Li 's face scrunches up as her hair is ruffled, briefly distracted by hair in her face before Ehanis' words draw her attention again. "Ok..." she concedes with a pout, shoulders slumping as she looks off to the side, still holding Ehanis' hand.
#RedrockAgency – September 30, 2026
Vasquez looks off down the corridor. "Let's talk in my office," she says, before turning her attention to Ilyna in the hopes that she'll send Li away.
Jason settles back against the desk, gaze shifting across the others. "Works for me." he says simply.
Ilyna notices Vasquez' attention towards her, nodding to the suggestion. She does seem a bit reluctant before she asks, "Li, can we borrow Ehanis for a moment?" Her tone is sympathetic.
Ehanis crouches down to Li's level, slowly loosening the hand holding Li's. "I'll be up with you and Ilyna right after the meeting, I promise."
Li 's second "Ok..." is less dejected than the first, accompanied by a couple of nods. "I'm gonna find my find my gunship and my other stuff so I can show you," she announces to Ehanis before running off to do just that, disappearing into Ilyna's office as her first stop, since her things as spread between there and the rec room mainly. Mainly.
Vasquez watches Li run off with a hint of amusement inclining her head in the direction of her own office and leading the way towards it.
Jason snickers, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as Li hurries off. When Vasquez starts towards her office he pushes away from the desk, passing a brief glance Ilyna's way before following, keeping his questions about Ehanis' sudden return to himself for now.
Ehanis smirks. "Sounds like a plan," she says as Li runs away, and she stands back up. Her smile lingers for a moment, but it starts to fade as she follows Vasquez towards her office.
Ilyna laughs softly as Li runs off, or perhaps she's happy about Ehanis seemingly not planning to disappear the moment she's allowed to. She waits for Ehanis to pass before following the others towards Vasquez' office.
Vasquez stops in front of her desk, which, perhaps unexpectedly, is cluttered with paperwork, as well as an empty plate that indicates a begrudgingly consumed lunch. She crosses her hands behind her back as she waits for the others to file in.
Jason steps into the office just after Vasquez, taking a position beside her. He gives the desk a quick once over, quirking an eyebrow at the uncharacteristically messy state it's in, causing him to shoot a glance Vasquez' way. He doesn't linger on her, however, his focus turning to the asari as they enter behind him.
Jason steps into the office just after Vasquez, taking a position near her. He nudges aside a stack of paperwork without much thought into whether or not he's disrupting some sort of organizational system Vasquez has in place in order to clear a corner for him to sit on, his focus turning to the asari as they follow in after him. ((retcon))
Ehanis does seem a bit uncomfortable as she enters the office. "So, where do you want me to start?" she asks. "You don't want every single detail after I walked out of here, I hope."
Ilyna files in after Ehanis, and walks over to stand near the other two, taking up a position by the desk on the side nearest the window. She defers to Vasquez to answer Ehanis.
Jason's brows furrows as Vasquez speaks, his attention shifting from her to Ehanis. But before the asari can respond he clears his throat. "Hey-..." he interjects. "Before we get into-... whatever all of this is about, I just wanted to say-... uhh-..." he shifts awkwardly against the desk in an attempt at finding a comfortable sitting position, "I know that shit got a little heated between us the other day but, for what it's
worth? Even though I can't say I'm all that happy with how you've handled certain things..." perhaps an understatement, "...I do appreciate the support in Aroste. So-... so thanks." Perhaps a somewhat transparent attempt at extending an olive branch, but an attempt nonetheless.
Ehanis nods at Vasquez' response, but Jason's addition brings a sigh out of her. "I know, and I get it," she says. "I didn't feel I was free to say whatever or make decisions on behalf of my boss, me and Syld left in a hurry without clarifying much of anything, but... it's true I haven't really gotten to learn a lot in the month I lived there." She pauses for a moment as she looks at Vasquez. "Right, what I told
you.... Well, I'm not here because I'm fired and want my old job back. I'm still with Matriarch Malea's crew, and I'm here because she is interested in working with you." She pauses for another moment, frowing as she says, "We would have been fucked if you hadn't gotten Wenera out of there in time, and me and Syld couldn't have done that on our own; she knows that."
Ilyna frowns as she listens, especially the part about her not coming back for her old job disappoints her, but that is soon replaced by worry because she's still tangled up in this.
Vasquez remains silent, preferring to let the other two get a word in first. Hearing more or less the same thing earlier was enough to temper her frustration. Somewhat.
Jason falls silent as Ehanis speaks. Truth be told, hearing that she's not here to get her job back comes as a bit of a relief to him. Regardless of his own opinions on it, he's well aware that it probably wouldn't go over well with Vasquez and another blowout between her and Ilyna is the last thing he needs right now. The mention of the Matriarch wanting to work with them, however, comes with some bitterness. It would've been
nice to have this level of cooperation back in Aroste rather than getting stonewalled. But being difficult about it gets them nowhere and they're not in a position to turn down allies that might be able to help them unfuck this mess, so he holds his tongue for now. "Work with us how?" he asks plainly.
Ehanis frowns. "I don't know the details yet, I'm sorry," she says. "She does not make snap decisions, and she was expecting to have more time to work that out while I took the long way to Freedom Falls." She pauses briefly, holding out a hand defensively. "But I can get you in touch with her," she says. "I might even be able to make an in-person meeting happen, but a call would be easier."
Ilyna frowns at Ehanis' answer, but she defers to the others for now. Jason was there yesterday and is more involved with this operation.
Vasquez lets out a faint, frustrated scoff. "That'd be a start..." she says, holding back from voicing any of her other thoughts.
Jason blinks, sucking in his lips as he shifts in place once more, as if to try and stop himself from blurting something out. He draws in a heavy breath, one carrying an obvious hint of his own frustration at the lack of details provided and he passes a brief glance Vasquez' way. "So... you, uhh-... came all the way out here to tell us that." he says. It falls somewhere along the border of statement and a question. He gives a few
nods, almost as if to himself. He opens his mouth to say more but stops himself, confusion settling in, and tilts his head a smidge, eyes narrowing somewhat on Ehanis. A second passes before he seems to accept that he can't just hold his tongue any longer. "...She does know that she can just call us without-..." he cuts himself off and holds up an index finger, a silent request for Ehanis to hold on as he leans to one side
to reach into his pocket. Perhaps he should show rather than tell. After a moment he produces his omni-tool and gives it a few swipes and, soon enough, Vasquez' omni-tool begins to indicate a call coming through. Jason gives a small raise of his brows and nods to Ehanis before cancelling the call. "See that? Didn't even send someone to warn her. Wild, right?"
Ehanis looks irritated as Jason talks, but she doesn't interrupt him or his demonstration. "I didn't come here 'just' to say this," she says. "I asked for a lift to Freedom Falls, to put Natalie on the right track if she made it, and... to show up here when the matriarch is ready to talk." She keeps sounding irritated as she continues to talk. "I know, the matriarch is paranoid, and judging by how hard Sala was
trying to get info out of Wenera, she probably has every right to be. I bet even a call with her would involve some technical shit I don't understand to make it hard to track."