[IC] [MoM] AMBASSADOR IC CONTACT

[dendarii]

"This is the office of Ambassador Miles Naismith Vorkosigan. Leave me a message and I'll get right back with you.

Or, if this is an emergency, come bang on my door until I wake up."

He has helpfully provided an address in Nonah for a cozy office downtown. Go ahead, bang on the door; he's in the apartment just upstairs.

Alas, the line produces only static now. But the office is still there, having been donated to whoever the next Ambassador of Nonah will be.

Comments

[aberranthubris]

[ You're such a cutie, Miles. Charles almost wishes he had called just to ask how Miles is. He'll have to do that another time. ♥ ]

I was wondering if you'd be willing to look at something with me. I've been thinking of contacting the government in regards to unregistered imPorts, especially the underage population we have here, and see if they would work with us on finding some solution about the benefits that aren't extended to them.

I feel like they're going to just send me back to talk to you instead, so I'm wondering if you'd hear me out and if you agree on my points, we could contact them together.

[dendarii]

[ All business today, eh? Not that MIles minds - he likes getting a chance to actually do his job. ]

I would be happy to. Honestly, making sure unregistered ImPorts have access to support in general is one of my priorities.

[ Miles is more biased towards healthcare, given his own situation, but the same principle applies. ]

[aberranthubris]

Yes, it's something I've been thinking about for quite a bit. I feel like especially in case of healthcare and education, especially for the underage and the ones that can't find a proper source of income on their own.

I'm more than willing to organise this, perhaps under the Foundation, and look for ways to make it more permanent in case I would happen to be ported out. But I was hoping the government might come forward to help a little bit, maybe grandfather some insurances and stipends.

You probably have a better idea than myself of the right people to go to as well.

[ And Charles wouldn't mind a reason to work with Miles! ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles hums thoughtfully over the comm. ]

I think I could arrange a few contacts, yes.

[aberranthubris]

Would you mind making the calls? Perhaps arrange a meeting? I can come over to your office before and we can look over some arguments for our case.

[dendarii]

That I can do. When would you like to come over?

[aberranthubris]

When would you have an opening in your calendar?

[dendarii]

Sometime this week, perhaps?

[aberranthubris]

Yes. I'd like that. Perhaps you'll let me take you out for lunch after.

[dendarii]

I'd enjoy the company, then.

[aberranthubris]

Fantastic. I think we have a date.

[dendarii]

[ A bright laugh at that. ]

Should we call it that? Won't someone get jealous?

[aberranthubris]

I didn't realise you have a significant other. Please, tell them I mean no harm. [ Charles chuckles lightly. ]

[dendarii]

And here I thought you and Erik were rather fond of each other.

[aberranthubris]

[ There's a long, heartfelt laughter to go with this. ] Oh, we are. But not in a romantic way. He is a dear friend. And even if it were more than that, I don't think he... [ Charles considers how to formulate the thought. ] I don't think he is into men. [ Long history of various women and a slew of children should prove his point, perhaps. ]

[dendarii]

[ Hmm. His own experience with Erik is, admittedly, limited, but he'd thought he'd seen something in their interactions previously. Perhaps he was wrong. ]

Ah, well. You know him better. I'll not make assumptions.

In any case, I am firmly taken, even if my partner is currently absent.

[aberranthubris]

[ Don't worry, Miles. Charles is just being blind and stubborn. ]

I'm just assuming to be honest. He's had plenty of affairs with women along the years and none that I know of with men. But in any case, we're not romantically involved, he and I.

And please don't think I'm being forward with you. You're young and sweet and perfectly involved with another. I'm dreadfully old compared and I would never want you to think that I'm trying to take an advantage of you. You're a dear friend. I shouldn't have joked about that.

I would love to share a lunch with you, though. Even on a more regular basis if you don't mind. It would be nice seeing you more often.

[dendarii]

[ Aww, Charles. Miles doesn't mind a bit of flirting, really; he'd gladly flirted back with Bel, after all, and that while Gregor had still been here. His tone is warm in return. ]

Don't worry about it. I only meant it as a warning for your benefit - you'd be disappointed involving yourself with me.

[ Due to being quite taken, among other things. Although, he has to blink at part of that statement. ]

How old are you, anyway?

[aberranthubris]

No, no. I have a bad habit of... [ He gives a sheepish little chuckle. ] I suppose I sometimes flirt and not really think about it all that much. I know perfectly well that your heart belongs to another. [ He feels it acutely whenever they open that telepathic connection and it makes his own heart flutter with sympathy. ]

I somehow thought you would assume I'm joking. [ Because he's used to thinking himself now as a harmless grandfather that no one actually wants, let's be fair. ] I'm fifty-two, my friend. I know I don't look quite that old. I suppose fortunate genes are a thing.

[dendarii]

[ Oh. That - is indeed much older than Miles had been expecting. Precisely twice his age, in fact. Miles doesn't mind an age gap - his own parents are ten years apart - but that's quite a large one. ]

You definitely don't look that old. I had thought you were in your late thirties, to be honest.

[aberranthubris]

It's a common misconception. I suspect my mutation has something to do with it. Erik's even older and he doesn't look like an old man either.

[ Age gaps aren't really that big of an issue, but Charles sort of automatically applies this family aura to everyone he gets close to. He really cares about Miles, but it's definitely not a romantic sort of affection. The young man is absolutely adorable to him and he might be feeling even a closer kinship to him because of certain body issues they both have. ]

[dendarii]

... I had much the same impression. Dear god, you're practically Betan.

[ Which puts them in the same mental class as his mother. Probably best he not think about them romantically. ]

[aberranthubris]

Betan, what's that?

[dendarii]

Ah, it's a term for someone from Beta Colony. Their tech is unusually advanced, especially in medicine. So most of them live to be 150 at least. My mother, for example, will almost certainly live that long.

[aberranthubris]

Oh, I see. We have none of that, but it seems that mutation can provide longevity.

Is it just their technology and skill that makes them capable of slowing the ageing process or is it genetic? I imagine you would inherit some of that in case of the latter.