Well, she did want to get a drink somewhere. Just wasn't expecting here. She walked in with her stillsuit on, though her blonde hair compared to the others would make her stand out more. At least inside of these caves was cooler than it was outside.

The workers would have gotten off at this point from the previous shift, so their best bet was to hit up one of the shoddy taverns within. It was clear she wasn't used to hanging out in such operations, but she could at least figure it all out when she got there. That was the best plan, after all.

Dorian had accompanied Lady Wallach. He didn't have any particular goals in mind, but coming out to speak with the workers was more productive than sitting in the Frigate honing his blades.

There were fair-haired people around! Miners were coming from all over the Imperium after all, though the longer they stayed the harder it was to leave because of spice addiction that was all too easy to pick up when working with the spice day and night. The cinnamon residue was everywhere here.

Still, Gene's entry did draw attention. It was accompanied by whistles.

Gene glanced around at those who reacted to her arrival and stared at the direction it was coming from. Not that she minded getting some attention in this instance. Walking over to one of the (most likely) gentlemen who reacted to her, she smiles, points to Dorian, and nods. "Friend of mine and I are looking to get a beer and hang with some better company today." She kept her charming smile up longer. "Don't suppose you have a good suggestion where a girl can get a cheap beer and some good company."

She passed and winked. "Not like that, of course."

"I consider myself good company, mam." One of the sandy-haired replied, gesturing for her to join his table. He seemed to be someone moderately important, by experience more than real status probably, as Arrakis had already taken some tall on his skin and eyes. "I can buy you a drink if your man there is a miser. Name's Mess'r Coss."

Dorian stepped forward, "I'm no miser Mr. Cross and I am no man of hers." He said with a conspiratorial wink. "I'd be happy to buy a round if I can take a seat at your table here."

"Now you're talking." The man's round face grinned a bit. "And it's Coss."

She smiled and sat down as well. "Dorian is not always so generous; you should feel so honored." She smiled at him. Clearly, she would not know his spending habits, but that just only adds to familiarity she wanted to establish for the purpose of this conversation.

"Pleasure, Coss. I am Gene." No need to establish her lineage with these folk. "How long have you been down here in this hellhole?"

"So it's an interview? Am I going to be famous after this?" The man grinned, then put his legs on the corner of the table, stretching back. "Four years and a bit. I came here from Chusuk, when my parents' harmonywood plantation had gone bankrupt..."

Gene smiled and laughed a little at Coss' commentary. "Oh yes. Broadcasted all over the galaxy, no doubt. Going to win so many awards, as well" She shook her head. "No, just curious. Everyone has a sad story, after all. Sorry to hear about yours." She said. "Got my own too, of course. Why we should probably drink some and forget about it a little." She raised her hand and flagged down someone to take care of that problem.

"Harkonnen at least treat you well? I mean, well for a Harkonnen, of course."

"I treat myself well enough. I and my old lady pull a lot of spice for them so they let me be. There are problems, but as long as the Imperium needs spice, there's going to be job for me." He sighed. "Why the curiosity? You want to sign up? Omri up there has the forms."

"It's a secure job market." She said with a small nod. "Oh, no major reason for the moment. I'm a off-worlder, so I'm trying to understand the way this planet works before I leave." The drinks came and she immediately went for it. Probably the first one she'd had in a while. It was terrible, but she was trained not to let everyone know that.

It was a subtle clearing of her throat that would show that. "That includes all of the 'little people', as it were." She uses air quotes to put that extra emphasis on the little people. "Most don't understand how important a single cog is into the machine."

"Believe me, I know a lot about the importance of cogs in machines. I am a spice driver." Mess'r laughed. "I must disappoint you in one thing, though. It probably takes more than one lifetime to understand how this planet works."

Something he said triggered Genevieve's realisation: the spice was affecting her, it was already subtly interacting with her biochemistry, her muscles and nerves responding to its presence in all around. Here on Arrakis, at its source, you were not taking it; it was taking you. It was way too little here to trigger any permanent change, but it alerted her to the long-term consequences of exposure. One of them would be a lure to synergise that influence with her schooling, to dip into space trance with all her preparation and see beyond what people could normally know about their past, present, and future.

Dorian finished taking a long pull from his glass and gave a satisfied sigh. "Spice driver huh, that's a lot of responsibility Mr. Coss." He said, correcting his earlier mispronunciation. "A lot of responsibility and a lot of guts. I've heard that even when you're under attack, you guys keep harvesting spice right up to the last minute." Dorian raises his glass to Mr. Coss.

"Depends what you mean by an attack. But whether it's a worm, a storm, or a Fremen raid, in order of likelihood, we're mostly like sitting ducks there, waiting for the carryall. Guts are needed, sure, to keep things in until the lift comes, but prayer is good too." He laughed. "But there's some brinkmanship, sure, guilty as charged. We get bonuses for a full load."

Gene nodded and listened to them in the meantime. There was a temptation to improve upon herself since she arrived, to truly start to improve her reading. Spice could do that, but it would come at a great cost. Chained to this desert planet for great power. Temptations and how to use them could come later. For now, there was other matters at hand.

"I'm beginning to see that this planet may require further understanding; it is far from being so simple as I first thought when I arrived. Well, to you, it's it's good to see that those in charge of such a thing are rather incentivized to do their job under such conditions; it's incredibly dangerous work." She finally took a swig of her beer and it warm and probably mixed with whatever they could get their hands on to make it alcoholic. Coss seemed like a decent folk. Probably best to be a little bit bolder with her approach. She leaned in a little bit and kept her voice quiet as to not arouse any further suspicion.

"Don't suppose you've seen anything the Harkonnen have done of late that would be of some concern with the operation?" She didn't expect a honest answer, but that was not the point. She wanted to see how he would react to the question, and give a feel to who else may be listening to them in the room. We'd be very grateful to you for your help. Help make sure you never need someone to buy a round.

"Snitching on the Harkonnen with so many ears around is just stupid, my lady." Coss replied in the same lowered voice. "Not that I have any big revelations for you. For them, criminal methods are the rule and they are still kept here as rulers of Arrakis for almost a century. I don't know what's there left to say."

More than a couple of people were eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Don't worry, you've given me enough already. I won't risk you or your family any more than that." She said as she sipped her beer once more, not elaborating further. Opportunistic people down here; that was good to know. At also did confirm her suspicions; this was not a private conversation. People could never help their innate reactions when caught off guard with something. Being blunt often allowed for such openings.

"Don't suppose you know how a girl could get her hands on some spice, then? There's something I'm curious about with it."

"If a girl has my reach, then I think she can't. If a girl can reach out to same free traders, then it may be possible." Coss shrugged to indicate that he can say little more. "The further away from Carthag, the freer the trade? Not my words. I heard them somewhere."

[2 Threat: Harkonnen spy in the room will remember that.]