Halisi 's faint smile fades, expression full of soft concern, but instead of pushing she nods. "We are." she agrees firmly. The fact that not everyone is is hard to forget considering where they are, of course, but there's no room for dwelling on the dead in her line of work. Not when the living still need her.
#RedrockAgency – March 10, 2021
Jason's smile fades as well- every bit as quickly as it appeared- and the nod that follows is a bit distant. "Yeah..." It takes a moment before he even seems to realize that the silence has returned, drawing him away from his thoughts and causing him to compensate by standing up a little taller. "I-... uhh-..." he stammers, casting an awkward glance off to the side briefly as he reaches up to rub at the back of his neck,
"...actually had something else I wanted to talk to you about, doc." He qualifies it with something of a shrug and a slight tilt of his head. "Kind of related..." he admits.
Halisi shifts her weight, eyebrows rising a little. She gestures for Jason to continue before resting one hand on her hip.
Jason casts a glance down at his hands. He lifts them a bit, palms upwards, and balls them into fists before opening them back up. "These have put in some serious work." he begins, peering back at the doctor briefly through his browline before returning to studying his cybernetics. "Without 'em, I'm not sure I would've gotten Linda back." He furrows his brow, offering a few small nods, meeting Halisi's gaze once more. "I know
Halisi 's gaze follows Jason's hands as he gestures, eyebrows furrowing slightly. She offers a faint nod as he speaks, although the discomfort in her face isn't hard to see. She'd had no shortage of misgivings about replacing a healthy arm given Jason's state of mind at the time, but in the end she'd done it. She'd pulled a lot of strings to get him high-end military-grade prosthetics on short notice. It hadn't been easy.
Jason shifts his attention back to his hands, once again flexing and unflexing them. It's taken some time to get used to them. To the way they move. The way they feel. The way they don't feel. To that perpetual, dull ache in his shoulders. The one that he's not quite sure if it's phantom pain, or simply aggitation from the implants, but avoids talking about all the same. They've allowed him to continue living a normal life after
losing his arm. To continue his career, not just unimpeded, but enhanced. Afforded him options he didn't have before. Improved strength. Improved durability. For better or worse, they are an extension of himself now. But... "But-..." he swallows, brow furrowing again as he lets a deep breath out through his nose and looks back to Halisi, "...I know that everytime Linda looks at me, they just remind her of everything that
happened." Of what she did. He tries to prop that lopsided smile of his back up despite the sadness behind his eyes, as if to assure Halisi that it's okay. "And-... lets be honest. These aren't exactly 'baby carrying' arms." he jokes, smile widening ever so slightly before slipping away and a bit of heavy honesty returning to his voice: "I want to be able to hold my child, doc. Really hold my child."
Halisi winces almost imperceptibly as long-present worries are confirmed, and she only manages to meet Jason's gaze for so long before looking away. She shouldn't have let herself be convinced. His words are met with a few faint nods, and her eyebrows furrow as she studies one of the weight-lifting benches. "They are primarily meant for combat." she acknowledges quietly. "I tried to get you something that would be functional in
day-to-day life as well, but..." she trails off, her eyes going to Jason's hands. They might be functional, but cold metal and polymer - and the limited sensory input that comes with - no doubt leaves a lot to be desired. Her gaze rises to meet Jason's again. "You've been thinking about replacing them?"
Jason watches the doctor, her own discomfort not going unnoticed. Her question prompts him to shoot another glance to his cybernetics, studying them briefly as if the answer isn't already apparent. "Replace? No." he says with a shake of his head. "These are perfect for field work." he continues, perhaps attempting to alleviate her from whatever perceived guilt she may be feeling for her part in all of this. "Just... would be nice
to have something that was a bit less-... weaponized for when I'm not in the field. Something that's a bit more-... me." he explains.
Halisi offers an understanding nod, a small smile accompaying the gesture. "Of course. The current anchoring isn't really built for modularity but we can reconfigure that into something more easily swappable without a technician. As for some more... civilian arms, I take it you're interested in something high-end there too? Synth-skin and the like?"
Jason's own discomfort seems to ease slightly as Halisi begins to speak about his options so candidly. "Uhh-... yeah." he confirms with a nod, lowering his voice and shooting a brief, suspicious glance towards the door, perhaps giving away the fact that he hasn't exactly talked this over with his wife yet. "And it's no problem if it needs to have some custom work done to it so it can work with my-..." he reaches up with his left
hand, hooking it over his right traps and giving them a quick pat before running his hand down to his shoulder to indicate the anchors onto which his cybernetics attach, "...current hardware. Whatever it takes." he whispers.
Halisi 's eyebrows furrow briefly at Jason's conspicuous glancing, but she doesn't comment on it, professional tone remaining as she continues. She's been prepared for this eventuality ever since the original procedure. "Well, it can certainly be done." she assures. "But I should warn you that lifelike, full-sensation synth limbs are... expensive." she adds with a slight wince. "More so than military hardware. High-fidelity neural
connections like that are... tricky, there's only a handful of companies producing that sort of thing for humans. At least if you want something reliable. I believe the best option would be something from Kubiko or Binary Helix, maybe SunTech..." she explains, almost sounding more like she's thinking out loud as she goes over the options.
Jason listens, but as Halisi begins to rattle off company names his eyes almost glaze over and he quickly interrupts her with a shake of his head. "Look, doc. Honestly? I couldn't give two shits whose name is on it." he admits with an almost apologetic shrug. "You tell me it's good? That's enough for me. And I know-..." he pauses with a sigh. "...I know it's not gonna be the same." he acknowledges. He might not know all the
terminology or the intricacies of how any of it works, but he's done enough research to know that much. There's no undoing what has been done. Not unless he's willing to empty the coffers. "I'm not looking for miracles here. Just-... whatever you can do."
Halisi pauses as Jason cuts in, an awkward look on her face as she realizes she may have gotten ahead of herself out of a desire to 'fix' her mistake. "Right. Of course." she says softly. "I'll do my best to find something with good quality and a... realistic price tag, and send the details your way to look over."
Jason nods. "Sounds good." he says. After a moment's consideration, he gives a slight wince. "And-... uhh-... I'd appreciate it if you don't mention any of this to Linda. Kinda wanna-... surprise her." he admits sheepishly, that lopsided grin of his slipping back out as he shrugs his shoulders.
Halisi raises an eyebrow. "Oh." She goes silent for a moment, a look of surprise on her face as she considers her response. "Of course I can keep it quiet, but..." she frowns, gaze falling away briefly as she struggles with how to phrase herself. "Jason, I suppose I just-... this is the sort of thing that you should do for yourself. If this was brought on by something Linda said, or-... or did..." she trails off as her attention returns
to his face, studying him. There's an obvious discomfort behind her words - Jason and Vasquez are both friends and she hardly wants to pry - but she can't just let it go unsaid either.
Jason gains a look confusion, his smile briefly falling away, brows furrowing before he gives a sharp shake of his head. "Wha-... of course it's for me. I just-..." he stammers, sounding almost defensive at first. But soon enough his gaze falls to the ground as he seems to realize how it all must sound to Halisi given his previous mention of Vasquez. His expression shifts, a bit of amusement creeping into his face and he lets out
a sound to match- a small puff of air through his nose. He shakes his head as the smile comes back to his face. "I am doing this for me, Halisi." he repeats sincerely, the previous defensiveness gone from his tone. "I want to feel the weight of my child when I hold them for the first time, ya know? I want to be able to-..." he shrugs, the briefest hint of discomfort slipping in at being so open. "...feel warmth from my
wife again when I put my arms around her." he continues, perhaps sharing more than he'd normally be comfortable with sharing so candidly if he hadn't just accidentally and inadvertantly thrown Vasquez under the bus. "I just also-..." he shrugs sheepishly, propping his smile up a bit firmer, "...want to surprise her."
Halisi winces a little at Jason's reaction, but as he continues she starts to relax, expression softening as her concerns are dispelled. She crosses her arms loosely as she listens. "Of course. That can certainly be arranged." she promises with a firm nod and a flash of a warm smile.
Jason gives a deep, appreciative nod of his head. "Thank you." he says softly. "And-... uhh-... I know it's been one hell of a year, but me and Linda are good." he adds, seemingly feeling the need to outright say it just in case there were any lingering concerns that needed to be cleared up. "Really."
Halisi 's smile widens a bit, and she she lowers her head as she nods. "I'm glad. I-... I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Just... trying to look out for you both. It is my job." she says, an inevitable bit of awkwardness accompanying the words. She watches him with a hint of apprehension beneath the smile, hoping to ascertain that there's no offense taken.
Jason gives a small, appreciative nod, his own smile remaining. If he took offense to it, then he's certainly doing a good job of hiding it. "And a full time job at that." he jokes. "But, since we're on the topic of relationships..." he lets the words linger, his smile widening into a big grin as he studies the doctor, assuming she's well aware of where this is going, "...You got any updates in that department? Maybe-... Oh, I
Halisi looks a little caught off-guard, shifting back a bit and covering a stuttered "Ehm-" with an awkward chuckle. "I, ah... no. No." she says with a slight shake of her head, looking past Jason for a moment. "Ilyna and I are... just friends." she says adds, nodding for emphasis as she looks back to him, clearly having gathered what he's getting at. The smile that she flashes is embarrassed and a little regretful.
Jason's smile wavers as he doesn't quite get the juicy intel he was hoping for. "Right, right. Of course..." he nods, deciding better than to push it given her reaction. "Well... Suppose I should probably let you get back to that friend, huh?" he says, his tone implying he's not entirely buying what she's selling even if he's not going to outright say it.
Halisi lets out a slightly flustered noise somewhere in the vague vicinity of a sigh, shaking her head a little and looking off to the side as another smile crosses her lips. "It wouldn't do to miss the 'Super Centurion Christmas Special'. Are you coming?" she asks, not sure if Jason is intending to clean up the remnants of battle before joining them.
Jason snickers. Halisi's question prompts him to cast a quick glance about the mess. "You kidding me? I'm not missing that." he scoffs playfully. "I'll be right behind you. Just wanna get some of this-..." he nudges another dart with his boot to push it towards the other, "...cleaned up, otherwise I'll be finding darts for the next month." he snickers.
Halisi chuckles quietly and bows her head. "Best of luck." she says before stepping back and making her way out of the gym.
Jason leans down to scoop up the pair of darts at his feet as Halisi takes her leave. It's not until she reaches the door that something seems to occur to him and he glances her way. "Oh, and doc?" he calls out. "All this-... 'looking out' you do for the rest of us?" he continues, gesturing idly with one of the darts. "Maybe don't forget to put some time aside to-... you know-..." he shrugs, "...look out for yourself, too." The
dumb grin on his place implies he's probably talking about more than just her health, but he tilts his gaze back towards the ground to continue his dart collection. Damn things get everywhere.
Halisi stops in the doorway, glancing back with a questioning look. Jason's words draw out a quiet snort and a brief flash of a smile, her head falling a little. She lingers for a moment, studying an arbitrary foam dart on the floor near her, before disappearing out into the corridor.