#Miner'sRespite – August 22, 2015

Jason enters the Respite with his hand in his pocket. He's not paying much attention to his surroundings, merely staring down towards the ground as he moseys along.

Va'ynna is standing behind the counter, not having much to do now that she stopped trying to call Aylena every other minute.

Damien wanders down the stairs, his eyes red rimmed with yet another failed attempt at sleep. Nigh on oblivious to all but the bar, he walks on over and perches himself on a stool, resting his elbows against the counter.

Va'ynna walks over to where Damien is, looking at him with a tilted head. "Are you alright?" she asks.

Damien blinks and looks at Va'ynna, lightly shrugging. "Do I look alright?" He asks rather tersely. "Do you do coffee? I'd like a coffee." He rests his head against his closed fist and sighs.

Va'ynna nods and walks a bit down the bar. She takes the mug off the coffee maker and pours a cup of it. She puts the mug back before walking over to Damien and putting the cup on the counter before him.

Jason slowly makes his way towards the staircase. He gives a quick glance towards the bar and stops in place once he spots Va'ynna. As he approaches, he catches sight of Damien as well and plops down on the seat beside him. "Well... Looks like you beat me to the punch." he says with a smirk, nodding at the man's new arm. He gives a loud, disappointed sigh at his own horrible joke.

Damien nods to Va'ynna and slides a credit chit to her. As Jason speaks, he turns his head to him, a rather deadpan look on his face. "Boss."

Va'ynna takes the credit ciht and charges the cost of the coffee before handing it back. "Hey," she says to Jason. "How... are you?"

Damien takes the chit, pockets it and lifts his coffee cup, blowing on the steaming liquid before taking an appreciative sip.

Jason 's smirk quickly fades away. "Monroe." he responds with a nod. "Glad you were able to get that taken care of so quickly..." he says. He gives Va'ynna a quick wave. "Doing alright. Just joined an arm wrestling league. How about you?"

Damien grunts in response.

Va'ynna raises an eyebrow, not quite getting it, but she decides not to press the matter. "I'm tired," she says, "but... D'Inea is sending someone to... step in for her."

Jason tilts his head to the side, not particularly up to speed on the whole situation. "Sending...? So she's alright?" he asks, letting out a breath, "Well that's good to know."

Damien listens quietly, just sipping the caffeine goodness.

Va'ynna ponders it for a moment. "I... wasn't told much," she says. "Briggs and... T'Iavay know more about it."

Jason gives a nod and lowers his gaze to the counter as he thinks for a moment. "I'll touch base with him and see what he knows." he says. After a moment, he glances past Va'ynna towards the door behind her. "Kitchen still closed...?" he asks, looking a bit hopeful.

Va'ynna nods. "I... can't have it open without someone else to... manage."

Damien chuckles. "Bad luck there."

Jason scrunches up his nose and drums his fingertips against the counter. "Well, shit..." he says. "Ah well, figured I'd try." He sighs and stands from his barstool. He places his remaining hand on Damien's shoulder and gives it a pat, "Redrock will be covering that medical bill of yours." he assures, "Obviously." He glances back up at Va'ynna once more with a nod, "I'll catch up with

Va'ynna smiles at the joke. "I'll see you," she says.

Jason glances back at the pair before heading up towards his room.

Damien gives a half-arsed wave at Jason, not taking his eyes from his drink.

Jason lowers his head, his smirk instantly disappearing once out of view of the others. He continues down the hall until he reaches the room and pokes at the interface, causing the doors to slide open. He steps inside with a sigh.

Va'ynna looks after Jason leaving, then looks at Damien. "What is... the matter?" she asks. "If you don't mind me asking," she quickly adds.

Jason immediately unholsters his Phalanx pistol, albeit sloppily with his left hand, and trains it on the woman. He looks her over once and sidesteps just inside the room, keeping his back against the wall, "Hello." he says plainly, although the expression on his face, and the weapon pointed at her, are clearly asking 'who the fuck are you and why are you in my room!?'

Damien looks up at Va'ynna, blinking back the sleep in his eyes. "I haven't slept for..." He pauses and tries to rack his sleep addled brain. "Three weeks? A month?"

Va'ynna frowns, tilting her head sympathetically. "That's... terrible," she says. "Have you... talked to a doctor about it?"

Damien shakes his head, tapping the coffee cup with a faint smile. "No, I decided to self certify. This is my morning medication." He reaches behind him and taps his canteen. "And that's my evening medication."

Jason nods slowly, but his arm stays raised with the weapon pointed towards the woman. "Viper." he says with a snort, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that's not your real name."

Va'ynna raises an eyebrow. "But... you're fighting," she says. "You should probably have... real medication."

Viper tilts her head a bit. "Real, not real, who decides, right?" She says with a casual shrug. "Anyway... you're expecting some information, aren't you?" (Tyranniac)

Damien sighs explosively and takes another drink from the cup. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he says as he places the cup back down. "I'm just tired of doctors and hospitals is all...".

Jason furrows his brow, but seems to ease up when Viper mentions the information. He lowers the weapon and tucks it back into the shoulder holster. "I am..."

Va'ynna considers it for a moment. "Halisi... sometimes come here," she says. "I... could tell her to... go see you at your room if you'd like."

Viper nods. "Well, lucky you then. I'm here to provide." (Tyranniac)

Damien rubs the bridge of his nose. "I suppose so..." He says reluctantly. "Okay, send her my way when she next pops in."

Jason leans against the wall, maintaining his distance from the sickly woman. "Lucky me..." he repeats with a whistle. "So?" he asks with a nod towards the woman, "What've you got for me?"

Viper grins widely at Jason's poor attempts at hiding his discomfort - a little bit wider than she should be able to. "The woman you're looking for, she's in the Barn." (Tyranniac)

Va'ynna smiles slightly. "Okay, I'll... remember to do that," she says. "Is there anything else... I can get for you?"

Damien pauses for a moment. "You're close to Jason, aren't you?" He asks slowly. "Do you know what his plans are? For Redrock?"

Jason gives a nod. "Of course." he says, as if he actually understands what she's talking about, "The Barn." he repeats. After a moment he sighs, "And what the fuck is the Barn? WHERE is the Barn? Why is she there?"

Va'ynna glances at the staircase. "Yeah, we're... good friends," she says, "but... doesn't he keep you up to date?"

Damien shrugs. "I wouldn't have asked if I was. Besides, that's the first time I've talked to him since we got back. Fucker didn't even bring flowers to my hospital bed." He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck.

Va'ynna can't help but smirk a bit. "Oh...," she says. "You should go... ask him about it."

Damien arches an eyebrow, downing the last of his coffee before it's really cooled down. After a moment of gritting his teeth and his cheeks burning crimson, he nods. "That... Might be an idea. Do you think I should go now?"

Va'ynna nods. "You... could knocks on his door.. and ask if he's busy," she says.

Damien raps a knuckle against his head. "So obvious. Why didn't I think of that?" He chuckles, rubbing his eyes. "Where's his room?"

Va'ynna frowns, and looks at her terminal, thinking about it for a moment. "Since he's your... employer, I'll send you the room number," she says. "I'm not allowed to say room numbers out loud." She types on the terminal, and sends the number over to him.

Damien checks his omni-tool and nods. "Thanks, Va'ynna." He pushes himself from his stool and walks over to the stairs.

Va'ynna smiles slightly. "You're welcome," she says.

Viper pulls a knife from a compartment in her armor. It is a sharp and angular trench knife with the SIU logo on it. She spins it in her hand while speaking. "The Barn is a Cerberus research facility, very new. Wasn't easy to find. Getting in is going to be harder." (Tyranniac)

Jason starts for his handgun once more as Viper draws her blade, a practiced reaction that he quickly halts with his hand resting on the pistol's grip. "Don't think that's particularly your concern..." he says, looking over the woman's weapon, "So, Cerberus? What is their part in all of this? From what I can see they're just a bunch of racist terrorists. Why do they have her?"

Viper shrugs. "I don't know... it's a bit weird, isn't it?" She says casually. "They were obviously after the artifact... she might've just been a bonus. Or she joined them, and you're in denial. But hey, not my place to judge." She smiles again, gaze moving from the knife to Jason. (Tyranniac)

Damien walks up the stairs, stopping to pop into his room for a few minutes to use the sink to wash some of the sleep from his face, try as he might.

Jason takes a step towards the woman. "Facts." he says pointedly, "That's what I need out of you. Understand? Keep your conjecture to yourself." He stares the woman down harshly. "You don't even know her. She wouldn't do that." he insists. He sucks in a deep breath as he continues to grimace at her, "Now how about you get to the point? Location. Where is this facility and what sort

Viper grabs one of the pillows in the bed and puffs it up before laying down and putting her feet on the desk. She raises an eyebrow at Jason's comment. "Figured it was love. Only thing that makes sense. Not sure what you'd see in her, but whatever. You're not going to get a location. I'll be guiding you there. Sorry, buddy." She looks up at the ceiling idly. (Tyranniac)

Damien grabs his holster and carnifex from off the desk, attaching holster to his leg and giving the empty gun a practice spin around his finger, as he used to. Thunk. It falls straight to the ground. With a grunt of annoyance, he picks it back up and shoves it in the holster.

Jason squints at the woman. "First off, get the fuck off my pillow. I don't want to catch whatever it is you have. Second? That wasn't a part of the deal. I'm going in with my team. I know how you people operate. You'll throw us under the bus as soon as you've gotten what you want. Not gonna happen."

Viper balances the knife above her head, studying every scratch and stain closely. "Hate to break it to ya buddy, but you don't have much choice." (Tyranniac)

Damien leaves his room and opens up his omni-tool, glancing at Jason's room number. "Right."

Jason smirks and gives a humorless chuckle. "That so? Say what you will, but you need us every bit as much as we need you." he says, taking a few steps towards the woman, "Moreso. See, I can just go and shop around. Plenty of information brokers out there. I'm sure one could shake something loose for the right price." he continues confidently, despite knowing that it's probably not

Damien eventually walks up to Jason's room. He bangs his cybernetic against the door, rather harder than need be.

Viper smirks, and is about to respond when the door knocks, hard, causing her to nearly drop the knife. She catches it quickly and gets out of the bed in one quick move before starting to fade away, the telltale shimmer of active camouflage surrounding her before she disappears. "Interrupting. Rude. I wouldn't mention my presence if you want our help." (Tyranniac)

Jason tilts his head back with a sigh, staring straight up at the ceiling. After a moment he calls out loudly, "Yeah?" as he approaches the door.

Damien leans against the wall and bangs his fist once more against the door. "It's Damien. You got a minute?" He responds, folding his arms

Jason glances back at the last location he saw Viper in and gives a shake of his head. "Of course." he says much more enthusiastically than he feels. He taps the interface and the door slides open. "What's up, Monroe? Seemed a little... bent out of shape downstairs. Something on your mind?"

Damien glares at Jason for a moment. "Probably because I haven't slept since we got off that planet," he responds tersely. He grits his teeth and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can I come in? I'd rather not be stood in the hallway."

Jason winces a bit and steps off to the side, giving a quick cursory glance around his room. "Oh... Of course, shit. Sorry." he apologizes, bringing a hand up to his forehead. "You-...uhh..." he begins moving over towards his table, "...want a beer? They're a bit warm but..." he trails off.

Damien steps into Jason's room, giving him a curious look. "Seems I'm not the only one bent out of shape," he says sourly. "No thanks. I'm saving the booze for when I need to sleep." He walks over to the window and peers out of it for a few moments, flexing his cybernetic.

Jason pauses as he reaches for a beer and brings his arm back to his side as Damien declines. "I suppose this is where I'm supposed to say it gets better with time, right?" he asks with a sigh, leaning back to take a seat on the edge of the table. "The sleeping issues? The nightmares..." He nods to himself a few times, "It does get better. You just need time to process it all,

Damien grunts, tightening his hand into a fist. "It better... I can't take them anymore. It's always the same damn dream!" He takes a moment to collect himself, sighing deeply. "I just...- what's the plan, Jason?" He asks, turning back to face him.

Jason focuses his gaze downward and nods a few more times, "I still get them from time to time, too..." he says, as if that may somehow be comforting. "The plan? The plan is we keep on keeping on. The agency is already under construction. I've managed to get enough funding to keep our heads above water for now. Should be more than enough to help us get back on our feet. If you're

Damien humphs and leans against the wall, folding his arms. "If you say so." He falls quiet for a moment, frowning off to the side. Eventually, he speaks. "What happened to Vasquez?"

Jason 's mood visibly darkens, although he attempts to hide it. He continues to look downward rather than meeting Damien's gaze. "We weren't the only ones there, Monroe." he says with a sigh, "Have you ever heard of Cerberus?"

Damien turns to look back at the wall, frowning. Are walls always that bumpy? He presses a hand against it curiously, glancing over his shoulder at Jason. "Cerberus? Sounds familiar... Pro-human extremists, right?"

Damien removes his hand and turns back fully to Jason, shoving a hand into his pocket.

Jason nods a couple more times, finally looking Damien in the eyes, "That about covers it." He reaches up and scratches at the back of his neck, "I don't know what they want with it, but they were there for the artifact. I'm not sure if Li-... Vasquez was just leverage to make sure they got off the planet, or what..." he continues, doing his best to get around quite possibly the most

Damien 's eyes widen, the implications clear. "Now hold on a minute, Jason," he starts, advancing towards the man. "You're not thinking about picking a fight with them?"

Jason gives a shake of his head. "No thought required." he deadpans, "There's no decision to be made here. They have Vasquez. As soon as I get my replacements..." he glances down at his arm and trails off momentarily, "...We're going to bring her home." He sighs and returns his attention to Monroe, "You think it's the wrong call..."

Damien shakes his head fiercely. "You're not thinking straight, Jason. I don't know much about Cerberus, but I do know they aren't to be trifled with. I know you care for Vasquez, but we don't know if she's even fucking alive! What's stopping them from disposing of her once they got what they wanted?"

Jason gives a shrug. "Then don't come." he says plainly, "I'm not gonna force you. But if you think for one moment that I'm gonna leave her there? You're out of your mind." He snorts and hops off the table, taking a few steps towards Monroe, there's no aggression in his movements, however. "I'm thinking perfectly straight. You're right. She might be dead. I don't care." He takes a

Damien straightens his back as Jason approaches, naturally flexing a hand in preparation. Though, as he listens, his hand unclenched. He remains silent, staring straight back at Jason. Eventually... "Alright, alright," he breathes, shaking his head with a light chuckle. -

Damien steps back from Jason, placing a hand on his hip. "How'd you last so long out here with that attitude, I'll never know. But I'll follow you. But-" he says, holding one finger up to Jason. "We need more people and firepower."

Jason gives a somewhat somber snicker and runs a hand through his hair. "A whole lot of luck..." he mutters jokingly, "To be honest, I don't want to bring in many more people. We keep this operation small. Hit them hard and fast, and get out. Try and make sure we cover our tracks as best as we can so it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass." He takes another step towards Damien

Damien 's chest tightens and his eyes widen at the thought of those creatures coming to Aite. Or on his home planet. He swallows and shakes his head, his answer perfectly clear by the look on his face. The man is clearly terrified. "Alright, point made. But look, I know you don't want more people on but...".

Jason furrows his brow as he pulls his arm back. "We're two cripples that are planning an assault on a terrorist organization that have the capability to unleash terrifying space zombies on the population at large, Monroe. I'm definitely worrying about it." he says with a sigh, although it's obvious he's trying to make light of a dark situation, "Speak your mind."

Damien does laugh at that, folding his arms across his chest. "Well, word about is that some chick is walking around with a fucking YMIR mech

Damien - around town. I would feel a whole lot better if we had that thing watching our backs. I understand you don't want more people in on this, but if we're really planning on doing this, we'll need every advantage we can get."

Jason raises an eyebrow. "You're not the first to mention her..." he admits, "See what you can do. I won't turn away help, that's for sure. Do you know anything about her? Our new recruit said she pulled a gun on her... Suppose that could imply combat experience." he says before shrugging, "Or, I suppose, that she's in the fucking Terminus Systems and has a gun like everyone else..."

Damien folds his arms. "Only some rumours, nothing concrete. I'll do what I can." He nods and walks towards the door, sliding it open. "Look, Jason... I'm sorry. For what I said before. I'll... I'll admit. I'm scared."

Jason turns towards the door as Damien walks by. "Of course you're scared. You'd have to be crazy not to be scared. But don't apologize." he says sternly, "I'm sorry. I dragged all of you into this. There's a lot of blood on my hands that I'll never be able to wash off." He glances down at his hand and gives a shrug, "....Well, on my hand." he says, a very tasteless attempt at

Damien nods, some of the dark clouds of doubt hovering above him dispersing. "Alright, boss. You've got my support. We'll make 'em bleed." He flicks off a quick salute at Jason before leaving and heading back to his room.

Viper puts an arm over Jason's shoulder and decloaks while speaking. "Wow. Touching talk. Inspiring, really." (Tyranniac)

Jason gives a smirk and a nod, "We're sure as hell gonna try." he says as he moves towards the door to see Monroe out. Once the man is in the hall, he taps the interface, causing the door to slide shut, and he presses his hand against the door frame. He slides a finger up and down the frame over a large scratch, studying it for a few moments. "Tell me I didn't just lie to him." he

Viper looks to her side at Jason with a tilted head. "Will it make you feel better if I say that? Look, we both know you're going to fetch it regardless, like a good boy. It's the only way all this works out in your favor. You want my boss on your side, trust me. I don't really know what the plan is for it. I'm not paid to care about that. You just do your part, I'll do mine, and we'll all get what we want! Simple!" She pats (Tyranniac)

Jason puts his weight against the door frame. He gives a shake of his head and looks over at his guest, "Do you even know what the artifact does?" he asks with a look on his face as if he can't truly believe that she's that uninterested in what happens to it.

Viper mock-ponders this for a moment. "Mmmm... yup. Robozombies. Pretty cool." She says with a nod. "Look, I don't think my employer has any plans to start a glowy zombie apocalypse. Probably. So don't worry about it. Better than Cerberus having it. Trust me, those guys are dicks. I mean, seriously... just listen to the name. Screams evil." (Tyranniac)

Jason squints as he looks over the woman, completely offput by her casual approach to the whole thing. He reaches over and pulls her arm from around his shoulder. "You've got some issues. You do know that, right?"

Viper half shrugs, half nods. "Probably. But back on-topic! You have a few days to prep your guys and all that. We'll need to be stealing a shuttle to get to the Barn unnoticed." (Tyranniac)

Jason looks unamused and takes a step back from the woman. "Your employer couldn't even provide transportation? If I need to put up with you, then I expect you to carry your weight." he says with a shrug, "The shuttle is on you."

Viper puts a hand over her heart in mock offense. "Ouch. That hurts. You know what, I'm gonna get the shuttle on my own just to shut you up. Happy, Wolfe?" She drags out his name and wiggles her eyebrows. (Tyranniac)

Jason wrinkles his nose and leans back a bit in disgust. "We need to set a few ground rules right now." he says. "First thing? That whole eyebrow thing?" he begins, pointing towards her forehead with his index finger and dragging it around in a circle, "Stop it. Second? Don't ever touch my pillow again. As a matter of fact..." He marches past her and grabs his pillow from the bed

Viper looks genuinely offended for a moment. "Disgusting?! You don't just go and call a lady disgusting!" She deactivates her holographic visor and moves closer, tilting her head again and studying him with yellow, reptilian eyes. "Last guy who said that ended up with his own knife in his eyeball." She produces a combat knife with an Alliance emblem from it from another armor compartment, flipping it around and putting it (Tyranniac)

Jason takes a step back towards the wall as she begins to approach. Not so much out of fear, mostly just from being weirded out by her. He watches as she performs her little knife display and attempts to interject numerous times but always halts himself as she speaks. His face contorts in response while she talks. First, offense at the implication that he's stupid, but it's quickly

Viper grins. "Come on, that's no fun. I'll be back when I have the shuttle. You work on the whole... arm... thing... in the meantime. Maybe get a few extra ones. That would be pretty cool." She nods to herself, her visor re-engaging before she turns towards the window waving without looking back as she pries the window open, her cloak engaging as she jumps out. (Tyranniac)

Jason blinks a few times. After a few moments pass, he hurries across the room and locks the window. "My life just gets weirder and weirder..." he mutters to himself as he peers out the window.

Jason makes his way back across the room and gives his armpits a sniff. With a disgusted look on his face, he lifts his shirt off and tosses it on the ground before picking another shirt up off the floor and giving it a whiff. He seems unsure, so sniffs it again. With a shrug, he pulls it over his head and adjusts it for a moment before taking a seat at the terminal and addressing the

Jason 's mouth goes agape and his chest tightens. He simply sits and stares at the text on the screen as moments pass before deciding to try and return the call. As much as everything in him says it's probably not good, he can't help but hope to hear her voice on the other end. His leg begins to bounce nervously.

Markus ' face pops up on the screen after just a few seconds. He's in full Alliance uniform, with an officer's cap, and looks to be sitting in shipboard quarters. "Jason." He says without much enthusiasm. (Tyranniac)

Jason 's eyes snap shut and instantly water up. He leans his elbow against his desk and holds his forehead in his palm. He remains quiet for an uncomfortably long time as all the wind is knocked out of his sails. Finally, he responds with a somewhat shaky voice. "Markus..."

Markus looks away awkwardly for the duration of Jason's uncomfortable silence. When he is addressed he responds: "I... heard what happened." (Tyranniac)

Jason runs his hand across his face before sucking in a deep breath and sitting against the backrest of the chair. "How?" he asks. While genuinely curious how the man found out, his voice is pretty much devoid of energy, causing him to sound disinterested and distant.

Markus shakes his head, not looking very comfortable discussing that. "Let's just say I know some people." After a moment's pause he says: "I should have done a better job keeping in touch after... after the injury. Helped you take care of her. I just... couldn't face her the way she was. And now..." (Tyranniac)

Jason digs his fingers into the armrest and avoids looking directly at the screen. He seems unsure of what to say, comforting the man doesn't seem all that important given the situation. "Your sister is the strongest person I've ever met, Markus." he says, giving a short nod, "I'm going to get her back. I promise."

Markus nods faintly, not moving his gaze from Jason. His body language remains uncomfortably formal, but he seems to be holding back tears. "I... I was hoping you would say that. She's the only family I have left... and I don't think she even knows I still care. If there is anything I can do to help..." (Tyranniac)

Jason gives a shake of his head, finally facing the camera. "I've got it covered." he states, "But... thank you." He gives a loud sigh, "And... Linda knows you care, Markus. You're important to her." he says with a tilt of his head, attempting to comfort the man despite his frustration, "And you'll get a chance to make sure of that..."

Markus continues to nod faintly to himself. "I-... yes. Good. I was wrong about you, Jason. I'm-..." He looks to his side, off the screen. "I have to go. Good luck." He says glancing at the screen again before ending the call. (Yan_Sun)

Jason opens his mouth to speak, but the call ends too abruptly. He sighs and lowers his forehead back against the palm of his hand. He shuts his eyes tightly as all the fight drains from him.