A Long Overdue Chat (Part 1)

Posted on Wed Apr 19th, 2023 @ 12:58am by Major Chiyo Shimada & Captain Elizabeth F. "Liz" Beurling

866 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Descent
Location: Marine CO's office, Deck 16

Chiyo was just reaching a breaking point in her work to go pick up Alice for their joint appointment with Dr. Febin. She had just risen from the desk when the office chime rang.

"Come in." Chiyo called out.

The doors swooshed open, and a familiar face strode through, Chiyo's sister in arms, 1st Lieutenant Liz Beurling.

"Oh, hey Liz, I was just on my way out the door to collect Alice for our appointment." Chiyo said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" Liz asked. "I'll... Come back later..."

"Well, you're already here, so have a seat." Chiyo motioned to one of the chairs in front of her desk. "What's up?"

"Oh, it's... nothing." Liz muttered. "Just something that's been on my mind ever since I found out we're being assigned to the H'atoria sector. I've been thinking about it non-stop and can't get it out of my head."

The notion of being assigned to the H'atoria sector had not been lost on Chiyo either, as that had been the same sector a certain starship carrying a certain someone close to Chiyo's heart had been assigned prior to the vessel being lost. Nodding in understanding, Chiyo once again motioned for Liz to have a seat, and sat back down in her chair as well.

Liz assumed the motioned seat and proceeded to bum and light a cigarette. Having been around Liz long enough, Chiyo knew that her sister in arms lighting a cigarette meant that she was in for a long talk.

"So, tell me, Chiyo; what do you think about when you hear the name 'Tatsuo Shimada?'" Liz asked.

Chiyo sighed as all the memories of her and Tatsuo's time spent together came rushing to her.

"I... Think about all the good times we had together." Chiyo stated. "I think about all the laughter, all the tears, all the goofy pictures we took together, all the milkshakes we shared, all of our walks along the beach together... Actually, the first time we went on a date to the beach, I wore a one piece swimsuit, and when we were going to leave, he told me 'If we ever come back here, wear a bikini.' I asked him why, and he said, and I'll never forget this, he said 'I want to see your beautiful belly button.' And that really struck a chord with me, so when I asked him later that night what he meant by that, he told me that, in his opinion, an attraction to belly buttons was the fairest way to judge a woman based on looks."

Liz quietly nodded, taking a puff of her cigarette.

"Which makes a lot of sense when you stop to think about it: I mean, let's face it; not all women are blessed to have great figures like yours or mine. I mean, no disrespect, but look no further than Captain Aisaka for an example. But we all have belly buttons, well, aside from species that don't, but those are few and far between." Chiyo continued. "So, for Tatsuo to say something like that spoke volumes about who he was: He was a man who judged you not by your looks, but by the content of your character."

"Yep, that sounds like Tatsuo alright." Liz nodded. "When I was a dinner table at his bachelor party, Tatsuo ate off my stomach. Not my tits, not my pussy, but my stomach. I thought he was weird for not wanting to eat off my lady parts at the time, but after hearing your explanation, it makes a lot of sense now."

"You were a dinner table at Tatsuo's bachelor party?" Chiyo asked.

"After I stripped for them..." Liz responded. "Before I received my transfer orders to the Kanzaki, word got out on the Redemption that you and he had gotten engaged, and a few of Tatsuo's male friends decided to throw a surprise bachelor party, and they asked me to be a stripper for them. Come to think of it, I think that was my first serious stripper routine since university."

"Please tell me you keep the fact that you stripped in your youth a trade secret." Chiyo sighed. "I know there are marines who would get the wrong idea and ask you to strip for them."

"Of course I do." Liz said. "People see me smoking and think I'm an absolute idiot, but I'm not that stupid!"

"You know, come to think of it, I don't believe I ever had a bachelorette party." Chiyo muttered. "It just... All happened so fast, what with the news of Tatsuo's assumed passing and then a few days later, BAM! I'm pregnant with Alice... If there's one thing I don't think about when I hear Tatsuo's name, it's the regs coming to my door to break the news. Oh, and in regards to that swimsuit story earlier, I don't believe I've worn a bikini since I gave birth to Alice."

Chiyo leaned forward.

"Liz, why are you asking me about Tatsuo?" She asked. "You know he's a sore subject for me..."

To be continued...

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