#Miner'sRespite – August 10, 2014

Damien enters the Inn, donned in his blue-digital combat gear and CArnifex by his side. He clicks his helmet off and sighs, scratching the stubble on his beard as he makes his way over to the bar. He pulls up a stool and plonks himself onto it.

Aylena is typing away on some terminal before noticing the human approaching. She taps a few more times before walking over to him. "Hello," she says. "What can I get you?"

Damien looks up and nods politely, peering over the selection of drinks. "I'll have a bourbon," he says, gesturing at the bottles. "Please and thanks."

Aylena nods. "Sure," she says before making her way over to the bottle, taking about ten seconds to find it. She makes her way back to the counter and picks out a glass. "Bottle or glass?"

Aylena pours the glass, then, and places it infront of him. "So, how are you, Monroe?"

Damien swirls the contents of the glass around for a moment, before bringing the glass to his lips and taking a swig. "Better," he replies, setting the glass down. "I've finally gotten a job at Redrock."

Aylena smiles. "That's good to hear," she says. "They're a nice bunch, even those I don't pay helped out when things got a little too exciting around here not too long ago."

Jason steps through the door of the Respite and marches up to the bar with a bit of a scowl on his face. He drops heavily onto a stool beside Damien and leans his forearm against the counter. "Hey Aylena..." he says rather unenthusiastically.

Damien opens his mouth to reply, before Jason drops into the seat beside him. He furrows his brow at the odd behaviour in comparison to his usual self. "Jason, you alright pal?"

Jason glances to his side. "Oh... Hey Damien. Yeah, I'm-..." he narrows his eyes on the man, "Hey, let me ask you a question. Be level with me here. The other day, how did Li-... Vasquez know about the mess I made? Did you rat me out?" he asks, staring the man down.

Aylena moves towards Jason. "Your order should be ready soon, Wolfe," she says. "Want something to drink in the meantime?"

Jason glances over at Aylena with a nod. "Yeah... Sounds good. Rum and cola." he says before settling his attention back on Damien as he awaits an answer.

Damien almost smashes the glass as his fist clenches at the accusation. He frowns and almost snarls the next words out. "No, I didn't." In a blink of the eye, his usual self appears. "She's not stupid."

Aylena goes off to find the bottle and returns with it. She mixes the drink in a glass filled with ice and places it before Jason. She keeps quiet, not seeking to interrupt their serious conversation.

Jason sighs and nods a couple times to himself. "Yeah... Sorry, of course... Just-..." he shifts in his seat a bit, "...rough day." He reaches out and pulls the drink in front of him, giving Aylena an appreciative nod.

Damien softens up, the accusation already forgotten to him. "Fight with the missus?" he jokes, sipping on his drink.

Aylena takes a step back, looking over the bar; still within earshot of the two.

Jason raises an eyebrow, but doesn't respond directly. "We've got a job coming up soon." he begins, hoping to change the subject, "Not sure who Vasquez is assigning to it, but you should probably keep your schedule clear."

Damien nods, twisting the glass on the counter. "Thanks for the heads up, but that isn't what I asked, Jason." He leans slightly to him, his brow knitted with concern. "Seriously, what's the problem?"

Jason shakes his head, "Don't worry about it." He takes a sip of his drink, giving a satisfied sigh, and sets the glass back down, "Just been one of those days."

Damien watches Jason silently for a moment, before dropping the whole thing and smiling. "I know what you mean." He chuckles and sits up again, downing the last of his drink. "So, this job. You got any details?"

Jason tilts his head a bit, deciding how much he can actually speak about openly. "Yeah. Client needs some information recovered. Should be a by-the-books job. Our target is pretty light on security. Handful of hired guns and a few security mechs. We should be able to overwhelm them and, with any luck, get out without firing a shot."

Damien smiles and holds up his arm, his omni-tool flaring to life. A hint of rare arrogance creeps into his voice. "I don't need to fire a shot," he says, pride seeping through his voice. The omni-tool powers down and he chuckles. "So, a small team then? Or we barreling through?"

Jason smirks, but simply shrugs, "Your guess is as good as mine. Like I said, Vasquez puts the team together. I just lead it. Either way, though, it shouldn't present much of an issue. We'll be briefing everyone before hand to make sure everyone is up to speed."

Damien nods, moving the empty glass to the side. "Well, enough about business," he says, launching the conversation in the completely opposite direction. "How's things going for you? Life an' all that?"

Jason furrows his brow, somewhat caught off guard by the question. "Uhh... Life?" he asks. He shrugs and glances over at his drink, "You know... It's life. Good enough, I suppose. You know, for the most part..."

Damien nods, giving Jason an apologetic look. "Sorry, sudden change in topic an' all," he shrugs. "Just trying to catch a better idea of who I'll be working with."

Jason puts a hand up and waves dismissively. "Look, if you're worried about working alongside the team, let me put that worry to rest. Me and Vasquez have been doing this a long time. Hell, even before we met. We've both seen our fair share of combat during our time with the Alliance, and more than our fair share of it after the Alliance. The people we've got signed on are all experienced. You're in good hands."

Damien blinks for a moment, before nodding. "That explains why she was ready to tear my head off," he mumbles, rapping his fingers on the counter.

Jason raises an eyebrow. "Oh, trust me... She doesn't require much of a reason for wanting to tear someone's head off. That woman is anger in human form." he snorts, "What happened?"

Damien answers carefully, resting his arms on the counter. "She asked about my combat experience. So I answered truthfully. I fought mercenary groups, street gangs..." He pauses, turning slightly to look to Jason. "An Alliance team."

Jason winces a bit. "Guessing that didn't go over too well with her..." he says. He shrugs slightly as he scoops up his glass and takes a sip, "I've got nothing but love for the Alliance. I come from a long line of soldiers. Hell, I couldn't have been more than a few years old when I knew I wanted to join the Alliance. And if I wouldn't have realized it on my own, my old man wouldn't have given me much of a choice." he chuckles, "But... Everyone has their pasts, you know? We've all done shit we aren't proud of, myself included." He sets the glass back down and faces the man, "Keep it in your past, and we won't have any problems."

Damien lets a smile flicker on his face for a moment. "See, I'm a colony kid. Nothing but distrust for the Alliance." He pauses, mulling over Jason's words. "But I don't go picking fights with them. I don't HATE them. Shit, you're Alliance and I actually like you." He laughs, turning back to the bar. "I'll keep it in the past."

Jason puts his hands up, palms outward, in a faux-defensive posture, "Reign it in there, buddy. Might wanna wait till you get to know me before you start professing your love." he teases, "Gonna take more than smooth talk if you're expecting me to put out."

Damien bursts into gut-grabbing laughter and shakes his head, whiping a fake tear from his eye. "Oh, my broken heart," he wheezes. "And there was me thinking I could steal you from Va'ynna."

Jason begins to chuckle as Damien speaks, but cuts it short upon the man's mention of Va'ynna. "Wha-...? V?"

Damien looks up, still working through the last of his bout of laughter. "Yeah, aren't you and, heh, Va'ynna a thing?" he asks. "Sure seem like it."

Jason shakes his head sternly. "A thing? What in the hell gave you that idea?" he asks, looking quite amused.

Damien holds his hands up, palms outward, abandoning the issue.

Jason smirks a bit and chuckles lightly, giving a shake of his head. "Nah, she's a sweetheart, but she's just a friend." he says. "Been with Lin-... Vasquez for a couple years now." he explains.

Damien stares at Jason, disbelief clearly etched over his features. "You an- you mea- a couple of-. Well shit, I would not have guessed that in a thousand years."

Jason taps his fingertips against the countertop with a confused look on his face. "What's so hard to believe about that?" he asks.

Damien shrugs. "I dunno. You're so... bubbly? Is that the right word?" he asks, before dismissing it. "Anyway and she's so... serious. I dunno. I seriously would not have guessed that. No offence."

Aylena makes her way through the door in the back, meeting Va'ynna in the hall. She returns through the door with a tray, on which there are two take-away packets with the kebabs. "Your varren kebabs, Wolfe," she says as she places it on the bar counter near him.

Jason 's scowl returns momentarily, "Bubbly...?" he mutters with a shake of his head, "The fuck have you been smoking? Redrock strongly discourages the use of powerful hallucinogens." he teases, his smirk returning to replace the scowl. "Nah, she's alright. Get her to a party, put a few drinks in her, she livens up." His smirk slowly fades away as he recalls that night ending with Vasquez opening up with an automatic rifle on him before stabbing herself.

Damien chuckles and shakes his head. "I haven't touched that shit in years," he says, lifting his glass up. "Can I get a refill?" He asks the bartender.

Aylena takes the credit chit and charges the amount before returning it. "You're welcome," she says. "Do you want a plastic bag to keep them in?" Aylena nods to Damien and reaches out to take the glass, and if given to her, pours it with the bottle she has yet to put back on the shelves.

Damien watches the glass refill, before pulling out the credits for both of the drinks. He places them on the table and nods his thanks.

Jason grabs his glass and drains the rest of hit. He pushes it across the counter towards Aylena. "Nah, I'll be alright." he says as he stands from his stool. He stacks the containers up and lifts them from the counter. "I should get back to the agency." he sighs, "If I don't show up with Linda's kebabs soon, she's likely to 'tear my head off'."

Damien chuckles and nods to Jason. "Good luck. I'll catch you soon."

Jason returns the nod and proceeds towards the door.

Aylena takes the credits and nods. "Thanks."

Damien falls silent as he sips his drink, pondering about something.

Damien finishes off his drink and nods once more to Aylena, before retreating to his room.