Macross 30: Voices Across The Galaxy

Chapter 6: Skull Leader & Fragments of Memory

"What's it?" asked Roy, Leon and Mina all together.

"I've had my suspicions but now I'm beginning to really think that there's a connection between the ruins, the Aura, Major Focker being here and Mina! Major, can you remember where the ruins are that you woke up in?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure, they're not too far from here, I think."

Great! Well, what are you all standing around for? Let's go!" she said and immediately spun around and headed at the door.

"Is she always like this?" Roy asked Leon, with a grin.

"Very," he replied.

After pinpointing the coordinates, Aisha, Roy, Leon and Mina got suited up. Roy was pretty impressed with the facilities of the Gefion, noting that it was a pretty big improvement over the Oberth-class space destroyers from his day. When they entered the hangar, Roy was even more impressed by Aisha's VF-19E Excalibur but also by the three VF-0 Phoenix fighters they had.

"You even painted the VF-0S in my colors!" he guffawed when he caught sight of it.

"Oh yes. Gerroll, my head mechanic, is a BIG fan of that Bird Human movie, so he painted the S to look like your old one."

"Bird Human? You mean the AFOS? Wait, they made a MOVIE of that?" asked Roy, slightly dumbfounded.

"Yeah! The documents were finally declassified back in '58 and they started making the movie in '59. It was Suuuuper romantic too! I felt so bad for Mao! She made a much better couple with Shin than Sara did, although that may have just been the actors during that one scene..."

"Ah, Aisha, maybe we shouldn't be telling him this? You know, seeing as how he's from the past?" said Leon, uncertainly.

"Aw don't worry about that," replied Roy, slapping Leon heartily on the back, "even a loudmouthed fighter jock like me knows when to keep his trap shut. Most of the time. But you know... we never did find out what happened to that Kudo kid..." Roy trailed off his he gazed at the white and yellow and black striped Phoenix.

"You know, I think I'm going to take this one up. It'd be nice to fly a Phoenix again."

"Does that mean I could fly your Valkyrie, if you don't mind?" asked Leon, half hoping to fly something that wasn't as "slow" as the Phoenix and half because when else were you going to fly the Valkyrie piloted by THE Roy Focker? Roy favored him with a bemused, sidelong glance.

"Not on your life kid."

---

Just as they were about to board their planes, Roy in the VF-0S, much to Gerroll's ecstatic joy, Aisha in her pink VF-19E and Leon and Mina in the VF-0D, Mina said to Aisha and Leon, "Um, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead, Mina," said Leon, smiling at her.

"I... I want to fly a Valkyrie!" she blurted.

Of all the things they expected her to ask, that had not been one of them.

"I think this would be the best way for me to help Leon and all the members of SMS!"

"Whoa, Mina, hold on there. Flying a Valkyrie is a very challenging thing to do. You can't just climb in and expect to be able to pilot just like that," said Leon.

"That's right! Mina, if you're really serious about this, we can have you go through the simulator when we get back," added Aisha.

"I see... if the two of you think that's best," replied Mina.

"Aw, she's really disappointed she can't do it right now. We'll have to fix that, won't we 'papa?'" said Aisha, nudging Leon in the ribs.

"Who're you calling 'papa?'" he shot back.