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Linya is working on a massive flowchart-like diagram of a planned software project for Dr. Cheung. It's laid out in every color and in three dimensions with sprawl of its little writing that takes up most of her office and keeps fading out at the edges and in her shadow when she moves around, but reappears when she turns or approaches.
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isthisart
"Well, maybe some of them he'll manage it with. He did his legs that way."
isthisart
"Maybe."
She's still playing; she brings a phrase to a resolved chord and stops.
She's still playing; she brings a phrase to a resolved chord and stops.
spacetobreathe
Ten days later, Elli Quinn escorts Miles to the surface of Barrayar, as he is pretty much incapable of moving.
isthisart
And Linya inquires, when she hears that he's arrived, when he'll be able to receive visits.
thisvorlunatic
It turns out that he is having his ribs and sternum replaced, and will not be available to visitors for another week and a half.
isthisart
Well, that sounds thoroughly unpleasant.
Linya waits. There is piano involved.
Linya waits. There is piano involved.
as-i-remember
A week and two days into that week and a half, she gets a pen message from Illyan.
Miles badgered his doctors into summoning me to his hospital room so he could inform me of how disappointed he is in the scope and accuracy of my pre-mission briefings. It's possible you could convince them to let you in as well, although 'conscious and able to swear inventively' is the best I can say about his condition when I saw him, so you might be better served to wait until official visiting hours later this week.
Miles badgered his doctors into summoning me to his hospital room so he could inform me of how disappointed he is in the scope and accuracy of my pre-mission briefings. It's possible you could convince them to let you in as well, although 'conscious and able to swear inventively' is the best I can say about his condition when I saw him, so you might be better served to wait until official visiting hours later this week.
isthisart
Thank you for the update.
Linya goes and attempts to convince the doctors to let her in to have a look at her husband.
Linya goes and attempts to convince the doctors to let her in to have a look at her husband.
thisvorlunatic
They do.
Her husband is... conscious. And able to grin at her. And very, very flat. His entire torso is encased in a plastic immobilizer, perhaps to stop him doing anything as unwise as try to sit up.
"What a pleasant surprise," he croaks. "I'm sure I'm not allowed visitors yet, the fellow was very clear about that while I was making him fetch Simon for me..."
Her husband is... conscious. And able to grin at her. And very, very flat. His entire torso is encased in a plastic immobilizer, perhaps to stop him doing anything as unwise as try to sit up.
"What a pleasant surprise," he croaks. "I'm sure I'm not allowed visitors yet, the fellow was very clear about that while I was making him fetch Simon for me..."
isthisart
"I don't know how long they'll let me stay, but they let me in briefly. I may have implied that I will be more effective at preventing you from demanding the presence of any additional people you only intend to yell at than extra sedatives would be. That really couldn't have waited?"
thisvorlunatic
"It really couldn't," he says. "Anyway, I didn't yell. Yelling hurts too much. I mostly hissed."
isthisart
Linya kisses his forehead. "My mistake. If talking hurts too I can stop asking you questions."
isthisart
"Aha. So how did you wind up needing your entire torso restructured?"
thisvorlunatic
He sighs (and winces slightly.)
"How much do you already know...?"
"How much do you already know...?"
isthisart
She pets his hair, since his head seems okay. "The Lairoubans gave you fast-penta and didn't like your Shakepearean predilections, which I can imagine in detail but not necessarily accurate detail."
thisvorlunatic
The hairpets get a (slightly pained) smile.
"They were banking on it making me all goofy and pliable. It, uh, didn't. They got pissed off. Not much interesting to tell from there, until Bel broke in to rescue me, at which point I'm afraid I mumbled sexually suggestive tongue-twisters at it until I passed out."
"They were banking on it making me all goofy and pliable. It, uh, didn't. They got pissed off. Not much interesting to tell from there, until Bel broke in to rescue me, at which point I'm afraid I mumbled sexually suggestive tongue-twisters at it until I passed out."
thisvorlunatic
"In my defense, it kept egging me on after the first few. And proved unable to start a dirty limerick I couldn't finish. When I woke up I told it that next time it made me laugh that hard with that many broken ribs I was having it written up for assaulting a superior officer, but eh, the damage was already done before it got there. And it did save my life. Rather gloriously, too."
isthisart
"I'd thank it - for the life-saving, mind - but that would probably puncture your cover."
isthisart
"Before anything much exciting had appeared to happen, my export agent, who was loitering on the station in case an opportunity to encourage someone in useful directions came up, was invited to have dinner with the Toramirans, who didn't seem to know why they'd invited her."
thisvorlunatic
"Yeah, no idea. From what I gathered, the Lairoubans were planning to have them all poisoned at the event they would've attended if they hadn't been talking to your agent instead. Maybe somebody tipped them off. It'd be nice to know who. Nosy and secretive Tau Cetan? Toramiran underling with a hunch? Lairouban would-be assassin with cold feet?"