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#RedrockAgency – March 6, 2018
After his shower, Jason left the washroom- head low and in no better shape than he went in- wearing the same black pants and silently slipped his boots back on before leaving the room without a word to Vasquez. It's been a good 20 minutes that he's been gone. Were Vasquez to ask, Fergus would've informed her that he has been in the gym.
Vasquez has kept herself busy cleaning up the mess in their room, but once done she doesn't find herself waiting long before her patience wears thin. She makes her way over to the gym, lingering near the doorway as she looks around for Jason.
Jason is stood before the plaques on the wall, unfolded Phalanx tucked loosely into the back of his pants. A pair of standard Alliance dog tags are draped around his hand as he examines them. He seems oblivious to Vasquez' presence.
Vasquez steps closer, but keeps a bit of distance. She leans against the wall, crossing her arms as she looks at Jason with a slight frown. "Hey..." she says quietly, tilting her head a little as she continues to study him.
Jason tears his gaze away from the dog tags as Vasquez speaks up, gaining an uncomfortable expression as he looks her way. "Hey..." he responds in turn. He gives the dog tags a small swing, causing them to wrap around his hand one last time as the tags themselves fall against his cybernetic palm. He closes his fist around the tags and lifts his other hand, pointing towards the ceiling. "Been thinking, and it might not be a bad
idea to consider installing a second turret on the roof." he muses aloud, uncomfortable with allowing the silence to last for too long, "We lost some gear out there, too. We're gonna need to-... to uh-... make sure we replace all of that." he adds distantly, gaze dropping slightly.
Vasquez ' frown deepens, and she pushes off from the wall. "I'll handle the logistics. You know that." she says, neglecting to mention that they'll be pretty strapped for credits once everyone's been paid. She steps closer, her gaze moving to the plaques on the wall, a heavy sigh escaping her. "It's a relief to know we're not adding any more of these today." she says quietly, before looking back at him. "Li's back.
Everyone's alive. That's a win. Probably the biggest win we've ever had." She pauses for a moment, studying him in silence for a moment, tilting her head in search of his gaze. "Doesn't feel like it, looking at you. So talk to me. What's going through your head?"
Jason's attention turns back to the plaques as Vasquez alludes to them, silently studying them as she continues to speak. A small smile tugs at his lips as she mentions Li being back, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. It's not until she points out the state that he's in that he finally looks back to her. That tired, lopsided smirk makes a return, just like it always does when he's attempting to downplay things. Sweep it all
under the rug. But this time he's unable to maintain it and, soon enough, it slips away. His gaze drops once again and he chews at the inside of his cheek for a moment before finally speaking. "We weren't supposed to make it out of there, Linda." he says with a humorless snort and a shake of his head, "That was not in their plans for us, that much is clear." He glances to her apologetically, realizing he's probably not
making much sense. "I know, I know-... Every time we've come up against these things it's been a miracle that we've made it out alive. But this time?" he shakes his head, "This time felt different. It felt... personal. And-..." he draws in a deep breath, "...I think we kicked the hornet's nest."
Vasquez ' frown grows deeper still, concern obvious in her expression as she looks at him. She does her best to push down her own unease as Jason's underlying fear becomes clear, closing the distance between them and reaching for his upper arm, squeezing it gently. She realizes her mistake too late, and leaves her hand in place, not wanting to bring attention to it. "Jason..." she says quietly. "I-... I don't know what
happened over there. I... I wasn't there..." she starts, her gaze falling briefly before looking back at him, remaining standing to his side, facing him. "So... I'm not gonna pretend I understand everything, but... you made it back, Jason. You all made it back. Sounds to me like-... like you kicked their fucking ass." A slight snicker, and an attempt at a smile that fades as she takes in his expression again.
"If... if you managed to rile up those... things... that means you hurt them, right? Means you did damage." Her frown returns, and she pauses for a moment. "I-... I haven't forgotten what it was like last time I-... on Ogofau. Don't think I don't remember." Another pause as she swallows hard, trying to contain her own fears. Searching for the right words. "I'm not gonna bullshit you, Jason. They still terrify me.
And-... yeah, I was, uh..." She blinks as her eyes start to tear up again, shaking her head to herself as a hint of embarassment and frustration crosses her expression. "I was fucking terrified when you left. But you came back. And you brought everyone else back." She moves closer, shifting her hand to his shoulder, thumb against his neck. From polymer to skin. She locks her gaze on him, a dead-serious look on her
face. "Because we survive, Jason. That's what we do. Again, and again. Even when they come for us. When they keep trying to pull us back in. We kick their ass. And we get better at it. Because we're outliving those fuckers no matter what." Her intensity only grows as she speaks, and as she finishes she lets out a breath, gaze falling away for a moment before she looks back at him and adds, more softly: "After
everything we've been through? I've gotta believe that. I have to." before sucking in her lips, studying him in silence now.
Jason's gaze drops to Vasquez' hand as it settles against his arm. The small amount of pressure it affords works counter to her attempt at being comforting. Just another reminder of everything that's been lost. Her gung-ho attitude does little to brighten his mood. Because she said it best: "You weren't there." he agrees softly as he meets her gaze once again. It's not an accusation or a harsh reminder, just a statement of fact.
"And I'm glad for that." he adds in an attempt at getting out ahead of any guilt she may have bubbling up. "But you didn't see-..." he begins but trails off, simply shaking his head. "They didn't just take us to a ship, Linda. It was a fucking floating city. Massive." he explains, his voice growing distant once more as he recalls the ordeal, "And there's no telling how many more of those they have. We made it-...
yeah..." he nods, "...But we fought for every step to get off of that thing. Every inch. We gave everything we had and still barely made it. And you know how many of theirs we killed, Linda?" He gives a humorless snicker as his gaze briefly shoots to the chain around his hand. "I don't know. Maybe twenty? Thirty?" As his attention shoots back to Vasquez, he quickly corrects himself, "Oh, I mean we did plenty of
killing. But we were too fucking busy killing our own-..." he raises his voice, an uncharacteristic emotional outburst of sheer anger escaping him, causing him to clench his teeth tightly together and cut himself off. He pauses, shoulders rising and falling as he takes in a few deep breaths, gaze turning right back to the plaques on the wall as he tempers himself. "We were too busy killing our own people to focus on
theirs..." he finishes quietly. "Humans. Turned into those-... those things. We just-... we just gunned them down by the truckload. Hundreds. Hell, maybe thousands. We set off a fucking Cain and barely put a dent in them..."
Vasquez pulls back a little, her arms crossing again as she listens, her gaze falling first to the floor, and then moving back to the plaques as he speaks. She sucks on her lips as Jason's words settle in. The outburst causes a slight flinch in her expression, and what follows causes her gaze to turn distant as her mind goes to the turned. The people twisted into abominations. Reanimated to fight their own. She hadn't been
there, but she knew all about that. It still haunted her, another nightmare among many that visited her almost every night. Her expression is uneasy as he finishes, and she doesn't speak right away. Eventually she looks back to him, what confidence she managed to muster gone now, as her own mind drifts back to the Evening Star. She just looks at him for a while, unsure what to say. As she fails, she steps closer
again, wrapping him up in a sudden hug, as much in search of comfort herself as trying to provide the same for him. Her expression is little more than an empty stare as she looks over his shoulder, trying to make some kind of sense of the mess in her head.
Jason doesn't return the hug at first, his mind still stuck back on that ship, gaze distantly settled on the wall of plaques. But eventually he brings his arms around Vasquez- one still tightly clenched into a fist containing dog tags- and presses a small kiss against her shoulder. Her drop in spirit causes a bit of guilt of his own to settle in. Breaking her spirit is the last thing he wanted and it's enough to bring him back.
"If they come for us, we need to be ready to fight..." he says in little more than a whisper. "The list of missing colonies isn't getting any shorter and-.... and I won't let 'Freedom Falls' end up on that list." Despite his doubts over whether or not they can beat this threat in open warfare, he manages to muster up a quiet confidence as he speaks, knowing damn well he's going to do whatever it takes to make sure Freedom
Vasquez draws in a deep breath, staying in the hug for a while, but eventually she pulls back, her hands lingering on Jason's sides. "We won't let that happen." she corrects. "We-... we'll figure this out, Jason." she adds with a few nods, briefly lifting one hand to rub at her eyes as tears threaten to make their presence known. "We have to. This-... this is our home, remember? Our future." Her voice is a little shaky,
and she sucks in her lips briefly, studying him for a moment before speaking again. "I'm..." She sighs, closing her eyes. "I'm scared too, Jason. Of course I am. I-I remember everything that-..." she starts, an uncomfortable vulnerability in her voice for just a moment before she shakes her head, her hands withdrawing, gesturing as she speaks now. "But after all the shit we've been through, after-... after
everything we've survived? Lost? We're building something here and-... and I'm sure as hell not giving up now, so you better not be because I can't-... I need you, Jason. I can't do this without you." She's practically glaring at him as she finishes, and the last sentence causes her voice to crack, looking off to the side for a moment and biting down on her lips. After one hand makes a brief detour to her belly
she crosses her arms as she returns her gaze to him, staring with a confusing mix of emotions. It's obvious that seeing Jason's faith waver has shaken her, even though she does her best to contain her reaction.
Jason gives a few solemn nods as Vasquez begins to speak, taking the opportunity to slip the dog tags into his pocket. As she insinuates that he's afraid of the Collectors, he furrows his brow. But the energy to protest- to lie- just isn't there, and his expression soon fades away again. "Hey-..." he begins as soon as she finishes speaking, his hands moving to her sides, "I'm not-..." he scoffs and gives a couple small shakes of
his head, "...Linda, I'm not giving up. I don't give up, okay? Ever. Fuck that. If it's a fight that they want? Then I'm gonna give them a fight." Until his very last breath. "I-..." he stammers, his gaze lowering as one hand moves from her side to her belly. "I've got far too much to lose to just give up." he says plainly. 'Giving up' was never in the cards, regardless of whether they have a snowball's chance in hell
of winning. "We'll figure this out.." he repeats her words, doing his best to prop that lopsided smile- that shield- right back up for her sake. No matter how heavy it feels right now. "We will figure it out."