Captain Misato Katsuragi watched the courier plane land on the deck amid the supply planes that had been coming in all day. The black haired woman fought back a painful wince, her hangover pounding as she walked back to her office desk and the report she was sending back to command. She had better finish it, she had a very good idea what orders the courier was bringing. She skimmed the papers, Misato remembering everything that had happened... The SDF-1 launching a automatic attack against the arriving Zentradi forces, the destruction of the orbital forts by the aliens then the invasion. Getting her staff and pilots together in the middle of pre-launch ceremonies they had mobilized, launching conventional fighters and Veritechs against the battlepods that fell against Macross city. Racing against time they launched the SDF-1, bringing guns on-line to support the fighter wings even as they tried to figure out what the hell was happening. Her bridge crew had shone that day, Ritsuko managing all the internal crisises of the ship even as Maya got the fighters moving, working with the bridge crew to reorganize wings on the fly and provide adequate cover. "The space fold..." Misato winced. Wanting to get the battle away from populated regions Misato had activated the spacefold system, targeting a point between the Earth and the moon. Instead, the field expanded uncontrolled and took the ship, two aircraft carriers and much of the island to the far side of the solar system. Thankfully most people were in sealed shelters, but the mad scramble to save them had been yet another Herculean effort for the already stressed crew. Gendo Ikari's proposal to reassemble Macross city in the SDF-1's massive interior hold had seemed mad, but in the end it was the only option they had to house all of the refugees. The lead scientist behind Robotechnology had even devised a way to keep the city safe when the SDF-1 had to go through modular transformation, a innovation required by the mysterious disappearance of the vessel's spacefold drives. "Of course that's where we started getting new crew," Misato recalled. Rei Ayanami, Gendo's own lab assistant and a victim of exposure to mutagenic chemicals had joined the pilots, soon followed by Shinji Ikari. Both ascended in rank and reputation, soon earning the nickname the 'Angels of Death' for their skills and the many commanding officers they went through. Much more quietly Asuka Langley joined their ranks, developing into a solid leader of men. She worked alongside pilots like Hunter and Fokker, her steady hand helping keep other pilots alive amid the battles across the solar system. The battle of Saturn's rings.. the Mars raid for supplies.. their trip had been almost a constant battle, one costing them much. The worst battle so far had been breaking through the Zentradi screening force around Earth, using the SDF-1's main guns and a fighter wave to burst through the enemy cruisers and battlepods. A lot of ranking pilots had died that day, wings broken, among them Roy Fokker. Asuka Langley was bumped up to Lieutenant, even as Ikari and Ayanami in Skull One were put under her command. It was intended as a temporary measure, Asuka wasn't senior enough for it, but remarkably it worked well. Except for a temporary diversion to move Asuka to being a test pilot she had stayed with her wingmates. However their splashdown to Earth hadn't been met with celebration. Earth command had declared the residents of Macross dead, and refused to reverse that decision. Even worse they felt that the SDF-1 should have remained in space as a stalking horse for the Zentradi... Combine all that with the recent barrier explosion and things didn't look good. There was a chime from her door and Misato called, "Enter." The black haired, slightly scruffy man who walked in really shouldn't have surprised Misato, she knew that he had left the ship not long ago, but he still did. Kaji managed to make the RDF uniform look rumpled as he saluted, "Good to see you, Captain." "Back at headquarters again?" Misato inquired, looking with some dread at the paperwork he carried, having a very good idea what was in them. She ignored the discomfort she felt with him, the shadow of their affair hanging in the air between them. "I was attached to the UE observers," Kaji reminded her, "I only assisted with fighter command because of lack of personnel." "And now you're running errands for headquarters," Misato noted. "We serve where we can," Kaji answered. He extended the packet of papers even as he quietly murmured,. "Sorry." "Let command know that I'm accepting these orders under protest," Misato sighed, taking the packet from him. She opened the seals and read quickly, knowing almost exactly what they were going to say. "The SDF-1 is hereby ordered to leave Earth-space," the crisp text read, "and engage the Zentradi forces away from civilian targets. All resources available will be provided, however civilians currently aboard the SDF-1 must stay aboard due to security concerns." "Security concerns," Misato bit out, feeling a flash of anger. Kaji met her eyes sympathetically, "If it helps any, the United Earth government is pretty divided on the issue." A grim smile, "If you can last long enough it's quite possible that the decision might be overturned." "I intend to do everything I can to keep this ship and crew alive," Misato said firmly, shaking Kaji's hand before he left. Kaji surprised her by pulling her into a hug, "Watch out for yourself." Misato felt a hand slip down and squeeze her butt and she pushed him away firmly as she said, "Watch the hands." With a impish grin he slipped out, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the difficult duty that was ahead of her, telling ship and crew they were going into exile. Meanwhile in another part of the ship a line up of young women waited nervously, talking among themselves. Mirya raised a eyebrow as she asked, "What are you doing here again?" Minmei smiled, shifting nervously in the party dress she wore as she said, "This is where I apply to enter the Miss Macross pageant." "And what am I doing here?" Mirya pressed on. Her simple clothes made her stand out, as did her fierce attitude to anyone who might think to trouble her younger charge. "You're my bodyguard," Minmei shrugged. "Gee, thanks," Mirya sighed. Minmei chuckled softly, holding her arm as she studied the line, taking in the competition as well as looking for any familiar faces. Surprisingly she recognized a bridge officer, a boyish young woman who stood with a tall blonde. "Do I have to do this?" Maya asked with a sigh, running her hand through her short brown hair, her uniform crisply starched "Sorry love," Ritsuko smiled down at her girlfriend gently, "but the Captain wanted someone from the bridge in the contest." "You could always enter," Maya murmured, "you're beautiful." Ritsuko blushed faintly, gently squeezing Maya's hand. "You're a charmer," she murmured, "but you know I'm too old." "Never to me," Maya murmured, looking up to meet her eyes. From their spot in line Minmei murmured, "How romantic." Hearing no response from Mirya she looked up, seeing the flushed cheeks of the other woman. "Are you all right?" she asked worriedly, squeezing Mirya's hand. "Just a bit surprised," Mirya conceded. This ship and it's people baffled her, yet the occasional familiarity confused her more. Watching those two had reminded her of the all female ships she had served on before, of the closeness that developed between officers you admired.... "I see you're here too," the amused voice said. Mirya and Minmei turned to see Asuka Langley dressed casually, and standing beside her, quite surprisingly, was Rei Ayanami wearing a lovely sort of party dress, white cloth setting off her red eyes and blue hair. "You're entering the pageant too, Rei?" Minmei asked, feeling just a little nervous. She knew she was a good singer and cute, but Rei had a unearthly sort of attractiveness to her that would be hard to compete with. "Don't worry," Rei said to her calmly, "unless they allow us to bring in a Evangelion I will lose in the talent portion." Mirya look over at Minmei innocently, "Would they allow that?" "I doubt it," Minmei giggled. "There you go," Asuka shrugged.. She smiled as she surveyed the crowd of girls, "You shouldn't have too much trouble, Minmei." "Thank you," Minmei blushed. Mirya blinked, feeling a sudden emotion... of jealousy?
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