barrayarmods: (Default)
For Barrayar mods ([personal profile] barrayarmods) wrote in [community profile] forbarrayar2017-04-02 02:25 pm

[ 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!
vorrutyer: (shaaaahhhhts)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 02:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Vorkosigan would agree with me on this. [ Byerly's lips twist, like he's all but choking on these Vorish words, but he still says: ] It would be a matter of honor.
protocol: (► ladderpoints is now upon us)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Honor.

[ There's no real spite to that, but there is a sense of incredulity. ]

Are even spies subject to that, on Barrayar? You all must be a pretty ineffective bunch.
vorrutyer: (haughty (and smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Byerly doesn't respond to that with anything more than little tilt of his head, a half-shrug. Neither confirming or denying, with absolutely no words in defense of himself or his institution. So: honor, perhaps; pridefulness, on the other hand, not so much. Though Wash probably picked up on that lack of pridefulness already, given how shameful and dissolute and drunken Byerly's go-to persona is. Looking respectable is pretty far down on his priority list.

No commentary this time; he just waits for Wash to agree to his demand. ]
protocol: (► i wish that i knew the method swimming)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That is part of his incredulity -- it's not like this is the first time he's run into that Vorish ideal of honor. Byerly's drunken persona could well be a complete farce, of course, especially since he's picked up on how he does have some pride, throughout this conversation. But honor's one of those things, to Wash, an ideal mostly held by people too far from the trench to know how poorly it holds when you're climbing over burning corpses and fused silica that used to be farmland. Much like his own ideal of making sure everyone comes back alive, maybe. ]

Death before dishonor. [ A breath, his fingers twitching against his arm. ] I used to hear that in the corps, too.

Why would it be so dishonorable, exactly?
Edited 2017-04-09 15:27 (UTC)
vorrutyer: (explaining everything (badly))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Another small tilt of his head. ]

She has taken no oaths to the Imperium. And she isn't Vor. She is more of a civilian than I am - and a Galactic, and a woman.
protocol: (► once you have a soul)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Should've known that woman would be a part of it, but the slight tick in his jaw when Byerly gets there still shows how much that bothers him. Galactic's an actual term, then, too, rather than a colorful insult -- not mutually exclusive, of course. He can guess what that means, from context of a colony isolated for some seven hundred years. ]

Extra-galactic, really.

She'd disagree with you.
vorrutyer: (haughty (and smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ A sigh of acknowledgment. ]

Everyone clamoring and clattering towards death. Her included. I'm aware.
protocol: (Default)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Then I guess we're on the same page.

I'd really like to prevent that, as much as possible. Including from you. I really wasn't kidding about the number of people I'm holding back, in camp.
vorrutyer: (explaining everything (badly))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Mm. I do have a request, though. If and when they attempt a rescue mission, could you ensure they don't kill me? I really would prefer not to be murdered by friendly...well, not fire, but stabbing.
protocol: (► recreation and forestry)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
You can hide behind me.
vorrutyer: (haughty (and smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Mm. Pass. For some reason, I'm still not completely assured that the protection of someone who killed his own comrade is altogether trustworthy. No offense.
protocol: (► recreation and forestry)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Do you know how easy it'd be for me to kill you right now?

[ Seriously with how you're lying down on that cliff he'd be able to get his knife and throw it at you before you had enough time to stand up. ]

Leading me here was cute, really, but you'd be dead if I wanted you dead.
vorrutyer: (punchable eyebrow)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh, listen to you brag. Trying to get me hot and bothered, Washington? You are rather sexy when you swagger. [ Then, abruptly - ] You didn't agree to prioritize Natasha, by the way.
protocol: (► entire forces have been primary tornad)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yeah he knows he isn't agreeing. He's going to keep not agreeing. He makes some gruff sound, rolling his eyes, a slight backward roll of one shoulder as if just to go with it -- but that movement doesn't stop there as he twists around, heading right for the knife still buried in a nearby tree. The movement is quick and practiced and precise, he's always been more about speed and skill than strength, believe it or not.

Somewhere in moving over he kicks something up off the ground, and after he grabs the knife and turns back around he catches it in midair -- and hurls the acorn right for Byerly's nose. Throwing knives is incredibly silly. Roll out of the way or get up, he still doesn't have a real gauge of how good you are. ]


You'll hide behind me. [ Just standing there, now, spinning the knife again, it's nice to have that idle comfort back. ] There isn't exactly another way for me to actually guarantee you won't be hurt.

Just act pathetic and beg for mercy and forgiveness a bunch. Seems in character.
vorrutyer: (Backpfeifengesicht)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He's good - good enough that he moves appropriately. Not because of agility or physical ability, but because of watchfulness, paranoia: he started moving the moment Wash went for the knife, twisting to the side, expecting an attack. So the acorn hits him, but only his ear: it would have been a painful and disfiguring blow, but not a fatal one.

By bares his teeth, and laughs. It's not a defensive or embarrassed laugh; it's real, though rather vicious and nasty, amusement. Not exactly the reaction of a man who's wholly mentally stable.

Ah, well. The acorn drops back down the cliffside, buries itself amongst the dirt. ]


As I said, my little peacock. Pass. I'd sooner hide behind Miles - though I suppose I'd have to fold myself up quite a bit.
protocol: (► APPENDIX DOMINATING DEATH)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wash has honestly never been too proud. Confident, yes, though sometimes not even that -- in Freelancer that might've saved him, made him easier to overlook, and definitely made him a lot less susceptible to the Director's machinations. Among his friends he's endlessly self-deprecating, usually has them trying to build him up more than anything else, but Byerly is someone he holds at arm's length, and petty pride suits him fine, here.

It's a convenient opportunity for him to fill in more gaps in his head, Byerly no doubt knows that. He is good, wary and watchful if nothing else. Wash still remembers the way he'd moved in the alley, clean and efficient, practiced, trained. That laugh, though. That laugh's a little new. Wash might react with a flicker of his own smile. A hint of something just as off. ]


Beg for forgiveness loudly enough in the fight, and I'll hide you both behind me.

[ Despite the back and forth, he is agreeing to making sure Byerly will be unhurt. Still no agreement about Natasha, of course. ]
vorrutyer: (explaining everything (badly))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh.

[ He purses his lips, working to disconcert and discomfit Wash. ]

Is that your kink of choice, then? Having someone beg you? Alas, my sweet thing, you'll have to offer a stronger incentive.
protocol: (► flabby beer pathetic lot)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
It wouldn't be about incentive.

[ It'd be about making them beg. Incentive sounds so gentle. So encouraging. Which he can be, of course, but well, that's not what he's talking about here, is he. He moves the knife to his other hand, keeps spinning it just as easily. Idle movement, still, he likes changing it around. ]

That is the best way for me to keep you out of the crossfire, if you get caught in it. People really do hate you. Ordering them off you alone probably won't do that much good.
vorrutyer: (haughty (and smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 04:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Mm.

[ He lifts his eyebrows. ]

Of course, that would take me out of the fight if a fight does break out. Which isn't an option. Ah, well - I'll ask Miles about it. Garnering loyalty is his specialty.
protocol: (Default)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
He is much more of a charmer than me.

I'll do what I can otherwise. But it still would be nice if you kept your cover, and stayed out of it altogether.
vorrutyer: (annoyed and/or stressed)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ A hard smile. ]

Not an option, I fear.
protocol: (► we want a different kind of excitement)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Have you lost your cover already?
vorrutyer: (annoyed and/or stressed)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-09 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
That's not the reason it's not an option.
protocol: (► and who is the rabbit)

[personal profile] protocol 2017-04-09 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah. Is he still missing something, then? The camp's still in need of informants. He hopes Piotr has more than Byerly and Natasha, but there's no reason not to keep them in place, if they can.

A tip of his head. Out with it, then. ]
vorrutyer: (explaining everything (badly))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-04-11 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He presses his lips together, then drawls: ]

If there's a firefight, and she's in danger, I'm getting my hands on a damned weapon.

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