Macross Delta: Pale Shooting Star Sings on the Battlefield - Your song kept me alive.

The roar of the engines made the air in the hangar tremble. Souma Kakeru sat sunk into the cockpit seat, tightening his grip on the control stick. His bandaged side throbbed with a sharp pain. The stitched wound on his left shoulder pulled taut, and he could feel blood slowly seeping through. *(—Twenty-four hours.)* The time limit Keith had declared. The time remaining until the execution of Freyja's younger sister, Lulu. There was no time left for hesitation. "[serious]Makina-san, I'm leaving command to you." Makina Nakajima's voice came back through the communicator. "[gentle]I've got this. You just look ahead and fly." Souma let out a small breath. The canopy closed. The outside scenery looked distorted through the transparent armor. Beyond the hangar, the sky of Ragna just before dawn stretched wide. It was the hour when the stars vanished, one by one. "[whispers]...It's fine. I can still fight." He opened the throttle. The repaired VF-31 Siegfried leaped onto the runway with a thunderous roar. Seams still remained all over the airframe. The weld marks on the left wing glinted dully in the morning sun. Acceleration. Gravity pressed down on his body. His wounds screamed. Even so, Souma kept pulling back on the control stick. The aircraft lifted into the sky. The sea of Ragna spread out below. The deep blue surface, dyed by the morning light, sparkled brilliantly. The lights of the port town gradually receded into the distance. Far ahead, white cliffs came into view. The Wind Kingdom of Vindermeer. Darisual Castle. *—Let's go.* Souma turned the nose toward the enemy nation and pushed the throttle to full. About five hours by fold navigation. When the chalk-white fortress of Darisual entered his field of vision, a chill ran down Souma's spine. Built on a cliff at an altitude of 1,800 meters, the castle looked like a colossal tombstone floating in the sky. The ramparts stood forty meters high. The wind howled incessantly, and the gravel striking the white walls made a dry, clattering sound. Only a few hours remained until the execution. At that moment— The aircraft's radar blared a warning. Above. Tearing through the clouds, a single VF-31 Siegfried plunged down in a steep dive. Bluish-silver wings swept back. A custom color scheme reserved for ace pilots. "[cold]—So you came, Souma." A familiar voice poured through the communicator. Hayate Immelmann. The ace of Delta Squadron. And the man who had betrayed Souma, leading him into a deadly ambush. "[cold]I heard some idiot broke out of the hospital." Hayate's aircraft came to a halt directly in front of Souma. Only a few hundred meters apart. Still in Fighter mode, the two Valkyries faced off in midair. The wind blew through the space between the two machines. "[sarcastic]Impressive you can even fly in that condition. Which comes first—crashing, or coughing up blood? I'd put money on it." Souma didn't answer. Instead, he slowly readjusted his grip on the control stick. His fingers were trembling, but not from fear. "[cold]Hey, you listening?" "[serious]...Hayate." Souma's voice was so calm it surprised even himself. "[serious]I know everything you did. Falsifying the coordinates. Feeding information to Keith. Everything you set up to shoot me down—" A moment of silence. "[laughing]Heh... I see." Hayate's laughter crackled through the communicator. It sounded dry, somehow broken. "[cold]So what? Got any proof? Nobody's gonna believe a word you say. I'm the ace, and you—you're nothing but a freeloader." "[cold]Even Freyja—she belongs to me. That was decided from the start. But then someone like you—" Heat seeped into his voice. Whether it was anger, jealousy, or both. "[angry]Why does someone like you get to steal my sky?!" Missiles launched. Four of them. White trails tearing through the air closed in on Souma from all directions. Hayate's signature technique—cross-encirclement fire. *(—Here it comes.)* That was when it happened. Riding on the wind, he heard a song. At first, it sounded like nothing more than the wind itself. The gale howling past the cliffs, slamming against the castle walls with a low moan. But—no. It was a human voice. A girl's voice. Trembling. Weeping. And yet, trying to sing. "...Rune... shining... upon the wind... a wish..." It was a Windermerean folk song. A song he used to sing for his little sister when they were children. Not a Walküre track, not a battlefield war song—just a song Freyja sang with all her love for her sister. Fold waves bled into the communicator. Souma's eyes narrowed. His vision shifted. *—I can see.* All four missile trajectories, with perfect clarity. As if time had been stretched, they moved slowly, trailing white smoke. The trajectory calculations surfaced directly in his mind. First missile—veer right. Second—climb and evade. Third and fourth—there was an intersection point. If he slipped through there, they wouldn't hit. His body moved on its own. He tilted the control stick, throttled down, and twisted the aircraft to the right. All the missiles skimmed past his airframe and flew off. Not a single hit. "[surprised]...What?!" He heard Hayate's breath catch in his throat. Freyja's song continued. "...Little sister... even if I become the wind... I... won't forget..." A trembling voice. A tearful voice. Yet a voice singing with all its might. Something deep in Souma's chest grew warm. *(—This song.)* The song he had heard on the battlefield, beneath the rubble. That time too, that song had saved him. Not an act, not a calculation. Freyja's true voice. "[whispers]...I'll protect her. No matter what." He pushed the throttle to full. The aircraft surged forward, straight at Hayate. "[angry]Don't get cocky, you bastard!!" Hayate's aircraft transformed. From Fighter, through Gerwalk, into Battroid mode. Now in humanoid form, the machine drew a massive knife and slashed at Souma. Close-quarters combat. But—he could see. He could read the arm movements down to the millisecond. The instant the shoulder actuators began to move. The split second the elbow angle started to change. Just before the wrist snap engaged. Everything was in slow motion. Souma cut the control stick to the right and flipped his aircraft around in one motion. Hayate's knife sliced through empty air. Another strike. He sank the aircraft as if crouching to evade. Then twisted the airframe to dodge the thrusting knife that followed. "[angry]Dammit, why can't I hit you?!" Souma didn't answer. He had been waiting for that opening. The moment Hayate swung down for a third slash—Souma threw the throttle to full and circled around behind him. A maneuver that took less than a second. "—It's over." He leveled the gun pod. Aim—engine block. He pulled the trigger. The rounds pierced straight through the back of Hayate's aircraft. The engine exploded. But before the entire airframe could detonate, the automatic escape system activated. The cockpit separated, and a parachute deployed. Hayate's body was ejected into the air. "[whispers]...Why... someone like you..." That voice held neither anger nor hatred. It was the emptiness after all the jealousy he had built up over so long had crumbled away. A soliloquy that sought no answer. The communication cut off. At that moment, the sound of another engine reached them from the distance. A New UN Forces transport craft. The reinforcements Makina had requested in advance—no, the response to the arrest warrant. Personnel descended from the aircraft and restrained Hayate in midair. Hayate Immelmann could fight no more. But the battle wasn't over. Above the highest spire of Darisual Castle—a white aircraft slowly descended. Long white hair bound back, reaching to the waist. Blood-red eyes narrowed. The Sv-262 Draken III. The personal machine of the White Knight, Keith Aero Vindermeer. "[cold]For an insect, you've done rather well." The voice over the communicator was cold as ice. "[cold]Hayate was an excellent pawn, but in the end, he was consumed by personal jealousy. Weak. It goes against my aesthetics." "[cold]But you are different. You—fight only to protect. Show me that." The Draken III moved. The distance closed in an instant. Fast—this was on a completely different level from any battle before. "[scared]Guh...!" He desperately wrenched the control stick. The aircraft screamed. His wounded body was slammed against the seat. Beneath the bandages, the stitches tore open. His side burned. He could feel blood dripping. Even so. Freyja's song was still audible. "...Wind... please... my little sister..." *(—Not yet.)* Souma clenched his teeth. The two aircraft repeatedly crossed paths at ultra-low altitude, skimming just above the castle walls. Grazing the white cliffs, gravel swirled into the air. Keith's attacks were precise, ruthless, and without waste. Rounds from the gun pod grazed Souma's right engine. Warning lights flashed red. Thrust dropped. The aircraft tilted to the right. "[cold]Is this the end? How disappointing." Keith's voice held no trace of emotion. His tone was as if the outcome had already been decided. *(—No.)* Souma resolved to burn through every last bit of remaining thrust. "[shouts]Not yet—I can still fight!!" He switched the throttle to emergency boost. The aircraft accelerated violently. He charged head-on toward Keith's Draken III. The damaged right wing screamed against the air resistance. "[cold]Reckless." Keith moved into an intercept stance. Collision—just before impact. Souma threw the control stick hard to the left and veered aside. The airframe groaned. Sparks scattered from the right engine. In the instant they passed each other. He slammed the gun pod into the control unit directly beneath the cockpit of Keith's machine. "[angry]This—ends it!!" He pulled the trigger. A point-blank volley. Keith's cockpit erupted in flames. The control unit destroyed, the Draken III lost all command and slammed into the white castle wall. Explosion. The white ramparts were scorched black. Inside the cockpit, Keith Aero Vindermeer wore a cold smile to the very end. "[gentle]...You were an interesting little insect." Those were the White Knight's final words. Souma's aircraft had reached its limit. The right engine was completely dead. Trailing smoke, he somehow managed to land in the castle's inner courtyard. The impact made his ribs creak. The taste of blood spread through his mouth. At that moment, Makina's voice rang through the communicator. "[excited]You did it, Souma!! I hacked into the castle's system and stopped the execution platform! I've unlocked the dungeon doors too! Lulu—she's still alive!!" Souma endured the pain and stood up. In Battroid mode, he kicked down the dungeon door and descended the dark stairs. Three levels underground. A solitary cell carved out of the bedrock. There, a small girl lay collapsed. The same silver hair as Freyja. The small rune on her head glowed faintly. "[whispers]...It's okay. I came to save you." He lifted Lulu into his arms and headed back to the surface. He ran through the passageway and emerged into the courtyard— "[crying]Lulu... Lulu!!" Freyja was standing there. She must have broken free of the guards' restraints on her own—her clothes were disheveled, her hair a mess. Her crimson eyes, wet with tears, locked onto her little sister in Souma's arms. "[crying]Ah... aaaah..." A voice that couldn't form words. Freyja rushed over and clung to Lulu. The two of them collapsed to the ground together, sinking down as if their legs had given out. Lulu slowly opened her eyes. "[gentle]...Big sister... I heard your song..." Freyja said nothing. She just held her sister tight and wept. After ascending to a safe altitude. With Freyja and Lulu secured in the rear of the cockpit, Souma turned the nose toward Ragna. The right engine was dead, but he could some

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Episode 7

Name: Macross Delta: Pale Shooting Star Sings on the Battlefield
Author: Novelia

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