This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
Meeting after Mendez and Victoria returned from convience store (Skipping Work)
Renala arrives at the office about a minute ahead of the shuttle's return. She steps inside and hangs up her too thin blue jacket, and starts making her way down the hallway. Her eyes are set on the staircase. She's wearing her white fleece jacket zipped all the way up and simple blue jeans.
Jason is still seated in the rec room, having grabbed, and emptied, a second cup of coffee since Sioria and Uvena left. He's watching a video on his omni-tool. "Shit..." he mutters under his breath as he continues to stare at the footage sent to him. Once it gets to the end, he whips his empty coffee cup across the room. The styrofoam container sails ineffectually to the ground, the lack of damage just further frustrating Jason.
Renala enters the rec room once upstairs, kicking the styrofoam cup on the floor by accident. "Morning, boss," she says before approaching the kitchen. "What's going on?" She locates the coffee maker and starts pouring herself a cup, still shivering a bit. "Fuck, it's cold outside," she mutters.
Sioria turns a corner and heads up the street back to Redrock, wearing her desert camo'd hard suit. It looked a bit out of place against the white snow, but she hadn't had a chance to repaint it for the season yet. She spots Renala head inside and jogs towards the main entrance. Once inside, she quickly follows her before entering the kitchen. She pulls off her helmet and looks between
Jason leans an elbow against the table, propping his forehead against his hand as he continues to watch the footage. "Those assholes you ran into a while back." he begins, only shooting Sioria a glance in greeting before resting his gaze back on Renala. "Avoren Security. Looks like they grabbed V this morning on her way to work. At first I was worried it may have to do with the issue down at the Respite the other day, but it seems
like it might be a bit more personal than that. My guess is they're going to try and ransom her back to Uvena." he sighs, shutting down the footage and sending a quick copy of it Renala's way. "I sent you the footage Mendez and Victoria recovered. He said the hardsuits matched those of the asshats who attacked you guys near Uvena's skycar. Take a look at it, see if you agree, and get me some information on Avoren Security. I
want names, an exact location of their office. See if you can find any info on just how strong their ties are to Linissa. If they've got friends high up, this might be tricky." He gestures for Sioria to take a seat.
The Redrock shuttle arrives in the hangar shortly after Renala and Sioria's arrival, setting down before the doors begin to slide open.
Renala takes a sip of the coffee, though she doesn't make a grimace at the taste. "Your overestimate me here, Wolfe," she says. "I'll do what I can, but I crack security systems. Intel gathering..., not my field unless we got something to gain physical access to." She pauses. "As for these mercs, well," she says, "I only saw that turian Mendez offed before I was knocked out."
Victoria during the trip to Redrock she called her crew that she had out searching. She told them to return to the ship and for Krath, Austin and Corvus to meet her at Redrock when they were ready for a fight.
Sioria takes a seat after Jason's gesture and frowns slightly. "Avoren..." she whispers and opens her omntiool. "Avoren, based out of Linissa... sheesh, steep rates. Usually don't operate outside of Linissa though. Weird." she says, then closes her omnitool. "Office address is on their site." She sits back a little in thought. "Tauros were looking into 'em, but they weren't an easy egg
to crack. Their stuff's locked up wicked tight. That or our tech guy back in the day was just, y'know. Shit."
Mendez hops out of the shuttle, waiting for Vicky to join him before starting towards the door. "These guys are going through an awful lot of trouble over a skycar." he grumbles.
Jason sighs and nods his head as Sioria speaks. "Just.. see if you can dig up any public contracts in Linissa." he says, cocking his head back towards Renala, "Public security deals, stuff like that. If you can't find anything, then you can't find anything. That simple. But it could give us an indication as to whether we're about to attack a freelance agency or a public police force." He presses a metallic hand against his
Victoria hops out of the shuttle as well and follows besides Mendez "A lot of trouble to get themselves killed now. If I can get my hands on their boss, he is going to wish for a quick death." The anger in her voice still present in all of her words.
Mendez casts a sidelong glance at Victoria as he starts towards the door. "Keep it in check. We'll see how Wolfe wants to handle this. Get angry, you get sloppy."
"Can't help it. You would act the exact same way as me, if they took your partner." She states as she follows the man.
Renala nods. "Just give me a minute to regulate internal temperature," she says before taking another sip, not sounding too serious. "What about the footage you gave me? Is there anything you want me to do with it?"
Sioria pulls open her omnitool again. "I'll, uh... see what I can dredge up." she says as she starts surfing the extranet for any details on Avoren, as per requested. She could message a friend or two about them, but she decides to keep it local for now.
Mendez shakes his head, the pieces coming together now on why she's taking it so personally. "No. I wouldn't." he states plainly. "I'd keep my head on straight for their sake. Do things right and make sure they're playing our game. Not the other way around." he says. "Your feelings for her are all the more reason why you shouldn't let this become personal. Trust me, you don't want to learn that lesson the hard way...." he says, his deep
Jason shuts down his omni-tool and scoops it off the table, shoving it back into his pocket. "Was just hoping you could confirm Mendez' suspicions. If you were already out of the fight before you got a chance to get eyes on their hardsuits, then the footage has most likely already outlived its usefulness unless you can somehow put a name to the face on it, but I'm gonna guess that's outside of your skillset...?" He quickly casts a
glance in Sioria's direction and offers a nod, "Let me know what you find. I don't expect there to be much unless Linissa is using them for city security. Even then it might not be the sort of thing we can just dig up. I'd prefer to keep this ordeal between us and Avoren Security without getting Linissa involved. But places usually don't take too kindly to a group of mercenaries flying in and opening fire on their people,
Their public information are mostly past attests from stores and other establishments, and a mention of a local construction company they provide for. None of this is signed and thus verifyable right away, though. They offer a contact address, but it's not attached to a specific name within the company. Their size, who's doing what, and names are not shown on their page. One name is the exception: Irelia Nizuria, who is claimed to lead
Victoria remains silent after Mendez's words as she contemplates them. She gives a reluctant nod "I will try." She admits to the man.
Mendez simply continues through the hallways and up the staircase, thinking better of adding anything else to the topic for now. As they reach the top of the stairs he simply says, "We will get her back." As usual, his voice is devoid of emotion, but it somehow sounds like more of a promise than a simple statement.
Renala frowns. "I'd need reliable data for video content analysis to recognize a face," she says. "Miner's Respite does use facial recognitiion in addition to other data to keep track of guests, but there's not always a name associated with them. You could still send it Lacour's way."
Victoria simply follows Mendez up the staircase, his words give her some comfort but not enough to completely put her at ease. "I'm going to get my gear." She states as she will break off to get to her locker.
Uvena enters the lobby, and takes off her helmet. She's panting after having ran the last bit of distance, not trusting another taxi to take her there in time. She keeps it under her arms as she starts walking towards the staircase.
Mendez gives Vicky a nod and proceeds to the rec room. Once inside, he merely steps to the side of the door and gives the others a greeting by way of nod. "So what's the plan?" he asks, his large frame leaning against the wall.
Jason gives a shake of his head at Renala's suggestion. "I don't particularly think it would get us anywhere anyway. Even if we got a name to go with a face, there's no solid way of connecting him to Avoren Security without being able to access their employee records." As Mendez makes his appearance, he looks in his direction and gives another shake of his head. "Right now, we're on wait and see. We can discuss our options once
Renala nods and enables her omni-tool, and she starts going through the footage at high speed, stopping it every now and then to get a closer look.
Uvena enters the rec room in time to have overheard the last bit, and looks around the room. "Well, I'm here," she begins. "Does that mean you've found something to act on?"
Sioria takes a small glance at Jason as if she has something, but doesn't say anything yet. Not anything that she feels the need to interrupt, at least. She continues to search through the pages she'd already gone through, just in case she missed anything specific.
Mendez glances to his side, folding his arms across his chest as he waits to hear what Jason has to say.
Jason lets out a deep sigh as Uvena enters the room. "Yes and no." he says. "We found footage along V's route to work that seems to show her being picked up..." he says, giving an apologetic tilt of his head before elaborating, "Grabbed. According to Mendez-.." he continues, glancing in the large man's direction, "...the hardsuit seen in the video matches the armor worn by Avoren Security. The same people who were hounding you
over the skycar. If that turns out to be true, then we probably have a ransom situation on our hands. We know their job is just to collect on what they feel is owed, and harming V wouldn't give them any sort of leverage so we have to assume that she's not in any immediate danger." He sucks in a deep breath, leaning back in his seat, "...Not that it makes me feel any better about the situation. The problem we have right now
is we have no way of confirming 100% that they're with Avoren. Launching an attack on a competitor simply over the color of their hardsuits sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. We also have no real way of knowing how close their ties are to the leadership of Linissa, where they operate out of. For now, my personal belief is that we should try and reach out to them and open a line of negotiations just to confirm who we're
dealing with. If they do have her, they're gonna want us to know it and they're gonna want us to have their demands. If they think we're crazy, then we know we're on the wrong trail. It's going to blow our element of surprise, but I don't think the potential of attacking the wrong people isn't something we can risk..."
Uvena gives a slow nod. She takes a few moments to consider all she's been told while taking a seat at the table, putting the helmet down in front of her. "I thought this issue was dealt with," she says with a frown. "I do have the credits to pay the debt as stated in their last demand, but... that number might have grown since then." She sighs. "Do we have any other clues to follow up on?"
Jason gives a slow shake of his head. "We don't. And it doesn't matter anyway, because those assholes aren't going to get a credit out of you. We just need to open negotiations to make sure we have the right people and buy ourselves some time to orchestrate a plan of action. I'll talk with Linda and see if we have any authority out in Linissa. Maybe see if she can pull a few strings. We want to do this properly, even if that makes
Victoria after getting her armor on, she held her helmet under her arm and walked into the Rec room. "So we know where these guys are right?"
Uvena sighs. "I understand," she says. "I'll apologize for my impatience. I lost her once, and she still haven't forgiven me for that. I don't want to repeat that."
Jason glances to Vicky as she enters. "We know where their office is. But that doesn't mean it's where they're keeping V. If they even have V. For now, I'm gonna ask you all to stay on standby. Give me a few hours to talk this over with Linda and see just how far we can push things in Linissa before they push back. I'll get word out to Avoren Security and let them know we're ready to start talking demands and see how they react.
In the meantime-..." he glances back to Uvena, "...you just let me know if you hear anything. You would be the one they'd reach out to if they decide they're ready to start talking." He goes quiet, biting his lower lip for a moment before continuing, "...And you have nothing to apologize for, Uvena. V is one of my best friends. You can bet your ass we're going to get her back. And whoever is behind this? They're not going
to have long to regret what they've done once we get our hands on them. That much I can promise you."
Renala is still looking over the footage between sips of the potent coffee, and it is not clear whether she's actually listening to the group at the table.
Jason gives Uvena a nod. "They are. From Briggs' report, it sounds like they hire Avoren Security as some bullshit collection service for unpaid fees. Which is a nice way of saying they're a bunch of extortionists. Briggs' report says he was able to talk the guy into calling them off by announcing Redrock backing you, but it didn't seem like the guy was entirely confident that they'd stop. So either these guys don't answer to our
friend down at the rental company, or he had a sudden change of heart. Either way, I can have Briggs go back down and have a talk with him. See what he can dig up." He glances over to Renala, "You were with him, right? Any impression? Think it's a pressure point worth looking into, or a waste of time?"
Sioria finishes double checking everything she'd looked over and closes her omnitool with a sigh. She didn't have much, but it was something. Though, she continues to wait.
Renala stops playback with the hand holding the coffee cup, though she doesn't spill it, and looks up. "I think Briggs showed him we were very serious," she says. "He's either stupid, or no longer involved." She pauses for a moment, glancing at the people around the table. "You have a lot of idle mercs right here, why not send one of them instead of calling Briggs in?" She's almost at the end of the footage after having fast
Jason gives a shrug. "Because Briggs already has experience with him. A former connection. Might convince him to loosen his lips a bit more." He furrows his brow, "Or you could go. Just thought you might have your hands full right now."
Victoria tries her best to remain professional, she is annoyed that she must wait before they did anything. If they knew who did it, Vicky wanted to blast their office to ashes with her ship's weaponary. She decides to make her way back to the locker room to be by herself for a time.
Uvena nods. "It's probably best he does," she says. "I might be tempted to just kill him on sight after all this." She looks up as Victoria leaves, but doesn't say anything.
Renala looks back down on her omni-tool. "That's right," she says. "I am working on something else, too, that I'd like to try out. Come see me if we get a person we can contact."
Jason gives Renala a nod, "Will do." as Victoria leaves, he opens his mouth to say something, but thinks better of it. It's bad enough that they've got his friend, he's probably in no position to try and talking Victoria down. Knowing how he felt when Vasquez was taken, he simply falls silent and glances down at his metallic hands momentarily. "But you're right. We've already have enough hands on deck. Sioria?" he asks, glancing
to the turian, "Think you can go down to the rental company and see what they can tell you on Avoren Security? See who gave the order on this and gauge their reaction. Figure out if they're involved. I'll can forward you the information I have on Briggs' visit with them and what we know."
Sioria nods as she opens her omnitool, and makes a note of it. "Do I have any back-up?" she asks. "I don't know much about this guy, let alone how smart they are. They could be waiting for one of us to turn up asking questions." She looks from her omnitool to Jason. "I'll get it done, I just don't want my back exposed." Finally, she opens a new tab. "I did find some things out about
Avoren, by the way. Nothing to note on major public contracts, just small businesses and a mention of a construction company being in bed with these guys. No specific numbers or operator names except for their leader. Does an Irelia Nizuria ring any bells?"
Uvena frowns. "Do tell him I said hi if you decide to use deadly force," she says grimly before getting up, and walking out of the room. She's also headed for the locker room, maybe to catch up to Victoria.
Victoria has already made her way into the locker room. She can be seen leaning against her locker with her helmet on the ground.
Jason gives a shake of his head. "They're just a car rental company. Hopefully backup shouldn't be needed, but if anything seems out of place just shoot a message my way and we'll get someone down there ASAP-..." he pauses as Uvena speaks up, watching her silently as she leaves the room in turn. He gives a sigh and collects himself before continuing to speak to Sioria, "The name doesn't mean anything to me. Briggs' report
mentioned a 'Taro Avoren'. A salarian, if I recall correctly. My money would be on him calling the shots considering his name is-... you know, on the sign and all." He retrieves his omni-tool and activates it, typing for a moment as he falls silent. "There. Address and Briggs' report coming your way." As the interface dissipates, he begins to stand from his seat. "You're just asking questions. Don't make any big decisions
out there without running it by me. We don't want to antagonize these people when they may have V. I'm gonna see what me and Linda can drum up, I'll be in touch." he says as he starts towards the door.
Renala taps a few more times on her omni-tool to bring the vid screen to life. "I'll give the footage another look, but I'll leave some still frames I thought were interesting on the screen here and down in the conference room." She starts walking towards the door, as well.
There are six pictures displayed on the screens in a 3x2 grid. Top-Left: Batarian in green armor with shotgun, standing guard outside convenience store window. Top-Middle: Green sky-car driving past the grocery store window. TR: Small black object thrown to some point on the street outside the store. BL: Salarian about to pick something up from the floor outside convenience store. Slgihtly reddish skin with green dots here and there
around the horns, red medium armor w/o helmet. BM: Victoria speaking with a dark blue asari outside. BR: Fully armored human male with militia written on a band around the right arm.
Sioria stands up behind him. "Do I have a time limit?" she asks. "I wanna scope the place out before I go in there. Cover my bases." Then she closes her omnitool again after confirming the file transfer. "I don't like the sound of this Nizuria situation. Why would they be using a front instead of the guy the thing is named after? Can't be good for getting contracts..." She shakes her
head and sighs. "Questions that'll get answered in time, I'm sure." She follows him towards the door. "I'll see what I can do. I'm not the best when it comes to charisma, so I'll keep it simple, but I can smell bullshit a mile off. That's the right expression, right?"
Jason stops and studies the images on the screen for a moment, letting out a sigh at the sight of the militiaman. "I appreciate it, Renala." he says as he pulls his omni-tool free yet again and pulls the images to his device. "I'd like to get negotiations with them up ASAP, Sioria, so yeah, we're on the clock. Do what you have to, but keep time in mind. I'd like to get out ahead of this before they try reaching out and start
calling the shots. I have no idea why they'd be using a front when Taro's name is on the company, but I don't particularly care, either. They're involved in some shady shit, that much is clear. All I care about right now is V's well being." A grin crosses his lips at the human expression but he nods. "You've got two hours." he says plainly as he turns back to the door, pocketing his omni-tool, "Do what you can."
Sioria "Well shit, I better catch a ride then." She says with a smile across her face. "I'll be outta here in 10." she says as she heads towards the locker room. "If you don't hear from me by sundown... y'know, start burning shit down or something. Just don't leave me out to dry, eh?"
Jason gives a snicker and shakes his head as he turns towards the stairs. "Well, as it so happens, burning shit down happens to be my specialty." he says as he starts towards the stairs. As he reaches them, he extends a metallic hand to grasp the railing and glances back to the turian. "Seriously, though. Be safe. If something doesn't seem right, send a message my way and I'll have backup out to support you. Don't take any risks."
He holds Sioria's gaze for a moment longer to get the seriousness of the situation across before starting down the staircase.
Sioria "See, now you're just asking for me to set up a bonfire night." Then she looks at her hand and gives Jason a thumbs up with a smile. She was getting the hang of all these human gestures and phrases! "I ain't a risk taker, boss. That's why I'm scoping it out beforehand, and I'll have my tracker active. I'll put a spare in my boot just in case."