[ january i log: barrayar ]

[barrayarmods]

Who: Everyone
What: Arrival on Barrayar and what follows
When: January 2nd - January 17th
Where: Barrayaran guerrilla camp
Warnings: None (at the moment)


welcome to barrayar.
It's the dark of night when you come to in the foothills. Snow on the ground, chill winter wind whistling. A steep mountain range towers just ahead, its peaks illuminated by the light of two moons. Whatever you last remember, it isn't how you got here, and you feel oddly jetlagged, slightly queasy.

And you're not alone. There are nine other people close by, all looking equally lost and confused. But before any of you have a chance to figure out what's going on, the soldiers arrive.

They're dressed in weather-worn green uniforms, bearing swords and bows, and they surround you immediately, poised to attack. But they quickly realize you're not their enemy, the ones they call Cetagandans. They're just as confused as you are, but rather than hanging around to puzzle it out, they start shepherding you toward their camp in the mountains while it's still dark. There's a war on, they say, and you unlucky bastards have just been dropped right smack in the middle of it.

the guerrilla camp
It's a few hours' hike through the mountains to get to their hidden camp, set up in a clearing framed by dense, hard forestry and backed against a rock face. Daylight is finally dawning when you make it there. You and your fellow sudden arrivals are ushered to an empty tent on the far end of the camp, just big enough to fit all ten of you. You can't help but notice they've posted guards all around it. You aren't under arrest – they just don't know what else to do with you.

You are able to glean, from hearsay and what the soldiers are willing to share with you, that you are on a planet called Barrayar, and this is their home, and ten years ago they were attacked without warning by the Cetagandan Empire. They've been holed up in the mountains fighting against their invaders ever since, outgunned and outmanned, but scoring little victories where they can. They don't tell you much more than that. Some dialect of Russian seems to be one of the predominant languages of the camp, but for the most part they all speak English too, if with an accent. They're gruff and wary, and if you look a little less – or more – than human, they'll eye you with suspicion, maybe even make obscure hex signs at you that seem intended to ward off evil or disease. But they aren't hostile to you, not unless you start something with them.

the outsiders' tent
It's not in the greatest shape, but if you look around the camp, the rest aren't much better off. It's cramped, but you've at least been provided with bedrolls and heavy wool blankets to ward off the frozen chill, and if you're in need of clothing, they'll provide it, although it probably hasn't been washed in…a while. The soldiers bring you food at mealtimes -- not very good food, mostly tough meat and groats, and they keep you your own campfire, just to keep you warm. They've also hastily dug you your own latrine area at the edge of the perimeter, just behind the treeline. No private bathroom stalls in this outfit, unfortunately. The entire camp seems tense and wary, and the soldiers are alert, but they don't talk much. You could try sneaking past them, but you probably won't get far.

Well, at least you've got each other for company: the outsiders on Barrayar.

Comments

[dendarii]

That's nice to hear. He didn't really expect to hear otherwise from someone who'd lived much of their life on Beta Colony, but after the treatment he's faced so far ... It's a balm.

He can't help a smile of his own at her comment. Thinking of Gregor and own little escapade with the Dendarii. Dear god, was that already ten years ago? "You ought to have your own life, same as anyone else," he says firmly. "Same as me. I work my ass and I imagine you do too."

[vorbratta]

Well, maybe Sonia's a little more Barrayaran than she's willing to admit.

She lets out a distinctly unprincesslike snort, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "No I don't. I don't do anything. Good for morale, or something." She makes a face, kicking a small mound of snow with the toe of her boot. "I'm a mascot."

[dendarii]

At that, Miles arches an eyebrow. "Mascot, really? Is that what you think?" Well, perhaps a little bit in her current state, since it's clear she's not down here doing anything in particular. "Morale boosting is nothing to take lightly," he continues. "But there are other things you can do. I am certainly in dire need of your help."

She wants to be useful; Miles needs to sink his mania somewhere before he goes mad. Surely they can figure something out.

[vorbratta]

"They might as well just stick me on a pole and wave me around," Sonia mutters darkly, but she looks up, blinking inquisitively. He has her attention. "What?"

[dendarii]

Good. Onwards from there. "To be entirely honest with you," he says, lowering his tone to something more conspiratorial, "I have some medical needs. And if I communicate those to the guards, I'm going to be in even more trouble than I am now." Bad enough to be a mutant; worse to be a mutant prone to seizures. "Do you think you could keep a secret?"

[vorbratta]

Sonia is attentive and alert as soon as he lowers his tone, and she leans in slightly. Her eyes widen slightly. Bad enough that he's so visibly disabled, but if he's sick, too... Sonia nods quickly, biting her lip. "Yes."

[dendarii]

Now he has to decide how much to trust her with. Would she tell his grandfather? The very thought of it makes his blood run cold. He'd be out in the snow for sure ... But he thinks that perhaps she is the sort who will guard truth with her life if he entrusts it to her.

A grain of it then. He's going to need an ally or two on this one, and he may as well start with a Vor lady.

"Seizures," he says quietly, carefully turning his head away from the guards. "Harmless enough unless I'm in the middle of something. But I've no medicine for it here." No real solution back home either, but he has a few drugs he thinks he might be able to try. If he could get his hands on them.

[vorbratta]

Sonia's stomach does an uncomfortable little flip. Well, that's bad. She chews on her lower lip, leaning over to make as if rechecking her boot laces so she can lower her voice.

"What do you need?" She has no idea if she could even get it to him, but maybe with the next supply drop... Then, after a moment, "How bad?"

[dendarii]

Good. Smart. Miles is feeling a little better about trusting her; he's always had a good eye for character, but that doesn't mean he's 100% ...

He rattles off a few drug names he thinks will exist in this time. Older ones that might be available on Beta Colony, or even with Cetaganda. "I don't know for sure," he admits after a moment. "I've not had much luck with stopping them yet. But those may help." Unspoken is the fact that if he has a seizure in front of the wrong person, he's probably dead.

[vorbratta]

Sonia carefully mouths the name of each drug he lists, committing them to memory. She's not often in the med tent, she doesn't know if they'd have anything like this, but she can find out. If there's anything Sonia can get into, it's the med tent. She nods.

"How often?" She looks slightly worried.

[dendarii]

That's another damned mystery. God, he wishes he'd actually gone to Imperial Medical or the Duronas or something before now. Then he wouldn't be in such dire straits. "More or less at random," he says. "But if I've had one I'm usually safe for a week or two."

And when was his last one? Too fucking long ago, of course.

[vorbratta]

Maybe it's the family link, because the way Sonia raises her eyebrows at him worriedly is almost preternaturally maternal for just a second, or maybe it's just that she's good at paying attention, because she hears the unspoken there. She purses her lips and gives voice to what Miles very specifically had not.

"And when was the last one?"

[dendarii]

A little of both, really. Part of why he'd decided to throw caution to the wind and trust her. At least her Betan background means she won't actively discriminate against him, surely. "Some time," he admits reluctantly. "I'm due for another in a matter of days."

[vorbratta]

"Miles," Sonia says helplessly, looking both a touch distressed and frustrated. This man is a tiny, self-contained disaster. Good God. She bites her thumbnail anxiously. "You don't get much warning, do you?"

[dendarii]

Sorry, great aunt. He ducks his head at that bit of helplessness. Certainly he's not making things easier for himself, but he needs someone who might be able to talk Piotr out of throwing out a useless seizing mutant.

"Alas. Minutes at most," he says. "I get a sort of aura just prior."

[vorbratta]

Sonia purses her lips. There's no good way to deal with this, is there? It seems to have become a theme in her life these last ten years. She can't keep an eye on Miles, even though she has the urge to. It'd give her something useful to do, and the last thing she wants to see happen to this man is for him to be tossed out in the cold.

"Is there anyone here you think you can trust -- the other outsiders?"

[dendarii]

Is there anyone else? No one he's told his story to. One who knows it already, of course ... He lets his gaze drift over to Byerly.

"He's similar to me," he says after a moment. God, trusting Byerly. He must really be desperate. But his cousin needs him on some level, and that will have to do. "Barrayaran, but hasn't the same prejudices. I think he would help me if necessary."

[vorbratta]

Sonia follows his gaze and then brightens. "Oh, Byerly? Yes, I've met him. Very entertaining man, but he didn't strike me as particularly trustworthy. But if you think you can trust him..."

[dendarii]

She's met him already? Miles' expression instantly sours despite his best efforts. "What did he say to you? Nothing insulting, I hope."

[vorbratta]

Sonia laughs outright. "Heavens, no. A little impudent, but all in jest. He was quite amusing, actually. Possibly the most interesting conversation I've had in the last two years."

Unfortunately, not much of an overstatement as it sounds like. But she looks thoroughly entertained. Sorry, Miles, your treasured great aunt and Byerly fucking Vorrutyer get along like houses on fire.

"Oh," Sonia says suddenly, leaning over to pat Miles on the arm quickly, "but don't tell him who I am -- please? I don't know if he's figured it out yet." The grin on her face is utterly impish.

[dendarii]

Good. Miles might just consider going back on that oath not to murder Byerly if that had been the case. Even so, his hackles go up a bit. It's a damn good thing she's enjoying herself...

"I - I mean, if that's what you want," he says quite reluctantly. "I thought he was sharper than that, but apparently not."

[vorbratta]

"Oh, he might have," Sonia says breezily, waving a hand, "but don't tell him. It's funnier if he's still guessing." The grin she directs at Miles is encouraging, as if to say and you get to be in on the joke, too.

"He'll find out eventually anyway. He's not stupid, and I'm not a secret. So I'm just going to enjoy it while I can." After a moment she adds, a little less flippantly, "Sometimes it's nice not to be treated like a princess."

[dendarii]

He can't very well resist that, can he? And his great aunt is still a friendly face even if she still has no idea who Miles is. He lets himself relax somewhat.

"All right, all right. I admit I'd enjoy seeing that too." Just in case Byerly somehow hasn't recognized the woman. That's a happy thought. "I would have thought you'd get less of that treatment now, though. Given the situation."

[vorbratta]

Sonia looks enormously pleased at Miles's cooperation, clapping her hands together. Oh, even better. No doubt that Byerly's quite clever, but Miles seems like he could give Byerly a run for his money.

But then she sighs and sits back, pulling a face. "No, all that's changed with the situation is what clothes I'm wearing and where I'm sleeping. A little bit less decorum now that I live in a war camp, sure, but if anything, it's gotten worse. It feels like it, anyway."

The last ten years are the longest consecutive time she's ever spent on Barrayar on her life, by a long shot. Sometimes as long as a year at a time in her childhood, sure, but most of her time was spent on Beta Colony. Sonia frowns.

"My sister and I were in Vorbarr Sultana when the Cetagandans came. I was thirteen -- a child, something to be protected. As far as they're concerned, I still am." She rolls her eyes. "Like I said. Mascot."

[dendarii]

Excuse you, Miles could run circles around his Vorrutyer counterpart. Please.

But that's not the actual topic of discussion here, is it. Ten years on Barrayar, stuck in a horrific war and feeling like one can do no better than stand around and be a mascot? Gregor had had enough trouble with the same emotion even with some real power to go with it. His aunt must be feeling at least as poorly.

"You were young then," he says, gently. "But not now. You just need an opportunity to prove that you're not a child any more."