He swiveled his chair to look at Valdis more directly, merely arching an eyebrow at her reply to his inquiry. That she supplied both names was intriguing. Certainly not a measure of trust, but it was revealing in other ways. People usually had an alias for a reason.

"Devin Parker." In his world, that name could be enough to send fear shivering through a room. Here, it only mattered for the powers it still supplied him, and those were hardly relevant even so.

"Given that we are short-handed, we may all have to learn more than we'd prefer," Devin said of the gas distribution. "I'm sure your intelligence will measure up to the task." He quirked a cold smile, and nodded to the sword at her hip. "And I sincerely doubt your current title of 'ensign' reflects your actual capabilities."