"But everyone's not here!" Miles protested. "Ivan is still out there!"

For an answer, Raina tapped her communicator pin. "Report, 'Lene."

"All go. I'm letting Ivan and the men out, and heading your way."

Fia said, "Isn't that dangerous?" She seemed to be setting up a contraption over the doorway.

"We have to stick to the four original targets. They'll be all right, even if ImpSec finds them," Raina answered.

Miles was not convinced. He turned to Gregor, who was comforting Laisa. "Sire, I---"

"I think you did the right thing, Miles," the Emperor said, coolly. Sweat ran down his pale face. "Or rather, We do."

It seemed that Gregor had picked his side as well.

Raina approached Gregor. "Sire, your men will be fine. It wasn't a real needler. I used specialized tranquilizer darts."

"What now?" Miles cut in.

"We wait," Raina answered.

They did so, nervously, for several minutes. Fia stepped to a corner to call 'Lene, privately. Raina tended Lexi, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against a bookcase. That left the others unwatched. It was an immense gesture of trust, since all the Armsmen were armed. Miles still had the modified stunner in his hand.

Then Fia looked up brightly. "Hey guys, 'Lene's got a fix on the portal!"

Raina grinned, but Lexi said, "Go get her, Felice, she might need help." Fia/Felice nodded and slipped out. Miles noted the change in names; so they were using nicknames, as he'd suspected.

The two women returned in less than a minute. 'Lene clutched her forehead with one hand. Ivan scrambled in after them.

"Ivan!" Miles and Raina shouted simultaneously. "What the hell are you doing here?" Miles added.

Ivan glared at Miles. Then he took in Raina, and his eyes widened. "You!"

Raina grinned mischievously. "What's the matter, Ivan? I hadn't pegged you as the kind of man who'd underestimate an older woman's skills."

Miles had barely registered that comment when 'Lene collapsed into a chair. "Is she all right?" Laisa said.

Raina turned her attention to her... sister, Miles guessed. 'Lene had the darkest, longest hair of the siblings, restrained by a skillful knot. Her beauty was understated, especially compared to Raina's stunning looks and Fia's natural youthfulness. Ivan, at least, was making the same calculations, judging from the blitzed look on his face.

"All this time, you were Miles's mystery woman?"

Raina, settling Cora into a chair, looked up at Ivan and flicked her tongue across her teeth. Lexi swallowed a laugh. "She kept you busy long enough for me to tap into your Ops access," he said. "You ought to be glad, otherwise we wouldn't have timed this raid on the Palace with the same accuracy."

"Cora, is the signal coming in, clear? You shouldn't do it if it's not," said Raina.

"No, it's all right. Just hold that hallway. We've got company."

Ivan nodded confirmation. "It's crazy, the ImpSec squad started firing at us! I mean, we were sharing shields, but I wasn't about to be captured by them. Who knows what they'd have done to me?"

Lexi mumbled, "Probably nothing," as he got up from his corner.

Miles walked over to Ivan and grabbed his collar. "She kept you busy?!"

Before Ivan could answer, Fia said, "Stand clear." The Armsmen moved away from doorway. 'Lene stood up; she'd put on a strange headset that ringed her forehead and temples. "What is this all about?" Miles asked Raina.

Her lips peeled back into a smile. "You'll see."

'Lene fiddled with the apparatus by the doorway, then unfolded another device in the center of the room. The sound of scuffling boots echoed from the outside. The Armsmen looked at each other and unholstered their weapons.

"No need," Fia said to them, just as a flash of crimson light engulfed the room.

Raina bent down to Miles's level as the room dissolved into pure red. "Don't worry, they say it's just like taking a wormhole jump to hell."

It was worse.

After the colors had stopped screaming and realigned themselves to their respective walls, Miles noted that the four… siblings?… were bowing. And they had a visitor. He was of medium height, with a somewhat stocky build. His eyes were a striking mix of hazel and green. Like Lexi, he saw everything he was looking at, while revealing little in return.

It was when the siblings said, "Sire," in one voice, that Miles put two and two together.

The four siblings rose in unison as well, though Raina embellished with a smile like the sun and: "Hello, love." Beside Miles, Ivan wilted.

The man --- a holo projection, really, but his presence seemed to extend into the room --- smiled in return. Then he bowed, deeply. It took Miles another moment to process that he was bowing to Gregor.

"Sire," the man said, "it seems we have a small question of jurisdiction to clarify. These four are bound to me, Emperor Leo Vorbarra, but they have also breathed their oaths to Emperor Gregor Vorbarra. Shall I command them?"

Gregor answered, as if in a dream, "Yes. We shall not hinder them." Laisa's hand moved unconsciously to her still small abdomen.

"Thank you. Otherwise they shall obey you absolutely." He turned to Raina. "First, the Guardians. We have word from them that the temporal string has been aligned and quarantined from your arrival. However, they were unable to isolate the temporal tags."

"So the four of them are still in danger?"

"Yes, unfortunately. On the other hand, the Guardians did a thorough check on Lord Mark and Lady Kareen on Beta; they're not tagged."

"Good. Four of us, four people tagged. What a nightmare it would have been, if the rest of the family had been threatened."

"And, they did manage to tag Sebastian."

Raina's eyes blazed. "And secondly, Sire?"

"Secondly, We request and require the execution of Sebastian Giaja in accordance with the wishes of the Council of Counts and the Cetagandan Alliance."

"With pleasure, Sire."

His tone softened. "Just remember not to get yourself killed, all right?"

Raina started to say something, then stopped. She held his gaze for a long moment. "Are you going to make that an order?"

He looked at her sourly. "No."

Taking a breath, he continued, "Otherwise, all your orders have been carried out. Your fleet duties and your administrative duties have been split up, and delegated." To Lexi, he said, "Same with you. Everything's going smoothly, all the chiefs know what to do."

'Lene/Cora spoke up. "What about our shipments?"

The emperor shook his head. "It takes too much energy to maintain this quarantine. But you need the freedom of movement, without having to worry about causing paradoxes. You ought to cut down on tranceiver use, except for emergencies." 'Lene/Cora nodded.

Then he turned to Gregor and Laisa. "Sire," he said, "I must be going soon, since this takes a lot of power to keep up. I know if these four succeed in their mission, none of this will ever have happened. If they fail, none of it will matter. I thought about this moment a great deal…" The figure ran a hand through his light brown hair, peppered with strands of grey. The holo looked so real, the metallic embroidery on the House Vorbarra uniform flashed, faintly. "Too many inadequate words. Just… thank you. On behalf of us all."

At Laisa's confused look, Leo Vorbarra added, "You took Miles's advice, you know. 'Have six little Vorbarras real quick.' " He grinned, maddeningly. "We'd never have made it through the Imperium without your guidance. I---" he turned his head, listening to someone else off-screen. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I must go."

He turned to Raina, and smiled. "Take care." Then to Lexi. "Good luck, old friend, and keep your sister safe."

"My word as Vorkosigan," Lexi said, as Emperor Leo Vorbarra blinked out.