forbarrayar | [ april ii log: here's unbroken bone ]

Entry tags:

!event

[ april ii log: here's unbroken bone ]

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 18th - 30th
Where: the Barrayaran camp, the Cetagandan base, Riverfall Village
Warnings: TBD

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

TIMELINE
4/18 Fast-penta interrogation: Sonia
4/19 Eavesdropping Alpha (Barrayar)
4/21 Eavesdropping Bravo (Barrayar)
4/22 - 4/23 Vorkosigan Vashnoi trips
4/24 Eavesdropping (Cetaganda)
4/25-4/26 Satellite launch
4/27 Flower-viewing party

barrayar
Morale is still recovering after Princess Sonia's capture and the deaths that resulted from the ensuing battle in Riverfall, but at least they were able to make contact with Colonel Vorvolk, the leading officer of the other half of Piotr's army, and reunite the guerrilla army for the first time since their last camp was discovered several months ago. Their discovery is not only timely, but critical -- Piotr intends to launch an attack on the Cetagandan base next month, before any reinforcements can arrive, in order to force Zahal to recall at least part, if not most, of the occupying force in the capital city, so that Piotr's army and the civilian underground resistance can work together to retake Vorkosigan Vashnoi. If they can take back the city and continue to defend it, they might even stand a chance at pushing Zahal's forces out of the district entirely, and considering that Vorkosigan's District is one of the hot spots of the invasion, this might even turn the tide of the whole war in their favor. They'll also be attempting to rescue Sonia during the attack, making the most out of the chaos, but that is their secondary objective.

Zahal, of course, means to make the most out of his new hostage. Knowing for certain now that Piotr's army has contact with the Riverfall villagers -- a fact that puts the camp at risk for discovery once again -- Zahal sends a missive to Riverfall with instructions to pass it along to Piotr. His demands are simple: they'll guarantee the safety and return of the Princess on Piotr's complete surrender. Piotr responds by scrawling a particularly rude and short-worded rebuttal over the original message and has it returned promptly -- stuffed inside the mouth of some poor beheaded ghem soldier, left at one of the base entry gates to be discovered by patrols.

Hopes for a successful attack are bolstered still when word comes that Emperor Dorca and Crown Prince Yuri are on their way to the Dendarii mountains. On the 18th, a courier from Dorca's battalion arrives, only to discover that the first courier sent by Dorca some weeks ago never made it to Piotr's camp to deliver the news. Dorca and Yuri bring with them another 200 soldiers when they arrive on the 20th, which nearly doubles their forces, and, like Colonel Vorvolk's half of the army, they set up camp in another part of the mountains nearby, connected by the cave netwrok that runs through the Dendarii mountains. Unfortunately, the occasion isn't entirely joyous, as Crown Prince Yuri recently lost his only remaining son and heir in battle shortly before departing for Vorkosigan's District. This is not only a sad occasion, but a politically uneasy one: Yuri's wife died some years ago, and while he is next in line to succeed his father as Emperor, the lack of an heir to his own makes for a politically shaky situation. Should he die before producing another heir, the title of Crown Prince will fall to his half-brother Xav instead, and that…brings a whole host of other political issues to the table. Needless to say, while Yuri's succession isn't an immediate issue, the politically savvy are feeling a little nervous about it.

But the war marches on, and preparations must be made. Their odds are better, but they're still vastly outnumbered by the Cetagandans. They'll need the help of the underground civilian resistance to prepare to retake Vorkosigan Vashnoi, as well as some supplies. After all, they'll have an easier time infiltrating the Cetagandan base with a larger force if some of them look enough like Cetagandans.

camp
Although the army is stronger than it has been in months, not all is at peace. Colonel Vorvolk has always been a trusted member of Piotr's general staff and a loyal officer, as well as a long-time acquaintance. However, his views on the outsiders don't exactly align with Piotr's: he thinks Piotr has been much too quick to trust them, especially given that several of them came over from the Cetagandan side, and Duv Galeni hails from Komarr, the planet that sold Barrayar out to the Cetagandans. Vorvolk doesn't believe that the outsiders should be given such freedom or privilege, let alone allow them to participate in critical military operations. Most of his own soldiers seem to share the sentiment, as do the Vorbarra soldiers -- in fact, Yuri vocally agrees with Vorvolk, and those outsiders who have been in Piotr's camp from the very beginning will feel an uncomfortably familiar air of suspicion and mistrust settles over the camp. While nothing has effectively changed -- the outsiders are not segregated away from the camp again as they once were, nor put back under guard -- the Barrayaran soldiers who are comfortable with and even like the outsiders are suddenly in the minority.

While few are foolish enough to disrespect the outsiders where Piotr can see them, some of the soldiers from Vorvolk's and Dorca's camps are borderline hostile toward the outsiders, jeering, taunting, even making hex signs or spitting in the most extreme cases. There are still plenty of soldiers who remain friendly towards the outsiders, but it's leading to friction between them and their other Barrayaran comrades as well. After several days of tension, a major fight breaks out in Piotr's camp over the outsiders' presence, and a few outsiders might even be dragged (or throw themselves) into it. Everyone involved in the fight gets a firm reprimand and then some, and worse still is that the fight does little to ease the tensions -- if anything, it only makes them worse.

Dorca and Yuri's mourning casts a somber air over the camps, and both Emperor and Crown Prince are in grave moods, Yuri's especially prickly. As his son was a public figure, they hold a public burning of death offerings on the 22nd, so that Imperial subjects may pay their respects to the recently deceased Prince. A large pyre is set up within one of the larger caves, so that the smoke will be less conspicuous, and any offerings submitted in earnest will be accepted. Typical Barrayaran death offerings consist of a small lock of one's hair, or, if none is to hand, any other personal object they might have on their person that would burn, such as a piece of clothing.

missions
With contributions of…mixed success from the outsiders, as well as help from the soldiers, the villagers are able to repair some of the homes damaged in the recent skirmish. Some of them are too far gone for repair, and so are broken down to salvage whatever materials they can for other repairs. Considering the village now houses fewer than fifty people, housing space is not a concern at the moment.

Preparations for the coming attack on the Cetagandan base go well overall. The raiding parties manage to steal uniforms and face paint for about 50 soldiers to disguise themselves, and parties sent to Vorkosigan Vashnoi successfully make contact with civilian resistance cells to pass their plans along.

The unabridged mission results can be found here.

cetaganda
Zahal sends his terms to Piotr for Sonia's release, and the gruesome rebuttal -- a crude message scrawled over Zahal's own hand-penned calligraphy, the delicate paper shoved into the gaping mouth of a dead ghem soldier, his head left to be discovered just outside the best -- infuriates him. He's known Piotr for too long to expect him to give in right away, but this is just sheer insult. He's well aware of just how vulnerable the base is right now -- the epidemic has mostly run its course, but their total forces are down to about 6,000 soldiers, and there are only about 100 ghem scientists left. His requests for reinforcements have been delayed by Cetagandan central command -- they have no extra troops they can spare on planet, and it will be another month before more ships arrive. Zahal is struggling to balance out his forces, split between the base and Vorkosigan Vashnoi -- right now binternal base security is badly undermanned in favor of increasing the occupying force in the capital city. Piotr Vorkosigan is too smart a man not to take advantage of an opportunity like this -- Zahal just doesn't know exactly what he's planning to do. The Cetagandan base is in a vulnerable state.

However, there is one edge they have: Cetagandan intelligence knows that Emperor Dorca and Crown Prince Yuri are in Vorkosigan's District. The courier who never made it to Piotr's camp was intercepted by Cetagandan intelligence before he even made it to Vorkosigan's District, and the information was sent accordingly to Zahal's outpost. Piotr might have rejected his first demand -- but would the Emperor, the Princess's grandfather, respond the same?

But as the trials of war marches on, so do the advancements of science. Micah is still hard at work in the labs working on the Star Gate Project, but the data they've been able to gather is incomplete and insufficient. They have convinced the Cetagandan science officers to send a scientific party, Micah included, off-planet to take a closer look at the collapsed wormhole and launch a satellite to record more data. They've made a fair bit of progress in discovering the new type of field generated by the collapsed wormhole, tentatively named the Niadem field after its primary discoverer, but they still know too little about just how and why the exotics have been brought here to complete their designs.

base
Despite the military tensions, the Cetagandans work hard at maintaining a lighter atmosphere around the base. Since the weather this month has finally given them some real relief -- and the epidemic raging the base has been quelled -- the Cetagandans decide to host a flower-viewing party on the 27th in the gardens adjacent to the Grow Labs. It is explained to the exotics that such events are regularly held to herald the coming of spring, although emphasis is placed on the fact that the viewings are usually much more sophisticated and lavish than the 'meager' offerings of the lush gardens on the base.

Typical of Cetagandan functions, it is elegant, overwrought and full of a lot of needlessly artfully crafted food and drinks -- many of them intoxicating, so take care what you drink. Sonia and Micah are both in attendance, although Sonia doesn't look particularly happy to be there. The party is celebrating in particular some of the genetic-botanical achievements of some of the ghem lady artists on the base, as well as some recently genetically engineered koi, to update the atmosphere of the garden to proper spring. However, the real show-stealer is the debut of Amai's personal project: an elaborate zoo-biological sculpture designed as tribute to the Star Crèche itself. It takes up a considerable portion of the back wall of the garden, vinelike branches woven into the trellis, curling and spreading in elaborate patterns, and flowers bloom along the lengths in clusters, each a different color. On a closer look, they can be identified as asters -- but some in colors no one's ever seen an aster before. The vines themselves are ridged with what looks like some kind of delicate fin that sways softly with the slightest breeze, a shimmering dark blue. They look more like koi fins than anything botanical, and with the groups of flowers set over them, it looks something like a night sky. In the center is an elaborately crafted flower sculpture of the Star Crèche's screaming bird insignia in minute detail. And though it is rooted to the rest of the sculpture, it seems to move at times -- the slightest flutter of its wings. The placard placed with it explains that each colored cluster of asters is an artistic representation of one of the Constellations that make up the haut caste. The Navarr constellation, from which both Diya and Sei hail, is flowered in asters of a striking violet color.

As time passes, Haut Sei's presence becomes more palpable on the base, and her force bubble is seen more frequently outside of the science/medical complex. Though she and Diya are working closely together, it's clear to anyone who spends enough time around them that there is some tension between them. Ba Talim is almost always present when they are together, although it can at times be found on its own around the base.

missions
The gene therapy trials take a turn for the worse despite glimmers of promise earlier on, and all three subjects suffer from complications with no progress made.

The investigation into the weapons smuggling operation is ultimately a failure -- while they are able to track down one of the resistance cells, the civilians involved manage to get away before any useful information is extracted from them. The next time Cetagandan soldiers return to the place where they'd been discovered, the establishment has since been boarded up and closed down.

The unabridged mission results can be found here.

Note: Gavalas, Ezar and Gail are both available for threading on request. Hit Madi (Gavalas) or Ammay (Ezar & Gail) up if you are interested!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ All of that is true. And the friendship is most important, more important than anything else. But it's not the only thing. ]

I know. And I'm glad of that. I have fewer friends than you think.

[ Not that his score is any good. The man is singularly dense sometimes. But that's not all he has to say here. Licking his lips a bit, he looks back up at Wash. ]

I want to sleep with you too. Is that so bad?

[ He'll just -- allow himself a moment, lightly reaching over with his other hand and leaning over the table slightly, gently curving his fingers against his jaw. ]

I never said it was bad.

[ Well. Maybe he has. But not in that exact word. ]

[ Fucking hell. Even having started things with Lakshmi, Wash's touch is like fire to him. And the mead in his system is not helping one bit. It's removed the barriers between his feelings and the world, with Wash caught in the middle. ]

But you don't want to because it will hurt me.

[ This in general would have been a better conversation to have sober. Though maybe it wouldn't have happened to begin with, sober. He smiles a little, genuine, but pained. He's sorry, Miles, he really is. Hurting you is unavoidable, it seems, but he just doesn't want to hurt you more. ]

You trust me, don't you?

Of course I do.

[ He leans across the table, as close as he can. ]

[ Ah, Miles. A slight shake of his head, before he gently draws his hand back. He's not really hiding the ache in his expression, anymore. ]

Then just believe this much of me. That I wouldn't be doing any of this if I didn't think it was for the best.

[ And just however you may feel, Miles, it's far too easy for him to just look at you and see where and how he'd hurt you. Wash does quite genuinely think that he's very far from what Miles wants. Possibly even further from what he deserves. ]

[ He does believe in Wash. Not on this specific point, but he does believe in the man. But he wants so badly. Enough to override all logic, reason, and good sense. ]

Meet me partway, then. Just a little. I kissed Byerly and I'm not pining after him.

[ Not sexually, anyway. ]

[ A quiet, amused sound. ]

I give you an inch and you won't just manage to turn it into a mile. I'm pretty sure you'd manage to turn it into a thousand klick warp jump.

Kind of how most things with you have went, no? [ He says one thing, somehow ends up giving more, trusts him a little and somehow this. He quite clearly can't trust himself to hold. ]

[ And Miles can't be trusted not to push. He may not be going after Byerly sexually, but he sure is pushing the man in other ways. Wash is just mostly a solved puzzle from Miles' perspective. ]

I'll swear on it. You know that will hold me back.

For once, it actually really is me. Not you.

[ Leaning back slightly, not to get away from him or anything, but he just looks a little tired, a little sad. Briefly considering a drink, but he won't. ]

You really do want this quite badly, don't you.

[ He doesn't lean forward further. He has enough control for that, at least. ]

More than anything in the world right now.

[ . . . He does believe him. God, that hurts. He really has to hold, he's more sure of it than ever. ]

It'll pass.

No, it won't. How many times have we had this conversation, Wash?

Unless I really am some kind of singular occurrence in your life, Miles, it will.

[ Or he hopes it will. Stubborn as Miles is. What happens when he encounters a particularly stubborn brick wall of a challenge? This is his own doing, really. ]

[ Miles struggles with that conundrum visibly. Because Wash is a fixture, dammit, but he also really, really wants to kiss the man. ]

If I were going home, you would be.

I'd hope you would remember me -- but this. That want? It still does pass.

[ If it does start sounding like he's speaking from experience, well, of course he is. He's not a robot, after all, he might be the opposite, feels things so strongly and so desperately, sometimes. But he's still never trusted himself to have anything. The pain passes.

Or, well. Some of it does. He doesn't think Miles is nearly that far, with him. ]

[ Miles isn't so sure. Even his oldest - and most firmly settled - former flames still tug at him sometimes. Especially the ones he never did anything with. Which is not the slightest bit fair to Elena.

That last thought makes him pause. Is Wash his Elena in this situation? A first love brought on by proximity more than anything else? Wash is the first man he's been seriously attracted to, after all. Maybe that has something to do with it. ]

So if I did seek out Maine - or someone else - that would be fine?

[ The question surprises him a little. ]

Don't hold yourself back on my account.

-- Has there really been no one else?

[ He almost shakes his head there - no, no one - before he realizes. No, that's not entirely true. ]

Lakshmi and I started something.

[ Lakshmi? . . . Wash actually feels maybe a little silly for not having realized that before. ]

The queen and her sword, I see. [ Gentle teasing. Trying to draw them away from the current topic, a little. And because look, part of Wash does enjoy a lil gossip. ]

[ It's distracting, at least, and Miles does flush prettily. He is very fond of her too. ]

A dagger, belike.

[ A slight laugh. ]

Even better, then.

How is a dagger better than a sword.

I actually use knives, for one. Specialty of mine.

Take the opinion of a space marine who's had very little experience and use for swords in his military career with a grain of salt. [ A slight shrug, leaning back in his seat, stretching his arm out across the table. He does answer honestly. Also you got him talking about weapons, sorry, Miles, at least you've not started him on guns. ] But a sword's something you show people, out of necessity if nothing else, not exactly easy to hide even a rapier somewhere. You keep it at your side, obviously armed. It's own kind of statement. Anyone who comes against you knows what they're in for.

A dagger, a knife -- you keep closer to heart. You can pull in a moment's notice without any of the flair. Easy to miss, easy to underestimate -- but that's what makes it all the more deadly, in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing with it. [ A smile. ] That seems more like you.

You've no idea how many knives I'd usually be carrying on me on a regular basis.

[ Ah. That's ... pretty much exactly what Miles says when he makes that particular analogy. Because it's the obvious analogy, given his culture's obsession with swords - but a healthy tradition of Vorfemme knives and seal daggers and all sorts of smaller, cleverer things. A weapon of any size is still a weapon.

So really, that might be the nicest thing anyone's said about him. ]

I told Yuri the same thing. Minus the keeping knives on you.

[ Yes, he means Future Mad Emperor here. ]

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