#Susanna – April 8, 2015

Damien sits at one of the consoles to the bridge, though he doesn't seem to be playing attention to the readouts. In fact, he has rum bottle in hand, though it appears he hasn't touched its contents.

Jason is seated in the kitchen with a bowl of untouched food in front of him. He's staring distantly at a glass of water, and has been for a number of minutes.

Ilyna has been helping out however she can, too, keeping herself busy when there's no extranet connection available to write home with. She has been trying every now and again to talk with the children.

Jason didn't even seem to notice that Ilyna had entered until she spoke. He winces upon hearing her and straightens up in his seat. "Huh?" he mutters, looking in her direction, "Oh, fine... Just-.... trying to proccess everything, you know?"

Jasper is seated at one of the other consoles near Damien, looking over it. "Ain't there some sorta rule against drinkin' on the bridge?" he asks, giving Damien a sidelong smirk, "Look like you got a lot on 'yer mind, kid."

Jattic is laying in his bed. Asleep from the look of it.

Philip is in the crew quarters, attempting to entertain the kids without much success.

Leah is seated on her bed in the passenger's module, happy to finally be away from the infirmary. She's looking over a datapad quietly.

Damien casts a look to Jasper, forcing a small smile. "Just thinking about what to do next... When we get back to Aite," he admits.

Jasper sighs and gives a shrug, but his eyes remain on the console. "Same thing ya been doin'. Ain't nothin' changed, right? Get that arm fixed up an' keep on workin'."

Damien laughs humorlessly. "Woking? There's barely any of us left, we have no home and money and our damn leader is gone, probably dead," he says with a sad shake of his head. "Who's going to want to hire us?"

Jason nods. "I'm going to take out a loan. See if I can get in touch with a few information brokers and see what they can do for me. People always talk, there has to be something floating around out there, right? Even if it's just the name of a ship on record heading out towards Di Yu. There's gotta be something to follow up on."

Alessa walks out into the corridor, walking up towards the bridge but staying behind all the seats, looking in at it with a distant look on her face. She remains quiet, perhaps unnoticed by the people on the bridge.

Jasper tilts his head to the side and glances over at Damien. "Vasquez was a good woman. I ain't ever met a tougher sum'bitch in my life. But we all saw what that planet was like when we left. Jason's gon' need some time to get through it all, an' it ain't my place to say it but-... Well, think it's prolly safe to say she ain't among the livin' no more." he sighs, looking a bit saddened by the idea. "But Redrock ain't jus' one

Halisi enters the kitchen, but stops in the doorway when she notices Ilyna and Jason talking.

Jason smirks and takes a sip of his water. "I'm not too fond of it either, to be honest. But she's out there. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to bring her home."

Damien looks over at Jasper. "I'm sure you will. But without some fresh recruits and an assload of money, we're getting nowhere," he says. "A damn Omega street gang could probably wipe us out in our current condition."

Ilyna does not notice Halisi since her attention is split between getting food and talking to Jason. "Do you know how the agency is faring, then?" she says. "What contracts do we still have back on Aite, other than Miner's Respite?"

Jasper continues going about whatever it is he's doing with the console as he speaks. "So then fresh recruits an' 'assloads of money' is what we'll get. I know it's hard to stay positive after what we went through..." he says, turning to face Damien, "But we're alright, kid. We're alive. And if we're alive, then that means we can still rebuild. I can't speak 'fer you, but I know it's gon' take more than a few setbacks to stamp me

Damien wiggles his stump angrily. "I think people dying and three of us being crippled is a tad more than a 'setback', Jasper," he growls.

Halisi continues into the room after a moment, going up to the fridge and grabbing a bowl of fruit salad from the now-dead colony. She looks at the food thoughtfully for a moment before joining Jason by the table.

Jason shakes his head, barely paying any mind to Halisi as he stares at his food. "Not much to go on. The Respite barely pays enough to even be worth the manpower we devote to it. More of a personal investment. We pull security for Hnipinn. Brings in a little money, but mostly because we hardly invest anything into it. The dam is pretty much the same. They pay alright, but it mostly just

Halisi prods her food and then looks between Jason and Ilyna. "Discussing the future of the Agency?"

Jasper studies Damien's stump for a moment and sighs. "I ain't downplayin' any of this. It was horrible. We lost good folks back there. But there's nothin' we can do about any of that now. Givin' up ain't gon' bring 'em back. Ain't gon' put a hand back on the end of that arm of 'yers either. We keep goin'. S'all we can do."

Damien finally decides to take a swig from the bottle. "But if we're going to get anywhere, we need to broaden our jobs. If Jason just let me talk to my Blue Suns contact...'.

Alessa sighs and turns around, leaving the bridge without making her presence known. She heads down the corridor towards the cargo hold.

Jasper raises an eyebrow, "Well, maybe... But we could all use a hand right about now." he says with a smirk, seemingly pleased with his own play-on-words. He gives a shrug at Damien's suggestion. "The Blue Suns ain't the type a' folks ya take lightly. Don't think that's the type of operation the Chief an' Jason were lookin' to run."

Mendez is in the cargo hold, per usual. He's seated atop a crate in the corner of the room with his head pressed against the wall, staring across the cargo hold at nothing in particular. His gear is all layed out on a nearby crate. Seems as though he finally found the few moments of peace and quiet required to clean his gear up.

Ilyna nods, and moves over to take a seat around the table with food and a glass of water. "We are," she says before looking at Jason. "I can assist with the paperwork if you'd like... and negotiations, but I might have to learn a thing or two first."

Alessa stops when she notices Mendez, shooting him a look as if to say 'See what happened?'.

Jason gives a nod at Halisi. "Yeah well, that makes two of us, Ilyna. Linda took care of most of that. I did what I could but-... really wasn't my thing." he sighs.

Mendez scowls at Alessa. "Say what you need to say or keep your dirty looks to yourself and keep on walking."

Halisi impales a piece of fruit and eats it after a moments hesitation. She looks at Jason. "There's something you need to know. About Vasquez."

Jason furrows his brow as he studies Halisi, but he remains quiet as he waits for her to elaborate.

Ilyna is about to respond, but remains quiet once the doctor speaks up.

Alessa shifts her position slightly. "He's dead. They're both dead. Because of what you brought onboard. Because of what I let you bring onboard."

Alessa shakes her head and continues towards engineering. "They'd still be alive if you hadn't come onboard... that's a fact."

Jasper sighs loudly. "Don't take it personally. We all make mistakes. Bad choices. I ain't here to judge you 'fer 'yer past. But you can't honestly be defendin' an organization like that. You know what they stand 'fer. Let's not pretend they're anything other than what they are."

Damien abruptly stands up. "Fuck off," he snaps and walks out of the bridge towards... Somewhere.

Jason glances at Ilyna, studying her for a few moments before lowering his gaze to the table. "I don't know, Halisi. I know she wasn't alone up there. I know she could've killed me but she didn't. She shot me and took the artifact. That's the last thing I remember before waking up onboard the ship." he sighs, sounding as if he feels he may be betraying Vasquez by divulging so much.

Jasper looks a bit caught off guard by Damien's outburst. He stands from his seat and watches Monroe walk away. "C'mon now, you know I ain't tryin' to lump you in with 'em. But ya can't lie to 'yerself and think they're somethin' that they ain't!" he calls out.

Ilyna looks at Jason while he talks. "I heard a vehicle drive off, but... I was too concerned for Jason to pursue anything else," she says, looking a tad embarrased, "and come to think of it, there was a ship flying above us not too long after."

Mendez watches Alessa head down the corridor. "Don't be ignorant. There's plenty of scenarios that could've played out. Unless you believe I can somehow see the future, then I don't know how you can possibly hold me accountable." he scoffs.

Damien trudges down the corridor, clutching the almost empty bottle angrily.

Halisi seems to consider this information for a moment. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have disregarded it as a scanner anomaly. I just-... it seemed so unlikely. Why would someone mess with her implant?"

Jasper sighs loudly as he retakes his seat. He passes Vicky a glance and a shrug. "He jus' needs a lil time to work through all a' this. He'll be fine." he explains before returning his attention to the console.

Jason slides his bowl aside, seeming to have lost his appetite. "Where did it come from? The implant? You said it was a donation, right?"

Halisi nods. "Yes... Bozeman Cybernetics. You don't think they have something to do with it, do you?"

Damien stops somewhere between the passenger module and the cargo hold. He slides down the wall and sits there, finishing off the rest of his bottle. He places it to the side and stares at it, trailing off into his thoughts.

Ilyna looks at Jason, but doesn't have anything to add to this herself.

Steve exits the showers dressed in a black t-shirt and cargo pants. His hair is pretty wet. He starts towards the passenger's module as he notices Damien on the ground. "Looks like you've seen better days."

Damien glowers at Steve. "I'm not in the mood, Briggs."

Halisi lets out a sigh, poking her food again. "The second. They were donating to help serious cases all over the galaxy- or, they said... damn it..."

Steve crouches down beside Damien and begins to tie the laces in his boots. "Yeah... I can see that. So which one of these morons shit in your cereal?"

Jason glances over at Ilyna. "Think we've got our first door to kick down."

Steve sighs as he begins working on the other boot. "Suppose I don't." he says with a shrug, "But we still got a bit of time to kill. So it's either this, or I back in there and sit with the cannon fodder." he nods towards the passenger's module.

Ilyna looks at Halisi. "Do you know anything about them?"

Damien shrugs. "Fine, whatever. Jasper's being an ass and I'm not in the mood for any shit about my time with the Suns."

Steve gives a bit of a chuckle. "The Suns, eh? A real honest-to-goodness killer." he says as he puts his back to the wall and plops down beside Monroe, "Don't let 'em bring you down. They're a bunch of kids out here playing at bein' real mercs. They're gonna get themselves killed and, if you ain't careful, they'll bring you with 'em. Amazes me that Jason has lasted this long. Ya gotta be a

Damien chuckles. "Ain't that the truth. I ran with the Suns for years and the worst I got was a few broken bones and scars. With Redrock...". He gestures at his stump. "Well."

Ilyna frowns, and looks a bit thoughtful, and is about to speak when Jason takes the words out of her mouth.

Steve gives a nod, "Can't have it both ways. Tryin' to do the 'right' thing and tryin' to rake in the credits. Eventually it's gonna bite 'em in the ass." He glances down the corridor with a chuckle, "Well, moreso than it already has. Just hope I ain't around when it all finally comes crashing down."

Damien snorts. "Well at least you're reliable," he jokes. "Though I don't blame you. I'm only here until things cool down back home."

Jason looks over at Ilyna. "What do you think?" he asks, "Sound like a lead worth checking into?"

Steve snorts, "Reliable? I do what I'm paid to do. I ain't here to make friends with any of these knuckleheads. I'm here to get paid and come back home in one piece. I'm not sticking my neck out on the line for someone else, and I'm not gonna pretend otherwise. How much more reliable can you get? You can rely on me to watch my own ass."

Damien laughs and grabs the empty bottle, raising it in salute. "Spoken like a true merc and badass," he says, placing the bottle back down.

Jason sighs loudly. "What about this 'representative'? You have a name, Halisi? Any video footage? Does the hospital even have security cameras?"

Damien snorts. "She's probably dead," he says.

Ilyna nods. "That sounds like a plan," she says. "Let's hope the trail doesn't get cold by the time we get the information we need."

Jason takes another sip of his water and slides the glass aside. "Well, lets start with this. Get that footage for us. We've got a few directions to go in, here. The Bozeman Cybernetics connection as well as the fact that Di Yu isn't exactly a prime tourist hotspot. An information broker may be able to get us information on any ships passing into range of the nearest comms bouy over the past

Steve gives a nod. "Make sure you really lean on Jason about getting that fixed-..." he says, gesturing towards Damien's stump, "The salarian lost a hand during a trip and they replaced it. Don't let them stiff you."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Cybernetic? Goin' old-school? After what we been through, I'd be demanding the real thing if I was in your position. But it's your body."

Damien shrugs. "I prefer it. It'll be superior to my old arm, at least," he admits.

Damien snorts a laugh. "That'll be hilarious."

Jason shakes his head slowly. "Not really. I can do a little asking around, though. Not really my thing. And after our last 'incident'... Well, lets just say I'm a bit wary of information brokers..." he sighs.

Steve shakes his head, still chuckling a bit, "Well you keep tellin' yourself that when you rip the thing off." he says, "But, yeah... Get that handled. Can't exactly work with one arm, right? And you're gonna need as much of an edge as you can get if you're stickin' with these jokers."

Halisi continues to eat from the fruit salad while listening to Jason and Ilyna.

Ilyna hasn't started eating yet.

Steve glances down the corridor, checking to make sure nobody is within earshot. "Well, I'll tell ya what. I may have a few opportunities presenting themselves soon. If you're looking to make some real credits, you just give me a heads up and I'll see if I can bring you in on it." he says, lowering his voice a bit.

Damien narrows his eyes slightly, lowering his voice also. "What kind of opportunities?" He asks carefully.

Ilyna nods. "I'm not in any hurry to see an information broker," she says, allowing a slight chuckle.

Halisi gets up from her seat after finishing with the salad. "Jason, I-... I'm sorry. For not doing something... before. For not realizing."

Steve furrows his brow and stares across at the opposite wall. "Aquisition work..." he says, choosing his words carefully, "Nothin' may even come of it, but if so... Could be a pretty big payoff. You interested?"

Jason chews his lower lip for a moment before shaking his head. "You couldn't have known something like this would happen, Halisi. Even if you would've told me about the strange readings, it wouldn't have changed anything. She seemed.... fine. Hell, she seemed better than fine." he sighs, "I should've noticed something was up with her..."

Damien remains silent for a few moments, before nodding. "Once I got an arm, yeah, I'm interested," he says.

Steve gives one more glance down the hall. "Then we'll talk more once you've got an arm." he says with a wink, "For now, keep it to yourself."

Damien gives him a thumbs up. "Aye, aye, not a peep."

Halisi sighs faintly. "I'll fix this. We'll find a way. Figure out what happened. Where she is." She nods at Ilyna and then starts moving towards the exit.

Steve pats Damien on the shoulder as he begins to stand back up. "Alright then. Good talk." he says, "I'm gonna see about getting me some shut eye."

Steve slaps a hand against the corridor wall and drags it across as he heads back towards the passenger's module and disappears inside. He takes a seat on his bed without a word to the rest of the team.

Ilyna returns the nod, but keeps quiet.

Halisi halts to look over her shoulder and nod. "Absolutely." She leaves the kitchen and heads down the corridor, shooting a glance at Damien and Steve.

Damien looks up at the doc, but doesn't say anything as he sits there, bottle by his side.

Ilyna looks down on her food and takes a bite of it, following up with a sip of her glass of water. "So, Jason," she begins, trying to change the subject a little. "Have you heard anything from back home? Aite, I mean."

Jason gives a nod. "Got a message from Renala. Was sent almost a week ago, though. I'm just.... not in the mood to respond." he sighs, "What would I even say, ya know? 'Hey Renala, how are things going? We're doing awful. Everyone is dead or dying and the Agency is flat broke. How's the weather on Aite?' ?"

Ilyna frowns. "Appearantly, she didn't know our mission was an... eleven-day trip," she says. "And people go to her for news on us. Or so my sister said, at least."

Jason reaches up and rubs at his forehead as he lets out a deep breath. "I don't even know how to deal with all the fallout from this. Feel like I'm in over my head and struggling to stay afloat-..." he glances down at his shoulder, "...with one arm. How do I explain all this away without the rest of the team losing faith in my ability to safely lead them?"

Halisi heads on down the corridor, passing through the cargo hold and on towards the infirmary. She stops briefly to ask Mendez: "How are the stitches?"

Mendez glances down at his chest. "Seem to be holding up. Doing my best to keep from ripping them. How long until that's no longer an issue?"

Damien pushes himself up, rubbing his forehead. "Think I drank too much..." He mutters to himself as he heads towards the passenger module. He moves towards his bunk, dropping onto it with a sigh.

Mendez waves the doctor off. "I'll be fine. So long as we don't run into any more hiccups along the way." He glances around the cargo hold, "Seems like we're a magnet for trouble..."

Ilyna thinks for a moment. "Then we'll find new recruits," she says, "And know who we can truly count on."

Halisi continues on down the corridor with a sigh. "You don't have to tell me..."

Damien activates his omni-tool as he lays down on his bed, reading whatever has sprung up on his display.

Jason nods slowly as he stares at his full bowl of food sitting off to the side and seems to consider eating it once more. "We've just got such a deep hole to dig our way out of, Ilyna..." he sighs, "...Glad you're here to help, though. I don't know how I'd do this on my own."

Jason gives a short chuckle. "Well, stick around... At this point I think it's just about guaranteed that we'll have another chance at putting that theory to the test..."

Ilyna nods. "I'm expecting more than one," she says, "but I would be happy if I was wrong." She takes another bite of the food and sip of water.

Damien sneezes and continues reading.

Ilyna frowns. "Me too," she says. "Let's hope our lead goes anywhere."

Jason nods a couple times and glances down at his shoulder. "Need to take care of this, too..." he sighs, "Feels so.... different. A piece of me is just... gone."

Damien powers down his omni-tool and stares up at the other bunk.

Damien looks at Leah with an even look. "I can't feel it..." He deadpans.

Ilyna glances at the stump. "I... don't know how that feels," she says. "Can the hosptial in Freedom Falls replace it for you?"

Leah 's face contorts from a confused look into a grin. "Well, at least it isn't actually there, right? I can't feel these..." she grabs her thigh and lifts it off the bed with a grunt before allowing it to fall limply back down, "...and I still have to drag them around!"

Jason shrugs, turning a bit red. "I know it's stupid... But it won't be my arm, ya know?"

Damien smiles faintly. "At least you won't need replacements," he says, gesturing to her legs. "You'll be able to dance again before you know it!" He chuckles lightly.

Leah 's grin fades away a bit. "Glad you're confident of it... Halisi doesn't seem as sure. She's being pretty vague, but I'm getting the impression that it's pretty bad..."

Ilyna tilts her head. "Wouldn't it be close enough?" she says. "Or identical. I don't really know much of anything about biology."

Jason waves his hand, smirking a bit at the absurdity of it. "More important things to worry about. It's just... weird."

Damien says firmly. "You'll be brand new".

Jattic 's eyes snap open. "Perhaps they can fix your mouth as well. Maybe install one that doesn't yammer on while others are trying to sleep."

Damien rolls his eyes. "Not my fault you're a light sleeper," he says coolly.

Ilyna nods. "I think I understand," she says. "We can't really do much about the more important things until we're back, though." She takes another bite from her food.

Leah nods a couple times. "Maybe, Jattic." she says, noticably raising her voice, "Shame we won't know until we get back home, right?"

Jattic groans loudly and rolls over on his side, pulling his pillow over his head.

Damien grins at Leah, giving her a wink. "Now, now, no need to be mean."