Date on Freeport 1

[Laura C.]

( // story as it was played by me and Rodnas, part 3 // )

Few minutes later, Laura looked at herself in the mirror. Fortunately no other woman came to the toilet. She felt so dissapointed by herself.
"Nothing to save here. Maybe he even left. And if not, what will he think about you. That you are oversensitive hysterical woman. Time to go home," she thought and started to wash down blurry make-up. Then she quickly made new one as quickly as was possible. It was not good, but better than nothing. Nothing to loose here anyway.

Trueno was left alone for around twenty minutes.
"Mierda, mierda, mierda!" He wanted to say something but Laura was away too fast for him to react. He rubbed his temples, thoughts racing
"Focus, Corsario, focus!" He took a quick look around then slipped a hand into his uniform drawing a small metal flask, unstoppering it and taking a deep gulp before he hid it again.
As his "special" rum lighted all fires in him, burning his mind to concentrate, he calmed down.
"Think, what would old One-legged Pete do? what would El Machete do?" Was there any wisdom from his hermanos? His own experience with diplomancy? Trueno rubbed his temples more.
"I will have to evade these minefields or this Titan is going to wreck down! I will have to bring up enough diversion from the issue or I will be the first hermano who saddened señorita to death! Now let's just hope I will find something in time....madre mio!"
In the meantime, dinner arrived. Trueno waited patiently for Laura´s return, but now he looked a bit "fresher" than before.

Laura left toilet and returned to restaurant. She was approaching the table with straight idea to just say goodbye and leave. But then she noticed Trueno waiting for her with food and she get bad feeling about this.
"You can´t do this to him. And leave table with served food? That is real crime! Calm down and try to stay for a while. And be nice!" she thought. She sat down and looked at Trueno. Fresh makeup on her cheeks and especially around eyes could be noticed, clear sign that she cried. Laura took a deep breath.
"I´m very sorry for this, señor Trueno. But you spoke about family so nice...about something I never had. Something I even can´t imagine well. Maybe this topic is not the best for now. And food is here...so, enjoy your meal!" Laura sipped from her glass of wine. The fifth one today.
"Maybe you can say me why you are here," she said between two bites. "I thought Corsairs are looking for girls in their worlds. Or they are kidnapping them. Or they changed?" she added then, waiting curiously for answer.

Hesistantly, Trueno gestures to their plates
"My apologies again....well...it seems the kitchen ment well with us afterall. I hope it suits your tastes!" He fumbles around a bit with his fork
"Well, if that isn't a meal, hm? That...kind of brings me to your questions..." Obviously he chose his words wiser for now
"You see, the Empire grows as its children broaden its borders, filling it with life. Too much of it than it can stomach actually, as you might have heard. There is...hunger in us and we need to sate it or starve.....the most basic one is food, obviously."
He nodded in direction of his meal
"More than enough to sate at least one hermano more almost decadent... The thing is...we hunger for many more things, every Corsario does, hombre or señorita, bebito or don. Yet there are times I hate being hungry. Which brings us back to "why not daughter of Crete?" To be honest and blunt - I believe that folk from the house lack this starving hunger in their heart...and I am very sure that such company might quiet mine, if only for a short time...but it will. Simple as that...a comagnera where I can be sated and calm cannot be found in the Empire...but it is to be found in the houses! That is the core of it I guess..."
He leaned back in his seat letting the words sink a bit, then suddenly remembering.
"Oh...and that kidnapping...by my honor I would never have a kidnapped señorita by my side...that is...distasteful at best, slavery at worst...this has no place in the Empire! Well...kidnapping maybe...a bit...but not to keep ...just to ...well...get pesetos..."
He reddened a bit, quickly taking a bite from his steak and took a sip from his alcoholic beverages. He took only three polite sips of them, staying most of the time with coffeinated water, but Laura was distracted by too many things to notice it.

"Food is great. Gran Canaria salmon used to be my favourite food when I spent some time there," Laura answered. When Trueno finished his talk, she thought for a second.
"Yes, hunger is horrible. You know, now I´m quite well. I have quite good paid job and enough food around. But many years ago, I was very poor, living on the periphery of the society. So I experienced hunger in that times. I know what people can do for even small bit of food. And I hope I will never experience it again," Laura said and took short break.
"So if I understand it, you are looking for somebody from houses to have...lets say safe harbour at her? Where you can have enough food?" she added.

"Hm...well basically..yes. Maybe think of a more.... metáfora kind of hunger, sí? As I said, I can look after me and the mine...I am healthy and can afford continuous detoxication and de-rad medication, no worries!" Trueno doesn't seem sure if he should stress the "hunger" point or just leave it at that-the health issues in contrast, he emphases...it seems he wanted to make clear that he is neither ill nor malnourished or poor. He tried to pick up again
"It is a good thing though that you know hunger believe it or not...it makes you know what you want, sí? After all, the lack of great food years ago brought us to this table today, fully knowing what we want."
He raised his glass
"Salud, may we always sleep with a full belly and next to a warm fire!"

Laura raised her glass too.
"Salud!" she replied shortly.
"And it is true, señor Trueno," she laughed a little about similarity of those words, "that people then know what they want. But," she started in more serious tone, "I saw very well that in the end, people will do anything and everything if they are starving." It was quite ironic that empty plate was in front of her when she said these words. She smiled at Trueno, asking then another question.
"How far are you willing to commute for your...lady?" she asked playfully. Then waiter appeared at table and took Laura´s empty plate. "Glass of water, please," she ordered, knowing very well that she drank more than enough wine now. That was danger of Rioja, it was sweet and tasty, so it was hard to stop on time.

"Commute?" Trueno repeated and looked as if that idea never crossed his mind so far.
"You mean like travelling around all the time? Well, I do business travels quite regularly to Bretonia, Rheinland and Kusari...but it is not -that- easy so to say...I mean...my home is...well...at home...and it is expected of me to kind of live there so I errr...can be there for the familia...and such."
He hesitated, then tried to "rework".
"So basically I am mobile, but not -really- as well, do you know what I mean...I have duties...and my honor to uphold, sí?" Trueno seemed dodgy, as if exploring possibilities he has never thought off, buying time. Being playful to playfulness was not his strong suit, he was either too serious or too stiff, propably irritating in an amusing way.

"So you just want sometimes visit her when you will go around?" Laura asked curiously.
"Oh and by the way, that is surprising to hear that you have regular business travels to Bretonia or Rheinland. I mean, I though that in Bretonia Mollys want to kill you, BAF want to kill you, BPA want to kill you. In Rheinland Red Hessians want to kill you, military want to kill you, RFP want to kill you. I can´t imagine how can you do business here then. Well, I don´t want to be nosy, I just can´t understand how the business can be made when all major lawful and unlawful parties want to kill you. Who left to have business with him?"

Trueno made a "that is true" gesture.
"It seems you do own a diploma in Corsair diplomacy! It is true, my head right here would make you rich in an instant most propably. The Empire doesn't have many friends...for different reasons, that is. Still, there is no denying - we do have things other individuals and groups want...I mean...I have rum....and the artifact business is booming in Sirius...and for those...well, we are the only suppliers. Then...there are those who look for our support in pesetos and in arms... Our friends are few, but well chosen."
He took a short break.
"Then again, all those enemies make it hard to just "commute" on the one side....on the other side it is a bit...not so easy to simply "dissappear" in order to commute without raising questions...that's why I was referring to business travels as those are...acceptable, sí?"

Trueno tried to figure out if Laura has an understanding at what he hints at, and from her face expression, it seemed that she didn´t understand completely. Hard to say if due to lack of understanding, or due to too much alcohol. Anyway she was looking at Trueno like she is expecting that his talk will continue.
"May I speak openly to you, Laura?" he asked but really didn´t give much time to respond.
"Look...as a Corsair, I may roam space freely and take what I want...or something like that...at least that is what the neural net shows tell you, sí? The thing is...there comes a point in the life of a Corsair where he...well...has to choose what to do with his life...and, well it is hard to say but...I kind of lost my freedom to be where I want whenever I want...so I can't wake up in the morning and decide to fly somewhere just because I want, sí? I mean.. I gained much and I don't regret it, but, well...I have my duties and those leave...little time, yes...little free time."
He looked questioningly.
"Do you understand? I mean, we said it already...we know what we want because we lacked things...I gave things to gain things I want...and because of that I have to do "business trips" to get around, sí?"

Laura looked at him.
"I´m quite surprised. Because this sounds like my life. Exactly as you said. I can´t wake up and decide to fly somewhere just because I want. If I don´t have holiday like now, or a break, I have my flight schedule. But I´m just an employee of the company, that is how things are going in house space. I didn´t know that Corsairs have their "companies" and "employees". Okay, I heard about companies but I didn´t know that they work quite similarly like in house space," she tried to sum up her current point of view.

"Well, you nailed it down...basically the Empire is a company...and while a youngster without responsibility may go wherever he please, he will find out very soon that the Empire has duties for him...and many of those. And me, aside from duties to the Empire, I sure have duty to my employees as well."
He tilted his head left and right.
"Then again, to speak honest - life has been good to me, I brought honor to my familia, to my name and I "only" had to pay with my life for it...muy bueno," he laughed at his realization, then lifted his glass to Laura.
"On duty and the Empire I guess! Salud!" But after seeing that Laura switched over to water, Trueno continued.

Laura appeared in the dilemma which appeared out of nowhere. She didn´t want to drink to a Corsair empire. She felt strange about that and her hand didn´t want to raise a glass for this for some reason. She tried to avoid that so just nodded and point her look to her glass of water.
"It seems I don´t have the right drink for another salud," she said.

"Well...as always...it is comlicated, sí?" Trueno leaned in a bit, seeking for understanding.
"But you know, after all... I am sure I am here to have a somewhat -less- complicated life, if only for an evening," he added.

"Less complicated life?" Laura repeated his words.
"Are you sure that have a girlfriend...woman...lover...whatever you want to call it, will make your life less complicated?" she smiled on that.
"Maybe you should ask elders about that, they would probably say to you that you chose wrong way then," Laura said with irony in the voice but smiling. Then pointed her look at his glass, realizing that it is still the same glass for whole date.
"It seems you don´t like wine here...and the lager too. Are they so bad?"

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On a ragebreak. Or ragequit. Time will tell.