forbarrayar | [ april i log: if home is where the heart is ]

Entry tags:

[ april i log: if home is where the heart is ]

Who: Everyone
What: The sun finally comes out in proper spring, the labs are full of excitement, and Piotr prepares for real war. Your princess is in another castle.
When: April 1st - 18th
Where: the Barrayaran camp, the Cetagandan base, Riverfall Village
Warnings: TBD

Quick links:
Riverfall
Barrayar: Camp / Missions
Cetaganda: Base / Missions

TIMELINE
4/5 Eavesdropping Eta
4/6 Eavesdropping Sigma
4/8 Eavesdropping Mu
4/10 Mystery Plot
4/11 - 4/12 Resources: Weapons & Equipment

riverfall
The locals are celebrating the much-welcome coming of spring, and it is a warm one. Pleasant mountain breezes carry the far-off scent of the ocean, and bit by bit, the Barrayaran flora is beginning to bloom. Wildflowers spring up all over, adding a lively splash of color to the camp and village on the backdrop of Barrayar's rust-red native flora.

While the villagers aren't exactly hosting a festival, the entire village is pitching in to sow the spring crops, delayed by the cold freeze. But they lost a quarter of their population to the flu, and they're short on hands. So Barrayarans and outsiders alike come to the village to help, the villagers welcoming them into their homes for the night, as it's a half a day's hike between the camp and the village. While it isn't quite summer yet, the village children are already starting to splash around near the waterfall, inviting others by way of playfully splashing water on them as they pass by.

After the battle, however, the mood in the village turns to ash. With another dozen dead to bury, they've lost almost half their population in the last few months, only 48 of them left, and some of their homes were damaged or destroyed by plasma fire during the fight. Mercifully, their fields were untouched, but the village is littered with bodies, the site of a massacre. Barrayaran soldiers carry off their own dead as well as the Cetagandans, while the villagers burn death offerings beyond the fields.

barrayar
Morale is finally on the rise with the brightening weather, especially with their food stores replenished and the full recovery of the flu in the camp. Their numbers are down, but the Cetagandans' are even worse, and the tactical situation has changed. With half the Cetagandans' force either dead or out of commission, a window of opportunity presents itself. Piotr decides that need to recapture Vorkosigan Vashnoi -- if the city weren't occupied, then Micah's kidnapping by the Cetagandans could have been prevented. The base is an easy target right now with its defenses down -- until reinforcements arrive -- and the reconnaissance they'd done on the base's power generators a few months ago will finally be put to use. They may have a chance at using this to drive the occupying forces out of the city, too.

But they don't have a chance of successfully taking hold of the city without the rest of Piotr's army. About a month before the first outsiders arrived, the location of Piotr's previous camp was discovered by the Cetagandans, and the army split in two to return to fallback locations. The plan was always to rendezvous as soon as possible and reunite the army, and they need to rejoin forces now more than ever. Scouts are sent off into the mountains, looking to make contact with their comrades, and they're in luck -- the other half of Piotr's army, currently led by Major Rifkin, one of his missing general staff.

The last few months haven't been kind to the Barrayarans' supply of weapons and equipment. There's no way they could launch a successful assault on the base with their meager supplies, so Piotr sends several parties to make contact with the underground civilian resistance in Vorkosigan Vashnoi and stock up, then smuggle the weapons out of the city.

They're also low on weapons and equipment, which means Piotr is sending several parties back to Vorkosigan Vashnoi to stock up. Piotr and Ezar have contacts in the city, valuable allies who are part of the underground civilian resistance. They can provide the goods -- but one of the teams will be responsible for making sure the weapons are smuggled safely out of the city with the assistance of other members of the civilian resistance.

With Micah in Cetagandan hands, they are no doubt making progress on the Star Gate Project. Piotr, however, is convinced of Micah's sympathies, and their work could still be to their benefit -- or at least, to the outsiders'. And if nothing else, Micah would be the ideal candidate for sabotage should it come down to it. But for now, Piotr is interested in keeping Micah alive. Micah is a personal friend of Prince Xav's as well as a sympathizer, and their care was entrusted to Piotr, a matter of honor. So for now, his orders to his informants are merely to keep a close eye on Micah and their activities, even befriend them, but not to let slip their true sympathies to Barrayar. And now, with Sonia held captive, Piotr wants more than ever to make new informant contacts on the Cetagandans.

camp
Morale is on the rise, steady and surely. People are feeling good, enjoying the sun and warmth, a relief and a blessing after the weeks of cold and near-starvation. And so the soldiers do what Barrayarans always do when they're in good spirits: they drink. Evenings spent around bonfires playing cards or chest, drinking wine and mead, and they're a lot friendlier to the outsiders these days. Even the new ones have proven themselves with all the aid they gave during the epidemic, so if you're invited over for a drink and a game with the soldiers, don't be too surprised.

Of course, sometimes get taken a little too far, and some soldiers start up some drunken swordfight contests, which probably seemed like a great idea at the time. But you know what they say: it's all fun and games until somebody accidentally gets stabbed in the side. Piotr quickly shuts this down, and anyone involved, outsiders included, is likely to receive punishment, probably in the form of manual labor despite any hangover. The camp is down by over thirty men after last month, but on the (slightly morbid) bright side, at least this means that the outsiders finally get two tents to themselves, which is good considering the warming weather.

After the Princess's capture, however, the mood starts to shift back downhill. They're still not remotely ready to launch their attack on the Cetagandan base, let alone rescue Sonia. Both Piotr and Olivia are in vicious spirits; if you thought Piotr's previous demeanor was dour, he was a ray of frigging sunshine in comparison to now. Now he's furious, frustrated, and he has even less patience for time-wasting bullshit than usual.

missions
Overall, the outsiders' contributions to the spring planting on the village farm is helpful and greatly appreciated: they're able to fully sow their fields, and with the weather, they're hoping for a good summer harvest. However, no one should let Carolina around farming equipment ever again.

Hunting parties were sent out to stock up on food stores, with overall success. Some of the outsiders are proving themselves to be pretty competent hunters, much to the Barrayarans' appreciation.

Scouts were sent out to comb through the Dendarii Mountains for the other half of the army. With some help from the outsiders, William and Wash in particular, they're able to make contact with the other half of Piotr's army to coordinate and reunite their efforts.

Several parties were sent into Vorkosigan Vashnoi to make contact with the underground civilian resistance, which has a strong presence there, and smuggle weapons out of the city. There's a dangerous chase by Cetagandan patrols, but ultimately they're able to make it out of the city safetly and successfully return with the goods.

On the 10th, a Cetagandan patrol unexpectedly shows up in Riverfall when Sonia, Gavalas, and several others are there. A fight breaks out across the whole village, resulting in more than 30 casualties, including two Vorkosigan armsmen, and the Cetagandans successfully capture Sonia back to their base.

The unabridged mission results can be found here.

cetaganda
Zahal is furious at Piotr's successful biowarfare attack on his base, however accidental. It's devastated his ranks, and while they still outnumber the Barrayarans about forty to one, it's still a serious blow. The ghem-General decides that they need to force a forfeit, and they'll have to do it as quickly as possible, before Vorkosigan can strike them while they're down. The Cetagandan patrols double down and start swarming the mountains in search of the guerrilla camp.

The Star Gate Project is well underway with Micah on board, who is cooperating for the time being, though not happily. Most of their waking hours seem to be spent in the lab, though they're around the mess at mealtimes. They are certainly interested in the work -- it's totally unprecedented -- but their true sympathies lie with Barrayar, and they are entirely uncomfortable working for the Cetagandans. They're currently focusing their research efforts on possible power supplies and solving the problem of what, exactly, is getting people from the wormhole to the planet surface. To speed things along in the lab, the Cetagandans are asking for more help with their research -- anyone with any relevant knowledge is highly encouraged to step forward. And any informants for the Barrayarans are being instructed to keep an eye on Micah, too, as well as their progress on the project.

The Handmaiden of the Star Crèche is seen about the base, for certain definitions of seen -- she travels exclusive in an opaque luminescent force bubble, often escorted by one or two of her ba servitors. At the beginning of the month, Haut Sei announces the gene therapy trials they're conducting: if you're one of the exotics who lost genetically inherited powers, or were made human from some other type of being entirely, you are invited to participate in a new, experimental kind of gene therapy. Why participate? Well, they're aiming to restore any lost powers you might have had, although there's no guarantee of success, and such an experimental treatment does, of course, come with risks. But what's a little reward without risk?

base
The base feels unusually dreary in the wake of the epidemic, and with thousands of dead, it's impossible to have a service funeral for each of them individually. And so dozens of collective funerals are held, each of them solemn and steeped in ornate ceremony. The Cetagandans take their dead as seriously as anybody, and no nonsense will be permitted during the funerals. The base is only operating at half capacity, with only about 5,000 soldiers ready for active duty. Zahal has put in a request for reinforcements from Vorbarr Sultana, but that request has yet to be answered.

Haut Sei officially assumes her authority on base as Handmaiden of the Star Crèche, although Diya is, in name, still the head of the genetics project. Sei's ba entourage is most often seen in her company, but occasionally Ba Talim, one of her most faithful, may be seen on its own around the base, possibly on errand for its lady.

Diya is somewhat more present around the base now that the plague is over, but she still most frequently found in the labs or the gardens, and often in the company of Haut Sei, always in her force bubble, making Diya look strangely naked in comparison. The ghem around the base who have recovered are marking earnest attempts at brightening the morbid atmosphere that's settled over the base by decorating the barracks areas with fresh art -- literally freshly engineerd botanical creations, or sometimes hybrid biological-zoological creations…ah, Cetagandan art.

Princess Sonia is taken into custody on the 10th and housed in a cell. The Cetagandans offer her relative freedom to move about the base if she'll only give them her parole; she stubbornly and furiously refuses for the first several days, but the misery of being stuck in a cell by herself gets to her and she reluctantly agrees. Micah, the Cetagandans' other captive, though less strictly guarded, can most often be found in the labs and the mess. Although they're getting to know some of the ~~exotics~~ extrauniversals, they're still ill at ease here and not thrilled to be here. It isn't entirely clear, though, whether Micah's long hours in the labs are by their choice or at the Cetagandans' behest.

missions
The mess is shorthanded, and the exotics' help is much appreciated. A few of them even manage to impress the Cetagandan mess officer a little, who clearly takes the craft very seriously. (They all do.) A few of you, though…you can stick to dishwashing duty, thanks.

As is now established tradition among the exotics (because anything done twice on Barrayar is tradition, and they have done this way more than twice), several people go eavesdropping. On the 5th, Kurt and Pearl overhear Zahal receiving an Imperial writ to turn the entire Star Gate Project over to the Star Crèche. On the 6th, Jasper and Symmetra are caught listening in on a very personal conversation between Diya and Sei, and Diya's overambitious hopes for herself. On the 8th, Byerly and Lapis eavesdrop on a curious conversation between Ba Talim and Diya, hinting that the decision to cull Diya may have been somewhat personal after all.

In the labs, things go more or less alright, although things keep breaking or exploding. A plasma power pack explodes in the lab with Jasper and Whirl (which may or may not be Whirl's fault), though Jasper saves Micah from serious injury. In another stroke of spectacularly bad luck, one of the Necklin rods they've been using for testing falls and crashes down into one of the lab areas, and it's thanks to Natasha that Micah sustains anything more than minor injury.

On the 10th, a Cetagandan patrol unexpectedly shows up in Riverfall when Sonia, Gavalas, and several others are there. A fight breaks out across the whole village, resulting in more than 30 casualties, including two Vorkosigan armsmen, and the Cetagandans successfully capture Sonia back to their base.

The unabridged mission results can be found here.

Note: Negri, Diya and Gail are available for threading by request. Please hit up Madi (Negri & Diya) or Ammay (Gail) if you'd like some CR with the ghem-Lieutenant!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He nods at that. God, that's the part that scares him most. ]

Didn't happen or wasn't recorded. I don't know which, but - it seems something like this would be remembered.

[ Something else to immediately focus his thoughts on, to put his mind to work. Another few moments to breathe, and he does open his eyes again, looking over at Miles, his brow creased. Not shrinking away from his hand on his arm, still. That feels maybe normal, for them now. Friends with not quite benefits, right. ]

Galeni's not exactly been forthcoming about this particular period of history in our lessons. [ So he wouldn't really know, either, but. ]

Sonia was always going to be a target. [ It'd been part of why he'd reacted so incredibly poorly to the idea of Miles telling her anything at all. ] It'd be a key enough event for any history.

[ It's friendly intimacy, anyway, and not really sexual right now. Miles needs that contact as much as Wash. ]

I would agree. So the fact that it's happening means something has gone differently this time.

[ Physical intimacy of any kind is still difficult for him, really. It's friendly, but a different kind of friendly. He appreciates that from Miles, still.

Something crosses over his expression, and he looks around at Miles, lifting a hand to cover Miles' over his arm. A light squeeze. ]

-- Then things are already changing.

[ Miles' own expression is murky at the thought. Different is not necessarily good. At what point is it too off the rails for his own existence? And alternately, when do things change enough to avoid Mad Yuri's Massacre? ]

Mm. I figured as much. We are too large of an influence, collectively.

[ Wash's is one of worry. As much as he's talked about how Miles seems doomed to decide have to change things, just from who he is -- he'd rather him not accidentally unmake his own existence. That things are already changing is. Alarming. ]

Just the presence of anyone coming through a wormhole from a different world or a different time would probably be too much. Let alone so many.

[ In some ways, he's already given up on going back to a Barrayar where he exists. And in other ways he hasn't quite yet. Somehow he manages both in the same breath. ]

Just so. I was doomed from the start, probably.

[ Another squeeze over his hand. ]

Not the time to give up, Vorkosigan. [ Though he drops his hand away, after, shifting slightly where he's leaning back against the bark. ] Maybe you're stuck here, maybe you're not. Early conclusions help no one.

[ He drops his hand too, then. Folding his arms back over his chest. ]

I know, I know. But it's proof in the wrong direction right now. And - you really have no idea how fragile my existence is to begin with.

[ Duv or Byerly have a good chance of surviving even if things do go off the rails. Miles, well ... ]

[ He has -- some idea, some vague idea, just from the things Miles has said, but of course no real idea. Wash has wondered about Duv's existence, about Byerly's too, has gathered that Miles' is more the issue here just because of how wrapped up his own family is in it. His father barely survived the massacre. What else was there? ]

Serving since before you were born. [ Softly. From memory, again, the very first time they spoke. ] But no. I don't have any real idea.

Still. I doubt you'd go easy.

[ So much, Wash. You have no idea. ]

It's not a matter of fighting. I told you my father survived the massacre by sheer luck, right? He also outlived his older brother. Piotr's original heir.

[ More of Miles' incredibly elaborate family tree to remember. He nods. ]

And then he became his heir, instead.

Just so. He turned to the military when normally he might not have chosen that path. And because he did so, he met my mother. A Betan on an alien world. After his first marriage had gone to hell.

[ Aral the second son might not have had an arranged marriage. And he almost certainly wouldn't have ended up on Sergyar when he did. ]

. . . He still needs to outlive his brother, then.

[ And that's probably not the only thing, is it. ]

[ It sure isn't. ]

For starters. Yes. Eventually he's going to be Regent of the Imperium. [ With a whole hell of a lot of mess in the middle, but he's keeping this simple. ] And as Regent, his powerbase was tenuous. He had to keep together an empire on the verge of collapse and deliver it safely to young Emperor Gregor's hands.

[ A pause. Hesitating. ]

He had to uphold a rule despite his personal feelings - had to put two sons of a Vor lord to death. So the Vor lord attempted to assassinate him with soltoxin - caught my mother in the middle of it too. They were cured, but the cure causes severe teratogenic defects in unborn fetuses. Bone decalcification.

[ He listens, quiet, his expression mostly unreadable. His father was regent, then, ruling in place when Gregor was too young? At least he's heard Gregor referred to as an Emperor already, so he knows that was successful, at least in that sense. Something flickering in his eyes when he puts it together. ]

Your brittle bones.

[ Wash hadn't thought anything in particular of Miles' apparent defects, luck of the draw, it happens, it's awful but it happens. The result of his parents surviving an assassination . . . Goddamn Barrayar. Wash doesn't think he'll ever get used to it. ]

[ Miles nods sharply at that. ]

I had to be placed in a uterine replicator to save my life. What height and mobility I have now is purely due to the intervention of doctors while I was still technically unborn.

[ Softer, a little more uncertain. ]

A lot of things could have gone wrong. My grandfather tried to kill me a few times, which resulted in me being moved to a safer facility. And kidnapped from it as well. Supposedly my mother beheaded the Pretender himself in an effort to get me back safely. And it was a very near thing even then.

[ Wash closes his eyes a little as he listens, but he nods as he does, just to make it clear that he's still hearing him. It's just to think, to focus, to clear his thoughts a little. His parents having him moved to a uterine replicator, at least he already knows what that is, his grandfather trying to kill him, he knew that already but there's so much more weight to it now than when he first heard it. And then kidnapped. He doesn't know who this Pretender is, he can guess a little, but he won't ask, it's a little besides the point.

What had he said to Tucker when they came back from that disaster of a raid? He's been dealing with this shit all his life. Seems that had been understated, even.

When he does open his eyes again, his expression is soft. He remembers this feeling, the last time he had it with Miles, when he'd told him about the massacre, about his father barely surviving. Miles had seemed improbable before that, even more so then. Even more so now. All the more valuable, then. All the more grateful Wash is to have found a friend in him. ]

Anything else? [ He's listening. ]

[ That's ... not quite the expression he was expecting. Concern, maybe, or worry. Not this ... fondness? The rawness of it takes Miles by surprise; he has to redden and turn away, unable to face it directly. It's like staring into the sun. ]

That's all. But - it's enough. If any link in that chain changes even a little, I don't exist. Even Piotr being slightly fonder of mutants because he had a good mutant help him during the war ... That means I end up in a less secure facility, possibly get stolen a week earlier, and die because my mother couldn't reach me in time.

[ Or the Pretendership doesn't end early because he isn't stolen at all. Or any number of variables. ]

[ There's worry in there too, but Miles is here right now, and if it isn't clear enough already Wash doesn't intend to let that change. Not easily, at least. He's lost so many people, and it's ruined him in many ways, but built him up in others -- he's learned to well and truly to appreciate what precious little he has, the desperate few friends he's managed to somehow cling onto. Carolina. Tucker. Even goddamn Caboose.

He doesn't make friends easy. He'd meant that, from the start. But now that you're one, Miles, he doesn't let go easy, either. He nods again. ]

Far as I'm concerned, all that means is that you've already beat ridiculous odds.

A little time travel probably doesn't change them all that much. [ A little levity to his tone, here. But he understands how grave the situation is. ]

Should I go through it all again then?

[ Because really, Wash. That's a lot of improbable shit he just went through there. But he relaxes a bit even as he sighs, softly. ]

Anyway. As you can see, I'm firmly entangled with the outcome of this war. Even small variances in outcome.

[ That's his point, really. That's a whole bunch of improbable shit. If a whole lot more improbable shit has to happen for Miles to continue existing? Then he'll find a way through it, somehow. And Wash will find a way to help.

At least he can help insofar as making sure Miles just doesn't get himself killed. ]

I'd still say this is more likely a different timeline altogether.

If not, from all of us showing up . . . From everything the Cetagandans are doing. Things must've already changed, and evidently they have. [ Waving a hand, vaguely. Sonia's proof of that, isn't it? ] And yet, here you are.

[ That ... is still possible, he must admit. And yet that somehow seem more depressing? Some part of him wants to influence for the better, even at his own expense. ]

Are you expecting me to fade out of existence or something?

I'm expecting you to find a way through it regardless. You seem good at that, as long as something stops the part of you that wants to fuck it all up, instead.

[ And guess where he's fitting himself in, there. ]

Time travel's not easy to predict, anyway. Friend of mine had a temporal distortion unit. [ For certain values of friend. ] Never knew how it worked, not really.

[ No points for guessing. But he supposes it's nice having someone not from home who cares about his continued existence. One among a few. ]

Really? Did he use it?

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