"I wasn't conscripted into Rocket on my arrival, no." Thace isn't going to outright say that he isn't a part of Rocket at all, even if he isn't. "The arrival of such an overwhelming number of reinforcements necessitated an abrupt change in strategy."

There's almost a little bit of laughter in Thace's tone. Almost. "You are overestimating how much the superiors care about providing support for individuals on the team. The 'big shots' as you call them, are in the base. Any organization management, or agents offering aid and resupply, up here did not come from the top down."

Thace isn't one hundred percent certain of that, but given all he knows, it's a very reasonable and likely guess. And if he can persuade this man to give up, there's less chance he'll run into and recognize Steven, who's pretty sure is one of the ranking agents, if not the ranking agent.