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#Miner'sRespite – January 11, 2018
It's the 30th of November. Redrock's team has been away for over two days. The storm has settled but the aftermath is still obvious in the snowbanks that have built up along streets and buildings. Clearing work is still underway, but main routes such as that to the Respite have been taken care of. Vasquez arrives in the company car, dressed in her olive-green winter coat and the same grey pants she wore to the bachelorette party.
The only pair she owns that aren't combat pants or part of her Redrock uniform. The combat boots remain, however. Her hair is tied back into the usual ponytail, and she seems less exhausted than when Gage last saw her, but she still doesn't look quite well. It's not hard to tell how her worry has drained her. She's accompanied by Cynthia, wearing her usual leather jacket and jeans combo. They're quick to head inside to escape the
harsh cold, with Vasquez looking around after entering. It's been a while since she was at the Respite. She doesn't exactly get out all that much.
Gage, Shane, Priya, and Sam are all seated in a booth along the western wall. Even if Vasquez was unable to spot them, she'd be privy to their presence soon enough by the sound of loud laughter emanating from their booth. Gage and Priya sit on one side with Shane and Sam on the other, two pitchers of beer separating them from one another. Their jackets are all in a pile on the seat beside Gage, right up against the wall. Shane, as usual,
is the most well kept and best dressed of the group- dark grey button up shirt and black slacks. Nice shoes. Freshly trimmed close-cropped hair that amounts to little more than stubble. Gage is wearing a pair of scuffed up jeans, a black t-shirt with a faded old Alliance logo on it and a worn down baseball cap with some old, black tennis shoes that look like they've been through hell. Sam sports a pixie cut, but is otherwise similarly
dressed to Gage- albeit her clothing seems to be much better taken care of. Nice blue jeans, a dark blue t-shirt sporting the word 'Radioactive Slipstream' diagnally across the front of it and a pair of white sneakers. Priya is wearing a pair of military-style black pants and boots as well as an old white Alliance t-shirt. The same sort that both Vasquez and Jason probably have a few of. Her long, dark hair is pulled over the front of her
shoulder, disappearing behind the table. She seems completely oblivious to whatever the others are discussing, her nose buried in the bright glow of her omni-tool. Aside from Shane, whose sleeves aren't rolled up quite enough to see enough of his forearm, each of them has a visible tattoo of the Ironheart logo on the inside of their right forearm, just below the elbow. It's a simple heart with metallic shading and bolts lining the outside
Vasquez almost looks like she's going to turn around, but Cynthia gives her a nudge with her elbow, and with that she starts heading for the table, hands remaining in the pockets of her coat for the moment. She clears her throat as she arrives at the table, a slight hint of discomfort underneath her otherwise neutral, faint frown.
Gage looks to be in the middle of telling a story when Vasquez and Cynthia arrive, but as soon as he catches sight of the pair, his focus shifts to them. "Well, look who decided to join us!" he greets, looking a bit surprised that she actually took him up on his offer. His change of focus causes the others to look their way in turn. "Take a seat! We've got food on the way. Just-... uhh..." his gaze darts about, from one pitcher
of beer to the other. He furrows his brow, almost looking as though he's about to start scooting out before realizing how inconvenient it'd be with Priya blocking him into the booth. His gaze moves across the table to his old friend. "...Shane'll go grab you a drink." he says matter-of-factly.
Shane has that ever-present big ol' shiteating grin on his face as his attention comes to rest on Cynthia and Linda, greeting them both with a nod. When Gage speaks up, he looks his way with a confused expression. "Got plenty of beer. Want me to grab a couple glasses...?" he asks in confusion.
Sam gives a loud sigh. "She's pregnant, jackass." she says, nudging Shane in the side with her elbow.
Shane squirms slightly, failing to escape Sam's prod. It does succeed in prompting him out of the booth, however, leaving two free spots on the side he just slipped out of and one on Gage's side. "Right, right, right!" he apologizes, his gaze moving back to Vasquez. "So what can I get you two-..." his attention shifts from Vasquez to Cynthia where it remains, his smile growing slightly. "...lovely ladies?" he asks, sights
Vasquez opts for the seat next to Sam, letting out a quiet grunt. "I don't-... just water." she says with a dismissive gesture of her hand. After she's settled into her seat she looks to Gage. "Figured I should... get out of the base a little. Appreciate the invite." she says as she opens her coat, her tone not particularly convincing. She's wearing a simple tanktop underneath.
Cynthia rolls her eyes at Shane, taking the seat next to Vasquez. "Hey, just because she's pregnant doesn't mean I'm not drinking. Bring on the beer." she says, flashing a grin and leaning back in her seat, moving her elbows up onto the backrest. The gesture spreads her jacket open, showing that she's wearing a t-shirt virtually identical to Priya's. The chain of her dogtags can be seen around her neck, going in
Shane gives a deep nod to Cynthia's statement about the beer, a brief snicker escaping him. "I can work with that." he says, already backing up towards the bar. He points both fingers at Vasquez, maintaining an upbeat level of enthusiasm that far surpasses the rest of the table. "...And one water coming right up!" he adds, slipping away before the introductions have a chance to begin.
Gage's smile remains despite Vasquez' less-than-enthusiastic arrival. "Appreciate the company." he fires back. He grips his mug by the handle, taking a brief sip before setting it back down and looking across to Cynthia with a nod, his gaze lingering on the dogtags for a brief moment. "Wa-... Uhh-..." he closes his eyes briefly, a snort escaping him as he catches himself slipping into old habits. "David Gage." he says. "Can call
me Gage. Everyone else seems to." he continues, "Pree-..." he tilts his head towards the dark skinned blue eyed woman at his side.
Priya quickens the pace of her typing as she's introduced, eagerly finishing her message with a final swipe of her index finger before looking across the table to Cynthia. She gives a warm smile and a small, tentative wave.
Gage's gaze darts across the table to Sam before gesturing to her with his mug. "Samantha." he introduces, a knowing smile crossing his lips.
Sam gives a roll of her eyes, quickly chiming in to correct Gage and get her own jab in: "Sam! Just cuz you've got my dad's hairline doesn't mean you need to talk like him."
Gage cocks an eyebrow, giving her an unamused look in response, though he looks far from bothered by the lighthearted insult. He reaches up with his free hand to grab the bill of his cap and adjust it a bit, as if concealing his receding hairline.
Sam responds to the look by straightening her posture in her seat and cracking off a lazy salute. "...Doesn't mean you need to talk like him, sir!" she corrects playfully.
Gage gives a number of nods, gesturing for her to cut it off. "Alright, smartass, enough." he teases before giving a shake of his head and focusing back on Cynthia. "Anyway-..." he continues, casting one last brief glance Sam's way before looking off to Shane who is now leaned up against the counter. "That big ball of friendliness is Shane. Nice to meet you, Cyn." he concludes, his final statement getting another nod of
acknowledgement from his two teammates. "Believe I saw you at the wedding. Didn't have a chance to chat everyone up, unfortunately."
Cynthia nods in acknowledgement of each introduction, lifting her hand from the edge of the backrest to return Priya's wave. "Yah. I'm an old friend of the Chief's. Served together, back in the day. Figures she wouldn't mention me." she says with another brief grin, patting Vasquez' back.
Vasquez gains the briefest hint of a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the obvious tight-knit nature of her group. Her gaze falls to the table, going distant, and she doesn't really acknowledge Cynthia's pat aside from a quiet grunt.
Gage's hand remains on his beer as he settles against the backrest, giving a nod in response to Cynthia's explanation. "Figured as much." he says, his gaze returning to what he can see of the Alliance shirt and the dogtags around her neck.
Sam tilts a bit in place and shifts to her side, bringing her knee up to occupy the limited space between herself and Vasquez as she tilts to better face the two new arrivals. "Seems like there's a fuck ton of us out here right now." she comments, "That wedding of yours really pulled us out of the woodwork."
Priya nod wanting to be rude, gives a couple more swipes of her omni-tool, causing the interface to fade away. She turns her focus to Vasquez and Cynthia. "Do you live out here or did you come for the wedding?" she chimes in.
Cynthia tilts her head a little to look past Vasquez at Sam. "Seems like it." she comments with a smirk, before turning to Priya. "Nah. Elysium. Chief made the mistake of mentioning the wedding when she was visiting, so I tagged along."
Vasquez glances over at Cynthia, looking briefly like she's going to say something, but she just exchanges a look before turning her attention to Priya, although distraction is still written all over her face. She slips out of her coat, with slight difficulty due to the people flanking her, and stuffs it between herself and Cynthia.
Shane makes his triumphant return, holding two mugs by the handles in his left hand (One empty and one filled with water) and a tray of the closest thing he could get to nachos in his right. A platter of chips with some cheese, meat, and numerous Aite-grown vegetables on them. He sets the corresponding glasses before Cynthia and Vasquez and the platter in the center of the table before turning back, grabbing a chair from the
nearby table, and setting it at the edge of their table. "I have no clue what half of this shit is-..." he gestures to the platter and the foreign vegetables atop it, "...and I figured it was probably better that I didn't ask so... dig in!" After leaning across to drag his abandoned beer to him, he plops down into his seat and reaches for a chip.
Gage passes a smile Shane's way as he returns before focusing on Vasquez. "I'm guessing there's still no word from Jay?" he asks, deciding to address the elephant in the room directly rather than allowing it to loom over the rest of the night.
Priya seems about to respond to Cynthia but falls silent as she hears Gage's question. Her gaze briefly moves to Vasquez but she's quick to avert it and, instead, reaches for a chip and begins to study the small, oval-shaped red vegetable atop her chip with great interest.
Cynthia is quick to fill up her glass with an appreciate nod Shane's way. She furrows her eyebrows at the platter of food and shrugs before starting to pick at it, but Gage's question causes her to stop her chewing, shooting a glance at Vasquez before her gaze falls for the moment.
Vasquez snorts slightly at Shane's comment. Having had time to get familiar with the local produce, she reaches out toward the platter, but Gage's question causes her to stop, and she ends up grasping the mug instead, her index finger tapping against it as she shakes her head. "Uhm... no. Nothing." she says quietly, staring down at the glass.
Gage gives a slow nod, gaze moving to his own beer for a moment before forcing a smile her way. "Well, you know it goes out here. Not always easy to get a message out." He falls silent for a few seconds, seeming almost as if he's going to leave it at that before speaking up once again. "He's a hell of a soldier, Linda." he says, which gets a stern nod from the now-chewing Shane. Given the silence at the table and the eyes on
Vasquez, it's clear that Gage brought the rest of his team up-to-speed on Jason's whereabouts. "You just focus on keeping yourself busy and I'm sure he'll be back before you know it." he continues, his tone carrying as much confidence as he can muster. He's aware of just how dangerous this line of work can be. His last deployment made him painfully aware. It doesn't matter how 'good of a soldier' you are. Sometimes things
Sam studies Vasquez in silence as Gage speaks, simply nodding softly. "An idiot." she chimes in playfully as he finishes, lifting her beer slightly with a nod, "But a hell of a soldier." she agrees.
Vasquez ' spirit hardly seem lifted by their assurances, an attempt at a false smile faulters and fades before it even had a chance to manifest. "Yeah..." she says with a faint nod, her tone an empty one. She purses her lips, looking down at her mug for a while before bringing it up to her lips and taking a sip in silence.
Cynthia forces a smile into place and nudges Vasquez in the side with her elbow. "Jace'll be fine, Chief. After everything you told me? No way he ain't coming to you."
Shane continues to dig into the appetizer, reaching out for another chip as the others talk, clueing in on the fact that it doesn't seem to be easing Vasquez' worries much. "My first tour was with Jay." he chimes in after the others have had their says. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. He doesn't elaborate until he has swallowed his chip. Gesturing from Sam to Gage, he looks back to Vasquez. These two served together before we came
onboard. Pree?" That wide, sincere smile returns to his face as he leans over, clasping a hand across Priya's shoulder. "This is our little sister, you know? She got stuck with us shortly after. But when we were first deployed? Me and Jay were the new guys. We were in the shit together. We know each other. And let me tell you... I don't know if either of you have had your P&R cherry popped in a hotzone-..." he looks from
Vasquez to Cynthia, settling his hand back on the table in front of him. "But that is some scary shit. Like... write-messages-to-your-family-and-leave-them-with-your-CO scary. And-... uhh-... I mean I wasn't scared-..." he jokes with a snicker, "But Jay? Yeah..." he nods, "Yeah, he was pretty much a headcase. And so... so we get called down, right? It's our turn in the rotation. Now we know we're getting into some
sticky shit. We're prepping to board and the four-eyed fuckers are already saying they're opening up on anyone that steps through the airlock, right? So now I'm starting to get the jitters." He shakes his head, giving a roll of his shoulders as he recalls the situation, as if hyping himself up for combat. "So... Doors open and WHAM!" he claps his hands together, "Jason just gets tagged. I mean absolutely floored!
Gage's smile grows a little more sincere as he hears Shane's story, despite the dire situation, and he nods silently.
Shane shakes his head a few times, snickering to himself. "But my boy got lucky. Good angle, thing just dinged off his armor. But Gage over here is already shouting-..." he cups his hands around his mouth to use them as a megaphone, "Man down! Man down!-... And Sammy is about to drag his ass back through the airlock. But Jason-... you know... After realizing his ass ain't dead... Just kinda pushes her off, right? Picks his ass
Shane gestures for Sam to quiet down while he speaks. "Hands me his shotgun!" he repeats, "Cuz he's not doing shit with it after getting cracked in the shoulder with one of those bad boys. Pulls out his sidearm and just-..." he shakes his head, sucking in a deep breath, "...goes to work." He falls silent for a moment before looking to Vasquez and tossing another chip into his mouth. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. "What I'm trying to
say is that the man doesn't give up. If there's something between him and coming home? I feel damn sorry for whoever it is because he's gonna go right through it. Whatever it takes. Some people are just bred for this shit, you know? They don't even always know it. Not until they're in the thick of it but-..." he gives a couple of nods, idly reaching out for another chip, "...Jason's gonna be fine. I'd bet my life on it."
Vasquez leans forward a little, still grasping the mug as she listens in silence as Shane tells his story. It seems to have genuinely caught her attention, her gaze on him as he continues his enthusiastic retelling. Something in his story causes her frown to deepen slightly, a distant look on her face, but a smile crosses her lips as Shane relates the last portion of the story. She nods slightly herself. Her gaze falling
back to the water, she takes a sip before speaking. "Jason is... he's something else." she agrees with another nod, her tone still quiet, a sharp contrast to Shane's boisterous storytelling. "He's-... he doesn't know when to quit. Doesn't know how to." she says, a subtle, fond smile on her face as her gaze falls on the ring on her finger. "Done things I thought were impossible more than once."
Cynthia falls silent, snickering a bit as she listens to Shane. She sips her beer as her attention turns to Vasquez. "I'll fucking say. Smile on your face when you told me?" she says, nodding at her hand. "Neeeever thought I'd see that."
Priya reaches across herself to pat Shane's hand when it comes to rest on her shoulder, a small, reserved smile remaining throughout the story. Cynthia's words cause her own gaze to move to the ring on Vasquez' finger. "I don't know you very well, Linda." she admits plainly, "But I do know Jason. The way he talks about you? He's crazy about you. That much is obvious."
Gage lets out a deep breath as Shane finishes his story. As Vasquez speaks a small, almost proud smile crosses his face. "I'm not gonna pretend to know what it is that he's gotten himself caught up in out there. And, given what Jason has told me about you?" he continues, tilting his head almost apologetically as if worried he may be speaking out of turn, "...If it has you worried, I'm gonna guess it's pretty bad. But like you
said, he's stubborn. Damn stubborn." he says, his smile widening a bit as he nods to Priya and her statement, "He'll find a way home to you."
Sam takes a long sip from her mug before setting it down a bit harder than intended. "He better." she chips in with a glance to Vasquez, "...Or else we're gonna go bring his ass home."
Vasquez 's faint smile lingers as they continue to talk about Jason. Her worry is still there, plain to see if one was to look close. But it seems as if maybe, just maybe, she's allowing herself to be distracted for just a moment. She nods a couple of times. "I appreciate, uh-..." she trails off, her gaze going to the side, looking out across the Respite as her smile fades.
Cynthia is quick to speak up as Vasquez goes quiet, putting down her beer. "You guys gotta have some good Jace-stories right? Have to dish before he comes back." she says in an obvious attempt to keep the mood up, and keep Vasquez going back to dwelling. She bumps into her slightly with her shoulder, exchanging another glance before sipping her beer and looking expectantly to the others.
Gage nods in turn with Sam and Shane's sentiments, though remains silent until Cynthia speaks up. As she finishes speaking, he gives a brief chuckle, shaking his head profusely. "That's not gonna happen!" he says, taking on a much more lighthearted tone in an attempt at assisting Cynthia with a transition away from the heavier topic. "The man deserves the chance to defend himself!" he snickers, "I'm not selling him out."
Sam responds with an instant: "I will." which gets a loud round of laughter from the other three. With a chuckle of her own, she looks around the table at the other three. "The Javi story...?" she asks.
Gage leans foreward, finger waggling at Sam. "No! The man deserves better than to be made a fool behind his back! You're better than this, Sam!"" he says through a smile.
Priya leans forward, pressing her hand to her forehead as she shakes her head, big cheerful grin on her face.
Vasquez raises an eyebrow as her attention turns back to the others. She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't object to the change. Perhaps she welcomes the distraction.
Cynthia grins, turning her attention to Samantha and picking up a vegetable on a chip and grimacing before she washes it down with some beer.
Gage waves Sam off and gives an exasperated shake of his head as he settles back into his seat, accepting that he's not gonna talk her out of it.
Sam waits for the laughter to die down before shifting even more to face Vasquez and Cynthia, pulling her leg in as much as she can to avoid cramping Vasquez' space. "Okay, so we had this engineer. Javier-..." she begins, barely through a sentence before Gage begins to interrupt.
Gage nods respectfully. "Javier Perez." he says, "Best damn combat engineer I've ever met, may he rest in peace." He lifts his beer, passing a brief glance about at the rest of his team before taking a large gulp and setting the mug back down. The others each give respectful bows of their heads as well, each taking a drink in honor of their fallen comrade, but the smiles remain. They operated in dangerous territory. They've
experienced plenty of loss, each just as painful as the last. But it was to be expected. It was expected. And it made the bonds they forged on the SSV Beirut all the stronger. They served together. They survived together. And they kept coming back to make damn sure they did their damndest to keep it that way. They believed in what they did. So Javier wasn't a name etched on a stone somewhere lost for some nonsensical
cause. He was family. He died doing what he loved. What he believed in. And they weren't going to tarnish his memory by getting all mopey everytime he was brought up.
Sam takes an exceptionally longer drink from her beer before setting it back down to continue her story. "...So, Javier was a prankster."
Shane pipes up, mid-crunch and already going back for another chip. "Dude never knew when to stop and really loved getting into Jay's head."
Gage nods along, fondly recalling their bickering. "Thought a few times they might come to blows." He looks to Priya, his smile growing, "When he filled Jason's boots with pasta sauce...?"
Priya's shoulders bounce as a chuckle escapes her, but Sam waves them off before she has a chance to speak up.
Sam furrows her brow, rising off her seat a bit as she speaks up. "I'm telling the story! Shit, let me talk!" When the others don't object, she gives a shake of her head and settles back into her seat, gaze turning once more back to Vasquez and Cynthia. "Anyway... Jason was determined to one-up Javi. Javi was always late to chow, so I guess Jason figured that's his angle. As much as I loved the Beirut? The mess hall was a
Shane cuts her off once again. "Food was damn near inedible." he says before shooting an apologetic glance Sam's way and pantomiming zipping his lips closed.
Sam glares at Shane, giving a sigh before continuing with her story. "So... we got a slice of pie once every two menu cycles. Was the only thing anyone looked forward to. So Jason gets there early, right? Grabs a slice of pie for Javi before they're all gone, sits down at the table and just casually crushes up damn near a whole bottle of laxatives, right in front of us all and then he just-..." her eyes close briefly as
she softly shakes her head, a short snicker escaping her, "...he begins jamming it in there-..." She begins pantomiming sticking something into.... something. It almost looks as if she's stabbing a turkey with great determination. "...right into this slice of pie, right? And here comes Javi. 'You saved me some pie?' Now, on the Beirut? Pie is a fucking commodity! And, no more than a 24-galactic-standard-hours
earlier, Javi ruined a perfectly good pair of Jason's boots, right? So I'm guessing he's feeling pretty damn guilty right now. So Javi extends an olive branch. 'No more pranks'." Her smile widens, her eyes moving to the table as she shakes her head a bunch of times.
Shane breaks his vow of silence, leaning forward as laughter begins to spill forth from him as well and he tries to beat Sam to the punch: "He offered Jason his pie."
Sam bursts into laughter, shoulders bouncing as she continues the story. "Now-... Now Jason tried to talk him down. 'Noooo, Javi! It's all good! It's your pie!' but Javi wasn't having it. And by this point, we're all getting in on it, too, right? 'Just eat the pie, Jason! The guy's trying to apologize to you! Be the bigger man!' " She pauses, bringing a hand up to her mouth as a loud snort escapes her. "So here Jason
is. Face like a stone. Shoveling down his own sabotaged pie." she explains, turning red in the face from laughter as she pretends to fork food into her mouth, "Just glaring at the rest of us."
Gage is trying to cover his mouth, eyes shut as laughter continues to flow freely. "I-... I swear that man didn't leave the toilet for two days...." he chimes in.
Sam wraps the story up, nearly in tears by this point, "He never ate pie again! Javi-... He just-... he gave his pie to Javi from then on."
Cynthia grins in anticipation as she gets a feeling for where the story is going. She's mid-sip when Shane interjects, and she nearly chokes as she too breaks into laughter.
Vasquez listens in silence to the story, pursing her lips and looking down briefly as they drink to their comrade. As Sam tells the story a faint smile creeps into her face, and she reaches to scoop up some more food onto a chip, remaining focused on the woman next to her. A brief, quiet snicker slips out, her smile growing warmer for a moment before fading as they finish, her gaze going back to the mug. She sips her
water. "That... explains a few things." she comments after a while, furrowing her eyebrows slightly and shrugging before looking back to Sam, and then out at the others. "I was... a little surprised you all came out here for the wedding. Aite's... out of the way. Starting to understand why though." she says, a smile briefly tugging at her lips before fading. She nods to herself a few times and then sips her water
Gage takes a moment to regain his composure. He holds it together better than the rest of his team, but the long-running rivalry between Jason and Javi gives the story added context that reduces him to a laughing mess. His laughing trails off with a long, drawn out sigh. When Vasquez speaks up, he reigns in his ear-to-ear grin, sucking a breath in through his nose to finish calming himself. "Jason is family." he says plainly and
sincerely. It's a sentiment that Vasquez should no doubt recognize. It's a sentiment Jason has tried to emulate. The way he speaks about Redrock. His idea of what they're building. It's not hard to see where he got it. The man across the table from Vasquez is practically written in Jason's DNA. Someone who Jason looks up to. Aspired to be like. "You cross the galaxy for family." he adds with a nod, his smile returning.
Sam manages to get ahold of herself in turn, nodding a few times to Gage's sentiment. "Once a marine always a marine." she adds, though it's clear that it's much deeper than that. These are people united by trauma. By loss. By a sense of 'self' that can only be found in duty and danger. They're a family. A broken, occasionally dysfunctional family, but a family.
Vasquez ' smile returns, not dying so quickly this time. It's clear to her that Jason had a very different relationship to his squad compared to her. Part of that was Elysium. And part of it was obviously Gage's influence. She nods slightly at the sentiment. She doesn't have Jason's habit of getting close to everyone. Far from it. But she cares in her own ways, and Jason's dedication to the people around him is one of the
reasons she loves him. "Yeah..." she agrees quietly, her mind inevitably drifting to Li and Ilyna. He had to go. Of course he did.
Cynthia chews silently on a stubborn bit of meat from the platter, eyebrows furrowed as she struggles. She offers a slight lift of her mug in response to Sam's words, too preoccupied for anything more.