"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Chapter 14

February 12th, 2015

A week had passed without much commotion, something which the weary inhabitants of Monument City were thankful for.
Rick and Sammie had returned home and Sammie was on her way to a complete recovery. Claudia was still sorting out how she was going to take care of James if she positively decided to adopt him. Vanessa had been going through a battery of training exercises and making such rapid progress that she was surprising not just the trainers, but herself as well.
Kim and Lisa spent the majority of the week attending meeting after meeting. Today they got a bit of a breather and were in their offices working on boring paperwork. Kim walked into Lisa's office and plopped down in a chair and groaned, "I don't know what's worse, those horrible windbag meetings or all this crappy paperwork!"
Lisa looked up at Kim and smiled but didn't comment. Kim leaned forward and asked in a secretive tone, "Lisa. Have you told Rick yet? Please tell me you have."
The look on Lisa's face answered Kim's question and Kim came halfway out of her chair as she exclaimed, "Lisa! I can't believe you haven't told him yet. We leave in 4 days!"
Lisa sighed and looked down at her papers, "I know, I just..."
Kim was impatient and said scoldingly, "Lisa. You have to tell him."
"Can't it wait till after Valentine's Day?" asked Lisa meekly.
Kim shook her head in disbelief. "Lisa this is serious, you have to tell Rick and you have to tell him now. He will understand. If you wait until the last minute that would be so unfair to him."
Lisa analyzed Kim's words and knew that Kim was right. She looked at Kim and gave her a resigned look.
"And you're going to tell him everything right?" asked Kim sternly, as if she were a parent.
Lisa hesitated, "I...I was thinking that the other thing can wait until it comes out in the meeting."
Kim gawked at Lisa in disbelief, "Lisa! You can't do that. If you tell him now maybe you can convince him that it won't be so bad. If you wait till the meeting then I don't think things will be on good terms when we leave."
Lisa looked at her dejectedly, "What make you think they'll be on good terms even if I tell him before hand."
Kim sighed and sat back down. "Believe me, I am sympathetic to your situation Lisa, but I really think if you just tell him now, you'll have some time to talk things over before we leave."
Lisa seemed to be carrying on a debate with herself and so Kim got up and patted Lisa's hand, "Just make sure you think about what I said ok?"
Lisa nodded slightly and when Kim left the room, Lisa stood up and went to the window and comtemplated what she should do.

* * * * * * *

Rick met Max at the indoor basketball court and the two buddies played for about half an hour and then decided to take a break. Max sat down on the bench and took off his glasses and wiped his face with a towel.
"So Rick, you and Lisa ready for the Valentine's Day party?" asked Max as he opened up a water bottle.
Rick wiped his forehead with his shirt and said, "I hope so. Lisa's been so busy we haven't had time to go find something to wear yet."
Max laughed, "Good luck. Going shopping with women, even Zentraedi women, isn't easy."
Rick smiled and grew thoughtful, "But...you know, come to think of it, I don't think Lisa is one of those shopping types. She never has been as far as I can remember."
Max jabbed Rick in the shoulder, "Well my friend, you certainly are very lucky then."
Max continued, "So whatcha guys planning for V day? The party, anything else?"
Rick looked at Max suspiciously, "You know, Sammie asked me that same question too."
Max held out his hands defensively, "Whoa whoa, boss. There's no conspiracy going on here, I was just asking out of curiosity."
Rick laughed said, "It's alright, I know you aren't one for scheming."
Max rubbed the bridge of his nose and said with a chuckle, "Mir keeps asking me when you and Lisa are getting married and if you are going to have children...and a few other questions."
Rick rolled his eyes, "Oh boy, don't tell me one of them is something along the lines of whether me and Lisa are sleeping together or not."
Max roared with laughter, "How'd you guess?"
Rick sat back and said, "Well, Sammie's already asked me that question, in a round-about way, and I'm sure the gossip followers of the Hayes-Hunter love triangle have already placed bets on that too. You know, when some of the other pilots found out that me and Lisa were finally a couple, I could tell by the tone in their voice that they were thinking, 'And? So? Did you sleep with her yet?' You know how us guys are."
Max nodded his head in agreement, then asked, "So, did you?" and then started to laugh.
Rick laughed too and threw the ball at Max, but Max, ever the quickest reflexes, managed to dodge out of the way. After a few seconds Max came back to the bench and sat down. Rick sat up and looked at Max with a serious look and said, "No."
At first Max didn't know what Rick was talking about, then he realized that Rick was answering his question. Max waited to see if Rick would explain his answer. He didn't have to wait very long.
"People don't seem to realize that the relationship between me and Lisa has been very fragile for the past few years, and there's a lot of things we need to iron out. I don't want to rush into something or make a mistake that could jeopordize all that we're trying to build.
And in a way, I still feel guilty about the fact that I slept with Minmei. Lisa knows that I did and I just can't forgive myself about it yet. I can imagine that deep down it probably bothers Lisa a lot, even though she says it is probably for the best that I was with Minmei, to get it out of my system, so to speak. How can I have come off of spending three weeks with Minmei, then just hop into bed with Lisa. I think that's completely disrespectful to Lisa and selfish of me."
Max bounced the basketball once then asked, "So you're afraid that if you're with Lisa, you might slip up and talk about Minmei?"
Rick shook his head immediately, "Hell no, that's definitely not a problem. I think you remember me telling you that when I was with Minmei, I was thinking of Lisa." *****
Max nodded that he remembered and commented, "I would've thought then, that since you had Lisa on your mind, in thatway that you two would've already..."
Rick shook his head again, "Yeah, that's probably what everyone's thinking. But for the reason I already mentioned, we haven't.
And there's another reason. I want to show her that I'm a gentleman. I'm not just some fighter jock high on hormones, as most guys are. There are guys like me out there. Maybe we're a bit old-fashioned, but let them say that. My father taught me to be a gentleman, although Roy, had tried to turn me into a playboy, but the fact of the matter is, being a playboy, that's just not me Max."
Max bounced the basketball again and then set it down on the floor and said, "I understand perfectly Rick. Remember when Mir and I first got married, and I got so mad when the guys would say, 'Hey Max, you are so lucky you have such a beautiful babe in your bed.' I was really pissed off, as you remember. This is my wife you're talking about, not some pleasure object. She deserves to be treated with respect."
Rick took the basketball off the floor and bounced it a few times and said, "See, that's exactly what I mean about Lisa. I almost punched a guy a few days ago when he said, 'Hey Hunter you lucky dog, you get to screw the Admiral.'" Dobbs was there, so he stopped me, otherwise that guy who said that would've had a black eye right now."
Rick bounced the ball a few more times then said, "You know Max, it's so different, my view on it now. I mean, I realize that part of my infatuation with Minmei was physical. And, when I had the opportunity to sleep with her I did. Then, I found out that there's more to it than just having fun. I was expecting it to be a some sort of epiphany and that we'd both realize how much we meant to each other, but I felt nothing from Minmei, and I felt nothing for Minmei, and that's when I started thinking, 'What if this were Lisa instead of Minmei? Could Lisa stir me in my heart and soul the way Minmei couldn't?' And that's when I realized that there's so much more to it all, and that it isn't a game."
Max regarded his friend then said, "I'm proud of you Rick."
Rick gave Max a confused look.
Max slapped Rick on the back and explained, "I think you finally, after what? almost 5 years, are where you belong, with Lisa. And the way you are handling it is full of integrity and maturity. I think Minmei symbolized part of the immature stage of your life, now you're over that and ready to move on to bigger and better things and are more mature, and Lisa symbolizes that future."
Rick smiled at Max then tossed the basketball up into the air and caught it. Max took the ball away from Rick and quipped, "Now, it will be amusing to see how long you can hold out."
Rick threw his towel at Max and then said with a sly, yet embarrassed grin, "Not very long, the way things are going."
Max raised his eyebrows, "Oh really?"
Rick stood up and scratched his head, "I was always attracted to Lisa, but I let myself be blinded by Minmei that I never realized just how gorgeous Lisa is. Now I know, and it drives me crazy."
Max laughed and also stood up and started walking to the center of the court. "Does Lisa know what effect she has on you?"
Rick smirked, "Yeah, 'cause I told her."
Max turned to Rick and said teasingly, "You are in trouble now. She's going to turn you on and off like a lightswitch."
Rick took the pass from Max then shot a three-pointer and said, "I know, but it's perfectly fine with me."
Max grinned and said, "It's those strong silent types like Lisa that you gotta be careful of."
Wearing a broad smile, Rick threw his hands up to try and block Max's shot, saying, "I know that too, and that's perfectly fine with me too."
Rick and Max dodged each other on the court for another 5 minutes then Rick suddenly stopped in the middle of the court. Max looked at him, waiting to hear the explanation of why he stopped moving.
Rick looked at Max with wide-eyes and asked, "Hey...do you really think so?"
Max laughed and said slyly, "And don't forget, Lisa's a over-achieving perfectionist remember."
Rick's jaw dropped open, then slowly it closed and turned into a mischievious smile, "Yeah...you're right, she's a perfectionist...oh man!"
Max watched as Rick's expression changed from mischievious to confused, to sly, to intense, too scared, to happy. Then Rick started walking towards the door.
"Hey Rick, where are you going?" asked a confused Max.
"I need a cold shower!" said Rick over his shoulder.
Max laughed and lobbed the ball at the departing Rick, hitting him on the head.

* * * * * * *

"Captain Leeds. This is our simulation schedule for the rest of the evening."
Vanessa took the sheet of paper and groaned when the person who had given it to her had left. Vanessa was sitting in a small cubicle that had been assigned to her temporarily while she was in sub training. The entire morning had been spent in simulations underwater and she was trying to fight off her clausterphobia even now. She wondered several times, since she started her submarine training, if she should tell any of the trainers about her clausterphobia. Perhaps they might sympathize with her, but that wouldn't get her reassigned. Maistroff had no intention of letting her out of this assignment. She sighed in resignation. Well, she thought to herself, perhaps this was a way of overcoming her clausterphobia at least, and she would be acquiring new skills, but she didn't like the thought of being away from her friends, especially while at the bottom of the ocean, for weeks on end.
The schedule indicated that she had a few more equipment training sessions to complete and one more underwater exercise, which was to begin in 15 minutes. She did a double take to make sure she had read right then cursed at the short notice and hurried to the training pool.

Vanessa climbed into the mini-sub and made sure to roll up her pants a bit. She had been issued a new uniform that consisted of a one-piece jumpsuit, but the legs were too long and she always needed to roll them up or else she'd trip on them as they dragged on the floor.
The exercise was to consist of the sub being piloted around a mock mine field. If the sub hit a mine, an alarm was suppose to sound and the crew was suppose to simulate an evacuation, again.
Vanessa was deeply annoyed and bored that the majority of the underwater simulations only dealt with evacuations and not any real problem-solving that would void the need for an evacuation. Talk about your pessimists, she thought to herself.
The mini-sub had navigated the mock minefield safely, but the instructors had them do another practice run. The helmsman was an able pilot and had navigated the field perfectly the first time around. The sub was almost finished with the course's second run when the helmsman took his eyes off the screen for just a split second and ended up clipping one mine.
Vanessa was fully expecting the alarm to sound but instead was thrown into panic when she heard a loud blast and felt the sub shake violently. It appeared that the mine they hit was live.
Water started to flood into the the mini-sub space and the helmsman started panicking. He lunged towards the hatch and pulled on the hatch instead of pulling on it, causing it to jam. The other crewman tried to radio the people who were poolside but the radio was out.
With two panicking crewmates and water filling the cabinspace, the walls seemed to be closing in around Vanessa, faster and faster, and tighter and tighter. She felt a surge of hyperventilation coming on and she willed it away forcefully. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the three felt the sub being hoisted up and Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief.
The crew was pulled out of the damage training sub and the instructors were shouting to the techinicians to 'get them answers' quickly.
Vanessa, half soaking wet, looked at the instructors and said flatly, "You didn't tell us this was a live-mine training run."
An instructor spoke up immediately, "It wasn't suppose to be. How that live-mine got in there we will have to investigate immediately. Please accept our apologies Captain."
Vanessa saluted then headed to the women's locker room to change into some dry clothes. While in the shower she couldn't shake the feeling of failure. Her hesitation, as brief as it was, could've had devestating impact if there had been no one to pull them safety, if she were on a larger sub with more crewman, and more at stake. She knew that as the ranking officer on the sub, and even if she weren't, with the other two crewman in a panic, it was up to her to make sure they all made it out of the situation safely, but for a few moments she allowed her clausterphobia to seize her as the other crewmen had allowed their panic to seize them. It was something she was angry at herself for. Though the instructors didn't mention it at the time, it would come out in the investigative reports that she should've at least made an attempt to calm her crewmen down and figure out a plan of escape. Was her submarine third-in-command commission now in jeopardy she wondered. She didn't want to go on sub duty, but that wasn't the point right now. The point was that she had not been able to step up to her responsibilities in a time of chaos. Everyone would tell her that it wasn't her fault and it wasn't her responsibility at the time, but Vanessa prided herself on being clear-headed and having the ability to step in and pick things up when they were falling apart. No. This lapse in concentration would not happen again. She vowed to herself that this would not happen again.
She turned off the shower and dried herself off then decided to talk to Captain Newcastle about her concerns.
She had just stepped off the elevator when she heard Captain Newcastle's voice floating in from a hallway nearby. She stopped to listen.
"What do you mean you don't know how that live mine got in the pool? This is serious business, those three crewman could've been killed by that thing!" said Newcastle angrily.
Vanessa inched a little bit closer to the hallway so she could hear more clearly.
"I don't care, you make sure you find out who ordered it. And if this is one of Maistroff's little schemes, you tell him that I'll be in his office faster than he can sneeze!" Newcastle, apparently talking on his cellphone, headed off in the opposite direction from Vanessa.
Vanessa watched him walk off and decided she'd better not talk to him now. As she walked back to her small office, a cold chill ran through her and it made her stop in her tracks. Something, about everything, wasn't right. But then she knew that a long time ago, so why did it worry her so much now? She herself was going on sub duty in a couple of weeks; Kim, Vince, and Lisa were leaving for the factory satellite, and the rest were staying behind. No, something was just not right. She sighed and breathed a silent prayer and then continued down the hall.

* * * * * * *

Sammie wore an annoyed and sour look as she walked into Kim's office carrying a package. With her good arm, she slammed the package down on Kim's desk and huffed loudly.
Kim, who had been typing up a memo, stopped what she was doing and looked up at Sammie. "Ok, now what did Antell do?"
Sammie looked at Kim sternly, blowing air out of her nostrils like a bull, and said agitatedly, "This is for Lisa. It's her dress uniform. Maistroff says that 'it would be wise of Admiral Hayes to set an example and dress in formal uniform attire instead of the optional free dress.' Anthell was going to come and bring it to Lisa, probably so she could gloat over Lisa's disappointment, but I snatched the box away from her and told her I'd deliver it myself. That way Anthell will be robbed of telling Lisa she can't dress the way she wants to for the party."
Kim mumbled a curse then asked, "But I thought she went out of her way to be nice to Lisa?"
Sammie threw her hand up in the air, "Oh come on Kim, you know that Anthell and Maistroff are trying to get rid of us all. What Anthell was trying to pull the other day, must be part of hers and Maistroff's schemes, who knows."
Kim continued her questions, "I thought Antell was taking over for Vanessa, what's she doing in your section?"
"Bothering me! Annoying me! She comes over on her breaks and asks me if I need her help. Like hell I need her help! She just wants to remain the thorn in my side. Who does she think she is, some high and mighty know-it-all who graces other people with her presence? Bulls--t!!! Everyone hates her but she thinks she is the hot s--t and knows everything. She does know quite a bit but not everything and she'll never admit she's wrong, she'll give you the whole runaround to make you think that she isn't wrong. SHE MAKES ME SO MAD!!!!!!!!! That damn troll !!!"
Kim looked at Sammie, who was red and trembling with anger. "Sam, calm down. That b---h ain't worth getting so upset about. Look at it this way. Everyone can't stand her and she does know it. She bothers you because she's jealous of you. You get along with everyone, and she doesn't, and the only way she feels good about herself is when she tries and belittles people by seeming to be smarter than they are. Nobody gives a s--t about her, and she knows it, and she's bitter because of it. She knows she can push your buttons and she gets her fun from that. Next time, don't react the way she expects you to. Play along with her game."
Sammie looked at Kim, obviously not convinced, "Yea well I don't see you using this tactic on Maistroff."
Kim rolled her eyes, "Maistroff is a different story."
Sammie sat down on the chair in front of Kim's desk, "I guess you're right. This really sucks you know, I was so looking forward to seeing Lisa and Rick all dressed up at the party, now Lisa will be stuck in a uniform."
They heard the door slide open and saw Claudia hurry in. She looked a bit mad and everyone knew that when Claudia was mad, make sure you stay out of her way.
"Where's Lisa?" asked Claudia loudly.
Kim cowered a bit, "Uh...she's in her office."
Right on cue, Lisa came out of her office and wasn't too comfortable with the fact that Claudia was looking at her sternly, and Sammie and Kim looked like they were ready to bolt out the door.
"Uh...maybe I better leave now," mumbled Sammie.
"No it's ok Sammie. Claudia what's wrong?" asked a concerned Lisa.
Claudia put her hands on her hips, a classic warning sign to everyone, and Kim started to get halfway out of her seat.
"Lisa, how come you didn't tell me that Vince was going with you up to the factory satellite?" asked Claudia, trying to keep her voice down.
"What?" returned a confused Lisa.
"Vince told me today that he's on the list for assignment to the factory satellite," replied Claudia.
"I had no idea that he was assigned to the satellite. Reinhardt did all the assigning, I haven't even seen the list yet." said Lisa, trying not to sound defensive.
"Vince said that Lt. Antell told him that you requested that he be put on this assignment," said Claudia.
Kim and Sammie groaned in unison and Sammie exclaimed, "Come on Claudia! Don't tell me you're going to believe what Anthell says!"
"I don't know what's going on but Anthell, Antell, said that she saw Lisa's signature on the order," said Claudia, growing increasingly confused.
"THAT B---H IS A LIAR!!!!!!! I'M GOING TO SLAP HER!!!!!" screamed Sammie. Kim quickly got up and blocked Sammie's exit.
"Wait, let's get to the bottom of this first," said Kim, trying to calm Sammie down.
Kim went back to her desk and picked up the phone and dialed Lt. Antell's number.

Antell: "This is Lt. Antell."
Kim: "Lieutenant Antell, this is Commander Young, I'm calling on behalf of Admiral Hayes, we have something we need to ask you about."
Antell: "Very well."

Kim: "Is it true that you told Commander Vince Grant that Admiral Hayes had signed his transfer papers?"

Lieutenant Antell gave a long pause on the other end of the line and Kim looked at everyone and pointed to the phone, shaking her head.

Antell: "Yes...yes...I told him that."
Kim: "Well, Admiral Hayes says she never has signed any transfer papers regarding the upcoming assignment. Would you mind bringing the document over so we may have a look at it?"
Antell: "Uh...well, I have the paper here, let me look...oh...oh my I must've been seeing things, her signature is not on here. I regret my error."
Kim: "Very well, we just wanted to clear things up. Thank you, goodbye."

Kim slammed down the phone and then yelled at it, "B---H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Kim looked at everyone then sneered, "That f----n' b---h lied! She's such a trouble maker!"
"What I don't understand is, what motive would she have for lying about this? What could she possibly gain?" asked a puzzled Lisa.
"That witch is probably working on orders from Maistroff to try and turn us all against each other," said Sammie bitterly.
Claudia had grown quiet when it was found out that Antell had concocted the story and didn't meet Lisa's eyes as she said, "Lisa, could I speak to you in your office?"
Kim and Sammie took their cue and Kim asked, "Hey Lisa, is it ok if me and Sam go grab some lunch?"
Lisa shook her head and then she and Claudia headed into her office.

"Lisa, I'm sorry. I feel terrible. Really I do. You know that when it comes to my baby brother, I can turn into a steamroller," explained a repentant Claudia.
"It's alright, I understand." said Lisa trying to diffuse the situation.
"I can't believe that I took Lt. Antell's word over yours," continued Claudia.
"Claudia. It's alright, you don't have to apologize. I suppose you wouldn't put it past me, considering what's going to happen with Rick's situation in a few days," said Lisa sadly.
Claudia sat back in her chair and looked at Lisa for a moment then said, "I assume, from the way he's been acting the past week, that you have NOT told him yet?"
Lisa gave the same meek look to Claudia that she had given to Kim and Claudia reacted the same way Kim had, "Lisa!! I don't believe you! How come you haven't told him yet?"
"I...I...am afraid to," stammered Lisa.
Claudia shook her head, "You know, you...I just...it's unbelieveable how you can be so capable at your job and mostly everything else except when it comes to your boyfriend. You look as if you're 16 years old Lisa!"
"Claudia, it's not that easy a thing to do! Don't you think I've been agonizing over this since the beginning?"
"Lisa, you have to tell him, you can't wait till the meeting. He will be furious at you," said Claudia.
Lisa looked down and said quietly, "He'll be furious anyways..."
Claudia sighed and said, "Look honey, I for one do agree with your proposal, I think it will be good for everyone, but we both know Rick won't see it that way. If you can try and explain yourself now, before the meeting then at least you can try and be on good terms when you go up to the factory satellite. If you wait till the meeting, that won't be enough time for him to cool off and you'll go up to the satellite on bad terms with Rick. Honey, do you really want that?"
Lisa didn't answer and so Claudia got up from her chair and said sternly, "Tell him Lisa, before the meeting," and then left the room.

* * * * * * *

Rick and Lisa had bought take-out on the way to Rick's apartment and as Rick was changing his clothes, Lisa fixed their dinner and brought it to the coffeetable in the living room. After she had set the plates and drinks down she sat down on the sofa and stared blankly at the clock on the wall. Rick came into the room a few minutes later and noticed Lisa's demeanor. He came and sat down next to her, "Lisa, what's wrong? You've been growing increasingly quiet this past week and in the car today you hardly said a word. And don't tell me nothing's wrong, I can tell just by looking at you that something's wrong."
Lisa didn't look at Rick and quietly said, "There's something I need to tell you...I'm leaving again, this time up to the factory satellite to begin work on the SDF-3."
Rick knew that this was coming. It was understood and assumed that Lisa would oversee the SDF-3 construction and that it would be a task that would keep her on the factory satellite for quite some time. Even though he expected it and had tried to prepare himself for it, it still hurt Rick deeply.
"How long will you be gone," asked Rick softly as he took her hand in his.
Lisa didn't answer right away, she was distracted by the touch of Rick's strong yet gentle hand. "Breetai says it will be about 6 weeks. We are going to look over the preliminary blueprints, then head out to some system called Centrino. There's a few planets there that have the metal resources that will be used in the ships construction. Breetai assures us that it is superior to anything that we have in our solar system. We'll be there for a couple weeks to observe the mining operations. We leave in a few days, on the 16th."
"Spacefold to another galaxy?!" exclaimed Rick. He had expected Lisa to be up on the factory satellite but had never thought that her duties would take her back out into deep space, especially space that wasn't in the immediate solar system.
"I don't like the sound of this mining operation Lisa. Why can't you just stay on the factory satellite and have them report to you," said Rick, starting to shift into his argumentative but protective mode.
"Breetai thinks it's important I be there to observe firsthand. Besides, remember when we were captured and taken to Dolza, we jumped to another system and managed to make it back alright," returned Lisa.
Rick ran his hands through his hair then quickly said, "Can't I come with you?"
Lisa shook her head and said, "I wish you could, but you're needed here." Then she looked away from him and stood up and walked to the window.
Rick stood up and followed her and stood beside her and asked, "Did you know about this trip before? How come you didn't tell me sooner Lisa?"
Lisa heard the hurt tone in Rick's voice and felt guilty, though she was also glad that he wasn't mad at her.
Lisa walked away from him and stammered, "I...I was afraid to tell you...and...I guess because I also just wanted to try and not think about it until I absolutely had to. I don't want to leave Rick, not now that we're together, but I have no choice. It's my job and I must go through with it. There's nothing more that I want to do than to just take the rest of the year off and spend it with you, but I have a committment to-"
Rick cut her off by walking up and hugging her, "I know, I know, you don't have to explain. I have the same commitment too."
Lisa sniffled, "I feel so guilty for being selfish, but soldiers can have lives too can't they?"
Rick shooshed her, "It's not selfishness. Everyone is entitled to some private time, and I would say especially soldiers. I understand the times we live in are very difficult and it demands so much from us because we have chosent to help protect the planet, that sometimes the constant, endless fights just make you feel like you'll never have a days rest. We're not superheros, we can't be a soldier every single second of our lives, and we shouldn't feel guilty about that either. When you come back, promise me that you will take at least a week off, so that way we can just go somewhere, get away, and spend some quality time alone."
Lisa hugged Rick tightly and said, "I promise. I'm sure looking forward to that Rick."

They turned to their dinner and ate without much conversation, then when they had finished, they started talking about the upcoming party.
"I guess we don't have to worry about shopping for me, Maistroff's already dictated what I should wear. But actually, I think he's right this time. I really should be wearing a formal uniform," mused Lisa.
"Yeah but its a free-dress code, that rule applied to everyone I assumed," said Rick disappointedly.
Lisa sighed and Rick thought of an idea, "Why don't we still go out and get you something to wear. We'll leave the party abit early and then come back here, or go to your place, and you can change into your dress and we can have our own little private party."
Lisa looked at Rick then a smile spread across her face, "That sounds like a wonderful idea Rick."
Rick clapped his hands together, "Alrighty then, let's go back to your hotel so you can change and then we'll hit the mall."
Lisa laughed, "I didn't know you liked to shop. You sound like one of the Trio when you talk about the mall."
Rick chuckled, "Yeah well, I don't like to shop, but if it's shopping for you, especially something that you'll look gorgeous in, then there's no way I won't go."
Lisa smiled proudly, glad that she had kept herself in such good shape the past few years. Minmei eat your heart out! she thought to herself triumphantly.
After about two hours of shopping, Rick and Lisa landed back at Lisa's suite. Kim was still not home yet.
Rick and Lisa tried on their clothes and each gave the other enthusiastic approval. Lisa thought she would faint as she stared at Rick. Lisa took a deep breath then said dreamily, "Damn, you're so gorgeous." Rick flickered his eyebrows at her and walked up to her and dusted off his suit lapel and said, "Hey, I am aren't I?" Lisa laughed and picked up a nearby pillow and hit him in the stomach.
Lisa waited in her room as Rick was in the bathroom changing back into his original set of clothes. She was proud that she had been able to tell Rick about her trip to the factory satellite, but she had been unable and unwilling to tell him about what was going to come up at the meeting the day before she left. She sighed loudly then tried to clear her mind, deciding that she would just wait till the meeting for Rick's new assignment to be made known. Why ruin the evening and Valentine's Day she thought to herself. But she felt increasingly guilty, she was being cowardly and she knew it, and she hoped that Rick could forgive her.
Rick came back to the room, his shirt in his hand. The look on Lisa's face was priceless and he had to remember to keep his ego in check, so instead of teasing her, he looked her over and suddenly it sunk in that she would be leaving in a few days, and would be gone for at least 6 weeks.
Lisa noticed his demeanor change and asked him what was wrong.
Rick sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and said sadly, "6 weeks huh?"
Lisa laid her head on his strong shoulder, "6 weeks seems like an eternity, I don't know how I'll get through the day without seeing your face or hearing your voice."
Rick put his arm around Lisa's shoulders, "Same here."
Lisa sat there quietly as her guilt started to grow, "Rick, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Rick sighed, "I would have preferred you had told me right away, but I understand why you didn't. Please don't worry about it anymore Lisa."
She silently hoped that Rick would be this understanding after the meeting that was coming up in a few days but the pit in her stomach told her otherwise.
Rick consumed by the tranquility of the moment, threw his shirt on the floor and stood up, pulling Lisa up with him. Rick began nipping at Lisa's neck and said, "I won't be able to do this for 6 weeks, it's gonna drive me crazy."
The nipping turned into kissing and then into deep kissing and, as expected, Rick started to pull away from Lisa, but she held him in his spot, "You don't have to run off anymore Rick."
Rick cleared his throat and laughed nervously.
"Hey Lisa, guess wha-" Kim had come home and had headed straight for Lisa's room and stopped mid-sentence when walked in on Rick and Lisa.
Kim stared at them for a moment, Rick in particular, then held her hand to her mouth and giggled behind it.
Rick started turning bright red and Lisa wondered what Kim was laughing about and what Rick was embarrassed about. Lisa looked at Rick again and then realized what all the commotion from Kim and Rick was about and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. At that, Kim started laughing outloud and Rick wondered if he should leave the room. Lisa saw the confused look on Rick's face and tried to put him at ease by saying, "Thank you for the...compliment, Rick." Rick smiled at her slowly and Lisa turned her attention back to Kim, "Yes Kim, what were you saying?"
Kim was still snickering and staring at Rick that Lisa's question caught her offguard and Kim could only stammer, "Uh...I...was saying...what was I saying? I...I...forgot."
Lisa chuckled and Kim continued, "Hey, I mean, I forgot, you know, because well, I mean, look at Rick! He distracted me! Boy! I need to go call Sam and V and tell them about this right now! Goodnight!"
Kim rushed out of the room and Rick and Lisa both took a couple of steps to chase after her but let her go. Rick and Lisa stared at each other for awhile then both started to laugh shyly. "You don't think she's actually going to tell Sammie and Vanessa is she?" asked Rick.
Lisa gave him a lop-sided smirk and said, "She's already told them, I'm sure."
Rick scratched his head and wrinkled his nose.
Lisa took his hand and said, "Be prepared the next time you see them, especially if all three of them are there at the same time, then you're in trouble."
Rick shook his head and smiled, "Well, they don't call them the Terrible Trio for nothing I suppose. But you know, it wouldn't be any fun if they weren't."
Lisa replied with a smile.
"You know, I really have grown fond of those girls. I never really took the time to get to know them but now I have and I can't believe what I've been missing out on," continued Rick.
"They are great. I don't know what I'd do without them," remarked Lisa.
Rick shook his head in agreement then locked his arms around Lisa's waist and asked, "Can I stay here tonight? You'll be leaving soon and I want to spend as much time with you as possible."
Lisa hugged him, "You know you're welcome to stay anytime you want."

After drinking hot cups of tea, Rick and Lisa snuggled up under the blankets and remained quiet for a few moments, then Rick broke the silence by saying, "I'm going to miss you you know. You haven't even left yet and it already hurts."
Lisa hugged him tighter and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll miss you too. It will be like hell to be away from you. I always feel so safe when you're around."
"Are you sure I can't come with you?" asked Rick.
Lisa ran her hand down his strong forearm, "I wish you could too Rick, but you're needed here." Lisa grew silent and reflected on the last part of her sentence.
Rick interrupted her train of thought by kissing her then asking, "So where do you want to go on our vacation, when you get back?"
Lisa thought for a moment, "I...actually, I was thinking of going home, what used to be home, to see how it is. I received a letter the other day, saying that the property was in my name and that it was actually still there. I assumed everything in that area was destroyed, but I guess it was one of those pockets that escaped any annihilation bolts."
"Really? That's amazing. Do you want to go check it out when you get back," asked Rick.
"Do you?" returned Lisa.
"Sure. I'd like to see where you grew up," replied Rick.
Lisa smiled, "Then it's settled, when I get back we'll take a trip over there and see what's still standing."
"Two round-trip tickets to the Hayes estate in Upstate New York sounds fine with me," said Rick cheerfully.

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***** cross reference to aikiweezie's story "Macross: Untold Stories" (chapter 5)