Rick woke to find himself back in Lisa's room in the lab. Disappointed as he didn't get to spend much time with her, this time, he tried to remember all the steps that he had to take in order to connect with her. He couldn't figure out the secret to being with her, but decided he would continue to try.
He stayed with Lisa as long as he could and then left to go get a meal before meeting with the other pilots. This was the first time that he had met with them since the battle an as expected they had a lot of question regarding the Emerald Knight. Rick not knowing what he was allowed to say, let the pilots know that he didn't have any answers for them. The veritech in question, was still in the hangar being worked on and looking at it more closely, Rick could see scarring and laser damage to the ship. He was surprised at how well the new Veritech had done in battle and wondered what enhancements had been made to allow it to take such a beating. Admiring the markings on the ship, he also noticed that on the tail of the ship, there was a emblem, of a sword and the guard of the sword, was in the shape of a crown. Rick wondered who had selected the markings on the ship.
It was Roy who came up to Rick after the meeting and said, "I wanted to call it the Ice Queen and paint it a pale silvery blue, but Lisa, thought that was too obvious. We settled on the green, the same as her eyes and the gold to compliment her hair. I had them add the crown to the sword, to acknowledge her as our Ice Queen. She loved it."
Rick nodded in understanding, he had thought her nickname as being appropriate at one time, but he knew how warm and caring Lisa really was. "Thanks Roy,"
Roy continued, "The data that they received from the battle from this ship and the info from Lisa's bodysuit gave Dr. Lang's team a lot to work with. They are working on improvements as we speak based on that data. It's going to save a lot of lives Rick."
"How can you say that Roy? Lisa's lying there in the blue stuff, who knows when she will wake up and if she will, was it worth it?" Rick was angry. He hadn't really let himself feel that way, but he was mad that she was willing to sacrifice herself, and for who? Those ungrateful citizens on the ship who had protested and made threats against officials on the ship?
Roy sighed, "She would have thought it was worth it. She thought that if she could help one more pilot come back home safely to someone that loved them then it was worth it. Like I said before, Lisa wasn't willing to just sit back and do nothing. She wanted to do anything she could to ensure our survival even if it meant testing a new veritech, or allowing herself to be subjected to that blue liquid." Roy clapped Rick on the back, "C'mon cheer up, she wouldn't want to see you like this. Why don't you get something to eat. Claudia and I are going to go and check on Lisa a bit. Take care okay?"
With that Roy left, leaving Rick alone to think on what Roy had told him. Rick wished that he had gotten to know Lisa better prior to this, that maybe he could have been one that Lisa confided in about all of this. He remembered how she had opened up to him when they were on the Zentraedi ship and he remembered how she had taken care of her, when he had nearly drowed in a pool of water. He thought back and wondered how long it had been since his feelings for her had changed. Was it only since the Zentraedi capture and escape?
Thinking back further, Rick remembered thinking that there was something more to Lisa after he rescued her from Mars Base Sara. Her heartbreaking cries after he had set her on the landing deck, the way she ran to the nearest open window to watch Mars slowly fade in the distance. He didn't know why he had stayed to watch over her on the deck, but he hadn't wanted to leave her alone and in fact wanted to go and comfort her and let her cry in his arms. Even if it was over someone who didn't deserve her.
Rick returned back to the lab where Lisa lay. He held her hand, wanting her to know that he was near and and slowly stroked his thumb over the top of his hand, telling her about his day and the revelations that he had about the feelings he had for her. He welcomed the dizzyness that came over him, as he knew it would bring him back to Lisa.
As he came to, Rick found himself in front of Lisa's home once again, but this time Lisa was there, waiting for him.
"Rick, you're here!" Lisa was happy to see him and quickly ran over to him and embraced him. Rick, happy to see her too, returned her affectionate embrace.
"Did you do it Lisa, were you able to bring me here?" he asked, wondering if Lisa had some control over this.
But Lisa just shook her head negatively and said, "No, although I was able to sense that you were near, I have no control over anything that happens here or what I am shown."
Worried and not knowing how much time with Lisa he would have this time, Rick gave Lisa an update on her physical condition, her friends, and let her know that Max had even tried to connect with her but that he had not been able to. Lisa speculated that he hadn't probably been exposed to the blue liquid but also shared with Rick her own hypothesis on the abilities of the blue liquid.
As they sat on the steps leading up to the house, Lisa explained more what she thinks she figured out. "The liquid can't communicate with me directly, but it does give me a sense that it knows that I am different from the Zentraedi. I believe this liquid was used for by Zentraedi for medical purposes as they didn't seem to have any type of medical personnel on the ship. The liquid would sense what was wrong and begin repairing the damaged Zentraedi, but they don't seem to have the same type of feelings and memories that we have. That each of our memories and experiences are different, while the Zentraedi have shared memories and memories of one that came before them. I haven't figured out what that means, yet but I have my suspiscions. I think and I hope I am right that they are trying to repair my mind and brain and trying to understand me through my memories."
Rick supposed that Lisa's hypothesis was correct and hoped that it was true. Then he asked, "Well what about me, why I am I here then?"
Lisa just smiled, "I don't know yet, maybe they can sense that I like you and want to help me recover!"
Rick continued to hold Lisa's hands and asked, "Will you remember that I was here when you wake up?"
"Those are all good questions, but I don't know any of the answers to them, "Lisa said sadly.
Rick, always trying to find the positive side of things, suggested that Lisa show him around her home.
Happily Lisa led the way and gave Rick a tour of the house. He had seen most of the public rooms downstairs so they spent most of their time, in Lisa's old bedroom, where she showed him some old photos of her as a child and her teenage years. They talked about their awkward teenage years, but from Rick can tell, Lisa did not have cause for complaint. Even as a teen, she was beautiful, although her face held some baby fat and although her mother had passed and the Admiral was often gone, Lisa had a strong network of friends and the housekeeper and governess that kept watch over Lisa. Laughing at some antics Lisa had pulled with her friends, they once again heard a loud noise outside.
Lisa stood up from where she had been sitting on the bed and motioned to Rick to follow her out. This seemed to be a common enough occurance that Lisa knew now to listen for and follow the sound. They walked downstairs and outside where the house then disappeared and an airfield had now appeared. It was hot and dry out there and Rick was glad that they were standing in the shadow of the flight control tower.
They watched as an F-16 fighter jet landed gracefully in the desert airstrip and watched as two pilots climbed out of the plane. Rick could see one of the pilots chatting animatedly to the other older lankier pilot. Rick recognized the younger pilot as Lisa who was still talking excitedly about the flight. Rick focused on the other pilot and was pleased to find that it was none other than a young Roy Fokker.
It was Lisa that broke the silence, "Roy came to do pilot assessments for the Robotech Academy. It's how I met him and one of the reasons I got accepted to the Academy. Hmm, let me see, I must have been about 17 years old then, you were maybe twelve or thirteen at the time?"
Rick looked at Roy and envied him for his confidence even at that young age. He wondered if he would ever stack up to his big brother. He decided to pose the question to Lisa, knowing she would give him a truthful answer.
"I've always envied Roy, with his easy going nature and his ability to handle just about anything. Do you think that I'll be like that one day?"
Lisa laughed, "Oh Rick, don't you know? You already are! You may not have the years of experience that he has, but this past year you've proven to be an excellent pilot, and have the makings to be a great leader. You may not follow directions all the time, but you definitely have the qualities to be as good as Roy!"
Rick was embarrassed, he wasn't sure if Lisa meant it. Seeing that he still questioned her assessment, Lisa continued. "Rick, you've proven in battle and when we were captured by the Zentraedi to be resouceful and levelheaded in incredibly stressful times. Those attributes as well as your thoughful and insightful input regarding what we have seen, make it more than obvious that you are more than just a hard headed pilot."
Rick felt better and it must have showed on his face because Lisa quickly punched him in the stomach, hard enough to make him gasp. "Don't get all cocky about what I just said about you. You are not infallible or indestructable and I would rather you still take caution when in a fight because I need you to come back, alright?"
Rick pulled Lisa into his arms and kissed her gently. She smiled up at him and Rick was about to kiss her again, when he felt the dizzyness take over. With not much time, he told her to hurry and recover.
Rick woke to find him back in Lisa's recovery room at the lab. A quick glance at the clock showed him that not even an hour had passed since he had arrived and wondered how that could be since he could swear he spent hours with Lisa at the house. Hoping that the longer time spent with her meant that she was recovering, Rick stayed another hour before deciding he would go look up Max and see what he was up to.