"I did." Not much louder. "We all did. The vast majority of the survivors only survived because we were in the air."

As for the rest of what Hawkeye says... well, isn't that all a planet is? A collection of towns, farms, villages? Burn enough of them, and soon there's nowhere left to go -- and no one left who can leave.

Gaeta's jaw sets. "I'm sorry, too," he says, still low, but very clear. "That your military decided that's how they'd use their authority. And that they drafted you, gods."

Even at their worst, the Fleet didn't start hauling unwilling people off the civilian ships and chucking them into Vipers.

"I don't know how much that helps, either. I don't think anything can."