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Standalone story 2

Leph and his crew layover at a space station around Atriea before going on the job they took after Leph recovered on Eden Medical Center. Serleah goes to get a drink, lamenting her situation. She meets another person in the same situation at a bar, and things go south. Literally.


"Snake... Do you think love can bloom, even on a battlefield?"
"Yeah, I do. I believe at any time, any place, people can fall in love with each other. But... if you love someone, you have to be able to protect them."

---

Serleah pushed through the door and stepped into the bar. It wasn’t a cheap looking place, and it wasn’t sleazy either. It was a place where the music was quiet, the atmosphere was light and even the bartender was friendly. Serleah felt very out of place as she stepped up to the bar, looking at the holographic menu above it. The bartender sidled up. He was a human, and he looked pretty generic to Serleah. She tried not to feel too bad about that fact, telling herself that it was because he was a different species, as if that made it any less racist. “Hiya, what’s your poison?”
Serleah glanced up at the menu, skipping over all the weaker human drinks. “Uhhh… I’ll have a pan-galactic gargle blaster, please.”
The bartender chuckled. “Ouch, must be rough. Coming right up, miss.”
It wasn’t exactly rough, but it was unjust. Leph had a loyal mate and newborn daughter, Feldoh had pranced off among the stars with Teri, and Zach was… well he was just Zach. She knew she shouldn’t be brooding in a bar, especially after what had happened to Teliko. If anything Yar should be in the bar, not her. She had a neutral ending, and she wanted a good ending. Her drink arrived, and she sipped it. It burned like magma but it packed one hell of a punch. ‘What am I doing in this hole? It isn’t even a good hole! It’s a nice hole! Couldn’t they have a smokey, ten credit a beer craphole I could sit in? Drifrasa…’
Her internal monologue was interrupted by a noise at the door. Someone had just entered the bar. Serleah looked over, and her first thought was: ‘At least I don’t look like that guy.’

‘At least I don’t look like that chick.’
As Dez entered the room, he saw a girl sitting at the bar. She looked miserable, and she was sipping a very strong looking drink. He recognized her from somewhere…

Serleah squinted her eyes. She had seen this guy somewhere before. He walked over to the bar and sat a few stools over. She opened her mouth, paused for a moment, then spoke. “Dez…?”
The wolf looked over. “…Do I know you? You look familiar…”
She stood and sat down next to him. “You shot the interview with my captain, after the NSP station incident, right?”
Dez nodded, starting to remember. “Yeah, I remember you now, the first officer, right? Serleah?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Nice to meet you… again. What brings you here looking like a wet, sad small mammal?”
Dez chuckled, and flagged down the bartender. Before he arrived, Dez looked at Serleah. “What’s that?”
”A gargle blaster.”
The bartender arrived, and leaned over. “What’ll it be, Dez?”
“A gargle blaster please, Wendell.”
“Oh, adventurous today, are we? Coming up.”
He glided off to get the ingredients. “It’s my boss, Shelly. I’m crazy about her. You?”
Under normal circumstances, Serleah wouldn’t have been up for chatting with someone she only knew from a five second pass-by in a hallway, but she was feeling self pityous and drunk enough to say: ‘fuck it’.
“I’m crazy about our old engineer. Why don’t you tell her? Or did you?”
Wendell dropped Dez’s drink off and walked over to serve a group that just walked in. “Oh, I didn’t need to. She’s crazy about every guy in the Galaxy except me. What about you?”
“Mated and head over heels about some pine marten.”
Dez snorted. He was slightly stocky, but he looked strong. His face was round, and looked kinda cute to Serleah. He had red eyes, and was tall for his stature. “What a sorry pair we make. What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. They’re the perfect couple. You?”
“Same here, nothing.”
Serleah was board, fed up with her lot in life, and now very drunk. It was a strong drink. “So you usually come to this bar to mope?”
“Yep. I always think the atmosphere will cheer me up. It never does.”
They both drank deeply from their shallow glasses. Serleah blinked slowly. “We should have misery sex.”
“Ok.”


Dez dreamed sweet dreams that night, and generally had a fantastic sleep. So deep was his sleep, in fact, that both he and Serleah slept until 11:30. When Dez finally awoke, he was treated to a most unpleasant sensation. Both his arms were still asleep, it seemed. The cause of this was Serleah, of course. During the night, she had tossed and turned in her sleep, sprawling all over his bare chest and finally resting with her body pinning one arm, and her legs pinning the other. He tried to move, but it was too painful to. “Hey.”
Serleah did not stir. From that angle, he couldn’t see her face (her rear was in plain view, however) “Hey!”
“What?!”
Dez jumped slightly. “U-um… You’re on my arms.”
Serleah sighed and rolled over. “You’re really comfy to sleep on you know.”
Dez moved his arms a little, getting the blood flow back. “Yeah…”
Serleah chuckled. A patch of fur on her head stuck out at a weird angle. Dez found it adorable. They looked at each other for a moment, until Dez remarked: “’Make me yours?’”
“Shut up! I had to say something sexy!”
“It was pretty good.”
Serleah scratched her arm. “Hmm… Well, I didn’t mean it like that…”
She trailed off, and Dez felt disappointed. “And what you said about dinner…?”
She jumped off the bed. “Forget that…”
Dez’s face fell. “…We’re getting lunch instead.”
She winked at him and pulled some clothes out of her drawer. “You shower first, you stink.”
Dez lifted his arm and recoiled. “Shit, you’re right.”
He hopped up and scuttled quickly to the bathroom. While in there, he thought over the previous night. It was some of the wildest fun he’d ever had, which honestly wasn’t saying much. He had also gotten a chance to talk with Serleah a bit, and in that time he decided he liked her. A lot. When he was finished, Serleah was already dressed and flipping through her S-Com. He realized he had no clean clothes. He quickly gathered his dirty ones and threw them on. “Can we stop at my ship so I can change?”
Serleah nodded, then put away her S-Com. “Sure.”
Dez stopped for a moment to appreciate Serleah’s outfit. She seemed fond of leather jackets, and wore a brown one with white fuzz on the large collar. Underneath she wore a black shirt of some sort, and for pants she wore loose cargos. He whistled. “Looking good.”
“Thanks.”
He gestured to the door. “Ladies first.”
She grinned and fluttered her eyelids exaggeratedly. She walked out the door, and Dez gave her butt a little swat. She squeaked and punched him in the arm.

“So where’s your ship docked?”
Serleah asked Dez as they strolled along the station’s open air promenade. Dez still rubbed his arm. A bruise wouldn’t be far behind. He looked up into the sky briefly before responding. The massive air bubble kept space at bay as they orbited the planet. Dez never wondered how they did it. He wasn’t an engineer, but give him a camera and he could take it apart and put it back together and it would work better than when it was first assembled. He pointed to a large ship with a massive news logo on the side and an array of antenna protruding from the top. “There she is.”
Serleah suppressed a laugh. “Really?”
“Yeah…”
“It looks like a whale fetus.”
Dez couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the acute comparison. They chuckled all the way to the ramp. Dez stopped before the door. “So I kinda live here. So does Shelly…” He coughed.
Serleah shrugged. “Alright.”
Dez couldn’t tell if she was really alright. “Just don’t be surprised if it’s a little messy.”
He swiped his keycard and entered the ship. The ship doubled as a reporting ‘studio’ with interview rooms, recording booths, equipment of all kinds and an impressive collection of cameras, and as a living space, with a kitchen, three bathrooms, bedrooms and a living room. Dez offered Serleah a seat in the living room and went to get changed. Serleah looked around the room, glancing at the art on the walls, but focusing mainly on some of the cameras that were mounted on the walls. She didn’t know much about photography, but she did know that most of these cameras were expensive, and some vintage. Some were so old they used film. Someone entered the room, and she remarked: “I’m not a camera girl, but this is an impressive collection-”
“Who the hell are you?!”
Serleah whipped her head around to see an older man standing in the living room. He was a cat of some sort, and was a little pissed off. Serleah stood abruptly. “Sorry, I’m Dez’s- Friend.”
The old man scratched his head. “Is that so. Well yes, it is impressive. All Dez’s things. I’m Fred, audio engineer.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Serleah.”
Fred looked her up and down, then turned to leave. He didn’t speak again, and he creeped Serleah out a little. Dez emerged eventually and looked around. “Fred didn’t say anything weird, did he?”
“Yes he did.”
Dez chuckled. “He’s an oddball. He doesn’t mean any harm, though.”
Serleah nodded and looked back at the camera collection. “I’m going to repeat myself now. Ahem. I’m not a camera girl, but I’m impressed.”
Dez lit up like a Christmas tree. His tail wagged as he walked up to the wall adorned with photographic accoutrements; it was easy to tell he was dying to talk about them. “Oh, yeah! I’ve spent years on this collection! Most of my money goes into it, and it’s pretty much absorbed me.”
He picked up a fairly new one and flipped it on. “Don’t move.” he said.
He quickly snapped her picture before she could react. He sat next to her and showed her the photo. Serleah held the camera gently. It looked easily breakable. The picture was nice; well framed and with a pleasing sepia filter. It made her look like a model, the way her paws were clasped between her legs, and her poster was slightly surprised from having a camera pointed at her. “Huh. Nice. Send it to me.”
“I’ll do that later tonight.”
She nodded, then had a thought. “How much did this one cost you?”
“Uh… About thirteen thousand for that one.”
Serleah quickly handed it back, and Dez laughed. “Yeah. Don’t ask about the others, some are worth more.”
He walked over to the wall and selected a film camera. “Are you an old media junkie by any chance?”
Serleah nodded. “Actually, I am. You should see my M-Dysk collection- Hey!”
Dez chuckled as he wound the camera again, having sneaked another photo of her as she raised one paw to talk about her M-Dysk collection. “Candid shots are the best. Which is why I prefer to do landscape shots. They’re always candid.”
“How are you going to develop that? Don’t tell me…”
“I have my own darkroom, yep.”
“You’re such a nerd.”
“Says the one with a Dysk collection.”
They grinned at each other, then someone else poked their head around the door frame. “De-”
The female wolf’s face changed ever so slightly. “Hello.”
Serleah and Dez stood, as Shelly entered the room. Dez smiled nervously. “Uh, this is Shelly. Shelly, Serleah.”
They shook paws. Shelly flinched at Serleah’s strong grip. “Yes, I remember you from the news story we did on your ship and crew.”
Dez nodded. “We… Uh, We’re just hanging out, y’know.”
Shelly giggled and swatted his arm, going back for the door. “It’s about time you got a girlfriend. Oh! We got a story. Still getting the details, so be back here by nine! We might have to run fast.”
“Alright!” Dez yelled as she turned the corner.
“She’s cute.” Serleah remarked.
Dez didn’t say anything. He just grabbed a camera bag and a couple cameras and walked for the door. “I’m hungry.”
“Yeah, me too.”

Dez didn’t take many pictures. He explained to Serleah that he’d spent most of his career at that station, so he’d taken a picture of almost everything. So he gave one of the cameras to Serleah so she could snap some. They strolled along the main street without a set destination, Dez snapping photos of some things, and more of Serleah. The station was rather large, and there was plenty to see. Serleah found the camera tricky to operate at first, but the quality was leagues above anything her S-Com could do. They ended up in a pub. Serleah got a photo of Dez, but his arm was in motion, so the picture came out blurry. As they sat down at one of the window tables, Serleah turned the camera so Dez could see the picture. “Something doesn’t add up here.”
Dez looked at the picture. “What do you mean? Looks fine to me…”
Serleah reached out and took his camera, flipping through the pictures until she found one with her gesturing in front of a backdrop of space. “I’m moving here, but you made it look crystal clear. How?”
Dez pushed the two cameras together and began explaining. “You don’t take many pictures, right?”
“Aside from the occasional picture of food, no.”
Dez grumbled a little. “O-okay. So here you were gesturing like this.”
He placed his arm on his lap, then raised it until it stood vertically, his paw pad up. In the same motion, he let it drop back onto his lap. Serleah nodded. “Okay, so you just anticipated when my paw would be still. But that doesn’t explain my head and tail. They were both also moving at the same time.”
Dez scratched his head sheepishly. “Yeah… I took it all into account at once. Kinda difficult, but I’ve had practice.”
“That’s actually pretty impressive. You’re just an endless bag of surprises, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Serleah shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I thought you were kinda a loser when I, uh, first met you in that bar.”
“You were right.”
“Nope.”
She saw Dez about to defend his low self esteem’s point of view, so she barked at him. “Don’t argue with me, I know what I’m talking about.”
Dez munched on a bar peanut. “Encountered a lot of losers?”
“Yep. I’ll tell you what a loser is. A loser wouldn’t be so nice. A loser would see me only as a pair of tits. A loser would have disappeared during the night. A loser wouldn’t be having lunch with me.”
“I see your point…”
Although Dez didn’t say anything, he was extremely flattered. It made his heart flutter oddly. Serleah smiled sweetly at him, then turned to greet an approaching waiter. “Do you have harges?”
“Of course, miss.”
“Alright, we’re having a large basket of harges. Put extra om-om seed on them.”
“Anything to drink?”
“No thanks, Dez?”
“Oh, uh, fiber milk please.”
The waiter walked off, and Serleah gave Dez a weird look. “Fiber milk? We’re in a pub.”
“What? I can’t eat spicy things without fiber milk…”
Serleah began laughing. Dez chuckled too, still confused. “What? What’s so funny? Heh…”
“Heehee! I don’t know! It’s just… haha! Funny!”
Dez crossed his arms. “A lot of people drink fiber milk! Gives you bones like granite.”
Still chuckling, Serleah took his arm and knocked on it. “Doesn’t seem any harder than mine!”
“Whatever.”
“Well sorry, I didn’t know you were so sensitive, Milk Drinker.”
Dez raised an eyebrow. Serleah winked at him. An awkward silence prevailed, broken by the arrival of a tall cold glass of watery white liquid. He sipped it, and folded his arms. “It’s delicious.”
Serleah burst out laughing again.

A few hours later the couple found themselves strolling through the public park. It wasn’t huge, but it provided a nice spot to relax (not to mention providing about a third of the station’s oxygen). Plus, the top overlooked a good portion of the station, and was quite spectacular. Serleah and Dez trekked up the shallow incline, looking at all the trees and dirt that was dumped into a quarter of the station. Dez stopped and looked up one of the trees. “I think this is the biggest… Gives me vertigo when I look up it… ughguhg.”
Serleah chuckled and walked up to the tree. Dez placed his camera bag on the ground and looked at her nervously. “W-what are you doing?”
“Climbing it.”
She jumped onto the lowest branch. Dez raised his arms in panic, but didn’t know what to do. “Serleah! You shouldn’t-”
“Oh, don’t be such a pansy! I’ve been climbing trees since I was a little girl!”
“Didn’t you live on the moon?!”
She nimbly hopped from branch to branch, eventually settling on a thick branch about halfway up. “Yep! Not all the time though. When we visited the planet, I’d climb till bedtime, though there was more snow where we were!”
Dez paced for a second. “Well… I guess I’ll join you.”
He walked to the base of the tree and attempted to clamber onto the lowest branch. Serleah tensed up. “Dez, you don’t nearly have as much experience as me, you shouldn’t try.”
“Same deal when we had sex!”
“Touche. Still, you’ll- Hey!”
Dez slipped off the first branch and landed on his back. “Oof!”
Serleah quickly descended from her perch, landing next to him. “You ok, pup?”
Dez coughed. “Just… Winded…”
She hauled him up. “Want me to kiss it better?”
“Yes please.”
She kissed his face then walked back onto the path. Dez followed her, and they continued walking. “That’s not where it hurt.”
“Stuff it.”
“Okay.”
They walked a little in silence. Dez broke it. “You know, for… you, you’re surprisingly romantic.”
“What? I can’t be romantic?”
“You absolutely can.”
She giggled, then became slightly downcast. “Well… Being romantic is kinda something… mates do.”
“Yeah…”
Dez could feel it. It was finally time to address the elephant in the room. “So, Serleah…”
“Yes?”
“Would you go out with me?”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?”
Dez glared at her. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do. And I would, if the timing wasn’t shit.”
She sighed. “Plus I’m not sure I’m over Feldoh yet.”
She quickly looked up, waving her arms. “T-that’s not to say I don’t like you! I really like you, Dez, but everything’s off now. I have a job, you have a job, we both have… unfinished business.”
That pretty much summed it up. “You’re right, Serleah. I agree. And I like you too.”
She walked closer to him, and their tails intertwined. “Thanks.”
They continued on to the top of the hill. There was a little bench overlooking a beautiful scene. The simulated afternoon light poured over the station, bathing it in a toasty golden brown light. They sat, tails still joined. “I’ve taken over a thousand pictures of this place. Never gets old to see.”
Serleah took Dez’s camera and snapped a photo. “Send that one to me.” She said.
Dez nodded, then heard a yawn. “You tired?”
“Yeah, I sure am. I could fall asleep right here.”
Dez only hummed in affirmation. A soft artificial wind blew the artificial warmth over them. Dez tensed up as he felt Serleah’s head rest on his arm. He glanced down, and realized she was asleep. He grinned, then placed his head atop hers. “Nighty.”
Eventually their warmth and gently breathing lulled Dez to sleep as well.

Dez jolted awake when his phone went off abruptly. “Ah!”
Serleah woke up so jarringly she kicked Dez in the leg. “Ow!”
“Sorry! What is it?!”
Dez dug his S-Com out of his camera bag and answered it. It was so loud at first Dez thought it was on speakerphone. “Hel-”
“Dez! It’s nine thirty! Get your ass back here! We’re leaving in a minute!”
The phone hung up abruptly. Dez shook himself. “Shit, we slept in…”
Serleah stood as waited for Dez to gather his things. She then grinned evilly and said, “Race ya.”

Dez was puffing and blowing by the time he arrived back at his ship. It was already powered up, engines idling. Serleah had barely broken a sweat. She laughed. “Brisk run never did anyone any harm!”
He wheezed. “…”
She laughed, and hauled him into a proper standing position. “Get going. I’ll see you in the future, I’m sure of it.”
He nodded. “What’s your last name?”
“Wesker.”
“Okay.”
“Why?”
“I’ll need to find you on some social media to send you those pictures.”
She smiled. “Alright.”
They stood before one another, until Dez leaned forward and kissed Serleah deeply. It was their first true kiss outside of last night’s passion, and it left Serleah unreasonably dizzy. Dez gave a little wave, then stepped aboard the ship without looking back.

Serleah immediately felt depressed. As the ship gently lifted off, she wanted nothing more than to grab on and go with. Any further pondering was cut short by a ring from her pocket. She answered. It was Leph.

Dez took a seat in the co-pilot’s seat, and looked over at Shelly, who doubled as the pilot. “What’s the job?”
“The government is exploring uncharted space past our far outpost. We are to accompany their expedition and do our job.”
“Oh. Isn’t that dangerous? Who else is coming?”
Shelly handed him a fleet manifest. Dez skimmed it, then jolted in surprise. Shelly glanced at him. “What?”
“The cargo ships…”
“Yes?”
“The Frontier is here.”