[He had not interfered in the spat between Honey and Nehada. Part of it had rubbed him raw on a level of principles; one woman who had climbed her way up having her sexuality insulted, discrediting her efforts and sacrifices. The other was a child, an emotional child, who should have been treated as an emotional child experiencing the hormones that every child experiences rather than an annoying, hopeless wreck.]

[But what had bothered him most about that exchange was that it was public, a sort of argument that people in roles of authority rarely showed against one another. The very probable explanation is that Honey just didn't care about what was being said and had no need to display her disagreements privately, but in the back of Niko's mind he wondered if it also could have been a well veiled attempt to gain sympathy, recruit more people into friendship with the lasting crew.]

[He had thought to tell Mothership that what she was told wasn't valid, but in the end he just kept his mouth shut, stayed away from the risk, and worked. It seemed the safest bet.]

[Though, probably, not a subject he would ever rouse. He figured knowing that they had learned to excel at killing people they loved was testament enough to what might be required of them.]

It is dealing in death, but legal. But I think barely legal. It is mentioned that they can not make us give up our worlds, so there is that contract. You break contract, they get what they want. You stop caring, they get what they want. You fuck up a little, you might hurt, someone you like might hurt instead.

But it is legal enough that they can make schools for it, if they have people here learning.

Normally I would say you could run, but you run from here, you kill everyone on the ship. And there are many other ships. I will also tell you that when you are the only survivor of a ship that goes down, with many people on board who did not want to be there, it is not a good feeling.

But you're right. That's exactly what it is.