[ Messing with Noelle's temperature regulation doesn't sound that bad. She can take Eidolon's force field. Being a little cold or a little hot is nothing.

Then Krouse tells Noelle about the fix, and the interest immediately leaves her expression. Her face goes dull, flat, but at least she doesn't look away. That may or may not be better.

Noelle wonders what will happen to its body. She's never had to wonder about that before. Krouse and the team took care of all her pre-rampage clones, and after her breakout, nothing mattered except clawing at a little, worthless scrap of revenge. Do her clones rot? Will someone burn its body, like she was burned?

This train of thought isn't getting her anywhere. Besides, Krouse is still talking. Noelle rallies by the time he says empathy effect, focusing on him so that she has something to focus on. It's good that she does. Krouse almost never admits that he doesn't know something. It's a little frightening that he does so now. It's so much better than a false promise.

The profile was meant to pair them up. The river seems to do the same thing. Noelle is good at spotting pressure - pressure to talk, to touch, to be nice and likeable and good to look at. What this place is doing isn't much different from any other city Noelle has lived in, weird robotech or no. ]

They want us all to get closer.

[ Noelle says, her soft voice not as dulled as it could be, but not thrilled either. Matter-of-fact. As she keeps looking down at Krouse, an urgency creeps into her voice. ]

I know you've told me this before, so you know this already, but - you don't have to play their game.