"Hm," she says, amused. He probably shouldn't have mentioned that he has needed to keep a personnel database in his time. It strikes her as not the sort of work couriers tend to do. "I think I wouldn't be able to pull off the charming apology. Or even if I did, I would worry that I'd bet setting a bad example, or making my staff feel like I didn't, hm. Consider them worthy of my punctuality? And that's - not the sort of thing I ever want anyone that works for me to think."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Smile. ... Less smile. "I already fight kind of an uphill battle to get them to realize I care about them. I'd hate to lose that, even without involving my own personal feelings. Everything's more efficient when they have a measure of trust with me. Before we arrived here they - near universally avoided me. Nekros was not a kind commander. Or particularly good at aiming his tantrums."

"Yeah, I've heard. The people I'm late to meetings with don't tend to be my subordinates, for obvious reasons. The worst I'm risking with my bad time management is Simon getting sarcastic, which, while fearsome, is... not the same thing at all."

"No," she agrees. "Though I don't think I want to be late for a meeting with Occlus, either. She'd give me a look."

"I have a well-known problem with insufficient respect for authority. Probably comes of playing tag with my Emperor as a child."

Snort. "That follows, logically. It took me a while to process how fundamentally different your Emperor and my former one were. ... But I think I'm having trouble envisioning tag with an Emperor. For now, anyway."

"My Emperor is a source of many fond childhood memories."

"Oh? Well, now I'm curious. Would it be subverting the dignity of his station if I were to learn of them?"

"I think the dignity of his station could use a little subverting in your case! You're obviously not going to lose respect for him if I talk about the time I learned he had maple candies and separately sent every charmable relative I could find to go get me one - I was a very small child at the time and had not yet grasped the finer points of subterfuge - and he was once a child and did patiently allow five or six different people to petition him for maple candies on my behalf and I feel like this is an important thing to know if one wishes to truly understand Gregor."

Giggle.

"That's adorable."

"Yes, it is."

"Your Empire is so nice. And filled with reasonable people. It's great."

"I certainly like to think so!"

Nuzzle.

"I love it and want to stay here forever. ... Well, maybe go see what the rest of the Nexus is like, too, but. I am in no hurry and would like to return once my curiosity is sated."

"I recommend Earth," he says. "Birthplace of humanity. Also where my little brother grew up - I can't remember if I've told you this story—?"

"You mentioned a clone substitution plot, but I don't believe I asked for details at the time."

"There's not all that much more to tell. His name is Mark. I like him. He's got a twisty sense of humour and he's out there roaming the galaxy somewhere, declining to keep in touch."

She nods. "May the Force be with him," she says, softly.

"...huh," he says, "I'm not sure if I knew that you invoke the Force where my mother would invoke God..."

"Oh, um. I get the impression some Jedi actually worship it, but I don't, particularly. I invoke it more in the sense that - okay, context. Force users tend to be abnormally good at timing. Being in the right place at the right time with the right tools for the job, even when it seems like it'd be impossible. So when I invoke it, it's less like I'm invoking an actual deity-alike to be with him, and more like I am wishing the steps on his path to fall into place. So he can go wherever he'd like to go. The proper Sith version is actually 'May the Force serve you well,' but that only applies to trained Force-users. But I don't like using that one, because I want things to work out for everyone, regardless of Force sensitivity or not."

"As it happens, that's remarkably similar to how my mother invokes God."

"Oh. Well. Then, yes, apparently I invoke the Force like your mother invokes God."

He smiles.

"Yeah. Although, thinking about it, I'm not at all sure he'll need it. Resourcefulness seems to run in the family."

"I don't doubt it. But he can have my slightly-religious blessing for his well-being and happiness if he wants it, anyway."