A Whore at Dread Harbor Ch. 05

The two spent several hours together sitting across from one another at the bar, swapping stories and trading shots of whiskey back and forth.

Deckard had greatly missed Corani's company, more than he cared to admit. To be able to relax and let his guard down in the presence of someone he trusted utterly and without question was worth more to him than he could put into words.

He probably drank more than he should have on the eve of a dangerous mission, but he had no illusions about his unlikely return. He savored the brief happiness he could find while he could.

"So Deckard..." Corani asked him after they were both several drinks in, leaning against the dark marble bartop with the barest hint of unsteadiness. Her voice was colored with a Catian's mischievousness. "What's it like for you, coming back here?"

Deckard laughed, a low rumble that bubbled up from his raspy throat. "The drinks still suck." He said, downing another shot. He grimaced at the burning sensation as it drifted down his gullet. "-And not to criticize your hospitality, but the welcoming party was shit."

Corani giggled. By now she'd shifted back to her old appearance. "Goddess, they think you bought me for the night!" She put a hand over her eyes, smiling as she tilted her chin skyward. "The dance gets tiring sometimes, you know?"

Deckard nodded, staring at his empty shot glass. "You'd know better than me, little mouse. Sometimes, I feel like I'm living in the wrong galaxy."

Corani let out a dismissive snort. "Deckard, if you had just the slightest bit of ego, you could rule all of these fools."

Deckard smiled, pouring himself another shot. "Foiled again by my own shortcomings, eh Corani?"

Corani's teasing smirk softened. "...You know that's not what I meant, Lieutenant."

"Oh, grow a sense of humor, little mouse." Deckard joked. "I'm not that thin-skinned." Corani giggled, replying with an awkward smile. She leaned against the countertop.

"You know how I mentioned I had a gift for you?"

"You did." Deckard said. "I'm terrified to imagine what exactly you might have gotten for me."

Corani rolled her eyes, her fingernail trailing in slow circles across the countertop. "Don't worry, I made sure it was something practical."

She fished something small out of her back pocket, reaching out and planting it down onto the bartop in front of him. Deckard stared at the device for a long moment.

It was small, square and grey, similar in shape to a communicator, but with an antenna attached to the top. A single button with a switch was covered by a small hard plastic casing, to ensure it was not accidentally activated without the users intent.

"...This is a long range transponder." He said, picking it up and inspecting it. "Goddess, this is some expensive tech. I haven't seen one of these since I left the GFP."

"That is a GFP transponder."

Deckard stopped dead in his tracks. "...Only high ranking personnel and major garrisons are allowed to have these."

Corani nodded, a self satisfied grin growing on her lips. "And now you do, as well."

"How did you get this?"

Corani shrugged. "I've maintained good relations with the GFP garrison stationed on Dread Harbor ever since they liberated the station. They eat and drink free at my bars, and I do my best to go 'visit' them whenever I can."

Deckard's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't answer the question, Corani."

Corani smirked, "...Doesn't it?" She asked in an innocent voice. "You're a lot smarter than you pretend to be sometimes, Deckard. Put two and two together."

His brow tightened. "...Why are you giving me this?"

She leaned forward on the bar top. Deckard couldn't help but notice her cleavage on display as she narrowed her shoulders and fixed him with a meaningful look.

"-Because I know you will do the right thing when the time comes."

"What in the ass-end of the Angara system is that supposed to mean?" Deckard asked.

Corani's eyes stared at him with unblinking intensity. "Think about it, Lieutenant: what happens if you turn on that transponder?"

Deckard began to see where she was headed. He looked at the device again, a pit entering his stomach. "...Every GFP station and fleet within two hundred light years gets pinged."

She nodded, her eyelids lowering. "And what happens if that ping comes from a location they're not expecting. Say - in an empty star system, on an abandoned moonbase supposedly devoid of life?"

Deckard's jaw clenched. "...They'll send a fleet to investigate. And alert every garrison in the region to the danger."

"Including Dread Harbor." She said in a calm voice. Her eyes flickered with inscrutable greys and greens.

His fist clenched around the transponder. "...Corani, you'll be ruined."

"Yes. Which is why I'm giving it to you." She said with serene solemnity. "If things go wrong on that facility, if we find ourselves in a situation that we can't salvage, I want you to turn on the transponder."

Their eyes were locked together. Deckard felt a rising anger in his chest, though it wasn't directed at his friend. It was directed at himself.

"You shouldn't give this to me."

"You're the only person in this galaxy that I would give it to, Deckard." Corani replied. "It's the only gift I can think of that's worthy of what you've done for me." She put her hand atop his own. "If we ever reach a point where things get bad enough; where you know we can't succeed, but lives can still be saved, press the button."

"What about your cure?" Deckard said. His voice was barely a whisper.

"I'll find another way." Corani, putting on a brave smile. "I've lived this long without a Pryde, Lieutenant. What's a few more years, when you really think about it?"

She stared at him, her eyes flickering back and forth with color. "...I know it's not the kind of gift you were expecting, but I want you to know: your life, and the lives of those people on the moonbase mean more to me than everything I've built here on Dread Harbor. When the time comes, make the call."

"It won't come to that." He promised.

Corani gave him a forlorn smile. There was a faraway look in her eyes. "We'll see. No matter what happens though: I trust you, Deckard."

Deckard let out a humorless chuckle. "That makes one of us, I suppose."

Corani took her drink and clinked it against his. "Come on Lieutenant: enough wallowing for the evening. We've got a long couple of weeks ahead of us, no matter how you slice it."

She downed the shot in one swift gulp, smacking her lips and shaking her head back and forth. "I'm going to get some sleep while I still can. Feel free to make yourself at home. I'm told my couch is quite comfortable."

Deckard watched the silent movement of the Catian as she circled the bar and slinked across the room. She paused at the foot of the stairs, and cast a long look at him over her shoulder.

Corani ascended up the stairs, then paused just as her head was about to pass beyond sight above the ceiling. She stuck her head out from the corner of the stair, her lips curling into a licentious smile.

"Unless... you wanted to join me? You did 'buy' me for the night after all." She winked at him, "No pressure, Lieutenant. I know everyone needs to blow off some steam, sometimes."

And with that pronouncement, Corani disappeared upstairs. The sound of her soft footsteps above his head was the only sign she was still in the apartment with. Deckard let out a heavy sigh and poured himself another drink, staring out for a long moment at the empty stars.

Corani's teasing tone of voice was impossible to decipher. Maybe it was just the alcohol, or maybe it was the long years he'd spent alone out on the frontier. Whatever it was, Deckard felt a strange fluttering in his stomach.

But was it concern that filled his gut with butterflies, or just excitement? The two had never been 'intimate' like that before, but it didn't sound like Corani was taking things too seriously, either. Deckard didn't know how much he liked how casual she was about the offer, as if it really didn't matter much to her one way or another. Deckard stared at the GFP transponder in his hand, his thoughts darkening.

The mission awaited them both. There was still so much to do, so much to prepare for. Did Deckard want this added complication to an already complicated situation?

Did he even know what he wanted, anymore?

What does Deckard do with his evening?

1. Follow Corani upstairs.

2. Take the couch for the night. Get what rest he can, while he still can.

3. Stay up late. Make plans for the mission ahead.