dissonance

[isthisart]

Dr. Cheung's at a funeral all day, so Linya decides to go up to London and see if Miles is out of his Mood.

Security has decided to be deeply unhelpful today. She is currently showing them various forms of ID and repeating in a slow, patient voice that she has been here before, there is not more than one of her, and she promises she is not there to assassinate her husband or whatever fool thing has them skittish today. Perhaps she shouldn't drop in while the captain's missing; it seems to make them worse. But she got in before while he was missing...

Comments

[isthisart]

Linya sighs. "Well, if we get out of this alive and the light fixture stops staring at us I can, I don't know, elaborately quiz you and then see what the consumer market for programmable subcutaneous ID chips is like or something."

[thisvorlunatic]

"...While I admire your ingenuity, I'm not sure I'm comfortable being - chipped. It would be a rather awkward feature in a covert operative."

[isthisart]

"Or something," she repeats, shrugging. "I am definitely not picking up any more short people until I am certain I can tell which ones they are."

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles buries his face in his pillow-oid.

[isthisart]

Linya shifts position, gets up and sits on Galeni's bench since he's not using it, shuts her eyes.

She starts humming the melody to the song she wrote for Miles absently.

[thisvorlunatic]

Well, now he's crying again. And he's not even on any drugs he can blame it on.

[isthisart]

She stops.

But she stays where she is.

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles continues weeping very quietly into her repurposed clothing item.

[isthisart]

"So what was your maternal grandfather's middle name?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Mark. And that comment I tossed off as Naismith about a sister-in-law... actually applies to him. By Betan law he's my brother - or my son if I choose to adopt him as such, which I don't. Mother, though... I can just hear her. 'Miles, what have you done with your little brother?'" He sighs and rubs his face with both hands. "Somehow I feel like 'I never knew he existed' is an inadequate excuse."

[isthisart]

"That's why I asked, I don't want to keep labeling him 'the one who stunned me' in my head." She pauses. "I don't think he can fool Cordelia. Does whatever the plan is call for doing so?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Oh, yes. It also calls for becoming Emperor of Barrayar, which I don't think he can do either, at least not for very long."

[isthisart]

"But he could do dramatic amounts of damage on his way down." She sighs. "How'd you get nabbed?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Ah." He shifts on his bench. "An unknown party hired Admiral Naismith to kidnap Lord Vorkosigan. I decided the best way to find out who and why was to take the job. I was... technically right."

[isthisart]

[thisvorlunatic]

After a moment, he adds, "What worries me in hindsight is that from what I can tell, Mark came up with that ploy. It shows an uncomfortably close reading of my psychology."

[isthisart]

"He does a very good you. He probably could have salvaged things after the flinch, he just - didn't, or maybe expected to go on flinching and not be able to recover after a few of those, I'm not sure which."

[thisvorlunatic]

"For the sake of my sanity, I cherish the hope that maybe he didn't especially want to fool you. I am not sure I can bear to think of him as my brother, if..." He lets the sentence trail off into an unhappy silence.

[isthisart]

"I wonder what his handlers have on him. Brute psychological force, maybe."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I shudder to think."

[isthisart]

"Well. He did apologize. Insofar as one can do so sincerely while firing a stunner."

[thisvorlunatic]

"What I wouldn't give for a close reading of his psychology." Miles reflects on this a moment, then amends, "As long as gaining such an understanding wouldn't make me any crazier than I already am, which I'm not sure I'm willing to take for granted. His upbringing must have been... something."

[isthisart]

"Medically monstrous at a bare minimum, and a spectacular quantity of information crammed into less lifetime than you've had. He had an excuse for not using your pen; it might be that they weren't able to get one for him to practice on, but he can't have reasons like that to avoid everything you'd be able to do."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Also, I had the dubious privilege of a halfway civil conversation with the man in charge of this plot. He, um... didn't seem like he'd pass the qualifications for a Betan parenting license. If you see what I mean."

[isthisart]

"Oh, does he do things other than shout and hit people? Yes. I don't have much expectation he'll be able to hold onto Mark, although I don't guarantee it'll be any good for anybody when he loses him."