Two point four million? Taura couldn't keep the surprise from her eyes -- but she could keep quiet and let him finish. Empire sounded too much like Cetaganda, or what the Barrayarans now, half-ironically, half-earnestly claimed with pride. Both sides would have torn her throat out halfway through voicing them in the same sentence, but that was war. History became stories became legend, while the real people either raised flowers or grandchildren, as luck allowed.
"You can't. Understand it, I mean. Part of the design they didn't have to build in. Keeps us going -- all we can do is fight for what we can see." Most people thought mercenaries were men (and women, and herms) with nothing left to lose; they weren't. Every moment became precious, every person, every meal.
She couldn't bring herself to insist they'd find a way for him to get back; she kept her promises, and even after last night, getting everyone home sounded impossible. Which takes slightly longer, and costs triple. Hah. She couldn't think of anything to say its place. Not when TK knew the odds as well as she did. So she chased a grape through her fruit salad with a fork. They were a little under-ripe, and not terribly filling, but calories weren't everything.
no subject
"You can't. Understand it, I mean. Part of the design they didn't have to build in. Keeps us going -- all we can do is fight for what we can see." Most people thought mercenaries were men (and women, and herms) with nothing left to lose; they weren't. Every moment became precious, every person, every meal.
She couldn't bring herself to insist they'd find a way for him to get back; she kept her promises, and even after last night, getting everyone home sounded impossible. Which takes slightly longer, and costs triple. Hah. She couldn't think of anything to say its place. Not when TK knew the odds as well as she did. So she chased a grape through her fruit salad with a fork. They were a little under-ripe, and not terribly filling, but calories weren't everything.