taken down, taken down by the undertow

"That's the difference between you and I, Bolearis."

"Huh? What's that?"

It was even there in the way the lieutenant's head bobbed to the side, eager to listen but tentative about accepting distraction: a soldier who was used to committing everything to his duties, and a soldier who was used to being committed, whether he liked it or not.

Not that Bolearis wasn't willing, a-thousand-and-one percent.

Somehow, you'd be hard-pressed to find an actual cynic among the commanders. They just cared about their people too much.

Isurd smiled. "Your eyebags" -and soon-appearing flush- "only make you nicer to look at."