The Fuze Bar of Pellegrino Station
02 Mar 2021Mary Quinn
The popping sound of a drink placed on the metal countertop startled me, pulling me away from my thoughts. The barman, a slightly overweight forty-year-old whose eyes sparkled with playfulness, seemed to be enjoying himself."Welcome to the Fuze, kid. It's obvious you're not from around here, I'm even surprised that you're come here as soon as you arrived in the station. It's not the favorite bar of the goofy commanders, and even less the one for tourists. His gaze left me for a moment and he went to embrace the rest of the room, relatively quiet in the middle of the day.
- Thank you, I replied politely and with a touch of firmness in my voice that I hoped would be credible. I was recently hired by Remlok, and I confess that your bar reminds me a little of my home. I let out a nervous laugh before resuming: Just arrived and already homesick, can you believe it?"
The bartender looked at me for a long time with a serious look. I probably had to decompose a little on the spot since he started with a big laugh and pushed the glass of whiskey towards me.
"You look a little lost, yes! I'm Lars, and the Fuze Bar is my baby. Here it is a lair of free spirits, we like to remake the Galaxy between two drinks. Is this your kind of bar ?
- I am an independent and my family has a long tradition of resistance to oppression. It's my kind of bar, I said with a broad smile, grabbing the glass of whiskey for a sip. I'm Mary. Mary Quinn. Nice to meet you, Lars the free!"
I could see from his smile that the line had hit the spot. He offered me my first drink and told me about life in the station, places to visit and places to avoid.
In the days that followed, I arranged to go to the Fuze after each day of work to talk and to befriend. There were quite few other commanders in the bar, mainly employees of various corporations who lived in the Pellegrino station. Lars hadn't lied, it was a lair of free spirits, and I managed to get accepted by most customers pretty quickly. However, I was under no illusions: given my pace and CV, I still had everything to prove.
