"I already don't like this plan," Solae said disapprovingly as Rene appeared on the ramp of the Bonaventure. Her gaze slid over to the injured shoulder that had been washed clean by the rain but was still clearly wounded from his adventure in getting their barge afloat. Pressing her lips into a flat line she took a sip from her second cup of coffee before continuing. "This was not supposed to be the dangerous part and yet here you are already injured," she objected flatly once she had swallowed down the bitter caffeinated beverage.

Both law and professional protocol required that any technology that incorporated artificial intelligence not include program personalities that were capable of actual emotional response. Sophisticated software might mimic their affect in certain situations, such as mirroring empathy when specific parameters were met and the correct dictation in their code was triggered, but they were not independently capable of evolving into true feeling. Mia and her kind were, however, capable of what could be interpreted as loyalty. Home systems would have an administrative user that was prioritized above all other humans that interacted with them. As Rene might correctly surmise, Solae had inadvertently become the administrative user and thus the paramour soldier was secondary in the chain. The inappropriately seductive synthetic being would not jump to his defense so long as it was the diplomat chastising him.

"I needed a break," she said with a gesture towards the repurposed engine. From the tools splayed around it on the floor it was clear that not all the necessary adjustments had been completed. Solae had made another cup of coffee because she had gotten more frustrated than she ought to over the task. Unlike her beau she was not as adept at compartmentalizing and adjusting to such large deviations from her expertise. She had spent her entire life being railroaded into careers rubber-stamped by the nobility as appropriate for her station. While she had had not been bothered by mingling with her societal lessers in the least, and embraced it whole-heartedly, it would take more time for more monumental transitions. Rene had the unanticipated benefit of being thrust into the military and spending years realigning himself, embracing new roles, and developing new skills. By contrast the linguist was still in her first week.

"We encountered some errors while increasing the throttle to compensate for a water transport vehicle rather than a spacecraft," Mia purred in such dulcet tones he could see Solae almost bristle. Rationally she knew the computer was not competition but sometimes it was hard not be slightly irked at the openly seductive voice speaking to her fiance. "I am running simulations to try to determine if our margins were too generous. I estimate the calculations will be complete before our guest awakens."

"I'm self-medicating with coffee in my best attempt to pretend I'm not bothered," Solae explained. Glad as she was that Rene was successful in his endeavor she felt as if her nerves were frayed. Once the engine worked properly they still would need to navigate over foreign waters, with a child to whom they were scary strangers, trust that their charge wouldn't turn them into authorities, obtain fuel, and sneak into one of the communications buildings to dig for information. On New Concordia all of their missions were simpler and with a single goal; now they were pursuing many, all at once, and flying relatively blind given how little familiarity they had with the planet on which they had landed. Some anxiety was only natural. Were the aristocrat to be completely placid that would have been cause for concern in and of itself.

"You should get yourself patched up or I can do it for you if you need me to. While we're waiting- do we need to find containers for the fuel? We haven't really discussed at length how we're going to do it. I have currency but if we're going to headed there tonight, before sunrise, won't we look suspicious making a purchase?" Not that Solae really wanted to add another larceny to her criminal history. Hopefully they could obtain some secretly and leave behind physical payment, but she realized this might be an impossibility. Solae was too weak to haul fuel, and too recognizable to try to charm her way into making a slightly strange transaction, so Rene would have to rely on his social skills if stealth wouldn't suffice.