The emotion was genuine in Goemon’s voice, his chagrin at the circumstance in which he found himself. Galina could hear it clear as a clarion call, ringing true through and through – and [i]yet…[/i]

And yet, there was still something she did not trust – would never trust – and it was far more than simply a spy’s quite-natural and often-lifesaving paranoia. She mulled over this odd intuition for several seconds as Goemon spoke, noting the composure in his every least movement, the apparent plausibility of his every word, the plaintive glint in his eyes as these admissions were apparently drawn from him, all again his will and an affront to his pride, however necessary.

And when he was finished, a thought occurred to Galina that lit her smile with a genuine, utterly unfeigned amusement.

Of all the people in this world, Goemon’s demeanor as he sat here, cool and composed – and yet evincing the most convincing display of emotion – reminded her most of only one person she truly knew. [i]Herself.[/i] The young man reminded Galina of [i]herself[/i] when she was entrancing one of her marks, or seducing a potential compatriot to see things exactly as she most wished he would.

Any nascent trust that might have seeded the corridors of her mind was turned over, the earth salted ever after in regards to Mr. Goemon. Even so, that did [i]not[/i] mean her genuine appreciation and affection for the young man was not elevated by several very real and appreciable degrees.

“I do appreciate your candor, Mr. Goemon,” Galina said softly, without the least hint of irony tainting her words. “While I admit, I had not expected to be leaving the [i]Empress[/i] at all – well, during our journey, at least? I should still prefer to travel alongside our new friend on the return trip to his new, most appreciative homeland.”

“Yes, I will do this thing - though I should wish for some reassurance that Klara will have proper company for the remainder of her journey.” Galina held her hand up for a moment, anticipating her old friend’s protests, turning to her with a smile. “This was as much well-earned vacation for you Klara, as work for me. I will [i]not[/i] hear of you leaving the [i]Empress[/i] before you have enjoyed every last moment of this magnificent voyage, on this beautiful ship.”

This exchange went on several long moments in their native Russian, though Galina cut it off short enough with a good-natured shake of her head, curt though smiling still, that indicated there would be no further discussion of the subject, and that she absolutely [i]would[/i] have her way in this matter.

Galina’s attentions returned to Mr. Goemon, and nodded to him in apology. “Forgive me the rudeness of speaking around you – but yes, please. A proper companion if you would. And if I am not completely mistaken, it seems you have already scheduled the arrival of the ship that will ferry Mr. Slevin away? I suppose this truly only leaves us with a few more questions then.”

“What time will this ship arrive, to re-board our wayward engineer, and what kind of ship is it? And even more importantly of course: when will I finally meet our engineering friend? As you can imagine, I would very much like to make his acquaintance, speak with him myself concerning his intent, before we depart.”

“Will he be joining us for dinner tonight, or should we meet after we have had the opportunity to enjoy our wonderful meal, and our newly found company?”