December 28th. Noon. Yesterday's clear weather has given way to gray skies and whirling snowfall. Things at Redrock are calm. There's been no sign of further trouble after the previous day's shootout at the Mercier house. In the conference room, Vasquez sits at the head of the table, going over the contract again as she awaits the arrival of the Jack's representatives. She's wearing her usual work clothes - gray jacket with the Redrock
#RedrockAgency – November 3, 2022
logo along with matching combat pants and boots. There's a focused frown on her face as she scrolls through the datapad's contents. In the infirmary, Halisi is catching up on her work for Redrock after her plans for the previous workday were derailed.
Jason is seated to one side of Vasquez, dressed in his usual attire of black military pants and boots with a long-sleeved white shirt. The sleeves of his shirt have been rolled up, one forearm pressed against the conference table as he hovers over a datapad containing a copy of the documents that Vasquez is going over, his other hand rubbing at the back of his neck in an attempt at massaging out the confusion. He has mostly just
perused through the datapad, a fact that would be obvious to anyone paying attention to the speed with which he's scrolling through it, large sweeping swipes the norm. The furrow in his brows deepen and he lets out an exasperated sound as he makes a few more big swipes across the datapad before settling back into his seat. He gives a few nods. "Looks-... uhh-..." he nods again, glancing between Ilyna and Vasquez, as if
hoping to get a read on their thoughts, "...like everything is in order to me." He puts on his authoritative voice, but his attempt at masking the implied question mark at the end of his statement falls short.
Ilyna is seated in the conference room near Vasquez, not visibly occupying herself with anything as she awaits the arrivals. She is a bit anxious to see the crew again, however. She arrived a couple of hours ago but hasn't had any time for socializing between catching up and preparing for this meeting. She is wearing her typical casual dress.
Vasquez ' gaze lifts from the screen to shoot a raised eyebrow in Jason's direction. She says nothing before continuing to read.
Lucy enters the doors of Redrock HQ alongside a gust of wind that sends snowflakes spiraling into the lobby. Her winter jacket is befitting her... eccentric sense of style. Dark brown sheepskin with plenty of wear and tear. After stepping inside she removes the hat from her head, brushing the snow from it - and from the lining of her jacket's collar. She looks put together, more so than she has since the Jack of Diamonds
returned to Aite, but putting her hat back on she brings a hand to her mouth and exhales before sniffing, eyebrows furrowing.
Senya enters next to to her captain, sweeping her organic hand over her crests to get rid of snow in the creases before casting a glance around the empty lobby. She's wearing a long, blue winter coat, and her hand soon rejoins the synthetic one in her pockets. Some might claim the asari suffers from the affliction known to humans as 'RBF'. Or, equally possibly, she's just genuinely always in a bad mood. Whatever the case, today
Elena , on the other hand, seems the most eager of the group, offering Fergus a wave with her mechanical hand as the VI materializes behind the desk. "Brr, this planet, man..." Her jacket today seems to be what she wears under her armor - sturdy, with protective padding. She's the only one carrying openly, compacted SMG hanging on one hip and her revolver holstered on the other.
Pivin trails in last, humming in agreement with Elena. "It's a cold, dark, unpleasant place." He's wearing his flight suit, relying on its powered heating, but a beanie has been added to keep his horns warm.
Fergus bows for the new arrivals. "Greetings, noble crew. The lord and lady of the castle await your arrival in the conference room."
Li stalks the corridors of Redrock with the Facemelter in her hands, practicing her tactical maneuvering. Was she supposed to stay upstairs while mom was at the meeting? Maybe. Is that going to stop her? No, no it is not.
Jason merely clears his throat, giving another nod. "Yep. Everything is in order." he mutters quietly to himself as if his input carries some weight. He drums the fingertips of his left hand rhythmically against the table as he shifts impatiently in his seat, casting a quick glance towards the door.
Ilyna is snapped out of her thoughts by Jason's question, but answering anything other than a nod and a brief affirmative hum would betray that she is out of her depth regarding shipping. The sounds of activity from the hallway outside keep her from giving any verbal comment. She is oblivious to Li's tactical exercise going on outside.
The distant clatters and clanks of Jasper working out in the hangar filters into the Redrock halls occasionally.
Vasquez says nothing, continuing to read, but there's an almost imperceptible tug at the corner of her mouth as fondness shines through her work focus.
Lucy looks a little awkward as the VI addresses them, but nods. "We'll be right there." she says before taking a deep breath and leading the way down the hallway.
rolls her eyes. "You can't say you don't like space when you-" She gives up with a sigh, attention turning forward just in time to spot Li taking cover in the doorway to the shared offices.
Senya , who is walking silently, freezes upon noticing Li. She hesitates for a long moment before deciding to ignore the girl and continue on her way.
Elena flashes the girl a small smile, trying to hide her discomfort as she gives her a wink and waggles the fingers of her mechanical hand. It's hard not to think of the night they took her from her home and kicked all of this into motion. She'd thought they were reuniting a family, not breaking one apart. It had been an easy story to believe, especially with much needed credits on the line. A mistake that ended up costing them
Vasquez says nothing, continuing to read, but there's an almost imperceptible tug at the corner of her mouth as fondness shines through her work focus.
Lucy looks a little awkward as the VI addresses them, but nods. "We'll be right there." she says before taking a deep breath and leading the way down the hallway.
Elena rolls her eyes. "You can't say you don't like space when you-" She gives up with a sigh, attention turning forward just in time to spot Li taking cover in the doorway to the shared offices.
Senya , who is walking silently, freezes upon noticing Li. She hesitates for a moment before deciding to ignore the girl and continue on her way.
Elena flashes the girl a small smile, trying to hide her discomfort as she gives her a wink and waggles the fingers of her mechanical hand. It's hard not to think of the night they took her from her home and kicked all of this into motion. She'd thought they were reuniting a family, not breaking one apart. It had been an easy story to believe, especially with much needed credits on the line. A mistake that ended up costing them
Jason swivels in his seat idly, shifting towards the direction of the door as the noise outside signals the crew's arrival. "Sounds like they're here. I'll just-..." he says, indicating the direction of the hall with a nod of his head as his hands move to the arms of his chair to help push himself to his feet, eager just to have something to do that isn't swiveling back-and-forth or pretending to read a dry contract. As he reaches
the doorway, he steps out into the hallway, flashing the group a smile. "There they are!" he greets in a friendly tone, stepping aside to usher the group into the conference room as if they may have somehow forgotten where it is between last visit and this one. He's entirely oblivious to Li's presence, her unparalleled tactical genius making her a ghost haunting the shadows!
Ilyna rises from her chair as well, but she decides against following Jason out of the room; opting instead to wait for them to enter to greet them. She does not have an angle where she could spot Li from where she's standing, however.
Lucy actually gains a small, sincere smile upon seeing Jason. It's short-lived, but for a brief moment it's there as she stops in front of him. "...Jason." she greets, lingering uncertainly but settling on a nod before walking into the conference room.
Vasquez stands from her chair, rounding the table corner to meet Lucy and shake her hand. "Captain Crawford. Thank you for coming."
Li hugs the wall as she makes her way to the corridor intersection, coming into Jason's view when she leans around the corner to peek at the group of familiar new arrivals disappearing one by one into the conference room.
Jason offers the approaching woman a, "Lucy." in turn, smirk still present. He accepts Senya's hand and gives it a shake, paying no mind to the old war wound. After all, he's practically a walking, talking reminder of missions going south by this point. Elena and Pivin get nods as they slip past. He opens his mouth to speak when Senya turns to enter the room and turns to follow behind her, but something grabs his attention in his
peripheral vision, halting him. As he catches sight of Li and the heavy weaponry in her hands, his smile widens and he makes a concentrated effort to stifle the snicker that almost slips out. He puts on his best warface and lifts one hand, fist balled up. Hold position. One of the tactical hand gestures taught during their Christmas wargames. He watches, waiting for everyone to get far enough into the conference room to
conceal the young girl's presence before his balled hand opens up, giving her the 'all clear'. After a quick glance back into the conference room, he hurries a few steps down the hall to Li's position, dropping to one knee and lowering his voice to a whisper. "What's the sitrep?" he asks.
Ilyna cannot help but think back to the hostile conversation she had with Lucy on the night of the kidnapping one month ago, but the well-rested asari is more than able to keep these thoughts from showing on the surface. She remains by her seat, however. "It's good to see you, Captain Crawford," she says.
Li 's eyes widen and she nods, remaining pressed against the corner as she watches. After getting the all clear she steps out into the corridor, toy rifle lowered and finger off the trigger - it's obvious that Jason's instructions have stuck in her head. She leans to her side to glance past him at the open door to the conference room, but when he kneels and addresses her she straightens up, attention snapping back to him. "I heard
noises and then I saw those people. They're..." She looks down at the floor, voice turning quiet. "...they're from the ship."
Lucy shakes Vasquez' hand with a nod. "Ms. Vasquez. We'd be mighty stupid not to." she replies before turning her attention to Ilyna. The sight of the asari makes something change in her expression, and she swallows before extending her hand in the hopes of shaking the asari's, unsure if she'll accept.
Vasquez exchanges handshakes with the others as well , Elena's barebones mechanical hand throwing her off just a little.
Ilyna notices the change in expression, Elena's discomfort, and her composure from earlier starts to crack. She does not want it to get in the way of this partnership, so she steps forward and accepts the handshake.
Jason beams with pride at the trigger discipline, smirk cropping back up. But as Li's concerns become apparent, his own mood seems to sour slightly, though he does his best not to let it show. He reaches out, placing a hand on Li's shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze. "They are." he confirms. "Guess it's probably a little-... uhh-... scary to see them again, huh?" he asks, the importance of the meeting behind him taking a