Eva stares into her mug as Kang relays the stories. Many of the emotions resonate particularly strongly. "I suppose you should never underestimate the difference children can make when armed and trained. They can turn tides. They shouldn't have to, but they can. From what you're telling me, you did what any loving parent would."

Her next taste of wine is more gulp than sip. "I don't know how much you know about my son, but he was in a war and I was helpless to protect him. And he and a few of his allies changed the war from hopeless to a victory. He's always done the right thing in that regard, even when..." She winces, remembering holding him as she asked to be reinfested. "But if I were given a chance to go back and keep him out of it entirely, even if it meant losing the planet and the human race, well, I know what the logical thing to do would be and I know what the maternal thing to do would be, and honestly I can't say on any given day which decision I would make."