#Miner'sRespite – May 5, 2015

Mendez steps into the Respite in a pair of fatigues and a long sleeved tight grey shirt. He pays no mind to the other patrons as he makes his way up towards the bar and plops down on a stool, resting his forearms against the counter.

Renala descends the stairs from the second floor, most likely to get breakfast despite it being early afternoon. She's wearing her usual. The asari is approaching the bar when she spots Mendez, and makes her way over to him. "Good morning," she says and takes the seat beside him. "How's it going?"

Mendez rustles a hand through his hair, sending some water spraying about. "Hey princess." he says, giving the asari a quick glance, "Pouring outside. Thought I'd get out of the rain for a few and maybe grab a drink. What about you? Been keeping yourself busy?"

Renala nods. "Still getting used to working night shifts," she says, "but whatever keeps the paychecks coming with the least amount of bullets is worth getting used to."

Mendez gives a stern nod. "Count yourself lucky that you didn't come with us. Hazard pay is nice, but had I known it would be that bad, I would've handed Wolfe my resignation..."

Renala sighs, and looks ahead. "It... took me a long time before I could sleep with lights off after Ogofau," she says. "And I told Jason this was not our battle. More than once."

Mendez shrugs his shoulders as he watches the bartender. "Our battles are wherever we're paid to go. We took on that curse when we decided to fight for credits. I understand that. I accept it. But knowing that something like that exists out there... It doesn't make things any easier."

Renala nods. "And he has T'Rea helping him run this business," she says. "I'm not convinced that's a good thing, since she's old friends of the Chief and Wolfe too."

Mendez cocks an eyebrow at the asari. "And what do you mean by that? What happened on that job was unforgettable, but I don't blame them for it. I'm not paid to blame them. Earning a paycheck by killing-... or dying for someone else's personal matters is what the job is all about. Whether it's the personal matters of a client or my own boss changes nothing so long as the credits find

Renala snorts. "I thought you believed it wasn't a lost cause?" she says with a tilted head. "I don't believe that it is, but I'm not going to shut up when he needs a reality check."

Mendez almost cracks a smile as he glances over at Renala. "Assuming they don't ask me to fight any more mechanical cult freaks any time soon."

Mendez rotates atop his stool to better face the asari. "Wolfe may not be the brightest bulb, but he's not an idiot. He knows this. He's just grieving. Losing someone is a tough process. Let him follow his leads. Feel like he's 'doing something' about it. But you were on Ogofau. If it was half as bad as what I saw back on that planet, then you know as well as I do that she's dead."

Renala raises an eyebrow, then sighs. "You're probably right," she says. "Ogofau was pretty bad, and something twice that is definitely not anyone can survive on her own."

Renala looks a bit unsure. "I've spoken with T'Rea when I was in the hospital," she says. "And seven years ago at some family get-together. She's been with the military almost all her life. She's not a businesswoman."

Mendez takes a deep breath as he studies the asari's face. "You seem like you're not too comfortable with our position right now. What's keeping you around? Plenty of other merc operations would love to pick up somebody as familiar with tech as you are." he asks, not giving her much of a window to respond to his previous question.

Renala shrugs. "It's a peaceful town, relatively speaking," she says. "And I'd hate to give it all up to chance it with another merc group when my friends are all here."

Mendez reaches out and gives Renala a heavy pat on the back. Perhaps a little harder than intended. "Then stop worrying so much. Redrock will pull through. But only if we keep it together. We can't start coming apart at the seams over a little financial trouble."

Renala did not expect that and barely avoids hitting the edge of the barcounter. "Easy," she says as she sits back up. "I'll do what I need to keep it together, and that involves speaking my mind when the boss has a stupid idea."

Mendez sighs and nods at the mention of Vaden. "But the exact same thing could have happened regardless of the job we accepted. You know that. The difference between a 'good idea' and a 'stupid idea' isn't always about how successful it is. Sometimes things just go sideways. Vaden was a good guy. But he also knew the risks when he signed up with Redrock. I trust-... trusted the Chief.

Renala sighs. "I trust Wolfe more than any other merc employer on this rock," she says. "I trust that he listens to those on his payroll, and I'm counting on that he will once he realizes the cost of grasping more than we can handle."

Aylena steps back from her terminal and walks over to Mendez and Renala. "Sorry about the wait," she says. "Can I get you something?"

Mendez snorts and shakes his head at Renala. "She's probably got her hands full right now. We managed to save a bunch of kids from the cult. She's taking care of them while figuring out what to do with them." he says as Aylena approaches. He glances over at the bartender with a nod. "Just a soda."

Renala chuckles. "Sounds like her," she says. "Any idea where she's staying?" She then looks at the barkeep. "No, thank you.."

Aylena nods. "Any preferences?"

Renala nods. "I'll write him a message when I'm at work, then," she says. "There's not a whole lot else to do there, anyway."

Renala shrugs. "I'm not complaining," she says. "I don't think anyone in this town want to ruin what's keeping their lights on."

Aylena returns with a bottle of coke, or more of an Aitian-produced soda that's close enough. She places it on the counter, but doesn't interrupt their conversation.

Mendez gives Aylena a nod. "Appreciated."

Renala smiles slightly. "That was actually what I had in mind when joining up with the agency," she says, "and maybe I'll get to leave the action to the younger bunch now that we have Monroe to help with the tech."

Mendez grimaces at the mention of Monroe. "He won't be doing a whole lot for a while. Not sure what you've heard, but he was hit pretty hard back there. Between him, Wolfe, and Leah, there isn't a whole lot of working limbs left."

Renala brings up a hand to her forehead. "Fuck," she says. "You, Victoria and Steve seems to be doing alright, and I'm guessing Jattic is too. Who else do we have that's able to pull their wieght?"

Mendez furrows his brow and takes a sip of his drink as he attempts to recall their names. "Sioria...? Was a turian. Anf a drell by the name of Athorus. Haven't heard much about either of them since we got back, though."

Renala nods. "I haven't heard about the drell before," she says, "but someone who came by every day when you all were gone mentioned the turian."

Mendez gives a nod and begins to say something, but his omni-tool starts to beep causing him to take a few moments to dig it out of his pocket and study the interface. With a sigh, he returns it to his pants pocket and slides a credit chit across the counter. "Sorry, princess. Gotta handle this." he says before slamming back the rest of his drink, "Stay out of trouble and remember what

Mendez slides off the barstool and passes a wave towards Aylena to inform her of his departure before continuing to the exit and disappearing back into the rain outside.