Cathula

Irashi
OJOQWCWC Runner Up

It was raining again, but that was no surprise. Cathula, a wet planet between the Starfold and Centauran cores, was a regular stop for small time freighters willing to risk the depths of space rather than pay the hefty HIP tolls. With a night that lasted 5400 hours, one side got baked while the other side got soaked, and once again it was raining as Victor made his way down the soaking street, hunched against the rain and water dripping from the brim of his hat. The rain paused as a massive freighter drifted overhead towards the spaceport. Victor looked up, sighed and crossed the street, taking shelter under a nearby awning. He lit a cigarette and waited.

A noise made him jump as a nearby door opened, and one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen stepped out. She stopped under the awning and looked up and down the street. Clearly from out of town. Victor took a drag and walked over to her.

"I wouldn't go anywhere for a few minutes if I were you, miss."

She turned to look at him, but didn't say anything for a few moments before looking away again as she spoke

"You have a light mister?"

A distinct Centauran twang in her accent though definitely not from the core worlds, he couldn't quite place it. Holding her gaze had been a challenge; those eyes couldn't have been the result of only natural selection. Victor walked back to the wall as he searched his pocket for the lighter, motioning her to join him. She did.

"I can see you're from out of town," he said.  "You didn't look up. You need to do that in this town if it isn't raining"

Right on cue a cascade of water thundered down onto the street, draining off the back of the drifting freighter above. She stood on tiptoe and lifted her other foot up to try to avoid the wash while grabbing Victor's arm for balance. There was only an inch of water, and it quickly subsided into the storm drains. The remainder steamed in the cool night air after being warmed by the ship's engine exhausts. She recovered her posture and smiled, lingering on his arm a little longer than was necessary before letting go. Victor smiled too.

---

The evening progressed, and they kissed at the door to Victor's apartment as he fumbled for the key. Once inside she took off his trench coat and dropped it on the floor as he led her across the room to the couch before stopping. Holding her close and caressing her neck he spoke softly.

"So, would you like something to drink? I have Coffee."

She smiled and pushed him onto the couch before sitting in his lap and resuming the kiss. Victor's hands began to wander, feeling his way up her dress from her hips, up her sides, under her perfect breasts, before moving around to her smooth back. Victor paused, as her smooth back wasn't nearly as smooth as he had been expecting. He had encountered a series of large lumps starting underneath her shoulder blades, they were regularly spaced all the way down her back, soft and spongy to the touch, as he probed them they began to swell. In a moment of horror he realized what she was and he froze, withdrawing his hands. Slowly a dozen glistening tentacles emerged from her back. She leant back and sighed as she used them to remove her dress

"Victor, what's wrong? You seem tense."

Frozen fear he couldn't move or speak. He had heard of the dark worlds settled by Centauran outcasts, mad cults and crazy sects. Those looking to fully explore the capabilities of Biogen's genetic engineering for the pursuit of perfection or to find the next stage of human evolution, no matter the cost. The monsters they had made were the basis of many a deep space horror story. She leant forward and stroked his face.

"You've never been with an abhuman before have you? Don't worry, I'm not going to bite. I'm going to give you the best night of your life"

She kissed him tenderly as her tentacles slithered around Victor's limbs and her hands uncoupled his belt buckle.

Then a team of space marines broke through the door and shot her.

The end.