Jason | The building is a large old warehouse without any discernible markings identifying it as Redrock Agency, although the lack of anything else nearby along with the old worn address numbers barely visible through the chipping paint would give it away as the applicants' destination. A fence surrounds the perimeter of the building's courtyard, but years of neglect have led to numerous holes in the fence. Regardless, the large gate is wide open, as is the front door of the building.
#RedrockAgency – January 7, 2014
Renala arrives outside the area, looking around with a sliver of doubt whether this is the actual place to meet. Nonetheless, she waits for the others to arrive, as that would at the very least be a slight affirmation. She stands near the gate. She's wearing her brown leather jacket with the low-end shielding system built-in, zipped almost all the way up; and non-descript dark-gray pants. However, she has no weapons on her.
Steve arrives in a shuttle. After passing a credit stick back and forth with the driver, he exits the vehicle and makes his way over to Renala. He's wearing his hardsuit, absent the helmet, but doesn't seem to have any weapons on him. As he nears Renala, a smile crosses his lips. "Well, I see you decided to give it a shot, huh? Should've mentioned it, we could have shared a shuttle over."
Kim steps into view in standard clothing as she usually is. She is equipped with a pistol on her waist, but otherwise shows no particular indication at a glance as to the reason she's here. She has her reddish brown hair tied back in a ponytail and has her glasses on today. As she notices the other arrivals already there, she walks over while inspecting the building without saying anything for the moment.
Zaylus saunters toward the building, eyes squinting and continuously looking over the establishment, an air of vague distrust about him. He stops short a few yards from the speaking pair, only giving them a few glances to demonstrate any kind of interest in their presence. He's clad in his usual armor and carries his pistol at his waist.
Renala turns towards Steve as he arrives, a small smile present. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I haven't heard a peep from the IT company, so I guess that was a no-go," she says before she glances towards the building. "You sure this is the place?" Renala nods acknowledging to the other two arriving.
Steve gives the other two arrivals a quick glance but turns his attention back towards the old building, looking it up and down slowly once before nodding. "Sorry to hear that. I know you were hoping to land that job... But yeah, this is the place. Stopped by a couple weeks back. Not much to look at, but if they're paying..." he shrugs, "That's all that matters, right?" He begins walking towards the open doors.
Kim shrugs and glances at the others nearby, giving them each a quick nod in turn before turning to follow the man inside the building.
Zaylus watches Steve begin to make his way inside, making a vague grunting noise under his breath. But after seeing the other human fall in line, he glances at the asari, pausing only a moment before following suit.
Renala follows beside Steve towards the entrance, nodding. "Yeah, I guess so," she says. "They got to start somewhere, but a sign above the door would have been a step up."
Steve lets out a short chuckle, "Yeah, would lessen the feeling that we might be gagged and sold to a band of batarians for coming here." he says, keeping his voice low as he enters through the door.
Jason | The door leads to a large open room with a bunch of unopened boxes and chairs lining the wall, as well as a receptionist's desk close to the opposite wall with a closed door behind it. The buildings interior is in stark contrast to the exterior. It's clean with numerous signs of ongoing renovations. The receptionist's desk is completely empty, aside from the man sitting atop it. Zaylus and Tessa would instantly be able to identify Jason in his blue-and-white hardsuit. "Hey." he says, setting a datapad down on the desk and hopping off the desk with a lopsided grin, "Thanks for stopping by. Jason Wolfe." he continues, extending a hand towards Renala while giving Tess a short nod. His stare lingers on Zaylus for a moment, but he quickly turns his attention back to the asari.
Kim grins softly and nods a greeting as soon as she recognizes the man waiting for them. Any sign of her usual demeanor is absent now; she's much too wary about the people nearby to let her guard down much.
Zaylus moves off to the side as he enters the building, surverying the interior skeptically for a few moments and hardly giving any regard to Jason until he gets close. Folding his hands behind his back, the turian gives his old 'friend' a small grin, but keeps his comments to himself for the time being.
Renala looks around the room, but her gaze settles on Jason as he begins speaking. She takes the proferred hand and shakes it. "Renala T'Iavay," she replies. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wolfe."
Jason gives the asari's hand a quick shake before moving on to the human and repeating the process. "Nice to meet the both of you." he says, scooping up the datapad off the desk before heading through the door behind it, "Follow me." he instructs, continuing to speak as he walks without looking back at the group, "As you can see, we're still getting situated. Operating with a skeleton crew right now, but hopefully you guys can help me fix that. Now, I don't believe the whole 'sit down in a room and have a little one-on-one conversation' routine is right for this line of work. If you're going to be working for us, you'll be working with a team. So I decided the best way to handle this, is have our current staff sit in and we'll ask a few questions... Answer any questions you might have... And afterwards, I'll be discussing with the rest of the crew whether or not to sign you on. Sound fair?" he asks.
Steve nods silently to himself but says nothing, looking around as he follows the man through the door.
Jason | The door leads to a room that's a fair bit larger than the previous one, with a number of desks situated in two rows that face the opposite end of the room where a large screen covers a good portion of the wall. A long folding table sits in the corner of the room with a coffee maker and small disposable cups. Three of the desks have people sitting at them: A batarian, a female human, and a male human, all wearing hardsuits. The humans glance towards the new arrivals, but the batarian remains motionless in his seat with his boots propped up on his desk.
Renala gives a curt nod. but keeps quiet going through the door, looking around the room. She doesn't give the others already present much consideration.
Zaylus grunts in response, filling into the room with the others, eyeing those already seated inside.
Kim looks around at the people already in the room, carefully inspecting each one for several seconds before moving on to the next one. She gives no indication of what she thinks of each of them, but instead moves forward and stands in front of the back wall to await what happens next.
Renala chuckles slightly and glances towards the seemingly grumpy turian. "Not your day today, huh?" she asks.
Jason tosses the datapad onto the chair of one of the desks in the front of the room and takes a seat on the corner of the desk. "Take a seat." he offers, waving a hand towards the handful of empty desks. "This is our entire staff right now." Jason says before quickly correcting himself, "Well, there's the boss-lady as well, but she won't be sitting in on this meeting. Our engineer, Jasper, is working, so he won't be here either. But this is our current field team. Mendez, Leah, and Jattic." he says, giving each person a respective nod as he rattles off their names. "Steve, Renala, T-..." he clears his throat, "Kim, and Zaylus." he continues, giving a slight grunt when he gets to Zaylus as he introduces the new arrivals to his team. There's two rows of desks with five desks in each row. The batarian, Jattic, is seated in the furthest back desk on the left. Leah is sitting in the front-most desk in the right column (Directly beside Jason), with Mendez right behind her.
Zaylus seems almost surprised when he's addressed, but answers in a calm and dismissive manor. "Sweetheart, It's always my day." He gives her a slight grin, turning his attention only slightly when Jason starts to speak, appearing pretty uninterested doing introductions.
Jason gives a quick nod towards the coffee machine. "Also, feel free to help yourselves." he says, looking right at Zaylus with a huge grin, "Sorry, levo only at the moment."
Zaylus gives a snort, trailing it with a throatly chuckle as he heads for a random seat. "Wouldn't even if I could." He calls out.
Renala nods at the turian. "Uh-huh," she says, not sounding very convinced, as a smirk forms. "Then lighten up, grumpy." She heads over to the coffee machine, and takes a cup and the pitcher. "Thanks," she says while pouring before placing the pitcher back and finding the second desk on Mendez' left.
Steve glances at the others as they're listed off while settling into an empty seat at the desk behind Renala. He folds his hands on the desk and shifts a bit in his seat to get comfortable. He looks a bit uneasy, as if this is all a bit new to him.
Kim looks again at the rest of the people there in turn as they are introduced, then shakes her head at the mention of coffee and sits down at the front-most seat still available. She takes off her glasses and leans back in the chair, then looks towards Jason as she waits to see what comes next.
Jason waits for everyone to get situated before pressing a button on a small remote that's laying on the desk he's sitting atop. The large screen on the wall behind him hums to life, showing the simple logo of Redrock Agency. "Alright. So here's where we're at." he begins, "Clearly, you're all qualified for this kind of work. But finding someone who can handle a gun in the Terminus systems is like looking for an asari stripper: They're a dime a dozen." he says, chuckling a bit at his own joke. He quickly looks towards Renala and puts a hand up, "No offense..." He clears his throat before continuing, "But I don't want this to be the next Blue Suns... Or Eclipse... I want people that I can trust to do the right thing out there. Trust with my life, if need be. So this is where you convince me. You convince all of us. We'll go around the room, and you tell the rest of us why, if the shit hits the fan, we would want you at our side. Simple, right?" he lifts his boots onto the seat, using it as a foot rest, and nods at Renala, "Take it away."
Steve shifts uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of Eclipse. He begins drumming his fingertips against the desk.
Renala shrugs at the 'no offence' part, waving a hand dismissively. At the last part, she is silent for a few seconds, obviously not expecting this. "Well," she begins, picking her words with some care. "I've done my fair share of merc jobs, but I truly valued having someone I knew watching my back as I watched theirs." She pauses for four seconds, idly turning the coffee cup to the side as she is not entirely comfortable, but her gaze don't leave Jason. "I am well versed in getting digital systems to cooperate, which I really believe will prove useful to your team."
Steve puts a hand up, but doesn't wait to be acknowledged before speaking up. "I know Ren..." he says, lowering his hand just as quickly as he raised it, "We've worked a couple jobs together. Things got-... Complicated." he continues, looking down at the desk for a moment before quickly re-establishing eye contact with Jason, "The rest of our team had to leave, and she probably should have as well... But she didn't. She stayed behind with me, and I'm pretty sure I can safely say that I wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for her. Trust isn't something I give freely. But I trust her with my life." he says. After a few moments of awkward silence, he adds, "And... She's great to have around if you lock yourself out of your room..."
Jason snickers and nods, visibly pleased with the pairs response. Mendez and Leah laugh as well. "Impressive." he says, looking back and forth between Renala and Steve before eventually settling on the latter, "I'll keep that in mind. But it doesn't tell me much about you. Why should I trust you to wear this companies logo?" he asks.
Renala turns her gaze towards the side, looking at Steve in the corner of her eye as he speaks, a smirk forms on the end. She returned her attention to Jason for a moment before once again looking at Steve as he's asked.
Steve struggles with his words for a few moments before finally speaking. "Well, Mr Wolfe... I've been doing this kind of work for a long time. I guess the truth of it is, for most of my life I probably didn't deserve your trust." he shrugs and shifts in his seat, "But I came to Aite to turn things around. All I'm asking for is an opportunity. A chance to show you that I deserve to be a part of this team you're putting together. I don't intend on letting you down."
Jason nods to himself a few times, but gives no clear indication on whether it was what he was looking for. "I'll take that into consideration..." he says, and quickly turns his attention to Tess. "Alright. You're up." he states, putting a hand up as he glances between Leah, Mendez, and Jattic, "You've already got my vote, Kim, but, you know, just so the rest of these jackasses don't question my bias..."
Jason | Jattic grumbles to himself, and Mendez flips Jason off. Leah remains composed, choosing not to react to Jason's childish teasing, and turning her attention to Kim as she awaits the woman's answer.
Zaylus drums his fingers lightly against the desk, watching the quiet human somewhat curiously for her answer.
Kim winks and shifts in her chair so that she can more easily see everybody in the room. "Well, I've had specialized training in infiltration. If you need anyone who can get anywhere undetected, I strongly doubt anyone here will be more qualified than I am at it." She stops for a moment and leans forward. "Plus, I'm a professional at being discrete. If I happen to see something while on a job... the information will not leave company ears at any cost."
Steve continues to stare straight ahead, propping his head up with his hand as he mentally curses himself for blowing his chances.
Jason gives Kim an approving nod and looks at the batarian in the back. "Hear that, Jattic? Nobody has to know about how gassy you get on patrol." The batarian grunts and shakes his head, but otherwise remains quiet. "Alright..." Jason says, climbing off the desk and walking towards the back, "Time for the hard sell." he continues, stopping at Zaylus and placing a hand on the desk the turian has chosen to sit at, "Let's hear it." he says, his lopsided grin ever-present.
Renala tilts her head as Jason leaves his desk and turns to look towards the turian, slightly curious.
Zaylus straightens up, meeting Jason's gaze with a confident certainty. "What do you want me to say, huh? That we'll be best friends forever, and that I'll always be around to be your little playmate?" He shakes his head, grunting to add emphasis. "No. As much as it pains me to say it, I'm willing to admit you've got something good here. Something I'm interested in. And I can put personal feelings aside if it means having a network of people in the same boat as I am watching my back, providing their own skills and experiences for the betterment of the whole operation." He states adamantly, leaning forward as a sly grin just begins to form. "But none of that really matters, does it? You have your own reasons for even letting me in here. You're smart enough to give me a chance to show you where all this confidence comes from." The turian finishes, pushing back off the desk and leaning back in his chair, holding his gaze with Jason as long as he needs to.
Jason | Jattic gives a hearty laugh, the kind of deep, throaty sound that could only come from a batarian. "I like this kid." he announces. Mendez and Leah watch indifferently.
Jason remains silent for a moment, looking Zaylus over before finally nodding to himself. "Fair enough, Zaylus. We'll see." he says, turning on his heels and heading back to his makeshift seat atop the desk. "Alright. Now it's your turn. If any of you have any questions or concerns, now is the time to ask them. Or, as they say, forever hold your peace."
Renala thinks for a moment, looking at Jason. "What sort of contracts have you already found?" she asks, "if I'm yet allowed to ask that, of course."
Jason points at the asari and nods. "Good question." he says, "Well, we're currently providing security for the local spaceport, the mines, and..." he cocks a thumb over his shoulder, pointing arbitrarily behind himself, "Just up the river, at the dam. It's mainly just night patrols, making sure nobody is causing any trouble outside of operating hours... But we have a few more things in the pipeline. Once we have a proper staff, we'll also be picking up a few freelance contracts, one-off jobs and such. But right now our focus needs to be on keeping up with the contracts we already have. I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but the pay is steady, and it's just the beginning."
Kim raises a hand next, but doesn't wait for Jason to notice before starting to speak. "What is the possibility of extra benefits or advancement if we're worth enough to the company?"
Renala smiles slightly, as that sort of work just seems perfect for her right now, more so than any exciting jobs would be. She keeps quiet, though, not interrupting Kim's question.
Jason turns his attention to Kim. "Well, that all depends on how far we're able to take this." he says with a shrug, "Obviously, should you receive a position with us, we'll take care of all your medical needs... But as far as advancement? If I'm being honest, I can't give you a clear answer. This is the ground level, right here." he says, pointing, literally, at the ground, "I can tell you where I'd like to see it going, though. I'd like to see everyone in here running their own team eventually. Taking their own contracts." He nods towards a door off to the side of the room, "We have a single old shuttle being repaired out there. That's all we can manage right now. I'd like to see a fleet of shuttles with the Redrock logo on the side of them." He nods to a few times, "Like I said, this is the ground floor. But if we can turn this into something big, I give you my word that we'll all reap the benefits."
Steve follows suit, putting a hand up and immediately following it up with a question. "I noticed the application asked whether or not we'd be able to provide our own equipment..." he says, "Will Redrock Agency be able to compensate us for any equipment lost or damaged in the field?"
Jason nods, looking towards Steve as he does. "Absolutely. Our armory is lacking right now, but we have a small supply of equipment that will hopefully grow in time. All of which will be accessible to our field agents. But yeah, to answer your question, any damage that comes to your gear in the field will be repaired, or replaced, by us. Anyone else? Any other questions?" he asks, looking between the applicants.
Jason remains quiet for a moment. When nobody speaks up, he hops off the desk and crosses his arms. "Alright. That about does it, then. We'll be meeting with a few more people, so it might be a week or so before you hear back from me, but... Yeah." he nods, "Appreciate all of you taking the time to stop by and letting us get to know you a little better." He moves towards the door they entered from and leans against the wall.
Jason | Leah gives the applicants a friendly smile. Mendez stands from his seat and takes a position at Jason's side, giving the arrivals their first good look at how imposing he actually is as he towers over Jason. Jattic remains in his seat, but gives Zaylus a nod. seemingly unimpressed with the rest of the lot.
Zaylus gets up, pausing to straighten himself out before turning toward the door. Grinning to himself, he gives the batarian look of recognition and a curt nod as he makes his way back out where they came.
Renala picks up the neglected cup of coffee on her desk and downs the now just-above-lukewarm contents of it. She returns Leah's smile before standing up. "It was nice to meet you all, as well," she says, smile still present. "I'm looking forward to hear if I'm going to do my part in getting this off the ground."
Jason smiles at Renala. "I don't think you have much to worry about." he says with a wink. Mendez nods politely at the asari, but remains silent.
Steve climbs out of his seat with a sigh and forces a smile as he passes Jason on his way out the door. "Appreciate the opportunity." he says with a nod and continues out of the room.
Jason pats Zaylus on the shoulder as he exits the room. "See you around." he says, before adding, "Asshat."
Kim stands up and stretches in place for a moment, then begins walking towards the door. "Look forward to working with you again, Jason. Make sure I don't have to return the favor you did last time, okay?" she asks with a small wink.
Zaylus chuckles surprisingly light-heartedly at the insult. "Good for you, human. Keepin' professional." He calls back, continuing on out.
Jason smiles at Tess. "Hey, at least I know with you around someone will pull my ass out of a fire."
Jason calls out after Zaylus. "I never claimed to be professional." The batarian snorts loudly, adding "Truer words have never been spoken."
Renala follows after the others, a faint chuckle escaping her at the batarian's words. She catches up with Steve outside. "That went well... I think," she says, smiling. "And thanks."
Steve shakes his head. "No need to thank me, Ren. It was the truth. And yeah, I think it went well for you. Me however..." he sighs, "Think I might've blew it. Can't expect a potential employer to hire you when you pretty much flat out tell him he can't trust you..." he berates himself.
Kim patpats Jason's shoulder and exits the room with a soft smile on her face. She doesn't pay any attention to the others she passes as she moves towards the front of the building.
Zaylus chuckles lightly to himself as he saunters out, glancing breifly at the other applicants but ultimately ignoring them as he starts to make his way back.
Renala frowns. "Doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it," she says with a pat on his back. "I'll have a talk with him if he don't let you, though."
Steve lifts his head and smiles at Renala, "Thanks, Ren... Hopefully it won't come to that, though. All we can do is wait and see." he says as he begins tapping at his omni-tool. "Shuttle should be here soon. Want a ride?"
Renala nods. "I've got to get some grocery shopping out of the way before Aeyna calls, though," she replies.
Steve takes a seat on a large rock by the fence and leans back on his hands, looking relaxed for the first time since their arrival. "Not a problem. We'll just have him drop us off at the store." he says. He cocks his head back at the building they just left, "So, what do you make of all that?" he asks, "Think this whole thing is on the level?"
Renala sighs, glancing at the building as theire outside. She stands infront of him. "I'm not sure about Wolfe, to be honest," she says. "Seems they've got something going for them with the contracts. And boring stable guard work doesn't sound all that bad to me."
Steve nods a few times, "Yeah... He doesn't seem like the type you find running a business like this. Then again, the type you normally find running a business like this is the same type that will slit your throat and take your credits when you turn your back on them. So...." he shrugs. "Not sure what to make of it."
Renala nods slowly. "Even more reason to have you along," she says. "If things go to hell, at least we'd be watching each other's backs."
Renala glances towards the arriving shuttle before her gaze returns to Steve. "I don't think I have much choice, either," she says. "So, I'll have to trust this Wolfe as much as I hope he end up trusting me."
Steve nods and stands up from the rock. After dusting his hands off, he raises one in the air, waving down the shuttle. "Looks like we'll just have to wait and see..." he says as the shuttle comes to a stop.
Renala nods. "Yeah..." she says as she approaches the shuttle, though waits for Steve to enter first.
Steve opens the shuttle door and greets the driver as he climbs inside. Once Renala is in, he gives the driver their destination. [FTB: The two arrive at the local market in Freedom Falls and do a bit of shopping before returning to the Respite for the night without incident.]