Macross City has been reconstructed inside the Macross, and the long journey back to Earth begins. At Nyan-Nyan, Minmay's aunt Lynn Feichun and uncle Lynn Shaochin return home with a small amount of rations. Minmay suggests they reopen the restaurant, but they say they don't have any food. Minmay reminds them that the restaurant was open during the Unification War, and she says they should go about their lives as usual. The mayor sees them setting up and thinks it's a good idea. Several soldiers come in to eat food and ask Minmay about her adventure. They ask if she did anything with Hikaru, and she says they are just friends. Hikaru overhears that and goes back to his room. He remembers how the day before Minmay said they should throw themselves into space together, but now they are just friends. In the engine room, Global is told by the chief engineer that the main gun cannot be fired anymore because the energy conduit connecting it to the main reactor vanished with the fold system. However, he suggests to Global the idea of a modular transformation to transform the ship and replace one conduit with another. Global says he can't do that because the city has just settled down, and a transformation could destroy it again. Hikaru looks at the scrap heap that used to be his racer, and Roy comes to visit him. He calls the racer a piece of scrap and takes Hikaru to an observation lounge to watch Valkyries in action. Hikaru is surprised they can fly in space, and Roy explains they have thermonuclear reaction engines. Roy asks Hikaru to join the military, and Hikaru asks Roy if girls can change from one day to the next. Roy laughs at him and sees that he has fallen for Minmay. He warns Hikaru that girls like her are fickle and other men could take her away. In lunar orbit, Exsedol shows Vrlitwhai video from the attack on South Ataria Island. They see that the inhabitants of Earth are miclones, which concerns Exsedol. He says there is a legend in the Zentradi military records about avoiding any planet with miclones. He says they should concentrate on the Macross, so Vrlitwhai orders his fleet to fold to the Macross's location. Upon de-fold he wants to send a ship out to test their strength.
Hikaru thinks about knocking on Minmay's door, and she comes upstairs. They talk in her room, and he notices a letter. Minmay says it was what she went back for, and Hikaru wonders if it's a letter from a boyfriend. It's actually a letter for a singing audition, but Minmay thinks it's pretty pointless now that they are so far from Earth. She asks Hikaru if he has a dream too, and he says his dream is nothing but a scrap heap now. On the bridge, Misa detects the approaching Zentradi, and Global orders everyone to go to battle stations. Roy prepares for battle and launches in his Valkyrie. Hikaru and Minmay walk up to a place to view the city, and Minmay tells Hikaru that he's just as good a pilot as Roy. As the battle rages, Vrlitwhai and Exsedol wonder why the Macross hasn't fired it's main gun. Exsedol thinks they should send in more ships to provoke them further, and Vrlitwhai agrees. With more ships attacking, Global has no choice but to order the modular transformation. A notice is sent around the ship about the transformation, and Hikaru and Minmay wonder what that means. He thinks he would be happier if the city was just destroyed, and Minmay calls him a selfish jerk. As they argue, the transformation begins and the ground breaks away under Minmay. As she is about to fall into the chasm, Hikaru rescues her. Roy continues fighting outside and sees that the Zentradi fight much better in space than they did on Earth. Once the transformation is complete, Global orders the main gun to be fired at the Zentradi ships. The attacking ships and Regults are destroyed, and Vrlitwhai and Exsedol are left in shock. Minmay tells Hikaru his wish came true, and he says he wasn't expecting it to happen. Hikaru decides that he's going to join the military and stop moping around.
After getting a break from the action with the last episode, it's back to the main story. There's quite a lot of plot developments here, and some character development too. In the character area, Hikaru is depressed for most of the episode about his plane being destroyed, and he's hesitant about joining the military, even if it means he can fly again. It all culminates in the argument between him and Minmay, but unfortunately that argument ends when he is forced to save her life again. On the plot side, we get an explanation about why the Zentradi abandon Earth to attack the Macross. It's not exactly explained what a miclone is, but according to Exsedol miclones (or humans) should be avoided. We also get to see the ship's famous transformation for the first time here, and it has some destructive consequences for Macross City. Now that Hikaru is going to become a soldier, there should be more action along the way.
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