He also believed he should have been made admiral without spending tedious years as a mere captain.

You knew sneaking off someday on a mission would be easier for a mere captain.

I'm just a mere captain, following orders, trying to do his humble best.

He had been a mere captain when he came into the lab at the Preserve that made up her home.

God knows what decisions might have been made by mere captains that did not have his years of experience.

How did a mere captain ever get a pack of those?

My mother married a colonel, while I have settled for a mere captain.

May you remember what it was like to be a mere captain.

Of course, he reminded himself, she wasn't actually a "mere" captain.

The perfect Air Force mission, people in blue uniforms liked to say, was run by a mere captain.