[The fact Aak can't pin down the exact angle is like the fish hook wriggling in his craw. He can tell he's being propositioned for something. He can tell he stands to gain. So what was the other guy getting out of it? Was he connected to someone who would stand to gain?]

... well, you know, it'd be miracles on top of miracles. It's already a pretty big ask to get all the tools I'd need for extraction. For proper research I'd need a lot more glassware, a microscope, centrifuge...

[he taps a finger with each thing he's adding to the list]

But, of course. It's something I enjoy. If the stars aligned, then, yea, I'd want to take advantage of it and do some research.

[He wasn't promising anything and he was making it clear that he'd want to see the materials before he did anything. If he did get everything he wanted then, well, he'd deal with it then. It was probably worth a lousy deal just to get all those tools.]