Maria-sama is Watching the RDF



Disclaimer: Neither Robotech nor Maria-sama ga Miteru belong to me. Robotech
belongs to Harmony Gold and Maria-sama to Geneon Entertainment (among
others). IÕm just borrowing them for a bit.







ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The sky was a bright, eye hurting blue, unbroken by even the
faintest trace of cloud of any kind, not even a tiny wisp of cirrus cloud.
The only thing in that vast expanse of blue was a single, solitary shadow
that would have been little more than a speck for any observer below, had
there been anyone there to see it. If any hypothetical observer had been
there to see it, and had they possessed a pair of fairly strong binoculars
or some other form of optical magnifiers, they would have been able to tell
what the tiny speck really was, a Veritech Fighter, and not just any
Veritech either, for most of the RDF fighters were painted a standardised
brown colour, with few exceptions. The most famous of these exceptions were
those belonging to the first human-Zentradi couple and ace pilot team Max
and Miriya Sterling and the near legendary Skull One. The pilot of this
Veritech was not in the same league as those luminaries, but she had enough
of a reputation to warrant her own paint scheme, chevrons of red rose petals
on a white background with a pair of full red blossoms on the tails.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Inside the cockpit, Rose Squadron Leader, who preferred the
name she had been born with, Ogasawara Sachiko, sighed as she banked her
fighter into a shallow dive and cut back the throttle as she approached her
patrol area and pondered what has brought her to where she was now. The year
she graduated from Lillian Girls School on the outskirts of Ueno had been
the year when recruiting for the newly formed Robotech Defence Force had
finally hit its stride and nearly every nation in the world had been
clamouring to provide members. Without telling anyone, Sachiko has signed up
and been accepted and not even the Ogasawara ZaibatsuÕs influence had been
enough to revoke the decision, getting Sachiko away from the arranged
marriage that had been expected of her. Some unknown individual within the
family though had pulled enough strings to get her into pilot training and
Sachiko was unsure whether to be annoyed or grateful, for it turned out that
she enjoyed it. She lacked the drive and competitive nature to keep up with
the fighter pilots, but she had been more than happy to spend out her
service piloting CatÕs-Eye reconnaissance planes. She had even managed to
draw a posting to Macross Island, the top billet in the entire RDF.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Then had come the fateful day when the SDF-1 was due to
launch, the same day the Zentradi arrived and attacked. Sachiko had been
running routine patrol and had done what any sensible CatÕs-Eye pilot would
have done when the first wave of fighters had come swarming out of the drop
pods. Shut down her radar and fall back to base hoping that the invaders
wouldnÕt notice one unarmed craft in the mass of fighters launching from
Macross City and the carriers Prometheus and Daedelus. Fortunately for
Sachiko she had still been in her CatÕs-Eye when the SDF-1 had executed its
fateful spacefold, taking most of Macross Island and a lot of the
surrounding ocean with it out beyond PlutoÕs orbits. CatÕs-Eyes were
designed to operate at high altitude and even in space and that had saved
Sachiko where many others had perished from the sudden decompression.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Of course, that hadnÕt saved the SDF-1 from Zentradi pursuit
and the constant attacks whittled down fighter squadrons. The onboard
factories had been able replace the fighters with no difficulty, provided
they had a supply of raw materials, but the pilots were another matter and
Sachiko and all the other CatÕs-Eye pilots found themselves pressed into
filling out the numbers, even as an aggressive recruiting drive drew new
recruits from the civilian population of Macross Island that had been
dragged along in the space-fold. Sachiko honestly didnÕt know how she
managed to survive throughout the year long journey back to Earth,
especially as so many others around her fell, but the fates were kind and
she returned from every battle unscathed, though the same couldnÕt always be
said of her fighter. She had even come through that titanic clash with
DolzaÕs fleet in one piece, but many times she wished she hadnÕt, for fate
would have been kinder to have been spared the sight of the world of her
birth bathed in flame, killing billions. Though it was rarely spoken of,
that was something that everyone on the SDF-1, both the crew and the
civilian population, carried with them.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Still, even in the darkest of hours, there was always hope
and while most of the EarthÕs surface had been scoured down to bare rock,
tiny parts survived. Those surviving pockets generally fell into several
categories, the most common by number being tiny islands, mostly in the
Pacific though some in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as well, that were so
small they were overlooked. The other most common was valleys high in the
Himalayas and the Andes where life was harsh, but endurable and like their
ocean counterparts, easily overlooked from orbit. The other main groups
where small areas that had been protected from the effects of the initial
bombardment due to confluences of geography that had not been targeted
before the EarthÕs defenders had sprung into action and a few areas that no
one could readily explain.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ It was one of the latter two that was the real reason for
SachikoÕs melancholy, but it was also the reason that Sachiko refused to let
anyone else fly that patrol route when her squadron had it. Flying low and
slow, she cruised over the crater that had once been Ueno City in Japan, a
place that she had once called home. Just outside where the city had been,
mostly shielded from the blast by the surrounding mountains, was a patch of
green, a patch that was slowly, but surely growing in area, showing the
tenacity of life, growing and pushing outwards, despite the devastation. But
this patch of green held something that many others of these pockets of life
didnÕt, and that was ruins, ruins that were very important to Sachiko for
they were the remains of Lillian High School where Sachiko had once
attended. It was a place that held many memories, some bad, most good,
though she could no longer look upon what remained of the place with a pang
of sorrow for so many of those she had known there who were gone, along with
so many others. Sachiko had been able to track down one other alumni of
Lillian who was still alive who was not only a contemporary of hers but was
none other than the infamous Rosa Canina, better known now by her proper
name Kanina Shizuka, an opera singer with a voice that could stop a Zentradi
in their tracks. But she was the only one.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Sachiko made three passes over the school, low to the ground
and as slow as she could without losing lift. The buildings below were a
blur, but experience at spotting things at high speed let her pick out
details that others would have missed. The main part of the school was still
intact, though neglect and the weather were doing their best to change that
and while most of the older trees, mostly gingko and sakura, hadnÕt done too
well, many young saplings had already sprouted up to replace them, as well
as spreading out into the more devastated areas. What really brought a lump
to SachikoÕs throat though was the fact that the Rose Mansion still stood,
bringing back memories of long afternoons spent their, doing one thing or
another for the Yamayurikai. That in turn brought back the memories of those
who had been there with her and a painful reminder that they were gone.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ On the third pass though, looping back from over a few
buildings of Hanedara AcademyÕs, LillianÕs all-male counterpart, for one
last look, Sachiko spotted something dashing from the trees towards the main
buildings. Their relative speeds were too high for Sachiko to get a good
look, but it was more than enough to spike SachikoÕs curiosity. She reached
out and pushed the lever that transformed the Veritech from fighter mode
into guardian mode and braked, hard, deceleration pushing her against the
straps of the pilotÕs chair. Even with her quick action though, the figure
was gone by the time Sachiko brought her hovering Veritech back around.
Still, she wasnÕt going to let it go and it was a simple enough matter to
land on what had once been the athletics field, the overgrown grass giving
the VeritechÕs feet some cushioning as they touched ground.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Sachiko wanted to jump out of the cockpit the instant the
Veritech was safely parked, but the part of her that was an officer of the
RDF sternly reined the rest of her in and reminded her to follow procedure.
Reluctantly, but dutifully, Sachiko turned on the radio and called back to
base. ÒRose Leader to Okinawa Base. Come in Okinawa Base.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒOkinawa Base here Rose Leader,Ó came the audio only reply.
ÒWhat is it?Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒIÕm at LiÉ the Rose Garden,Ó Sachiko said, catching herself
in time to change to the official area for the small area of green where she
was. ÒI just spotted something going into the buildings. I was moving too
fast to get a good look, but I am going to investigate further.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒUnderstood Rose Leader. Report in once youÕve finished your
investigation. And Sachiko-kun, be careful.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ A faint smile tugged at SachikoÕs lips at the final
rejoinder in her native Japanese rather than standard English. ÒI will be
Asuma-kun,Ó she replied in the same language before slipping back into
English her official position. ÒRose Leader out.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ She pulled her gun and a knife out of the small armoury case
under her seat, slipping them into holsters built into her flight suit while
mentally shaking her head at AsumaÕs antics. She had made it very clear to
the comm. tech that she had no interest in him when he had first
propositioned her and he had taken it gracefully enough, but that stop him
from acting like a protective older brother. Fortunately for him, he never
took it past the point where it got annoying. Amusing, even silly on
occasions and perhaps a little pathetic, but never annoying. But curiosity
about what she had seen drove all other thoughts out of SachikoÕs head as
she climbed down to the ground and began exploring.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Even weathered and damaged, for they had not escaped
entirely unscathed, the school buildings presented a multitude of places to
hide and the time that Sachiko had taken to turn about and land had given
whatever she had seen more than ample opportunity to get to anyone of the
buildings. Something told Sachiko though that the best place to start
looking though was the Rose Mansion. It was a hunch with no rational basis,
but it was better than no plan at all, so Sachiko headed there, cautious and
careful, but still purposeful.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ When she got to the Rose Mansion, Sachiko was surprised to
see that not only was it in better shape than most of the other buildings,
but someone had even attempted repairs. In at least three places where
flying debris had pierced the wall, the holes had been boarded over, if
inexpertly, and the same went for most of the shattered windows, though some
on the upper floor had been left open. That meant that someone had been at
the school and not only survived the massive Zentradi bombardment, but had
been living here in the aftermath and SachikoÕs heart went out in sympathy
to whoever it was. However, that only made Sachiko even more determined to
find whoever it was and take them back with her to what passed for
civilisation on this part of the planet, where they could at least get
proper food and medical care.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Carefully Sachiko eased open the door to the Rose Mansion,
calling out to anyone who might have been there. She got no response, but
that wasnÕt surprising, since whoever was living there was obviously as
timid as a rabbit, judging by their response to the Veritech. So Sachiko
entered, firmly ignoring the memories that being in the building brought
back and began searching. The first room she looked in didnÕt have anyone in
it, but it did yield some rather surprising results. In it was a large pot,
obviously liberated from the school kitchens, sitting on top of a small gas
cooker and Sachiko nodded in approval. Considering most of the water would
be from rather dubious sources at best, it made sense to boil it before
drinking it first. She was about to leave when a faint scent tickled her
sense of small and she scrunched her nose in displeasure as she spotted the
bowl of ginkgo nuts sitting not too far from the pot. It made sense given
the number of ginkgo trees in the school grounds, but her stomach churned at
the thought, no matter what Shimako might have once said on the matter.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Sachiko closed the door and continued on her search,
scouring the lower floor of the house. Though none of them yielded the
person living there, several did betray signs of human habitation. One even
had several bookshelves in it that must have been laboriously dragged from
the library to the Rose Mansion, their contents painstakingly replaced,
though several more piles of books littered the floor, all their spines
sporting catalogue stamps from LillianÕs School Library. Lower floor
searched, Sachiko debated whether to go up or down. The basement had been
used only for storage in her student days, but it would have been a simple
matter to clean it out and would provide an area sheltered from the
elements, where as the unrepaired windows on the upper floor suggested a
lower level of liveability, but a better vantage point to observe intruders
while remaining hidden.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ After several moments thought, Sachiko headed downstairs,
reasoning that whoever was here would want to remain close to what
possessions they had and the basement was most likely where they were. She
was partly right at least, for the basement was where the mysterious refugee
obviously lived. There were several more piles of books from the school
library and other assorted items that had been salvaged from other parts of
the school, including what appeared to be a pair of tennis rackets turned
into makeshift snowshoes, and a large pile of blankets and an inexpertly
stitched together pillow. But whoever was living there was not in evidence.
With a sigh Sachiko turned back up the stairs and hoped that whoever had
been there hadnÕt snuck out the front door while she was in the basement.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Reaching the ground floor once again, she turned and closed
the door behind her and when she turned back she got the largest fright of
her life, surpassing even being caught in an unstable space-fold. One moment
she had been alone and the next she was not. In front of her stood a woman
about her own age, wearing a worn and faded Lillian uniform that was perhaps
a size to small for her and a messily knotted scarf, though the reason for
that was obvious as Sachiko looked longer, for her left wrist was roughly
bandaged with a length of cloth that looked to have been torn from another
uniform and she held it close to her side, almost cradling it. That wasnÕt
the only sign of the rough life that she had been living, just the most
obvious. Her skin was dull and rough, even to the naked eye, just as telling
of too many hours spent in the sun as the peeling blisters on the tip of her
nose. The skin over her knees was scratched and calloused from too many
hours spent on them in the dirt and given her barefoot state Sachiko
wouldnÕt have been surprised to find the calluses on her toes were like
iron. Her hair fell to just past shoulder length and had been pulled back
and tied with bits of strings, leaving her face clear, the most prominent
feature being the wide brown eyes that spoke clearly of hope, fear, sorrow
and loneliness and the more Sachiko looked into them the more the sense of
the familiar grew.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ It was the apparition who finally answered the question of
where Sachiko remembered her from. As Sachiko stood looking mutely at her,
she returned the look and finally her right hand rose to clutch at something
on her chest, hidden by the sloppy arms of the scarf. ÒOnee-sama,Ó she
whispered, letting go of whatever she held, and SachikoÕs knees went weak as
she stared at the silver cross on the silver rosary, plain and unadorned
save for some very basic engraving. She knew it well, for a copy of it hung
around her own neck when she was off duty and for years of students
attending Lillian it had been the identifying of the Red Rose Family, headed
by Rose Chinesis, a position Sachiko herself had once heard. And there was
only one person that Sachiko knew who would wear the same rosary and call
her Onee-sama.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒYumi-chan?Ó she asked, her voice wavering as tears began to
well up in her eyes. ÒIs it really you?Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The only answer was a wordless nod as the two women fell
into each others arms, both of them to choked up with emotion to do anything
but cry mixed tears of joy and grief. Joy for finding each other alive after
so long when both had thought the other dead and grief for the fresh
reminder of those others they had known who they would not be having
miraculous reunions with. They collapsed to their knees as one, neither
willing nor able to do anything but let the tears come and hold the other as
tightly as possible. Neither of them could have said how much time had
passed before they got control over themselves enough to carry on a proper
conversation.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒI suppose youÕre wondering how I survived?Ó Yumi asked in
the silence that followed the tears.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒA little,Ó Sachiko replied. ÒBut at the moment all I care
about is that youÕre alive and not some figment of my imagination.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒIÕm real,Ó Yumi assured her. ÒIÕm very real.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Another silence broke out and while it was neither awkward
nor uncomfortable, neither woman knew what to say next and it just stretched
out, finally being shattered by a beeping from SachikoÕs wrist. She brought
it up and looked at the watch built into the flight suit and swore in
surprise when she saw the time.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒIÕve got to get going,Ó she muttered to herself. ÒTheyÕre
going to start wondering where I am soon.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Though Sachiko hadnÕt even realised that she was speaking
out loud, it was loud enough for Yumi to hear every word and she grabbed at
SachikoÕs flight suit with her good hand.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒDonÕt leave me,Ó she said, the fear haunting her eyes
coming to fore. ÒDonÕt leave me alone again, please!Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Sachiko looked down into those desperate eyes and smiled
softly. ÒNever again,Ó she assured Yumi. ÒBut I do have to go and I want you
to come with me.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒReally?Ó Yumi asked.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒI promise,Ó Sachiko assured her. ÒMy VeritechÕs a 1-D, so
the cockpit has two seats and thereÕs nothing to stop you coming back with
me.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ YumiÕs face brightened, but then took on a worried look as
she cast a glance at the door leading down to her shelter down in the
basement.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÒWeÕll come back and get everything as soon as possible,Ó
Sachiko assured her, correctly interpreting the look on YumiÕs face. ÒBut
you are all thatÕs important to me at the moment. Come back with me,
please.Ó

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The despair in SachikoÕs eyes mirrored the look that had
been in YumiÕs eyes just moments ago and Yumi was no more proof against it
than Sachiko was and she nodded.

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Short minute later, Yumi was strapped into the rear seat of
SachikoÕs Veritech and Sachiko was guiding the mighty machine back into the
air. Once they were well and truly airborne, Sachiko transformed the craft
back into fighter mode and looped around in one final pass over Lillian and
she had to fight off a smile. She knew that whatever happened from now one,
she would no longer fly that patrol route with a heavy heart, and even there
was still a trace of melancholy in seeing Lillian, the memories she had just
made ensured that from then on, the joy would outway the sorrow. She waggled
the VeritechÕs wings in a pilotÕs salute and shot off into the blue sky into
a future that no longer looked so lonely.





AuthorÕs Notes: This unlikely cross over was created by five people each
submitting a single series then drawing two out of a proverbial hat. To
date, I am still the only one to actually complete theirs, though I think
thatÕs because I wrote a crossover rather than a fusion like everyone else
attempted. Whatever the reason, its definitely fairly unique and not
something that I would have normally attempted and I hoped you enjoyed it.