[That gets a grin. Loki can credit himself with diverting Gregor on a hard day.] Miles is all right. Annoying as hell, sometimes, but it's hard not to like him. He has a way of...oh, of getting under your skin in good ways and bad. He once left on a family visit to Beta Colony and came home with three thousand mercenary troops under his command. He had to do some creative legal trickery to avoid the treason charge.

[And Aral had to literally beg Count Vordrozda, yes, but mentioning that does not keep the story light and silly.]