This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#FreedomFalls – July 17, 2018
After Halisi's call, Vasquez put together a small team to bring Mian in for questioning. Since several hours had already passed since Ilyna escaping her attack, urgency was deemed low enough that they had time to gear up properly. Best not to take any chances with an aggressive biotic anyhow. Tank is seated in the shuttle, attaching the last pieces of armor plating to her suit. Sidearm, cuffs and a stun baton are mag-clipped to her belt,
and her helmet sits between her legs on the floor. Between her inherent bulk and the armor there's not much room in the seats next to her - fortunately the Kodiak is capable of holding much larger teams. Emma is there two, wearing a blue camo hardsuit that makes her look the part of Alliance marine even without any logos or insignias. She's had time to put her blond hair into a braid to keep it out of the way, and she's wearing a dark blue
beanie to ward against the cold and keep any stray hairs out of her face. She's by one of the doors, tinkering with her M-99 Saber. It's specially designed like all Sabers, with a custom fitted stock and a number of user-specific features. Of course, if all goes well that kind of firepower will be entirely unnecessary.
Mendez is not only seated, but also very tightly strapped in, harness securely in place over his bulky, jet black armor. Both gauntleted hands grip at the harness restraints as he stares straight ahead, burning holes through the opposite wall with his eyes. His jaw tightly clenches any time the shuttle lists to the side. His helmet and folded-up Katana are placed in the seat beside him.
Tank looks up at Mendez after securing her last bit of leg-plating, one of her eyebrows rising. "You do not like flying?" she asks, a faint hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. The weight and powered joints of her armor means that she's barely affected as the shuttle jolts and lists on its way to Road's End.
Emma glances up as Tank breaks the silence, but doesn't say anything. She's strapped in to, and keeps a tight grip of her rifle.
glances up as Tank breaks the silence, but doesn't say anything. She's strapped in to, and keeps a tight grip of her rifle.
Mendez slowly turns his head to look Tank's way. "We're sailing through the air in a heap of metal and plastic with a distracted old man being the only thing keeping us from slamming into the ground at an absurd speed." he says without the slightest inflection in his voice. A slight jolt felt throughout the shuttle causes him to tightly shut his eyes briefly, looking momentarily as if he might get sick.
Mendez pulls in a deep breath as he opens his eyes once more, allowing Tank to draw her own conclusion.
Tank seems to consider Mendez' reply for a moment before her brows rise and she gives a small tilt of her head to acknowledge his point. "When you put it like that..." she says, the smirk manifesting briefly. "It is far to this place?" she asks, hoping Mendez might know the area better than her.
Mendez gives a small shake of his head, splitting his attention between Tank's questioning and their impending deaths by way of shuttle failure. "Few minutes." he says plainly, silently appreciating the distraction provided by the conversation. By foot it would've been quite the walk but thankfully a shuttle cuts down the travel time considerably. His left foot bounces in place, due more to the flight than the potentially
dangerous individual they're on their way to apprehend. His gaze briefly drops to the stun baton clipped to Tank's belt. "Goal is to take her in alive. Remember that if she tries to put up a fight." he reminds.
Tank gives a serious nod. "Of course. I have training in..." she pauses for a moment as the word escapes her. "...subduing dangerous individuals." she assures, servos whirring quietly as she shifts her hand to pat the reinforced metal cuffs that accompany the stun baton.
Emma glances over at Mendez and Tank, studying them silently for a moment before speaking up. "The target is asari. That means biotics. That means she can't be disarmed. Be careful."
Thiago attention shifts from Tank to Emma. "She's also a member of the local militia. We've had run ins with other members of the local militia who weren't exactly-... cooperative..." he explains, deciding not to go into it. "Last thing we need is to end up on the wrong side of the local authorities by gaining a reputation for racking up a body count of their people. Biotics or not, we need to bring her in alive. Preferably
without any holes in her body." He considers it momentarily, recalling the last encounter they had with the militia. "Preferably."
Tank nods again, her eyebrows furrowing a little at the reminder of Mian being a part of the militia. She's still not entirely clear on the structure of the local authorities, but she certainly has no interest in ending up on their bad side. "They have attacked people before?" she asks, wondering what Mendez might be referring to.
The streetlights are few and far between in the Erantha street where Ehanis' apartment is, limiting visibility somewhat. The apartment is on one half of a square single-story house. There is a window next to the door, and the relative darkness reveals a faint blue flicker beyond the thin curtain, but there is not visibility into the room. The facade of the house does have a light above the door, but it is off. There are
numerous footsteps in the snow between the road and door, but it's clear they haven't shoveled in a while. There is about 10 meters between the door and the road.
Mendez gives a sharp, stern nod. "They have." he says plainly, offering little insight into the actual instance.
Jasper gives another shout from the cockpit as they close in on their target. "Alright, folks. Settin' 'er down!" he calls, "Be careful out there!"
Thiago grip on the harness tightens as he hears Jasper's warning and braces himself as the shuttle begins to lower to the ground. "So let's try and keep this peaceful if we can." he grunts.
Tank is the first to stand, grabbing a handhold from the ceiling and letting her leg joints lock to keep her stable as she waits by the door.
Emma remains seated, giving Mendez a nod. "Copy that. I take it I'm on overwatch?" she asks, not entirely sure how this goes without a proper chain of command, but aware that Mendez is the senior team member.
Mendez doesn't begin to unlock his harness until the shuttle has firmly set down. As he climbs from his seat, he palms his helmet and locks it into place before collecting his Katana. It unfolds as he grasps it with a satisfying CLICK. Realizing the question was directed at him, he gives a nod Emma's way. Not the first time he's found himself having to accept a role of authority within Redrock. It wasn't a role he consciously
sought out, but he's grown accustom to the idea. "Keep a clear line of sight on the building. Let us know if you see anything." he adds.
Tank lifts her own helmet into place, locking it into place with a slight twist before stepping out and taking a look around while her HUD initializes. She starts to slowly approach the apartment door, taking point as she is used to.
Emma nods, standing up and heading over to the shuttle door. She hops out, keeping her rifle in her hands but not at the ready, as she surveys the scene. She's not wearing a helmet, but with a light tap to the side of her head a lightweight earpiece-visor combo comes to life, largely concealed under her beanie. It handles comms projects a rudimentary HUD over one eye, as well as offering IFF highlighting without interferring
The holographic panel for the door shows up as Tank gets closer, indicating that the door is locked. Emma may catch a glimpse of slightly brighter light from the window as the curtain is briefly pulled aside slightly while surveying the scene. There is still no clear reaction from the apartment or any of the neighbors.
Mendez keeps his shotgun lowered as he approaches the apartment a few steps behind Tank. After a quick glance towards the window and a tap at the side of his helmet, he speaks up over comms. "Looks like a screen is on inside. Probably means she's still home." he observes. He gives a brief glance about the surrounding area for any sign of life, missing the potential movement in the window as he finds himself realizing just how
wrong this scene would probably look from any potential onlookers. Nothing says 'bad news' like a group of armed and armored individuals hopping out of a shuttle and stomping up to your next door neighbors front door.
Emma 's attention snaps to the window as she notices the brief shift in light. "Got movement inside!" she calls out, tensing up as she watches intently for anything else. She also spares a quick glance towards the readout of her kinetic barrier. Just in case.
Tank continues to approach the door at a walking pace, no weapon in hand. As soon as she reaches it she gives a series of hard knocks.
Thiago attention shoots back to the window upon hearing Emma's callout, but he remains at ease. "Copy." he says, remaining in step with Tank."Remember. We're not here looking for a fight. Just answers." he reminds as Tank knocks at the door.
"Fuck off!" shouts a woman's voice from the other side of the door. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested." The door is a flat, painted steel door with an inset handle behind the hologram, though this handle's unergonomically small depth hint that it's not the primary means of opening the door.
Tank nods to assure Mendez she knows. "You attacked one of our people. We need answers." she calls out in response, her voice loud and clear (although accented) as it sounds from her helmet speakers. Her posture is fairly relaxed, and she tilts her head a little as she listens for a response, although her hand is ready to try the handle.
Mendez barely even reacts to the response. He simply glares at the door, unamused expression hidden behind his visor. After Tank speaks up, he chimes in behind her. "Can't 'fuck off' until you open the door and talk to us." he adds, his voice deep and monotone. "So let's get this over with."
There is a moment of quiet before she replies, her voice being louder and closer. "Who do you people really think you are?" she shouts back. "She had no business snooping around in my apartment like that, that's all the answers you need."
The neighbors to the Redrcok team's right turns pulls back their curtains for a second, the relatively bright light from the living room giving their peeking away.
Tank shoots a glance Mendez' way, nodding questioningly towards the door and holding out a hand near the handle. "That is why you try to kill her?" she asks loudly, partly just to keep the asari talking.
Emma isn't accustomed to this kind of work, and she's not entirely sure how to react to the curious neighbours. She spares them a glance now and then to make sure it doesn't look like anyone is going to interfere, but otherwise her focus remains on the target apartment.
"I was pissed at her too, but that's not the point," she says. "I'll do the same to you if you don't go away real soon." By the tone of her voice, she probably means it.
Mendez gives a loud sigh as the shouting back and forth through the door begins to wear at his patience. Tank's gesture causes him to hold a hand up to halt her momentarily. The moment they try to break in everything goes downhill. Should be a last resort. "We're not going anywhere until you open the door and come with us." he says, his monotone voice hiding his crumbling patience. "You know who we are. We're not looking for a
fight. Ehanis is missing and her sister was looking for information, that's all. It was just a misunderstanding. So come with us, answer a few questions and we'll have you back home soon."
Tank lowers her hand, giving Mendez an appreciative nod. She doesn't add anything - his words seem sufficent.
The door does not open. "I'm not going anywhere," she says, her voice getting fainter as she walks away from the door. "Get lost, I've had enough shit to deal with today."
The glow around the edges of the neighbor's curtains is no longer there, making it difficult to see at a glance whether they're observing the confrontation.
Mendez gives a flat glance back to Tank. Of course she's not going to come willingly. They never come willingly. "We tried." he mutters simply, lowering his hand. "Remember. Alive."
Tank gives a single sharp nod before grabbing the handle. Because of her gauntlet it takes her a couple of tries to get a grip on the shallow handle, but as soon as she does she pulls, hard, hoping to overwhelm the locking mechanism.
Mendez grips his shotgun, bringing the stock up to his shoulder. Hopefully no shots need to be fired, but the business end of a shotgun is a hell of a deterrant.
The simple locking mechanism is unable to withstand the pressures put on it, and the door is forced open quickly with a few loud snaps. The asari stands halfway across the living room; a strong biotic shimmer surrounds her, and she holds her arms out wide. She has thrown a simple kinetic barrier west over her oversize red t-shirt and gray sweatpants, but she is not carrying a weapon. "You're unbelievable," she says.
Tank 's heavy armor affords her a certain sense of safety, and she starts to calmly cross the room, holding one hand palm out towards Mian, while the other hovers near her hip, and the items located there. "Stand down! You attacked our people and we are taking you for questioning!" she calls out as she approaches, her boots thumping and servos whirring quietly with each step.
Mendez surges into the room a step behind Tank, shotgun shouldered but lowered. "This doesn't need to be a fight!" he calls out, all of the previous calmness drained from his thunderous deep voice.
Mian gives a frustrated sigh as Tank approaches her. "Then you didn't need to break in!" she snaps to Mendez before bringing her arms together and charging into Tank, followed by breaking into a sprint for the door in order to get out into the open. She may be running barefoot towards snow, but that is the least of her worries right now.
Tank has only a split-second to brace herself as Mian charges. She staggers backwards as the asari re-materializes and the biotic shockwave hits her. She manages to plant her right foot behind herself, the exo-skeleton beneath her armor counter-acting the force enough to keep her on her feet, although her shields are completely knocked out, and it takes her a moment to get her bearings. She doesn't have time to reach for a weapon, so she
just opts for blocking the asari's escape attempt with her own body, holding her arms out to both sides and attempting to grab her with an armored gauntlet should she try to slip past.
Emma raises her rifle at the crack of a biotic blast, scanning the door and windows with a sharp gaze as she waits for an update.
Mendez staggers back a step as Mian clashes into Tank, but he's quick to tuck his shotgun in close, lower a shoulder, and dig in, bracing himself to shoulder right into Mian if she manages to get by Tank. Despite his football career having been ended by a knee injury, he's sure as hell not about to be bowled over by an asari a third his size.
Mian has enough time to barely evade Tank's attempt to block her escape, but not enough to prepare for another charge to get past the other Redrock mercenary. She takes her chances to just run past him, but his shoulder hitting her causes her to stagger on the way to the door. Mian grunts, and tries to throw a hasty biotic punch at Mendez. "Fuck. Off."
Tank turns as Mian slips past her, once again forgoing a weapon. This is her wheelhouse, and she compensates well for the bulky armor, moving fairly fast. She reaches out to grab the asari firmly by the arm while she's distracted by Mendez, starting to unclip her stun baton with her other hand as she does.
Thiago enclosed in a full suit of armor, isn't particularly harmed by the hasty barefisted punch. The force of the biotic display staggers him back a few steps but as soon as he regains his footing he lunges towards the smaller asari in an attempt at wrapping her up with his free arm- gripping his Katana tightly in one hand- doing whatever he can to buy time for Tank to restrain her. "Just remember you brought this on yourself!"
Mian tries to get away while Mendez is staggered, but Tank grabbing her arm stops her in her tracks. She tries to pull away, but the asari's physical strength (even if it's good for an asari) is not sufficient against the towering human. That doesn't means she's giving up, she keeps struggling to free herself even after Mendez also grabs her. "No, not my fault," she says. "I've. Already. Given you. Your
Tank lets out a quiet grunt of "Stop-... gh... stop resisting." as Mian continues to struggle, keeping a tight grip of her arm as she leaves the baton on her belt, judging that it shouldn't be necessary. She moves in closer, using her free hand to, with Mendez' help, force her down against the floor and plant an armor-plated knee on her back to keep her in place as she reaches for her cuffs.
Mendez lets Tank take the lead as this is her field of expertise and assists in taking Mian to the ground. "So then answer them again! Not my problem!" he grunts, following suit to- if they're successful in bringing her down- use his knee to try and keep the uncooperative asari in place.
Mian keeps trying to get herself loose, but when she's brought to the floor she finally stops. She doesn't really have a fighting chance, especially since she's unable to use her biotics. "I fucking hate you," Mian says. "You think you can do whatever the hell you want."
Tank doesn't seem particularly fazed by Mian's angry rambling - it elicits little more than a slightly exasperated expression hidden under her faceplate. When the asari stops struggling she's quick to snap the reinforced cuffs into place around her wrists. They're made to hold up to a variety of threats, but a sufficently powerful biotic could certainly tear them.
Mendez isn't quite as used to restraining angry, uncooperative assholes as Tank and grunts a brief, "Yeah, well I'm not your biggest fan either, you little shit." as he tries to keep Mian still for Tank to slip the cuffs on. Once handled, he removes his knee and grasps Mian by the armpit and makes to urge her up to her feet. "Get moving."
Mian gets to her feet with a grunt and starts moving at whatever pace the Redrock mercs will let her move at. "You're paying for the door, and any shit that gets stolen," she says. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Tank sighs, starting to walk Mian towards the shuttle alongside Mendez. "Take it up with Chief." she grunts.
Emma steps back towards the shuttle when the others emerge, relaxing a little when it seems the situation is under control, although she remains on guard.
Mendez rolls his eyes behind his visor. "Next time open the damn door and you won't have to worry about us breaking it." he grunts, his monotone voice once again betraying his obvious frustration. He gives Mian a soft shove from behind to get moving.
Mian walks across the snow barefoot without a complaint. Well, none about the snow at least. "I'll try that one when I come knocking on your door when you're trying to relax after a shitty day," Mian says with a snort.
Tank doesn't say anything until they're in the shuttle, at which point she gestures to a seat that has plenty of room on both sides, instructing: "Sit."
Mendez looks ahead and continues towards the vehicle as he attempts to tune out Mian's continued whining. "You complain too much. Shut up and get in the shuttle." he says as he offers Emma a small nod. Once inside, he peels off, remaining by the door as Tank instructs the asari. He runs his thumb along the side of his Katana, causing it to fold up, and sets it on a seat opposite of the one pointed out by Tank. When he takes off
his helmet his hair is a flattened mess that he begins to run gauntleted fingers through to fix as he takes the seat beside his weapon.
Mian does sit down in the appointed seat, wiping her feet on the shuttle floor. "Fuck you," she responds to Mendez. She takes a breath to bicker some more, but even she realizes at this point that it's just a waste of time.
It's not clear whether they're being watched by neighbors because of the poor visibility. There is no one outside that could interfere, though.
Tank sits down next to Mian, ready to act should she try something. "We have her." she calls out towards the cockpit.
Emma climbs into the shuttle after the others are seated, taking a seat by the door and casting a last look around the area.
Jasper appears in the doorway a moment later, just leaning in to get a look at everyone and make sure everyone is alright. "Aw'right. We good ta' go?" he asks.
Mendez merely stares Mian down from across the shuttle. Even when Jasper speaks up, his eyes remain on the asari. "We're good." he responds curtly without looking the old man's way. Once the door starts to slide shut, he begins to harness himself into his seat.
Mian stares right back at him, but she doesn't try anything. She doesn't break her stare to look at Jasper either. Also, Mian is unable to put on her harness for some reason.
Tank buckles Mian in once everyone is seated, making sure the harness is secure before sitting back down and removing her helmet.
Mendez continues his silent staring contest until the shuttle begins to lift off which is more than enough to scramble his plans. To keep his mind off of the fact that it would only take a quick jerk of the steering column to send them plummeting to the ground, he raises his forearm and activates his omni-tool to put out a call to Vasquez and update her on the situation.