#Miner'sRespite – February 12, 2015

Uvena is sitting at the bar, and has been for quite a while now. She is exchanging a few words with Aylena. She has a half-empty glass of brandy on the counter before her. She's wearing her armor, but did not bring the helmet.

Jason approaches the Respite with Mendez at his side. The two stop just outside of the front door. "Appreciate it." Jason says as he takes his omni-tool from Mendez and slides it back into his pocket. "Just be ready to move out. I'll let you know if I hear anything." he says before turning and marching into the bar.

Mendez gives a nod and turns on his heels, setting off in the opposite direction.

Damien knocks on the door of the Respite, more out of courtesy than anything. He enters, still clad in his digital camo without the helm. He looks once over the place, face neutral.

Ilyna approaches the entrance, having walked all the way from the hospital. She increases her pace a little upon seeing Jason.

Damien sighs and takes a free stool at the bar. He leans back against it, resting his shoulders upon the counter.

Jason glances back at the door, spotting Damien in the proccess. "Thanks for coming." he says as he approaches the bar with the man. "Just thought we should all actually sit down and discuss what's going on here." he continues, taking a seat beside Damien. He doesn't yet notice Uvena.

Damien nods. "No problem," he says, smiling softly at Jason. "In truth, I'm not a hundred percent sure what is actually going on."

Ilyna enters the Respite and makes a beeline for the bar. "Hey," she says with a tiny smile before taking the seat beside Jason.

Jason gives a slight shrug and leans forward, resting his forearms against the counter.

Jason glances over at Ilyna and offers a short smile. "Hey. I take it Jattic showed up?" he asks.

Damien gives a slight wave to Ilyna. "Sounds good, boss," says as he flicks on his omni-tool.

Ilyna nods. "He did," she replies. She returns the wave, as well.

Uvena glances over at the three Redrock mercenaries, but remains where she is at the moment.

Jason sighs and glances back towards the door. "Kim, Vicky, and Leah. But Leah is the only one to respond so far. Soon as she gets here we can start things up, I suppose. The others will get back to me whenever they can, I'm sure."

Jason raises an eyebrow. "Why? In a hurry to be somewhere?"

Aylena nods at the three new arrivals, while typing on a terminal. "Just give me a shout if you want something," she says. "Or if you gathering here means something bad is about to go down." She chuckles. Like earlier the same day, she's not dressed very formally.

Jason frowns at Aylena. "Sorry about all... that. Didn't mean to involve you guys."

Aylena nods. "The doctors say she'll make full recovery," she says, "but how is she really doing?"

Jason lowers his gaze to the bar. "You know how she is, Aylena. This is going to stay with her."

Ilyna frowns. "She's still scared," she says. "I don't think the fact that she's alone in a hospital is making it any easier."

Uvena glances towards them at the mention of her daughter, but doesn't say anything. With the low amount of patrons, it's easy enough to overhear any words said.

Leah enters the Respite wearing a pair of form fitting black pants, sloppily laced up boots, and a dark grey hooded jacket. She heads straight for the others and takes a position standing between Jason and Damien. "So... I'm guessing this little meeting has to do with the attack on the spaceport?" she asks, "Seems like we've rustled a few feathers recently."

Damien smiles at Leah, dipping his head slightly in greeting.

Aylena sighs. "I know," she says. "I'm going to try hiring another bartender, but I don't have high hopes about getting appliactions." She nods to Leah in greeting.

Ilyna looks up at the new arrival. "Hey," she says with a tiny smile. It's more than evident that Ilyna hasn't exactly had a full night's sleep.

Leah returns the smile. "You still owe me a beer, by the way. Guessing I'm going to have to take a rain check for now, though." she teases Damien. She gives Aylena and Ilyna each a nod in turn.

Damien grins. "For now, darlin'." He turns to look at Jason, folding his arms across his chest as he rests against the counter.

Jason nods at Leah. "Rustled a few feathers... That's putting it lightly." he snorts, "But yeah. Thanks for coming." He glances over at Aylena, "You were practically working the poor girl to death, anyway. Another bartender can't hurt." He climbs off the barstool and looks over towards am empty booth, "Well, I suppose we should get down to business."

Damien slips off his barstool, casually gesturing for the others to go before him.

Jason gives Aylena a quick departing nod and heads over to the empty booth. He slides into one of the seats and removes his omni-tool from his pocket, placing it on the table in front of him and folding his hands over it.

Uvena glances over at them as they leave the bar.

Damien takes a seat opposite Jason, shifting over for others to sit beside him.

Ilyna stands up and follows them to the booth. She takes the seat beside Jason, but remains quiet.

Leah takes a seat next to Damien and leans back. "So... What's going on?"

Jason taps a finger against his omni-tool. "Sent a message out to Rellis a few minutes ago. Holding his brother at this point isn't doing anything for us. I offered to release him if it means we can go our separate ways and put an end to this bullshit. There's nothing to gain by fighting with Rellis. Absolutely nothing. And we're starting to run out of things to lose at this point.

Damien listens quietly, leaning back into his seat as he rubs his chin.

Jason glances over at Ilyna. "Not the slightest idea. His brother doesn't seem to know, either. But his brother has to know of a few more locations we can move on. I figure if we start kicking in doors and making this a fight that's not worth the financial hit to him.... Maybe he'll back down. Or, maybe we can stumble across some information that'll point us to him. Interrogate some

Jason raps his fingertips against the top of the table. "I mean... I'm open to suggestions. That's why you're all here. Input. But Rellis has the manpower and the credits to keep this going for as long as he wants. The only way we're getting out of this without a fight is if he values his brother's life as much as I hope he does."

Jason sighs and shakes his head at Ilyna. "No. This would be an all-hands-on-deck situation. And even then, it's going to be long, drawn out, and bloody. But our alternative is to just sit here and wait for him to send more people to snuff us out. This first attack was just the beginning. He was sending out feelers. I'm sure the next time they'll be more prepared."

Jason gives a shrug. "I don't know, can you?"

Damien smirks slightly. "I'll be honest. We'll need more firepower and people. Outside help."

Leah nods in agreement. "A lot more firepower." she adds.

Jason leans back in his seat and groans. "I have a couple... Just not sure I want to involve them. I'll keep my ear to the ground, though. See what I can find out. I suggest you all do the same."

Ilyna nods. "I'll do what I can to help, but I don't think my sister will be interested in working for free," she says. "Her roommate, maybe. She had no reason to be at the space-" She stops at the mention of the Suns and stares at Damien.

Damien keeps his face set in stone, keeping his gaze focused on Jason. Ilyna's stare pricks at his skin.

Jason shakes his head. "No. With my history with the Blue Suns, there's no way I can trust their motives. I've-... Stirred up the hornets nest worse with the Blue Suns than I have with Rellis. Let's just leave it at that. The last thing I need is an angry batarian leading legion of Blue Suns to Freedom Falls." he sighs. His omni-tool begins to beep.

Damien narrows his eyes slightly, hands clasping tighter. "I was Suns, Jason. You don't trust me?"

Jason scoops up his omni-tool, but doesn't activate it. "Was being the operative word here. If I didn't trust you, you wouldn't be sitting at this table right now, Damien. But I've got personal ties with the Suns. Both good, and bad. I don't need my name being tossed around in those circles. It would only bring a shitstorm to Aite. Trust me on that."

Gren walks into the Respite, unsurprisingly clad in his battle armour, bar the helm. He trudges over to the bar and sits on a stool. It creaks dangerously, but holds.

Damien relaxes slightly, nodding once. "Your call."

Ilyna nods in agreement with Jason. "I don't want anything to do with them," she says in a lowered voice.

Damien arches his eyebrow slightly, but remains silent.

Aylena is off to get a bottle of Ryncol at the moment she sees the krogan. "Hello," she says. "You'd like Ryncol, I take it?"

Jason gives Ilyna a sympathetic glance, but doesn't hold it for too long. "Don't take it personally, Damien. We've just-.... There's a lot of history there." He glances down at his omni-tool and activates the interface. After a few moments of poking at the screen, a grin tugs at his lips. "Sounds like it may not need to come to any of that, anyway. Rellis seems to be willing to play

Gren shakes his head, surprisingly. "Actually, no. I wanted to talk, see how the place was doing. Not really thirsty," he grunts.

Damien shrugs. "Probably none," he sighs.

Aylena shrugs. "Fair enough," she says, putting the bottle down. "And thanks. Things would have ended much uglier if you hadn't shown up." She picks up the credit chit and places it o nthe table, offering a slight smile. "It more than makes up for the table."

Jason allows his omni-tool interface to dissipate and leans back in his seat. "I mean, shit, I get it. I don't trust this asshole either. But we need results. You said it yourself, we don't have the firepower or manpower to engage in a straight up war with these people. Having Jelvan is giving us no benefit whatsoever. Rellis flat out blew up our building with his brother inside of

Gren grins, pushing the credit chit back to her. "Of course it would've," he chuckles. "No payment needed. What's that human expression? It's on the roof?"

Damien looks at the three others at the table in turn. "Well, to hell with it then. Let's do it."

Leah looks a bit uneasy, but she nods silently a few times before adding. "You know I'm not going anywhere, Jason. If this gets ugly, I'll see it through to the end."

Ilyna nods. "I'm with you, as well," she says. "However bad it gets, I bet we've been through much worse... and here we are; still alive."

Damien looks at Leah, grinning. "If this turns out not to be a trap or backstab, I'll buy you another beer."

Jason smirks and nods to himself. "Jasper is taking Jelvan to the hospital as we speak. I suppose now would be the time to introduce you guys." He gestures over to Ilyna, "This is Ilyna. We go way back. There's not many people out there I trust with my life. She's definitely one of them. If this whole thing goes south, she'll be working with us."

Aylena doesn't take the chit. "On the house?" she suggest. "Anyway, it's the credits you gave me for damages."

Damien tilts his head towards Ilyna.

Leah smiles and nods. "I'll get that beer off of you one way or another. Even if I have to take the credit chit to pay for it off your body once Rellis is done with ya." she says with a wink. She turns towards Ilyna and reaches across the table. "Leah." she says plainly, "Welcome aboard the sinking ship."

Ilyna reaches her hand out for a handshake. "Ilyna T'Rea," she says. "It's nice to meet you."

Leah takes Ilyna's hand and gives it a firm shake before letting it go. "Can't say I'd be so willing to get back into the life if I found a way out." she admits, "But we can use all the help we can get right now. So thanks."

Aylena nods. "Thank you," she says, and finally takes the chit. "So, did you catch the turian?"

Ilyna frowns. "I don't know what else to do, to be honest," she says. "I had more than a year to decide, and still I couldn't figure out what to do. I was in the military for most of my life, so this is what I'm used to."

Jason gives a nod. "Same boat as me. When Vasquez was out of commission, I did my best to try and pull my life in another direction. Worked a regular job. Construction." he chuckles, "But at the end of the day, I feel like this is where I belong. It's all I'm cut out to do."

Aylena nods. "Good," she says with a frown. "That salarian ran away once he came to his senses, though, but that other one got what was coming to her."

Ilyna nods. "I chose this time just because of that," she says. "I couldn't sit by anyome while people I care about get hurt."

Leah rolls her eyes. "Always running your mouth. If only you were half as good in the field as you are at talking shit." she groans.

Aylena smiles slightly. "She'll recover, but you won't be seeing her out here anytime soon," she says. "The girl was already scared of her own shadow."

Gren grunts, peering over at the Redrock mercs. "Should probably hire better security," he says, turning back to Aylena.

Damien holds a hand over his heart, pouting slightly at Leah. "Ow, my heart."

Damien raps his knuckles against his chest. "I'll be your cover. God knows the rest of them already use me as such."

Jason shakes his head. "You two bicker like an old married couple." he sighs before smirking at Ilyna, "You can count on it. Hopefully it won't come to that. I'd like to think Rellis may be a man of his word."

Aylena shrugs. "They usually deliver much more than I paid for when they're needed, though," she says. "This is just one ugly spot on an otherwise shining track record."

Gren hums. "If you say so."

Leah raises a hand and gives Damien the finger.

Damien barks out a laugh, leaning back into the chair. "So polite."

Jason manages a chuckle and glances over at Ilyna. "Almost like being back at the Den, ain't it?"

Ilyna chuckles. "Mhm," she hums. "All we're missing is a salarian writing it down."

Jason frowns and nods. "He's around here somewhere... Been a while since I heard from him."

Leah pats Damien on the shoulder. "Can't imagine you've kept the kind of company that would address you as such. You seem the type to slum it up." she teases.

Damien chuckles, crossing his arms across his chest.

Leah shakes her head. "Would've preferred to work out of Omega. I hear the credits flow a whole lot more freely out there."

Jason furrows his brow. "Dangerous people?" he asks, allowing the question to linger for a moment, "What kind of research is he doing?"

Ilyna hums thoughtfully. "I'm too tired to remember exactly what he said," she says. "His usual research, I forgot what it's called."

Jason looks slightly confused for a few moments. "So-.... So he........ He wants to meet dangerous people to learn about their banging habits?" he asks, sounding quite surprised, "He's gonna be disappointed."

Ilyna can't help but laugh. "I think his research is broader than that."

Jason tilts his head to the side, looking quite confused. "Ya think?" he asks genuinely, "I always assumed he was just a perv and using this whole 'science' deal to cover it up."

Ilyna chuckles. "He... never struck me as being like that," she says, "but then again, salarians keep secrets very well."

Damien arches an eyebrow, a slight smirk on his lips. "Charming. And here's me thinking we were getting along so well, darlin'."

Gren grunts with a slight shrug. "Sure, why not. Seems like they could use a real warrior anyway."

Leah smirks and gives a shrug, "How about this: When you decide to finally make good on that drink you owe me, maybe then I'll tell ya the story."

Jason whispers, "I mean banging."

Aylena nods. "I'm sure they could," she says. "I haven't heard much about how hard the attack hit them, though." She is interrupted by a wave from Uvena, and makes her way over to serve her.

Damien smirks. "Alright then. Tomorrow, at eight, here? I'll buy you two drinks if you give me the whole story."

Ilyna smirks. "If you say so," she says. "I can't honestly remember him like that."

Leah gives a mock expression of surprise. "Oh, wow. Two whole drinks? Big spender here." she says. She thinks on it for a moment, "Eight?" she repeats. "Not sure. I might be busy. I'll try and make it."

Jason sighs, "I miss that lil shit."

Damien chuckles. "At the rate at which we bet drinks, it'll probably be a hell of a lot more." He nods slightly, still keeping his warm smile. "Well, here's hoping you do. I better head off now, dropped off my avenger for a mod. Should be done now."

Jason glances over at Damien. "Keep an eye on your omni-tool. I'm guessing we're in the clear for now, judging by the lack of fire and explosions. But that could change quickly. I'll hit you up if the situation changes."

Leah slides out of the booth to let Damien out. "We'll see." she says with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Damien. Maybe."

Ilyna smiles slighty, nodding in agreement. She looks over at Damien. "I'll see you again," she says. "Take care."

Damien slips out the booth, nodding to the trio. "I'll be ready, Jason. Ilyna, pleasure to meet you. And Leah, see you tomorrow. Maybe." He grins and leaves, throwing a small wave over his shoulder.

Gren continues to sit, deep in thought.

Uvena is still at the bar, exchanging a few words with Aylena.

Leah leans her hands against the table. "Well, I should get home too, boss. Let me know if you need me." she says before turning on her heels and making her way to the exit.

Jason gives Leah a nod. "Be careful out there." he calls out to her.

Leah gives a wave over her shoulder. "Nice meeting you, Ilyna." she shouts as she nears the Respite's door, "You should try and keep better friends. You know, ones that won't get you dragged into their messes." she jokes.

Ilyna chuckles. "I'll try," she says, not sounding too serious. "And nice to meet you, too."

Jason frowns. "I happen to think I'm a fuckin' awesome friend." he mutters.

Leah disappears through the door.

Ilyna smiles sheepishly. "I was joking," she says. "You've always been a great friend. I managed to get dragged into messes just as well on my own."

Jason sighs now that the others are out of sight. "I doubt this is over, Ilyna. I don't trust him to keep his word. To be completely honest, I just wanted to get Jelvan off my hands. The guy did everything we asked of him. Whether he was with holding information or not, he never fought back. I just didn't want his blood on my hands. And I know that would've been the next step."

Ilyna frowns. "Was the spaceport attack about him, too?" she asks. "Why did you want his information for?"

Jason nods to Ilyna. "A job. The job was to get information relating to Rellis' location for a client." he nods towards Uvena at the bar, confirming that he has, in fact, noticed her at some point during their time at the Respite. "Simple job. We grabbed the brother because we couldn't exactly stay on site to interrogate him, and I was in a bad spot. We gave the client all the info

Ilyna glances towards the bar. "Didn't Rellis even give you a chance to give him back before attacking?"

Jason gives a shrug. "He... Did. But they weren't circumstances that we could exactly agree to on the spot. The problem is that Rellis seems very confident. He's unwilling to negotiate. It seems like it'll be his way, or no way."

Ilyna frowns. "He doesn't sound like someone anyone would get in trouble with," she says, "so why did your client want to seek him out?"

Jason glances over at Uvena once more with a scowl on his face.

Ilyna raised an eyebrow. "Va'ynna never told me she was here," she says, "but family wasn't something she liked talking about."

Ilyna frowns. "Oh," she says. "I beat myself up over not talking to my father to the point I was too embarrased to make contact, so... I can understand it a little, I suppose."

Ilyna nods. "Maybe," she says. "I don't know what issues there are between them, but it's something Va'ynna never wants to talk about."

Jason gives a nod. "Well, I'm guessing you probably wanna get some rest. I appreciate everything you've done, Ilyna. I'm not trying to run you off, but I think I should have a talk with our client."

Ilyna stands up. "You're right," she says. "It might take some time for me to get here if something should happen since my sister's apartment is a bit out of town, so send me a message if it seems like something's about to happen."

Jason nods. "Will do. Go get yourself some rest."

Ilyna glances towards the bar. "Be easy on her, she's probably not happy about this either," she says. "Take care." She lingers for about two seconds before making her way out of the bar. She enables her omni-tool when she's outside.

Jason watches Ilyna leave before sighing and standing from his seat.