- Chrisjen Avasarala: There is no law or policy so well-made that a culture of shortcuts, preferential treatment, and corruption cannot degrade it. Any change we make must be rooted in fairness.
- Naomi Nagata: I was young and in love with a boy who had a crazy plan. I'd hack reactor control programs, he had a way to insert them into Inner ships. Then we could turn off the drive, leave them on the drift, rescue them for a price later, and it wouldn't look like piracy because they'd be so grateful that we saved them.