[IC] [Mask or Menace] Contact Post

[dendarii]

"This is Miles. Leave a message and I'll respond to you at my earliest convenience."

The line has gone silent; any messages sent to this name only return an error.

Comments

[dendarii]

I would like to be conscious to direct at bare minimum, yes.

[ Plus he's reasonably certain he could shrink or teleport out of a rope with enough finesse. ]

But - I don't think he was shocking me. It didn't feel like one.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She'll get back to how stupid it is that he was even in the line of fire trying to command everyone. But first... ]

Then how the hell was he stunning you?

[dendarii]

To be honest, I'm not sure. But I've been stunned enough by conventional means to recognize a shock, at least. This was much smoother.

[failureisntachoice]

At least there's that.

[ A small sigh. Kirk isn't really a topic she wants to stay on all night. Not when she has a more touchy subject to broach. ]

But between him getting distracted with you and you breaking your arm shortly in to the op, how much time do you think you set us back?

[dendarii]

[ Oh boy, here it comes. Some of his good mood evaporates, replaced by a clenched jaw. ]

The arm was minor. And the stun was hardly my idea.

[failureisntachoice]

Someone you claim to trust thought the stun was necessary. [ Whether she likes Jim or not, that fact remains. Which means how many more times will that happen in the future? ]

Your arm breaking didn't need to happen, it was a solitary guard and I was there.

[dendarii]

I do trust him. We're going to have to hash that out ...

[ Alas, their intimate session had settled nothing other than the question of Miles' sexuality. ]

I don't lead from the back, Tex.

[failureisntachoice]

Yeah, I got that. But that doesn't mean you need to lead stupidly from the front just because you have a healer stowed away somewhere.

You know what a waste it is to have to run back every time you break something because you did something foolish? Hell, I can give you the exact time we wasted walking back.

[dendarii]

Don't. Please. I have a decent estimate.

[ His tone has gone abruptly brittle. ]

[failureisntachoice]

[ She remains on the offensive, keeping her eyes on him. ]

Then are you going to trust the people you bring with you and stop jumping into trouble for the sake of it?

[dendarii]

This isn't about trust, Tex. Of course I trust you. And my people. But I have to be involved, and not just safe in the back.

[failureisntachoice]

So being involved means completely bypassing me to leap onto a guard and break your arm? A guard I could have taken out easily? Because from my angle, it looked like you either had a death wish or thought I couldn't handle it myself.

[dendarii]

[ He snaps a bit at that. ]

Of course you could handle it. I had utter faith in your ability to do so.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She rolls her eyes, undeterred. ]

Then why did you play leap frog?

[dendarii]

Because I was helping.

[failureisntachoice]

You could have helped by watching my back while I knocked him out. IT would have had the same result without your arm breaking.

[dendarii]

I -

[ He could have done that. He absolutely could have done that. ]

... I really need my stunner back.

[failureisntachoice]

Well you don't have it. So find someone to make you one or move your leading a foot to the side.

[dendarii]

You don't understand, Tex. I won't just stand back like some useless lump.

[failureisntachoice]

So you'd rather break your bones and waste our time, adding risk to us, to feed your ego?

[dendarii]

[ Miles sits up sharply at that, eyes blazing. ]

You act as though I contributed nothing whatsoever.

[failureisntachoice]

That's what you're getting out of this? [ She snorts. ]

You organized the damn thing, got all the intel out. You did a helluva lot. But what did you do once we got there? You broke your arm and then spent most of it taking a nap in a closet.

[dendarii]

[ It's not as though Miles doubts the importance of all the non-combat work that was done. Vitally, critically important, and he would do a disservice to his father and his family's tactical expertise to claim otherwise.

But sometimes his Barrayaran side gets the better of him, especially when he literally did nothing except break his arm and nap. As Tex so eloquently put it. ]

Anyone could have coordinated. My father would likely have done a better job. In some sense he already did.

[failureisntachoice]

[ She rolls her eyes. ]

A lot of people can do shit, but most people don't. You did. I'm not going to pat your ass over it, but is that what you really think? If one of your Dendarii had done the job you did, would you be telling them how it meant nothing?

[dendarii]

-- That's different.