A laugh escaped him at that assessment. He couldn't help it, because he supposed when he explained it like that it did sound terrible. But it was a hard thing to grasp - that even though much of it was emptiness, the spots that were filled had many, many things to offer.

"You sound like my CMO - ah, that is, Chief Medical Officer," he explained. "But I guess you can think of it as a sort of ocean. There's not a lot there, but the little islands you come across are full of life and new and wonderful things." Yeah, that sounded like a good metaphor, he thought.

Another shrug followed her last comment. "It's not the best situation to come into, but I'm not in chains, I'm not freezing, and I'm not seriously injured, so I'll take the blessings and good fortune I have. Though I admit I don't... quite understand everything about this war."