Ayla's Opals
17 Mar 2019Killco37
Spent some time mining Void Opals with Commander D. Dastardly. I discovered, 1.6 billion credits later, that mining Void Opals can be a bit more lucrative than pirating Low Temperature Diamonds, and slightly more Zenful. After our mining venture I somehow found myself back in a watering hole at Hennen City in good ole LHS 1541. Saying "Somehow" is not so accurate. I have to admit my being there was totally intentional. I only hoped it was the same watering hole where I met her. I thought it looked familiar. However, it was more that I felt drawn to the place, than I recognized it. I held on to the novel idea that I know myself, and the allure I felt for that lounge probably drew me to it back then as well, when I met her. I felt stupid because I wasn't even sure if it was a bar where we met! Additionally, my dumbass never got her name so I couldn’t ask around to find her.
It was around this point when I heard her voice asking if she could join me. All I could do was smile, after my initial surprise. Luckily I did not have to ask her for her name. After asking if she could join me, she said "My name is Ayla, in case you forgot". I told her, "Of course, I haven't". We went on talking for hours. I discovered I had told her more about myself, than I would have thought, when we met that night. She told me the story I shared with her about my brother stuck with her.
I was a bit uncomfortable knowing I had shared this part of me. I can remember seeing my brother on his bed opposite side of the cabin from where I sat tying my shoes on my bed. The light from Achenar glowing white blue through the window port as our ship descended to the Capitol on Achenar 6d. When I looked at him then, I could tell he was thinking about it to. Thinking about that time we played hockey on that frozen lake on Earth. Ice that was just not thick enough and he fell through. I remember jumping in and searching for him under the ice. My lungs burnt and the cold of the water bit. I was so utterly afraid of loosing him. It felt like it took forever, but I found him and was able to pull him out. Seeing his limp body and blue face as he laid on that ice, took away part of my soul.
I remember my mother drawing me back to attention as she yelled to me from the airlock, saying we were landing. I remember my brother looking, to meet his eyes with mine, as he smiled brightly. My mother had yelled again telling me to hurry, and if we didn't we would be late to my doctor's appointment. It had been an appointment long in the making. One we had to travel a great distance to get to. I remember looking at my little brother one more time, as I closed the cabin door behind me and entered the corridor. His sparkling eyes squinted as he once again smile at me brightly. I just couldn’t believe my mother, and everyone, kept telling me he didn't make it. That he died under that ice. Now I couldn't believe I had told this to Ayla.
I change the subject and told her about the riches Dastardly and I had amassed in such a short time Void Opal mining. Ayla advised she had never seen a Void Opal. It was around that point that I offered to take her to my ship, the Mettle, to show her all the hub-bub. I told her I would take her to a pristine ring first, explaining the methods for obtaining the stones on the way. Upon our arrival I showed her the refined stone. The stone’s lack of reflectivity as it absorbs the surrounding light held her gaze for some time. I then told her, "Now it's time for some mining!"
