"Good," Ben responds without hesitation. He frowns after he says it, then assures, "Nothing against you. I just don't want anything to happen to them."

The answer gets a grimace from Ben.

"So...some of the soldiers aren't even real? Or most of them?" He's still catching up on some of the politics, but he knows at least that much, that the Hand is comprised of the soldiers. That also means there's more of them than might first appear. Or they're easily replaced. That's not a good thing.