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forbarrayar2017-05-03 07:28 pm
barrayarmods) wrote in forbarrayar2017-05-03 07:28 pm
Entry tags:
[ may i log: the good fight ]
Who: Everyone
What: The culmination of months of planning and suffering finally comes to bear as the Barrayarans launch their debilitating attack on the Cetagandan base. Politics, as always, go sight unseen but felt everywhere.
When: May 1st - 18th
Where: the Barrayaran camp, the Cetagandan base, Riverfall Village
Warnings: TBD
Quick links:
Riverfall
Barrayar: Camp / Missions
Cetaganda: Base / Missions
TIMELINE
5/5 Eavesdropping
5/7 Hacking
5/11 Mystery Plot
5/15 Attack on the Cetagandan base
riverfall
The village is finally starting to get back on its feet after a few blessedly uneventful weeks. Other than the routine Cetagandan patrols, there hasn't been much activity in the village, and no new strife. The villagers merely continue their rebuilding efforts and tend to their fields, and they'll still gladly accept any help offered by outsiders.
With the village down nearly half its population, there's room to grow, even after last month's fight destroyed some of the homes, so Speaker Gura has been taking in refugees from other nearby hill villages – about ten refugees have moved to settle anew in Riverfall in the last few weeks.
barrayar
The time to strike is now.
All three camps are preoccupied with preparations for the attack on the 15th: as far as Barrayaran intelligence knows, no reinforcements are on their way to the Cetagandan base, and the guerrillas need to strike while the Cetagandans are still down nearly half their forces. It's the only shot they have at forcing the occupying troops to leave Vorkosigan Vashnoi and give them a chance at retaking the city – and they're not throwing away this shot, because they might not get another one.
The political unease surrounding Dorca and Yuri is a quieter tension, plaguing only those politically savvy (or well-positioned) enough to understand the situation, but if you're paying close enough attention to the moody Crown Prince, you'll note that Yuri's primary concern isn't the outsiders, but something much closer to home. He's never been a particularly warm man by anyone's account, but lately he's especially given to foul moods, and only part of it is grief for his most recently deceased son.
All further attempts at hostage negotiation from Zahal have been as curtly denied as the first, and just about as politely. Incorporating a rescue plan into their attack strategy wasn't exactly easy, but they won't get another shot than this at rescuing Princess Sonia – or Byerly, whose cover as a spy was recently blown during a failed attempt at smuggling Sonia out of the base. On the 15th, the Barrayarans prepare for war, some donning Cetagandan uniforms and face paint, others swiping mud over their faces to better camouflage themselves in the dark.
And the attack is a success. There's no real such thing as acceptable loss, but the top brass consider the 70 lives spent on the attack a fair cost for what they got: almost destroying the immediate Cetagandan power supply and the return of their Princess. Plus Byerly. The mood lightens considerably, but there is no rest in war, and just as soon as they take their next victory, Piotr, Dorca and Yuri are already planning the next move: finally retaking Vorkosigan Vashnoi.
camp
All three camps are heavily preparing, officers running drills nearly around the clock, quartermasters taking inventory and making sure every piece of equipment is clean and in working order, medical officers and techs preparing the sickbay tent as best they can for the inevitable injured who will return.
But despite the impending mission, tensions are still rising within the army – while top brass is vocally discouraging the fights that have broken out, it hasn't put a complete stop to them, and no one has openly endorsed the outsiders except for Piotr Vorkosigan. Vorvolk and Yuri are both still staunchly in the skeptic camp at best, but Dorca does not seem to have passed a final judgment on the outsiders before the attack. Perhaps he's merely biding his time, because for all the dissent about the outsiders, the Emperor hasn't barred Piotr from letting them participate in critical missions.
The soldiers make enough noise about it on their own. They're especially tetchy about the outsiders who crossed over from the Cetagandan side – they're as good as spies, as far as some of the soldiers are concerned. But even worse is letting Duv Galeni, a Komarran, not only remain in camp and feed on their resources, but actively participate in missions. For the most part, the soldiers in camp who have known the outsiders from the start and have befriended them are sticking with them, but the half of Piotr's army that was with Vorvolk after the split when the location of their last camp was discovered by the Cetagandans are nearly as suspicious as the Vorbarra battalion. Hostility towards Duv and those who escaped from the Cetagandan camp is especially severe, and it's no secret that some of them would prefer the outsiders dead rather than taking up space and resources in their army, though no one has been so bold as to actually make any attempts. Falco Vorkalloner, one of the Rangers who had been in Vorvolk's half of the army, hasn't been afraid to make his voice heard, though. He's even been heard saying that he thinks someone ought to make an example out of the Komarran and demonstrate just what they think of those who would side with the Cetagandans.
After the attack, the atmosphere of the camp is noticeably changed – the return of the Princess as well as what can only be considered a resounding victory for the Barrayarans has led to a jubilant and triumphant environment. And with Barrayarans, all celebration comes with a whole lot of drinking. Wine, vodka and maple mead are passed around aplenty in the nights and days following the attack, as soldiers burn offerings for their dead comrades and trade stories of action.
The tension with the outsiders begins to lessen after this victory, too. The fact that two outsiders, Wash and Lucy, are responsible for the Princess's rescue goes a long way toward relations between the outsiders and the rest of the army, and after the attack, Dorca gives the outsiders his endorsement as comrades to be trusted and honorary warriors fighting alongside them. Of course, this doesn't mean all hostility and tension merely dissipates – there are still plenty of soldiers like the now-deceased Falco who still think the outsiders are a threat and a parasitic presence. But things do start to lighten up a little after this victory...finally.
missions
General Piotr Vorkosigan himself leads the attack on the Cetagandan base, and Yuri leads his own contingent. Although there are some hitches getting in undetected, their plans to disable base security are overall successful, as is their sabotage of the power supply generators and Sonia and Byerly's rescue.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi and Sisko have found Falco Vorkalloner's dead body, and while it looks like an accident, it also looks like someone might have taken care to make sure it looked like one.
The unabridged mission results can be found here.
cetaganda
The social relief brought by the flower-viewing party quickly fades, and tension settles back over the Cetagandan base, underlined by Zahal's frustration with Piotr's flat-out refusal to meet his demands, or even so much as discuss them. He's sent more than one political ransom demand since Dorca's arrival, too, but to no effect. Given the recent guerrilla activity in Vorkosigan Vashnoi, he knows Piotr must be planning something, but with no informants left in the Barrayaran army, his intelligence is dry, and the investigations into weapons smuggling were ultimately fruitless. All known civilian resistance cells seem to have scattered and disappeared, their bases of operation boarded up or burned down. All he can do is concentrate as many troops as he can afford on the city's occupation, though he doesn't leave the base totally unmanned. But he does add another thousand troops to the occupying force in Vorkosigan Vashnoi in the week before the attack on the base.
Not everyone is being sent over, though, and the transfer doesn't make for as smooth a cover as one might hope. Gail is caught on an unauthorized trip to the city while off duty, and you might hear -- or overhear -- the dressing-down he gets from his commanding officer for it. He doesn't appear to have a ready excuse for it -- at least, not one that doesn't sound flimsy as hell.
Military matters affect those of the Star Crèche, however, and Zahal's frustration does not touch that sphere. Not that it isn't without its own tensions -- anyone who spends enough time with Diya and Sei (and Ba Talim, for that matter) will feel the rising tensions between them, though their origins are as obscure as the haut always are. The Star Gate Project, now officially under the jurisdiction of the Star Crèche, continues on with Micah at the lead, although they haven't for a moment forgotten that they are a prisoner here, or where their true loyalties lie.
After the attack, Zahal's fury reaches a boiling point, and since the Barrayarans did so much infrastructural damage, the consequences of military matters finally reach Diya and Sei, rankling them, too. The power shortage and damage to the science/medical complex has put a serious damper on Star Gate research, although as far as anyone is aware, the gene therapy trials and other related Star Crèche research goes on unimpeded, thanks to the successful protection of the secondary backup generator, which seems to exist only to power the medbay and gene labs. But since power is a hot commodity right now, Zahal is going to start pushing to reroute some of that power to what the haut would probably deem as lower priority needs.
base
The mood around the base is restless, Zahal's frustration trickling down into tensions among his officers and seeping into the very atmosphere. They're hardly prepared for the attack that comes because they don't even know what to expect. The soldiers all seem on edge, nervous, a little tetchy, particularly after Tarn's altercation with Diya and Natasha, and then the failed attempt to smuggle out the Princess -- but that did, at least, lead to the outing of Byerly Vorrutyer as a spy among the Cetagandans, confirming some suspicions held by the higher brass in Cetagandan intelligence. About the only comfort, if one can call it that, in all this tension is Byerly's summary fast-penta interrogation.
The gene therapy trials, despite some...trials, continue, and with much greater success than last month. Sei and Diya are as impassive as ever, but even so, there's a tangible undercurrent of mixed relief and triumph. Micahworks as feverishly as ever on the Star Gate Project with the aid and oversight of the military's scientific division and the exotics working as lab assistants. The satellite launch has proven to be a highly productive venture -- it's yielding data they couldn't have gathered otherwise, which is proving to be critical, and Micah spends time having Kaidan, Symmetra and Pearl put through another series of brain scans and consulting the neurology team as they study the results.
Although Sei is never seen outside of her force bubble, and doesn't actually travel around the base all that much, her presence seems to dominate the more civilian areas of the base, overshadowing even Diya -- although Diya is considerably less visible around the base after her altercation with Tarn. Amai is, of course, somehow seen just about everywhere, a constant social and professional presence that refuses to let anyone forget she's there. But after the 5th, she seems to be troubled -- she's far less impassive than the haut, and her anxiety and discomfort are much easier to see.
After the attack, Diya seems somewhat shaken -- it's almost impossible to tell how Sei is affected, but with facilities down, audits are being done on all existing projects to determine what's important enough to remain active while they have limited power. The base isn't quite in a shambles, but there's a lot of damage -- while the Barrayarans personally only carry swords and bows, they clearly have no issue with taking the Cetagandans' plasma arcs to wreak havoc at home -- and the atmosphere is overall demoralized. Sending more troops to Vorkosigan Vashnoi was clearly the wrong move, and it's a bitter pill to swallow, but Zahal begins to recall troops from the city in small waves to help better man the base, knowing full well that this must have been what Piotr intended.
missions
A few interesting tidbits are overheard in the dark of night, and Amai finds herself in the uniquely uncomfortable position of holding Diya's dark secret in one hand, and Sei's in the other -- and Ba Talim seems to know something, though it isn't clear what. And some creative hacking turns up some unexpected dirt on Sei that makes Diya's illicit ba experiments look like mere misdemeanors.
Despite the best efforts of the soldiers and the exotics and the fact that, even undermanned, they still outnumber the guerrillas by a landslide, the base is still overrun by Barrayarans and their attack is successful. The main and backup power generators are totally disabled for the time being, and it's unclear how long it will be before full power is restored to the base.
The unabridged mission results can be found here.
Note: Gavalas, Olivia, Zahal, Diya, and Sei & Ba Talim are available for threads on request. Hit up Madi (Gavalas, Diya, Sei & Ba Talim) or Ammay (Olivia & Zahal) if you'd like threads with these characters!
What: The culmination of months of planning and suffering finally comes to bear as the Barrayarans launch their debilitating attack on the Cetagandan base. Politics, as always, go sight unseen but felt everywhere.
When: May 1st - 18th
Where: the Barrayaran camp, the Cetagandan base, Riverfall Village
Warnings: TBD
Riverfall
Barrayar: Camp / Missions
Cetaganda: Base / Missions
TIMELINE
5/5 Eavesdropping
5/7 Hacking
5/11 Mystery Plot
5/15 Attack on the Cetagandan base
riverfall
The village is finally starting to get back on its feet after a few blessedly uneventful weeks. Other than the routine Cetagandan patrols, there hasn't been much activity in the village, and no new strife. The villagers merely continue their rebuilding efforts and tend to their fields, and they'll still gladly accept any help offered by outsiders.
With the village down nearly half its population, there's room to grow, even after last month's fight destroyed some of the homes, so Speaker Gura has been taking in refugees from other nearby hill villages – about ten refugees have moved to settle anew in Riverfall in the last few weeks.
barrayar
The time to strike is now.
All three camps are preoccupied with preparations for the attack on the 15th: as far as Barrayaran intelligence knows, no reinforcements are on their way to the Cetagandan base, and the guerrillas need to strike while the Cetagandans are still down nearly half their forces. It's the only shot they have at forcing the occupying troops to leave Vorkosigan Vashnoi and give them a chance at retaking the city – and they're not throwing away this shot, because they might not get another one.
The political unease surrounding Dorca and Yuri is a quieter tension, plaguing only those politically savvy (or well-positioned) enough to understand the situation, but if you're paying close enough attention to the moody Crown Prince, you'll note that Yuri's primary concern isn't the outsiders, but something much closer to home. He's never been a particularly warm man by anyone's account, but lately he's especially given to foul moods, and only part of it is grief for his most recently deceased son.
All further attempts at hostage negotiation from Zahal have been as curtly denied as the first, and just about as politely. Incorporating a rescue plan into their attack strategy wasn't exactly easy, but they won't get another shot than this at rescuing Princess Sonia – or Byerly, whose cover as a spy was recently blown during a failed attempt at smuggling Sonia out of the base. On the 15th, the Barrayarans prepare for war, some donning Cetagandan uniforms and face paint, others swiping mud over their faces to better camouflage themselves in the dark.
And the attack is a success. There's no real such thing as acceptable loss, but the top brass consider the 70 lives spent on the attack a fair cost for what they got: almost destroying the immediate Cetagandan power supply and the return of their Princess. Plus Byerly. The mood lightens considerably, but there is no rest in war, and just as soon as they take their next victory, Piotr, Dorca and Yuri are already planning the next move: finally retaking Vorkosigan Vashnoi.
camp
All three camps are heavily preparing, officers running drills nearly around the clock, quartermasters taking inventory and making sure every piece of equipment is clean and in working order, medical officers and techs preparing the sickbay tent as best they can for the inevitable injured who will return.
But despite the impending mission, tensions are still rising within the army – while top brass is vocally discouraging the fights that have broken out, it hasn't put a complete stop to them, and no one has openly endorsed the outsiders except for Piotr Vorkosigan. Vorvolk and Yuri are both still staunchly in the skeptic camp at best, but Dorca does not seem to have passed a final judgment on the outsiders before the attack. Perhaps he's merely biding his time, because for all the dissent about the outsiders, the Emperor hasn't barred Piotr from letting them participate in critical missions.
The soldiers make enough noise about it on their own. They're especially tetchy about the outsiders who crossed over from the Cetagandan side – they're as good as spies, as far as some of the soldiers are concerned. But even worse is letting Duv Galeni, a Komarran, not only remain in camp and feed on their resources, but actively participate in missions. For the most part, the soldiers in camp who have known the outsiders from the start and have befriended them are sticking with them, but the half of Piotr's army that was with Vorvolk after the split when the location of their last camp was discovered by the Cetagandans are nearly as suspicious as the Vorbarra battalion. Hostility towards Duv and those who escaped from the Cetagandan camp is especially severe, and it's no secret that some of them would prefer the outsiders dead rather than taking up space and resources in their army, though no one has been so bold as to actually make any attempts. Falco Vorkalloner, one of the Rangers who had been in Vorvolk's half of the army, hasn't been afraid to make his voice heard, though. He's even been heard saying that he thinks someone ought to make an example out of the Komarran and demonstrate just what they think of those who would side with the Cetagandans.
After the attack, the atmosphere of the camp is noticeably changed – the return of the Princess as well as what can only be considered a resounding victory for the Barrayarans has led to a jubilant and triumphant environment. And with Barrayarans, all celebration comes with a whole lot of drinking. Wine, vodka and maple mead are passed around aplenty in the nights and days following the attack, as soldiers burn offerings for their dead comrades and trade stories of action.
The tension with the outsiders begins to lessen after this victory, too. The fact that two outsiders, Wash and Lucy, are responsible for the Princess's rescue goes a long way toward relations between the outsiders and the rest of the army, and after the attack, Dorca gives the outsiders his endorsement as comrades to be trusted and honorary warriors fighting alongside them. Of course, this doesn't mean all hostility and tension merely dissipates – there are still plenty of soldiers like the now-deceased Falco who still think the outsiders are a threat and a parasitic presence. But things do start to lighten up a little after this victory...finally.
missions
General Piotr Vorkosigan himself leads the attack on the Cetagandan base, and Yuri leads his own contingent. Although there are some hitches getting in undetected, their plans to disable base security are overall successful, as is their sabotage of the power supply generators and Sonia and Byerly's rescue.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi and Sisko have found Falco Vorkalloner's dead body, and while it looks like an accident, it also looks like someone might have taken care to make sure it looked like one.
The unabridged mission results can be found here.
cetaganda
The social relief brought by the flower-viewing party quickly fades, and tension settles back over the Cetagandan base, underlined by Zahal's frustration with Piotr's flat-out refusal to meet his demands, or even so much as discuss them. He's sent more than one political ransom demand since Dorca's arrival, too, but to no effect. Given the recent guerrilla activity in Vorkosigan Vashnoi, he knows Piotr must be planning something, but with no informants left in the Barrayaran army, his intelligence is dry, and the investigations into weapons smuggling were ultimately fruitless. All known civilian resistance cells seem to have scattered and disappeared, their bases of operation boarded up or burned down. All he can do is concentrate as many troops as he can afford on the city's occupation, though he doesn't leave the base totally unmanned. But he does add another thousand troops to the occupying force in Vorkosigan Vashnoi in the week before the attack on the base.
Not everyone is being sent over, though, and the transfer doesn't make for as smooth a cover as one might hope. Gail is caught on an unauthorized trip to the city while off duty, and you might hear -- or overhear -- the dressing-down he gets from his commanding officer for it. He doesn't appear to have a ready excuse for it -- at least, not one that doesn't sound flimsy as hell.
Military matters affect those of the Star Crèche, however, and Zahal's frustration does not touch that sphere. Not that it isn't without its own tensions -- anyone who spends enough time with Diya and Sei (and Ba Talim, for that matter) will feel the rising tensions between them, though their origins are as obscure as the haut always are. The Star Gate Project, now officially under the jurisdiction of the Star Crèche, continues on with Micah at the lead, although they haven't for a moment forgotten that they are a prisoner here, or where their true loyalties lie.
After the attack, Zahal's fury reaches a boiling point, and since the Barrayarans did so much infrastructural damage, the consequences of military matters finally reach Diya and Sei, rankling them, too. The power shortage and damage to the science/medical complex has put a serious damper on Star Gate research, although as far as anyone is aware, the gene therapy trials and other related Star Crèche research goes on unimpeded, thanks to the successful protection of the secondary backup generator, which seems to exist only to power the medbay and gene labs. But since power is a hot commodity right now, Zahal is going to start pushing to reroute some of that power to what the haut would probably deem as lower priority needs.
base
The mood around the base is restless, Zahal's frustration trickling down into tensions among his officers and seeping into the very atmosphere. They're hardly prepared for the attack that comes because they don't even know what to expect. The soldiers all seem on edge, nervous, a little tetchy, particularly after Tarn's altercation with Diya and Natasha, and then the failed attempt to smuggle out the Princess -- but that did, at least, lead to the outing of Byerly Vorrutyer as a spy among the Cetagandans, confirming some suspicions held by the higher brass in Cetagandan intelligence. About the only comfort, if one can call it that, in all this tension is Byerly's summary fast-penta interrogation.
The gene therapy trials, despite some...trials, continue, and with much greater success than last month. Sei and Diya are as impassive as ever, but even so, there's a tangible undercurrent of mixed relief and triumph. Micahworks as feverishly as ever on the Star Gate Project with the aid and oversight of the military's scientific division and the exotics working as lab assistants. The satellite launch has proven to be a highly productive venture -- it's yielding data they couldn't have gathered otherwise, which is proving to be critical, and Micah spends time having Kaidan, Symmetra and Pearl put through another series of brain scans and consulting the neurology team as they study the results.
Although Sei is never seen outside of her force bubble, and doesn't actually travel around the base all that much, her presence seems to dominate the more civilian areas of the base, overshadowing even Diya -- although Diya is considerably less visible around the base after her altercation with Tarn. Amai is, of course, somehow seen just about everywhere, a constant social and professional presence that refuses to let anyone forget she's there. But after the 5th, she seems to be troubled -- she's far less impassive than the haut, and her anxiety and discomfort are much easier to see.
After the attack, Diya seems somewhat shaken -- it's almost impossible to tell how Sei is affected, but with facilities down, audits are being done on all existing projects to determine what's important enough to remain active while they have limited power. The base isn't quite in a shambles, but there's a lot of damage -- while the Barrayarans personally only carry swords and bows, they clearly have no issue with taking the Cetagandans' plasma arcs to wreak havoc at home -- and the atmosphere is overall demoralized. Sending more troops to Vorkosigan Vashnoi was clearly the wrong move, and it's a bitter pill to swallow, but Zahal begins to recall troops from the city in small waves to help better man the base, knowing full well that this must have been what Piotr intended.
missions
A few interesting tidbits are overheard in the dark of night, and Amai finds herself in the uniquely uncomfortable position of holding Diya's dark secret in one hand, and Sei's in the other -- and Ba Talim seems to know something, though it isn't clear what. And some creative hacking turns up some unexpected dirt on Sei that makes Diya's illicit ba experiments look like mere misdemeanors.
Despite the best efforts of the soldiers and the exotics and the fact that, even undermanned, they still outnumber the guerrillas by a landslide, the base is still overrun by Barrayarans and their attack is successful. The main and backup power generators are totally disabled for the time being, and it's unclear how long it will be before full power is restored to the base.
The unabridged mission results can be found here.
Note: Gavalas, Olivia, Zahal, Diya, and Sei & Ba Talim are available for threads on request. Hit up Madi (Gavalas, Diya, Sei & Ba Talim) or Ammay (Olivia & Zahal) if you'd like threads with these characters!
no subject
Even in this circumstances, he's still calculating. He can't ever stop being calculating, honestly. That was something that was true even before he went into ImpSec - he has always thought about what he needs to do to get people to act. Has always tried to peer into their minds. Even when he was just a kid.
"Sonia," he says, his voice a little quiet. He can't look her fully in the face, though. His gaze drops nearly at once. Before she can speak, he says, "I'm - sorry."
no subject
"If you're apologizing for what happened the other night," she says, quiet to match his, but there's no diffidence in her voice, only a mirror of that hope and relief, "then you don't have anything to be sorry for. It's alright, Byerly. I'm just -- " A whoosh of a breath escapes her. "I'm just glad you're alright."
Trying to break her out had been a hell of a gamble, even with Natasha's help. She bites her lip, watching him, trying to gauge the temperature of the room, because what she really wants to do right now is run over and throw her arms around him and perhaps, for once, not say anything at all.
no subject
I think I am completely at a loss as to how to act around her now. How strange. When was the last time he was at a loss around anyone at all? It's been a damned long time, that's for sure - he takes quite a lot of pride in never being flummoxed. But here, with her...
"I apologize for not succeeding," he says, his eyes - when he lifts them to hers - dark with guilt and sorrow. "Not trying was altogether out of the question, but not succeeding is hardly better."
no subject
"You did the best you could. We both did." Sonia's getting better at lying and concealing these days, at least where it counts -- to her credit, there isn't even so much as a flicker of hesitation in her voice when she neatly leaves Natasha out of it entirely. "It's alright, Byerly. You're forgiven."
Her tone lightens on those last two words, her mouth tilting a little wryly, but her face is still serious, hopeful, trying to hold back a flood of questions. She holds her hands out to him in invitation, or maybe more in supplication -- she wants so very badly to hug him right now, she's been so starved for comfort, but she's almost afraid of jarring him if she does so too suddenly. It's strange, she reflects distantly -- she's never thought of Byerly as delicate before.
no subject
"I see," Byerly says, and then rubs at his mouth. "Thank...you." It's an awkward thing coming out of his mouth - not a phrase he's not used to saying, but always it's uttered with an ironic flourish, a raised eyebrow. He's not used to genuine thanks. He presses on to something he's a bit more comfortable with, saying, "You were very courageous, you know."
no subject
Her small smile turns self-deprecating, and she tilts her head by way of a shrug. "I didn't feel very courageous," she admits. "Mostly I felt afraid. Panicked. But I wouldn't have even made it that far without you."
no subject
Well. "Surely you've heard that truism, Sonia," he says, "about how there's no courage without fear? Applicable in this case, I think."
no subject
She doesn't believe for a second that no part of Byerly had been afraid that night. She squeezes his hands again before releasing them, rocking slightly on her heels. She's so very conscious of the guards, but she tries to shut them out. This conversation isn't classified, but it is personal. She looks back up at him, mouth open to give voice to -- what question? She can only ask one at a time. She looks helplessly lost for a moment and bites her lip.
"I know this isn't how it was supposed to go," she finally says, her hands curling around empty air. "We were supposed to get out, or I was never supposed to know, or..." She breaks off, trying not to let the rising tide of emotion in her chest choke off any words.
"But I'm glad I do know. You didn't break me out, but you did -- save me."
no subject
It's a lie, of course. Chivalry and honor are different things. So are honor and personal loyalty. In the case of Sonia, the latter two align - but there's no knightly delusions of heroism in him, nor in what he did. No. It's something less polished, more honest.
"I must confess, Sonia, that Piotr Vorkosigan didn't order this rescue." Just in case the Cetagandans might think to raise their price on her. "I was acting independently."
no subject
A typically Sonia-selfish thing to say, even as she knows that it's put Byerly at great risk now, because she always has been greedy when it comes to matters of the heart. But they've still taken great care to be as diplomatic as they can with her, even after that breakout attempt. She fully intends to use any leverage she can to spare Byerly whatever cruel fate they might prepare for him. She tilts her head to the side slightly, her hair falling over her shoulder, and gives him a curious look.
"I had wondered," she admits, the small smile surfacing now. "It didn't seem like Count Piotr's style. And...maybe a bit premature."
That part she dislikes admitting to. She hasn't been holding out hope for a speedy rescue, not lately, because her life isn't under immediate threat -- in fact, for the time being, she's quite safe. Frustrating, that.
no subject
He can't say all of that, of course. He had been ordered directly not to tell her, and while that part of the order was now very much obsolete, he suspects that telling her that he'd received orders not to...Well. It violates the spirit of the whole enterprise, doesn't it? Not that he's historically been terribly obedient to either the spirit or the letter of his orders - not something exactly helpful in his career - but still, his violations had always been for some grander purpose. I feel guilty isn't really grand enough.
"Yes, good Count Piotr tends to be a bit more cautious than to do all that," By admits. Discussing their failed escape attempt doesn't brush up against any possible violations of orders. He certainly hasn't been sworn to silence on this. "Caution - hm. It has never exactly been my style." He assays a slight bow. "And my thanks, belatedly, for going along with something a bit reckless."
no subject
"You knew I would." That small smile turns crooked, a little helpless. "Have you ever known me to be overly cautious? You've met Gavalas. Who do you think gave him all those gray hairs?"
But she looks suddenly anxious, shifting her weight as she chews on a strand of hair. "God, I hope he's alright. I didn't...I saw him get stunned, but I didn't see anything else after Tarn stunned me."
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He retreats a few steps, goes back to sit on his bed. Having this conversation standing, when it's taken a less formal turn, feels odd. Sitting seems better. It seems relaxed. They both could use a bit of relaxation, couldn't they.
"And no, I'd assumed I could count on you to do something a bit mad with me. I always could in the past." He offers her a small smile.
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"Again, I say, a bit?" She returns the smile with a little glow, thoroughly warmed just to see it from Byerly. She takes his retreat as an invitation and drops onto the bed next to him, alllowing herself to slump a bit, and -- oh, to hell with it. She immediately wraps both her arms around him in a tight hug, pressing her face to his shoulder, and nearly wants to cry for the comfort. She really has been starved for it.
Looking back up at him, eyes serious again, she asks, "Can you tell me something?"
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"Of course," he answers, his voice quiet. It's not entirely of course - if it's not something he can let the Cetagandans hear, he'll absolutely lie - but as long as he's free to be honest with her, he will.
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"Princess," he says in a warning tone, "I don't -- "
"Piss off," Sonia says loudly, not looking at him, and promptly goes back to ignoring the ghem soldiers. To hell with them all. She draws in a breath, biting the inside of her cheek as she looks up at Byerly.
"I know you had to lie about some things. I understand that. But -- " She blinks quickly, trying not to let her feelings get ahead of her. Ask the question first. "What you said about Count Piotr -- that he was trying to make you into...into some protege of torture, was -- was any of that true?"
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"I was present at the torture of Duv Galeni," Byerly answers quietly. "And I believe that the Count would have been quite pleased if I'd been the equal of some of my more famous ancestors. But he wasn't forcing the issue." He gives a half shrug. "I was a disappointment, but he didn't lean on me that hard for that fact."
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A long breath of relief escapes Sonia and she slumps against Byerly, a muttered thank God passing her lips. It had been all too easy a fiction to believe, and she'd been scared that if it had been true, then Byerly might still have a reason not to return to camp with her if -- when they get out of here, because she has to believe that they will. But the interim is so much more bearable now. She hugs him tighter, her cheek to his shoulder.
"I missed you," she whispers, quiet enough that only he can hear. There's no accusation in it, just sheer relief.
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He twists a lock of her hair around his hair, stroking his thumb along it.
"I'm sorry for all of it," he says softly. "I hadn't wanted you to suffer. Naive, I suppose."
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She sniffles discreetly and looks up at him, her cheek pillowed on his shoulder. "Maybe. It didn't matter if I hated you or not. Anger and resentment are just another kind of suffering. It's war, Byerly," she sighs, and for all she's supposed to be the naive one, it's acceptance, not resignation, in her voice. Acceptance born of lived experience too long to deny. "You were following orders, doing your job. You were doing it in service of Barrayar. I can't find it in myself to fault you for that."
She never quite likes to admit just how Vor she can really be sometimes, but that -- that does make all the difference. It doesn't mean she didn't hurt, or that she isn't angry with Piotr for thinking that it could somehow make it easier if he made it hurt more. But if it was in the name of ending this stupid, tireless war, if it was for Barrayar, then it was done in honor.
"And even while you were doing that, you tried to make it easier for me. I couldn't see it at the time, but..." She gives him a quiet smile. "You still tried to give me hope. Tried to make sure I'd be alright. You got me that camera."
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He smiles. Then he lets out a little sigh, a bit of his merriment - such as it is - falling away. "Anger is an easier thing than sadness, I think. So I wanted you to be angry. But - yes. Pain was inevitable. But - " He tips his head back. "As you said. Anything for Barrayar. Now and always." He smiles grimly up at where he assumes a camera is hidden. No. He won't falter in this. Never.
"If only we had a drink, to toast to being Vor."
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"Now and always," she repeats firmly with a little nod, following his gaze with a defiant look of her own. Then she blows out her breath.
"If only. Do you know I haven't had a single drink since I was dragged here?" She pouts, because what kind of cordial treatment of a hostage is that? But the expression falls away and she just leans against him.
"I wasn't allowed to know, was I?"
It isn't a question, not really. She knows Piotr, and she knows war, to an extent, and she knows Byerly well enough. It isn't hard to figure out.
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He shrugs, then shakes his head. "You know, it's been a damnably long time since I had a drink. My head is aching with sobriety. It hurts."
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"There's been a lot going on," she says, which doesn't really mean anything at all, there's always a lot going on, but hell if she knows what everyone more militarily savvy than her has been thinking. She gives him a mild look. "You've been in here less than a week. Don't tell me you've been dry since you got here?"
No, she's sure he'd be looking much worse off if that were the case.
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He gives a wry smile, as though he's joking. Well. No matter.
"Still, this would all be far more pleasant if we were splitting a bottle of Vorkosigan wine between us. Don't you think? I don't suppose you could work your magic to get us one of those."
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