Macross Colonial Fleets
NOT DONE YET - If you see this at opening scream at Tem Ray Circuit until she cries
Mankind's First Steps
The 0060s were a time of almost impossible idealism among the Federation member nations, and nothing is more emblematic of this idealism than the Macross Colonial Fleets. In addition to attempting to carve out new lives with proven technology close to home, humanity scattered its seeds wildly, hoping the galaxy would welcome them.
This idealism didn't last, however; while it usually goes unsaid, it's generally agreed that the dysfunction of space colonization in the 0070s led to the Fleet Recall Act of 0084. Under the Fleet Recall Act, all Macross-class vessels which could receive Fold communications from Earth and had not already established a planetside colony of at least 500,000 people were obligated to return to Earth until further notice. Over the course of the last 12 years, about 80% of the fleets launched by humanity have returned to Earth.
Fleet Culture
In many ways, the Macross Colonial Fleets are a time capsule of the idealism of the 0060s -- a place where, among the survivors, that frontier spirit and belief in the potential of cooperation between sapient beings never died. They are generally tolerant, with large Zentradi, half-Zentradi, and Coordinator populations; enforcement of bans on Coordinator creation is lax, though there remains a modest distrust of human augmentation in general.
More than that, though, the Macross Colonial Fleets are cultural juggernauts. Neither beset by the environmental cataclysms of Earth's last half-century, like Earthnoids, nor having suffered so much under the Federation's bootheel, like Earth Sphere spacenoids, the Macross Colonial Fleets have had tremendous time for leisure and cultural development. High-quality TV and film production takes place over weeks (if not days), compared to the months or even years of Earth-based shooting schedules; practically every street is a Times Square-like barrage of signage and cultural announcements; and, of course, the belief that song can change the world is deeply, deeply culturally ingrained.
As a result, the Macross ships that have returned have an incredibly vibrant music culture, and of course, everyone listens to everyone. Some of this escapes into the broader public consciousness, of course, but fleet residents are always most invested -- for good or for ill -- in the music that originates on the fleets.