"I don't believe that, either. They want to annex Barrayar, not destroy it." Micah looks uneasily over their shoulder, as though someone might be listening, but there aren't any guard patrols around outside right now. "If they wanted to kill everyone on this planet, they could have done that years ago. The haut supposedly have some of the most potent biochemical weapons in the Nexus. But I don't think this is nearly significant enough a cause for them to prove it."

They sigh. "So the fighting will continue, until either Barrayar buckles or the Cetagandans leave. Neither looks likely to happen any time soon."

Unless they can get the advantage, somehow. Unless they can give Barrayar enough to truly turn the tides of the war.