forbarrayar | [ may i log: the good fight ]

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!

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[ It's too easy to grow cruel back, to latch onto that fierceness with it in kind, teeth to throat claws to skin and his heat with her own. Too easily riled. Hers in tones returned with sharp, mocking laughter. Barking it mean - God perish the thought for whoever was listening, somehow, probably it would be Negri anyway. ]

I have been carved up by such things for years - why on earth should I bother to listen to you, now?

Edited 2017-05-12 14:40 (UTC)

[ He doesn't flinch at the harsh bark of her voice. He stares back undaunted. ]

Why? Because it doesn't matter whether you listen or not. If I want to stop it, I'll stop it.

[ Hitting him would be at this point, repetitive, but oh if it wasn't tempting. ]

I will do as I must. If you dare get in my way you will regret it, Vorrutyer.

[ He takes a step forward, face twisted in anger. ]

And yet here I am. The only way you can stop me from preventing this is by killing me. Which you're welcome to do, if you see fit. If you're so determined to compound just how wrong this is.

[ She matches it, because why would either of them do anything sensible like breath - walk away - or anything moderate like that? ]

You obstinate, hypocritical ass of a man.

And where is my hypocrisy, exactly, Lakshmi?

[ No cute nicknames now. ]

You know exactly where, coward.

[ None from her either, grit through teeth, that same sneer in her time that's barely humour. ]

So busy throwing yourself in the way of my own actions to protect me and calling it sparing me an injustice, but you cannot even admit you care.

[ He bristles. He can't help it. ]

I care about you being stupid. And don't expect that calling me a coward will do anything. I'm not a normal Barrayaran.

No you are one more useless Vor. [ That was so much everything too them that she adores it and hates it in the same breath. ] Admit something truthful for you once in your life, give me a single reason to give a damn about anything you have to say after what you did.

[ Using Satya against her, lying to her and worse than all of that, letting her nearly kill him - the idiot, stupid, good for nothing, useless Vor, if she ever meets another one again in her life, she'll dump them out on the street before letting them get a word in edgewise. ]

Why should I?

[ He snaps - ]

Why should I give a damn whether you give a damn? I did what I had to do.

Because I nearly killed you.

[ And she steps back, sudden, sharp, more than she wants to say, more than she ever wants to admit to having cared about. ]

[ Oh. He stares - and then looks away, jaw working uncomfortably. ]

I don't care about that. I'm not - angry. If you're worried about that.

[ What a fine thing, he looks away, she looks through him. ]

I wasn't. Leave it.

[ Though it takes her longer than she wants, she steps away again. Has what he wants, she's beating her retreat now. ]

[ Haltingly, with difficulty: ]

Stop. Please. Stop.

[ She does so, silent, her hands by her side, fingers curling and uncurling at her side. Her weight on the ball of her feet, ready to bolt, ready to move in a second. Where, she doesn't know, but anywhere had to be better than this conversation.

But stopped she has, and there she stands still. ]

I -

[ He's faced with even more difficulty now. Awkwardly, jerkily, he finally offers her a bow. ]

I am sorry.

Don't - [ She flinches like he has struck her. ]

- Don't apologise for duty to me of all women.

[ He straightens, his face twisted. ]

If not an apology, then what? What should I offer?

Just...

[ She doesn't know, this wasn't what she was best at. Acting, moving, through herself into things until she doesn't have to think anymore, she's simply doing - that has to be how she lived. Hesitation caused too many to die.

She swallows, her hands lift, sweeping across his cheek so very, very lightly. The small, shaking breath. ] ... Give me something.

[ Something? Not very bloody helpful, Rani. He wrestles with simultaneous guilt and irritation for a moment, trying to figure something out. Finally, spontaneously, he swoops down and presses a kiss to her forehead.

Let that be enough. ]

[ It's little enough to mean nothing. Because there isn't anything at all to fix it, she knows, but sometimes she needs to pretend just the same as anyone. Her eyes shut - and because she knows he's a liar, knows the kind of things he lies about and the last time they talking about something like this when she had her fingers around his throat. ]

Beth's gone. Daryl as well. She went on patrol, went missing, he went after her, I think. I haven't seen them since.

[ There's a flash of pain that spikes through his face before he can hide it. He ducks his head a moment; when he looks up, he's composed again. ]

Yes. So they said. Pity. She was a charming thing.

[ As much as needs to be said. Pushes past that charming facade, that lightness like it was just one more name to be read in the pamphlets. ]

I looked, ever day, every chance I could. I still am. I owe Dixon my life, and Beth...

[ she promised her something better, a life, a good one, as good as she could ensure for her. Whatever that might be. Better than dying to monsters. ]

... God, Byerly. She's dead. She told me, she told me that Daryl watched her die.

[ A muscle jumps in his jaw. He feels those words like they're carved on his skin. She's dead. Died while you were gone, while you were off playing spy. You weren't here, you did nothing, you did nothing, worthless -

He turns away, for once completely without words. ]

[ She's been keeping it to herself - because of course she has, easier to be in a foul mood and ride out day after day look for it. Better than burdening anyone, telling them, what did they care about one more girl? What more child in this war?

Everything, it's nothing less than everything.

She hovers, the things she is unsure in, isn't in battle or bloodshed or in the awful things she might do. It is in the compassion, the hovering touch where her hand is still in close. Slips from his cheek, up to his hair, a tug, to pull him to her. Figures - figures he'll follow along with the rest or he'll pull away. One or the other. ]

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