Reflections On A Date

Posted on Sat Jan 13th, 2024 @ 3:31am by Lieutenant Ami Rori

815 words; about a 4 minute read

SET: The morning after ‘Ex Post After Shift’, 3am

Ami had left early that next morning after having woken up snuggled in and using Connor Talmage as a pillow, which had been as much a surprise as anything, given her unfamiliarity with him and the awkwardness in which they had started out the evening before after the… Situation in the lounge. But he had been a gentleman, apparently, not wanting to disturb her as she slept and so his own would probably be wretched. She took the time to leave him a handwritten note, tented on the low table in front of him so that he’d notice.

“Dear Connor,

First off, thank you for a wonderful evening, I had fun with the flying, took me back to a bunch of good memories, plus the movie and snacks were just the right touch and a great end to the day. Sorry I didn’t make it through the whole thing, but that’s something to talk about later. I know I’ll be gone long before you get this, but I didn’t want to wake you up, especially since you somehow managed to get to sleep despite being my pillow.

No doubt there’s a lot for us to discuss, because I’ll admit, I didn’t expect last evening to go as well as it actually did. But I tell you what, how about I plan out our next date night? We can see if I do as well as you did about making appropriate plans. Just be aware it may be a couple days off, because I do tend to keep a rather busy schedule being in engineering and all. There are many, many things we will need to talk about, but none of them are able to be put on paper.

Don’t worry, not abandoning you, just needed to get up and get ready for an early start and some diagnostics that need to be run.

Thanks again! Muuuuah!
Ami’

Along with the tiny heart dotting the ‘I’ in her name, she took the time to draw a tank turret with a quick but recognizable sketch of herself, complete with trill dots, halfway out of it, helmet on and a hand held out with Victory ‘V’.

Then she was off and slipped down the darkened hallways to her own quarters where she decided to take another shower and the time to comb out her long black hair, all to the sound of some of the most recent JPop to be downloaded, but it was quieter. She looked at herself in the mirror as she did so and sighed deeply. She’d gone to SO many lengths to avoid relationships, only dating sporadically and usually because a friend had needed a girlfriend for a double date. There were reasons, of course. The earlier years were that she had plenty of time and she wanted to focus on her career, make that reputation for herself. But for the last three years, after trying a couple times, her reasons had driven people off.

Hazel eyes met hazel eyes in the mirror and she shook her head. “Ami, this is going to be another one of those, so don’t get attached yet. Wait until he’s made up his mind so that you don’t have THAT problem again.” No one had ever stayed with her after that revelation. There were no ways to make up for what was wrong with her, not for another decade or more when it wouldn’t matter to potential consorts. Not many people wanted someone as broken as her.

And that was why she’d risen to the top of the engineering field, how she’d helped make arrangements for the Federations very first Sensha-Do tournament, though she was bummed she couldn’t be a part of it. Tankery had been her passion since she could drive and since… Her eyes were drawn to the young Japanese woman in gold uniform sporting a bright and shiny new pip of an Ensign. “I’ll try not to disappoint you, sis, Ancestors know I already have so far.” It was a lie, but Ami always tried to hold herself to someone else’s standards

Her hair was now silky smooth, but she tied it back for the moment, to keep it out of the way until she got dressed, which she did quickly, skirt and uniform top, with layers and stockings to keep herself warm. No artificial sunlight to heat up a cockpit this day. A look at the chrome mounted by her bed showed her it was only 0430, but that was close enough. It was time to start another day. She reached out as she always did and brushed the photo on the bed stand. “See you later.”

Personal Log by
Lieutenant Ami Rori
Chief Engineer
USS Myogi

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