[ Well, no one can accuse Hawk of being stupid, at least. But then after all that Jim's shared in this conversation, it's only natural that he would reach that conclusion so swiftly. Nevertheless, Jim hesitates to answer, if only because he's not at all sure in which position it will leave them, all of them, both with this crew and the pirates.

And if they have neither to lean on, then they really are screwed. ]

I'm not sure that either word would be a good descriptor, in our case. We... were lost at sea. On boats, on islands... and they found us, took us into their ships. It was just happenstance that they were the ones to find us and not you.

[ He dips his head, some sign of respect for what little good it will do him. ]

I don't mean to sound entitled when I ask these questions. We just want to know what we're getting involved in, is all. Wouldn't you?