"Oh, I have hurt people too" says Isabelle as the two of you come to a stop in the dance floor. There's a pause, a gathering of thoughts, a weighing of scales, before she makes her decision.

She lifts her hands, a signal to resume motion. What motion is up to you, but this is not a conversation that is best had in stillness. For the mind to move, so too must the body. Lest one breaks the spell by paying too much attention to the other.

"And yes, I refer to one in particular; the fight with Ksharta, which was in order to keep someone important to me safe." she continues. "I find myself returning to it again and again. Playing it over in my head to see if maybe I'd choose differently. Take a more merciful approach. But each time I can only come to the same conclusion: I had to do it. I'd do it again. And I am  ... not proud of that fact."

The pause echoes, and faintly the words "not a good person" can be heard behind the tail of the sentence.

"Maybe if I were stronger, I wouldn't find myself so ... [i]bothered[/i] by it." she admits, as the walls continue to crack. "Mother always says that guilt is a weakness; that one must have the courage to do what must be done - even if someone gets hurt in the doing. So what if our decisions put a rival company out of business? It's like you say - people who are skilled will find new work ... and those who can't will have to make do. After all, business is simply the survival of the fittest. Just like the arena."

"I just ... she says alot of things like that: That family is all. That one's duty is to serve the family. That those who don't contribute to society will be left behind. That those who steal should be punished. That only the foolish believe the universe is fair. That some people have been given the fortune of a better start, and they are stupid if they don't use it to push themselves to realise the highest potential they can be ..."

The dance continues, but Isabelle's mind is moving further away. To nights spent in study, when her mother would tell her that she wasn't tired, just lazy. To the family's daily meal, where her mother would tell her that she didn't really want to eat something more filling, she was just being greedy. To the training accidents, when her mother would berate her for being clumsy.

"I'm not a goddess, nor am I an idiot. I know people can get hurt from the things we do, whether we mean to or not. But sometimes these things just feel ... wrong. I can't explain it - I don't [i]understand[/i] it. But that doesn't make the feeling go away."

"In that sense, you have your answers - I hope. My Troubles are plain and plenty. The one who gave them to me is clear - myself. And as for my Loves, well - you were right when you said that I have dreams without a wish. I have things I love doing, machines that I love making, places I love going and people I l- w-well, that I might-"

At this point, a clear blush works its way up onto Isabelle's face.

"The POinT beInG that I have things I love. [i]Okay[/i]. And yes, I'm still figuring some stuff out. I mean, I only had my debutante three years ago, and most of the people there were old friends of the family or business partners. Since then, it's been nothing but work and piloting. The boardrooms always have the same six faces (and two personalities) in them and it wasn't until Solarel crashed into that pirate skiff that ..."

"... that things started to really change, I suppose."

She sighs.

"Very well. If you truly think her worth such a price, then I guess I owe it to her to help save her too - even if she did hurt me. And even if you think it irrelevant, I hope you won't be offended if I take steps to at least reduce the harm to those who might get fired because of the broadcast."

[i]I owe that much.[/i]

"Which brings me to [i]my[/i] next question - assuming we are still in the vein of trading them back and forth and assuming my answer suffices? Why all this to bring down Mayze Szerpaws? I admit I've heard of her designs - seen some tonight, in fact - but beyond that, and maybe having a name that sounds like a bad anime villain whose mech has hand-mounted masers, I don't really know her either. What did she do to earn such ire?"