Starfire
Copyright© 2025 by UtIdArWa
Chapter 5
After Betty calmed Susan down and convinced her to at least have a drink, they all sat down. Susan moved her chair as far from Thad as possible.
For the first fifteen minutes of conversation, what little there was, was strained and mostly consisted of monosyllables from Susan. Betty and Paul, meanwhile, spent the time explaining who Thad was and about his promotion.
It was obvious that Susan was not impressed.
Eventually, Thad grew tired of this. “Ma’am, I have to ask, why are you so mad at me. As far as I know, we’ve never even met before.”
“You really don’t know?” Susan demanded, her voice rising and attracting the attention of other diners.
“Are you trying to say you didn’t steal my detection programming and tell Lieutenant Commander Morse that it was yours?”
Thad was confused; he didn’t know anything about a detection program. His ideas were about spoofing enemy ships and detection systems. “No, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
That was when Susan related what had happened earlier at Commander Morse’s office, and the humiliation she felt about being accused of something she didn’t do.
Between the two of them, they started describing their ideas and how they functioned.
Thad was fascinated; he had never really thought about how the defensive systems were integrated with the radar detection equipment. Susan was equally interested in the concept of deliberately exposing a target for the detection systems and using that to confuse the operators and computers. From that point on, the conversation was exclusively theirs.
Amused and slightly smug, Betty looked over to Paul and winked. Paul and Betty just sat and watched the unfolding drama.
For the rest of the evening, Betty and Paul forgot about Thad and Susan and concentrated on their dinner. Thad and Susan were also oblivious to anything around them. It was so bad that when the waiter came around for the third time, Paul had to order for the group.
At the end of their meal, Betty and Paul waited for a break in Thad and Susan’s concentration. But when that didn’t happen, they quietly agreed to leave the couple to their own devices. Paul paid everybody’s bill and then left with Betty.
After leaving the canteen, Paul and Betty walked arm in arm down the corridor towards the Chin family quarters. Looking around and seeing no passersby, they ducked into a convenient passage.
When Paul’s passion got too hot, Betty put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away.
“Paul,” she asked, “When will you speak to my father. When can we start planning our commitment ceremony?”
“Soon, Betty, it’s just that your father is,,, well intimidating. Every time I start to say something about this, he looks at me and I lose my nerve.”
Betty chuckled and stroked Paul’s cheek. “Omae Paul, so strong and yet afraid of an old man.”
“An old man who is an expert with a katana.”
Betty chuckled again and then kissed Paul. When they broke their embrace, they resumed their walk.
As they walked, Paul said. “Soon, Betty, soon, I promise.”
“You had better hurry up, Paul. Neither I nor your mother will wait much longer.”
“My mother? You have spoken to my mother about us?”
“It was more her speaking to me. I won’t lie to my future mother-in-law.”
When they arrived at Betty’s door, they paused and kissed once again. Their embrace was cut short when the door opened and Betty’s youngest cousin, a precocious 5-year-old, was standing in the doorway.
“Betty, what’cha doin’?”
“Nothing, Brian, just saying goodnight to Paul. Why aren’t you in bed”?
“Don’t wanna, wanna bed story.”
“It’s OK, Betty.” Looking down at Brian, “Sweet dreams, lil dude.”
The kid glared at Paul, stuck his tongue out at him, and then spun around and bolted into the house.
Turning to Paul, Betty smiled apologetically. “Paul, I’ll call you”, she said as she closed the door.
Paul’s walk back to his quarters was a lonely one. As he walked, he thought about Betty and their relationship. Paul wanted to take it to the next level, but, as he told Betty, her father was extremely intimidating to him. Paul ran through several scenarios but wasn’t satisfied with any of them.
When he arrived home, he was surprised to see his mother still awake.
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