"I redirected my attention. "Truman, my orders say nothing about placing my ships under the command of a bureaucrat with no military experience. Inste...ad, they charge me with the safe and proper use of my ships according to my best judgement. My ships will not accept any instructions of any kind from people who follow Mr. Ar-buth-not's orders. If they are phrased politely, we will probably accept requests that make sense, but we will not in any way support this idiot's attempt to create an. Her laughter would still lift his soul. Her lips would still taste like ambrosia. The kiss was unexpected. A sudden lunge, her hands pulling at his shirt, rising on her toes to match his height, her lips crashing into his. The scent of her had filled his nostrils, hints of sandalwood and hairspray and the menthol cigarettes her husband smoked. She pulled away, eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, watching him fearfully. Afraid of the fire she had ignited. Wanting it to burn them both to ashes. Had. .. that's quite an outfit ... do I have one?" she asked."Yes. Give me ten seconds to start up the inside helm, then shut down out here, secure the lockers and come inside. Your gear is in the locker at the port side of your cabin hatch. There's directions on how it all goes on."He went to the port side inside helm and activated all the screens. He started pushing buttons to lower the main and roll up the jib. He started the diesels and maneuvered to quarter the rising waves.Andrea came in the. ? ?No, Korian.? Andre replied immediately, ?Look at me?, while forcing him to look back up again, somewhat more harshly than he had intended. It was so hard sometimes, to get him to understand, so hard to combat some of his natural cultural beliefs, even after all this time. But lets be honest here, he admitted to himself, he’s been a lot more successful in converting you to his way of thinking and living than you’ve been at converting him. ?You’ve been brilliant, never doubt that. .