- Temporarily isolated together after the ship goes into battle mode, Rick and Lisa have an increasingly friendly and revealing conversation.
- Having been forced to leave Earth after its last battle, the SDF-1 heads into space while the citizens of Macross City adjust to their new life on board. Downtown, a party is being held to celebrate the next night's premiere of Minmei and Kyle's movie, "Small White Dragon." Minmei asks her manager if he can get her a front-row seat for the film for someone she wants to invite. At first reluctant, he finally says he'll do it, and gets her seat A-5.
Minmei calls Rick's barracks to tell him she got him a front-row ticket for the movie, but he's out on duty. She leaves a message, saying it's his little lost friend. An hour and a half later, Rick returns and learns that Minmei called. Excited, he runs to his barracks but doesn't get the rest of the message. From a phone booth outside, Rick tries to call Minmei, but there's no answer. Thinking she might be sleeping, he wonders why she called, then realizes that her movie is the next night.
Meanwhile, Miriya is exploring the city on a quest to find the soldier who shot her down. She sees a huge crowd and, thinking they're going to honor the soldier, waits in line, not realizing that they're in line for Minmei and Kyle's movie. Minmei and Kyle arrive, greet the excited crowd, and enter the theater.
In the theater, the assembled crowd eagerly cheers as Minmei and Kyle come out. Minmei glances at the seat she reserved for Rick but finds it empty, while Rick is sitting further back in the crowd. Minmei and Kyle thank their fans, and Minmei sings the film's theme song for the audience.
As the film starts, Breetai and Exedore also watch the movie from Breetai's ship. However, they don't understand that it's for entertainment, instead assuming that it's some kind of training film. Meanwhile, Miriya, who is also watching the movie, believes Kyle is the one who shot her down, thinking nobody else among them could have that kind of courage.
On a separate monitor on Breetai's ship, Bron, Rico, and Konda, the three spies, tell some of their comrades about Minmei. As Kyle subdues the enemy, thanks in part to special effects, Breetai and Exedore believe that the Micronians have powerful weapons and decide to report their findings to Dolza.
Victorious against the villains, Kyle approaches Minmei and they share a kiss. Unable to watch the scene, Rick decides to leave the theater. On Breetai's ship, Bron, Rico, and Konda explain the kissing to the others, saying that the Micronians pressing their lips together all the time. Bron says his lips were getting sore from being pressed all the time.
Rick makes his way out of the theater, but as he tries to get through, he trips and stumbles against Lisa Hayes from behind. He stammers out an apology, then upon realizing he bumped into Lisa, is even more sheepish. Lisa coolly asks if she just happened to be within reach. Hearing a couple men in the crowd egg her on, she drags Rick off to talk privately.
Annoyed at the interruption, Lisa asks Rick what he was doing there in the first place. Rick says he went to see the movie. Lisa asks if he got up and walked out in the middle of the film, but an alert siren keeps him from responding. They hear an announcement to prepare for a modular transformation and move to the nearest shelter immediately. Rick asks Lisa if she knows where they can find a shelter, but Lisa says they should be getting to the base. Before Rick can answer, the floor starts to move.
Meanwhile, Minmei and Kyle are running to one of the shelters when the floor moves out from under Minmei, leaving her hanging on what has now become a ledge. Kyle grabs her arm to keep her from falling off. Minmei briefly imagines Rick pulling her up before realizing that it's Kyle. Kyle pulls Minmei up, and she sobs in his arms. Kyle chuckles, saying the army didn't give them much time.
Trying to find a safe place, Rick turns a corner only to find a dead end. A module shuts behind them, trapping them. Annoyed, Lisa lectures Rick, saying was the one who said it'd be a great shortcut. Rick fires back, asking Lisa how he was supposed to know. He adds that if they hadn't turned just then, they might have been crushed to death. Besides, he says, none of this would have happened if she had just gone with him to a shelter in the first place. Lisa says that's no way for him to speak to a superior officer. Indignant, Rick sits down. Meanwhile, on the SDF-1's bridge, a flustered Sammie is trying desperately to order the fighters to move into position.
Back in their trapped section, Lisa tries to prod Rick into talking, saying she gets insecure when people don't talk. Rick finally breaks his silence, saying he never thought he'd hear a word like "insecure" coming out of her mouth. He figured Lisa would be too tough to be insecure. Lisa says everyone thinks that, but sometimes she's very afraid.
Saying that maybe there are subjects they can discuss, Rick wonders why the Captain ordered the transformation before the battle began. Lisa says the bridge officer begins the transformation - if she's not there, Sammie's in charge. Rick says that explains everything. Lisa defends her, saying she's specially trained for that job. Rick wonders how Max is doing. Lisa says he's probably doing fine. Rick says that Max seems to have incredible talent, better than him. Lisa agrees. Rick says he hopes Lisa doesn't stop and compliment Max, saying that such compliments could go to his head and get him thinking he's better than his opponent. Lisa says she hears Rick talking like a real squadron leader.
Rick says he's reminded of the time they were held hostage on the enemy ship. They escaped by disguising a battloid as an alien, and Max ran the controls while they rode in the pockets. Lisa says she isn't as upset now as she was back then since they're just trapped on their own ship. Rick agrees, saying they'll just have to wait until the emergency is over.
Rick says he doesn't understand the enemy's tactics, wondering why they don't just destroy them when they have so much power at hand. Lisa says the aliens seem to be divided into two main camps - one side thinks they're derived from something called "protoculture" so they don't want to touch them, and the other side disagrees. She says the result is a constant tug-of-war that results in the enemy attacking, then seeming to back off. Rick wonders how long that can go on. Lisa says probably until one side or the other prevails, at which point they'll either be destroyed or left alone.
On the bridge, Sammie appears to be concentrating better at giving battle orders. When Kim and Claudia talk about her, though, Sammie asks for it to be quiet so she's not interrupted. Kim and Vanessa giggle in response.
In the trapped section, Rick tries standing up and yelling to get some attention. A robot vending machine responds, but when Rick asks for help, it says it's out of that brand. Annoyed, Rick sits back down. He asks Lisa why she went to the theater. She said she went to see the movie, adding that she got a seat because the manager knew her name. She was sitting near the back because she couldn't pick up her ticket in time.
Thinking a bit, Rick says he thinks Lisa went because there was someone she was attracted to. Since Minmei and Kyle were the main characters, and he's pretty sure it wasn't Minmei, it had to have been Kyle. Lisa denies it, then asks Rick about Minmei. Rick becomes quiet, remembering back to when he and Minmei were trapped deep in the ship.
Lisa apologizes, saying she just wanted Rick to stop harassing her. She hadn't meant to bring up bad memories because she knows what that's like. Rick says that means she left the theater for the same reason he did - she couldn't stand to see the person she was in love with kissing someone else.
Rick asks Lisa how she could fall in love with such an anti-military jerk. Lisa says that Kyle reminds her so much of a man she once loved, but he died before they could get married. Rick says he supposes being in love is the only thing that helps put any meaning in their lives. Lisa agrees.
Back on board the bridge, the enemy retreats. Claudia encourages Sammie, saying that with a little more battle experience she'll be fine. Meanwhile, Rick tells Lisa that even though he feels helpless because they're trapped, he's glad he's with her. Lisa tells Rick he's not so bad himself, and that she might even begin to like him. Rick says he was thinking the same thing.
The bridge crew announces to the city that they are returning the ship to its normal configuration. As the modules move, Rick and Lisa are able to leave. Lisa says she has to get back to the bridge. Rick suggests they take their time. As they walk down the street, a robot vending machine - the same one that annoyed Rick earlier - approaches them. Sighing, Rick pulls out a coin to buy a soda, but Lisa stops him. She offers to pay, saying commanders make more than lieutenants. He says okay, but just this one time - he may want to take her to dinner next week.
As he takes the sodas, Rick sees something out of the corner of his eye and pulls Lisa around a corner. He tells Lisa not to look because she might get upset. Curious, Lisa takes a peek and sees Kyle and Minmei walking into the hotel together. Lisa says they shouldn't worry about them - Kyle is her cousin and she probably loves him. Rick says maybe, but they seem almost too close.
Lisa and Rick approach the hotel, and Rick says he should be going - he wants to get back before they think he's gone and jumped ship. Holding Rick's hand, Lisa asks him if he has to run off so soon. She says she's sure they won't mind if they knew he was with another officer, and besides, she'd like him to stay. Rick says he'd really like that, and they walk off together.
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