It didn’t take long to actually write and send the briefing to the crew, so now I find myself staring at the ceiling doing nothing. I don’t have enough time to really settle in and start doing anything else but it’s too much time to just try and contact Selai early. I guess I’ll just keep staring at the white paint above me.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before my saving grace came in the form of that familiar beeping that alerted me I had a call. I spring up in my seat, excited to have any stimulation. “RIN, put ‘em on! Hello?”

Selai’s voice pours out of the intecom and I let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, Clark. I know I’m a little early but I actually am pretty bored and very hungry… Do you mind getting food a bit earlier?” Ah, yes! My savior has arrived!

“Yeah! That’s no problem at all!” I tried to dampen my excitement. I know it didn’t work. “What kind of food do you want? There’s a bar pretty close to our ship but they’re not really known for good cuisine.”

There was a pregnant pause as she let the question hang in the air. “Hmm… What’s that human food? Or not food but, like, type of food. It’s full of a lot of long, soft, wet foods with other liquid foods on top. Sometimes you put cheese on it as well.” That was probably the creepiest way I’ve ever heard pasta be described.

“So you want Italian food? I could go for some spaghetti, I guess.” I tell her we could meet near the Port entrance and we could go find a place that serves Italian. I inform her there’s no need for any formal attire or uniform and she can wear casual clothes if she’d like. I change into a T-shirt and jeans and head out to meet her.

It seems I beat her here. I stand around waiting for her, staring at the wall this time, when I catch her running down the hall. She’s wearing a pair of jeans of her own and a light blue, long sleeved shirt. Hanging out of one of her pockets are the black gloves from before. Unsurprisingly, the clothes were a rather tight fit. I do my hardest to keep my composure and maintain eye contact as she jogs and waves her way towards me. Luckily, her glowing eyes are captivating enough to keep my whole attention. “Hey, Clark! Sorry, how long have you been waiting?” She comes to a stop a few feet in front of me and gives me an excited smile.

“Like five minutes. Don’t worry about it. That said, I need food and a drink now! Let’s get going. RIN, find us a restaurant with Italian food and direct me there.” Not even a second later, RIN’s voice echoes into my brain and begins directing us toward our delicious location.

As we wander the bland halls of Port Lang, we make generic small talk. Who’s who on the ship, where to find most of the amenities, how the new rooms are, etc. Nothing too interesting. It’s not painfully long before we reach a door with a small golden plaque next to it that reads: Giovanna’s.

The doors slide open to a softly lit room. The room is stereotypical Italian restaurant. The tables have eggshell covers with white plates stacked in front of each chair. The decor consists of the standard plants hanging from the ceiling, thin wooden planks placed together, diagonally, in a grid forming a fake wall, and large oil paintings of ancient vineyards. A few groups are sitting around the dining room with the staple foods and baskets of bread while a pretentious pair sip wine at the bar as if they’re professional tasters. Asses.

A waiter walks to the pair of us and gives a fake smile. “Hello there, just the two of you?” I instinctively look at Selai just to make sure she hasn’t multiplied in the past few seconds, then give a simple nod and a ‘yep.’ “Excellent, follow me then.” He leads us into the dining section and sits us down at a smaller table in the corner. It’s only then that I realize he probably figured this was a date and we’d want our privacy. Eh, it’s fine. We’ll probably be discussing ship business and I’m sure no one in the place will wanna hear that anyways.

We take our seats and each order a glass of wine. I went with red because if I’m eating Italian, I’m going to at least pretend to be fancy. I’m not sure whether red wine is actually fancier than white but, it makes me feel that way. When our glasses come, with the obligatory bread and butter, she pulls the thin black gloves from her pocket and slide them on. You can see the seam on the palm where the padding protects their skin. She lifts the glass without even a wince of pleasure… Then she put it to her lips. So close! Can’t win ‘em all, Selai.

I decide to finally break our silence. “You have any other questions about the ship or the crew?” She looks up to the plants above and furrows her brow. Her eyes flicker as she searches her mind for any queries.

“Hmm, not really. I got most of my questions answered by the records or what we talked about on the way over. Do you mind if I ask some questions about you? You can, of course, shoot some back at me. If we’re gonna work together we should probably get to know each other.” She gave that familiar soft smile and laughed at my somewhat shocked expression.

I think on it for a moment and realize she’s got a good point. Though, I have this bad feeling I know what her first question is gonna be. Hesitant but understanding, I respond: “Alright, whatcha got?” I squint my eyes to look as skeptical as I can.

Her smirk confirms my fears near instantly. “So… What’s your deal with kids?” She can barely contain her laughter already. Fuck, I thought I explained this already!

“I already told you this!” My visage exploded into one of exasperation. I take a deep breath and let out a long sigh to emphasize my displeasure. “I don’t like kids because they scare me. Their proportions freak me out! It’s not just kids… It’s anything that short. I hate lawn gnomes too!” She’s clenching her lips to keep from bursting out in hysterics. God, just kill me now… “My turn!” I need to change the topic and fast. “OK, so, man this is gonna be awkward… Is your tongue an erogenous zone too?”

She looks a little surprised but ultimately not bothered by my question. I suppose something like this might be common for her. “Do you not use your tongue in sex?” What?! My eyes shoot open as I begin babbling something incoherent. I figured this would be normalized for her but I wasn’t expecting a response like that! “Oh! Haha, I forgot that’s a strange topic for humans. In short, yes. Since it can be used in intercourse, it counts.”

I find myself just sitting and staring in confusion, with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, desperately searching for an answer. “But then… Eating must be pretty hard then, right?” This was the actual point of my question but she decided to take us for a wild ride there.

“Oh! Oh, haha! No, I wasn’t great in anatomy in school but some reaction happens that shuts the sensation off when we’re eating.” Well that’s convenient. I give an intrigued ‘huh’ and shrug it off while sipping my wine. “Alright, my turn. Hmm… I’m not sure if this is really appropriate for me to ask you as your First officer.”

“Selai, I just asked if you get turned on by food. I think we’re past that point now.”

“You make a fair point. Alright then, is there anyone on the ship that, ya know, are interested in? Like, romantically.” She’s got a sly look on her face like she’s digging for the juiciest dirt she can think of.

“Eh, not really. I don’t know if you knew this, but Brenda and I dated in the Academy. We had a falling out and well… We’re not together anymore. Otherwise, no. I’ve only really seen the bridge crew and the three women there are my ex, one of my best friends, and Yuki who… I don’t know, I just feel like I’m her dad or, wait no that’s creepy... Like I’m her older brother.” I glance over to make sure she understands my feelings on the matter - and also that she doesn’t think I’m a creep for calling Yuki my daughter.

“Huh, alright, fair enough. Well you are about to have another lady on the Bridge with you…” Um, what’s she implying? I can’t help but furrow my brow in confused worry. She then burst out in laughter. I let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I’m just messing with you.” She smirks again before carrying her bit on in an obnoxiously faux nice voice. “I’m sure you’re a wonderful guy, Clark.”

I roll my eyes and groan at her excuse for a joke. “Yeah, ha ha ha. Let’s all laugh at Clark’s non-existent love life. Alright, my turn, again. What made you want to join the Corps?” Her eyes glow brighter than the candles on our table at my question. She looks genuinely excited to answer. I need to be careful.

“Well, my whole life was spent in my family home. I was kind of a sickly kid and my parents wanted to keep me safe. A whole bunch of teachers would come to my room and teach me all about the World and Universe. I decided that I was going to join the Corps one day so that I could see everything out there. As I started to get healthier, I was able to go out and study even more. Well, I don’t want to dump my whole backstory on you but basically I wanted to explore to make up for the days that I couldn’t.” Her smile is earnest. Her eyes are flickering with passion and joy. It’s killing me to hear. “What about you? Why did you want to become a Captain?”

“I didn’t.” I couldn’t stop the words from flying out of my mouth. I shut my eyes and breathe for a moment before attempting to continue. “I’m sorry. It’s a sore subject for me. I’d really rather not talk about it right now.” It was like I poured a bucket of water on the light in her eyes. I feel terrible. “Seriously, I’m so sorry. I don’t want my bad experience to take away from how you view the Corps or our mission. I’m sure we’ll do wonderful things together!” I try and give her my best reassuring smile. She smiles a bit and I relax. “You’re gonna be an amazing First Officer, Selai.”

“Yeah. Alright… But don’t think this gets you out of answering another question!” Her smile returns full force and her eyes flare up to a bright burn. I laugh at her new found enthusiasm and we carry on with our interrogations. Turns out her favorite color is purple, she didn’t try chocolate until she was eighteen, and she’s terrified of spiders. I can’t blame her for that last one. As the night carries on, we eat our weight in pasta and have way too much to drink. I don’t remember much until we were leaving.

Exiting the restaurant my mind clears once again thanks to the communicator on my wrist. I shake my head and stand up straight, disappointed in my sobriety. Looking to my right, however, I find myself even angrier. Why does she get to stay drunk?! “Selai, are you still drunk?”

She looks to me with a droopy smile and half-open eyes. “Ooooh, you know it!” She stumbles over and leans on the wall to try and hold herself up. Oh great, she can’t even walk.

I reach over to her and offer my shoulder in an attempt to get her back to the ship. “Come on. Let’s get you back.” This is bullshit. She tumbles over to me and wraps her arm around my shoulder as I wrap mine around her hips. She lets out a rather loud moan and I instantly recognize the painful embarrassment that will be trying to carry a Kaeleen home.

We start our march back and her breaths become heavier... Her moans are getting more frequent as well… Oh God. Someone save me! I need an adult! My hands squirm as if too scared to actually make contact with her body. My face is twisted in an awkward cringe. Please don’t let anyone see me right now.

By the time we get to the entrance of the Watanabe, she begins gripping at my shoulder and each exhale is an audible sigh. I can’t take it anymore! “Alright! Here we are.” I let go of her and slide to the left as fast as I can. “I’m sure you can get back to your room, right?”

She looks up to me with eyes ablaze. Her face is a bright yellow and she’s biting her lip. “Clark. You can’t just leave me now…” She begins to step towards me with a passionate gaze. “Clark, I-”

“RIN! Sober First Officer Selai!” I’ve never spoken faster in my life. I didn’t know if it’d work but I was desperate for anything to get me out of this situation. To my surprise, Selai stops in her tracks and closes her eyes. She rubs her communicator before standing upright and looking at me confused, yet still blushing and breathing hard. RIN can’t fix everything, I suppose.

“Clark? What just happened? Oh…” She closes her eyes and catches her breath. “You tried to help me back to the ship. Haha, sorry about that. I suppose I drank a bit too much. But I feel totally sober. How’d that happen?” She looks at as confused as I did the first time this happened to me.

“Uh, haha, yeah… I kinda asked RIN to sober you up.” I look to her apologetically, understanding the pain of losing that buzz. “It happens to me every time I leave a bar or restaurant drunk. The Captain can’t be drunk apparently.” She looks even more confused.

“Wait, so why’d you ask RIN to make me sober?” Oh no. I was hoping she wouldn’t question it.

“Um… Truth is you, well, you kinda started to come on to me.” I drift my gaze away. I can’t make eye contact with her after saying that.

“Oh jeez! Oh, I’m so so sorry! I didn’t know what I was doing. It’s probably cause of all the contact. You were doing a really nice thing and thank you so much for that but… That must’ve been really awkward for you.” She’s blushing again, this time for a much different reason. “Oh God this is so embarrassing! I think I’m just gonna go to bed.” She looks down at her feet and begins to walk away. “G-good night.”

“Yeah, good night.” This time I decide it best to wait here a while before heading down the hall after her.