Lexi turned to the others. "I think it's time for introductions, don't you think?" He nodded at Miles, Ivan, Gregor, and Laisa, standing speechless.

"Youngest to eldest," piped Raina.

Fia/Felice stepped forward. She saluted. "I am Captain Sophia Ellisa Vorkosigan Jole, commanding officer of the Admiral Vorkosigan, at your service, Sire. Don't let the command fool you, I'm just an engineer, managing the shake-down cruise. I head the Fleet's shipyards on Komarr. Try to keep the techs from killing each other." She grinned, dimpling. "I prefer Felice, by the way." She returned to monitoring the room's force field.

'Lene/Cora, popping off the headset, gave a proper curtsey. Despite well-etched shadows, her blue eyes twinkled. "Doctor Helena Cordelia Vorkosigan Vorob'yev, at your service, Sire. This week it's Madam Ambassador. I'm the scientific liaison to the Guardians, whom we shall explain soon. That's an M.D., though my hobby's physics. Coralene or Cora will do."

Before Lexi could speak, Raina interrupted, "And this is my esteemed brother, my twin two minutes removed," her brows quirked at Miles, "Lord Vice Admiral Aral Alexander Vorkosigan. Lord Vorkosigan prefers 'Alex' in polite company, 'Lexi' when you want to be rude. Dreaded Chief of Imperial Security. Retiring soon, I hope."

"Raina!" Her brother punched her, lightly. "At your service, Sire. And this is my twin sister, Empress Admiral Raina Katerina Vorkosigan Vorbarra. She has a day job too, head of Galactic Space Forces. And---" he added, interrupting Raina, "---though she may tell you differently, she only serves herself."

Raina shrugged off the comment. "Well, aside from the distressing tendency to name your daughters after old girlfriends, d'you notice anything, Miles?"

All too much.

Ivan broke the ensuing silence. "Gods, Miles, you don't think they're actually your kids… do you?" There was a note of please-don't-kill-me in his voice, but Miles ignored it. He had been guessing --- hoping --- they were Mark's, until Raina made a point of mentioning 'Lord Vorkosigan.'

"Ah, that's where recent events have intervened," Cora said. "Genetically, we are Miles's children. Temporally, we are not. This," she waved vaguely, "this is what's called a time fragment. It no longer leads back to our time, and it doesn't stem from yours. The Guardians arranged that quarantine, so we don't risk a temporal paradox by pre-dating ourselves.

"Unfortunately, as Leo mentioned, our enemy has tagged the four of you: Miles, Ekaterin, Laisa, and Gregor. Despite the quarantine, the tags link this fragment, this Now, to our respective timelines. Which means if you die here, your death is real to you and real to us."

"So," Laisa said, "That poor man, Kapas, will still be alive in... in reality?"

Alex cleared his throat. Guiltily. "Yes, Your Majesty. If we complete our mission, and the Guardians lift the quarantine."

"And the Guardians?" Gregor asked.

Cora said, "If you're wondering about first contact, yes, it was. As for whether or not they're aliens, neither side is very sure. Take some humans and make it possible for them to live inside the wormholes, and they'd probably turn out similarly."

Raina crossed the room to Miles. She put her hands on his shoulders. "Say, you still with us? You're zoning out."

Miles looked up at her, tracing the lines of cheekbone, eye, scar tissue. "You--- you did all that?"

She stared at him until he refocused. "Don't try to take it all in at once," she said.

Ivan spoke up. "Hold on, hold on. So even though none of this is really happening, all of you are really Miles's future kids, and there's nothing he can do to change it?"

"This fragment works both ways, yes," Cora answered. "It doesn't affect our mutual timeline unless there's a tag involved. If something happens to Miles or Ekaterin, we cease to exist. Same idea with Gregor and Laisa, unless we can at least get Leo safely bottled. This, Now, is just a snippet of what really happens, no different from our history except where downstreamers like us come in and change it."

That makes sense, thought Miles. One dead Vorkosigan puts an end to all the Vorkosigans after. But only if he's childless.

"So what the--- why are you four here, again? Besides copping a feel with your relatives?" prodded Ivan. He almost sounded... outclassed. Raina bared her teeth at him.

Still keeping an eye on the force field, Felice answered, "To watch it all go wrong, presumably. It was an unpleasant surprise for all of us." Miles remembered Alex at their first meeting, wishing for a reason.

Gregor crossed his arms. "The Empress and Fleet Commander, the Chief of ImpSec, a high-placed ambassador, and the Fleet's Chief Engineer. Sounds like an elaborate political kidnapping. This must be inviting for anyone wishing to create domestic chaos, as well."

"Tell me about it," said Alex, sighing.

Raina said, "But I'm sure ImpSec's handling it. I forgot to ask, who's flying your desk, Alex?"

Even the mischievous glints in their eyes matched. "Rachel Galeni."

Ivan gawked. "Rachel Galeni? As in---"

"---Duv Galeni? Our Duv?" That startled Miles out of his shock.

Alex looked smug. "Youngest of the clan. She's a little spitfire but she can spot a sniper at a good hundred yards."

"A woman's running ImpSec?!" said Ivan.

Before Miles could point out that Raina and Felice were ranking officers, Raina purred, "Has a woman ever intimidated you, Ivan?"

Ivan shot a look at Miles, as though it were all his fault. "Not really."

Cora vented an unladylike guffaw. "Should we tell them about the girls, Raina?"

Raina arched her eyebrows. "I don't think Lord Vorpatril is ready for his future to be told."

"Hey guys," Felice cut in. "All of ImpSec's outside the door. If we want to do something, it should be soon."

"All right, let's move," Alex said firmly. "Take down the force field and stun the lot. Let's all go to Vorkosigan House, it's smaller and more easily secured. We have planning to do. Can't stand around here like lambs before the slaughter."