Jason enters the Respite in typical fashion, wearing his hardsuit with a datapad tucked under his arm. He slowly makes his way across the room, looking for a familiar face as he approaches the bar and takes a seat on an open stool.
#Miner'sRespite – February 9, 2014
Va'ynna descends the staircase, noticing Jason making his way over to the bar as she does so. Thus, she approaches the bar as well, and takes the seat beside him. She looks slightly tired, and not too happy. "Hey, Jason," she says. Va'ynna is wearing her green dress.
Jason seems to perk up a bit as he spots the asari. "Evening, V." he says before placing his order with the bartender on the clock. "You alright?" he asks, rotating on his stool to face Va'ynna, "I know the other night was a bit of a... Shock."
Va'ynna turns towards him in turn. "Yeah," she says without too much confidence present in her tone. "I still think about it, though..., even how much I try not too."
Jason sighs and nods a few times. "Understandable. It's not every day that someone tries to kill you." he shrugs, "Your boss contacted us, though. It's not the best of deals for the agency, but it should be enough for me to hire someone to watch over the place. Not much of a profit in it, but I said I was in this business to do a little good..." he nods once again, "Don't worry, you'll be safe here."
Va'ynna nods, offering a weak smile. "Thank you," she says. "I... really appreciate that." She glances towards the drinks menu, ordering a glass of water from the bartender. "So, um... is there anything new about... the salarian?"
Jason receives his drink and takes a quick sip before pushing the glass aside. "I-..." he begins, but seems to decide against whatever it is he was going to say. "No, nothing... Sorry." he offers, "But I don't think you have much to worry about with him. He seemed more interested in the asari than in you."
Va'ynna glances uneasily towards the exit. "Do you really think that?" she asks as she looks back at Jason. "I hope you're right, but... I don't feel safe enough to go outside."
Jason nods, "I do." He follows her gaze towards the exit as he speaks, "Just give it time, V. It's still fresh right now. I know it might not seem like it, but in a few weeks you'll feel right as rain." He offers the asari a smile. "You taking time off?"
Va'ynna | "Yeah,... I know," she says. "I'll get over it. I always do." She receives her glass of water and picks it up. "And yes, D'Inea let me take as many days off as I needed, but I'm considering returning to work in a few days."
Jason raises an eyebrow, "What do you mean you always do?" he questions curiously, "Errr... I don't mean to pry, just sounds like there's a bit of a story there..."
Va'ynna shakes her head. "No... nothing," she says. "I'm eighty-six..., and well... I've had my share of bad days..." The asari seems rather uncomfortable about the subject, adding, "just-just as anyone else."
Jason leans an arm against the counter, "Ain't that the truth..." he says, trying his best to keep his nose out of the asari's business. "Just need to... To keep pushing forward. It'll get better." he nods, "Or so they keep telling me." he adds with a smirk and a short chuckle.
Va'ynna nods faintly. "Yeah," she says. "Which is why I'm returning to work soon, since I'll be doing something, at least." She takes a long sip of her glass.
Jason | "Probably for the best." he says, "When I'm going through a rough patch, it usually helps to keep myself busy." He lifts up his glass and examines it with a somewhat sad smile, "Otherwise I'd probably just drink myself to death." He quickly covers it up with his typical lopsided smile, "Come to think of it, that doesn't sound so bad." he jokes.
Va'ynna let out a faint chuckle. "No, don't do that," she says in a faint trace of a playful tone. "Anyway, how... is it going with you?" She takes another sip of her glass.
Jason shakes his head and gestures towards the datapad on the counter in front of him. "Not too good." he admits, "Dealing with some issues with a contract of ours. They're asking a bit more than I'm willing to give... But we can't afford to lose them as clients." he sighs.
Va'ynna tilts her head. "You don't... have enough people for it?" she asks, curiosuly, trying her best not to pry too much.
Iressa enters the Respite, dressed in a white jacket and long, dark pants. The orange skinned krogan behind her carries a small container of some kind and a datapad laying atop it. He doesn't seem interested in sticking around, and quickly makes his way upstairs with the package in hand. The asari lingers, casually making her way over to the bar. She pulls herself onto the open seat next to Va'ynna, and awaits to be recognized before giving a formal greeting, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.
Jason gives a slight shrug, "I mean, that's certainly part of the problem. The larger issue with this particular contract is that they're trying to force us to take on more work than we agreed to. I could say no, but then there's not much of a chance of them renewing our contract." he sighs and takes a long sip of his drink, "So I'm kind of backed into a corner with 'em at the moment."
Va'ynna tenses up as someone takes the seat beside her, glancing towards her. She does relax once she recognizes who it is and returns to looking towards Jason to hear his answer. "Oh... that doesn't sound good. Would it really hurt... your agency to say no?" She then looks towards Iressa, offering a weak smile, "Hey, Iressa."
Iressa orders a light drink from the bartender, turning to Va'ynna as she notices her. "Hello, Va'ynna." She replies, matching the asari's small smile. She gives Jason a curious glance, but doesn't say any more.
Jason tilts his head back and forth, considering the question for a moment. "It would do some damage. Once we can manage a steady stream of high profile jobs, we won't need to keep up with these bullshit security gigs. But for now, it's the only steady stream of income we've got. People gotta eat."
Va'ynna turns towards the counter. "I hope it all goes well for you," she says as she sips her glass. "I'm... still grateful you were here when... that happened." She hopes there's no need to specify what she meant with 'that'. She glances towards the other asari again. "How... have you been, Iressa?"
Iressa gives a little shrug, "I've been... alright." She says, somewhat uncertain. She glances over at the human again, giving Va'ynna a slightly concerned look. "I hope I'm not interrupting." She adds in a lowered voice, appearing apprehensive about speaking over someone else.
Jason glances past Va'ynna at the other asari, but quickly returns his attention to his drink, not wanting to eavesdrop.
Va'ynna shakes her head, frowning slightly. "You're not," she says. "It's... good to see you again:" She goes quiet for a few seconds, seeming thoughtful. "He's Jason, Iressa," she gestures towards him, though she feels a little uncomfortable. "He's a good friend."
Jason leans forward at the mention of his name to peer past Va'ynna and gives Iressa a small wave. "Hey."
Iressa looks over at the human, nodding. "I... see." She says with a small tilt of her head. "Hello." She greets, offering a small, rather hesitant wave in return. Her drink is delivered to her and she pushes it closer, ignoring it for a moment to address Va'ynna. "It's very nice to see you as well." She says, quickly glancing back at the human to add politely, "And to meet you, Jason."
Va'ynna smiles slightly, though doesn't say anything as she let the other two talk. She takes a long sip of her glass.
Jason nods, "Back atchya... Iressa?" he says, repeating the name he overheard, "See how that works, V? Easy to pronounce. Enough vowels in the right spots to keep my tongue from twisting into a pretzel."
Iressa furrows her brow, glancing between the two. "I... what?" She asks, appearing thuroughly confused.
Va'ynna can't help but smirk at that, looking slightly ashamed that she found that funny. "He can't say my name," she says in a lowered voice.
Jason frowns a bit. "Look... Words just aren't my thing. I couldn't properly pronounce spasce-..." he clears his throat, "I couldn't properly pronounce spaghetti until I was sixteen." he admits, almost proudly, although unsure if either asari even knows what spaghetti is.
Iressa chuckles softly, "Oh... oh dear." She says, casting a questioning glance at his strange confession. "I had no idea this was an issue." She takes a short sip of her drink before resting her gaze on Va'ynna. "Is this a common occurence for you?" She asks.
Va'ynna glances towards Jason, tilting her head. As he pronounced it right, she recognized the word. "No, not really," she says as she looks at Iressa. "Not since I was little, but... I've answered to quite a few... nicknames."
Va'ynna shrugs her shoulder. "Um, it's nothing funny," she says. "Just variations like 'Ynna... or V as you call me. I remember hearing... Vayna and Vynna when I was a kid, though."
Jason sighs at the lack of something embarrassing. "That's no fun. We need to give you a real nickname. Something that pops!" he says and lowers his gaze to the counter, appearing deep in thought. Finally, he lifts his head up with a shrug, "I've got nothin'..." he admits.
Iressa chuckles, "You'll think of something eventually." She says, giving Va'ynna a cheerful grin. "So what's been going on down here? I feel like I've been so caught up with other things." She addresses neither in particular, holding her glass against the counter.
Va'ynna smiles slightly. "I...I'm fine with Va'ynna," she admits, "but... thanks." She goes quiet at the second question, and glances towards Jason, hoping he has a better way of answering the other's asari's question.
Jason catches Va'ynna's glance and gives a shrug. "Someone tried to... Attack V the other day." he says, "Crazy night... We handled it, though. Shouldn't be any more problems." he says with a nod.
Iressa clearly didn't expect this answer, "So that-" She cuts off, glancing over her shoulder, mouth somewhat agape. "Oh... oh my. That's horrible." She mutters, looking down before a thought causes her to look back up at Jason. "Wait, you... handled it?" She questions curiously.
Va'ynna nods, expression saddening a little as she recalls how she experienced all this. She kept quiet, awaiting Jason to answer the other asari's question, as she didn't really see any of it after she hid behind the bar.
Jason nods once again, "Yeah... Well, we handled it as best as we could. It just kind of... happened. Was completely out of the blue." he says, suppressing the urge to laugh as he realizes 'Out of the blue' would make a great name for asari pornography. He reaches for his drink and takes a quick sip before setting the glass back down and looking towards Iressa, "I'm pretty sure that will be the end of it. But just in case, I'm working on setting something up with the owner to have one of my people watch over the bar." After a short moment, he realizes Iressa may not know what he's talking about, and produces one of his cards from his hardsuit, sliding it past Va'ynna, "Errr... I run a private security company."
Iressa nods, "Ah, of course." She murmurs, reading over the card. "Thank the Goddess you were here, then." She says in a normal tone, genuine in her gratitude. Resisting the urge to ask more about this surely traumatic event, the asari looks to the business card for another topic. "Redrock." She reads matter-of-factly, "I can't quite say I recognize it. Are you... set up nearby?" She questions while giving Va'ynna a concerned glance.
Va'ynna sips her water, remaining quiet, though she did nod agreeingly at Iressa's words of gratitude.
Jason watches as the asari looks over the card, giving a nod in response to her question. "Not too far outside of town. We're still in the early stages of getting things off the ground, but we already have a number of clients around town so..." he shrugs, "Can't complain. What about you?" he asks, shifting in his seat, "What do you do to keep yourself busy around here?"
Iressa grins slightly, almost uncomfortably at the inquiry. "Oh, uh, I'm a biologist." She manages for this relatively new face. "I'm usually outside of town or hiding in my room." She says with a short chuckle, going for a long sip of her drink. After a brief pause, Iressa continues, "So how exactly do you know each other?" She asks curiously, quickly rushing to add, "Oh, I hope it wasn't... well, you know. Uh." She trails off, looking rather embarrassed at her lack of tact. "I apologize, It's been a full day."
Va'ynna raises an eyebrow and shakes her head at what she thought Iressa meant. "He helped me... make sense of the menu when I... first got here," she says as she glances towards said menu screen. "He's a good friend."
Jason nods in agreeance, "That's me. Swooping in and explaining bar menus to damsels in distress all across the galaxy. I'm not much good when it comes to anything else, but I can read the fuck out of a drink menu!" he says enthusiastically. "So... Biologist." he ponders, "How's that working out for you? I've come to realize that words ending in 'ologist' just don't do it for me. Got a buddy... Best friend, actually. He's an 'ologist' of some sort. Still haven't figured out what he actually does but..." he raises an eyebrow, confused as to where he was actually going with his train of thought. Eventually he simply shrugs, "You'd probably like him. Says a bunch of smart shit."
Iressa chuckles softly, both confused and amused by his rambling. "I think it's working out pretty well." She says with a shrug. "It's what I enjoy, and am able to live off of the income from my work. That's 'working out', right?" She asks, clearly not that intent on recieving a response. After a generous amount of her drink, the asari addresses Va'ynna with a small grin, "You sure pick out the interesting ones, don't you?" She asks light heartedly.
Va'ynna lets aout a tiny smile as she nods. "Yeah, I guess so," she says, "but... it's usually they who... pick me out," Va'ynna admits, though probably not to anyone's surprise. She drinks the remainder of her water and places the empty glass on the counter.
Jason chuckles to himself, "Interesting..." he repeats, "Been called a lot of things. That's probably among the least offensive." he jokes and reaches out a hand, patting Va'ynna on the shoulder, "But yeah... She's good people. Good people are like a magnet, they just draw others in."
Iressa nods in agreement, and opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by a familiar chirp from her omni-tool. She's not taken so much by surprise this time, and quickly dismisses the alert. "That's work calling." She says with a shrug, finishing off the last sip of her drink, and placing her payment on the counter before adding, "Well, in a sense. There's some time sensitive things I've been working on. So I really must attend to them." The asari explains, standing up from her stool.
Va'ynna tenses slightly at the pat on her shoulder, but relaxes shortly after. She goes a little purple at the complient. Va'ynna looks up at the departing asari. "I'll see you again, Iressa," the asari says with a weak smile.
Iressa gives them both a wave, "It was nice meeting you as well, Jason. And I'll be sure to see you soon, Va'ynna." She says, returning the smile before turning and departing, soon disappearing up the steps.
Jason glances towards the stairs before turning his attention back to Va'ynna. "She seems nice. Little strange, but..." he shrugs, "...nice."
Va'ynna tilts her head "She's kind," she says, smiling a little, "but... I don't see what's strange about her?"
Jason shrugs and slugs back the rest of his drink. "Well... She's a biologist out in the Terminus. I'd say that's pretty strange.." he says with a smirk, "Whatever pays the bills, I suppose."
Va'ynna nods. "Uh, it's much... better than my idea going here," she says. "I was... lucky to find a job." She glances towards the menu, and gives a timid wave as she looks towards the bartender.
Jason 's smile widens, "Well, hate to break it to you, V... But you fall well into the category of 'strange', too." he chuckles, "Come to think of it, I seem to be the only normal one on this rock..."
Va'ynna looks towards him with a tilted head. "Wh-...why?" she says, not seeming to argue the point. She orders a small glass of beer as the bartender comes around to serve her.
Jason leans forward, resting his forearms against the counter. "Well, obviously I don't mean anything bad by it... But you're sweet, shy, and quite possibly the least dangerous person within a fifty mile radius. The last place I'd expect to find you is serving drinks in a bar out here in the Terminus. It's just... 'strange' is all." he says, intending it to be a compliment.
Va'ynna takes a deep breath as she looks away, towards the back wall. "Ask me a year ago, and I... would say the same," she says. "I needed to... well, get away from the same old."
Va'ynna sighs. "I thought I did," she begins. "I... had a job, and friends... that's all I could ask for, to be honest." She frowns thoughtfully as she adds, "After what happened, though... I... I'm not too sure."
Jason glances down at the counter for a moment before reestablishing eye contact with the asari. "Don't let that ruin things for you, V. I know it's hard to just move on, but sometimes that's all you can do. You've got a good thing going here." he nods, allowing his smile to return, "Besides... If I turned tail and ran every time someone tried to kill me, I'd have nowhere left to go." he adds with a chuckle.
Va'ynna nods. "I'm not going anywhere," she says, quite honestly. "I'll get over it... It just... I don't know. I've tried watching a vid, or playing a game..., but I find myself stopping after a few minutes." She placed a hand on her forehead, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry," she murmurs.
Jason reaches out and rests his hand on the asari's shoulder. "Nothing to be sorry about, V. It's just easy to forget that not everyone is used to being on the business end of a weapon when you've been doing what I've been doing for so long." he says, attempting to comfort Va'ynna, "Joined the Alliance when I was a teenager, so I guess this sort of thing has just become... Normal." he cringes for a moment, "Jeeze. That sounds fucked up, doesn't it?"
Va'ynna offers a weak smile, not making any tense reaction to his hand being placed on her shoulder. "Uh, I don't... really know," she says. "I thought... millitary was more training than... actual situations, but... you're... supposed to be calm in such situations, right?"
Jason shakes his head, "Plenty of training... But I did a few tours in the Terminus, so plenty of... 'actual situations' as well." he says, "I wish I knew what to tell ya, V. I hope you never hit a point where you've had enough guns stuck in your face that it stops keeping you up at night." he chuckles to himself, "But that means this is probably going to stick with you for a while. And that's perfectly normal. But things will get better. And, until then? We'll just have to drink a whole lot." For added punctuation, he waves down the bartender for a refill.
Va'ynna gets her ordered drink as the bartender comes around to serve them. "I... think I've told you I'm not... much of a drinker," she says as she picks up her beer, "but thanks for... well, all you've said." She takes a tentative sip of the beer.
Jason raises an eyebrow, "When the shit hits the fan, we're all drinkers, V." he jokes before taking a large sip of his new drink as it's set before him. "And don't mention it..." he continues, suddenly sounding serious, which is quite out of the ordinary for him, "I know what it's like to have something on your mind that just eats away at you. Keeps you up all night. Just know that you've got friends, V. People who care about you." He clears his throat uncomfortably and takes another drink.
Va'ynna smiles, genuinely. "Yeah, and I'm grateful for all of you," she says, wiping some moisture under her eyes with the back of her index finger. "I met another one... from your agency yesterday, who seems... friendly. Victoria."
Jason lets out a laugh and shakes his head, "I don't know about that one... Think she may have taken one too many blows to the head. But yeah, seems friendly enough. Gotta say, I'm pretty satisfied with the crew we've managed to put together. Seems like a good bunch."
Va'ynna can't help but smirk at his first comment, and looks a little ashamed doing so. "Um, yeah," she says. "Those I've met seems kind to me. I haven't talked to one of them at all outside the job, though. T'Iavay."
Jason | "Renala? Can't say I know all that much about her, but she seems dependable. Not exactly your typical run-of-the-mill merc, type." he says, "Which is a good thing." he adds with a chuckle. He gives a quick glance around the bar. "Just hired on a friend of hers since we're going to be needing a few more hands on deck to keep things running smoothly. Not so sure about him, but we'll see..."
Va'ynna nods. "Yeah, that's her," she says. "And her friend...? I've seen her talking with a human man here a few times... if it's him you're taling about." She takes a long sip of her beer, grimacing slightly at the taste.
Jason nods a few times, "Yeah... I'm guessing that's him. Believe he stays here, too. You know much about him?"
Va'ynna shakes her head. "No," she says. "I haven't met him, just taken his orders here a few times."
Jason sighs and takes another sip of his drink. "Ahh well... Renala vouched for him, so hopefully that means he's on the level." he says. A few beeps cause him to bring his omni-tool up. After a moment of poking at the interface, he begins to mutter under his breath. "Hey, I hate to do this to ya, V..." he begins, turning to face the asari as the orange glow dissipates, "But I've gotta handle a few things at the office. You gonna be alright?"
Va'ynna nods, offering a small smile. "It's alright," she says. "I'll... see you again, Jason." She stared at him for two seconds, seeming indecesivie about something before ceasing that and turning towards the counter.
Jason rises up from his seat and pats the asari on the shoulder once again. "Take care, V. I'll see you around." he says before reaching past her and grabbing his drink, slugging back the rest of it.