Rafaela cheerfully agreed to the Emperor's first request after reuniting her with her father. She agreed to the second more warily. At the third, she stopped, and eyed the Emperor suspiciously.
The design for the odd experimental core system that her ship was running on wasn't exactly a dangerous or inconsiderate request, but it wasn't hers to give either. "I will request the records from the designer," she agreed, with a glance at Brendan.
Even though Brendan had yielded the conversation with the Emperor to her, it was his friend Adrian who had designed the experimental core. Brendan gave her a small nod, but did not speak up.
The Emperor huffed a sort of laugh, and then pointed out dryly, "You could take on a new core, and leave that one with me, rather than making me wait another decade."
"Could we?" she asked a little sharply. "Maybe having Sys20si is what allowed us to travel here a year faster than any of your imperial ships."