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

[ Hm.

A shrug. ]

I guess I don't know what to make of that one, just yet. [ Given Duv's apparent distaste, though, maybe that's the right choice. ]

I'm not either. [ There's a small pause as he considers something for a moment. He may as well mention it. ]

He was present for my torture when I arrived here. I'm unsure if he was there by true desire or to relay information of my status back to Miles.

[ Wash's head snaps up at the word torture, his eyes immediately narrowing. Torture. That shouldn't be surprising, given what he's seen, maybe it isn't really surprising, maybe part of him had already been assuming that's what'd happened to any prisoners after all, to Duv, but hearing it still has an immediate, instinctive response, something tightening in his jaw.

Duv -- doesn't need his pity. But there's a shift in his tone, if his expression alone wasn't enough to tell that he isn't all that happy about what he just heard. ]

How present was he?

He watched the entire thing, laughed when he felt the need.

[ How much of that was an act is still something Duv is trying to riddle out. Speaking with Byerly hadn't cleared up anything. ]

[ Shifting, folding and refolding his arms across his chest. He'd watched. Laughed. Wash thinks of the man who spoke to him by the fire, who never seemed to put down the bottle of mead.

Dangerous. ]

Did he do anything? [ He's asking direct questions, the kind he normally wouldn't -- if, maybe, Duv were someone else. They've talked enough and shared enough that the prospect of torture isn't just getting to him just because of the moral principle of the thing. ]

No, he didn't. Count Vorkosigan had an armsman he ordered to do the dirty parts.

[ Byerly had been a passive observer to his humiliation. That sadistic laugh of his rang out in his mind every time he saw the man around camp and he refused to hide away. If the man felt any shame for being party to his torture, he would have to handle seeing him every damn day they were here. ]

[ Either he's a sadistic bastard that decided to play party to torture, or he's a different kind of ruthless, clever and capable enough to act like one in the face of it. Both are dangerous. He might rather the former.

A heavy exhale, fingers drumming against his arm. ]

Is Miles a friend? [ Duv had mentioned him before, of course, but there's a difference between that and what Wash is really asking, here -- he's asking if he trusts him. ]

Yes, [ There's no hesitation there. ]

He can be difficult to work with, but he's trustworthy. [ Unlike most Vor, Miles wore his opinions on his sleeves. They had their differences in the past, but they've been through enough that Duv would trust the man with his life. ]

[ He nods, noting how instant the reply was. That's good -- he did like Miles, but he'd asked because of what Duv had said before, about not knowing if Byerly was there for the torture or to relay information to Miles. ]

What did he tell you about Byerly, then?

Informative I can't share at the moment. Once I have a better understanding...

[ He gestures open palmed. Much like Wash couldn't share his plan, Duv's unsure how much he should share. ]

-- Fair's fair.

[ He shakes his head. ]

I've already been asking more than I should.

[ And more than he normally would, really, he tends to make a point of it, but there are some things that set him on edge, and torture is one of them -- especially when it'd happened to someone that, well, has to at least sit above an acquaintance, at this point. Just thinking about it again has Wash visibly gritting his teeth. ]

[ He frowns at the visible tension in Wash's posture. ]

It's nothing. We're all trying to make sense of this the best we can.

[ And unlike the others, Duv was operating under more information than most. ]

[ He nods, lifting a hand to his brow, pinching at the bridge of his nose -- a sigh. He's tired. He's always tired.

Wash drops his hand, looks back at Duv, more critically, now. He seems -- well. Well enough, at least, but it's different knowing for certain that he's on the other end of torture ( and he's met Piotr, has a feeling that he might know just how far a man like that might go ). And fairly recently, too. He'd say something about that, tell him he looks like he handled himself well, but. He decides against it. ]

And you still mean to help them. [ Not a judgment, just -- an observation. Torture may have been where he drew the line, with his loyalties. Among other things. ]

I have my reasons. From my current time period and not this one. [ Ones Duv wonders if he should even remain beholden to. Changing the past was something he'd like to avoid at all costs.

Whether or not Komarr would do better without Barrayaran rule was a question he didn't want to answer. The facts remained and trying to alter the course of this could result in a worse outcome. He'd rather not take his chances. ]

[ Wash is still watching him, his expression quiet, considering -- he'd liked Duv, when he met him the first time, seemed quiet, intelligent, an academic. When he'd been captured, Wash -- may have written him off, a loss in a war, or at least kept prisoner, probably not doing all that well.

He's clearly more than some academic. To be tortured, and come out the other side with his loyalties intact.

What Duv says catches his attention immediately, though, and he tips his head slightly. Questioning. ] Your current time period?

[ The time bullshit that's happening here is no secret given how far back most of the others are, but being from here presented a unique set of challenges.

His gaze doesn't leave Wash, studying the man as well trying to figure out how much he should share. Well he can test the waters. ]

Yes. This is a good distance in the past for me, [ he admits. ] It's not something I've been sharing.

[ Not something he's been sharing. A nod, understanding -- Wash won't share it either. He doesn't seem at all startled by the idea of someone from the future, he has, after all, spoken with people from the past and all sorts of other things such as. ]

A friend of mine here might be wondering why I look almost ten years older than he remembers. [ Just a little dryly -- that relationship is. Complicated. For a lot of reasons, related to their timeline discrepancies. ] It's been something to get used to.

[ Something he's curious about, though. Watching him. ]

You know what happens here, then.

I've been having that experience with Miles, [ he grumbles lightly. The man was farther in the timeline than him and Byerly was farther still. It was disconcerting to speak to others who knew what would happen to him.

But then there's Wash's final statement. Not a question. He nods slowly. ]

Yes, but I have no intention of changing history.

[ Duv's not exactly volunteering information about the future, and Wash has a feeling that's -- very much on purpose. This does bring an interesting light to all his decisions, not to mention his loyalty. ]

Not even for the better? [ A carefully worded question. ]

We have no way of telling what change made now will do to the future. [ There's a small pause of consideration before he shrugs. ] I'm not sure where your loyalties lie in this conflict, but I've found the results palpable.

[ Wash is dealing with this problem in his own timeline meddling via never letting his dead friends go back. Don't have to worry about how the timeline ends up unfolding in their own worlds that way. ]

My friends, mostly. [ The truth, honest and simple -- he has no real stake in this conflict other than the lives of his own. But he does say mostly, not only. Wash tries not to be swayed, but he's much less detached than he'd like to be, as always. ]

[ He nods, understanding. He's surprised at the amount of help the Barrayarans have received already from those who have been brought here. It's far more than he would have expected. ]

You seem to have a great deal of them here.

[ Wash huffs a little at that, an amused sound, not unkind, it's just. Literally no one has ever told Wash he has a lot of friends. It's always the opposite. ]

The ones I have left. [ Not even that, technically. ] But I can tell you that the Cetagandans haven't exactly made an ally out of me.

They are alienating unless you fit their model of perfect genetics, [ he replies with a shake of his head. ]

What put you off from them?

[ He has a learned extreme distaste for military bases with shady research wings attach to them. ]

Military that doesn't act like a military -- and the parts that did? [ A grimace. ] Seen it all too many times before.

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