'I never knew he was in research too,' said Elena, sounding enormously impressed. 'He sure got around.'
'That's what's curious. He was a Staff tactician. Never had anything to do with research, as far as I know.' A by-now-familiar code appeared at his next inquiry. 'Blast! Another seal. Ask a simple question, get a simple brick wall … There's Dr. Vaagen, hand-in-rubberglove with Father. Vaagen must have been doing the actual work, then. That explains that. I want under that seal, damn it …' He whistled a soundless tune, staring into space, fingers drumming.
Elena began to look dampened. 'You're getting that mulish look,' she observed nervously. 'Maybe we should just let it go. It doesn't really matter by now.'
'Illyan's mark's not on this one. It might be enough to …'
Elena bit her lip. 'Look, Miles, it's not really—' but he was already launched. 'What are you doing?'
'Trying one of Father's old access codes. I'm pretty sure of it, all but a few digits.'
Elena gulped.
'Jackpot!' Miles cried softly, as the screen began disgorging data at last. He read avidly. 'So that's where those uterine replicators came from! They brought them back from Escobar, after the invasion failed. The spoils of war, by God. Seventeen of them, loaded and working. They must have seemed like really high tech, in their day. I wonder if we looted them?'
Elena paled. 'Miles—they weren't doing human experiments or, or anything like that, were they? Surely your father wouldn't have countenanced …'
'I don't know. Dr. Vaagen can be pretty, um, one-track, about his research …' Relief eased his voice. 'Oh, I see what was going on. Look here …' The holoscreen began scrolling yet another file in midair; he waved his fingers through it. 'They were all sent to the Imperial Service Orphanage. They must have been some children of our men killed at Escobar.'
Elena's voice tensed, 'Children of men killed at Escobar? But where are their mothers?'
They stared at each other. 'But we've never had any women in the Service, except for a few civilian medtechs,' began Miles.
Elena's long fingers closed urgently on his shoulder.
'Look at the dates.'
He scrolled the file again.
'Miles,' she hissed.
'Yes, I see it.' He stopped the screen. 'Female infant released to the custody of Admiral Aral Vorkosigan. Not sent to the orphanage with the rest.'
'The date—Miles, that's my birthday!'
He unpeeled her fingers. 'Yes, I know. Don't crush my collarbone, please.'
'Could it be me? Is it me?' Her face tightened with hope and dismay.
'I—it's all numbers, you see,' he said cautiously. 'But there's plenty of medical identification—footprints, retinal, bloodtype—stick your foot over here.'
Elena hopped about, removing shoes and hose. Miles helped her place her right foot over the holovid plate. He restrained himself with a twitching effort from running a hand up that incredible silken length of thigh, blooming from her rumpled skirts. Skin like an orchid petal. He bit his lips; pain, pain would help him to focus. Damn tight trousers anyway. He hoped she wouldn't notice …
Setting up the optical laser check helped his focus rather better. A flickering red light played over her sole for a few seconds. He set the machine to comparing whorls and ridges. 'Allowing for the change from infant to adult—my God, Elena, it is you!' He preened. If he couldn't be a soldier, perhaps he had a future as a detective . ..
Elena's dark gaze transfixed him. 'But what does it mean?' Her face congealed suddenly. 'Don't I have— was I—am I some kind of clone, or manufactured?' She blinked suddenly liquid eyes, and her voice trembled. 'I don't have a mother? No mother, and it was all just—'
The triumph of his successful identification seeped out of him at her distress. Clod! Now he'd turned her dream mother into a nightmare—no, it was her own flying imagination that was doing that. 'Uh, uh—no, certainly not! What an idea! You're obviously your father's daughter—no insult intended—it just means your mother was killed at Escobar, instead of here. And furthermore,' he sprang up to declaim dramatically, 'this makes you my long-lost sister!'
'Huh?' said Elena, bewildered.
'Sure. Or—anyway, there's a 1/17th chance that we came out of the same replicator.' He spun about her, conjuring farce against her terrors. 'My l/17th twin sister! It must be Act V! Take heart, this means you're bound to marry the Prince in the next scene!'
She laughed through her tears. The door rattled ominously. The corporal outside declaimed with unnecessary volume, 'Good evening, sir!'
'Shoes! My shoes! Give me back my stockings!' hissed Elena.
Miles thrust them at her, killed the comconsole, and sealed it with one frantic, fluid motion. He catapulted onto the sofa, grabbed Elena about the waist and carrying her down with him. She giggled and swore at him, struggling with her second shoe. One tear was still making a glistening track down her cheek.
He slipped a hand up into her shining hair, and bent her face toward his. 'We better make this look good. I don't want to arouse Captain Koudelka's suspicions.' He hesitated, his grin fading into seriousness. Her lips melted onto his.
The lights flicked on; they sprang apart. He peered up over her shoulder, and forgot for a moment how to exhale.
Captain Koudelka. Sergeant Bothari. And Count Vorkosigan.
Captain Koudelka looked suffused, a slight upward curl escaping from one corner of his mouth as it from enormous inward pressure. He glanced sideways at his companions, and tamped it out. The Sergeant's craggy face was icy. The Count was darkening rapidly.
Miles finally found something to do with all the air he'd taken in. 'All right,' he said in a firm didactic tone, 'Now, after 'Grant me this boon,' on the next line you say, 'With all my heart; and much it joys me too, to see you are become so penitent.' ' He glanced up most impenitently at his father. 'Good evening, sir. Are we taking up your space? We can go practice elsewhere …'
'Yes, let's,' Elena squeaked, picking up her cue with alacrity. She produced a rather inane smile for the three adults as Miles towed her safely past. Captain Koudelka returned the smile with all his heart. The Count somehow managed to smile at her and frown menacingly at Miles at the same time. The Sergeant's frown was democratically universal. The duty guard's smirk broadened to a muffled snicker as they fled down the hall.
'Can't miss, eh?' Elena snarled out of the corner of her mouth at Miles as they rose up the lift tube.
He executed a pirouette in midair, shamelessly. 'A strategic withdrawal in good order; what more can you ask for being out-gunned, out-numbered, and out-ranked? We were just practicing that old play. Very cultural. Who could possibly object? I think I'm a genius.'
'I think you're an idiot,' she said fiercely. 'My other stocking is hanging over the back of your shoulder.'
'Oh.' He twisted his neck for a look, and plucked off the filmy, clinging garment. He held it out to her with a sickly, apologetic smile. 'I guess that didn't look too good.'
She glared at him and snatched it back. 'And now I'm going to get lectured at—he treats every male that comes near me like a potential rapist anyway—he'll probably forbid me to speak to you, too, now. Or send me back to the country forever …' Her eyes were swimming for their lives. They reached the door. 'And on top of that, he's—he's lied to me about my mother—'
She fled into her bedroom, slamming the door so hard that she came close to taking off a few fingers from the hand Miles was raising in protest. He leaned against the door and called through the heavy carved wood anxiously. 'You don't know that! There's undoubtedly some perfectly logical explanation—I'll get it figured out—
'Go AWAY!' her muffled wail came back.
He shuffled uncertainly around the hall for a few more minutes, hoping for a second chance, but the door remained uncompromisingly blank and silent. After a time he became conscious of the stiff figure of the floor duty
