I have nothing to give them. ( A pause, mildly bitter — resigned. ) And everything to ask. That's why they skin us, of course. They know we need them. If we didn't...

( But then, this isn't the smile of a kindly man. ) I wonder what will become of them when Alem falls. All that opportunity for coin, utterly wasted. If only they'd treated us better, we might have shown them loyalty in our new settlements. Imagine.