AN: The next week and a half I am under work-related deadlines, so if I don't post quickly that's why. Thanks for the shiny feedback, all!

6. I’m Sure the Ambassador Will Appreciate Your Colorful Phrasing

Before Miranda

Coles was feeling chronically impatient. He’d been impatient for Van Soren to complete the conditioning; impatient for Manson to finish the rough transformation; impatient for Intel to get him enough information on Serenity to allow him to lay his trap – that part had been exceedingly difficult; impatient for Van Soren’s transformation to be completed, and for his agent to be in place.

Now he was waiting, impatiently, to contact Serenity, and see whether his agent was in place, and responsive. Intel had indicated that the pilot accepted most of the ‘waves that came through to the ship, transferring them from the bridge to whomever they were for, and they estimated the chances he would be alone on the bridge when a ‘wave came in at fifty-fifty. Which was why Coles was out of uniform right now, just in case he needed to cut the transmission off quickly. Coles hated being out of uniform; it added exponentially to his impatience.

He keyed in the ‘wave code, and sent on its heels Van Soren’s activation signal – if Van Soren did indeed answer the ‘wave himself, the signal would cue him to only accept the ‘wave if he were alone. If someone else answered, Coles’ brilliant plan was to claim to have reached an incorrect coding, and cut the transmission off. Van Soren ought to be the one to initiate future communications, so even a lame story like that ought to get Coles through this initial contact. Ought to. Coles worried about that, just a little.

He needn’t have worried; Van Soren – Washburne, he answers to Washburne now -- answered. Answered the way an Alliance pilot would have answered a ‘wave, Coles noticed. He couldn’t imagine that a space pirate who habitually dressed like a slob would offer a crisp “Washburne here, sir.”

“Good.”