From the ocean .... request from the authors

[kinzel]

Hi guys ...
we're here at the ocean and ... brainstorms have struck. One of these brainstorms needs to be done before Denvention so we can put it in gear there.

So we're in need of favorite sayings/one liners/ and/or short quotes... pithy things if you will, from your favorite Liaden books. Please feel free to list them here, along with book and chapter... if you happen to have an Ace copy handy, we could even use page numbers. If this is from a short story or novella not in one of the Ace books, just let us know what chapbook, magazine, or anthology you're quoting from ....

This is not exactly secret, but we're not going to tell you yet how we'll use these.

No prizes except the joy of sharing and the fun of the final use.

Friends of Liad, rev up your searches!

Ooops ... we're writing today from Oceanside Computer Sales and Service ...
visit www.oceansidecomputers.com ...

Comments

Dragon

[muehe.livejournal.com]

When Val Con is interviewing Beautiful and the Delm is pushing Val Con for information.
Ah, my memory is shot and I do not want to mutilate your work – I am sure you know the bit I am referring to.

Least

[muehe.livejournal.com]

I have another one. When Inas was reading Pat Rin’s journal (the first time). That last bit – god that scene stuck with me. Maybe not a one liner – but defiantly worth mentioning.

[(Anonymous)]

I always have enjoyed the wisdom of Cantra yos'Phelium:

In an ally, considerations of house, clan, planet, race are insignificant beside two prime questions, which are:
1. Can he shoot?
2. Will he aim at your enemy?

(Taken from Scout's Progress p. 192 beginning of chapter 25)

another good one from Pat Rin

[muehe.livejournal.com]

I will know the name of my enemy. They will answer me. Fully

[swedishsis.livejournal.com]

From Carpe Diem Del Rey pg 93

"Thought you told me Liadens were polite."
"Formality, ... must never be confused with courtesy."

Couple from Crystal Dragon

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

First, one line from the end of Chapter 37, Crystal Dragon

"Welcome to Liad, gentles. The pilots trust you'll enjoy your stay."

Second, a scene at the end of Chapter 36, Crystal Dragon (if your audience reacts like I do, bring tissues. Even out of context, for me, this one is a tearjerker)

Liad dea'Syl's eyes were closed, his head against the rest. He was breathing, shallowly. Lucky was curled on his lap, and the long, clever hands rested on the plush orange fur. On his far side, Rool Tiazan knelt, his fingers curled lightly 'round one thin wrist.

"Tell me, my friend," the scholar whispered. "Is it a fine world, and green? Will people prosper and do well?"

"It is the very finest world possible, Grandfather," the dramliza answered, his voice steady. "The land is rich and bountiful; its star is stable and gracious. Here, the tree will grow to its full height, honoring M. Jela. Here, may people prosper, do well, and be happy in their lives. You have given us a great gift, and we shall evermore be your children in gratitude."

The scholar smiled. "That is well, then," he said softly, and sighed.

In Cantra's head, the white dragon was lost in the brilliant sky, or maybe it was only that she couldn't see him through the tears.

Not much help

[bookmobiler.livejournal.com]

My favorite quote starts on page one of the Ace edition with "The man who was not... and ends on page 247 with An accident."
But this one on page 99 makes me smile. "Hmmm. Is it okay for a person to take a lifemate without telling anybody they were going to? Even the person they were going to marry?"

I Dare - Day 50, Std Year 1393; Lytaxin in Erob's Catastrophe Unit

[(Anonymous)]

Edger has just asked Shan if he is able and he recalls his father's
words:

"We do the best that we are able, my child. We make the best decision we may, dependent upon our experience and our training. It is what we owe to kin and to those who reside under our care. If it were true, I would tell you necessity makes us wise. What I will tell you is we all do our best; that we all make errors; and that those who love us will forgive us."

I thought of this a lot when Mum was dying of cancer and I had Power of Attorney. I thought my parents would agree with Er Thom.
Lauretta
Constellation Books

Conflict of Honors - not sure which chapter

[(Anonymous)]

Now that I'm looking, I can't find the exact chapter.
In "Conflict of Honors," Priscilla 'embraced serenity firmly.'

I got a kick out of that because it seemed awfully proactive for a passive state. Kind of like beating tolerance into some extremist punk. Mind you, those actions would be rather zen-like if one could pull it off.

Lauretta, again

Bits from Balance of Trade

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

There are more, but these will do for now.

"If you trade with Liadens, trade careful, and for the gods' love don't come sideways of honor."
---
He wanted it. In that one, searing moment, he knew he had never wanted anything in his life so much. He looked to his mother.

"I found my ship, Captain," he said.
---
Paper rustled, and a subtle smell wafted up. He allowed the book to fall open in his hands and found the Liaden words almost absurdly easy to read as he was at once captivated by an account of one Shan el'Thrassin, who was engaged in a matter of honor with a set of focus seemed something less than honorable.
---
"Young things. All is anguish and high drama."
---
So now I have a foster-granmam? Jethri thought, but decided that was taking silly too far into nonsense.
---
"In short, you wish me to sculpt this pure specimen of a Terran into a counterfeit Liaden."

"Certainly not. I wish you to produce me a gentleman of the galaxy, able to treat with Liaden and Terran equally."
---
"I met him when I jumped off the edge of Kailipso Station," he began, and tipped his head, recalled of a sudden to his manners. "Would you like some tea?"

"Masterful!" Meicha crowed. "You have missed your trade, Jethri! You should 'prentice to a teller of tales."

...

"And, now, sir, you will tell us about your Scout captain and how it was you came to jump off the edge of a spacestation!"

He hid the grin behind another sip of tea. "Certainly," he murmured, as dignified as could be. "It happened this way . . ."
---
"Which moon did he fall onto?" he asked, mildly.
---
"Ma'am, allow me to present Tan Sim pen'Akla to you as a young trader of heart, imagination and energy. His melant'i is unimpeachable. He speaks Terran, he honors guild rule, and..." He swallowed, keeping his eyes on hers. "And if he continues on that route, ma'am, it will break his heart and suck his spirit dry."

Scouts Progress

[delfeye.livejournal.com]

Daav's entry into the Delm's diaries at the start of Chapter 11, especially the last line.
"…I note that my mother is still dead."

So I'm re-reading Scout's Progress...

[(Anonymous)]

Chapter 15, middlish:

"Forgive me. I wonder if there is something—gone awry."

"Not a bit of it," he returned cheerfully. "Jon is only building a shelf to house a newly-acquired treasure."

Aelliana's head turned back toward Jon, hair shimmering. "A tea-tin?" she asked, bemusement sounding clearly. Daav grinned.

"Damn me if you're not as bad as he is!" Jon cried, sweeping his unencumbered hand toward the taller man. "This isn't just any tea-tin, math teacher, this is a gift from Master Trader Er Thom yos'Galan, honored son of the exalted House of Korval! What've you to say now, eh?"

Aelliana cuddled Patch absently against her. "It's a very pretty tea-tin," she offered after a moment.

great short quotes

[(Anonymous)]

"'I'm not the one to complain about the scholar's state of mind,' he said. 'Think about it: I'm here to steal a set of equations that might save the galaxy from an enemy we can't possibly overcome.'"

--Crystal Dragon, Meisha Merlin hardbound edition, p. 179

best regards,
Laura K.

'nother great short quote

[(Anonymous)]

"'Well,' he murmured. 'I am here because you are no fool, and I am no mathematician.'

'It is possible that you err on both points,' the scholar murmured. 'But let us not quibble.'"

--Crystal Dragon, Meisha Merlin hardcover edition, p. 302

a great one-liner

[(Anonymous)]

"There's no compromise on Captain's Justice," Cantra said for the third or eighty-fourth time.

--Crystal Dragon, Meisha Merlin hardcover ed., p. 311

one-liners

[(Anonymous)]

"Am I being sinister enough, or should I wrap myself in a cloak and snigger?" (Shan to Priscilla)

--Conflict of Honors, Ace 2002, p. 120

good quotes

[(Anonymous)]

"For this we must...allow the Scouts full honor for having in the past provided refuge for the disenfranchised, the adventurous and the odd."

--Scout's Progress, Ace 2002, p. 112

pithy

[(Anonymous)]

"Keep the contract, protect the Tree, gather ships, survive."

--Scout's Progress, Ace 2002, p. 30

favorites

[(Anonymous)]

"I do not wish to hear that one of my students has died stupidly, for want of the boldness to grasp and use what the calculations have clearly shown."

--Scout's Progress, Ace 2002, p. 17

Korval is ships

[(Anonymous)]

"Your ship is your life. Stake your air before you stake your ship-- and your soul before you stake either.

"--Excerpted from Cantra yos'Phelium's Log Book"

--Scout's Progress, Ace 2002, p. 36

favorite quotes

[(Anonymous)]

My first favorite quote is from AoC, where Val Con says, "I think you might call me a spy", during his first waking moments with Miri.

Another fine moment is when Sheather is gazing at Angela Lizardi's front door in Plan B.

Edger's contemplation of the activity in Merc Hall on Lufkit as if it were a work of art brought into being by Val Con's activities made me laugh out loud the first time I read it. I also enjoy the interaction between Shan and Lute in Weapons Hall.

The interaction with Pod 77 gives me the same kind of thrill as hearing Captain Kirk going through the self-destruct routine in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Craig