Chapter 11: One Night in Fountain-rouge
Ask questions from your heart and you will be answered from the heart.
Omaha Proverb
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Rhade always thought Maru to be an interstellar junk that somehow managed to keep itself in one piece. But actually, as ugly as it looked, Maru was surprisingly swift in piloting. The slipstream ride was brief and quite easy. And got them right where they wanted.
"Interesting," Rhade admitted, examining the Drift. It was not extremely large, rather medium size, but it was definitely the most colorful one in the galaxy. Thousands of lights were flashing around the corpus, forming into commercials, inviting to dock. One swarm of lights formed into a shape of a woman, dancing half naked.
"Fountain-rouge. It's the centre of all pleasures," Added Trance from the station behind the pilot's seat. Rhade turned to look at her, his face clearly surprised. "I used to… Well. I used to spend some time here… Did I ever mentioned I worked for a Nightsider once?"
"Not really," Rhade looked partly amused.
"Well, we did visit this place once or twice. There are many casinos here… Bars. Clubs. No morals, no standards, just… Pleasure."
Rhade put Maru on autopilot and got off the seat. They were approaching the Drift very slowly and he still had a few minutes… To change. His usual uniform would stand out in the crowd, and that was the last thing he wanted.
Trance watched him go. "Maybe…" She was talking while fiddling with the hair strands to keep her fingers busy, "Maybe there are some things you should know… About my past… Before we enter the Drift."
"Before we enter the den of hedonism?" his voice was muffled by the walls between them. "Trance, are you trying to intimidate me?"
Trance shook her head, though he couldn't see that. "For starters, I used to be purple." As no answer came from Rhade, she continued. "And I had a tail."
"A tail," she heard him repeat.
"And I used to be a dancer in one of the clubs here, but they won't recognize me as I was purple back then and had a tail so there is no chance they will know that I'm me as I'm not purple now."
Trance uttered the sentence on one breath, as fast as she could. Rhade walked in, with one eyebrow up, looking at her.
"A dancer."
"Way before I met Beka, Harper and Rev," she explained. "Really, bygones."
"With a tail."
"It did help a bit. You know, with holding the pole. And…" Trance stopped, seeing his other brow raising. "And we are approaching the Drift, so I think you should get back to the pilot's seat."
Rhade seated himself and buckled the belts. A worn out black leather jacket covered his bone blades. He still had that good boy scout air to him, but not as much as he used to. Trance smiled to herself.
She kind of missed the days her skin was purple and the journey just began. Alhena, the shinning one, Trance Gemini smiled with fondness, remembering her tail. Maybe she'll regrow it later. When some issues are sorted out.
----
Trance knew her way around the Drift. Not many things has changed, apparently. She clung to Rhade's shoulder, pretending – and doing it quite well – that he was her client. Her goldness was nothing unusual in this place of colors and sounds, where almost every passing woman had a makeup more radiant than her.
There were clubs for every sexual orientation existing. There were casinos and sparring centers. A large sign advertised a match with a local champion, and the penalty for losing was death. Still, there were candidates willing to take the risk. A holo screen above the main walking street, which Trance called fondly 'the Boulevard', was showing footage of a race. Another one displayed the finale of a caged fight between two very large green aliens. Both had spikes and both bled badly.
Twice someone tried to rob them. The first time the thief just run off with nothing. The second time, Rhade broke three fingers of the pickpocketer's hand by simply grabbing him. Maybe the word has spread, as they were not bothered by theft again.
A young man, a bit stoned, approached them as they were standing on a junction, pondering where to go next. His face was covered in white makeup, only the lips were painted blue. His hair was long and orange, tied in a bun on the top of his head. He looked rather pathetic, but he though otherwise.
"How much?" he asked, pointing at Trance.
"Excuse me?" she frowned.
"She's already taken," Rhade put his hand on the man's shoulder, pushing him a step away as he was getting closer.
"Whatever he pays you, I'll double," the man did not give up so easily.
Trance giggled. "Oh, honey. You cannot double that…"
Before the man could respond, she pushed Rhade to the street on the right. They immersed in a crowd, walking away from the junction.
Here the lights were more dim, and the air was filled with exotic scents. Scantly clothed females of nearly all species were standing in large windows, as if on display.
"Harper's favorite district?" Rhade couldn't help himself.
Trance nodded. "Right. But it's 'look, don't touch'."
If she did catch the look Rhade shoot her, she didn't react.
---
For a Drift where everything was for sale, getting to a Flash dealer was incredibly difficult.
Trance picked this Drift as their first destination and Rhade trusted her judgment. She was correct many a time before, she picked the right route when they were chasing Beka's kidnappers. Naturally, she might have chosen this particular Drift because she used to work here… But to every choice Trance Gemini ever made, there was something more. And Rhade was about to find that out, as he was looking at the cards in his hand and the credits on the table.
He used to do a little gambling in the Academy years. Still, his favorite game was Go. More strategy, less dumb luck.
At least they were not seating in a loud and flamboyant casino, but in a shabby bar – and the atmosphere was almost intimate. It was roughly confirmed, that a certain Perseid was quite a regular in this local. A certain Perseid with a specific weakness.
The barman had confessed to Trance – who suddenly appeared to have a nice cleavage – that the Perseid ("Weird name… Like Gohn, Mohn… Fohn. Yes, that's it!") did visit the bar a day before. Met with a Nightsider, also a regular in here, chatted for a while, bought what he wanted and left. In a hurry. He looked a bit shaken, for that matter.
So they were waiting for the Nightsider. Trance got into the part of a bimbo pretty well. Rhade never actually considered her a sexual being. Rather an ethereal creature, absolutely sexless, yet in the shape of a quite attractive female. So she had a tail. Once. Interesting.
"I raise," the Inari on the other side of the table threw out a bunch of credits. Then he pointed at Trance, sitting at Rhade's side. The display of her assets did not go unnoticed and she was the main reason they got into the card game. The alternative was beating up the Inari. Rhade would have liked the alternative.
Trance suggested otherwise. "Let's see if your luck lets you have me."
And so they ended up with cards in their hands. Fine. They can try the luck. He can always beat the Inari up afterwards.
He wondered if it was the place that made him so ready for a bar-fight, or the past events with Beka. In the past he would have though twice before getting into a situation like this. And now…
The Nietzscheans do not beat themselves up. As a rule.
Self-absorbed, not masochistic.
To every rule there is an exception, it seems. He was not fast enough back then. He didn't manage to get the child back. Failure did not become a Nietzschean. And he had failed.
Trance touched his shoulder. "You're lucky," she said with a smile. Really? Then why bad thing happen to people around me?
But that was her way of telling him he can check. Having Trance around, how did Harper not manage to get extremely rich in a nearby casinos? Inborn limitations, probably.
"And I check," Rhade pulled out his last credits on the table. The Inari grinned, showing very uneven set of teeth.
Slowly, the smile faded. Trance clapped her golden hands and reached for the credits. Rhade thought it highly unbelievable, but they have won. And a quite large sum of money, actually.
The Inari grabbed Trance's wrist as she touched the heap of credits. The same instant he was half lying on the table, held by Rhade by the back of his neck.
The barman and other guests of the local looked at them, a bit curious. Such situations must have been happening here on daily basis.
"OK, OK!" the Inari was not struggling too much. He waved his free hand in the air in pleading gestures. "You can take it! You won! That was a stupid habit I have! I swear!"
Rhade sighed, releasing him. The Inari backed away, turned and left the bar. Trance continued packing the credits to her bag.
"I have a feeling they'll come in handy later," she explained after zipping the bag closed. She left a few credits outside and looked longingly at the alcohol behind the bar.
"In handy… In case we have to bail ourselves out?" Rhade asked. He did notice the looks some of the bar clients gave them – and the heap of credits that just disappeared in Trance's bag. Such amount of money sure seemed tempting.
And then a Nightsider came in.
Rhade heard once somebody say that all Nightsiders look alike. It was true. They even smelled alike. Or stunk. De gustibus non est disputandum.
Trance spotted him as well and nodded. The Nightsider greeted the barman, ordered a drink and went to seat in a dark corner, close to the back exit.
As he was about to take a seep of his glass, Trance sat in front of him and smiled gently.
"Oh. Hi," the Nightsider tilted his head.
Then Rhade sat at his side, blocking the way out.
"Hi," the Nietzschean smiled too, but not exactly gently. "We have a couple of questions. Care to answer?"
"We are looking for a Perseid named Fohn," Trance folded her hands on the table. "We think you can help us find him."
"And why do you think that, sweetie?" the Nightsider felt uneasy –Rhade could definitely smell that – but was not ready to cooperate. Not just yet.
"Probably because you sold him Flash yesterday," he said.
The Nightsider became more uneasy. "Oh, that! Never seen him before in my life!"
"Funny," Rhade grabbed the Nightsider's hand and squeezed it. Light. "For we have heard something quite different. Maybe you'll reconsider your last statement?"
"Please?" added Trance, smiling innocently.
"What are you? Good High Guard, bad High Guard!" The Nightsider tried to stand up. Rhade pulled him down.
"Something like that," he agreed. "Now. Back to Fohn. We'd appreciate any kind of information."
"I… I don't remember," uneasiness changed into hysteria.
The Academy taught diplomacy and negotiations. Rhade practiced that on daily basis when he was the Tarazed Admiral. Still, there were situations when negotiations meant only one thing.
"Perhaps something to refresh you memory? I've heard that a little pain can do wonders in that matter…" He squeezed the Nightsider's hand a bit harder. Just a bit. The bones did not need to be broken. Yet.
"My friend has been through a lot, lately," Trance explained to the Nightsider who was doing his best not to cry. "You need to understand. He can be a bit… Hasty. You mustn't get him angry…"
"Fine. Fine. I said fine!" the Nightsider panted out. "Fohn'd been here yesterday. Bought himself a doze. A couple of dozes, OK? And he left, right? You missed him!..."
"Somehow I think there is something more," noticed Trance.
"You are not telling the entire truth," agreed Rhade. "Pupils dilated, heartbeat way above the norm…"
"You're crushing my fucking hand!..."
Rhade let go of his hand. "No, you're still too agitated."
"What are you, fucking Niet…" and he stopped, as Rhade pulled up the sleeve of his jacket. "Oh bloody hell."
"Not yet," Rhade pulled the sleeve back. "But maybe your memory just got better?"
Trance simply sat there, smiling.
"Could she stop?" the Nightsider looked at Rhade, massaging the aching hand. "She gives me the creeps."
"Sorry," Rhade shrugged. "But you can finish the Fohn story and we'll go."
"I knew it," the Nightsider gulped. "He told me there were some guys chasing him. And since the Venedo just blew up… You want to kill him or what?"
"Or what," Trance cut in. "No killing."
"Fantastic. You made my day, sweetie."
"She was talking about Fohn," Rhade interrupted. "Not you, so finish the story."
"Fine. Fine. Fohn decided to run. Some place safe, right? So there's this cruise he always dreamed of and he has the money… He decided to go."
"A cruise?" Trance cocked her head, intrigued.
"A very expensive cruise, honey. A cruise on a luxury ship that goes through the Poe Nebula. I guess he thinks he can hide on the other side…"
Trance patted his aching hand. "See? That wasn't so hard. Thank you for your help."
"Yeah," the Nightsider backed away from her. "Whatever."
As Rhade and Trance got up, everyone in the bar turned away, pretending they saw nothing. How lovely convenient.
Outside the bar, Trance patted the bag she had hidden the credits in. "I told you it was going to come in handy," she whispered. "I think it's just about enough to buy some tickets for the luxury cruise…"
He shook his head in disbelief.
- - - - - -
This one was long. I couldn't stop writing at some point...
OK, I know I've taken some liberties with Trance... I was watching some Purple Trance episodes and thought she would love to do the things like that. Why giving up the color (and yes, seeing a few nasty things in the past...) would change her attitude? I think that once she's almost sure the future she came from is not going to happen, she can start behaving like her old self... But I think i prefer the Trance look from Season 5 to that from Season 4. The Season 5 Trance is more innocent and elf-like, just as I like her. So, picture the Trance in this fic as her Season 5 self... ThoughI hate Season 5 plotwise.
The Fic Soundtrack (or the things I listen to while writting;)): Batman Return OST, The Island OST, 'This Left feels Right' Bon Jovi... Evanescence... Linking Park, 3 Doors Down. Live. Coldplay. Goo Goo Dolls. I'll stop now.
Thank you, thank you for the wonderful reviews! More? Yes, the story is just in the middle. There will be more.