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#Miner'sRespite – August 16, 2016
Jason is currently seated at the bar. His 'one drink before heading home' quickly turned into 'maybe just one more...' Four drinks in, he's perched on the edge of his barstool, cheek propped atop a clenched fist as he stares down into his rum & cola. He's a light skinned human in his late 20's with short dark hair and blue eyes dressed in a pair of black boots, black fatigues and a
white t-shirt. A shoulder-holstered Phalanx is just below his left arm, in plain sight now that he has slung his brown jacket over the back of his seat. His most striking feature, however, are his two synthetic arms.
Luna walks in through the door, yawning. A twenty-something Asian woman with tanned olive skin and a lean build, like a recruit getting used to all the marching in boot camp, with black hair tied into a short ponytail, brown eyes with the look of every lost tourist looking for something. The type of boots special operators or wannabes wore padded along the floor, brushing some lint off black work pants and
a fan-made Nekiya Corridor shirt with a horrible pun off the lead character's name. Slung behind her was a modded Valkyrie, the barrel tapering forward - almost like a tank's muzzle.
Jason reaches for his glass and takes a long swig from it, grimacing as the liquid burns the back of his throat before setting the now-empty glass back down. He seems to consider leaving for a moment, biting his lower lip as he studies the empty glass. Finally he slides it across the bar and gives a tap against the countertop with two dark grey, synthetic fingers, signalling the asari
to give him a refill. An older, heavy-set human further down the bar hops off his stool, making a point of passing behind Jason as he makes to exit. "How'd that loss taste, Nos Astra!?" the older man taunts casually. Jason simply raises a hand up over his shoulder, extending his middle finger upwards. "Suck a dick." Jason responds. The older man cackles as he turns and starts towards
the door, nearly bumping into Luna on his way out. "Oof! S'cuse me, ma'am!" the old man offers as he sidesteps her and continues on his way.
Luna regards the old feller with a raised eyebrow, but says nothing as she continues further into the bar. She's now facing the eternal debate: table or bar? ...and she quickly takes a seat at the bar to not look like a total asshole, staring at the bar decor as she tries to find where the menu is.
Jason glances to his side at the new arrival, offering her a simple nod in greeting as he waits for his drink. As he spots her attention pulled to the holographic screens displaying the menu, he rotates on his stool slightly to better face her. "Kitchen is closed today." he says, "But if you're not against putting questionable meat in your mouth, their varren kebabs are pretty fucking
Luna turns, eyebrow slightly raised. Meat in mouth. Uh... "Weird way to put it, but I do like varren. I'll get one, then," she says, voice slightly raised as she eyes the bartender. "And a Blue Hawaiian, easy on the liquor."
Jason blinks a couple of times. "Oh.... I-... uhh, I don't work here." he informs, brow furrowed. "Just a recommendation. Like I said, though, they've got the kitchen closed today." His gazes travels to the weapon at her back and he gives it a quick once over, leaning an elbow back against the counter. Given his recent conversation, he immediately reasesses the woman. Not the right
hair color, but hell, hair color can be changed. Definitely a new arrival given the fish-out-of-water look painted on her face. He regards the weapon with another nod. "Nice piece of hardware you've got there." he says, "You-... You wouldn't happen to be Natalie, would you? I know that probably sounds like a really strange fucking question, but just humor me."
"Oh," Luna says as she brings a palm to her face. "...sorry, I thought - y'know. ...some places on Earth keep some appetizers on the grill even when they close up the kitchen. "I'll give it a try when I come back. This place has solid reviews on Hollr, anyway." She shifts in her stool to face him better. "Thanks. And, no - I'm Luna. Luna Masako."
Jason frowns, letting out a shallow sigh. "Yeah. Figured. My luck isn't that good..." he mutters, reaching for his drink and pulling it in close. "Blue Hawaiian for my friend here." he informs the bartender, giving a gesture towards Luna. "Easy on the liquor." He leans over the counter slightly, lowering his voice to a stage whisper, "Feel free to balance it out by doubling the
liquor on my next drink." he jokes as a lopsided grin crosses his lips. As the asari moves to make the woman's drink, Jason turns back to Luna. "Yeah, sorry-..." he begins with a shake of his head, "...Just-... Looking for someone and you fit the bill. Sort of. Kind of-..." he cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes slightly as if examining her, ".....Not really at all." he
continues, a slight chuckle escaping him. "Jason Wolfe." he finally offers, extending a dark grey synthetic hand towards the woman. Given her history, she's probably seen similar models before. The sort of advanced prosthetic that's common among battle-scarred soldiers and mercenaries alike.
Luna takes the hand and shakes firmly. "Stood up? I'm glad I don't date. Maybe she just got the address wrong?" She does make note of the augs, but says nothing otherwise... though, she's glad she hasn't had the need for a prosthetic yet.
Jason gives a quick glance towards his own hand as it's taken. It's a brief movement, but a practiced, detail-oriented eye might notice the telltale signs of discomfort. Just as quickly as the discomfort appeared, it's once again washed away, replaced by his charming lopsided smirk. "Nah, nothing like that." he says with a snicker as he retracts his hand, "Just-.... Eh, it doesn't
matter. Couldn't help but notice you looked a little lost." he continues, giving a quick gesture towards the holographic menus she had been searching for moments earlier, "Any Freedom Faller worth their weight knows about the Respite. New in town?"
Jason nods confidently in firm agreement. "I have absolutely no idea what in the fuck that is but I'm gonna agree with you to look like I do." he jokes, rotating back to better face his drink. "So what brings you to our pimple of a town on the ass of the galaxy?" he asks as he brings his drink to his lips and takes a quick sip.
"Oh. Crowdsourced review site. Which basically means any yahoo with extranet access can leave reviews about anything that sells anything. Granted, this means most people are idiots, giving idiotic reviews, but. As for me being here... hoping to chase down some contracts. Taking a bit of a break after fucking Garvug."
Jason gives a quick sidelong glance in Luna's direction. It takes him a moment of searching through his memory before he realizes she hasn't just revealed an extremely awkward and intimate detail of her personal life. "Oh! Garvug! Yeah, I was reading a bit about that-..." he says, and by reading he of course means catching headlines every now and then while browsing through far less
important things that actually interest him, "...Sounds like a messy situation out there. How'd you manage to find yourself caught up in that clusterfuck?"
"Money. Needing to eat. Needing better gear for better money." She rubs her face. "Don't worry, I didn't shoot any civilians in the face."
The bartender delivers Luna's drink with a smile, quickly making herself scarce as to not interrupt their conversation.
Jason shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, I'm not here to judge. We've all gotta eat, right? And-... uhh, that's-... good...?" he says, not exactly sure how exactly he's supposed to respond. "The whole-... not shooting civilians in the face." he elaborates, "In my experience, people tend to frown on being shot in the face. You know-... when they're still able to frown. Usually it's just a
"Yeah, but then you've got less people trying to shoot you in the face if you don't shoot civilians in the face. Or at all." She gives a thankful nod and a smile to the bartender and picks up the drink, bringing it to her lips. "...I'll just leave it at the entire being a clusterfuck."
Jason raises his drink slightly in a mock toast. "Works for me." he says simply as he takes a swig of his drink, "Sounds like this whole Garvug ordeal isn't ending anytime soon, either. And now this attack on Horizon?" his gaze lowers to the counter and he falls silent for a moment, shaking his head. "Seems like the entire galaxy is out of whack right now..." he continues before adding
"That, too. More colonies are hiring for temp security. Even if they're backwaters, they'll always need an extra gun. And the galaxy's always been burning from the start. I've read some stuff about found ruins with signs of nuclear war before the dinosaurs existed."
Jason sighs loudly, "Means more work for people like us..." he says, suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt at the idea of his livlihood depending on other people being in danger. He bites down on his urge to correct her pronunciation, instead merely nodding, "I suppose that makes sense, though. If there's one thing we've proven, it's that we'll always be at one another's throats."
Vasili walks down from the residential rooms of the Respite, wearing his usual grey flightsuit and cap. His omnitool is open, and he seems to input commands as he walks. Why become obvious, when a small drone, no larger than a coconut, floats down behind him on four small, almost silent engines, two at the front, and one at the back. The bot follows him, its four cameras focusing on
different items of interest in the tavern. Satisfied with the readouts, the man closes his omnitool and the drone lands on a small harness strapped to his back, and clips in. It seems Vas has been doing okay if he can get his hands on a toy like that. It certainly wasn't the best model on the market, but it wasn't the cheapest either. He makes his way to the bar and orders himself a
Jason gives another shrug. "I do a little of this, a little of that. Got a company that operates right here in Freedom Falls." he explains, "Redrock Agency. We mostly provide security for a few places around town and pick up the odd contract here and there. Nothing too big, but it pays the bills. It's nice to be able to pick and choose our jobs without having anyone else to answer
to, though. Don't get me wrong, I gave a good portion of my life to the Alliance, and I don't regret any of it, but nothing beats working for yourself." he says, though he does pass a glance back towards the door, subconsciously expecting Vasquez to burst through and remind him that he works for her. In the process, he spots Vasili and gives him a brief wave.
Luna nods to the newcomer (not really a newcomer if they're local, though), and turns back to Jason. "You accept temps? I'm always flying the hell out everywhere. Costs a pretty penny, but you've got to keep options open..."
Vasili raises his pint to the two and takes a hearty swig. "Good day." he says in his fairly emotionless Russian tone. He never was one for showing too much emotion, and now that he has a thicker beard than the last time Jason and he'd met, it was even harder to see. The pilot continues with his drink, eavesdropping on the conversations around him. Probably not needed, but it was hard
Jason tilts his head to one side, then the other, considering the question. "Eh... Occasionally for one-off jobs. We usually like to bring people on for the long-term, though. Keep them on retainer in case we get a job spur-of-the-moment. But you know how this business runs. It's always a revolving door with people coming and going with little warning." he shrugs, taking another swig
of his drink. "Kind of comes with the territory, you know? We're out in the asscrack of the Terminus Systems. People come out here for all sorts of reasons, but our kind of people- those who know how to pull a trigger- are usually running from something. Makes it difficult to keep a reliable employee roster, but I think we've done well enough." As Vasili speaks up, he gives a nod his
way. "I haven't forgotten about you, buddy." he explains, pointing at the man, "Just haven't had anything come up that would need that sort of hardware."
"Well, I make the circuits around the Terminus Systems, anyway. Hitching rides in case they need security for cargo shipments to and from Illium, so I promise I won't flounce one day."
Vasili nods without looking over and gives a small wave to say 's'alright'. "Good thing I am branching out." he says in his drab tone. Then he raises an eyebrow. "Actually... when you have a second, I may need to have chat with you." He turns his attention fully to Jason. "However, it is not urgent. Yet."
Jason 's smirk widens slightly as he gives Luna a nod. "Noted. Am I to assume that means you're interested in signing up?" he asks, "I might be able to arrange that. Or an interview at the very least. But we don't really like our employees to take other jobs while they're signed on with us." He shrugs apologetically, "We like to keep our hands clean. We've got a pretty good reputation
out here and that sort of stuff usually leads to a conflict of interest. Getting Redrock pulled into other people's conflicts due to the company we keep is something I'd rather avoid, ya know? If that's not an option for you, feel free to pass your info my way and maybe we'll contact you if we're shorthanded and need another gun. Can't guarantee anything, though. We always prioritize
handing out work to our own people before getting outside parties involved." He glances to Vasili and raises a hand, extending his index finger, indicating he'll get to him in a moment. "If you're gonna be around for a few, I'd be more than happy to discuss business with you, Vas. Just give me a little bit to get around to it." he adds, gesturing to Luna as if to say he doesn't want to
"That's totally understandable, actually. I'll send you my info in a bit. And don't worry, I'm not going to run off and gunrun for the Blue Suns anytime soon," with a bit of disgusted emphasis on 'Blue Suns'. "I'll be around - I'm taking a bit of a break from getting shot at before I dive into my next contract."
Vasili nods, expecting nothing less. "Of course, of course." he says, going back to his drink. Like he said, it wasn't urgent yet. He takes another sip of his pint and opens his omnitool again as if to check something. He scrolls through a few items, then closes it again with a light sigh.
Jason winces slightly at the mention of the Blue Suns. Given his history with the group, her open disgust towards them is probably a good thing. "Well, we're not hidden. We've got an office on the outskirts of town and you should be able to find us pretty easily on the extranet." he explains, "Once you're ready to start getting your ass shot off again, come talk to us." He gives his
drink another swig and sets it down, rotating it in place a few times by the brim. "I should probably see what the beard wants." he continues, cocking a thumb over towards Vasili with a grin, "But welcome to Freedom Falls, Luna. This is my watering hole, so I'm sure I'll be seeing you around." He shifts a bit on his stool before adding as an afterthought: "Oh! And don't forget about
"Noted. I'll swing by after this, but first, go ahead and deal with what he needs. I'm never not bored of getting my ass shot off. Well, not literally."
Jason gives a chuckle, "Well, Redrock offers plenty of opportunities for getting your ass shot off. Both literally and figuratively." he says. He looks to the bartender and gives a gesture towards Luna's drink, then to himself. "Put it on my tab." he says, scooping his own drink up and climbing off his barstool. With his other hand he collects his jacket and looks over to Vasili.
"So what sort of 'chat' is this going to be, Vas?" he asks, cocking a thumb back towards the more-private booths.
Vasili nods at the booth and grabs his drink to relocate. He heads over and slides onto one of the benches. The Russian takes a brief moment to consider his words, his fingers steepled slightly. "...I told you about what I did before coming here, yes?" he asks. "I didn't work for the most... reputable people back on Earth." He begins, testing the waters.
Jason follows the man over to the booth, glancing back over his shoulder to Luna and raising his own drink to her as he departs. "Eh, you didn't go into details." he says as he joins Vasili by the booth, tossing his jacket into the seat across from the Russian before sliding in himself, "But I'm not as dumb as I look. I can occasionally put two-and-two together." He gives a shrug
as he puts his glass down on the table and brings his legs up onto the seat, leaning back against the wall. "I know you have some pretty heavy firepower capable of doing a whole lot of damage, had problems with Earth authority and now you're out here in the Terminus Systems. Doesn't take a genius. Hell, half the people in this town are probably here for similar reasons. It's not my
Vasili nods slowly and sits back, again choosing his words. "I never hurt anyone." he finally says. "But I found them. The people in my mother country, rich, powerful, paid me to find people who had wronged them. Rivals, rats, traitors, that sort of thing." He doesn't mention the ones where they didn't tell him the details. He tried not to think of them. "Well, it came back to haunt
Jason sits back against the wall and listens. Organized crime. Not exactly the sort of people he's too thrilled about getting involved with. Once Vasili is done, his gaze turns to his drink as he considers his response. "Suppose that depends on the bounty hunter." he says simply. "They have their place. Plenty of bad people out there that deserve the price on their head. Hell, some
Vasili takes another moment. "Well, the long arm of the law wants to take me in for questioning. The only thing I've done illegal is taking money from bad men, but they want evidence that can put them under. However, this would make me a rat, and rats always get caught. They can find someone else, I'm not risking it." He checks his omnitool again. "Point is, they can't reach me here.
Too much manpower and resources to catch one man. It's cheaper to hire a bounty hunter, which they have. In turn, he's hired a small band of mercenaries to help him. I've heard stories, they're more terrorists than mercs. Lots of collateral damage. My sources tell me, they are on their way here to find me."
Jason lets out a deep breath and a groan shortly follows. Yet another problem threatening to drag Freedom Falls into its gravtiy. "And you want Redrock to protect you?" he says, more of a statement than a question. His gaze rises from his drink to Vasili. "We don't work for free..." he continues, "But I'm more interested in why you're here talking to me about this rather than going
Vasili shakes his head. "I wouldn't ask you to go to war on my behalf. I'd rather flee." he says, then taps the table. "What I want is for this to be over. And for that, I need it off the books. They found my alias here, someone who technically does not exist, so..." He folds his hands together. "I need someone to help me fake my death. These guys are good, so I will need someone with
a little more smarts than myself, and some help, which is why I am coming to you personally." He opens his hands again. "And in exchange for my help, I will offer you a 3 month contract for most of my services, pro bono. Drones, my ship, my intelligence gathering skills. I understand that they are not needed as much, which is why I am investing in personal recon systems, such as the
drone on my back. One of a few, for different purposes, for field work." He sips his beer. "After this contract period is up, depending on my performance, I would like to consider joining Red Rock full time as an intelligence and recon specialist. If you'll have me."
Jason nods sagely at the implication that he has smarts. Not a compliment he hears often, but dammit he's going to own it! He sighs and shifts a bit in his seat, "Vas, like I said, I'm not here to judge, but from my experience? The past usually finds a way to catch up to you no matter how far you run. If these people are willing to search across the galaxy for you, what makes you
think we'll be able to trick them into believing you're dead? This isn't the sort of shit Redrock handles. Point our guns at assholes and pull the trigger? Sure. An elaborate scheme to trick a bunch of bounty hunters into thinking someone is dead...? Not so much. Not to mention we can't exactly pay our bills with the offer of a service that I'm not even entirely sure we're going to have
a use for..." Another sigh escapes him as he struggles with outright turning Vas down. It's just not in his nature to turn his back on someone who needs help, regardless of the circumstances. And given the potential larger threat to Freedom Falls this might present makes the matter even more difficult to get a handle on. "Look, the bottom line is that this just isn't the sort of shit
we do. We're security contractors, we wouldn't know the first thing about any of this shit. But if these guys are as bad as you're saying they are, then maybe you should come have a talk with us down at the office. Maybe we can-..." he shakes his head, letting out another deep breath, "...I don't know-... work something out."
Vasili nods, but doesn't show much emotion. He wasn't disapointed, he came into this without expectations, instead his mind was racing for other ideas. "Mm. Thank you for your time, regardless. If worst comes to be, I still have a few missiles left. I can take them out where they are, but I'd rather just leave. Who knows what might happen." He looks at his omnitool again. "I will have
to consider your contract prices, but I am not a rich man. You know my skills, if there is any information you need, let me know and we can figure it out." He closes the tool again with an idea. "Tell me, Jason. Have you or your group had experience with negotiations? Perhaps we could nogotiate with them, give them an insentive to go back to the alliance telling them I'm gone, or dead,
or something..." The Russian pauses, and composes himself. "Ideas to be discussed another time, I'm sure. Again, thank you for your time."
Jason furrows his brow at the mention of the Alliance. "Wait, wait, wait. It's the Alliance that's looking for you....?" he asks, seeming somewhat confused as he puts a hand up to pause the man, "Why would the Alliance hire bounty hunters...?"
Vasili shrugs. "Because of the manpower needed to get out here? Honestly, I found that fishy myself, which is why I am thinking there is some level of corruption going on here. I don't have the full picture, only what I can gather from my sources. This why I need help, I want to disapear, but I don't want to keep running." He sighs heavily. "If you have any ideas or theories, I'd love
Jason sucks in a deep breath, giving a shallow shake of his head. "I don't. Unfortunately. But I know people in the Alliance. I've got contacts I can reach out to. This isn't the way they operate." He shifts once again, sliding his legs back under the table as he turns to face Vasili straight on as he speaks to him, "Stop by my office, alright? Somewhere we can talk without the
noise. Bring whatever info you have on these people and I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything, but if the Alliance have something to do with this-... Well, I'd like to see what this is about, alright?"
Vasili nods, finding some hope finally. His beard twitches a little as a smile pulls at his cheek. "Alright. Thank you, Jason. I very much appreciate this." He offers the man a large, strong hand.
Jason reaches out to accept his hand, giving it a firm shake. His control over his new arms has improved greatly since their last meeting. No chance of a crushed hand. "Not a problem, Vas. I'd like to see this whole ordeal pass Freedom Falls by. We've had far too many problems around here lately." he says as he brings his hand back, resting it around his glass. "Just-.... keep your
shit together, alright? You came out here to get away from that stuff. To put it behind you. Nobody has ever accused me of being an optimist, but I do believe people can change. Don't let this shit pull you back in."
Vasili shakes his head slowly. "I won't panic. Do not worry." he says. "I've wanted a fresh start for a little while now, and I believe Freedom Falls is the best place to do that. Thank you for the kind words, I assure you they are not misplaced."
Jason gives a stern nod. "You know our contact information, Vas. Put together whatever you can find regarding these people- the bounty hunters and the people you were involved with- and shoot a message my way before you drop by, alright? I'll be heading out on a job in another week which will see me off Aite for about a week. I'm not sure what sort of time frame you're dealing with
here, but it's something to keep in mind." He reaches for his drink and lifts it to his lips, draining the last of it. "For now I should probably get back. Was just supposed to be stopping by for some work-related business and-..." he holds his glass up, "...Well, winded up staying longer than I intended." he adds with a smirk.
Vasili smirks in return, finding it slightly amusing, then nods in return. "I will have everything ready by tomorrow. In the mean time, I'll have my birds flying, looking for any sign of them. They could be early." He takes his glass again. "I will see you soon, Wolfe."
Jason climbs from the booth, scooping his jacket up in the process. "Take care, Vas." he offers before returning to the counter to set down his glass and pay off his bill.
Vasili nods in return, and goes back to his quiet contemplation. Things seemed to be looking up, for now at least. The quiet is nice, until its interrupted by the noise of the inn's janitor knocking her washbucket over. He rolls his eyes, she seemed to be getting clumsier by the day. He pays for his beer and heads outside for some fresh air.