shipmaster | (no subject)

[ Bel has the driver take a long way about... A good hour drive somewhere. They really didn't care where. Enough time for Simon to check ImpMil, then NOT find them at the Vorkosigan House immediately after. ]

Oh yes, that was an adventure you set me on too. [ There's no rancour there. Not from a Dendarii. Bel would be lying if they didn't ALSO enjoy that stretch. ]

So.. you think that's going to work?

[ Miles settles himself back, careful not to jostle his head. And he can't help but smile a bit dreamily at Bel mentioning that adventure. He can tell his former captain enjoyed it. ]

I need more details on that, you know. It must have been impressive.

[ But he'll answer Bel's question first. ]

No idea. But I did discuss it with Canaba last night. The suits have a biological component to them - they're basically alive, in a way. He thinks he reprogrammed it to detect and block the neurotransmitters causing my seizures.

I'd be more impressed if it didn't seem really obvious you just had one.

He triggered it on purpose. Using the strip.

[ He taps lightly at his head. ]

So ... that's half of its functionality working.

Ah...

[ To be able to control when they happen... that. That is actually something. ]

That IS useful.

Just so. Even if I cannot stop the seizures, I could at least avoid having them on missions ...

[ A worthy outcome either way, he figures. Hence the colossal risk. ]

[ Risky, to the point where Miles just authorised a completely novel, invasive surgery into his own brain with an un-understood tech and- ...

It was wholly Miles. ]

I hope this clears you to talk with Simon, because I'm going to be out of explanations shortly.

I'm going to find out presently, aren't I?

[ He turns back towards Bel. ]

How did you keep him off my trail for so long?

[ Bel can't help but smile here. This IS the kind of tactics one picked the Ariel for... hide and seek and evasive action. ]

I let him think that you were meeting with Donna this morning, hinting that the political nature was why your groundcar came and left without you.

So we went to visit, and Lady Vorrutyer, happily, decided to join in being just enough obstructive. We probably owe her, too. Though she seemed to rather enjoy it as well.

Anyway, just then I received your text. At which point, I left him without a ride there, as picking you up solo was a priority. I assume he's radioed for a car or a lightflyer. We'll have about a two hours if we manage to miss him on the next stop.

[ Miles listens to the story with a mix of horror and awe. Simon is not an easy man to shake, and Miles did basically lead him straight to ImpMil. To have Bel lead him around by the nose so effectively ... He laughs a little afterwards, his eyes alight as he looks over at Bel. He's still a bit blurry from the procedure, because otherwise he probably wouldn't have said: ]

Dear god. I think I love you right now.

[ There's a bit of a wide look at that, then ... a laugh escapes them. ]

Here I thought I was about to be fired again. Good to know.

Fire you? For pulling out what might be the greatest runaround in all of history?

[ No, nothing but appreciation right now. And a little terror. ]

I knew I could trust you to run with this.

It WAS a bloody good run. The man's terrifying while being genial, by the way.

[ There's a certain glow at the "I think I love you right now." It's only stoked by the obvious praise. ]

Oh, yes. He's very good at that. I swear he practices.

[ His own expression softens watching Bel's reaction. Not a bad sign if the l-word causes radiance rather than twitching. ]

Edited 2017-01-03 12:41 (UTC)

I would buy it.

[ They reach out, gingerly .. almost to touch the strip, but seems to think better of it at the last moment. ]

Are we sure it's not going to regenerate?

[ Miles makes a similar aborted gesture towards it. ]

Honestly? I have no idea. Canaba didn't either. Hence the experiment part of this whole thing. We may still need that trip to Beta Colony at some point.

I don't need to tell you it's crazy. You wouldn't have done it like this if you didn't already know...

How are we going to handle Simon now?

[ That's the hard part in all of this. Miles did sure install a piece of alien tech into himself ... Simon's just going to have more questions. ]

We accept his mission, first of all. Figure out the rest as we go.

Ah. Yes.

The mission you declined without even mentioning what it was.

[ Whoops. Miles looks a bit uncomfortable. ]

Yes. Er ... well, Simon wants us to go back to Kharas. The official surveys are too slow and he suspects the Betans are delaying ours.

I bet they are. [ The Betans usually would cede a planet to first claim without a fuss.

But extremely powerful, biologically renewable energy...

There's a thousand questions: Why did he turn it down in the first place. It was going to be a low combat mission with just the Betans involved. Why did he suddenly change his mind? BEL HAD JUST STARTED WORKING THROUGH THEIR OWN SHIT AND NOW MILES CHANGES UP HIS AND-]

What's the pay on this one?

[ Bel pls. You know why Miles changed his mind. Somewhere down in there, anyway. He snorts a bit. While Miles doesn't care personally about the money, that doesn't mean he doesn't have pride. ]

Not as much as we should be getting paid, given what's at stake.

[ Certainly do, and are distinctly not looking at it right now. ]

That certainly explains why Simon is so hot to get us back out there. Not a lot of other options that wouldn't look like a war party.

Just so. It would essentially just be the two of us, with one Dendarii ship in orbit in case things go wrong.

[ Hence Miles' nervousness about taking it to begin with - and Simon's suspicion. Miles should have jumped at the chance for an adventure with his paramour. But given what happened last time ... he can't be a liability with just the two of them. ]

[ This is a hell of a way to test the suit implant, though... ]

Our deal still holds. If I say you need to rest, we break. All the rest, you can call the shots on.