Rick sipped from a cup of bad coffee in the pilot's lounge. Once again, he was still wearing his jumpsuit. This time it was ripped upat his shoulder. A bloody bandage was wrapped around his forehead. He set the coffee down on a table beside the sofa, and eased an ice pack onto his head.

His nerves were completely shot. He shut his eyes and tried to calm down. But all he could think about was his canopy shattering, the shards of glass pelting his helmet and the sudden loss of cockpit pressure that almost made him black out.

Roy sat down beside him. "Man, are you one lucky kid!" he sighed. "I mean...I've seen a lot of things in my day...but that..."

Rickclosed his eyes tightly. "Shut up, Roy."

"Just trying to lighten the mood..."

"You're not. Shut up."

Roy shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, Mister Hunter," he said as he stretched out his legs. "No more comments from the peanut gallery."

"Thank you."

A pilot walked in, noticed the scowl on Rick's face and kept on walking.

"So...you get that checked out yet?" asked Roy, nodding to Rick's bandaged face.

"No. I'll be all right."

"Mm-hmm."

Rick set down the cold pack and grabbed his coffee. He took a long sip from the paper cup.

"Geez this is bad!" he coughed. He tossed it in the garbage can.

"Hey, you all right, buddy?" asked Roy. "You can relax now, everything's gonna get taken care of..."

"Roy, don't you have somewhere to be?"

The Skull pilot looked at Rick's stern face for a while. "All right," he finally said, and slapped his knees tiredly. "All right, you can sit here all day and get all upset with yourself."

He stood up to leave the lounge but as he stepped into the hallway, he turned back around.

"You know...you could've avoided the whole thing with a quick split maneuver."

Rick folded his arms. "I don't know a split maneuver," he said quietly.

"Aw, sure you do. Didn't Pops teach you that?"

Rick stood up. "Pops didn't teach me a whole lot of anything, remember?"

Roy leaned against the open door frame. "Oh, is that right."

"Yeah it's right! You flew with him every single day! He taught you! Know where I was? I was stuck in some movie theater where I didn't get in the way! And then when I wanted to get in a plane, you taught me to fly. And you did not teach me a split maneuver!"

Roy blinked his eyes. He looked at Rick, then back at the sofa.

"You want a shrink to go with that couch?" he asked, and dodged a flying magazine as he retreated down the hall.

Rick fell back into the sofa. Geez, he thought. It was so easy...I just couldn't...see it coming...I screwed up again!

He looked back at the table for his ice pack. As he reached to grab it, he found Lisa standing in the doorway. She was back in her uniform, proper and professional. But she didn't illicit a salute from him. She gave him a casual wave instead.

"Hello," she said.

Rick nodded her way. "Hi."

"I just got back from the medic...regular exam and all...and they're looking for you down there."

"I know. Please don't bring it up right now."

Lisa stepped into the lounge. "I could order you to go down there right now," she said.

Rick looked up. He cringed as he put the ice back on.

"Do I need to?" she asked.

"No."

"All right, then I won't."

He leaned back in his place and left her standing where she was. His head was throbbing like crazy. Maybe he did need a quick check-up.

Lisa shuffled her feet. "May I sit down?"

Rick scooted over and made some room. "Sure," he sighed.

She had a seat beside him, carefully crossing her legs and straightening her uniform. "I wasn't on duty this morning. But...I heard something happened."

"Something happened," Rick grumbled. He still felt jumpy.

Lisa nodded. "Should I...look up the report?"

"You're going to laugh."

"Laugh? No I won't."

"Oh yeah, you will."

"I will not." She looked Rick in the eyes. "Lieutenant, I do not laugh on-duty."

It made Rick crack a smile. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "All right, all right. I was running a new pattern with Roy, and I got distracted, I guess..."

"That's understandable..." Lisa encouraged.

"Yeah, well...I sort of...hit a seagull."

"Oh!" Lisa covered a smiling face. "Oh, you don't say. Where...um, where'd it land?"

"My canopy."

Her smile disappeared right away. "Oh...oh my gosh. Did it...break?"

"Yeah.Went throughmy heads-up."

"Oh my goodness..."

"And...uh, my visor wasn't down...which is my own fault, I guess...so the heads-up got me right in the face before my suit could pressurize."

Lisa's fingers ran over her lips. "Oh...wow."

Rick tried to perk up a little. "I guess it was kinda funny...you know...'cause the bird kinda slammed into my seat right next to my head..." He laughed nervously, shivering from the cold pack. "The guys said they still can't get it outta there!"

"Oh, Rick..." she winced, her eyes in distress.

He dropped his head into his hands. "I was really close. I could've missed it...oh man, I was really close."

He felt tears running over his cheeks; he brushed them away as quickly as he could.

"A split maneuver...what the heck is that!"

Rick felt Lisa's hand run across his back and wrap around his scratched shoulder. She drew him a little closer and whispered in his ear.

"Everybody makes mistakes, Lieutenant. One time, I put this guy in a holding pattern for almost half an hour..."

Rick wasn't insecure by any respect, but he'd always been somewhat careful with how he approached things. He felt as though he could take on the world, as long as he could get a little prepared first. Getting tossed into a weird new experience wasn't his cup of tea. He was never at his most confident when he wasn't familiar with his surroundings.

There were still a few places he avoided, and therefore, loathed. One of those places was the bookstore.

He knew he wouldn't be comfortable from the moment he walked into the Macross Burns & Grumble store. There were books, for one. Which he was expecting...just not so many, or shelved in such a way that hewould becomelost in the first five minutes.

And wherever he looked, he'd seem to find a customer sitting on a chair between the aisles, or even on the floor, reading a book. And drinking some weird coffee-looking drink with sprinkles on it. Where the patronshad gottenthe coffee drinks, or how they'd snuck them into the store, Rick couldn't figure out.

Disoriented as he was, he'd finally found the store's extensive music and video section. He'd spent the last few minutes in a very unproductive conversation with department specialist, a skinny young man in his mid-teens.

"Okay," he said, typing at a computer from behind his desk. "What were you looking for again?"

Rick sighed. "I told you, I ordered a tape of the original Space Battle. You called me and said it came in today."

The kid shook his head. "Well...it wasn't me who called you. I didn't start work until five...maybe it was Josh...no, wait, he doesn't work today. I think Marcus was in this department..."

"Look," said Rick. "I don't care who called me. Somebody called and told me to pick up my movie."

"All right, I'll try and look it up..." The young employee typed away at his keyboard. "Ah. Here we go. Space Battle: Special Edition. Sorry, that movie's still in theaters."

"It's not in theaters," Rick said. "It's a cheesy sci-fi movie that came out when I was a little kid. They slapped some three-dee monsters into it and put it back in theaters."

"Um...right, sure...well, it doesn't come out on video until January of next year."

Rick rubbed his aching head. "Look it up again."

The kid shrugged and searched another time. "Okay...I'm showing nineteen results for Space Trek. Is that it?"

"No," Rick said emphatically.

"Space Trek 2...Space Trek 3: The Search for Spork...Space Trek 4: The Wrath of Swan..."

"Different movie!"

"Okay, okay...tell you what, I'll search the whole database."

Rick drummed his fingers on the table. "Good. That sounds productive. Let's do that."

"It'll take a second." The young man tapped a few keys. He sat back in his swiveling chair and watched the monitor.

Moments passed. The kid kept watching his screen, not saying or doing much of anything. Rick wondered if he'd completely forgotten what he was searching for.

"Uh...any luck?" he asked.

"It's still searching...oh! By the way, I forgot to mention this."

The young specialist reached under his counter and picked up a video box. A cartoonish drawing of a beautiful girl, dressed in a pink bikini and sporting cat's ears, was on the cover.

"Would you like to pre-order a copy of the hit new Japanese anime, Splash Splash Neko?"

"No, I would not."

He grabbed another cartoon-clad box from below the computer. "How about Dashing Inspector Ryuko?"

"No."

"Gunblazer Vampire?"

"No!"

"Yuki Ninja Princess?"

"I'll think about it...I mean no!"

This was getting tiring. A line was starting to form behind Rick, and he wasn't exactly enjoying himself.

"Is that thing done yet?" he asked.

"Nope...still searching..." the kid disappeared under the counter. "Ooh...I've got the new Dragonblast G on pre-order..."

"Where are you getting those?" growled Rick. He leaned over top of the counter and found a huge stack of video discs and music CD's. On the very top was his order -- an old, yet unopened, video cassette tape of Space Battle.

"That's it!" cried Rick. "Right there! That's my movie!"

"Oh, so you're a Dragonblast fan, huh?"

"No, you idiot..."

Rick grabbed the Space Battle tape off the pile and stormed away. The line of customers gave him dirty looks for holding up the line. At the very end, an old lady frowned at him with her arms crossed.

"Japanese animation," she huffed. "Well, I never."

The young salesman waved over top of the line. "Thank you and have a nice day!"

I've been in here fifteen minutes and already I can't stand it. Where the heck do I pay for this thing!

Rick wandered by the aisles of books, trying to keep a lookout for some kind of cashier. He wasn't seeing one. And if he didn't find one soon, he figured he'd start tipping over the racks until someone finally helped him.

Rick! Is that you, Rick?

Did he hear Lisa's voice? He was almost sure he did. He back-tracked a little and poked his head into the aisles. "Hello?" he called.

"Rick! Small world."

Sure enough, Lisa Hayes was nestled into a comfortable, cushioned seat at the end of an aisle. She was out of uniform again, dressed in jeans and a comfortable sweater. It was still a little awkward to see. He had to keep reminding himself that Lisa was a human being too.

A big stack of books was on the floor by her chair. There were some thick, intimidating books at the bottom, like A History of the Early Battles of the Macross War. But most of them seemed to be novels, and he couldn't make out the titles.

"Hey," he said. He couldn't think of much else.

"I didn't know you came here," Lisa smiled. She carefully closed her book and set it down. Rick skimmed over the title -- curses! He'd never heard of it.

"Um...yeah...well, I sort of don't," he laughed. "This is my first time in." He nodded towards Lisa's collection of books. "You, uh...come here pretty regularly?"

Funny -- she was looking right at Rick, but she almost didn't seem to be paying attention. Her emerald eyes seemed a little glazed over.

"...Hmmh? Oh! Uh...yes! I come here just about every weekend." She thought for a moment, and blushed a little. "Guess I'm...sort of dull, I don't know..."

"Aw, not at all," said Rick. "What else would you do? Go to some bar and drink? This place is nice, I like it!"

Lisa smiled again. "Well...yeah, I suppose."

"Can I have a seat?" he asked.

"Sure! Would you like mine?"

"No! No, that's okay, you stay comfortable." Rick stretched out in the aisle. "Man...it feels like I've been walking for ever in here."

"I guess it's kinda big," she nodded. "What were you looking for?"

"Um...a way out."

They both laughed. Lisa looked down at her books. "Hey...if we go over to the coffee shop, we could check out our things there. I usually grab something to drink before I go..."

"Mind if I join you?" Rick asked.

"Oh sure, not at all!"

She seemed almost as nervous as Rick was. And a little embarrassed as well, but he had no idea why. He helped her gather up her things and they left the aisle together.

"My treat," said Lisa. "I owe you for the other night...in fact, I owe you a lot more than a little coffee..."

"Coffee will be just fine," grinned Rick. "Besides, I have a feeling it'll cost a fortune here."

"Oh, it does!" she giggled.

"We'll pool our resources. Maybe we can split a scone."

Ordering a drink at the bookstore's coffee shop turned out to be a daunting task. The person who made the drinks -- the barista, as Rick came to understand -- apparently didn't understand the phrase "I would like a coffee, please." He wasn't able to prepare a caffeinated beverage unless it was sprinkled with something sugary or fruity. Rick had been ready to give up, but Lisa had stepped in and ordered something on his behalf.

He sat with her in a cozy booth, examining the drink like a raccoon poking around in a garbage can.

"Are you sure this is coffee?" he smiled. "There's ice cubes in it!"

"Trust me," said Lisa, "it's really good."

Rick took a sip. Quite tasty...but it was ice-cold coffee, flavored with pineapple. He had to laugh at himself.

"I sure don't belong here," he sighed.

"Oh, you fit in just fine."

They sat for a while enjoying their drinks, mostly silent. Rick kept looking for opportunities to converse, but he was in a foreign land with a girl he didn't really know, drinking cold coffee with pineapples in it. He was about as confused as possible.

"Rick..." Lisa began. But she stopped and giggled at herself. "Heh...you know, it's still a little awkward calling you that."

"Oh, I know," Rick said. "It's still weird seeing you without your clothes on."

Silence again. Lisa slowly covered her smiling face while Rick kept drinking. It took him a few moments, but he finally put his cup down, and his face grew extremely red.

"Without...the uniform...you normally wear..." Rick covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry."

But thankfully, Lisa didn't seem offended at all. She and Rick shared a good laugh about it; awkward, but genuine. The people sitting nearby shot them dirty looks, and whispered back and forth about how it was a place to read quietly.

"Oh gosh, that's funny," smiled Lisa, wiping her eyes.

Rick sighed even deeper. "Oh man, I cannot wait until this day's over...sometimes I can't get anything right."

He looked up tiredly at his gracious company. It seemed like the more time he spent with Lisa, the harder it was to be around her. He wasn't comfortable anymore. Everything about her seemed to catch him off-guard. Just seeing her outside the base made him nervous; he could barely make eye contact with her. It was a lot easier when he was just snapping annoying comments her way.

"I know the feeling," she sighed. "I really do."

They sat outside in a courtyard by the bookstore; the night was warm enough but they still had it all to themselves. There were some park benches around a small water fountain, all empty, and through the trees it looked as though the rain was finally going to hold off for a while.

Lisa blinked her deep green eyes. "What I was going to say in there...was that I'm really sorry about what happened today."

Rick smiled painfully. "Thanks."

"I thought about it all day."

He blinked with surprise. Did he hear that right?

"I'm sure they'll have me back up there in no time," he said.

"I hope so."

Lisa brushed the hair from her eyes. She looked up through the trees at the patchy night sky.

"You know...I heard you saying some things this morning," Lisa said quietly. "I guess it's none of my business, but...did you really teach yourself to fly a Veritech?"

Rick shrugged a little. "Uh...yeah, I guess. They're a lot different than what I usually fly...I'm still getting used to it. I'll be more careful next time."

"No, that's not what I meant!" she laughed, and looked down at his eyes. "That's unbelievable!"

"Not if you're a seagull..."

The bookstore bag slipped out of his hand and hit the ground. Rick's Space Battle video slid out. He grabbed the tape and quickly shoved it back where it belonged. He figured he was due for something embarrassing to happen. So much for the macho-pilot image, he thought.

Lisa couldn't have missed it. She smiled. "That movie again?"

"...Yeah."

She reached over his lap and grabbed the bag. "All right, let's see this thing."

I want to go home, Rick winced inwardly.

"Hmm." She read over the back of the box. "...So I'm really missing out, not seeing this?"

"Maybe I have a soft spot for it. I really liked it when I was a kid."

"Well...perhaps I owe it to myself to finally see what the buzz is about."

Rick took a deep breath. This is gonna be the most embarrassing thing I do tonight...but why not.

"Want to watch it with me?" he asked sheepishly.

Lisa looked up again. He was expecting some kind of pitiful oh, that's sweet response, but for some oddly terrifying reason, she seemed genuinely touched by it.

"...Really?"

He was not expecting this.

"Well...sure! It really is kind of a fun movie."

"It's not, like...a science-fiction...horror movie."

"Oh no," he said. "No, you'd be surprised."

She seemed to be getting a little apprehensive. "All right...because...those things bother me a little."

"It's not like that at all," he smiled.

"You're absolutely sure."

"I've seen it quite a few times, yes."

Lisa rubbed her hands together, and fidgeted in her seat. "All right," she nodded. "But...well, I'm not much fun in a theater... could we watch it at your place, maybe?"

Say what, now?

"Well...of course!" he said. "Sure! Yeah, that'll...that'll be fun!"

"Very good, then." She gained her trademark confidence right back. "If memory serves me, you don't fly on Wednesdays."

Rick chuckled. "I may never fly again!"

"Wednesday evening, then? Seven o'clock?"

"Um...yeah! Fine with me!" he said.

She reached over, set the movie in his lap and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks," she said, with a beaming smile. "I'll see you then."

Rick watched as she trotted off to call a taxi. He sat speechless for a while, but finally managed to think of something worth saying.

"Do you...need directions to my place?"

Acab pulled up and she quickly popped the door open. She looked back and gave him another bright smile. "I'll look you up, Lieutenant. You're in the database...just don't quit before Wednesday!"

He watched the taxi speed off into the night. "Whatever just happened," he said to himself, "I'm pretty sure I made an idiot of myself...but I guess that's all right."