denser than a neutron star

[Recording begins with several seconds of silence, faint shuffling. Eventually, a voice is heard.]

CLARY: Poke.

POKE: ...

CLARY: Poke. My dear sister.
CLARY: I do not mean to be rude, but I can see you moping.
CLARY: If there is something you would like to get off your upper torso before Pye joins us aboard the shuttle, now would be the time.

POKE: It is fine.
POKE: I only...
POKE: ...

CLARY: You only what?
CLARY: ...
CLARY: Is it the Project?
CLARY: I know it has been... disheartening, to see the Sun Station fail so completely, but...

POKE: No, no. It isn't that.
POKE: Not directly, at any rate.
POKE: ...
POKE: It's Pye.

CLARY: What about her?

POKE: I... well.
POKE: Do you recall a few years ago, when I asked you for advice on a certain topic?

CLARY: You may have to be more specific! But yes, perhaps I do.
CLARY: ... Is this to do with your relationship to her?

POKE: I'm afraid so.
POKE: I know I have harbored certain feelings for her for a long time, but I always believed that this was neither the time nor place to express them.
POKE: The success of the Ash Twin Project depended on our continued cooperation. Any superfluous interpersonal drama might have jeopardized it in a manner I could not afford to risk.
POKE: So I kept those feelings to myself, and I have continued to do so since our last conversation.

CLARY: ...

POKE: But now, the Project has hit a snag, and I'm not sure it will recover.
POKE: I don't wish to assume my timing is any better, though, and endanger our future work on it.
POKE: And besides, I'm sure we will have our grasping limbs full greeting this wayward new comet.
POKE: I only fear there may never be a good time to test the waters, and when I finally try, everything might fall apart.

CLARY: Poke.

POKE: Yes?

CLARY: My dearest and most beloved sister.

POKE: Oh dear.

CLARY: Do you mean to inform me that you have been unaware that Pye has been shamelessly flirting with you for the last several years?

POKE: ...
POKE: What?

CLARY: And you called me dense!
CLARY: Did you not notice the way she behaves toward you?

POKE: I will cede that she does get very, er, up close and friendly, but she does this to anyone in her general vicinity.
POKE: Even Idaea has hardly been spared her lack of standards for personal space.

CLARY: Poke.

POKE: And besides, I am far from the only member of this project she has been emotionally close to!
POKE: For example, Ramie--

CLARY: Ramie was her apprentice, and used to babysit Pye's little niece and nephew. Of course they're close.

POKE: Yes, well, there is also...
POKE: ... um...

CLARY: Has your list run out already?

POKE: Of course not. Just give me a moment!
POKE: ... There's...
POKE: ...
POKE: That can't be my only point of comparison.

CLARY: ...
CLARY: Denser than a neutron star, she says.
CLARY: Will never figure it out, she says!

POKE: You don't have to rub it in, Clare.

CLARY: Allow me my moment!
CLARY: You honestly didn't know?

POKE: I had... suspicions, but my confidence never fell within an acceptable margin of error.
POKE: As I said, I did not wish to sabotage our capacity to cooperate on the Project if I misjudged.

CLARY: And what margins of error were you seeking, Poke? Absolute certainty?

POKE: ...
POKE: Not... absolute...
POKE: ... Don't make that expression, Clary.

CLARY: Whatever do you mean? We are both wearing masks.

POKE: Clary.

CLARY: Yes, alright. I suppose enough is enough.
CLARY: You cannot entirely fault me for finding this a little bit amusing, though.

POKE: I know.

CLARY: So, if the Project is on pause indefinitely, when do you plan to make your confession?

POKE: My--
POKE: Clary!

CLARY: Was that not the point of this conversation?

POKE: I... It is not impossible that the Project could resume sometime soon, depending on how quickly we wish to return to the planning stage and seeking new suggestions for alternative solutions.
POKE: If so, I would be better off--

CLARY: Poke, please.
CLARY: Are you going to put this off forever just in case our search for the Eye might somehow depend on it?

POKE: If that is what it takes, I do not think it is completely--

CLARY: Did Yarrow and I put off our relationship merely on the off chance it might go sour and harm the Project?

POKE: That's...
POKE: That is unfair, Clary. You were not the one to initiate the process. Yarrow made the choice for you.

CLARY: And I could have refused, Poke.
CLARY: Our people have been seeking the Eye for generations, and we have still found time to live our lives while doing so.
CLARY: If you still do harbor these feelings for Pye, I see no reason not to express them at least during this window of opportunity.

POKE: ...

CLARY: Also, it is standard safety protocol for one Nomai to stay behind and watch the shuttle.
CLARY: That leaves every opportunity for the two of you to go exploring a new astral body together, all by yourselves.
CLARY: I mean, really, anything could happen.

POKE: Clary.

CLARY: Poke.

POKE: ...
POKE: Oh, fine. I will go, and you may stay behind.
POKE: Just--

PYE: Hello, you two! Apologies for the delay! Somebody was complaining about--

[Crosstalk, unintelligible. Transcript picks up a few seconds later.]

POKE: --good to see you, Pye!

PYE: And you too, Poke. Your presence is welcome as ever.
PYE: Yours as well, Clary.
PYE: I would not be allowed to do this without you!

POKE: Yes, this is how our typical exploration protocol works.
POKE: I mean.
POKE: ...
POKE: We should set course immediately now that we are all present!

PYE: Agreed! Every moment spent waiting here is another moment of possibility lost in our potential intercept trajectory.
PYE: Our guest's path appears hyperbolic so far, so there's no time to waste!
PYE: ... Unrelatedly, is that recorder active?

POKE: What?!

CLARY: Oh! It does appear to be.
CLARY: Someone must have activated it earlier and left it running.

POKE: Clearly in error! Here, allow me--

CLARY: P--!

[Recording ends abruptly.]