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#Miner'sRespite – March 10, 2018
Tarkus was seat in a booth not to far away from the bar, waiting for Jason to arrive. Tarkus did not have much on his plate, so he did arrive a little earlier than he expected.
It's another snowy night in Freedom Falls. Early evening around 7PM. The sun has set and the bar's interior lights are beginning to spill out into the street. It's a rather quiet night at the Respite. A handful of regulars occupy the counter, chatting amongst themselves and a couple of booths are taken, but it's not packed by any means.
Jason takes his sweet times getting to the Respite. He's been out and about all day. When sleep didn't come, he silently slipped out of bed, leaving Vasquez a message about having to run some errands and that he'd be back tonight. Truthfully, he just needed to be alone. But there's only so much driving in circles a person can do. Seeking any opportunity to avoid going home, he sent a message Tarkus' way looking for another excuse
to keep out of Vasquez' firing line. Keep from having to look her in the eye and tell her 'everything is going to be okay' again. Keep from lying to her. As he steps into the Respite, he tugs at the collar of his brown canvas jacket, fighting at the chill settling in. As he spots his old friend, he props that lopsided smile of his up and begins to march his way. As he reaches the booth he doesn't bother to sit down,
instead he plants a cybernetic hand flat against the table. "Brandy?" he asks, furrowing his brow as he tries to recall Tarkus' drink of choice.
Tarkus looks at the cybernetic hand planting itself on the table, and he gives a nod. "Of course. You buying this round, if not I can give you the credits." Tarkus offered.
Jason gives a dismissive shake of his head. "Nah, I got it." he says. He gives the table a light pat, causing a soft 'thunk' to sound out before he starts towards the counter.
The sound of a new arrival prompts the attention of a couple of the regulars at the bar who look back Jason's way. An older man, human, gives a warm smile as he spots Jason approaching. "Ah, there he is. Ain't seen you all week, Nos Astra. Where ya been?"
Jason gives a roll of his eyes, but maintains his smile. "You know how it is, old man. Duty called. I mean, not all of us can sit in a bar all day, right?" he taunts as he wipes away the small amount of snow accumulated on the shoulders of his jacket. He's dressed in his usual attire. Black, military style pants, black boots, and a long-sleeved white shirt that peeks out from beneath his canvas jacket when he unzips it.
The old man gives Jason a big ol' cheerful middle finger. "That so, soldier boy? How's that goin' for ya?" he asks. Judging by his tone, it's clear that the pair are familiar with one another. It's just friendly ribbing.
Jason turns his attention to the bartender, placing his simple order as the old man speaks. He leans a forearm against the counter, settling in to await his drinks, and glances back to the man. 'How's that goin' for ya?' His muscles still ache. His body still protests every movement from the purple and brown marbling of bruises across his body. What's left of his right shoulder aches from the reverberation of his Revenant, each
round echoed throughout his body every time he pulled the trigger. His mind still continues to race for answers. Dwelling on the Collectors. The Revelator. The horde of creatures he gunned down, each one a life lost. And then there's James. A man he never even met but can't stop thinking about. His smile widens slightly and he gives a small nod. "Kicking ass and taking names." he snickers.
The old man cackles a bit. "Uh huh. More like-..." he says insincerely as he quietly pantomimes jerking off.
Jason once again rolls his eyes, but thankfully the drinks arrive before he has a chance to respond to the old man. "Try not to have a heart attack, you old bastard." he taunts as he collects the two drinks and starts back towards the table. Another cackle sounds out behind him as he takes his leave. As he arrives back by Tarkus he slides a glass of turian brandy before him and takes a seat across from him. "Sorry about the short
Tarkus watches the interaction between Jason and the new arrival, from what he could tell they know each other. Once Jason came back with the drinks, Tarkus grabs his brandy and has a sip. "No problem, Jason. Thanks for the drink." He nods towards the older human. "Friend of yours?"
Jason gives a small nod at Tarkus' appreciation. When he asks about the old man, Jason casts a glance back towards the bar, his smirk making a return. He tilts his head as he considers the question. "Nah. He's just a regular. We talk sometimes. Works down at the mine." he explains, shrugging his jacket off and stowing it further into the booth against the wall. Despite the smile, the dark circles around his eyes tell the story of
a man who hasn't had much rest recently. "So how have you been holding up?" he asks, switching subjects away from the old miner. "Feels like it's been a minute since we just sat down and shot the shit."
Tarkus gave a nod about Jason knowing about the old man. "I've been holding up alright. Some farmers were having some trouble with... um... what the hell were they again." He stopped to think about the creatures name, having a quick sip of his drink. "That's right, Carashans. A small pack was causing some trouble for a farmer, I hunted them for him and sold the pelts and meat." He leaned back in his seat. "Did not want
Jason's smirk returns as he listens to Tarkus' story and he gives a soft nod, but his smile disappears just as quickly as it appeared when the question is turned back on him. He gives a long, drawn out sigh as he reaches for his drink and takes a small sip. "Eh-..." he begins, but falls short of coming up with an answer. Instead, he gives a humorless snicker. "It's been-... it's been a week." he decides on, following it with
Tarkus gave a friendly nod to Jason, Tarkus knew about those weeks, the weeks you want to forget and remember nothing about it. "If you don't want to talk about, you don't have to. No point in remembering horrible weeks. You do yourself no good, if that is all you do."
Jason's gaze turns to his beer and he gives a few distant nods. "Just-... uh-..." he begins, suddenly find himself right back in that spot he drove all day to escape from. Drove in circles, all around Freedom Falls, just to find himself right back where he started. Another deep sigh escapes him. "Ilyna's daughter was taken." he says as he glances back across the table to Tarkus. "It was-..." he nods softly, "...It was bad, T, but
we managed to track her down and bring her home. So-..." he lifts his drink to his lips, taking a long draw from the glass and raising his eyebrows, "...there's that."
Tarkus just shakes his head upon hearing the event. "All that matters is that you got the kid back. But remember this, Jason. Sometimes you can't save everybody, I was taught that early." Tarkus was taught at lot of things in his training and service days, the fact that you can't save everyone was an early one. "Might just be a turian thing, but you just got to carry on and make that lose count for something."
Jason's gaze turns back to his drink as he mulls over the turian's words. It's a concept that was drilled in his head, too. First through training, then through experience. But no matter how much truth there is to the sentiment, it still wears on a man. "I know..." he says softly, offering a small, appreciative smile Tarkus' way before taking another sip of his drink. Another moment of silence passes as he drinks before he speaks
up. "I just-..." he draws in a deep breath to reign himself in and gives a firm nod. "I'll be fine." he says, forcing another smile. "Just-... need a few days of R&R."
Tarkus nods, Tarkus understood what Jason was talking about. Having a few days of R&R would be the best course of action. "Have a couple of days, where you don't have to worry about anything. If you need a hand with anything, just give me a call." He offered, then took a sip of his drink.
Jason's smile grows a bit more genuine and he gives another nod to the turian's offer. "Actually, I might need you to come down to Redrock in a few days." he says, "Gonna have a debrief and I-... I think it might be a good idea for you to be there. After everything that-..." he trails off with a sigh, giving a small shake of his head as he decides against going into detail. There'd be plenty of time for that later. Right now the
goal is to run away from the problems and right into a barrel of booze, not towards them. "...You'll want to be there for this one." he decides on.
Tarkus gives a nod. "Alright, I will be there. Gives me something to do, apart from being out in the cold and dealing with more wildlife." He decides to finish off his drink. "Why did you guys decide to set up on a planet with snow? Hate the snow."
Jason looks a bit relieved at the turn in subject matter, his big dumb grin making its grand return as he allows himself to ease up. "Hey, could be worse. Or have you already forgotten our last job together?" he snickers.
Tarkus gives a shrug. "Well, I do remember that frozen place. But Palaven does not get snow, too much radiation. So turians don't really do snow." He gives a shiver. "This is why I have been wearing my armor since this planet's winter started."
Jason has another chuckle at Tarkus' expense, but relents as he takes another sip from his drink. "Nah, I don't blame you." he admits as he casts a glance out the window to the steady snowfall touching down outside. "Back home? Beautiful weather year-round." he says. But the truth is it's been a long time since 'back home' was home. Even during his time back on Earth with Vasquez he found himself restless. Sure, he mostly kept it
to himself. Kept quiet and smiled. Accepted it because it was what she needed at the time. But it wasn't home anymore. "No worrying about shoveling." he complains, emitting the fact that Jasper does all of the shoveling at Redrock. "No worrying about cleaning off your car because it's under a foot of snow." A problem that also falls into Jasper's hands. "Or-... shit breaking down because it's just too cold..." Yep,
Jasper. He gives a small shrug, eyes still focused on the street outside. 'No Collectors to worry about' he finds himself thinking, but quickly tosses that thought aside. "Still..." he continues, leaning a bit closer to the window to have a look up at Litae. The beautiful, grand, all-seeing orb in the sky high above Aite. Perhaps not high enough, but that just made it all the more splendid. His smile widens a
Tarkus nods, Tarkus has not been back to Palaven or the Citadel where his family currently is, for quite sometime. "Yeah, I don't really think I can call Palaven home anymore. Been away too long." He listens to Jason and little more. "Yeah, the perk is you get to see me. Your good friend, Tarkus." He said smugly.
Jason nods softly to himself as Tarkus speaks. But as the turian finishes up, Jason gives a roll of his eyes as he pulls back from the window. "Right. Of course." he says flatly. Lucky me..." His deadpan look eventually gives way to a smile though. "All jokes aside, I'm glad you decided to stick around, T." he admits before taking another long sip of his drink. "You know... So I can put you to work and make some credits off of
Tarkus gives a shrug. "Yeah, yeah. Just because I am working for you, does not mean I work for a discount. Gotta make credits somehow."
Jason snickers. "Hey, we pay well!" he says in mock defense. "Besides... Somebody has to keep you out of pirate hands, right? I'm looking out for you."
Tarkus just rolls his head. "I was on a job and they outnumbered me. Only reason I was kept alive was because of a ransom to my brother." He remains silent for a moment. "So thanks for the rescue. So I guess I own you for that one."
Jason's snicker shifts into full on laughter as Tarkus gets defensive. "Calm down, I'm just busting your balls-... errr-........ cloaker...?" He furrows his brow. "No, that's salarians..." he mutters softly to himself. "....Weiner hook? Eh... Whatever it is you're rocking, I'm busting it." he decides with a shrug.
Tarkus just shakes his head. "I am not going to talk about my people's junk. Use the extranet for that shit. I am not teaching that shit." He just shakes his head again. "Maybe in another life I could have been a teacher. Not this one."
Jason's laughter only grows louder. "Right, right." he says as he settles down and takes another sip of his drink. "So-..." he begins as he shifts in his seat, settling back against the window and bringing one leg onto his bench, "...Tell me about this hunt of yours. What prompted that? Just decide to-..." he shrugs, one hand resting around his beer, cybernetic fingers tapping idly against the glass, "...go around helping farmers
and getting lost kittens out of trees?" he asks, just trying to keep the conversation moving. To keep his mind occupied.
Tarkus gave a shrug. "I needed something to do, could not let my skills go to shit. Some animals can be predictable, but others can be unpredictable." He thoughts went back to his little hunt, it was simple and the movements of the animals were easy to track but the terrain gave him a challenge. "Hunted them in a forest, easy to keep track of them but a clear shot was harder to get. Took two out with my sniper, the
Jason silently listens as Tarkus tells his story. When he concludes, Jason gives a small nod. "You do a lot of hunting?" he asks. "Outside of when you're putting on your cape to save farms, I mean."
Yan Sun descends the stairs to the Respite, a distracted look on her face. She's in her favorite jeans, and the hood on her hoodie is up, obscuring most of her hair aside from the one-sided bangs. She removes her hands from her pockets to lean her elbows against the bar, arms crossed, swaying idly left and right as she waits for the bartender's attention. An order of a sandwich and a caffeinated soda later she's looking over
Tarkus gives another shrug. "Need something to shoot with my sniper. I had to train with almost every weapon, when I was in the turian military. My family name has some weight behind it, and a lot was expected of me." He readjusts himself in his seat, getting into a more comfortable position. "So yeah, guess you could call me a hero." Clearly joking about that last part.
Pip steps into the Respite, stomping the snow from her boots as the young woman gazes around with her bright blue eyes. It's been a while since she last visited the Respite, having been focused on making sure her shop was turning a profit, even if just a small one. She's wearing a pair of jeans tucked into her boots, a tightly zipped up bomber jacket and her usual mechanics cap. The only new addition is a visor
that sits on her left ear and curves around over her left eye. The display is tinged a washed out red and she seems to quickly examine something on it before sighing and crossing towards the bar, a stool down from Yan Sun. "I know the order is late, but transport ain't exactly cheap around here," she says quietly, waving down a bartender. "You gotta give me a little more time. Three days is all I'm asking."
A pause as she listens. "Awesome. Okay, thank you." She taps the side of the visor and the displayer powers down. She groans and sinks a little onto the counter, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "Fookin' hell..."
Jason once again, nods along as Tarkus speaks. As the turian concludes, he gives a humorless snort. He finds his mind drifting to his own family. To his father. But that only leads to more disappointment- more frustration- which he's quick to swallow, assisted by a healthy amount of beer. "So how does the family feel about you staying out here...?" he asks, "They good with it?"
Yan Sun 's eyes widen briefly when she spots Jason. She briefly looks back to the bar. Nope. Her order hasn't arrived yet. She hesitates for a moment before cursing under her breath and hopping off her stool. She doesn't really pay any attention to the new arrival next to her, having tuned her out as 'not Redrock'. She approaches the booth where Jason and Tarkus are seated, giving a slightly awkward wave as she reaches the
table. Her previous attempts at learning more hadn't exactly gone well. "Uh... hey. Yan Sun. Don't know if you remember me..." she says, interrupting the conversation.
Tarkus gives a nod. "Yeah, they are fine with it. Mostly. I guess they have just accepted, that this is my path." Hears the approach of Yan Sun and turns his head as she approaches. He choices to be silent for the time being, not really knowing Yan Sun and believing Jason does.
Jason opens his mouth to respond when his attention is pulled away by the new arrival. He furrows his brow for a moment, but it only takes a split second to place her despite them having barely acknowledged one another at the wedding. "Elevator!" he says, big dumb grin returning to his face. "How you been, Elevator?"
Pip manages to get her order of a coffee and she resigns herself to a moment of inaction. Just enjoying a cup of coffee and not having her head buried in her work. She idly looks around and spots Jason. But, seeing as how he's occupied at the moment, deigns to just sitting in silence for a while longer.
Yan Sun blinks. Her cheeks immediately start to turn bright red. "W-... th-..." She eventually manages to produce a quiet, muttered "...yeahhh..." and an awkward chuckle. Her momentum slightly lost, it takes a moment before she speaks again. One hand moves to disappear under her hood to scratch her neck. "Uhh... I was just-... Jessica." she blurts out. "She was called in almost a week ago now, and I-... I haven't heard anything
from her. I was just... hoping maybe you knew when she'd be back." she explains as she studies Jason, her left eye lit up with a blue glow. She hasn't paid much attention to Tarkus.
Tarkus sat there for a minute trying to figure out if some human did called their kid Elevator for a moment. However, once he see Yan Sun's reaction, he realises that it is most likely a nicknamed that is meant to be a jab. He remains silent during her question towards Jason, believing it would be impolite to barge his way into the conversation.
Jason's smile slowly slips away. A look of confusion washes over his face as he furrows his brow. "We got back this morning." he says, "We dropped her off here this morning. Last time I saw her she was-..." he grunts slightly as he grabs onto the backrest of his bench and cranes around a bit to gesture at the booth in the corner with a nod of his head, "...right there." he recalls. "She hasn't been home yet?"
Yan Sun is obviously surprised by this information. She follows Jason's gesturing toward the corner booth, and a quiet "...oh." slips out. She does her best to cover up the mixture of embarassment and concern that washes over her as she turns back to Jason. Her success is limited. Several quick nods follow. "Uh... no, I-... I guess she didn't, uhm-... right. Okay." Blinking, and more nods as she looks out across the Respite
again. "Well... thanks." she says, an uneasy tone to her voice as her gaze darts back to him again. Her hand, and her omni-tool lights up as she starts to type, taking a step away from the booth.
Va'ynna walks out to the bar to take over for Aylena, the Respite was quiet enough tonight to not need two people working in the kitchen. Va'ynna did ask for a break to take a nap, but Aylena claimed to have too much paperwork that needs to be done. She already knew the Redrock team was back this morning, so it was no surprise to her to see Jason again, but it does bring a small smile to her face regardless. Va'ynna
is too exhausted to do more than take orders, however, so she remains at the bar. She's wearing a simple, modest green top and black pants, ready to return to the kitchen should the workload demand an extra pair of hands.
Tarkus continues to remain silent, waiting to see how Jason would react to the situation that is unfolding in front of them.
Jason casts an awkward glance Tarkus' way before looking back to Yan Sun. "Do you want me to-... uhh-... send her a message or something...?" he offers, "Maybe let her know you're looking for her...?"
Pip is halfway through a sip of coffee when she spots Yan Sun's arm light up and she almost chokes on her drink. She covers it up by playing it off as clearing her throat, then watches the woman for a moment more, eyes wide in fascination and intrigue.
Yan Sun shakes her head, glancing back to Jason briefly. "No, that's, uh... I'm sure she'll be back soon." she says, some of that worry slipping through in her voice. She finishes typing and gives a quick "Thanks." and a flustered smile before heading back towards the bar, her gaze low and a distracted look on her face. She returns to her stool, looking around for any sign of her order. Her eye remains lit up as she checks her
Jason swings his leg back under the table, looking for a brief moment like he's going to go after Yan Sun. His natural assumption is that, after the ordeal they went through, she probably just wants to be alone. Hell, he certainly understands that. But Jessica? She was the last one he'd expect to be bothered by everything. And here Yan Sun is, obviously worried sick about her. It causes his mind to turn to Vasquez. To whether or
not she's at home worrying about him. They were just married and he's out here doing his damndest just to avoid looking her in the face. He ignores the guilt settling into his chest as he calls out after Yan Sun. "Check the bars." he offers, "Any local places she likes to hit up. Guessing that's where you'll find her. After the week we had-..." he trails off, simply holding his beer up slightly to get his point across.
Pip looks between Jason and Yan Sun, brow furrowing lightly before she scoots across to the woman. "You lost someone?" She asks as she clutches her drink to her chest, grateful for the warmth heating up her hands.
Tarkus continues to watch the interaction between the two, still not wanting to interfere. He already had a situation like this happen to him and it did not affect him if it was someone else this time. He turns his attention back to Jason. "Elevator?" Trying to find out what that was about.
Va'ynna glances down at the terminal as Yan Sun looks to her. "One moment," she says before leaving the bar, returning ten seconds later with her order on a plate. She places it on the counter in front of her. "Would you like something to drink as well?" she asks, taking a step back.
Yan Sun glances back over her shoulder, giving Jason a few nods and a thumbs up in response, forcing a smile into place before she turns back towards the bar, smile immediately disappearing as she goes back to studying the to-others unseen interface in front of her. Pip's question causes her attention to snap back to her surroundings, blinking as she looks her way. "Huh...? Oh. It's nothing." she says with a dismissive shake of
her head, flashing a half-hearted smile. Her attention shifts again as she turns away from Pip, eyes darting almost imperceptibly around. As her sandwich arrives she furrows her eyebrows at the question that follows. "Wh-... I already ordered. Warp Cola?" she says, irritation in her voice as the thoughts running through her head cause some misplaced frustration to slip out.
Jason continues to look Yan Sun's way for a moment longer before his attention is pulled back to Tarkus. He blinks a couple of times, looking completely dumbfounded by the question. "Uhh.... Yeah?" he offers, the confusion thick in his voice. "You know...? Big box you stand in...?" he pantomimes pressing a button, "Doors close...? It takes you up a shaft...? Ding!" He pulls his hand away from his beer to press both palms
together then slowly pull them apart to mimic the elevator doors opening. "Tada~ You're on a whole new floor! Fucking magic!" He reaches back out to press his hand against his beer, shaking his head as he brings his leg back onto the bench. "The fuck is wrong with you, T? You alright today?"
Tarkus puts his head into the palm of his hand. "That is not what I meant, you jackass." He sighs for a moment and takes his head out of his hand. "You called her elevator. What was that about? Jackass." He wanted to make sure, Jason knew he was a jackass.
Pip returns the smile and nods, glancing to Va`ynna as Yan Sun snaps at the asari. She perks an eyebrow up and, perhaps sensibly, decides not to shove her nose into that mess any further. Instead she sets the coffee down and motions to the woman besides her. "Well, that tech ya got is clearly somethin', luv'. I thought I'd seen it all." She smiles brightly, eyes drawn to Yan Sun's hand more than the glowing eye.
Va'ynna nods and goes to get it, placing a half-liter bottle along with a glass in front of her. She makes no attempt to excuse or explain herself, simply giving a tired "Sorry" and steps back to be out of their way.
Jason gives a deep frown as Tarkus lays into him. "Hey, you-..." he begins to talk over Tarkus until the turian finishes his question which gets a muttered: "Oh..." After a moment, realizing he needs to explain it, he follows up with a louder, uncomfortable: "Oh!" An awkward snicker follows and she gives a brief glance Yan Sun's way. "I-... uhh... It was on that last job you were on. Her-..." he gestures to Yan Sun with a small
nod of his head, "...and Jessica-... You remember Jessica, right? Burned chick? Always pissed off about something?" he catches himself going off on a tangent and gives a shake of his head, "Eh. I guess they locked themselves in an elevator to make the beast with two backs." he says non-chalantly. "You know. Do the wild varren cobra dance?" he continues, studying Tarkus. "Play a round of 'hide the space-cow meat' minus
the space-cow meat?" Not wanting to mince words, he leans over the table slightly and lowers his voice to a whisper, "They were fucking."
Yan Sun frowns slightly at the questionable service. Not that she had any options. Plus, there were more important things on her mind. Pip once again brings her out of her thoughts, glancing over to her. Any other day she'd be eager to talk about her cybernetics, but today? Not so much. She had no idea where Jessica was, or why she hadn't come back. And there was no shortage of unsettling possibilities. Regardless, she makes a
token effort, nodding slightly. "Transdermal implants. Circuitry, micro holo-projectors, nano-scale ME-generators..." she turns her hand over, showing her palm, and the circle of blue light that encases a small metal opening in her hand, hinting that it may be more synthetic than first appearances would suggest. "...integrated microfabricator..." Okay, so maybe she still enjoyed showing off her tech a little bit even
Tarkus tuned out of the first half of the story, he did not care for the one story that lead into fifteen other stories. He tunes back in once Jason gets to the point. "I understood the beast with two backs, one. I think you forgot, I did have a human partner." His thoughts wonder off for a few moments wondering where in the universe she is now. "Plus elevator ain't the worse I have heard about." He does a cough. "Or
Pip ,for no better term, freaks out. But in a good way. The kind of way when you find something absolutely mind blowing and you can barely contain your excitement. "Bloody Hell, nano-scaled? Explains how you managed to cram so much in there! You got a sub dermal nano-plate to keep it all protected?" She taps her headset and the display lights up as she looks over Yan Sun's hand, almost reaching over to grab it
Jason settles back into the booth, his smirk making a return as he listens to Tarkus. "You dog, you!" he snickers. "Well, you know what they say. Once you go human, you never go-..." he trails off, gaze lowering to the table. A couple of seconds pass as his eyes glass over. Deep focus. Intense contemplation. A few more seconds of silence. Barely even breathing, he seems to be in a meditative state. Surely something has to rhyme
with 'human' that makes sense. Suddenly, he snaps back to Tarkus, shaking his head numerous times. "Nobody says that." he decides, "Not a thing. Made it up."
Yan Sun seems a little caught off-guard by Pip's enthusiasm. She hadn't encountered much interest in her cybernetics out here beyond 'Those are cool'. "Uh, no, it actually uses... uh... who are you?" she finds herself asking mid-explanation, eyebrows furrowing as she studies the excitable stranger. She briefly checks again for new messages as she waits for a response. Nope. Nothing.
Tarkus gives a chuckle and shakes his head, as Jason tries to find a way to finished his saying. "You caught me off guard there. Finally something that you can't comeback with a smart ass remark." He said jokingly and with a chuckle.
Pip is currently leaning over to study the hand, ponytail falling down her back, before she blinks and looks up at Yan Sun. She flushes a little before leaning back, realising she maaaaay have been a bit too excitable. "Pip. I run Summer's Mechanics in town," she says, jamming a thumb towards the Respite's doors. "Also veeeery briefly worked for him too." Her thumb then switches directions to Jason.
Jason briefly lifts his hand away from his beer, extending a single, cybernetic finger. The best of the fingers. He reaches back with his other hand, searching through the jacket he's not practically sitting on, and removing his omni-tool from the pocket so he doesn't sit on it. Once the omni-tool is safely out of harm's way on the table, he brings his other leg up onto the bench to settle in for the long haul. "How about you
make yourself useful and pick up the next round?" he teases, bringing his glass to his lips and slugging back the last little remainder of beer. He holds his empty mug up, peering at Tarkus through the slightly-foamy glass.
Tarkus shakes his head and stands up from the booth. "Alright, I'll get you a beer. I'll be back." Tarkus begins to make his way towards the bar, to get himself a glass of brandy and Jason a beer.
Jason's smirk returns. "Rum and coke! And make sure it's the good stuff!" he calls out as Tarkus sets off. "Turian brandy is expensive shit, I'm not letting you go cheap on me!"
Va'ynna approaches the turian and takes his order, but Jason's correction overrules it without question. "One moment," she says, and goes to retrieve the bottles. If Tarkus is going to protest his correction, now would be the time.
Tarkus gives no objection to the asari getting the new order, since Jason made his drink clear and Tarkus was already happy with his.
Yan Sun furrows her eyebrows, glancing towards the door, and then Jason, briefly, before turning back. "Yan." she offers. "I've seen your place. Repairs and stuff, right?" she asks, her mind remaing distracted as she speaks. Jessica wasn't replying. Not exactly unusual for her, but there was plenty of cause to be concerned after everything. What if she'd-... no, she wouldn't have. They'd closed the book on Adrasteia. Right? How
strange was it that she found herself hoping that Jason was right? That she was passed out in a bar somewhere? There's a knot in her stomach as she considers the possibility that she just left. Hopped a freighter on her own. It wasn't always easy to tell where Jessica's head was at, and she was more than a little skittish about their relationship. It wasn't the first time that particular worry had crossed Yan Sun's
mind. She has to stop and remind herself that she wouldn't do that. 'A who, not a where'. She'd come back... right? It becomes increasingly obvious in her face that her mind is elsewhere as she waits for Pip's response.
Va'ynna returns with the bottles and starts mixing the drinks. "I think I saw you at the wedding," she says while doing so. "I'm Va'ynna,… by the way." He was a friend of Jason's, and were it not for that she would never have recognized him. She puts the glasses next to one another on the counter in front of her: one rum and cola just the way she usually mixes it, and a turian brandy. "Tell Jason I said hi," she
Jason raises a cybernetic hand high into the air as he looks to Va'ynna when she finishes mixing the drinks. "Hey, V!" he calls out from the booth, unbothered by any attention his across-the-room greeting may draw.
Tarkus gives a polite nod to Va'ynna. "Good to meet you, Va'ynna. I'm Tarkus." Tarkus takes the drinks once Va'ynna has finished the making the drinks. "Looks like he has seen you." He begins to make his way back to the bar.
Pip nods and offers a small smile, but her face crinkles up in mild curiosity at the woman sat opposite her. "Yeah. Cars, mechs, cybers... well, most anythin' and everythin' really-...". She pauses and tilts her head, examining the woman before she says quietly, "Have you tried checkin' cameras? For your friend?" She smiles casually, display still glowing.
Yan Sun furrows her eyebrows, looking weirded out as she studies Pip. "Uhm... what?" she says, reaching for the bottle of soda and her sandwich as if making ready to leave.
Pip waves a hand outside. "Cameras. I 'erd you were lookin' for your friend and you clearly know Jason. They run security 'ere, right? So... why not just ask if you're so worried?" She shrugs. "Worst they can do is say no? I only say it 'cause you look worried. I can see it plastered all over your face."
Va'ynna raises her brows at the across-the-room greeting, but she returns a wave. "I noticed," she says in a low voice. She should be used to that by now, but it still makes her a bit flustered.
Yan Sun 's expression turns to embarassment as she glances back towards Jason. "Wh-... no, that's-... were you listening-..." she shakes her head, slipping off of her barstool to leave. "IIIIII'm gonna go now..." she says with an apologetic look and a gesture towards the stairs, obviously rather put off by Pip's nosiness (and in a bit of a bad mood due to the worries in her mind). She starts to head off, sandwich in one hand
Pip blinks and flushes, turning away awkwardly. "Uh... sorry," she mutters. "I didn't mean to poke my nose in, I ju-... I'm pretty bad at this kinda stuff." She shrugs, looking down at her coffee. "Sorry. I just wanted to try and help." She taps the display and it shuts off.
Yan Sun would probably have stayed and chatted on a better day. But right now she wasn't in the mood to indulge a stranger's prodding at her personal life. Not to mention she struck something of a nerve - using tech to track Jessica had been in the cards in the past. A last resort. Maybe that reflected poorly on her. But it had been about life and death.
Pip stands up and throws a chit on the counter, turning to leave as he pulls her cap down further over her head, embarrassment clear in her face. "Bye..." she says as she rushes towards the exit. This is why she never leaves the workshop. It's easier to be around machines.