Mary bobbed her head as he agreed to their loose terms. At the very personal comment, she tried to respond but only a half-word came out. Before she could correct herself, Piper burst into laughter at the entire display. Flustered, Mary got up and gathered her things, storming off into the hangar away from either of them. Piper ran after, giggling.
Any notion of fun or antics melted away shortly after. The duo came to terms with the fact that they were now in unfamiliar territory with a group that likely didn't like them. Mary checked her sidearm and dragged Piper along towards the first cafeteria or place of food they could find.
As they ate, Piper attempted to stir up a conversation. "Well this little impromptu trip is going well, isn't it?"
"Seems so. Ah hate that we're on th' backfoot with any deals, seein' as they'd rather we didn't bother at all and they're doin' us ah favour." Mary responded with a sigh, playing with her food more than eating it.
"Well, true. Got enough for an article or two already though. And hey, we're getting to scan. That's the main reason for us coming out here." Piper then grinned with mischief. "Plus, you're getting really 'familiar' with Cobra."
"Piss off, Piper. Y'know m'not built f'this type'a socializin'. Ah wanna get back to th' Loch' as soon as possible."
Piper was all too amused by the answer, but didn't push the subject further. Instead, she steered it back to the previous topic. "Do you think we'll be able to get what the Captain actually wants out of this trip?"
Mary signed and sat back, done with her food entirely now. "Ah dunno. They're ah rough bunch. Think it'll take time. Trusts big here, we ain't got much of it."
The two finished up, bought a few needed items from a vendor who was willing to sell to them, and wandered until they found someone of the station's administrative staff to point them to their room. It wasn't much, Piper not taking a liking to asteroid dwellings, but Mary found it suitable. After a brief rest, Mary left Piper in the room to work while she wandered the station. She looked for and found a little observation port and stared out into space, trying to get herself lost in thought. Taking out a caffeine tablet and swallowing it dry, she waited until the next step could come.
Familiar steps did come, hardly an ironic turn of events given where she was. "You really should be resting, it was a long trip." It was a change in tone from before, less inclined to tease and sounding more considerate and even serious. From the way he looked at her of course, he seemed curious, she behaved a little strangely and in ways he had no understanding of. "I'm usually good at reading a person, but I can't tell if you're out of touch with people or just don't like them, which is it?" Apparently, and entirely by chance, she had come to the exact spot he used to spend his free time when here. With Barrow being as crowded as it was, a quiet space was a luxury, and since the Xenos weren't really the sort for stargazing, this was perhaps the only place on the station that could reliably offer something in the way of breathing room for somebody of Morreti's reclusive nature.
Mary twitched and looked at the sudden voice directed at her, snapped out of her thoughts. For a moment there was an expression of resentment, yet it faded when she saw who it was. Gaze turned back to the viewport peering outwards to the dancing rock formations that lumbered near the asteroid base."Same could be said 'bout you." She replied to the first statement. Finding herself with a companion now, she seemed to almost resign herself to the fact. His second comment and question drew out a frown.
"Bein' blunt like that an' near insultin', I'd think you were th' one out of touch with people." She countered, avoiding answering his question. What he said rang true. If he hadn't already clocked it previously, it was clear now. Mary appeared tired of life itself. Perhaps it was the pressure change, but her eyes were more sunken. If he was able to notice, this effect was partly due to the lack of concealer, having washed it off at some point and didn't bother to reapply it. A hand lifted to make an excusing gesture. "Piper is th' one who's supposed t'be personable. An' Gel'. Dunno why ah get stuck with th' job most times."
Even though the woman was outwardly tired, her eyes were different. Just like they were when she first saw the planet, they had a glint of life to them as she stared out at space. As if it called to her, or she reveled in space's appearance or beauty.
He shook off the passive aggressive counter in its entirety, not even acknowledging it, as if it were so far beyond the truth that there was no need to be offended by it. "Pretentious isn't the same thing as personable. That's why you end up with the job, so simple that it makes you seem approachable." That might have seemed like a compliment even if it was just a few observations strung together quite casually. "I take it from the way your eyes light up looking out there, that you prefer avoiding people and losing yourself in what feels like a bigger and more meaningful picture?" If it wasn't already clear he was trying to understand her nature, there didn't appear to be any kind of frustration or disdain for how she had behaved so far, so at least in that respect he came across as patient and not judgemental.
He kept his distance and was a little more than an arm's length to her side, taking in the same view she had been enjoying to see what could be seen with different eyes.
She didn't look around, but continued the conversation. "Used t'like the smaller details. Took pride in it. Ah didn't care about what happened around places outside m'sphere. My bubble. It was'a rough but peaceful life. It'sa naive life. And I got punished f'it. Ah lot of people did. By other folk, other people who didn't just focus on their own situation." Mary explained. Her tone was gruff, unhappy. She didn't like the topic but it seemed time or talking about it previously had worn down the emotional strain of it. "So yes, ah like th' larger picture. Ah don't like t'be caught unaware anymore. An' it was people that hurt me th' most. You'll have t'excuse me if that makes me wary of folk." A pause, then a look at the Xeno finally. Her gaze had hardened, having been torn from her stargazing. There was hate in it. Not specifically at anyone, not at Morreti. But it was there. "Especially when they're bein' overly nice f'no reason when it's entirely out of th' norm' for those sorts of folk."
She turned her body to look at him. Her hand was on the butt of her gun, and it seemed like it had been there the entire time. "What are y'tryin' t'gain from all of this? What do y'want t'get from us? Ah refuse t'believe you're doin' this out of th' goodness of y'heart."
Even if his eyes never broke contact with hers as a show of confidence, he had taken note of the fact that she had the grip of her gun held. "Run the logic through your head really quick, and you'll find I don't gain anything from you. Even if you offered, by some logistical miracle, to bring the Locrath here - all I'd do is say no." Eventually, he turned back to look at a distant Atka, the pristine white reflecting quite nicely in the cold blue of his eyes.
"I'll tell you what I have got so far. Good conversation, and company I can stand. Besides that, there was the singular condition I made in exchange for letting you scan, so there is the material benefit of having your intimate familiarity about Planetform to be gleaned here." At this point he just shrugged and let her think over everything he'd said, it's not as if Piper's embellished articles were going to win him an entire war and lend stability to the LFR if it sprang up as a consequence overnight. So for all intents and purposes, it made him appear simple and direct, he had brought them here only because they had the expertise so far as Planetform was concerned, and in exchange for showing them he could stand to know more himself. Knowing was half the battle in any case.
"You can leave right now if you have any reason to doubt that. Ricky will fly you back out to Sierra, and we don't have to talk any further. It's not complicated, maybe you were compelled to come here, but I don't compel people to stay. Choice means something to me." It was a convincing enough way of making a point, and given all he'd said so far he was either an exceptionally good liar or telling her the complete truth.
She didn't respond instantly. Eyes flicked around his face, watching and studying him. Looking for flaws. Looking for anything. Perhaps because she found nothing, she turned away, looking back out at space. Her hand on the gun hidden from sight.
"Sorry." The single word came out after an extended silence. It seemed sincere, from a place knowing she had likely stepped over a social line. "All of that was unfair of me. Ain't right. M'not goin' to make excuses." She wouldn't either. There was many reasons for how she was acting, but it didn't matter. They weren't friends, they were sparingly allies of opportunity.
She should have stayed in the room.
"When do y'want to do th' scans? Ah got ah surface probe an' so long as I can hook into some standardized ship scanner, can do th' rest from orbit." She explained, trying to turn the conversation towards a more business-like exchange. Notably, her further arm that was holding the gun was straighter, the elbow no longer crooked.
Flashing a brief smile and turning back towards her, he seemed to look to his left at nothing in particular while thinking over when the scans were most convenient to get done. When he felt he had an answer, he made eye contact again. "Tomorrow and early, before my schedule for the day starts. I'll fit an extra seat into my Rebel and you can hook into the computer suite and use the scopes." Since he was going to be personally involved it would make things less complicated, at least hopefully, but it did mean there was still one problem. "Which means you really should go get some rest." For a moment it seemed like he was concerned about her, but this notion was covered up by insistence and practicality, that and the fact he changed the subject soon after. "Anyway, good excuse to let you actually see a Rebel up close and from the inside. Hell of a thing, an old design in the present day, brought up to spec to build something new. Poetic." That smile came back, but this time it was controlled and out of amusement for those facts rather than anything significant.
A huff escaped her, and she raised a hand in forfeit. "Love t'see those retrofit ships y'got. Most of our crafts are salvage pieces too. I'd say I'd learn somethin', but engineerin' isn't my strong suit. I'll work on gettin' that rest though. Send me ah beep, I'll meetcha at th' hangar." Exhaustion was reaching her again, even with the tablet taken earlier. She submitted to the needs to at least rest for a bit.
She gathered herself and gave the viewport one last look before turning towards the other briefly. A soft smile was all she managed before heading down the hall she came from, to the provided room. When she entered, Piper was already asleep. Mary undid her coat and jumpsuit, tossing them aside and climbed into one of the beds. Laying back, she stared upwards for the next few hours.
Just under eight hours later, she'd receive a beep on her PDA, followed by a simple message. "Feel free to get something to eat, then come see me in the hangar." The mess hall wouldn't be far from where Mary and Piper were currently located, but it would likely be packed full of people at this hour. Not that the food was worth lining up for, but people needed to eat and so they made do with whatever was available.
Meanwhile Morreti would be in the hangars, biding his time by looking over his ship, something he could do for hours. If he wasn't overseeing some new logistical plan, prepping wings before a raid, leading ships in the field, or representing the Alliance, then he could reliably be found near his ship. Compulsively and maybe even obsessively making constant adjustments or tuning the engine.