."

"The power that could destroy a whole NUNS fleet and put a whole star system under her control, there are people who would love to get their hands on that kind of power. This is different from all previous conflicts such as the Vajra War. This time, loathe as I am to admit it, Mikumo weaponized her song and almost put the whole Globular Cluster under Roid Brehm's control."

Hayate, Mirage, and Chuck don't look too happy but they can see where their commander is going with this.

"Walkure, or rather Mikumo especially will need a dedicated protection from elements that would seek to use her power for their own agenda. That is why Chaos HQ had decided to assign her with a bodyguard which will be formally part of the Delta platoon."

Hayate felt like they are replacing Messer, which they are, and is not very happy with the new arrangement but he can see why it is important. Indeed if Mikumo is being targeted then she will need a dedicated protection and of course her bodyguard will be placed in the Delta platoon. Hayate can accept this logically but that doesn't mean that he has to be happy about it.

"So who is this new pilot we're getting?"

Hayate ask out of curiosity.

"He's… well, let's just say he is someone with an interesting history."


-The next day-

'So I heard your latest assignment is being a bodyguard to one of the Walkure member. Aren't you luck that you can get close to a famous idol?'

The face of a woman in her early twenties with shoulder length blonde hair was seen on the display monitor of a black haired man's phone as he sat in a military shuttle that had just entered planet Ragna.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about this assignment, Carol."

The man replied to the woman named Carol, his longtime friend. Carol chuckled at his annoyed look due to her teasing. He has half a mind to just cut the communication now and left her hanging.

'Ohh come on Kazumi, it's every man's dream to score with an idol!'

The man now identified as a twenty four years old Kazumi Shinomiya look out the window to the sky of Ragna seeing the sun shining down onto the planet. He sighs as he replied to Carol.

"I don't see Alto looking so happy when he was dragged around by Sheryl and Ranka. And we all knew the story about Lieutenant Ichijo and miss Minmay."

He said.

'…I still find that story about what happened in Ouroboros unbelievable.'

"Well it actually happened. I'm about to land so talk to you later."

Kazumi told her as he moved to the shuttle's cockpit seeing that it is approaching the Island 1 located on planet Ragna.

'Alright, I'll hear from you soon. Bye Kazumi!"

Kazumi rolled his eyes as the communication with Carol ended just as the shuttle landed inside the hangar. The shuttle pilot informed Kazumi that they will handle unloading Kazumi's unit so he can immediately head to Elysion. Kazumi nodded and got out of the shuttle, leaving the crew there to do their job.

He walked out of Island 1 and found himself looking at a coastal town he saw when his shuttle was about to land. The air smelled salty due to being close to the sea but the view is great. It's hard to believe that not long ago this planet was the site of a major battle between Chaos' Ragna branch and the Kingdom of Windermere. Everything seems just normal… apart from the protoculture ruin still standing right on the sea of Ragna.

He was a former NUNS pilot now working for Chaos after quitting NUNS due to… things. Graduated as top of his class in the military academy at the age of fifteen, he flew with the NUNS for several more years after parting ways with Carol following the conclusion of the Vajra War until he quits and join Chaos on Carol's recommendation and became one of their best pilot working for Chaos main HQ.

The black haired man smiled as he felt the wind brushing against his face. He had not read the details of his current assignment and only browsed the first page which only told him that he will be joining the now infamous Delta platoon while being the bodyguard of one of the Walkure members. He heard that they're one pilot short after their top ace was shot down and never got round to replacing him. Messer Ihlefeld, the Shinigami. He'd heard the name. He also heard that someone else managed to best the pilot who shot down Messer in the first major battle in Ragna.

Kazumi turn to the towering figure of Macross Elysion. That's where he needs to go. It's going to be a long walk for him but he doesn't mind. He still has some time and it would be nice to get to know the planet he'll be working on from now. Plus the wind blowing in Ragna felt good.

Kazumi made his way to the coastal town through the bridge connecting Island 1 and Ragna. It was a long walk but it gave him chance to appreciate the view which he continued to enjoy by taking the long way around. When he felt like he had had enough sightseeing, Kazumi started walking towards Elysion when he heard a song.

"Itoshiki kimi yo ima doko ni iru no…?"

'A song? Is it one of the Walkure?'

Curious after hearing the voice, Kazumi follows it to the source which leads him to a beach. It's not far from the path he took and he still has time to spare anyway. The pilot finally found the source of the voice and was met with the sight of a woman with very long violet hair divided into four sections with a bun on top spreading her arms as she sings on top of her lungs.

"Iro mo imi mo nakushita sekai. Takaku tooku toberu hazunanoni. Mienai sora ni tsubasa chigireru…"

At that moment, Kazumi Shinomiya was taken by the sight he is seeing. Her figure singing under the sun facing the sea is just so beautiful. Her voice so captivating that Kazumi can do nothing but stare at the sight. It took him a minute to finally realize that the woman had stopped singing and her red eyes are now locked with his.

"Uhh… hello?"

Kazumi felt like he should know the beauty that could match a goddess who is now facing him but he just can't put where. He knew he should know her but he just can't put the face with the name. Truthfully, he had met with many famous singers in his work, including the Fire Bomber's Basara and Mylene and Frontier's Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee. But to him, not even the glamorous Sheryl Nome could match with this woman who he is sure is part of Walkure.

"You are… the new pilot commander Arad spoke about, right?"

"Yes. How did you…"

It was then that Kazumi finally realize who he's speaking to. She is without a doubt the one known as Mysterious Venus and lead singer of Walkure. No wonder she looks so familiar. He was so entranced by her singing that he managed to forget who she is for a moment. The beauty he is looking at is Mikumo Guynemer.

The one said to be the Star Singer.


And here is the rewrite for Song of the Stars. The first major change is Carol's survival which will rewrite bits of Kazumi's past. His temperament is still the same though.