[RFC] Being You is Deculture

[Black Aeronaut]

British SBS (Special Boat Services, their equivalent to SEALs I believe), French Foreign Legion,

While I couldn't name many, I'm sure most developed nations have their own Elite units.

Thanks!  That's still quite a help.  I'll try googling for others when the time comes.

Man, it's been months now that I've been meaning to get back to this. Sorry about that, I know how frustrating it is to put something out there and not hear any response.

Thanks. It has been frustrating, but I'm glad to have you here now.  I'll be leaving aside all the error correction stuff for the moment...  Honestly, I should have gone back and edited in those corrections, but you know...

“I don’t believe you’ve met my fiance,” said Roy casually.  “Grimm, this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Claudia LaSalle.  Claudia, this is Perspective Petty-Officer Third-Class Garrick ‘Cradle Robber’ Grimm.”

This is a very odd title. Did you mean "Prospective" maybe?

You're right.  And the whole 'Prospective' bit... well, becoming a noncom is kind of a big deal, so once you make rate as a Petty-Officer, you have to go through a bit of training that outlines your expanded responsibilities.  So, before the promotion is 'official' you're a 'Prospective Petty-Officer'.

Direct hit to the heartstrings!  Mayday!  Mayday!

I don't even know the song mentioned off the top of my head, but just the way you describe her acting makes this effective. Good writing there.

Thanks,  I've been working on polishing my craft, and I think it's starting to bear some real fruit.  Rob's reaction to my ideas for later plot-points involving Yuki are particularly telling.

Minmei slugged me in the shoulder.  I may have had it coming, but I'll be damned if I'm not gonna give as good as I get.

Being good friends first is the foundation for every successful romantic relationship I know of. Seeing Minmei and Garrick interacting here, I'm not worried about them either, as long as the "I'm actually a slider and alien royalty to a culture with not-quite-mandatory polyamory, and multiple fiancees with nearly as many children on the way, all waiting for me to find a way back to them" revelation goes all right.

A lot of this is actually informed by personal experience as well as first- and second-hand observations.  Especially a couple of good IRL friends who practically adopted me as a younger brother to them both.  These two... they crack some of the most outrageous and utterly filthy jokes on each other, and they're one of the most stable relationships I've ever seen.

The standard issue GU-15 gunpods were good stuff, but it was felt that we could use something for the designated marksmen such as myself.  Thus, we have the GU-16.

Unlike the 15 with its tri-barrel rotary canon and 35mm shells, the GU-16 used a single-barrel canon based loosely on the venerable OTO Malera 76mm gun.  It carried far fewer rounds than the GU-15, but its caliber and single-shot nature more than made up for it with it’s far greater range, outstanding accuracy, and devastating stopping power.

As a dedicated gun-bunny in the Artdink Macross games (Seriously, by default I strip all the missiles off my valks and put everything into the guns, in a MACROSS game) I must approve. I tend to prefer the VF-4 or VF-27 with their energy-based armament just because I tend to think in terms of RPG-style "you are stranded with no resupply but what you can improvise" long-term operations, but for this point in the timeline that sounds like a damn fine weapon.

Glad you like it!  It just struck me as bug-fuck odd that they never had anything like unto a DM gun in Macross until Macross Frontier.  But I guess that's just the culture - for the Macross writers, it's all about the interpersonal relations, and details involving the military takes a back seat. (Except the Valks themselves, but that's mainly on the mecha designers and not the writers.)

I kept Hikaru covered like a mother hen.  I was bouncing all over the place, from fighter, to gaurdian, to battloid, and back again, putting my VF-1A through its paces.  I wasn't THE best pilot, but I was hell unleashed at keeping the Zentradi occupied.

"guardian" - though that's an invention of the Robotech dub, in pure Macross it's always "gerwalk," and I think supposed to be capitalized as an acronym (for what I can never remember) as well. I also don't remember which you're going for here, but the description of the fusion turbines for Washuu's letter lacking any mention of magic plant juice suggests Macross.

Yes, I'm trying for pure Macross here, though as I mentioned I am seriously considering snagging characters developed solely on Harmony Gold's side - kindofa 'take that!' at them.

Speaking from that same basis of having hundreds of hours in the Macross action games, if you're not transforming frequently, you're doing it wrong, if for no other reason than to throw off enemy targeting with the changes in flight path and speed.

Pretty much what as I thought.  Watching AdmiralTigerCla's video clips of him playing Ace Combat was pretty elucidating.  (It was like watching the Looney Tune Road Runner fly an F-15.)

What games games are these, BTW?

Minmei giggled at that.  "Yeah, no kidding.  So what about you then?  No princess?"

"Are you kidding?" I grouched.  "I already got more than enough princess to deal with as it is."

Minmei only giggled again and let it go at that.

Oh you have no idea, Minmei. Hopefully soon, though, since Gar has been warming up to you despite his best efforts.

I need to lampshade that joke a little better, honestly.  When I originally wrote that bit, it was for the Brothers Grimm group SI project and Minmei was the only 'princess' at the time.

And huh, looks like I did at least nominally respond to these before... They did feel a bit familiar as I went along. Eh, still pointed out a few more details this time, and now it's fresh in my mind for actual new stuff.

Really, thanks for that.  Now I got all this stuff on record that I need to fix...  though some of this stuff has already been fixed in the document file.

IT'S BIG DAMN HERO TIIIIIMMMME!!!

Yaaay! (Grabs bots, heads to the Theatre of Love)

Pfffft!  

Seven days in planetary orbit over Mars, and Kamjin was not letting up.  Casualties had been picking up and SDF-1's point defense system, in spite of the pin-point barriers, had been reduced to nearly nothing.  In order to compensate, we started deploying destroids along the hull.  They don't have quite as much punch as some of the original point defenses, but their advantage is that they are mobile.  It's not much, but we'll take it.

Not only can they dodge, they can walk themselves from the factory section to their combat station with just a pilot or two, rather than needing a work crew and transport/construction equipment to install. In the combat environment described, I expect the time savings alone is a significant advantage in its own right.

I'll go ahead and add in those points as well, but the trade-off is in that they lack the punch the original placements had.  Not that you need much, really, when dealing with rank and file Battle Pods, but still...

Miximillian Jeneus.

Dude. Maximillian Jenius. Good ol' Maxed-Out Max... going by the video games that are included in canon, he flies every single variable fighter from here to the VF-22, all in blue livery and kicking ass with every single one.

Yep.  And funny thing I noticed - Max is CATHOLIC!  I noticed that at one point in the anime he crossed himself as the Catholics usually do when something Dire has gone down.

"Spaceman Max ‘Cornflower’ Stirling reporting as ordered, sir!"  Roy, Hikaru, and I stood and returned the salute.

A few lines back you had him with the Macross surname - should probably stick to one or the other.

I've caught most of these gremlins so far, but later on I need to go through the thing with a fine-toothed comb and root them all out once and for all.

"Ah, don't let it get you down, sir!" said Hayao bawdily.  "Why, with me in your wing you won't have to worry about anything.  AH-HA-HA-HAH!"
Hooo boy.  I had my work cut out for me.

Missing a carriage return here

It should bear noting: in the document file, I don't double-return the paragraphs because it has indentations.  But here, I can't indent so every time I post I have to go through the whole damn thing and insert an extra return between each paragraph.

Strips of red on the ruddervators along with our squadron number set us apart.

While I can't say this is technically totally wrong the VF-1 is more of a partially tailless design, as the tails don't really have enough of a cant to them to effectively act as elevators. The vertical thrust vectoring on the engines, or just the aerodynamic effect of the feet/vector flaps in case of a flame out, is pretty much responsible for pitch control.

Well, either way, it was the best term I could find to fit them given that they're canted at a near-45-degree angle and lacks horizontal stabilizers.

“Aww man!  We’re never gonna get any action back here.”

Man needs to learn to leave his ego behind at the flight line. That's not OOC for Kakizaki, but it's good that Gar is actively working on correcting his habits. Being brash and showy makes for a memorable shonen protagonist, but doesn't fly so well in even a soft-realism military setting.

Yep.  He will eventually break that habit of his, though he'll never quite become the fantastic ace pilot the others are.  An ace, still, yes.  But nowhere nearly the same kill count.

One minor quandary for me was what do I do with him afterwards, because he's definitely not officer material, even by Macross's loose standards, and I can't see him leading a squadron of his own some day.

But then I remembered that these guys all start out as enlisted men.

Hayao won't make a good officer.

But he will make for a fucking outstanding Chief Petty-Officer.

And then it was just Kamjin and me, dancing in the vacuum and trying to get a bead on each other all while trying to herd each other with our secondaries.  It was hard work - those Command Pods may be bigger, but they sure as hell ain’t slower.

Goddamn is he a pain in the ass in the games. You're all but giving me flashbacks here.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.  *evil grin*

And that was the gospel truth.  The HWR-00 MkII Monsters lived up to their name with their massive 40cm canons and fiendish tri-barrel missile launchers on each arm.

However that is the extent of their armament.  They have no real means to defend themselves when the fighting gets up close and personal.  And I knew for a fact that just about every one of our precious Monsters were about to get wiped out if we didn’t do something about it.

I thought they had a coaxial machine gun on each arm as well? Maybe that's only the VB-6 canonically, but I know they do in the games.

For most of my information, I've been going by the venerable Macross Mecha Manual website, and according to that, there are no coaxial guns on it at the time of SDF Macross.  Maybe on a later block?

“Birthday party?  Oh!  You mean that cute waitress at the Nyan-Nyan...  then that means...  HAH!  Hey guys!  Get a load of this!  Cradle Robber is in Red Wing!”

I think I'm going to have to ask for an explanation of the joke here, because "red wing" has no meaning to me beyond the dictionary definition of the words.

Oh, trust me.  Earning your 'Red Wings' is an incredibly filthy joke about performing certain sex acts during your (female) partner's period.

There was a wrecked Defender next to me - no sign of the pilot.  It had taken a direct hit to one of the magazines.  Keeping an eye on Kamjin, I wrenched the pair of gun barrels off the wreck and tossed one to Kamjin.  I kept the other and took my Jyuraian fencer’s stance.

Kamjin took up the gun barrel.  There was a crackle of static and I heard his voice.  He was speaking Zentran, but it was plainly evident from the tone in his voice that he definitely approved, and took his own fighting stance as well.

... No. You are not going to frenemies-flag motherfucking Kamjin Kravshera. Nowai!

TAKE THIS! ALL OF MY LOVE! ALL OF MY HATE! AND ALL OF MY MONEY!!!

MISSION MUTHERFUCKIN' ACCOMPLISHED.

Seriously, I feel that Kamjin as a character is grossly underutilized despite the amount of screentime he gets, so I'm aiming to do something about that.

I was Captain Gloval’s special project.

Sweet Tsunami, what have I gotten myself into?

Patronage, son. It's a dirty game, but the good ones play it to keep the bad ones from completely taking over.

Yup, and we see this in action later on as well once Garrick spills the beans to the commanding officers where they start to already talk about how they're going to protect Garrick from Spacey High Command in Anchorage.

I held no pity for her, because she of all people should expect nothing less from a woman marrying a hot-dog fighter ace like Roy.

Oh, Claudia! Hopefully Gar can arrange things to keep her and Gloval alive this time around... suggest installing an escape pod for the bridge crew, at least.

I always thought that was just a Robotech-ism that saw to Gloval getting offed like that.  But no worries.  Things are gonna diverge to such an extent that this won't even be an issue.

And a very sweet ending to that one, too. Very perceptive girl, that Minmei, and persistent as well when she decides on a goal. Not like that's any surprise, you don't just fall into a career in music without a lot of effort and working from multiple angles.

Exactly.

And just like Kamjin, I feel that Minmei was also grossly underutilized.  Garrick will let her watch the anime at some point in time, and she's going to find it damn-near offensive how shallow the characterization was.

The overall dynamic is going to be interesting, with Nanami being in overall charge of household affairs (and Garrick's final line of defense), Achika taking charge of the rank and file soldiers, leaving Minagi to take charge of the Body Guards.  Yuki will occupy a very interesting niche: the Zeroth Line of Defense.  She becomes something of a modern age Kunoichi (as well as the Clan's intelligence expert who is second in skill only to Funaho herself) and works to subvert plots against her Clan in any way she can.

Thoughts?

I feel a bit sad for Yuki, for the experiences that shaped her into this, but at the same time it's a necessary role, and within the family she has room to relax and enjoy peace and love so it's not too bad. Seriously though, fuck plotters and their plots.

*Nods*  Yuki's lot is hardship and adversity.  But the crying shame of it all is that half the time she literally brings it on herself (IE: when she stowed away on Minagi's ship).  But the trade-off is that she becomes a much wiser person for the mistakes she's made, and she is going to have undying love, loyalty, and respect for the person that was there to grab her just as she was about to go over the edge.

However, this is going to upset your ladies biochemistry as this is going to feel like an abortion to them. I will do what I can, but they are going to need your love and reassurance.  In fact, I’ve arrange for Airi to stay over for a few weeks.  She herself has undergone the

While medically the results are probably about the same, I'd suggest changing this to "miscarriage" just to avoid the loaded politics of the word "abortion." Also, "arranged."

Thank you!  You're right, miscarriage would be far less inflammatory.

As Mother told you, we all decided to put our daughters in stasis.  We all have our reasons, but even so we all wanted to be sure that each of us was on board with the idea before we went through with it.

The consensus was that we either all do this together or none of us at all.  And from there we all talk to each other, taking turns at ferreting out our honest feelings on the matter.  Even Yuki, as she had interesting insights as well as her own feelings to express.  (I can’t wait until we can see what her children are going to be like.)

Doing it all together is a kind thought, but I hope they only bring one out and to term at a time. Even with a six or so person household, just a single infant is a lot of work to deal with. The life spans they can expect with access to Jyuraian (and Washuu's) ultech mean there's no rush, so they can spread popping the sprogs out a bit and give themselves time to breathe.

The idea here is that these three are going to become a cohort and will be quickly branded as "The Triplets".  Put it this way: Imagine if the Powerpuff Girls were his daughters.  (With Hikari as Blossom, Akatsuki as Bubbles, and Hotaru as Buttercup.)

Troublesome?  Oh hell yes.  But so very worth it, because as much trouble as they'll cause, they'll also generate just as much awesome.  At the very least they won't be superpowered from the word 'Go'.

And then there will be Garrick - the ready-made father, just add kids.  (Once again, I will reiterate: I have literally had a coworker scream at me "WHY ARE YOU NOT MARRIED YET!?!?" after seeing me interact with a customer's little girl in the store.)  While there will be moments of "... Okay, color me fucking impressed, because I'll be damned if that's not a new one on me", he will be able to take those in stride, nonetheless, once he gets past his initial "How the hell did you do that?" reaction.

And yeah, Minmei definitely has moxy to spare.  You’re gonna love her - she’s

Moxie - it's a brand name, so it should be capitalized too. Tastes somewhat like Coca-cola, but even more bitter.

Oh yeah, I did my research on that one - just missed the capitalization.  I even know about the Moxie Horse-Car.  Utterly batshit insane and ridiculous.  It's the perfect marketing gimmick.  

I am happy for you and sad for your fiances.  Big Sister Airi can’t get here quickly enough!  I have no idea how to help with this.

fiancees, or fiancées. The one with the single e is specifically for the male side of a relationship, and pronounced differently the few times I've heard it spoken (fee-AN-say vs. FEE-an-SAY.)

Ah, many thanks!

You’re going to need to talk to people.  Find us allies and get them on board.  I’ll have to figure out a way of making ‘public appearances...

MY ALTERNATE!!!

Find my Alternate!

Oddly enough, this is something I never, ever think of when considering the possibility of reality-hopping. I really must change that, I know I'd never forgive myself if I popped in to this universe for a while and didn't at least drop me a note to say that yes, sch things are possible. Preferably a Hero Makeover and Sliders' Starter Kit, but just the assurance that there's something out there besides bleak Standard Model physics would go a long way.

Yeah, this is something that I don't think very many SI's really touch on, because ironically, it's all about them.  Breaking fresh or seldom trodden ground is something that I try to do so my stories aren't "Just another self-indulgent self-insert."

Ryouko is taking photobombing a little too seriously.  (;^^)>

LOL

Mission accomplished.  

Oh no.  Minaho looks like she's planning something.  I'm told by Tenyo that Seto gets that same look on her face sometimes, too!

That is definitely the look of trouble brewing for someone...

Oh man, AND HOW!  That whole bit with Minaho becoming another prospective bride for Tenchi was not something I pulled out of my ass.  That is an actual plot point from the Fourth OVA, and Minaho is smug as fuck about it.

I wanted to wear this for the first time you and I go out on a date.  I hope Washu-sensei gets the transmat working before I grow out of it.

Ah, so cute. Good choice of pics!

Yeah, once I realized that Homura looks like a suitably more mature Yuki, I went DIGGING through the various 'boorus for pictures of her smiling and made out like a bandit.

Oh, something I think you guys might find interesting - a log of how many words I've been putting down over the last few weeks.  I've been on quite the streak lately.

Congratulations! If only I could get my writing mojo defrosted again...

Well, with my recent ideas and busy-as-hell schedule, I've had little time to figure out how to plot these new developments.  It will happen - this doesn't feel like the traditional writer's block.

It is a block, though.  A block that I must take some time to look at so I can discern how I'm going to sculpt it.  

Simply put, these guys were expecting Supervision Army and... well, the Supervision Army wasn’t the sort of outfit to take prisoners.

Well, depending on the Protodeviln in charge of the bunch you're up against the Supervision Army might well take prisoners... and turn them right into lunch and/or part of the next wave of mooks being thrown back at your own side.

I need to lampshade that - not everyone that reads this is going to be intimately familiar with the in's and out's of Macross.

I gave them a cheerful wave, and then began drawing on the tablet.  As I did, the lines appeared on the much larger screen inside the cell.  Slowly, it took shape.  A Valkyrie in battroid mode with a stick in hand, facing off against a Zentradi standing outside of a Glaug.  I then pointed at the Valkyrie, and then at myself.

I'm not sure how visually distinctive any particular Skull valk might be to alien eyes, but it seems like it would have been at least dropping a bigger hint if Gar walked his battroid in there since it's in the part of the ship suitably sized for it, then went G and hopped out to get get closer and do the talking.

The thing is, the Zentraedi as a whole have only seen ONE Valkyrie answer a call to a duel thrown down by someone in a Glaug.

Garrick has been gaining much infamy among the Zentraedi - enough that Myria is gonna go after him first (this will be before she becomes micloned) and quickly realizes that he's not the ace everyone makes him out to be.  Oh, he's good enough to go toe-to-toe with Kamjin, and that is indeed saying something, but that's still not quite at Myria's level.  Like Garrick says later on, he's just gonna stall for time until Max can take over.

This will actually earn significant respect from Myria - he may not be as good as her, but he recognizes the fact readily.  And instead of trying to go down swinging, he fights solely on the defensive, not even attempting to get a shot in, and falling back until help comes along.  And Myria won't be shy about saying this.  A hundred aces of her caliber would be an incredible asset, but a hundred commanders like Garrick could completely change the outcome of entire wars.

"You remind me much of Breetai, only somewhat less tempered.  And he is a Zentran that I actually respect a great deal.  Should the day come that you exceed me in the ranks, then I would be honored to be your subordinate."

It doesn’t matter.  You’re people and so are we.

Hands Across the Galaxy? Can't do Voices while still not understanding the spoken language, I guess

Okay, apparently I just did something inadvertent.  Care to explain?  

“Commander.” greeted Exedore, the relatively tiny Zentradi archivist and good friend of many many years to Britai, as he entered the ready room of the Commander of the Autoclass Fleet.

“Ah, Exodore,” said Commander Breetai from his desk.  “I’m glad you finally came.  I was just finishing this paperwork.

Gotta pick one. Or maybe you could use Vrlitwhai, like it's romanized for the SDF in Macross 30?

That'd be a little too confusing for the people coming in out of the Robotech fandome.  I'll stick with Breetai for now.  

“Hello Gar-kun!  I want you to know that I made this song just for you.  I call this ‘My Boyfriend is a Pilot’...  I love you, Garrick.  Come back to me safely.”

And with that, the sounds of Minmei singing her trademark song filled the air.

ITYM, "WE ARE THE HUMANS. YOU WILL LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER YOUR SHIPS. OUR CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DISTINCTIVENESS WILL ADAPT TO ASSIMILATE YOUR OWN. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE."

*Cackles Ominously*

I think that the bombardment weapons are actually saturating the atmosphere with high-energy particles...

... yeah.  Anyone caught out in the open is gonna have a horrible end.

GAAH! Bloody right they are. If anything, that's more horrifying than just hitting the ground with so many super-lasers they overlap, because it's not always an instant death, and definitely not clean.

We can thank the horror stories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the inspiration of this line of thought.  Those bombs may not have been terribly powerful by the standards of modern nuclear weapons, but for that weakness they exerted a terror far beyond anyone's imagination.  They literally brought Hell to Earth.

Today's nukes are far kinder by comparison - they're far more 'clean' for the sake of the yield-to-weight ratio, so people would only come out one of two ways - instantly incinerated, or instantly killed by the shockwave.

(Note: What we see in Sarah Connor's dream in Terminator 2 was much more akin to the first generation nukes.  The reality is that everything within a thousand feet of the epicenter the epicenter is just plain vaporized, and the shockwave from that will utterly destroy everything and instantly kill everyone within a mile or so.  As far away as that park was, they were far more likely to be killed by flying debris.)

It was a wonderful meal as we enjoyed Pasta alla Norma

Looking this up to make sure it shouldn't be "ala" I found the recipe, and now I want to try it. It sounds quite tasty.

Yeah, did a bit of research on actual Italian cuisine for that bit.  Glad that it's already having an impact.

“... Gunsight copies, Skull Actual.  Red 2, Gunsight: return to base with your wingman and prepare to sortie again.  I’m having the flight deck ready a D-model for Red-4.”

Oddly enough, the D has my favorite head design of all the VF-0 and VF-1 types. Maybe it's the double visor? I like the VF-5000T-G head a lot too.

You know, that's actually something that I kinda appreciate about Macross.  While the heads of the mecha are stylised, it's nowhere to the same degree of Gundam, which is like SAMURAI ARMOR IN SPAAAAAAACCEE!!!  :V

That was okay, though.  We may have been too close for me to get a fix with my GU-16, but I could use it as a blunt weapon readily enough.  Breetai grimaced as he avoided my swings.  Damn that old fart was fast.

Annnd we're back to boss fight flashbacks... Breetai will utterly wreck your shit if you don't stay way the heck out of range, and conserve your special attacks to trigger when his go off so you can tank them with the invulnerability as the animation plays. Gramps got serious game.

Indeed.  You do not get to being a Commander like him without being a seriously skilled veteran fighter.  And on that note, Buldoza loses a huge amount of respect from Breetai for his actions when interrogating Red Wing and Misa Hayase - acting out of anger like that, Breetai feels Buldoza is lucky to have only lost one hand instead of his freaking head.  (A shame, that.)

Did Max get away with his valk this time, or is he caught too? The bit with him wandering around in a Commander-class uniform was always one of my favorite sequences.

Sorry - for plot reasons he got captured as well.

leader of the Adoclass Expeditionary Fleet of the Zentradi Army.  In some time, we

Its been a very long time since I watched SDFMTV - do they identify themselves as "the Zentreadi Army?" My impression was that they were the Inspection Army and the Protodeviln were the Supervision Army, but I suppose even if that was the case a few hundred thousand years ago, things might have changed after the Protoculture were gone.

I'll have to do some research on that.  I'm pretty sure it's floating around there somewhere on the Internet.

I nodded.  “Lucky as fuck.  In my world, we never had ASS-1 crash land on South Ataria Island.  Instead, on the date of September 11th, 2001, there was a terrorist attack by Islamic Jihadists the likes of which you guys could never, ever imagine.

ASS-1 did far worse than the 9/11 attack to cities all over the world while it was aerobraking, and then they had the Unification War on top of that. I think they can probably imagine pretty well, especially with how the Anti-UN Octos mecha-subs popped up to attack with surprise in Macross Zero.

Ah, but the difference was that in our case, the battle was nowhere nearly as 'mechanized'.  It was visceral on a level that even they're having trouble imagining.  What they had was the open conflict that all the old school Cold War generals had been itching for all those decades.  What we had was downright murderous guerrilla insurgencies where every goddamn thing was hiding an IED rigged to blow at a fucking sneeze.

And on top of that was the outright implication that the USA, the people who are supposed to be the 'good guys', wound up stooping to their level in how they treated people in captured territory.

Additionally, there was the comparison to the Pearl Harbor attack - how it was focused primarily on the military facilities, whereas 9/11 had the implicit goal of mass civilian casualties.  And really, I think that's the biggest thing to set the War on Terror apart from the Anti-Unification War - the fact that civilians were a sought-after target.

But I was high on my own adrenaline and endorphins - Mother Nature’s gifts to us humans that grants us our perspicacity; the ability to keep going even in such a state.

perspicacity is probably not the word you you want here, adrenaline is a combat drug with many benefits but keen intelligence and insight are not among them

Huh.  For some reason I thought I read something else when I looked that one up.  Oh well.  I'll replace it with 'pertinacity' instead.  That was probably what I was after in the first place and probably got the two mixed up.

“Very well then, pilot.  You may speak for us.  And you better not screw this up or else I’ll make sure you’re up for Captain’s Mast.  IF we somehow get back in one piece.”

“No worries, ma’am.  The questioning has to happen.  But the great escape is something that must happen as well.  We’ll get home come hell or high water."

Overturning the order of the universe to make the comforting lies true and the awful truths false: this is the fate of a Hero.

Ain't that the everlovin' truth.

I shrugged.  “Sir, we all have varying talents.  Ensign Ichijou is actually a much better pilot than I am.  I’m just a helluva good marksman who knows how to fight dirty.  Petty-Officer Kakizaki is pretty average but keeps up a bold front.

Actually, again drawing on the games for details but from what happens on screen as well, Kakizaki is actually well above average as a pilot - it's just that he's on a squad with Hikaru and Max and led by Roy, who are all goddamn freaks of nature. In the games his stats start at 42/99 across the board, while the player and the generic Beige Squadron pilots typically start in single digits or teens, and even Max's top areas are usually only around mid-70s as I recall for his SDFM/DYRL rookie version.

Okay, noted.  Though I still think Hayao would be a better senior enlisted man than an officer.

I showed Misa the ins and outs of the weapon and especially cautioned her to lower the flash glasses whenever she made ready to fire.
There was just one last thing I wanted to do before we left.

Probably should have another carriage return here as well... and oddly enough, I can totally see Misa with a BFG and a pair of wrap around shades, and a stern tilt to her mouth. Maybe in one of those sleeveless tanker tops, too.

Misa is an interesting character once you really start digging into all the bits of background and subtle hints scattered here and there.  For example, if you go to the episode where they're captured and you stop the show at just the right moment, you really will see her name stenciled on the coaming around the radar operator's seat.  Which means that her actual job is as a radar operator on a Catseye.

This would mean that she can read a tactical radar consol like the back of her hand, and combined with all the line-officer training she's had, it really would make her ideally suited as an Air Boss.

Misa is more brains than brawn, but that makes her especially well suited for handling the BFG.  She would know the exact moment that level of firepower would be needed, and not a moment before.

Additionally, I finally found a source with a suitable enough description of the technology that I feel comfortable in using it in the fic.
http://www.macrossnewhorizon.org/mediawi...technology

Thoughts?

I don't know about the rest off the top of my head, but I am quite sure the VF-27 is the first fighter-scale craft to have an MDE Cannon, not the VF-19 or VF-22 and as far as I know no detailed information has ever been given for exactly how the big tuning fork guns work as such, so take the rest of the material with a grain of salt as well. That said, it looks like consistent and decently thought out fanon for someone's RP, so if you like it as the explanation for use in your story, full speed ahead.

It's more for the technology itself, as there are very few sources that actually get into the details of what makes everything tick without sounding too vague.  For the capabilities of the mecha, as I mentioned before, I will be referring to the Macross Mecha Manual website: http://macross2.net/m3/m3-index.htm

“Queadluun-Rau.  They’re high maneuverability battle suits used only by Meltrandi because only the females have the reaction times to handle them.  They’re incredibly fast and nimble, but very lightly armored.  They pack a helluva punch, though.  Those blisters above the shoulders and at the knees?  Missile pods.  Each one packs a couple dozen micro-missiles that are every bit as maneuverable as the Rau itself.

Ammo capacity is one of those things that you definitely cannot count on the game stats for, but IIRC the Q-Rau has a triple stack of twelve on each shoulder pod and eight more in each knee according to the art, for a total of either 88 or 104 if it's eight in each side of each knee.

Gotcha, thanks.

“Well,” said Captain Gloval, “I think it’s best we moved on.  We already covered the basics of what happened.  Now I think it is best we got the details straight.  Miz Hayase, what strength would you say this fleet is at?”

Misa ... or "miss" I suppose. Or is "Miz" supposed to be some non-marital-status dependent feminine title? It seems less silly to just call everyone "Mister" like Trek or Harringtonverse to me.

That's one of the somewhat more esoteric bits of English they hardly ever teach these days.  'Miz' is a sort of neutral ground between 'Miss' (which really only applies to YOUNG unmarried women) and Missus (which is specifically for married women only).  Miz is safe to use on an adult woman whose marital status you are uncertain of, or you know the woman is not married but is definitely not young enough to qualify for 'Miss'.

Hee, the spy trio are off to a great start with their secret mission, aren't they? While it's a great humor beat, from an intelligence perspective being found out like that means anything they bring back is suspect at best and highly likely to be disinformation, so it might have been better to just let them wander around thinking they were keeping cover.

Eh, they'll pretty much have the freedom to roam around as they please.  They'll just be getting properly set up so they don't have to live like hobos and instead get to actually -experience- what living as the humans do is really like.

There will certainly be doubt cast upon the report, but given that absolutely no one slips up (that is, fail to act as 'normal humans') lends a lot of credence because, statistically speaking, that's damn-near impossible.

And even Exedore is going to he hard pressed to find fault in their report - in the end he will endorse their report, but with the proviso that there's still something that they're missing on a fundamental level.  And that something, he is certain at this point, will not be something that makes Humanity into something that needs to be destroyed.  (Not unless, ya know, you think any sign of culture is a sign of Protoculture and thus a target to be eliminated.)

No comment on bedroom games, except that there's a lot that can be done to express affection physically without the sort of contact that calls for birth control. Nothin' wrong with helping a very special person feel good, is all I'm saying.

Eh, if you ask me that just makes the temptation all the worse, but all the same I felt it was best to not get too detailed in this scene.

Now, as to the two of them having a rough patch when he explains his situation to her... Honestly, it's no surprise at all. The Tenchiverse girls came at the whole thing from the perspective of a culture where polygamy was not just accepted but expected for the Jurriaans and whatever science girl's people are called, or for Yuki desperate to make herself fit into their unit and willing to mold herself in any way that would do the trick. Minmei on the other hand has a mostly-monogamous 90's style Earth background, even if there some traditional-eastern influences as well, and has gone this long without any idea of how much the details of Garrick's past have been hidden -- and even if those are mostly a matter of "where these people are from" and a higher SFX budget rather than the actual events, that makes very little difference emotionally.

Indeed.  Minmei will need to do some soul searching.  There's the background to consider, but also the base desire to have him all to herself.  But the thing that will eventually bring her around is when Garrick urges her to write letters to the others so she can learn for herself what is really being offered: a support network of other women that will become closer to her than just 'sisters', and a genuine voice among them in household matters.  The hierarchy is a mere technicality - something to satisfy the demand that the one who would nominally be 'in charge' would be the one with the closest ties to one of the other Royal Families.

It's going to be fun when we get to Katanagatari and the Yasuri Siblings force the issue without knowing the full implications.  (Yes, Nanami was fully expecting that there would be 'concubines' involved, but not the sort of package deal she's actually gonna get.)

Given that Nanami is like Seto in the sense that if he doesn't marry her then she may kill him out of spite, Garrick feels he doesn't have much choice.  And yes, Yasuri Nanami being able to kill Garrick outright is a very real possibility - by far, she will be the queen bitch of the Freaks of Nature pageant without any further qualifications besides her complete and total mastery of the Way of the Swordless Swordsman.  That said, she will fit into the arrangement with ease once she fully understands that the others are her peers and not simply her subordinates.

What will be especially amusing will be how she winds up terrorizing just about everyone back on Jurai except for Funaho, Misaki, and Seto.
For those three she will have nothing but the utmost respect for being loving family towards Garrick.  The fact that they don't act as typical in-laws and force her to march to their tune helps a lot - they simply inform her of the politics and let her decide how to handle it.  Long story short, it kicks off a cold war between House Amaki and House Grimm.

Lynn Kaifun and his arrogant, self-righteous moral superiority, though... I get why it's narratively useful to have a foil that can't just be dealt with by hopping in a giant stompy robot and smacking him around or introducing him to any of a number of fine hand-forged blades, but I dearly hope you have some method of teaching him the difference between a fight started out of aggression and defending that which is precious. I'm honestly not sure how he got to his level of martial arts without some Honorable Elder Master beating the stupid out of him already, actually.

Kaifun is going to be difficult to deal with.  He's the type of personality that, upon hitting rock bottom, his first instinct is to lash out at all his perceived enemies, no matter how contrived his grievances against them are.  What's worse is that I suspect he's one of those 'For the greater good' types of Chinese that think nothing of lives spent, which is the only way I can see him 'peacefully' protesting against the UN in favor of the Anti-UN forces.

As for him being such a skilled martial artist without a good humbling from a teacher...  I figure that he's just that sort of prodigy that can advance through several black belt levels with ease and without his teachers being able to do anything to get him to put on the brakes or learn some real wisdom.

As for how Garrick might humble him...

*Garrick throws about 500,000 small ball bearings on the floor around Kaifun*  "Let's see you maintain your footing now."
*Kaifun's face goes purple* "I thought you said we were going to fight!"
"I did.  But I never said I would fight fair.  Ball's in your court, pretty boy.  Whatcha gonna do?"

As for how Garrick would maintain his footing?  Well, remember that 'Floor Lava' drill that he astounded Yosho with?  That, except that he has to be mindful that Kaifun will be shifting the ball ball bearings around as he flails ineffectually.

...
Soooo....  No one's got anything to say about the thing with Minmei?

Well, it isn't as if you're taking things in a wildly different direction than what you've already shown us...

In the end, no...  But in the meantime...  Shit's gonna get sour.  

...
Soooo....  No one's got anything to say about the thing with Minmei?

Well, it isn't as if you're taking things in a wildly different direction than what you've already shown us...

The Girl came across a bit "Clingy" from the Anime, so it seems about right.

Other than that, would Garrick like a "crow bar?"

HAH!  Maybe in the beginning, but now if anyone offers, he'll wisecrack with something like this: "Okay, you can try to pry her loose, but I think you'll just wind up losing a hand in the process, so don't blame me when it happens."