"Of course, Mother" replies Isabelle, obediently following along.

The path through the complex is long, and gives Isabelle time to reflect on the ending of the fight. For sure, Ksharta would be nursing a grudge for a while. Another enemy to add to the steadily growing list - so many - from each and every fight. Ada Smith, Ksharta, that pirate from the first round. Probably those kidnappers too. It didn't seem like anyone could lose without taking it personally.

Well ... that wasn't true. There was at least Quar. 

The Zaldarian had surrendered honourably. She'd lost favour from her mother for her stunt but gained a ... teacher? A confidant? It wasn't yet clear what the Zaldarian was to her beyond "prisoner" - but maybe things would get better with time. In either case, it was a data point that broke the trend. More analysis was needed.

Still, enemies sprouted like weeds. Appropriate, since she felt like the villain of the piece. Mother had always said that power created enemies, that it meant the only ones you could truly trust were family.

[i]Trust.[/i] she scoffs internally. The only thing she trusted was that her mother would be true to herself and her ambitions.

But what did that mean for her? She knew she was just a piece in the game, and one that had been unreliable in the past. If she failed to perform ... what would happen then? To Asil? To Quar? To her charity works and other "diversions"? She had to prove her reliability. Keep consistent. Keep being [i]competent[/i].

For now, she distracted herself by mentally reviewing Emberlight's schematics. Anticipating the repairs that would be needed.

It was odd. She found she could recall things much more clearly lately, down to the specific bolts and circuit boards used and where the damage had ended. Maybe all that late night practice was really helping ...

[Isabelle takes the XP and uses it to get the move "Talk Nerdy To Me": Specialising in Mechanical Engineering.]