Jelvan looks over at the asari. "Piros," he says. "She funded repairs and got business back off the ground, but told her we were not ready for this kind of operation when she showed up last night."
#Aroste – April 16, 2026
Wenera stands back up and takes a seat across from them, not wanting to be in the way now that they've patched up Va'ynna.
Urdnot grunts. "We shouldn't fly straight home anyway," he said. "I have a couple of ideas that I'll run by Luyn, but not right now." He glances at the shuttle door.
Ehanis nods and steps away from the shuttle to look around at the situation going on. "Yeah, fine," she says.
Renala continues tapping on her omni-tool as she steps away from the shuttle and starts carefully approaching the YMIR mech team without getting in their way. "I could try to restore the mech to get it into a more compact physical configuration once it's safe," she says over comms. "Hahne-Kedar's firmware and operating system binaries are in local cache, so it'll take ten minutes."
Va'ynna leans slightly on Victoria before sitting back up again, and nods faintly. "Thank... you," she murmurs softly. "I... I haven't had anything to eat since... breakfast."
Uvena stows her own helmet under the seat and sits down next to Va'ynna after Wenera moves out of the way. She studies Wenara in silence for a moment before looking at Victoria. "I'm sure Wolfe will ask you to fly one of the shuttles once we're ready to head out," she says.
The smoke from the hangar keeps getting denser and darker. The roof is still holding, and the fire is still contained inside the building.
The weather stays the same for now: just above freezing temperatures with a stormy wind speeds from the east.
A DSG shuttle is flying over from the mainland, but its trajectory to the port town across the island steers well clear of Redrock's AO. It's escorted by a Mantis gunship, also transmitting a DSG beacon.
Jason taps the interface to end the call and remains in his seat for a few more moments, watching the team by the YMIR mech as he collects his thoughts. But the longer he sits around, the longer it'll be before they can get home. The longer it'll be before Va'ynna can start picking up the pieces to her life that were shattered this morning. And, as Vasquez eluded to, the more time Jelvan's associates- such as their old pal Rellis- have
to respond. So he forces himself to his feet and scoops his helmet up off the pilot's seat, tucking it under his arm. His presence in the crew compartment is announced by the sound of the cockpit door sliding open and he steps just inside, offering a dip of his head in greeting to those inside. "So... sounds like you're feeling up to the trip home...?" he says, propping up a lopsided smile. Despite Uvena being the one to deliver
the news previously, his question is directed squarely at Va'ynna, perhaps just trying to make sure.
Leah shifts, giving a small roll of her eyes. "So it was Piros from the beginning." she muses. "Guess I have to give you some credit. You don't give up. Personally? If I failed so badly that the people that my organization was targetting found me, kicked down my doors, took me from my home, interrogated me, and let me go?" she stands a bit straighter, attention shifting to Celyna as if suddenly realizing that she needs to be
further filled in to fully understand the depth of this man's stupidity, "Oh, that's right. I'm not sure if you heard, but this isn't his first time these idiots took a shot at Va'ynna. Or the second!" she explains, her exaggerated tone and accompanying deep shrug implying just how ridiculous she finds all of this. Her focus returns to Jelvan to continue getting to her point without missing a beat. "And then my boss failed
in equally spectacular fashion? I think I'd probably take that as a sign that I should leave these people the fuck alone! But not you! No, if at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again. And get a whole lot of other people killed in the process, right?"
Jasper seems to pick up on Zaylus' discomfort, his own smile tempering back until Phil's addition draws out another snicker. The shuttle with its escort draws his attention, causing him to glance over in that direction. He doesn't say anything about it, but his demeanor seems to shift, posture growing a bit more rigid. He turns his attention back to the cables the pair have attached to the APC. This time he doesn't test them himself,
merely giving them a quick ocular once over, either trusting the pairs' work or understanding that they might be short on time with gunships traveling overhead. "Good work, fellas. That should do 'er." he says, giving Zaylus a pat on the shoulder since he's closest to him. As he starts back around towards the front of the APC Renala's words come through. "Sounds like a plan!" he calls out as he seeks her out before offering a
Victoria smiles at Va'ynna leaning on, she remains standing when Va'ynna sits down. She was just about to open her mouth until Uvena's words come out and the realisation that she would be put into one of the newly acquired shuttles. "Fuck... right." She stops for a moment, and turns towards Jason. "So which shuttle do you want to me fly?"
Zaylus follows Jasper's gaze up, watching with interest until he's patted on the shoulder. He's less jarred by the second contact, nodding in acknowledgement before navigating through the cables to Phil's side. He's standing clear but obviously intends to watch the process of recovering the mech. "Hell of a souvenir." He mumbles.
Celyna 's brows rise slightly as Leah chimes in, her extensive breakdown of Jelvan's folly drawing her gaze back to the salarian a couple of seats away from her, a snort slipping out as she settles back in her seat, waiting curiously to hear what he has to say.
Philip steps back with a satisfied grin before Renala's words draws his attention, making him look around until he spots the asari. He nods a couple of times to himself. "Right... firmware... binaries..." he mutters with the confident agreement of a man that definitely has no idea what either of those things are.
Jelvan looks at Leah as she enumerates the crimes that he may or may not know about. "Didn't understood why Atana was a priority today," she says. "Piros called her leverage, but was light on details about it." He sniffs. "Just needed Leren for the mission. Plan was to get location of her leader and deploy a strike team, but Leren proved harder to interrogate than Piros anticipated."
Va'ynna nods faintly at Jason's suggestion. "Yeah, I..., yeah" she says quietly, glancing at Uvena as she trusts her scan.
Renala stops and observes from a safe distance, staying out of the path of the APC and YMIR mech both.
Jason draws in a breath and gives a few nods of his own. "Alright. We've still got a few things to take care of first, but we'll be heading home soon." he explains to Va'ynna. Victoria's question causes him to look her way. He pauses, gaze dipping for a moment as he considers it. "You're already here so-..." he shrugs, "...no point in shuffling everyone around." His attention shifts back to Va'ynna and he props his smile back up. "So...
Jasper passes one last look back towards the burning building before boarding the APC. A few moments later the large piece of machinery rumbles to life. "Alright, gonna get this show on the road, so stay clear!" he announces over comms and, soon enough, the APC is lurching forward. He's keeping it slow and steady.
Victoria lets out a reliefed sigh at Jason telling her that this is the shuttle she is piloting. She turns back to Va'ynna. "So doctor's first, then we grab some food and head home." She looks at Jason during his intership tease and then looks back at Va'ynna. "And you'll be learning from a great teacher."
Zaylus mimics Jasper's gesture, clapping a hand on Phil's shoulder as he mutters to himself. "Let's make sure this thing doesn't get loose." He gestures toward the slowly scraping mech. "Just like the homestead, right?" He jokes, starting to walk with the APC and its cargo.
Philip jumps slightly at the sudden talons on his shoulder, but then he nods. "Heh, yeah," he agrees, accompanying Zaylus in monitoring the hauling.
Jelvan shrugs. "Like I said, I don't understand it," he said. "Something is not right about reason for taking Atana, but hasn't been involved in past operations about her to do my own research. If it were up to me, would strike Leren only, follow up on interrogation, then plan lethal strike on Atana if you caused trouble. But I would be acting on incomplete picture in that counterfactual."
Va'ynna nods at that, glancing to Victoria, taking a moment to pick up the meaning of it. "Yeah, I... I would like that," she murmurs.
The YMIR mech is on concrete at the start of the pull, but won't be for more than a few meters before it's on flat grassy ground. That ground is still quite hard from frost, which should help a little at least. Renala's drone, however, is not looking very good as it was flattened and dragged by the mech.
Jason gives an exaggerated widening of his eyes as Victoria talks up her piloting skills in a lighthearted warning to Va'ynna. "Alright. Guessing we'll be in the air in thirty or so. Why don't you take her up front and make sure everything is ready for liftoff?" he suggests to Victoria, nodding towards the cockpit. His gaze shifts once again to Va'ynna immediately after. "It's nice and toasty up there, too. Pretty sure Jasper had the
heat cranked the whole time we were in there." he adds, trying to keep things light considering the sort of day his close friend just endured.
Leah listens as Jelvan talks. "Right. Because... a lethal strike on Atana would be just the thing to keep us off your backs." she agrees sarcastically with a few stern nods, clearly not impressed by the salarian. Seeming uninterested in whatever else he has to say, she simply shifts her weight from one foot to the other, gaze turning from Jelvan.
Jasper brings the APC to a brief half when he feels the change in terrain but, soon enough, it's lurching forward once more. "We lookin' good out there...?" his voice comes in over comms.
Victoria gives Jason a quick two finger salute as a reply. "Yes, sir." She looks at Va'ynna. "You wanna sit up here with me?" She points a finger towards the cockpit, and taking slow steps towards the cockpit while she awaits for an answer from Va'ynna.
Zaylus retracts the hand apologetically, giving Phil more than an arms length of space as they proceed. "You're clear." He replies on comms, waving an arm forward whether or not Jasper can see it. He glances back at the electronic debris revealed when the mech got moving, snorting. "Sorry about your gadget, Renala." He calls out.
Celyna looks a little baffled by Jelvan's seeming lack of concern for his situation, letting out a snicker that turns into a hiss, her next breath slow and careful as she adjusts in her seat.
Philip offers the APC a thumbs up, before the lack of mirrors make him uncertain whether the vehicle has a rearview system or not. He's about to radio a response when Zaylus pre-empts him, and instead his attention is drawn to the wrecked drone alongside the turian's.
Wenera stands up, as well, but stays out of the way of Victoria and Va'ynna. "What do you need from us before we can leave?" she asks.
Va'ynna doesn't react to Jason's gesture about Victoria's piloting skills, but she stands up at Victoria's offer and follows her towards the cockpit. "Thank you," she says to Jason.
Renala chuckles. "It did its job," she says over comms in response to Zaylus, but refrains from further comments to not clutter the channel while they work.
The roof of the building is still up and the fire inside. The mech is successfully dragged along the ground.
Jason steps aside as the pair start towards the cockpit. "We've got a few things to discuss before I'm ready to let you and Ehanis go running off into the sunset." he warns Wenera. But as Va'ynna nears, his focus shifts back to her and he reaches out with a cautious hand, placing it on her shoulder. "Hey, I-... uhh-..." he starts, lowering his voice, obviously not really wanting to do this here with other people around but feeling that
it's too important to wait. His gaze briefly dips, causing his smile to slip with it. "...I'm sorry it took us so long, V." he offers, meeting her gaze. "I just-... I want you to know that we did everything we could to get to you as soon as possible..." he continues, undoubtedly feeling a bit of guilt. Va'ynna has been fearing this for months- she knew it was only a matter of time before Piros took another shot and she wasn't shy
about voicing those concerns- and he's been unable to prevent it. Not for lack of trying, of course. He looked into what he could. He put out calls, asked the only questions he thought to ask, and did what little he could to try and piece it all together but, in the end, he came up short. And Va'ynna paid the price for that. "I need you to know that, okay...?" he corrects.
Leah also seems content to let the conversation die down, only briefly glancing out the window as the sound of the approaching APC (and mech dragged behind it) grow louder.
Jasper continues on his path, slow and steady, towards the rest of their people. He drags it over towards the new Kodiak, seemingly deciding that's where they'll be storing it. The APC grinds to a halt when the mech is positioned near the shuttle doors. After a moment the door opens up and Jasper steps out, moving to assess the positioning. "Figure this should work, huh?" he says, hoping for some second opinions. "Guessin' we ain't
gonna be turnin' that thing back on til we got it home so-..." his gaze moves from the mech to the shuttle and he shrugs, "...prolly gon' hafta rig somethin' up to get it inside, too."
Victoria turns around and starts to enter the cockpit, she opens the door to the cockpit but stops in the doorway as Jason begins to talk to Va'ynna. She didn't want to interupt him, so she entered the cockpit and took the pilot's seat. She left the door open so Va'ynna could enter when her and Jason were done.
Zaylus approaches the mech as it slides to a halt, resting a hand behind his head in a thoughtful pose. "I guess." He mutters. "How are these things usually meant to be loaded?" He asks, half to himself. Putting his hands on the YMIR he gives it an experimental push and pull, not acting surprised when that action proves fruitless.
Philip joins Jasper and Zaylus in standing around the mech in hopes of manifesting a solution, hands on his hips as he studies it. "That right there's a good question..."
Celyna too looks out the window as the APC approaches, the sight of the trio trying to figure out what to do with it making her shoot Leah a look. "Guess we're up."
Wenera nods, remaining standing. "I understand," she says and takes a step back as he addresses Va'ynna.
Urdnot nods to himself after checking a navpoint on his omni-tool. "Thirty minutes should be plenty of time for me to get our shuttle," he says and walks off towards the north-east.
Renala jogs over to the mech team upon the APC coming to a stop. "That depends on how much time we have, these things can tuck in for storage like the LOKI model," she says, "but that cannot be done without power it on, I believe."
Va'ynna looks at Jason and stops walking towards the cockpit for a moment as she turns towards him. "I... I... don't doubt that, Jason," she says, her expression turning sad as she holds back tears. Her voice is low and even. "Wenera... told that she... left clues, but... I worried... if it was enough."
Ehanis raises an eyebrow after overhearing Jason talk to Wenera, letting out a sigh but no comment beyond that. "Good luck," she says to the departing krogan with a grin under her helmet.
Jason nods, gaze briefly seeking out Wenera once more. "She did." he confirms, propping his smile back up, if a bit heavier than before. "Probably saved us quite a bit of time, to be honest. But even if it hadn't been enough-..." he shrugs, "...it wouldn't have mattered, V. We would've found a way to track you down and we wouldn't have stopped until you were back home safe. Okay?" he offers, holding the asari's gaze. It's clearly
Leah shifts away from the wall to get a better look outside, amusement taking hold of her expression. "Looks like it..." she agrees, though seems to be in no rush, perhaps curious about how they're going to proceed.
Jasper adjusts his cap by the brim, doing some mental calculations as he continues to study the scene. "Usually?" he repeats. "Well..." he begins but when Renala chimes in, he gives a dip of his head in agreement, indicating her with a point of his finger."Yep! Usually I reckon they'd just walk themselves right on in." he snickers. Her addition causes his expression to turn more thoughtful and he nods once more. "Yeah... Figure
what with this particular one-..." he gives the mech a poke with the toe of his boot, "...prolly fixin' to kill us just a couple hours ago, turnin' it back on ain't exactly in our best interest." He falls silent for a few moments, hands on his hips, foot-a-tappin' as he thinks. Finally, throwing his hands up, he looks between Philip and Zaylus. "More cables." he says, as if the solution had been in front of them the whole time.
Victoria starts punching some commands into the shuttle's control panel, she starts checking that all systems are running green. She continues her silences as Va'ynna and Jason continue to talk.
Zaylus gives the mech a few more shoves as Jasper speaks, as if he'll suddenly gain the strength to move it. Not today, it seems, as he moves back with a dismissive push. He looks over in time for the big revelation, a look of uncertainty hidden by the helmet but expressed somewhat in his posture. "Attached... to what?" He asks, peering at the shuttle like he's missed something. "This thing
Philip frowns. "If we opened both doors, and ran the cables through..." he suggests with arm gestures for emphasis, looking from the mech to the shuttle. "Drive around and reconnect on the other side?"
Celyna 's lips quirk upward, entertained as she watches the guys ponder the mech, their exchange muted by the sealed door. Seems she's in no particular rush herself.
Wenera nods as Jason looks her way. "I'm glad it helped," she says. "It was not without risk." She looks like she's about to ask something, but she doesn't.
Va'ynna averts her gaze for a moment, as a tear trickles down her cheek. "I... I believe you," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was... scared." She glances Victoria's way for a moment.
Renala looks to Jasper, then to the mech, before nodding. "Yeah, that's a good point," she says sheepishly before looking at the shuttle. "We have some idle biotics. I don't know if we can lift it, but we might make the pull inside smoother," she adds to Philip's suggestion.
Jason gives an understanding nod. "Yeah..." he says quietly. There's a short pause before he continues, "...You're safe now, V." he assures, offering her shoulder another small pat and doing his best to fortify his smile before pulling her in for a quick side-hug, his helmet preventing him from using both arms.
Jasper's eyes are open a tad wider, gaze scanning back and forth, as if seeing the answer unfurl before him. The path to victory. He nods to himself. Then his nods grow firmer. When Philip speaks up, his gaze snaps towards him, as if they somehow were hitchiking from two different places but still winded up on the same... exact... wavelength! "Yeah-... yeah, that'll work!" he agrees, taking a step back from the mech and looking from
Philip to Zaylus. He gestures enthusiastically to the top of the Kodiak. "An' then we run another cable up over the top a' the Kodiak and-..." his brows furrow as the plan briefly gets tangled up in his mind and he stammers for a moment before getting back on track with a number of nods, "...Yeah! We attach it to the top a' the mech! An' you two fellas can be on the other side, yankin' at it! Just givin' it a
littttttttle bit a' oomph to get up an' over the lip!" Something occurs to him and he claps his hands together, pointing at Phil, "Know what? Ya'll give me twenty-... twenty-five minutes? I'll have us a pulley all fabricated up!" It seems like he's about to jump into gear when Renala's addition about raining on their fun by bringing in the biotics causes him to shoot a look her way, dismissing it with gesture of his hand.
"Naw. This is a small job, shouldn't give us any trouble. An' I figure they could prolly use a bit a' rest after all their-... uhh-... bioticin'!"
Leah watches out the window, lip quirked up as the group discusses their plan. But the longer it goes on, the more she picks up on with Phil & Jaspers' enthusiastic gesturing and the more concerned she seems to grow until the smile has melted from her face. Memories- on far too many occasions- flood her mind of walking in on terrible Rube Goldberg machine-like contraptions rigged across the hangar with pulleys and chains and cables as
Jasper would attempt to single handedly lift equipment much too heavy for him rather than asking for help. Often all the while Li is running around throughout the building playing! "Nope. Nope. We gotta-..." she gets moving, gripping Jelvan by the arm and tugging him to join them towards the door, "...nip this right in the bud before it becomes a problem." She can see the writing on the wall. And the writing reads: one
Victoria continues pushing buttons while the conversation continues. She stops for a moment, she clenches a fist after hearing Va'ynna had to experience all of this again. She unclenches the fist and goes back to checking on the shuttle's dust off checklist. She waits until there was a long enough pause in Jason and Va'ynna's conversation before she speaks up. "Still a free seat up here for
Zaylus nods with increasing intensity as Phil provides the path and Renala greases the wheels. He's about the endorse the combined plan when Jasper takes off scheming and his enthusiasm falters. "I don't..." He sucks in a breath, loud enough to be projected from his helmet mic. "I liked the pulling-through idea, you sort of lost me somewhere around the pulley system and the... 'oomph' part."
Philip nods in agreement with Jasper. "We got this," he assures Renala before looking to the mechanic. "What about a grav trolley? Used 'em all the time back on the farm. Make for an easy pull."
Celyna snickers and gets to her feet with a grunt, hitting the controls to open the Kodiak doors and stepping out.
Jelvan gasps at being pulled up, and he struggles to stay balanced as he hobbles to keep up with Leah.
Va'ynna doesn't show much of a reaction to the side-hug other than to lean on him slightly. "Yeah," she says quietly, knowing that to be true. After letting go of the hug, she walks over to join Victoria in the heated cockpit.
Renala chuckles as she listens to the plan, then folds her arms as she's not getting the plan but don't want to be the one to ruin the fun. "You're in charge, Sullivan," she says light-heartedly.
Ehanis remains near the shuttle entrance, and turns to watch the commotion at the other shuttle, taking a few steps to get a better angle on it.
Jason gives Va'ynna a small squeeze before releasing her. A frown settles back in his features, the toll the day has taken on the asari obvious. But he leaves it at that for now, waiting for the cockpit door to close before setting his helmet down on an empty seat and stepping over towards the exterior door. Leaning out, he gestures for Ehanis to join him. "Come on, let's get this over with." he calls out for her before turning back and
Jasper furrows his brow to Phil's suggestion before nodding a few times. "Sure would make things easier, unfortunately I ain't got one with me. Got one back at the workshop but-... Now that ya mention it, I should pack one up on the Kodiak!" he ultimately concedes, making a mental note. Zaylus' concerns cause him to look his way. "Well, y'see! Problem is that lip-..." he gestures towards the bottom of the Kodiak door, getting a
little lower and slicing a flat hand horizontally, as if tracing the bottom of the Kodiak's chassis, "...is gon' give us a little resistance. See?" he makes another hand-slice, looks to Zaylus, slices again, and watches for some sign of recognition as he continues, "May not seem like much but what with how heavy this sucker is, if it don't clear that lip cleanly then it's likely to do some real damage. Figure we can avoid that
if we just get it a hair off the ground. And-..." he doesn't seem to notice the door opening, far too focused on getting Zaylus onboard with their plan.
Leah waits for the Kodiak door to open. "Hey! Hey~!" she interrupts, ushering Jelvan outside. "There's no need for any-..." she pantomimes his hand-slice. The explanation for that particular gesture was unheard, but she knows she doesn't like the look of it. Not. One. Bit. Having gained the old man's attention she repeats herself. "We're not gonna need to-..." another hand-slice. She's doing her best not to sound dismissive, keeping
a friendly tone about it. "Just-..." she nudges Jelvan aside a bit, "...keep an eye on him and me and Celyna can get the mech into the shuttle, alright?"
Jasper is still in the middle of his explanation, "...avoid doin' any-..." he trails off, attention shifting towards the voice approaching from the shuttle. Upon seeing Leah and Celyna it seems like he knows the jig is up and a frown enters his features. He shoots a look to Philip and Zaylus in a silent apology that they won't get to enact their plan together. "Wasn't really a-..." he hand-slices a bit less enthusiastically than
before, but gives up on explaining it to her before he even begins as the wind leaves his sails, offering a small shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah... alright. 'Preciate the help..." he settles on, giving an understanding nod to the pair of biotics.
Victoria reads the status and the readings that the shuttle's screen, she turns her head towards Va'ynna when she gets closer. "Nice and warm in here, sadly ain't much I can do about the old man smell." She says jokingly, she will close the door once Va'ynna is inside and Jason is clear of it.
Zaylus grimaces as his concerns are met with explanations, which is the opposite of reconsidering. The accompanying hand gestures are compelling though, and maybe if he had more time Jasper could convince him. The voice of reason emerging from the shuttle is his saving grace however, and he shoots Leah an appreciative wave for the help. But it's hard not to be sympathetic for the mechanic's
disappointment and he throws him a bone. "If there weren't any biotics here, I'm sure you could've..." He trails, making the hand slicing gesture to finish that sentiment.
Philip again nods along with Jasper, but his attention is quickly drawn by the opening of the shuttle door. "...oh. Uh. Right. Guess that makes sense..." he concedes, perhaps a little disappointed himself as he starts to detach one of the cables. He's quick to agree with Zaylus, chiming in with "We definitely could've!" and another nod.
Celyna just shakes her head to herself, mild amusement lingering as she steps up, ready to lift the inert mech.
Va'ynna sighs softly, the joke not landing with her in this mood. "It's... okay," she says as she is inside, and looks over the shuttle cockpit. She's been here before, on the return trip from the spaceport after the mission to Rakhana; she was babysitting Li while Ilyna was on the rescue mission. She turns towards Victoria, and tears start to roll down her cheeks and her breathing is starting to tremble.
Ehanis nods and briskly walks up to join Jason inside the shuttle. "I don't think there's much I can tell you that I didn't tell Vasquez," she says as she steps inside the shuttle, "but I'll try." She takes a seat next to Wenera.
Renala takes a few steps closer to the salarian. "I got him," she says, but doesn't ready her biotics as she doesn't think a disarmed salarian with his legs tied can get far anyway if he tries to run.
Wenera nods to Ehanis. "We owe them an explanation, even if... the people back home may not agree." She looks over at Jason again. "We cannot give you names or a location, though."
Jason shrugs and brings his forearms to his thighs. "Humor me." he says sharply to Ehanis, his lack of enthusiasm over all of this- particularly Ehanis' part in all of this- on full display. When Wenera chimes in his expression softens a bit, but he still gives a shake of his head. "Sure you can. For more reasons than I'm in the mood to list, you are likely alive right now because of us. The least you can do is tell me what in the fuck
Jasper offers a sharp nod to Zaylus and Phil, appreciative of the vote of confidence. He, too, gets to work on removing the cables, stepping over to the APC to handle that end of things.
Leah's restrained smile grows a bit as she catches Zaylus' gesture and she gives him a wink. "No problem at all." she offers Jasper as she steps over to flank the mech from the other side once Renala has taken over Jelvan duties. She patiently waits for the others to handle the cables and get clear.
Victoria turns her seat to face Va'ynna as soon as the tears and trembling starts, she shoots up from her chair and goes to wrap her arms around Va'ynna. "It's okay, just let it all out." She tries her best not to poke Va'ynna with her armor. "I'm sorry you had to go through this shit again. But we are here now. I'm here with you now."
Zaylus quickly gets to work undoing the other cable, pretty grateful he doesn't have to find out how that plan would've ended up. He starts spooling the loose cable on one crooked arm, hurrying out of the way while looking back. Obviously he's gotta watch.