She had almost dared ask, but was perhaps too fearful of hearing something she could not refute. - Alastair Reynolds

Clearly we missed something." "You have a fine talent for understatement.

But make no mistake. My counterpart is capable of a great deal of ruthlessness in pursuit of a just cause. He believes he has right on his side. And men who think they have right on their side are always the most dangerous sort.

“And when do we abandon negotiation and start hitting each other with increasingly large sticks?” Ru said.
“Only when we’ve exhausted all the other options,” Vasin said.