"And I'd be obligated to impose myself to keep him from stealing my fiance," Solae replied calmly. It wasn't quite that easy. The marines did not answer to the aristocracy directly; this had been one of the primary reasons why Duke Tan had disposed of the camp in his initial strike on New Concordia. Even if they were not beholden to the nobles that did not mean they could disrespect someone of the marquise's standing. They would almost certainly deny her request to have Rene as a personal bodyguard for example, but they would have to be careful in their refusal, as a breach of etiquette could be reported up their chain of command and gain unwanted attention. At the very least Solae could frustrate a lance corporal sufficiently he would regret ever crossing paths with her. She reached forward and took his hand in her own as he had done earlier. Quietly she ran her thumb over his knuckles and felt the callouses of his palm on her fingers. Her determination to clear his name was in part so that he could be free of his obligations to the marines. It was selfish of her she knew, but building a life after this war did not seem so wonderful or grand if he'd be torn from her side and thrown back onto some backwater world to finish out a sentence he did not deserve. The years apart would be absolute agony. No one would be able to understand what they had been through- not her cousins, not the court, not even the friends they had made along the way on their journey. "If you think I'm giving you up easily without a fight you're sorely mistaken," she said with a smile. It was a vast understatement. Solae was stubborn enough to withhold her assistance, blackmail, or threaten anyone foolish enough to get in her way. There was not much that could make her compromise her values but the risk of losing her last lifeline in this sea of chaos would be all the motivation she would need. "You should eat more," she teased, shoveling some portions of her meat onto his plate. As famished as she was there was a dessert that she had ordered coming. Fortunately for them both she had ordered the largest item on their menu; a large cut of an exotic animal's muscle tissue marinated in a liquor before being roasted. Solae had been worried that her visit to the vault would force her to skip a meal later. It was better to overindulge now than be distracted by hunger later. "Think of it as an order from your commanding officer," she joked. "When I'm down there you should think about trying to see if Ten can coordinate some supplies for us," she ventured. "We don't need anything quite as expensive as this so I doubt he will refuse securing us more rations. I have it on good authority you know quite a good deal more about that sort of thing than I do," Solae said with a grin and raised brow. There was a prolonged pause as she settled back into her seat and mused silently over their predicament. "We're also not going to be able to get to the PEA without a fight," she whispered. The servant wasn't in sight and there was no one close enough to overhear. The drop in her voice was only because she hated to admit aloud the imminent danger to their persons that would result in a firefight in their near future. "I'm sure Ten will get you anything within reason you think would help us defend ourselves. We might not have another chance to shop for weapons rather than use only what we can find." Truth be told she ought to have a sidearm too. Solae had to use the one Rene gave her exactly once but it had terrified her how easily she wielded an object of death. It made her blood turn to ice contemplating using one again but it would undoubtedly be necessary. They didn't have the luxury of her cowardice.