Part 19: Mission 8 (Celestial Being Route) - On Your Dream
We find ourselves at the Frontier Fleet, and Alto’s pretty beat. His “welcome aboard” party was just the other teammates messing with him throughout the evening. But his grumbling’s interrupted by the suddenly appearing Sheryl. What’s she doing here?
Cut to the President’s office, where Marina’s already meeting with Howard. Turn out the Frontier Fleet originated from a different universe’s Earth – both planets share many similarities, like the shape of the continents and being the third planet in the Solar System, but a more minute analysis has confirmed that they’re not the same. The histories of both planets, for example, is completely different.
As Mishima points out, the Fleet’s Earth was once brought to ruin during a war with the giant Zentradi; once they pulled things back together, several colony ships were sent out to find a new planet for their people to call home. The Macross Frontier was the 25th of those ships and Mishima hands Marina and Shirin a dossier about it.
Marina ponders everything, the giants and their war, them setting out to travel across the galaxy, and their capacity of performing interstellar warps by way of their Fold technology – indeed, their version of Earth has much ours hasn’t, so the suggestion that they came from a parallel universe doesn’t sound so farfetched.
Mind you, the Frontier folk didn’t expect a universe like this to exist – they just wound up here by accident after they were forced to perform an emergency Fold as a way to escape the Vajra. The what? Dreadful space bugs that attacked the Fleet in the past – other Macross fleets had also been struck and destroyed by the things, too.
Mishima says it’s impossible to communicate with the bugs, and they could well be considered to be the nemeses of all mankind. Marina doesn’t like the sound of that.
Back to the Elshank, the men are waiting to hear news of the meeting at the Frontier. The girls have also left for their infiltration mission, and Joe asks if it wasn’t a bit unreasonable of Richard to ask Rennie to take part in that. What, isn’t she a potential ninja since she can pilot one of the Ladorian machines? Sounds like someone pretty suited for the job to Richard.
Joe counters that being able to pilot a mech doesn’t equal being good at infiltration and spying stuff. At the very least Saya and Eida are UX operatives and Tsubasa is a trained soldier, no? Rennie seems like the odd one out among all those girls.
Scarlet is inclined to agree and asks what motivated Richard to pick this particular group to infiltrate the Frontier. “Hmmm, what motivated me…? I guess I just got all giddy over the thought of a group of four spy women – sounds like something straight out of a movie,” Richard ponders. What, so it was just his cinephilia behind choosing those girls?! Joe’s just gotten real worried, real fast.
Oh? Is Joe really that concerned about Rennie, Damian quips? H-Hell no, dumbass! Why would he ever care if anything happened to that nag?! Romina looks on in silence and, when asked by Shaff, quickly says it’s nothing! Hmm…
One thing Arnie wants to know is why Richard even cared to put together this whole infiltration in the first place. Wasn’t the UX current mission to help the Celestial Being? Yes, but this one was an additional request from Ishigami. Apparently, the Frontier Fleet’s also got something to do with JUDA’s ongoing “project”.
“In any case, why don’t we sit back and look forward to our four beautiful spies working their magic? ‘Richie’s Angels, move out!’” Arnie shakes his head at Richard’s glee.
But at least the girls are enjoying their mission, as we find them at the Nyan-Nyan restaurant. The food here’s very much to their liking – nothing they’ve had on our Earth tasted as good as this! But Tsubasa is confused: Richard’s “spying” mission is looking more like a gourmet tour of the Frontier Fleet than anything else. Saya finds it very strange as well.
If you ask Eida, Saya’s outfit is far stranger than that – a black catsuit? That’s the stuff you only see people weaingr in TV shows. Rennie is forced to agree as it only makes her stand out. “R-Really? But the Major said it was indispensable for this mission…” Richard’s TV obsession strikes again, Eida sighs. He might be an ace pilot, but he’s got so many quirks.
Setting aside Saya’s suit, Tsubasa is surprised at how society here isn’t different at all from what we have on our Earth. This whole city wouldn’t look out of place anywhere on the surface. But it IS impressive to Rennie that they managed to fit something as big as this inside a spaceship. The whole thing’s like they sent some Space Colony to travel through space and it’s almost hard to believe that it came from beyond the solar system.
But there’s a bit of a hubbub nearby: some girl’s getting accosted by a man who asks that she come home with him.
: No! I said no! I’m not going back until my brother accepts my decision!
: But the captain… I-I mean, your brother is worried sick… : My answer’s still NO! Let me go!: Ranka…
: Hey, you there! That girl didn’t do anything to deserve that!: Eh…?
: A man as good-looking as you should know way better to mistreat her like that…
: Making a girl come with you against her will… That’s something we women will NOT tolerate!: N-No, wait… This is really not what it looks—
: Shut your mouth! We’ll see how brazen you are after we’ve bashed those glasses into your face!: H-Hey… W-Wait a sec!*Punch!*
Elsewhere, Alto asks if Sheryl really should be walking around town by herself – isn’t she a major celebrity? The “Galactic Fairy” and all that jazz? Sure, but Sheryl’s looking for a missing earring and she NEEDS to find it. There’s a jewel inside it that can transmit thoughts, you see. Plus, it’s a good-luck charm of hers.
That’s fine but how does she figure she’ll find the thing at Alto’s place? She points back to the Vajra attack, when he saved her, and says the earring dropped onto him at that point. Her manager, Grace, has some cybernetic implants on her, so Sheryl went through her recorded visual data and saw it all happen.
Alto’s heard of those implants – physical and mental enhancement tech – and they’re pretty commonplace in the Macross Galaxy. “Huh… Since when has that kind of stuff become so widespread over there?” Alto says, and Sheryl takes from that that he’s been on her native fleet before? He has, back when he was a kid.
“Hmm, I knew it…” Sheryl mulls, but doesn’t tell Alto what that means.
Over by the mall, it’s been cleared up that Michel wasn’t a bad guy - that doesn’t fix his black eye, though. Still, he knows it was all just a misunderstanding and his glasses are in one piece, so it’s fine (and he doesn’t really mind getting hit by pretty girls like them).
He does want to know, however… why is Saya dressed like a spy woman? Saya stutters, so Eida comes to the “rescue”: “N-No, um… She just really loves cosplaying, you see…” Michel rubs his chin, not looking very convinced, but Tsubasa swiftly changes the subject. Why is Ranka so against going home?
Because her big brother threw a fit when she said she wanted to be a singer, and always treats her like a kid. “I just want to sing to the whole world!” she says. Michel, however, tells Ranka to stop acting so spoiled. She’s not even giving any thought to Ozma’s own feelings, the guy who’s always taken care of her.
Moreover, if she says she wants to sing, could she do it right here, right now? Is she capable of placing herself in front of all these people who didn’t come here expressly to see her and sing for them?
: …
: H-Hey, Michel, you don’t have to say it like that…: No, I agree with him 100%.: ?! Eida…: Someone looking to fulfill their dream needs to have at least that much commitment and energy. : Speaking for myself, I’d sing right here without a second thought. I’d do it even if no one cared enough to watch… because I know my voice can make them turn my way!: …!: Dreams, huh… That sounds nice. I’m actually a bit jealous of you two.: We didn’t really have any dreams back on Mars…: Rennie…: (Dream… my dream… Alto…): … I’ll do it! I’ll sing!
: Damn it, you’re dragging me all over the place looking for that earring! What does this mall even have to do with the thing?!
: Oh, dear. You don’t have a lot of stamina for a soldier, do you?: The SMS isn’t part of the military, OK? I wouldn’t want to be part of a squad that’s duty-bound to obey whatever order comes their way.: Hmm, so it’s a PMC, then? The type that’ll brave any danger if the money’s right? : I’m not in it for the money either…: Hahah, it’s fine, it’s fine. Now we’re both professionals here: me, the professional singer, and you, the professional fighter.
: Pfft… If we’re going with that, I’d much rather be a professional flier. : Someday I want to travel to a planet with an atmosphere and fly across a real sky. That’s my dream…: A planet with an atmosphere… Well, I’m sure it’d have a much more colorful smell than this place.
SRW L - Aimo
: Aimo, aimo… ♪: Hm…? Hey, look at that crowd. And that voice…: Is that Ranka…?!: Aimo, aimo… ♪: I’ll be damned… Well, I know when to throw in the towel.: Wow… I can feel her song like it’s echoing throughout my heart…: Hmhmm… I didn’t think she’d be this talented…: Lulei, luleia… ♪: Lulei, luleia… ♪: …?! N-No way… Is that?!: Hmhmhm... I don’t often do freebies like this.: Th-The Galactic Fairy… Sheryl Nome! What are you doing here?!: “Galactic Fairy”…? Do you know her?: Kinda. What I want to know is why she’s got Princess Alto tagging along with her.: Eeh, it’s just for a bit…: You have a very nice voice. What’s your name?: Ah? Ranka… Ranka Lee! Did you really like my voice…?: I don’t say things without meaning them. But, I have to ask… How is that you know the lyrics to Aimo?:…!: “Aimo”…? : Yeah, that’s what she was singing…: …
Mission 8 (Celestial Being Route) – On Your Dream
And it is right then that a big flock of Vajra decides to pop right on top of the Frontier and start blasting. Seems to Mishima that they crossed over into this universe in pursuit of the fleet, and he asks that the SMS be deployed right away.
Shirin and Marina run in, asking what’s going on, and Howard has to apologize to them: they might have, unwillingly, brought a calamity to their world. Yeah, said nemeses of mankind are here.
Back to the mall, Luca’s gotten in touch with Alto and informed the group of the attack – they need to head back to the Macross Quarter on the double and get ready to deploy. But Alto promises a worried Ranka that he’ll make it back safely. And, more importantly, she needs to evacuate into the Island’s shelters.
Sheryl figures she should head back as well, so her questioning Ranka about her also knowing Aimo will have to wait. She still wants Alto to keep an eye out for her earring, mind, and he promises to find and bring it to her. “I’ll be waiting for you, Alto,” Sheryl says… and Ranka’s concerned at how close they sound. And what’s this about an earring?
As Michel and Alto take off, Tsubasa wonders what they should do themselves. Considering Alto mentioned something about a deploying, Saya figures they might as well head back to the hangar as well.
SRW UX - The Target.Outside, Jeffrey, captain of the Quarter, leads the SMS into battle and deploys all their units as several Vajra draw closer to the Frontier’s last defensive line. This is Alto’s first legit battle as part of the team, and Michel suggests he better start running now if he’s planning on it – this’ll be a whole lot different from his kabuki plays.
Absolutely not: Alto’s got his Valkyrie, complete with a Tornado Pack, and vows to make good use of it. That’s great, but Ozma tells the nugget to get on his six and stay glued to him. Formation Planet Dance!
Destroy everything without losing any allied unit. This is our first battle with the Vajra, so they’re not going to throw anything too tough our way: we’ve got a bevy of Small (yellow) and Large (red) models and they are pretty much unchanged from L. The major difference is that they all have Energy Shields, which reduce all incoming damage by 1000. This’ll make them hardier than before, but not THAT much more.
Aside from that, they are still rather dodgy and accurate, so you’ll want to keep your units bunched up around Ozma and Jeffrey to make use of their Command auras. Let them come to you and swat them down easily.
But, before we start, take a seat because we’ve a lot of homework to do:
Macross Quarter (Jeffrey Wilder, Bobby Margot, Catherine Glass)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L4
Support Attack L1
Support Defend L2
All Attack
Command L1
Spirit Commands – Jeffrey:
Trust
Strike
Invincible
Spirit Commands – Bobby:
Accelerate
Alert
Spirit Commands – Cathy:
Scan
Gain
Mech Features:
Transform
Pinpoint Barrier – Reduces all incoming damage by 1000
Squad Bonus: HP +500, Accuracy +5 (HP +1000, Accuracy +20, Armor +125)
Jeffrey’s voice actor: Toru Ohkawa (other roles: Julius in Tales of Xillia 2, Roy Mustang in Full Metal Alchemist, Saito in Ghost in the Shell an many more)
Bobby’s voice actor: Kenta Miyake (other roles: Zangief in Street Fighter, Abdul/Avdol in Jojo Stardust Crusaders, Conroy in Gundam Unicorn and many more)
Cathy’s voice actress: Sanae Kobayashi (other roles: Gemini Sunrise in Sakura Taisen, Reika in Aquarion, Canon in Fafner and a bunch more)
Macross ships are always great and the Quarter is no exception. Resilient, strong and with a lot range means you can easily have it lead the offensive with our units. Its 2L size means its accuracy will take a hit against smaller units but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with upgrades and Strike.
It also has, of course, a MAPW for both its Buster and Macross Cannons, which blasts everything in a line up to 8 squares ahead – powerful, but it only being a single line instead of the usual 3xSomething makes it lose usability.
Still, between the Elshank and Ptolemaios, this one’s easily our strongest battleship and both its plot relevance and the limited number of carriers will force us to use it.
VF-25F Messiah F – Tornado Pack (Alto Saotome)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L2
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
All Attack
Predict
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Sense
Mech Features:
Transform
Squad Bonus: Mobility +5, Crit rate +10 (Mobility +20, Crit +20, Movement +2, A in Air/Space)
Alto’s voice actor: Yuichi Nakamura AGAIN
RVF-25Messiah F – Super Pack (Luca Angeloni)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L2
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
All Attack
Predict
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Sense
Mech Features:
Transform
Repair Module
Composite Sensors – range 1-5 around Luca, costs 30 EN per use. All enemies inside the AoE have their final accuracy and evasion numbers lowered by 30%.
Squad Bonus: Money +10%, EN +50 (Money +20%, EN +100, Spec Down Debuff Immunity, A in Air/Space)
Luca’s voice actor: Jun Fukuyama (other roles: Zero in Code Geass, Touga in Gravion and loads more.
VF-25S Messiah F – Armored Pack (Ozma Lee)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L4
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
All Attack
Guard
Command L1
Spirit Commands:
Invincible
Strike
Focus
Mech Features:
Transform
Squad Bonus: Armor +100, HP +500 (Armor +150, HP +1000, Crit +15, A in Air/Space)
Ozma’s voice actor: Katsuyuki Konishi (other roles: Kamina in TTGL, Volfogg in Gaogaigar, Lloyd in Tales of Symphonia and a ton more)
VF-25G Messiah F – Super Pack (Mikhail “Michel” Blanc)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L2
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
All Attack
Hit & Away
Gunfight L1
Spirit Commands:
Snipe
Focus
Mech Features:
Transform
Squad Bonus: Accuracy +5, Ranged weapons’ power +100 (Accuracy +20 Ranged weapons +200, Range +2, A in Air/Space)
Michel’s voice actor: Hiroshi Kamiya (other roles: Nozomu Itoshiki in Zetsubou-Sensei, Tieria in Gundam 00, Zeheart in Gundam AGE and a billion more)
Alto, once again, starts out above average but will be kicking ass by the time we’re done. The Tornado Pack already gives him sharper teeth than what he had at the start of L, but that’s offset by the fact that the Valkyries aren’t as absurdly powerful as they were in that game (still strong, mind). Once again, the game will force you to deploy him, so you might as well.
Ozma’s Alto but better in every way. He’s a great pilot, his attacks carry a hefty punch and he’s even surprisingly bulky with him stacking the Armored Pack, big Prevail and that squad bonus. That Command aura is always a plus, making Ozma, all in all, someone you could absolutely field as a leader for the whole game (I did, in L). He’ll always be good.
Michel’s gained a significant boost since L, having pretty much everything he’ll ever need right out of the box (except B-Save). He knows Focus from the start, too. That +ranged power already make him a good squaddie for ranged-oriented protagonists, but with everything he has, you could also potentially have him lead.
And Luca’s a support through and through, making him a great squaddie. The HP Regen is nice but that squad bonus as a whole will make him very desirable for a lot of people – especially those with big MAPWs. His special ability pretty much enabling him to cut the numbers of everything in a 5-tile radius around him by a third makes an already nice unit even better.
In summary, all Valkyrie pilots are all great, and you should always try and fit them inside your teams.
Queadluun-Rhea (Klan Klang)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L2
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Counter
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Alert
Fighting Spirit
Mech Features:
Gun
Squad Bonus: Crit +10, EXP +10% (Crit +20, EXP +20%, Mobility +10)
Klan’s voice actress: Megumi Toyoguchi (other roles: Aqua in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Junko in
Eeeh, she’s fine. Good range coverage and stats means you can definitely field her but she’ll likely only ever amount to a squaddie. That said, she’s also been buffed so her priority as a squaddie is now way higher than it was before – keep her leveled up some, as she’ll get better as the game progresses.
VB-6 König Monster (Canaria Berstein)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L3
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L2
Spirit Commands:
Invincible
Strike
Mech Features:
Transform
Resupply Module
Squad Bonus: HP +500, Accuracy +5 (HP +1000, Accuracy +20, Barrier 1250)
Canaria’s voice actress: Houko Kuwashima (other roles: Chika (Shu’s bird) in many SRWs, Rim in OGs, Kurara in Dancouga Nova, Vivian in Cross Ange, Yurika in Nadesico, Yuki Mori in Yamato 2199 and sooo many more)
Big, bulky artillery unit with two forms: the shuttle, up above, and the actual artillery form with all the big guns. The König Monster’s a pretty dang good squaddie for a Super Robot – especially ones with good range. That barrier + resupply module combo is just too good to pass on, and it also packs a decent punch in its shooty form.
FINALLY, we’re ready to go.
SRW UX - ObeliskAnd I’ve changed their BGM because The Target doesn’t really do much for me.
: Parallel universe or whatever this is, our battlefield is still the same! And so is what we do!
SRW UX - Obelisk
: (The Vajra went as far as traversing the dimensions to come after us…?): (No, this is more like they’re being led by someone. And if that’s true…)
SRW UX - Obelisk: (I can do this… I’ll fight and protect my city, Ranka and all my friends!)--
: How could these buggers chase us all the way into a different universe…?! But, fine, I’ll just have to shoot ‘em down until there are none left around!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-H9Ox9aV-U
And when you down three Vajra…
: Hrm… There’s no end to them!: The bugs are just pouring in like an avalanche!
: What units are those? Where’d they come from?!: We’re a civilian defense force from Earth. We’re here to assist!: That voice…! It’s that spy woman from before?!: “Spy woman”?! What’d you mean by that, Michel?!: Ah, no, she just looked like one…: That’s a vague answer, soldier. You want me to write you up?: N-No, sir! My apologies! I don’t quite know the details myself, but I don’t think they’re hostiles!: And what did she mean by “Earth”?! Why would a team from Earth be here, halfway across the galaxy…?!: We’ll talk about that later. Those Vajra need to go first, or else…!: What say you we take them up on their offer? Things aren’t looking too good right now.: Fine… Troops, cooperate with them and take down the Vajra!: R-Roger that!
: Well, color me surprised. That handsome man from before was a pilot…: But what kind of enemy are these…? They look like space-dwelling creatures, but our databanks don’t have anything even resembling them.
: But we still need to fight them. The people inside the fleet’s ships are counting on us to keep them safe!: She’s right… Everyone engage! SRW UX - Obelisk
: The Vajra are approaching! Captain…!
: Hm. All hands, battle stations! We’ll now engage the Vajra head-on!: And if we can’t tag them with a shot, we’ll just swat them down!
: E-Excuse me, Captain, but what do you mean by “swat them down”…?!
: Pipe down, observer! Macross Quarter, all turrets primed and ready!
: All sections are ready and good to go!
: OOOKAY!! Let’s go crazy!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE6r6C-zlM4
SRW UX - Obelisk
: Vajra… the nemeses of mankind! But we will emerge victorious against them!
SRW UX - A Bird’s Song
Kill another three and…
*Three of the new Vajra start heading south.*
: Ah! The Vajra are swarming the Frontier!: We need to stop them or…!: Kch…! Get back here!!*Rennie closes in.*
: Hrgh… Waaah!: Rennie!: That girl… all the people here have dreams they’re trying to fulfill! I won’t let these things destroy them!: She…!: Argh…! Joe… Give me some of your strength!
: Wh-What?!
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!
: …: That’s… Tobikage!*Tobikage goes after the Houraiou!*
: Huh…?! Tobikage… are you going to help me?!: …!
: Wha?! They c-combined?!: Rennie!: Thank you, Tobikage… Thank you for understanding what I want to do…: Let’s get to it, then! We’ll show them just how strong we are!
: W-Whoa…!: Hahah… Talk about firepower.: It’s beautiful… Like a phoenix dancing through the sky…!*Boop.*
: This is…! We’re detecting two vessels entering the sector! Sizes are in the class of battleships!: Battleships?!
: Is everyone safe?!: Cpt. Scarlet! You’re all here!
: Rennie, you… What happened to your machine?!: It was Tobikage! He came over when I needed help!
: What…?!: Is that group also part of Earth’s armies?
: We’re a defense force from Earth, yes. Carry on your attack - we’ll provide support until the Frontier Fleet’s confirmed safe!: We appreciate the help!: You heard her, people. Team up with the Earth units and repel the Vajra!: Yes, sir!
You can now lose units, except your ships or Rennie. That’s not going to happen, though, because she’s untouchable:
Kuuma
Like with the Kurojishi, Tobikage strapping himself to the Houraiou gives it a major stat boost throughout all stats. Furthermore, Rennie now has TWO Double Image effects: Tobikage’s Bunshin no Jutsu and the Squad Bonus 15% chance of special evasion.
As you saw in the event, the Kuuma has access to a MAPW, which blasts a 3x5 AoE ahead of Rennie - better yet, it's EN based (60 per use). It's not post-movement, but this is a game with Continuous Action, so if you give that and EN-Save, Rennie could well become one of your best mook sweepers. Her best attack also applies the Attack Down debuff and is pretty dang cheap to boot.
Let your newly arrived forces deal with the fresh Vajra batch while the Quarter team clears out the southern group. Rennie got fully restored, though, so have Saya give her Tailwind and send her up north to speed up the process.
SRW UX - Obelisk: Yakk Meltran utomi:skes gastra:raskas! (Show them all what Meltran can do!)
: Esekes, sis! (Roger!)
: Formation ready! Engaging!
SRW UX - Envoy from Jupiter
: Are these living weapons…?! But…!
“Do I hear… a voice…?!”
SRW UX - Love Survivor: These are… bugs?! Blah, you know everything’s going to crap when space is swarming with frickin’ bugs!
SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit
: It’ll be a disaster if creatures like these decide to flock to Earth…! We need to put them down right now!
SRW UX - Envoy from Jupiter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKpNviQ9kSI
And here’s Rennie’s best attack with her bird.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41eF8wkhD6k
Plus the good old Macross Cannon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcT1tgqg-oc
And your daily dose of Vitamin Obari.
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!
: All Vajra are confirmed destroyed. No further signals detected nearby.: We made it, somehow…*Tobikage hops off the Houraiou.*
: Oh… Tobikage!: …
: There he goes again…
: So that’s the famous Ninja robot, huh? Wonder what’s up with him…: (Thank you, Tobikage… I could protect that girl’s dream only because of your help…)
Ranka’s left the shelter and hopes Alto didn’t get hurt in the battle. She’s soon approached by a man, Elmo, who’d been looking all over for her. She’s the singer he’s been searching for all his life!
How would she like to sign up with him?! Sign up as…? As a singer, of course! Her music is going to change the world! Whaaaaaaaa?!
Cut to Howard’s office, Shirin brings bad news: the Frontier isn’t being given permission to land on Earth. It’s clear to the Federation that the Fleet’s being targeted by the Vajra, and they don’t want risk them being brought to our planet. Marina is very sorry but Howard is still grateful that they tried.
That said, the Federation’s decision does not mean that the Frontier Fleet is being kicked out of the Earth Sphere. And regardless of the Vajra and of them being from a different universe, Marina and Shirin will still try to intercede with the Federation government as a way to find a solution for this impasse.
As they leave, Howard is glad that, if anything, they don’t need to leave straight away. Mishima has a feeling the Federation nations’ are interested enough in their tech that they’re willing to overlook the risk of letting the Fleet hang around. And, in that case, he figures that’s something they can take advantage of.
Howard is more concerned with the Vajra, though: how did they know where to find the Frontier? Well, Mishima had people run tests on Vajra recovered after the last battle and the results are quite interesting: apparently the Vajra are capable of Folding on their own but, even more impressive, their “brain” is very small.
In other words, it’s safe to assume that the bugs are being controlled by someone – they’re very likely living weapons. Furthermore, Mishima posits that whoever is controlling the Vajra is already aboard the fleet and that person is the one calling the things over. He and Howard already have a prime suspect: Sheryl Nome, envoy of the Macross Galaxy.
Speaking of, by Sheryl’s hotel room, we find one Brera contacting Grace (Sheryl’s Manager) – a.k.a. G – and confirming that Fold Waves were detected within the Frontier, being emitted from his target. They’ve finally found what they were looking for, and Grace tells him to carry on observing said target and report any developments.
As the call ends, Grace ponders this new potential avenue in lieu of Fairy 9 – it might behoove them to speed up their project’s timetable. Sheryl walks in right then and Grace drops her creepy face.
Did she find her earring? Nope, she had to leave that for a later date; yet, she’s looking so very giddy. Sheryl just has a giggle at that – she really is in a good mood. Inwardly, though, Grace is scheming again: they’ll be testing Sheryl’s – Fairy 9’s – song next.
Back at the Quarter, Alto’s just been informed that they’ve been dropped near Earth… but it’s one in a wholly different universe from theirs. All as a result of the emergency Fold during their previous scuffle with the Vajra. That means that, yes, those people who helped them before were humans from a parallel dimension.
Only those attached to the President’s office and a select few individuals within the SMS know about it, so everyone’s to keep a very tight lid over their mouths.
Nearby, Luca’s wonders what’ll happen to the Fleet now, and Klan hopes they’ll be able to find a way back to their own universe… but Alto’s already over his shock. He thinks: the sky in this parallel Earth must be so wide.
Cut to the Elshank, Joe is NOT amused to hear that all the girls had to do for their “infiltration mission” was eat around and then come back. Rennie vehemently denies it, saying they were investigating the local culture! Care to give Damian an example of said culture? "Aimo, aimo… ♪” Rennie sings. “Huh? Are you messing with us?” Joe doesn’t care for it.
But Richard is satisfied with the girls’ work, as it showed that their culture is quite similar to ours… “And, moreover, they also managed to trigger the ‘event’ Ishigami spoke of,” Richard thinks to himself. Mike is very jealous of getting a mission that only requires you to go around eating good food, but Eida points out it was surprisingly difficult. Take Saya, for instance, who had to pick up a new character on the fly: a cosplay-enthusiast spy woman. What? Arnie didn’t catch that. It’s about Saya’s “acting career”, Eida tells him: she said she’ll be wearing a catsuit when she takes to the stage for a play. “A c-c-catsuit?! Is that true, Ms. Saya?!” Arnie flips and the girl can only stare at him in disbelief.
In the meantime, Romina asks Richard what they’ll be doing now. Well, it’s almost time for WSO to get that operation underway and both Ishigami and the Celestial Being are on board to help, so we’ll be heading back to JUDA together.
Then there’s that whole talk about the kylhasium for the Elshank and Scarlet pointing out they might be able to refine something like it from a mineral found only on Machine Island.