Logs - Aite RP

This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.

It's noon on the 21st of November, and the Redrock wedding with associated parties is fast approaching. Tara has been called into the Redrock infirmary for a checkup. She's spent about an hour in there with Halisi, Leah being asked to wait in the meanwhile.

Leah has mostly spent the past hour seated at one of the cubicles across the hall as she waits. A good time to catch up on reports. She's dressed in usual fashion. Clunky, unlaced black boots, form fitting black pants and a grey t-shirt. Slung over the back of her chair is a light blue winter jacket. Alone in the shared office space, she taps away at the terminal on the desk.

The door to the offices slides open, and Tara steps inside, giving Leah a small smile. She's wearing blue jeans and a dark green/light green double-sleeved t-shirt, and she has a vitamin-enriched juicebox in hand. Halisi follows not far behind, in her doctor's coat, with datapad in hand. A small patch of medigel on Tara's arm indicates new blood samples have been taken.

Leah rotates in her seat as she hears the door open and a big smile crosses her face. "Heyyyyy." she greets as she slaps the palms of her hands against her thighs and stands up, looking to Tara, "All done?"

Tara nods, sipping the juicebox rather than saying anything. She seems in fairly good spirits.

Halisi offers a faint smile and hads the datapad over to Leah for inspection, repeating a summary of its contents: "Tara's nutritional status is greatly improved since the last checkup, I'm glad to report. And the anti-parasitic meds have done their jobs."

Leah's smile widens and she gives Tara a boop on the nose, scrunching up her own as she looks to Halisi. "That's great!" she says as she tosses an arm over Tara's shoulder to give her a playful sidehug while she accepts the datapad with her other hand. "And everything else is good...?" she asks as she glances over to Tara and adds through a smile, "Ready to run a marathon?"

Halisi glances towards Tara, a brief hint of sadness showing through her professional mask. "The other health concerns mentioned after the last checkup remain unchanged. But I'm glad to say a proper diet and improved... living conditions, have done wonders for Tara's physical wellbeing." she says, giving Tara a pat on the shoulder with another smile which manifests only briefly.

Tara 's nose twitches not unlike a mouse's after being booped. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "What... is a marathon?"

Leah gives a snicker at Tara's reaction and shakes her head. "It's a-... Nevermind, it's just a joke. I'll explain it later." she says as she lets go of the hug and turns her attention to the datapad to begin looking over the contents. "Do you have any-..." she pauses, passing a brief, apologetic glance Tara's way as she feels a twinge of discomfort over discussing her right in front of her, "...Umm... Any recommendation how we

can address any of that...?" She flinches and gives a shake of her head, "The muscle and larynx damage...? Is there anything....?" she trails off as she looks to Halisi.

Halisi waits in silence as Leah looks over the datapad. She looks between the two of them at the question. "Tara and I have... discussed the options for dealing with remaining health issues. There is unfortunately little to be done in the case of muscle damage since these are old injuries. Any attempt at corrective surgery would be disporportionately invasive considering the relatively low impact. There are... few options, when

it comes to the larynx. None that we can attempt here. A synthetic vocalizer is inadvisable except in cases of complete voice loss. I'm sorry I don't have more to offer."

Tara listens in silence to the exchange, almost looking like she's going to speak up at one point, but she never does.

Leah sighs, but gives an understanding nod as she looks sympathetically towards Tara. Her smile turns sad for a moment before disappearing entirely. "But you're saying there are options elsewhere..." she says as she looks back to Halisi. "At least regarding her larynx..?"

Halisi offers a slightly hesitant nod. "There... are potentially applicable procedures practiced in Citadel space, but it's high-end surgery. Expensive, long wait-lists, that type of thing."

Tara studies Leah, slightly puzzled look remaining.

Leah sucks in a deep breath and lets out through her nose. 'Expensive' isn't a word she wants to hear right now. Especially after her trip to Omega and the 'vacation' for her father pretty much wiped out her savings. Add on to that the additional financial strain of taking care of Tara and she's left with barely scraping by. She doesn't let her frustration show through for long, however, and she's quick to prop her bright smile

right back into place as she looks to Tara once more. "What do you think, Tara?" she asks, "She's saying there's a procedure that might be able to help with your-..." she reaches up with her right hand. using her thumb and index finger to grasp at her own throat and massage it gently. "This is your body. It's your call."

Tara blinks. "I know." she says, her eyes darting over to Halisi before going back to Leah. "We talked about that." she says, as if clarifying to her. It would almost come off as back talk if it wasn't for her tone. "I'm okay." she says with a small nod, briefly brushing a few fingers against her throat.

Halisi shifts slightly in place, listening.

Leah tilts her head to the side, not looking convinced. "Are you sure...?" she asks. "Could be an opportunity for you to see more of the galaxy~" she says in a singsong voice as if dangling bait, her smile swiftly returning. "We could get you on that list, shoot over to-... to wherever we need to go when it's your turn, and then come right back home." she offers before clarifying, "But it's up to you!" Despite the financial

hit her account would take, the last thing she wants is to deprive Tara an opportunity to undo some of the damage done to her. This is more important than credits.

Tara meets Leah's gaze, a small smile crossing her lips as she nods and repeats another quiet: "I'm okay."

Leah remains silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay then." she responds. She passes a glance Halisi's way before looking back to Tara and gesturing to the doctor, "Hey. Mind if I talk to Halisi for a minute in private?" she asks. "I bet there's some donuts in the rec room you could raid in the meantime! Jason always keeps a box of donuts around!" she suggests with a snicker.

Tara shoots a glance to the doctor and then nods. "Okay." she says, waiting a second before heading out the door.

Halisi raises an eyebrow, awaiting whatever Leah has to say.

Leah shouts: "Save one for me!" as Tara exits the room. It's not until she's gone that Leah's smile drops away and she sucks in a deep breath. "She's scared..." she says, her gaze still fixed on the door.

Halisi glances towards the door before looking back to Leah. "Certainly. But I assume you're referring to something specific."

Leah sighs and gives a nod. "She seems to think it's only a matter of time before they come and get her." She instantly shakes her head at her own words before correcting herself, "No-... She knows it's only a matter of time. No matter how much I try to convince her she-... She just-..." she trails off.

Halisi frowns, lowering her gaze to the desk as she crosses her arms lightly. "You have to remember the kind of adjustment this is for her. It's... doubtless going to be a long time before she feels truly safe. Years. There's no shortcut there. Just... letting her get used to this. Showing her she's safe."

Leah gives a couple of distant nods. "I know but-..." she hesitates, "...But what if she's right, Halisi?" She doesn't give the doctor a chance to respond before she continues, "There's people passing through Freedom Falls regular enough for me to know that she's not safe here. Not with those markings. How long until someone recognizes it? It doesn't take much." she explains, her mind jumping back to her conversation with Yan

Sun, "I'd be surprised if it hasn't already happened. And I can't just make her get them removed! Then I'm no better than them!" she adds defensively, even scrunching up her nose in defiance as if Halisi had suggested it. She relents, however, her expression returning more neutral, "I've talked to her about it and I think I'm making progress, I do, but-... But what if it's not enough?"

((returning to something more neutral*))

Halisi 's frown deepens as she listens, silver eyes unblinking as she studies Leah's concerned expression. "I... confess I had not given much thought to the potential danger presented by her markings. I understand your reluctance, but... if you think it important to her safety, maybe it's necessary to push the issue. This is... a dilemma not faced by rehabilitation workers in Alliance space, as such care is given well out of the

way of the eyes of those that would present a threat. Things are... different, here, certainly."

Leah frowns deeply as Halisi begins to mention the Alliance. "I'm not taking her to the Alliance." she says, just getting ahead of that issue right out of the gate, seemingly assuming Halisi was trying to indirectly recommend so. "I have no doubt that they do everything they can for people in situations like Tara's. But I don't-... She-..." she sucks a deep breath in through her nose before continuing, "...I don't want to see

her get lost in the system, Halisi. She's a sweet girl that deserves a shot at a real life. Not being-..." she gestures idly, swirling her hand around, "...shuffled all across the galaxy from home to home."

Halisi lets out a sigh, but nods, a faint hint if a smile in one corner of her mouth at she looks back to Leah. "I understand that. And I admire your commitment to helping her. It may very well be the right choice for her. She's clearly quite attached to you. I just want to make sure both of you are making informed decisions. And if she is to remain here, it is important to face that there are downsides to this. Risks."

Leah nods and opens her mouth to speak, but bites down and simply nods a few more times. "I know..." she finally says, "...That's why I've been thinking about this a lot and-... Sure, getting the markings removed is a good start. But, I mean her picture is out there." She glances at the door, lowering her voice before continuing as if worried that Tara may come in and hear them talking about her, "There's a reward for her!

It only takes one desperate person to recognize her, Halisi." she sighs. "So... So I was considering just contacting them." she explains, wincing as if she's worried Halisi may jump to conclusions, so in response to her imagined reaction, she simply speeds up her explanation, "Not to return her! Obviously!" She looks briefly offended at the offensive suggestion that was never suggested. "But maybe to-..." she sighs,

looking guilty and continuing in a mutter, "...To pay for the-... the contract or-.. or deed or-... or whatever it's called! And then I could just destroy it and problem solved, right?" She looks to Halisi, for a slight second seeming like she might actually allow the woman to respond. But, alas, it is but a pipedream. "But then I told myself 'You can't do that you big idiot! Then you're just giving credits to a bunch of

people who are just going to use it to help them kidnap and enslave more people!' So that's out of the question. But then it made me think that maybe I could get them to meet with me about it, right? Let them know I found Tara? I'm interested in-..." she sticks her tongue out, pretending to dry heave as if the words don't want to leave her mouth, "...purchasing her? And then when they come to meet with me I could

just-..." she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the next words coming much more easily to her than the implication of buying a person did, "...kill them." Had Halisi flipped a coin before Leah began speaking, it probably wouldn't have even hit the ground by the time she finished her word vomit.

((Retcon for fix*))

Halisi blinks, seeming a little caught off-guard by the rapid-fire word-vomit. "Okay. You've clearly given this a lot of thought. I couldn't tell you what the best course of action is. I... am not unhappy to say that I know little of slavers and their ways. I am... not one to endorse violent solutions, but... perhaps there is little else monsters like these understand. If the problem could be resolved permanently... maybe it

would be for the best. I don't know. But... if you do this, do it safely. I am certain you have friends here that would stand by your side if you asked."

Leah looks briefly caught off guard by Halisi's endorsement of her actions and her mood visibly brightens, if only slightly. "Absolutely!" she nods, her ponytail bouncing as she does, "Safety is important! And I know Mendez would help if I asked. Pretty sure Nate would, too. I'd-... rather not bring this up to Jason or the Chief." she continues, "Last thing I want is to cause more trouble for them. Quickly. Quietly.

Discreetly." She gives a single, stern nod to her own words.

Halisi 's expression remains somewhat uncomfortable, but she offers a faint nod. "It's your and Tara's decision." she says simply.

Leah's expression turns to one of discomfort at the mention of Tara. "I'm not sure this is something I should involve Tara in." she admits with a sigh, "She's already been exposed to so much violence. Maybe it would just be better if I-... I did it." she says, as if referring to pulling off a band-aid, "And then I could let her know that they're gone afterwards." It's a statement, but it's posed almost as if a question. A

probing for advice from Halisi.

Halisi looks off to the side briefly, her frown returning as she meets Leah's gaze again. "She might have something to say about you taking a risk like that on her behalf. She may be withdrawn, but the girl has her own opinions. And she's not a fool."

Leah sucks in a deep breath. She certainly didn't consider Tara a 'fool', but Halisi's not wrong. After all, Leah's goal has always been to give Tara a voice. It would be hypocritical to deprive her of an opinion now. "You're right..." she says, forcing a small, appreciative smile briefly for Halisi's honesty. Her green eyes fall to the floor as she bites her lower lip in silence for a moment, considering her own situation.

"Alright, Halisi." she sighs, "I should probably get going. I appreciate you taking the time for-... everything. Thank you."

Halisi returns Leah's smile, a soft chuckle escaping as she nods. "It's what I'm here for. There's no reason you should have to do all this without help. I need to be getting back to the clinic as well. I will... see you at the party next, I suppose?"

Leah gives a few enthusiastic nods. "I don't plan on missing it." she says before scrunching up her nose and glancing off to the side, "...Guess it would be kinda weird if I did miss it. Considering it's gonna be at my house. Anyway!" she continues, clapping her hands together as she looks back to Halisi, "I'm gonna go see if I can pry a donut away from Tara." she teases as she turns on her heels and gives Halisi a small

wave, "See you later."

Halisi smirks slightly, shaking her head to herself and leaving the offices a short while after Leah.