Dareia watched the young man from across her desk, listening as he spoke. This time, her face showed no emotion, no reaction to anything he said. Even where she would usually show some curiosity, she showed only cool nonchalance. It wasn't as though she had no thoughts, emotions, or curiosities, but she thought it best to tread carefully for the moment. One of the ways she would do this was by avoiding expressing such sentiments as her hesitance to trust and the questions she still had, at least for the moment.<br/><br/>Her sentiments would not go unexpressed, nor her questions unasked, as she had never been very good at keeping such things to herself. She did, however, have enough self-control and wisdom to know that not all questions needed to be asked for the answer to be found, or at least they need not be asked directly, and sentiments could change as understanding and knowledge grew. Thus, for now, it was best to just listen and deduce what she could before asking those important questions that still remained.<br/><br/>She believed him about how he ended up here with this knowledge. It was not an impossible concept to grasp, although it was certainly not a common situation to find oneself in, either. Despite already having a few questions she wanted answers to, she waited, for now. Eventually he stopped and for a moment, she wondered if he were finished, but he looked as though he were contemplating something. She guessed it had to do with her question. Was he wondering what she wanted him to tell her, or wondering what he should actually share? It didn't matter much, but if he wondered what she wanted to know, she could give him something of an answer. Of course, she could give something of an answer as to what or how much he should share, at least in her own opinion, but as the question was truly one for himself, her answer wouldn't truly matter.<br/><br/>She remained silent a moment longer, until he abruptly spoke up again, quoting an old Jedi code--or more accurately, Je'daii code. A small hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, the first reaction she had shown since they had arrived in her office. "Yes, I am rather fond of that code. It is a much better representation of what the Jedi should be, of what the Force truly is. At least, if you ask me," she shrugged. With that, she turned the conversation back to what he had told her. "Out of curiosity, in the world you came from, what was our universe? Entertainment?" she wondered about that. There were a few options, but as crazy as it sounded, that made the most sense to her. This was partially because of the view in many of the things he had showed her, that appeared as though he were watching something on a screen or something, not living it, but also because it was obvious that he had done quite a bit of research on the universe, so there were only a few likely reasons for that, and this seemed to be the most likely one, all things considered.<br/><br/>"Tell me something. I recognize that there are obviously, as you said, possibilities that you have not seen. Such is the way of life. Even the smallest actions can have unforeseen consequences that affect the future. But tell me what you mean when you say he is the only one factor that can put an end to the Jedi. Is there another you suspect might have a chance, if the right other factors were to line up?" she asked, her face once again a mask of cool nonchalance, and her voice sounded calm, almost breezy, despite the weight of her words. "And in regards to Dooku, are you implying that he is not truly dark, that he could be turned, or at least used?" she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly as it continued to rest in her palm.<br/><br/>"I can't argue with you about the Jedi and politics. You aren't wrong. The Jedi have become too involved in politics. Rather than two separate, distinguishable entities, The Jedi and the Republic have almost started to blend in some ways, as though one day the Jedi will be nothing more than an extension of the Republic, answerable to the Senate, controlled," she stated these things in a cool, almost detached manner, as though she were simply stating fact, however, for the briefest of moments, she appeared contemplative, before quickly returning to the same mannerisms as before, "Unfortunately, that is not something that can be changed overnight, especially not while we are in the middle of a war. We are short on time, so I'm afraid in this, we will have likely have to work with what we have," she continued. "Unless you have any suggestions," she added, wondering if he would, and what they might be.<br/><br/>He had not yet said anything terribly suspicious, but that did not mean she yet trusted him. There were still some things that worried her. For one, his behavior, words, mannerisms, none of it was suggestive of a person with strong moral values. It was clear that he was not some hero with a strong sense of justice passionately seeking to save the galaxy from evil, although, neither did he seem like the evil overlord type. Then there was the fact that he had mentioned having the ability to alter minds and memories. He had mentioned it as a warning, stating that it was something like a reflexive defense of his mind against intruders, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it intentionally. What if he could intentionally control people, alter minds or memories to suit his purposes? That was a dangerous ability in the hands of a righteous man, as well as in the hands of an evil man. They both have strong motivations and are driven by a purpose. But what about someone with no morals, no just (in his own mind) purpose? How much more dangerous might he be? She wondered.<br/><br/>Of course, she was not necessarily worried about it at this point. She had no reason to be. But it was there, in the back of her mind. For now, however, all she knew was that he was a bit strange, an oddball, if you will. She didn't actually dislike this about him. Normal people were boring. Truth be told, many of the Jedi were boring, their interactions predictable. He was different, and he was not so easy to predict, which made him interesting. She hoped her suspicions were nothing more than her mind being cautious and lacking in trust as usual. It would be interesting to have someone like him, someone different as a friend, if such a thing were even possible. But she wouldn't let herself hope for that anymore than she would let herself worry unnecessarily. For now, she was still figuring out how she should feel about him.<br/><br/>"Also, if you were wondering what I was wanting to know, besides the obvious: anything you know that is important and relevant," she paused for a brief moment, "I would be interested in knowing more about you. If we are going to be working together, it would be best for us to get to know one another, at least to some degree. It is hard to trust someone you don't know, after all, and it is hard to effectively work together if you cannot trust one another," she offered, tilting her head again. She was being honest, she meant what she said. It might also be true that some part of her wanted to know because she was trying to piece things together, to figure him out, it wasn't done with any ill intent. She was curious and, as she had said, she wanted to know if she could trust him. It was true that people lie, so perhaps if she couldn't trust him, she couldn't trust his words, but she didn't foresee that being a problem, all things considered.<br/><br/>And just as she wished for him to tell her about himself, if he wished to ask her questions, or to know more about her, she would comply. She could not ask something of him that she was unwilling to do in turn. Of course, whether he cared to know about her was another question entirely. She was leaning towards the idea that he did not, but considering that it was difficult enough to get a read on how he felt or thought of things he was actively discussing, it was even harder to determine his thoughts or feelings on something like this.