He managed, just barely, not to let it come out as 'And whose son are you?' The fury bunching his stomach must not be allowed to show; he was going to have to work with this man. It might not even have been an intentional insult. Couldn't have been, how could this stranger know how much blood Miles had sweated fighting off charges of privilege, slurs on his competence? 'The mutant's only here because his father got him in. . . .' He could hear his father's voice, countering, 'For God's sake get your head out of your ass, boy!' He let the rage stream out on a long, calming breath, and cocked his head brightly.
'Oh,' said the captain, 'yes, you only talked to my aide, didn't you. I'm Captain Duv Galeni. Senior military attache for the embassy, and by default chief of Imperial Security, as well as Service Security, here. And, I confess, rather startled to have you appear in my chain of command. It is not entirely clear to me what I'm supposed to do with you.'
Not a rural accent; the captain's voice was cool, educated, blandly urban. Miles could not place it in Barrayaran geography. 'I'm not surprised, sir,' said Miles. 'I did not myself expect to be reporting in at Earth, nor so late. I was originally supposed to report back to Imperial Security Command at Sector Two HQ on Tau Ceti, over a month ago. But the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet was driven out of Mahata Solaris local space by a surprise Cetagandan attack. Since we were not being paid to make war directly on the Cetagandans, we ran, and ended up unable to get back by any shorter route. This is literally my first opportunity to report in anywhere since we delivered the refugees to their new base.'
'I was not—' the captain paused, his mouth twitching, and began again, 'I had not been aware that the extraordinary escape at Dagoola was a covert operation of Barrayaran Intelligence. Wasn't it perilously close to being an act of outright war on the Cetagandan Empire?'
'Precisely why the Dendarii mercenaries were used for it, sir. It was actually supposed to be a somewhat smaller operation, but things got a little out of hand. In the field, as it were.' Beside him, Elli kept her eyes straight ahead, and didn't even choke. 'I, uh . . . have a complete report.'
The captain appeared to be having an internal struggle. 'Just what is the relationship between the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet and Imperial Security, Lieutenant?' he finally said. There was something almost plaintive in his tone.
'Er . . . what do you know already, sir?'
Captain Galeni turned his hands palm-up. 'I hadn't even heard of them, except peripherally, until you made contact by vid yesterday. My files—my Security files!—say exactly three things about the organization. They are not to be attacked, any requests for emergency assistance should be met with all due speed, and for further information I must apply to Sector Two Security Headquarters.'
'Oh, yeah,' said Miles, 'that's right. This is only a Class III embassy, isn't it. Um, well, the relationship is fairly simple. The Dendarii are kept on retainer for highly covert operations which are either out of Imperial Security's range, or for which any direct, traceable connection with Barrayar would be politically embarrassing. Dagoola was both. Orders are passed from the General Staff, with the advice and consent of the Emperor, through Chief of Imperial Security Illyan to me. It's a very short chain of command. I'm the go-between, supposedly the sole connection. I leave Imperial HQ as Lieutenant Vorkosigan, and pop up—wherever—as Admiral Naismith, waving a new contract. We go do whatever we've been assigned to do, and then, from the Dendarii point of view, I vanish as mysteriously as I came. God knows what they think I do in my spare time.'
'Do you really want to know?' Elli asked, her eyes alight.
'Later,' he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
The captain drummed his fingers on his desk console, and glanced down at a display. 'None of this is in your official dossier. Twenty-four years old—aren't you a little young for your rank, ah—Admiral?' His tone was dry, his eyes passed mockingly over the Dendarii uniform.
Miles tried to ignore the tone. 'It's a long story. Commodore Tung, a very senior Dendarii officer, is the real brains of the outfit. I just play the part.'
Elli's eyes widened in outrage; a severe glance from Miles tried to compel her to silence. 'You do a lot more than that,' she objected.
'If you're the sole connection,' frowned Galeni, 'who the devil is this woman?' His wording rendered her, if not a non-person, certainly a non-soldier.
'Yes, sir. Well, in case of emergencies, there are three Dendarii who know my real identity. Commander Quinn, who was in on the beginning of the whole scam, is one of them. I'm under orders from Illyan to maintain a bodyguard at all times, so Commander Quinn fills in whenever I have to change identities. I trust her implicitly.' You
'How long has this been going on, Lieutenant?'
'Ah,' Miles glanced at Elli, 'seven years, isn't it?'
Elli's bright eyes glinted. 'It seems like only yesterday,' she cooed blandly. It seemed she was finding it hard to ignore the tone too; Miles trusted she would keep her edged sense of humor under control.
The captain regarded his fingernails, and then stared at Miles sharply. 'Well, I'm going to apply to Sector Two Security, Lieutenant. And if I find out that this is another Vor lordling's idea of a practical joke, I shall do my level best to see that you are brought up on charges for it. No matter who your father is.'
'It's all true, sir. My word as Vorkosigan.'
'Just so,' said Captain Galeni through his teeth.
Miles, infuriated, drew breath—then placed Galeni's regional accent at last. He jerked up his chin. 'Are you—Komarran, sir?'
Galeni gave him a wary nod. Miles returned it gravely, rather frozen. Elli nudged him, whispering, 'What the hell—?'
'Later,' Miles muttered back. 'Barrayaran internal politics.'
'Will I need to take notes?'
'Probably.' He raised his voice. 'I must get in touch with my actual superiors, Captain Galeni. I have no idea what my next orders even are.'
Galeni pursed his lips, and remarked mildly, 'I am actually a superior of yours, Lieutenant Vorkosigan.' And chapped as hell, Miles judged, to be cut out of his own command chain—and who could blame him? Softly, now . . . 'Of course, sir. What are my orders?'
Galeni's hands clenched briefly in frustration, his mouth set in irony. 'I will have to add you to my staff, I suppose, while we all await clarification. Third assistant military attache.'
'Ideal, sir, thank you,' said Miles. 'Admiral Naismith needs very much to vanish just now. The Cetagandans put a price on his—my—head after Dagoola. I've been lucky twice.' It was Galeni's turn to freeze. 'Are you joking?'
'I had four dead and sixteen wounded Dendarii because of it,' said Miles stiffly. 'I don't find it amusing at all.'
'In that case,' said Galeni grimly, 'you may consider yourself confined to the Embassy compound.' And miss Earth? Miles sighed reluctance. 'Yes, sir,' he agreed in a dull tone. 'As long as Commander Quinn here can be my go-between to the Dendarii.'
'Why do you need further contact with the Dendarii?'
'They're my people, sir.'
'I thought you said this Commodore Tung ran the show.'
'He's on home leave right now. But all I really need before Admiral Naismith departs into the woodwork is to pay some bills. If you could advance me their immediate expenses, I could wrap up this mission.'
Galeni sighed; his fingers danced over his comconsole, and paused. 'Assistance with all due speed. Right. Just how much do they require?'
'Roughly eighteen million marks, sir.'
Galeni's fingers hung paralyzed. 'Lieutenant,' he said carefully, 'that is more than ten times the budget for this entire embassy for a year. Several tens of times the budget for this department!'
Miles spread his hands. 'Operating expenses for 5000 troops and techs and eleven ships for over six months, plus equipment losses—we lost a hell of a lot of gear at Dagoola—payroll, food, clothing, fuel, medical expenses, ammunition, repairs—I can show you the spreadsheets, sir.'
Galeni sat back. 'No doubt. But Sector Security Headquarters is going to have to handle this one. Funds in that amount don't even exist here.'
