#RedrockAgency – September 8, 2019

It's late morning of the 20th, and there's wind and heavy snowfall outside. Sioria returned to Freedom Falls last night, but Ilyna had long since left work by then.

The asari's office is tidy and sparsely furnished. The main feature is her desk, but there's also a table with two chairs by the window opposite the door with a small stack of paper and colored pencils that Ilyna hasn't bothered to hide for this meeting. Right next to the door is a black steel segment with a port for a cable on both the top and bottom of it, but the fitting cable is sitting on the asari's desk.

Ilyna is sitting behind her desk, tapping away on her terminal. She's wearing a long dark casual dress that does not hug her figure well.

Sioria if it wasn't for the long journey and emotional exhaustion, Sioria likely wouldn't have slept last night. Thankfully though, with the aid a quarter bottle of... Well, she didn't really look at the label, she managed to get a few hours in. She hasn't given this meeting much thought, truth be told, her mind on other things, but she still manages to be on time. The door chime pings, announcing her arrival at

Ilyna's office.

Ilyna clears the terminal's screen of anything sensitive before remotely opening the door. The asari looks a little under the weather from the poor sleep following yesterday's alcohol consumption, even if she did get enough of it. She stands up to stand beside her desk. "Hey," she says. "Thank you, for going out there. I know it wasn't for my sake, but still, I appreciate you doing it."

Sioria nods as she enters the office, taking just a moment to look around the room. Neat and tidy, at least by her standards, just as she expected. She heads for a seat opposite the desk and slumps into it with a sigh. "Yeah, you're welcome," she says as she rights herself up. She looks at the stack of paper briefly to see if there's anything drawn on them, then sits back again. "Not the outcome I wanted, but...

Not the one I was afraid of. Guess that's life, huh."

There is currently no art on display.

Ilyna sits back down in her seat, with more grace than the turian. She pushes the terminal to the side so that it's not in the way and places her hands on the desk. "You found her then?" she asks, maintaining eye contact with the turian. There is some eagerness in her tired voice. "What can you tell me about her? Is she alright?"

Sioria gives another nod before giving a light shrug. "There's not much to tell, boss. Found her, she wasn't exactly happy about that. Lots of arguing, which hurt." She pauses for a moment to shake off the pang of emotional pain that sunk into her stomach. "But when we cooled off, we talked. She's alright, I guess. She's out there voluntarily, most importantly." She leans back in her chair and crosses one leg over

the other, which looks a little odd for a Turian. "I guess the best way I can explain it is that everything that's happened messed with her head. She needs time to clear it all up, so she's on the roar. Overwhelmed, I guess, especially after the Collectors Fiasco."

Ilyna sighs. "I'm not used to this," she says, "things being simply what they appear to be, but with Mian's behavior following her departure, I guess I expected her to be in danger, but... I... I suppose it's good news that she just wants time away from us." She glances off at the blank terminal for a moment in thought, sadness clear in her face as she relives the day of the kidnapping. She does manage to

compose herself after a few seconds, however, and looks back at the turian. "Like I've said before, I tried to talk her out of that mission," she says. "We didn't know it was the Collectors behind it, but we knew exactly what kind of target we were chasing. Ehanis just wouldn't listen, and I was in no shape to drag her off the ship."

Sioria huffs a little at that. "Yeah, she regretted that," she says. "She mentioned how you tried to talk her out of it. Wish you had, personally." She sighs as she shakes her head. "She isn't in danger. We did a mind meld, she showed me a lot of things, maybe not even intentionally. I may have pushed, but... I got answers." She reaches out and taps the desk with a clawed finger. "And I wouldn't trust Mian with

any of this, by the way. What I saw, it wasn't pretty, and I definitely don't trust her myself."

Ilyna does frown at the mention of a mind meld. She's experienced enough to not show a noticable reaction to people talking about it, but it is still a topic that demands care when dealing with it. "I can't even get her to talk to me about how she's holding up," she says. "She must care for you a great deal to open up like that." Ilyna lets out a long sigh as she considers Mian. "When I went to check Ehanis'

apartment, Mian made an attempt on my life," she says. "I still had a key and it looked like nobody was home. She had every chance to answer the door, but she didn't." Ilyna looks over at the door to her office as she continues. "But that fact that Ehanis left on her own volition supports Mian's explanation," she says. "She said Ehanis made their apartment unlivable after the mission, but Mian didn't do

anything more than telling her that she won't tolerate it." She hakes her head.

Sioria doesn't speak for a few seconds. There's that pang again. Did she care? Ilyna probably knows her better than most. "Funny way of showing it, running off like that. I'd like to think she cared... I did. Even if I'm too dense to notice how much." Her mandibles twitch lightly as she thinks on that point for just a moment. Damn is it hard to move past it. "I'm not surprised Mian tried to off you," she finally

says. "Ehanis showed me who she is. Cold, hard, brutal. A real bitch, if you ask me." She shakes her head, letting go of the anger. "E only showed me their last interaction. Or, I guess, Ehanis knocking her ass out. Mian didn't look too happy for her to be leaving, but I didnt see anything before that." She shifts in her chair, uncomfortably. "But I could tell something was up, man. Her... I guess presence?

It was all bruised and bandaged. I guess you only see the Asari's mental state in those melds, not her physical. I heard one of their arguments, kinda. It was blurred, but... I guess that tracks. She did say that she took it out on Mian." She uncrosses her legs and leans on her knees with a sigh. "Damn it. She still said not to tell Mian anything, so please do me the favour and don't tell her a single

thing? E warned she might come after me for info, and... Y'know, I'll put up a fight against anyone, but I don't think I'll win against her." She looks down at the carpet before frowning. "Ah shit. If E did care for me enough to do a Meld, she probably had something better to show me and I pushed for negative shit." She hides her face in her hands, her words now muffled. "Fucking idiot of a Turian."

Ilyna tilts her head as she speaks of the meld again. "Ehanis tend to give you that feeling," she says. "That there's something more behind the jokes, laughs and abundant trivial complaints." There's a small humorless chuckle escaping the asari. "She was bruised and bandaged after the mission, too, though," she says, "which she... actually seemed ashamed of." Ilyna taps on her terminal to bring up a still

picture from the gym's surveillance camera of Ehanis on the treadmill; 3rd of December, some time before noon. Unlike the last time both her and Sioria was in the gym, Ehanis was wearing a white shirt over her usual sportswear. She closes the image after a few seconds, some guilt on her face from having used the surveillance system — that she often hides from — in her investigation. "This meeting will

stay between you and me, Felcolus," Ilyna says, picking up the universal data/power cable from the desk. "It's not even recorded."

Sioria sits with her head in her hands for a few moments before collecting herself, muttering the word 'moron' under her breath. She takes a deep breath and sighs. "I dunno enough about Asari to make heads or tails of it, so I'll just leave it there," she says, leaning back again. "And thanks. I don't want to get any deeper in the shit than I apparently already am." She pauses, then lifts her arms up a little and

drops them in her lap again. "So... Guess there isn't anything to be done. E's gone and the rest of us just have to... I dunno. Move on, and eventually stop thinking on if we could have done something different. Guess I'll have to find some other badass to accidentally kinda-sorta crush hard on."

Ilyna puts the cable back down on the desk as she listens to the turian. This isn't a topic she can weigh in much about, as any experiences of normal maiden life has been second hand at best and from vids at worst. She looks about to say something for a moment, but instead falls silent for a few seconds. "Do you know if Ehanis is alone out there?" she asks. "Everyone needs someone after facing the Collectors and

barely getting out alive. Ehanis more so considering her inexperience with... that kind of mission."

Sioria can only shrug at that. "I guess. She's running with a crew, if that helps. As for someone close? Did she ever have anybody who was close? I guess I was the closest and she didn't even say goodbye, and left instead of talking to me about it." She pauses for a good long moment, then shrugs again. "I dont know, but I hope so. She knows she can message me when she has service, so... If she needs someone, she

knows I'm still there."

Ilyna looks a bit worried at Ehanis finding a new team, which may not treat her like Redrock. Even worse, there's the very small chance Redrock might one day find themselves opposed to this group, whoever they are. Will she need to worry about every fully armored asari they're fighting from now on? "I suppose that's better than being alone," she says. "It's unlikely, but maybe one of them will get through to

her. And make her consider coming back." She casts a glance over to her own terminal. "She has never sent me a message directly since she left, all the ones you've seen have gone via Jason. Because she knows I would get up in the middle of the night for it." Ilyna gives a brief sheepish smile as she adds, "And she's right about that."

Sioria shakes her head. "Doubt it. They seem like a bunch of assholes, looking down their nose at me. And I'm a Turian, that's literally hard to do, have you seen my height?" She asks, raising an arm for emphasis. She sighs, then nods. "But from what she tells me they're okay. Guard duty, small town stuff, apparently. I can only hope it stays that way." She settles back in her chair, then nods. "And you got that

right. There's no way she's messaging you, especially since you kinda-sorta sent me after her, even if I would have gone anyway. She doesn't want to be found." She looks from her hands to Ilyna and cracks a tiny smile. "She does think the kid's in good hands though. You got that going for you."

Ilyna frowns at the turian's assessment of the group, but it does fade as she lists off the kind of work she's doing with them, and it turns into a smile at the last part. "Ehanis was always fond of Li," she says. "I didn't expect the badass mercenary to be so easy to ask for babysitting." The smile does fade as she considers the Ehanis' situation again. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the group?"

she asks. "I may write that down though if there's anything we could use to identify them were we to cross paths one day. It's unlikely, I know, but it'll make me rest easier knowing that she won't be hurt by our people."

Sioria smirks, not realising just how much Li meant to Ehanis, if you could put it that way. It was a kinda cute thought, really. Still, when Ilyna asks about the group, Sioria frowns as she tries to remember. "There was a Salarian tech, first part of his name was something like Luyn, I didn't get the whole name. Only confirmed are Asari, one named Siv, maybe Siveh-something. She seemed pretty cautious, I didn't

get many details. Gotta admit though, the thought of popping shots off at E without knowing... Makes me feel pretty sick, man."

Ilyna nods a few times, and quickly types the names down as they'll be written in her native language. The last statement gets a frown from her. "We... always try to avoid unneccesary fights, and never shoot first unless we absolutely must," she says, "but I'll make sure these details ends up in Ehanis' file, but everything else you said will remain off the record."

Sioria nods. "Thanks. Appreciate it." She leans back in her chair and looks up at the ceiling before letting out a long sigh. "So... What now?" She asks. "I don't think I've got anything else to report. Ehanis wants to be away, she's there voluntarily... I dunno what to do next."

Ilyna nods. "Like you said, there's nothing else we can do," she says. "I asked you to go out there to find out how she was faring and if there was more to her disappearance, and you did." She lets out a long sigh. "I was hoping that she'd be coming back with you," she says, "but... her being fine and not alone it... it will make me rest a little easier." Ilyna relaxes her shoulders and sits back. "Please send

me a list of all expenses if you haven't already."

Sioria looks back to Ilyna and mulls it over a little. "Yeah, I hoped she'd come back to." As if that wasn't apparent already. "Glad to have helped." There was a little part of her that felt it was also a good way to get her into the good books for being reliable, if anything. "Probably won't help me rest, but I'll get over it eventually." She opens her omnitool and looks back to the expenses she'd lodged for the

trip and sends them off to Ilyna post-haste. "You got it. There they are, nothing major, just a meal really. We weren't there more than a couple of hours."

Ilyna nods as the omni-tool briefly flashes to show that she has a new message. "You will," she says with some confidence. "I'm sure of it." She offers a small smile. "If you don't have anything else you'd like to bring up, then that'll be all," she says. "Again, thank you for doing this. I can't overstate how much this means to me."

Sioria stands and offers her hand to shake. A human tradition, perhaps, but there's no shortage of humans where she's from. "No problem. If I didn't go, I'd be hating myself for it." She says. "And thanks for the vote of confidence. For now though, I've got a lot of movies sitting at home, a bottle of something strong, and a day or two before I'm back on duty. That'll help."

Ilyna stands up and returns the handshake. "That's not what I'd advise for moving on, but I'm not your sister, so I feel I have no say here," she says with a chuckle. Not that she would have had a say with that kind of authority either. "As long as you keep that for off duty time." Her tone is light-hearted, as she expects nothing less from a turian.

Sioria 's grip is strong and firm, regardless of mental state. "Yeah but what else am I gonna do with a bunch of movies and booze? They're there, might as well." She gives a small smile before letting go. "And don't worry, I'm a pro. I know how to ACT sober." She gives a heavy wink to make sure Ilyna knows she's joking, just in case. "I'll get out of your face, see you later."

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