#TheBryant – March 6, 2016

Ehanis is just done with putting on her armor and attaching the holstered pistol. She has a Phalanx, a single grenade and six clips to her name, since the mission left little time to plan in advance. The asari is unaware that the agency has an armory with all those little things. She carries the almost empty travel bag over to the shuttle to stow it away.

Nathan for the majority of the journey has been attempting to make idle chit-chat with the Redrockers, mainly Jasper and Ehanis, with the occasional word to Mendez. Currently, he's checking his ordnance and weapons. He slaps in a thermal clip into his rifle, turning the safety on and holstering it to his back. He pulls on his helm and locks it into place, turning to nod at Ehanis as she walks on by.

Vasquez raises an eyebrow, clearly having no intention of speaking with flight control. She glances at Gren.

Gren walks over and accepts the communication.

Mendez has spent a good portion of the trip securing and re-securing his equipment. As they've neared their location, he began doing push-ups near the shuttle to loosen up. He's currently re-attaching the plating to his undersuit.

Jasper has... been Jasper. Tinkering with the shuttle and willing to trade words with anyone open to listening to him. He's currently readying the shuttle for their departure.

Gren clears his throat before responding. "This is The Bryant, requesting permission to dock and ready to transfer the necessary codes upon request."

Nathan steps into the shuttle and pokes around. "So, Jasper. You ever flown a gunship?" He asks randomly, deciding to make conversation for the time being.

Jasper nods a bunch of times as he flips switches and pokes buttons. "Mmhmm. Mmhmm." he says, continuing to nod frantically. "Nope. Flyin' ain't even my job. Don't look too hard, though." he continues before glancing back towards Nathan, "Why? You need a gunship pilot? I'm yer' man!"

Nathan blinks slowly behind his visor. "Uh... What -is- your job, then?" He asks, completely blanking the latter question.

Gren grunts and inputs the codes given to him in the OSD. "Transferring."

Jasper shrugs his shoulders. "That's a damn good question." he says with a short burst of laughter. "S'pose my official title is 'engineer n' resident tinkerer'. Our pilot ain't 'round too much, though. So more often than not, I find myself right here in this seat. I don't mind too much." he reaches out, patting the dashboard, "Me an' ol' Betsy here have an understandin'. So long as I'm here in this seat, she ain't gonna go off givin' no

Nathan folds his arms across his chest. "So you've had no official training, then?" He asks, gesturing idly with his hand. "And I'll admit, you've seemed to have kept this shuttle in good condition."

Jasper gives a shake of his head. "No official trainin' flyin'." he corrects. "Was an engineer with the Systems Alliance for most a' my life. There ain't a ship, skycar, shuttle, troop transport, or latrine out there that I can't pull apart and put back together. Ya don't get that intimate with a piece a' machinery without findin' out what makes it tick. From there, it ain't no big deal to figure out how to control 'er."

Nathan hums and nods, leaning against the wall as he regards the engineer. "Makes sense. Mind if I ride shotgun with you? I've had a little training in regards to flying and wouldn't mind continuing it. And if I watch an expert at the controls, I can pick up a few hints and tips," he says, nodding towards him.

Mendez a short shrug. "Ain't a problem with me. Might hafta fight the Chief for that seat, though. Think she likes to be where she can take control of everything, should the dumps hit the ceilin' fan." he says, glancing over at Nathan, "If ya know what I mean."

Nathan chuckles. "I getcha," he says with another nod. "Does it happen often? Shit hitting the fan, I mean?"

Jasper lets out a loud whoop. "Boyyyyy does it." he says through a fit of laughter, "Ya gotta expect it when ya sign up for this sorta thing, right? If it ever stops hittin' the fan, we might as well just retire and sip some daiquiris down on the beach." He reaches up with a sigh and adjusts his cap, "Ain't that a nice thought..."

Gren quickly closes the communications as Pun adjusts their flight path. The Krogan grunts and scratches at his old scar.

Nathan chuckles and makes his way to the co-pilots seat, dropping into it with a thud. "I haven't been a beach in fucking years." He makes a subtle gesture and the visor flips up, revealing his stormy grey eyes. "So, c'mon. Regale me with some of the worst instances of where shit went to hell in a handbasket."

Jasper locks up a bit, in similar fashion to Mendez' reaction. "Eh... It ain't really right to go kissin' an' tellin' now is it?" he says, forcing a chuckle, "You look like the sort who has seen a thing or two. I'm sure you know what I'm talkin' 'bout. Always goin' somewhere where the folks wanna shoot at ya."

Nathan pouts behind his mouth-plate, but nods. "Yeah, I getcha. Though I'm surprised at how... Conservative you lot are." He raps his fingers against his leg. "But, I get it and I won't pry any further." He decides to change the subject. "So how long has this shuttle been flying?"

Jasper gives another shrug, followed by a deep sigh. "We ain't 'conservative'. There's jus' some things ya don't talk about. S'all." He wastes no time moving on to the man's question, "Eh. Been fixin' 'er up for quite some time now. She's been in full operatin' form, off an' on, for 'bout a year now."

Nathan holds a hand up defensively. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude," he says before humming. "A year? Not bad. Cannibalised parts from other ships?" He asks, hazarding a guess that Jasper might enjoy talking about this.

Jasper as expected, light up at the line of questioning. "Oh, yeah. This ol' girl was nothin' more than a rusted frame when I bought 'er. The Chief an' Wolfe said they needed a cheap method of transportation for the troops, but it had to be reliable. Ain't nothin' more reliable than a Kodiak! But the budget wasn't havin' it. 'Specially considerin' the cost to import one a' them bad boys to Aite. I took a look at a few scrap yards and-..."

Nathan leans forwards, resting his elbows on his legs and clasping his hands together. His eyes crease up in a smile. "From scrap-yard to functioning transport. That's quite a feat," he says with an appreciative nod. "You got any future plans for her? Arm her up, improve some of the systems?"

Ehanis has taken a seat near the shuttle door, typing something on her omni-tool. The asari is not paying much attention to the others even though she overheards the other two's conversation.

Jasper 's eyes widen as he fidgets with the brim of his hat. He glances back towards the passenger's compartment to make sure the Chief is nowhere to be seen before responding. "Now, I ain't tryin' ta' come off as underhanded... But I've got my eye on more than a couple a' upgrades for ol' Betsy here. I know the budget is a bit tight right now, but I've been doin' a bit a' window shoppin'

Nathan leans forward and lowers his voice conspiratorialy like. "Lemme guess. Some military grade weapons, thicker armour, shielding? Maybe an engine upgrade, sensor tweaks and the like?" He chuckles quietly. "Because if you need some gear, I have a contact or two who could help you out. And besides...". He reaches over and pats the dashboard in a similar fashion to Jasper. "I'd like to help out. Get back in the cockpit so to speak. I, uh, nev

Vasquez regains her skeptical look as she eyes the map from over the shoulder of the pilot. She looks at Gren. "The hell is this? You don't have landing clearance in Nos Astra?" she says with a frustrated gesture at the display

Nathan -never got to finish my training after all."

Jasper gives a couple of nods, ducking down a bit and lowering his voice as well. "Soon as we get back. You an' I got some talkin' ta do. Gonna turn this ol' girl into a mythical beast a' destruction!"

Gren ignores Vasquez as their route adjusts, mumbling to Pun. "Seems we're not going there. I'll give you the codes. Get us docked." He begins to turn and exit, gesturing to Vasquez to follow him. "I need a word."

Vasquez follows Gren out of the room, her frustration lingering.

Nathan nods enthusiasticly. "Sounds like a plan, mate," he says quietly.

Gren turns into the recreational room and heads over to the terminal, pulling out one of the OSD's given to him. "This turned up for me at the Respite a few days ago," he begins as he plugs it into the terminal. He taps the interface and plays the message, turning to look at Vasquez and gauge her reaction.

Vasquez listens to the recording with an impatient look, hands on her hips and gaze on the wall. When it's over she lets out a groan and runs a hand through her hair, gaze moving to the ceiling and then settling on the krogan. "That's it? That's all you have? What. The Fuck? You don't even know who hired you?!"

Mendez climbs into the shuttle once he's suited up and ready. He takes a seat across from Ehanis, but a couple seats over to steer clear of the door. "Still no word from the Chief. Hope we can touch down soon."

Gren seems hardly fazed by Vasquez's reactions. "Aylena," he says. "The message arrived for me at the Respite, a place I frequent. I'm reasonably close to her, it appears shortly after she disappears and no one else on and off world have any reason to contact me."

Ehanis nods. "I hope so too," she says. "We've been in the system for awhile now, so I guess it's just a matter of minutes before we set down. Well, unless their flight control is as complicated as most things are on down there."

Vasquez lets out a sigh, nodding faintly. "Aylena. Fine. Alright. You gotta understand we're not keen on getting dicked around like this." She stares right at the krogan. "I'm not letting my team end up in trouble because of faulty intel. If I keep hearing things I don't like, we're out of here."

Mendez nods a few times, rotating his shoulders. "Didn't expect to do this much work off-world when I signed up." he admits, looking a little uneasy "That was the initial appeal of the job..."

Gren chuckles grimly. "I ain't all that pleased about this either. I prefer it to be straight forward." He pauses for a moment. "But she's someone I respect, so I was willing to go along with it for now. If it helps, I'll throw in an extra two grand for the each of ya."

Nathan peers into the passenger compartment. "You folks all set?"

Ehanis smirks. "I don't think anyone expected an off-world job today," she says. "It's Illium, though. The most fucked up things around here is on a document someone wants your signature on."

Vasquez looks very skeptical at the casual mention of a major increase in payment. "That so? See, that's the kind of bullshit statement that makes me think you're not expecting us to come back. You're not giving me much grounds to trust you, Gren."

Mendez sucks in a deep breath at the mention of documents, but remains silent. "Just ready to get this over with." he responds to Ten.

Nathan laughs. "You and me both, Mendez. I hate this place. Pretty, but just as dangerous as Omega."

Gren snorts. "Honestly, I don't give a fuck if you trust me or not. And I don't 'bullshit' about credits," he growls. "You'll get your raise as a sign of 'good faith'," he says as he begins to stomp back to the bridge.

Vasquez steps into the krogan's path as he tries to go back to the bridge, shoving a finger at his chest. "You'll care because without us, you don't have a fucking team. How about we call that 'raise' an advance payment, and then I'll believe your 'good faith'." She stares him down, despite being considerably shorter than Gren.

Gren stops in his tracks, staring down at the puny human. He grins slightly. "Fine," he says as he taps his omni-tool. After a few moments, he would transfer the funds over to Vasquez. "There. Now get out of my way."

Vasquez summons up her omni-tool, taking a quick glance at the numbers and then stepping aside with a satisfied grunt. Once the krogan has passed she follows him towards the bridge.

Mendez remains in his seat, watching out the shuttle door as he waits for Vasquez' return. "More dangerous..." he mutters.

Gren stomps into the bridge, taking position behind Pun. "As soon as we're in range, contact whoever we need to to get landing permission," he barks. Pun slowly turns to look at Gren, narrowing his eyes. "I know what I'm doing, Gren," he hisses back, earning a chuckle from the krogan .

Nathan nods at Mendez, turning back to Jasper. "Anything I can do to help before we head off?" He asks.

Jasper curls his upper lip and shakes his head from side to side. "Nup. Just waitin' on the Chief. We're ready fer' a midday stroll."

Vasquez , on seeing the ship descending decides to head back for the cargo hold. Upon reaching it she heads up to the shuttle, one hand grabbing a hold of the top of the door as she leans in, glancing around at her team. "Alright, good news and bad news... bad news, there's been a change of plans. We're landing in Dalliren. Intel is spotty at best, so stay on your toes. Good news: I just

Mendez nods as each bit of news is delivered, showing little emotional reaction to either. When she finishes, he speaks up. "Will we need to deal with the local authorities?" he asks, "Or are we clear to simply proceed to our target?"

Nathan nods, remaining in the co-pilot seat. He turns back to the passenger hold, his visor flicking back down. "More credits is always good." He falls silent as Mendez asks his questions.

Ehanis raises an eyebrow. "What a surprise," she says with a sigh. "All due respects and all that, but why did you agree to this job?"

Vasquez looks at Mendez. "Unknown at this time. Rest assured we won't be moving out until that's been cleared up!" When she notices what Ehanis said she steps inside, raising an eyebrow. "That, Tioran, is not something you need to concern yourself with. What you need to concern yourself with is keeping your snark secured and doing your damn job. Time to prove you have a place in Redrock,

Nathan glances over at Ehanis, then back to Vasquez. He elects to keep quiet at the moment.

Jasper gives a loud whistle as he listens to Vasquez put the asari in her place.

Mendez regains the uneasy look as Vasquez confirms her uncertainty, but he doesn't voice his concerns. He simply nods and remains quiet.

Ehanis tenses up and gives a sloppy salute. "Uh,... affirmitive, ma'am."

Vasquez nods sharply and turns her head to Jasper. "You all set for take-off?"

Gren glances around as Pun contacts the tower. "Tower control, this is the cargo ship Bryant. Requesting permission to dock, over."

Nathan leans over and transfers the codes over.

Jasper pokes at the dashboard interface a couple of times. "Yessir ma'am, sir!" he shouts, "Just waitin' on yer' order."

Vasquez nods again and pats the side of the shuttle on her way out. "I'll be back as soon as everything's cleared up." She starts heading towards the bridge at a quick pace.

Gren leans over and transfers the codes over.

Nathan leans back into the seat and exhales, having avoided Vasquez's wrath.

Mendez glances in Vasquez' direction as she walks off and then returns his attention to the asari. "Rough break." he says plainly.

Vasquez steps onto the bridge once more, looking to Pun, then Gren, and finally the console. "Alright, what's the situation?"

Ehanis sighs. "Note to self: don't joke around with her," she mutters. "Let's hope the job is interesting enough that she forgets that in the report.... They write those, right?"

Mendez nods. "We do." he says. "I highly doubt that will be included. Just do your job and it will be fine."

Gren grunts a response. "We'll handle it," he replies before closing the communication as Pun adjusts their course towards their destination. "Alright. I think we should hop in the shuttle and fly in regardless. Let Pun sort out actual permissions whilst we get the job done. If they need a bribe, use the account I gave you," he says to the Drell who nods in

Vasquez nods. "Let's go." She says, turning back and heading for the shuttle again.

Gren follows behind, nabbing his helmet from a nearby console and tugging it on mid step.

Ehanis nods and leans back in her seat. "Good," she says.

Nathan eyes dart across the dashboard as he pulls forth his training from the back of his mind.

Vasquez re-enters the shuttle, going for the cockpit. When she notices Nathan in the co-pilot's seat she looks a bit puzzled. "Didn't know you'd be flying us today, Tennhausen..."

Nathan looks up and grins behind his helm. "I have some training in flying, Chief. But I'll vacate the seat if you want."

Jasper glances over at Vasquez and waits for the verdict before starting the shuttle up.

Gren plods into the shuttle and grips a handle, electing to stand.

Mendez grabs his helmet from below his seat as the others arrive, assuming it's time to ready up. "Are we good to go, Chief?" he asks as he slides his helmet on.

Ehanis takes out the bag from under the seat and takes out the helmet, before putting it on. The helmet is blue like the rest of her suit, and has a blank visor showing the upper half of her face.

Nathan nods an affirmative at Vasquez, before giving the thumbs up to Jasper. "Just tell me what you need doing," he says.

Jasper gives a heavy nod. "Does a mama-varren let 'er young wander? I'll keep 'im close to the teet, Chief." he says, giving a nod towards the door controls. "Close 'er up, Mr. Hausen!"

Nathan activates the controls, sealing up the doors. "Call me Ten, Jasper," he says with a light laugh.

Jasper adjusts the brim of his cap as the shuttle doors slide shut. He nods and pokes at the dashboard a few times. "You got it, Ten." he responds as the shuttle roars to life, lifting slightly off of the ground as Jasper waits for the cargo doors to open, "Might wanna strap in, Ten. Never know what might be waitin' down there fer' us."

Nathan straps himself in as ordered, peering at the dashboard. "This ain't my first rodeo, Jasper," he says reassuringly. "Don't worry." He taps the communications and contacts the bridge. "Ground team ready. Open the doors, please and thank you."

Vasquez consider it for a moment and then shakes her head. "We could use another pilot, all things considered." She looks to Jasper. "You'll have to keep an eye on him though." After a moment she continues. "Can't take off yet, couple of things to clear up first." She looks over her shoulder at the krogan. "Gren, what do you got for me? We need a location, and an objective. Unless you'd just

Gren hums. "I figure we go down and land in the most noticeable point," he says. "That'll hopefully draw my contacts attention toward us and we'll get our next orders." He shrugs slightly.

Nathan gets a rather heated response from Pun. "Not until I get the word from Gren. So be patient," Pun snaps. Nathan blinks and looks at Jasper, shrugging.

Ehanis tilts her head, but she elects not to voice her concerns.

Vasquez gives Gren another stare. "Are you fucking kidding me? We're not gonna land blindly and hope for the best. Do you even have any of this cleared with the local authorities? We could get shot out of the sky for fuck's sake!"

Mendez groans a bit and sucks a deep breath in through his nose.

Gren growls. "Look, she ain't exactly helping me with all this vague fuck-" pauses as a message chimes through his helmet.

Jasper gives a loud shout to the passenger compartment. "I'm gonna need a place to land, folks. And yer' friends ain't openin' the cargo doors without your word. Sooo, how 'bout some coordinates?"

Gren grunts. "Open the doors." He looks back to Vasquez. "She knows your shuttle right? Have it fly around the ship a few times whilst Pun negotiates with the local authorities about allowing us to land."

Nathan looks back into the passenger compartment.