"Sometimes, it's easier than you'd think. We all accept, on some level, that we could die out there. Space is dangerous. Everyone knows that the people that leave spacedock may not be the same people that come home. But it's always tiring."

The next thing he was going to admit, required another drink of his beer.

"And sometimes it's not. Sometimes you realize you need a break from deciding who lives, who dies, who's on the away team and who stays on board. Then you take a planetside position while you wait for your ship to be built."

So, Pike really was the last person to pass any judgement on Jim for having these thoughts, since he'd had them himself.