Natalie is unconscious.
#FreedomFalls – March 12, 2026
The batarian snorts at the turian's quip. "I would if I could," he says, giving the pipe a slight tap with a gauntleted finger of his restrained hands to underline his point, "but manage your expectations, turian."
A thorough search of the living room might take a while due to the concrete, insulation, metal and broken furniture around. Like, the Carnifex pistol barely sticking out from under the couch. The two doors to the adjacent rooms are closed, but not locked.
The asari paramedic guides the stretcher out of the building and over to the ambulance, while Holly steps back into the apartment. "Does anyone else need medical transport?" she asks, looking between the Redrock members in the room, and then towards the tied up batarian.
Philip shakes his head. "Just wonderin' why someone would take Miss Va'ynna like that..." he says with a lingering frown.
Leah isn't trying to be too thorough. No sifting through debris or moving furniture. Just a quick sweep to make sure none of Piros' people are hiding in any rooms and collecting any weapons or equipment that may have been left behind. She's already proceeding through one of the unlocked doors when Holly steps back into the apartment.
Zaylus suppresses an answering snort to the batarian, not interested in pressing the issue right this moment. He pockets the omni-tool for safe keeping, giving Holly his own dismissive gesture. "We're good. Thanks."
Victoria clenches her fists tightly, foot still tapping on the floor. "Whatever their reason, they are gonna learn to never take her again."
The left door slides open into a small bedroom with a bed and a mattress beside it, as well as a dresser. A cardboard box with a few Christmas decorations stick out on top of it. There are some clothes on the floor. Most importantly, there is nobody hiding here.
The batarian looks towards the Redrock people when asked. "Nothing life-threatening," he says. There are gunshot wounds, but a scan will reveal they are quite shallow, and he has no broken bones.
Holly nods and hurries off to rejoin her colleague - seems she shares her mentor's trust in Redrock.
The ambulance shuttle takes off as soon as everyone is aboard, rushing back to the hospital for the second time this morning.
07:33am (30m) -- Redrock's shuttle approaches the building. The hospital shuttle has left and the apartment has fallen quiet.
A quick sweep of the apartment reveal little else of interest. The bedroom also contained some spare clips and weapons' maintenance tools. The bathroom had just what one'd expect to find in a bathroom; a load of laundry was even done in the small washer-dryer-combo. The apartment as a whole is very small, so not really a place to hoard much beyond the bare necessities. They had a bug-out bag with some basic survival and first
The militia continues to search the area around for any sign of future attacks. The gunship is high up in the air sweeping for low-flying shuttles between the buildings.
Uvena runs up to the front door, wearing winter clothes and a holstered submachine gun. She was not woken up by the call to action and has not reported in to Redrock before she ran towards the navpoint.
Jasper sets the Kodiak down just outside of the building. Given the situation- militia patrolling and debris littering the road- blocking the street for a while is the least of his concerns. As the shuttle sets down the door slides open.
Jason is already stood beside the door, waiting to step out. With the fighting over, his helmet has been left on the shuttle seat for now. He passes a glance around, surveying the situation as he starts towards the front door of the building. "We're here. On our way up now." he reports.
Leah wasted no time in dressing down the batarian once the building was secured. Helmet, gauntlets, and any armor plating she could strip away while his wounds were being addressed.
Celyna is standing in the stairwell outside the apartment, keeping an eye out to make sure nobody's making their way up to interfere.
Philip exits the shuttle after Jason, gaze following the patrolling militia gunship in the sky for a moment before following after him.
Zaylus had descended the staircase in the meantime, kicking any loose material out of the way in apparent idleness. He recovers the batarians Vindicator in the process, and now holds it like an armed guard in the apartment.
Zaylus had descended the staircase in the meantime, kicking any loose material out of the way in apparent idleness. He now waits inside the apartment, keeping one eye on the apparently docile batarian and one vaguely interested in the message terminal.
MCB exits the shuttle after Jason and Phil, she follow Jason towards the building. "If the captive doesn't want to speak. Give them to me, Jason."
Victoria exits the shuttle after Jason and Phil, she follow Jason towards the building. "If the captive doesn't want to speak. Give them to me, Jason."
There is some activity inside the east-facing units downstairs, but nobody has emerged from them yet.
The batarian cooperates with Leah, but he has not been talkative at all. Removing the gauntlets would not be possible without undoing the restraints temporarily, but the rest is doable.
Jason glances up as the gunship makes a pass overhead. A snort escapes him as he shakes his head, passing a glance Phil's way. "Great use of resources, huh?" he says, thrusting a finger upwards. "Someone blows a hole in a building, attacks their people, kidnaps multiple civvies, and they've got her right in their sights. Do they follow? Assemble the troops to bring her in? Nahhhh, let's just let her go and then patrol the
streets, putting everyone on high alert and waiting to see if she comes back for round two. That sounds like the tactically sound option." he recaps with no small amount of sarcasm, shaking his head to himself. Vicky's addition causes him to glance back over his shoulder before continuing into the building. "You know that's not how we do things, Vicky..." he warns.
Leah did, of course, remove the captives restraints temporarily to remove his gauntlets before resecuring him, seated on the ground. For now she's just waiting by the door for the others to arrive.
Zaylus crosses the apartment to stand beneath the hole in the ceiling, visibly keeping his gaze on the batarian. Then he breaks the seal of his helmet and pulls it off, heaving a few deep breaths. He just holds onto it now as his fingers rhythmically tap on its surface.
Victoria pulls a face of annoyance, luckily hidden by her helmet. "And if this was Vasquez they took, you would still follow the book?" She follows behind Jason. This time wasn't a job for her, this is something personal to her. "I was taught to be ruthless if they took someone you love or care for. I will play it by your little book for now, but if those rules get us nothing then I do
The batarian sighs as he listens to the conversation out in the hallway. "She'd be wasting her time," he says, matter of factly. "Ninava handled all communication with the client."
Jason pauses, Victoria's comment striking a nerve and causing him to turn her way. "What you do?" he snorts, frustration clearly coloring his words. "And that's-... what? Deciding you're probably gonna torture some random asshole for information before we've even bothered to ask them a question? Is that what you do?" he asks, a bewildered look crossing his face.
Leah cocks a brow, looking from the batarian to Zaylus and then back when he begins speaking freely. "You said something before about never meeting Piros. I take it that means you're just the hired help?" she surmises.
Philip winces and tries to look busy as Jason and Victoria argue, looking around the downstairs area.
Zaylus huffs, cutting in after Leah finishes. "You're gonna wanna come up with more than that." He warns, nodding toward the stairs and the incoming voices.
Victoria stares at Jason. "Fine then, tell me what to do when they helped kidnapped the only person you have ever loved? Tell me what to do when the person you want to change everything about yourself for, is taken and you are fucking powerless about it?" She stands there fist clenched, anger and pain in her voice. "You might have better answers than me. Because all I got right now are
The batarian tilts his head a bit to hear the hallway conversation better. "We're both freelancers, working in and around Rudwick," he said. "Ninava pitched me the job three days ago, and I didn't ask any questions when she told me we were both getting fifty-thousand for it, twenty up-front."
Jason opens his mouth to fire back, but the hurt in Victoria's voice causes him to bite back on his words, gaze briefly dipping as he swallows. A bit of that fire seems to drain from his face and he draws in a breath to reel himself back. "...I get it, Vicky." he says as he meets her gaze. "I do. But we're gonna get V back. Okay? Whatever it takes." He pauses, holding her gaze to try and let it be known that it's not just lip
service. "But right now? We've still got options. So keep your shit together and let's bring V home."
Leah listens, far more interest in what the batarian has to say than eavesdropping on Jason and Vicky's quarrel. "And... Ninava is the other asari you were with..." she muses aloud, connecting the dots. "Any idea where Piros was heading? I assume the plan wasn't for you and Ninava to just casually kidnap a woman in the middle of town and then stroll down the street to find the next taxi out of here once she was loaded onto
Celyna rolls her eyes at the melodramatics downstairs, and shifts her attention to the questioning going on behind her.
Philip shifts uncomfortably. He glances towards the door and then opts to slip back outside. Someone needs to keep an eye on things out here anyhow, right?
Zaylus twitches his mandibles at the mention of payment, maybe deciding that price to be lacking. Leah asks the important question and he doesn't want to interrupt, so he stills his hand from making noise with his helmet.
Victoria stands there for a moment, defused by Jason's words for now and just nods at him. "It will probably be for the best, if I stay in the shuttle." She turns back and makes her way back to the shuttle. "Trust you enough to handle this better than I could."
The batarian grunts. "We were supposed to get clear of the site and get out of town with a vehicle Ninava had stashed," he said, before sighing. "Piros wasn't going the same way as us, that's all I know."
Jason watches as Victoria leaves the way she came, taking a moment to settle. It's hard not to feel for her given everything going on. Emotions are running high and tempers flare. But there will be time for all of that later. Right now, V is still out there. So he starts up the stairs, passing a look to Celyna that implies he's not any more pleased with the 'melodrama' than she is.
Leah furrows her brows. "Well... that's a terrible plan." she states bluntly. Stupid or lying? Easy way to find out. "Where's the vehicle stashed?" she asks.
Philip watches Victoria make her way to the shuttle once she comes back outside. He hesitates, considering following her.
Zaylus is distracted from the interrogation as the drama in the stairwell concludes, the sound of retreating steps making him frown. The meager fruit of the questioning also causes him to hiss softly, which probably sounds like he's agreeing with Leah's sentiment.
Victoria exits the building and makes her way towards the shuttle, saying nothing. Only looking at the shuttle.
The batarian shakes his head. "We had all the time in the world to get away," he say,. "but Piros must have gotten sloppy to lead you here early." He glances towards the window in thought. "The vehicle is on a parking lot two blocks south, I've got a key to it on my omni-tool."
Jason continues past Celyna and towards the apartment. He gives the doorframe a clank with his gauntlet to announce his presence as he steps inside, gaze sweeping across the destruction, then the batarian, before settling on Zaylus and Leah. "We got anything...?" he asks.
Leah listens to the batarian but doesn't have time to continue with her line of questioning before Jason enters. His question is met with a nod. "We-..." she begins, gesturing to Zaylus and then the batarian with a nod of her head, "...were just catching up."
Philip follows after Victoria, taking a seat on whichever side of the shuttle she doesn't. "Miss Va'ynna is gonna be alright," he assesses after a moment's hesitation.
Zaylus steps forward, reaffixing his helmet to free up his hands before producing the mentioned omni-tool. He greets Jason and answers him with an upturned nod and a shake of the device. "The key to a getaway car." He repeats. To the batarian he pointedly continues, "But by 'manage my expectations' I assume you mean that's all we'll find, right?"
Victoria takes the furthest seat in the shuttle. She removes her helmet and puts her head into her hands, letting out a loud fustrated breath. Hearing Phil's words, she bit her tongue for a moment. "Thanks, kid." Keeping her face in her hands, she knew Phil didn't deserves her angry and did her best not to throw attitude at him.
The batarian looks up at Jason as he enters the room, but doesn't acknowledge him otherwise. "Yes, turian," he says, looking at Zaylus. "I don't keep anything sensitive on that omni-tool longer than I have to."
Jason's attention shifts to the omni-tool, studying it for a moment. "Getaway car?" he asks. "Okay..." he furrows his brow, "...A second getaway vehicle?" he clarifies to make sure he's following. When Leah confirms it with a nod he continues, "And this second getaway vehicle was going to getaway to...?"
Leah finishes Jason's sentence, "Rudwick." You can practically see something light up in Jason's eyes, but she's quick to temper it, lifting a hand. "Not where Piros is going. It's where he-..." she indicates the batarian, "...and the asari he was with were hired out of. Freelancers. Piros offered them 50k each for this job and it sounds like the plan was for them to split off and leave Freedom Falls separate from her."
Philip shakes his head. "I mean it," he insists earnestly. "She's got a whole lot of capable people worryin' about her. That's more than most on Aite."
Celyna just listens to the exchange in the apartment behind her, feeling no need to crowd things further.
Zaylus relaxes the arm holding the omni-tool, disappointed to be told he's correct. He doesn't glean anything from that location, but it seems to add up to nothing gained anyway. "He said the other freelancer was the contact, maybe she wasn't as careful with 'sensitive' data as this guy." He suggests. "Just need to break into her omni-tool."
Victoria remains silent, keeping her face in her hands. Despite the well meaning nature of Phil's word, she can't help but let that one little voice in her head be heard. The voice that fills her with despair. "I know, kid."
There is also the broken omni-tool on the floor that Natalie was obscuring. It wouldn't have given any signs of life it it was found and tested, however. The terminal is also still projecting the same jargon-filled text.
Uvena comes running around the corner and stops just outside the shuttle, sounding like she has been running for more than a minute. "Hey," she says, worry etched into her face. "Oh no, did she... get away?" She looks to Victoria. She is wearing winter clothes and a holstered submachine gun.
Jason's disappointment is obvious when Leah dashes any hope that they might have an actionable lead on where Piros is heading. But he perks back up a little when Zaylus continues where Leah left off. "That could be something. And that omni-tool is....?"
Leah gestures back out the door. "With D'Kira. But if there's messages on there exchanged between his friend-..." a gesture to the batarian, "...and Piros, maybe our techs can trace that contact info to a location...?" she suggests, venturing into territory that's too far outside of her area of expertise to be sure.
Philip briefly tenses as Uvena comes running, ready for trouble, but the way she addresses Victoria makes him settle down, frowning as he looks her way since she's the one the asari addressed.
Celyna rounds the doorway, digging the omni-tool out of her pocket and waving it a little. "Right here," she confirms. "Locked, though."
Zaylus wanders back over to the terminal, still indecipherable to him. "Maybe a tech could also figure out who they were trying to contact when it all went down." He offers, though doesn't sound overly enthusiastic. "Could've just been a cry for help, but..." He trails, shrugging as he has no more straws to grasp at.
Victoria is hit yet again with dread when she hears Uvena, still keeping her face in her hands wanting to hide her emotions. "They got her. We will get her back." She doesn't want Uvena to she her face at the moment, she has to get herself back to a reasonable state before she can muster up that strength.
Uvena sits down on the seat next to Victoria, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder despite the big armor plate. She doesn't need to see her emotions to understand them. "Uvena Atana," she says to Philip, not recognizing him either. "I'm with Redrock."
Leah nods along with Zaylus' suggestion. "Wenera used it to send out an SOS. I tried to ask questions about it, but-... well, the woman that was here with her-..." Jason helpfully interrupts to offer a quick, 'Natalie' to which Leah nods, "...Natalie." she confirms. "She wasn't in any state to fill me in on the details. Mentioned something about a Matriarch...?" she shakes her head, "She was going in and out. But aside from
that, all we found was some gear and a damaged omni-tool." she gestures to it beside the terminal where they placed it.
Jason swivels Celyna's way when she joins them. He reaches out to collect the omni-tool from her with an appreciative dip of his head, but when Zaylus and Leah continue he looks back to them. "Sounds like we've got more than we did 20 minutes ago so I'll call that a win. Let's get all of this loaded up and prep him-..." another glance the batarian's way, "...for transport so we can get back to base and start scrubbing through all
Jasper remains in the cockpit, completely avoiding any of the uncomfortable conversation in the crew compartment. The only indication that he's even still there is the cockpit door sliding shut.
Philip furrows his eyebrows at the surname, wondering if he heard right. Regardless he replies with "Philip Lacour."
Celyna glances out the window. "The body?" she asks, ignoring the fact that the dead asari's companion is in the room. "Checked her pockets, but could have something useful hidden under the armor. Want me to check?"
Zaylus scoops the damaged omni-tool for good measure, cradling the terminal in one bent arm. He seems to briefly consider the batarian and Celyna's question, but slips out of the apartment to secure his loot first. He stomps down the stairs, slowing to hold the terminal a little more carefully on his way out.
Victoria just remained silent, the pat on the back still felt despite the armor. She removes her face from her hands and leans back in her seat. Looking forward at the cockpit door.
Uvena looks at Victoria. "Do we at least have anything to go on?" she asks. She spots the turian coming down the stairs in the corner of her eye, and watches him with a questioning look.
Leah gives a nod to Jason's orders, wordlessly getting to work round up the collected items and starting towards the shuttle. If she has an opinion on Celyna's methods, she certainly doesn't show it.
Jason shoots a glance Celyna's way, offering a few nods. Likewise, Celyna's tact- or lack thereof- goes unmentioned. He has more important things to busy himself with than whether or not the man that helped kidnap two people- one being a personal friend- is upset that his partner in crime died during said kidnapping. "Doesn't hurt to be thorough. I'm gonna bring our new friend down to the shuttle, so check any compartments you find
on her and meet me back at the shuttle." he agrees as he removes the blade from its sheath on his chest. He uses a hand to urge the batarian to shift so he can get at the ties easier. "Linda." he begins over comms once the batarian has been freed from his pipe prison, "We'll be returning shortly, you can go ahead and give the militia the all-clear to move in and take over the scene." After returning his blade to its sheath,
he assists the batarian in climbing back to his feet, nudging him forward a few steps before restraining his hands behind his back once more.
Celyna nods and heads off down the stairs. Once outside, she goes back to the dead asari, dropping down to one knee to start unceremoniously stripping away her armor.
Philip lowers his head a little at Uvena's question to Victoria, but Zaylus' approach draws his attention.
Zaylus peeks down at the terminal, its jargon taunting him. Uvena gives him just a second of pause, his foot hovering over the landing step before he proceeds to the shuttle. He dips his head as he slowly steps inside. "Might have some leads." He offers carefully to the despondent Victoria, inadvertently answering Uvena's question.
Victoria points at the building. "Jason and some of the others are in there getting some infomation and a captive. Apart from that it was Sala Piros who did it." She clenches her fists when she mentions that name. "When I get my hands on that bitch." She looks at Zaylus when he enters and speaks, she nods at him "Good."
The batarian gets to his feet with a grunt and does not put up any resistance to being lead down to the shuttle.
Uvena nods appreciatively to the turian and was about to speak to him, but Victoria's answer makes her expression soften and she looks at her. "Of course it's her," she says, anger seeping into her voice. "I don't want you getting reckless out there, Victoria. Va'ynna will...," she pauses briefly to compose herself, "need us at the end of it."
Leah isn't far behind Zaylus, but as she spots Uvena, her expression visibly darkens. "Hey..." she greets quietly, offering a strained smile as she steps into the shuttle. With everyone else speaking, she opts to keep quiet for now, focusing on stowing away the collected items.
Jason lags behind the others a few steps due to having to re-tie the captive and escort him down the stairs. As they approach the shuttle and he spots Uvena, a frown crosses his features. For now he focuses on getting the batarian situated. He purposely seats him as far as possible from Victoria and brings a harness down to lock him in. "Guess this means you've heard the news." he sighs as he directs his attention Uvena's way
Celyna moves on to the undersuit once any hard plating has been l̶o̶o̶t̶e̶d̶ checked for clues, unzipping the front and rolling the body over to peel the arms free. Afterwards she plants a boot on the corpse's back for leverage as she yanks the undersuit off the lower body as well. She gives the inside of the suit a quick check and then rolls it up, giving the dead asari a quick glance to make sure there's no pockets on whatever
Zaylus moves aside as the others file in, kneeling to store the tech in a secure place. He then slowly sits, the atmosphere inside the shuttle shutting him up for now.
Victoria listens to Uvena and gives a nod. "I will try my best, but might broke that promise when I see Sala." Trying to give some affirmation to a point, because depending on the situation seeing her might just be the final straw that breaks Vicky.
Celyna would find the asari is wearing just underwear under the armor, too much else might get in the way of the medi-gel from the undersuit were it needed. She doesn't find anything else hidden within.
Uvena sighs at Victoria's response, but she cannot argue with her pain as she may also be speaking to herself. She tries to compose herself as the people returns to the shuttle, but seeing the captured collaborator makes her tense up. "I'm fine," she says, her voice making that lie clear. "Is there anything I can help with, or did you get everything?"
Leah gets everything put away beneath one of the seats and rises back to her feet. It's only then that she seems to notice Phil, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. It's a spark of genuine joy over an unexpected familiar face. "Hey stranger." she greets, taking a seat beside him.
Jason shifts, discomfort setting in as he catches on to Uvena's displeasure over being in such close proximity to someone responsible for assisting in kidnapping her daughter. Understandable, of course. He's not exactly signing up for the batarian's fanclub either, but it is what it is. Handing him over to the militia now might just slow things down if they have more questions for him after they leave. "Alright..." he offers at her
first statement. Not that he believes it, but he knows better than to challenge it. She's coping, and sometimes that's all you've got. "Celyna is wrapping up then we're taking off. Need to get all of this-..." he gestures towards the terminal Zaylus stowed away, "...back so we can figure out what our next move is. You-... uhh-... want a lift back with us?"
Celyna lets out a "Hm", gathers up the entirety of her newly acquired, slightly pre-owned set of armor under one arm, and sets off towards the shuttle, leaving the half-naked corpse on the frozen ground of the alley. "No clues," she informs the others as she approaches.
Philip returns the smile. "Hey," he answers, not exactly wanting to start a conversation considering the overall mood in the shuttle.
Zaylus sits with gaze downturned, only looking up when Celyna arrivals with her pilfered goods. His reaction is obscured by the helmet, only visibly leaning back to rest his head against the shuttle wall.
Victoria grabs her helmet and places it back on her head. She turns her gaze towards the batarian, she silently moves her gaze back to the door of the cockpit and continues her silences.
Uvena nods to Jason. "Yes," she says. "I can't do nothing right now." She glances at the approaching asari, which she assumes must be Celyna, and buckles herself in. She does not pay the armor suit attention long enough to realize it probably doesn't belong the armor-less batarian in the shuttle with them.
Leah doesn't push, well aware that this is neither the time nor the place to catch up. She settles back into her seat and begins to give her gear a once over.
Jason nods, far too familiar with that tactic. Keep yourself busy to avoid climbing the walls. Uvena's presence causes that guilt in the pit of his stomach to swell and he does what he can to put it out of his mind. To remind himself that it doesn't matter that he wasn't there. That they weren't quick enough to stop Piros. It happened. Dwelling on it right now isn't going to change that. That's for later, preferably with a bottle
of cheap booze. What matters now is-... "We're gonna bring her home." he says. A simple sentiment, but there's conviction behind his words. He gives Uvena a pat on the shoulder before turning to prep for takeoff, scooping his helmet up and dropping into the seat it was placed on. "Take us home, Jasper." he orders over comms.
Celyna drops into the nearest seat with a grunt, using her free arm to make sure her long coat doesn't get snagged before relaxing.
Philip looks to Jason and nods in agreement with his sentiment. He makes sure to strap in as Jasper is given the order to take off.
Zaylus leans forward to give an affirmative nod, and reaches down to pat the secured storage under his seat before settling for takeoff.