View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
Karaoke is a charming old Earth pastime in which music which normally has lyrics is played without them and supplying vocals is left as an exercise to the participant. Ivan was coaxed into going by a local handing out drink vouchers for the bar which offers the activity, and there he got slightly tipsy, sang the only three Barrayaran songs in the entire catalogue, made out with a somewhat drunker girl, got her number, and stumbled home while some Earthling was stumbling through interminable verses of some song. It has not been a bad evening.
+ Show First Post
middlingalong
"Okay. So I can go in and tell th'captain you tipped me off and I need, oh, how many people to assail this house for having Vorkosigans in it who don't wish to be there?"
last-one-out
"There's the boss and three loyal minions, all with stunners, and enough nerve disruptors to go around but they don't all carry those when they aren't expecting trouble. No other prisoners besides me and Mark. You might know better than I do how many people you need to deal with that."
last-one-out
He can give an extremely complete summary of the building's tactically relevant features, is what he can do.
middlingalong
Good, good. Ivan borrows a pen from the waitress and writes this all down on a napkin. "What else should I know?"
last-one-out
"I might have to pretend not to be on your side for a while when you arrive. Mark will probably just collapse as soon as it looks like there might be a rescue."
last-one-out
"Panic attack. He gets those when he tries to do something that might piss off the boss. He'll be fine afterward, just won't be much use in the fight."
last-one-out
"Staying out of the way and acting like I don't want to be rescued. But if the boss gives me a weapon I'm shooting him."
middlingalong
"You're welcome. Please don't turn out to have planned to assassinate people from your new vantage point all along, I'd be very disappointed."
last-one-out
"Ha. No," he says. "I like what I've seen of Miles's family, I have no plans to murder any of them."
middlingalong
So the next day Ivan and the captain and some of the boys swing by the house.
The house contains:
three loyal minions,
two imprisoned Vorkosigans,
and a surprise.
three loyal minions,
two imprisoned Vorkosigans,
and a surprise.
middlingalong
Galeni is really surprised by this surprise. It's lucky they found him only after stunning all three minions.
The surprise is moderately surprised by Galeni, to be sure.
"This... isn't the reunion I was hoping for," he says slowly, glancing between Galeni and assorted subordinates.
"This... isn't the reunion I was hoping for," he says slowly, glancing between Galeni and assorted subordinates.
last-one-out
Whatever else he was about to say is lost to history when he is rudely interrupted by a nerve disruptor bolt to the head, coming from the direction of the conference room's other door.