It's the evening of January 3rd. The weather is starting to pick up after having been mild so far, but the Respite offers respite from the cold and a warm meal.
#Miner'sRespite – December 13, 2023
Enila is the only person standing behind the counter right now, tapping on her terminal between orders. She's wearing an open gray fleece jacket over a red tank top.
Jason steps into the Respite, giving his boots a few quick, curteous kicks against the outside of the doorframe as to track less snow into the establishment. It's already been a long day for him with the past couple hours spent at the spaceport seeing Vasquez and Cynthia off. He passes a tired smile and dip of his head in greeting to one of the regulars occupying a booth near the door, unzipping his thick, brown canvas winter
jacket in the warmth of the Respite as he starts towards the counter. "Hey." he greets the asari, casting a quick glance about as he approaches to get a read on how busy she might be.
Enila stops what she's doing upon hearing the greeting and turns towards him. She offers a small smile as she manages to recognize him. "Good evening," she says. "Va'ynna's in the kitchen right now, but is there anything I can get you?"
Jason furrows his brow, as if considering the question despite already knowing exactly what he's going to order. "I'll take a rum and coke." he says, removing his jacket with a roll of his shoulder. He sets it on a barstool as he takes a seat on a second beside it. "Oh!" he continues, seemingly reminded of something with a glance towards one of the menus, though he seems to be at a loss, either not seeing what he's looking for,
or not knowing what it is he's looking for. "...and an order of those-... uhh-... fried... vegetable...? Things? With the-... the uhh-... you know." he makes a dunking motion with one hand. Despite his lackluster description, he seems confident that he's adequetely conveyed his order.
Enila chuckles, but after glancing at the terminal, which helpfully shows search results by the VI, she manages to figure out what he meant. "I think I got that," she says and confirms the order for the kitchen. Then, she goes off to collect the bottles she needs for the drink. "Long day at work?" she asks while mixing the drink.
Jason gives a tilt of his head as he reaches down to roll up the sleeves of his long sleeved white shirt and leans cybernetic forearms against the edge of the bar. "I guess you could say that." he says, glancing over towards one of the active screens to watch whatever distraction is on. "Linda-... uhh, my wife..." he corrects, suddenly aware of how little he's interacted with Enila. How little she knows of him. More troubling
considering one of the reasons for his visit tonight: how little he knows of her. Despite that thought, the word 'wife' still brings a slight smile to the edge of his lips. That 'newness' still hasn't worn off yet. "...left on a trip. Spent most of the day down at the spaceport. What about you? Been busy tonight?"
Enila puts the glass on the counter in front of him. "Travel is always stressful," she says and casts a glance to the side. "As for mw, well, It's about to pick up, but Varisa will be here any minute now."
Jason props up a smile, nodding along to the asari's words. He gives an appreciative lift of the glass before taking a sip and setting it back down in front of him. As she continues, he focuses on his drink, idly rotating the glass between cybernetic digits as he listens and offers another set of nods. "Good." he says, looking back across the counter to the asari, "Guess that means it shouldn't be an issue if you step away for a
bit, then." he continues, "Once she gets here, of course. I've got some things that I'm hoping you might be able to clear up for me. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes." he assures.
Enila raises an eyebrow before tapping on her terminal to bring his order back up. "Is it about our contract with Redrock?" she asks. "I'm only familiar with the practical details of it, so I would need time to study it in detail if so."
Jason gives a shake of his head. "It does concern Respite security, but nothing to do with the contract. Hell, if it did, I would need some time to study it." he snickers before quickly realizing that probably doesn't reflect well on him, causing him to cut himself off with a quick clearing of his throat. "No, it's-... uhh-... no red tape or anything like that. Just a few questions. Look, how about this? I'm supposed to
have some drinks with a friend whose dropping by later, so I'll be around for a while." he begins, stepping off of the barstool. He collects his winter jacket and slings it over his shoulder. "When Varisa gets here and things seem slow enough for you to pull yourself away for a few minutes?" he continues, giving his shoulder holster a quick adjustment before reaching for his drink and gesturing to an open booth with a dip
of his head in its general direction, "Come on over, okay?" He offers the asari that ever-so-charming smile of his in hopes of disarming any worries she may have, "Promise I won't keep you away from work for too long."
Enila chuckles at his admission of having to study the contract, but the fact that it concerns security keeps her from relaxing. "Yeah, I'll be over soon," she says. "Hopefully with your order." She closes the window on the terminal again now that the meeting won't take place in the office.
Jason takes another sip of his drink as he stands. "Sounds good. And, like I said, I'm gonna be around for a while, so there's no rush." he assures before turning on his heels and starting towards the indicated booth. On his way, he gives a lift of his drink in a silent toast to one of the regulars across the bar.
Enila takes a few orders in the meantime before meeting Va'ynna by the door. She receives the fried vegetable snack basket and dipping sauce, but holds onto it for a minute as she fills Varisa in on the night's situation. Then, she makes her way out of the bar and over to Jason's table. "I know you said I was in no hurry," she says while putting the basket and dip bowl on the table, "but it's not likely to get less
Jason has just been looking over something on his omni-tool while he nurses his drink. As Enila sets his order down, he glances up at her, passing a friendly smile her way. "Fair enough." he says, deactivating the glow of his device and gesturing for her to take a seat. He's quick to pluck one of the snacks from the basket and give it a dip before popping it into his mouth. "Help yourself." he says as he slides the basket to the
Enila moves to take a seat across from him, and takes one piece of the snack, but only holding it for now. "So, how can I help?" she says. "If it's about the permissions... Briggs' friend asked for, then my answer still stand. I got the tech here under control."
Jason furrows his brow for a moment, "Permissions...?" he asks, giving away that he's not sure what exactly she's referring to. "Sorry, not following." he confirms, reaching for another appetizer.
Enila raises a brow. "She told me some suspicious patrons had been trying to hack in, and wanted the necessary permissions to investigate it," she says. "It was one of the days between your two celebrations. Anyway, I told her no, and went to check it myself later, and there was no sign of a successful hack." She eats the snack without dipping, but does not go for another.
Jason tilts his head back in recognition. "Oh! Renala!" he says aloud, seeming to connect 'Briggs' friend'. He waves it off with a gesture of his hand and a shake of his head as he dips-and-eats the snack in his hand. "Yeah-... No, no, that should all be taken care of." he explains out the side of his mouth as he chews. "This is about-..." he pauses to swallow, "...Uhh-... there's a few other unresolved issues that I'd rather
not let become future security threats..." he explains. A sigh slips out, perhaps conjured by the frustration surrounding said potential threat, and he folds his hands on the table in front of him. "I assume you're up-to-date on everything that happened to V...?" he asks, blue eyes briefly turning towards the door behind the counter before settling back on Enila.
Enila nods at his recognition and finally learns the name for herself, having failed to overhear it properly during the Christmas Eve shift. She follows his glance for a moment in order to hide that the question took her aback. "She told me about the kidnapping, yes," she says, "and I've seen the security footage of past incidents." She leans forward slightly. "Is there something new I should know about?"
Jason draws in a breath, offering a small shake of his head. "Actually, Enila. I was kinda hoping you might have some new info for me." he clarifies. He allows his statement to linger for a moment before continuing. "See... back when I first met V? I thought it was strange enough that, out of any place in the galaxy, she chose to come here to 'experience life'. But-..." he shrugs dismissively, propping his smile back up,
"...who am I to judge, ya know? Here I am, afterall. But then I find out that it's her mother that nudged her in this direction." He furrows his brow, giving a small tilt of his head to the side as if internally weighing it. "Okay. Bad parenting? Absolutely. But okay. My dad wasn't winning any 'father of the year' awards either. But, then it just kept piling up. V gets kidnapped. Her omni-tool is bugged by said mother.
Said mother who also just so happens to be Armali Intelligence! No big deal, right?" he adds almost as an afterthought, as if the evidence of something larger at play is snowballing. "And then, on top of all of that? Wouldn't ya know that the place V ends up working at is owned by a woman going under an assumed name. And her real name? Well, turns out she shares a surname with V's adopted mother. V's adopted mother who
sent her here in the first place." There's a healthy amount of sarcasm in his tone, as if he knows this all should be news to Enila, but almost certainly isn't. "And can ya guess what V's adopted mothers' surname is?" he asks, cocky smile widening, knowing damn well that Enila doesn't need to do any 'guessing'. "Coincidences are one thing. And I'm not claiming I did the best in math class, but even I know that one-..." he
lifts both hands, index fingers outstretched on each, and taps them together, "...plus one equals two. So how about you tell me what you know about all of this?" he settles on, finally sitting back in the booth.
Enila sits back and listens, but she is growing more and more displeased as he goes on. "Are you trying to get her in more trouble?" she hisses, "spreading this kind of nonsense out here?" She stands up and begins leaving the booth.
Jason furrows his brow. "The-..." he begins as Enila stands up, "Hey! Get her in more trouble with who?! What in the fuck are you talking about?!"
Enila snorts as if it should be obvious. "Any fucking merc with working ears," she says, perhaps overstating the risk as sound doesn't travel that far in here. "You should mind where you blabber from now on." Enila starts making her way back to the bar.
Jason blinks a few times before shaking his head and rising out of his seat to follow, leaving his things at the booth. "What is with you Aehans and this cloak and dagger shit?! I don't know if you noticed? But the people who meant to do V harm already know exactly where to find her." he says, doing his best to keep his voice down as he continues towards the bar with Enila. Moreso for her benefit than his own. Given everything
that has happened, there doesn't seem to be any need for secrecy at this point. "This shit is getting old! If you know something, tell me! Or do I need to remind you that it's my job to keep this place- the place where you happen to be damn near every day- from being turned into a crater? Something that your family's bullshit has made increasingly difficult these past few months." Following her around the Respite arguing
has already worn thin, so before she can quite reach the counter, he steps out in front of her, quickly turning to face her as he attempts to temporarily block her retreat. He gives a quick glance about to make sure he's not causing too much of a disturbance. With the music, sports on TV, and booze, there's little reason for anyone to pay them too much mind. It's not like they're shouting. But still. His expression softens,
silently pleading for her to work with him. "...We're on the same side here, Enila. At least I hope that's the case..."
Enila gets increasingly agitated as he continues interrogating her on the way to the bar, but she stops when he gets in front of her. "I'm not talking about old enemies, but potential new ones," she says, then sighs. "Let's continue in my office, but manage your expectations." She sidesteps and gestures back at the table. "I'll go ahead, you should collect your things."