[ january i log: cetaganda ]

[barrayarmods]

Who: Everyone
What: Arrival on Barrayar and what follows
When: January 2nd - January 17th
Where: Cetagandan base
Warnings: None (at the moment)


welcome to barrayar.
It's the dark of night when you come to beyond the foothills. Snow on the ground, chill winter wind whistling. A steep mountain range towers overhead, its peaks illuminated by the light of two moons, and the foothills behind you ascend quickly into rocky mountain faces. Whatever you last remember, it isn't how you got here, and you feel oddly jetlagged, slightly queasy.

And you're not alone. There are nine other people close by, all looking equally lost and confused. But before any of you have a chance to figure out what's going on, the soldiers arrive.

They're fitted with what look like futuristic tactical vests and armed with some kind of energy weapons that look deadlier than not. They surround you at gunpoint, dealing orders in intelligible English, but with some obscure, unplaceable accent, and their faces are colored with vivid paint. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that you are not the people they at first assumed -- something about Barrayarans, the barbarians in the mountains. The one who seems to be in charge steps away to murmur into what looks like a wristwatch-like communicator. After a minute or two of inaudible conversation, the officer steps back in. He orders his men to escort you all back to their base. As long as you cooperate, that's all that will happen.


the base
You are taken back to a military base of considerable scale and some serious fortification. There are two rounds of guard checks to go through, both taking what must be a lot longer than usual, and it's cold out. You are ushered past the guard checks into what looks like a barracks building, but relegated to a bunk on one end. They seem to have cleared the immediate area, with guards posted at the door, but there's audible activity beyond the short hallway in front of the door. They make it clear you are not under arrest, that you are merely being detained until they have ascertained the situation -- the word quarantine is used, but it doesn't seem to be of a medical sort. Either way, the only people who come to the bunk are those cleared by the guards, and they all seem much more interested than hostile.

They answer your questions with the very basic facts: the people who hold custody of you are the military service of the Cetagandan Empire, and the planet you are on is their Ninth Satrapy, and they're currently at odds with some of the native population. They won't say it outright, but it's clear they have no clue how you came to be here or why, but it's clearly of great interest to them. For the most part, the Cetagandan soldiers are civil, if at times distant and aloof, but if you look a little less -- or more -- than human, they'll eye you with visible curiosity, perhaps even some kind of appreciation.

At daylight, a few women in lab coats and the same face-paint as the soldiers come to the room to escort you across the base to the nearby medbay, two or three at a time. The medbay is an intimidatingly sterile and state-of-the-art facility, all gleaming chrome and polished glass and crisp holo displays. You are taken in one at a time for a physical examination -- they have to make sure you haven't brought any foreign contagions into their base, after all -- but the military physician isn't the only base personnel in the exam room. You hear the word exotic tossed around a few times until they realized they're talking about you. They call you the exotics.


the exotics room
For a military bunk, it's in surprisingly tasteful design. The room sleeps a dozen soldiers, so you even have a little bit of room to yourself, and while the furnishings are relatively spartan, they're hardly uncomfortable. If you're in need of clothing, the soldiers will bring you base fatigues – no rank insignia, of course, but the make of the textile is surprisingly fine.

You're served food at mealtimes, a combination of shelf-stable meal rations and what seems to be fresh food, all prepared with unusual artistry for a military base. There's a sophistication to the preparation that seems more like it belongs in a four-star restaurant than a military base. If you have any special medical needs, they'll do their best to attend to them -- and their medicine seems impressively advanced.

Soldiers and scientists alike come to the room every so often to ask you questions, more like interviews than interrogations, but behind the civility there's a burning intellectual curiosity. They seem intent on knowing as much as you'll tell them, and then some.

The nearest bathroom is at the end of the hall, and while they seem to have cleared the area of all other personnel, showers and baths are scheduled, and any trips to the restroom are chaperoned. The guards, while not hostile, are certainly not interested in letting you escape. You could try sneaking past them, but you probably won't get far.

Well, at least you've got each other for company: the exotics on the Ninth Satrapy.

Comments

Duv Galeni | The Vorkosigan Saga | come harass a historian nerd

[komarran]

The Base

There's a strange feeling being on a planet he's spent a good portion of his adult life on only to have it feel very... different. The difference being of several decades. Pinpointing the date becomes trivial as soon as he realizes his captors are from Cetaganda. An occupation on Barrayar of this sort could only have taken place at one point in time and he hopes this is some bizarre, vivid dream brought on by a long night of reading historical documents.

That theory starts to dissipate the longer he's guided by the guards and by the time he's brought into the medbay, it's vanished entirely. How in the hell is time travel possible? Never mind that he was five wormholes away from this damn planet.

If he's truly in the middle of the Cetagandan occupation of Barrayar, Duv knows one thing. He needs to keep his damn mouth shut. Never before had he thought academic knowledge of a particular period could be so dangerous. It wouldn't be as simple as finding his way out of the compound and slipping into Barrayar's. His accent could easily ping the few that might have heard what a Komarran sounds like and land him into even more trouble.

He comes out of the medbay glancing around at his surroundings with a careful eye. He's walking around in a moment of history and he's torn between wanting out of this place and documenting every second he's here for a personal account of the Cetagandan side of the occupation. He's not the only 'exotic' here either.

Curiosity gets the better of him as he approaches his fellow captives to ask, "Excuse me, do you mind telling me where you're from?" Are they all from the surrounding area or from farther reaches of the Nexus? Only one way to find out.

The Exotics Room

Cetagandans. He manages to withhold rolling his eyes as he stares at the artistically prepared food. Trust them to add frivolity to eating in the middle of an occupation. Routine for them, he supposes. The Cetagandan Empire of now was different than the one he dealt with at the embassy and at least there's no assassination squads to handle this time around. Yet anyway.

"You'd think they'd want to spend their energy elsewhere," he grumbles as he settles at a table with his meal.

[standsentinel]

"Maybe," says the mid-30s man across the table from him, "Or maybe showing off that they have the energy to spend on making military rats look pretty is part of the game. 'Look how advanced our culture is we can devote time to making MREs look beautiful' kind of thing." Regardless of their artistry, the large assembly of food on Kaidan's plate is being put away with a methodical rotation through the different sides and mains.

He's exchanged a few words with Duv by now, given a brief summary of himself -- Earthborn, military, but from an Earth and an interstellar military that's never heard of Cetaganda, Komarr, Barrayar or any of this. Beyond that, he seems to have been splitting his time between taking the measure of his fellow exotics and the guards with long stretches of meditation.

[komarran]

Duv likewise has shared a few basics of himself, the parts he's not withholding from prying Cetagandans. It's easy enough to claim he's from around the same year as they're in now simply pulled from another planet. An academic by trade and no mention of his military training. It's easier to keep his cover story based in truth and only omitting the parts that would draw unwanted attention.

"It does seem to fit into the aesthetic and goals here," he replies with a sigh as he uses a fork to muddle the flowery design of his food. If only he could get rid of the smell and make it less overwhelming. "Perhaps the true reason we were brought here was to be an audience to it all."

[standsentinel]

Kaidan huffs a laugh, and sections off a 'petal' from what he's assuming was some sort of mashed tuber before it was introduced to no less than five different spices, all in harmonious shades of colour, and artistically sculpted onto his plate. "I'm sure they'd like us to think that, instead of the reality that they had no clue we were coming and now they're scrambling madly to figure out what to do with us."

The petal now reduced to a mouthful of food like any other, he chases it with a sip of water that's somehow managed to be just plain water. (The glass it's served in, in addition to being indestructible, is also all elegance and ergonomic design.) "I'm reminded a little of how first contact went, where I'm from. Or the fallout from it, anyway."

[komarran]

Duv taps his fork thoughtfully against the edge of his tray as he considers Kaidan's words. The concept of 'first contact' meant little here in a Nexus full of humans and genetic constructs. There had been no one to make first contact with unless this entanglement with Barrayar counted as one in a way.

Which meant Kaidan's universe became a lot more interesting.

"First contact? With who?" he asks, ignoring his food for now. If it's what Duv thinks the man means, he knows some scientists off-world that would be very excited to speak with Kaidan.

[standsentinel]

"The turians, originally. Had a bit of a, uh, misunderstanding over mass relays which led to them attacking us, which led to the First Contact War," Kaidan explains, the answer given with an interested look of his own -- that Duv reacts with curiosity rather than recognition is another piece of what's turning out to be a very jumbled puzzle indeed.

He settles back, water glass in hand, and explains that "The fallout that I was reminded of was that the turians -- the species that was the main military backbone of the Citadel Council -- had been fought to a near standstill by a species that had just started poking beyond their own home system. I, ah, got a look at some of the Council's historical records after the fact, since this was when I was a kid. 'Political panic' is a good summary."

[komarran]

Duv's first thought that turians were another human, space-faring empire are dashed as soon as Kaiden breaks out the word 'species.' Aliens? And with a similar story to what is happening here. The academic in him sees the same parallels and the fact that Kaidan has found himself on the other side of the equation this time around. What he wouldn't give to see historical records of that magnitude.

"I'm afraid I've never heard of turians before," he starts as he considers his next question. Establishing the when first feels important and he wonders if it's as far in the past for Kaiden as this Cetagandan invasion is supposed to be for Duv. "How long ago did this happen in your timeline?"

base!

[protocol]

Where he's from, huh. Tricky question.

No, not really, it's a very simple question, it's just that Wash still has a throbbing headache, still doesn't like being anywhere near people with labcoats, and he doesn't really think that it's in his best interests to give too much detail to the first random person here that asks him a question. Some of the Cetagandan soldiers had been curious, asked a few things, and Wash had mostly ignored or dodged the questions until it was clear to them that he wasn't really the conversing sort. This person, though -- Wash had watched him being escorted in, had watched him leave the medbay, noted the slightly wary way with which he looks around. He's another one of them, another person picked up from the snow. Another exotic.

"Somewhere exotic, apparently?" He lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug. "I take it you're the same."

No, he didn't quite give you an answer. Maybe he'll give you one if you press though. Maybe.

[komarran]

He breathes out a huff of amusement. Point taken. He'd be withholding his own planet of origin of his accent didn't give it away to their captors already. The joys of not being far from home. Maybe he'll get the chance to visit. Preferably he'll be returned to his own version of this damn Nexus and the only Cetagandans he'll have to deal with will be politically.

"Yes, though I get the distinct feeling not quite as exotic as some," he remarks as he scans the room once more. It wouldn't hurt to be constantly aware of his surroundings while here.

"Duv Galeni," he offers first.

[protocol]

Not as exotic as some, well, that immediately perks his interest. Wash still knows very little about this place aside from what he's been told, and that's really just the name of the planet, the name of their people, and apparently that there's been some trouble with the locals. Not all that informative.

Anything he can get from a different source might be useful.

"Washington," he answers, and while he doesn't offer a handshake or anything ( he's being friendly but he's still not all too sociable, sorry, Duv ), he sounds friendly enough, giving him an acknowledging kind of nod.

"Are you from somewhere around here?" Wash ventures. He follows Duv's gaze as he scans across the room again, notes how wary he seems. "I don't even recognize the name of this system."

So he's probably from very, very far away.

[komarran]

Not hearing of Barrayar is hardly new. Beyond its reputation for being backwater, not many in the Nexus care about the planet and its small Empire. Duv has a feeling Barrayar prefers it that way and he finds himself wishing he had the same information net in his time period with him here.

"From the same Nexus, but five wormholes away. It was a surprise to realize I was on Barrayar and not Komarr." And in the hands of Cetagandans, but at least they don't know who he is. Small blessings at this point.

He watches Wash curiously. Perhaps now that he's given more information the other man will be more open to sharing his own. "What exotic location are you from?"

[protocol]

He knows those words but the way they're arranged doesn't make that much sense to him. There isn't a Nexus he knows of, and five wormholes away is an odd descriptor for distance, when talking about slipspace jumps -- but god knows how far he's been taken. Maybe that explains just how far he seems to be, if they have entirely different means of travel. Barrayar he recognizes, Komarr, he doesn't -- but it's clear that this man probably knows more about Barrayar than he himself does.

"I was on a planet called Chorus," he answers, after a few moments of consideration. "Fringe planet right on the edge of colonized space that no one really knew or cared about."

Another pause. "I wouldn't know how far it is from that Nexus."

Because he has no idea what the Nexus is.

[komarran]

"Chorus?" Now that's a place he hasn't heard of although if it's a barely colonized fringe planet that would explain it. "Part of an empire or independent settlers?"

Barrayar certainly hasn't gone far beyond Sergyar and Cetaganda has been halted in their expansion efforts in his time period. And hopefully here as well depending on this change in events alters matters. The thought of Cetaganda winning is enough to chill him to the bones although he keeps that particular feeling of dread well-hidden.

As for Wash's last comment, well. Duv eyes him curiously. "We're in the Nexus now."

Sorry about his strange sci-fi terminology, Wash.

The Base

[asafepairofhands]

"Nowhere near here, that's for sure," Ratchet says, trying not to sound wary. This guy just looks curious, no reason for his hackles to be up. "I've never heard the word 'Cetagandan' until they dragged us in here, and I'm beginning to gather they're kind of a big deal."

He holds a hand out to shake, though. "People call me Ratchet. What about you? As lost as the rest of us, are you?"

[komarran]

"Duv and you could say I'm a long way from home," he answers as he accepts the other man's hand for a firm shake. Far from home in both time and place. A particular displacement he never thought he'd experience.

"They're an interplanetary Empire. I imagine they're trying to make Barrayar their next conquest." This particular piece of information is hardly a secret at least for him and would draw no suspicion from their Cetaganda captors. Cetaganda's exploits are well-known.

[asafepairofhands]

"Wait, you mean you actually have heard of them?" Ratchet's attention is immediately arrested, and his eyes narrow slightly. "Conquest, huh? I was wondering what 'currently at odds with the native population' was a charming little euphemism for. What's actually going on here? If you can tell me, I mean--nobody else seems to have the slightest clue, me included."

[komarran]

He sighs lightly. Either this man was from a planet more backwaters than Barrayar or the Cetagandas found ways to manipulate more than time and space. He decides to leave both open as possibilities.

"Yes, I have. And beyond their difficulties planetside, I don't know what they intend on doing." Except he does, but that's more knowledge about the Cetagandan Empire than he wants them to realize he has. He was toeing a fine line in this base. "An invasion of some scale is all I can tell."

[asafepairofhands]

"Great. I guess it's comforting to see that aggressive colonialism is a universal constant, if nothing else." Ratchet rubs a hand over his face tiredly.

"Any clue what they'll do with us? They don't exactly seem the kill-their-prisoners type or they would have just left us outside and spared themselves some effort and ammunition, but I've been a combat surgeon my entire adult life and I think this is an excessive amount of medical equipment for a military base."

[komarran]

"They have an obsession with genetics," he states dryly. An understatement for the Cetagandans and mentally he notes the irony that holds with Barrayar's own hangups with genetics.

"As for what they plan to do with us, your guess is as good as mine. I've never been under the jurisdiction of this Empire." Thankfully. For all the complaining many of his fellow Komarrans did about Barrayarans, he has the feeling it'd be far worse under Cetaganda.

exotics room;

[infailtration]

Duv has settled across from York, who was poking at his meal without much appreciation for its crafting. He doesn't see the need to make their food fancy -- what exactly is there to prove? When Duv sits down and echoes his sentiments, he glances up to greet the man. There's not much distinctive about him besides the scat that claimed his left eye, and the fact that his hand is shaking on the fork.

"At least it tastes better than MREs," he comments, setting his fork down and shaking out that hand. "And they're feeding us."

[komarran]

Duv notes the damage to York's eye. Not from this Nexus then? Or too poor to afford proper treatment for it. There were many of those on Barrayar in the more rural areas although they'd been making strides to improving conditions. With what he's been overhearing, Duv's more inclined to go with his first thought despite how insane it sounds.

"Yes, it's the small things," he replies dryly. The small things are currently all they have right now. "They certainly intend to keep us alive despite how easy it would be to rid themselves of us."

An awful Barrayaran winter, in the middle of a conflict, with no other oversight. It would be too simple.

[infailtration]

"Maybe they think we can be useful?" He's not one to assume that the Cetagandans are just that kind to take in strangers without wanting anything in return. "It would have been awfully easy to just leave us out there. That's what my outfit would have done."

[komarran]

"Those are my thoughts," he replies with a nod. "We're an unknown and could potentially be a boon to them or their enemies." Depending on how welcoming the Barrayarans were. Did they have outsiders with them as well? If only he could get information from one of their camps.

i'm sorry i keep losing this sjfhjsdhks

[infailtration]

"This way we owe them something, maybe we'd feel obligated to help out. Weird that they didn't even ask about combat experience or anything, though. Not me, at least." He wouldn't consider himself a boon, certainly not in his current state. Still. Others could be.

York gives Duv another look and reaches across the table, his hand still a little shaky as he does. "I'm York."

[komarran]

"They didn't ask about much in the way of experience. If they want to slot us in where we'd be useful, they're wasting their chance." More than likely they have no idea what to do with the group of them and need the time to readjust. As frivolous as the Cetagandans can be, they were still as much a military force as a cultural one.

He eyes York's hand a moment before accepting it in a firm, brief shake. "Duv Galeni."