shipmaster | (no subject)

[ Ah. That topic ... They're going to have to face this eventually. Miles is quiet a moment, his expression grave. ]

Does anyone else in the fleet know? That you knowingly followed Mark.

Yes. All of Green Squad.

[They just... look old for a moment. Not Betan old, Barrayaran old.]

I had to take command back. They needed orders and he was just. Locked. And if they thought he was still you, someone would have shot me for mutiny before following.

[And would have killed every one of them to get the kids out.]

Mmm. I'd have done the same.

[ But it complicates any mercy he might have shown on the topic. If he lets Bel go on this one, he risks mutiny on a larger scale. An escalation of this problem rather than a solid end... And there's the not small fact that Bel betrayed Miles, personally, by choosing this path in the first place.

He broods for a moment, not liking either option. ]

[Bel isn't looking at him. But even with eyes fixed on the sky, they can feel the unhappy tension.

They take a breath and let it out.]

Ghen will be a good captain, I've always thought.

[ Miles' response is brittle and pained. ]

I don't want Ghen, dammit. I want you.

[That alto dropped a little lower, softer. Almost, but not quite, hiding the little quaver from grief.]

I know. But any chance of that.. When you took that shot...

[ His own tone is nearly a wail of anguish. ]

They won't accept you back after that. Not - without something to equal it out. A rescue.

Ah, that will be Quinn's honor. ... She deserves that.

[And Taura would know otherwise. It's not as if they hadn't thought about it.]

[ Miles falls silent again. Something stirs behind those gray eyes - something dangerous. He gets to his feet abruptly. ]

And so shall she have it. Deservedly. But you ought to have a second chance too.

Miles? [They shade their eyes against the sun. Their voice has a note of alarm to it.]

You just need a proper opportunity.

[ He starts sliding back down towards the ruined spaceship, his approach implacable. ]

[Their eyes widen and they scramble up to bound after Miles.]

Miles! Miles! Don't you dare!

[ Bel is faster, but Miles has a head start. He levers himself into the ruined ship in one smooth motion, dropping back down into it. ]

Better outfit yourself with those pearls first, Captain.

[What filters down to Miles is a particularly creative set of invectives.. before an explosively angry one, before they run like all hell, taking the sides of the sinkhole with all of the speed of terror.]

[ Miles, meanwhile, selects a hallway at random and sets off down it. This is such a bad idea. This is an amazingly terrible idea. Odds are good he'll just get them both killed, frozen somewhere in the bowels of the ship where they can't be found ... But it's too maddening to just go back knowing that Bel must be stripped of their command. He has to try something.

So he walks down those hallways, searching for an opportunity. There's no response to Bel's cursing. ]

[Bel could feel every second crawling down their spine like fire. It hadn't helped that the pearls were not easy to find and a contested resource to be taking that many of, but they were certain Miles didn't go in with extra.

Not again! Was their only thought. They'd trade their command, their very breath... Miles life wasn't WORTH this.

Their first instinct was to check the walls, letting the glowing light of the power find any marks... any hint of which way.]

[ His intention isn't to get killed here. In all respects this is really not a great plan for either of them. He's risking Bel's life too, and Bel's reputation (and sanity_ if Miles does manage to get himself killed down here after all. But he has to do something. He has to. And as is often the case with him, he's leapt off a cliff hoping to learn how to fly on the way down.

He's taken a different route from their previous expedition. No marks, but there is the sound of his footsteps down this hallway. He's made his way down to a huge room utterly coated in rust. Moving sends great flakes of it into the air, causing Miles to cough a bit. More sound marking his position. ]

[The sound was enough. Even the mammoth stretch that the ship went, sound always did clang around a ship. There's a few infuriating wrong turns, sapping precious seconds, before finding that trail of doors that hadn't closed properly.

Minutes after, though, there's still half a ship between them.]

[ No Bel yet ... Miles will stay in this rusted room, then, rather than slipping further into the ship. He does carefully begin to explore the area. There's a panel that still seems to be working - that's good. He circles it, then pad over to a badly rusted catwalk. A long drop underneath ... he edges out a little further to peer down, the metal groaning under even his slight weight. ]

[It is at least not too long after that Bel comes loping in. The presence of those dim, glowing lights herald their arrival.]

Oh thank god... [Followed quickly by-] What IS this place?

[ Miles can't help but breathe a faint sigh of relief himself. Good, they've still got things under control. Now he just has to convince Bel that they've rescued Miles - so that Miles can convince the rest of the fleet. He takes a step back towards his captain. ]

Some sort of power room, I think. A few of the panels still look active.

Oh, that's promising...

[Bel brightens at that and straightens from where they were gulping air to look around at the room. A soft groan of metal and a tiny give echoes over their footsteps.

Bel frowns and stops, just short of one of the still glowing panels.]

[ Miles goes still. Did that groan come from under his own feet or Bel's? Surely the former ... the floor is rusted fairly badly where h is. Miles suddenly decides that he'd like to be rescued from a slightly less perilous position. He takes another large step back towards Bel - with another groan that goes through the entire portion of the floor they're both standing on.

Shit. Miles is in the middle of it, isn't he? Maybe Bel is far enough away to get clear... ]

Captain, you should step back.

[The last groan they could feel shuddering straight up their spine. They shift the pearls to their left hand and brace.

They take a careful step back towards the more solid panel, because however light Miles is, their combined weight might bust it...

The whole flooring jolts, and they freeze again.]

Hurry up, sir.

[ Miles is coming to much the same conclusion. He takes another step forward - and then another after that, more quickly than the first. The floor groans and swings wildly underneath him. By the time he's almost to Bel's position, he's flat out running. A few more steps and he might make it -

Just as the floor gives out beneath both their feet. Miles lets out a faint cry as the rusted metal under him collapses in on itself, taking him with it. ]