maskormenacelogs | [OPEN] July Catchall for Roy

[Roy and Ed can be spied coming up the walkway, Ed still armless but looking pleased, and Roy grinning like an idiot. In tow with them is a blond woman in a blue uniform, slightly shorter than Roy.

Roy pushes upon the front door without knocking. Though not officially residing with the Vorkosigan's yet, he was there often enough that it had settled unconsciously in his mind as home terf.]

Anyone home? I have an introduction to make. My aide, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.

[ Gregor comes out of the kitchen looking as tall, lean, and dour as ever. Advised by Ed already that Hawkeye prefers formality, he answers accordingly, in his smooth almost Russian accent. ]

A pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. I am Gregor Vorbarra. Welcome to the Residence-- as part of the Colonel's chain of command you're welcome by any time.

[ Barrayarans know how to operate with military, at least. ]

[ It's competence over formality she appreciates, though she certainly won't say no to the latter. His greeting's met with a sharp salute of her own and a nod despite the lack of official military structure here - call it force of habit. ]

The pleasure's all mine. I hope having the Colonel around hasn't been too much of an imposition.

[ Might as well cover all bases, while she's here. ]

[ The Colonel's been barely noticeable next to all the ruckus Edward and Winry make, but Gregor is too polite to say that to someone he's just met. He subtly stands a little straighter at being saluted, merely in automatic reaction to receiving it. Not even Duv has saluted him since he's been here-- ImpSec analysts being notoriously lazy about it.

Well. He shakes his head slightly to dismiss this. ] Not at all. We've been fortunate to have all of them. Are you another alchemist?

[ At the question, she shakes her head. ]

I'm afraid not. The only thing I can transmute is a coffee mug into a hundred small shards after doing the dishes too quickly.

[ Things she doesn't add: that her father was an alchemist, nor the fact that her body's practically a living shrine to alchemy. She'd spent too much time trying to escape all that to want to willingly go back again. ]

That's about the limit of transmutation in our universe-- that is, entropy-- so nothing lost from my perspective, [ he says agreeably.

Indeed, being from such a hard sci fi setting makes it difficult for him to even imagine the things she isn't saying. It's completely beyond the realm of his experience. ]

I'm sorry, you must've just gotten here. If there's any questions you have remaining after the tumultuousness of arrival, I can try to answer them.

[ She certainly appreciates the offer, even if she doesn't immediately take him up on it. The Cold War, the Russians—those are things she can pick up easily enough from history books and a careful ear kept open. Other things...well.

One thing does come to mind, a simple enough question. ]

Yes, actually—will there be any repercussions if I resign from the job I've been assigned so soon? I'm afraid it's not quite to my tastes.

[ She doesn't want to handle birds anymore, please save her. ]

[ Or by asking Duv, if she wants the less work-intensive version. Gregor is positive he knows more, in more detail, and with more acuity than he does even after months of idle book reading. The benefit of being a trained historian specializing in military history, he's sure.

The question she does ask is an easy one, and he shakes his head immediately. ] Not at all. I didn't go to a single day of mine, [ he says frankly. Jobs in general were a very abstract concept to Gregor at the time. They are less abstract now (thanks, Cass). ] If you intend to stay registered you'll have an easier time finding alternate employment, but obviously it's not impossible if you'd rather be unsettled. Particularly among the imPort community, we tend to hire each other.

[ Looks like someone'll be tendering their resignation soon enough then. For now, she's careful to pay attention to his explanation, even if parts of it easily uncover the holes in her scant knowledge of this place. ]

Is there a benefit to being unsettled?

[ Everything she's heard thus far seems to skew in favor of being registered. ]

[ He shrugs rather elegantly, a slight motion. ]

Not practically. It's really more of a pain, all told. [ Needing paperwork to go through the Porter is a continual, almost daily hassle for them. ] But some of us find swearing to a foreign government not just distasteful but actively treasonous. Alternate dimension or no, it's not a line you can easily persuade Barrayarans to step over. I had to talk Miles into letting us stay registered for the first month until we got our bearings.

[ Miles is taking it easy on the couch today due to the past week. And, y'know, minature giant lion mecha adventures. So he's here when Roy walks in but doesn't get up just yet. He's a thin young man, even shorter than Ed, dressed in a brown hoodie and a silver shirt. ]

She's your aide? Not the other way around?

[ The question's met with a raised eyebrow and a blink. Forward young man, isn't he? Though her expression's kept carefully neutral, her voice betrays her amusement. ]

I can assure you I wouldn't want him as my aide if the roles were reversed.

Ah, yes. That sort of relationship then.

[ He gets up properly and offers his hand. ]

Miles, by the way. Lord Miles Naismith Vorkosigan.

[ The notable extent of his height - or lack thereof - is made clear as soon as he stands. She doesn't comment on it though, height hardly being indicative of a person's talents or skills, and instead reaches out to grasp his hand, giving it a firm shake. ]

A pleasure to meet you, Lord Vorkosigan. [ Hopefully that's the correct combination of title and name.... ] I hope we haven't interrupted anything important.

[ With a sidelong glance at Roy, because what kind of inconsiderate asshole enters a room without knocking first. ]

[ From the way his smile warms, it's obvious that she got his title exactly right. That's kind of impressive, in fact. ]

No, no. I was just napping, to be honest. I don't think you've interrupted any of us.

[ Never underestimate a woman's attention to detail. (Or maybe, in this case, just some very good intuition.) Her head tilts ever so slightly at 'any of us'; while Roy had mentioned the Barrayarans plural, he'd been a bit lax at stating the exact numbers. ]

How many people live here?

[ Miles tries to count, but has to give up halfway through. ]

Er ... lots? We built enough rooms to house twenty-five or so, but we're not that full yet.

[ Good grief. ]

Are you expecting that many?

[ Is she going to have to meet and remember the names of that many people soon? ]

No, no. Not yet anyway. But we seem to keep picking up new friends to stay with us all the same.

[ What a popular crew... She smiles at that, all efficiency and politeness. ]

I'll be sure to do my best not to intrude too much then.

On the contrary, please intrude as much as you like. We wouldn't dream of keeping you from your people.

[ It's really more one specific person than a small herd of them, but that's enough for her to smile, a touch warmer this time, and incline her head in thanks. ]

I appreciate that. Are they over here very often?

[ Good. He warms a bit in return, put at ease to see her relax even slightly. ]

Quite frequently. Winry and Ed both have their own rooms and stay with us. I'm not sure about the Colonel.

[ Tex is in the front room when she hears the door open. No knock, meaning it's one of the many that have rooms and she's surprised to see that it's Roy with a... guest? The introduction clears up the question of who and she's glad to see that the Colonel doesn't only have children working for him. ]

Another one of your subordinates? [ She raises a brow at the woman before offering her hand. ] Tex. I'm in charge of keeping this place safe.

[ Mostly. ]

[ Sorry, Tex, most of them are still children, just unfortunately housed in adult male bodies. She ought to know.

The hand's taken, given a firm shake. (If there's anything Tex ought to know, it's that women should never be underestimated based on their looks.) ]

Riza Hawkeye. It's a pleasure to meet the colonel's allies here.

[ Rest assured she'll be doing her best to keep tabs on all of you. ]

[ A struggle Tex is all-too familiar with given how many years she's spent dealing with idiot men on her own team.

There's a small nod of approval as Tex returns the shake in kind. ]

Allies? I'm pretty sure he's on our payroll. Are you intending to join the Dendarii too?

[ 'Payroll'? She casts another sidelong glace at Roy. ]

He hadn't mentioned that.

[ Translation: an explanation would be great about now. ]

Yeah, last I heard he was doing a bunch of research for us. Research on what no one's been able to tell me.

[ She might think the alchemists are more than a little useless. At least they can build houses. ]

[ Them State Alchemists gotta be useful for something other than razing people to the ground. One brow lifts. ]

Is that confidential information?

[ Or is it just that confusing? ]

[ She lets out a light snort and rolls her eyes. If only it worked that way at least then she'd understand half of the recruitment choices made. ]

No. I'm pretty sure it's code for they have no goddamn idea what they want him to do, but Miles wanted to recruit him anyway.

[ Wow. Her eyes lid a bit, Riza not particularly impressed by the facts placed on the table with that statement. ]

The colonel's credentials are quite impressive, but not to that degree. [ No offence, sir. ] Is he that popular around here?

[ She honestly can't imagine any other reason. ]

That's one word for it. [ She might be side-eyeing Roy herself as well as any Vorkosigans in the vicinity. ]

They liked him enough to want to work with him and keep him around. He's got a room around here somewhere.

[ Now that information she squirrels away for later. Gotta know where your commander officer is at all times. ]

Does he stay here often then?

[ Basically: how often is she gonna need to be over here. ]

Often enough that I'm wondering if he's getting docked rent from his salary.

[ He has to be contributing something to the household. ]

[ Other than good looks and a charming personality? Probably nothing. ]

That's not a bad idea. Is anyone monitoring him to ensure he's actually doing his job.

[ Yeah Tex isn't sold on the 'charming personality' at all. ]

No which is why I've been complaining about the supposed R&D part. They need more damn oversight.

[ Winry is excitedly waiting for them!

Or at least, she had been. Now she is napping on the front couch, curled around a completed arm made of bright, shining aluminium. ]

[ Out of all the Amestrians here, Winry's the one that lowers Riza's outward defenses the quickest. The sight of Winry curled up on the couch is enough elicit a soft smile from Riza, especially in light of recent events.

Arm as a pseudo-security blanket or not, surely it can't be comfortable sleeping like that. Carefully, Riza steps over, one hand reaching out to gently tug the arm out of Winry's grasp.

Don't....wake up.... ]

[ She mumbles something about grip strength calibration. The arm is aaaalmost free, except that she's holding onto the hand as if it were a real one. ]

[ WINRY PLEASE.....

She'll just, ah, give it a few more tugs then. Let go, Winry. ]

[ +1 arm for hawkeye! But that's enough to have Winry blinking up at her slowly. ]

[ And then sitting up way less slowly!!!! ]

L-Lieutenant Riza!?

Edited 2016-07-15 21:20 (UTC)

[ WHOA NOW.

Military life's sharpened her senses enough that she jerks back to avoid head-on collision. (The arm stays with Winry though, much to her dismay.) At Winry's surprise, she smiles, apologetic. ]

Hello, Winry. I'm sorry for waking you.

N-no, don't worry about it! I was just resting my eyes a little.

[OPEN] July Catchall for Roy

VORKOSIGAN RESIDENCE - MEET RIZA HAWKEYE

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Re: VORKOSIGAN RESIDENCE - MEET RIZA HAWKEYE

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