[ Balthier stands by his read of David but he isn't going to push it; he knows better than most how poorly someone else's view of you can fit -- even if some of it's true. He's not entirely sure how to read David's response -- his objections are reasonable, of course. The hand tells him it's not meant to push back on Balthier specifically. It's memories that are still raw. ]

I only join groups that have codes -- one reason I left Ba'Gamnan's crew. They were willing to crush whoever it took for the biggest profit. I could have stayed in the Archadian government if that was what I wanted. [ His voice gets hard. There weren't a lot of grudges he couldn't bury, but times he was made complicit in the harm of others stood out. ] My father's research was weapons. He found a way to level an entire city. Gone, in an instant. If I'd stayed I might have been able to prevent it. Regardless, that was when I got involved again. I couldn't let that keep happening. I shouldn't have let it happen the first time; I knew what he was researching. I just didn't think he'd use it that way, and I was too young to influence the system in any meaningful way.

[ There's a lot of personal information in that last admission, and now isn't the time to dig in. ] I'm being verbose. My point is, I respect your line. And I respect more that it's come from personal experience and not just theory. Labels don't matter to me; morals do, and I'd rather you have strong ones instead of just agreeing with whatever I say. [ That was how Archades had been. Lies and manipulation and being two-faced. Pirates did it too, but you usually knew it was on the table. And honestly, more of them had good hearts and strong moral codes. ]