December 2009, Earth
The air was bitterly cold as Marissa stood atop one of the Macross’ arms, along with the rest of Skull Squadron. The cold bit into her thin dress uniform, and she shivered as the wind kicked up. A formation of Valkyries tore through the air above them, while a formation of Desdroids fired a multi-gun salute.
The members of Skull Squadron focused on a closed casket, laid down at the center of the ramp, partially covered with the U.N. Spacy flag. They lifted their arms and gave a final salute to the fallen Skull Leader, Roy Focker.
Marissa looked over at Ichijyo, who was standing to her left, along with Kakizaki and Max. Ichijyo’s expression was stricken with grief. Marissa knew that Ichijyo and Commander Focker had been as close as brothers, and she could imagine the pain of losing a close family member.
Word around the ship was saying that Ichijyo was set to become the next Skull Leader. Marissa could see that happening, surprisingly enough. When he started, Marissa saw him as a bumbling idiot, but he eventually became someone she admired. Ichijyo had led Vermilion Team well, even though he’d been shot down a couple of times. If he and Commander Hayase would stop arguing over the tac net, he’d be perfect.
Though, as she glanced at Ichijyo again from the corner of her eye, she wondered how he would take the news if he did get promoted. So soon after Commander Focker’s death, he’d probably need time to adjust to the idea.
“So the guy who argues with the First Officer all the time is going to be your new commander?” Cal asked over lunch the next day.
“Most likely,” Marissa answered.
“You okay with that?” Cal asked, “Didn’t you say the top brass evaluated the entire squadron to choose the new Skull Leader?”
“If you’re thinking I had a chance,” Marissa said, smirking, “you’re quite mistaken. I’m a horrible shot.”
Cal laughed. “As long as you’re satisfied.”
There was silence between them for a moment.
“I heard,” Marissa spoke up carefully, “that the Macross found a place for the civilian population to stay. Off of the ship.”
“That’s what we were told,” Cal answered.
Marissa’s expression dimmed. “So you’ll be leaving…”
“If I can,” Cal spoke up, “I’ll get permission to stay aboard the Macross. If not… I’ll find a place for both of us, and have it ready for when you come home.”
Marissa smiled and held Cal’s hands across the table. “Thank you.”
But it ended up not happening after all.
A few days later, Marissa slowly climbed out of the cockpit of her Valkyrie, her mind still reeling from what had just happened.
In a skirmish over the Ontario Autonomous Region, the Macross’ barrier system overloaded and exploded, destroying an entire city. Marissa could still hear Commander Hayase’s cry for them to run echoing through her mind. She could still feel the shock wave of the explosion rocking her Valkyrie, and the indicator on her heads-up display showing that some of her squad mates had been lost. She remembered looking down after the shock wave dissipated, and seeing the gigantic crater covering what used to be a bustling city.
Breathing heavily, Marissa removed her helmet. Looking around, she saw Ichijyo and Max standing together, looking shocked and grieved. It wasn’t until later when she found out Kakizaki was dead.
When Marissa finally came home that day, she felt so empty. She wanted to go to bed, curl into a ball and cry, but she didn’t have the energy to even do that. She fell into a fitful sleep plagued with nightmares of the Earth’s surface exploding and leaving nothing but craters behind.
The next day, Captain Global appeared in a special broadcast, announcing that the Macross was leaving Earth and taking the civilians with it, and explaining the rationale behind the decision. Marissa’s heart sank. After all they had done to return to Earth, fighting tooth and nail, now they had to leave. The Earth was actually sending them away!
When Minmay appeared on the broadcast and began to sing, there was a knock on Marissa’s apartment door. Marissa slowly got up and opened the door.
“Cal?”
“Marissa…” He looked shocked at how tired and pale she looked. He dropped the bag he was holding and gathered her into his arms. With that, Marissa began to cry.
“Beautiful place in my heart...”