Ilyna stops a few feet short of the Christmas tree, overhearing their conversation with a raised brow. "And spoil the surprise," she continues Cynthia's sentence, folding her arms.
#RedrockAgency – October 29, 2020
Jason gives a few small nods as he listens to Halisi, his own attention shifting back out over the room. The weight of her words isn't lost on him. Everything that's happened. He's well aware of how much she's lost through all of this, too. Back in that facility. He fills his lungs with a deep breath, standing up a little taller. "I'm sorry for-... uhh-... everything." he offers, hazarding a brief glance her way before shrugging
at his own ineloquence and obvious discomfort. "For-... you know, for what you had to go through. I just-... I don't know if I said it before but-..." his gaze turns towards the floor for a moment, just to have somewhere to look as he nods to himself before offering one final, sincere, "...I'm sorry."
Halisi looks down into her mug, a somber nod her only response to Jason's words at first. "I'm alive. That makes me one of the lucky ones. I know that." she says, voice quiet. She draws in a long breath. "And I have Redrock to thank for it." she adds, glancing Jason's way and propping up a heavy smile. "As do the others. I... spoke to some of the other survivors after the news broke about the Collectors. Some of them had put the pieces
together after seeing the footage from Horizon. It-... it doesn't undo what's happened, but hopefully it means no one else will have to go through what we did." she says, voice still quiet, although she doesn't look all that convinced of her own words, struggling to keep a troubled frown from taking hold. "I had more than one request to pass on their gratitude for Redrock's actions." Her smile recovers a bit with that addition,
Cynthia jumps almost imperceptibly in surprise upon hearing Ilyna's voice, glancing over her shoulder with a wink. "Eh, surprises are for suckers. Why find out later if you can find out now?!"
Li looks up at Ilyna with feigned innocence when the asari interjects, gaze darting between her and Cynthia.
Vasquez prods at her omni-tool a bit more, typing something. Once it's faded she starts to make her way across the room, briefly glancing towards the trio by the tree and shaking her head with a snicker.
Ilyna gestures at the presents under the tree. "Then why have you wrapped your presents?" she asks. "Instead of handing them out without the wrapping, i mean." Her attention – and disappointment – is directed firmly at Cynthia, but Li is not out of sight either.
Jason allows an equally heavy smile to return to his face as Halisi speaks about the other survivors. There's a bit of bitterness to the smile, though, colored by the fact that, for every person they got out, dozens didn't make it. The thought makes it hard not to think about just how many people have been affected by the Collectors. Hell, they got to see some of it first hand. An unending sea of pods. He swallows hard, trying to
shake some of the bitterness from his smile. "Well... For what it's worth?" he asks, turning his head to meet the doctor's eyes, "Half of us would probably be dead if it wasn't for you." he says, words accompanied by a lighthearted snicker that betrays just how true that probably is. "So how about we just call it even?"
Halisi 's smile grows a little, and a chuckle dispels most of her gloom. "More than half." she says without a hint of doubt, the smile growing more confident before she looks out across the room, taking another sip of her mulled wine. "It's nice to feel needed." she muses out loud, tone a bit teasing despite the lingering weight of the preceding conversation - and the inherent implications about the dangers of their work.
Cynthia snickers. "Gotta make it a challenge, right?" she says before turning towards Li. "Sorry, kid. Looks like we're busted." she says, adding a whispered: "I'll show you another time."
Vasquez stops by the kitchen counter, making one last inspection of the dishes before standing near the wall and folding her hands behind her back as her gaze sweeps across the others. "Alright, everyone! Hope you're hungry, because dinner is good to go. Go ahead and grab a plate. We've got roast lamb and vegetables, gravy, potatoes, salad, appetizer plate with crackers and... accessories. Sweet bread under the cloth there. Potato
salad courtesy of Captain Crawford, and some chicken skewers and vegetable mash from our illustrious doctor. Drink options are by the wall." she instructs, gesturing to each item as she lists it off. She ends up sounding a bit more like she's barking orders than she probably intended. Her gaze sweeps across the room again. "Plenty to spare, so dig in, people! Just make sure you save some room for dessert."
Ilyna tilts her head. "Which one of you is it that cannot wait until after dinner?" she asks before turning her attention towards Vasquez as she addresses everyone. She smiles as the dinner is offered despite the military tone of the announcement, drinking the remainder of her mulled wine while listening. She does keep the two by the tree in the corner of her eyes at any point, however. "What would you like to
eat, Li?" she asks as she starts making her over to grab a plate for her. "Maybe a little bit of everything?" she suggests.
Jason snorts at Halisi's correction before responding to her addition, "We're lucky to have you, doc. Speaking of which, I-... uhh-..." he stammers, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck as a bit of discomfort returns. "...Kind of have a few things I need to talk with you a-..." he stops short of finishing his sentence when Vasquez begins managing Christmas dinner like a mess hall, pulling his attention her way. A lopsided
grin slips out and he gives a small shake of his head. "We can talk after dinner, yeah...?" he offers Halisi in an apologetic whisper.
Halisi raises a curious eyebrow, although Vasquez' announcement soon draws her attention. A muffled snort of laughter slips out, a smirk spreading across her lips. Jason's question prompts a glance his way and a nod, accompanied by a reassuring smile. "Of course." she says, attention turning to the counter of food, although she stays where she is for now, letting the other guests get theirs first.
Li gets up and follows Ilyna, trying and failing to get a good look at the counter. Given that she doesn't know what half of it is she offers a nod. "Ok..."
Cynthia lets out another snicker at Ilyna's words, standing back up and grabbing a plate after the asari, wasting no time in starting to pile on the food.
Vasquez makes her way next to Jason, shooting him a faint, slightly nervous smile before turning her gaze on the guests getting food, straightening her back and taking a breath.
Ilyna follows the kitchen counter, putting one small piece of each meat and a small portion of every side on the plate. She did pour gravy over all the meat pieces, though, and the vegetable heap is a not that small. It's a big portion in total. "Here," she says, crouching down and handing her the plate. "Can you take this over to the table? I'll be there in a moment with drinks." There's also a few crackers on
the edge of the plate, dipped slightly into the vegetable mash so that they stay securly on the plate.
Jason remains where he is as well, deciding to wait until after Ilyna, Li, and Cynthia have made their plates before starting on his own. As Vasquez joins him, he shifts in place, folding his arms across his chest and leveling a big dumb smile on her before turning his attention to the others as they fill their plates. "Well done, drill sergeant." he teases.
Li carefully accepts the plate with a nod, a focused look on her face as she slowly makes her way over to the table with the food and takes a seat.
Cynthia sidesteps her way down the counter, piling on food. Seems like she eats a lot for her size. Her main focus seems to be the meat and potatoes - literally. She ends her journey by snatching a beer before making her way to the table, opting for a seat away from Li lest she risk Ilyna's wrath.
Halisi steps over towards the counter when Cynthia is done, chuckling quietly as she overhears Jason's words. She grabs a plate, studying the selection of food curiously. She doesn't seem in a rush.
Vasquez rolls her eyes at Jason, although there's a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. For a moment she just stands in silence, watching their guests fill their plates, but then she breaks the silence with a quiet: "So far so good..."
Ilyna goes back to take a plate after watching Li cross the room safely. She picks out a piece of roast lamb to put on her plate before she comes to a stop next to Halisi. "I don't know how she expect us to have room for desert," she says light-heartedly. "There's so much to try."
Jason continues to watch the others, snicker slipping out as Li makes her way to the table looking like a tightrope walker. "Careful." he warns her. Vasquez' words are met with a few small nods. "You expecting a disaster?" he asks through an amused grin.
Halisi shoots the asari next to her a small grin before leaning in closer to speak. "Eating too much is an important Christmas tradition." she explains helpfully, voice quiet and teasing. She's showing more restraint than Cynthia with her plate, focusing on bread, crackers, cold meats and potato salad for now. There's plenty of time to try the rest in a second helping after all. Once her plate is full she glances towards the drinks.
"Are you interested in the wine?" she asks with a look to Ilyna. "I would feel bad about opening the bottle just so I could have some." she adds, apparently having figured that there's probably little chance of Jason or Cynthia wanting any.
Li has already started poking at her food, trying one of the crackers, apparently unconcerned with waiting for the others.
Cynthia appears to share the 7 year old's sensibilities when it comes to etiquette, wasting no time in digging into her food.
Vasquez lets out a sigh that ends up a bit deeper than intended. "Always..." she mutters, but when her gaze returns to Jason a smile starts to manifest, and she shifts a bit closer, leaning her head against his shoulder and running a hand up his back, rubbing his neck idly as she watches the others.
Ilyna returns the grin and nods. "Then I must adhere to tradition," she comments as she follows her along the counter, picking up a helping of every meat on the way and some of each side; and gravy on top. "Yeah, I'd like that," she says. "I also need to grab a drink for Li." The plate is a little too full, but she walks over to where the drinks are without making a detour by the table. She looks over the
Jason gives a soft snort to Vasquez' mutterings and shifts as she leans against him, lifting one arm over her in a sidehug. For a moment he merely watches Ilyna and Halisi, enjoying the warm, quiet company of his wife. But as the pair move on to their drinks, he gives Vasquez a squeeze and dips his head down to press a peck against her head- perhaps to earn some quick safety points- before asking in his best soldier voice through
Halisi smiles and nods, heading over to the table to drop off her plate at a strategically chosen seat one chair away from Li before making her way back. She flips two of the wine glasses and grabs the brilliant blue bottle, opening it up and carefully filling the glasses.
Cynthia gives Halisi a nod as she drops her plate at one of the seats next to her, and then goes back to eyeing a bit of pâté on a cracker suspiciously.
Vasquez lets out a quiet scoff, lifting her head and letting her hand drop away. "Go ahead." she sighs, trying not to smile. She crosses her arms and leans back against the empty counter behind her, seeming intent on going last.
Ilyna uses some biotic trickery to take the cap off a previously unopened bottle of a dark-red soda, and then pours a glass while she holds her plate in her other hand. She puts the cork back on, less tightly than before. Seeing that Halisi has taken one seat next to Li leaves only one logical option for her. She puts her full plate on the table before setting down the glass next to Li's plate. "What do you
Jason gives Vasquez one final squeeze before stepping away with a snicker and collecting his plate. Well aware that holiday dinners are marathons, not sprints, his strategy seems to be multiple helpings. So for his first, he focuses on appetizers. Slopping cheese and meats and... whatever the hell pâté is, onto crackers and building a lane of them along the side of his plate. When he thinks nobody is looking he gives the pâté a
quick sniff, as if that might give him more intel. It doesn't. With a shrug, he moves on to building a salad on his plate.
Li is struggling a bit with cutting up her roast lamb when Ilyna returns, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After succeeding she pops a bit into her mouth, chewing with a bit more intensity than needed. The question causes her to look up. "It's good." she decrees with a nod after pondering her judgement for a moment.
Halisi soon returns to table with a glass in each hand, gingerly setting one down in front of Ilyna before retaking her seat. "This all looks lovely, Linda." she comments after glancing down at her plate, looking off towards Vasquez.
Vasquez continues to monitor for a while, but when only Jason is left she joins him in collecting food. Her approach is similar to his, focusing on cold foods first (albeit with less confusion). Halisi's comment brings out a small smile and a snort. "Don't praise it until you've tried it, doc."
Cynthia cracks open her beer with an opener lying on the table, taking a sip directly from the bottle.
Ilyna nods to Li, happy to hear that Vasquez' food has earned her approval. She looks up as Halisi puts the glass down beside her. "Thank you," she says with a small smile. She picks up her utensils and takes a moment to make her decision on what to start with before cutting off a piece of the chicken skewers that Halisi brought.
Jason gives a dismissive gesture to Halisi as he finishes up with his salad. "I've been trying it all day." he says, owning up to the little bites he's stolen during their preparation throughout the afternoon. "Trust me. It's as good as it looks." he assures, perhaps intended just as much for Vasquez as it is for Halisi. As the doctor had assumed, he seems to have little interest in the wine and momentarily leaves his plate behind
as he heads right for the fridge to grab a beer. As he comes back, he finishes his first plate off with a slice of the sweet bread before collecting the plate in one hand and starting back towards the table, making sure to give Vasquez a playful nudge on his way.
Halisi flashes Ilyna a small smile, although her expression turns curious when she notices her going for the chicken. "The spices might be a bit different than what you're used to from human food if your main reference is the Respite. I know asari palates are fairly close to human, but I figure I should warn you regardless."
Vasquez pauses temporarily as Jason's words hit their mark, and she bites her lip to keep from smiling, but when she's nudged it slips out anyway. It takes a brief moment before she resumes her food collecting, but soon her plate is full, and she grabs a soda before joining the others at the table, taking the free seat next to Cynthia.
Cynthia shoots Vasquez a grin as she sits down. "Shit Chief, never thought I'd see you cook up something like this."
Lucy and Halisi's additions are both delicious - it seems the doctor is as good at cooking as she is at saving lives. Vasquez' offerings are... alright. The bread and meat are both a bit dry, the vegetables overseasoned, and so on. But none of it is a disaster. And extra gravy can cover a lot of flaws. Most of the appetizers had no actual cooking involved so they're about what you would expect from such things.
Ilyna takes more than a tentative bite of it while Halisi speaks, and spends a few moments chewing. "I like it, though," she says. "I have visited restaurants offering human cuisine once or twice back on Thessia too, but the Respite is my main reference." She glances Li's way to make a few mental notes about what to focus on for a potential second helping. As predicted, she does look Cynthia's way at her
language, but Halisi's admonishment is sufficient. Ilyna moves on to cut a piece of the roast lamb next.
Jason sets his plate down next to Li, shooting a glance her way. Well, shiii-..." he begins before catching the glances exchanged with Cynthia mid sentence, causing him to draw his words out and shoot a slightly panicked look towards Ilyna and Halisi as his brain struggles to process the Li Language Rules. "...iiiiooot." Saved. He clears his throat to further cover up his near-slip as he drops into his seat. "Ilyna forget to feed