#FreedomFalls – March 10, 2016

Steve nods a few times silently as he brings his forearm up, causing the orange glow of his omni-tool to project forth. After a few moments of poking, tapping and swiping, he reverses the display so Commander Arius can see the picture. A turian in black armor with orange trims. Steve steadies his arm and leans forward to give the commander a better look. "You recognize this man,

Syram looks over the image. "It could be Corporal Falten," he says. "He was signed up for guard duty down at the range yesterday, but neglected to show up or notify absence. When is that image from?"

Steve pokes the interface, causing the image to fade away and retracts his hand. He sighs and gives a nod. "It was taken yesterday. Seems 'Corporal Falten' had a little run-in with our people. We were lookin' into a missin' car and that man attacked some of us. Claimed to be with you folks." he says plainly, trying to remain diplomatic. He wasn't expecting to be outed as a Redrock

Cross sits back in his seat and remains silent so the other two may conversate.

Syram nods. "Noted," he says. "I will look into this as soon as I am able to. Did he give a reason for attacking your people?"

Steve gives a shake of his head, not actually entirely sure. "Not as far as I'm aware." he says. "I ain't tryin' to step on any toes here, sir... But why would the militia be investigating a missing vehicle?"

Syram is quiet for a few seconds. "That is a good question," he says. "There are some limitations, but seargants have some autonomy. I would personally not get the militia mixed in with civil matters like that, because of the resources it would require to conduct a proper investigation."

Steve gives a few nods. "I-... uhh, we just thought it might be good to touch base with you folks about this. It was unfortunate that an altercation had to take place, but we were workin' on recoverin' our clients car. Didn't seem like the sorta thing the militia would be interested in. Even more confusin' is that it would be somethin' worth fightin' over. Our people have since

Syram nods. "Like I mentioned, this is a matter I need to look into," he says. "We will contact your agency if it is necessary." He pauses for a moment before asking, "How did your encaunter with Falten end? Is he still alive?"

Steve gives a shake of his head. "I don't know all of the details." he admits, "But I'd say it probably isn't a good sign if he didn't show up for work. He wasn't alone though. Nobody else in your militia reported anything...?"

Syram shakes his head. "Nothing that has reached my desk yet," he says. "After this meeting, I will need a mission report, and the coordinates for the site where they ran into Falten."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Uhhh, again, I ain't tryin' to step on any toes, but ain't that the sorta thing you oughtta be bringin' up to your people rather than ours? We can't exactly violate the confidentiality of our clients so, sorry, but that ain't gonna happen. The problem here is that your people, who are openly identifyin' themselves as militia, are out there attackin' ours."

Cross reaches over and places a hand on Steve's forearm. "Calm down, Briggs." he instructs, giving a pleasant smile to both parties, "I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding. It is somewhat disconcerting, however, the lack of control shown by your militiamen." he adds, probably a cheap shot disguised as genuine interest in the matter.

Syram nods. "Which I will," he says. "You have a low-quality picture, and a second-hand account of the encounter that is lacking in detail. Is that all your agency will put behind this accusation, Mr. Briggs?" He seems to have ignored Cross.

Steve sits back in his seat, calming himself somewhat. "A low-quality picture that you seemed to identify fairly quickly. Given the fact that he didn't show up for work, I think the connection is pretty clear." he says matter-of-factly, "But that's beside the point. I didn't come here to make accusations. Whether he was actin' on official militia orders or not is beside the point. There

Syram nods, again. "Understandable," he says. "The circumstances were enough for an educated guess, not a proper identification. If this is him acting on his own, then we will take actions to correct that. We take abuse of militia authority for personal gain very seriously."

Steve gives an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Commander. I apologize for getting a little heated, but a close friend of mine was injured in the exchange." he says, purposely avoiding too much detail. "Since I've been assigned to follow up on all of this-..." he lies, "I'd appreciate if you could contact me if you discover anything relevant. Would be nice to get to the bottom of this

Syram takes a few seconds to answer that. "I will need to confirm that with the agency," he says. "I do believe you, Mr. Briggs. It is a necessary formality that I would never let a sergeant get away with not doing."

Steve furrows his brow and nods, an expression on his face as if to say 'obviously, of course'. His stomache grumbles as he resists the urge to cuss up a storm in frustration. "Absolutely. You do that." he agrees, "And, while I can't give away the details involvin' our client, I'll look into getting you those coordinates."

Syram nods. "That would be helpful," he says. "Any details of the that encounter's outcome is also something we're interested in. With any sensitive information about your client omitted, of course."

Steve returns the nod. "Of course." he says. He gives a glance over at Cross and then back at Arius. "Well, that about covers it, I suppose."

Cross straightens up in his seat. "I believe we've taken up enough of your busy schedule, Commander. I appreciate you meeting with us, and look forward to working with you in the future, should this whole ordeal work out favorably."

Syram nods again. "Likewise, Cross," he says, then taps on his terminal a few times. "You may leave the same way you came in."

Cross stands from his seat with a nod and readjusts his jacket. He stands aside and waits for Briggs to rejoin him before moving towards the exit. "You enjoy the rest of your day, Commander." he says before disappearing through the door.

Steve falls in line behind Cross, exiting the room right behind him.

Syram gives a nod in return before turning back to his terminal.