Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, I wouldn't have left the ending so open.

FTPFTPFTPFTP

Ranka, Alto, and Sheryl were walking around the plaza outside the concert hall when Ranka felt an odd, familiar sensation. Shortly after the end of the war, the Vajra mother-queen contacted her, literally dragging her into the fold-mind and the otherworldly perception that went along with it. She still wasn't quite sure why she had a green glow about her, while Sheryl was pink; Sheryl had decided that it was all based around hair color until Ranka pointed out that, first off, Brera (who could appear due to his numerous implants, including several with fold quartz) had pale green hair but a purple hue, and second, Sheryl's hair wasn't naturally pink. But whatever the reason for their appearance, the mother-queen could drag them into the fold-mind at will, which was rather disorienting, especially if you were, say, in the middle of an X-Gear exercise. Luckily, Sheryl hadn't taken off yet, but it was a close thing. While the mother-queen continued to be rather imperious about the whole thing, the junior queens that remained all considered Ranka to be senior to them, so the quickly learned to 'knock' to get Ranka's attention. It felt like someone was rubbing her belly, but from the inside. It was a rather strange feeling, and very distinctive. Ranka immediately plopped down on a bench and opened her mind, falling into the fold-mind with a now-practiced ease.

//Yes?// she replied. The Vajra didn't go for verbal niceties, not really understanding them, and it was mentally taxing for Ranka to talk to them over long periods.

//QueennotVajra/Ranka happy/joyful/hopeful QueennotVajra/Sheryl joyful/hopeful/passionate QueensnotVajra Aimo QueensnotVajra/consort/Altokun//

The Vajra didn't actually talk to her, as they didn't really have a language. They had been a hive mind for millions upon millions of years, and only a few songs remained of whatever language they had before the fold-mind had evolved. Even this knowledge was only an interpretation of what the mother-queen had told her; the mother-queen was ancient beyond reckoning but even she didn't know any language but the songs. Everything else was images, feelings, which Ranka had learned to interpret as they resonated with her own emotions. Even when they weren't singing, this close to the queens they could sense her emotions, and apparently she had caught their attention.

//I am happy. Alto-kun has heard my song, and responds with his own. The queens-not-queens will share their consort.// she told them, phrasing it as well and as simply as she could.

//QueennotVajra/Ranka QueennotVajra/Sheryl hive/unity/solomind?//

She shook her head. //No. The queens-not-queens are still of two minds, but have set our minds to one goal.//

//QueensnotVajra purpose/unity/tandemmind/shared/Aimo QueensnotVajra/consort/Altokun.//

She processed for a moment as the feeling washed over her, and then nodded. //Yes. Does the hive need anything more?//

//Vajra/subset/dandiform/subset/Aikun interrogative QueennotVajra/Ranka move/meet/play soon/soon/soon?//

Ranka giggled. She felt bad, but Ai-kun had to remain outside of the city. While the majority of the people were accepting of the Vajra after the war was over, some had lost more than others, and there was a small but vocal minority that had been very outspoken against the Vajra. To minimize incidents, the Vajra hive-mind agreed to have all members of the hive remain outside the city. It had also been discussed that putting Lt. Commander Klan and a dandiform Vajra in the same place might be a recipe for disaster, since Michel had been killed by one, and keeping Ai as far from Klan as possible for the time being was high on everyone's list. She missed him terribly, though, and usually made it out to see him once or twice a week, but it had been nine days since the last time she had seen him and he was obviously anxious. Despite being part of a hive mind, the Vajra did pick up individual quirks, and Ai-kun's behavior was one of them. The hive itself was rather perplexed by Ai's behavior; Luca had suggested that individuality might be contagious, and that prolonged exposure to humans altered the way that Vajra thought, but it was only a theory.

//I will make an effort to see him before the sun sets,// she replied, and she felt the abrupt emptiness as the queens severed their conversational link, and Ranka relaxed and fell back into the normal world, opening her eyes and seeing the intent faces of Sheryl and Alto.

"You could have checked on me if you were worried, Sheryl," she said.

Sheryl shook her head. "They don't like talking to me. I think they're a little stuck up."

Ranka giggled again. "You talk too much for them, and use too much emotion. You give them a tummy ache."

"Well, they give me a headache, so I guess it's mutual."

The vernette nodded. "I suppose so. Can we go see Ai-kun this afternoon? Apparently he misses me, and I miss him too."

Alto shook his head, more in resignation than denial. "I suppose we can. Couldn't I get you a kitten or something instead, though?" It was an ongoing not-quite-joke between the two of them; Alto felt uncomfortable around Ai now, for many of the same reasons they didn't let Klan near him. Alto was better able to handle his emotions, but still wasn't particularly happy during the visits. That he was willing to go despite his discomfort meant a lot to Ranka.

"A kitten isn't as cute," Ranka replied, giving her usual response, and she latched onto Alto's arm, and Sheryl did the same, and the trio went off once more, first for food, and then for a visit with Ai-kun.

FTPFTPFTPFTP

With a flamboyant and over-exaggerated sigh, Bobby Margot flopped down into the captain's chair on the bridge of the Macross Quarter. He was bored. He was super bored. He was super extremely stupendously bored.

Part of his boredom was his current location. As one of the few fully qualified bridge officers, he occasionally had to stand duty as conn officer. Usually, that gave him a trio of operators to talk to. However, the Quarter had been stood down for 36 hours to allow for some long-needed maintenance upon the radar and communications systems. Since the radar and com systems had to be completely de-energized, two of the bridge stations were completely shut down, and the Captain had given the trio of primary operators the day off, as one person could handle the status management systems and cover for the weapons control operator, since most of the weapons were useless without the radar anyway. Mina's backup, a perfectly nice but quiet girl named Gemma, was absorbed in her duties, conferring with the maintenance crews and occasionally opening access ways and de-energizing equipment that might interfere with the maintenance. The extremely petite blonde had no time to talk to Bobby.

The vast majority of his boredom came not from his location, though, but the ship's. The Quarter was still sitting on the Vajra planet (he couldn't wait for the vote, just so he had SOMETHING to call where he lived now), massive repairs being done to the cannon arm of the ship – finally – which kept the ship on planet. Bobby was a helmsman. He was one of the best helmsmen in or out of service to any of the colonial fleets, and he had been staked a healthy share in the colony as his 'signing bonus' to join SMS. He could have made more money as a make-up artist, but a stake in the colony was worth more than he could reasonably hope to make in his lifetime, unless he worked for people like Sheryl Nome all the time, and there just weren't that many galactic-scale superstars. That the Frontier colony was currently host to two of them was almost absurd. But he was a helmsman, because he wanted to be, and the ship he served on should be in space, not floating in a bay on a planet. He hadn't had any adrenaline rushes in weeks.

He didn't even have anyone to tease. Ozma was off limits while Cathy was pregnant, as he didn't want to know what culinary horror she might come up with next, and he certainly didn't want her to eat it in front of him. The girls were all gone for the day, the Captain was getting increasingly irritable as NUNS continued to badger him about his relationship with Monica, and the pilots were all stood down, due to the radar being inoperable.

Why did they call it radar, anyway? The information the system displayed was a combination of inputs of the radar, lidar, and fold-wave sensors, augmented by optical and gravimetric devices when applicable. It was much more complicated than regular radar, and had the ability to display information in a 3-D holobubble that gave extremely accurate vectoring information. So why did they continue to use that outmoded term?

And why was NUNS giving the Captain such a hard time? They no longer had jurisdiction over SMS, but continued to try and exert control anyway, and they continued to harass the Captain over a personal matter that was of no concern to NUNS in any case. Captain Wilder had left U.N. Spacy because he didn't want to be told how to live his life, and he had moved up from being a single-ship commander in Birla's private SMS fleet to the commander of the most powerful pocket battleship in the galaxy and de facto head of SMS operations on Frontier.

Bobby had his suspicions, of course. He knew that Cathy was convinced that Captain Wilder would make a good colonial president, a point on which Bobby agreed. The antipathy the Captain had for the NUNS high command was common knowledge, and he was sure that the idea of Wilder as their commander-in-chief was a nightmare that seemed ready to come true. Their continued harassment of the Captain was probably designed to keep him from considering a political run, but it was upsetting Monica, and at some point NUNS would upset her too much, and the Captain might declare his candidacy just to spite them.

The fact was that right now the government was a mess. The ministries tried to do their jobs, but there was no one to give direction, and with no clear successor, and a number of cabinet members involved in the Galaxy plot, or tarred by their association with Leon Mishima, there was unlikely to be anyone that would come out of that group to be a strong leader. The military was staying away from the government, for fear of being associated with the coup Mishima had staged and the assassination of President Glass. Cathy, having been assigned as liaison to SMS, wasn't under the same cloud, and while she had no official standing, she had been pushing people in the right direction and using the name Glass to get things done. But she had a 'drop-dead' date as it were; the stress was affecting her pregnancy, and she was told that the sooner she reduced her stress, the better it was for the baby. She surely didn't want to send herself into early labor or something equally traumatic, which wasn't a danger yet, but once she got into the third trimester, it would become a concern. Once she stepped back, there would be no one who could do what she did, not until they had an election.

Bobby hated politics, although he understood them fairly well. There was too much lying and double talk, which was anathema to him. He told it like he saw it, and refused to hide any aspect of his life. While it might traumatize the occasional person, he knew many saw him as a refreshing dose of honesty. Flamboyantly gay honesty, but honesty nonetheless.

He looked at the clock for what had to be the fortieth time since he came on watch. Ugh, three more hours to go.

"Gemma?"

The operator looked up from her station, momentarily stopping her work. "Yes sir?" Bobby was looking at her, and she fidgeted. "Sir?"

"I don't suppose you'd let me give you a make-over?"

Gemma blew out a breath. "I'm a little busy right now, sir." She turned back to her console and resumed her interaction with the maintenance crews.

So much for that. He really had nothing to do. Sometimes life was patently unfair.

FTPFTPFTPFTP

Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus. Breathe in. Breathe out and hold. Squeeze…

BOOM!

Cycle the bolt, up and back, then forward and down. Realign the target in the sight; good, not too much drift. Good hit on the last shot. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus. Breathe in. Breathe out and hold. Squeeze…

BOOM!

Klan cycled the bolt up and back, but that was the fifth and final shot from her clip. She pulled the earplugs out and pulled off the yellow shooting glasses, then looked at the range officer from her prone position. He gave her thumbs up.

"You've gotten much better. You still rush your shots, but your accuracy is good enough that in most situations, that shouldn't be too much of an issue. I know how much pinpoint fire you may need to deliver, though, and you're still not up to the level that I'd want you shooting close to me."

Klan grunted, then moved to her feet. "I understand. It's not something that I can rush, but I want to be ready if the situation arises."

The range officer nodded. "I don't know that it will be needed, but being prepared is important. I'm impressed that you're willing to come down here and shoot in the flesh. Most Valkyrie snipers are only concerned with their skills in their fighter, so they don't learn the proper mental skills."

She nodded, then cocked her head. "Did you…did you know Michel?"

"Michel? Mikhael Braun?" She nodded. "Yes, I did. He didn't come down here much once he started flying for SMS, but he understood the mental disciplines. Jessica taught him that far better than I could." A look of comprehension crossed his face. "Are you training to take his place, then?"

"I'm trying to fill his role. No one can take his place."

He nodded, seeming to understand. Nothing more was said, and Klan put the ear plugs back in, put the glasses back on, and lay back down and took up the big rifle. She dropped the old clip out and slammed a new one home, then peered through the sight. She slid the bolt forward and down, jacking the first round into the chamber. She lined up her target.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

FTPFTPFTPFTP

Alto sat on top of a hill, watching Ranka run around with Ai. The fact that she could still act like a child sometimes both irritated him and endeared her to him. Most of the time it was endearing, as she still approached the world with wide eyes and a certain playfulness. It irritated him only when she used it to put off or hide from a serious situation.

Sheryl sat with him, or rather, against him, her back leaning against his shins as she sat lower on the hill. He had his hand on her shoulder and her hand was on his, idly running her fingers back and forth across his. She seemed content to sit in the sun and watch Ranka play, for now.

Alto was once again struck by the dichotomy of his feelings toward Ai. As a larva, the Vajra had been cute, and he had grown to appreciate the little creature, and knew that Ranka adored him. As a dandiform Vajra, Alto saw the creature that killed Michel. He knew that it wasn't Ai that killed him, but it would always be the form of Michel's killer. But he knew it was still Ai, and Ranka loved the creature just as much. What was it about ugly pets that made girls love them all the more?

Eventually, Ai would grown and change again. What he would change into, though, no one was sure. This was apparently a branch point for Vajra, and the dandiform could evolve either into a walker, or a fighter-drone. If Ai changed into a walker, then it would eventually become a full-on 'Victor'. Alto wasn't sure that several tons of armor and weaponry, capable of shattering a cruiser, was still able to be considered a pet. Of course, the Vajra could throw everyone for a loop and change into some other form. Apparently there were aquatic Vajra, although no one had seen any yet, as they tended toward deep-water environments. Alto hoped in a way that Ai went that route, because he could then stay near the Quarter and they could visit him without the danger of any of the colonial citizens finding out.

He realized that Sheryl was talking to him, and almost panicked, for any time he had ignored Sheryl, she either punished him in some way, or got huffy about it and ignored him for a while. Which was still punishment, but in a different form.

"I'm sorry," he said, hopefully with sincerity. "I was thinking about Ai, and didn't catch what you said."

Sheryl looked back over her shoulder at him, and had a bit of a pout on her face. "Is that so?"

He suppressed a sigh. "Yes, actually. I was thinking about what Ranka had told us about there being aquatic Vajra, and I hope Ai turns into one."

She looked at him with an odd expression for a moment, and then nodded. "I suppose that would be for the best. He'd be safe, and no one knows what water Vajra look like, so they wouldn't be as scared." She smiled at him. "That's sweet of you."

"I still don't understand why the two of you think he's cute."

"Ranka thinks that Ai-kun is cute. I think how Ai-kun acts toward Ranka is cute. There's a difference," Sheryl informed him.

"I suppose. So what were you saying?"

Sheryl blinked. "Saying? Oh, right!" She turned, leaning her elbows on his knees, and he vaguely felt her breasts rest against his legs as she leaned into him. "I was thinking about the upcoming break for school, and what we're going to do during it. I wanted to do some shows."

Alto looked at her. "'Some shows' like the nightclubs and TV shows you've been doing, or 'some shows' like 'Sheryl on Stage'?"

She took a deep breath, which pressed her breasts more firmly against him and he wished she were leaning against his arm instead of his legs, but would take what he could get. Sheryl had once told him that her breasts embodied the hopes and dreams of many fans, or something close to that. Inspired, maybe? At the time, he had scoffed because she was being dramatic, but they had since become part of his hopes and dreams, as well. He started to drift and almost missed the beginning of her reply.

"I want to do 'Sheryl on Stage' again. You're an actor, you understand what it's like, don't tell me you don't. The adrenaline rush of performing in front of all those people, having them cheer you and hang on every note…I miss it. I love singing, and I worked hard to get where I am, damn whatever that bitch Grace said. She might have pulled some strings, but if I wasn't good, I never would have gone anywhere."

He nodded. "Alright. You want to do big arenas. You realize that Frontier only has one big arena, right?"

She nodded. "I want to do three shows here for sure, I want most everyone to be able to see me. And not just me, Ranka too, I wouldn't dream of leaving her out. Some sort of hybrid show, part 'Ranka Live', part 'S.O.S.', and part…hmmm…" she sounded a bit distracted, shifting more to 'thinking aloud' than actually talking to him. "Part…well, if she's the Cinderella, and I'm the Galactic Fairy, does that make me her Fairy Godmother? I hope not, I'm not old enough to be any sort of Godmother. Hmmm…maybe a Ranka versus Sheryl vocal battle? No, we've had enough of battle, although we should work most of the medley from the last battle into our act, maybe as the finale? We could do that 'Triangle' song I'm working on, and maybe clean up our improvisation from the hospital and do a reprise of 'What 'bout My Star', but more simple, like the Formo performance. Maybe 'Sirens of the Frontier?' The government might like that, and it might help draw immigrants. Just as long as they don't think about changing that law." Alto realized that she was completely off on a tangent and had almost forgotten that he was there. "I'm really happy that I don't have to fight Ranka for Alto anymore. I don't think we could have gone too much longer without something breaking. Maybe now I can finally drag him to bed and…" Sheryl's face went pale and she looked up at Alto. "…I was thinking aloud, wasn't I?"

Alto nodded.

She paled slightly more, before shaking her head. "In for a penny, as they say." She looked up at Alto. "I'm not teasing you, and I just want you to listen. I love you, Saotome Alto, I love you with all of my being. I have wanted to take you to bed since before Ranka ran off, and if I had let you tell me you loved me that day, right before that last desperate battle, I would taken you to bed right then and there, knowing that I was dying, because I wanted to experience everything I could of being in love. And then everything worked out, and Ranka and I challenged each other, and I couldn't, I wouldn't win by taking you to bed. I thought it would cheapen my victory, having to resort to something so purely physical. But I have wanted you, and only you, for months now. I've never desired anyone like I desire you. Other men may have sparked a flame in me, but in comparison, it's like I swallowed a sun, the passion that I feel for you. And now that we've agreed to this idea, and now that we, the three of us, are going to try and be together as spouses, I don't have to hold back anymore." She let go of his knees and nudged them apart, pushing him onto his back and crawling up his body, hovering over his face, her voice growing intense. "Very, very soon, you're going to take me to bed and love me and make love to me and claim me to be yours, for now and for ever. And then you're going to do the same to Ranka, only you'll have to seduce her, because she'd probably never try to seduce you herself. And if you can't seduce her, then I'll seduce you both, because my husband and wife are going to show love and make love and there won't be any games. And you know that she's ready, deep down, because you know what she dreams of, and you know that she wants to be yours and only yours forever. Do you understand me, Alto-kun?"

He could only nod, overcome by the sight and feel and the voice of one of the women he loved. She dipped her head toward his, and their lips touched, and it was like…

Fire. Pure, molten flame and lust and need and love all poured into him through Sheryl's kiss, his brain short-circuiting as the emotions flooded his senses. Then she was gone, sitting up, and she turned to Ranka, who was approaching up the hill, Ai-kun trailing behind by several meters. Before Ranka could even form the question that seemed to be on her mind, Sheryl grabbed her waist, spun her around so she was now standing uphill of Sheryl, and with their heads now level, leaned in and kissed Ranka just as fiercely as she had Alto. He was struck by how powerful the emotions seemed, watching the expressions on both the girls faces, as Ranka first blushed, but then melted into the kiss, the kiss lasting for a good thirty seconds before Sheryl broke it, leaving Ranka in a slight daze.

"Do you both understand how I feel about this now?" she asked, and Alto saw Ranka recover somewhat and nod. Sheryl looked at him, and he nodded as well. "I understand, now. And I think that I agree with you."

"Good," the rosette said, and she held out her hands. Alto took one, and Ranka took the other. Sheryl gave Ai-kun a nod, and Ranka waved at him, and the trio set off to return home. This shared marriage might be tough, but Alto realized that there were benefits he hadn't really thought through yet. He was sure that Sheryl and Ranka would be happy to help him figure them out.

FTPFTPFTPFTP

Deputy Minister Ebata Yuuichi was stressed. Normally, Yuuichi was responsible for resource conservation and replenishment, which meant that, now that Frontier was on a planet and the colonization fleet was no longer a closed system, his duties were now superfluous. However, he was one of six surviving Ministers not implicated in the Galaxy plot, and the senior of those six, which technically made him the senior civilian member of the government.

Yuuichi didn't want the job.

He had come up through the ranks as an environmental engineer, and moved into administration because he actually had a good grasp of what needed to be done to keep the colony going. Without his efforts, Frontier would likely have died in space from lack of oxygen or food. Thankfully, in his eyes, very few people knew this, partially through his efforts, and partially because Leon Mishima was a glory-hog who wouldn't share credit with anyone anyway. Also thankfully, no one was really turning to him to try and keep the government running, and so the six ministers ruled by committee and tried to do the right thing. What was needed, though, was a strong executive.

Actually the colony needed a lot of things. NUNS had been all but ineffective for the first part of the Vajra-Human war, and now they were digging their heels in about all sorts of ridiculous things, and generally being un-cooperative. They wouldn't rebel, but they didn't make things any easier. The colony needed more micro/macro chambers, badly. The colony needed fresh blood, and they needed this divisive multiple spouse law. The colony needed direction.

Ebata Yuuichi knew where he could find a lot of those things. His idea for a candidate for president would be fresh blood, relatively speaking, for he wasn't a member of the government, or of NUNS. And he knew for a fact that Cathy Glass liked the idea. Of course, his candidate would hate the idea, but that was what made him even more ideal. He himself had been promoted to cabinet minister despite wanting to continue to work on the environmental plants. His candidate would rather be a ship captain than a president. Besides, a wise man had once said anyone who seeks elected office is automatically unsuited for the job. Jeffery Wilder would have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the office of President.

He was perfect.

FTPFTPFTPFTP

Authors Notes:

I had fun with this one. The story is definitely taken on a life of its own.

Ebata Yuuichi is an original character, his name taken from Ebata Risa and Takahashi Yuuichi, the character designers for Macross Frontier. He's pretty much J. Random Government guy, but I need a senior civilian and we don't really have any named ones in the series, other than President Glass. He doesn't want to be President, though, which is his most important character trait.

Brera should make an appearance soon. I'm not quite sure what I want to do with him, yet. Luca will also be appearing, likely doing some technical stuff with regarding some upgrades to the VF-25s that SMS is getting.

I give a special thank you to Andy Wong Fey Hong, for his reviews and for letting me bounce a few ideas off of him.

Gemma's name and appearance are based on a character from one of my original works. The real Gemma would beat Bobby harshly for suggesting a makeover, though.

I also went back and added disclaimers to chapters 3 and 4, just a little CYOA going on there. Sorry if anyone is getting alerts for them.