A quiet table in the Navi Shop

To himself, as he grinned at Leslie with a smile that did nothing at all to dispel his implications, Rogan wondered whether 'Awkward' was a good term to describe the feeling of walking a razor edge over whether you were going to walk out of a meeting alive, or be made to quietly disappear. 'Awkward' might be an understatement. The thought made him chuckle softly, though outwardly it probably looked as though it was in response to her concern for his supposed... antics.

"I do hope it works out for you. It certainly sounds like you've put a deal of thought into it, and I can definitely admire a person who takes such direct and straight-forward steps towards achieving her goals." He inclined his head in a small nod to go with the compliment before continuing. "Though I imagine it would be difficult for a navi to instruct flesh and blood people in something as physical and hands on as martial arts. How were you meaning to overcome that, if I may ask? I assume that you weren't meaning for her to simply 'train' other navis." His grin gave way to a wry chuckle, good-natured and warm even if it was a sign of how without point he viewed that last to be.

A glance down at his PET interrupted his mirth and for the briefest of moments, and a small quirk of concern tugged at his eyebrows. It was gone again in an instant, but the hitch in his good humour was probably enough to notice. He passed it off as vague concern for his navi, as he looked down at the screen, though he had to admit the chances of anyone at all buying that, given how much he'd shown off of his feelings on that score earlier, were slim. It wasn't exactly untrue though, in a way. She still hadn't moved forward.

As much as he'd promised himself he'd go slowly and wait for Lyntael to move of her own, he'd started a probe to cross-trace the the information he'd found and begin following the trail. He'd assumed that Lyntael would have moved on once she was standing, but now she had delayed again. If she didn't move on soon there was a risk that his signal would distinguish itself through her masking. Which might get them into some small trouble, perhaps, but now the bigger worry was that the trail might disappear before he could catch it again, if he were caught now.

It was an effort of will not to clench his teeth, but he didn't say anything. She knew to move, and would as soon as she could; that was her instruction. For the rest, he simply had to depend on her function as he knew she was capable of; he'd already said far more than he ought to have in front of Leslie, and he dared not hurry her along verbally again, in front of the woman. The probe was working and the further it went the more the masking had to attenuate to compensate, the more likely the signals would separate... but a cancellation command at that grade of extenuation in the masking would distinguish it for certain. At any other time he would have given her another, sharper, command to catch up, but with Leslie there... the double edged sword of having an innocent as cover. He just had to wait for her. Move, girl, move.

"Well, like anyone that's ever known me can say, I don't like beating around the bush!" ...That was probably the worst possible way she could've phrased that. Still true, though. "I think you got the wrong idea, though. Martia wouldn't be instructing humans, just other Navis. Martial arts is just as much about the inside as it is the outside, so even for Navis that aren't, uh, very well equipped for them, they can use it as a form of meditation, if nothing else. And who knows? Maybe they'll find ways to use them that humans just can't do!" Nothing sprung to mind, but it was interesting to think about how Navis of all shapes and sizes could utilize the likes of karate...

At that moment, Leslie noticed a quick, but unmistakable change in Rogan's facial expression. She could tell he was impatient all of a sudden about something...what it was, was another story. Well, only one way to find out. "What's wrong? For a sec you looked like you just missed a bus or something!" Though, not a whole lot of people in this part of the world used buses, what with the MetroLine being a free, speedy method of public transportation. Really, the only people that didn't use it nowadays were the extremely old, and those who lived in extremely rural areas. More rural than Yoka, even. With that thought, she shifted her gaze to the PET, and started the process for uploading chip data onto a blank chip...

Concerned as he was, Rogan committed the terrible travesty of allowing Leslie's quick response to pass without comment. Well, almost. He raised one eyebrow at it, and made the off colour quip in his head, but the issue with Lyntael was too worrisome for him to capitalise on it any more. He was more concerned by the fact that she'd noticed his discomfort. He shook his head and made his grin into a somewhat more reassuring smile.

"Oh, I do apologise. It's nothing really Concern for Lyntael. Even when she takes no actual damage, she seems to be a bit... frail, at times." It wasn't much of an excuse, but it would have to do for now. He wanted to shake the PET, as though that would somehow fix the problem of the mask's spreading attenuation. Instead, he focused on their conversation in an effort to put his companion off the track of awkward questions. It really was a shame to let the bush joke pass, he lamented internally. Oh well.

"As for your plans, I suppose that has its merits in a way. It would be more spreading of awareness and notoriety, after all. I guess it's my old fashioned way talking again but, well, surely if someone wishes their navi to be more competent in a combat art, or meditation technique, it's never any more the whim of coding to make them so, just as your own Martia was created as a fully fledged master, no years of training or study required." He shrugged, resisting the urge to glare at his PET screen. "But, if it brings positive reports and impressions back to their owners, I can definitely see the advantage in it in that sense."

A notification on the screen drew his eye for a moment, and Rogan reached into his breast coat pocket for a small leather clip-fold that Eric had given him along with the PET. It contained the small set of basic chips and a handful of blanks for recording new chip data. For a moment or two, he distracted himself from his worry with the process of recording the two new additions and tucking the case away again once it was done. With the pending data cleared, one less blinking light on the PET didn't make his worries any less though, and he watched the screen for another few moments for signs that Lyntael was going to get around to realigning the mask, then forced himself to look away again, scanning the room before returning his gaze to Leslie.

"So tell me then, you know something of my hobbies now," well, technically true, even if it was mostly misleading half-truths... "what of yours, miss Leslie? I understand that the work for the dojo has been a large part of your life, but surely not all of it completely. What does a young lady like you get up to in your spare time, when it's not all work and training?"

Frail, huh? Yep, one look at his Navi was all Leslie needed to buy that. Martia wasn't an overly big Navi - at least not in THAT way - but she at least came across as a tough fighter, even if the jury was still out on whether she really was. More importantly, he questioned her plan for dojo expansion, and that would not stand. "First off, I wouldn't really call that old fashioned, since even the super old people with Navis I've seen probably wouldn't agree with you on that. And second, I never said Martia was a master. Yes, she has great technique, and yes, she has a lot of knowledge. But while it's a vague label, ability and knowledge alone don't make you a master. That much I can say with confidence."

With that, her new BoyBomb chip was now ready for removal, and so she did just that. She still needed to figure out why it was called that, but she could look it up later. For now, she had to think up a list of hobbies...but there was a problem with that. "Well, uh...honestly, I kinda don't. Growing up, I was always either practicing or studying. And since I finished high school, I just put all that time into practicing more. I'd probably do it even more than I already do, if I didn't set aside time to train Martia." Besides, hobbies usually required money, and that was something she seldom had. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Martial arts is my passion, as well as my job! Though, I'll admit, virus busting lately's been a nice change of pace...no matter how powerful I get, I can only use my brain to help my Navi get through! But, when I put it like that, it almost sounds like mental training. Guess I'm hopeless, huh?" While she was obviously kidding, she would still be fine with being considered hopeless in this situation...

"Hopeless is... not exactly the word I'd use for that." The wry grin was back on his lips as he spoke. He had taken her chastisement with a look of smooth apology, a conceding gesture with one hand, and politely lowered eyes, but now they rose to her face again with a twinkle. "Not when you're describing a level of dedication I've rarely seen in anyone before. It's quite admirable, really." It was, he admitted to himself, though probably not quite as complimentary as his words made it sound. If he rarely saw that type of single-minded determination towards a cause, it was mostly because he moved in circles where almost everyone he dealt with had a dozen different nets cast in as many different directions at any given time. Credit where it was due, it truly was refreshing to deal with a person who was so patently honest and forthright.

"I suppose nothing else in your schooling ever grabbed your interest enough to divert you either then? You certainly do have passion." He stretched and rolled his shoulders, stealing another glance down. Good, she was finally moving to realign; a breath of relief escaped him, though he passed it off as a small sigh instead. "Myself... I, well I dabbled. Schooling took me through the basics, and after that I did a little of many things, and nothing in detail... university for finance and business, computer sciences, ethics, law... A year or two of most but nothing I ever carried through to any sort of specialisation." Here he gave a small chuckle, resting the PET down to stretch his hands behind his head for a few moments. "At one time I had a very sizable student debt, truth be told, but one of my first projects once I was working for myself was to make that go away."

Once upon a time, he'd considered making his life's work that sort of data manipulation, instead of what he did now, but as much as he could do it, something had stopped him, then, and he had stuck to it ever since. Maybe he wasn't as wealthy as he might have been, if he had, and maybe sometimes things even got precariously hand-to-mouth at times, working as he did now... but a small part of him simply felt better about it, and it wasn't a part that he was prepared to let go of.

Reaching out to reclaim his PET he scanned his eyes over the probe's readings, then pursued further. It was a definite trail now that he'd found a thread through the blank sheets and smoke screens, and he was beginning to put together a data picture of what his target did and where, albeit a very vague one. A few more quick presses and keystrokes and he began transferring back each of the useful snatches of information he'd found so far. Lyntael was moving towards alignment again, so it should be safe enough.

"Well, what can I say? It's what I've wanted to do ever since I was a little girl." Leslie took a sip of tea as she pondered whether to continue that thought. She decided on yes. "This might actually be a surprise, but when I was little, my parents, especially my father, weren't too keen on me becoming a professional martial artist. Oh, I'd get trained in it anyway, even if they had to tie me to a rock to do it, but I always got the feeling they'd have been happier if I'd chosen something else. But, I wouldn't back down, and they caved. They never brought it up after that, which means that whatever I did after that, they changed their minds about it. I dunno what it was, though..."

With that, she shut up and listened to Rogan's complete and utter inability to make a career path in school. His last statement before checking his PET again piqued her interest, though. After all, bill collectors weren't something you could just wish away. "So, how'd you do it? Getting rid of your student debt, I mean. I've heard how much that can reach, and all I can say is, I'm glad I stopped after high school, because screw paying that much for anything!" The thought of leaving her father alone while she went off and spent money the family didn't have was enough to make her shudder. It was probably for the best that she grew up wanting to be like her parents, considering everything that had happened since then...

Rogan let the smirk creep back across his face as Leslie perked up about his miraculously disappearing debt. He pondered to himself just how close of an answer he cold give that wouldn't upset the overbearingly honest woman across from him. When he spoke it was light and casual, though he picked his words carefully.

"I'm not sure you'd like the answer, but, suffice to say... in this day and age, money and debt are strangely intangible things, really. With the right know-how and care, it becomes just a matter of turning some numbers into different numbers, and then letting the system turn its wheels until no-one would ever know the difference." True he may have spoken about his schooling life as though he'd been drifting, but it had really been quite calculated in reality. Behind the curtains and in the shadows were where he'd felt like he belonged, and he'd been acquiring a fairly specific skill set. He waved his eyebrows at her with another smirk along with his explanation. "I could do your taxes for you free of charge, if you felt like owing me a favour." A small chuckled and a wink let her know he was joking about that last. Well, mostly joking.

"Still," he moved on, dismissing the matter with a wave of one hand. "I try not to do that sort of work any more. I'm an honest man after all, for the most part." And that was a lie ought to sear his bones to the marrow, but then a lie always looked the better for having a witness, after all. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her this time. The way she had been speaking about her passion, which really did seem to be her whole life, put a certain careworn note into his words as he continued.

"After all... I do believe a person should be able to live on the fruit of their arts, and their passions without fearing for tomorrow. I think it must be a very tragic world indeed, where one cannot." This time his smile was somewhat softer; he had picked the words mostly thinking of his own case, but as he spoke they really seemed to apply more to the woman across from him instead. Strange thoughts. He brushed the thought away and focused on his PET again for a moment.

Letting the search diagnostics take the whole of the display while he scanned over them, Rogan let his eyes wander without reading too carefully. He'd need to go through things later to put it together, anyway. A small blinking light in one corner told him Lyntael's channel was active, but he ignored it for the time being; she wasn't in any danger. Instead he set it to recover and store the most relevant finds and pressed the trace further. Whatever work this guy was doing, it wasn't actually affiliated with SciLabs after all, just using their facilities, it seemed, but he'd covered his steps very carefully. Or had been instructed to, that was always a possibility.

"...Huh?" The only thing saving Rogan from being grilled by a suspicious, angry martial artist by now was Leslie's ability to be profoundly dense. "I'm not really following you. How can you turn numbers into other numbers like that?" The gears in her head were turning, though not nearly as fast as they probably should. "And, I can do my taxes just fine, thank you. I've been doing it since I was 12, after all!" Hmm, that sounded a little pathetic. She should consider changing the subject. She decided to just sip a little more tea as her partner in beverage consumption went on, saying things that, well, she didn't have a particular answer to. And as soon as he was done, her Navi beckoned her. Hmm, what'd she want?

After the notification, she set her PET down, and resisted the urge to stare at Rogan with big brown eyes. It'd be nice to make it work, but she wasn't exactly so desperate that she needed to pull off some major charm. "So, I hear you got yourself a nice chip called MeteorKnuckle. It sounds like something my Navi would really like, so, is there any way you'd, well, give it to me? I mean, you don't use chips, so it's not exactly like you'll miss it or anything, right?" She didn't really mean for free, but if the small chance that he might do just that existed, she was going to take it.

As surprised as he was that Leslie didn't seem to catch his meaning, Rogan certainly wasn't about to belabour it any further, instead focusing on her more defensive answer. If she didn't really want an unexpected windfall to remove all traces of red from her ledger, he wouldn't press it even if he began to suspect she didn't really catch the implication of his offer there either. He raises his hands, open-palmed with a polite duck of his head, letting the point rest as she went on.

"Oh...? Interested?" One eyebrow arched slightly and out of habit he half covered his grin with one hand as though considering. In all honesty, he'd never put much thought or stock by battle chips, since the only times he intended to use Lyntael seriously was at times when he'd be too busy to help. Still, all things in their place, and a value on each. He winked.

"Perhaps you've swayed me with your earlier eloquence and I now see the importance of such things, hmm?" A good natured chuckle passed his lips as he rubbed gently at his chin and recrossed his legs. "Well, I guess if it's important to you I could probably part with it for a friend," another slight raise of one eyebrow. "But even unused such things have their value, you know, so I suppose the question becomes, 'of what value would it be to you?'" As much as some of the subtleties he was used to for dealing might be lost on his companion, that was no reason to be lax, so he pulled the small clip-fold back out of his pocket, tapping it gently on one knee as he spoke, just to show that he was perfectly willing to bargain.

A change in the lights on his PET's probe let him know that the current trace was completed, but he resisted the urge to immediately review it. There was no rush so long as he remained undetected, after all, and with a deal in the offing, his interest was piqued. After all, he was the sort of person who counted favours and small debts as commodities in themselves, as valuable, and sometimes even moreso, than any direct trade. It would all depend on what she was wiling to do, offer or owe. His head tilted to one side as he watched her, keeping his expression as casually inviting as he could.

"I guess. Like I said, it sounds like Martia's kind of chip." Leslie then gave Rogan a narrow eyed glance, that served to declare complete and utter BS on the chance that she actually managed to convince him to use chips. She was dense, not stupid. But, he was willing to trade it, so she didn't keep looking at him like that for very long.

Now, what did she value it at? Hell if she knew. "I dunno, I'm only bringing it up because my Navi and I like the name..." ...An idea slowly popped into the martial artist's head. Hopefully it wasn't a stupid one. "All right, hear me out on this. Navis have power levels that denote their general ability, right? Well, your folder counts towards that, but only in the number of chips you have in it, not what kinds of chips. So, how about I give you, say, this ShockWave chip? It's not really Martia's speed, and you won't be hurt one bit by handing over MeteorKnuckle, since you never use chips anyway! But don't try making it a twofer, I'd lose a level if I did that, and that's not happening!" Problem was, he was still functionally giving her the chip. If he knew that, and didn't want to give it up for functionally nothing for whatever reason, she was in trouble. Oh well, she tried.

The fact that he was never likely to actually use either chip was beside the point, really; a deal came down to value at the first step, potentiality at the second, and influence in the third... practical value was at best a vehicle for the real purpose. Rogan let the expression of thoughtfulness on his face deepen, only slightly covering his small smile with the hand that rubbed his chin.

"Hmmm, well... the issue there is that you receive something of decent value to you, in trade for something that's no loss to give up, while I gain just as functionally nothing at all. You see the problem?" He sighed softly then, letting his hand drop to settle with them clasped together gently at his knees. "And even setting that aside, there's the matter of relative power... if I'm not mistaken, one notably outstrips the other. Equivalence in all things, after all." Letting the words sit for only a moment or two, he shrugged his shoulders in a small, disinterested gesture. Long enough for the words to settle in, but not really an opening for a proper answer before he flicked his eyes back to hers and continued, a keener look in his eyes now.

"How about this..." He flicked open the clip-fold and pulled out the chip in question, slipping it almost halfway across the table, enough that it was clearly offered, but not enough that his friend wouldn't still have to reach for it if she really wanted it. It was a subtlety he wasn't sure she'd notice, but that was no reason to neglect he niceties. "Suppose I give you this to play with for now, and hold onto your offer for you in the mean-time, and then, if you decide at the end of the day that you'd like to keep it, we might decide on some way to balance the scale properly, perhaps? Sound fair?" He leaned back from the chip, removing his hand from the tabletop.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask for another; the chips themselves aren't truly in my interest, as you might guess, but perhaps we'll sort something out. Maybe you'll owe me a small favour, some tiny trifle no doubt, for a little thing like this, and remember that I let you have something of value, for little more than a song, hmm?" A tiny thought in the back of his mind suggested that her unwitting assistance and covering for his diving today might count as a favour repaid in advance, but he shunted it away just as quickly. Leslie seemed like she might be a useful person to know, in a select few circumstances, and even a small and thin string to tie to her pinky might be worth having. That she was honest and so clearly up-front about things meant, to Rogan, that she was probably completely reliable, so long as there was a promise involved, and naïve enough that she might not really grasp the value of a favour, however small. He raised an eyebrow to her and let his smile grow to a more friendly and relaxed grin.

Truthfully, Leslie really didn't see the problem with her offer. Where she came from, if someone needed something from you, and you weren't using it, you just handed it over, no further discussion needed. Netopians were weird if they wanted more than that. Still, if it was just a favor, he wasn't exactly holding it for ransom. And depending on what that favor would turn out to be, it might even come back to help her out. That was called a win-win situation, and she was a fan of those.

"A favor, huh?" She reached over and grabbed the MeteorKnuckle chip, and took a look at it. Some Mettaur were running away from gray fists falling from the heavens. Wow, it even looked cool. A thought crossed her head before she even dared consider pocketing it, though, which caused her to set the chip down, and pushed it with one finger all the way back to the edge of Rogan's side of the table. "Two things. First off, I want to be clear about something. I don't beat people up just because someone doesn't like them. As long as you realize that, and I'd think you would, we're good on that. The other thing is, I hear certain people aren't too keen if you don't use the Chip Trader BBS to trade chips. Probably so that they're an official record of it, in case something happens. And either way, I don't really wanna piss anyone off. But don't worry, I've traded there before, and it's really easy. It'll just seem really stupid because we're only a few feet from each other." Now, to write up a quick post so she could get her hands on that MeteorKnuckle permanently. ...Hmm. She was getting excited about a chip with Knuckle in its name. Did that make her seem stereotypical? ...Nah, she was overthinking it.

All things considered, Rogan was vaguely surprised when his companion hesitated after reaching for the chip. Her sudden caution with it put him vaguely in mind of her touching something potentially unpleasant, or dangerous, or both. Well, that was fair enough in its way, he supposed. Her concern was the potential morality of his request, whenever it came, of course, but he actually found it... refreshing, that her first thoughts were against him taking advantage of her fighting prowess, rather then in the way that most men and women jumped right to, if usually from opposite directions. It was enough to draw a soft, gentle laugh from him, and his eyes danced, just a little.

His grin faltered slightly as she went on a moment later, with talk of formalising the trade on the central look-up, and he suppressed the urge to wince. No, it was alright... so long as Leslie herself was the one putting it in, it would be fine. No details were taken or given, and working as he was, his confirmation would be beyond untraceable. It would be fine. Still, he let a little of his reluctance show through to his features, shifting in his seat ever so slightly.

"Hmm, well, if the powers that be insist, then I suppose we'd best follow the norms. If it pleases you," a slight incline of his head and the return of his relaxed smile by the time he looked up to meet her eyes again. "After you, my lady." He gave his shoulders a small shrug and roll, rallying back to his mirth from a moment ago.

"No fear, I understand... don't worry, I'd never ask a young lady to," he let the barest, short hitch in his words catch his breath for a moment, green eyes twinkling. "Compromise herself in any way she wasn't comfortable with." Ok, maybe he wasn't being sporting, teasing like that... "And besides, it really is a small matter, truly. Don't worry yourself over it, I may never end up with cause to remind you of it at all. But if I should, remember, is all I ask."

He paused to shunt his operating screen away on his PET, and waited for Leslie to make the formal registration of their trade before just as quickly putting in his own confirmation, then checked on Lyntael with a glance before returning to his searching screen. the temptation to begin reading closely over everything he'd found so far was strong, but he would go over it later when the trail was chased all the way through. For now, he needed to see if he could work out why those specific contracts had been going secretly to that supposedly small business front... and more importantly, he needed to think on why his previous client would have an interest in depriving them. That was the crux of it, and his mind wanted to attack the problem very dearly. Later though, for now he grinned and nodded his head softly to Leslie.

"You do seem quite enthused for it, I admit. Perhaps I should devote some time to laying my hands on some others that so match... your flavour?" He arched an eyebrow, letting half his grin creep up to flash teeth at her. A small part of his mind observed that Lyntael would probably scold him fiercely if she say him having so much fun, but he ignored it. Besides, he was watching her eyes most of the time, and not focusing at all on her other more bountiful, if well restrained, assets. And she could hardly blame him for taking the occasional appreciative eyeful anyway... 'restrained', maybe, but with her jacket like that, 'concealed' wouldn't have fit the description very well at all. Not that he was likely to complain, himself, though he had caught the barista passing occasional disapproving looks at their table. He looked their way again now, taking in a good eyeful along with his frowning expression, then glanced at the other tables, apparently trying to decide if they were busy enough to warrant asking her to fix her jacket, then grimaced after a moment and returned to making the next drink.

"Oh, don't worry. A Battle always repays their debts! Although it's usually easier when said debt doesn't require money..." Once again, the double entendre was utterly lost on Leslie, though at least she personally guaranteed her ability to follow through with the offer as consolation. "Well, Martia's better at using chips like that, so I guess more couldn't hurt. Plus, it'd help me if all our chips were stuff I know about, like punches and stuff. It's a win-win!" And as was well established, she firmly approved of win-win situations.

With that, she set her PET down for a moment, and sat back. She took a deep breath, puffing out her chest as she took a moment to relax from the heat of battle. Naturally, this happened right as Rogan was eyeing that part of her. Very unnaturally, however, Leslie actually noticed it...and proceeded to do absolutely nothing about it. If she was really that against it, she'd close her jacket, or at least wear more than a sports bra under it. Wasn't the first time she'd ever been ogled, and it probably wouldn't be the last. "Huh, you'd think the guy that approves chip trades would've done it by now. Guess he's busy or something." She would've thought the guy responsible would literally just sit around waiting for this sort of thing, since it could impact Navis' lives if it wasn't processed ASAP. Or at least get someone else to spend some time sitting around.

Much to Rogan's relief, the confirmation of trade that came through finally was succinct, to the point and more or less clinical. He inclined his head to Leslie slightly and made a small gesture with his free hand, to show that she was fine to claim her new chip from the table top now.

"It seems someone heard you, perhaps." He winked at her, amusement in his look. "All done, it seems. Enjoy." Recrossing his legs, and settling back in his chair, Rogan checked up on Lyntael's location with a brief glance. Pinned down again. He resisted the urge to tetch in irritation. The trail wasn't liable to get scrubbed in the next few minutes provided he wasn't caught, and getting found would gain him nothing... but it was frustrating, knowing where to push, with a few more precious answers so very close, and having to stand and hold off. Rather that let himself get annoyed, he focused instead on his companion.

"Still, I do wonder why they get so snippy about keeping a documented record of absolutely every trade they can, even little exchanges like this. It's enough to make a cynical man worry sometimes, I wager." As he tucked the clip-fold holding his chips away again, Rogan began pondering in the back of his mind the value of seeking out a few more trades that might interest the young lady. A tiny favour might be hardly worth remembering at all, but it was what further exchanges and more valuable tasks were based upon after all.

He already had a few strong arm contacts where they were needed, but none that came in the form of a beautiful young woman, and that filled a niche in itself. He rubbed at his jawline as he thought, fingers pressing across the very slight shadow of stubble there. She'd been quite clear that she only intended to exercise her more trained abilities for ethically sound reasons, and he was smart enough to recognise that there would be no debating over her personal definition of good... but there were always ways around that, if the work was pitched in the right way. There was always the more natural physical value to her; most of his female contacts for situations where a pretty face was helpful couldn't really look after themselves properly if it came to a pinch... or those that could were people he couldn't call on for such tasks... perhaps Laslie could fit that niche too.

He disguised the small nod of his head as though he was regarding the data read-out on his Pet, which had since come to a halt while the navis were pinned down. In his mind though, he was decided. For all that it was a chance encounter, the young Ms Battle would be worth building for future rapport with, so long as he employed kid gloves on certain matters. Flicking his eyes up to her again he grinned and gestured casually.

"So tell me then... since you only use your powers for good," he winked at her again, chuckling slightly in good humour. "What sort of a code does a skilled young martial artist like yourself live by then?" A slight tilt of his head accompanied the question as he watched her operate.

Woo, the trade went through. Though, based on how she understood it, she couldn't actually access the chip data until Martia's battle routines were no longer active. Which was really, really weak, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Don't ask me. But really, what's the worst they could do with that kind of info?" Unless someone had something to hide, it really wouldn't matter if anyone could access that kind of data. Hell, if you were bored enough and had no life, anyone could look up any trade ever made on that board. Although, if someone had something to hide, they probably wouldn't use the board anyway, so that was moot.

...Huh. A code? One would really think the Battles would have one of those, but..."Not really. I mean, it's not like there's a list of rules we have to follow. ...It's kinda hard to explain. I wouldn't say I learned it, but...well, I grew up seeing my parents use their abilities to help people. And seeing that made me want to do the same thing. It's just how my family operates. The one thing that maybe I do differently is to always try to be true to myself, no matter what that means. I mean, how can you be honest with other people if you can't be honest with yourself?" Hmm, she hoped that answered the question well enough.

Her response brought the small grin back to the corner of his mouth. More or less as he'd suspected of such a brashly honest and direct person, as Leslie was; her definition of what was right and not, her own code of good, was a thing learned in the bones, rather than taught as rules. Harder to define except to the person who held it, and usually far more binding to an individual than any system with actually defined codes. That he'd expected the answer wasn't much of a consolation against the knowledge that she would most certainly prove unmovable over any point she found to be personally unethical. A pity, but not ultimately an insurmountable one.

"Fair enough, I suppose." Here he allowed himself a small, good-natured laugh. "Though I suppose that means if you ever decide I need to be punched a few times, I'll probably have better luck just running, rather than talking you around, no?" The dance in his eyes made the joke clear, along with his smirk. Well, mostly joke. A short glance down at his PET held his eye for longer than he'd originally meant as he looked at Lyntael's readouts.

Unconsciously, his brow drew down, his mirth fading for the moment. He was determined not to rush the navis while he was working together with someone else, but there was patience, and then there was watching one's navi stand around like a doe in spotlights. No sense in waiting for the ember to light when you do no harm by blowing, after all.

"Lyntael, I know what you're capable of, and so do you. Now, stop hesitating, and act." He spoke softly to her, though still clear and firm, and nodded once when she responded and began to move again. Though the man wasn't aware of it himself, there had been, just briefly while he was talking, something of a softness in his eyes as he watched the screen. It was gone again right away, replaced by the more common set of his features; the concern for a improperly functioning tool, but for a moment or two it had been something different.

Rogan shook his head and set the PET down again, looking back to Leslie.
"Sorry about that. Much as I've told her to dispense with the fear and startlement displays, she does seem to need reminded with some regularity." He shook his head, smiling as his eyes closed, brushing the matter away. "You are quite right though, I much prefer to work with honest individuals myself," The irony of that particular fib might have made him laugh if he'd let himself. "Though, regrettably, there seem to be fewer and fewer such people in the world these days. It does truly make it a pleasure to meet someone as straight forward as yourself, chance encounter or not."

An unexpected readout drew his gaze back to his PET screen, where it now rested on the tabletop and he glanced down at it properly. Ah, the navis had exchanged chip data from within the network. Wry amusement trickled through him. After making each of their positions clear, it had been Leslie who first found a way to circumvent the stalemate, after a fashion. He looked up to her, still grinning and raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment further. Absently, he wondered whether she'd orchestrated that from a sense of being competitive, against his decision deliberately, or out of determination to do well, despite going against the spirit of his own wishes. Either was a useful trait, though judging from what she'd shown him of herself so far, he guessed at the latter. He'd made his stance clear, and he'd wager a reasonable sum on the guess that she wanted to respect that, even though she clearly didn't agree... and yet had done this because it seemed needful to her, most likely. Interesting.

"Oh, you could TRY running...but unless you're a world class sprinter, I don't think that'd work! A wink and a finger wave let Rogan know that Leslie was just returning the not-so-literal jab. She was dense, but not so much that she couldn't tell a joke from a comment. Speaking of comments, there he went again, basically treating his Navi like dirt. But, in a rare moment of astuteness, she noticed that, for a split second, he'd softened a bit. He acted like he hadn't even noticed it himself, but she had. Maybe, just maybe, that silly belief about Navis of his was starting to shake a little. She didn't say anything about it, but she did lean back a little and smirk at him.

"Tell me about it...I hate it when people lie! Hate it!...Hate it..." The last bit was far more airy and distant, almost like she wasn't even saying to Rogan. It almost seemed like Leslie wasn't even aware she said it out loud, though. "I don't think it's so much that there's fewer honest people in the world, though, so much as it is that it's the lying assholes that end up being visible. They think they can just sweet talk anyone into being their puppet, and the scary part? It works. Good hearted people get suckered in, used, and thrown out when they've served their purpose. It just makes me sick thinking about it...!" A cracking noise kept Leslie from going on, as she quickly realized what it was; she had unconsciously grabbed the corner of her seat, and snapped it off in her anger. With a deep sigh, she dropped it on the floor, and if she was lucky, no one else noticed she did it. Her family could barely afford dirt cheap food, they certainly couldn't pay for a broken chair.

As she looked up, she noticed the man across the table giving her a grin. Had he noticed what she did? Or was there some other reason? "What? ...Don't tell me I have a tea mustache or something..." A quick check revealed that her upper lip was bereft of tea, so it wasn't that. Hmm. On the bright side, after a small wait, the viruses were finally history. Except for the Bunnies, which Martia appeared to have spared for whatever reason. Well, as long as they weren't trying to kill her, she couldn't complain about it. She could, however, complain about the mystery data contents once she read what it did. Bubbler. Arg. Bubble guns weren't exactly high on the list of 'attacks that a martial arts expert would use'. The one bright spot was that Martia reminded her of that day where she kinda sorta skipped on some of her training to help out a hot girl who was lost, and showed her gratitude with one of the best make out sessions she'd ever had. That was a fun day.

As his companion settled back, Rogan matched her action, leaning forward enough to rest one elbow on the table-top, hand on his chin as he watched her. His gaze stayed almost entirely on her eyes and his smile was relaxed, but internally his mind picked carefully through her response and how heart-felt it seemed to be. The quiet crack that accompanied how tight her grip had gown on her seat drew his eyes for a moment, and it was all he could do to hide his startlement in passing the flick of his eyes off as a look at her chest instead. His grin didn't falter, but those things weren't flimsy, after all, and that made his companion both deceptively strong, and worrisomely passionate about honesty. Even if it sounded like her comment came from something specific, better not to forget that she could do him some real harm if she decided it was worth the public scene to do it.

The small grin became a much more amused smirk as he was treated to the off-handed way in which his companion justified her exploits to her navi. He lowered his eyes out of politeness for a moment, but there was little room to hide his amusement. Still, it gave him a moment to pick his words.

"A productive day, that, by the sound of it, no?" He let his features soften into something a little bit more serious and concerned, and even if it was a conscious action, for him, it wasn't entirely disingenuous either. He tilted his head slightly, finding her eyes again. "It's true enough, though, you're right. There seem to be no limits to what a truly unscrupulous person will do to care for their personal gain, these days." A thought occurred to him. Carefully, but a seed of hint might be useful. "Actually, in truth, part of the reason I'm investigating what I am at the moment relates to some very shady business I uncovered recently, but I really shouldn't say anything more about it." He let himself shift, and looked down at his PET then back up again, as though eager to be off the subject just as quickly.

"If you don't mind my saying, Leslie, I get the impression you were thinking on something in particular just then; it seemed quite pointed. If it's not too much of an intrusion, may I ask?" Much as it was interest in knowing about what exactly would get Leslie quite so vehement, Rogan found himself genuinely curious at the same time. Another short glance at his PET revealed a blinking light with pending chip data, but he pushed it slightly to the side as a gesture of focus. The navis would be moving again soon, probably, but there was time.

"Oh, that's one way to put it..." Some of the spark in Leslie's eyes came back as she reminisced about her semi-recent awesome day, but it almost immediately faded again as earlier came crashing back to her. Whatever it was that was bugging her had to be weighing on her quite a bit. "Shady business, huh? Well, we can't allow that. You teamed up with the right girl to help shut it down!" That raised the question of exactly why he got into it to begin with, but that was promptly shoved to the back burner.

Naturally, Rogan asked what was bugging her. She certainly didn't blame him for asking, but...if there was a time and place for everything, this definitely wasn't either. Not now, not here. "...I...I'm sorry. I can't do it. You seem nice enough, but...I just can't talk about THAT day right here, right now..." Intentionally or not, she had at the very least spilled that it was a past memory that had soured her mood so quickly.

With that, Leslie vigorously shook her head, somehow managing to avoid whipping herself or others with her hair or headband. "Yeah, you don't want me all gloomy, I'm sure. It's just...something that was really hard for me. Then, and now. But don't worry, I've snapped out of it now!" There still a hint of sadness that let everyone know that she hadn't completely returned to her usual, upbeat self, but she did seem mostly back to normal. "So, you're probably paying more attention to it than me, so, maybe you can answer something for me. Do you have any idea where our Navis are going? I've never really seen SciLab Area before, but even by Net standards, it looks kinda weird where they are..."