She was not a political creature. She felt that politics was the second most evil thing humanity had ever invented, just after lutefisk. - James S. A. Corey

The engineers groaned and shook their heads. Legal arguments were another phrase for bullshit to them.

We're the ones who followed the rules here. We came with science teams and a hard dome. We hired them to build our landing platform, and they killed us. We're the good guys here.
And the moral high ground is a lovely place," Marwick said, as if he were agreeing. "It won't stop a missile, though.

He told himself that, but he was getting less and less persuasive. Not knowing was the worst thing. The second-worst thing as being chased by a bunch of top-of-the-line warships that really wanted to kill you.