Contributed by emochinchilla

***

Alto sighed as he stared out the window of his VF-25 as he flew around the Macross Quarter. He was ordered to deploy to some far-off system to combat a rogue Zentradi fleet, along with the rest of the SMS Fleet from the Frontier colony.

"Stupid NUNS politicians...couldn't they send their own military out to do it instead of hiring us?" He griped, opening a private channel to Skull-1.

"Now, now...it's a PR move - they want to look good and act like they're considering their soldiers by letting them spend the holidays with their families," came the voice of good ol' reliable Ozma. Alto sighed forlornly in response. "I know, I know kid - I miss Cathy too. But orders are orders, and we're soldiers - just that nobody cares about the PMCs. That's politicians and democracy for you."

The rest of their patrol continued in an uneventful silence until it was time for Chinchilla squadron to relieve them.

***

Alto flopped down on his bed, exhausted, throwing his helmet to the side as he groaned in exasperation. "Ugh...Sheryl..." He muttered, rolling over to face the ceiling as a loud beeping interrupted his moment of self-pity. He grabbed the remote on his nightstand and turned on the video-screen. Ah, the perks of being the second-highest ranked pilot on the ship!

"Hi Alto!" Came the perky voice of his girlfriend. "S-Sheryl!? What time is it over there!?" Alto asked, shocked that she'd call at this time. "Oh, 7 in the morning - it's Christmas morning!" She squealed.

Alto turned to face the calendar in disbelief, "Oh shit, it IS Christmas!" He yelled, prompting a fit of laughter from Sheryl.

"Oh God, Alto," She teased, wiping a tear from her eye, "You're so clueless it's cute." He groaned at that. Men WERE NOT cute, just like how men didn't sparkle - despite what a certain pop phenomenon claimed in the early 21st century. Damn Nanase and her trivial...well...trivia.

"I miss you." He said, suddenly. "I miss you too." Was her response, flicking her pink tresses over her shoulder. "Well, I'd better go and start cooking; everyone's going to be coming over tonight." Sheryl said, prompting Alto to try his best to keep a neutral expression.

After all, Sheryl was a disaster in the kitchen - OH GOD WHY DID HE HAVE TO BE OUT HERE ON DUTY? HE WAS GOING TO GO BACK TO SHERYL STANDING UNTOUCHED IN THE MIDDLE OF A BURNT HUSK THAT WAS HIS HOUSE. OH GOD OH GOD AHHHHHH - "ALTO!" She snapped.

"Yeah!?" He blinked, coming out of his daydream-equivalent-of-a-nightmare. "Oh, sorry - had one of those Family Guy-style fantasies."

Cue facepalm from Sheryl. "Well, I hafta go...Merry Christmas, Alto." She said, sadly.

"Merry Christmas, Sheryl..." He said quietly, as she cut the connection. He sighed and flopped back onto his pillow, a solitary tear trailing down his face.

This would've been their first Christmas together as a couple, and Alto had to spend it out here killing Zentradi.

"How poetic," He muttered bitterly, "To have to go around ending lives on the day the savior was born..."

Fin

***

Alternate Ending:

The next day, Alto Saotome was killed in action.