Macross Frontier Ep. 14: Mother’s Lullaby

Alto manages to boost his Messiah out of the atmosphere and escape the Dimension Eater’s destruction of Gallia 4. At Tenkumon Hall, Elmo tries to assure people over the phone that Ranka will be back in time for her show. In the city, Luca meets with Nanase and tells him about what happened to Ranka. Ozma looks at his Messiah and recalls how he tried to tell Ranka she was being reckless before she left. Ozma says to himself that she turned into a woman before he realized it, and Bobby says all girls turn into women some day. On the bridge, Cathy, Lam, Monica and Mena discuss how Cathy dated Ozma years ago. Monica then brings up Bobby’s crush on Ozma, and Mena says he knows it’ll never go anywhere because Ozma is straight. Monica says she’d want the person she likes to love her back, and Cathy suggests she confess to Jeffrey since he’s been a widower for years. Monica becomes embarrassed, and when Mena comments that Jeffrey is the only one who hadn’t noticed, he suddenly appears and asks what he didn’t notice. A radar alert comes in when a large number of Vajra Knight class ships de-fold ahead of the fleet. Nanase thanks Luca for treating her to lunch, but just as he’s about to say something, a battle alert is sounded. Howard wonders why the Vajra appeared now, and Leon suggests that the Vajra analyzed their fold communication waves. The Islands deploy their protective covers as swarms of Vajra mecha launch. Before leaving, Luca tells Nanase that he has something to say to her when he returns. NUNS pilots take off in their Nightmare Pluses, and the Macross Quarter 25 launches and transforms. Ozma orders his units to attack, and Luca deploys his remote-controlled Ghosts. In deep space, Alto docks with his Super pack and the LAI fold booster, which he uses to fold in.

As the battle continues, a Nightmare Plus Diamond force unit destroys several Vajra mecha. Sheryl wakes up and realizes that the ship they grabbed on to has folded back to the fleet. She tries to wake up Michael, but he doesn’t respond. On Battle Frontier, Perry tells Howard that if he permits the use of reaction weapons, they can wipe out the Vajra. In space, Sheryl takes control of Michael’s Messiah and flies around wildly until Luca spots her. Several Vajra open fire on the Messiah, causing Sheryl and Michael to be ejected before it’s destroyed. A Vajra closes in on Luca at close range, but just then Alto arrives and destroys it. Elsewhere, the Bishop mobile fortress continues to fold, and Ranka thinks about how she wants to return home. A Vajra Queen sends a probing tentacle toward her, and Ranka suddenly finds herself looking at the fleet. Alto takes Sheryl back to the fleet, and she apologizes for not finding Ranka. The Bishop and its escorts fold behind the fleet and open fire. Although Island 1 deploys its repulsion field, the blasts breaks through the dome and suck civilians out into space. As he drops Sheryl off on the Macross Quarter 25, Alto recognizes the mothership as the ship Ranka was on. Howard can’t believe the Vajra used diversionary tactics because they’re just stupid animals, but Leon suggests that the mothership is the one coordinating the attack. Howard relents and gives the authorization to use reaction weapons. The Macross Quarter 25 turns to attack the Bishop, and Alto asks Jeffrey for permission to rescue Ranka. Jeffrey says he can’t stop the attack, but he gives Alto permission to use an Armored pack and reaction warheads to rescue Ranka. Sheryl asks Alto come back safely, and he promises he’ll return with Ranka. Alto returns to space, and Ozma threatens to kill him if anything happens to Ranka. Multiple Vajra close in, so Alto and Ozma fire their reaction missiles and destroy them. Ranka watches the fighting and suddenly sees a vision of her mother singing “Aimo,” which causes her to sing too. In space, a Heavy Soldier fires its cannon and kills Raramia with a single shot. Alto is reminded of Gilliam’s death and flies toward the Vajra mothership. The Vajra mecha suddenly stop firing, but Alto destroys them all with his missiles and presses forward. Luca is amazed by Alto’s fighting, but while he’s distracted his Messiah is hit by a Vajra shot. Alto blasts a hole into the mothership’s hull, but Brera suddenly flies by and tells Alto he’s getting in the way. Inside, Brera cuts Ranka’s energy bubble free, and Alto unleashes a missile barrage on the Vajra queen. The explosion ejects Alto from the ship, and Brera’s Lucifer soon follows. He announces himself as Maj. Brera Stern of the Macross Galaxy‘s Antares Squadron and states that he’s rescued a captive. The Vajra begin to lose coordination, so Jeffrey fires the Macross Cannon at the mothership. With the mothership destroyed, the rest of the fleet becomes easy pickings for both NUNS and SMS pilots. Elsewhere, Grace wakes up in her new body and wonders if Ranka is the little queen. Brera asks Ranka why she’s crying, and her stomach glows again.