"I think....I don't always want to understand people. Not when I'm - I mean, the legacy I have. Most of my keepers make a very professional effort to be opaquely personable and keep any fear or resentment or pity entirely invisible. It feels - both masochistic and ungrateful, to try to pry open those blinds."

Sometimes he thinks about asking for Commander Talaw. She thought of him enough to send the cards - but maybe that was just for saving her life from the Revenant's purge. She wouldn't be able to hide it, if she hates him, and well she might, for Dhanneth and her entire bridge crew. He knows he couldn't take that.

"But I think he always wants to know."