Honeyed Pasture the stars at night are indifferent to our plight

He is not completely surprised by the aggression with which Heda reacts. It does not bother him though it feels slightly unwarranted - though perhaps Heda had not seen the small woman. Or perhaps Étoille is just biased towards not taking seriously those he perceives as 'small'. 

 In this one case, his bias is correct. He glances at the commander in the face of the woman's submission. Part of him wishes to reassure the stranger, if only because he feels somewhat awkward still, but he holds his tongue for Heda's response instead.