#Miner'sRespite – November 28, 2013

Renala is sitting at a booth near the bar, an empty plate on the table before her along with a nearly so glass of beer. She's dressed similarly to yesterday, the difference being the top being dark-red.

Steve makes his way down the stairs, noticably slower and less spry than normal as a slight limp impedes his movement. After a quick pit stop at the bar, he spots Renala and joins her. "Hey, Ren." he says as he slides into the seat opposite of the asari, swinging his legs up onto the bench and taking a long swig of his drink. "How you feelin'?" he asks, setting his drink down.

Renala looks up at human taking the seat opposite her. "Hey," she says. "I've been better, but I've been taking it easy the last few days." She picks up the nearly empty glass and takes a sip. "How about you, Steve?"

Steve shrugs and shifts in place, seeming to favor his side as he winces while struggling to get comfortable. "Few cracked ribs. Spent a few hours down at the infirmary after we got back, but I'll be fine. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." he says, managing a smile.

Renala nods. "That's good to hear," she says. "I think I got off easy. It's only a bit painful to walk on the leg where I took the hit."

Steve leans back, putting his head against the wall behind him. "I'd say we all got off easy. So much went wrong out there, it's pretty incredible that any of us made it back."

Renala nods, again. "Yeah, seems luck turned in our favor in the end, thankfully," she says. "I wonder if that's all we'll see of them, though." She drinks the remainder of her drink and puts the empty glass on the table.

Steve stares at the table in thought for a moment before meeting Renala's gaze again. "I can't see them going out of their way to look for us. For all they know, we went off planet as soon as we left. They were hardly even organized enough from killing one another, let alone track us down..." he says before taking a sip of his drink and setting it down a bit harder than expecting, causing some to splash over the sides, "I know this much, though... If they do come looking for us, it'll be the last thing they ever do..."

Renala frowns, glancing once at the bar as she contemplates whether to get another drink. "And it'll be stupid for them to come here and start a shootout with the militia about," she says. "Wouldn't hurt to be a little extra careful for a while until it blows over, though."

Steve places an elbow on the table and leans across the booth a little, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Speaking of being careful..." he says, glancing towards the bar quickly, "It's probably best if we keep the whole Maria situation between us. You never know what kind of dust storm that could kick up. If someone comes around looking for answers and finds out what h-... Well, it probably wouldn't be good."

Renala looks to the side, seeming a little bit embarrased. "I may have told Iressa about it," she says in a lowered voice, "but I'll keep it under wraps from now on. I don't think the turian took the loss so hard, though."

Steve sighs, "Maybe not... But we don't know who else will come looking for answers. When someone tends to disappear, people usually ask questions. Finding out that we just left her isn't going to go over too well with anyone close to her. Just... Try to keep it under wraps."

Renala | "Yeah, fair point," she says. "It's been a few years since I did anything remotely similar." She glances towards the bar again. "I think I have to tell Iressa not to, as well. Or the krogan."

Steve nods to himself and remains silent for a moment. "And don't let it get you down. We did what we had to. You know that, right?"

Renala nods. "We did more than we signed up for," she says. "I know." A sigh follows, and she looks at the table for a moment. "I don't think I'll sign up for something of that sort again, though."

Steve turns in his seat, sliding his legs off the bench and beneath the table. "I don't know..." he shrugs, leaning forward and resting his forearms against the top of the table, "These things happen, you know? Sometimes you just get more than you bargained for on a job. If this line of work was easy, everyone would do it." He stares at his drink for a moment before continuing, "Ya know, the irony is that I came here to get away from this sort of thing." he says, chuckling dryly.

Renala frowns. "Well, yeah, but the job was supposed to be simple," she says. "Just catch the animal and go home." She pauses. "I'll admit, I went here to take a break from the matron's life, but... right now, I'm not too sure anymore if that was a good idea."

Steve shakes his head and lets out a deep sigh, "Seems like it's a never ending cycle that I'm stuck in. It's like I'm drawn to situations that are bound to implode. Can't just be a coincidence. Maybe it's just me, I don't know..."

Renala nods. "Probably just bad luck," she says. "Though we've had a lot more than our fair share of it recently." She stands up. "I'm going to get myself another drink. Can I get you anything while I'm there?"

Steve quickly slugs back the rest of his drink and sets the glass down. "A beer would be great. Doesn't matter what kind, I'm not picky."

Renala leans over and takes the glass, putting it ontop the plate before picking it up, her own glass in her other hand. "I'll be right back." She makes her way over to the bar, and places the plate and glasses there. She orders two beers, and waits while a purple asari bartender who just emerged from the kitchen takes her order.

Steve remains at the booth and pulls out his familiar bottle of pills and sets it on the table. He glances out over the bar, watching a few of the patrons go about their business, but ultimately settling his gaze back on Renala.

Renala gets the two drinks after half a minute, and makes her way back to the table. She places the drinks on the table before returning to her seat. "Don't think I've seen that bartender before," she says.

Steve takes the drink and gives an appreciative nod. He then glances past Renala and eyes the bartender for a moment. "Must've hired some new help. Well, there goes my shot at a career in serving up drinks." he jokes. Grabbing his pill bottle, he pours a few into the palm of his hand and tosses them into his mouth. He takes a moment to place the cap back on, speaking through a mouth full of pills as he does, "How was she handling things? Does it look like she'll be able to last here?" He takes a swig of his fresh beer, washing down the pills.

Renala considers it for a moment. "Looks like someone barely old enough to live on her own," she says, possible exaggerating. "Anything more than that I can't say from asking and getting a drink. Young asari are drawn the thrill of the Terminus, though."

Steve glances at the bartender once more, a smirk crossing his lips. "Guess we'll find out if she's still here in a week, huh? Hopefully things work out for her, this place could use a little brightening up..." he says, putting his bottle of pills back into his pocket, "Besides... She's kinda cute."

Renala chuckles. "I can't imagine the drunks here be any fun to deal with," she says, "but it's probably not the worst place for a young girl to find work out here by a long shot."

Steve nods, stealing one last glance at the bartender. "She'll make a killing off of tips, that's for sure." he says, shrugging. "So where do you go from here? Done with the freelance work?"

Renala hums thoughtfully, picking up her drink. "I'll check if that IT firm got any open spots," she says. "Failing that... I don't fucking know." She pauses, sipping her drink. "My kid's mother want me to try get my old job back, though, so that I stop worrying the little one."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Your old job?" he asks, "So does this mean you're considering leaving Aite?"

Renala remains quiet for a second, then shakes her head. "No, the old job is not an option," she says. "It's her mother's company, and the environment there wasn't exactly good after the divorce."

Steve nods, "Sounds like things didn't end so well... I know how that is." he sighs and lifts his beer to his lips, taking another swig, "Guessing that makes it hard on the kid, huh?"

Renala nods. "Yeah," she says followed be a sigh. "As long as she can call me once every day or so, she won't be too worried for me. When I don't answer, like during the last job and Hinpinn's... she won't sleep."

Steve stares at the table for a moment, smiling to himself. "Sounds like you mean a lot to her. Don't take that for granted." he says, "So how did you manage to explain away this last job to her, anyways?"

Renala | "I still owe her that story," she says. "There's no way she'll rest easy if I tell her how it went down, though." She picks up her drink. "I'm planning to travel to Thessia for a few days to spend time with her."

Steve pushes his beer back and forth between his hands, idly sliding it across the table as he listens. "You miss it there? I mean, is Thessia still 'home' to you? With the line of work I was in, I seen myself spending a bit of time all over the galaxy... But no place has ever felt like 'home' to me.

Renala leans back in her seat, still holding her drink. "Yeah, I'd say it is," she says. "It's where I grew up, and where I setlled down for my matron days." Her omni-tool beeps before she can say anything more, however. "Oh, she's gonna call in a few minutes," she says. "So, I think I'll get going." She takes a long swig of her drink.

Steve chuckles and shakes his head, "Of course." he says, standing from the booth, grimacing as the corner of the table comes into contact with his side. "Hey, I was wondering-..." he begins, before cutting himself off with a shake of his head, "Nevermind..."

Renala tilts her head slightly to the side after standing up. "I'm not that short of time," she says. "What is it?"

Steve shakes his head, forcing a short smile. "Really, it's nothing..." he says before leaning in awkwardly and giving the asari a quick hug. "Thanks for the beer, Ren." he says as he pulls away.

Renala pats his back with her free hand, the other still holding her glass. "Anytime, Steve," she says, offering a slight smile. "I'll see you soon."

Steve nods. "Take care, Ren."

Renala nods, before making her way over to the bar to pay her tab. She downs the remainder of her drink there and makes her way upstairs.

Steve sighs and grabs his beer off the table. He makes his way up to the bar and takes a seat, intent on spending the rest of the night with a drink in his hand.