1 Set the stage

Two young men sat near each other, holding acoustic guitars in their laps. The room was worn down, but the recording equipment was in good condition. The couch they sat on was dilapidated yet comfortable if you sat in the right spot. Two heavily used electric guitars and a bass hung from the wall. While they were very worn, each instrument appeared to be maintained well.

One of the men played expertly, his slender fingers hitting each chord with a precision that only a genius could obtain. The other man intently watched while trying to absorb everything the other man played.

The sound of light guitar chords rang gently through the air of the small room. The rhythm was accurate but relatively mechanical. After a few dozen chords, the noise stopped.

"Now you try," Oscar said.

Dirk had to pause for a moment after Oscar finished playing. He felt life was unfair, having blessed Oscar with genius talent and movie star good looks. Dirk knew that Oscar didn't choose to have flawless hair, blemish-free skin, and a smile that made angels sigh. He knew that Oscar didn't steal the talent of past music greats to be gifted at the guitar, bass, and piano. Okay, maybe he was a little jealous.

Regardless, Oscar was a good friend and teaching him to play the guitar for free, so he couldn't complain.

As usual, Oscar wore a clean polo shirt that matched his dress slacks and seemed out of place in their rundown practice area. His clean looks and handsome appearance seemed ethereal.

Dirk firmly gripped the neck of the guitar with his left hand and squeezed the guitar pick with his right hand.

"You're tensing up already," Oscar said with a slight smile.

"I can't help it. I get excited to make music!" Dirk exclaimed.

Oscar shook his head slightly and watched Dirk.

Dirk was still in his dark military pilot suit, but it looked to be a little more comfortable after Dirk removed the top and left just the white undershirt up top. His hair was messy, and his looks were decent, but what Oscar admired about Dirk was how his eyes lit up when he talked about music.

Oscar listened close to Dirk as he strummed through each chord one at a time. After the third chord, Oscar winced and said, "Don't strum the first string on A."

"Sorry, chords are hard to remember, why can't I just use single notes and go with my gut like a true rocker?"

Oscar rubbed his tear ducts as if he was starting to get tired, then stated, "You think that is all it is? Try playing Mary Had a Little Lamb with just your gut then. I'll even be okay with you just playing the 3 note version."

Dirk grinned, then moved his finger to the fret he thought felt right and plucked his first note.

*twang*

Dirk grimaced and slid his hand up the neck to the next fret he thought felt right, then plucked the note.

*twang*

Dirk frowned and slid his hand up again for the third note that felt right but touched a guitar peg before he could hit the note that felt right. He quickly slid his hand down to get the right note on the next string.

*twaaaang*

The note that played was so far off that Dirk didn't even try for the next one.

"See? You can't use just feeling. You need to understand the notes, chords, and scales," Oscar explained.

Suddenly a boot kicks through the door, and a tall male Zentradi comes in carrying a projector. Behind him was a short Human male that scurried in behind the Zentradi.

The young Zentradi yells, "It's time my dudes!"

Dirk grins at the sight of his best friend, Roy Charles. He was the keytarist in their band, The Red Bombers, and liked to act larger than life. Roy sported a pair of sunglasses indoors that went well with his buzzcut and tanktop. His camo pants made one think he was military, but it was just what he liked to wear.

The human behind Roy was Lyle Armstrong. Lyle was the drummer and technical expert of their band. He was a short, round human who frequently found himself fascinated with anything with a consistent tick or beat. He was average in every sense but had been best friends with Dirk and Lyle since they were children.

Lyle quickly sat on the last good spot on the couch as Roy plugged in the projector and set it up in the center of the room.

Roy shouts, "It's time for the Night Hawks concert! They're still the biggest rock band on Macross 10!"

While they were on Macross 8, they were now within broadcasting range of Macross 10 due to both fleets orbiting the same planet, planet Aquillane. Macross 8 and Macross 10 discovered planet AQ-117, "Aquillane," and now orbited it. Planet Aquillane was much smaller than Earth, with a tiny landmass, but it boasted a tremendous amount of freshwater, which is odd for a planet of this size.

Dirk didn't care why they were still orbiting the planet, but getting media from another fleet was nice.

All four members of The Red Bombers watched the projection like fanboys, hoping to reach their level someday!

Dirk couldn't help himself and would sing along with the lead singer, Miss Rayven. He caught Roy getting excited whenever the projection showed their keyboardist, Lisa Rollins. He could understand why since she was his type, outgoing, beautiful, and played the keyboard.

Roy started to get closer to the projection when it focused on Lisa for a few seconds.

Dirk finally had to yell, "You're blocking the view, Roy!"

"Miss Rayven gets too much screen time. Let me enjoy my Lisa!" Oscar then went closer as if to hug the projection.

Dirk and Lyle stood up and pulled Roy away from the projection.

Oscar couldn't help but admire their friendship, then noticed the time and said, "I need to get going."

"Sucks to be you!" Roy said, then took the space on the couch that Oscar was sitting in.

Oscar walked towards the door, opened it, then asked, "Concert this weekend, right?"

The other three bandmates nodded in unison while their eyes still focused on the projection of the Night Raven's concert.

Oscar smiled softly, then whispered to himself, "Music junkies..."

__________

The fans packed the stadium beyond capacity. The crowd roared as the Night Raven's performance raged through the night. The biggest hit, "Burning for You," reached the final climax as the vocalist let out the last lines.

Burn

Burn

Burning for you!

A beautiful young woman with dark-red hair dressed in all black made it off stage despite the screams from the audience begging for more. Her red lipstick accentuated her dark eyeshadow and eyeliner. The guitar swung from her shoulders freely, and she quickly passed the mic and guitar to the first person she saw and then reached out her hand as if to grab something.

A person quickly ran up with a bottle of water, handed it to her, and then hurried away.

"Amy! I need-"

"Here it is, Rayelle." A woman in a business suit in her late twenties handed Miss Rayven a headset as if knowing what she was going to ask.

"Thank you." Rayelle Venusia was her real name, but her stage name was Miss Rayven. While it isn't hard to figure out where her name came from, she would wear enough makeup on stage to still walk around the street peacefully.

The woman that handed Rayelle the headset was her band's manager, Amy Andrews. Rayelle's family hired her initially against her will, but now Rayelle depends upon her like an older sister almost.

Rayelle held up the headset to one ear while sipping on the water. She was listening to her performance just now and frowned slightly.

"It's missing something," Rayelle muttered.

Amy rolled her eyes and said, "You're being too hard on yourself. Just look at the crowd's reaction! You are on fire!"

"Put any more lights on me in this solid black outfit and I might actually catch fire!"

"Stay here any longer and the fans might set fire to the stage," Amy countered.

"Alright, alright!" Rayelle said anxiously. She quickly turned towards a mirror and got herself back into character as Miss Rayven, the lead singer and frontwoman for the Night Ravens. Once satisfied, she grabbed her guitar and a mic and trotted back on the stage.

As Miss Rayven, she gave her guitar a single chord, and the audience roared back to life.

Rayelle yelled, "Let's keep it going!"

The concert roared on!

__________

Deep below the ocean on Planet Aquillane, a certain entity started to stir.

"...Spir...Spiritia..."