[i]"I'd rather her not. She's got potential and she's wasting it trying to become a master thief. Have you seen her room? Dozens of account feeds all controlled by her from dozens of outer rim colonies. She's a walking stock market. And she'd rather smuggle like her father..."[/i] [b]Val gives Ian a surprised glance, not quite pleased with how Damien was running the group. Lucien had the right idea... Settle down, choose something more productive.[/b] [i]"Even then, she's moving credits to charities only because I said so. They were originally all going to an offhand account. Imagine... That mind creating super-AI networks. She could even be smarter than Damien."[/i] [b]Damien's intelligence was his greatest feature. He wasn't exactly the most fit or combat experienced, and that's what made him dangerous. He was unpredictable and hyper sensory. Even Lucien paled in comparison. But Nikki... She combined the super intelligences of her mother and father...[/b]

[i] Ian shrugs, sweeping his hair off his face with one hand. He needed a haircut.. He didn't really get Val's statement, if he was being honest. Nikki was brilliant, he already knew that. But if she wanted to be a master thief, and not build AI networks, than that's what she should do. Ian was strong believer in living ones life how they wanted.[/i] "I don't know. She's good at what she does, and it's not like she's a murderer or anything. If she wants to smuggle and steal money, than so be it, it's what she's good at, and what she enjoys. No ones gonna think different of her because of it." [i]Except maybe you, Ian thought to himself, but didn't dare say it out loud. Of course, his opinion was mildly biased because of his feelings towards Nikki and everything they'd been through together with the team. Even Val could see that. [/i]

[i]"Then there must be a middle ground. Always a compromise. It's people like you and her that can change the universe for the better. Have her break into a vault to steal something that can help others. You could build the next breed of super cruiser."[/i] [b]Val wasn't an unreasonable person, but she had the highest moral standards of the Lordans. She took greatly after her uncle, having lived with him the most... Damien the least. She saw potential, and she saw potential wasted... She simply wanted the best for Nikki...[/b] [i]"Maybe it's an age thing... Soon enough I'm going to be an old woman with grating hair... Words don't count as much then."[/i] [b]Val leaned back in her chair with a sigh, resting her head in her propped up hand, staring blankly at a vial of something orange and bubbly.[/b] [i]"Well, I can't bother you forever. Best get your food before it gets cold."[/i] [b]That was probably Val's way of saying she was finished talking. In a way, she was like a concerned mother looking after a much to large family. And the twins certainly weren't making her position easier.[/b]