Are you refusing a direct order?" "Tell me to die for no good reason and I'll do more than refuse, I'll shove the order up your ass. - Adam-Troy Castro

It occurred to me a long time ago, Mr. Lastogne, that diplomacy has very little to do with making friends.

His smile was the wholly unpersuasive kind that only a professional diplomat could carve. Damned if there wasn’t some pretense of compassion in his voice, some veneer of fatherly understanding that gave every word out of his mouth an extra, oily sheen.

She’s a little bit below mediocre, isn’t she? And the worst kind of below-par personality at that: the kind who believes herself destined for great things.