"Is it?" Jim responds, though he's not easing up his wariness at all, trying to keep an eye on Samus' movements. Just because she's not going after him physically doesn't mean she won't, and complacency makes for a tempting target. "Even if the Federation didn't have enemies, space travel is inherently risky. There's always a chance that something can go wrong, no matter how small."

"I like stories too," he adds, in reply to Verity's comment. "I just hadn't thought of it as being a good one. Or 'not bad.'" Still, that's not a refusal.