"I suppose they do."
He stared at her.
She at him.
He felt a pang in his gut, telling him that this was something important, but he didn't know what it was.
She smiled and looked away for a second, then turned back.
Unfortunately, her expression shifted to a more formal one.She looked ready to discuss what she had contacted him about, he guessed.
"I think I have figured out an answer to this position we find ourselves in."
"Which is?"
"You want your prisoners of war back.I want to end the war."
He blinked."That is not what I meant."
She paused, her expression changing, and she didn't look quite so formal."What?"
"I didn't mean what you said."
"What did I say?By summarizing the situation?Why would you not want to talk about that?"
"Your summary is accurate, but it is not what I referred to."
"Explain yourself.
"I am fully aware of the situation we find ourselves in.As are you.There is no reason to summarize it again."
She blinked."What does it matter?"
"It is a waste of time."
"My communication is a waste of time?"
"If you are merely going to go over what we both already know, then yes.It is."
She froze, her mouth opened and closed.Her expression hardened.
"Master System, is there a glitch in the connection?"he asked.
She blinked, and her expression changed."There is no glitch.I am just floored that you would speak to me that way."
"Evidence in your hologram presents that you are not floored at all, but you are sitting in a chair."
"It is an expression," she said.And she sounded annoyed about it."And it means that I am offended."
"I will record it with Master System," he replied.
"You will record my annoyance?"
"I will record that phrase because it does not seem to be in our database of the defined standard language."
Her face got still again, and her mouth opened and closed, her eyes narrowed.
She pinched her brow."The point being, Rhimodian."
