For Barrayar mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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forbarrayar2017-07-12 07:25 pm
barrayarmods) wrote in forbarrayar2017-07-12 07:25 pm
Entry tags:
[ july log: we've been here so long ]
Who: Everyone
What: Some go home. Some stay behind. None of them will ever be quite the same again.
When: July...ish
Where: the Barrayaran camp, the Star Gate ship
Warnings: you'll probably want some tissues
Quick links:
Barrayar / Star Gate Ship / Aftermath
🎶 For Barrayar: Endgame Mix 🎶
The unabridged mission results can be found here.
barrayar
The Barrayarans hit the Cetagandans hard, but they suffered their own fair share of losses as well. More than a few of Dorca and Yuri's troops were sacrificed in order to breach the shipyard perimeter, and it was easily the area with the highest casualty count -- on both sides. Others died during the infiltration and the skirmishes that broke out inside the base when the alarms went off, but Piotr lost fewer of his soldiers. Once the Star Gate ship was clear, the Barrayarans immediately fell back to retreat and regroup as best they can, and make sure they stay hidden.
Of course, they can't afford to waste the opportunity they have while the Cetagandans' heads are still spinning. According to intelligence gathered in the chaos, Haut Sei, the Handmaiden of the Star Crèche, was murdered shortly before the hijacking, and between those two things and Zahal's career starting to look like it's about to spin out, the Cetagandans are in a state of chaos. The Barrayaran diversions left havoc in their wake, with considerable damage to the Grow Labs, the research labs, and the gene labs. Conveniently, all evidence of Diya and Amai's illicit ba experiments was destroyed as well. But more than anything else, the Handmaiden's death is causing a panic -- not the least because Zahal is, in many ways, liable for the incident. Not to mention the destruction of all research associated with the Star Gate and every ounce of research and samples from the extrauniversals…nobody on the Cetagandan base is having a good week. And that's great for the Barrayarans.
They need time to recoup, and they're in no position to move camps right now, even though the Cetagandans are dangerously close to discovering their current location. So for now, Piotr puts their efforts toward tricking the already confused Cetagandans into thinking they've moved, or are about to. With a good distribution of decoy patrols and cooking fires in uninhabited parts of the mountains, and some leaked false intelligence, they seem to be keeping the Cetagandans in the dark enough to recover just a little bit, until they're ready to move for real.
The soldiers are weary -- the last few months have been trial after trial -- but slowly, they're recovering. The acrid smell of burning hair permeates the air around the camp as dozens of offerings are burned for the dead; some of them are even in honor of Lakshmi and Tucker. While Vex's not-quite-human appearance is visibly noted by the Barrayarans, by this point most of them are either too tired or accustomed enough to the extrauniversals that they let her pass without comment. Tarn's return to the camp is welcomed by absolutely no one.
For Vex and Natasha, however, Piotr has an offer and a pledge: they've both put their lives on the line for the Barrayaran cause in one way or another, and they're stuck here permanently, by choice or not. Just as he honored the other extrauniversals' efforts by helping them get home, he'll offer Natasha and Vex the best he can: a place to make their home. They're still at war, of course, but as long as they remain loyal to the cause, they have a home in Piotr's camp, and after the war -- when they win -- a home on Barrayar, in Vorkosigan's District, if they so choose.
star gate ship
Thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the Barrayaran soldiers and a few of the extrauniversals, the Star Gate ship and everyone aboard it are able to get away and clear the planet before anyone can stop them, heading straight for the collapsed wormhole, a considerable distance from the planet itself. Many of the people who made it aboard did so only barely, and some of them are badly injured from the fight. Thankfully, Micah had the foresight to carefully stash away as many medical supplies as they could before the hijacking -- though even with Julian's help treating the injured, it isn't quite enough.
The Cetagandans aren't able to mount an immediate pursuit, so Micah directs the ship to be piloted around behind an asteroid cluster some distance away from the wormhole, but close enough for now. Which is good, because as soon as they have a chance to assess the ship and the Star Gate's systems…they realize they have a few problems. Thanks to Wash and Kaidan's help, however, they get the Star Gate up and running after a couple of days, and while the ship goes mostly dark to hide from their inevitable pursuers, they're able to keep the life support systems on while they begin the process of sending people home.
The atmosphere on the ship is quiet and mostly somber. Although no doubt many people are looking forward to going home, Sonia and Micah have forged some significant bonds with their otherworldly companions, and the recent losses in battle weigh heavily on many. Saying goodbye is never easy, but this…this is the most final of goodbyes. For some, it might be the hardest goodbye they've ever had to say.
It takes the Cetagandans less than a week to catch up to them, unfortunately, despite their attempts at hiding. Attempts at jerry-rigging one of the nuclear missiles to outfit it with an EMP charge instead don't go so well, and by the time the Cetagandans show up, it's too late -- and they open fire just about immediately. They land a few good plasma hits on the ship before Deanna helps get the shields up, and Micah takes the helm to perform evasive maneuvers as best they can while they hurry to get the rest of the extrauniversals through the Star Gate. The damage seems mostly superficial at first, until they realize the plasma damage has burned down to the ship's jump drive, which is connected to the Star Gate…which, once compromised, renders it completely useless. The Star Gate is as good as fried. Thankfully, Micah and Sonia (and, between bouts of hysterics, Amai) manage to get everyone through the Star Gate before this happens…except for Wash, who is unfortunately left behind on the ship with them.
aftermath
Once the Cetagandans hit them with plasma fire, the damage to the Star Gate doesn't set in immediately, but when it does, it's as good as fried -- guess they didn't need that failsafe after all. Unfortunately, it hits before Wash can go through, leaving him stranded on the ship with Sonia, Micah, and Amai.
There isn't anything they can do to fix it in short order, or really at all, and though the ship's shields are standing up to Cetagandan attack for now, they're still outnumbered five-to-one, and with their mission accomplished, there's nothing left to do but head back planetside -- or at least try. Prior to the hijacking going down, Micah and Piotr had established an exit strategy, so to speak: provided they could pilot their way back into Barrayar's atmosphere, the plan is to land the ship as far away from any towns or cities as possible and rendezvous with a contact of Piotr's in the lakeside village of Vorkosigan Surleau, about a day's ride from Riverfall, where they can lay low for a few days before trying to make their way back to camp. They do manage to land the ship -- well, it's more like a crash landing, but close enough. And before they book it for Vorkosigan Surleau, Micah makes sure to set a timed charge on the ship that will, if they've timed it right, detonate around when the Cetagandans catch up to them. Unfortunately, the explosion only takes one Cetagandan ship out of commission, but it's enough of a diversion that the four of them safely reach Vorkosigan Surleau. And then…then, finally, the Star Gate and its mission are over and done with, for better or worse.
[ NOTE: no mission top levels this time around; thread them as you like! If you would like a thread with any (not dead) NPC who doesn't have a top level, hit me up at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
runawayballista. ]
What: Some go home. Some stay behind. None of them will ever be quite the same again.
When: July...ish
Where: the Barrayaran camp, the Star Gate ship
Warnings: you'll probably want some tissues
Barrayar / Star Gate Ship / Aftermath
🎶 For Barrayar: Endgame Mix 🎶
The unabridged mission results can be found here.
barrayar
The Barrayarans hit the Cetagandans hard, but they suffered their own fair share of losses as well. More than a few of Dorca and Yuri's troops were sacrificed in order to breach the shipyard perimeter, and it was easily the area with the highest casualty count -- on both sides. Others died during the infiltration and the skirmishes that broke out inside the base when the alarms went off, but Piotr lost fewer of his soldiers. Once the Star Gate ship was clear, the Barrayarans immediately fell back to retreat and regroup as best they can, and make sure they stay hidden.
Of course, they can't afford to waste the opportunity they have while the Cetagandans' heads are still spinning. According to intelligence gathered in the chaos, Haut Sei, the Handmaiden of the Star Crèche, was murdered shortly before the hijacking, and between those two things and Zahal's career starting to look like it's about to spin out, the Cetagandans are in a state of chaos. The Barrayaran diversions left havoc in their wake, with considerable damage to the Grow Labs, the research labs, and the gene labs. Conveniently, all evidence of Diya and Amai's illicit ba experiments was destroyed as well. But more than anything else, the Handmaiden's death is causing a panic -- not the least because Zahal is, in many ways, liable for the incident. Not to mention the destruction of all research associated with the Star Gate and every ounce of research and samples from the extrauniversals…nobody on the Cetagandan base is having a good week. And that's great for the Barrayarans.
They need time to recoup, and they're in no position to move camps right now, even though the Cetagandans are dangerously close to discovering their current location. So for now, Piotr puts their efforts toward tricking the already confused Cetagandans into thinking they've moved, or are about to. With a good distribution of decoy patrols and cooking fires in uninhabited parts of the mountains, and some leaked false intelligence, they seem to be keeping the Cetagandans in the dark enough to recover just a little bit, until they're ready to move for real.
The soldiers are weary -- the last few months have been trial after trial -- but slowly, they're recovering. The acrid smell of burning hair permeates the air around the camp as dozens of offerings are burned for the dead; some of them are even in honor of Lakshmi and Tucker. While Vex's not-quite-human appearance is visibly noted by the Barrayarans, by this point most of them are either too tired or accustomed enough to the extrauniversals that they let her pass without comment. Tarn's return to the camp is welcomed by absolutely no one.
For Vex and Natasha, however, Piotr has an offer and a pledge: they've both put their lives on the line for the Barrayaran cause in one way or another, and they're stuck here permanently, by choice or not. Just as he honored the other extrauniversals' efforts by helping them get home, he'll offer Natasha and Vex the best he can: a place to make their home. They're still at war, of course, but as long as they remain loyal to the cause, they have a home in Piotr's camp, and after the war -- when they win -- a home on Barrayar, in Vorkosigan's District, if they so choose.
star gate ship
Thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the Barrayaran soldiers and a few of the extrauniversals, the Star Gate ship and everyone aboard it are able to get away and clear the planet before anyone can stop them, heading straight for the collapsed wormhole, a considerable distance from the planet itself. Many of the people who made it aboard did so only barely, and some of them are badly injured from the fight. Thankfully, Micah had the foresight to carefully stash away as many medical supplies as they could before the hijacking -- though even with Julian's help treating the injured, it isn't quite enough.
The Cetagandans aren't able to mount an immediate pursuit, so Micah directs the ship to be piloted around behind an asteroid cluster some distance away from the wormhole, but close enough for now. Which is good, because as soon as they have a chance to assess the ship and the Star Gate's systems…they realize they have a few problems. Thanks to Wash and Kaidan's help, however, they get the Star Gate up and running after a couple of days, and while the ship goes mostly dark to hide from their inevitable pursuers, they're able to keep the life support systems on while they begin the process of sending people home.
The atmosphere on the ship is quiet and mostly somber. Although no doubt many people are looking forward to going home, Sonia and Micah have forged some significant bonds with their otherworldly companions, and the recent losses in battle weigh heavily on many. Saying goodbye is never easy, but this…this is the most final of goodbyes. For some, it might be the hardest goodbye they've ever had to say.
It takes the Cetagandans less than a week to catch up to them, unfortunately, despite their attempts at hiding. Attempts at jerry-rigging one of the nuclear missiles to outfit it with an EMP charge instead don't go so well, and by the time the Cetagandans show up, it's too late -- and they open fire just about immediately. They land a few good plasma hits on the ship before Deanna helps get the shields up, and Micah takes the helm to perform evasive maneuvers as best they can while they hurry to get the rest of the extrauniversals through the Star Gate. The damage seems mostly superficial at first, until they realize the plasma damage has burned down to the ship's jump drive, which is connected to the Star Gate…which, once compromised, renders it completely useless. The Star Gate is as good as fried. Thankfully, Micah and Sonia (and, between bouts of hysterics, Amai) manage to get everyone through the Star Gate before this happens…except for Wash, who is unfortunately left behind on the ship with them.
aftermath
Once the Cetagandans hit them with plasma fire, the damage to the Star Gate doesn't set in immediately, but when it does, it's as good as fried -- guess they didn't need that failsafe after all. Unfortunately, it hits before Wash can go through, leaving him stranded on the ship with Sonia, Micah, and Amai.
There isn't anything they can do to fix it in short order, or really at all, and though the ship's shields are standing up to Cetagandan attack for now, they're still outnumbered five-to-one, and with their mission accomplished, there's nothing left to do but head back planetside -- or at least try. Prior to the hijacking going down, Micah and Piotr had established an exit strategy, so to speak: provided they could pilot their way back into Barrayar's atmosphere, the plan is to land the ship as far away from any towns or cities as possible and rendezvous with a contact of Piotr's in the lakeside village of Vorkosigan Surleau, about a day's ride from Riverfall, where they can lay low for a few days before trying to make their way back to camp. They do manage to land the ship -- well, it's more like a crash landing, but close enough. And before they book it for Vorkosigan Surleau, Micah makes sure to set a timed charge on the ship that will, if they've timed it right, detonate around when the Cetagandans catch up to them. Unfortunately, the explosion only takes one Cetagandan ship out of commission, but it's enough of a diversion that the four of them safely reach Vorkosigan Surleau. And then…then, finally, the Star Gate and its mission are over and done with, for better or worse.
[ NOTE: no mission top levels this time around; thread them as you like! If you would like a thread with any (not dead) NPC who doesn't have a top level, hit me up at