The Wedding Speech of Lisa Hayes-Hunter

Admiral of the Expeditionary Mission remembers the bridge crew of the SDF-1 and more with attendees joining in

By Keira Pennyworth and Samuel Tagorda | June 18, 2020

From left to right: Commander Maximillian Sterling, Lieutenant Commander Jean Grant, Commander-in-Chief Anatole Leonard, Lieutenant Commander Miriya Sterling, Vice Admiral Richard Hunter, Admiral Lisa Hayes-Hunter, Colonel Jonathan Wolff, Lynn-Minmei, General Thomas Edwards, Lieutenant Commander Vincent Grant (top), and Ambassador Exedore Formo (middle). Following a quick reception photoshoot, Miriya could not wait to shed her second-choice attire, which she did in time for the Admirals’ speeches and in contrast to others who had participated in the shoot. Photo by Jason Waltrip.

This time it was Lisa Hayes coming to Rick Hunter’s rescue. Many had left their seats and gathered around him as he tearfully spoke aboard the Robotech Factory Satellite; only one had him pass the mic to her.

The exploits of Rick Hunter while in service during the War have been recounted in interviews of a number of acquaintances, a few of them with tell-all books detailing the instances in which Rick had swooped in with his Veritech to save Lisa. But it was Rick in need of saving toward the end of his speech at their wedding. Luckily, the Admiral of the Robotech Expeditionary Force proved just as capable for the task as any of the Vice Admiral’s former wingmen.

“Thank you,” Lisa said almost inaudibly to Rick. She appeared resplendent in the alternate wedding dress that REF clothing designers made for her. Well into the reception, a quick-change act from New Vegas had helped Lisa, Rick, and others switch into their “second-choice attire” in a blink of an eye. With another wave of their wand a couple hours from now, the illusionists will restore their clothing to what they had worn at the ceremony.

Enlisted-rating techs Sammie Porter, Vanessa Leeds, and Kim Young served on the SDF-1. The three were known as the Bridge Bunnies, or in more polite company, the Terrible Trio.

Lisa looked at the reception, speaking into the mic with both authority and tenderness. “As much as he wanted to do so, my dear husband dreaded talking in front of everybody this way, but I couldn’t have asked for a more heartfelt remembrance of Pop Hunter and our beloved friends—family, really—we had lost. And a truer statement about what stands before each and every one of us. Rick summed up why we are going to Tirol so well…I would like to just add some words about those I had served alongside.”

The Bridge of the SDF-1

With the couple holding each other’s hand, Lisa continued. “My affection for Sammie, Kim, and Vanessa is boundless, and while my rank was something in the way of me getting close to them at times, Claudia made it possible for me to get along with them as well as I did. She was a force to be reckoned with, as Lieutenant Mitchell witnessed whenever she relieved any of the three on the bridge.” Amber Mitchell, who had spoken at the Macross City memorial service five years ago, smiled broadly from where she stood close by. Lisa returned the expression and said, “Claudia was my sister-in-arms and simply my sister, and in addition she definitely was the big sister to the Terrible Trio, always ready to straighten them out with some real talk should they fall out of line.”

Lieutenant Claudia Grant and Commander Lisa Hayes on the SDF-1 during launching day.

“Or any of the relief crew,” added Mitchell. “I couldn’t help but be distraught by the fact that the Zentraedi had broken into the SDF-1 and Macross City itself when Miriya fought Max. However, Claudia told me that if I’m feeling demoralized by what happened, then consider the civilians, those we now have to work for even more to regain their trust that we can defend them. This was just days after she lost Roy Fokker to wounds he received from the same battle that involved both Skull and Vermilion—she remained this rock.”  

“Yeah, that Claudia was one tough…” an inebriated Marcus Miller responded. But Lisa interrupted, her brows knitted. “Don’t you dare end that thought with a word meaning a baked treat, Commander. Or I’ll have you busted to petty officer, third class, right here and now.”

“If I may, Admiral,” said Lieutenant Commander Xian Lu, who appeared reasonably intoxicated himself, “Marcus was only making a compliment about SDF-1’s finest bridge officer. And I do mean fine.”

On the bridge of the SDF-1, Claudia gave it to Kim straight.

Lieutenant Commander Vincent Grant, brother of the late Claudia Grant, was overcome with emotion during Rick and Lisa’s remembrance, but he managed to make several steps toward the outspoken officers. However, he stopped walking when Rick suddenly addressed the pair and gritted his teeth at them. “That’s enough. Or the Admiral won’t be the only one you’ll have to worry about.” Lu and Miller had received the Medal of Valor at the same time as Rick long before he shot up in the ranks.

“It’s all right, Rick,” said Lisa. “Since these two want to talk about Claudia, I have just the thing in mind.” She smiled tight-lipped at Rick’s fellow medal recipients, then looked again at the vast crowd of attendees. “Before I go into that, I want to mention something leading up to it. One person who hardly took any downtime while serving aboard the SDF-1 was then Captain Gloval. After the ship splashed down in the Pacific on its return to Earth, failing to take a break still proved no different for him, especially because of the SDF-1’s arrival. Putting in long hours was something Gloval had in common with my father, Nicholas. In the end…one of the very few things…”

Ever Vigilant

Lisa lowered her head briefly before raising it again. “I got my habit of doing the same thing from my father before I continued it while under Gloval’s influence—whenever he allowed it. Halfway through a second shift in a row, hours after the splashdown, our good captain suddenly brought in the relief techs for the bridge. However, while Sammie, Vanessa, and Kim cheerfully left to spend the next six hours off-duty, Claudia and I convinced Gloval to allow at least one of us to accompany him on the bridge so he wouldn’t be the only officer there at a still important time.” Lisa won the coin toss, causing Claudia to agree to leaving soon after the Bridge Bunnies as long as she was allowed to return in four hours instead of six so that she could relieve Gloval before he fully ran the risk of collapsing; the two women knew he would still be stuck in his chair.

Max Sterling and Ben Dixon with Lieutenant Rick Hunter.

“But Gloval insisted that I leave before my double shift ended,” said Lisa, “giving me a chance to meet up with Claudia at a bar we frequented. I discovered not only Claudia there but also the Terrible Trio hanging out with Rick, Max, and Ben from Vermilion Team, along with several members of Skull Team. We were all guilty of forgoing sleep for wanting to celebrate our return to Earth.”

When Worlds Collide

Lisa appeared exhilarated by her recollection. “It was quite the sight to see—my bridge crew mixing with Rick and other mecha jockeys. The Trio had been doing a lot of bar hopping before running into Vermilion, which was probably a good thing for Rick. At the moment, Sammie and Kim seemed to had forgotten their first unexpected meeting with him at a lingerie shop.” Lisa smiled as Rick shook his head at the memory. She said, “Despite none of the men being Lynn-Kyle, Kim took a liking to Max, Sammie saddled up to Ben, and Vanessa took a shine to Rick.”

In the face of their weakened state over the years since the loss of the bridge crew’s most infamous techs, the three Zentraedi who spearheaded the rebellion aboard Breetai’s ship—Rico, Konda, and Bron—made their way near where the Admirals spoke. The male Zentraedi had been intimate with the Terrible Trio for a while before parting ways, so they listened intently to what was said about events at the bar. In particular, Rico raised an eyebrow whenever Sammie was mentioned.

Kim, Sammie, and Vanessa aboard the SDF-2.

Looking at Lisa, Rick added, “From what I recall, you stole some glances at me and Vanessa.” Lisa lost her smile for a moment as she took in what he said. He continued, “I might had acted on what was happening between her and me if not for, well, you-know-who.” Rick managed to make pleasant eye contact with Minmei across the reception. She winked slowly. “And you yourself,” Rick said to Lisa. “I got to know you a bit more while on Dolza’s flagship.” Lisa asked if he remembered how his wingmen fared with the Trio.

He replied, “Max was like, ‘You’re looking very nice today, Ms. Young. May I buy you a drink, Ms. Young?’ ” Rick’s impersonation of Max was his revenge for Max’s best man speech. He looked directly at the bespectacled pilot, who chuckled, at least up to a point. Rick said, “Thank God that Miriya would eventually enter your life, because you had zero game, buddy—with Earth women, that is.

“And Ben…laughing at Ben’s jokes can be an acquired taste, especially when he’s so busy laughing at his own jokes during a first impression. After a while, Sammie hopped off his lap and said, ‘You’re too loud and not funny!’ Ben appeared stung by that, but when he saw me not making a move at Vanessa’s advances, he switched targets and said to Vanessa, ‘If our Vermilion Leader won’t fire away when he’s got a lock, I sure will. Mwah, mwah, mwah.’ ” Rick, who had been seen taking his fair share of liquor at the reception, actually pursed his lips during his imitation of Ben Dixon kissing the air with his eyes closed. “I punched him in the shoulder and asked, ‘Ben…when has that worked…ever?!’

“The Bridge Bun—I mean, Terrible Trio—took that as a cue to leave for the next bar on their list, after they recovered from their giggle fest.” Laughter broke across the reception but came from a couple men in particular. “Yeah, Vermilion guys could not handle women at all!” snorted Commander Miller. He and Lieutenant Commander Lu were bent over deliriously. Lisa responded, “And I suppose you two were the resident experts that day? Let it be known that both of you had been on the prowl, but despite being in the legendary Skull, managed to be outmaneuvered by every pilot at that bar.

Claudia, Vanessa, and Captain Henry Gloval made plans and calculations to keep the war with the Zentraedi from reaching a bursting point—in vain.

“Then you barged into a conversation I was having with Claudia and decided to put some moves on us, never mind that you knew Claudia was going out with Skull Leader himself, Roy Fokker. Sorry, gentlemen, but you needed better lines than ‘Red alert, potential boyfriend material incoming’ and ‘You can spacefold me anytime.’

“Now what did Ms. Grant say?” Both Lu and Miller looked wide-eyed at the Admiral as she looked to the ceiling, tapping the edge of her mouth with a forefinger. Soon she continued. “Ah, yes. Claudia responded, ‘When you get back to your Veritechs, stick to grabbing your throttles, boys. Nobody else will.’ Lisa managed to get a reaction from the crowd that rivaled the most amusing moments of Max and Rick’s time at the mic. “Then Claudia stood and towered over your slouched bodies and offered one more bit of advice: ‘Run.’ ”

Keep Them in Our Presence

After the audience caught its breath as Lisa paused in her anecdote, she described the two as scampering out the door. Standing nearby, Ambassador Exedore Formo commented, “Having known Humans of undeniably high intelligence such as Henry Gloval and Claudia Grant, I find it understandable how we Zentraedi lost the War. But when the likes of Malcolm Miller and Xian Lu are taken into consideration, all of the evidence is there to show that we should have won.”

“Oh, I politely disagree, Ambassador,” said General T. R. Edwards. Light glinting off his dark, metal half-cowl, he grinned as he continued, “These flyboys proved capable of pushing the envelope both on duty and off. A quality of great merit, which is why I had requested them transferred to Ghost Squadron.”

“Right,” said Lu proudly. “Skull’s loss is Ghost’s gain.” Lieutenant Commander James Ransom, one of the aces in Skull Squadron to distinguish himself in both the War and the Malcontent Uprisings, replied, “I wouldn’t worry about Skull. We’re making fine progress without you two.” Lu and Miller frowned while Ransom matched their stare.

According to Lisa, Claudia soon left the bar to relieve Gloval at the bridge, missing Lieutenant Commander Roy Fokker entering the pub by minutes. Along with Captain Stephen Kramer and others, Roy had been busy planning and coordinating flight patrols until they and Gloval became satisfied in establishing a reliable zone of security in the SDF-1’s part of the Pacific. Lisa said, “Roy laughed off what we told him about what happened moments ago, knowing Claudia could take care of herself. He challenged Rick to a game of darts next, and Rick’s own cockiness nearly doubled in Roy’s presence. An otherwise friendly contest quickly made them ditch their usual ‘Big Brother, Little Brother’ routine and escalated to them using the nicknames ‘Old Man’ and ‘Short Stuff.’ ”

Rick couldn’t help but beam. “Roy brought out the competitive side of me whenever he could, as far as I could remember. He busted my chops and egged me on so much that I often found myself doing much more than just pull through, no matter what situation came my way, in or out of a plane. Roy also taught me almost everything he knew about flying, and yeah, I have to give him some credit with how I was with the ladies.”

Back when he was a civilian stunt pilot, Rick admired a Veritech during the SDF-1's launching day before Lieutenant Commander Roy Fokker convinced him to board it.

Lisa looked at Rick with disbelief. “Some credit, maybe, but definitely not all,” she said. “I don’t think even Roy was capable of the clumsy, transparent-as-glass pass you made at Vanessa aboard the SDF-2 just to rile me up some more after you and I had gone a couple rounds.” Lisa’s expression relented. “When I learned later what she said to you in front of the bridge crew, stating how fond I was of you for the whole ship to hear, I thought back to the bar after the splashdown. And how when I was stealing glances at Vanessa cozying up to you, she caught me looking every time. Our looks mirrored one another…She knew how I felt about you even back then.” The Admiral turned to the crowd, appearing to seek familiar faces. “As did Claudia, who gave me a sly bit of encouragement when she left the place by saying, ‘Now that the two Maverick wannabes are gone, you can break up whatever is happening over there.’ ”

Keeping her gaze at the attendees, Lisa said, “I realized that Claudia had been watching Vanessa and Rick, seeing where I was frequently looking at, so she became another person in this exchange of mirrored glances. Of course, I hadn’t built up the nerve to do anything, and it wasn’t the last time I would quietly try to make it seem that I didn’t think of Rick in this way. Yet, Claudia’s private promptings led me to seek her counsel in time. Who knows—maybe someone close to her had given her much-needed advice about Roy Fokker as she did for me when it came to this fellow.” She elbowed Rick so hard that it caused him to wince.

The dutiful Lisa Hayes before Khyron started his final, devastating attack.

Lisa continued to look out to the audience. “See…our friends—our loved ones are reflections of ourselves. And they often know us more than we might be prepared to admit. From Claudia, whom I was closest, to Vanessa, whom I wasn’t as close. I must confess I have felt that both of them and others were stolen from me and replaced by a cacophony of what-might-have-been, what-should-have-been questions. As many of us know, when we lose any of our loved ones, we lose parts of ourselves. But we forget that their reflections can continue in us. That what Claudia…” Lisa’s voice faltered when she said her name. She stopped to wipe away tears, apparently trying to rid the shakiness in her voice as best she could. “…that what they did on our behalf lives on.” Rick embraced Lisa as his own eyes welled up.

“I was born an only child,” Lisa said to attendees, “but I was fortunate to have another father in Henry Gloval…siblings I never knew I had in Vanessa, Sammie, and Kim…and the strongest sister and the wisest confidante in Claudia Grant. Her ability to dust me off whenever I had felt beaten down made this day possible.” Through tears falling across her cheeks, she nuzzled Rick, then continued. “May what any of us do with our lives be a reflection of those no longer here and what they themselves would have done for the betterment of everyone.”

Without hardly a pause, Lisa made what seemed like an additional toast but managed to raise her glass this time. She smiled through her tears, and while people across the reception raised their glasses in turn, Lynn-Minmei walked right next to her, freeing Lisa from the mic and allowing her a chance to recover, as Lisa had done for Rick. Worry and concern flashed across Minmei’s face while she aided Lisa, but the cheerful entertainer returned in seconds.

Minmei started to sing, and she continued a celebration of not only wedding joy but also life itself.

For Gregory Chu

Additional reporting was contributed by a great many people, too numerous to mention here. For a list of contributors, go to this link.

Want more pictures? Then check out Sentients Magazine’s exclusive Rick and Lisa’s Wedding Album

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