Date on Freeport 1

[Laura C.]

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

Trueno looked a bit grimly.
"Well it might sound naive...or funny, but in fact I do believe that finding me one who doesn't have the Empire in his head and heart might provide a bubble toe ease my own head afterall..so sí, less complicated, even if only temporary..."
He then took up his wine glass and rolls it along its neck with his fingers.
"The wine can't be so bad after all" he smiled and looked at Laura, "and I know the cerveza ain't bad as well...then again...I prefer a certain clarity in my mind...as I want to make sure all is bueno, sí? Drunken Corsair might scare you off due to some overstretched rumors," he said, laughed and demonstrativly took small sips from the beer and the wine in turn.

"You mean you will start to sing then, for example?" Laura laughed.
Trueno joined the laughter.
"Singing, might be the last of your problems, though I think there are Freeport rules against it somewhere! But I mean...there is this one story that old One-legged Pepe always tells. He claims to once being so drunk with his hermanos that they actually captured the command center of a freeport, taking everyone as hostage, and ordered the "cruiser" to move to New London to capture some ale delivery train. And he claims that zoners were so annoyed that they actually put few whales ahead the freeport station and hauled it some metres so those drunkards fell over and asleep. Might be a bit far fetched but...well, that's old Pepe," Trueno finished the story.

"Rules against singing when drunk?," she continued to laugh.
"By the way this is I think for first time I was somewhere with Corsair and I drank more alcohol than him," Laura smiled and looked with disbelief but amused at Trueno when he was telling that story.
"Okay, I don´t believe, that is so crazy," she said but laughed then.
"Well, it is a fact that he is banned from all freeports, so who knows... Oh, and I think...there are crazier things than sober Corsairs after all! I could suggest space-dating over light year distances for example...but if you insist on a drunken Corsair... I might have what you are looking for...if you are brave enough!"
Trueno tried to give a look as if he were quite certain she ain't.
"No, I don´t want to risk that Zoners don´t have enough whales around now to save us from you commanding your cruiser," she winked at him.

Waiter then appeared at table, asking if anything more is needed.
"No, for me not," she answered with empty glass of water, probably indicating that the date is here near its end. Waiter and Laura looked at Trueno, waiting for what will he say.
"Now, we don't want to disgruntle our hosts after all," Trueno said, buying time.
"What now?" he though. "Probably just stick to etiquette for now..."
"Bueno señor, I am fine as well...if you could book everything on my docking card, sí?" he answered to the waiter and handed him a small chipcard usable for hangar access and so on.

Then he turned back to Laura.
"Very well señorita, I take it you need some time for prepare for your next trips? If you wish, I will help you getting this to your ship, sí?" he pated the big ham-leg on the table.
"Thank you, that would be nice," Laura answered. "I didn´t take a bag for something like this," she added with smile, pointing on her handbag. The waiter then returned with Trueno´s chipcard and check. As Trueno might quickly notice, despite the food and drink were really good, the price was not very high.
Laura then waited until Trueno stood up. He ignored the check and only took his card back, thanked and tips the waiter. After that he rose and tried to gentlemanly help Laura out of the chair. Then he shouldered the leg.
"Muy bueno, that was an interesting evening, por favor, lead the way!" In the next steps Trueno reflected on if interesting is a stupid word to describe things, and concluded to a yes.
"Mierda, too late," he thought and waited on Laura to continue.

She appreciated that Trueno helped her out of chair, because when she stood up, it appeared that she still has lot of wine in blood. She leaned on his arm for short moment and made few only tiny steps until she was sure that nothing bad will happen. Apparently sitting and talking was good, but walking needed more attention. But when she heard about "interesting evening", she paid fully attention back to that, looked at Trueno and studied him for a second. Maybe this is return to reality? From her experience, "interesting" as a rating of date from man usually meant "it was boring and I will never call you." Embarrassing moment, but as usual. But what to say now?
"Sure, it was really nice to meet you," she finally chose neutral answer, starting to feel sad inside. They walked out of the restaurant towards the docking bay. Laura was thinking but not speaking...

Trueno was surprised at the not-100-% sure steps and chose to walk behind her and doing "the hover hand" on spots he deems dangerous for falls. He knew his time was ticking but bravery came harder than expected.
"Um...you know it was -interesting-to actually have the time to talk with someone not affiliated to the Empire under these circumstances...sí? But what I mean is...it was in..I mean it was a very pleasant evening even if I hit the Hessian kraut pot, I hope you took no offense...but sí, this was a good day for me."
He continued to walk on and without say anything, musing on his incredible lack of skills.

Laura smiled at Trueno a little when he "corrected" his words. "For me too. It was nice to see a Corsair at the other side of table in restaurant and not at he other side of bomber or gunboat cannons as I usually meet them," she said ironically but with smile.
When they arrived closed door of the hangar where Laura´s ship was parked, she stopped and turned towards Trueno. Silence appeared in the air.
"Why is it so silent???," he thought.
"Um, shall I help you along with this?" Trueno asked and pointed at the ham-leg.

"Well and...I mean, if you are...not scared...of a Corsair...well I can give you a neural net access code which can get messages through to me...I mean...if you are around...maybe New London...New Berlin, Honshu or such... I mean...well, if you like of course."
While speaking, he discreetly memorized the dock number and tried to take a peek at Laura´s ship if the possibility arise, still trying to figure out if possibly she was a "customer" of him before.

"Yes...sure...why not," Laura answered when Trueno offered her help. She punched access code at the keyboard at the side of the door and opened them. Inside was parked shabby Hawk. By the logo on the side, it belong to Kusarian ship renting company from planet Honshu. The "name" of the ship beside it was "K-H4812", so just a registration number.
She opened the cocpit, wanted to give the ham inside when she heard Trueno´s offer of neural net acces code. She looked at Trueno, blushed a little but with smile.
"Oh...well...okay. I hope it will not insult your Corsair reputation, but I was not scared of you in restaurant and I´m not even now...alone with you in the hangar. So I will like to have that code. And most of the time I´m in Okinawa or Honshu, these days," Laura said, with heartbeat going wild.

"Ah, good to know señorita...may I contact you if travels led me to that region?" Trueno said and then waved around a bit helplessly with the ham, not sure what to do now, when he decided to basically hand it over to her, using it as an excuse to get a bit nearer. While dropping it into her hands, he moved awkward-fluently on to give her a one handed yet firm hug, and with both heads on the same level Trueno added:
"It would be a real pleasure..." He reddened, nervous was quite the word.

Laura noticed how close he is now and his one handed hug. Maybe she wanted to say or do something, but she just froze, looking at him, while her heart was trying to explode.
Trueno, seeing as there is propably no reaction coming from his point of view, he saved his face by taking a bow.
"Well...then adios, señorita Laura, until we meet again," he gave her honest smile and with that he started to turn to the hangar exit.
"Adios," Laura forced herself to say at least a word and answered with apparently excited voice and tried to smile as best as she could in that moment. Then she was looking at Trueno´s back until he left hangar bay.

After some time, when she was able to breath and move again, she closed the hangar door from inside and collapsed into Hawk pilot´s seat. It was like ride on the rollercoaster. She was sure that she need to stay at Freeport until tomorrow. Now she was so excited but also drunk. She was sure that even take off without accident was impossible.

Trueno moved over to his hangar, on the way he recaped the evening, adrenaline was flowing. He calmed and reenergized himself with his hidden rum stash, then sank into his pilot chair.
Did he screw up? He was not sure. He knew he expected more of himself, but it was to late anyways. Anger flared up. How can -this-part of life be so tough? He needed some distraction. After a while Trueno changed into his pilot suit and left for the seedier, Corsair frequented bars of the freeport, preparing for a night of drunken silence.

---

On a ragebreak. Or ragequit. Time will tell.