#RedrockAgency – March 8, 2016

Jason makes his way downstairs and pokes at the panel outside of Ilyna's office, buzzing her room.

Ilyna stands up and walks over to the door, tapping on the interface to open it. She leaves the terminal on the message inbox, which seems to have no unread messages visible.

Jason is leaning with his back against the opposite wall. He's dressed in a white short sleeved t-shirt, the safety and comfort of his empty home apparently enough to ease his worry about allowing his new arms to be seen, and a pair of black sports pants with a white stripe up the side. His usual combat boots are replaced with gym shoes, as he's spent most of the morning in the rec room. "So..." he begins, reaching up to scratch

Ilyna frowns. "I'm worried for the ground team," she admits. "The krogan's intel was terrible, and I've still not heard anything since when they were about to reach Illium."

Jason eases up slightly at not having to be the one to breach the subject, although his face clearly shows his worry. "Shit... Was hoping maybe you heard something. I've been checking my omni-tool all morning. Nothing. Hope they're alright.." he says, leaning his head back against the wall. "I was worried it was too soon for her to be back in the field..."

Ilyna shakes her head. "I've done the same all morning too," she says with a sheepish smile. "Ehanis has been nagging me to get a 'real mission' as she put it, and I thought this one was cut and dried." She sighs. "I would never have sent her on it if I knew it was this vague before it was too late."

Jason's omni-tool begins beeping as he goes to respond. He stands straight up and jams his hand down into his pocket instantly. As he fishes the small device out and displays the interface, he pokes at it a few times and lets out a deep breath, leaning back against the wall once more. "Well, that's some timing. Sounds like they're alright." he says as his eyes scan from left to right. He frowns once he gets to the part about

Ilyna raises her brows and rushes over to her desk. "Did she say what happened to her?" she asks. "And which hospital is it?" She then opens the message composer.

Jason winces as he follows her into her office. "All she said was Nos Astra." he says, "I'll get the info. I'm sure she's fine, Ilyna." he says with a nod, "Just-... try to relax until we know more."

Ilyna stops typing halfway through the first sentence. "I still need to contact dad, and let her know," she says. "Or... well, I do hope she knows more about-..." She is then interrupted by her omni-tool, and takes the call on the terminal.

Vasquez pops up on the screen, standing against a white wall. The transmission is low-quality, but functional. She's still in her combat gear. "Ilyna, hey. Has Jason talked to you yet?"

Jason raises an eyebrow as he hears Vasquez' voice. He leans over Ilyna's desk, trying to get a glimpse of the screen but failing miserably. "I'm right here." he says, "I just told her.... But Ehanis is gonna be fine, right...?"

Ilyna looks up towards Jason and nods, before returning her gaze to the screen. "What happened to her?" The worry is clear in her voice.

Jason's smirk returns and he nods a couple times. "See? I told you. A few weeks off her feet and she'll be back to work. Practically an all-expenses-paid vacation on Illium." he says, hoping to cheer Ilyna up.

Ilyna tilts her head, not cheered up by Jason's optimism. "Have the doctors said anything else?" she says, sounding no less worried than before getting the answer.

Vasquez shakes her head on the video. "No, but I've requested that they give you an update after the surgery. I'm sure she'll be fine, Ilyna." She says, doing her best to look reassuring. "She seemed more worried about what you'd say than anything else when they wheeled her off. I-... there was another thing. The surgery was already paid for. A... Matriarch Vynira?"

Jason furrows his brow, but remains quiet as he continues to listen in to a conversation he has no part in.

Ilyna can't help but let out a soft laugh at that. "That does sound like her," she says, worry still written all over her facial expression. "Vynira is my father. If she already paid for it, then... I suppose I don't need to inform her."

Vasquez nods in understanding, a small smile tugging at one side of her mouth. "Alright, good to hear someone else is looking out for her. I've arranged some security as well - don't expect any trouble, but better safe than sorry on Illium I figure. Of course, Redrock will take care of transport home too."

Jason remains quiet, merely nodding along as Vasquez speaks.

Ilyna nods. "Thank you," she says. "That... means a lot to me." She looks away for a moment as she takes a deep, but quiet, breath, then returns her gaze to the screen. "I take it everyone else made it out unharmed, then?"

Vasquez nods. "Yeah, the rest of us are all good. I should get back to the others - we'll be home sometime tomorrow."

Jason places both hands against the edge of Ilyna's desk, leaning forward a bit. "Be safe." he says, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ilyna gives a small smile. "That's good news," she says. "See you tomorrow, then."

Vasquez nods, returning the smile briefly before closing the call.

Jason clasps his hands together. "See? It's going to be fine. Ehanis is going to be fine."

Ilyna stands up once the call ends and turns away. "This is my fault," she says. "I shouldn't have let her go on that mission."

Jason shakes his head. "What? No! This isn't your fault. This isn't anyones fault. It's just... the job, right? Look at how many times we've been in and out for scratches and scrapes. My body is practically a roadmap with scars for landmarks." he says with a short chuckle, as if it may make Ilyna feel better about the whole situation. "She's alive and relatively undamaged. I know she's your sister, but you've gotta trust

Ilyna turns around to face him. "That.... She is my sister, and below my command," she says. "That makes me responsible for what happened to her. I shouldn't have let her go." She brings up the back of her hand to wipe below her eyes, where some moisture has formed.

Jason lowers his gaze, giving a couple nods. "Then it's just as much my fault." he admits, "So, what do we do? There's no getting around the danger of this line of work. If we fire her, from everything you've told me, she'll most likely just sign up with another agency. Where we can't keep an eye on her." He gives a shrug and lets out a sigh, "I can probably keep her on Respite duty once she's back, but how long do you think

Ilyna frowns, and takes a deep breath to try calming down. "I don't know, Jason, I really don't," she says. "She has already voiced her dissatisfaction with working at the Respite, so not very long, I suppose."

Jason nods a few times. "So... We need to figure out how to handle this, then. If you don't want your sister in the field, we'll keep her out of the field. We just need to figure out how to approach this." He shrugs, letting out a deep breath, "....Maybe we should talk to her...?"

Ilyna nods. "I will talk with her," she says. "I... I think she should work in the field, just not like this." She pauses. "She was hit by a grenade. That could have gone far worse, I don't know what I've done if it had."

Jason nods slowly, but remains silent for a while. "What do you mean?" he finally asks, repeating her words, " 'Not like this'..?"

Jason lowers his head and nods again. "We've got a lot of work to do on whipping this whole agency into shape, Ilyna. Stuff like this shouldn't be happening, and I'm sorry it did." He raises his gaze to meet the asari's once more, "But we're gonna get there. I promise. Once we have some buffer credits, we'll begin training everyone to work together as a cohesive unit. We'll be able to pass on jobs that don't sound right.