Thank you. How much are you planning to bring? And can she sneak as many family members of the people in her fleet as possible with you, she has a list.

Not much. Discretion is of utmost importance. If my departure is noticed and followed, that would defeat the point of the exercise.

Nnnnnnh that's definitely correct and if she knows Occlus it means 'everything extremely valuable is on a very tiny ship that is astonishingly easy to lose and everything I'm not taking that's mine is getting exploded' but still -

... There are a few people related or involved with people part of this fleet that already work for you and could be brought along without issue. I have a list of the ones likely to want to come. My fleet knows and likes me, but such a move might earn goodwill for you without sacrificing discretion.

I will be taking a CE-212 bulk freighter. Assume I am using half its cargo capacity for my personal effects. Prioritize your list by maximizing individual satisfaction per additional passenger and value of their skillset.

Yes. Thank you!

(Eeeeeeeee.)

I also recommend acquiring samples of useful biological substances, there is working cloning tech here and they can grow certain things in vats if they have samples to work from. She's not going to tell Occlus to pack the freighter with kolto, because really, her fleet's supply dwarfs whatever Occlus could fit onto the freighter. It's not worth it. But samples are something different.

Noted. How long do you expect it to take to secure the approval of the local polity?

Gregor is a busy Emperor, because he actually does his job instead of just gathering more power like a lunatic, so she might not necessarily get to speak to him immediately.

Two weeks to be entirely safe. I will have the list of people ready as soon as possible - would you like a list of useful biological substances too?

That would be helpful. You know better than I what their galaxy is poised to exploit.

Yes. And she is going to be exploiting it relentlessly bwuahahahahaha. Do you want a basic overview of the culture and technology?

If it will not negatively affect the timetable of ensuring I will not be met with hostility when I arrive.

... I will go schedule the meeting with the Emperor now, and contact you again later and explain then. My setup for contacting you is portable because I am very clever. Is there a time you'd like to schedule it for?

In six hours I must attend a Council meeting. I expect it to last for four. The next shipment from Ziost is scheduled to arrive in twenty-seven hours, I need to be there to receive it but will be interruptible afterwards. My time is otherwise open.

Excellent, thank you.

I'm very glad this worked. I hope the transportation's replicable, it really is much nicer over here.

It does sound that way.

I'll gush about it later. I'll get to work now.

She sends a muted sense of her reaction at Occlus being contactable at all; relief that it was possible, pride at her achievement, gratitude for being taught enough to figure out how to do this, a warm and bubbly hope that Occlus can join her over here, and a general sense of loyalty.

An approving nod, and quiet confidence that her apprentice will solve this problem as she does all others-

And the contact ends.

Callida lowers her clever crystal contact setup to the floor, and then indulges in about five seconds of delighted giggling. She did it she did it she did it!

Okay, there, that was enough. To work.

This is why she maintains her fleet well, because now it is in an excellent state to react to her commands. For example: scientist people? Get her a list of the most noteworthy biological substances in the galaxy, priority towards the most easy to acquire in a short period of time and the most potentially useful. Personnel people over there - what important professions are they missing in this fleet, with special note towards ones Barrayar cannot potentially provide for them. Technicians - figure out what datadumps they might require for these various things they're going to need - yes, also, someone figure that out, she knows someone was already working on it but work on it harder - and then where those could easily be acquired. Engineers, figure out what the fuck with the phenomenon that got them here, she knows that's already been started but maybe work on it a bit harder, they're under a time crunch. They will be paid overtime.

(... She needs to figure out how to convert money, doesn't she. Well, not right now, that's a problem for later.)

There. Everyone doing things and functioning well? Yes? Excellent. Then she needs to go schedule a meeting with the Emperor. She could go through the Barrayaran military hierarchy, which could take a while. Or: she could call Cordelia.

The second option sounds better. She does that.

(On the way to Barrayar, she can start chipping at that list of people for Occlus to retrieve; she can't finish it yet, not until she has the extra data from her fleet, but she can definitely rule out a lot of people.)

"Hello."

"Hello," says Callida, looking slightly more cheerful than usual. "Would it be possible to schedule another meeting with the Emperor?"

"Certainly," she says. "On official business? How urgently?"

"Official business. Earliest convenience, it's not an emergency and he shouldn't treat it as such, but is somewhat time sensitive."

"I'll talk to him and call you back," she says. "I assume your attempt to contact your mentor went well? Congratulations."

"It did, thank you," she says, with a little triumphant smile.

She smiles back. "Take care, then. I'll call back in a few hours."

And she ends the call.

Two hours later: "Hello again. Will eight days from now do?"

"It will, thank you."

And until then she can get her various lists in order, and administrate her fleet. It's mostly working out, but there are some kinks to be worked out. Imperial Intelligence needs to learn that sharing is caring, for example, and that while they should definitely keep an eye on what gets out from the fleet, they're really not helping by keeping intra-fleet secrets. Callida goes and is a Sith Lord at them, and stops that right quick. (And then she apologizes for her doctor.)

She updates Occlus on the situation and the galaxy that will (hopefully) be their home. She also gets her the list of people that need to be retrieved, what they do, and how to efficiently recruit them without any kidnapping, as explained by the people that actually know them from Callida's fleet. Included is someone who deals in cybernetics, a couple that programs and builds droids, respectively, and a number of others of similar skills-Callida-does-not-have-already. She also writes up how easily noticed their disappearances would be - none of them are particularly egregious, but she still keeps Occlus informed of where potential pitfalls might be.