It was over a week before Rick saw Lisa again in person. She had coordinated some of the Vermilion squadron's flight patrols, but he noticed that Lisa wasn't manning her usual station as often and wondered if she had a different shift. After his last patrol, Rick went to the mess hall to get some food. As he selected his choices from the warm buffet trays, Rick scanned the room for a place to sit.
Rick noticed Roy, Lisa and Claudia sitting at a table, engaged in conversation near the big bay windows in the mess hall. Seeing his friends from across the room Rick made his way over to give his greetings when he sensed that the conversation that the three were having was not very friendly as tension oozed from the group. Noticing that others were giving this trio wide berth, Rick slowed his approach to see whether he should continue or not. Claudia was leaning in towards Lisa talking to her in a low quiet voice. From Claudia's stance and body movements and the stubborn look on Lisa face, it appeared that Claudia was lecturing Lisa about something and that Lisa was not having any of it.
Lisa shook her head negatively to something that Claudia said, which caused Claudia to throw her hands in the air and turn to Roy to support her stance. Roy, usually one to back up Claudia, uncharacteristically shrugged his shoulders and said something that made Lisa respond with a tight, slightly smirking smile. Defeated Claudia shook her head and once again started to speak to Lisa in a low whispered voice. Lisa listened politely but tired of the argument excused herself with a tap of her watch, rose from the table and made her way out of the room. As she passed Rick, he could see the anger in her face and her eyes flashed like bright green gems. Fascinated but scared at the same time, he murmured a hello, which Lisa acknowledged with a quick nod of her head as she stalked out the room.
Glancing back at Roy and Claudia, he was about to look for somewhere else to sit when he saw Roy motion him over. Sighing, as he didn't want to be involved with whatever was going on between Lisa and Claudia, Rick weaved his way over. As he got close to where Roy and Claudia were sitting, he could hear Claudia complainIng about Lisa to Roy.
"That girl is so stubborn, I don't know what has gotten into her lately. Honestly, I sometimes don't think that I know who she is anymore." Claudia shook her head in disbelief and finaly noticed Rick setting his tray down on the table.
Rick thought that Claudia would desist speaking about the situation with Lisa once he sat down, but either she was too mad to care whether he knew she was upset with Lisa or that his close relationship with Roy implicitly meant that any conversation he was privy to was kept under the strictest confidence.
Rick wasn't one to participate in idle gossip and mostly kept his mouth shut except for when he was flying. Others in the RDF thought that maybe Rick wasn't too bright just an excellent pilot, but that wasn't the case at all.
"She's going to get hurt Roy, I jut know it and damned if you are just going to stand by and help her," continued Claudia. "Everytime that girl leaves this fortress, she's almost died." Glancing towards Rick, Claudia made a motion with her hands towards Rick. "If it wasn't for this one, she wouldn't have made it back either time!"
Rick frowned a bit, he didn't want to hear that Lisa had another dangerous mission which required her to leave the relative safety of the SDF-1. It didn't seem that the Zentraedi wanted to destroy the ship, which meant that for now being on board was the safest place to be. Appetite lost, Rick swallowed his bite of food and pushed his tray away from him. Looking up at Roy and Claudia with a concerned look on his face, he asked, "Where is she going this time? We aren't that much further from reaching Earth, they aren't thinking of trying to send her to Earth now are they?" They can't do that!"
As Rick pondered the question he just asked, he wondered if Captain Gloval would really be capable of doing such a thing. They had just made it back from escaping Dolza's ship a couple of months ago and now command was thinking of sending her out there again? Lisa and her crew would be captured or killed before they made it to Earth.
Claudia looked slightly amazed at Rick's outburst and looked at Roy. Roy hurried to assure Rick, "No, it's nothing like that at all. She's not going to go anywhere.". With those words Roy gave a pointed look to Claudia, who understood that while Roy could not stop Lisa, he could make it more difficult for her to succeed without his support.
Claudia felt some relief from what Roy had tried to convey to her. She gave Roy a warm smile and got up from her seat and gave Roy a quick peck on the cheek. "I knew you wouldn't let me down.". Excusing herself from the table and telling Rick and Roy goodbye, Claudia left the mess hall in a much better mood.
Rick turned to watch Claudia walk out, still wondering what the two of them had been discussing in regards to Lisa. Rick turned back to Roy who gave a heavy sigh and sat slumped in his chair, long legs sprawling.
"What is it Roy? Claudia seems to be happy with whatever you just said, so what's the problem?"
Roy just shook his head, "It's not that simple little brother. I don't know if I will be able to promise Claudia what I just did. Lisa is just as much s younger sister to Claudia as you are to me. But Lisa outranks us all and orders from the top do not take into account feelings and relationships."
"What is this about Roy, what are they asking Lisa, I mean Lt. Commander Hayes to do?" Rick was concerned and it showed on his face. Roy studied Rick's face and body language and it validated a feeling that Roy had when the Vermillion Squad plus Lisa had returned from their capture but had dismissed it from his mind when nothing between Lisa and Rick seemed to change. If Roy didn't know better, Rick seemed to have feelings for the pretty Lt. Commander and Roy being Roy wanted to probe a bit more to see how far those feelings went.
Roy tried at first to put Rick's mind at ease. "Command isn't asking Lisa to do anything, if anybody's asking, its Lisa's asking them to do more.". Seeing Rick's questioning look, Roy continued. "Lt. Commander Hayes wasn't really happy with the top brass's reception you all received when you returned home and she felt they basically ignored the data and intelligence that you brought back. They continue to think that the Earth's defenses will be able to defeat the Zentraedi force and that we just need to make it home. Earth's defense may be enough to stop the Zentraedi that are trailing us but not the force that you and Lisa described. Lt. Commander Hayes wants them to do more, continue to improve SDF-1's firepower and also find a way to better protect those on this ship. She feels we are too vulnerable, not strong enough to defend ourselves if the Zentraedi press their attacks. Lisa isn't willing to stand around and do nothing about it, while Claudia feels that Lisa's trying to take on too much on her own. I'm in a tough spot Rick, I agree with Lisa that we need to do more, but I also agree with Claudia that Lisa doesn't always have to be one to come up with the plan or to push for reform."
Roy continued, "the problem is that Lisa doesn't think she needs anybody and with no ties to anyone on the ship, she feels that she's somewhat expendable. I shouldn't be telling you this Rick but there's no one else I could talk to about this besides Claudia and she already knows Lisa's story. Lisa and her father Admiral Hayes are estranged from one another and Lisa said once, her death would be an acceptable loss to him as long as it was happened in the line of duty. I didn't really know if she was joking or not but it made me realize how alone she must feel out here."
Roy paused and looked at Rick, "do me a favor will ya, if you do happen to see her or talk to her, try and cheer her up a bit. Claudia mentioned that Lisa's had a few sleepless nights over her experience on Dolza's ship. You might be the only one who understands what it was like and Lisa could use a friend. You never know, you might find a friend in her too."
Rick sat and contemplated what Roy had told him after Roy left as well. He didn't know why his heart felt tight, like he couldn't breathe. He wondered if the meatloaf he had just eaten had given him heartburn but knew that wasn't the cause either. Rick had seen Lisa in her most vulnerable states, after his rescue of her from Mars Base Sara, and during the time of their capture. Then, like now, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and shelter her from her own pain. Not knowing what else to do, he promised himself that he would ask her out to dinner the next time that he saw her.