"I already told you I have no intention of hurting you," the ice alien waves a hand dismissively. "To be honest, I'm not sure I could even if I wanted to. We are--" were? "--so awfully close, after all."

He lets that lay between them for a moment, a reminder of just how powerful the friendship that the clergyman and the alien is. But then he ends up carrying on, "All I want in this world is to take back what Glacius stole from me. My technology, my purpose, my friends. I want my old life back--I want to be the rightful one. That's it. Not too much to ask, is it?"