Jolana smiled nervously as she opened the door, "Hey, Max! Unusual for you to come by unnanounced."

Max chuckled as he waved hello, "Thought I would swing by, see how Alex was going with the sims."

The doctor poked their head around the corner, "Ah, hello. You should have called ahead... The sims are currently down."

Max blinked as he glanced over, "Down? What's the mattter?"

"Well, you see... The sims don't actually run off of Greg's systems. They run of mine." The doctor pointed to the side of the house, the nose of the hulking shuttle just visible as activity could be barely made out, Greg's drones moving materials inside, "... And our system happens to be down today."

Max stroked his chin, glancing over curiously, "That's unfortunate... What happened?"

The doctor shrugged calmly, "Overworked the system recently, some of the parts are fried. It can still run, theoretically... But, we want to play on the safe side, and wait until maintenance is finished."

Chuckling, Max nodded, "Guess that solves the mystery on how your sims are so detailed: Advanced hardware. Anything I can do to help?"

"Not really, I'm afraid. Our system is... Unique. Which both means you wouldn't have much luck fixing it properly, and it is one of our sensetive trade secrets." Grinning, the doctor patted him on the back, "No offense... But even Greg had to beg for months to be given a tour."

Jolana hid a smirk. Yes, that why he was let in... "Sorry, Max. With the doctor's team overseeing maintenance, and the sims down, we don't have much to offer."

Max sighed, rolling his eyes with a resigned smile, 'Really was bad timing, then. Any chance I can have a chat with Alex before I go, then? I have some ideas for the sim, once it is running." Jolana froze up, not having a story for that one.

The doctor simply giggled, "I'd love to, but unfortunately the system went down last night... And, guess who lept right into repairs?"

"Alex, the sim nut. Yeah, I wouldn't sit still either. Guess they are resting now, then." Glancing around, Max fidgeted restlessly, "Guess I should call ahead nex time... Not a short trip out here."

The doctor smiled smoothly, waving a hand inside, "No, it isn't. But, before you go... How about Something to eat? It would be a shame to waste the trip, and you can catch up with Jolana at least."

Not noticing the incredulous stare Jolana shot Dr Elune, Max nodded thoughtfully, "I am a bit hungry... Sure, I'll take you up on that. You sure it's okay?" The doctor nodded with a warm smile, moving out of the way.

Jolana forced a mostly calm smile, stepping back inside, "Well, you know the way to the kitchen... I'll catch up, just want to run a few things by Sam while I can." Max nodded, humming as he made his way inside.

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Once Max was safely out of earshot, Jolana scowled, and the doctor held up their hands defensivly, "Hey, It was only polite. And... Less suspicious. Chat for an hour, I will oversee the repairs, and let Alex know. No harm in it, right?"

Taking a deep breath, Jolana nodded, "You know... You lie pretty well, Sam."

Chuckling nervously, the doctor nodded, "Practice. Norman was a fan of poker... And, I have a secret to keep. I need to lie well." Turning to head to the shuttle, the doctor waved over their shoulder, "Oh, and since Alex will still be available to chat in the observation deck... You should swing by after. Say hi."

Gritting her teeth, Jolana wandered into the kitchen, plucking a console display from the wall, "So, Max... You know how to order with these?"

Max nodded from his chair, taking it from Jolana when offered, "Yup. Can you guys spare the drones though, considering...?"

Nodding, Jolana went to the fridge, settling for just some juice, not feeling very hungry anymore, "Yeah, they probably need more skilled hands... And our drones aren't that nimble."

As Jolana sat down with her glass, Max hummed, "Do you think Alex will be up, soon? I know they had a late night and all..."

Jolana shook her head, concentrating slightly to make sure she followed the doctor's mostly true story, "Alex was seriously working on bringing the system back online the entire night. Probably won't be up and about until evening, if we are lucky."

Max shrugged, "Ah well. Guess I have been getting along a bit too well with the guy. Speaking of... You seem very certain of when he went to bed."

Taking a moment to catch his drift, Jolana coughed as she put her glass down slowly, "Shush, you." Blushign as she sighed in exasperation, she glared at the chuckling Maximus.

"Seemed like you hadn't quite gotten there yet, before. Congratulations~" Brushing of a growl, Max smiled softly, "Seriously, you two seem like a good match. Less... Complicated than-"

"... Shush, you." Smiling back, Jolana sighed, "But yes, you're right... Alex is a good match. Way more complicated though, just in different ways."

Max raised an eyebrow, "Really? How so?"

Oops. "Oh, just having to trail after a mad scientist. I doubt they all plan on permanently setting up base here, so if I plan on keeping this up... I'm probably going to have to leave with them."

Blinking, Max went quiet... That was a good point. Both of them were very thankful when the drones served Max his food, to help break the silence, leading to simpler idle chatter as he ate.