[ catch-all for miles: last call ]

[forwardmomentum]

Who: Miles Vorkosigan and company
When: the first half of August
Where: all around the Moira
What: last call logs for Miles before he's gone for good. get you some closure.
Warnings: TBD

[ miles is, as usual, all over the fucking place, so hit me up at runawayballista if you want a start, or feel free to drop one here. ]

Comments

[hellsbel]

[flops into a chair in Miles's office, legs stretching out to control that urge to pace. it's been a day or so since the new leadership made its announcement, and, probably unrelatedly, since crew numbers jumped drastically again. the fun never stops, does it?]

So we finally know who built this boat. Sort of. [eyes Miles's desk and then Miles himself] Hip-deep in personnel meetings yet? [and you will say something if you need a hand, right?]

[forwardmomentum]

[ miles gives bel a wave as they drop in, answering that question with plaintive grunt. use your words, miles. ]

It's not too bad, actually. Megatron's proving himself to be quite useful, and I'm not spending my evenings at the ar anymore, so... [ he shrugs, and puts down his datapad so he can lace his fingers together and rest his chin on them. ] I'd take another dozen of them to get some time alone with this new captain, though.

[hellsbel]

[leans back and grins; the (relatively) low jitter level and bright eyes speak for themselves. he works so well with terrifyingly competent people.

the look sharpens, though, at the mention of the new captain.]

Interesting fellow, isn't he? I knew a spaceport supervisor who reminds me of him. Skating lawsuits by the skin of his teeth and never showing it, but by God the shuttles ran on time. [sits up straighter, hands laced between knees.] Do you believe their story about only being gone for a few seconds, as they experienced it?

[forwardmomentum]

[ miles gives bel a slightly weary smile, rubbing his temples. ]

Know any good lawyers?

[ but he picks himself up a little, tilting his head from side to side in consideration. ]

I do, actually. Or at the very least, I don't think we can dismiss it out of hand, knowing what we know about the Ingress. Our erstwhile Captain Thán has told me a bit about the Ingress and his cohort's experiences with it, and none of it contradicts Ira and Egan's story. I'm not sure we can prove the negative, at least not with more information.

[hellsbel]

[a sardonic grin, catching the fatigue in his gesture -- when did you last eat, Miles? they may have to do something about that.]

Not in this galaxy.~ [the new administration will have to find one of their own. too bad for them.~

nods thoughtfully, though; it does ring true, though not in the way the crew have experienced the Ingress. a curious look as Miles explains; that he's managed to get that far under Thán's skin -- Captain Thán, still, and that says something too -- is as much a tribute to his genuine greed for knowledge as of his persistence or interrogative skill. he's always been like that, disarming people simply because, beyond thought of polity or self-interest, he so ardently needs to know.]

Even odds this mess won't be much kinder to them than the situation they walked out on.

[and whom will they lock away or abandon this time, when it sinks in that their new crew isn't as compliant as they'd like?]

4 J and Miles

[aminerproblem]

[Megatron waits silently for J inside Miles' office, having mass shifted down to a more manageable ten feet in height to fit under the ceiling. He suspects J will not be wandering into his own workspace too often, seeing as it isn't the most ergonomic for organics, so he arranged for the both of them to meet and intermingle instead.]

[The humans can help each other - it was a logical assumption to make in his mind.]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[J was a little disappointed that Megatron had requested them to meet at Miles' office. Not that she didn't mind being around him but things were rather... awkward between them after their previous little encounter at the Medbay, which had ended up with J first emptying her stomach on the floor and then running away from him. Of course, she knew that she'd have to face him sooner or later as they were now coworkers of sort.

But she was also very much interested in seeing just what kind of man this Megatron was and would've liked to meet him alone. His reaction to her picture and light flirt via texts suggested that he wasn't used to be approached females. Probably a nerdy computer guy?

She's exactly on the time to their meeting. She's still wearing that same, rather suggestive outfit before with red heels as she knocks on the door before entering all ready to greet her new coworker with her trademark smile and--

Her face nearly drops at the sight of a giant robot inside the room. Oh, now she's disappointed. Here she had hoped she could've found a new playmate for herself.

However, she doesn't let the disappointment to linger on her face more than a second as she pulls a a friendly and more appropriate smile on her lips and nods at Megatron.]

[forwardmomentum]

[ ah, of course. there's no way this wasn't going to be awkward. miles doesn't quite wince at the sexy outfit. his mouth does twitch a little, but he can't help just a flicker of gratification at the look on her face when she first sees megatron.

but it doesn't make things any less awkward. miles tries for civil and polite. amiable, even. after all, he's not the one upset with her. ]

Ah. Hello, J. I suppose some introductions are in order. Megatron, this is J. She'll be our new -- well, first -- assistant. J, this is Junior Personnel Officer Megatron. He comes from a military background like myself.

[ he feels no need to elaborate on just what kind of military background right now. ]

megatron

[forwardmomentum]

[ getting into the whispering rooms had been a neat feat, thanks to sans, but the venture had felt strangely...empty. no answers, only at least a dozen more questions. not good enough.

which is why miles is scaling the wall under a vent when megatron comes down the hall, reaching for the grate. he really wishes he had his tools for this. ]

[aminerproblem]

[Miles likely heard the heavy tromping of his footsteps long before he actually rounded the corner, but when he eventually does, he's unsurprised to find his coworker up to something. Again.]

[An expectant sigh blows a draught of air his direction from the Cybertronian's own vents. He watches the human climb, a little over eye level with the vent he was trying to reach. He just crosses his arms.]

What are you doing?

[forwardmomentum]

[ miles loses his footing on the wall and manages not to immediately drop to the floor in a heal, but instead sort of slides pathetically down the wall...and ends up in something of a heap anyway. he grins brightly at megatron from the floor and picks himself up, plucking at his uniform to straighten it out. ]

Oh, good, you're here. I could use a hand. Mind giving me a boost?

[ he points at the vent, failing to realize that this does not really constitute an answer to megatron's question. or he doesn't care. take your pick. ]

daisy

[forwardmomentum]

[ things have finally settled a little, although in miles's experience on this ship, that never lasts long. still, better to seize the moment while it's there. miles doesn't often have opportunity (or, admittedly, inclination) to relax, but now seems like a good time.

he's eyeing one of his stashed bottles of wine thoughtfully before he texts daisy. they had said they ought to hang out together when there weren't bullets flying overhead. ]

Are you busy tonight?

[morethan084]

[Meanwhile Daisy is trying to figure out what to do about Pierce when she gets a text.]

Well, I thought I might spend the night being very annoyed by all this crap that's happened. Unless you have a better idea?

[forwardmomentum]

How about getting drunk?

[morethan084]

That'd be great. You paying?

[forwardmomentum]

Don't have to. I used to tend the bar, remember? I've got a stash. And a room on J deck. I'll text you the location.

[ and when daisy gets there, she'll find a little bedroom-cum-office, with the fold-out bed extended so he can sit at the edge of it, his casted leg propped up on the desk chair. yeah, he kind of broke his leg. did he forget to mention that? whoops.

when she enters, miles swings his leg off the chair and onto the bed with only minimal difficulty, leaving the chair open for daisy to sit in. it's really the only place to sit in here besides the bed. and, true to his word, the desk is covered in a few bottles of various kinds of liquor, including two bottles of something an alarmingly bright green color.

miles grins at her, looking a little pale, but otherwise about as okay as he ever looks. ]

I remember reading something about a time on old Earth when they outlawed alcohol entirely, and it became the most coveted of black market commodities. I can only imagine it was some bout of temporary insanity that drove them to that folly, but either way, I feel a bit like one of those underground bars right now. Here, have a seat.

Elizabeth

[tearmeanewone]

[It was one thing to find herself suddenly able to break the barriers between timelines.]

[It's another to feel like a weapon hidden in plain sight, being stared at by people whose motives she didn't like or trust. She'd cried to Ivan about losing her position after working so hard, even dying to protect the crew, so most of that she's put aside for the moment. Now Elizabeth is focused on potentially worse things.]

[The Ingress is no longer functioning, and Elizabeth could function as a portable one with the right prodding.]

[This is a living nightmare for her. Having the potential to open tears was completely different from where she is now, which is fully capable. Thán, she believes, isn't a man to concern himself with weapons or weaponizing the crew. Diplomacy was always the first step with the three previous captains. Now? She doesn't like these men. She doesn't like that they arrive and simply take what they want, inflict standards and rationing, determine what departments were and weren't necessary. It's a sort of regulation that reminds her too much of when she was kept in a carefully maintained environment, completely ignorant of what was actually happening. Because somebody 'knew better'.]

[She doesn't feel safe like she did before. And Miles would understand why if he just sees what she can do. He was the first one she told months ago, he should see it for himself, and maybe he can help her figure out what to do.]

[After a brief message exchange, she waits for Miles in her quarters, sitting on the couch and boring holes in the coffee table with her eyes. The ship felt less like home now, and more like a prison with iron gates slowly closing her in.]

[forwardmomentum]

[ the text from elizabeth had seemed a little terser than usual, but hey, everyone's been under a lot of stress lately. and maybe she's not too crazy about being ousted from her position as first mate. but honestly, miles is just relieved to hear from her at all. all cultural sensibilities be damned, he's going to give that woman a frigging hug, even if he has to drop his crutch to do it.

except she doesn't look like she's in much of a hugging mood when miles gets to her room, and he slows down as he enters, the relieved grin slipping from his face. leaning on his crutch, he hobbles toward the coffee table, looking at her uncertainly.

did he mention he broke his leg? probably not. he probably forgot. ]

Well, I suppose I've had people look less thrilled on my arrival, but those people usually weren't friends, and it was usually punctuated with something along the lines of dammit, Vorkosigan, what did you do this time? [ he pitches his voice down in mocking imitation of some nameless CO, but the humor dies pretty quickly. ] What's up?

[tearmeanewone]

[Her eyes flick from the crutch to his face, then she pulls her lips into a tired smile and forces a small chuckle out.] Dammit Vorkosigan, what did you do this time? [But she can guess that something happened either during the Caducian incident after they parted ways, or when she was... sleeping during the crew's skirmish in this Runoff.]

[Elizabeth stands up and gestures for Miles to come sit while she crosses to the door and makes sure it's locked. Clearly whatever she brought him here to talk about, it's delicate enough for her to lock her door-- something she usually doesn't do.]

Can I get you something? Water, or... [She looks back at the coffee table and squints a little.] Whiskey?

[She thinks.]

[forwardmomentum]

[ miles follows her gaze to his broken leg and he can't help but huff out a laugh in response, his face going sheepish. ]

Oh, I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to laugh.

[ he hobbles around the table to take a seat, raising an eyebrow at the whiskey. yeah, okay, he's a little worried. something's not right here. ]

Er...better not, I think. Don't think it'd play nicely with the pain medication. [ he watches her lock the door and his brows draw down. ] Elizabeth?

for j

[forwardmomentum]

[ soooo that little staff meeting with megatron had been kind of awkward. there's no denying that things have been strained between miles and J ever since the conversation he's mentally dubbed 'the baby talk', which had gone spectacularly terribly. not what he was going for.

he should probably just leave it alone, let J figure the rest out for herself, but miles never has been good at keeping his nose out of other people's business. and besides that, he doesn't want things to be so strained between them. so he turns up at J's door with a pack of cards and a box of pilfered snacks tucked under one arm. it's hangouts time. ]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[The August had proved out to be much busier for J than any of the previous ones, thanks to her new job assignment (along with her own personal little project) and the current wave of the newcomers on the board. Which, strangely enough, suited her just fine. At times it did help her keep the focus out of the more... unpleasant events that had occurred during the last month. Slavery at Runoff, invasion and its aftermath. The talk with Miles. The one that she wished hadn't happened.

She's not been trying to avoid him (really, it's been impossible when they worked together) but it's true that she hasn't been bothering him the same way as before.

Well, as it happens, J's having a first free evening since the beginning of the month and for once she's decided to spend it alone her room doing absolutely nothing. She's wearing the Moira uniform instead of her usual dresses and is lying on her bed as she pokes around the MID absentmindedly -- playing the Red Thread game and romancing a certain short space Russian to be more specific -- when she hears the knock on her door. She doesn't even bother closing the game as she gets up and moves to answer the door.

However, her bored and lazy expression changes into more amused on, her brow raising up as she sees Mr. Miles standing there with pack of cards and snacks. Well, that's a sight she didn't expect to see.]

[forwardmomentum]

[ well, she hasn't slammed the door in his face, that's got to be a good sign. he gives her a slightly awkward, sheepish grin and holds up the cards and snacks, as though a peace offering. ]

I haven't lost my visitation rights, have I?

[ bad joke, bad joke. does he know any other kinds? ]

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[With a small but amused smile toying on her lips, J tilts her head to the side to rest against the doorframe as she looks down at him, eyes lingering a second longer on his broken leg before moving up to meet his eyes again. There's a brief worry in the back of her head, which she chooses to ignore for now. She already knew that Miles could be reckless when it came to his health but she doubts he'd drag himself to her door with a bag of snacks if he were severely injured.

Letting out a small sigh, she nudges her head towards her room, giving him a permission to enter, before she turns around and walks back inside. Despite everything that had went down a while ago, she still liked Miles great deal -- and honestly, she wouldn't mind spending time with him to clear the air between them.]

what are you up to?

for sans

[forwardmomentum]

Miles can be pretty stealthy, but even the sneakiest of spies have a tough time of it with a broken leg. Not that Miles is letting that stop him. There's a sort of comfort in the fact that the new captains are as about as forthcoming as the original four had been with information, but Miles doesn't have the patience this time around to tease it out of them. Nothing he's heard so far is enough, it's never enough. So Miles is going to do as he always does: ignore the rules and do what he wants. Well, what he thinks he has to do.

It's basically the same.

To his credit, he manages to keep the clank of his crutch relatively quiet as he makes his way down the darkened corridor in the dead of night. The Ingress room isn't locked down even though the device itself is shut down, and Miles, a little surprised, pokes his head inside.