It's pretty early as you and Karim stroll into the Star Lounge and you have the entire place to yourselves. That doesn't slow him down a bit, though, and within a minute he's setting down a tall, frothy beer in front of you. You chat amiably, initially about the Hoplites and obvious commonalities. He seems to know that you were a bit of a troublemaker at the College, but if anything, that seems to increase his respect. The conversation eventually steers toward more personal topics and you share your own family history with him. You learn that Karim is from Mars, and that he shares his world's rugged pioneer spirit.
"I have to hand it to these colonists," he says eventually, pulling on his third beer; "they've really made a go of building a new society on Cerberus. I just wish they'd get organized under one government and stop the fighting."