"Figures. He didn't want you too nervous to talk. Vice-Admiral Peysk."

"Calliope Shillingsworth."

"Not Captain?" The Vice-Admiral raised an eyebrow.

"Not any longer. There is work I need to do which can't be managed aboard a ship. I hope someday to command a ship again."

"Tell me about this work that took you away from the sea." He leaned back, fingers playing with a button on his jacket.

"Almost two years ago, His Highness the Crown Prince asked me to build him ...