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

[barrayarmods]

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!

Comments

[dendarii]

You're right. You weren't there. So why the hell aren't you chomping at the bit to be there now? You could make a difference this time.

[ He'll turn that bit of weakness on its head if you let him, Wash. ]

[protocol]

[ He doesn't quite flinch, but it's in his eyes, the way he tenses. That had an effect. ]

Because I realize that the best fucking way for us to stand a chance to get her back is to hang back and do something goddamn foolproof.

[ And because he wants to keep an eye on all of you, doesn't want to risk losing any of you like he has so many people before, just for not being there, not being good enough, not being fast enough, observant enough, he won't lose any more. ]

[dendarii]

Really. And what's your foolproof plan, Wash? How's that going to work exactly?

oops he's a co

[protocol]

That's the fucking point. I don't have a damn plan, right now, and neither do you.

[ A breath, here. Slow down. Calm. Miles had managed to hit a nerve, no matter how slightly. Breathe. ]

What we have is time, because we know it's not in their best interests to actually hurt her, because the Cetagandans like keeping up appearances and hospitality and treated all of us to a goddamn garden party when they picked us out of the middle of nowhere.

We have more soldiers than we used to. In a few days, we'll be better armed. We have two informants, well-situated. How fast we act doesn't matter, this isn't some guerrilla war camp, they already have cells, they already have patrols and thousands of soldiers to move into place at a single order the moment they have Sonia in the base. You know when they might fucking hurt her, Miles? When they might kill her? When we decide to ignore their generous offer of diplomacy and answer them with some bumbling unprepared rescue mission. Just to prove a point.

dammit wash

[dendarii]

[ Miles takes all that in, his lips pressed into a thin line. What Wash is saying does make sense. A poorly equipped rescue mission would backfire badly for sure ... And the whole resistance would be in danger, not just Sonia. If Miles doesn't remember Sonia's kidnapping, then either history has gone off the rails or simply didn't record this part. And either way, Miles is flying blind here.

But he can't just accept it either. Sonia can't stay like this, dammit. He won't let her. ]

Piotr won't hear their diplomacy. That point may come regardless.

[protocol]

Piotr won't think of this as diplomacy, and I don't blame him. There's no reason to hide a rescue attempt from him, either, unless whatever we come up with ends up involving your attempts at self-sacrifice.

[ And from his tone, he's very clearly not considering that an actual option. ]

We have time. Not an infinite amount of time, but time enough to make use of what we have and make sure that when we make a move, it's a move that counts.

[dendarii]

[ He's not going to talk Wash out of this, is he. And ... fine, a failed rescue attempt is a bad idea. But there are other things he can do. ]

All right, Wash. Fine. You're right.

[ He'll just have to slip out tonight and make this happen himself. ]

[protocol]

[ Too easy, Miles.

Sharply; ] Then swear to me.

[ He's learned how much that means to you. ]

[dendarii]

[ His eyes glitter at that. ]

Swear to what, exactly?

[protocol]

[ He sees that in your eyes, Miles. He knows what it means, his own expression sharp and focused. ]

Why don't I start?

[dendarii]

By all means. Swear whatever you want.

[protocol]

I'll spell out every secret you've ever told me to the General, word-for-word from what you've told me. I think you know I'm capable of that.

[ He's -- lying. But he sure as hell looks and sounds convicted. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles hesitates. Because he does believe Wash - knows he's done worse. ]

You are capable of it. But you raise an interesting point.

[protocol]

[ The wrong things for the right reasons. Always, even knowing they're wrong. Better him than anyone that doesn't already have those kinds of marks on their souls. ]

And after I'm done with that, I'll walk right over to the Cetagandans and let them fast penta me.

[ Also lying. But well. ]

[dendarii]

[ Oh, Wash. That is not the right tactic to take. Miles stiffens instantly at the thought of Wash walking himself over to Cetaganda. ]

I see. Then there's only one way for me to avoid that, isn't there?

[protocol]

Miles, that's exactly what you're risking by going over there underprepared. Everything you know. To them, possibly to Piotr. You risk getting yourself fucking killed.

[ This is what he'll feel like it takes, but that might make his bid a bit more transparent, what he's attempting to do. His focus here is finding a way to keep Miles alive, to keep him from doing something stupid and rash, and if Miles catches onto that it might be obvious how empty his threats actually are. But Wash is digging in his heels, here. Rather than Miles swearing something that he knows he'll find a way to wiggle out of, he can threaten to do something, instead. ]

You don't have to risk any of it.

[dendarii]

[ Miles lifts his chin stubbornly, looking Wash in the eyes. He knows full well what Wash is trying to do. But that doesn't do much for his self-destructive tendencies right now. He needs to do something. ]

Just so. I was foolish to let it linger like this for so long. I'll not risk it any longer.

Better to confess it all to Piotr now and remove the possibility entirely.

[protocol]

[ Oh jesus fucking christ. The alarm that immediately flickers through Wash's expression is obvious. ]

-- No. [ There is a sharpness, to it, but it's different from before, actual alarm, actual fear. Well, shit. There goes any value to his threats. But still, for the love of god. ] Fucking no, Miles.

Getting yourself killed by Piotr right goddamn now isn't going to help Sonia, either.

[dendarii]

[ Miles shakes his head at that, his expression grim. ]

He won't kill me for it. If he believes me, he'll use me. And if he doesn't believe me, he'll still use me - because Sonia believes me, and Cetaganda will get that out of her through the fast penta. And Piotr gets to trade a lying mutant for his sister-in-law.

[protocol]

And where in that plan is any sense of any kind except for how much you want to get yourself killed?

[ Wash isn't thinking too thoroughly through everything he's saying, now, and that's probably bad. This, he has to stop -- and he could physically stop it, if he has to, but. ]

Hope your grandfather believes you, accepts that you're his grandson and doesn't try to kill you this time round because there's a use for you now -- or if and when that fails, decide fuck it all and let yourself get traded over as a lying mutant? That's the plan?

[dendarii]

[ Better to convince Miles, unless Wash wants to sit on him for the next few days. ]

There's no better time for it. My secret won't last once the Cetagandans have it. In some ways, it's the best chance of preserving my life.

[ For certain definitions thereof. ]

[protocol]

No it fucking isn't, Miles. [ You clever, suicidal little bastard.

Wash would, in fact, sit on him if he has to. He'll get Maine to help. But at this rate he has to tie you and Tucker and together and sit on you both. He'll knock you both out and tie you together in Byerly's goddamn fuckcave if he has to, you idiots. ]

The Cetagandans aren't going to let General know. To them it'll be an asset, the man from the future, why would Zahal let his great enemy know what he has right under his nose?

[dendarii]

[ That's pretty much Miles in a nutshell right there. Sorry Wash.

But Wash makes a good point. Cetaganda would keep that secret, wouldn't they? Miles would just get scooped up the next time he went to the village, this time with no climactic battle. He would simply vanish, and there would be few on Barrayar's side who know how very bad that is.

He begins to pace again - a good sign. Wash has forced him to think again. ]

I'm still going to tell him. If you insist on holding it over my head. If you really intend on using it like that.

[ He believes Wash would do just that, but - will you, Wash? ]

[protocol]

[ Ugh, no. He wouldn't. He really wouldn't. There are a lot of horrible things he'd do for the sake of keeping people safe, and Wash is no Barrayaran, doesn't have the sense of honor everyone here talks about. But he keeps his friends' secrets. As far as he can, he keeps his promises to them.

And by god, he'll kill people. He'll torture people. He'll do a lot worse. But he doesn't want to have to hurt his friends to protect them, to get anything done. Not anymore, at least. ]

I didn't mean any one of those threats. Couldn't make myself carry through if I wanted to. [ Sounding tired, here, but just because he's still frustrated; ] I would've thought you would be able to tell, Vorkosigan.

[dendarii]

[ Ha. He wins ... maybe. Somehow it doesn't feel much like winning. Instead, he just sort of deflates a bit. ]

You went to great lengths to convince me you're a terrible person. I thought it possible.