forbarrayar | [ february ii log ]

Entry tags:

[ february ii log ]

Who: Everyone
What: Traitors exposed, celebrations had, sleight hands passing cards under the table. And so begin the preparations for what is soon to come.
When: February 18th - 28th
Where: Barrayaran camp / Cetagandan base
Warnings: Torture (interrogations thread)

Quick links:
Riverfall
Barrayar: Barrayaran camp / Party / Missions
Cetaganda: Cetagandan base / Moon-poetry party / Missions

The harsh weather rages on, which temperatures still averaging far below freezing, and the wind is still strong. But things are a little less dire for the outsiders, and for the exotics -- well, they have their own chills to deal with.

riverfall
Riverfall village is your typical Dendarii mountain village, which means it's small, humble, and mostly poor. This is the most rural of the rural around here, a little backwater even by Barrayaran standards. Most of the villagers live in houses of wood and stone built themselves or by ancestors. Despite the cold, there are plenty of people outside at any given time -- working, mostly, because the daily grind stops for no one, but even the occasional group of children taken over by fits of cabin fever. The village is built up against a rocky mountain face, from the top of which the eponymous waterfall flows into the river that borders the west edge of the village and continues down the mountain. The place isn't exactly hidden, but if you don't know your way around, it'd be hard to find without a native guide.

The villagers are wary of the outsiders at first, even more than the soldiers had been -- the rural Dendarii are as superstitious as they come -- but, slowly convinced of their good intentions, start to warm to them. They're a blunt, hardy people, largely uneducated and tending toward the most extreme of Barrayaran sensibilities, but they are undeniably fierce. The General Count trusts them, so they'll be more or less civil (by Barrayaran standards, anyway), but you might catch the occasional scrutinizing, watchful stare. With Cetagandans in camp and exotics among them, they border on hostile, especially those who are visibly nonhuman. They keep their heads down enough to keep from getting into trouble with the soldiers, but they do not like you at all.

Not everyone in Riverfall speaks English -- Russian is everyone's first language, and only about half the village has any passable command of English. Thankfully, the village's Speaker Yakiv Gura speaks English, if heavily accented. They're clearly stretching to the limit to help the camp, but to the Dendarii, there's no higher act than one in the Count's service, especially when it comes to fighting this war.

barrayar
Even after scoring themselves a little extra food, morale in the camp is at an all-time low. The miserably dangerous weather hasn't let up, food is still heavily rationed, and everyone is still at least a little tired, cold, and hungry all of the time. It doesn't help that they've lost a few soldiers in the last couple of weeks, and in Riverfall, too, some villagers have died of the cold despite their relative warmth and safety, mostly children. This is hardly the first harsh winter they've faced, but that doesn't stop the inexorable loss that comes with it. Some villagers may be somberly putting their loved ones to rest in the village graveyard when the outsiders are in town.

But Piotr finally calls Negri out as a spy sent by his aide-de-camp Captain Ezar Vorbarra, partly to deliver a message and partly to test Piotr, because Ezar loves coy bullshit. However, he does learn that both Ezar and Prince Xav Vorbarra, Olivia and Sonia's father, are en route to Vorkosigan's District with relief supplies from Beta Colony secured by Xav's ambassadorial connections and tireless lobbying. Once Piotr judges it safe to release this information, it bring with it a bit of hope -- and to seal the deal, Piotr and Olivia arrange a celebration of sorts in the village.

Finally outing the ring of reason in the camp helps to bolster morale, too. Vorhalas is interrogated, and the names of his co-conspirators are revealed: Lieutenant Boris Vortala, who killed himself in disgrace shortly after his fast-penta interrogation at ghem-General Zefyst's hand, and their commander Captain Aaron Vorbataille. Vorbataille has, of course, already started to make his escape -- but with the help out of the outsiders, he won't get very far. Once Piotr is satisfied with Vorbataille's interrogation as well, both men are put to execution, but not by beheading as Doctor ghem-Miko: the sentence for treason is death by public starvation and exposure, and in this weather, it doesn't take long. They are publicly and emphatically denounced as traitors with no honor to speak of, sending a very clear message. Although this might seem like a gruesome sight to the outsiders, to the Barrayarans this is simply how it goes, and very few of them are sorry to see these traitors suffer, particularly as Vorhalas was the one responsible for their food shortage in the first place.

Reports from those soldiers and outsiders who were in the village at the same time as the Cetagandan field science team present the General Count with another troubling problem, however: the implications of the Cetagandans building a device that could control this phenomenon are terrifying, particularly to this threadbare resistance movement. But sabotage seems hardly a worthy solution, either. This is the only lead they have on sending the outsiders home, and so many of them have already put their lives on the line for the cause of a planet that otherwise nothing to most of them. There would be no honor in robbing them of their only chance to return home. But whether they should continue to allow the Cetagandans to proceed with their research or try to find a way to copy their plans themselves, a dubiously possible venture at best, weighs heavily on his mind. It only complicates his strategic concerns further, but by his military orders in the next couple of weeks, at least one thing is clear: he wants Cetagandan bodies.

camp
Morale is critically low among the soldiers, particularly after a few casualties during a recent skirmish with a Cetagandan patrol, but spirits definitely begin to lift with news of relief. The soldiers are now more or less accustomed to the outsiders' place in the camp, and they're even starting to become a little friendlier toward them, particularly those who've been involved in the war effort. They might invite outsiders to play card or dice games with them, or share a conversation over an admittedly meager meal, or better still, bond with them in the true Barrarayan form: over a lot of alcohol.

Negri has more or less built himself a niche in the camp, and doesn't look like he's going anywhere any time soon. But he isn't the only spy around. They desperately need a man on the inside, particularly with the troubling news about the wormhole device, and right now, that man is Byerly Vorrutyer. Starting next month, Piotr is sending him on assignment to infiltrate the Cetagandan base under the cover of a cowardly collaborator.

party
By the time they have the party on the 21st, the villagers have warmed up to the outsiders a little, but they don't really bond until the party. With what little they have to share, they scrape together as much of a feast as they can: not much, but by this month's standards, any hot meal prepared with fresh ingredients seems absolutely decadent. And because this is Barrayar there is, of course, plenty of liquor, that Barrayaran moonshine maple mead not the least among them, and there's no shortage of wine or vodka, either.

The hillfolk light lanterns all around the village and raise large tarps to cover the open center of the village where they usually hold gatherings. Inside, protected from the wind and lit by the bonfire and braziers placed around the perimeter, it's actually almost warm. Every villager who's ever laid hand to an instrument seems to gather there to play music all night long, an energetic mix of lively folk music and raucous drinking songs. Anyone with any musical talent would be welcome to join them as well. There's plenty of dancing, too, very little of it formal or complicated, but everyone's having a good time for the first time in weeks, maybe months, and the mood is infectious. By the end of the night, morale seems to have risen overall, and people in camp have something real to look forward to. The partygoing visitors are put up in warmed tents within the tarped village center or in the villagers' homes where they have room. Come morning, they'll head back, but for just one night, it's almost like there isn't even a war on.

missions
Outsiders have been assisting with moving supplies between the camp and Riverfall all throught he rest of the month, and it mostly goes smoothly. Vorbataille is caught on the 20th, although he and Vorhalas aren't publicly executed until a few days later, when Piotr is satisfied with the intelligence he's extracted. By the time he gets Vorbataille's name out of Vorhalas, the traitorous Captain has already fled -- but thanks to Carolina, Duv and Zarya, he's dragged back to camp for his interrogation.

That evening, Maine and William have the misfortune of encountering a dragon -- Darkstalker is on a mission with a Cetagandan patrol, and they run right smack into each other. A fight breaks out, but ultimately Darkstalker and the Cetagandans come out on top, and the outsiders and Barrayarans are forced to retreat -- but not before managing to kill a Cetagandan soldier or two, just barely escaping with one of the bodies.

Miles finds himself in a terrible position when a guard patrol shift goes horribly wrong in a skirmish against some Cetagandans, resulting in the death of their squad leader and a very ugly aftermath.

Zarya, William, Beth and Miles are in Riverfall with some Barrayaran soldiers on a supply run when a Cetagandan field science team arrives with a few exotics in tow. This is a rare chance to learn more about the Cetagandans' scientific exploits, and among other things, they find out that whatever it is that brought them here, the Cetagandan scientists are convincede it has something to do with the wormhole that collapsed 700 years ago.

The unabridged mission writeup is here.

cetaganda
The Cetagandans are a notoriously tight-lipped bunch, but they're blowing away most of the smoke surrounding their wormhole science research. As has been alluded, they're currently working on a device to harness the phenomenon that brought all the exotics here in the first place, and hopefully find a way to send them all home with it. They invite any exotics with scientific expertise to a series of interviews about neurology, astrophysics, and mechanical engineering. None of the advisement they receive helps to solve one of their most critical problems -- that of generating a Necklin field to match the one that must have surrounded each exotic -- but it certainly puts them closer to their goal, particularly in the area of neurology, and they're hardly going to stop there. But it's clear that the mathematicians and astrophysicists on base don't have sufficient expertise to solve the most complex equations before them. But on the brighter side of things, in the interest of this scientific exchange, they're letting the lab techs help a little more beyond just grunt work.

Meanwhile, the genetics project that seems so strange and arcane to the exotic carries on, largely behind the scenes, although Diya is increasingly at odds with her husband and even some of her senior staff, particularly the precocious Amai ghem-Soren. But there is very real purpose behind it -- and far more than just one -- and Diya d'Zefyst is a woman of great ambition. And more than anything else, she is haut.

Unfortunately, the relative peace on base is abruptly broken when Daryl, Lakshmi and Wash all manage to escape in a wild breakout attempt on the 25th. York and Ratchet are left behind, and as a result, some of their privileges revoked. They're now being watched a little more closely as a result.

base
Overall, despite simmering tensions under the surface and the miserable weather, life on base seems to be going more or less smoothly around them. The Cetagandans have had some recent victories against the Barrayarans, so morale is high. Unfortunately, after the breakout they begin cracking down on security with the exotics -- going back to treating the exotics a little more like they did when they first arrived. They aren't under guard, but after the 25th, they are being watched.

They still maintain that insistent veneer of civility, however, breaking only in cases where they feel the need or security risk is significant enough. The ghem on base remain overall cordial and courteous to the exotics as they ever were, which is to say considerably and always with a touch of smug superiority. With her success at the party earlier this month followed by her performance in the moon-poetry garden, the often-sequestered Amai ghem-Soren is seen more around the base.

moon-poetry party
The moon-poetry party is about three hours long and steeped in ceremony, each participant taking their turn to recite. This is, apparently, not a recitation of one's own work, but rather selections of classical Cetagandan poems, and in so referencing something culturally ubiquitous, each makes a statement in its mere selection and juxtapositions. If you pay close enough attention, you might notice that each participant has very subtly coordinated their outfits to further complement the theme of their recitation. Although there is a definite dignity to the party, it doesn't take much to pick up on the fact that this is yet another arena ghem use to try and socially one-up one another. Among the participants are both the Chief Medical Officer Colonel Faro ghem-Naru and Doctor Amai ghem-Soren, whose performance was especially well-received, the theme apparently being something about subtle passions.

missions
The science interviews with the exotics go more or less well, although not quite so hopeful as the Cetagandans were hoping. They do, however, learn some things about FTL travel in other worlds as well as other kinds of neural implants.

On the evening of the 21st, York, Natasha and Kaidan accidentally bear witness to what is clearly some kind of travesty: clearly a human being, but both overgrown and underdeveloped, and exhibiting powers of hydrokinesis and psychic empathy, referred to only as a ba.

On the 23rd, Jasper, Lapis, Pearl and Darkstalker accompany some soldiers and a field science team to Riverfall village, coinciding with a visit from some outsiders and soldiers. They encounter some outsiders while there but also pick up a bit on what it is the Cetagandans are doing -- that the Necklin field problem still remains their biggest problem, and they've been getting conflicting orders from the higher ups lately.

The unabridged mission writeup is here.

Note: Negri and Zahal are available for threads by request only this round. Please hit up Madi or Ammay respectively if you want threads with either of those NPCs. You can also request a thread with Village Speaker Yakiv Gura if you want, in which case hit up Madi.

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It does wonders just the same to see Beth laugh in turn. To share it. She has been miserable - worse than that, though she'd never say it, still grieving something of herself that the Cetagandan's had dragged out for their own purposes.

It feels good to do something else but think about it and wait for her death.

"Scary?" Her eyebrows go up mockingly, then waves it away, well she supposes she might be. The rest of it is easy. "No, not at all. Though I grew up in passing with her Grandson, when we grew older, we fought together in... well, in many battles." She swallows, he was... a good man. Prone to his own foolishness, but weren't they all? He fought to his last, like his Grandmother before him, with as much nobility as she was said to have possessed. "In the language of my home, 'Bai' is added as... perhaps as you would think of saying 'Ma'am', it is added to a woman's name if she is respected or an authority of some manner. An... acquaintance of mine, he often calls me 'Lady Lakshmi', which is near enough to meaning as well."

Easiest way to put it, really.

It was meant to help us exotics feel -- welcome. There was a garden. [ Heavy sighing . . . ] And they dressed some of us up.

Face paint? Seven layers of clothing, minimum? Strange smells that are actually veiled insults?

He looks relieved, grateful, hopeful. The odds of all three of them getting out are slim with how watchful the Cetagandans are now, but maybe something will happen... maybe the Barrayarans will make another attempt on the compound? Or there'll be a trip to the village he can get in on. They have to prepare, to be ready at any moment to take any opportunity. For now, though, he just smiles at Natasha. "There's someone over there I'd like for you to meet," York says softly, reaching out for her hand.

"I'm not great at giving myself time to heal, but I'll try."

[ It was very hard to learn to fight in those clothes. :( ]

I feel like if they spent less time on parties and perfumes they'd have found this place by now.

Mm, well. Don't underestimate them. There's a reason why they're an interstellar empire.

[ He sobers further as he walks. Shoving his hands into his coat. ]

Barrayaran culture has its flaws too.

[ She waits, patiently. To see what he'll say, how he'll say it. That deep breath before the plunge.

She doesn't want to know. But Miles has borne such a burden to himself this whole time. She cannot imagine it, all ugly twisting fate, so tangible except when it's not. If his word to her and her life in his hand meant anything, it was this now. It was in the sharing of such things. ]

What is to happen to your family, Miles?

[ He tried to remind himself of that, too, while he was with them. As ludicrous as they seemed, as much as he didn't understand how they operated as a military with all that damned fluff around everything, he'd learned enough from Duv and from others to know that they are, apparently, a very successful empire.

Glancing to Miles beside him, as his tone shifts. ]

What culture doesn't? [ A prompt, but -- not a direct one. That's how Wash tends to do, with things like this. He'll listen if Miles elaborates, but he'll talk about something else if he doesn't. ]

That's an interesting detail, about their training. Wash listens quietly and attentively, just watching as she slips the halter on the horse's muzzle, admires how calm and well trained the animal seems to be -- and how well she works with her. There is something to be said about that, about the closeness between an animal and someone trained to work with them. That doesn't quite happen anymore, where he's from, not the same way.

He moves to the horse's left, following Beth's lead.

"You really know what you're doing around horses, don't you?" Maybe you don't, but from where he's standing it sure sounds like it. "Is that how you've been spending your time here?"

Not that that does much good. She'll obviously be able to figure out that I lied to her face, now. She's smart enough for that.

[ They aren't going to make it.

That was always going to be a possibility. He and York had talked it out -- fatalistic, but realistic, they needed a plan if it happened. Ratchet was apparently capable in combat, but not like the two of them were, and Lakshmi, clearly capable as she is, would be in no condition to it. If it came down to it, they were going to hold their ground, fight, and buy time for Lakshmi to escape. If she needed someone to help her, Ratchet could. But it's still impossible to tell how much could go wrong, no matter how they plan, no matter how much they fret and worry, no matter how many damned times Wash goes over the patrols in his head, wandering the corridors, counting by the seconds as he watches guards pass in the halls.

Everything always goes to hell so fucking quickly. One guard walking the wrong way, and there's nothing they could've done about that. Luck. Luck of the draw. No amount of preparation would have helped. One unlucky moment and then their smooth, silent escape is turning into running and yelling, rushing people forward, move move fucking move we need to keep moving, the sound of guards shouting in the distance. They've made it outside, at least, and they're far enough ahead that if they keep pressing, they can make it to the tree line. Just like they planned. Make it to the trees, break line of sight, divide if they have to, group up again as soon as possible. One moment it looks like they might have a chance, the next it looks like everything is falling apart and they're going to have to fight, and then there's a scream, loud and harsh, York buckling to the snow.

Wash immediately whips around -- he's been leading the group, for the most part, and Ratchet was closer behind, already falling back with York, no, fuck, no, they need to get out, they need to all get out. He looks back to Lakshmi struggling along, Daryl close by her side, and it's clear from the way she leans on him that she needs the help. There's Daryl for her, though, there's Daryl, Daryl seemed capable enough and she clearly trusts him, he'd be able to get her out, and Wash is already starting to move back for York even as the sound of plasma and stunner fire starts ringing out.

Lakshmi's voice, calling for him, calling his name, ringing loud and clear somehow even though it's hoarse, she's still not well but she knows how to cry out over a battlefield. He hears the words, we have to move, we can't stay here, he hears them but he doesn't hear them. There's York, half-collapsed in the snow, Ratchet trying to help him up but they're both down, now, York firing back, and --

( Another recovery beacon. There's been too many, Wash isn't surprised, anymore, doesn't know how he's supposed to feel about it. He answers the call and heads right for the coordinates. There's something going on, here, someone going after them, picking up the pieces and putting it together, and whose fucking crumpled body does he have to walk up to but York's. Already cold, he hadn't gotten there too quickly, it'd taken some time, bullet wounds in the side, different from the others. He crouches down next to him, activates the protocol for Delta to report, and the feeling in his chest is empty, hollow, he can't even bring himself to really fucking mourn, anymore. Add another one to the list. )

It's York's voice that snaps him out of it, when Wash is already trying to head back for him, York not even daring to look back at them, keeping his eyes back on the guards closing in as he fires to keep them at bay. Get out. Get out, it's fine, get out, and he's right Wash knows he's right but he can't, he fucking can't, there's York in front of him asking him how long he has left, asking him if he ever got him back, for the others, for me, running back and telling him, Carolina, Carolina is there, Wash, she's there, she's fucking there, we need to go.

He turns to Lakshmi, to Daryl. ]

-- Come on. [ His voice raised loud enough for them to hear. ] We need get to the tree line, you have her, Daryl, you have her?

[ Wash forces himself not to look back. He can come back, he promises himself, he fucking lies to himself he knows it's a lie but it'll have to do for now. He can come back, just after he gets Lakshmi and Daryl out in the clear, after he makes sure they're safe, he can come straight back. ]

Edited (fuck i'm sorry for me) 2017-02-27 17:28 (UTC)

An escape. For some, successful -- insomuch as fleeing into the cold wilderness can be considered success -- but York was left behind by his fellows, or simply could not keep up for whatever reason. Of course they're still treating him rather graciously, all things considered, but that doesn't stop Satya from giving him a disapproving look from across the room.

"What on Earth were you thinking?"

She's not necessarily being very loud or indignant, more the quiet scolding of a child that's already come to harm due to its own foolishness.

...not much of a maternal instinct to be found here, honestly.

Satya considers her answer for a moment. She's not one to waste words, and it wouldn't do to sell the performance short.

"It feels a bit like staring into the night sky when all you've ever known is your own world. You see the stars twinkle, and they're quite pretty, but there's a depth of knowledge beyond your ability to know."

Or simply beyond context, for people unfamiliar in this particular art form, as the Cetagandans have developed it. Nonetheless, it remains impressive, and her expression says as much.

They haven't questioned your survival?

[ Not the nicest of questions, but they both know Barrayar's history with infanticide. ]

[ He nods slowly. He can understand the hesitation. It's not as if anyone brought here has an invested interest in an outcome either way beyond their own survival and leaving here. ]

If it's information you feel could help, they could use it, [ he says carefully. ] If you wouldn't mind sharing it, I'd appreciate hearing what you've learned.

Miles is the chatty sort and Duv had been able to read between the lines even when the man had been trying to play coy. When Byerly mentions domestic affairs, there's immediate understanding. That explained the practiced Vor lordling attitude the man had, the way he could swap personalities and attitudes at the drop of the hat to fit in with his peers as needed. Not that Duv appreciates that skill, but at least now it made sense.

"My division?" he asks, brow raised. "Captain. I was stationed on Earth for a time and was about to start a new assignment on Komarr." ImpSec data analyst. Finally.

"My daddy was a veterinarian." Daryl can't take issue with her talking about her own past, even if she stays away from what happened to the world. "Grew up on a farm. So I'm pretty good at mucking out stables."

And that's really what she can do to help around here. The Barrayarans all know horses, too; they can run the stables as easily without the outsiders' help.

"I'd rather work over here than the mess tent," she adds, as they walk (and clip-clop) out to the yard. "But they need all of us everywhere, eventually."

She is, but - I lied too, and she understood. Time travel is a damn good reason to do it.

[ A balancing, of sorts. It's what ultimately makes Miles tip the scales back again. ]

Swear to me you won't tell them. Or anyone else. About any of this.

"Ah." By lifts his eyebrows. "Then it seems we have a bit of - hm - temporal difference. I know you as someone already assigned to Komarran Affairs. And not a Captain, either."

He rolls his head over to look at Galeni. "I hope that's not too much of a...destruction of your anticipation for your future. As it were. Surprise; you end up promoted later. And that is how I know of you."

[ Miles just snorts a bit. It's a good question. ]

My parents protected me from the rest of my family, who very much tried to kill me. A true story, even.

[ That is an attitude he knows well having lived in academia for a time. Not to mention the embassy events hosted for Betans, an entire damn planet full of free-loving, academics.

Still it's strange to think of a time when the emergence of electronics was the new invention for the entirety of humanity. He manages a small smile. Barrayar could use all the help it could get. ]

They would appreciate technological breakthroughs about now, [ he muses. ] They haven't had time to get their footing yet. Have you picked up anything about firearm crafting from your friend?

No.

[ He could, though. He'd thought about it. Tucker wouldn't be happy about it but Wash does think he would listen, in the end -- but what good is just demanding trust? Tucker trusts him enough that he'd believe him, ultimately, no matter how unhappy he is, but Wash trusts him, too. He deserves a little more than just some throwaway answer.

Wash hopes Carolina will agree, on that front, but he'll. Speak to her later. ]

I wouldn't trust him, either, if I were you. [ His voice is calm, relaxed enough, but Tucker might recognize it as the kind of calm that Wash gets when he's having to put in especial effort to keep things under control, that this is something he isn't particularly ready to talk about but he's going to do it anyway. Wash gestures Tucker with him, makes sure he stays close as he wanders from the medical tent, somewhere towards the fringe of the camp, not too far out in the cold far enough that it feels private. ] Why would you, after everything you've seen the Meta do?

I need you to understand, Tucker. [ Turning around to face him, once he's satisfied enough with where they are. ] Maine is not the Meta.

[ A very, very successful empire. In Miles' time, only the Barrayaran Imperium itself comes close, and that's only three worlds.

But that implied hint ... Ah, well. He may as well explain himself before the soldiers paint a more biased picture anyway. ]

My ancestors arrived here over 700 years ago, fleeing a nuclear holocaust. And then the wormhole they'd used to get here closed off unexpectedly, cutting them off from the rest of the Nexus. Which may have irradiated the planet even worse, potentially.

Just picture it. Going from modern to medieval tech in an instant, with dangerous radiation even for a normal world.

[ He pauses here to let Wash draw conclusions on his own, first. ]

He waves off the apology, whether it's meant or not.

"Miles told me you were farther along in time than either of us." A strange thought to have at all, but they were trapped in the past currently. "If you know more about my future, I'd rather it remain shrouded in mystery."

Lest him knowing something he shouldn't cause him to alter is path.

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[ february ii log ]

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