Viper studies Jason closely, silent for once as she listens, the light of the TV catching her eyes, making slit dark pupils stand out against intense yellow. Her eyebrows furrow ever so slightly. "They captured you," she says, half statement and half question. "Not the kinda story people usually live to tell."
#RedrockAgency – August 28, 2024
Jason props up that lopsided grin, though it doesn't quite meet his eyes, burdened by the experience. "Yeah, well-..." he shrugs, "...Guess I'm hard to kill." The pride that was probably intended to accompany his words just isn't there, replaced by a whole lot of exhaustion. It's something that's obviously been put to the test. More times than he'd like to admit, at that. But he certainly hasn't come out unscathed. "As luck would
have it, the same could be said about my team." he continues, returning to his story. "Seemed like the Collectors only wanted the humans among us. Put us in-... some sort of containment units?" he explains, shooting a glance Viper's way, as if unsure if he's usint the right terminology, "...Gathered up the rest for what I can only assume was supposed to be an execution. They managed to fight their way out of it, get onboard
the Collector ship, and pull the rest of us out of those pods. From there?" he shrugs once more, "We found the kid, gathered up any survivors we could, and made our way back to our ship. Buried whatever got between us and it. Wasn't easy, but-..." he nods, almost moreso to himself than to Viper, "...but we made it." We made it. Something he still has to remind himself occasionally. Usually after waking up in a cold
sweat in the middle of the night. "Left one hell of a mess for them to clean up, too." he adds with a smirk, burying all of the baggage beneath it.
Viper tilts her head. "Psycho mom? And the crew?" she asks, attention still on Jason rather than her knife, which is just tapping idly against her armor plating now.
Jason acknowledges the question with a nod. "The crew were just being used. Had no idea what was really going on. Once they figured it all out, they helped us best they could. Lost a few of their own to the Collectors. Good people. Joined up with Redrock after we all got back. As for the mother, she was-..." he stammers, falling quiet for a moment, blue eyes scanning back-and-forth absently across the coffee table as he replays
the scene over in his mind, not quite sure how to explain it. "Mingxia." he corrects, briefly glancing Viper's way. "Her name was Mingxia... I'm not sure how much you know about the Collectors. About what they do to people." he says, gaze returning to the woman beside him. "But there wasn't a whole lot of her left. I mean-..." he backtracks, trying to unwind his own words, his free hand reaching up to rub at the
back of his neck. An absent-minded attempt at self-soothing. "...she was there, but I don't think it was her anymore by the end. Best I can figure, she was being controlled by one of the Collectors. Called itself 'the Revelator'. Some kind of-... commander? General? I don't know. Had a whole lot to say, but it was mostly just idle threats. We put her down." Something about the way he says it- the tone of his voice- makes
Viper 's eyebrows rise with a hum. "R.I.P Revelator..." she muses, seeming to consider her next question for a moment. A forked tongue flicks across her lips for a moment as her attention wanders, and then her focus snaps back to Jason. "Any loot? Souvenirs?"
Jason gives an lift of his brow. "You mean like the sort of 'souvenir' we went to Di Yu for? No." he offers a shake of his head. "Just-... whatever gear we could scrounge up as we went. Ended up with a few Collector corpses on our ship, too. Handed 'em over to a contact of mine in the Alliance but that's it. We were on a bit of a tight schedule. Didn't exactly have time to find a gift shop to pick up keepsakes." he flashes a
Viper narrows her eyes. "Which 'contact'...?" she asks, with the tone of someone that already knows the answer.
Viper smiles. "'cause that's what friends do, Jay-Jay. And being friendly is how ya move from the boss' shitlist to the Christmas card list," she explains, reaching over to stab a piece of supposed chicken with her knife and eating it right off the blade despite her earlier complaints.
Jason's expression grows unamused. But it quickly turns to annoyance as Viper swipes some of his dinner and he leans forward to inch his MRE a bit further out of her reach before shooting her a scowl. "...Captain Riley." he says flatly. It's not like there's much of a reason to hide it, but being as difficult as possible for the irritating woman is more of a kneejerk reaction at this point. "Why do I get the feeling you already
Viper briefly flashes another smile, but doesn't answer Jason's question. "The bitch that scooped up the orb," she says, face scrunching up in distaste. Her gaze turns to the TV for a few moments, and then she gestures at Jason with her knife. "You call her? During the Barn job? That how they found us?" Her eyes are back on him as the accusation is made, watching him closely, lips pulled back, hints of sharp teeth in a
Jason's hand instinctively coils around the grip of the Phalanx resting against his thigh. "Oh, fuck off!" he scoffs. "Am I glad that they took Collector weaponry out of your hands? You're damn right I am. But I sure as hell wasn't the one to bring them in. They grilled my ass the same way I'm sure they did you. Small room? Smug pencil pusher named Lessard? Whole lot of this-...?" he pantomimes yapping with his free hand. He draws
in a breath, trying to let the accusation roll off. "I don't like you." he admits, brows still furrowed with a bit of tension, "But if I was gonna stab you, it wouldn't be in the back." he assures. "I didn't know Captain Riley before any of that, okay?"
Viper watches Jason in silence for a beat or two, and then flips her knife around and slides it back into its housing on her armor. "That's sweet, Wolfe," she says with a wink, nodding as she accepts his words. "Leaves a pretty fuckin' interesting question though, don'tyathink? Helluva coincidence, Alliance special forces comin' outta nowhere at the last sec, savin' the day. In the middle of nowhere. Outside Alliance space. Woof, that's
a weird one. And I gotta be honest, I don't know how they did it. And it's my job to know. Sooo... not too happy about that, Jay-Jay. Not too happy at all. Been buggin' me."
Jason's hand relaxes, releasing its grip on the Phalanx as he settles back against his seat. "You'll get no argument out of me. Not only was the timing convenient but they new exactly what we were hauling. But if the tip came from my team, I trust that they would've let me in on it. So either you and yours have sprung a leak or-..." he trails off, brows briefly furrowing before he settles his gaze back on Viper. "...Could've come
from Cerberus. For all we know, Alliance might've had someone on the inside. Eyes in the Barn, ya know?" There's a small voice in the back of his mind considering something he's not quite ready to speculate on. A small tendril of 'what if'. Not the sort of thing he's willing to discuss with Viper, that's for sure. "We didn't exactly make a stealthy exit. Not much of a reach to assume someone would rather see the orb in
Viper crosses her legs, still on the table, and sinks further into the couch with a puff of air. Jason's look is met with a snort. "Ouch. But... maybe," she agrees, grabbing a pillow from her side and fluffing it up before putting it behind her head. "Or the other way around," she suggests. "Could be your buddy Riley, or, let's face it, probably Agent Sourface, is Cerberus, sent to bring that thing right back where we grabbed it from."
Jason shakes his head, showing a look of distaste. "No-... don't get too comfortable." he says with a gesture towards her. But as she continues, her theory draws a grimace out of him. Unlikely the whole operation is a Cerberus front, or they probably wouldn't have walked away from the encounter. "I trust Riley..." he says. But what's left unsaid is probably far louder. He draws in a breath, tilting his head far back against the
Viper shrugs. "It'd add up. Bet you've heard the rumors about Cerberus. Used to be an Alliance black op, but oopsie, they stopped taking orders somewhere along the way. Funny how setting up an extremist shadow org can backfire, huh? Em-barr-a-ssing..."
Jason gives a somewhat distant nod. For a brief moment, it looks like he's going to say something, but he seems to lose momentum and all that escapes him is a low sigh. That urge to defend the Alliance might be hardwired, but he can't ignore everything that's happened recently. There's good people in the Alliance. He wants to believe that. He does believe that. People like Riley. But for every Riley, how many Lessards are there?
People who sit on their hands while the Collectors make entire colonies disappear. People who do nothing while Cerberus runs amok. "Yeah..." he admits quietly. "Look, as much as I love these little chats with you-..." he eventually begins, words dripping with sarcasm, "...I've got shit to do. So how about we wrap this up?" Leaning forward, he scoops his omni-tool up off the coffee table and gives the interface a few pokes.
"Fergus, go ahead and authorize that." he instructs to the invisible entity that personifies the base with a slight glance upwards. Looking back to Viper, he allows the glow of his interface to dissipate and gives the device in his hand a little shake for emphasis before tossing it back onto the table. "Go ahead and download that. Footage from my team's cams. It's been scrubbed of any sensitive info that might lead it back
to us but-..." he gives a small shrug, "...there's good combat data in there. First-hand information. I wanna believe that I'm just being paranoid. That I'm reading too much into all of this and your boss is just some-... weirdo with an uncomfortable interest in the Collectors." He fixes his gaze to Viper's, "But if that's not the case? If there is more to this little social call they sent you on? I'd rather have as many
people-... even shitbags like yourself-..." his smirk, tired and heavy slips out, "...ready for what might come our way." Enemy of my enemy and all that.
Viper sits up, feet leaving the table as a brief flash of surprise crosses her face, before being covered by her trademark grin. "Much appreciated, Wolfe." Her omni-tool materializes for a few quick strokes before fading after she's skimmed the download. "Boss'll be happy." She hops to her feet. "You learn anything else about... the topics we covered, weeell... sharing is caring. And I'll return the favor. Figure we've got some common
Jason gives a sharp nod, sitting up a bit straighter as Viper starts to take her leave. "Unfortunately." he agrees through that lopsided smirk of his. "Just-... next time you plan on dropping in? Knock?"
Viper offers a non-committal shrug, already backpedaling towards the door, apparently not intent on overstaying her welcome any further. "All I'm hearing is you're already thinkin' about next time. Naughty, naughty, Wolfe," she drawls with a shake of her head and a wide, crooked grin. Her gaze flicks to the MRE. "Enjoy your, uh... meal," she offers with a wiggle of her fingers, before disappearing in a shimmer of active camouflage as
Jason gives a roll of his eyes. But as the door slides open, he calls out after her, seemingly not entirely finished. "Viper." he says flatly, waiting to see if she bothers sticking around.
Viper decloaks, popping her head back around the corner, obviously curious enough to backtrack on her (according to herself at least) kick-ass exit. "Yeeees...?"
Jason glances towards the head that appears back in the doorway. "I don't like you." he reiterates. "But you do seem to have a knack for surviving. And I can respect a survivor. A little more-..." he tilts his head, "...cockroach than I'd like, but a survivor nonetheless. And we do have some common interests. This is a good 'you don't fuck with me and I won't fuck with you' spot for us and I'd like it to stay that way." he
explains, seemingly able to see the value in this little-... whatever it is. Alliance? Truce? Ceasefire? "That being said... If I see you or anyone that I think is one of yours anywhere near the kid, I will kill you." Seems he has some concerns over where the information provided could lead. But it's not a threat. It doesn't carry that tone. More of a 'don't make me do that'. "We understand each other?"
Viper seems as unfazed as ever by Jason's dislike, studying him curiously as he speaks. As he gets to the point her eyebrows rise a little, and there's a moment of silence before she nods, something that could almost pass for sincerity flickering across her face. "We do."
Jason's shoulders seem to release a bit of the tension they were holding. "...Good." he says softly.
Viper fades away without another word, a brief shimmer in the shadows the only warning before she's gone.
Jason allows a few moments to pass after the door closes to ensure Viper is out of earshot before lifting his gaze upwards and tossing his hands up in confusion. "What the fuck, Fergus?! Figure out how in the fuck she got past you and then send a report to Renala and make her FIX IT!" he exclaims, slumping back heavily against the couch.