[ He lifts his hands and flicks his fingers, the gesture evocative of sudden destruction. His voice is low and sonorous and vicious as he narrates: ]

Destroyed. Utterly. A thermonuclear weapon dropped on it from above. Everyone killed. All those children, all those innocents uninvolved in the war, killed. And for what? For vengeance - payback to Piotr Vorkosigan for his resistance to their invasion. It doesn't have any strategic value - they're not even punishing the people themselves - they're just murdering millions to punish one man. And we sit here speaking of my life? My dear woman, that's a joke of the highest order. My life is worthless. My life is tiny. I am nothing. What about them, Miss Troi? What are we doing for them?