#Urkotuon

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #5 Just Gals Being Pals

     Lieutenants Jane Anderson and Leandra Delgado sat down in a booth at the back of the bar with their drinks and some food that Jane had ordered.      “What even is that?” Leandra asked.  “It looks disgusting.”      “It’s called garmuth,” Jane said.  “We had a Larusian cook on base when I was a teenager, so I picked up a taste for their cuisine.”      “I think it’s moving.”      “Well yeah, it’s supposed to be,” Jane said as she picked up a piece and tossed it in her mouth.  “So, what’s up?”      “What do you mean?”      “You wanted to meet for drinks, I assumed there was something you wanted to talk about.”      “I just meant as friends.  Or was that presumptuous?”      “I mean, I hadn’t really thought of us as friends.  Like, we never really interact outside of work related stuff.”      “Yeah, but to be fair we serve on a starship,” Leandra said.  “So we’re pretty much always at work, except when we’re able to go down to a planet for some time off.”      “True, not that Maltork Four is exactly where I’d consider going for recreation,” Jane said.  “And not just because the last time we were here was…well you know.”      “Yeah, that was certainly an odd situation.”      “No kidding.  Even aside from the classified part of that which we shouldn’t mention in public, there was that con artist, and we even had a CIA operative that had snuck aboard.”      “What happened with that operative anyway?” Leandra asked.  “Like, I had heard you had him tossed in the brig, but I never heard what happened to him next.”      “After we got back to Earth and helped with damage control, we just handed him back to the CIA.  It wasn’t exactly a time that different agencies could afford to be fighting with each other.”      “True that, true that.  Too bad that cooperation couldn’t have lasted.”      “It never does,” Jane said.      “So then, you know what I said to him?” Jane asked.  It was later in the evening, both of them had had a few drinks by this time, and Jane was talking about her teenage years.      “I’m going to guess it had something to do with where he could stick that trombone,” Leandra said.      “Pretty much, but he just kept playing it, so I just grabbed it and threw it out the window.  You know how far you can throw things on the moon?”      “I’m guessing pretty far.”      “Yeah, I had detention for a month after that, and I was grounded even longer.  Not that being grounded really meant a whole lot.  There’s not a lot of things to do on the Lunar Colony anyway.  At least not when I was living there.”      “Even still, it must have been pretty cool living on the moon.”      “I mean, yeah, there were definitely cool aspects, like the aforementioned gravity.  Very limited choices when it came to friends though.  And I’ve only been on three dates in my life.”      “What?  No.”      “I mean, after I finished high school, I joined the ESS pretty much right away, and I’ve been pretty focused on my career since.  This is the first time I’ve actually had a night out in the past five months.”      “We are going to change that.”      “How about that guy?” Leandra asked, as she pointed at a Urkotuon at the bar.      “That’s not a guy,” Jane said.  “Urkotuons don’t have gender, and they don’t do romance or sex.”      “Really?  That sounds boring.”      “It works for them.  You really aren’t that familiar with a lot of alien species, are you?”      “I generally just find out about them when I read a mission briefing.  I mean, I grew up on Earth and didn’t even know that aliens were real until I was asked to join the Unity.”      “Ah yeah, I guess I sometimes forget that aliens were kept secret on Earth until the Caldore invasion.  But as head of security I also need to make sure I know a wide range of customs, so I don’t inadvertently insult anyone while keeping people safe.”      “Yeah, I mostly just pilot my fighter and shoot people down when I need to.”      “You did manage to navigate the Yungoonch situation pretty well last month.”      “I got lucky on that,” Leandra said.  “But we’re not supposed to be talking about me being lucky, we’re supposed to be helping you get lucky.”      “I don’t know that this is the rest place,” Jane said.  “I mean, I’m not necessarily opposed to dating a non-Human, but if we’re just talking about sex, a lot of the time the parts don’t exactly line up.”      “You’d be surprised what you can manage,” Leandra said.  “I met a Forsoothian a couple months back, and we had quite the night together.”      “Man, you are the pickiest person I’ve ever met, turning down every suggestion I make,” Leandra said after another hour or so had passed.  “If you’re only wanting to date Humans, you’re pretty much gonna have to wait until we get back to Earth.  Or date someone on the crew.”      “I’m the chief of security,” Jane said.  “I can’t go dating someone on the crew.”      “Maybe one of my pilots.  I mean, my squadron is attached to the ship, but we’re not technically ship crew.  There’s a few of them over there.”  Leandra pointed to another table in the bar, where City Boy, Cheddar Cheese, and Pandaherbs were sitting.      “You can’t set me up with someone under your command,” Jane said.  “That’s a major conflict of interest.”      “I’m not setting you up, just letting you know the option is there.”      “I mean, I suppose that wouldn’t strictly be against regulations for me to date someone on your squadron.  But, like I said, dating’s not a big deal to me.  You’re the one who’s apparently made it her mission to set me up with someone.”      “If I’m pressing too much, I can back off,” Leandra said.      “No, it’s fine,” Jane said.  “Kind of amusing actually, I mean, we’re just joking around right.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  What about you?  Anyone special in your life?”      “Plenty of special people,” Leandra said.  “I’m not really one to limit myself to monogamy.  I’ve had a few boyfriends and girlfriends over the years, but never anything really serious.”      “Girlfriends?”      “Yeah, that’s not a problem is it?”      “No, of course not.  My best friend is a lesbian.”      “And you?”      “I don’t know,” Jane said.  “I mean, all the dates I’ve been on were with guys, but like I mentioned, that’s only been three dates.”      “Hmm.”      “Wait, was this supposed to be a date?”      “No, if it was intended to be a date, I’d be very clear with that upfront,” Leandra said.      “Could it become a date?”      “I mean, maybe, but we’re both pretty drunk at this point.  It might not be the best idea.”      “Yeah, maybe not.”      The next morning, Jane went down to the cafeteria on the ship for some coffee and breakfast.  There were a few other people in the cafeteria, including Leandra, who Jane went and sat down across from.  “Morning,” Jane said.      “Sleep well?” Leandra asked.      “Not really, and I have a pretty bad hangover now.  You?”      “I slept okay, but yeah, definitely have a hangover too.  Last night was fun though, right.”      “Yeah, but about what we were talking about near the end there.”      “About us dating?”      Jane looked around, but no one seemed to be paying them any attention.  “Yeah, that.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re a lot of fun, and really gorgeous...”      “But…”      “But I mean, even if you aren’t technically part of the crew, you do still live on the ship, and work with us.”      “I hear Wesley and Chuck have started seeing each other,” Leandra said.      “Neither of them are in charge of security.  They are the chief of communications and piloting, which means not a lot of conflict of interest there.  Still technically a breach of regulations, but as long as they keep it on the down low, they’ll probably be fine.”      “I mean, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea either though.  I’m not looking for anything serious, I date casually, so if that’s not something you’re interested in, it’s a moot point anyway.”      “Yeah, I don’t know,” Jane said.      That night Leandra returned to her quarters after running combat drills with her squadron.  She was in the middle of trying to figure out how she was going to explain the amount of repairs that Team Fancy’s fighter was going to need after simple training exercises, when her door chime rang.      “Come in,” she said as she put her computer pad down.      The door slid open, and Jane came in.  “Hi,” she said.      “Hello,” Leandra said.  “What can I do for you?”      “I’ve been thinking about our conversation, and about what I want, and about my job and such.”      “Okay?”      “I mean, like I was telling you, I’ve never really had much time for dating because of my job, so maybe something more casual would be a better idea for me at this time.”      “If that’s what you want, then I’m game,” Leandra said.  “Just as long as you’re not planning on trying to change me.  If you decide you do want an exclusive relationship with someone, that’s not going to be me.”      “No, yeah, I understand that.”      “Excellent, so what do you want to do now then?”      “I don’t know exactly,” Jane said.  “Not a lot of experience in this area.”      “Why don’t you come sit down with me?”      “Right.”  Jane sat down next to Leandra, and looked at her.  She leaned over, and Leandra leaned back, and they kissed.