"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Chapter 16

February 15th, 2015

Kim walked up to Vanessa, who was trying to decide what type of cake she wanted. She had had two pieces already and went back to the dessert table for another.
"Hey V, I haven't had a chance to talk to you very much this evening, how's it going for you?" asked Kim as she looked over the dessert table.
Vanessa turned to look at her friend and was grabbed by that same feeling of uneasiness that had been pervading her thoughts for the past few days.
"Uhm, it's going pretty good I guess," Vanessa said quietly.
Kim knew Vanessa well and knew that there was something bothering her. She put down her cake plate and took Vanessa's out of her hand and set it down as well. She looked Vanessa square in the eyes and said, "Come on now V. There is something bothering you, and it has to do with me doesn't it?? Just tell me what it is, you'll feel better. I hate seeing you distracted like this."
Vanessa looked at Kim and wrestled over what she should do. She got the feeling that Kim was in danger, but she didn't really want to outright tell her because not only would Kim wave her off as being paranoid, but Vanessa feared worrying Kim, perhaps unnecessarily. Kim was still going through some psychological counseling since the shock she had the day the SDF-1 sank, and seemed back to her normal self, but Vanessa didn't want to cause Kim anymore mental distress based on only a hunch or a 'bad feeling.' Vanessa looked at her best friend once again and then faked a smile, "It's nothing really, I'm just so...so stressed out I guess. I mean, Sammie being injured, me going on sub duty, you and Lisa leaving for six weeks...I...Kim...just please, please be careful ok?"
A mischievious smile passed over Kim's attractive face, "Is that's what's bothering you?? Come on you know I can take care of myself. And Lisa will be there, not to mention big, strong, handsome Vince Grant! V, I'm more worried about YOU than I am myself. Look at it, Sammie will be here with Rick, Max, Miriya, Jean and Claudia. I'll be with Vince, Lisa, and Breetai. But what friends will you have with you? None. You know, Sammie and I are very worried about you. If anyone needs to be careful, you do. Please, promise us you will be over careful alright?"
Vanessa thought over what Kim said and realized she was right. There would be no familiar faces with Vanessa on her assignment. She had spent the whole time worrying about everyone else that she hadn't even spared a moment's thought to the danger she would soon be facing on her new assignment. Unknown to Kim, Vanessa was even MORE worried now than ever before. Not only was she worried about the safety of her friends, but she realized she needed to worry about her own safety as well.
Kim hit Vanessa on the shoulder, "Hey come on, no more moping. Gosh, everyone is always moping, I'm starting to get tired of having to scold everyone to not mope! Ohhhhh, it's past midnight already, that means, there's only 6 more hours to find out if you lose the bet or not. Aren't you glad that me and Sam were gracious enough to let you add a few hours to your bet day? Well, I mean it's only fair I suppose. Valentine's Day could be thought of as extending into the next day, early morning, and if anything were going to happen between Rick and Lisa it would be around early morning since they had just barely left."
Vanessa gave in a little bit and tried to stop moping so she latched onto the topic that Kim started. "Kim, did you see the way Rick was looking at Lisa?!"
Kim jumped on the question, "What do you mean the way Rick was looking at Lisa, did you see the way Lisa was looking at Rick?"
Vanessa laughed, "It's a good thing they left right away, who knows what would happen if they stayed."
Sammie came over and joined them and asked eagerly, "Oooo ooo, what are we gossipping about?"
Kim winked, "Rick and Lisa of course, who else?"
Sammie squealed with delight, "My favorite subject! Did you see how they looked at each other?! My god! I was afraid they were going to start, you know...right in front of everyone! Thank goodness Maistroff left early, and thank goodness we talked the committee into banning the press from the party!"
Vanessa grew more serious, "I know. That's too bad, they are going to have to be more careful. You know the press will take their story and run with it, as if they hadn't already done so."
"I hate the press!" barked Kim.
"Oh I do too," moaned Sammie. "They always ask me the same question, just right after I answered it for someone else who asked it! Grrrr!"
Vanessa was about to say something when they heard a voice say, "Excuse me, would you ladies care to dance?"
The girls slowly turned their heads and saw three guys, from the look of their uniforms, they were the guys posted at the door, the swordsmen, including the one that Sammie had said was looking at Vanessa.
Kim looked at Sammie and Vanessa, who were just standing there with blank experssions on their faces. "Sure!! My name is Kim, and the blond one is Sammie and the other one is Vanessa."
"Yes ma'am we know that," said the tall guy.
"You do? Oh...," said Kim with a bit of surprise.
Another swordsman spoke up, "Of course. Everyone knows the stories of the SDF-1's bridge crew. In fact, you bridge girls have always had a fan following. Admiral Hayes and Captain Grant included."
"We have?!!" exclaimed Sammie.
"Yeap, especially among all the VT and Destroid pilots and maintenance crews. You never knew that?" said one of the other swordsman with disbelief.
"NO!!" said the Trio in unison.
"Well, now you know," said the tall man. He held out his arm to Vanessa and said, "Shall we ladies?" Then the other two guys held out their arms and Samme and Kim latched on to their respective chosen men and gave each other a thumbs up as they headed back to the dancefloor.

* * * * * * *

It was just past midnight when Rick held the car door open for Lisa. He gave the valet a tip and then took the keys and put the keys in the ignition as Lisa buckled up her seatbelt. Lisa made sure she was buckled up securely because sometimes she believed that Rick sometimes still thought he was in his fighter jet instead of a car. She sat back and was pleasantly surprised when Rick practically pounced on her. They kissed for a few seconds until the valet tapped on their window.
"Uh...excuse me...sir, ma'am, but uh...could you please pull the car forward, you're holding up traffic," said the valet, obviously nervous at interrupting a Captain and an Admiral.
"Oh yeah, right. Sorry," apologized Rick as he started up the car.
"Thank you very much sir, sorry to have interrupted you," said the valet, trying to hide a smile.
"No problem," replied Rick.
The valet saluted as the car pulled off then motioned for the next car to pull up.
Lisa started laughing when they had gotten half a block away.
"What's so funny?" asked Rick with a grin.
Lisa laughed again before saying, "I feel like a teenager on prom night. Here I am, nearly 30 years old, an Admiral, getting caught making out in the car. I think it's kind of funny, don't you?"
Rick shook his head, "Nah. And just 'cause you're an Admiral doesn't mean you can't have a love life."
Lisa returned Rick's smile and studied his face as he concentrated on the road in front of him. Yes, perhaps he was younger than she was, and perhaps he was a lower-ranking officer than she was, but none of that mattered to her. Here she saw the man who had saved her life countless of times. Here was the man that she had seen go from a cocky loud-mouth amature pilot to a respected and skilled leader. He was a good man, a man of integrity, honesty, and bravery. He was a man who cared deeply about people and had a strong sense of committment and fairness. Lisa was also looking at a man whom she thought was one of the most handsome she had ever met. He was of medium height and medium weight and had unruly dark, wavy hair, illuminating baby blue eyes, a strong jawline and nose, and a perfect brow and warm smile. He had also kept himself in good shape over the years and his physical strength was evident.
"Lisa?" said Rick, a little bit concerned that Lisa had been staring at him with an unreadable look.
"What?" said Lisa as she shook out of her daydream. "Oh. I'm sorry. I was just staring at you because you're so handsome."
Rick smiled as he pulled the car into the parking space.
"What's this?" asked Lisa.
Rick took the key out of the ignition and said, "I wanted to stop and pick up some music. Do you remember who sings that song that you were so sexily dancing too?"
"Uh...I think so..." stammered Lisa.
Rick went over to Lisa's side of the car and opened the door for her, holding her hand to help her out of the car, "Good, then you can dance for me again," he said in a teasing voice as they headed into the store.

After picking up a few CDs, Rick started driving off towards the outskirts of the city. He hadn't said very much since they left the CD shop and Lisa was a little bit concerned but she put it down to him just being tired. After a few more minutes of quiet driving, Rick pulled off to the side of the road, stopped the car and got out. Lisa got out of the car quickly and found Rick sitting on the trunk of the car, his shoulders sulking, his eyes fixed on the ground. 'It finally hit him,' Lisa thought to herself sadly. She slowly walked over to the back of the car, looked at Rick, then hopped up onto the trunk and sat next to him.
"Rick. Is it about what Maistroff said this evening?" asked Lisa.
Rick barely shook his head. Lisa took a hold of Rick's hand but he hopped off the trunk and went to lean against the driver's side door. Lisa turned around to look at Rick, a slight breeze playing with her hair.
"Rick. Please-"
"Lisa. I...I...you don't know how much I hate myself," said Rick despondently. This was just the reason why Lisa had tried to keep secret the fact she had planned to resign a month ago.
"Rick. Will you please come back over here and sit next to me?" Lisa asked softly. Rick didn't reply but he shuffled over to the rear of the car and hopped back on the trunk. Lisa decided to keep a hands-off approach for the moment and try and reason with him verbally. The wind had picked up a little bit and strands of Lisa's long hair blew in Rick's across face. Normally he would've been pleased with such a thing, but the way he was feeling right now, this closeness with Lisa made him feel all the more guilty.
Lisa knew how to handle Rick's down moods; she had experienced many of them over the past several years, but this was different. Rick was down because of her, not Minmei. When it was Minmei it was easy for Lisa to try and counter, but when it came to herself, she still hadn't figured out the best way to combat the problem. She decided the best way for the situation now was to get an idea of what was going on in that cute, but muddled head of his, was to ask him. "Rick, please say something."
"I don't know what to say. I don't know where to even begin," said Rick quietly. "I mean, you were almost going to throw away your career, your life...because of me. Where were you planning to go? What were you going to do?"
"Rick, that's not important, I didn't resign-"
"I want to know. Please just tell me," said Rick flatly.
"Alright," she said, "but get in the car and keep on driving to wherever it was we were heading."
Rick remained still for a few seconds then got back in the car. A few seconds later Lisa was buckling up her seatbelt again and the two were on their way. Lisa knew that she had to follow through on her promise so she told him, "I...I was planning to come to Monument and get an apartment and a job with an engineering firm. At first I thought about going home to New York, but I didn't want to be so far away from Gloval and the girls."
Lisa saw Rick swallow the lump in his throat. She decided to let him try and sort things out in his mind first before trying to reason with him, so she remained quiet as Rick continued heading to a destination which was unknown to her.
After about 20 minutes Rick turned off the road and down a small, narrow, dirt road and came to a stop at the edge of a small ravine which looked to be about 40 feet wide and stretched for an unknown distance. Rick stopped the car and said quietly, "I know this probably isn't very romantic, but I spotted this place the other day while on patrol, and I thought it looked peaceful enough, at least it's somewhere where we could be alone for awhile."
Lisa looked around the area some more, she saw an old tree, a rare sight in the post-Dolza world, and it reminded her of home. The ravine also reminded her of the small lake that was on her family estate. She felt a wave of nostalgia washed over her and she got out of the car and walked to the tree and looked out onto the water that was quietly streaming by. Rick watched her for some moments then got out of the car and came up and stood beside her.
Lisa took this as a good sign and so she gently took latched onto his arm, saying, "Rick, I do think this is very romantic. I'm here with you, just the two of us, and it reminds me of home. It's so peaceful here."
Rick didn't say anything and Lisa could sense that he was still sulking, so she turned around to face him and said in as soothing a tone as she could, "Rick. Please don't beat yourself up over this, or anything you've done or said in the past. Rick, we can't start to build a future for ourselves if we keep ruminating on past mistakes." Lisa then decided to pull a bluff by sighing and saying, "I guess you're right, this evening has sucked pretty badly."
The comment had the effect that Lisa was hoping for, Lisa felt Rick's arms go around her waist quickly and in a split second he was kissing her. When they broke for air, Rick looked at his watch and said, "We still have a couple hours left, maybe we can try and turn things around and salvage a little bit of this evening."
Lisa smiled, glad that Rick seemed to have picked himself back up from his sulking. Rick headed back to the car and opened up the trunk and took out a few things and came back to the tree. He spread out a blanket on the ground and held up a bottle of champagne, asking Lisa, "Uh...do you think you'll be ok with a little bit of this?"
Lisa gave him an embarrassed smile, "I think so."
Rick ran back to the car and stayed there for a few minutes then Lisa heard music and Rick came to where Lisa had taken a seat on the blanket and already had two glasses of champagne, poured and ready to drink.
They toasted each other and drank a little bit then Rick asked, "Do you really like it out here?"
Lisa nodded her head, "I do. It's so quiet out here, and the weather is just right, and...you're here with me."
Rick smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek then he carefully set down his glass and pulled her up to her feet. "Would you like to dance?" he asked.
Lisa answered him by setting down her own glass and then standing up and kicking off her shoes.
The intro to the song started and Rick said quietly, "Do you know how proud I am of you tonight. I mean, before the shock of what Maistroff said, you stood up to him, and did it so amazingly. The way you stood up for those soldiers...they appreciated it so much. You've stood up for people before, but not like that. And as I watch you, with each passing day and how you interact with everyone, it's...it's so difficult to explain."
Lisa chuckled, "I think I know what you mean. I know in the beginning I was almost as bad as Maistroff-"
"No Lisa, no one's that bad," countered Rick.
"Ok ok, but we both know I had a reputation as by-the-book. That's the whole reason why we fought so much. And maybe Maistroff's right, I have grown soft. But you know what, I think that's a good thing. I don't want to scare people away, I want them to want to come to me. If we can work together then it makes things better for everyone. I think I told you before, I am taking an example from you Rick. I see how you treat those under your command, how you stand up for them, and how much they respect you and appreaciate what you do for them, and they in turn give you 150%. Rick, you're a good man. Please don't think otherwise of yourself." Lisa rested her head on Rick's shoulder and said nothing more until the song ended.
A fast song started and they were both game to dance to it, but when it was over they were tired and decided to take a rest. Rick took off his suit jacket and stretched then lay on his back on the blanket and looked up through the tree branches up at the stars. Lisa cuddled next to him as Rick put his arm around her.
"I wish you didn't have to go the factory satellite, or at least I wish I could come with you. Looking up at the sky and the stars, makes me realize just how far away you'll be," said Rick sadly.
Lisa didn't reply, instead she just tried to relax and listen to Rick's heartbeat.
They remained silent for a few minutes then Rick let out a small laugh. Lisa sat up a bit and smiled, asking, "What's so funny?"
Rick laughed again and answered, "I was just remembering, Miriya, during that dance, and the embarassed look on Max's face."
Lisa tried not to laugh, "Poor Miriya, she was trying so hard, but just couldn't get the hang of it."
"Well you got the hang of it pretty quickly," said Rick proudly.
"I had special reason to," replied Lisa.
"Uhh, you mean 'cause Minmei was there?" asked Rick.
"Partly."
"Well, you don't have to worry about her. She can't even come close to you, babe," said Rick matter-of-factly.
Lisa smiled and sat up, "The look on your face was priceless."
Rick pretended to be defensive, "Yeah well, you know, I was just admiring you."
Lisa smirked and then started tickling him around the stomach.
Rick was swatting at her hands, "Hey, no fair, you know how ticklish I am, stop that."
Lisa gave out a throaty laugh, "That's exactly why I started tickling you, caught you offguard."
Rick started to squirm, so Lisa, not willing to relent, sat on his stomach to keep him at bay. She stopped tickling when she realized that Rick was no longer putting up any resistance, he now was simply staring up at her, his blue eyes intense. Lisa bent down and kissed him lightly. Seeing that he was still immobilized, she let her hands wander to the buttons of his shirt, and when he made no move to protest, she unbuttoned them all and waited to see what he would do.
Rick, his breathing uneven, eyes still locked on Lisa, sat up slowly and tried to shrug off his shirt. Lisa, realizing he needed help, pulled off his shirt for him and the two remained locked in a staring contest.
"I love you," said Rick, his voice full of emotion.
Lisa kissed him, trying to show him how much she loved him too, and she grinned inwardly when she felt his hands clasp onto her waist. She could feel him slowly pull her shirt up, his strong, warm hands, a comforting feeling on her skin. Suddenly, she became aware of a sound heading towards them. Rick heard it to and looked around in a daze, "What's that?" he asked.
"I don't know," said Lisa as she looked around to try and see where the sound was coming from.
The sound got louder and then they heard someone over a loudspeaker say, "You there. What are you doing?"
A military jeep rolled up next to their parked car and someone got out very quickly and came over to them, shining a flashlight on them.
"You kids, what are you-....Admiral Hayes?" said the MP as he shone the flashlight in Lisa's face. He then spotted the beam on Rick and said, "Captain Hunter?" The MP walked over so he could get a better view of the two and was embarrassed when he realized that he had interrupted them. "I'm very sorry, ma'am, sir. I thought you were teenagers that always come out here, even when we tell them not, they still come over. Uh...I'd let you two stay here but there's been a few incidents with Malcontents along this ravine. I don't think it's safe for you to be out here, especially now, this is usually the time when they like to sneak up."
Lisa got up to her feet and helped Rick stand up. As Lisa bent down to pick up her shoes and Rick picked up his shirt, they heard a rumbling off in the distance.
Rick looked up at the night sky, his eyes wide with fear, he knew that sound signature well. He scanned the sky and saw his fears confirmed, "Quadranos!!" he shouted.
Lisa dropped her shoes and started heading towards the car when she heard the sound of a laser bolt and then was thrown off her feet as the bolt hit the rental car she and Rick had arrived in. Rick was at her side in a flash and helped her up.
"This way!" shouted the MP as he ran to his jeep. "I've got a machine gun mounted, it's one of the collapsables, just open up the panel and pull it up!"
The MP started the engine before Rick and Lisa had climbed aboard and they ended up having to jump to make it onto the jeep. The Quadranos, numbering about 4, were closing in and Rick was frantically trying to get the machine gun turret set up. The MP had handed Lisa the CB and she was on the line trying to get some help. "And get Miriya Sterling over here," was her last order before throwing down the radio and turning her attention to trying to get the gun set up and fired.
The MP was doing a magnificent job of dodging the Quadrano salvos. Lisa noticed he had many mirrors on either side of the car, some of which had bulletholes in them, so obviously he must've had experience in trying to drive away from a threat that was coming up on his rear.

Miriya and Max were out on the dancefloor. Miriya had kept Max out on the dancefloor for about half an hour straight and even though Max was a bit worried when he saw a Flight Officer approaching them, he was also somewhat relieved.
"Captain Sterling ma'am, Admiral Hayes is requesting your help," said the Flight Officer.
"What's wrong?" asked Max with much concern.
"It appears that she and Captain Hunter are under attack from a small squad of Quadranos, about 20 miles from here," answered the Flight Officer.
Max didn't even wait to give an acknowledgement, he grabbed his wife's hand and the two ran for the door with the Flight Officer running after them.

From her seat at the table, Kim had seen the Sterlings make their hasty retreat and ran over to get Sammie.
"Sam, something's going on, Max and Miriya just did a combat scramble out of here!"
"Oh no! Kim, you call Lisa and see what you can find out, I'll call up to the command center," replied Sammie.

"I can't get a hold of Lisa nor Rick," said a very worrried Kim.
"Phipps tells me that there's some disturbance about 20 miles from here, small scale. They have been identified as Quadranos. Maybe that's why they called for Miriya. Other than that, that was all he could tell me," reported Sammie.
"I'm going to call Lisa again," said Kim.
"Good idea," replied Sammie.
"What's going on?" asked Vanessa as she saw her friends on their phones.
"Sterlings scrambled out of here for a disturbance by some Quadranos. We tried to get a hold of Rick and Lisa but can't raise them," replied Kim.
"Do you think we should head to the command center and check on the situation?" asked Vanessa, feeling concern herself.
"Can we? Now I'm too nervous and worried to enjoy the rest of the evening anyways," pleaded Sammie.
"You don't think that maybe they just turned off their phones?" asked Vanessa, offering one last possible scenario.
Kim shook her head immediately, "No. Lisa never does that. Only thing that could happen is that her battery died, but then we would've at least been able to get hold of Rick. I don't think his battery would die out at the same time as Lisa's."
Vanessa shook her head, "Ok, let's go."
The Trio went to collect their purses and informed Claudia of the situation, then bid goodnight to their dance partners and hurriedly left the reception hall.

"Get us out of here!!" shouted Rick. He was still manning the machine gun and had managed to down one of the Quadranos but three more were still firing at them furiously.
Lisa ducked as bolts screamed overhead. She felt very useless at the moment. Rick was manning the machinegun and the MP was driving.
"Hey, do you have any more weapons??" asked Lisa.
The MP shouted back at her, "I have my pistol." He took it from his belt holster and handed it to her. Lisa took it eagerly and then crouched next to Rick and tried to aim as best as possible, because she only had a limited amount of bullets.
A bolt hit just in front of the left front tire, throwing the jeep off its path but the MP managed to keep control of the car. Another bolt hit the passenger seat and Rick was thrown forward a bit. The jeep hit another big bump and another bolt hit the jeep. The force of the impact sent Lisa headlong and she nearly tumbled over the edge and out of the car. Rick had seen her thrown forward and was quick as lightening and managed to grab hold of Lisa in the nick of time.
He had hold of her, barely, by the front of her uniform jacket and turtleneck. One arm was clutching to the side of the jeep, desperate to hang on, and she was trying to get her legs back into the car. Lisa could hear the whirring of the tire right next to her ear and she knew that if she couldn't hang on....
She looked up and saw the absolute terror on Rick's face. Rick knew that if he couldn't hang on to her, she would die. He felt his grip slipping and he started to feel himself panic. He looked at Lisa again and didn't see fear in her eyes. She was looking at him with determination and confidence. Another bolt hit near them and the jeep veered sharply to the other side, causing enough momentum that Rick was able to pull Lisa back into the the jeep.
The jeep finally pulled back onto the concrete road and they could hear the sound of VTs rapidly approaching, but the Quadranos were too close and managed to hole the road enough to cause a deep pothole that the MP swirved to avoid, but ended up crashing into a ditch and spilling the three occupants.
"Stay down! There's several large gopher holes around here, they were put in just for situations like these! Come on, follow me!" shouted the MP.
Rick and Lisa crawled on their stomaches and followed the MP. After several feet they managed to find one of these so-called human-sized 'gopher holes' and took cover, the night air buzzing with Quadrano fire.
Lisa felt a sharp pain around the left side of her waist and she looked down and saw blood soaking her uniform. She quickly checked on Rick and saw him lying on his stomach, his back covered with blood.
"Rick!" Lisa screamed, as she crawled over to him. He pushed himself up steadily to look at Lisa and saw her uniform and tried to scramble up as fast as he could. "Lisa!! We got to get you to a hospital now!"
They converged and were trying to assure the other that they were ok. They checked on the MP who seemed to be unhurt. "The VTs are almost here," he reported, keeping his eyes on the Quadranos who were still searching for them.
After what seemed like an eternity, they heard Miriya's voice over the VT loudspeaker. "Quadranos!" she said, then broke into Zentraedi.
"What's she saying?" asked Rick.
"She's saying something about doing the noble thing and saving their own lives by surrendering. She says that they will be treated fairly," said Lisa as she gave a translation.
The Quadranos spoke and Rick looked to Lisa for another translation.
"They said they don't trust anyone. They don't to surrender," said Lisa.
Then they heard the Quadranos shout and shooting started again. After about 5 minutes the shooting subsided and the whirring of the Quadrano powersuits could not be heard anymore. The footsteps of a Battloid were now the only thing heard and they heard Max call out, "Hello? Anyone out there? Rick? Lisa?"
Rick motioned to the MP to go and flag down Max and in a few minutes they were sitting in a battloid hand, heading towards the hospital.

* * * * * * *

The Trio rushed to the hospital and frantically asked the emergency room information desk what room Lisa was in. The clerk at the desk told them and was about to tell them that there could only be one visitor at a time when they rushed off and left him ending up talking to himself. He shrugged and sat back down at his desk.
After the doctor had finished with Lisa's stiches, he left and Lisa looked down at the Frankenstein-looking line of stiches. She groaned, it wasn't a pretty sight, and it stung quite a bit. 'So much for Valentine's Day,' she thought to herself. She glanced around the room, searching for her uniform turtleneck and jacket. She heard the door open and was about to curse at being caught in her bra but she looked up and saw who it was and canceled the curse.
"Uhh Lisa, the doctor said I could come and see you, I'll come back after you finish getting dressed," said Rick nervously.
Lisa shook her head, trying not to smile, "No, it's alright Rick, come in."
Rick stood at the door, hesitating for a moment, then slowly walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He caught sight of her stitches and quickly walked over to her saying, "Ahh geez, Lisa. How bad is it? What did the doctor say?"
Lisa looked up at Rick and smiled, "I'm fine Rick, don't worry. It's just superficial."
"Are you sure?" asked Rick, greatly concerned.
"I'm fine. How about you, what about your back?" asked Lisa.
"Oh, my back, I'll be ok. Just a few cuts here and there, they gave me stitches too." answered Rick.
"Are you sure Rick? You were bleeding quite a bit," questioned Lisa.
"I'm fine Lisa."
"Let me see," returned Lisa.
Rick rolled his eyes at her and smiled, "Alright here, look." Rick took off his shirt, a clean plain white, long-sleeved shirt that the hospital had given to him to replaced the bloodied and tattered one he had arrived in, and turned around and Lisa could see at least half a dozen row of stitches scattered across his back.
"Rick!"
Rick quickly turned around, "No no no, don't worry, I feel fine," said Rick as he took Lisa's hands in his.
Lisa looked at him intently and said, "Thank you Rick. For saving me, again."
Rick shook his head, "You know there's no need to thank me. I...uh...I was pretty scared for a few moments there. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep hold of you. It scared me to death. But...you.. you didn't look scared at all."
Lisa ran her hand across his cheek and said softly, "I wasn't scared Rick, because I knew you were there and that you wouldn't let anything happen to me."
Rick remembered the look of sheer confidence on her face and knew that what she was telling him now was the absolute truth. The fact that she trusted him so completly with her life encouraged him yet scared him to death at the same time.
Rick sat down next to Lisa on the examination table and took her hand saying, "You know I'd give my life to protect you Lisa."
Lisa loved holding his hand, it was so strong yet so gentle. "I know Rick, and I'd do the exact same for you."
They looked at each other and stared into each other's eyes. Rick put his hand on Lisa's shoulder and was struck with the fact of how soft it was that he could not stop himself from kissing it. Lisa felt her heartbeat increase dramatically as she realized that Rick had taken a fancy to her shoulder. When he worked his way up to her neck she ran her fingers through his soft hair. Rick then started to kiss Lisa and they shifted over a little bit on the table. The move caused Lisa some pain from her stitches but she gave no outward sign of it; there was no way a little superficial wound was going to keep her from sharing a moment of passion with the man she loved. After awhile Rick moved his attention back to Lisa's shoulder and also let his hand wander up to rest on Lisa's other shoulder.
The door opened and the Trio burst into the room taking Rick and Lisa by surprise, especially Rick, who lost his balance and fell off the examination table and spilled onto the floor with a loud thud. Lisa stood up immediately, letting out a small wince.
Kim spoke first, "We just came to see how you were Lisa, but from the looks of it, you're doing just fine."
Vanessa and Sammie giggled and then looked at Rick who was still on the floor. Sammie's eyes widened and she pointed at Rick and shouted, "Look at his pants!"
Vanessa exclaimed, "Kim you sure are right about Rick!"
The Trio started laughing and started to close in on Rick. They looked down at him and said in unison, in a very sly tone, "Hiiiiiii Riiiiiick."
Rick got off the floor in a flash and went to stand, hide rather, behind Lisa. "Uh..hi girls," he managed to say.
Kim snickered wickedly, "Hey Rick, you ever heard that old song by The Doors?"
Rick gave a confused, "Huh?"
Kim giggled again, "Yeah, you know maybe you should use it as your theme song or something."
Vanessa and Sammie went into another fit of giggling.
"Yeah you know how the song goes don't you? Come on girls," said Kim, and then the Trio broke into song, "Come on baby light my fiiiire," and then started laughing again.
Lisa thought Rick had been put through enough teasing so she playfully chided, "Come on girls, stop teasing the poor guy."
The Trio agreed to stop their teasing but not before they all winked at Rick.
"So Lisa, how many Purple Hearts is this now?" asked Sammie.
"Um, well let's see..." started Lisa.
"She's had so many that she lost count!" said Kim with amazement.
Lisa chuckled, "No no, not at all. Let's see...this is my fourth one."
The Trio gave out a collective, "Wowwww....." and Rick looked at Lisa with a puzzled look.
"By the way, how come you don't wear your ribbon bars on your uniform?" asked Rick.
Vanessa started shaking her finger, "Yeah, that's right, you don't wear your bars Lisa, how come?"
"Because she has too many that the whole thing's too heavy!" said Kim in a proud tone.
Lisa blushed and countered, "But none of you girls wear yours either."
Kim exclaimed, "Hah! I don't wear mine because I don't have any to wear!"
Vanessa retorted, "That's not true. You have a couple."
Kim folded her arms to her chest, "Yea, that's all I have, a couple. Two puny little ribbons. Two! That's embarassing. 5 years in regular service, 3 years at the Academy and I only have two stinky bars to show for it."
Lisa looked at Kim and said, "Well, if I have anything to say about it, you'll be properly decorated and commended for your service. Who knows, we have a meeting tommorrow, maybe you can increase your bar count."
Kim was unconvinced, "Hah! I'll believe it when I see it!"
Lisa shrugged, "Alright then, but don't say I didn't tell you so."
Sammie grabbed Lisa's arm and shook it, "Lisa! Lisa! Who else is getting a medal tommorrow?? I mean, Claudia definitely should get one."
Lisa said slyly, "You'll find out tommorrow."
Sammie pouted but then quickly replaced her pout with a smile. "Oh, hey, it's really late, we better get going. I have early duty. Lisa, we're so glad you're alright. But please, stop doing that! When you two have these little adventures of yours, it scares us to death!"
Lisa gave Sammie a hug, "Alright, I promise, next time we'll try and have a normal date like regular people."
The Trio shuffled over to door, whispering to each other. Before they closed the door behind them they said, again in unison, "Oh Rick, see you tommorrow...big guy!" They closed the door and their loud laughter could be heard out from the hallway.
Rick breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone and felt Lisa staring at him. He looked at her and smiled, "You enjoyed watching me sweat didn't you?"
Lisa laughed and reached out for Rick's hand, "Aw, come on, let the girls have some fun, you know they don't mean any harm."
Rick scratched his head, "Yeah, I know. But why do I have a feeling from now on that they're never gonna let me live this down?"
Lisa chuckled, "Well, you're right about that. You better get used to your new nickname from now on."
Rick leered at Lisa and said, "Sure, I don't have a problem with that, just as long as you don't."
Lisa narrowed her eyes, catlike, "I don't," she said confidently.
Rick watched as she walked to the closet and found a blouse and put it on. She turned around and saw a frown on his face.
"What's the matter?" Lisa asked.
"Well, you don't have to get dressed right away do you? I mean, I kinda like watching you walking around in your bra," said Rick with a gleam in his eye.
"Ohhh you!" growled Lisa in mock insult. She picked up Rick's shirt and threw it at him and then walked up to him and latched her arms around his neck. "You're such a bad boy," she teased.
"And you're a bad girl," Rick retorted.
The couple laughed and Lisa slipped out of Rick's arms to get dressed. Sammie was right, it was late and they all had early morning duty to report to. Also, as each hour passed, it meant that the dreaded meeting was drawing near, and despite the jovial time she was sharing with Rick, she felt her fear building.
Lisa and Rick received Lisa's discharge papers and soon afterward the two were on their way out of the hospital. A block from Lisa's hotel, Rick said, "Lisa, do me a favor. The next time there's a party-"
Lisa cut him off, "No, I am not going to walk around the party in just my bra."
Rick laughed loudly for a few seconds then said, "So, you read my mind eh? No. No what I was going to ask you is if you would wear your ribbon bars. All of them. I want everyone to see them. I'm so proud of you."
Lisa was very touched and although she would choose not to wear her decorations, because, like Kim said, there were so many that the whole cluster was very heavy, and because she didn't want to seem like she was showing off, she saw how much it meant to Rick and promised him she would wear them. She also thought that maybe Rick was right and that it was a good idea she wear them, especially around Maistroff, because Lisa had twice as many as he did, and it would be good if he were reminded about that fact.
As they waited for the elevator, Rick, still intrigued by Lisa's decorations, asked, "How'd you get those other 3 Purple Hearts? I can't believe, I've known you for nearly five years and never even bothered to ask you. That shows how wrapped up in myself I was."
Lisa wanted to sigh but she didn't. Rick was about to start sulking again so she quickly answered his question to keep his mind from heading on the guilt path again.
"Well, the first one I received was when I was in my second year at the Academy. We had been taken out for training exercises and though they had thought the area was safe, it turned out that there was an anti-UEG rebel base there. It was so well hidden that no one knew about it. We got into a bit of a firefight there. The second one came when I was about 6 months from gradution. the anti-UEGs were causing trouble in the South Pacific, and they pulled me out of school and put me on the bridge of a battlecruiser. You should've seen my father, he was furious. Well, anyways, we got into a situation where we were outnumbered, and we had hoped that we could hold our ground until the reinforcements arrived, but one of the enemy destroyers managed to score a direct hit to the bridge tower and forward guns, and the ship sank. And the last one, I don't know if Roy ever told you about it, but when we were still flight testing the VTs, they assigned me to be his weapons officer for about the last 20 or so final test flights. It was about our 10th flight and we suffered a radar malfunction, but since we were supposedly in friendly territory, and it was an area where we had flown through five times before, we weren't too worried. We shouldn't have been so complacent I guess, because we were intercepted by 5 anti-UEGs. Roy managed to take care of them all except for one. We just couldn't shake the guy and he managed to score a hit on us and I got the brunt of it back there in the co-pilot's seat. You should've seen Roy, he was so pissed he went after that guy like a madman. I could tell that he was pushing the plane past it's limits but he managed to get a hit on the guy but he got away. I told Roy I wasn't that injured and to go after the guy but Roy wouldn't hear it and took me back to the base."
"Wow, so you've seen combat action on land, sea, air, and space, then," said Rick in amazement.
"Yes, I guess so," said Lisa humbly.
They reached Lisa's room and found Kim sitting on the sofa, apparently waiting for them to come home. "Are you guys sure you're alright??" was Kim's first question.
"We're fine. Just a little scratched up that's all," answered Lisa.
"This is not how Valentine's Day is suppose to be!" exclaimed Kim. "Especially for you two. You're not suppose to be spending the evening running for your lives from Quadranos. You're suppose to be in be-...d, ahhhh, I....mean, ahhhh, hehe, I'm going to go fix us all some tea how's that?"
Kim wandered to the kitchen and Rick and Lisa looked at each other and laughed. Lisa follwed after Kim who was startled when Lisa entered the kitchen.
"Uh..hi Lisa!" she said cheerfully.
"Alright. Fess up. Who's bet what on when?" asked Lisa, her hands on her hips, trying to sound stern but enjoying watching Kim sweat.
"Ahhhh....wellllll...I already lost. Vanessa has less than 3 more hours and then she'll lose...if nothing happens between now and then, otherwise, Sammie wins," said Kim, cowering just a bit.
Lisa looked at Kim with a raised eyebrow and Kim was waiting to be scolded, but Lisa merely said, "Tell Sammie she wins. But also make sure you let Vanessa know that she almost won." Lisa winked then left the room.
When Lisa came back to the living room she saw that Rick looked like he had fallen asleep on the couch. As she looked at him she remembered her brush with death just a couple hours before and how Rick had been there yet again, to save her. She wanted to do nothing except cuddle up next to him but she knew how tired and sore he must be so she went to her room and retrieved a blanket and then carefully spread it over him. He opened his eyes and said tiredly, "Hey don't rush off so fast, I was just resting my eyes. I'm waiting for that tea Kim promised."
Rick held up the blanket and Lisa went over and sat next to him. Kim came back with the tray and set it down then said, "You two look so cute, just like two peas in a pod!"
Rick smiled and asked Kim, "So how did you enjoy the party?"
Kim put her cup down in a hurry and said, "Oh! It was great! We met these three cute guys, you know the guys at the door. The food was great. All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves!"
Lisa took time to reflect on Kim's comment. She spoke in the plural form, not in the singular form. This was something she noticed about the Trio. When one of them was asked something about an individual matter, most of the time the question was answered in the plural if possible. They were each watching out for each other and always thinking of the other two. There was no petty or jealous rivalry between the Trio and Lisa could understand why they were so close. They teased and fought with each other to be sure, but each of the Trio had a profound respect for the other two and their friendship was as strong as sisterhood.
The friends chatted for a few minutes more then turned in for some much needed sleep, Lisa and Kim insisting that Rick stay there for the night, since it was late and he was injured.

* * * * * * *

Miriya stared out the window as Max came back from brushing his teeth. He walked over to her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Mir," was all he said and all he needed to say.
"Max...I just feel so powerless sometimes, it's so frustrating. Those Quadranos could be alive right now, if they just had a little bit of trust in us. But you know they don't and I don't blame them. Those bastards like Maistroff..." said Miriya angrily.
Max tightened his embrace, "I know Mir. I know how much it hurts you, especially when they are Quadranos."
"We need to do something Max. Sitting on our hands waiting for things to happen or fix themselves is ridiculous," stated Miriya.
"Could you get Hialeah to talk to them?" suggested Max.
"I don't know if I can. She's very picky about who she talks to, and even though I saved her life, and even though she praises me, she still insists that if I want to talk to her I have to be macronized," replied Miriya.
"There must be another way," said Max. "I am not letting you macronize again, we don't know what the risks of that are, and I don't want to find out," finished Max warningly.
"But then what do we Max?" asked Miriya as she turned around to face him, her eyes searching for an answer.
Max didn't have an answer for her, only a few suggetions. "We should try and speak to Breetai and Exedore, and get their input on this. Breetai has a lot of authority, maybe he can do something."
Miriya sighed, "Even if he can, we still need to do alot of work, it's all so complicated. I can sympathize with them all, it's difficult for me too. Sometimes I don't know if I'll ever fit in as a Micronian."
Max hugged his troubled wife and said, "Well, you've done a pretty damn good job so far Miriya. Look, it's late and we're both very tired. Let's get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning and we'll talk about how we are going to tackle this problem."

* * * * * * *

In the morning, Lisa and Kim had already finished getting ready for work. Lisa was sitting at the table, writing her report of the Quadrano incident and Kim was rummaging around the kitchen trying to figure out what to cook for breakfast.
"Hey Lis, what do you want for breakfast?" asked Kim, holding up a box of pancake batter in one hand and a small bag of potatos in the other.
Lisa shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me, whatever you feel like cooking."
Kim looked at the box and bag again and said, "It doesn't matter to me either. What do you think Rick would like?"
Lisa thought for a moment then said, "I don't think it would matter to him either."
Kim rolled her eyes, "Oh come on you guys, you need to decide on something."
"Why don't you just go ask Rick?" offered Lisa.
"Where is he?" asked Kim.
"Taking a shower," said Lisa as she turned her attention back to her report. As soon as she had a moment to think of what she had just said, she heard the predictable reaction from Kim.
Kim gave a hoot and then started laughing mischieviously. 'Oh no,' Lisa thought to herself. In a moment Kim was crouching down near Lisa's chair and asking, "Really really?? Can I really go over there and ask him??!"
Lisa opened her mouth and before she could answer, Kim had grabbed her arm, obviously forgetting about the injury that Lisa had, and dragged her to just outside the bathroom door. Kim looked at Lisa with wicked look of mischief and said, "Ok, come on, you have to come too, he is your man after all."
Lisa knew this was quite a sneaky trick, but she remembered her own sneaky trick of a few days ago and, considering it would be awhile before she would see Rick again, she reasoned that it would be fun and it would take the edge off some of the nervousness she felt about the meeting and her departure. Lisa turned to Kim and said, "Alright, what do you want me to do?"
Kim giggled wickedly and said in a whisper, "Now, we'll go in there and knock on his door and ask him what he wants for breakfast. Then we'll take all the towels with us and we'll leave a couple on that chair over there, and we'll go over there and sit by your desk, and if he wants his towels he'll just have to come out of the bathroom and get them."
Lisa groaned, "Oh Kim. That's so mean!"
Kim waved her off, "No no, we'll turn around, we won't look at him, so that way he won't be embarrassed. It's just the idea of him having to walk out here to get his towel that's the main idea!"
Lisa looked at Kim, not knowing for sure if she could trust her. But Lisa relented and waited for Kim's cue before entering the bathroom.
Lisa opened the door and Kim held onto her shoulder as she followed closely behind. The room was steamed up and Rick was singing. The two women made it to just outside the shower door and Lisa knocked. Rick was startled and tried to turn off the water quickly but only turned off the hot water, leaving the cold water spraying him mercilessly. He let out a yelp as he fumbled to turn off the cold water. Kim and Lisa giggled and giggled again when Rick opened the frosted glass door by just a crack and peered out at them.
"Uh...hi ladies, what can I do for you?" Rick asked nervously.
Kim pushed the door open a little bit more and started saying, "Oh well we just-" but then Lisa pulled Kim by the back of her collar and Kim let the door close to where it originally was. "As I was saying," Kim continued, giving Lisa a pouting look, "we just wanted to know what you wanted for breakfast. Pancakes or potatos?"
"Uh...well, it doesn't matter to me, whatever you girls want," replied Rick.
Kim rolled her eyes, "We can't decide, so we are leaving it up to you to decide."
"Ohh...uhh...pancakes is fine with me," answered Rick.
"Yes sir. We'll leave you to finish your shower now, see you in a bit ok?" said Kim coyly as she and Lisa heard Rick close the shower door. They then picked up all the towels they could find in the room and headed back out towards Lisa's room.
Kim left two towels on a nearby chair, some 4 feet away from the batrhoom and took the rest to the chair that was near Lisa's desk, which happened to be about 10 feet from the bathroom door. On the way to her post near Lisa's desk, Kim spied a powder compact and picked it up.
A few minutes later, as expected, Rick poked his head from behind the bathroom door and said, "Uhh...there doesn't seem to be any towels in here, would you mind handing me one?"
Lisa looked at Kim and smiled, "Sure Rick," Lisa said pointing to the chair with her pen, "there's a couple of towels over there on that chair."
Kim and Lisa looked at Rick and waited to see what he would say.
"Uhhh...would you mind handing them to me?" Rick asked.
Kim faked ignorance, "Oh how thoughtless of us. You poor guy. Ok, we'll turn around so that you won't be embarrassed and you can get those towels over there."
Lisa took Kim's cue and turned her chair around so that her back was facing Rick, and Kim turned around and pretended to powder her face. Lisa was looking at the wall, waiting for the signal for the all clear, but Kim was struck with an idea and started rotating her compact mirror until she found the angle she wanted.
After a few seconds they heard the bathroom door close and Lisa stood up to head back to the kitchen. Kim had been still for a moment but then rushed past Lisa. LIsa wasn't sure what was going on so she hurried after and entered Kim's room just in time to hear Kim say into her phone, "Sammie! Get Vanessa!! Have I got something to tell you guys!!!" Kim saw Lisa and quickly got up to push Lisa out of her room, saying, "You go stir up the pancake batter, I'll be right there." Lisa shrugged and headed to the kitchen.
Rick, Kim, and Lisa were nearly finished with their breakfast when the doorbell rang. Kim rushed over to open the door and a few seconds later Rick and Lisa heard Sammie and Vanessa chattering as they neared the dining area.
Sammie and Vanessa each pulled up a chair. Sammie wedged her chair over to the right of Rick and Vanessa placed her chair to the left of him, even though it was obvious three chairs would not fit there in that spot. "Hiiii Riiiick," Vanessa and Sammie said in unison.
Lisa tried to stiffle a laugh; she knew what that tone of theirs meant, and she assumed that Kim had told them about the little trick that she and Kim played on Rick.
Breakfast was finished and everyone gathered up their things to leave. Sammie had latched onto Rick's left arm and Vanessa had taken his left arm and they were pulling him along with them. Kim followed close behind, leaving Lisa to do all the locking up. As they all waited for the elevator, Kim pulled Lisa over to the side and said, "Mmmmm mmm m! Lisa how I envy you. You have got one hunk of a man there!"
Lisa smiled and then remembered what the day held in store for she and Rick and her smile faded away and she sighed. Kim covered her mouth quickly, nearly slapping herself, "Oh no!" she whispered. "I totally forgot about the meeting!" Lisa gave her a discouraged look and Kim patted her on the shoulder, trying to say reassuringly, "Don't worry don't worry."
The elevator door opened and they were on their way to the base.

At 6pm, everyone filed into the conference room. Lisa was extremely glad that Maistroff had gone over to Granite City that afternoon and wouldn't be attending the meeting. Lisa took her seat and looked around nervously. Rick sat to her left and Kim sat to her right. Also present were Sammie, Vanessa, Claudia, the Sterlings, T.R. Edwards, General Reinhardt, and a few other senior officers that had been newly promoted.
The first half hour of the meeting was used to give a current events briefing and address any questions that anyone had. That was carried out without much commotion and they moved onto the next item on the agenda.
"Next, we shall award various decorations and citations," said Reinhardt in a businessman-like tone.
Lisa could not help but feel proud of her friends. She had seen the list of decorations and and had fought hard to get them awarded and was eagerly awaiting the look on everyone's faces when they found out what decorations they were to receive.
Kim, sitting next to Lisa, yawned. She sat there, assuming that she would not receive any type of recognition for anything she did, and was ready to start doodling on her notepad. She was awestruck when her name was the first one called.
"Commander Kimberly Young," announced Colonel Haller.
Kim remained in her seat, not sure she had heard correctly. Lisa managed to crack a small smile and said, "Go on."
Kim gave her a confused look but got up slowly, looking at Lisa. Lisa nodded her head and Kim walked to the center of the room where Colonel Haller was waiting.
Kim saluted Haller then waited nervously.
Colonel Haller read aloud, "For her act of bravery in the face of peril during the operation in Costa Rica, we award Commander Young the RDF Commendation Medal."
Kim eyes widened as Haller opened up the case and showed her the medal and pin. He then closed it and handed it to her and saluted. Kim instinctively saluted and turned to go back to her seat when Haller stopped her, "Not so fast Commander, we're not finished yet."
Kim gave a dumbfounded look as she returned to her spot. Was she going crazy? She never got decorated, now she was getting two in one day? Impossible, she thought.
"For her excellence during the Costa Rica operation, we award Commander Young the RDF Achievement Medal." Haller displayed the case to Kim and then closed it and handed to her and saluted.
Kim walked again and again and was stopped by Haller again, "Hang on Commander."
Kim was in a daze as she walked back to her spot. Haller held out another case and said, "For injuries sustained in the field, we award Commander Young, the Purple Heart."
Kim stood there staring at Haller, but when he said, "Congratulations Commander," she took the hint that that was all and returned to her seat, still in shock.
Claudia let out a small chuckle as she watched a dazed Kim walk back to her seat. Her attention turned forward however, when her name was called next.
"For her act of extreme bravery in the face of overwhelming danger, it is my great honor to award the Silver Star to Captain Claudia Grant," said Haller with a smile on his face.
Everyone in the room stood up and clapped for Claudia. She looked around and smiled slightly.
Haller wasn't finished yet and he announced, "For injuries sustained in the field, we award Captain Claudia Grant the Purple Heart."
T.R. Edwards watched Claudia with great interest. He knew that she had been involved with Roy Fokker and even though he had been stationed in Monument and on the SDF-1 for the past couple of months, he had never come in contact with her. 'Well, Fokker, I'll say one thing for you, you had good taste in women,' Edwards thought grudgingly.
Claudia sat down and was congratulated by Max who was sitting to her left.
Haller continued, "Would Captain Miriya Sterling please step forward."
Miriya looked at Max with a confused look. Like Kim, Miriya had also gotten used to being passed over for decorations. Even though Admiral Gloval had managed to get her recognized a few times, he had had trouble gaining her recognition for all instances.
"For extreme bravery and injuries sustained in the field, we award Captain Miriya Parino Sterling, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Miriya returned to her seat and started whispering to Max, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Our next recipient is Captain Samantha Porter," said Haller. Sammie got up from her chair and smiled as she waited for him to announce her decorations.
"...We award Captain Porter the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with special appreciation from the high command at New Portland. Congratulations Captain."
Sammie sat down wearing a huge smile on her face and she flashed Kim a thumbs up.
"Next, we ask Captain Vanessa Leeds to step forward," said Haller.
Vanessa left her seat and she looked back at the table and saw Sammie and Kim grinning ear to ear.
"For injuries sustained in combat, during Khyron's attack on the SDF-1, we awards Captain Vanessa Leeds, the Purple Heart. Congratulations Captain," said Haller warmly.
Vanessa shook his hand then headed back to her seat but not before giving both Kim and Sammie a huge smile.
Rick was not overlooked. He was awarded a Special Commendation Ribbon for his help during the incident at Hialeah's office and told of the pending Purple Heart from the most recent Quadrano incident.
The last person to be called was T.R. Edwards. Edwards thought he deserved to be decorated for his service in Costa Rica but he wasn't expecting anything to come of it. He knew what Maistroff was like and had little respect for anyone else in the RDF high command and certainly didn't expect them to be willing to give credit where credit was due. Edwards stood up and looked over at Lisa as he headed to towards Haller. She gave a slight nod and small smile, and at that point Edwards knew that she had been the one responsible for most of the decorations given out today, including his.
Rick noticed Edwards looking at Lisa and Rick purposely leaned very closed to Lisa and talked to her to distract her attention. The move was not lost on Edwards.
As Edwards received his citations, a Purple Heart and an RDF Achievement Medal, Claudia watched him with a trace of fear. This had been the first time she'd seen him. She had heard that he was around, but hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Lisa or Kim about the Costa Rica incident very much and didn't know what his current demeanor was like. Roy had told her about Edwards but hated him so much that he never could talk about him for very long.
She heard the rumor that Edwards was going over to New Detroit and hoped that the rumor was true. Just being in the same room with him for half an hour gave her the creeps.
"How come you didn't receive anything?" asked Kim in a whisper.
Lisa shrugged, "Don't worry about it Kim."
Kim was rather upset that Lisa didn't receive any type of commendation for anything she had done since becoming an Admiral. "That's not fair. You should have been commended too. Look at you, you're sitting there with stitches nearly around your entire waistline," she whispered more loudly.
Lisa shook her head, "It's alright."
"It's not alright-" started Kim.
"They'll give me something later on, it's too soon, they most likely can't get the paperwork in until next week," explained Lisa.
Kim huffed and folded her arms.
When Edwards got to his seat, he didn't sit down but instead gathered up his things as Reinhardt said, "I believe you have a plane to catch, correct Major?"
Edwards nodded his head once and then walked up to Lisa and held out his hand, saying, "It's been a pleasure serving with you Admiral. I'm sure your father would be very proud of you if he could see you now. And thank you for the transfer. You can contact me if you need anything and I'm sure we'll be meeting again soon."
Lisa shook his hand and Edwards saluted and walked out of the conference room.
When he was gone, both Claudia and Rick, from their respective seats, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now," said Reinhardt as he stood up, "we have one matter to attend to before we retire for the evening, and that is a promotion."
Claudia and the Trio looked at Lisa with troubled looks and Lisa felt sick. Her heart was pounding and a cold chill was running through her. She looked at Rick and he gave her a puzzled look and said, "Promotion? Who's getting promoted?"
Lisa didn't answer him and turned her attention to Reinhardt who had picked up the box that contained the insignia for the person being promoted.
"Captain Hunter? Would you please step over here," said Reinhardt.
Rick got up from his chair slowly, his stare fixed on Lisa. He walked towards Reinhardt in what seemed like slow motion and he stared at the box that Reinhardt had opened and was now resting in his palm.
"Captain Hunter," started Reinhardt crisply, loudly. "Based on your history as being a superb and respected leader, and our current need for all the good leaders we can find, it is my proud honor to inform you that you have been promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, upper half."
Rick looked at the box and saw two gleaming stars.
"Uhh, excuse me General, but I think there must be some mistake..."
"There's no mistake Admiral. You have been promoted to Rear-Admiral, effective immediately," returned Reinhardt.
"But General, I'm a pilot," said Rick as he turned around to look to Lisa to back him up in his argument.
Reinhardt looked at Lisa with a 'you handle this' look and closed the box and placed it in Rick's hand, then walked back to his seat and had enough sense to adjourn the meeting and dismiss everyone before the Hayes-Hunter grand battle began.
Rick stood in the same place where Reinhardt had left him and was staring at the box in his hand. The senior officers and the support staff left and then Claudia, Sammie and Vanessa gave Lisa a quick, worried look and headed out the door. Max appeared as if he wanted to go and say something to Rick but Miriya sensed the impending fight and tugged him out of the room, leaving only Rick, Lisa, and Kim in the room.
Kim looked at Lisa and saw that she was a deathly pale color. Kim asked, "Do you want me to stay?" to which Lisa nodded her head and replied, "...No. Go ahead and wait for me outside." Kim hesitated for a few moments then picked up hers and Lisa's stuff and quickly headed out the door.
Rick kept his eyes on the box, he knew that the promotion recommendation could have come only from Lisa. He then lifted his head slowly and scanned the room to make sure that they were the only two in the room.
Kim, still carrying the bundles of papers and reports and laptop in her arms, leaned against the wall just outside the door and closed her eyes and waited for the shouting to begin.
Rick looked at Lisa and saw her flinch. "Lisa...why?" he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice, but not succeeding.
Lisa tried to speak but her words got caught in her throat. She tried again and managed to say with some measure of determination, "Because we need someone like you right now. We need your leadership and your experience. Don't you understand?? The entire RDF chain of command is in shambles. We need the right kind of leaders right now if we have any hope of rebuilding the RDF."
Rick: "I'm a pilot! I'm not some management executive! I work out of a VT, not an office. I'm not going to do anyone any good sitting on my ass at meetings all day. I have to be out there in my fighter, patrolling and defending the skies!"
Lisa: "Dammit Rick, don't you see?? Maistroff is getting stronger and stronger and he's promoting people who are like him. If the conference room is full of Maistroffs then we will have a serious problem on our hands!"
Rick: "That's YOUR problem, not mine, I'm a pilot!"
Lisa: "Don't be so selfish Rick!! Think about the bigger picture here. If you are Admiral, you will have the authority to see that things get done the way they are supposed to, the right way and the fair way. That will have a ripple effect and will benefit more people. If you sit in your VT all day can only exercise your abilities at the confined coordinates you've been given by the Flight Officer."
Rick: "How DARE you call me selfish!! Look at you! You're running up to the SDF-3 and leaving everyone else here to try and solve all the problems."
Kim, from where she was standing, could hear everything that was being exchanged. She leaned her head back against the wall and wished that she was just imagining the things she was hearing. But she wasn't, and the argument continued.
Lisa: "I'm not running away! I know what my strengths are and where I'm needed to best carry them out!"
Rick: "The same goes for me then, my place is in a VT!"
Lisa: "NO! Don't you see, you can be so much more than that!"
Rick: "I don't want to be anything more than that!"
Lisa left her spot by the table and headed towards where Rick was standing. She tried to take hold of his arm but he yanked away from her.
"Dammit Lisa, how could you do this to me?"
"I'm not doing this to make you unhappy or be mean to you Rick. Why can't you accept the fact that you could be so much more than just a pilot?!"
" 'Just a pilot'...so, is being 'just a pilot' not good enough for you? Did Maistroff's little speech get to you? So me being a Captain is no longer good enough for you huh? I have to be an Admiral or else you can't be seen with me is that right?"
"Rick, stop it, you know that's not it at all!"
"Now you listen here. I don't WANT to be an Admiral. I don't WANT to be in charge of scores of people. I DON'T want to have all that responsibility weighing so heavily on my shoulders! Why can't you just leave me alone, with my VT, where I'm happy. Where I'm only responsible for a handful of people. Where I don't have to put up with people like Maistroff."
Lisa: "That is EXACTLY why we need you as an Admiral. So that we can counter Maistroff before he ruins the entire RDF!"
Rick: "That's your job. You, Reinhardt, and Haller, you guys need to figure out what to do about Maistroff."
Lisa: "We need you on our team, Rick. The soldiers respect YOU more than Reinhardt or Haller, or me."
Rick: "Oh, so that's it huh? You just want me to be the PR man."
Lisa: "I didn't say that Rick. What I'm saying is that if people can feel comfortable going to a senior officer, you, then things can get done and can be changed for the better, everyone will benefit."
Rick: "I don't see how I can make any difference. And Maistroff isn't going anywhere so I doubt if there's much hope for anything."
Lisa felt her face flush with anger and she lashed out, "Go over to Miriya Sterling and say that to her face! Go and tell her that things are hopeless and that she should just get used to the fact that she's going to have to shoot more of her Quadranos since it's their fault that they have grown disillusioned
because they think that no one will do anything to help them!"
Rick glared at Lisa but said nothing.
"You have the opportunity to help make things better for everyone, why won't you take it?" asked Lisa, lowering her voice.
"Because, I - am - not cut out of this type of thing. I - am - a - pilot. I belong in a cockpit and no where else," answered Rick.
"In your VT you can only help a few people at a time; as an Admiral you can help so many more than just a few. Look at how you handled New Portland. You saved countless of lives because you had the ability and were given the leeeway to excercise that ability for the greater good," said Lisa, almost pleading.
"Just because that worked out that way, doesn't mean I'm cut out for this nor that I want to be faced with this enormous responsibility every single day. If I'm in my VT, I just have my squad to worry about. I don't have to worry about this squad over here, or that platoon over there, or that fleet of ships
out there. In my VT, it's just me, my wingmates, and the enemy," replied Rick.
Rick looked at Lisa then at the box that he still held in his hand. He flipped it closed and said, "I'm sorry. You're just gonna have to give this back to Reinhardt and you guys will just have to find someone else."
Lisa shook her head, "No."
Rick's anger flashed and he threw the box down at her feet, very similarly to the time when he had thrown his flight helmet down and told Lisa to go chase after Khyron herself.
"How could you do this to me?" growled Rick. He sucked in his breath and shouted, "If you take flying away from me, you take away the most important thing in my life!"
Lisa felt as if a ton of bricks had fallen on her. She wanted to believe that she was just hallucinating and that she had misheard, but she knew she hadn't. So this was the real truth, this was where she stood in Rick's life. She had thought for so long that she had been second-fiddle to Minmei, and when Minmei was moved out of the way, Lisa found that she was still second-fiddle, this time to flying.
'He's a pilot, that's his life,' Lisa remembered shouting those words at Minmei, but as she had wrestled with her own decision whether or not to recommend Rick for promotion, Lisa knew those words would come back to haunt her. What she had wished she had said was that Rick was a soldier, that was his life. Her original words had been spoken in haste, caused by the turmoil that had been going on at the time when she, Minmei, and Rick were caught in Khyron's attack.
Lisa picked up the box and then began walking to the door, her face stoic. She thought to herself that she knew it was too good to be true. The ball DID end at midnight and she was no Cinderella and there was no Prince Charming.
Kim was still standing up against the wall, she had heard everything and was trying to fight off a wave of hysteria. She tried to convince herself that Rick had not said what she heard him say, but when Lisa came through the doors and headed down the hall as if she were in a trance, Kim knew that what she heard had really been spoken. She watched Lisa continue down the hall and turn around a corner out of sight. Kim was too angry and shocked to bring herself to move. However, when the door opened and Rick Hunter stepped into the hallway, Kim managed to bring herself back to reality.
Kim threw down her bundle of papers and a laptop down on the ground in sheer frustration. Rick turned his head when he heard the commotion and saw Kim staring at him, her eyes ablaze. Kim quickly walked up to him and slapped Rick hard across the face. The people who had been walking in the hall stopped and gawked at the scene.
"How could you?!! How could you say that to her, after all she has gone through for you, you bastard!!" Kim nearly shrieked her words. She was in tears because of frustration, anger, and disappointment. "She did this because she believes in you! But you're too caught up in yourself to appreciate that! You know what? Maybe you are right! Maybe you're NOT cut out for this. And you know what?? Maybe you should just go back to back to Minmei! You two are so much alike, you think only of yourselves! You know, you really fooled me. I thought you had changed. I was so proud and happy to be your 'big sister' but I should've known. I should've and Lisa should've known that it was just too good to be true. You had proven to be a selfish jerk for the past five years, why were we stupid enough to believe you'd acutally changed?"
Kim wiped her eyes and bent down to pick up her stuff. After a few moments Rick bent down to try and help her but she pushed his arm away, "I don't need your help," said Kim angrily. Rick stood up and watched her finish picking up her stuff and then watched as she stalked awkwardly down the hall, her bundles obviously too much for her carry.
The onlookers had started to disperse as Kim had been picking up her stuff. Rick managed to catch some of their comments. "See, I told you it wouldn't work out," said someone.
Rick stood in the hallway, not sure what to do. He was still too confused and angry and stunned over what had just taken place. There was a number of places where he could go, but one place pulled him more than any other.
At the hanger, Rick walked up to his VT and stared at it. He ran his hand along the fuselage and was about to climb onto the first rung of the ladder when he realized that there were parts scattered about the floor. His mind had been so numb that he had completely forgotten that his VT was undergoing it's a retrofit. He stepped back down onto the floor and sat down amongst the scattered pieces of his plane. He looked at them and realized he felt very much like they looked; strewn about, without any cohesion or clear purpose.

'If you take flying away from me, you take away the most important thing in my life!'

Those words seemed so surreal to him. Did he actually say them? Did he actually mean them? He tried to remember the look on Lisa's face when he said those words to her and he realized that there was no look on her face. It was an absolute blank when he spoke those words to her.

'Maybe you should just go back to back to Minmei!'

The rememberance of Kim's comment and the way in which she said it gave Rick a cold chill. He got up from the floor and wandered over to a refrigerator. In it he found a bottle of whisky that the VT squad kept on hand for special occassions. He took it back to where he was sitting and set it beside him as he lay down and stared up at his plane.

Kim had stopped at her office to see if Lisa had headed there but the lights were off, just the way Kim had left them. She put down her laptop and reports and quickly speed-dialed Lisa's number and received, as she expected, no answer, only voicemail. She next called Claudia and Sammie and Vanessa and they hadn't seen Lisa either. She called the hotel in the hopes that someone had seen Lisa arrive but the front desk clerk told her that no one had seen Lisa yet. Vanessa and Sammie called back and asked Kim if she needed their help, but she told them that she would handle the situation herself.
When Kim arrived home she ran to Lisa's room and checked the bathroom but it didn't seem like Lisa had been there yet. She was about to leave the room when she noticed that the two suitcases that had been in the corner of the room earlier that morning were now gone. Kim left another voicemail message for Lisa, pleading for her to call her back.
Kim changed into some comfortable clothes then got out the phonebook and pulled out the section that had the listing for all the bars in the town. Kim knew that if Rick had said those words to her, she'd definitely head straight to a bar, and even more so would Lisa.
Kim started the car and sped off with a gripping sense of urgency. She needed to find Lisa before someone else found her and word got out, allowing Maistroff would be able to smirk over his remarks from the previous night.
Kim knew that she probably should've taken Sammie's and Vanessa's offer to help but she felt that this was her sole responsibility and she also was trying to push off the farewell to her two best friends for as long as possible. Granted she was only going to be gone for six weeks, but this was going to be the longest separation they had shared in about 9 years and she was already feeling the withdrawl symptoms.

Lisa got out of the car and walked over to the old tree and looked out onto the water. She knew that it was dangerous to be out at this spot but she couldn't keep away. This was one of the most recent places where she and Rick had spent some time together, and she needed to come back to this place to be able to feel connected to the rest of the world, connected to herself, connected to him, because without that last stated connection, there was no world and there was no self.
Lisa stood there for twenty minutes, just staring out at the water, her mind, too numb to think about anything. She didn't even hear the whirring of something approaching, and when she saw a Quadrano land in the water directly in front of her, she didn't run, she didn't yell. She just stayed there, staring at the water and staring at the Quadrano.
"Micronian your end is here!" shouted the lone Quadrano.
Lisa didn't move or say a word and the Quadrano repeated herself.
"Micronian prepare for your doom!"
Lisa held out her arms and replied in Zentraedi, "Go ahead, shoot!"
The Quadrano raised her gun and said, "You are either insane or very brave!"
"I am neither," replied Lisa calmly.
The Quadrano, gun still raised, walked closer to Lisa and asked, "Are you not going to call your VTs to come and help you?"
"No," answered Lisa.
The Quadrano pointed her gun closer to Lisa and said, "Do not play games with me Micronian! I do not believe anything you Micronians say!"
Lisa stood there, staring at the Quadrano then casting her eyes to the water and saying quietly, "If you are going to shoot, then hurry up and do it or else get out of the way...you are blocking my view."
The Quadrano lowered her gun and said in a confused tone, "I do not understand. Why have you not called your reinforcements to kill me?"
Lisa looked back at the Quadrano and asked, "Why should I have them kill you?"
"Because I am a Quadrano," replied the female Zentraedi.
Lisa shrugged, "My friend Miriya is a Quadrano. I have not killed her."
"You are friends with a Quadrano?" asked the woman with disbelief.
"Yes, and very good friends too," returned Lisa.
"I do not have any Micronian friends. A long time ago, there were some who said they were my friend, but they lied. They just used me to gain money for themselves. I was a wrestler, I wrestled at the Granite Dome, but then I got injured and they fired me and I had no money and I left the city and could not find anyone to help me find a job. The local Zentraedi were too scared to bring in newcomers because the Micronian goverment was trying to keep down the numbers of Zentraedi there and told the Zentraedi that if they brought in any newcomers, that they would be heavily fined, so I wandered to New Phoenix, and nearly died of starvation on the trek there. That is when I met some fellow Quadranos and they told me about this place. They said that we could keep well supplied by raiding the convoys that came along that road over there. I am suppose to be on patrol right now, but the others did not come back last night so I am looking for them, but I believe that I probabaly will not find them."
"How many of them are there?" asked Lisa, wondering if the Quadranos they encountered last
night were the ones this Quadrano was looking for.
"There are 4 of them," said the Quadrano.
Lisa sighed and to her it seemed that this Quadrano would also most likely meet the same fate as
her comrades. Unless...
"I can help you," offered Lisa.
"How can you help me?" asked the Quadrano suspiciously.
"I can help get you an assignment. You would be working with other Zentraedi and you won't have to worry about not having any food," said Lisa calmly.
"I have heard that story before, I do not believe you," said the Quadrano gruffly.
Lisa shrugged, "Very well then. I guess there's nothing more to discuss. So please leave. I was trying to spend some time alone."
The Quadrano was perplexed by Lisa's non-threatening and rather odd behavior towards her (the quadrano). The Quadrano could clearly see that Lisa was an Officer, just by looking at her uniform, and Lisa could easily call in people to capture her, but yet Lisa didn't seem care if she were in harms way and made no active sign to harm her. (the quadrano)
"...If...if I let you help me, what would I be doing? Where would I go?" asked the wary Quadrano.
"Well, I suppose you could have your choice of several options. You could go to Monument and find a job, or I could arrange it so you could go up to the FActory Satellite and work for Breetai, or, if you don't like it here, then you can tell me where you want to go and I can make sure you get to your destination," answered Lisa.
"Why do you want to help me, even after I have threatened your life?" asked the Quadrano, as she walked closer to Lisa.
Lisa thought about the question for a moment, and there were a slew of possible answers, but she only spoke one. "I guess...it's because I can understand what you've been through because I have experienced something similar." Lisa looked at the Quadrano and was glad that she wasn't asked to elaborate; explaining romance and heartbreak to this Quadrano would take days, if not weeks.
"Very well. You seem too odd to be dangerous, so I will allow you to help me," replied the Quadrano.
Lisa was a bit taken offguard, she didn't think the Quadrano would take her offer, but now that she had, it was up to Lisa to make sure she came through on her promise. "Where do you want to go? I am going to the Factory Satellite tommorrow, I can assign you to come with me if that is what you want."
The Quadrano shook her head, "Yes, I wish to go to the satellite. I hear many good things about Lord Breetai."
Lisa got on her cell and called in a Zentraedi Placement team to come and start the paperwork for the registering and assigment of the Quadrano. Then she called Miriya and asked for her assistance and finally Lisa, sent a text message to Kim.
It was nearly 9pm and Kim had checked out so many bars and pubs that she lost count. She jumped when her cellphone rang and scrambled to answer it. She saw that it was a text message and not a call so she quickly scrolled through the message. "I'm ok, just taking care of some business before we leave tommorrow. Get some rest and I'll see you on the shuttle. - Lisa"
Kim was relieved, yet not totally convinced that it was wise to let Lisa be by herself. She wrestled over what to do, then decided to send Lisa a message before heading home.
Lisa looked at her phone, "Whatever you do tonight, please don't drink. - Kim"
Lisa flipped her phone closed and leaned against the tree as she waited for the team to come and pick up the Quadrano. After the Zentraedi Placement team had picked up the Quadrano and left, Lisa went to her car, got in, and just sat there for a good half hour, thinking of absoultely nothing.

'If you take flying away from me, you take away the most important thing in my life!'

Was it really that selfish of her to ask him to give up flying? LIsa wondered. IF she had to, she would give up everything for Rick in the blink of an eye, and she had nearly done so just a month prior. When she thought about it more, Lisa wasn't asking Rick to become an Admiral because she wanted to take flying away from him. She wanted him to become Admiral because everyone needed him to be the Admiral that he could be. Lisa sighed, their argument had made her seriously doubt if he would ever see it that way.
Lisa drove down the dark, lonely highway back to the base. She thought about calling Rick, but he had seemed to angry at her that she doubted if he wanted to talk to her.

'If you take flying away from me, you take away the most important thing in my life!'

Lisa was trying to block out all the harsh words that were exchanged between she and Rick from a few hours ago. She was trying to block out the fact that she would be leaving Earth in a few hours, and she wouldn't see or speak to Rick for at least six weeks. She was also trying to block out the fact that everyone else was right when they pleaded with her to tell Rick about the promotion sooner.
Lisa arrived back at the base and headed straight for her office and started typing. She printed what it was she typed up then drove over to Sammie's and Vanessa's.
Sammie opened the door and was surprised to find Lisa standing there. "Lisa!! Kim's been looking for you!" exclaimed Sammie.
Lisa walked into the apartment and said calmly, "I know. Don't worry, I already got back to her." She held out an envelope and told Sammie, "Give this to Rick tommorrow. Tell him that all he needs to do is sign it and turn it in to Reinhardt."
Sammie opened her mouth, ready to ask what was in the envelope but she decided against it and
just nodded her acknowledgement.
Lisa looked around the room then said, "Well, I guess I better be going. You behave yourself while we're gone alright?"
Sammie sniffled and nodded. Vanessa came into the room, her wet hair wrapped in a towel. "Lisa? Is everything ok?" Vanessa asked with concern. Lisa nodded and said quietly, "I just stopped to drop off something for Sammie to give to Rick and I was just saying my goodbyes incase I don't get to see you girls before we takeoff tommorrow."
Vanessa gave Lisa a hug and Lisa said, "You be careful ok? Don't worry about us, you just make sure you take good care of yourself."
Vanessa knew what Lisa meant. Among them all, it was thought that the one who would be in most danger on a new assignment would be Vanessa.
Despite her effort not to, Vanessa started to sniffle as well, and told Lisa, "I will, and you make sure that Kim doesn't get herself into too much trouble."
Lisa shared one last group hug with Sammie and Vanessa and then headed back to the base. On the way to her office, Lisa ran into two men from a VT squad in the elevator. After talking to them for a short time, Lisa found that they were escorts for some of the supply crews that had already begun transferring up to the Satellite that evening. Lisa thought over things quickly. She already had her luggage loaded on the shuttle and she knew that her plan for the rest of the evening was to try and drown her sorrows. She asked the pilots if they had any spare room for her in one of their planes, since all the supply ships were already packed to the gills. One of them told her of a spare seat and told her she was
welcome to come along if she wanted.
Lisa reasoned that getting to work on the new assignment as soon as possible was much better
than getting drunk, so she checked over the flight schedule with the pilots.
There was enough time for her to run over to Claudia's and say goodbye, so Lisa hurried over to the house. After saying their goodbyes and good lucks, Claudia tried to question her about Rick but Lisa made a hasty departure, leaving Claudia shaking her head.

Rick had been staring up at his VT for quite some time now, he didn't know how long but he knew it was quite some time. He had spent the better part of that time thinking about all the experiences he had gone through with Lisa; from seeing her the first time in the city after he had embarassed himself in the lingerie shop, to the time when he rescued her on Mars, being held prisoner by Dolza, being shot down by her, Roy's death, Dolza's attack, finding Lisa alive at Alaska base, the two years of reconstruction, Lisa coming to say goodbye to Rick and telling him that she loved him, Khyron's attack, chosing Lisa over Minmei, trying to rebuild yet again, the party from the night before and their continued growing friendship, love, and intimacy. Then Rick thought about the prospect of not flying anymore and the new responsibilities that would come with being an Admiral.
Rick had finished barely half of the bottle of whiskey and was already feeling very sick. He was not a drinker, and hardly even a social drinker, but he enjoyed a brew a few times a week and that was about it. Anything stronger always made him sick, or worse, embarassingly drunk.
Rick wondered if this was what Lisa felt like when she tried to drown her sorrows and confusion. Rick, though cotton-headed, realized that this wasn't a very good way to feel. He wondered if she was somewhere like this right now, and knew that if she was, it was his fault.

'She did this because she believes in you! But you're too caught up in yourself to appreciate that!'

'She believes in me...but why? After all the terrible things I've said and done to her...' Rick thought to himself.

'If you take flying away from me, you take away the most important thing in my life!'

Was that true? Was flying more important than anything else in his life? Was it more important than Lisa? Was it more important than trying to save the RDF falling under complete control of men like Maistroff?? How could he, Rick Hunter, a 24 year-old VT pilot be able to make a difference in the world?
Rick took another drink and sighed. Why did things have to go wrong? Why couldn't things just stay the way they were? He and Lisa had been enjoying some good times these past few days, they were very much in love. Now, they were separated once again, mad at each other once again, and the words that he spoke just a few hours ago made him wonder if there was any hope of things ever being the same again.

'How could you say that to her, after all she has gone through for you, you bastard!!'

Rick drank down a few more gulps and felt himself slowly blacking out.

"Admiral, we'll be leaving in half an hour, exactly at zero-hundred hours ma'am," said the pilot whom Lisa would be flying up with.
"That's fine, I'm ready," answered Lisa distractedly.
"Uhhh...ma'am, are you sure you're alright? If you're not feeling well, we can get a medic to look at you before we take off," offered the pilot.
"No Lieutenant, I'll be alright," said Lisa quietly.
The pilot, who was around Rick's age, had curly blond hair, and was quite tall, bent down a bit so that he wasn't looking too far down at Lisa, "Admiral, I heard about how you told off Maistroff yesterday."
Lisa suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Ma'am, I sure wish I had been there to see it! Now if you could've told off Antell too, that would've made my day!" continued the pilot.
Lisa's curiosity was piqued and she asked, "Oh really? Why do you say that?"
The Lieutenant brought himself back up to full height and said loudly, "Because she's such a B---H!! You know, I am a Minmei fan, and there's chat forums and message boards where fans can meet to talk about Minmei. Oh, excuse me ma'am, I didn't mean to bring up Minmei..."
Lisa waved him off, "Don't worry, please continue."
"Well anyways, Antell is at all of those websites, and she just bugs the hell out of everyone, she's such a troll! And she's at the Lynn Kyle websites too, I tell you she's totally a Lynn nut! She's even trying to find Lynn Kyle right now even, she's like all in a huge panic heartattack now that Kyle and Minmei split up," finished the pilot with a rolled eyes.
"Is that the main reason why people dont' like her?" asked Lisa.
"Well, ma'am, she's just...I dunno, she's just really kind of strange if you ask me, kinda creepy," replied the pilot, lowering his voice.
"I see..." mused Lisa.
The pilot excused himself to go finish some pre-flight work and Lisa went to go change into her flight suit. After she finished changing, Lisa sat down and just stared at the wall, wondering what lay in store for her as far as her assignment was concerned and her current problems with Rick. She sighed and wondered if things would ever get better, or, if they were just going to continue to get worse and worse...

================
AUTHORS NOTES:

Rick-Lisa fans PLEASE don't be too mad at me (Hey, I'm a Rick-Lisa fan too remember. :) ) , this is just a temporary thing, it's yet another small hiccup in the ongoing Hayes-Hunter saga. My purpose for taking this very painful and frustrating turn in the story is that I want to get the issue of Rick's promotion taken care of right away so Rick and Lisa can move on. It was an issue throughout the Zentraedi Rebellions and to practically most of the Sentinels, and that drove me CRAZY! I would rather see one huge blowout at the outset, that way, this mountain can be climbed and Rick and Lisa can finally get on the right track to being a couple.

I think to change the fact that Rick was against his promotion would be too much out of character and story plot. I just cannot imagine Rick saying, "Sure, me Admiral? hell ya gimme that new uniform and my raise!" He has valid arguments against the promotion and Lisa has valid arguments for the promotion. This is a major turning point in Rick's life. I also strongly agree that Rick is needed to be a leader, not a pilot, for the rest of his life. If Rick had stayed a pilot for the rest of his life, there would have been no Sentinels, and remember also how much they mentioned "Admiral Hunter" during the NewGen part of Robotech. It was Rick's destiny to become a great military leader, no matter how much he tried to deny it and remain a pilot. If you don't like that idea, then write a fanfic telling your own version of how you envision Rick. :)

For those who like action, there will be PLENTY of action. I apologize for those who like the Rick-Lisa romantic scenes, I am one who likes them as well, but those will not be seen for awhile, but I promise that when all the dust settles, there will be PLENTY of those scenes, please be patient with me :) The plan for the upcoming storylines is to see character development, especially for Lisa, Rick, Kim, Vanessa, and Miriya. So please buckle up your seatbelts and get ready for a wild ride :)