Vasquez lifts her right hand to her face, fingers brushing briefly against her forehead. Jason's little stunt goes unremarked on, the fact that none of her annoyance is directed his way an undeniable testament to her frustration with Ehanis and the people she's working with. As Ilyna chimes in with a question she refrains from speaking, instead crossing her arms as she waits for an answer.
#RedrockAgency – October 6, 2026
Jason opens his mouth to respond to Ehanis but bites back on his words as Ilyna speaks up first, opting to hold his tongue. He merely leans to one side to return his omni-tool to his pocket for now.
Ehanis nods after a moment's hesitation, her frustration still present in her voice and expression. "Yes, I knew they were Wenera's people and that there might be more to it if I 'proved myself' before I took the job in Derrai," she says. "They were actually going to send me to get Wenera and Natalie out of here discreetly, but then... yesterday happened."
Ilyna sighs, looking sympathetic at her sister, but she shares the frustration of the others. "I see," she says, sounding disappointed, but she doesn't follow up with another question.
Jason lets out a heavy breath, shifting uneasily against the desk. "I'm not trying to give you a hard time, Ehanis." he relents despite his own frustration being crystal clear. "But-... fuck, you're smart enough to see how all of this looks. You disappear and now, all of a sudden, you're somehow wrapped up in all of this shit with Rellis' people without so much as a word to us until you had no choice?"
Vasquez doesn't look particularly surprised by Ehanis' words. As Jason speaks she shakes her head, gaze fixed on the asari. "I'm not convinced she is. She's thoroughly demonstrated that she's a stubborn, self-centered child with a complete inability to look beyond herself. Aren't you, Tioran? Or was it just plain callousness? Did you just not give a shit what happened to your sister, to the people that have bled beside you on the
Ilyna looks surprised as Vasquez as she digs into Ehanis, though there's understanding in her expression before she looks back at Ehanis. She can't really disagree with Vasquez' assessment even if it feels bad to hear it, though she would not have said it so harshly.
Ehanis is about to respond to Jason when Vasquez speaks, her frustration turning into anger as she doesn't accept the words thrown at her. "Of course I give a shit, that's why I was on the Jack with you going after Li," she says, raising her voice. "But to stay on topic, yes, Wolfe, that's why I wasn't hard to ask to travel to Freedom Falls to explain myself."
Jason bites down as Ehanis raises her voice, but silently reminds himself that allowing himself to get pulled into a shouting match right now isn't going to help things. So he draws in a heavy breath, holding it as the asari continues before finally letting it out. He doesn't seem particularly placated by her words as he passes a glance between the other two people in the room then finally settles his gaze back on Ehanis. "So...?"
he says, as if unsure why she stopped there, hands briefly lifting, palms upwards, "...Explain. Here, I'll even start you off. 'I didn't contact you guys the moment I realized I was wrapped up in shit that was pretty damn life-or-death-relevant to the rest of you because-...' " he dips his head, gesturing for Ehanis to pick it up from there.
Vasquez seems unimpressed with Ehanis' response, and simply waits after Jason speaks. It seems that she is very much so waiting for the same thing.
Ilyna looks gulty as she avert her eyes for a moment, as she doesn't think it's a coincidence that Ehanis ran away so soon after that job. She's grateful to anyone who joined her into the unknown to bring back Li, but... "I told you to go home," she says softly.
Ehanis shakes her head, but she does lower her voice again even if she doesn't look any less angry. "I wasn't lying yesterday when I said I didn't have those details because I didn't read up on reports that wasn't about the places in town," she says, trying to keep a measured tone but not succeeding entirely. "I didn't even know who T'Vezan was, or Rellis. I learned only ten days before about your conflict with Sala
Piros and that she's after Va'ynna too. Me and T'Vezan wanted that Aroste document passed to you, but the matriarch overruled it and instead told me to prepare to extract her and Natalie ahead of schedule."
Jason rolls his eyes shifting once more. "You were working here the last time these people took a shot at, V!" he exclaims in disbelief, clearly not buying it all being attributable to ignorance. "You want me to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't bother to look into any of that? That you didn't overhear anything? You just-... what? Stuck your head in the sand and carried on...?" Once again it's less anger and
more just... confusion. "That's a big ask and, hell, if that is true? I'm not even sure if that's better! But-..." he pauses, collecting his thoughts briefly before meeting the asari's eyes once more, "...even if that is the case, you just said you knew more than a week ahead of time. Ten days would've gone a long way to build a little trust, Ehanis." He studies Ehanis, as if searching for some sign of recognition from
Vasquez ' frustration mixes with incredulity, and she just stares Ehanis down, waiting, since Jason has already voiced exactly what's on her mind.
Ilyna also look expectantly at Ehanis, not buying that she's that inattentive either. Or maybe she's hoping she did care more about what went on.
Ehanis snorts, her anger fading slightly, though she is not lowering her guard. "You're the management, it's your job to know how everything ties to everything else while the rest of us do what we're paid to do in the field," she says. "Maybe I heard things back then, but I don't go digging for info unless I need it to do my job, and then we went on the job to Rakhana." She sighs, and seems hesitant as she continues,
her tone only slightly less frustrated, "but not telling you ten days ago.... sure, I should have. It would have saved us so much trouble. You get the info, you raze the Aroste base to the ground without us, I get Wenera and Natalie out of Freedom Falls when nobody's looking, I'm back doing simple colony work again. Everyone's happy." She shakes her head. "Because that's how it would have gone, right? I don't
think you would have trusted my info, because I wouldn't have had a copy of the doc they showed me, and they'd probably know something was up if I tried to get it."
Jason merely holds Ehanis' gaze, arms folding across his chest. "If you reached out to me with info that Piros was gonna make another play for V and you had actionable intel on where I could cut that off...? Yeah." he says plainly. "You can bet your ass I'd burn that place to the ground. Believe it. Don't." he shrugs, "Makes no difference to me. But I don't fuck around with my friends' lives." There's undoubtedly an unspoken
accusation in there. One that he soon gives a voice to. "At the very least you sat on that intel for ten days-... ten days-..." he repeats, leaning forward slightly for emphasis, "...knowing that V's life might be in danger. Maybe that doesn't matter to you. I don't really know how close you two are. But you do know who she's around. What if Ilyna was nearby when they took their shot at V? What if Li was...?" He
doesn't wait for a response. There's nothing Ehanis could really say to dig her way out of this hole. The heavy breath that follows gives a small peek at the effort it's taking for him to keep his voice down and how much different of a conversation this would likely be if Ilyna weren't present. "Just-..." he shakes his head, "...say what you came here to say because, honestly? I'm tired of the excuses, Ehanis."
Vasquez 's right hand shifts, fingers digging ever so slightly into her left arm. She bites back her immediate reaction to Ehanis' sarcasm, drawing a deep breath and rolling her shoulders, instead nodding in agreement with her husband's final words. "You told me you'd been instructed to cooperate with us - evidently something you have no interest in doing of your own accord. So far the only thing you've offered is 'I don't knows'
and empty excuses. If that's all you've got for us, I seriously question the judgement of your boss in sending you at all."
Ehanis raises an eyebrow at Jason's message, not believing he'd buy her message without hindsight. After listening to both of them speak, she takes a step back, and a deep breath. "You got everything we knew," she said, her voice even but angry. "You're making it sound like we had confirmation Sala was ready to pounce and decided not to spare Va'ynna. We knew something was going on in Aroste, and that there was a
salarian in charge, that's it. The only confirmation that made us sure that's where they were going was Wenera's distress call program getting us a picture of Jelvan Darennon piloting the shuttle." She sighs and looks at Vasquez specifically. She sounds irritated still, but also a bit deflated. "I already said what I wanted to say back at the spaceport, and if you'd let me come by another day, I'd have
something real to give you," she says. "I get it, you'd be stupid to trust me, but I would have contacted you," she looks Ilyna's way, "and Li; and... even Mian, in the meantime. And stayed in touch." She looks briefly nervous about the latter name.
Ilyna frowns as she listens to Ehanis, the situation tearing at her. She's feeling compassion for the lopsided balance of the meeting and the hard time Ehanis must be having right now, but she is just as frustrated about how poorly she is explaining herself. She doesn't look too convinced about Ehanis' promise, but parts of her wants to believe it.
Jason offers a shake of his head as Ehanis continues to argue in circles, gaze briefly turning towards the floor. "I'm not making it sound like anything, Ehanis." he offers, sounding exhausted over the whole thing, "I'm telling you how it looks from this side of things, plain and simple."
Vasquez cuts in with a sharp "Enough.", right hand lifting for a frustrated gesture. "I'm not listening to any more of this. If you have nothing else to say, get out," she instructs with a nod in the direction of the lobby, patience all but depleted. "If your boss wants to cooperate with Redrock, she can contact us herself. As of right now? Consider me unconvinced."
Ehanis nods. "Then I'm going," she says, holding her hands out beside her in resignation. She looks towards Ilyna, meeting her eyes, but doesn't wait any longer before turning on her heel and walking out of the office.
Ilyna takes a few hurried steps over to Ehanis' side as she is about to exit the office, and stops her just before she presses the door button. "You don't have to leave HQ immediately," she says in a lowered voice. "At least... don't do it without keeping your promise to Li, okay?"
Ehanis looks a bit irritated at Ilyna stopping her, but it fades a little after hearing her out. "Just let me cool down first," she says, and she pulls her arm free before opening the door and walking in the direction of the lobby.
Jason doesn't look particularly ready to jump to Ehanis' defense. Any good will she's earned with him has long since been cashed in. He waits until the sound of Ehanis' footsteps grow distant before letting out a heavy sigh. "Good talk..." he mutters quietly, one hand reaching up to rub at his forehead.