During their first meeting the fact she could see through his persona was something that unnerved him. Any traces of that effect on him were now entirely absent, instead replaced by a sense of comfort, ease and oddly enough pleasure, derived from the fact that she could simply see things that couldn't be expressed with words. Naturally, he looked back at her and allowed his posture and minute facial expressions to exude everything currently on his mind. The fact he cherished that silent exchange being the most prominent among those scattered thoughts.
When the moment passed and she had another question to ask, he responded with things that had been considered so far. "Depending on the kind of machinery we end up with after the operation, it would be useful to see if we can't put it to use here at the Fort, maybe jury rig some of it to manufacture things our ships need. Consider spending some time with the engineers and technicians, maybe letting them take a look at the ship too. They're master improvisers, if they can figure out how something works they'll be able to copy components and segments despite our limited means." Regardless of the cultural differences and even larger professional differences, this would get the ball rolling the right direction and it would no doubt prove useful when it came to patching up inevitable battle damage in the future.
"If we can keep our chunk of this system secure, I'd like to see what the viability of setting up mining operations on Blezard is like, roping in the IMG to provide consultation and assistance will help. Having an industrial sector fed by our own resource extractions and selling the excess to our usual trade partners would help a lot. As of the moment, we enjoy a distinct number advantage and aren't actively contested by anyone still in the system, but having something like the Roanoke on hand improves the odds drastically." There was a sense of confidence when it came to his assessment of the situation in Ontario, as if he'd taken the time to actually observe and consider these factions long before being asked the question. Despite this he still expected feedback, especially considering her unique background, so he regarded her with an expectant look and waited.
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Virginia shook her head in resignation, "True, there's plenty of time for the more technically gifted aboard the Ramsey to get a closer look at the Roanoke, I'm sure we'll take some damage in the future." Virginia stopped leaning against the wall and took a step towards the kitchen counter before turning to him, "I forgot to offer you a snack - I have powdered tea, powdered milk, powdered coffee, or powdered lemonade. What will it be?".
She had a slightly amused look on her face as she pointed out the reality of Roanoke's military rations and watched the reaction on his face. Everything to drink was powdered - for ease of storage, packaging, uniform nutritional value and long shelf life - taste was the last and least important concern. Despite all that, it was still better than SynthPaste, though one could argue against this claim that anything was better than SynthPaste.
A soft chuckle preceded an actual answer, the diverse menu of powdered beverages proving amusing. His ultimate choice was the same as last time, not finding the other options to be appetizing whatsoever. "Powdered coffee's fine, thanks." Things had settled down in terms of conversation, at least she didn't seem so uncomfortable about the situation though.
Not wanting to be rude by expecting her to bring the coffee to him, he waited near the kitchen counter to receive his cup, having no preference for whether they ended up seated here or back at the couch.
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Virginia shook her head and put the water on to boil in the kettle while she found the correct beverage bags in the compartments under the counter and began preparing them into cups. She made herself some powdered green tea while she prepared coffee for Morreti and gave him bags of sweetener and milk as other options for his coffee.
Once the water was boiling, she carefully poured both cups and sat down on the bar stool by the kitchen counter. She glanced briefly at his cup and grinned in amusement, "I'd say 'may you like it', but that would probably be wishful thinking." Just as she finished saying that, a message came through on her comlink laid on the counter.
Virginia picked up the comlink and looked at the contents of the text message. Just as she finished the message, she rolled her eyes theatrically and sighed, "Yeah, right you old b*tch..." she muttered to herself as she placed the comlink back on the line and gave Morreti a look, "Where were we?".
Looking back in his direction revealed the fact that she was being observed keenly, an undeniable sense of appreciation and amusement in how his eyes regarded her, a form of silent flattery. "Nowhere in particular, just joking about the coffee." The way he answered gave a sense that he was distracted and currently in the process of pulling himself back into the moment and out of his thoughts, having likely resorted to daydreaming as she read the message.
"It's not half bad by the way, although it does taste vaguely like the packaging it came in." His eyes were shut as he took a sip slowly, letting the steam wash over his face because it felt refreshing even if it wasn't the most aromatic experience.
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Virginia ran a hand through her wet hair and let out a quiet sigh as if she needed to calm down. You could tell the text message had upset her slightly even though she had already relieved herself by cursing. She picked up her teacup and took a careful sip of the hot drink, "Are you sure you don't want to take those twenty grands? My mother on the planet Houston will figure out a way to get them out of me.".
She smirked slightly and watched his reaction, "Yes, for the the message was from my mother... Apparently I'm the only one in the family who made it further than to the jail or the brothel.".
The fact the person she was cursing turned out to be her own mother caused him to grin and softly chuckle, setting his cup down for the moment so that he could focus on conversation. "I'm sure. I take it you two don't quite get along?" While it was a fairly casual question to ask, carefully phrased in order to be open ended enough to allow for her to provide more details, he did genuinely seem interested in what her family background was and what kind of life she had prior to all this. Of course he knew her well enough by now to know that she wasn't going to tell him absolutely everything, far from it actually. Regardless of that fact, his posture suggested a healthy amount of confidence and comfort with the situation.
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Virginia pouted her lips and grinned, "You don't think we get along? No, you can't say that.", shaking her head slightly and taking a sip from her cup. She stood up to adjust her red t-shirt and black pants before sitting down on the bar stool by the kitchen counter again, "We talk, we text sometimes... no, I'd say it's a pretty good relationship even if we argue and disagree sometimes. Kind of like you and me, except my mother knows me more than you do, for the better or worse.".
The grin on his face scaled back towards pleasant neutrality while he listened to her attentively. When she compared both relationships it prompted him to smile warmly, she had just called this a good thing and that felt significant given her lack of comments otherwise.
The moment she was finished, he continued this line of conversation. "I'd like to meet her, if that's something you're okay with. Houston's a place where we have lots of contacts, and the LPI who are supposed to be keeping things under control are always keen on making extra money." Even if he hadn't mentioned this before it wasn't exactly surprising, many officers in the company didn't exactly feel as if they were being fairly compensated for the "services" they rendered. There were some who even liked the Xenos for the fact that crime was often stunted by their adversarial stance towards all other criminal groups, it certainly helped maintain the image that the Police was actually policing even if that was far from the truth.
"I'll wear something nice and be on my best behavior." He added after a brief pause, wearing a coy expression as the joke was delivered, careful not to sound like he was insisting or wouldn't take no for an answer.
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Virginia blinked in surprise and took a quick sip from her cup before deciding to answer him. Her stance and expression marked her surprise and her eyes were wide open, "With my mother? You... want to see my mother?", she asked him again just to be sure and shook her head, "No, I don't think you should meet my mother. She's a lot like me, but she's pretty unpredictable and... suffers from occasional disillusionment. Why would anyone ever want to do something like that?".