#RedrockAgency – June 4, 2026

Li nods once more in acknowledgement of Va'ynna's words, frown deepening slightly. "It's ok to be scared," she assures the asari with utmost sincerity, repeating what Jason told her on Christmas Eve. "Everyone gets scared."

Jason hesitates for a moment, pre-empting his own words with a small, apologetic tilt of his head. "I didn't put it in my report but-... well, Wenera had some more details about the murder Piros was involved in that put Wenera's people back on her trail." he says. "In Raelos...?" he clarifies, not wanting to take for granted just how much Ilyna has familiarized herself with the details surrounding everything that's gone down

Va'ynna nods at the girl's words, a sad smile showing up. "Yeah, that... is true," she says softly. She takes a quiet deep breath to try push back the feelings talking about this brought forth, looking back at the screen.

Ilyna gasps, looking at him with a mix of denial and disbelief in her eyes. She doesn't need that to worry about right now. "Goddess," she says, glancing at the patch cable as she considers yanking it with a practiced biotic pull, but matters about this case is best kept on restricted record anyway. "Do we know more about her? Latent or active?" She asks with some unintended urgency in her lowered voice.

Li 's attention shifts back to the screen after Va'ynna's does, watching as the vid switches to the next animal - a small fish that makes its home in the narrow jungle streams, a tumultuous existence, ever at odds with the fast-flowing water. "Have you met Justice?" she asks suddenly, looking up at the asari again.

Jason considers the question for a moment, his own ignorance on the subject meaning he hadn't filed that away as particularly pertinent information at the time. "Uhh-... latent? I think?" he says, brows pinching together as he recalls the details of his conversation with Wenera before giving a more confident nod. "Yeah. Pretty sure she said latent. But-... that's not all." he continues with a sigh. "May have been able to chalk one

Va'ynna manages to recognize that fish, but does not mention it before Li asks her about Justice, and she looks back at her. "No,... I haven't," she asks, not being able to infer anything from the name. "Who is that?"

Ilyna frowns, because as much bad news as an active Ardat-Yakshi can be, the fact that she is latent means that she herself fit the profile. It certainly does not help that there were also other Ardat-Yakshi targeted either. The name just makes her look thoughtful for a moment as she tries to recall names within Thessian politics, but she comes up empty. "No, I don't know that name," she says. "Not every asari

Li grins. "He's a dog! Kind of like a varren, but with hair. And he's not evil. He's nice."

Jason concedes to Ilyna's point with a dip of his head to one side. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility that Wenera fed him a fake name. Or for that matter, considering how little any of those folks seemed to know, that Wenera was fed a fake name by her own employer. "Fair enough..." he sighs, shifting in his seat. "Guess I kinda thought all matriarchs were like-... you know, rockstars in the asari limelight."

Va'ynna raises an eyebrow as she paints the picture in her mind with the sparse details. "Varren are... wild animals, they can't be evil,... unless they're wearing a monocle," she says, her tired voice a little bit calmer now. "So, he's like a furry varren that is nice? I'm not sure I can imagine that."

Ilyna can't help but chuckle at that despite everything. "Of course, but not everyone that can be, wants to be famous," she says. "Matriarch Eriane, my mother, is not widely known outside her academic fields either, but she is an authority there." She then sighs as she continues, "I guess the kind that fights battles out here don't want to be known, but... I can mention the name the next time I write to my mother."

Li nods in confirmation. "You should tell Jason you want to meet him!"

Va'ynna looks still a bit unsure about meeting the strange creature she's conjured in her mind, but Li's recommendation does convince her. "I will ask him at lunch," she says, though there's little conviction in her voice. "He's... speaking with your mom right now."

Li seems satisfied with this outcome, nodding and looking back to the TV, but she only watches for a moment before Va'ynna draws her attention again. "Do you wanna play dinnosaurs with me?"

Jason seems lost in his own thoughts for a moment, concerned with whether or not he's mixing up horses with turtles. But Ilyna's words draw his attention back and he dismisses his own thoughts, answering her question with a shake of his head. "Know? Not for sure, no. But it seemed like it." he explains. "Wenera said her group was part of a colony, but wouldn't go into exactly where it was. I'm assuming that's where they're

Va'ynna tilts her head to the side as she tries to recall what that game is about. "Like... the fearsome beast you were at the costume party?" she asks, the memory bringing back a brief smile. "Can you teach me how to play that game?"

Ilyna frowns, especially at the mention of Ehanis' involvement. Though, some she feels some guilt. "Ehanis hasn't mentioned a matriarch in the few messages I've gotten from her," she says. "But she is careful with names, in general, instead talking about an 'asari kid', 'the krogan' or the 'greenhouse lady'." She glances back down at the terminal, at the closed draft message in the list.

Li nods eagerly and grabs Va'ynna's hand, tugging it to get her off the couch and bring her over to her bag, from which she starts pulling out the various dinosaur toys she got for Christmas, ready to start instructing her captive audience on the name and appropriate behavior of each prehistoric creature. There's no escaping now!

Jason gives a few idle nods, painfully aware of how difficult Ehanis can be. So much confusion could've been avoided had she just communicated with them. But dwelling on that doesn't get them anywhere, so he's quick to sweep those thoughts under the rug with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Ilyna. I wish we had more to go on-..." for many reasons. He shakes his head, "...but it was mostly dead ends out there. I don't want to put you on

Va'ynna can't help but smile as she is dragged to her feet when she could have just said 'follow me', but she doesn't complain. She's glad to be dragged along and given an education in Paleontology, and she does seem interested even if the difficult memories of yesterday are never too far from her mind to sap her energy. She will bring up that Jason asked her what they wanted for lunch.

Ilyna listens and sighs, her feelings starting to overflow. "I... want to tell her that she can come home, get out of what she's gotten tangled up in," she says, "but I'm probably the second last person." She frowns, looking back up at Jason. "And deserving of that," she says. "I should have listened to you instead of sending Felcolus the moment I found out where she was."

Jason falls silent, unsure of what to say at first. "You can't beat yourself up for caring, Ilyna." he finally settles on, the words gentle. "And whatever Ehanis is involved in? It's because she chose to get involved. But... I think her people want the same thing as us." 'I hope' would probably be more apt, considering how little Wenera volunteered and how much he had to work just to get those scraps.

Ilyna seems a bit reassured by him, but the guilt is still present in her expression. "I suppose you're right, but...," she says. "I... I just don't know what to say to her." She closes her eyes for a second and sighs. "I will try to ask for information at some point, but... I worry I'll risk losing contact if I push too hard."

Jason nods once more. "I'm not asking you to push. Just-... do what you can." he says. With any luck, pushing won't be required. Surely Ehanis and her people have to know that it's mutually beneficial to just be forthcoming. "Other than that I-... uhh-... I think all we can do right now is hope Renala and Crux manage to find something worthwhile on the devices we brought in." It's clear by the heavy sigh that slips out that he's

Ilyna nods at the request in agreement, but she doesn't seem any less worried about reaching out. "I hope they find something," she says. "And Ehanis must understand...." She leaves the rest unsaid, hoping that it's obvious. "Maybe she does, but they have expectations of her."

Jason listens, shifting in his seat as he does. "Yeah, maybe..." he agrees quietly to Ilyna's final words, leaving his own thoughts on the matter unspoken, though his tone alone probably gives away the fact that he doesn't think that's much of an excuse. But he already made that much clear to Ehanis, and he didn't come here to badmouth her to her sister. Ilyna doesn't need that on top of everything else she has going on. "We'll

Ilyna tilts her head at his tone, but decides not to pry into it, the last statement bringing out the smallest chuckle from her. "We really do," she says, seeming a bit more composed now. "In the meantime, we just do what we can to keep her safe."

Jason gives a nod. "Sounds like a plan." he says simply, his own smile fortifying a bit. After a moment he draws in a breath,gripping the arms of his chair and pushes himself to his feet. "Speaking of plans, I'm gonna go on a food run in a couple of hours. Figure out what you've got a taste for and shoot me a message. And in the meantime I should probably-..." he dips his head in the general direction of his office, reluctant sigh