We followed Burning Fist and Sage (who was apparently his daughter, and didn't that explain the poor reception) through the side door and down a long well appointed hallway. The hall was lined with small wooden tables, plants, paintings, and had a long thin carpet extending down the center of it, a plush dark red thing that bounced comfortably under out feet as we walked, though our feet left no marks on it.

When we made it into the cozy office, Burning Fist dropped into the chair across from us casually while Sage stood to one side, standing much straighter than expected. The E ranker's brown eyes landed on Cark, and I felt the weight of his attention even sitting next to the bounty hunter. I wondered if letting his power out like this was some kind of dominance display or if he just didn't know how to suppress it. I wasn't sure how long he'd been an E ranker exactly. Still, I was getting used to it. E rank was only about fifty points of Impact higher than we were, so it wasn't unbearable, just noticeable.

The gang boss snapped his fingers, and a floating tray appeared next to him, laden with steaming cups. He lifted one, closed his eyes, took a sip, and gave a contented sigh. Then he flicked his fingers, sending the tray floating over to us. "Coffee? There's cream and sugar in the dishes on the tray. Feel free to help yourselves. The beans are F ranked. Very rich flavor. One of my few indulgences." He took another slow sip, giving a hum of approval as his eyes drifted closed again, and Sage rolled her eyes behind her fathers back at the obvious show.

I of course, took a cup. I used plenty of cream and sugar, as was my preference, but I was curious what F ranked coffee tasted like. I took a long sip, echoing the hum of approval. Cark took a cup too, and Callie did the same of course, given her love for all things culinary I knew she must be salivating over this. Benny decided to pass, he'd never been a big fan of coffee. Even with cream and sugar he didn't enjoy the bitterness, being more of a hot chocolate drinker. Luckily, the E ranker seemed not to care about us, so his refusal wasn't remarked on. I'd been worried it might offend for a second.

Cark made a polite noise as he sipped the coffee, then paused and took a second sip, clearly enjoying the flavor. I didn't blame him. There was a depth and complexity to the beverage I'd never really experienced before, and the sweetness of the sugar only served to highlight the flavor. After a moment though, he focused on Burning Fist. "Mr. Fist." I had no clue how he said that with a straight face, but Sage burst into giggles behind her father, who turned to glare before rolling his eyes in an unknowing mirror of his daughter's earlier motion. Cark cleared his throat and continued. "I'm glad to get this meeting. I wasn't aware that being a blue flame pyrokinetic was that interesting."

Burning Fist smiled pleasantly. "I prefer Edgar when I'm not on business. Or Burning Fist. My name does not lend itself to formality. As for your comment, it is quite interesting. As you know, Pyrokinetics are a rarity. Flamecallers in general are unusual. Some develop the power through synergy, but it tends to take several ranks to become viable, and those who take that route are rarely a success at developing their reputation in their early years when such things are most effective. Of the flamecallers, there are of course several variations. Might I see your ability for myself?"

Cark didn't see any harm in it obviously, because he held a hand up calling the same orb of fire as earlier. The E ranker smiled at the flame. "Excellent. When dealing with flame callers there are several flavors. Some of us combine their fire ability with other elements, and this can produce unusual colors. In the context of a pure flame ability such as yours however, color is an indication of the intensity of the flame, and a natural predilection for blue flame is quite interesting. There are three other blue flame pyrokinetics in my organization, and each of them has been given priority as an asset."

The bounty hunter looked a bit surprised. "I...didn't know it was that sought after. I've only met a few pyros besides me, for sure, and none of them had blue flames, but I just figured the ones I ran into were weak." I could tell he found this situation a bit confusing. Which was fair, finding out you secretly have a valuable ability everyone wanted was a weird sensation. I could kind of relate. He raised an eyebrow at the other man. "Does that mean you're a blue flame pyrokinetic?"

The small man grinned and held up a hand, clenching his fingers into a fist that...well, it didn't catch fire, so much as it BECAME fire. Blue fire. I was impressed that not a single bit of heat leaked from his fist, the power tightly controlled as I stared into a flame so bright and captivating I felt like I was looking at a fist shaped blue dwarf star. "Of course. Blue flame is the hottest naturally occurring fire. Many people mistakenly believe it to be white, but that's a misnomer. Between the understanding of how powerful it is and its shocking appearance blue flame pyros are always worth investing in."

I had actually thought white flame was the hottest myself, but I could see the reason for the interest. Blue flames were elite, and anything that came with that kind of cachet would help someone get stronger. Attention was the bread and butter of the Ascendant world. Pyros in general tended to be very attention grabbing, due to their explosive and visually appealing nature in combat and their high Might stat. I wondered for the first time if we might have made a mistake. Ruining such a good opportunity for Cark because we wanted to spy seemed wrong. This could be a really great place for him.

Burning Fist raised an eyebrow. "Of course, once my daughter mentioned you I was able to dig up a bit of information on you. I don't watch the Unity Academy events mostly. They tend to promote internally, but it only took a moment to find out a bit more about you, and I even watched a few clips. I was impressed. However, it's easy enough to notice that your friends here are the same as your companions on the hunt, even without costumes." He finally turned to look at us. "So why are a couple of Unity seedlings trying to sign up for my organization exactly?" His voice wasn't exactly cold or unpleasant, but it was first. He wanted an answer, and the revenant help us if he didn't like what he heard.

I froze. That...fuck. I hadn't even considered that. Now I felt like an absolute idiot. I'd known we were on the stream, and I assumed no E ranker would bother with entry level bullshit like that, but I hadn't connected that to when he started talking about how rare Cark's ability was. Callie hadn't expected it either it seemed, probably because someone this strong had no reason to be watching baby Unity members under normal circumstances. He caught us completely flat footed.

Granted, I wasn't scared of him personally. His fist was terrifying, but I was protected from E rankers until I hit F still. There were plenty of F rankers however, who could and would crush us if needed. I didn't freak out though. Despite knowing we were Unity I'd never used my ability where anyone could see it during the hunt. Even if I had Zeke wouldn't have let them put something like that in the stream. With that said, he might know we were Unity, but he didn't know the real reason we were here.

On the upside, the relationship between the Unity and the various gangs wasn't really as bad as it looked. Their interactions were closer to politics than enmity. Villains and gangsters needed heroes to stay relevant, and vice verse. If the Unity had wanted to stamp out crime in their territory, they had plenty of absolute monsters who could have swept this whole galaxy clean of any reasonably powerful Ascendant. But no one wanted that. In the same vein, Burning Fist had no real reason to kill us, provided he didn't decide we were spies.

He was however, an E ranker. Which meant just lying to him was probably bound to fail. We all looked at Callie, deciding to let her take the reins here, which got an annoyed eye roll from my girlfriend at being put in the spot, though she was careful to aim it at us, not the insanely powerful gang boss with a hand made of rioting blue fire. When she was done with that she turned back to him and paused. I expected him to push, but Burning Fist seemed content to wait for his answer. Callie was free to think over her response.

I grabbed her hand, squeezing it to let her know I supported whatever she decided to do. She could have danced around the truth, maybe managed to spin some half baked story he would believe, but in the end she just decided to be honest. Not entirely, but enough to tell him why we were here. "We're on a mission for the Academy. We were sent to find out more about a new group from Velan that have recently landed in Rajak. We're from there ourselves so we know them. They're currently trying to take over the Cavalcade in G district, and we need to know more about why. Since your organization is trying its best to take over that area."

She left out any mention of wishmaster candidates or anything related to them, but she stuck to the facts and gave him plenty of information. I was impressed. So was he. Burning Fist turned his head to look at Sage. "See? That was the right call. You would have made me drag that out of you kicking and screaming. I told you Midknights daughter would make the smart decision." Callie stiffened a bit at the mention of her dad, but the E ranker waved a hand, letting his blue one return to normal. "Of course I know you. But don't worry. I hate that shadowy fuck. Honestly his precious heir being here just makes me smile. I can't wait to rub it in his face. Assuming you still feel like joining up?"

Callie looked...torn. In the end though she shook her head. "We're down here for information really. Not to join a faction. Not yet. As much of an ass as my father is, the Unity has done a lot for me. I'm not ready to leave all my friends there behind." She squeezed my hand where it still held hers. "Since it seems like you don't have any bad intentions, what do we expect next? Do we just leave here empty handed?" In all honesty that was a better end than I expected. This whole thing had been a disaster so far.

Burning Fist rolled his eyes. "No. You're missing the obvious point. I knew all this when I invited you back here. I haven't learned much new information, so clearly I have a reason to want to talk to you all." He turned to Cark. "I'm willing to give you all full access to any sources within the Flame Riot Militia. Or rather, I'm willing to let you take up a position that will give you that access. A G ranker with a blue flame pyro ability is a treasure for me. I did my homework. You're unaffiliated kid. So here's my offer. You want some info? Sign up with me. Join the Flame Riot Militia and your friends can learn anything they want." Well. I hadn't been expecting that.