[RFC] Being You is Deculture

[classicdrogn]

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.

“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?

It was another close one for us. Once again, while the Zentradi battle pods were not that great, they would always beat us down mercilessly with sheer numbers. And because no target worthy of the Main Gun never appeared, there was nothing to help clear the field except for the point defenses of the SDF-1.

ever appeared

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.


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.

IT'S BIG DAMN HERO TIIIIIMMMME!!!

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

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.

My reverie was interrupted by the 1MC speaker that had been installed in all rooms of all buildings in Macros City. A list of people who were to report to HQ was being rattled off. At first I paid it no real mind, up until I heard the words, "And also Petty-Officers Garrick Grim and Hikaru Ichijyo."

Macross City

We were directed to the main conference room in the Headquarters building where the top brass held their own briefings. I was as nervous as Hikaru was when he reached to knock on the door when it hit me.

I reccomend breaking that last sentence up somehow; as it stands it's a very odd mash-up of two thoughts. That may match how it feels to Gar as it happens, but is a bit of a wrench to the reader trying to follow along.

A female Yeoman with a huge volume of orange curls directed us to toe the line with all the other awardees. Before us in a large set of tables arrange in a U-shape sat all the senior officers of the SDF-1. So many Commanders and Lieutenants. Roy was there at the very end of one table, where he gave us a subtle wave. Hikaru's nervousness got worse, nonetheless.

Before us, at a set of large tables arranged in a U shape, sat (...)

"Fuzzy, knock it off," I hissed at him soto voiced. "We're not in trouble here, so get at attention."

sotto voce - it's adopted from Italian, though it's properly a single word there rather than being split into two.

Roy chuckled. "In dirty coveralls, huh? I don't think the Captain would have stood for that at all."

You should probably specify Gloval here, since the previous paragraph is Gar talking about a different Captain he served under previously. Well, unless you mean to say that Roy was surprised that other Captain put up with it, in which case it would be better phrased closer to the way I put it there. As it stands it's a little ambiguous.

Aaand you do explain, in the next paragraph. Fair enough, though having multiple captains on a ship is... yeah.

The SDF-1 was home to an entire flight of strike fighters, composed of four groups with four squadrons a piece, and each squadron with four wings a piece.

In this context, "apiece" should be one word. You could also replace one of those with "each," to avoid the repetition.

"Now, Fuzzy, what I'm going to do is that I'm going to put you in command of your own flight. Normally a flight only has one Lieutennant, but since I can't really split up you and Cradle Robber here, he's going to be your Exec." At this Roy gave me a meaningful look. "Any problems with that, Cradle Robber?"

Lieutenant

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.

"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.

"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

"Well, at least we got introductions aside. Why don't you boys all go out and get acquainted with each other.

question mark

I rolled my eyes as I shrugged off the sudden assault of cloth napkins and said, "Okay, okay, yes, I got your a gift. Happy birthday Minmei."

got you a

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.

“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.

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.

While I certainly had his attention, he wasn’t oblivious. He was definitely pushing us back towards the SDF-1. But I wasn’t going to let that be any sort of hinderance.

hindrance

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.

“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.

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!!!

to shame. I don’t think even the venerable hero, Lieutenant-Commander Fokker, could pull what you did out there today.

You've been switching between this and "Focker" here and there. I recommend a global search and replace for whichever one you decide is the mistake.

“Additionally, you managed, quite by accident I am sure, to single-handedly stopped that battle cold. You did so by making yourself known to their Commander on Mars, and continued to do so until he finally sought you out.

stop

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.

Just about every Valkyrie and Destroid jockey had to be crammed into the place, along with the Bridge Bunnies, Misa Hayase, and Claudia LaSalle.

I suggest adding an explicit scope to this, rather than leaving "on the ship" implied. It's okay as is, but I always feel like it's better to be specific aside from gore, bathrooms, and sexytimes.

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 shrugged. “I’ve been looking around for a while now. Since you made sure to tell me when you birthday was long ago, I kept my eyes open for something that would be as unique and special as you.”

your birthday

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.

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.

Now, I want you to know that, of course, I’ll be performing the procedure myself, so you don’t need to worry for your daughters well being.

daughters'

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."

Just after your last letter had arrived, I received word about the attempt to kidnap Aeka by Prince Garyu of Oku II. While it was you’re forewarning to Washu that gave them the chance to prevent it from happening, it was Tenchi’s strong

your forewarning

I want you to know that we think of you always, Garrick. We greatly anticipate your homecoming, and the seat of you Clan on the council awaits you, occupied for now by Seto until Achika is able to do so in your stead.

your Clan

Everyday I tell myself, “Don’t worry. He’s coming. He’ll get here because he’s Garrick and he’s never going to give up.” Some days it works. Some days, I find myself crying on one of my sister’s shoulders.

sisters' - though of course, people don't always speak or write with perfect grammar, so it may be excused if it's an intentional error for the purposes of character.

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.

were so aluring. Despite trying to kill be earlier, you felt soft and warm in my arms, and your scent was enticing.

alluring. Despite trying to kill me

And of course, there’s photos of my as well, along with my friends and even

photos of me

I’ve never been so glad to have Sasami-chan as a friend. She is a huge help in getting me through these days without you. BUt now with this, it’s almost more than I can take!

got a case of FAst TYpist SYndrome there

In fact, I’ll go one further for you: go ahead and look at echi and even H stuff. Get an idea of what kind of echi stuff you like - everyone has kinks. There is nothing wrong at all in trying to figure out what kind of person you are.

ecchi

Down that road lay consequences.

Again, room for character expression here, but the grammatically correct form would be "lies"

That is part of why it’s been hard on the rest of us. We see ourselves in their place, and we sometimes have that terribly selfish though: “I am glad that I do

thought

Everyone worked hard at this. Everyone played a crucial roll, for while Garyu may have been a spoiled brat of a prince, he was by no means an easy foe.

role

Onnii-sama

pretty sure this should be "onii" - I think you had it as "onni" in an earlier part too, so worth checking back

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.

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.)

Take care, Tenchi. There are still adverities for you to overcome, but with the

adversities

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.

Respectfully, my I request that you give your wife my regards as well as my

may I

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

LOL

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...

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!

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...

Of course, that ranked pretty low on the list of priorities. But seeing as it was for the citizen’s morale, it did get done nonetheless.

since it's now in the past, I believe this should be "that had ranked"

“Man, this sucks,” grumped Hikaru as we left the Prometheus behind us. “I wanted to see that beauty pagent.”

pageant

“Grimm practices kenjitsu?” said Misa in surprise.

It may just be a variation in romanization, but I've usually seen this as "kenjutsu." Unless it actually is a different word.

“Contact confirmed,” replied Misa. “They’re not radiating. LIDAR shows that they’re too big to be a lone fighter, but far too small for one of their capitol ships. I suspect that it’s a scouting vessel of some kind.”

capital ships

“Well, it’s the only damn thing that’s being broadcast. And the only communications have been between us and the SDF-1. We ain’t gotten anything out to Earth because they’ve been jamming us so much.

Missing a closing quote

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.

and healthy. The supplies we were able to come bay at Mars are already being stretched.”

come by

“It is felt,” said the Commodore, with just a hint of weariness in his voice, “that any effort to promote some kind of understand between us may lead to a cessation of hostilities.”

understanding

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.

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

“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?

What else, Exedor?”

(...)

Exedore shook his head. “The medical officer reports that aside from some bruises

Again, need to pick one spelling and make it stick

“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."

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.

That is to say, I was actually screening applicants for the actual job.

I suggest dropping the "actually" here

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.

Minmei talked about her family’s history, that her family had fled China when the communists took over - her forebearers having been restaurateurs, their entire

forebears

“... 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.

“Ensign Ichijou! Forget about me!” came Misa’s voice over the radio as the Quel-Quallie neared the docking bay. “You won’t make it in time!”
Hikaru wasn’t having any of that, though. “Red Wing, we’re going in!”

Missing carriage return

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.

Kakizaki launched his last two missile, blowing the bulkhead open to vacuum, and Max used his gunpod to put Breetai in a chock hold and send him out into space before the emergency doors could seal the breech.

choke hold

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to keep him pinned down for long because that was when more soldierS showed up, and this time in force.

soldiers


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.

“Hmm. Know this, then, Lieutennant Junior-Grade. You have been taken prisoner by Commander Breetai,

Lieutenant

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 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.

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

“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.

Ensign Hikaru Ichijou. These two are mine and Hikaru’s subordinates; Petty-Officer Maxwell Jenius, and

Maximillian

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.

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.

“If you’d like to take it that way. Though I will offer the wisdom of one of our greatest strategian as a warning, Sir.

Up to you how your avatar talks, but "strategist" is the usual term.

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.

“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.

Honestly, I was sick of killing. These were people for Tsunami’s sake. Misguided, yes. But still very much people. And I wanted as many of these people to come to our side - to join us and take joy in life.

as many as what?

Many of these men have political careers to think about, and damming a war hero in such a way would not bring favor from any of their constituents.”

damning

“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.

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.

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.

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 Juraians 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.

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.