Shane shoots Emma a playful wink as he scoops her glass up off the table, already scooting out. "You got it." he assures her. As he climbs to his feet he turns to face the table. "Anyone else...?" he asks with a glance about. Considering the two still-full pitchers of beer on the table, it's mostly out of politeness and Gage and Priya are quick to wave his offer off.
#Miner'sRespite – May 11, 2021
Sam puts one hand up before Shane can turn away, elbow resting against the table. "Shots." she says simply before glancing about the others at the table through glassy eyes and indicating them with a circular gesture of her hand. "Another round of shots."
Gage's smile wavers slightly as Sam calls for another round, a mix of sympathy and concern hinted at in his features. "I'm good." he says, propping his smile back up as he glances up at Shane.
Sam reaches out, clasping a hand over Gage's shoulder and giving it a few heavy pats. "No-... nooo..." she protests before turning her focus back to Shane. "He's having one, too." she insists on Gage's behalf, an implied guilt trip hidden somewhere in her tone. "One more." she continues, slapping Gage's shoulder once more, a little harder this time, "...Right?"
Gage draws a deep breath in as he's jostled by the repeated, overly friendly drunken pats on his shoulder. "One more." he begrudgingly agrees, sounding as if this probably isn't the first 'one more' of the night. Most nights it's pretty easy for him to ignore Sam's devil's advocate method for making sure everyone is shitfaced by the time they leave the bar. But tonight is different. Tonight, maybe another drinking buddy is what
Shane waits as Sam guilt trips Gage into another round, his attention shifting back to Emma. "What about you?" he asks, "You in for a round of shots?"
Sam gives Gage a big, fake smile as she gets her way. Her attention is pulled away from Gage as she hears Shane and she scoffs loudly. "Of course she's in!" she speaks up for Emma before she can potentially turn it down, shooting a sharp look her way, as if daring her to object. "Doctor's orders." she slurs.
Steve cocks an eyebrow as he listens to Ren before finally giving a shake of his head. "Yet another reason why maybe- just maybe- we shouldn't have a child runnin' 'round a paramilitary base." he says in a mutter as he reaches for his slice of pizza once more, only half-joking.
Emma watches Sam and Gage's exchange, the look on the latter's face not lost on her. As Shane addresses her she opens her mouth to reply, only to be immediately cut off by Sam, her gaze shifting from Shane to the drunk woman. The slurred addition garners a quiet snort and an amused quirk of her lips, and her head dips for a moment before she looks back to Shane with a shrug. "It seems I am." she concedes.
Emma watches Sam and Gage's exchange, the look on the latter's face not lost on her. As Shane addresses her she opens her mouth to reply, only to be immediately cut off by Sam, her gaze shifting from Shane to the drunk woman. The slurred addition garners a quiet snort and an amused quirk of her lips, and her head dips for a moment before she looks back to Shane with a shrug. "It seems I am." she concedes.
Renala places her empty glass on the counter, and reaches for another slice. "I agree," she says, "but we both know that if Aeyna was here, she'd be running around the base with her." She does not like the idea much, but it still draws a tiny chuckle out of her. "There aren't any other options out here."
Sam dips her head in turn. "Damn right." she agrees, shifting right back to her corner and taking another long pull from her straw.
Gage settles against the backrest of his seat once more as Shane departs, left hand resting loosely against his mug. For a few moments he merely looks towards his beer. The way the dim lighting catches it makes it a translucent, golden color. It's not until he begins to fiddle with his wedding ring- idly rotating it with his thumb- that it becomes obvious what has his attention. "This is my first Christmas away from the kids." he
eventually speaks up with a glance Emma's way. Perhaps a bit of a show of solidarity after Emma's sharing. Misery does love company, after all. Or maybe just a reminder to himself that he could probably use that drink after all. He keeps his smile propped up, but there's a bit of weight to it. After a moment's consideration, he gives a small tilt of his head, "Uhh-... first that wasn't work-related." he corrects quietly.
Truth be told, his job has made him miss plenty. Birthdays. After-school activities. Milestones in his children's lives that he'll never be able to make up for.
Steve snickers as he puts down another bite of his food. "I don't believe that for one second, Ren." he says. "If your lil' one was here, you'd be runnin' all over town lookin' for a new gig."
Renala shakes her head. "Where would I find the time for that?" she asks. "And we weren't really swimming in opportunities before we signed on with them." She takes a bite out of the pizza slice, but she doesn't address her beer situation just yet.
Emma offers Shane an appreciative nod as he sets off. As silence sets in in the wake of his departure, Gage's fidgeting draws her attention - there's an alertness to her that hasn't been dimmed by the alcohol, eyes still sharp and hints of lingering tension in her posture, although she certainly seems more relaxed than when she arrived. His words make her frown faintly, gaze shifting from the ring to Gage's face. "How
Steve gives an exaggerated roll of his eyes and leans an elbow against the counter. He's pretty confident that she'd find a way to make time. She was the one who walked off a job when she had more important things to do, after all. Still, he doesn't push the issue. She's not wrong about their pre-Redrock struggles, after all. "Not exactly swimmin' in opportunity after signin' up with 'em, either." he says with a snicker.
"Sinkin' in trouble is more like it." he adds with a mutter, his focus quickly returned to his pizza. Perhaps it's an overly harsh view. The pay is fine and there's steady work. But there's no denying the job has found them in some pretty dicey situations.
Sam just leans a bit heavier against the wall, gaze firmly in her drink as she listens to the others speak.
Gage draws a deep breath in, briefly glancing out towards the rest of the bar as he shifts in his seat. "Divorce." he says plainly, not the sort to dance around it. He offers a small, apologetic shrug for being so blunt. "Wife said she needed a bit of space. Time to... figure things out. So, here I am. I think this qualifies as 'giving her space'." he continues, shooting a quick glance about as if to assess his position,
half-way across the galaxy before offering a small, somber snicker, his smile not quite reaching his eyes despite his attempt at not turning the mood too sour.
Emma doesn't seem surprised, of course, nor does she seem to mind the bluntness. She just nods. "I would say so." she agrees, joining Gage in glancing about the bar. She falls silent for a moment before asking: "How old are they?" as her gaze returns to him.
Renala nods sharply, but she finishes off the pizza slice in her hands before speaking. "You're not wrong about that," she says, "but we could have done a lot worse, Steve, like ending up with one of the merc bands that Redrock picked a fight with in the last year." She does not go for another pizza slice right away.
Gage draws in another breath, that question seeming to do a good job of fading the smile from his face. A reminder of who is really hurt by all of this. "Fifteen, thirteen, and two." he rattles off. "They-... uhh-... don't really know what's going on..." he admits, a semblance of a frown entering his features despite his best efforts to keep it away. "I mean-... they're smart kids. They know something is wrong, but-..." he
Priya watches Gage from across the table through a frown. "You and Trish really do need to tell them what's going on..." she chimes in, her tone implying more than just a passing familiarity with Gage's wife. Her words are careful, not wanting to come off as overbearing.
Gage gives a few small dismissive nods of his head to Priya's words as if to get out ahead of her concerns. "I know, Pree." he agrees. "We agreed that as soon as I'm back we're gonna all have a sit down and-... and let them know." he says, and it sounds like a reassurance more than anything. Like this is a conversation they've had before.
Shane makes his way through the crowd and takes a position at the bar, giving a few glances towards passing patrons. As he spots Steve, a familiar face, that big friendly smile of his crosses his lips. "One of Jason's, right?" he asks, well aware Redrock has a security contract here. "Mind if I place an order...?" he asks, realizing Steve is the closest employee and having had no issue placing orders with Leah in the past when
Steve gives a dip of his head in acknowledgement to Renala's words. "True enough. Though maybe if they had hired us, they wouldn't have been on the losin' side." he adds through a growing smirk, shooting Renala a quick wink. The new arrival draws his attention and he gives a small nod to Shane's first question. "Do I look like a bartender to you, friend?" he responds to Shane's second question, his tone friendly and smile
Shane seems a bit caught off guard by Steve's response and it takes him a moment to realize he's not just giving him a hard time. He considers pointing out that Steve is, you know, standing behind a bar. But decides to bite his tongue. No point in causing trouble for the sake of it. Instead, he merely dips his head in acknowledgement and leans an elbow against the counter, raising one hand to try and make the staff
Varisa glances towards Steve and Shane, hurrying over after putting a few glasses in their place on the shelf. "I am!" she exclaims, flashing a wide smile before furrowing her eyebrows and correcting herself: "Well, I'm-... I'm a trainee, actually, but I can take your order!"
Emma frowns as she listens to Gage and Priya. She ends up falling silent, sinking slightly in her seat as she glances off towards the bar, unsure what to say to recover the conversation and uncomfortable with participating in its current trajectory.
Renala snorts at his suggestion, but the interruption makes her refrain from answering right away as she looks up at Shane. The answer does evoke a smirk from the asari as he's ever the professional. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," she says once the bartender's addressing Shane. "Redrock is just as good at getting out of trouble, you know."
Shane gives a sharp nod, all smiles as always, seemingly unperturbed by Steve's attitude. "A trainee will do just fine." he snickers, leaning a bit heavier against the counter as he sets down Emma's glass and slides it across. "One vodka tonic and five shots of-..." he furrows his brow, trying to recall what their last round was. He quickly casts a glance back towards the table, as if that might help him, before looking towards
the bottles behind the counter. He ends up leaning forward a bit, eyes narrowing, before pointing to a bottle on the shelf that he believes is the right one. "...that!" he says on. After a brief pause, his brows furrow. "Ya know what? Make it six shots." he corrects, getting out ahead of Sam sending him back up here.
Priya sucks in her lips, looking as though she has more to say on the subject but unwilling to go into it in such a public manner.
Gage offers Priya one final look in an attempt at further placating her concerns. Emma's sudden silence not having gone unnoticed, he turns his focus back her way. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. Just-..." he shrugs his shoulders, "...guess I'm trying to say I know how the holidays can be. You don't need to apologize for talking about it. You talk as much-..." he casts a brief, sneaky little glance Sam's way,
"...or as little, as you need to, Emma." He manages to prop his smile up a bit more firmly, "We'll keep the drinks coming."
Samantha of course, doesn't acknowledge the verbal nudge as she feels Gage's eyes on her, well aware that it was directed at her just as much as Emma. Instead she just defiantly slurps louder through her straw, the sound of the remnants of her drink sounding out as she finds the bottom of her glass with an exaggerated, satisfied, "Ahhh." before smacking her lips at Gage.
Steve watches Shane for a moment longer, blinking a few times at the enthusiastic asari before his attention shifts back to Renala. "Well, let's hope that luck of theirs holds out." he offers with a sigh and takes a sip of his water before clarifying, "For our sake."
Varisa follows Shane's pointing to the bottle and nods, eyebrows furrowing as she goes over the order in her head. "Coming right up!" she chirps, grabbing a tray and glasses for the shots first, since she doesn't actually have any idea what a vodka tonic is and will definitely need to consult the terminal.
Emma lets out a slightly awkward snicker and looks back to Gage with a faint nod, expression softer. "It's-... I appreciate the company." she settles for, words genuine despite a bit of lingering discomfort. "I don't... really know a lot of people out here."
Renala reaches out to take one of the napkins to wipe her hands and the sides of her empty glass. "Yeah," she agrees. "For our sake, and so I can keep working on expensive tech." She then grabs her glass and hands it towards him. "I actually do think you look like a bartender," she says, "mind giving me a refill?"
Shane remains where he is as he awaits his order. He manages to overhear Renala's comment but doesn't hazard a glance their way. He just tries to reign in his shit eating grin as best as he can as he does a bit of idle people watching. "So when did you start...?" he calls out to Varisa, raising his voice to be heard over the crowd as he attempts to make some idle chit chat.
Gage doesn't press his point. Spotlighting it is only likely to make her more uncomfortable. He just gives an understanding nod and takes another sip of his beer.
Priya's smile returns at Gage's sentiment. When Emma speaks, she shifts a bit to better look her way. "Do you plan on being out here long term?" she asks.
Steve shakes his head. "Perks of the job, eh?" he muses. Though the smile on his face quickly pulls back into a thin line as the asari has a go at him. "Mind fuckin' off?" he snaps back, though there's a hint of amusement beneath his scowl. With a reluctant shake of his head he stands up a bit straighter, leveling a glare on Renala. "You're lucky I like you, Ren." he offers in a none-too-serious mutter as he snatches her glass
Varisa looks over at Shane while fetching the bottle to start pouring the shots. "Oh, uh, well, today is my third day. First day behind the bar. It's been a busy one! Uhm, still is." she says, cheery tone faltering slightly, although she manages to only look slightly overwhelmed. Her expression turns almost comically focused as she starts to fill the shot glasses. She's not exactly the fastest, understandably.
Emma shrugs faintly. "For as long as I'm needed at least." She furrows her eyebrows and turns to look at Priya, hesitating slightly. "I mean... I feel useful here. At Redrock. As long as that's the case, I will probably stay." she clarifies. Her gaze falls to the table, a bit of discomfort on her face again before she adds: "I don't really know a lot of people outside the Alliance, period, so out here is as good a
place as any to be, and it's comforting to work for Alliance veterans. To have some assurance that things are done right."
Renala is quick to pick up on the amusement behind the glare, and a smirk pops up. It would have brought her just as much amusement had it not worked too. "You too," she mutters back as she watches him refilling her glass.
Shane gives a few nods to himself. "Day three? Damn, this is one hell of a way to take the training wheels off, huh?" he comments. His brows furrow as he's briefly distracted from Varisa when Steve walks past, shooting a glance from Renala back to the security guard. "What's this?!" he calls out, throwing an arm out to his side in feigned outrage. "You only take care of the pretty customers?!" he asks through his grin.
Steve doesn't even give Shane the satisfaction of looking his way. "Ya got me." he offers in just about the most disinterested tone one could possibly muster up.
Shane snickers to himself, passing one last glance Renala's way before returning his focus to the bartender with a shake of his head.
Gage passes a look Priya's way as Emma speaks, but ultimately nods to the sentiment. "Well, Jay is a damn good soldier." he adds, seemingly feeling the need to hype up his old friend and give the woman across the table a bit of reassurance over her decision. "There's few people in this galaxy I'd trust more to have my back."
Priya nods at Gage's words, her smile growing fond. "I would imagine there's probably a lot of work out here, so I'm sure someone with your set of skills will remain in high demand."
Sam gives a small shrug of her shoulders, seemingly finally deciding to participate in the conversation. "There's assholes all over the galaxy. Terminus. Council space. Doesn't matter." she muses, "Always someone that could use a good round to the head. Which means people with-... our set of skills..." she slurs, using Priya's choice of phrasing with a sharp look her way, "...will always be in high demand."
Varisa chuckles a little nervously. "Enila needed an extra set of hands today, so... here I am." she says, finishing with pouring the shots as Shane talks to Steve, casting a few curious glances between them. Once the bottle is put away she moves over to the terminal, searching for instructions on the drink.
Emma nods a little at Gage and Priya's words, although she seems a little distracted. Sam's addition makes her look her way, but her initial response is just another nod. "Yes, I... suppose so." she agrees a bit distantly, looking down at the table before her gaze sweeps between all three of them. "Why aren't you working with Redrock? Given your history with Jason. If... you don't mind me asking."
Lema is sipping her lukewarm hot chocolate, listening in on the people around her with a few cautious glances. She snorts at the most recent arrival's outburst as she tries to stifle her laughter as to not draw attention to herself.
Priya studies Sam with restrained amusement, her drunken wisdom ever appreciated. Emma's question, however, causes her to gaze to turn to Gage.
Gage glances to Priya when Emma asks about Redrock, knowing exactly what she's probably thinking. She was the first to suggest they reach out to Jason, after all. "It was something we discussed early on after-... everything happened." he confirms, everything apparently being short hand for 'recovering from having my leg blown clean off by an IED' in this case. "But, at the end of the day? The Citadel was just a lot more
convenient for us. More central. Not to mention my family have spent their entire lives on Earth and it-..." he stammers slightly, bringing one hand up to scratch at the back of his neck, his voice a little quieter when he continues despite his best effort to hides it, "...it-... uhh-... seemed like a much smoother transition moving them there than out to the Terminus. A lot safer, too. Better education. Easier to get back
to Earth." he lists off. "And just for-..." he avoids looking Sam's way before trailing off, "...everyone to get to their families without much effort..."
Sam gives a loud snort. With a roll of her eyes she nudges aside her empty glass and pulls her beer in closer, suddenly wondering what's taking Shane so long. "And then his wife left his ass and the Collectors made family get togethers reeeeal fucking awkward for me." she adds, lifting her beer slightly in an insincere toast with an empty smile to accompany it which does little more than to draw a frown back out of Priya.
Gage gives a humorless snort. "Yeah..." he agrees quietly. "Guess that plan didn't exactly work out for us the way we had hoped." he decides, shooting Emma a smile that he's unable to keep from turning a little bitter.
Shane is being far less depressing at the other end of the bar. He nods along to Varisa's words. "Trial by fire." he snickers. Lema's laughter, unfortunately, does not go unnoticed and he casts a glance her way. He does a double take as he seems to realize there's a child sitting on that barstool, resulting in him studying her through a furrowed brow. His eyes move from her to her drink, studying it for a moment. "Aren't you a
little young to be drinking your problems away?" he teases, confident enough that they're probably not serving booze to a child here. Although... it is the Terminus.
Varisa looks relieved by the helpfulness of the VI, immediately getting to work on the thankfully simple drink.
Emma nods a little as Gage speaks, his explanation certainly making sense, although the obvious brings out a frown even before Sam speaks it out loud. The mention of the Collectors seems to surprise her a little, and she looks her way for a moment, a hint of curiosity beneath the frown, but her attention returns to Gage with his final words. "S-... sorry to hear that." she says a little uncomfortably, clearly not