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know
. You have to keep looking. We can t just stop with Galeni."
Haroche blew out his breath, and rubbed his chin. "Miles, you re asking me to
unleash a witch-hunt, here. Potentially very damaging to my organization.
You d have me turn ImpSec upside down, and for what? If the Komarran guilty
- and I m is provisionally convinced he is - you ll have to go very far indeed
to produce a suspect more to your taste. Where will you stop?"
Not here, for damn sure
. "The Empress-to-be is not going to be happy with you. Or with me."
Haroche grimaced. "I m aware. She seems a very nice young woman, and it gives
me no pleasure to think this may cause her distress, but I took my oath to
Gregor
. So did you."
"Yes."
"If you have nothing more concrete to offer, I m ready to lay the charges and
let the court-martial sort it out."
You can lay the charges, but I ll not light the fuse
.
"I could decline to close my Auditor s case."
"If the court-martial convicts, you ll have to close it, my lord."
No, I won t
. The realization made him blink. He could keep his Auditor s inquiry open
forever if he so chose, and there wasn t a damned thing Haroche could do about
it. No wonder Haroche was being so exquisitely polite today. Miles could even
veto the court-martial.... But Imperial Auditors were traditionally
circumspect with their vast powers. From a large pool of experienced men, they
were chosen not for the glory of their former careers, but for their long
records of utmost personal probity. Fifty years of life s tests were normally
considered barely enough to smoke out the likely candidates. He ought not to
screw with ImpSec s internal rules any more than the bare minimum necessary to
-
Haroche smiled wearily. "We may end up having to agree to disagree, but try to
see my view. Galeni was your friend once, and I sympathize with your dismay at
the turn things have taken. This is what I can do. I can drop the treason
charge, and reduce it to assault on a superior officer. Minimize the distress.
A year in prison, a simple dishonorable discharge, and Galeni walks away.
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You might even use whatever pull you have to gain him an Imperial pardon, and
spare him the prison. I ve no great objection, as long as he s gotten out of
here
."
Thus destroying Galeni s career, and any future political ambitions... and
Galeni had been an ambitious man, anxious to serve
Komarr in that new and more peaceful future Gregor had envisioned, immensely
conscious of his opportunities there. "A pardon is for the guilty," said
Miles. "It s not the same thing as an acquittal."
Haroche scratched his head, and grimaced again, or maybe that was intended to
be a smile. "I... really had another reason for asking you up here, Lord
Vorkosigan. I m looking to the future on more than one front." Haroche
hesitated for a long moment, then went on, "I took the liberty of
requisitioning a copy of your ImpMil neurologists medical reports on your
condition. Your seizure disorder. I thought his plan of treatment sounded
promising."
"ImpSec," Miles murmured, "always was ubiquitous as cockroaches. First tap my
comconsole, then my medical files... remind me to shake out my boots, tomorrow
morning."
"My apologies, my lord. I think you ll forgive me. I had to know the
particulars, before I could say what I m about to say. But if this
controlled-seizure device proves to work as you hope..."
"It only controls the symptoms. It s not a cure."
Haroche opened his hand, dismissing the difference. "A matter of medical
definition, not practical use. I m a practical man.
I ve been studying the reports of your Dendarii missions for ImpSec. You and
Simon Illyan made an extraordinary team."
We were the best, oh yes
. Miles grunted, neutrally, suddenly uncertain of just where Haroche was
leading.
Haroche smiled wryly. "Filling Illyan s place is a damned big challenge. I m
reluctant to give up any advantage. Now that I ve had a chance to work with
you in person, and look over your records in real detail... I m increasingly
sure that Illyan made a serious mistake when he discharged you."
"It was no mistake. I more than deserved what I got." His mouth was growing
dry.
"I don t think so. I think Illyan overreacted. A written censure appended to
your records would have been enough, in my view." Haroche shrugged. "You could
have added it to your collection. I ve worked with your sort before, willing
to take risks no one else is willing to take, to get results no one else is
able to obtain. I like results, Miles. I like them a lot. The Dendarii
Mercenaries were a great resource, for ImpSec."
"They still are. Commodore Quinn will take your money. And deliver your
goods." His heart was beginning to pound.
"This woman Quinn is unknown to me, and not Barrayaran. I d much prefer - if
your medical treatment is successful - to reinstate you."
He had to swallow, in order to breathe. "Everything... to be as it was before?
Take up where I left off?"
The Dendarii...
Admiral Naismith...
"Not exactly where you left off, no. By my calculations you were about two
years overdue for your promotion to captain, for one thing. But I think you
and I could be a team just as you and Illyan were." A small twinkle lit
Haroche s eye. "You will perhaps forgive me my touch of ambition if I say,
maybe even better? I d be proud to have you on board, Vorkosigan."
Miles sat stunned. For a moment, all he could think, idiotically, was
I m sure glad I had that seizure last night, or I d be rolling on this carpet
again right now
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. "I... I..." His hands were shaking, his head exploding with joy.
Yes! Yes! Yes
! "I d... have to close this case first. Give Gregor back his choke-chain. But
then... sure!" His injured lip split again as it stretched, painfully, into an
unstoppable grin. He sucked salt blood from it.
"Yes," said Haroche patiently, "that s exactly what I ve been saying."
An ice-water wash seemed to pour down through the middle of Miles s chest,
quenching his hot exaltation.
What
? He scarcely felt able to think straight. A memory filled his inner vision,
of a docking bay crammed wall-to-wall with Dendarii troopers chanting,
Naismith, Naismith, Naismith
!
My first victory
.... Do you remember what it cost
?
His grin had become fixed. "I... I... I..." He swallowed twice, and cleared
his throat. As if echoing from some far-off tunnel he heard his voice - which
him? -
saying, "I m going to have to think about this, General."
"Please do," said Haroche genially. "Take your time. But don t leave me in
suspense forever - I can already imagine a use for the Dendarii in a certain
situation which looks to be looming out near Kline Station. I d love to
discuss it with you, if you re in. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]