The fact that Aspel seemed to be shocked herself that she was issuing such an order helped. Helped in that James recognized that he should not direct his rage toward her. Or at least, it gave him pause enough that he did not immediately get up and walk out, or snark back at her (the latter was something he did make a conscious effort to avoid when dealing with his superiors, anyway).
Instead, James was icily quiet, leveling a hard look at her while he tried to gather his thoughts enough to speak appropriately. As with Aspel, there was a flicker of a memory - of soldiers marching up to a remote farmhouse, of the confusion and fear as a family was taken and marched away.
"Who made the decision that some lives are more important than others?" he asked when he finally spoke. Because he was sure it was not the woman before him. "That some merit protecting more than others?"