[ Okay, the man has brought up a fair point - and even in his annoyance, Lean has to admit it was an error on his part to present it as such.

... It takes him a moment to cool down. ]

I worded this poorly, I apologise.

[ He sighs, searching for the right way to do this. ]

You have no formal obligations towards the Center itself, that much is true and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. However - [ And here, his tone regains some of the confidence. ] I ask of you to understand we’re dealing with a delicate situation, and therefore can’t stand idly in the face of potential threat of disrupting our relations. We are not capable of telling what the reaction might even be, at this point.