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It's barely daybreak, but Lieutenant Rostov looks like he's already about to destroy Petya's schedule for the day.
"The Escobaran ambassador demands to speak with you immediately, my lord," he says, as soon as the door is closed behind him.
Well, that's not unexpected. Or even close to it. "On the comconsole or in person?" Petya asks.
"She's right outside," Rostov says, shifting a little back and forth nervously.
"Second formal complaint in a month," Petya interprets, sighing. Dono and the Betans had been bad enough. This is going to be worse; Petya's brother is just that talented at causing diplomatic nightmares. This might even be worse than when certain political entities had discovered that a mercenary admiral was actually a Barrayaran soldier on active duty. The only good thing you could say about that was that it hadn't started the Fourth Cetagandan War. Petya's sometimes tempted to worship Lee Vorhovis as a minor god. And it would be nice right now to recognize that Imperial Auditors are good for things other than giving Petya headaches. Like solving problems, not creating them or making them worse.
"Very likely, sir," Rostov says.
"Send her in, and then alert the Residence and ImpSec. In that order," Petya stresses slightly, because his secretary doesn't even pretend to not be ImpSec despite the notable lack of Horus eyes on his uniform.
Rostov looks only mildly insulted by the implication that he would do anything else, and then shows in the Escobaran ambassador with all due ceremony and almost as due haste.
"Minister Vorkosigan," Ambassador Aragones begins before Petya can say a word of greeting. "Are you trying to start a war?"
Not this week. Petya's going to strangle Borgos and then he's going to shout some more at Miles. It's like Miles has only ever heard of sovereignty and never heard of the entire concept of extradition treaties. Miles had pointed out, as if it were some defense, that his bride and his cook both had a financial stake in Borgos remaining a free man and on Barrayar. And because Gregor had the brilliant idea of making Miles untouchable, Petya has to actually defend what the Emperor's Voice proclaimed.
Petya can't wait until the Imperial Wedding is over. Maybe then his relatives will stop doing this to him.
"Of course not," Petya says. "Won't you please be seated? May I get you some refreshments?"
"This isn't a social call, Vorkosigan," she says, and Petya remembers fondly back when that name hadn't been an interstellar insult. "The only reason this isn't a formal complaint yet is because we're giving you a chance to not make this something that it's not."
"A Lord Auditor declined to allow an extradition request for the good of the Imperium," Petya says. "Imperial Auditors are appointed directly by the Emperor and speak with his Voice. I can't gainsay their judgment, and I won't. Lord Auditor Vorkosigan used a legal precedent with much history under Barrayaran law," because just because Dorca had declared that Houses could only claim what power they could defend, after gutting their defense, didn't mean that Vorkosigan House couldn't have defended Borgos from the might of two Escobaran police officers, "to perform the Emperor's will with, he had hoped, a lack of public ugliness. Doctor Borgos's inventions are required for Barrayaran terraforming. I can provide you with background material on the subject, Ambassador, but to wit, Barrayaran native vegetation is a blight on this planet and inhibits us from fully colonizing it. With our population expansion, full colonization is essential. The Emperor has opened up the Southern Continent for colonization, which requires additional terraforming resources. Doctor Borgos's skills have been requested and required by an Emperor's Voice as one of those resources."
"He's a fugitive from Escobaran justice," Aragones says, not at all impressed by this explanation. Petya's not surprised; he and the Escobar Department have had only a few hours to come up with ways to defend this. Barely an hour ago, the Deputy Minister in charge of the department had given Petya a short brief that essentially said 'stall for time'. "Is Barrayar taking a position that they have a moral imperative to not release a financial criminal?"
"No, merely greater need of his services and his skills. His machines can be modified a great deal for a variety of purposes, and we require his expertise."
"Of course you do," Aragones replies. "Which entirely explains the way this case has been handled to date."
Petya could strangle Miles, he really could. Because it's not only that they outright refused to allow legal agents of Escobaran justice, bearing a full and complete warrant, to perform their duty. No, for good measure, they'd also insulted them, humiliated them, and thrown them out. Interplanetary wars have been started over less.
But at least no one invaded their planet this time.
"Had the Lord Auditor and Vorkosigan House security been given any warning that an arrest was to be attempted, the circumstances of that attempted arrest would have been entirely different," Petya says. "Your officers acting without warning and in bad faith. Certain members of Vorkosigan House security viewed this as an act of aggression," never say invasion to an Escobaran, "and responded accordingly, as they had been trained to do."
"Preliminary extradition permission was received from the Barrayaran Embassy on Escobar."
"And there are many steps in between to finalize extradition permission," Petya picks up smoothly, "as you know, to ensure that all the entities in the middle will allow it. Embassy permission is only the first step." And most attempts end up buried in bureaucracy before anyone even gets close to getting all the required permissions. Borgos must have defrauded some very important people on Escobar for the parole officers to be so intent on catching him. "Some paperwork gets buried, unfortunately. Which is why when foreign agents act on our soil in obedience to their duty, the embassy is supposed to inform me in person beforehand."
"You're a Vorkosigan and it was at Vorkosigan House," Aragones says bluntly. "We judged your conflict of interest too blinding to inform you in advance. We trusted that your home would have the same respect for diplomacy and interstellar relations as you are known to have, and that our, ah, paranoia would prove to be uncalled for, an embarrassment of over-preparation. Now it seems that our mistake was not in being paranoid enough. The actions yesterday in Vorkosigan House were an offense and truly disgusting."
"And we take offense as well," Petya says, "to the unprofessional manner in which your officers performed their duty. They demanded that Doctor Borgos come with them immediately, stating that they would not allow him to take his personal effects with him. This is a strict violation of sub-clause 3 on the rights of prisoners."
"They spoke in haste and only after being attacked, at which point they, pursuant to the life-and-limb clause, chose to retreat because they believed doing otherwise would result in them being murdered. Apparently, a Vor Lord's home is sacrosanct. If that's true, we will be adding a kidnapping charge along with the rest, since you've stated outright that you have confiscated his inventions and his expertise for Barrayaran internal purposes, and you're clearly not going to be required to allow Doctor Borgos to leave when he wishes."
"Doctor Borgos has committed no crime within Barrayaran jurisdiction," Petya says. Which is true, because it had been Mark who had been the one to smuggle living, biological organisms past quarantine, and that's not a prosecutable offense unless they revoke Mark's diplomatic paperwork. And while Petya may occasionally be tempted to do it, his father would be very disapproving and Cordelia would be very disappointed. "And so he is free to come and go as he pleases. He has voluntarily restricted himself to Vorkosigan properties because he fears being kidnapped by Escobaran security forces."
"Arrested," Aragones correctly dryly. "Again."
"Yes, and he's in violation of his bail," Petya says. "We are aware of the circumstances of his flight from Escobar. As part of our arrangement with Doctor Borgos for his inventions, Barrayar will, of course, redeem the bail bond. As well, we will reimburse all of his creditors, with interest, for all of the financial and legal difficulties that Borgos first created, and then exacerbated by fleeing before his trial." And that's all going to have to come out of his diplomatic budget, but maybe Petya can get Gregor to pay for it from his Vorbarra Countship purse, considering that if Miles were anything other than an Imperial Auditor and Mark anything other than his step-mother's acknowledged son and his liege-lord's acknowledged liegeman, Petya would be throwing both his house guest and Mark to the wolves. Tied up with little bows. And adorned with elaborate apologies written on the parchment of their own human skin.
Because Petya's relatives need to stop giving him diplomatic headaches when the Imperial Wedding is within spitting distance, and every major political entity, and several minor ones, have sent official delegations, most of whom are already in Vorbarr Sultana, and all of whom would love a huge, messy diplomatic scandal. Involving Escobar. And a Vorkosigan.
This wedding is supposed to be a diplomatic triumph, not a disaster. Which means that Petya has to bury this as quickly as possible, without anyone noticing that Barrayar arbitrarily decided to refuse an extradition request for a non-political, non-dangerous, biological scientist.
Petya blinks, and nearly curses. Cetaganda is going to think this is a prelude to some biological warfare, he just knows it. This needs to be brushed away quickly and quietly.
"Kidnapping," Aragones reminds him. "Unless there's some political spin on this you're not telling me. Knowing Barrayarans," she continues darkly, "I wouldn't be surprised. You people think the sun coming up in the morning is a political act."
"Borgos has not requested asylum," Petya says, "and if he did, he would be refused, because we acknowledge, formally, that he committed a crime on Escobar, that the Escobaran Cortes is fully correct in prosecuting him, and that the punishment he would receive on Escobar is neither an undue hardship nor unworthy of his crime."
Yes, because maybe they can end this day without someone pointing out that every extradition treaty they have acknowledges a refusal to extradite any Barrayaran fugitive who would have any chance of being executed, and planets like Beta Colony have an additional list of reasons why they're going to refuse to entertain any such notion of actually letting Barrayar have its criminals back, no matter how nicely they ask.
It's already too late to get out of this day without going over the Barrayaran-Escobaran extradition treaties in depth, at length, and in exhaustive detail. There's certainly room enough in there for Petya to shove Borgos in as a purely acceptable refusal that does not impugn the honor of the Escobaran justice system, and that also lets them distance themselves from it, calling it an act of Imperial mercy. But it's going to take time, effort, possibly a couple minor concessions about Sergyaran tariffs, and Petya has other things he's supposed to be doing today. Things that don't include making sure their relationship with Escobar doesn't slide backwards.
And one day, he hopes, Miles will stop doing this to him.
It's a very Betan thought, but Petya's had a suspicion for years that Miles must have some unresolved issues with him, because it seems like everywhere Miles goes, he tries to ruin a diplomat's career. That part of him must've been overjoyed to finally have a shot at ruining Petya's career.
Petya sighs, going into the second round of the argument over Borgos. Maybe one day, some day, maybe even soon, Miles will stop doing this to him.
He hopes. Desperately.