Promise Me?

Posted on Mon Jul 24th, 2023 @ 3:11am by Captain Maho Takahashi & Takeshi Nakazato 'Zack'
Edited on on Mon Aug 28th, 2023 @ 11:53am

999 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Fast & The Fleet
Location: Maho's Quarters, Deck 2
Timeline: The night before the race

Takeshi made his way down the corridor to the Captain's quarters. He hadn't been in the quarters since Miyahara was still in command, and Takeshi was excited to see what Maho had done to the place. When he arrived to the doors, he pressed the chime and waited to be let in.

When Maho did answer, she appeared to be in a state of pain, as she had one arm across her lower back.

"Oh, hey Zack." She greeted. "What's up?"

"Oh, just figured I'd stop in and catch up with an old friend." Takeshi responded. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Me? Oh, this is nothing;" Maho dismissed. "Just a little lower back pain. Must have pulled something on a practice run..."

"Well, perhaps we could go inside and take a look at it?" Takeshi proposed. "This happened to Sayuki during the pregnancy with Mako, maybe it's something similar?"

Nodding, Maho led Takeshi into the quarters to a couch where Maho lay down on it with her back facing Takeshi.

"Alright, let's see what's going on here..." Takeshi said.

When Takeshi first touched Maho's back, she winced in pain.

"Quit squirming, will you?" Takeshi asked before a thought crossed is mind. "Come to think of it, how far along are you? 12 weeks? 13 weeks? This can't be good on your lower back!"

"Almost 13 weeks," Maho grunted. "And tell me something I don't know..."

"Okay..." Takeshi observed. "You've been going too fast in the corners."

"What?" Maho asked.

"Don't believe me? Answer me this:" Takeshi asked. "Suppose you're on a course with sweeping hairpins, what speed do you take those turns at?"

"About 120 km/h, like I normally do." Maho responded.

"And there's your problem;" Takeshi said. "At that speed, the g-forces are pulling you to the side of your seat. In your condition, it's too much on your lower back. You need to slow down a little."

Maho sighed and made a pouty face.

"Well, not too much!" Takeshi corrected. "I know that look: It's the 'I'd really like to smash something, but he'll think I'm crazy' look. Well, don't let me stop you, Maporin:" Takeshi said, taking a seat on the couch. "They're your quarters now; smash away, if it makes you feel better!"

"Only way I'll feel better is by beating Shimakaze tomorrow." Maho muttered.

"Is there something more to Shimakaze that I don't know about?" Takeshi asked. "And consider that if you don't tell me, Teruzuki will win by default."

"Well, you know the story of the mess hall brawl;" Maho began. "You and I were minding our own business when Shimakaze began harassing an Inuto cadet, because she had dared to sit at Shimakaze and her friends' favorite table."

"I think I remember how that went;" Takeshi said. "You stood up for that Inuto cadet, if memory serves me correctly."

"Indeed I did," Maho nodded. "But doing so caused a bit of a debate on who should be allowed on the Command track. Shimakaze thought I should have stayed on the Engineering track, where I started, as should that Inuto cadet. Naturally, I took the opposite position. So, there I was, defending my right to be on the Command track to that smug Andorian. Well, to make a long story short, Shimakaze felt the best way to prove her point was to provoke me into throwing the first punch."

"Provoke you?" Takeshi asked.

"All I wanted to do was to wipe that smug grin off her face." Maho argued. "So, in the heat of the moment, I socked her."

"And?" Takeshi asked.

"Shimakaze and I both got detention for the brawl. But I had it worse, because I had thrown the first punch." Maho explained.

"Oh, Maporin.~" Takeshi giggled. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but honestly; what did you expect? Throwing the first punch is conduct unbefitting of an officer, let alone a cadet."

"I know; and you're right: I got what I deserved." Maho sighed. "And if it had stopped there, it would've been fine, but it didn't! Shimakaze took every waking opportunity to remind me of that brawl. She used to point me out and call me 'The Admiral's Mistress' whenever I walked across the campus! In fact, she wrote four psychology papers about that brawl, and she would've written more had her instructors not told her to write something else! I became the living embodiment of how 'pink skins' were inferior to Andorians!"

"You don't mean she was gloating, do you?" Takeshi asked.

"And that's exactly what she was doing!" Maho said. "And she loved every damn minute of it... And you'd think that once we'd graduated, it would've stopped! But, it didn't: Over the years, Shimakaze has written at least a dozen papers on Andorian comparative profiles with other races; and the in the preface of each paper, she summarizes that damned mess hall brawl!"

"And now, she comes onto your ship and announces that she's put together a street racing team?" Takeshi surmised.

"Shimakaze doesn't give a crap about street racing!" Maho declared. "She just wants to rub my nose in it one more time, but now she is using my game; MY GAME!"

"You should tell that to the NightKids:" Takeshi suggested. "They don't know why you're so caught up in this!"

"Oh, no; I'd rather they think I'm caught up in some dumb street race rather than pursuing an old Academy rivalry..." Maho said.

"Just tell them the damn truth, Maporin!" Takeshi urged. "They'd understand! They need to know how personal this is for you:"

"Mmm, no." Maho said.

Takeshi's shoulders sagged as he sighed.

"No. I mean it." Maho repeated. "And you can't tell them, either!"

Maho and Takeshi sat back down.

"I need you to promise me:" Maho said.

"Alright;" Takeshi sighed. "I promise."

Posting by

Captain Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer

Takeshi Nakazato
Disgraced Starfleet Officer

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