This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#IlynaApartment – November 26, 2017
It's past midnight when a series of uneven, hard knocks sound against the door. The howling of the wind can be heard even indoors, a blur of rapidly moving snowflakes amid darkness all that is visible outside the windows. Halisi shows no sign of waking. Perhaps exhaustion has finally caught up with the overworked doctor after her failure to finish her coffee.
Ilyna is woken up by the hard knocks against the door, but not in time to realize that's actually what woke her. She looks around in groggy confusion until she notices Halisi laying against her. "Oh...," she whispers, realizing she's fallen asleep while speaking with Halisi. She gently lays her head back on Halisi's shoulder and closer her eyes.
Ilyna snaps her eyes open at the knocks, standing up and gently laying Halisi down on the couch in hopes of not waking her.
Halisi just mumbles slightly in her sleep, not waking despite the slightly awkward position - her upper body lying in the couch and her feet still on the floor.
Ilyna decides against moving her legs up on the couch, and makes her way over to answer the door. "Who's there?" she asks in a low voice right next to the door, hoping not to wake the people sleeping.
There is no response aside from the howling wind and another few knocks. It's very unlikely Ilyna's voice could be heard through the door and the storm.
Ilyna sighs, realizing that there's no way of avoiding waking the others. "Who's there?" she repeats with a raised voice. She is not opening the door in the night without at least a message.
The knocking stops. At least part of what Ilyna said must've been heard. The response is drowned out by the wind, what little that makes it through not picked up by the translator, but the voice is softspoken, female and human.
Ilyna lets a gentle biotic shimmer envelop her before she hits the interface and takes a step back. "Don't come any closer," she warns as the door slides open.
The door opens to reveal a small-framed human woman in a ragged, ill-fitting gray winter coat. Her long, scraggly black hair whips around her face in the strong wind. She’s clutching her arms, huddled up in a feeble attempt to shield herself from the cold. "S-... Shelter! Please!" she calls out, her soft voice barely audible over the roar of the storm.
Ilyna raises an eyebrow, not entirely buying that someone would knock on a stranger's door on a planet like this. She was too tired to think of any alternative solutions, so her biotic field fades and she takes another step back. "You can come in," she offers. "What are you doing outside at this time anyway?"
Mingxia practically stumbles into the shelter of the apartment. "T-T-Thank you. C-... caught in the storm. F-Fifth door I tried." she says, rubbing her arms through her coat as she tries to regain some body heat. "This-.... this planet isn't very friendly, is it?" she asks, looking over at Ilyna.
Ilyna frowns. "I suppose hospitality must be rare out here," she says. "It's... a dangerous planet, after all." She slips past her and moves to close and lock the door, not wanting to let the winter in.
Mingxia is still shaking slightly, glancing around the apartment with her eyes wide before looking back at Ilyna. "T-... thank you again. This weather is... vile."
Ilyna walks over to the the end of the hallway where it opens up to the living room. "I'll make some calls, see if I can get you a room at the Miner's Respite for the night and a shuttle to get you there," she says. "But for now..., do you drink coffee?"
Mingxia follows after Ilyna. "Thank you." she repeats, offering a few rapid nods at the question that follows. "Something-... something warm. Yes. Sounds good about now." Her gaze keeps wandering distractedly, never focusing on Ilyna, or anything else that matter for very long.
Ilyna walks over to the kitchen, turning on the light. "You never answered why you were out at this time," she says with a lowered voice. "What got you caught in the storm?" She fills the mug for the water boiler and starts it. She casts an apologetic look towards Halisi, doubting that she'll sleep through the additional light and noise from the kitchen.
Halisi stirs again, letting out a tired sigh as her eyes slowly open, blinking repeatedly from the light.
Mingxia doesn't seem to notice Halisi just yet. She follows Ilyna into the kitchen, her gaze continuing to move around erratically. Her skin looks awfully pale, perhaps due to the cold, but her bloodshot eyes indicate she might be unwell. "T-T-Trying to... trying to find passage on a ship." she answers, only seeming to half pay attention to Ilyna as her attention wanders to the dark outside the windows, and then to the fridge.
Ilyna brings up her omni-tool while the water starts to heat up. "Do you need medical attention?" she asks, having noticed her bloodshot eyes. "I could call the hospital instead."
Halisi sits up in the couch, seeming briefly disoriented as to where she is. She's clearly not quite awake yet, and there's confusion in her face as she looks around, her gaze end up going out the window behind the couch before it goes to the kitchen. "Huh...? What's that...?" she mumbles. It's unclear what exactly she's referring to. There's nothing visible outside from Where Ilyna and Mingxia are standing.
Mingxia shakes her head with furrowed eyebrows. "No. No, that's not necessary. I'm fine." she says with a nod. "Just.... coff-..." she trails off as Halisi speaks up, looking towards her in confusion, blinking several times as if she's having trouble focusing her gaze.
Ilyna is not looking towards Halisi when she speaks, and makes the assumption that it's about what's going on. "She was caught in the storm and knocked on my door," she says. "Could you take a look at her? She doesn't look well." She shuts off her omni-tool and opens the drawer where she left the coffee powder in.
Halisi furrows her eyebrows, staring out the window a couple more seconds as she wakes up. But the mention of someone else causes her to turn around, only now noticing Mingxia. "O-.. oh, of course." she says, getting to her feet and grimacing slightly as she tries to shake the last of her grogginess. As a doctor she's no stranger to dealing with disturbed sleep. She activates her omni-tool as she approaches Mingxia. "Hello. I'm
Dr. Halisi. Mind if I take a quick scan?" she asks in a friendly tone, furrowing her eyebrows slightly as she notices her eyes and her palor.
Mingxia reluctantly allows Halisi to take a closer look at her eyes, but when the doctor grasps her hand and frowns upon noticing unnaturally dark bones through the pale, nearly transluscent-in-the-light-of-her-omni-tool skin, she pulls back, mumbling something in Mandarin too quiet for the translator to pick up. She shakes her head as Halisi tries to initiate a scan.
Halisi 's eyes widen. "Wh-... Ilyna... I-" she's interrupted by the sound of breaking glass as a rock flies through the window.
Mingxia suddenly throws herself to the floor, covering her head with the hood of her coat and curling into a ball.
The stone doesn't even have time to stop before turning out not to be a stone at all. There's an incredibly loud bang and a moment later Ilyna's world is white light and an insistant ringing coupled with a stabbing pain in her ears as any sense of balance or up and down seems to disappear.
Ilyna gasps and drops the glass of coffee powder on the floor as she springs to action. "Call fo-," she begins but the flashbang causes her to lose all balance and fall to the floor. No amount of military training can serve the sleep deprived asari in the middle of the night, so she fumbles blindly with her omni-tool, the extranet search utility popping up as she tries and fails to open a call.
For several seconds Ilyna would find herself completely robbed of sight, hearing and balance. Sight is the first to start coming back. Blurry shadows move in the brightness, several in the distance, and one very close to Ilyna. The omni-tool is wrested away from her. Another blink might bring back more visuals, but it's all monochrome, and far from clear. Armored figures struggling with Halisi in the distance.
Ilyna blinks, sends off a very weak biotic throw towards the figure very close to her, and tries to get to her feet (without much success). "What do you want?!"
It's unclear whether the biotic throw was a success - if it was, it it didn't have much effect. The loud ringing and pain remains, but some sound starts to bleed through, namely a piercing scream from Li. Almost immediately afterward something hard and heavy strikes Ilyna's head with enough force to render her unconcious. Lights out.
Ilyna manages to hear the piercing scream from Li and her heart sinks. "Li!" she shouts and is about to run towards where she thinks it's coming from, but then the world disappears around her and she drops to the floor.
Ilyna would find herself awakening in the back of a vehicle an unclear amount of time later. At least, it seems to be a vehicle judging by the way the entire space shakes and moves and rumbles. An elongated shape like the back of a truck. Hard, cold metal. Benches along the side walls. Several figures are seated upon them, speaking to each other, but their words are still fuzzy and unclear. She's still wearing her dress, with no
shoes, and her hands are zip-tied behind her back. Her mouth is covered by duct-tape. Halisi is next to her, in much the same state, although she seems unconcious still, a trickle of blood down her forehead. It'll no doubt take the asari some time to regain full awareness.
Ilyna is slow to wake, and she sits completely still as she looks ahead, for the moment unaware of where she is and how she got there. Even the rumbling of the vehicle or her restrained state isn't enough to clue her in right now that she's in danger.
Ilyna would find the voices of the people around her getting clearer. They seem to be arguing. On one side sits a human in heavily decorated armor, her face obscured behind a faceplate adorned by a wide-toothed grin painted on. On the other side sits two similar-looking humans, one male and one female. They both have distinctive silver hair, and are wearing black, long winter coats over armor vests.
Elena shakes her head at the other two. "Oye! This is not the kinda job we do, man! What the hell's this supposed to be?"
Niklos grunts. "You heard the lady. They kidnapped her kid. Seems fair." he comments, not particularly sounding like he cares about whether the job is okay or not, even as he presents his argument.
Ilyna starts to realize her danger as the world around her grows clearer, and she starts to pull on her restraints. At the mention of the kid, her mind immeidately jumps to Li despite her failure to recollect what had happened prior. She tries to speak, but the only thing that comes out is the muffled sound of her voice against the duct tape.
Elena lets out a frustrated sigh. "So we take their people in return? I'm telling you, something's up with this job. You see the way the boss was acting?" she says, bouncing her knees restlessly and tightening the grip of the Hurricane SMG in her lap.
Elena 's helmet turns away from Niklos, looking towards the back of the truck as a muttered "Comemierda..." slips through the vocalizer.
Nadia glances over at her brother, almost looking like she's going to voice disagreement, but instead her attention is drawn to Ilyna when she hears the muffled noise. "Hey! One's awake!"
Ilyna does not try to use her biotics, and she seems to give up on getting her restraints loose when they all turn to her. She continues trying to speak, though, hoping that they would at least remove the tape. Her eyes are wide open and she starts glancing around the back of the truck.
Elena looks over at the others, and when neither of them move, she kneels down in front of Ilyna, dismissing Niklos' attempt at protest as she yanks the tape off. "Make it good." she requests, her face hidden behind the somewhat unsettling helmet.
Ilyna nudges her restraints as she instinctively tries to bring a hand up to her mouth upon the tape being removed. "What... is going on?" she asks. "'Her kid' – who are you working for?" Even in her reduced mental state, she suspects it might be someone from Di Yu, and her terrified expression reflects that.
Elena 's helmet tilts slightly to the side, shifting the way her arm is supported against her knee, her SMG pointed at the floor. "Us? We're taking the girl you kidnapped back to her mother." she says. Despite the misgivings she's voiced, it's obvious she considers that fact more than enough motivation to skip any sympathy for Ilyna.
Ilyna grits her teeth for a moment as she considers her response. "I... didn't 'kidnap' her," she says. "I rescued her from an overrun colony. If her mother survived, that must mean..." She looks down. "Goddess, you're making a big mistake."
Elena seems about to blow Ilyna off and put the tape back, but the last comment causes her to pause, glancing back at the others before looking back at her. "The hell is that supposed to mean?" she asks, rocking slightly as a particularly large shudder hits the vehicle.
Ilyna doesn't look up. "Her people... is why the colony was overrun," she says. "They awakened something thath shouldn't... have been found." A tear rolls down her cheek. "I wanted Li to forget that nightmare..., to have a normal life...."
Elena makes a confused grimace under her helmet. "Uh... huh. Si tú lo dices..." she says with a shake of her head, putting the tape back onto the apparently crazy asari and shooting Niklos and Nadia a look. "That make any kinda sense to you?"
Ilyna glares at her as the tape is put back on, their (expected) dismissal is angering her. Objectively, she couldn't blame them for this, but objectivity went out the window before they even met. They've condemned Li back to the nightmares and monsters, and for that they're just as bad as the woman that hired them. She tries to use her biotics, but there's not even a glimmer of energy responding to her impulses.
Another tear rolls down her cheek as she's left with the only option of waiting for whatever plan they have for her. And Halisi, who wouldn't be in trouble if Ilyna hadn't fallen asleep on her.
Elena returns to her seat, her helmet facing Ilyna for the (short) remainder of the trip. Whatever they're driving over soon seems to even out, and it's a smooth ride for the last minute or so.
The truck comes to a stop, and a short while after the doors at the back are yanked open. Elena moves to grab Ilyna, pulling her up by the arm and guiding her out of the vehicle. The twins move to get Halisi, Nadia leaning down and slapping her face in an attempt to wake her. The storm is still present in the dark outside, but it seems lesser here. As Ilyna is manuvered out of the vehicle the reason becomes clear - they are at the
Freedom Falls spaceport, partially sheltered from wind by the large hangar right in front of them. The spaceport is more or less dead between the nighttime and the rough weather, and there's no one around to see what's happening. Outside is standing an imposingly large human man wrapped in winter clothes and an armor vest. Mingxia or Li are not in view. The large door to the hangar is open, light streaming out from inside. A
Halisi faces a rude awakening, startling as she's slapped, and struggling in vain against her restraints before being roughly brought to her feet by Nadia and Niklos. She looks around, wide eyes startled and confused.
Ilyna has barely moved since their talk except for a few glances towards Halisi. She may be concussed, but she is not stupid enough to try anything risky in her state. When she's yanked out, she stands and follows without protest. Ilyna frantically looking around for any sign of Li or her mother. She fails to recognize that she's still in Freedom Falls, just that she's outside of a hangar. Tears are still streaking
Elena looks around in confusion after exiting, keeping a tight grip of Ilyna's upper arm. The asari would find her unshoed feet pressing against cold snow. "Uh... this isn't our hangar, Diego." she says, looking at the unfamiliar ship.
James draws in a breath of cold air. "Change of plans." he states in a monotone, his expression unchanging. He heads past them to the passenger side of the truck, opening the door and helping Mingxia out. "Bring everyone aboard." he orders.
Ilyna has much more pressing matters on her mind than the temperature of her feet. Ilyna glares at Elena when she hears about the change of plans, but she is quick to resume looking around for Li.
Mingxia is carrying Li in her arms. She seems to be asleep. They start heading for the ship after she whispers something to James, prompting the following order.
Elena cocks her head. "The fuck? You didn't tell us about this, boss... don't we need to check in with the Jack?"
Halisi struggles against Nadia and Niklos' grips, but it's quite useless. She shoots Ilyna an unusually fearful look, only muffled noises escaping through her tape.
Ilyna stares at Mingxia when her eyes finally finds what they were searching for, a look of anger and betrayal on her face as she realizes her knocking on the door wasn't a coincidence.
Elena curses under her breath and yanks Ilyna aside, pulling her tape off. "What's wrong with Diego?!" she asks in a hushed, urgent, and almost hostile tone, keeping her grip of the asari's arm tight and nodding in the direction of the man giving orders.
Ilyna gasps as the tape is ripped off, only now taking her eyes off of Li. Her panicked mind still understands who Diego is referring to from Elena's exchange with the man. "Their artifacts control minds,... makes them insane," she hisses back. "You have to believe me," she pleads. "She's dangerous."
Elena stares at Ilyna in silence for a few seconds, her face inscruitable beneath her helmet. "Fuck! Shit!" she blurts out, nodding and gesturing for Ilyna to stay as she lets go of her arm, grabbing her SMG in both hands and rounding the truck. "Hey! Boss! This mission fucking stinks and you know it! Let's call up Roja and sort out what the hell to do! Does she even know about this?!" she calls out as she approaches
the others. She looks to Nadia and Niklos. "Come on! Something's up... you're not so thick you can't tell." she adds in a quieter tone to the twins.
Niklos and Nadia stop escorting Halisi, but seem ambivalent, keeping a tight grip of her and glancing back at Halisi.
Mingxia looks back and suddenly starts running for the ship in response to Elena's interruption, keeping a tight grip of Li.
Ilyna looks on hopelessly as Mingxia starts running, for now following Elena's instruction. "You have to stop her," she says, but it's unlikely that she'll be heard. She's resisting every urge to run after her, but what can she do? Stumble over her and get shot by one of the armed mercenaries. She doesn't even take her eyes off of Mingxia and Li to look for Halisi.
Elena clearly didn't expect this reaction. "Boss, what the-... fucking hell!" she exclaims, starting to jog after them.
James turns around as he nears the ramp of the ship, unholstering his Cyclone LMG and pointing it at Elena without any hint of doubt in his expression.
Elena skids to a halt, throwing her palms up, dropping her SMG in the process. "Woah, woah, woah! James?! What the fuck?!"
James presses down on the trigger without hesitation, the rotary barrel spinning up and unleashing a hail of gunfire that causes Elena to throw herself against the ground in an attempt to avoid it. Niklos and Nadia find themselves running for cover behind the truck, pulling Halisi with them. Several shots ping against their shields, and there's what sounds like a muffled cry of pain from the doctor.
Ilyna is still standing where she is, being able to watch her and her boss' confrontation. "You made a big mistake," she bitterly mutters. When gunfire erupts, she snaps out of it and hurries to take cover behind the truck. She is shivering, no longer able to ignore her cold, soaked feet.
James backs up the ramp after using his LMG to suppress his own team. The ramp almost immediately starts to rise as he goes up it, moving with a metallic creak.
Elena rolls over to her back once the gunfire stops, cursing to herself and scrambling to her feet, but she quickly realizes she has no idea what to do, standing helplessly in front of the hangar as she watches the ramp close.
Halisi is leaning against the truck, breathing heavily through her nose and looking around to try and figure out just what the hell is going on. She still has tape over her mouth, and her hands restrained.
Ilyna leaps out of cover when the ramp starts, hurrying towards Elena. She's barely able to keep her balance with her hands restrained. "You can't let them take her!" she shouts. "Do something!"
Elena 's gaze darts around the medium-size freighter as she tries to think of something, anything. "I-I don't know what do!" she exclaims as the cargo ramp slams shut. "Uh, I-... fuck! The roof! We need to close the roof hatch!" she realizes, running into the hangar, heading for a control panel.
The ship's manuvering thrusters engage pretty much immediately after the ramp closes - there were clearly people waiting onboard, keeping the ship ready for liftoff. There's a rush of hot wind in the hangar as the freighter starts to lumber upward with many metallic groans and creaks, beginning to hover up through the roof doors before Elena can even reach the panel.
Ilyna hurries after Elena, but she stops when she realizes her plan was not going to work. "Cut me loose and give me my omni-tool," she shouts, sounding far from forgiving despite her change of sides, "and tell your people to let Halisi go."
Elena stares as the ship starts to take off, cursing under her breath. As Ilyna shouts at her she's quick to snap back to action however, yanking the combat knife from her chestplate and cutting Ilyna's restraints. "What are you gonna do?!" she asks, shouting over the noise of the ship as she takes the omni-tool out of a pocket. There isn't really time to sort everything out right now, but they seem to be more or less
on the same side for the moment, and it's clear there's been both misstepping and manipulation of some sort on their end, so she hands it over.
Ilyna sighs relieved when the restraints are cut, and she takes her omni-tool and turns it on. "I'm calling Redrock Agency," she shouts back. "The only people I trust right now." She is quick to navigate the all too familiar interface and opens an urgent call to whoever can answer it at the office.
Elena looks back out the hangar before turning to Ilyna again. "Those your people? Yeah, jus-... we're gonna need to talk about what the fuck just happened!" she curses again. This job took a hell of a turn, and she's still sorting through everything that's just happened. "I'll get your friend!" she says, hurrying off towards the group by the truck.
Ilyna nods, but doesn't give any verbal response. She starts pacing back and forth in the hangar. Tears starts to roll down her cheek again as the situation calms somewhat and she thinks about what to say the moment someone responds.
There's a roar of engines above as the MSV Good Things Come takes off into the night sky with Li aboard, leaving behind a faint vapor trail.
Elena frees Halisi, saying something to her, but the doctor immediately runs into the hangar, looking around until she spots Ilyna. But... not Li. "W-... wh-... no..." is all she manages as she stumbles slightly, freezing and rattled.
Ilyna looks over at Halisi, and starts to walk towards her while waiting for her call to be answered. "Pick up," she mutters, both sadness and frustration in her voice. She's barely keeping her composure, and if it weren't for the call she's making she'd be huddled in the corner crying right now.
Ilyna sighs relieved when the call is finally answered. "They took Li," she cries, not able to keep her composure long enough to calmly explain the situation. "Spaceport, now. Bring Medi-Gel, Halisi's hurt." She taps on her omni-tool to transmit her current location.
Halisi shivers as she walks up to Ilyna, hugging herself for warmth. "What-... wha-... no... did they...?" she rambles.
Ilyna draws a shaky breath as she listens to Jason's response. "Her... mother," she says. "She... she-..." She shakes her head; the explanation can wait. "Send someone!" Ilyna cries. "Their ship is leaving!"
Elena enters the hangar with the twins in tow, jogging up to Ilyna. "I saw-... I think their fuel tank is busted! Might be able to track them!" she reports, hoping to provide whatever aid she can in undoing the damage caused in the chaotic situation.
Niklos pulls his knife, walking towards Ilyna with a glare. "The hell did you do?!" he calls out, but Elena stops him almost immediately, getting in his way and gripping his arm to lower it. "Wasn't them, pendejo! That-... that woman did something!" she exclaims frustratedly, glaring at him through her helmet until he backs off.
Ilyna nods to herself. "We're safe," is all she can say before the last remnants of her composure is lost, and can hardly breathe for a moment. She glares at the mercenaries. "You've done enough," she shouts at them in frustration. "Leave us alone!"
Elena shows Ilyna her palms, backing off and going to start an omni-tool call of her own some distance away.
Jason's voice is quick to come back over comms. "Keep it that way!" he says, his words uneven as it becomes clear that he's already on the move. "Linda is already organizing a team, Ilyna. Just hang tight."
Halisi glances at Ilyna as she hears Jason's voice, staying silent. She's obviously still struggling with the cold, but she makes no mention of it.
Ilyna doesn't give a response to Jason, the only sounds coming from her is her sobbing. She's standing still, her feet almost numbed by the cold.
Once again Jason's voice fills the comms. "Ilyna... I need you to tell me what's going on. Whatever you can. Just-... walk me through it, alright?" He's doing his best to keep calm, but the worry in his voice shows through.
Elena comes running back to Ilyna and Halisi. "We-... our ship. I called our captain. We're pursuing. If you want in, I can handle that, but I gotta know. I don't know what the fuck is going on, but we can sort this shit out!"
Ilyna extends her omni-tool towards Halisi. "Can... you?" she manages between sobs. "I... I... I c-can't..." She struggles to speak due to the freezing cold and her uncontrolled emotions. Elena starts speaking before Halisi is given time to take the omni-tool, and she takes a step towards her to relay her information to Jason over the comms. However, she doesn't feel her foot finding solid ground and stumbles over,
Halisi rushes to Ilyna's side despite being in much the same state herself, practically falling to her knees as she tries to help support her.
Elena curses and grabs the omni-tool, crouching down to hand it back to Ilyna. "Shit... you two need to get out of the cold. Now. Come on... I can get you to our ship... it's close."
Jason's voice comes over comms when his question isn't answered. "Ilyna? We're-.... to find Li. But-........... gotta know what's going on."
Ilyna lands on her hands, which are only slightly less affected by the cold. She nods to Elena, silently accepting her offer. "Wait, Jason," she says as she takes the omni-tool, her voice barely parsable.
Elena does her best to help both Ilyna and Halisi back to their feet, continuing to support them both as they head for the truck. She helps them both into the passenger side and hops into the driver's seat herself.
Ilyna says nothing as she is helped back to the truck, her attention focusing on watching her numb feet to avoid stumbling again. Her breathing is shallow and uneven, and there doesn't seem to be an end to her tears.
Halisi wraps a shaky arm around Ilyna once they're in the passenger seat, as much to try and calm herself as Ilyna.
Ilyna tries again to hand her the omni-tool with a shaky hand, leaning on Halisi. She feels guilty for her current state, when she's the one that's supposed to be calm and protective. "T-... T-Talk?" she manages to ask between sobs. The omni-tool's location is still being transmitted.
Halisi almost drops the omni-tool as she accepts it, nodding several times. "T-... this is Dr. Halisi." she says, her voice shaky. "There's a ship. They can help us pursue." she says, glancing to Ilyna to make sure she's relaying what she wants her to.
The comms are once more filled with the sound of Jason's voice. "A ship. Right. So... So where-... they? ...people who took Li? I mean-... Pursue where? Who? Is there-..." he sighs, shaking his head at the fragmented information, "...Do-... any details, Halisi? Anything that might help us?"
Halisi struggles to maintain coherence as she replies: "T-... they took her. Freighter. It flew away... but... tracking."
A loud "Fuck!" sounds out in response. A few moments pass before Jason is heard again. "Alright. Sit tight, Halisi. We're on our way. I'll leave the line open."