"What you make of it could be largely up to you," said Mark, sounding as if he didn't care one way or another.  "But in three years, when all those chambers below stairs are emptied out, it may be a whole new situation, here.  Employment would keep you in the center of things, with real input."

It wasn't the future Suze had set her mind to; Miles fancied he could hear her imagination creaking with the strain of change, like a gate almost rusted shut.  Almost.  She said querulously, "What about the rest of us?"

"Tenbury, I'd hire tonight," said Mark readily.  "We'll be wanting a Director of Physical Plant first thing—the place certainly needs significant upgrades and repairs, starting from the laboratory core outward.  We'll likely"—he flicked a glance at Fuwa—"need a local contractor.  Medtech Tanaka as well, Raven vouches for her.  The rest on a case-by-case basis.  I do require competence.  Certification can be arranged."

Suze glowered in suspicion.  Tenbury raised his hairy eyebrows.

The lawyer, Madame Xia, put in smoothly, "By the tacit contracts argument, Ms. Suzuki is the tacit proxy holder for all who have been frozen here, and can give blanket protocol permissions for all who entered here under her care.  I believe I can make this argument work for the city adjudicator, since the city doesn't want the liability for several thousand destitute cryo-corpses."

"Not even if the city could register their votes?" asked Miles.  "Seems to me that would be enough to swing a city election, if not one on the Prefecture or planetary level."

"I think I could guarantee—or at least plausibly suggest—expensive legal challenges about that, which the adjudicator would not relish."  The lawyer smiled quietly.  "Unless disunity among the petitioners forces the matter to go before a judge, in which case I cannot guarantee the outcome, because at that point the issues will become public and political.  I actually spend most of my working time keeping my clients out of court."

"Public and political sounds like a job for Madame Sato's group, or something like it," Miles said.  "I regret that we didn't snatch the other two members of her committee while we were at it.  We'd have them now."  Although an attempt to carry off three cryo-corpses from NewEgypt's coffers would certainly have taken more time, and might have gone less luckily.

"Client confidentiality has certain limits, Lord Vorkosigan," Xia warned him.  Kindly, he thought.

"Diplomatic immunity?"

"Works for you.  Not for me.  But in this event, with criminal charges certainly coming down on NewEgypt, there may be legal ways to wrench Mr. Kang and Ms. Khosla away from their captors.  Subpoena them as witnesses, for starters."

Miles tilted his head in appreciation.  "If one could keep them from being destroyed by NewEgypt en route."

"That would be an important consideration in designing the approach, yes."

Mark pointed.  "Kareen, put her on retainer."