Neil's confident bravado fled when he realized she actually did think it was pretty appealing. He blinked, not used to actually being patted on the back for doing something good. First time for everything, he supposed. But there was no time to dwell on it, thanks to Lonney's timely warning, and the two partner's-in-crime ducked and dodged their way through the machinery and alleys of the factorum world. 

Once they made it there, the genderless and utterly devoid of emotion voice that echoed across the corridor had Neil a tad interested. Only someone who paid handsomely for certain services would deign to conceal themselves, and the two had already been paid handsomely recently. If they kept this up, Neil could afford decent tools to work with, and upgrade the shields on the [i]Highlander[/i]. He might also give Lonney a holographic image... 

His thoughts on the matter disappeared when the voice was reduced to what reminded him of a nervous school girl. He stuck in his hands in his pockets as Sayeeda played this girl like a fiddle with her no nonsense style, and he shook his head as the girl fumbled. It was kinda cute, he thought. Though Neil was into older and more mature women. He wasn't really wanting someone who needed their hand held. 

You could basically hear the record scratching when she mentioned Cho-Lan was to have them killed, and the Duke was going after Cho-Lan. "Well that's...news." Neil deadpanned. 

Taya bit her bottom lip, eyes flickering to the side as if she was suddenly unsure if she should even be here, and if there was a way out just in case. But she steeled herself and breathed deeply, and continued with her thought. "I don't know much..." she admitted. "Other than what I've overheard. But the Duke has suspicions of my father and his business partners." She went on, wringing her hands. "The Duke wants to rule this world as its only sovereign, and with this war being initiated as it had, he just might be given the executive power to do it. And my father's rivals...they're angered at you two for your part in the discovery of the Xenos." 

Neil let out a breath of air that caused the fringe of his hair to sway, knowing where this was going. "They want your blood, and a very large sum of money of they'll cut off ties with him, and target him and...his family." She looked down at her feet. "You're only a symbol of good faith to them. What they really wish for is business assets. If you, or I, am gone before they can find us, they'll not be too disappointed. If all my father loses is a few factories, he'll deserve what he gets." 

"But the R.I.P. is out of control. Where would we hide, one of the asteroids?" Neil asked, not entirely confident he could fly through the blockade of Xenonid bioships in Orbit. Not if the Fornax Navy was losing. 
[@Penny]