funerary proceedings

[middlingalong]

In the wake of the death of Empress Rian Degtiar of the Cetagandan Empire, cordiality from Barrayar consists of sending a couple of lieutenants to attend the funeral. It promises to be a series of social scaffolding appointments, a funeral, some more socialization - all of it principally with ghem-lords and -ladies; Barrayaran lieutenants, Ivan is sure, do not rate shoulder-rubbing with haut, but that's all well and good anyway - and then going home. Well enough. They have a diplomatic purpose, but they are not, actually, diplomats - if actual diplomats were supposed to be necessary Ivan assumes someone with Ambassador in front of his name would have been sent in... lieu of... lieutenants.

"Now," Ivan says, for want of better ways to pass the time, "is it, 'Diplomacy is the art of war pursued by other men', or is it the other way around...?"

Comments

[thisvorlunatic]

The shuttle makes undocking noises, much fainter than those of the smaller personnel pod, and proceeds away from the station without a peep from Cetagandan security.

So. Since he strongly doubts that the Cetagandan authorities would extend their subtle head games into allowing the Barrayarans to depart their customs station carrying stolen lethal weaponry, Miles can rule out all scenarios in which the fugitive has been caught and the tale of their adventure extracted from him. This leaves not caught at all, or caught and badly mishandled, his movements left untraced, his vandalism of the freight bay's vid pickups undetected. Of those two, the first is likelier. Therefore, the only people who know about their encounter are Miles, Ivan, their pod pilot - who has very ostentatiously washed his hands of the whole business and won't be setting foot dirtside anyway - and the fugitive himself.

Therefore, if the mystery man wants his widget back, he'll have to find Miles. Which should not be at all difficult. And then... well, whatever happens, it's bound to be interesting. A practical exercise suitable for a fresh young intelligence officer looking to deemphasize the 'fresh'. He wonders if there might not be some way to coax Vorreedi into giving him a crack at the puzzle.

[middlingalong]

Ivan would like to ostentatiously wash his hands of the whole mess, but alas, this is not his privilege today.