It definitely didn't look very comfortable, but even though he was a rich curacaoan, he wasn't fastidious about those things. Sitting down with her, he decided to take off the helmet as the cockpit was now secured. Placing it on the floor next to him, he looked at Elena with a rather neutral expression. "There are certain dangerous entities out there, certain groups that continuously grow. Groups that aren't bound to the houses. Auxesia is one of them. They just want all and the best of technology. Joshua Hunt, publicly currently known as Leviathan, said they sort of worship technology like a religion does." He smiled for a short moment at her. "Sapphire Raven and Joshua Hunt are pretty charismatic, and once you see them in less public situations, once could almost think they are still human somewhere." Leaning more against the horrible thing that barely could be called a backrest, he sighed for a moment. "The other big group is the Commune. From what I have seen so far, they are pretty much on par with Auxesia in terms of numbers and technological equipment. What Auxesia managed to get by exploiting other factions, be it via the diplomatic way or in a much raw and aggressive way, the Commune seems to keep up by having ties to the nomads and their supporters. The problem however with those two groups is that they have plans for Sirius and they act without a higher instance. Right now, nobody watches the watchers. That is a very dangerous situation, as the houses are busy with their own problems, not realizing that they might be facing problematic groups which might now have the numbers a house can provide, but the technology to make up for that. This is why I told Bassam about common friends and common enemies."
After another deep breath, he continued. "There are many other groups out there, both on human and on nomad side. And then there are individuals like me, who prefer to stay away from both sides. A unique position, which comes with sins and fortunes. Pro and contra. I think I have a pretty balanced position right now.
With friends on both sides." The latter sentence was said more quietly, and he looked at her lap for a moment. "And with friends, I really just mean friends, not allies. I am not a nomad supporter, please believe me. But to a certain degree, once can deal with nomad worshippers like the Oracles or infectee in a peaceful manner. For example, Enma Loyola. She is a woman that is hard to handle. But I did her a favor at some point, getting her a ship she wanted. One without guns. One that wouldn't be used to cause harm. That was my condition. So she got it. It is the small favors like this that made it possible for me to have those friends in the distance. Friends like, well, the names you heard. I hope you understand this. And I hope you know I need you to keep this a secret. No recordings, no talks. If you need to talk with someone about it, talk about it with me and noone else." He smiled at her, an almost apologetic smile, as he hoped she would understand. "In space, you need friends to survive, and I don't have that many friends. Thus I value those I have pretty much. This includes you, Elena. However, I made a bad move a few minutes ago. I risked the standing of one of those friends in order to protect you and me from Bassam, as I wasn't sure if he would really let us leave, after I realized he is infected."
