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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That, I can't say. Every colony's different.

[ Not a lie, but not entirely true, either. He knows where Maine was from, knows it was glassed by the Covenant, just like Wash's was. ]

If you're just talking about war? We were soldiers, and the Great War was the all-sweeping, galactic scale kind. [ Meaning in that sense, everywhere might as well have been violent. ]

I see.

[ He sits back, drawing in a breath. ]

So have you ever experienced peacetime?

Me, personally?

I was about six when the war started. [ So yes, technically, but it's not like one remembers a lot from that young. None of this is stuff he usually talks about, but Byerly's clearly looking for information, and the fact is none of this is -- secret. It's not like the war is a secret, where he comes from. It's not like when it started was a secret.

If he starts asking too much about Maine, maybe Byerly will notice him start to dodge, but for now Wash seems open enough. ]

[ He sits back a bit. ]

Hm. I suppose - a life like that...Volunteering for the service was all but inevitable. Impossible to imagine anything except the soldier's life.

I know I wanted to do my part, in the fight.

[ That's a lot of talking about himself, so far. ]

You said that you grew up when it was -- relatively peaceful?

Relatively, yes.

[ Byerly chooses to interpret this as a more general sort of question, giving more information about Barrayar instead of about himself. ]

This is not a planet particularly given to peace. People of my class and background tend to favor the soldier's life, as well.

But not you?

[ What kind of life did you choose, then, Byerly. ]

Not I. I chose an equally traditional path, though.

[ He lifts the maple mead and shakes it slightly. ]

Getting sloshed on the regular.

A planet of drunks and military men, huh?

[ How patriotic? ]

And drunken military men. You'll really need to pick up the habit if you're ever going to fit in.

Unlikely, unless you can find a way to convince me.

[ Just watching him. ]

What did you end up doing, then? Drinking your youth away?

[ He protests mildly: ]

I beg your pardon. I'm only in my thirties. I still have youth.

[ But - ]

Yes. In essence.

[ Wash can't really talk about youth. He's often been told he looks a hell of a lot older than he is, greying at the temples and all, and he isn't that young in the first place. ]

Seems like a good way to sell yourself short. [ He's sure you've been up to much more, than that. Moving along, though. ] How'd you end up here playing soldier, then?

[ Most outsiders and exotics he's met are decidedly from somewhere that didn't seem like Barrayar. ]

Just like yourself.

[ A luxurious sigh. ]

One moment, at home, drinking and chatting, and in the next - here. Transported. Wondering what on earth happened. It was all terribly disorienting, I must say, and yet I handled it with my trademark grace and elegance. And so, now, here I am. A proper soldier just like yourself. With the same rank and status.

[ He gives Wash a sardonic little smile. ]

A fact that most proper soldiers would find terribly embarrassing.

[ It might've bothered Wash once upon a time, but rank stopped mattering to him a long time ago. Byerly seems like the type that likes bothering people, though, and still so damned talkative. ]

If you claw your way up the ranks you'd deserve it just as much as anyone else who did.

Oh, hardly.

[ He leans back. ]

Some people always deserve it just a bit more. Some people, after all, start with advantages. Your Maine has those massively broad shoulders and phenomenal arms, for example. I have a quick mind and native knowledge of this place and these soldiers. You have...

[ He touches a hand to his lips and considers Washington. ]

What would you say your primary advantage is? I don't want to speak for you.

[ A remarkable patience for bullshit that's been built up over the years. Not that long ago and he probably would've gotten up and left, by now, if not threatened Byerly once or twice -- but there is always something interesting about the people who ask the most questions.

How much has this man actually spoken with Maine? He tries to imagine him reacting to being told he has phenomenal arms -- might crack the slightest bit of a smile, at the mental image. ]

I'm adaptable. [ One of the most non-answer answers of all time, and Wash is sure they're both aware of it. A shrug. ] And I came straight from the Cetagandan base, with enough in tow that I wasn't immediately taken prisoner.

Ah. A man who knows the value of intelligence. An intelligent man, if you will.

[ A swig of maple mead. ]

And a man who knows how to rescue personnel. If I may ask, though - for anything not classified - what did you bring to General Vorkosigan? What do we know about the Cetagandan camp now?

[ Wash wishes he'd had more intelligence to give. For all the snooping around he and York had tried to do there was little they found that would end up being of much use. ]

It was more with who I showed up with, than anything else. [ If it weren't for Lakshmi, Wash is sure he'd have been greeted with -- less enthusiasm. Maybe Maine's vouching would've counted for something, but that could've turned. Ugly. ] I told him what I could, but there wasn't all that much that wasn't known already.

The patrols would've changed, by now. More guards, since the breakout. [ So any information he had on that was, functionally, useless. ] Might've been able to help fill some gaps on the locations of things.

Hm.

[ He stretches a bit. ]

I assume - knowing what I know about Cetagandans - that it was being run by quite a few ghem and at least one ex-haut. I'm sure I heard the ghem's name being batted about. Zefyst...?

[ Wash had learned what he could about Cetagandan culture while he was there, tried to immerse himself ( which he still mostly regrets ), and he still has some trouble around the words -- but thankfully, when it comes to just pure memory, Wash has always done well. ]

Lady Diya.[ D'Zefyst. That was the whole name, wasn't it. ] What does the name matter?

[ Specifically, to Byerly. ]

Oh, it doesn't, really.

[ He shrugs. ]

Just curious. Some of their, what-do-you-call-them, Constellations or whatever - they tend to be a bit more ridiculous than others. Hm. Is Lady Diya particularly ridiculous?

You've a much better understanding of the Cetagandans than I do.

[ He doesn't mean that accusingly, it just seems -- true. There's only so much he can tell you, Byerly, filtered through the lens of someone who'd tried to understand but didn't get particularly far. ]

She was -- particular. She was there when they first brought me in. [ He'd immediately decided that he didn't like her. ] And later, in some talks with their scientists. She had an interest in all of us in general -- exotics, was the word they use.

Mm. That sounds like the sort of word they'd use.

[ A small laugh. ]

What do you mean by particular, though?

She preferred to observe, more than talk to us -- but she was always civil.

It seemed to me like she was always there whenever we were being questioned. [ Particular, in that sense. Wash had been able to tell from the start that she had some kind of high rank among them, and it seemed like she was always around to make sure things went as she wanted them. ] I never spoke with her all that much.

[ It might be clear from his tone that part of the reason why he didn't was that he didn't want to. Diya manages to remind him of all the worst parts of the Counselor. ]

it was v artistic, 10/10 would hang in modern art gallery

thank you, thank you, I always strive for beauty

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