Bass considerd that comment seriously. "At times it can be. Or, at least, more fucked than Iraq was and what I heard about Afghanistan." He'd never done a tour there, but he had friends who had.

"Maybe...ten, twenty percent of the time. The rest, it's...not great, but I've been through far, far worse. It's a life. Better than some, worse than others." He shrugged, offered Alex a curious look for the karma comment, but didn't press for details. It wasn't his place.

He arched an eyebrow inquiringly, though, at the question about jobs. "There are jobs to be had, though you'll need a dominant to vouch for you to get anything decent. What can you do?"