This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#JobHunt – July 25, 2013
Tyranniac | The Hnipinn Minerals local administrative center is a rather small building located next to the refinery. The area is mostly asphalt and industrial surroundings. The gate in the fence surrounding the refinery is nearby, with a transport truck just being admitted by the guard - rather heavily armed for corporate security. Despite not being that late, it's rather dark due to the rain-bearing clouds that have just started emptying their content. The windows of the office glow with invitingly warm light. A receptionist can be seen working through the glass door.
Steve approaches the building at a brisk jog, pulling up the collar of his jacket to block as much of the rain as possible. Stopping just short of the door, he holds back and awaits Renala. "Well, hopefully this is the universe's way of getting our bad luck out of the way early." he says, glancing up at the sky. "Good things to come!" he adds with a smile.
Renala arrives near the gate, along with the two others. She glances up at the skies at the feeling of raindrops and frowns. "Hopefully, yeah." She is wearing dark-blue jeans, and a red top beneath her brown-ish leather jacket, which is half-way zipped up; though she does close the zipper all the way up to keep the rain out. The top shows some skin below the neck, but not low enough to show any points of interest.
Fera'Sel follows closely behind the human and asari. She brings up one hand to wipe off a raindrop from her visor, but shrugs at the effort after a moment. After a quick glance to how the other two are dealing with the rain, she turns her attention towards the building."I hope you're right."
Steve enters the door and waits for the others to follow, taking a moment to glance around the room and offer the receptionist a friendly nod. "Evenin'." he says as he removes his dark grey jacket, revealing a plain white tshirt which, along with the rugged worn jeans, would make him appear to be underdressed for any sort of job interview.
Tyranniac | The room is sparsly decorated, but the sleek furniture and plants provides a stark contrast to the industrial zone outside. The room is mostly and gray. The receptionist - a fairly young-looking human woman, appears to be in the middle of a call. She smiles politely at the new arrivals while trying to finish the call expediently.
Renala follows after Steve, and also nods towards the receptionist. She wipes a bit of rain from her forehead and waits patiently for her to finish her call. Meanwhile, she zips open the jacket, but does not take it off.
Steve glances at Renala's outfit before looking down at his own. Becoming slightly self conscious as he notices the layer of mud across his boots, he smiles sheepishly at the asari. "Believe it or not, this is my formal wear." he says with a smirk.
Fera'Sel enters the room and glances around at the modest decoration while mostly ignoring the receptionist for the moment. She takes a couple small steps towards the side once she's finished and looks over to Steve when he speaks, chuckling slightly as she notices what he's talking about.
Tyranniac | The receptionist finishes her call and looks over Steve - and the dirt he dragged in over the floor. She then looks at Renala briefly. As she notices the quarian she seems rather fascinated, studying the suit closely. She refocuses on the group after a moment. "Welcome to Hnipinn Minerals, can I help you?"
Steve takes a step towards the receptionist and shifts his jacket into one hand, offering his other to the woman. "Yeah, Steven Briggs." he says, waiting for her to take his hand. "Sorry about the mess, ma'am... We heard there might be some job openings. Figured we should stop by and check into it."
Renala chuckles, a smirk forming on her lips as well, but the receptionist talks before she can give a response. She steps closer to the receptionist as well, but let Steve talk. She waits with her introduction, though.
Tyranniac | The receptionist looks at Steve's hand and shakes it after a moment's hesitation. "I... see. We do have an extranet form, but I'll see what I can do. What kind of position would you like to apply for?"
Steve puts his hand back into his pocket. "That's a-..." he begins and glances at the other two, clearly unsure of how to respond. "What kind of openings are available?"
Tyranniac | The receptionist seems vaguely annoyed but types something into her computer terminal and takes a little while to respond. "We currently have openings for heavy machinery mechanics, refinery supervisors, geological survey crews, administrative personnel, janitors and... a chef."
Renala nods acknowledging. "Does administrative personnel include an IT technician position?" She pauses, extending her hand. "Now where are my manners," she says. "Renala T'Iavay."
Steve nods as the receptionist lists off the different openings, looking as though he's considering each as it's brought up in an attempt at masking just how unqualified he is for most of the positions. Thankful for Renala's interruption, he steps aside and considers whether he prefers cooking, or cleaning.
Fera'Sel considers the options to herself carefully, deciding not to speak for the time being. Most of the options looked to be closed to her because of her species or expertise level, but it was worth a shot anyway. She resolved to try for a janitor job as a low priority option.
Tyranniac | The woman looks at Renala. "No, I'm afraid there are no openings in the IT department at the moment. Xinon provides most of our IT solutions, I recommend contacting them if you are looking for a job in that field."
Renala | "Fair enough," Renala nods, seeming a bit thoughtful. "I'll check with them, then. Oh, do you have their contact information?"
Receptionist: "Of course." She types a few more things into her terminal and Renala's omni-tool beeps with Xinon's contact information.
Renala checks her omni-tool upon hearing the notification sounds. "Much appreciated," she says with a small smile.
Steve glances at the quarian, which he's mostly avoided interacting with up until this point. He nods towards the receptionist, hoping the quarian will take the lead and give him more time to think on the matter.
Fera'Sel watches Renala speak, then steps up when she appears to be finished. She ponders for a second what exactly to say. After a moment, she decides to just be blunt about it since the wording wouldn't change the response no matter what it was.
Tyranniac | The receptionist takes a moment to respond, wording her response carefully. "Hnipinn minerals has certain hiring policies due to medicinal, logistical and work environment concerns..."
Fera'Sel sighs and folds her arms. This was about what she had expected. Her voice began taking on an annoyed tone.
Renala frowns as she steps away from the receptionist's desk, though she watches the conversation curiously.
Steve uncomfortably glances around the room as the receptionist turns the quarian away. Once the exchange is over, Steve steps towards the desk once again and lets out a sigh. "Well... Here's the thing. I'm not exactly qualified for much. But I'm good with my hands, and reliable..." he says, as if he was already in an interview. "I'm not sure where that would put me with this company, but I'm not particularly interested in cleaning bathrooms. I think I can offer more than that. I'd like to try my hand at that mechanic position, but only if you can assure me they won't take one look at my application and turn me away..."
Receptionist: Sir, we expect all our mechanics to have previous experience in the field. Improper maintenance can lead to extremely costly and dangerous accidents. Do you have that experience?
Steve shifts his weight uncomfortably. "I have experience-..." he stops and sighs, "If what you mean by" that experience" is a fancy education in the field, then no. No I don't. But I have experience. All I'm asking for is a chance, ma'am."
Tyranniac | The receptionist nods. "Send your application and we'll see. You'll find more information on our extranet page."
Renala remains quiet while watching the others talk, glancing once at the door to see if it was still raining outside.
Tyranniac | She looks over Steve and ponders something briefly. "We... do have some short-term freelance openings for a salvage crew."
Steve quickly perks up, a smirk returning to his face. "Perfect!" he says, a little louder than intended, "What does it entail?"
Receptionist: We recently lost contact with one of our survey crews. The suspected cause is that they were raided. We need a team to go there and recover as much of our equipment as possible." She quickly adds: "...and, of course, if possible, assist any survivors. Does that sound like your kind of job, Mr. Briggs?"
Renala looks at the receptionist, considering that job as well; though she defers to Steve to inquire further about it.
Steve nods a couple more times. "Definitely interested, ma'am. Sounds like it might be a bit dangerous though... I'm guessing there'll be plenty of armed personnel? And is there any chance at this leading to a more permanent position?"
Receptionist: We expect whoever attacked the crew to be gone by now, but there is some risk. All expedition members are expected to be armed. While there is no official link to permanent positions within Hnipinn Minerals, good performance is likely to get you other freelance jobs as well as serving as a good basis for applying to a position within certain fields in the company.
Fera'Sel pays special attention as the receptionist speaks, deciding by the end that it might be better to give that a shot regardless. She glances over to the other two she had arrived with, waiting to see what their responses were. The thought had occurred to her that speaking up now might not be the wisest course of action.
Steve spends a moment thinking about it before returning his attention back to the receptionist. "Works for me." he says, turning to look at Renala expectedly.
Renala raises her brows at first, and then looks at the receptionist. "I might be interested in that job, too," she says. "Can I ask what they pay is?"
Tyranniac | The receptionist offers another polite smile. "Payment is based on the amount of equipment recovered."
Renala frowns thoughtfully, contemplating the job offer and the uncertainties of its payment. "I'll consider it," she then says.
Receptionist: Of course. I'll need your response by tomorrow - we have almost all the people we need. She turns her attention to Steve. Excellent! I will send you additional details later. You can contact me on this address if you have any questions. As she says this she transmits an extranet address to Steve's omni-tool.
Steve tosses his jacket over his shoulder and pokes at his omni-tool a few times. "Much appreciated." he says, his grin turning into a full fledged smile as he begins to put his jacket back on.
Fera'Sel puts a hand on her hip and leans forward very slightly. Her voice has an edge of annoyance, but it has largely been replaced by a neutral tone.
i'm interested in joining this expedition as well. Can your company handle having a quarian join along?
Tyranniac | The receptionist freezes up for a moment before responding. "I'd... have to ask management. You are aware that the expedition members are not allowed to keep any of the salvage for themselves?"
Renala raises her brows, staring at the receptionist in disbelief for a brief moment before catching herself doing so. She glances at the quarian as she speaks.
Steve slides his arm through the sleeve of his jacket and cringes as he hears the receptionists not-so-subtle jab at the quarian.
Tyranniac | The receptionist does not notice any of Fera'Sel's annoyance until she speaks due to the mask. She doesn't seem to care much once she notices. "I'll contact you when I have a response from management.
Fera'Sel stays silent for a moment before clearly deciding against responding. She turns and walks towards the front door with as much dignity as she can muster.
Steve uncomfortably watches the exchange. "Thanks for your time, ma'am." he says before turning on his heels and making towards the door, hoping to escape without any further confrontation.
Renala nods to the receptionist politely before turning and making her way towards the door. She zips up her jacket and looks outside to see if it's still raining.
Fera'Sel finds herself outside right in the middle of a downpour. She continues walking away from the building without giving any sign that she cared at all about the weather.
Steve pulls the collar up on his jacket once again before exiting into the rain. "That went well." he says optimistically, shouting slightly to be heard over the rain. He couldn't care less about the rain drenching him, as proof by the smile on his face.
Renala leaves the building and increases her pace slightly in hopes of catching up. She frowned at the raindrops hitting her head, but she had other matters in the forefront of her mind. "I'm not too sure," she says with a sigh. "It'll be a risk signing up, and one day's not really enough time to think this over." She looks after Fera and adds in a slightly lowered voice, "And I feel a bit bad for inviting her along now, seeing how she was treated."
Steve nods understandably. "I wouldn't worry about it it too much." he says dismissively, keeping pace with the asari, "I'm sure she didn't expect it to go any differently. I'm just glad she was able to keep her cool. For a moment there I was worried she'd ruin it for the rest of us." he continues, wiping the rain from his face, "Doesn't sound like too bad of an opportunity to me. You heard what she said, Ren, whoever was down there has most likely left."
Renala gives a small smile at the nickname, bringing and arm up to wipe some rain from her forehead. "It's going to be a gamble for me, financially," she says. "The equipment I'll need is going to cost a small fortune." She glances at Fera again, but decides not to discuss that further.
Steve fiddles with the zipper on his jacket, making sure he's zipped all the way up. "How so? Doesn't sound like it's that risky of a job. Should be able to get by with a reliable sidearm. If it even comes to that..."
Renala wipes a bit of rain from her forehead and face. "Yeah," she says uncertainly. "I haven't taken a job like that without having a suit of armor ready. There's always the chance it's worse than they assume."
Steve pats the asari on the shoulder playfully. "You're so grim." he says with a chuckle, "How about a little optimism? Besides, you seemed pretty determined to drop some credits on new armor the other day anyways. Just think of this as an investment. You heard her, it could lead to other opportunities for employment."
Renala chuckles, seeming a bit thoughtful. "Yeah, I'll sign up, then," she says. "Maybe I can get a long term job as security there at some point." She pauses for a moment, wiping more rainwater from her face. "Sure hope they're not actually leaving tomorrow, though, as I'd have to get some gear."
Steve ups his pace a bit, attempting to close the gap between the pair and Fera. "Nah. I'm sure they'll need time to put everything together. I can't see them sending us out the day they fill the positions. I'm sure you've got a bit of time."
Renala walks at a pace matching Steve's. "Ah, okay," she says with a sheepish smile. "It's been a while since I last took a freelance job."
Steve manages to catch up to the quarian. Putting his hands in his pockets, he glances over at her briefly before returning his gaze to the ground in front of him. "So... That suit seems pretty nifty in... Err... Weather like this, huh?" he says, realizing the possible offense she might take as the words come out of his mouth.
Renala follows along, keeping quiet until she sees a road cross before them and realizes something. "I think I'll head for the store," she says, before a small smile escape her. "I'll see you two around."
Renala sticks with the two others until the reach the cross, and then heads off in a different direction in a slightly increased pace.
Fera'Sel glances around towards the human as he speaks and nods after a moment. She looks more relaxed than she had a while back and doesn't say anything right away to add to her response. As the asari declares her departure, she turns back and raises an arm goodbye.
Steve remains quiet for a few minutes before finally speaking again. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude... I haven't spent much time around quarians and..." he stops, questioning whether or not to continue for a moment before finally spitting it out, "...Well I hear things, ya know?"
Fera'Sel looks over a second time and inspects the human a second time. "You sound like whatever you hear, you don't believe all of them."
Steve shrugs and continues through the rain. "Well I'm no saint... If I said I didn't entertain the rumors, I'd be a liar. But I've learned that there's good and bad in everyone. It's never a safe bet to make up your mind about someone based off what others tell ya..."
Fera'Sel nods slightly and continues walking with her eyes forward. Her brain buzzed for a few moments before deciding on something to respond with.
Most people grow up with rumors and other negative things against us. It's more rare to see people who don't fully believe it than not. We've gotten used to it by now.
Steve continues to keep pace with Fera, "Well, just keep puttin' one foot in front of the other. It's all any of us can do. Eventually there'll be folks that are willing to accept that you're not all bad." he says, seemingly oblivious at the negative connotation of his remark.
Steve takes a couple more steps before stopping and turning back. "It means..." he begins, stopping for a moment as he tries to evaluate why his comment got such a poor reaction from the quarian. "...It was a compliment. What's wrong?"
Fera'Sel folds her arms and leans heavily on one leg. "So you still think I'm bad just because I happened to be born a quarian. It takes some nerve to say you don't make up your mind about people from what you're told and make statements like that."
Steve furrows his brow and puts his hands in front of him, palms outward. "Wait, wait, wait... Maybe that came out wrong. I haven't even met enough quarians for me to put together an opinion of you based on nothing more than the fact that you're a quarian. Not that I would anyways!. I'm just saying, you separate yourself from the rumors by moving forward and proving them wrong with your actions, right? People already have an idea about who you are before the first word comes out of your mouth. Prove them wrong." he says, sighing heavily.
Fera'Sel stares at the human for a few moments, then sighs and moves her arms back to her sides. "Alright, I guess it was just a case of bad wording." She begins moving again as she drops her voice to a mumble, not caring one way or the other whether he understands her words or not. "Keelah, trying to prove everyone else wrong is all we try to do. It hasn't helped before and I doubt it will now."
Steve continues towards the Respite, rubbing at his temples as another migraine sweeps over him. "You can't just feel sorry for yourself and assume that the rest of us have it so much easier," he says, his tone noticably different- more grim than usual, "You don't get the right to do that. That attitude won't get you anywhere."
Fera'Sel laughs bitterly. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I'm speaking truth. Opportunities for us are incredibly rare outside of the fleet, and that's no secret to anyone."
Maybe. But carrying that burden with you isn't going to help. If you're going to go into every situation with the idea that nobody is going to give you the time of day, why even try? You're defeated before you've even given yourself a chance. We-... You have to let go of that, or it's going to keep holding you back.
Fera'Sel sighs. "Who said that's holding me back? I haven't stopped moving myself forward since I left the fleet."
Steve shakes his head and picks up his pace as the pair approach the Respite. "For your sake I hope that's true..." he says, entering the building. "Look, it's been a long day. Can I go inside and get out of these wet clothes knowing you're not holding a grudge?"
Fera'Sel enters the building after the human and nods. "No grudge here. I'm sorry if my presence was... awkward in there."
Steve shakes his head. "Nothing to be sorry for. Nobody should have to apologize for just being born, Fera." he says with a nod, his smirk beginning to return before he heads off towards the stairs.