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[ MAKES IT EVEN MORE AWKWARD, COOL ]

At least on Beta it isn't mandatory.

Well, I'm not about to sit here and twiddle my thumbs over it. If we're going to be docked here a while and made to participate in their little matchmaking scam, we might as well seize the opportunity to see what we can find planetside. I don't like what we've been told so far. It doesn't add up.

It shouldn't be, much less be mandatory.

[still pacing. may have been pacing for a while. clearly Miles doesn't want to be be asked out at all, whether to comply with this absurdity or to spite it, and frankly it would leave a bad taste in Bel's mouth too, after all these years of being gently turned away. everything had been so... hushed and impending, after that night at the bar, like the calm before a sandstorm, too fragile to touch. and now this? damndamndamn....

pauses for a moment, second-guessing. probably Miles has run across about as many versions of this bad holo-romance plot as Bel has. every possible line of comfort or reassurance or support is a cheesy one. ~~or a lie.~~ damn.]

Count me in if there's any real action. [if there's one thing Bel can still be to Miles, they can at least be that as hard as possible. _{so to speak.}] You will, won't you? It'd be nice to at least do some good while we're stuck here.

[ miles was nearly ready to confront all the tension from a few nights ago, but this... this makes it weird. he's trying really hard not to let it get in the way of...anything, but this whole damn planet makes things complicated.

so, of course, he's just going to act like everything's cool. cool. he's got this ]

Of course. If they're expecting us to [ he has to pause before he types the words ] go on dates with our matches, we might as well use it to learn something about Emiri. I'll bet you Betan dollars this place has one ugly underside.

[EVERYTHING IS WEIRD.

>(

oh God this is even worse] ...I was expecting something more along the lines of an armed infiltration

but a 'date' will do

I guess.

[the irony is so very palpable. it'd be hilarious if it wasn't them. it is hilarious except for the parts where it isn't. maybe they can ignore those parts?

but they won't be facing this by avoiding each other? that's... good. feels better than it should, really. hadn't realized how much they'd expected it until it doesn't happen.]

I had a look at the brochures. St. Muertel sounds like a gentrified Jacksonian House, Harashan is the Link-Inc. home base, and it looks like people are being forcibly quartered together in Avelle. Where should we start?

[ he's working on being less of an avoidant jackass, bel, he really is ]

Tempting though it may be, no, I don't think so. Bad tactic right now. Much though I'd like to turn this place inside-out, we can't count on any backup from the ship, and trust me, we really don't want to cause a diplomatic incident. The last time that happened, a planet collapsed in on itself.

[ also, he died. ]

The pretense of a date should lend us a little extra legitimacy if needed, from what I gather. I definitely want to check out St. Murtel, but let's start with Harashan. Seems like a better place to gather some primary intel before we investigate St. Murtel. I agree, by the sound of it, it...has a lot more going on behind closed doors than they'd like for us to think.

How are you feeling, by the way?

[tbf Bel is working on being less tightlipped in a number of areas, so there's that?]

Hm. I was going to say we never get to do things the fun way, but you're right. We can find out what we need to know and keep the methods under wraps.

[yeah. don't do that again. :/ ]

Good. Plenty of the crew will be taking lessons there -- they'll expect a lot of clueless questions. We won't be conspicuous.

Me? I'll probably be recovered enough to drink again in about a year or two.~

Definitely a better tactic for now. Besides, this could be fun -- bet we could learn all sorts of things in the right bars. The lessons, not so much.

[ can he please pass on that? he doesn't need more humiliation in his life, he has enough of that. ]

Glad to hear it, but not what I was talking about. Why didn't you tell me you ran into that thing last month?

Might be fun after all. [though watching Miles work a hapless room of unwitting informants is always entertaining.

.......had almost convinced themself that part had been a really good hallucination, especially when Miles didn't follow up on it right away. but... he did....? ~~and then they--??~~ oh. oh.]

That was last month, Miles, why.... [....no.] ...it was right at the beginning, and then everyone was running around all over the ship. I didn't know you'd helped trap it till the next day. With everything else going on, it didn't seem... newsworthy.

[~~and also you would have worried. and that's the opposite of how this relatio -- assoc -- fr -- thing we have is supposed to work? isn't it?]~~

Edited 2016-01-11 23:07 (UTC)

[ oh yes, that definitely happened, and miles has been trying very hard to think his way around it. dammit, miles, make up your mind. ]

You think that you being attacked by some kind of monster isn't newsworthy to me?

[sits down to avoid pacing through the deck

trying really hard not to read ~~everything~~ too much into those last two words there, Miles]

~~Half the ship was attacked~~

[....the answer's a long time coming. ~~yeah when they said we need to work on our communication did you think they just meant you? just... doesn't know where to start.~~

it's a good thing this isn't video.]

~~There... didn't seem to be~~ ....I couldn't seem to find a time to bring it up.

[is this a dressing down? or an argument, or what? how do people do this, outside of slipping it in between the lines of status reports?]

[ miles doesn't mean this as a dressing down, it's... what, concern? of course it's concern. what specific angle it's coming from is more a matter of debate. but his intent isn't really to guilt bel. ]

Make some time in the future then, alright? I'd want to know.

[yes, because you react so positively and compliantly when Bel is concerned about you. is deflection and minimization not how this is supposed to work?]

I'll do that.

[..........how.

text doesn't really convey the amount of backtracks and rewordings that go into the next line.]

Will this be a two-way street?

[ for once, he actually knows bel could be looking at a double standard. miles chews on the side of his thumb and hesitates before he answers. this isn't the chain of command anymore, not here. ]

That's what we said back there, after the morgue, isn't it? Better communication, all around.

[he'd have to be blind not to, tbh. or expect Bel to be, and it's been... difficult holding that curtain closed, anymore.

what's a shipmaster to do with all this when -- someday, if things go right -- they're all back on that chain again? ................definitely not think about any of that at all right now, that's what.]

Yes

Thanks.

[text doesn't really convey the soft, sweet expression here. ~~they'll even spare you an offer to see just how far down the scar goes.~~~]

... Let's start with Harashan. Might as well plan this little jaunt for maximum enjoyment as long as it doesn't conflict with intelligence. How long's it been since you had any real leave?

[ good. they're on the same page, hopefully. miles doesn't want things to be uneven with them here, it just...doesn't feel right.

and it's good to feel like they're on the same page again. a date as cover for an intel operation? a chance to work together on something that feels real? god, miles is starved for action, action that means something. back in his cabin, miles grins to himself. ]

Well, the last time I took shore leave I ended up dead, so I think I'm due.

[dryly] Okay, scratch that off our list of cultural experiences to take in on sunny, scenic Emiri. No dying. And no blowing up the planet. Sorry, Miles, we're probably stuck with the high life this time. What a shame! We'll just have to be brave and face it, won't we? [...might possibly have bounced back a little too high there. c: but Bel has been craving action and purpose too, and setting the stage for one of Miles's coups is finally something that feels familiar.

twenty minutes later] I've done a little research. Ready to plan our first night out? How are we going to play it?

[ miles does laugh a little at that first text -- this is easier, keeping it light, joking back and forth with bel. that's always easier. this whole...matchmaking thing doesn't have to matter, doesn't have to mean anything. it's just horseshit, they both know that. what happened in miles' bed after the morgue, what happened in the bar and bel's room the other night, that's......different. ]

We'll play tourist, fascinated by the local culture. It's half true, anyway. Nosy, oblivious, and unreasonably persistent. See if you can't find us a bar -- not too touristy, we'll be the off-the-beaten-path types. Actually, find us a few, a local dive wouldn't hurt, either, and I'm sure I could worm us into some high-class lounge if I put my mind to it.

I guess I'll have to find something to wear.

[good. ^^ next: get him to do that in person.

the... different part.... that'll be impossible to explore under these circumstances. and Bel never wanted it to mar what they'd already had, anyway. they're good together, out in the field. they understand each other, anticipate each other. Bel loves that dance, too.]

Already did! We've got a great spread of night spots to choose from. Smoky, seedy, gym, sports, hole-in-the-wall, hole-in-the-floor, all-star, half-moon, salad, alternative, dancing, strip, nude, runway, live music, anagram night, something that looks like bowling, black-tie, black-light, Couples Half Off -- and I have to remind you, this is an alien planet where that could mean anything -- various dens of sin and vice, your choice of cuisines I never heard of, any or all of the above. I'm sending you the list now. I could also get you the contacts for some local outfitters.~

Good work, Captain Thorne, very thorough. Do you have any idea how refreshing it is to work with someone who knows what they're doing?

[ why yes, that is a hearty tone of approval. the rank address is more a fond affectation at this point than anything else, they're on much more equal ground here. just another sign of how much miles misses the dendarii. misses being admiral naismith. ]

Maybe later. I'd rather not get hung up on any unnecessary delays. I'm sure I'll find something.

[ well, he has his choice between uniforms from the moira, the imperial service, and the dendarii. exciting. well, it's not as though miles doesn't spend most of his time in uniform anyway. ]

[probably about as refreshing as it is to work with someone who gets that look on his face when you do good work. c: yes, Miles, Bel can see that look right through the MID.~ 'good work, Captain Thorne' will never fail to make their heart do that extra thump.]

No problem, sir. [probably Miles can picture Bel's face right through the MID also.] It's good to have something to think about besides the ship.

Ha. You could let me pick something out. I do know your measurements. [would go Dendarii in a heartbeat, but Miles isn't supposed to; and the Moira uniforms would mark their origin too easily. also, Bel has a better sense of style than you do, Miles. ^^]

[ the dendarii uniform is so tempting, dangerously so. but it's got his admiral's insignia -- however crooked -- it's a dead giveaway, it'd raise too many questions. maybe if he brought it down to emiri, changed planetside --

no. dammit, no. he's supposed to be avoiding that temptation. but that strange sensation of pulling apart keeps intensifying in his mind, and miles is trying desperately to keep it all together. what if he's making it worse by shying away from naismith? what if he loses his grip on the little admiral altogether? god dammit, he's giving himself a headache. he'll figure this out later. later. ]

I find it very unlikely that any shop planetside even carries anything in my measurements. No, I think I'll stick with what I have. All I've got is uniforms, but... It might not be a bad idea to have more than one to hand, just in case. I'm sure we can make that work for a cover.

You'd be surprised what can be done with a little innovation, especially if the local fashion scene is bizarre enough. But in that case I'd say only one of us should go in uniform. Half the chance of tracing us back to... anywhere.

I seem to recall you mentioning a sarong a few weeks back.

[had not been intending to bring it up but]

I actually did mention a sarong a few weeks back.

[beat]

Mentioned it to Vorpatril too. His face was priceless.

[ miles snickers at that. granted, so had his own face, but at least bel hadn't been able to see it. ]

Oh, I can only imagine.

So, have we got a plan, then?

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text, later, very early morning