This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#Susanna – March 28, 2015
Leah reaches over and grabs Damien's arm once more. "You better not die on me now." she says, "Not after all this..."
The ship shudders as it takes off from the landing pad. After hovering up a bit the thrusters can be felt kicking in.
Halisi steps out of the APC briefly, making sure all the husks are gone before running off towards the infirmary.
The corridor to the bridge is empty, but the bridge door is open. The Captain is in the middle of scolding Alessa. She, meanwhile, is busy piloting the ship.
Tarlon nods at Steve. "Can hold my own. Used to hostile enviroments, frequently underestimated. Still, compliment appreciated."
Damien struggles to keep his eyes open, Leah's firm grip on his arm waking him slightly. "Use... A drink...".
Halisi returns to the cargo hold with a stretcher, which she rolls up to the APC. "Someone help me. Jason first."
Ilyna steps into the pilot's compartment without asking. "Excuse me," she says. "I... appreciate the help down there, but we aren't done on this world, yet."
Captain Kleiner turns towards Ilyna with a furious expression. "The hell you aren't! Alessa risked our asses just opening that hatch! We're not going back!"
Halisi starts rolling Jason to the infirmary as soon as he is on the stretcher. "Victoria, get some medi-gel on that."
Jason is waking up from his sedation. He reaches out and puts his good arm around Victoria's shoulder as he's hoisted onto the stretcher, hoping to keep from just being dead weight. "Vasquez...?" he groans, "Where is she...?"
Ilyna folds her arms over her chest. "And we did as we said we would," she says. "Vasquez is still down there, too."
Halisi shakes her head at Jason. "Don't worry about her." She pushes the stretcher into the infirmary and then moves Jason to the bed best she can. "Don't move. I'm going to get the other injured." She leaves with the stretcher in front of her.
You're in no danger. We kept any harm from coming your way. Our people are still down there fighting for their lives. People may be alive in that town. You would just leave them all?
Captain Kleiner shakes his head. "We're not turning back. If any of your people are still down there in that mess they're already dead, and you know it."
Steve furrows his brow. "Shit... I ain't one to support the idea of leaving a friend behind, but you saw that mess, Tarlon. Jattic is a goner. And the Chief-... She was a headcase to begin with. Ain't no way she's surviving down there."
Kur'don was invaluable down there, I won't leave him behind! And Vasquez... she is an old friend, and the agency's leader.
Halisi wheels Damien off to the infirmary, laying him down on the floor since there is only the one bed.
Halisi returns to the cargo bay yet again and starts to load up Leah, presumably with Victoria's help.
Mendez looks down at his shotgun and slowly begins to load a fresh thermal clip into it pointedly. "Might want to reconsider that, Captain." he says.
Captain Kleiner seems more angered than intimidated. "How dare you?! You should be thankful any of you got off that godforsaken planet alive!"
Ilyna steps aside to not be in Mendez' way. Even if she wanted to, she would not really be in a position of authority over Mendez.
Halisi rolls Leah off to the infirmary, placing her on the floor as well, very carefully, before going to fetch Philip.
Mendez takes Ilyna's movement as permission and raises his shotgun, shoving the barrel into Captain Kleiner's face. "How do I dare? I dare with a cargo hold full of people ready to take this ship off your hands with a single order from her." he nods at Ilyna, "We have our own pilot. We don't need any of you. This isn't your call. We're giving you the opportunity to stay on board. Your other choice is we dump you out the hatch
Alessa is clearly quite disturbed by Mendez' threats. She scrambles away from the armed man and raises her arms in front of her face, as if that might somehow shield her.
Mendez gains a bit of a guilty look. "Please. This isn't who we are. We only wish to help our friends. Assist us."
Captain Kleiner stares at Mendez. "If you're going to take my Susanna you'll have to kill me first."
Mendez lowers the shotgun somewhat. "Don't make me do this. You realize that you're asking us to leave our own to die. You think I would choose your life over the life of my teammates? I hardly know you." He glances over at Alessa, "Please. Talk some sense into him. This won't end well for him."
Ilyna looks away, not feeling any better about this. She looks towards the pilot "You don't need to land," she says. "Just have the cargo ramp hover outside the inn. My biotics can lift survivors... but keep the monsters on the ground."
Mendez wavers a bit, seeming to consider Alessa's request, but eventually shakes his head. "How would you feel if it was your crew outside? Would you leave them to die? Please, Alessa, convince him. Otherwise we have no choi-..." as Steve begins to work, Mendez trains his shotgun on the man, "What are you doing??"
Mendez lowers his weapon and gives a nod. "Thank you." he says, staring the captain in the face, "At least your crew isn't as spineless as you."
Ilyna wasn't pointing a weapon at anyone in the first place. She steps out of the pilot's compartment and into the hallway. "Kur'don, can you hear me?" she speaks over the comms.
Mendez gives Alessa an apologetic nod and backs out of the bridge. He looks over at Ilyna. "How are we going to find the Chief. It's clear that they're not planning on sticking around much longer."
Ilyna shakes her head. "I... I don't know," she speaks in a lowered voice. "This... just doesn't feel right. What we just did."
I know, Ilyna. But our only other choice was to allow our team to die. And for what? These people are at no risk. They would just abandon an entire town of people to save their own asses?
Mendez reaches out and puts a hand on the asari's shoulder, "I wouldn't have pulled the trigger... If it makes you feel any better."
They didn't save us. You heard him. Alessa went against his orders. He would have let us all die. And now he wants to let Jattic die. Jattic is my friend. I won't let him die on this planet.
Ilyna nods. "And neither will I," she promises. "It was... my decision that got him separated from us." She doesn't answer the drell, but instead gets on the comms. "Kur'don, do you copy?"
The cargo ramp starts opening, causing the wind to whip rain into the cargo hold. The lightning spire is ahead, illuminating the inn, which is ahead of them. The ship is hovering behind the inn, which is placed on a steep cliff with a balcony extending out over it. The ramp is within jumping distance of the balcony.
Mendez glances at Athorus. "We're getting Jattic out of there." he says simply. He holds his shotgun in both hands and starts towards the ramp behind Ilyna.
Victoria grabs her avenger and reloads it. Walking towards the ramp and gets ready to provide covering fire.
Jasper climbs out of the truck finally, still applying a bit of medi-gel to his face. He drops the cannister and lifts his Avenger. "We gettin' that four-eyed sonuvabitch outta there!?" he asks as he joins up with the others.
The two men on the balcony start climb onto the railing, one of them looking down nervously. The other jumps almost immediately, landing on the ramp with a clunk.
Mendez scrambles to the edge of the ramp and slides onto his ass. He reaches out to help the people jumping. "Shit! What are you doing? We were going to assist!"
Jasper hurries to Mendez' side, but quickly shies away from the edge as a sick feeling overcomes him.
Ilyna holds up a hand. "Get out of there," she speaks into comms. "The ramp is close enough to jump, I think, but I'll use my biotics if that's not the case." She hurries over to near the edge and looks at the nervous man. "Do you need help?" A biotic shimmer still surrounds her.
The first jumper hurries into the cargo hold while yelling something about please letting him onboard. The second one makes the mistake of looking down the cliff, and starts to sway. "F-Fuck..."
Ilyna uses a biotic field on the man and pulls him rather roughly towards her, not letting go of the field until he's at least three meters past the edge onto the ramp. "Hurry up," she says over the comms.
The man practically falls into Mendez' arms, seeming rather shaken about the fact that he just flew.
The man jumps across with Mendez' help, landing with a grunt. Jattic and the innkeeper have now backed out onto the balcony.
Jattic slams the balcony doors shut once everyone is outside, unsure of just how well it will keep the creatures at bay.
Ilyna nods as she sees the man get onto the ramp, and her focus is changed to Jattic once he is visible.
As one might expect, the glass doors are not very good at holding the husks back, and they start spilling onto the balcony almost immediately. The innkeeper starts gunning them down as they come through however.
Jattic remains beside the innkeeper, unloading his rifle at the husks. "Onto the ship! Now! We don't have time to waste!"
Jasper slowly inches as close to the edge as he can without hurling, and begins to open up fire at the husks with his Avenger.
The husks go down as soon as they enter the balcony, with the bodies piling by the door and slowing their arrival. The innkeeper turns and jumps at the ramp, landing on the edge and clutching best he can to hold on.
Mendez scoots his ass further down the ramp and extends a hand towards the innkeeper. "Grab my arm!"
Innkeeper grabs Mendez' arm, but loses his grip on the edge in the process - Mendez is now all that is keeping him from falling.
Ilyna hurries over to assist Mendez as she sees the innkeeper at the edge, using a biotic field to lower his mass.
Innkeeper mumbles a thanks at Mendez before getting on his feet and waiting for Jattic to come across.
Jattic backs up against the railing and unloads the rest of his thermal clip into the balcony doorway before turning his attention back to the ship.
Ilyna prepares her biotics again and looks at Jattic. "Do you need help jumping?" she asks over the comms.
Jattic gives a shake of his head, "I'll be fine." he says, taking a couple steps back to get a running start, he steps up onto the railing and leaps towards the open cargo hold.
Adjutants keep spilling out onto the balcony. A couple of warps are getting thrown at the open cargo hold now.
Mendez assists Jattic and the innkeeper in climbing the ramp. "Close it!" he shouts loudly, unsure if anyone in the bridge can even hear him.
Ilyna lets out a tiny smile at seeing the batarian get across. A warp field hits her and takes out all of her shields, making her run towards the cargo hold to get to cover.
One of the adjutants jumps to the ramp, but it is dislodged as the ramp starts to close. The ship starts moving away from the town quite rapidly.
Ilyna breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of the ramp closing. The biotic field around her dissipates.
Jattic drops his weapon to the ground and puts his hands on his hips as he gives a shake of his head. "That makes two of us, Jasper." He glances between Ilyna and Mendez, "Thank you. For a moment, I was worried you may not return."
Ilyna nods. "We didn't give them a choice," she says, "but... Vasquez... is still missing. I... I don't think we can convince them to look for her."
Jattic seems to sadden at this news. "It... It wasn't a choice between her or myself, was it...?" he asks with a hint of guilt in his voice.
Jattic nods a couple times. "Have we spoken to the cult leader yet? Perhaps he would know where they would take her?"
Father Marchal has started to come to it, and sits up on the floor of the truck, nursing his broken jaw.
Mendez gives a nod. "Back of the truck. He attacked during our struggle. Briggs was forced to put him down, but I think he'll be alright."
Steve stands from his seat and leans down, grabbing a fistful of the cultist's hair. He attempts to lead the man to his feet.
Steve gives a nod. "Sure is. You give the word and I'll make sure he don't ever lead anything ever again."
Father Marchal looks at Ilyna with what passes for a grin with his now-broken jaw. "She took the Revelator's orb. It will serve a new purpose with those that think to oppose us. They will fail."
Steve sighs and grabs the man's arm, wrenching it back. He braces his knee against the back of the man's elbow. "Just answer her questions. Knock off the bullshit. We don't give a fuck about no 'Revelator'."
Father Marchal 's face involuntarily contorts in pain, but he still looks at Ilyna. "You find it hard to fathom her betrayal. They are always treacherous. It will not help them in the end."
Steve applies a bit more pressure to the man's arm. "How do you not know where your people are?" he grunts. He looks up at Ilyna, "He's full of shit."
Ilyna sighs. "Do you think you could restrain him?" she asks. "I... don't want him becoming a risk to us or the crew."
Steve furrows his brow, "If your people are dead, then who the fuck took our boss?" he asks. He gives Ilyna a nod. "I'll just snap his limbs and tie him down. He won't be hurtin' anyone."
Ilyna narrows her eyes on the cult leader, doing her best to hide how she's unsettled by him. "Answer him."
Father Marchal looks at Ilyna, studying her for a moment. "Nobody took her. You have been betrayed." he says with a crooked half-smile - all he can manage with his jaw as it is.
Ilyna nods and looks at Steve. "Could you restrain him?" she says. "I don't think we'll be getting aynthing better out of him, and I'm guessing Jason would like to ask him a few questions later."
Steve responds with a nod and a loud SNAP as he bends the man's arm back, wrapping it around his knee, "Consider it done, boss." he says. He grins down at the cultist and gives a mocking laugh, "Considering you've reached... 'The end of your journey'.... Suppose I should do your legs next, eh? Won't be needing those anymore."
Ilyna winces. "Keep him alive... at least for now," she says before hopping off the truck, and making her way towards her bunk.
Over a day has passed since the MSV Susanna left New Longhai and headed off into space. The crew has understandably kept to themselves after the incident with Mendez on the bridge. Halisi has barely stepped out of the infirmary - she has been in surgery for most of the time. Jason has had the metal fragments removed from his body and his wounds have been properly cleaned, stitched and bandaged. One of the rescued patrons of the inn was
quick to volunteer for blood transfusion as well. The doctor has relocated him to a bunk in the passenger module. Damien has had his lung repaired and his broken rib put back into place. The man's stump has been cleaned and properly bandaged, with bone fragments removed. He has also been moved to a bunk in the passenger module. Philip is there as well - he required far less treatment than the other two. Leah is still in the infirmary.
Ilyna is sitting in her bunk, back against the wall. She's wearing a black shirt and non-descript blue pants. She is looking at Jason, both concerned and nervous.
Jason finally begins to stir for the first time since being returned to his bunk. He jerks wildly for a moment and then sits straight up in his bed, sweat running down his face. He narrows his eyes and looks around the room, seeming quite confused.
Damien sits on the edge of his bunk, staring down at the metallic floor. He has awkwardly changed into a simple white vest, dark green cargo trousers and his old combat boots. And now... He doesn't really seem to know what to do with himself.
Tarlon is sitting cross-legged on his bunk, inspecting the claw marks on his neck via Omni-Tool mirror function. They're still only patched up with Medigel, since he hasn't looked in on the medbay yet, with everyone so much more urgently injured than him.
Steve has mostly kept to himself the past day, aside from putting in some quality time watching Father Marchal.
Damien takes a sharp intake of breath, finally giving up on making any sort of journey from his bunk. He gradually eases himself back, resting his head against his pillow.
Jason struggles to move his arm before realizing it's.... gone. A moment of panic comes over him as he looks over to Ilyna, the confusion clear on his face. "Wha-..... my arm...?" he says as he begins to inch towards the edge of the bed.
Ilyna frowns. "You two should lie down," she says, casting a glance towards Damien. "Doctor's orders."
Damien waves his stump dismissively. "Don't need to tell me twice," he says, giving the stump a disgusted look.
Jason furrows his brow as he nears the edge of his bed. "I need to speak to Linda..." he groans as he grabs the side of the bed with his remaining hand and hops out. He grabs ahold of the bedpost as he nearly falls over.
Ilyna shakes her head, and a deep breath follows. "I'm... so sorry," she says. "We... couldn't find her."
Tarlon leaps to his feet and rushes to Jason's side, trying to get him to lie down again. "Must rest, Jason. Very badly injured, sheer luck you survived at all."
Jattic is sitting beside Jasper on Jasper's bed. "Just give it time, Wolfe." he says, "You've been through a lot. We all have. Rest. We'll bring you up to speed when you're in better shape."
Jason stares at Ilyna for a moment, as if he's not even comprehending what she said, and shakes his head as Tarlon approaches. "No." he says plainly, "Full report. Now." He tries to shake Tarlon off as he starts towards the door.
Jason grabs ahold of the door frame and looks back at Ilyna. "Report." he repeats before stepping out of the room and starting towards the kitchen.
Ilyna gets off the bed and hurries after Jason, her footsteps quite quiet due to her not stopping to put on shoes. "Jason! The doctor knows best."
Garr has had his various wounds cleaned, stitched and bandaged - Halisi has said that he should go to a hospital once they return to Aite, to have the tissue at his deepest wounds repaired. The krogan has also been offered painkillers and various healing assistants.
Jason pauses for a moment just outside of the kitchen, propping himself against the wall to catch his breath. "The doctor can blow it out her ass. What happened?" he asks as he grabs ahold of the doorframe and pulls himself into the kitchen, "I need to know what exactly went down. The last thing I remember is Vasquez-..." he shakes his head and repeats himself, "What happened?"
Garr has manfully declined the painkillers and just grunted noncommittally at Halisi's advice. A real krogan doesn't let himself get pampered like salarian with a tummy ache.
Philip starts mumbling from his place in the bunk next to Damien. He slowly opens his eyes. "Wha-... huh?"
Ilyna stops and looks down for a moment. "When we got back to town, it was... overrun," she says. "We were barely able to convince them to pick up Jattic who was separated from us. And... we had nothing to go on." Sh etakes a deep breath. "I'm... sorry. I wish we could have looked for her."
Tarlon runs after Jason, still trying to drag him back to bed. "Got out, rescued everyone we could, had to leave dead behind, I'm afraid. Tried to find Linda, truly did, but no sign of her. Tried tracking her via her Omni-Tool and everything. No chance. Cannot find her, Jason."
Jason turns to face the pair once he's far enough into the kitchen that he's convinced nobody else will hear him. "She did this." he says weakly, lowering his voice a bit. He glances at his right shoulder. "The last thing I remember was climbing out of that hole. She was waiting at the top, already had a gun on me when I got out. Didn't even have time to react. She took the artifact and-....
shot me." he explains, his voice cracking a bit. "I know it sounds bad. But she wasn't alone. She passed the artifact back to someone. I heard-.... a vehicle. I know Linda. She would never hurt me if there was another way.... She's in danger."
Jasper nods sadly. "Gotta try not to dwell on that, Monroe. Vaden was a good fella. Didn't have much time to know the others, but I know Vaden would be glad the rest of us got out alive."
Ilyna tilts her head. "I...," she says, lowering her voice. "Oh, that's.... The cult leader did mention a betrayal when we tried getting information out of him."
Maybe... artifact? Influences people's minds, yes? Have seen that. Could be that, maybe, yes? Maybe not Linda's fault.
Tarlon scratches his head awkwardly and tries to give Jason his best attempt at an encouraging smile.
Damien shakes his head, turning his head away from the others. "That doesn't change anything. If I didn't-"
Jason nods a bunch of times at Tarlon's suggestion, seemingly willing to grasp on to any explanation he can, "Absolutely. Whatever the reason, it wasn't her choice. I know that." he says. He glances over at Ilyna. "You found Father-... Ma... Whatever the fuck his name was?"
Rather arrogant man, normal for religious extremists, I suppose. Very convinced of ultimate victory for himself, somewhat worrisome. Should find out why. Also hoping to get more information out of children. Unlikely to know any big secrets, but lived at compound and too young to understand about keeping secrets.
If you didn't what? Yer alive, son. You ain't the one that put those people in the ground. Maybe there was more we all could've done. Or maybe we'd all just end up like poor ol' Vaden. Either way, things played out the way they did and ya can't hate yourself for surviving. You certainly paid a big enough price.
Damien simply remains silent for a few moments, mulling over Jasper's words. Eventually, he speaks. "How's Leah?'
Jason shakes his head a couple times and raises his hand, "Wait, wait, wait... He's here? Alive...? Children...?" He reaches up and rubs at his head as a surge of pain causes him to wince.
The children have not spoken since they got on the ship. Most of their time has been spent in the cargo hold.
Jasper gives a shrug. "She's a strong woman. She'll get through this. Haven't had a chance to speak to Halisi 'bout her, though. That woman ain't left the infirmary for less than 'ta use the ladies room. Don't feel right discussin' Leah's condition in fron' a' her, ya know?"
Tarlon nods to both. "Yes. Brought him with us, shall see what he knows. Been hard to keep Briggs from killing him. Children were at compound. Families of cultists, very sad. Suspect parents killed right in front of them by us. No choice, were attacked, but still..." He sniffs thoughtfully. "Sad."
Ilyna puts a hand on Jason's shoulder, the non-injured one. "You should go lie down," she says. "We can talk about it later."
Damien blinks a few times, rolling his head over to look at Jasper. "Condition? What cond- oh," he cuts himself off as he remembers the events of the chamber.
Innkeeper is sitting by the window in the passenger module, looking out into space with a distant expression.
Jason sucks in some air. "Talk about it later!?" he slaps a hand against the counter, "Vasquez is still down there! How the fuck can I just 'lie down'!?" He shrugs Ilyna's hand away and moves over to the sink. He begins furiously jerking open cabinets in search of a glass.
Sounded like she might've broke 'er back... Guessin' whatever it is, it ain't good or else she'd be in here with the rest a' us.
Tarlon very cautiously approaches Jason, laying a hand on his arm. "Jason. Cannot find her. Tried, truly did, knew you would never forgive me if I didn't, but found no way."
Ilyna winces slightly. "We had nothing to go on and we were lucky they didn't leave us all down there to die," she says. "We threatened them to get Jattic back, but we knew exactly where to look for him. Vasquez could be off-world for all we knew. I'm..." she looks away. "Sorry. There was nothing we could do."
Yer talkin' to the wrong guy, I'm 'fraid. Shuttles and APCs? Sure. People? Not my area a' expertise.
Jattic clears his throat. "I'm sure she would enjoy a bit of company..." he says, "May be able to pry Halisi away for a moment and get some answers for yourself as well."
Jason stops his search for the glass and lowers his head. "I know...." he says, "I just-... We have to find her." He raises his head and looks between Tarlon and Ilyna, "You need to promise me. No matter what it takes, you'll help me. Please."
Damien takes this into consideration. He gingerly swings his legs over the side of the bunk, hissing in pain. "For the love of-", he snarls, his hand shooting to his rib.
Jasper puts a hand up. "Maybe you oughtta put that off fer 'nother day. Give yerself a lil' time ta' heal?"
Ilyna nods. "You can count on me," she says, "but there's little we can do before we get back to Aite, and you need to rest if your injuries are to heal."
Jattic rolls his shoulders. "Don't worry about it. She's not going anywhere. Certainly isn't walking anywhere, at any rate."
Jason nods a couple times. "I'll try..." he agrees, "Just need a glass of water. Mouth is dry." He resumes his search for a glass, "I'd like to talk to this cult leader, too. See what he knows."
Tarlon sighs and pulls a glass out of the appropriate cupboard for Jason, filling it with water from a tap and handing it to him. "Will do all that, Jason. But not while on brink of death, please."
Alessa heads down the hallway from the bridge. When she notices Mendez in the cargo bay she picks up her speed.
Ilyna walks out of the kitchen, not minding Alessa and enables her comms. "Halisi, Wolfe and Monroe are awake," she says in a lowered voice, "but not very good at listening."
Jason accepts the glass with a nod and takes a large swig, nearly downing the whole glass in a single gulp. "Thanks..." he says, taking a seat at the kitchen table, "Just... Give me a minute. I'll be fine."
Mendez purposely makes his way into Alessa's path as she nears the cargo hold, toweling himself off as he does. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" he asks, still slightly out of breath from his workout.
Jason waves dismissively, "I know... I'm going to. I just want to finish the rest of my water and have a few minutes to myself. I'll hop right back into bed as soon as I'm done. Promise."
Ilyna glances inside the bunk room for a moment before returning to the kitchen. "She'll be here any minute with sedatives," she says, twisting the doctor's words a little for greater effect. "Unless you listen, of course."
Tarlon nods and pats Jason on the shoulder. "Thank you. Will find her, you'll see. One thing I know about Linda, almost impossible to kill."
I would like to apologize for what I did back there. I hope you see that's not who we are. But I couldn't allow my teammates to be left behind. Couldn't allow that town to be abandoned if there was something we could do to help. I believe you understand... You wouldn't have opened the ramp for us otherwise.
Jason gives a short chuckle at Tarlon, smirking for the first time since waking up, and nods. "I know, I know." he says to Ilyna, "Just gonna finish my water, then it's back to bed for me, okay?"
Tarlon nods and sits down on the table, irritably prodding at the three lines of medi-gel covering the claw marks on his neck.
Ilyna nods, but does not report back to Halisi. She then walks out of the kitchen and heads towards the cargo bay.
Then I did what I had to in order to help others. You put your crew at risk to help us. It could have gotten them all killed, but you did it because you knew it was right. Leaving all those people down there to die was not right. Nobody got hurt. I had no intention of killing anyone. By doing what I did, my teammate is alive. Those people from New Longhai are alive. So allow me to rephrase. I'm not sorry I did it. But I am sorry I
Halisi is standing by the medical bed, monitoring Leah, who is lying in a hospital gown, apparently post-surgery. Father Marchal is lying slumped in a corner of the room, apparently either sedated or knocked out by the doctor.
Steve is currently sitting atop a crate in the cargo bay, looking over a datapad. He gives Ilyna a nod as she approaches, but doesn't say anything. He's out of his armor and in a pair of cargo pants and a tanktop.
Alessa closes her eyes. "Cpt. Kleiner was wrong not to open the ramp... but that doesn't excuse pointing a gun in his face. It-... it wasn't-... you don't do that! He was just trying to keep us safe. Those... those things down there, I-..." She shakes her head and tries to navigate around Mendez, lifting a hand to obscure her face.
Garr is doing presses with one cargo crate in each hand, watching Alessa and Mendez because he has nothing better to do.
Ilyna looks around and then approaches Steve. "Hey," she says. "Do you know how our captive is faring?"
Mendez makes no attempt to block her escape. "He was going to let all those people die. You would rather I did nothing? Your captain is a coward."
Steve glances over the top of his datapad with a shrug. "Hopefully as poorly as possible. Not sure why we haven't spaced him yet."
Damien 's eye twitches as he glares up at the bunk containing the sleeping man, the bags under his eyes indicating he hasn't slept well since coming back on the ship. And the snoring doesn't help.
Ilyna nods. "Wolfe wants to talk with him, but in his state, that will have to wait," she says. "He'll decide what to do with him after that."
Just give him a nudge and ask him ta' head down to see Halisi. Maybe she can give him somethin' to help with it. I got me some nasal strips. Work like a charm.
Seems like a waste of time, if ya ask me. That guy ain't sayin' a whole lot of anything. And what he does say is mindless cult mumbo jumbo.
The children are sitting in a secluded corner of the cargo hold, between some crates. One or two of them are fiddling with some spare parts from one of the crates but the others are just sitting there.
Steve follows Ilyna's gaze and gives a nod. "Uh huh... Them bite-sized cultists creep me the hell out, too. A small order of crazy is still crazy..."
Ilyna nods. "They're children," she says. "I'm sure they'll adjust to life away from the cult." She doesn't wait for a response before she starts to make her way towards them.
Jason silently finishes his glass of water and stands from his seat. He brings the glass over to the sink and sets it down inside. "Sorry for being so difficult, Tarlon." he manages, "Just have a lot on my mind. But I'm glad that you and Ilyna are alright." He rubs at his head and starts towards the door.
Perk of the job... Either die horribly, or live long enough to watch all your friends die horribly, right?
Tarlon chuckles softly. "Do have other friends who do not constantly put their lives in danger. Shocking, I know."
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Uh huh... Of course ya do." he says with a wink as he steps through the doorway.
Tarlon grins and then goes to rummage through the fridge for anything appetizing. Bugs, seaweed, that sort of thing.
Tarlon sighs and picks both, pouring the soup into a bowl and adding the cereal to it, then heating it.
Garr grunts and drops off his crates, irritably scratching his biceps where an injury was only recently healed.
Ilyna returns the eldest child's gaze, head slightly tilted in sympathy. She stops about two meters short of their position. "Hello," she says. "How are you?"
Garr grunts. "Had worse. Don't even have to replace any organs this time. Bit of a sissy run, really."
Garr 's mostly naked body is a testament to all the times he's 'had worse'. There's barely any part of it that isn't scarred.
The eldest child, a human girl, stares at Ilyna. The youngest continue to fiddle with the spare parts.
Damien fidgets uncomfortably in his bunk. "We lost... We lost people. And as you can probably tell, alot of us came out of it badly injured. Or crippled," he says sadly to Philip.
Jason enters the room just in time to catch Monroe's sentence. "It's not over." he says, slowly making his way across the room and back to his bunk, "Linda is still out there. The artifact is still out there. We're not done until both are accounted for."
Damien looks up at Jason. "Look, I'm with you until I lose all my damn limbs, (though I'd prefer it if I didn't) but we don't even know where to start looking."
Ilyna smiles sheepishly and appears thoughtful for a moment. She then looks at the turian. "They... do not understand me?" she says in a turian language understood by most on Palaven, but her pronounciation is terrible, even for a non-turian.
Jason gives Philip a nod. "For now." he says, both a response to Philip and Monroe, "I'll have a talk with the cult leader. See what he knows. Once we get back to Aite, I'll begin scrounging up whatever I can to begin work on putting us back together. We're not even close to done."
Damien groans, rubbing his temple with his single remaining hand. "Please, for the love of God, let there be no more husks," he pleads.
Jason leans over his footlocker and opens it up, looking to see if his gear was placed back inside. "You can bet your ass there will be. Whoever has Linda wanted that artifact for a reason."
Jason lifts his Phalanx from the locker and looks it over. He reaches down and scoops up a thermal clip as well. "I-.... don't know." he says as he slides the thermal clip into his sidearm, "I reached the top of the shaft. Someone was up there with Linda. They took the artifact. I was shot. Next thing I remember is waking up in this bunk."
I ain't one for organized fightin', mate. I'm the one the merc bands call when they haven't got the quad to make it on their own.
Jason shakes his head. "Nobody seems to want to fill in the rest of the gaps for me." he says as he sets his Phalanx on his bed and begins to climb into it.
Mendez nods. "I suppose that's one way to go about things. But it never hurts to have people at your back that you can trust."
Garr sits down on one of the crates and slaps his knee. "You ain't been around as long as I have, human. No such thing as trust in this business."
Jason settles into his bed, propping himself up against the wall in a seated position. "What happened after I went down, Monroe? All Ilyna has said is that the town was overrun. How did it happen?"
Ilyna sits down on the crate, and returns to speaking in her own language. "I am sorry for what you've been through," she says. "I'll do my best to answer all questions you have. I... want to help you."
None of the children seem particularly inclined to talk to Ilyna, but eventually the oldest asks: "What will happen?"
Seems a bit cynical. Perhaps the safest course of action. Probably not the most fulfilling. These people... Redrock... They seem like good people. Maybe you're right. Maybe it will come back to bite me in the ass. But what the hell, who wants to live forever? Right?
Damien awkwardly turns himself onto his side, wincing as his rib protests. "From what I can remember, we were driving back and then... Those things swarmed us. Forced us to stop near the town."
Innkeeper slams his fist into the table. "You unleashed those things on us. They came because of what you did."
Mendez leans back on his makeshift seat. "Roughly. Suppose a longer timespan may shift the perspective a bit. But from what I've seen and heard, you have a history with these people. Why not remain with them? Less chance of being stabbed in the back, right?"
Jattic snarls at the man. "Watch your words. You're only alive because of these people you're so quick to scorn."
Mendez gives a slight smirk and a shake of his head. "Don't believe it would end well for them. But it sure can ruin a good day."
Ilyna is quiet for a few moments. "We will arrive on Aite in four days," she estimates, "there we'll take care of you until we can get help from council space authorities."
Jason furrows his brow as he looks over the man. "I remember you. From the inn, right? Look, those psychopaths have released those creatures on countless numbers of people. I am truly sorry for what happened to you and your people. But it was only a matter of time. What we did may have saved thousands of lives. It needed to happen."
Innkeeper stands up at Jason's word, knocking his chair to the ground as he turns around in a fury. "NEEDED TO HAPPEN?! MY WIFE WAS DOWN THERE! MY BROTHER!"
Jattic stands up and places himself between the innkeeper and Jason, but remains calm for the time being.
Jason reaches up and rubs at his forehead. "I-... didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry for everything you've lost, but your anger is aimed at the wrong people, man. You need to be angry at the ones responsible for this. I've seen their work first-hand on multiple occasions. An entire ship lost with only a handful of survivors. A hundred and twenty-four dead at a mining colony. Numerous
other reports all over the galaxy of similar attacks. We didn't unleash those creatures on you. We were there to stop them."
Mendez sighs and shakes his head. "Whatever works for you, Garr. Should you change your mind, however, I'm sure Jason would welcome you aboard with open arms."
Innkeeper glares at Jason and Jattic. "Those freaks had been out there in the woods for decades! And when you show up, this happens! Our town torn apart! My-... my family!" He aims a punch at the batarian.
Jattic takes the punch, causing his head to snap to the side. With a sneer, he reaches out and grabs the man by the throat, pushing him backwards. "We suffered losses as well! I nearly died fighting at your side! We are not to blame!"
Jason inches forward, but suddenly remembers his injuries and realizes he'll most likely be unable to do much without further hurting himself. "Calm down! Both of you! Nobody wanted that to happen! Least of all us! It's the exact thing we were trying to prevent! We failed. We fucked up. People got hurt because of it. What do you want me to say? What do you want me to do? I can't undo what
Innkeeper doesn't seem to be paying much attention to Jason due to being grabbed by the throat. He struggles to break free, tears streaming down the man's face, his expression shifting back and forth between anger and sorrow.
Jattic releases his grip on the man once Jasper gets involved and gives him a little shove to create some distance between himself and the innkeeper.
Innkeeper seems rather deflated, sliding down against the wall until he is seated on the floor, still in tears.
The man responsible for all this has been stopped. And we're going to find that fucking artifact so it doesn't happen to anyone else. I give you my word.
Damien reaches under his pillow and pulls out a small canteen. After he unscrews the top, he takes a quick swig from it, grimacing as the liquid burns his throat. He puts the lid back on. "Jattic. Do me a favour and drop this off in the infirmary, please?" He asks.
Jattic shrugs Jasper off and stomps over towards the man. He crouches beside him. "For most of my life, I've acted as if life was cheap. Disposable. Just another form of currency. It's a shame I struggle with every day, human. Something I can never truly outrun. I'm doing my best to atone. I swear to you, if there was anything I could have done to rescue more of your people, I would have." He stares at the man for a moment longer