[ Hotspur doesn't do irritated. He really doesn't. He does mild frustration which is what he's feeling as he finally breaks for long enough from his tinkering with shuttle avionics to make a concerted effort to switch on the video feed. His expression is blank for the most part and only lightly marred by a faint crease in his brow as he replies: ]

Hey, look, I'm sorry to hear you've had bad luck with superiors before but they're not AWOL. There's only two of them and this is a hell of a ship to run on limited manpower, y'know? So, no, I guess chatting with the passengers isn't high on their priorities.

[ A pause, and then more placidly: ]

But if it's really bugging you then there's a whole bunch of stuff that needs people with a good brain on 'em to help out with.