Ironically, Maine's asking more questions than some of the people who can talk. Miles has to crouch in the dirt after a while to save his aching legs. (Which just puts a crick in his neck, because looking up at this huge man is even worse at this level.)

"Beta as in second. Alpha Colony was lost." He doesn't know the specific star system off the top of his head, only that it was one of the closest planets available for supporting life. As for the Nexus ... He begins to sketch out a crude version of this map, starting with Earth, tracing a route to Barrayar, and then adding systems as he can.

"Each of these lines is a wormhole route," he says, tapping each one in turn. "That's how you get between stars quickly."