Sometimes Zouichi preferred the political atmosphere of his old Earth. Which hadn't very political at all, really, but a matter of who was actively trying to kill him and who was not.

He sighed, expression relaxing slightly. "You're right, of course." He'd asked her here to spend some time together, and here he was using the opportunity to complain about the bureaucracy. For shame.

"I doubt that this will have much immediate relevance to the war effort, but I've heard that singing to the crystal in here elicits a rather unusual response. It seems to have a few other surprising properties as well." He did think the crystal might be of some use (or at least some interest) to her. Really. It wasn't at all about coming up with an excuse to talk to with her.