[ OPEN ]

[dendarii]

Who: Miles Naismith (dendarii), the Dendarii, and YOU!
When: Forward-dated to late Day 4
Where: The Boneyard
What: ICly prepping for adventures, Dendarii recruitment, and poking at trilobites for fun and/or food??

[ Somehow, despite everything, Miles has gotten quite bored very quickly. Being unable to do much with shelter or searching thus far - curse his fragile body - Miles finds himself wanting to do absolutely anything except sit still another day. He's already paced himself a visible trough in the sand next to his corner of that massive skull.

When the trilobites start showing up in greater numbers, Miles is pretty much ecstatic. Finally, he can do something that involves staying still while also getting to do something moderately dangerous. Low against the sand as he is, he finds it a worthy pastime to belly crawl after some of the solo critters. Trying to ply them with a bit of rations or coral meat - or a scrap of his suit ...

When not doing that, in the interests of making himself useful, Miles turns to planning. When anyone gets near his spot, he brightens and turns to them regardless of their interest level. (He also may or may not be continuing to try taming one of these little wiggly bastards.) He grins brightly and draws himself up to his full (if short) height. ]

For all that we've made a lovely home for ourselves here, I'm getting antsy. Wouldn't it be worthwhile to see where all these things are coming from? I personally intend taking my mercenaries to investigate, but ...

[ A coy pause.]

Well. The more the merrier. The Dendarii Mercenaries are always looking for new recruits.

Comments

[shipmaster]

Than this? No. Than you remember... oh, very possibly.

[dendarii]

... So that's a yes. Essentially.

[shipmaster]

You never brought us boring jobs.

[dendarii]

No, I imagine not. Being a mercenary admiral and all.

... What was the most interesting one I brought back?

[shipmaster]

From the outset, rather than by complication? That would be the second one.

From everything we put together... you were flitting around as an arms dealer, turned up with a dreary faced man who was Emperor of one of the most hawkish empires out there, lost him, took over your own outfit a second time, actually sweet talked Tung and Auson into making nice [They drop into an aside here.] Which by the way was most unreal part of anything. I'd have paid half a year's stipend to have been in THAT room. [And right back into the story.] All to talk us into blockading a wormhole from a goddamn Cetagandan invasion.

[dendarii]

[ A dreary faced man ... His mind produces a somber fellow with a large nose. Tall, dark haired ... yes, he thinks he remembers some of that. ]

And it all came from out of nowhere? Did I ever tell you why I'd turned up with an Emperor?

[shipmaster]

You hadn't told me about the Emperor at all. That came out later when I was ferrying him out to Vervain station. [A little earlier, actually. The Inner Circle had their secrets, but those just out of it were very discretely trading notes.] Just that you had an employer who wanted the conflict in the hub watched and preferably stopped.

[dendarii]

[ Miles abandons his trilobite tempting for a moment to pace. Their employer, eh ... Who in the world would that be? ]

The Cetagandans were invading, you said. And the Barrayaran Imperium is notoriously bloodthirsty.

[shipmaster]

Oh yes. As soon as the first Cetagandan ship nosed through, the Barrayarans came charging through Pol's wormhole with an amazing warship. Nothing should have moved that fast and been that big. [They sigh.] Now THAT would have been one to add to the Fleet.

[dendarii]

[ Miles can't help but grin with a touch of pride. He does remember seeing that ship, doesn't he? And going on board ... ]

Do you suppose it was Barrayar then? Just wanting us to hold long enough to come in and fight themselves?

[shipmaster]

Oh, very likely, considering all the players involved. They pay handsomely, at least. But so did Aslund and Vervain.

[dendarii]

Ah, a triple payment. The best kind there is.

[ He stops pacing again to sit. ]

[shipmaster]

Deadly necessary that time. We took about as much damage as one might think holding a wormhole against Cetaganda. But... that was the most interesting, not necessarily the best idea.

[dendarii]

Mmm, yes .... I think I was improvising much of the time myself. I recall being extremely surprised by the Emperor's presence.

[shipmaster]

Really? [That they clearly HADN'T known.] You put up a good face at the time.

[dendarii]

Oh, I'm sure. Having the Emperor of Barrayar would mean I was walking a terrible tightrope. Trying to secure our pay, trying to keep him from Oser, pulling everything off without a hitch ...

[shipmaster]

Without a hitch? [Bel laughs outright at that.] Miles, dear, you always HAVE had unrealistic expectations.

[dendarii]

Minimal hitches then! Overall success despite hitches!

[ He says, shoving Bel's shoulder lightly. ]

[shipmaster]

[The laughter only increases at that, delighted by the reaction.]

Closer.

[dendarii]

Hmm? Was that an invitation just now?

[ He throws another light punch, then leans his head against their shoulder. ]

[shipmaster]

[They don't freeze - never that. It's welcome enough at any point. In fact, if the action hadn't gone with an overture, they'd have never pulled back at all.

Damn this situation and damn all of their morals.]

You. [They put a hand directly on Miles forehead and pushes him gently away.] Are a menace. A smooth one. But still a menace.

[dendarii]

[ Miles just laughs as he's pushed. Reaches up to grab Bel's hand since it's there and all. ]

What's so wrong about being a little flirtatious? Come on, it would be a great distraction. You'd keep me out of trouble very efficiently.

[shipmaster]

[The corner of their lip quirks up. The fact that it IS a solid argument is clear in the fact that Bel hasn't pulled back.]

You've never been 'a little' about anything in your life.

[dendarii]

[ Success, then? He tugs on Bel's wrist, pulling their hand close enough to kiss the back of it. ]

That doesn't make me any less right. I'm going mad, my dear Captain. I need to do something.

[shipmaster]

[Their eyes close at that: The gesture, the "my dear Captain." For a moment, they just savor that.

It takes more will than they imagined they'd had to pull back.]

I do swear that if you shrug all of this off when your brain unscrambles itself, I'll wring your little neck with my own two hands. Lovingly.

[If it was ANY more of a hospitable environment, they'd sorely consider just dropping him whole onto Taura's lap. But then, she didn't quite deserve being his need for forward progress either.]

Put all of that crazy into getting us through this in one piece, Miles dear.