- With the SDF-1 on Earth, Rick and Minmei and Capt. Gloval and Lt. Hayes go out for separate appointments, only to have less than positive results upon arrival.
- With the SDF-1 back on Earth, Captain Gloval and Lieutenant Commander Hayes leave the ship to present their report to the United Earth Command's Alaska base. Meanwhile, Colonel Maistroff takes temporary command of the SDF-1. Like Gloval, he hits his head on the entrance to the bridge, but brushes it off, telling the crew that the ship needs a good dose of discipline. As he pulls out a cigar, Sammie reminds him that there's no smoking on the bridge. He says he only intended to hold it, not light it. The bridge crew giggles, as Gloval had made the same exact remark the first time Sammie told him the same thing.
On an upper-level flight deck of the SDF-1, the citizens of Macross City throw a party to celebrate their return to Earth. Below decks, with her shift on the bridge done, Claudia goes to Roy's room but finds him sleeping. She is about to leave when he wakes up and pulls her into his bed. Meanwhile, Rick, wearing his orange flightsuit, prepares to fly Minmei off the ship so she can visit her family. He greets her when she arrives and helps her in the plane.
After Rick and Minmei take off, Ben and Max fly by as they return to the ship. Ben jokes on the radio about them having a nice date. Minmei says it does sort of feel like a date. She adds that it'll be nice to get back, but she has a lot of work to make up when she gets back, including a play, TV show, and movie. She tells Rick that she might even be able to get him a part if she talks to the director. Rick asks Minmei where she gets all that energy -- he'd be exhausted with that kind of schedule. When he looks back, however, he discovers that she's fallen asleep.
Meanwhile, at the Alaska base, Gloval and Lisa travel down the main shaft to get to the headquarters. Gloval asks Lisa if she's heard of the grand cannon. Lisa says she hasn't. Gloval says it's a huge Robotech weapon that uses the Earth's gravitational field as its main energy source, then tells her that the shaft they're traveling in is the weapon's barrel. He adds that Lisa's father was the one who pushed for the complex's creation in the first place. Gloval tells Lisa that her father was always very decisive, relating a story about how he once ordered his men to raid the supplies of the commanding general when they had a shortage of food rations.
As Gloval is talking to Lisa, he pulls out his pipe, but is startled by a robot announcement that smoking is not permitted in the capsule. Lisa asks Gloval if he's worried about something, noting that he pulls out his pipe and starts to light it whenever something is bothering him. Gloval admits that he's worried about the meeting. When they reach the meeting room, they meet with the governing council on video monitors. Lisa delivers the report about what happened since the SDF-1 first encountered the alien forces.
Rick and Minmei arrive at Yokohama Airport in Japan, and Minmei shows Rick around as they head toward her parents' home. She takes him to Chinatown and marvels at how everything still seems the same. Rick reminds her that she's only been gone about a year. When they get to Minmei's parents' restaurant, she introduces Rick to her parents. Minmei's mother is overjoyed to see her daughter still alive, while her father asks why she didn't try to contact them if she was still alive.
Back at Alaska Headquarters, Lisa finishes her report. The council doesn't believe the report, saying they think Lisa overestimated the enemy's strength. Gloval asks about the requests for negotiation and relocation of the survivors that were attached to the report. The council says they'll discuss the requests at the next scheduled meeting. Lisa is upset by the results, but Gloval thinks there's something else going on that they don't know about and the council's minds are already made up.
Meanwhile, Minmei's parents flatly refuse to let her return to the ship. Minmei says she has to return -- she's doing a TV show, she has a record coming out, and she's making a movie. Minmei's father asks Rick what he thinks, but as Rick stammers to find an answer, Minmei says it's her decision, not his. During the argument, Minmei's cousin Lynn Kyle comes downstairs. She asks him what happened to him, as she thought he was still on the island. Kyle says no, that when he joined the peace movement, he decided it wasn't a good idea to live near the battle fortress, so he left. He says he couldn't get a boat back.
Minmei tells Kyle that his parents are also alive on the ship. Rick is surprised that Kyle doesn't know. Minmei introduces the two to each other. Kyle greets Rick, but his attitude toward him becomes more hostile upon learning that Rick is in the military. Minmei says that Rick hadn't even joined the military when he saved her life. Kyle coolly asks Rick what's so great about the military. Rick is taken aback by the question.
Meanwhile, the council reports back to Gloval and Hayes, saying that they've reviewed the report and found most of it to be accurate, but both requests are denied. They say they don't want to give up any advantage they might have by trying to negotiate with the aliens. Furthermore, the civilians of Macross Island have all been declared dead, so they won't let them leave. The council says they planted a story about a guerrilla force destroying Macross Island after the SDF-1 had left on a test flight so as not to panic the people of Earth by telling them about the aliens. Gloval and Lisa protest the decision, but the council says they want the ship to buy them more time to strengthen their defenses. Gloval asks what if the aliens decide to attack Earth instead of the ship. The council says that Gloval's own analysis indicates that such a course of action is unlikely, and ends the conference. As the two head back to the surface, Gloval asks Lisa if she wants to spend time with her father, as family. Lisa says she's not interested in seeing him right now. Gloval says he understands.
At Minmei's parents' house, Kyle defends Minmei's actions, saying he thought he might go with her to see his parents again. Rick is somewhat put off by Kyle's suggestion, while Minmei's parents reluctantly let them go.
Meanwhile, as Captain Gloval and Lisa return to the SDF-1, she opens a letter from her father handed to her by one of his aides. Lisa reads the letter, which says that her father's decision about the ship was unavoidable under the circumstances. He's working on getting her reassigned to another ship, as the SDF-1 is too dangerous for her to be on. She responds by tearing up the letter.
As Rick, Minmei, and Kyle also return to the SDF-1, Minmei asks Kyle if he has a girlfriend. He says he's been traveling so much he hasn't had time. Minmei continues to flirt with Kyle, much to Rick's annoyance.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content