Free Promise of Love by C. M. King

on Shawn."
    Stuart looked a little perplexed by that. “You have a crush on the Captain?".
    "I had a crush, when I was like ten.” She had grown out of it years ago. “He got Tiro to play water polo.” That was the major reason for her starting the crush, seeing Shawn playing water polo. “You know, the captain played in college?"
    "The captain? An athlete?” Stuart asked.
    Rieko nodded her head in reply. “For Stanford. They were fairly good. I'd go to the games sometimes.” She thought back on those forgotten memories of Shawn getting out of the pool, a kind smile on his face. “There he'd be all wet and muscular in only those small tight fitting swim suits.” He had been something to look at back then. “Not that he's not good looking now, because he certainly is.” More grown up and filled out with that air of real maturity that he still didn't fully possess when he was in his twenties.
    Rieko lifted her head from the memory and noticed Stuart's clearly jealous expression. Maybe she had said all of that too dreamily, it's not like she really thought of Shawn like that anymore, too much else had transpired for that.
    "If it's any consolation, I think more than half the time he still sees me as that little girl.” She knew for a fact that he did. He had always been so kind about her little school girl crush, making sure he made it clear he wasn't interested, but being very polite about her girlish advances. “Stuart, you have nothing to be jealous of. Besides, Shawn and Tiro were such good friends."
    "They aren't anymore?” Stuart asked.
    She looked back up at Stuart. She had used the past tense. How many years had it taken for her to start doing that ? If she talked about Shawn, it was hard not to mention Tiro. He was the reason that she knew Shawn so well.
    "Tiro's dead,” she answered softly.
    Stuart's eyes looked shocked, but he held his face solid. “I'm so sorry, Rieko."
    What did he have to be sorry about ? He didn't have any idea. She never talked about it. “It's okay,” she said. “It happened a long time ago. It just doesn't always seem that way.” She really missed Tiro, then again likely everyone that had known him missed him. “Some stupid freak Earth Space Fleet accident with an EV suit,” she explained. It was one of the reasons they made her uneasy about them, well that and she was slightly claustrophobic. “My family prefers to avoid talking about the subject.” Which was why she hadn't mentioned that Tiro was dead when they had talked about him before. “We all know, we just don't ever mention it."
    "They probably don't like Earth Space Fleet much,” Stuart said.
    "No.” Unlike his father, her parents did have a real reason for their mistrust of Earth Space Fleet. “They're not big fans of it."
    "They aren't mad that you're in the fleet?” Stuart lifted an eyebrow.
    Rieko shook her head. That would take a little background to explain. “Much as I hate what had happened to Tiro, I couldn't resist studying astronomy. I tried studying math and physics and even chemistry for a bit.” She shrugged. “My biggest interest was always astronomy. It's always been my one true passion, something passed on from Tiro and all his bedtime stories about other worlds. My parents can't dislike my choices for something I'm so passionate about."
    "Anyway,” she continued, “After graduate school, Shawn talked me into Earth Space Fleet. He said I'd be great at it.” She really was honored by that. “I would have never done so without his encouragement.” It certainly had taken a little talking into. “If anyone else had suggested it, I would have told them I wasn't interested."
    "My family would be quite a bit more scared about having me out here if Shawn wasn't the captain.” In their eyes the fact that Shawn wanted her out here, made it all right in their view.
    Well, if she had gone and told Stuart this much, why not tell the rest? “Shawn was with Tiro when he died,” she spoke.