Original subtitles

F

[NARRATOR] In the year 1999,

high above Macross Island in the South Pacific,

a phenomenal event occurred in the skies,

which altered the course of human history.

[NARRATOR] A gigantic alien spaceship

broke through the very fabric of hyperspace

on a collision course with the Earth.

[NARRATOR] During its uncontrolled fall from the sky,

the plummeting space fortress

produced shock waves of incredible force.

[NARRATOR] The craft measured

nearly three quarters of a mile in length.

There was no sign of the alien crew.

The armored hull had taken the brunt of the damage,

leaving much of the sophisticated

technosystems intact.

What remained of the giant battle fortress

gave evidence of a civilization

that was light-years ahead of Earth's most advanced thinking.

[NARRATOR] Global war ravaged the Earth at that time,

but even this devastation paled

by comparison to the threat of invasion from outer space.

A ceasefire was ordered

and world leaders banded together

to form a united Earth government.

Under the new government, the world's most brilliant minds

formed a research team to study

and restore the alien space fortress.

Deciphering parts of documents found on board,

they labored to unravel the secrets

of an incredibly complex technology,

called, Robotech.

Convinced that the scientists had solved this complex riddle,

[fireworks exploding]

[helicopter buzzes]

[NARRATOR] For ten years, the total resources

of an entire planet had been focused

on the restoration of the space fortress.

[NARRATOR] A great city had grown up around the Robotech

project and today, on the eve of the ship's maiden flight,

every citizen, man, woman, and child

was gathering to celebrate their achievement,

and to witness the launching of their planet's new defender.

[sirens wailing]

[MAN A] Hmm, it's the big shots making their grand entrance.

Captain Gloval doesn't seem too happy about it.

Don't look so sour, Captain Gloval,

it's our big day.

Surely you realize all those loyal citizens out there

consider you their hero.

I think you could at least wave to them.

[GLOVAL] All right, I'll wave.

[NARRATOR] The countdown has begun.

On board the giant spaceship,

the crew of raw recruits,

freshly graduated from the Robotech Academy,

is busy with the prelaunch checklist.

All manual systems are green light.

[VANESSA] I will now feed you the computer projections...

The ceremony starts in 15 minutes.

I hope the captain gets here in time.

I hear he didn't get much sleep last night.

[CLAUDIA] Yeah, the other officers threw

a farewell party for him.

They probably sat up all night telling each other war stories.

You know how they are.

And where were you, Claudia?

What're you talking about, Lisa?

You didn't come in until 4:00 this morning,

you must have been partying, too.

You jealous?

I had a late dinner with Commander Fokker.

- -[LISA] Claudia! - -What?

[LISA] You stayed out all night,

knowing you both had flight duty today.

So? What's the big fuss about, Lisa?

We won't let it affect the performance of our duty.

After all, we're not children and you're not our mother.

Your responsibilities to the ship come first, Claudia.

But my private life is my business.

Nobody else's.

Now, then, let's get to work, all right? Get outta here.

[VANESSA] Lisa doesn't understand about men, Claudia.

She's in love with this spaceship.

Yeah, you got that right.

Oh, don't argue.

I'm not the one who keeps butting

into everybody's business.

- -Oh. I'm warning you. - -[monitor beeping]

I hate to interrupt,

but hadn't you better check your monitor, Commander?

[KIM] It's an unidentified incoming aircraft, Lisa.

Attention, aircraft, approaching on course 1-0-7.

Please identify yourself. Please identify yourself.

This is Rick Hunter. Invitation number 2-0-1.

[LISA over radio] That's confirmed as an invitation

from Lieutenant Commander Fokker.

Follow course 5-7 for landing.

Roger.

[ANNOUNCER] And now we present

a display of aerial acrobatics,

demonstrating the amazing advances

we have made through Robotechnology.

Lieutenant Commander Roy Fokker,

leader of the Veritech fighter squadron,

will describe the action for us.

[FOKKER] Today you'll see

how we've applied human know-how

to a complex alien technology.

Keep your eyes on planes two and four.

Flying at speeds of 800 miles per hour

only 50 feet above the ground,

they will pass within just a few yards of one another.

Robotechnology makes such precision possible.

[ALL gasp]

Huh?

Oh, no! Rick! Is that you Rick Hunter?

[RICK over radio] Roy! It's good to hear your voice, old buddy.

I understand you're a lieutenant commander now.

[FOKKER] Are you crazy? Get that junk heap outta here.

[ALL laugh]

Hunter, when I get my hands on you, I--

[CROWD laughing]

[FOKKER] Eh... I...

Oh! Hey, Ed, switch this to radio only, will ya?

What are you trying to do, buddy?

Make a perfect fool of me?

Ah, nobody's perfect, Commander.

[FOKKER over radio] You haven't changed a bit, have you?

Well, this isn't your dad's amateur flying circus.

My men are real pilots.

I'm gonna have to make you eat those words, Commander.

Comin' in.

[FOKKER] Stop clowning around.

Ohh, get outta there!

[CROWD cheers]

[FOKKER] Excuse me, folks.

Phew. Hi, Roy.

[FOKKER] Just who do you think you are?

What were you trying to do, get yourself killed?

[RICK] Hey, calm down.

And while we're at it,

where'd you learn to do that, anyway?

It was just a simple booster climb.

You taught me that yourself when I was just a kid.

- -[FOKKER grunts] - -Hey!

I have to admit those guys are pretty good.

Not as good as me, of course.

You don't have to brag to me, Rick.

I know all about your winning

the amateur flying competition last year.

Actually I've won it eight years in a row.

What have you been doing?

I was busy fighting a war.

I guess you didn't read about my having shot down

a hundred and eight enemy planes.

[RICK] You're proud of being a killer?

[FOKKER] What?

There was a war on and I was a soldier.

I just did my duty!

[RICK] You promised my dad that as soon as the war was over

you'd come back to the air circus.

Why did you go back on that promise, Roy?

[FOKKER] Hmm. I really felt guilty about

letting your father down.

Only, this Robotech thing is so exciting,

I just couldn't give it up.

It just gets in your blood or something, I don't know.

[RICK] What is Robotech anyway?

Just more modern war machinery.

- -And the aliens-- Huh? - -[KID] Cola! I want a cola!

You promised me you'd buy me a Cola, Minmei,

and I want one right now!

[MINMEI] You've already had a cola

and you can't have any more!

- -[screaming] Why? - -No, Jason.

- -1 want a Cola! - -Cancel the order, please.

- -Cola! - -Oh, you'll get sick.

I don't care!

That's it. We're going home.

I want a cola!

[MINMEI] Come on, Jason, I don't wanna spank you.

[RICK] Huh?

Well, Roy, I see you're still a big ladies' man.

[NARRATOR] Blasting through a warp-fold in deep space,

a gigantic alien spaceship enters Earth's solar system

in pursuit of the damaged Robotech vessel,

which has eluded capture

by slipping through the time-space continuum.

[NARRATOR] The command ship leads a vast armada

of battle vessels manned by the Zentraedi,

a race of warriors bred for thousands of generations

for the sole purpose of military conquest.

[BREETAI] The finder beam has locked on this planet.

Are you sure this is where

the transmission was coming from?

Yes, sir, I'm positive.

They could have executed a re-fold.

It's doubtful, sir.

There was no evidence

of a second jump into hyperspace.

[BREETAI] Hmm.

They couldn't have gone far in their condition.

They would have to have landed in order to repair the ship.

That's a logical speculation, I think.

[EXEDORE] I agree. It would seem very likely, sir.

Send a scout team.

[RICK] Wow, this fighter's a real beauty, all right.

It looks great, but how does it handle?

[FOKKER] Hmm?

Well, why don't you just climb aboard and see for yourself?

You mean that?

Sure, I'll go along and ride piggyback behind you.

The controls may look pretty complicated,

but I'll check you out on 'em.

[RICK] I'm not worried,

if you can learn to fly one of these things, I can.

[FOKKER] Don't be so modest.

[SEN. RUSSO] This is a day that we've all been

looking forward to for ten years.

The Robotech project has been a tremendous asset

to the economy of Macross City...

[SOLDIER A] Excuse me, sir, urgent message

from the Space Monitoring Station.

A strange flash of light and an explosion,

followed by irregularities in the gravitational field.

The same sort of thing happened ten years ago.

You know what happened then, don't you?

That's when the alien ship arrived.

Better check it out.

Every system aboard the ship is starting up.

[gasps] The defense system is activating

the main guns to fire.

[LISA] Shut down all systems!

[CLAUDIA] It doesn't work!

- -Ow! - [LISA] Captain!

The main guns are preparing to fire!

[CLAUDIA] I can't control them.

What'll we do?

Look at that.

Now we know for sure that the ship is on that planet.

All ships continue advancing but exercise extreme caution.

[LISA] We have control now. What happened, sir?

[seagulls squawking]

Wow! What were all those fireworks about?

I don't know. I'd better go check.

Wait here. I'll see what's goin' on.

[FOKKER grunts]

The space monitor report is coming in.

It shows what our guns were firing at.

I have it here, Sammy.

Two large objects, probably spaceships,

in lunar orbit 200,000 miles out.

Both objects were struck dead center by the beam

and were disintegrated.

- -[GLOVAL laughs] - -Huh?

[continues laughing]

[BOTH] Huh?

Captain, what is it?

What are you laughing about?

[GLOVAL] It was so obvious!

We should have known.

A booby trap, of course.

[BOTH] Booby trap, sir?

Yes, it's one of the oldest tricks in military history.

A retreating enemy leaves behind hidden explosives and such.

The aliens who abandoned this ship

armed it with an automatic defense system

designed to detect and destroy their enemies.

The activation of the guns means that unfriendly forces

have approached close enough to be a threat to us.

Hmm.

Captain Gloval!

[GLOVAL] Yes? What is it, Sammie?

No smoking on the bridge.

- -[CLAUDIA grunts] - -[GLOVAL] Huh?

[SAMMIE] It's against regulations, sir.

I was just holding it,

I wasn't going to light it.

Scramble all the fighters and prepare for combat!

[MAN 1 over radio] Enemy forces approaching in sector 4-1-2.

[CROWD chatters]

[MAN 2 over radio] Space cruiser Armor-1

deploying all aircraft to sector 4-1-2!

This is a combat alert!

[MAN 3 over radio] Enemy approaching

on bearing Niner-Zero.

Commence firing.

[MAN 2 over radio] Launch all missiles!

[EXEDORE] Very heavy resistance, sir.

[BREETAI] Yes!

But why are they using such primitive weapons?

Our scout ships have broken through.

It's unbelievable. Some sort of trick, no doubt.

Yes, it is puzzling.

It makes no sense.

There has to be a reason, but it's beyond me.

Surely the Robotech Masters--

[ALIEN over radio] Commander Breetai.

The two enemy space cruisers are approaching.

They could be the ones who launched

the missile bombardment.

Blast them to bits.

Those idiots behave as though they don't even know

how to use their own weapons.

[BREETAI laughs] Full barrage, all cannons.

[MAN 2 over radio] This is Armor-10 space cruiser

calling SDF-1. Come in, SDF-1.

Armor-2 is destroyed

and Armor-10 is heavily damaged, sir.

I had hoped this moment wouldn't come in my lifetime.

After we finally achieved peace on our planet,

now we face annihilation by alien forces

whose power is beyond our imagination.

[GLOVAL] I had hoped that war was a thing of the past.

But here we go again.

All right, move out.

Yes, sir.

All forces, move out!

[LISA over radio] We are under attack by alien invaders

in sector 4-1-2.

This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill.

All forces proceed at once in battle formation.

Well, boys, you heard her, this is the real thing.

[LISA over radio] Wolf Team has cleared.

Skull Team, prepare for takeoff.

Skull Team ready.

All right, men, this is it. Let's go.

[BREETAI] What a disorderly arrangement.

These people are completely ignorant of space war tactics.

What?

That's Zor's battle fortress, but what's happened to it?

[EXEDORE] It appears to have been completely remodeled.

Perhaps by the inhabitants of that planet.

[BREETAI] Mere micronians couldn't possibly

have captured a Robotech ship.

[EXEDORE] Maybe it crashed on their planet

and they managed to salvage it.

What about the crew?

They wouldn't just let them have it.

Maybe they were killed in the crash.

[BREETAI] Even so, the ship would have been

seriously damaged and these primitives wouldn't have

the technology to repair it.

Oh, I know, sir,

but is there any other explanation?

It is a Robotech vessel.

[BREETAI] Hmm.

- -We know they have-- - -Reflex weaponry.

Precisely, and this makes them very dangerous,

so we must exercise caution.

[BREETAI growls]

[ALIEN over radio] Target pinpointed, Commander.

We're launching fighters.

[LISA over radio] This is SDF-1 Control,

calling VF-102.

You there, on the exhibition grounds,

we're on combat alert.

Why haven't you taken off?

You don't mean me, do you?

Hey! What? Huh?

Hey!

[LISA] Don't waste anymore time!

- -[RICK] What? - -[LISA] Take off immediately

and join the fighter squadron.

What do you mean take off?

The runway is demolished.

[LISA] Runway Two is clear.

You're fully armed and your jets are overheating,

so prepare for immediate takeoff.

[SOLDIER E] All set, sir. Good hunting.

Well, okay, if you insist.

[RICK] Wow!

Whoa!

[FOKKER over radio] This is Skull Leader

calling Veritech Fighter group.

Intercept invaders at zone 4-2-8.

Traffic's pretty heavy out here, so break formation

but try to keep each other covered.

Hey, Fokker.

Would you mind telling me what's going on around here?

[FOKKER] Hmm? Who's that?

Rick. How's it feel to be a fighter pilot?

Hey, what are you talking about, big brother?

I'm not a fighter pilot.

- -[screams] - -[FOKKER] Rick!

Hang on, Rick. I'm coming.

[FOKKER] You weren't hit, it was just a close one.

You all right?

Whew. Yeah, I'm okay.

[FOKKER] Don't worry, combat flying's scary

for everybody when they first begin.

You'll be all right, though.

You'll find it's not that much different

from the good old days with the flying circus.

Yeah, but I never got shot at at the circus, Roy.

[FOKKER] You'll get used to it.

Just tag along behind me for a while,

if you can keep up with me.

If I can? I'll do my best not to leave you behind.

[FOKKER] That's the spirit.

Let's go get 'em, little brother.

[yells]

Climb and bank!

Rick!

[RICK yells]

[RICK yells]

[RICK] I can't get control of it.

I think I've had it, Roy,

I'm getting no response from the controls at all.

Whoa.

[LISA] This is SDF-1 Control calling VF-102.

Pull out! You're diving right at us.

[RICK] Tell me something I don't know.

I can't pull out.

All the controls have lost their power.

[LISA over radio] Have you tried switching to configuration B?

Um, "B"? What's that mean?

[LISA] You don't know?

Impossible.

All right, listen, pull down the control marked "B"

on the left side of your console.

[RICK] Okay, I found it.

What's it doing?

Whoa!

What do you know? I'm alive!

[gasps]

[NARRATOR] In the next episode of Robotech,

the aliens strike in full force

and the desperate battle for the planet Earth

reaches the very streets of Macross City.

Human courage and skill are tested to the limit

against the superior weapons of the Zentraedi.

[NARRATOR] An heroic rescue attempt

turns into a nightmare experience.

Don't miss the incredible action

and suspense of, "Countdown."

The next thrilling chapter in the saga of Robotech.

F