"What are the literary archives like here in Neomuna?" Of all the burning questions she had, Ikora landed on this one.

The holoprojection of Quinn Laghari smiled coyly. "Depends. What are you looking for?"

Ikora blinked. What was she looking for? At what other point in history had two civilizations of this scale reunited centuries after a divergence? Where does one even begin?

The archivist went on. "We've got historical texts both pre and post-Exodus Indigo, all of the publicly released research papers from the Ishtar Collective… and maybe a few unpublished ones," she added with a wink. "We've got everything from cookbooks to court documents to blueprints. A vast array of fiction, some even pre-Golden Age: sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, parody memoire, more than a few naughty novels—"

Ikora cleared her throat. "Erm, perhaps you could direct me to any information the city is willing to share regarding the Veil, effective tactical maneuvers against the Vex, the Cloud Strider vetting process, the—"

"Sheesh, buy me a drink first, Terran."

Ikora stammered.

"I'm kidding," Quinn chuckled. "I'll start the queries—"

"No." Ikora shook her head with a soft smile. "Your point is well taken. If we are to be allies, perhaps we try our hand at friendship as well?"

Quinn returned the smile, then asked, "The archive is always on the hunt for cultural contributions. If you were to offer such a contribution, what would it be?" She leaned in, "In other words, what is Ikora Rey's favorite book?"

Ikora thought for a moment, then chuckled. "There's… an old Earth detective series I've been meaning to revisit."