Late week 57: Ushvani Spa Trip.

For a moment, Silvia was quiet, just letting the possibilities of what to say pass through her mind. Finally, she just sighed. "...Yes. Yes, I do. But we...we talked about it...or...around it, at least, and we agreed to just be...just be friends. So that's what we're doing."

Tansai stretched out. "That's probably for the best." she said, standing up in the pool so that she wasn't speaking into the air. "It's the kind of thing that can go very wrong."

"Yeah, I know," Silvia said, still not moving from her position in the pool. "And he doesn't...he doesn't think of me like that. So I know it's not going to happen. It just makes it a bit...it's been nice to get away to London for a bit. In a way. Where I can just...put it all to one side. I mean, I want to see him," she added, hastily. "I still enjoy spending time with him. It's just...it's nice to get away. Just for a bit, that's all."

She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, trying to let the sensation of floating drive away her thoughts. "So...what about you?" she said to Tansai, in a bid to change the subject. "Is there anyone...anyone you're involved with? Or hoping to be?"

Tansai shrugged, obviously aware of the subject change. "There's some people that might be fun to have sex with, but I don't really go for the relationships thing. Too...high a turnover, in our profession."

"Fair enough." Silvia stood up too, looking over towards the massage bots. "I mean...I can see why not. It's...really sensible. I mean, it's not as though we can make long-term commitments or anything." She began wading towards the side of the pool, though she kept her gaze mostly on the other woman.

Tansai shook her head. "Probably could if we stopped, you know, pulling the shit we do. But I have no intention of leaving any time soon. Got shit to do."

"Yeah, I...I know what you mean." Silvia climbed out of the pool rather inelegantly and stood on the side, taking the opportunity to look around the pool again. "I couldn't just...leave. Oracle's done too much for me for that. Maybe in a couple of years or something...if I'm still around then. Ace said this place had a pretty high turnover rate."

Tansai nodded. "Just a bit, yeah." She began counting on her fingers, a fairly pointless gesture given that her internal AI had already worked it out. "Out of the people who were here when I joined, about four of them aren't here anymore, and there was a bunch of other agents who left before I arrived." She shrugged. "I've been here for twenty weeks or so, so that's what, losing someone once per one and a bit months? I don't think the CEO cares if we run off, to be honest."

"He...seems a bit...strange. The CEO, I mean. I talked with him and he was...I mean..." She hesitated and waved her hands, trying to find the right words. "Most...most CEOs actually care about their corporation. He just seems to...to think of Oracle as some kind of...machine or something. He really...doesn't care."

"I'm sure the CEO has some kind of master plan that we don't need to know." said Tansai. "Far as I'm concerned, he's a great boss. Let's us deal with ourselves, doesn't get involved too much, gives out good advice..." she continued in her usual, scattergun way, but here her voice was tempered by an edge of respect. She seemed to genuinely like the CEO.

"I like not having someone above me telling me what to do, though we don't really have enough people for that to happen anyway. Feels more friendly."

"Maybe I'm just...too used to the SY way. I mean, the people in charge there weren't...weren't exactly friendly, but it was always the way that they were...invested. If the company did anything wrong they always...took it personally." She shrugged and made her way over to one of the massage bots. "CEO Lee is just...so different. It just seems...wrong. I guess it's harder to get the Japanese mentality out of me than you might think."

Tansai shrugged. "It happens. I've probably picked up loads of bad habits from EI."

She paused. "Well, I'm lying in a top class massage parlor pool which cost more to hire for an afternoon than most Comoros agents get in half a year just before going on a pretty ridicious mission..."

"Good point," Silvia replied with a smile. "That does...sound like EI." She brought up the holographic display by the massage bot and began highlighting places. "Just...tell me if I start acting like an entitled arsehole. Then I'll know I'm acting too much like the SY and all the rest." Her smile had vanished and she jabbed at the projection rather too hard.

"I'll let you know. Maybe I'll get someone to put it in sky-writing for you. Or I could buy advertising space during whatever your favorite program is. Or I could..." Tansai suddenly flipped herself over in the pool, the sharp movement sending splashes across the surface. "Ok. I may be going mad with money. But I'll tell you." she said, jokingly.

After a moment she moved again, pulling herself up on the side of the pool. "You ok?" she asked, quietly.

Silvia shook her head as though to clear it and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...I've probably got issues lurking around that now. The SY, I mean. I wasn't...I never really liked some of the stuff there - how people act and all that - and it's probably worse now. I mean, all I had to compare it with was a couple of Free State towns and now I'm travelling the world, exploring...and I'm liking the people outside so much more." She walked over to one of the massage mats and lay down, waiting for the robot to come over and begin its work.

"Never actually encountered them much, to be honest." said Tansai, sitting down cross-legged on another mat, not bothering to activate a robot as she dripped everywhere. "The Shi Y, I mean. I just know they like to hide themselves away."

"Heck, before I came to Oracle I didn't really encounter many people from other corps. Internal affairs doesn't usually deal with them."

As Silvia finished talking about how she preferred it outside, Tansai smiled slightly to herself. "The world is pretty shit, but there are plenty of good people in it."

"Yeah," Silvia said, closing her eyes and letting the massage bot begin to do its work. "There are. Good thing, that." She fell silent for a moment, letting the bot work and then continued, her voice slightly guilty. "There were some in Japan as well. I mean, it's not like everyone was an idiot. I...I had friends. I'm probably making it out to be worse than it is."

"I'm sure there are, though it wouldn't surprise me if the Corp itself is worse than you're saying." Said Tansai. "They tend to be that way. Easier to shit on people from a great height and all that."

"Yeah, probably. Wouldn't really know, though," Silvia said from her position on the mat. "Never really had contact with anyone high-up in the SY. Shinjitsu's only a small company, and I lived in one of the nicer places where we weren't being shat on. Would have looked bad, I guess."