Hopes and Dreams
In the wake of the suicide attacks on the residents of Macross City, the RDF found it's self on the defensive, and it wasn't the Zentraedi attacking either, it was the press and the media who were relentlessly pounding the actions of the RDF, saying that they were 'less interested in protecting the people as much as they were in completing their own fascist war schemes,' everyone knew who that was coming from.
Lisa gave a groan as she watched the TV and saw Kyle's face again, berating the military and saying that all people in the service were baby killing monsters and if the people of earth really wanted peace that they would force the RDF to lay down their guns and co-exist with the Zentraedi.
Sure that was easy for him to say, he wasn't the one on the front lines, having to make decisions that might possibly get people killed on a daily basis, and the more she thought, the more she began to wonder why he was so vehement against anyone in the military, and then she laughed.
She was thinking back to a few days ago when Aaron and Rick had a chance encounter with Minmei and her cousin and Kyle threw a few insults at them and before Rick could do anything Aaron was moving on his way to lay Kyle out, but Rick managed to stop him before he got there and told him that he wasn't worth fighting.
So Rick and Aaron left, leaving Kyle with a smug look, and Minmei with a sad expression having said nothing to Rick since he had left her and had chased after Lisa on Christmas Eve. Lisa knew that Minmei wasn't going to give up; she was biding her time and waiting for the right moment.
Lisa turned off the TV having watched everything remotely interesting, but before she could turn it off something caught her eye. It was a special to be aired on the TV later that week, "Heroes" Lisa looked on and watched the short trailer, which didn't give away anything as to what it was going to be about except the "heroes" of our time.
A grin spread over Lisa's face, she would have to remember to watch that, it looked interesting, not to mention she wanted to know who the "heroes" of our time were going to be and Lisa couldn't help but think of Rick again and again. He was a hero whether the show recognized him for it or not.
Another smile crossed the face of Lisa Hayes in that short time, she has to go, damn the paper work it was all aggravating anyway, that's all she seemed to be doing lately: paperwork. She had thought she would help finish work on the SDF-2, but that, too, had been damaged by Khyron's raid, and badly.
But instead she was here doing paperwork like a lonely worker in a big firm. As Lisa sat stooped in thought she stated to wonder if maybe she should try to get a big get together worked out with all her friends, Rick would be there, Claudia, the Terrible Trio, and maybe Aaron, she didn't know.
Aaron was something special; she never quiet knew what to think of him ever. There were times when he behaved like a childish little kid and there were times when he was very mature and she was almost frightened by his dedication and zeal to his duty. It seemed to her that he was truly like a Spartan, ready and willing to serve and whatever order issued to him, a welcome change for a Hunter, who's brother was prone to not following orders.
She liked the idea and she decided that she would do that, give them all a call and try and get it all in order, an then she remembered that one friend, one that she loved dearly, like a father, wouldn't be there. Admiral Gloval was still in a coma, and updated reports showed no signs of him coming out anytime soon.
A single tear ran down her face and fell onto the paper in front of her, but she didn't care, the emotions that had been ignored and pent up for so long started to come out. Admiral Gloval, the closest thing to a father that she had left in her life was lying in a hospital unable to do anything for him.
She didn't try and hold back the tears as they flowed freely by now, she let the tears fall and put her hands to her face. So many people had died, and Lisa felt the emotions burst out of her as she let out a sob. But she didn't notice her door open and a young lieutenant standing there with a shocked and sympathetic look on his face. This lieutenant was none other than Aaron.
Lisa looked up and saw the boy standing there, folder in hand, she saw the look of shock and then the look of kindness and compassion in his face. He set down the folder and walked over to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Lisa, err, I mean Admiral are you ok?" Aaron asked her.
Lisa looked up at him with a tear-streaked face and felt suddenly ashamed of herself, here she was, the highest-ranking officer in the world crying in front of a lieutenant. But as she looked at his face more she saw that she could confide in him, and she gave him a smile and he smiled back.
She settled down and told him why she was upset and all the while he sat there and listened, never saying a word just nodding his head and smiling, a true listener. When she finished up she looked at her watch and gave a sour smile. It was getting late and Rick was expecting her for dinner.
Lisa sniffled once more and looked into her little compact mirror to make sure her eyes weren't puffy and put on her business face, "Now lieutenant, what was it you came to see me about?" Lisa asked him a slightly softer tone then she would normally have used.
Aaron picked it up immediately and realized it was back to normal, "Well Admiral, you know all squadron names and colors and so forth have to be approved by a Colonel or higher, and none of the other officers could help and you were the last person I wanted to bother but you're the last person I can go see, and I was wondering, if it's not to much trouble if you could sign off on these?" Aaron asked timidly, as if he were a teenager trying to get a date.
Lisa almost laughed at him, but she didn't. She didn't know what it must be like for him to have his brother's girlfriend be the Admiral, he had to receive a lot of flak from the others on how he achieved his position, and that Lisa could understand, her late father being an Admiral as well.
Lisa looked at the paint scheme, Red and Black, rather cryptic colors, red being the trim and black being the base color. She looked at the symbol: a short sword behind a skull head with a roman war helmet on, and lastly she looked at the name: Praetorians. She smiled, he was fashioning his squadron after the Romans.
She picked up a pen and sighed off on the papers and looked at Aaron, he smiled gratefully and took the folder, "Its getting late Admiral," Aaron said to her, "would you like me to give you a ride home?" Lisa looked at her own watch, it was late and she got up and grabbed her coat, "Yes thank you," Lisa said sweetly. Aaron smiled and walked her out the door turning the lights out after her.
Aaron drove her home and all the while Lisa founder herself clutching the arm rests and asked herself why she had agreed to let a teenager, and a pilot, to drive her home, she must have been suicidal. But they finally did reach Rick's place and he walked her to the door like it was the end to a date and they were saying their good-bye's when Rick opened the door.
"Hey, what's going on?" Rick asked as he gave Lisa a hug and Aaron a pat on the back, "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to show up." Rick said his voice full of cheer. Aaron rolled his eyes and Lisa gave a playful giggle.
"Well, your brother here has been treating me very nicely, we had a talk and then he drove me home and walked me to the door, like a perfect gentleman," Lisa told him and she saw Rick roll his eyes. Rick looked at his little brother and gave him a playful punch to the arm, "Hey are you hungry? Cause I have plenty if you want to stay and eat," Rick told him, hoping he would say yes so they could try and get to know more about him.
Aaron shook his head and Rick inwardly sighed, his little brother was a mysterious one, true he was fun and could be cool to have around, but Rick knew so little about him and he desperately wanted to know more. But when Aaron told him that he had to go and pain his fighters and get them all ready for combat patrol tomorrow, Rick understood, and felt a bit angry. He was hoping to get the new pilots a little more experience before they went out.
But again Rick gave a sigh; he knew that no amount of experience would ready a new pilot for the rigors and horrors of combat. He knew this from personal experience, and he remembered how he felt when he first went out and experienced his first bit of action.
So Rick gave him a wave and watched as he walked back to his Lamborghini Murcielago, which Rick knew must have cost him a fortune with it's midnight purple exterior and gray interior. He watched as his brother gunned the engine and took off back for the RDF barracks.
Rick ushered Lisa in and they sat down, and for the next hour they sat and chatted idly and ate the dinner Rick had made for them. Lisa looked up and saw Rick looking at her with a lost-in-thought look on his face.
"Rick, what is it?" She asked him slightly concerned that he was thinking. He usually never thinks when they are together, which is one of the reasons it took him so long to see that she loved him.
Rick looked at her, "What squadron is Aaron's going out with tomorrow?" Rick asked her, wanting to make sure his brother was going to be ok.
Lisa gave a sigh and knew what Rick was driving at, "If you want your squadron to go with him, I can get that set up," Lisa told him between mouthful's.
A smile crossed Rick's face, he wanted to make sure and be there for his brother when he went out on his combat patrol, seeing as how there was always combat on a patrol.
Rick and Lisa finished up with their dinner and went and sat down and watched some TV, Lisa noticed Rick's thoughtful look again and again asked him if there was something the matter. Rick looked at her and shook his head and nuzzled up closer to her, and within moments, Rick was asleep in Lisa's arms. Lisa smiled and nuzzled up to him, she felt wonderful, and this was something she thought that she would never get to do with Rick.
Rick awoke to the sound of his watch alarm going off and hit the silent button on it. He got up and walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He got out and quickly got on his flight suit and wrote a quick note for Lisa and laid it next to her, and kissed her one last time on the forehead as he left.
As Rick made his way to the hangers he spied one of his brothers fighters and almost felt sick, they were red and black! They were going to be targets all over the sky in those horribly painted fighters. But Rick couldn't say anything; they had been signed off on.
Rick jumped into his fighter and started the engines; he taxied his way out and noticed he was the last fighter to launch. He gunned the engines and felt himself rising off of the runway and into the sky.
He met up with the rest of Skull and the Praetorians, as he found out his brothers outfit was called. As they met up they began to count off, half of Skull and half of Praetorian would go one way while the rest of the respective squadrons would go the other.
Rick made sure that Aaron was with him and as he took command of his mixed unit, he saw his radar light up, he could hear the automated threat counter tell him that at least three dozen were heading there way Rick blanched, they were in for a helluva first time.
A/N: Action right from the get go in the next chapter, I do hope you enjoyed this, less than normal chapter, but I will atone. R&R!
In the wake of the suicide attacks on the residents of Macross City, the RDF found it's self on the defensive, and it wasn't the Zentraedi attacking either, it was the press and the media who were relentlessly pounding the actions of the RDF, saying that they were 'less interested in protecting the people as much as they were in completing their own fascist war schemes,' everyone knew who that was coming from.
Lisa gave a groan as she watched the TV and saw Kyle's face again, berating the military and saying that all people in the service were baby killing monsters and if the people of earth really wanted peace that they would force the RDF to lay down their guns and co-exist with the Zentraedi.
Sure that was easy for him to say, he wasn't the one on the front lines, having to make decisions that might possibly get people killed on a daily basis, and the more she thought, the more she began to wonder why he was so vehement against anyone in the military, and then she laughed.
She was thinking back to a few days ago when Aaron and Rick had a chance encounter with Minmei and her cousin and Kyle threw a few insults at them and before Rick could do anything Aaron was moving on his way to lay Kyle out, but Rick managed to stop him before he got there and told him that he wasn't worth fighting.
So Rick and Aaron left, leaving Kyle with a smug look, and Minmei with a sad expression having said nothing to Rick since he had left her and had chased after Lisa on Christmas Eve. Lisa knew that Minmei wasn't going to give up; she was biding her time and waiting for the right moment.
Lisa turned off the TV having watched everything remotely interesting, but before she could turn it off something caught her eye. It was a special to be aired on the TV later that week, "Heroes" Lisa looked on and watched the short trailer, which didn't give away anything as to what it was going to be about except the "heroes" of our time.
A grin spread over Lisa's face, she would have to remember to watch that, it looked interesting, not to mention she wanted to know who the "heroes" of our time were going to be and Lisa couldn't help but think of Rick again and again. He was a hero whether the show recognized him for it or not.
Another smile crossed the face of Lisa Hayes in that short time, she has to go, damn the paper work it was all aggravating anyway, that's all she seemed to be doing lately: paperwork. She had thought she would help finish work on the SDF-2, but that, too, had been damaged by Khyron's raid, and badly.
But instead she was here doing paperwork like a lonely worker in a big firm. As Lisa sat stooped in thought she stated to wonder if maybe she should try to get a big get together worked out with all her friends, Rick would be there, Claudia, the Terrible Trio, and maybe Aaron, she didn't know.
Aaron was something special; she never quiet knew what to think of him ever. There were times when he behaved like a childish little kid and there were times when he was very mature and she was almost frightened by his dedication and zeal to his duty. It seemed to her that he was truly like a Spartan, ready and willing to serve and whatever order issued to him, a welcome change for a Hunter, who's brother was prone to not following orders.
She liked the idea and she decided that she would do that, give them all a call and try and get it all in order, an then she remembered that one friend, one that she loved dearly, like a father, wouldn't be there. Admiral Gloval was still in a coma, and updated reports showed no signs of him coming out anytime soon.
A single tear ran down her face and fell onto the paper in front of her, but she didn't care, the emotions that had been ignored and pent up for so long started to come out. Admiral Gloval, the closest thing to a father that she had left in her life was lying in a hospital unable to do anything for him.
She didn't try and hold back the tears as they flowed freely by now, she let the tears fall and put her hands to her face. So many people had died, and Lisa felt the emotions burst out of her as she let out a sob. But she didn't notice her door open and a young lieutenant standing there with a shocked and sympathetic look on his face. This lieutenant was none other than Aaron.
Lisa looked up and saw the boy standing there, folder in hand, she saw the look of shock and then the look of kindness and compassion in his face. He set down the folder and walked over to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Lisa, err, I mean Admiral are you ok?" Aaron asked her.
Lisa looked up at him with a tear-streaked face and felt suddenly ashamed of herself, here she was, the highest-ranking officer in the world crying in front of a lieutenant. But as she looked at his face more she saw that she could confide in him, and she gave him a smile and he smiled back.
She settled down and told him why she was upset and all the while he sat there and listened, never saying a word just nodding his head and smiling, a true listener. When she finished up she looked at her watch and gave a sour smile. It was getting late and Rick was expecting her for dinner.
Lisa sniffled once more and looked into her little compact mirror to make sure her eyes weren't puffy and put on her business face, "Now lieutenant, what was it you came to see me about?" Lisa asked him a slightly softer tone then she would normally have used.
Aaron picked it up immediately and realized it was back to normal, "Well Admiral, you know all squadron names and colors and so forth have to be approved by a Colonel or higher, and none of the other officers could help and you were the last person I wanted to bother but you're the last person I can go see, and I was wondering, if it's not to much trouble if you could sign off on these?" Aaron asked timidly, as if he were a teenager trying to get a date.
Lisa almost laughed at him, but she didn't. She didn't know what it must be like for him to have his brother's girlfriend be the Admiral, he had to receive a lot of flak from the others on how he achieved his position, and that Lisa could understand, her late father being an Admiral as well.
Lisa looked at the paint scheme, Red and Black, rather cryptic colors, red being the trim and black being the base color. She looked at the symbol: a short sword behind a skull head with a roman war helmet on, and lastly she looked at the name: Praetorians. She smiled, he was fashioning his squadron after the Romans.
She picked up a pen and sighed off on the papers and looked at Aaron, he smiled gratefully and took the folder, "Its getting late Admiral," Aaron said to her, "would you like me to give you a ride home?" Lisa looked at her own watch, it was late and she got up and grabbed her coat, "Yes thank you," Lisa said sweetly. Aaron smiled and walked her out the door turning the lights out after her.
Aaron drove her home and all the while Lisa founder herself clutching the arm rests and asked herself why she had agreed to let a teenager, and a pilot, to drive her home, she must have been suicidal. But they finally did reach Rick's place and he walked her to the door like it was the end to a date and they were saying their good-bye's when Rick opened the door.
"Hey, what's going on?" Rick asked as he gave Lisa a hug and Aaron a pat on the back, "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to show up." Rick said his voice full of cheer. Aaron rolled his eyes and Lisa gave a playful giggle.
"Well, your brother here has been treating me very nicely, we had a talk and then he drove me home and walked me to the door, like a perfect gentleman," Lisa told him and she saw Rick roll his eyes. Rick looked at his little brother and gave him a playful punch to the arm, "Hey are you hungry? Cause I have plenty if you want to stay and eat," Rick told him, hoping he would say yes so they could try and get to know more about him.
Aaron shook his head and Rick inwardly sighed, his little brother was a mysterious one, true he was fun and could be cool to have around, but Rick knew so little about him and he desperately wanted to know more. But when Aaron told him that he had to go and pain his fighters and get them all ready for combat patrol tomorrow, Rick understood, and felt a bit angry. He was hoping to get the new pilots a little more experience before they went out.
But again Rick gave a sigh; he knew that no amount of experience would ready a new pilot for the rigors and horrors of combat. He knew this from personal experience, and he remembered how he felt when he first went out and experienced his first bit of action.
So Rick gave him a wave and watched as he walked back to his Lamborghini Murcielago, which Rick knew must have cost him a fortune with it's midnight purple exterior and gray interior. He watched as his brother gunned the engine and took off back for the RDF barracks.
Rick ushered Lisa in and they sat down, and for the next hour they sat and chatted idly and ate the dinner Rick had made for them. Lisa looked up and saw Rick looking at her with a lost-in-thought look on his face.
"Rick, what is it?" She asked him slightly concerned that he was thinking. He usually never thinks when they are together, which is one of the reasons it took him so long to see that she loved him.
Rick looked at her, "What squadron is Aaron's going out with tomorrow?" Rick asked her, wanting to make sure his brother was going to be ok.
Lisa gave a sigh and knew what Rick was driving at, "If you want your squadron to go with him, I can get that set up," Lisa told him between mouthful's.
A smile crossed Rick's face, he wanted to make sure and be there for his brother when he went out on his combat patrol, seeing as how there was always combat on a patrol.
Rick and Lisa finished up with their dinner and went and sat down and watched some TV, Lisa noticed Rick's thoughtful look again and again asked him if there was something the matter. Rick looked at her and shook his head and nuzzled up closer to her, and within moments, Rick was asleep in Lisa's arms. Lisa smiled and nuzzled up to him, she felt wonderful, and this was something she thought that she would never get to do with Rick.
Rick awoke to the sound of his watch alarm going off and hit the silent button on it. He got up and walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He got out and quickly got on his flight suit and wrote a quick note for Lisa and laid it next to her, and kissed her one last time on the forehead as he left.
As Rick made his way to the hangers he spied one of his brothers fighters and almost felt sick, they were red and black! They were going to be targets all over the sky in those horribly painted fighters. But Rick couldn't say anything; they had been signed off on.
Rick jumped into his fighter and started the engines; he taxied his way out and noticed he was the last fighter to launch. He gunned the engines and felt himself rising off of the runway and into the sky.
He met up with the rest of Skull and the Praetorians, as he found out his brothers outfit was called. As they met up they began to count off, half of Skull and half of Praetorian would go one way while the rest of the respective squadrons would go the other.
Rick made sure that Aaron was with him and as he took command of his mixed unit, he saw his radar light up, he could hear the automated threat counter tell him that at least three dozen were heading there way Rick blanched, they were in for a helluva first time.
A/N: Action right from the get go in the next chapter, I do hope you enjoyed this, less than normal chapter, but I will atone. R&R!