Don't believe in no-win scenarios

Isidor frowns, her eyes flicking back and forth across the table as she thinks. Is it really comparable? If she had the lives of hundreds of people depending on her wouldn't it be easier to run on desperation and survival instincts? But isn't Viatorus' life worth hundreds to her? Isn't Harrowheart's?

Jim mentions the death knight and Isidor's gaze snaps to his, her frown deepening reflexively into a scowl. She forgot he knows. How could he not? Now flushed with defensive irritation, she looks away to avoid unleashing her impatient temper on the man she called to get advice from.

In a very careful, purposeful motion, she picks up her up, sips her coffee, and sets it down so that she can flatten out the creases in her trousers in a slow, smooth wipe. "I'm not like that," she says eventually. "I don't have hundreds of people relying on me. Just a few. I don't have the eyes of a Federation locked on me, or the future of a whole race of people depending on me." She takes a deep breath and meets Jim's gaze. "I have one job. One role. I have to be the strong one. So, you understand, I can't break. Not in front of my family, not in front of my friends. Not even in front of Harrowheart. And…" Another deep breath. "If there's anything else you know that can… help me do my job, I would be grateful."