The Purifying Fire

[Fairchild]

Jera entered the nearly empty bar. Purifying Fire was empty at this time of the day, as most of the Corsair regulars that frequented it were off on patrols and the rest would be resting. She looked around the room, noticing two men sitting at one of the farther tables, supposedly serving as security guards.

The bartender's attention seemed to in its entirety be occupied with cleaning the counter, but he looked up as she entered. "Hola, Pablo," she greeted him.

"Dios mio, Pincoya. I haven't seen you for a long while. What have you been up to, eh?" his Cretean accent was showing, much more than in Jera's speaking.

"I've been busy. And..." her expression clouded. "It's not Pincoya anymore." As the bartender looked at her puzzled, she clarified: "My name is Jera now."

"Well, Jera. So what brought you to me, hm? Did you miss--"

"No. Don't get your hopes up," she interrupted him curtly. "Listen, I need a favor. A Kusarian... friend of mine will be coming here shortly. Make sure she is without any escorts and if so, tell her to come to me."

Pablo looked at Jera for a moment. "And if she does bring friends?"

She raised her voice so that the two Corsairs could hear her. "So you will have your friends show them the door." She started moving towards a black curtain towards the far end of the room, but stopped for a moment. "Oh, and get me something dry to drink."

“Roger that, you are cleared for docking bay two.” The droning voice of the docking port robot would echo throughout the cockpit of the Blossom.

Miyoshi steered her Blossom towards the docking port, entering into the opening and the air-tight doors. After a few minutes, her vessel touched down on the landing pad, and she hopped out easily. “Hmmm, looks cozy...” She exclaimed, looking around the docking bay. She started heading towards the only entrance into the docking bay, walking past a couple of Junker pilots who would intensely stare after her as she walked past. Miyoshi turned her head around quickly, giving the pilots a poisonous look. “Why don’t you stare at your ship, metal farmer?”

She looked around the hallway, locating some boards on the wall which seemed to point her towards different locations within the station. “Now where is that bar...” Miyoshi looked over the signs, finally locating a tiny one reading Purifying Fire. “There we go... Hmmm, 2 floors up with the elevator… Then it should be on my right, eh?” She started walking towards the elevator, taking it up 2 levels, and stepped out of it, looking into a bigger hallway with several entrances. She finally spotted a door with a small fire above it, and a glowing neon sign reading “Purifying Fire”. She walked to the door, opening it and carefully entering, glancing over the bar room. She spotted two Corsairs on the far end and a bartender that seemed to be very focused on a specific spot on the counter.

She shuffles towards the bar, and stuttering she utters a few words. “E-excuse me, I'm looking for someone called C-Caldera?”

The bartender looked up at the woman and scratched his hastily trimmed beard. "That would be me. Pablo Caldera, at your service. What can I do you for?"

He glanced over the woman's shoulder as he dropped ice cubes into the shaker. It seemed like she was alone, at least so he thought.

“I-I was told that you would be able to point me towards a woman who calls herself Jera,” she replied to the bartender. She turned her gaze down towards the counter, avoiding any possible eye contact.

The bartender poured several things to the shaker - iced tea, water, sugar and some spices. The ice cubes started cracking and rattling as he started shaking the drink, not stopping to gaze at the woman for a moment. He poured the drink to two glasses and filled it up with coconut milk.

"Come with me," he finally spoke and came out from behind the counter. He picked up the drinks and directed his steps towards the black curtain.

Meanwhile Jera was listening to what Caldera had been saying. As he spoke the words 'come with me', she started feeling nervous. Her hand wandered off to one of her pockets, revealing a small pen filled with transparent liquid. She put the AlderFluid pen to the veins on her elbow and hissed as the small needle pierced her skin injecting the drug into her bloodstream.

Immediately she felt the cold running through her body as the muscles relaxed. Her mind suddenly started feeling clearer. She slowly exhaled, rubbed the prick wound and hid the pen just as Caldera entered the small side room.

"Cadiz Ice Tea, no tequila. On the house. And, your friend is here," he spoke and put down the two glasses on the table.

Jera nodded and with a gesture invited the Kusarian woman to sit opposite of her. "Gracias, Pablo. Leave us now, please." The bartender nodded and left the side room.

Miyoshi hesitantly took a seat on the opposite end of Jera, not quite sure what to expect. "So emm, here I am." She slowly extended her hand over the table, it was obviously shaking from nerves. "I uhh.... I am Miyoshi."

Jera shook the Kusarian's hand. "Pleasure to meet you in person."

She took a sip of the ice tea. "This is delicious, indeed. Caldera is a true artisan at his craft," she spoke in a friendly manner and glanced at Miyoshi. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, hm?"

"Hmm, alright." She smiled and started wondering where to begin her tale. "Let's see, I was born in Chugoku, to a Blood Dragon father, and a ex-Chrysanthemum mother. Then you have your usual boring childhood without much action and school. The real story however starts 3 years ago when I was 19 years old. I was on a patrol in the Kyushu system as a rookie pilot, when my ship got spotted by a passing Naval Forces strike group. However, I thought I was lucky when a Outcast smuggler convoy passed by. Their escorts obliterated the strike group, and my pod was beamed on board of the smuggler liner. By then I didn't know they were human traffickers."

She cleared her throat and ran her hand through her hair. "They seemed nice to me at first, until we got to the New York system. They told me they would return me to Chugoku when I 'repaid my debt' to them. I asked what I had to do.. and..." She paused for a moment, and looked at the table. "T-they would try to have their way with me.... I struggled against them, so they forced me to inhale Cardamine, and left the room they kept me in." She gulped. "They told me that they would keep refraining from giving me another dose till they had their way with me... So.. In order to survive I.... I-...." She stopped talking, just staring at the table.

Jera clenched her teeth. "And so, the Outcasts contribute to the well-being of the society yet again." Raising her head, she spoke again. "I understand. And I believe I understand your reasons, too..."

Having finished her drink she spoke again. "Though, the question at hand is, what would you be willing to sacrifice to cure yourself?"

"I would sacrifice my ability to fly spaceships if that's what is required to rid myself of this poison."

The woman shook her head. "But that doesn't help anyone."

She drummed her fingers on the table. "It should come to you as no surprise that our drugs can only be supplied to... trusted parties. Which means, anybody considered a 'criminal' would be immediately excluded." She looked into Miyoshi's eye. "Right now you you fall under that category."

Pausing for a short moment, Jera gauged the Kusarian's reaction, but not seeing anything, she continued. "There is a way out of this however," she raised a finger. "Blood Dragons are criminals. Relinquish their ideology, drop their unlawful methods..." She paused again. "Or, even, work for us."

Jera tilted her head slightly. "If you ask me, that is a small price for salvation."

"I guess," she was still looking down towards the table. "But understand however, that my family still remains within the Dragons, and that they would probably sent assassins after me if they find out I abandoned their ways".

"We can protect our people," Jera smiled. "You know," she spoke, looking around the room, "I find it funny, this strange coincidence and symbollism that is happening here. Back where I'm from, there's been a fairy tale that I found strangely appealing. It was about a girl, a thief, that was once found out stealing. The hunters that caught her, and many other criminals before her, forced her to undergo a strange ritual of walking through fire. The fire had burned and killed everyone before her. However, when the girl, confessed her wrongdoings and came to peace with her mind, the fire accepted her and she remained untouched. She joined with the hunters and they all lived happily ever after..." Jera looked into the distance, smiling slightly to herself. "I would prefer not to have to humor you with fairy tales, but consider this an expression of good will. There are few people who were lucky enough to hear me say that."

"A fairy tale is still a tale, and this is quite the tale," she replied, smiling as well. "Thank you for sharing it with me," she turned her head around into the approximate destination of the exit, hearing some stumbling and Hispanic voices echoing throughout the bar. "So, if I choose to drop my unlawful methods, you will help me, correct?"

"The lifetime of one human is not enough to change the world. But we might as well try to change it piece by piece." Jera put her hands on the table. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

She smiled. "Well then, what do you suggest I do now? If you are truly wishing to help me, then I have no other reason to say no."

Jera smirked. "I'm glad you've decided to make the right decision." She stood up. "You must surely be tired after the journey here. Have some rest and refuel your ship. When you're ready, come to Atka Research Station. That is in the Nemuro Cloud, Sigma-17. You will have your introduction there. And who knows, we might even work together sometime soon."

She reached into her back pocket and took out a small card and two white and red pills. "The card will fix any issues you might have with your ship rep. And the pills are for your... health problems. For now though, farewell. I hope to see you again... Soon."

She strode out of the side room and went towards the bar's exit. She mumbled a quiet "thank you" to Pablo on the way and left towards the hangars.

"I'll be sure to head to Atka within the near future," she replied, and accepted the card and pills. "Thank you." She gazed after Jera as she left the room, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable the further she got away from her. "I'll be seeing you Jera, stay safe." After Jera turned the corner leaving the bar, she proceeded towards the exit, avoiding eye contact with everyone but the bartender, putting down a few credits on the counter. "Thank you for pointing me to her. Sayonara," she smiled, and left the bar as well.