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He let her finish and then nodded as if he agreed. "I can see you have put a lot of thought into this, I obviously cannot dissuade you with arguments that I though of in a minute and baseless prejudice." He had wanted to test her resolve and she had proved herself capable of defending herself. He knew there was more to law than courtroom drama and helping the mob it was just the easiest thing to dwell on if making an argument against becoming a lawyer. He employed at least one lawyer to help him keep up to date with the latest legislation, the last thing he wanted was to botch up a merger by accidentally going against galactic law. "If I'm being honest I'm in two minds about you leaving. The selfish part of me wants you to stay here, where I can protect you and shield you against the injustices of the world. And another part wants you to go an experience the outside, make new friends and really see what the solar system is like." She was his daughter and he wanted to protect her for as long as he could without ruining her life in the process, then again he hadn't always been around and could hardly stop her if she protested. "All I want is for you to be happy, if you say you want to study law, lets get on the first galactic cruiser and go to Qerus." He was just presuming but Qerus boasted the best university in the galaxy and most people knew it.

"No, nobody cares about a business consultant who likes crushing large corporations. I've paid my dues and that's all that matters." He shrugged, there was no point in lying to her about that, they lived in a really scummy place and it would be insane to think that they skated by without ever coming into contact with the Syndicate. It wasn't as if he went around making enemies or trying to get close to people in power, he had no intention of ever becoming a politician. "That's terrible. Is she going to be alright?" He liked Kelsi, she might have had a messed up family but she had managed to come out relatively normal, he could respect that. "So, do you want me to come with you? I suppose I can make time, but you will have to help me with Ransom's demands this month if we go." He always dreaded dealing with James' case, reading the list of stuff that he had crammed into a month and then verifying that everything was truthful was always a massive pain. "I'll write it off as a business trip and swear you in as my secretary for some pretty large tax write offs." He grinned. Always happy to save money.

He smiled but it was cold, if he ever forgot to pay his dues and they went after her instead of him, he didn't quite know what he would do. He certainly wouldn't come out of the experience as the same man, more a savage beast who's entire purpose would been the brutal murders of those who had laid their hands on her. The world knew him as ruthless now, if he turned his hand to revenge he would more than likely become some sort of demon. "Don't worry about that, if anything like that happened I would protect you from it. I'm Action Dad." He switched from being cold and distant to warm and loving in a fraction of a second. "Well, wish her the best from me." There wasn't really very much he could do for the girl except wish her the best and hope it wouldn't happen to Zarah. He quickly decided to change the subject back to universities and the trip he was planning with her. "No, it'll be great. I can get that three per cent discount on tickets and you can get free refills with every meal. The rich don't stay rich by splashing out recklessly." He joked to himself, the rich stayed rich because they trusted him with their money, he was tight fisted with his own money because he was trying to teach her about saving it and not being a brat. It had worked well so far.

Steven smiled, it was good to see that she was on point, private affairs like this were left on the back burner like a good many other things. If it was left down to him the girl would have got a fruit basked somewhere down the line with a get well soon note and another one to apologies for taking so long to send anything. There was a great deal of things that could be forgiven with fruit baskets if they look nice enough. "What's wrong with calling a sheep a sheep? The risk would come whether or not we announce it to the world." He asked about her comment on using the word rich. He got her point but at the same time didn't really want her censoring herself to any extent. It was tragic what had happened to her friend but he had certain policies in place to ensure the safety of his family, after all there was no way he would put them in danger by living in Stratos without first thinking everything out. Her safety was his business and so he made sure it was first class. Her mother knew a great deal about his darker side but he had managed to keep his daughter out of it almost completely. He put the thoughts to the back of his mind once she mentioned he had a message. He got up from the table, unable to leave it alone, it was probably just a report on one of his charges, venture or property, there were something that he liked delivered in person so that he could be sure they wouldn't be intercepted, cyber crime was a big problem in the colony and it was easier to do thing like this sometimes. He opened the locked box, it had a numerical password, it was considerably more impressive than the wooden chest that he used to keep thing in. Slightly safer too. He opened the letter and flipped it open a and read it to himself. "Someone wants to buy Red Speck. Offering quite a hefty sum for it as well, I don't know why, its an irradiated hell hole." He moved the kitchen while speaking. "If it was up to me I'd shove that white elephant on them and be done with it." He grinned and folded up the paper, the letter went into great detail about several of his investments but things concerning James were the most entertaining. "Okay, I want to come with you but I need to sort this out before they get the wrong idea and start to think we're considering the offer. Can you pack some of my things just in case?" He waited to hear her response. It tore him up inside if she was upset and couldn't bear the idea of letting her down so directly.

He was lucky to have her around, it was a godsend that she hadn't decided to leave with her mother and perhaps something that he didn't understand fully. "Goodnight." He smiled as she left, then retreated into his study for a little overtime. Even though he had finished his paperwork just hours before he felt as if it was piling up again, things needed to be updated and edited, signed, posted, read and responded to. He had to contact the university of Qerus and see if he couldn't arrange an impromptu meeting with one of his more elusive clients, the man hired him to look over the a failing shuttle port on Banton, which he was more than happy to do but then had gone gallivanting across the galaxy without so much as a goodbye. He remodelled the facility and managed to save it but couldn't do anything else without the owners consent. He also wanted to meet several professors and find out if there was any new talent that would be worth investing a little time into, if Zarah was going to take over he would have to find someone who would. He read James' afternoon prayer and text him back that he had two weeks before the end of the month, he didn't like being so hard on him but there was no helping it sometimes.

He lost track of time again, and only realised he'd been up all night when he happened to glance out the window and see the sun rising. It was times like these when he came to hate birdsong, there was just something about their high pitch screaming that rubbed him up the wrong way. He sighed and walked over to the couch, he couldn't be bothered to walk upstairs and instead decided that he would just lay down there for a little nap before Zarah got up. He set his alarm for eleven and drifted off to sleep.

Steven woke suddenly from the nightmare he had been having. It started like a normal dream, Zarah was gently trying to break the new that she had got engaged to someone she met on Qerus, it was going well and she had even convinced him give the guy a chance. The dream had shifted violently and they were on the deck of a ship for some reason, who can say perhaps it was that film poster he had driven past on his way home or some suppressed memory trying to surface, either way, Zarah seemed unfazed by the matter and stood next to a figure covered in a sheet. As she pulled it back the figure was revealed to be a satyr with James head which started singing causing the boat to crash and explode. Unfortunately the dream didn't end there, for when he opened his eyes he was at her wedding, surrounded by hundreds of goats and as he ran to stop the ceremony the goats kept getting in his way until they eventually surrounded him and sucked him into the mass. It took a few minutes for him to catch his breath and reassure himself that he was defiantly awake.

He was used to not sleeping or lucid dreaming nightmares so at this point it really didn't bother him, the cause was almost certainly work, but it would take a bit more than night terrors to get him to stop. He walked through the house, kind of like a zombie, bumping into things, groaning and slamming his face into door until they opened. . He managed to locate the shower through some miracle and washed himself, the process was hampered slightly as he didn't recognise any of the products, he ended up holding a bath bomb up to the head and hoping that would work. It did not. After his disastrous shower he stumbled around until her found some clothes, another charcoal grey suit, perfect for every situation. He finally made his way back to the kitchen and collapsed at the table, he was intent on getting his morning coffee but first a little rest. His morning routine was no where near as graceful as Zarah's but on the other hand as soon as he go some caffeine inside him he'd perk right up

After resting his eyes for a minute he opened them to see a fresh cup of coffee, it was like some sort of angel had heard his prayers and answered in the best way possible. He massaged his face, then drank deeply, the bitterness filled him up inside. Finally awake, he looked around the kitchen observing more than just himself, Zarah was there, that explained the coffee, she seemed distracted by something, it could have been her friend but he sensed it was something else. "Thanks. And good morning." He smiled, finishing off his drink, he had developed a steel mouth and could stomach coffee at almost any temperature, some called it a blessing others a curse, either way nobody was writing ballads about it. "Who keeps phoning you?" He asked without thinking while reaching for the paper, he usually didn't pry into her affairs but this was the first time he had heard her phone go off so many time in such a short period of time. It was truly a wonder how newspapers had survived as a form of media, perhaps it was something unique to lunar colonies. "If its important you can get it, I would appreciate it if you didn't get it at the table. Do as I say, not as I do." He realised it was slightly hypocritical asking her to not answer the phone like he had never done it himself but what else could he do, it would have been worse to just encourage it. He flipped open the financials and skimmed over the text, there wasn't anything there he didn't already know but it was interesting to see what was being reported on and what was being swept under the carpet.