[ ...a difficult choice now presents itself. It is not hard for Nina to fall back into the habit of simply answering to Kirigan; she has been, one way or another, for the majority of her life.

And the warmth of his approval in this isn't something that she feels the need to deflect - though she'd made the choice to desert, she'd never betray the Grisha. Arken had been wrong. ...but it also had not been very difficult to pretend not to approve of enforced conscription. Nina believed she understood the necessity of it, when all the world fought to eliminate them, you needed to learn to fight back, you needed to be able to stand with the people who were your brothers and sisters because no one else would have you and work to make a way, to make a place, so that one day Grisha wouldn't have to fight. And yet...

...and she still needed to talk to him about Matthias. (She is dreading talking to him about Matthias.)

Her honest assessment? ]

I think if they've really been here for three years the initial damage must have been far worse than I thought. Unless I'm very much mistaken, there is no reserve of supplies, no sustainably harvested food source. The people here are not incompetent. Their technology is incredibly advanced. And yet it still seems like they're barely scraping by. I have more questions than answers.

[ If it was anyone else, she'd ask what he thought too, but you didn't just... ask the general what he thought. You offered your report and waited for orders.

...that wasn't what she wanted to do, but again - habit was strong. ]