forbarrayar | [ reunion event ]

Entry tags:

!event,
^postgame

[ reunion event ]

OOC Info/Plotting Post ⚔️ Status Quo/Weather ⚔️ Activities

[ photo source ]

It’s the dark of night when you come to in the foothills. Dry leaves crackle underfoot, a cool autumn breeze whistling. A steep mountain range towards just ahead, its peaks illuminated by the light of two moons. Whatever you last remember, it isn’t how you got here, and you feel oddly jetlagged, slightly queasy.

But you remember this place.

You’re not alone. There are a few other people close by, and you recognize them from the last time you were all snatched by spacetime to this planet. What you don’t know, though, is why you’re here again when you were supposed to have been sent home for good — or dead. But before any of you have a chance to figure out what’s going on, the soldiers arrive.

They’re dressed in familiar, weather-worn green uniforms, bearing swords and bows, but none of those weapons are pointed at you. This time, the Barrayaran soldiers are here to welcome you — to shepherd you back to their camp, safe from prying Cetagandan eyes, because they’ve been expecting you. It’s been five years since the outsiders left Barrayar, they say. There are more answers waiting for you in the camp, they promise, but this time, you don’t have to worry about finding a way home.

When you get to the camp, some familiar faces are waiting for you: General Count Piotr Vorkosigan has ordered that the outsiders be given tents, food, and whatever supplies they need, and Princess Sonia Vorbarra leads the welcoming party back at camp, eager to greet old friends with her sunny smile.

Dr. Micah Niadem is in the Barrayaran camp, too, and don’t worry: they have a perfectly scientific explanation for all of this. Well, most of it. But the bottom line is, you don’t have to worry about going back home, because the Niadem fields will take care of that for you — so you’ve got about four weeks to spend with old comrades, recounting old battles and swapping war stories from the interim, and perhaps help Piotr in a few small battles for old time’s sake.

status quo
Weather: It’s autumn on Barrayar! The mix of green Earth vegetation and the red-and-brown native flora blends together in a panoply of color across the Dendarii Mountains, and the abundance of maple trees in all their varying shades makes for a beautiful sight. There are rainy days here and there, and the skies over Vorkosigan’s District are partly cloudy most days. It’s gotten rather cool at night, a little bit of a damp chill settling in, but it’s still far more tolerable than the harsh mountain winters. The mountains are often shrouded in mist by the first light of dawn, casting an ethereal halo around the Dendarii peaks. The highs for this month are 67°F/20°C, with lows of 45°F/7°C.

Piotr’s army has moved camp several times in the last five years, so the layout and location won’t be quite as familiar, but they’ve come back around to an encampment not too far from Riverfall Village. It’s only a half a day’s walk from the camp — less, if you can really hike, and some of the villagers will likely remember those outsiders who helped them during the hard times in the cold and the flu epidemic.

While the Barrayarans are very much still roughing it out in the mountains and they still have to be careful with their resources, they can actually accommodate the outsiders’ temporary presence without putting too much of a strain on their supplies, and they'll have a tent designated for the outsiders' use. While the Dendarii Mountains see their fair share of harsh winters, none have been quite so vicious as the one suffered five years ago with the outsiders. They haven’t had to resort to eating horse meat since then, at least.

The Barrayarans aren’t winning the war by any means, but things are a little less dire on the front in Vorkosigan’s District. While tactical situation has improved over the last five years, it’s still far from ideal, and morale is still recovering from a nasty encounter with the Cetagandans that took place about a week before the outsiders arrive: a Barrayaran patrol in the foothills was ambushed by a Cetagandan squad, resulting in the deaths of several of Piotr’s men. Piotr, of course, does not intend to let this lie, and will be gearing up for a counterattack. Any old comrades who’d like to help him kill some Cetagandans will be more than welcome to participate.

Vorkosigan Vashnoi, the former capital of the district, still glows in the dark at night from the nuclear bombing five years ago. The Barrayarans have had more success in receiving aid from off-planet, thanks to Prince Xav’s tireless efforts, though most of Barrayar is still relegated to guerilla warfare. The capital city of Vorbarr Sultana is still under heavy occupation, ground that the Cetagandans are most reluctant to give up. News of victories such as Piotr’s from other parts of Barrayar, however, is fueling the resistance there.

Tarn, who was last seen badly losing a fight with Crown Prince Yuri, fled into the mountains after the events of five years ago, and there are rumored sightings to this day of the Dendarii Mountains’ own Baba Yaga.

activities
Ongoing
Leaf viewing: The Dendarii Mountains are breathtaking in autumn as all the leaves change color — most striking are the numerous and colorful maple trees for which the District is famous. While the outsiders are discouraged from wandering too far from camp, taking a little stroll to appreciate the view is a popular seasonal activity. The locals say that the scenery is even prettier with a cup of maple mead in hand.
Helping out around camp: There are no idle hands in the Barrayaran camp! Hunting for food, mucking the stables, cooking, laundry, weapon maintenance — just about anybody can help with something, and just like before, the Barrayarans do expect your help as long as you’re here.
Portraits: Sonia will be taking photographs of (or with!) outsiders as keepsakes, and has cleared a little space by the cave entrance for her and set up a few chairs for portraits. While she doesn’t know if they’ll be able to take anything back with them, she’ll gladly take two pictures — one for you, and one for herself.
Riverfall: The village is about a half a day’s walk, and much like the Barrayarans, the hillfolk remember the outsiders who helped them in the past. It seems that Piotr must have briefed Speaker Gura about the outsiders’ arrival, as their appearance in the village doesn’t panic or even particularly faze the villagers. Riverfall has changed very little — in fact, the only detectable difference is in the ages of its residents.
Micah's device: If you’ve recently returned to Barrayar and you’d like to stay for good, you can ask Micah to do something sciencey to detangle your neural net from the wormhole, but it will be permanent. There is also a level of personal risk involved, as it can’t be done from the Barrayaran camp: Micah’s equipment, such as it is, is stored in a safehouse in the city of Seligrad, which is about half a day’s ride from the foothills. They’re more than willing to make the journey, though, if it’s to help their old friends.

Week 1
Welcome back: On the first night, there’s a very unofficial reception, the loosest sense of the word — mostly soldiers sharing drinks with the outsiders around a fire, recounting old battles and swapping stories from the interim. There will be a lot of drunken toasting, perhaps a few fights easily broken up by their less sloshed comrades.
Training drills: Piotr recently lost several good men to the Cetagandans when one of their patrols in the foothills was ambushed, and he’s running training drills to hit the Cetas back just as hard. If you proved to be a reliable soldier in the past, he might even let you run some yourself.

Week 2
Skirmish with the Cetagandan soldiers: There are, of course, always opportunities to help the war effort in a more direct sense. Piotr has no problem allowing outsiders on his mission to fuck up the Cetagandans in turn, though things don’t go quite according to plan: while they strike a blow and manage to kill a few Cetagandans on patrol, it’s messy and more or less comes to a draw, with Piotr’s men retreating with their wounded.
Treating the injured: It’s not a pretty fight, and there are plenty of wounded afterwards, though no casualties. The medics could always use a hand in treating injuries, even if it’s just to hold someone down before they have a broken bone reset.

Week 3
Harvest festival: The Riverfall locals throw a lively festival to ensure a bountiful harvest every year, equal parts excuse to party and deep-rooted tradition of superstition. The hillfolk throw a hell of a party, and there’s sure to be plenty of drinking, dancing, and music.
Skirmish, round 2: After a messy first engagement, Piotr leads his troops in a more tightly orchestrated raid on the Cetagandans — this one with a much more satisfying conclusion. This time, they strike at a supply run coming in from one of the occupied cities; not only do they manage to kill the entire patrol with fewer wounded on their part, they also return to camp with fresh medical supplies.

Week 4
Dorca and Yuri: Emperor Dorca and his son, Crown Prince Yuri, arrive in Piotr’s camp at the tail end of the outsiders’ visit. Yuri, whose famously unpleasant demeanor has only grown worse over time, still has yet to remarry and produce another heir after the deaths of his sons five years ago.
(Threads with Dorca and Yuri by request only; please hit up the mod for plotting.)
Farewell gathering: The night before the outsiders’ last day on Barrayar is, of course, full of drinking, though the mood is somewhat different from the first night. The next day, the Barrayarans and Micah say their goodbyes before the outsiders are escorted back down to the foothills for their return home. Some of them may even have some parting gifts, even if no one’s really sure if the outsiders will be able to take them home.

Will this really be the last time they see the outsiders, though? Micah says nothing’s impossible…

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Piotr has aged in the last five years, but he’s still killing Cetagandans and taking names, and his reputation now looms large over the Cetagandan invaders. He continues to hold down the war front in Vorkosigan's District, occasionally receiving support and reinforcements from Emperor Dorca when possible. He also now has two sons, Mikhail (age 4) and Aral (infant). While he doesn't seem like the very fatherly sort, there's no mistaking the gleam of pride in his eye when it comes to his children.

No one would ever make the mistake of describing Piotr Vorkosigan as a jolly man, but to those who know him, he seems especially terse lately — most likely to do with the recent casualties suffered at the hands of the Cetagandans. But Piotr never takes his eyes off the prize, and if anything, his determination is even more formidable.

Throughout the month, Piotr will most often be found running training drills or strategizing in the war tent, although he seems to be unusually…sociable with the outsiders here when he does have spare time. He’s not above sharing the occasional drink with an old comrade if you catch him near the fire pit in the evening. His son Mikhail can be seen tagging along after his father sometimes, doing his level best to mimic Piotr’s forbidding gaze, but on a four-year-old, it’s simply adorable. Piotr spends as much of his limited free time with his sons, but Mikhail in particular — personal lessons in horseback riding and swordsmanship. It’s never too early to start on Barrayar, after all.

While Piotr’s a busy man, he’ll still stop by the informal reception for the outsiders at the fire pit on the first night, at least for a little while. He might even share a drink or two.

Come daylight, however, it’s all back to business, and that business is training drills. It’s clear that the loss of several good men has impacted him, and while he’s mostly delegating the work to subordinates, he’s personally supervising some of it. If you’ve proven yourself a trusted soldier in the past, he might even led you help lead training, in which case he’ll direct you to the two officers overseeing the drills, Captains Alexei Vorinnis and Sasha Vorloupulous. These two officers helped lead the outsiders on more than one mission back in the day, and the once-Lieutenant Vorloupulous has since been promoted.

Piotr takes a squad down to the foothills to attack a Cetagandan patrol in retaliation, but with the intent of capturing one of them alive for information, and any combat-trained outsiders who wish to participate will be welcome. Unfortunately, one spooked horse turns a tightly planned raid into bloody chaos. Both sides come away with a fair few wounded, but the numbers are a bigger blow to the Barrayarans. Several of the soldiers who participated in the attack need serious medical attention once they’re brought to the camp. Piotr himself got away with relatively minor injuries, but he will be in a foul mood for the rest of the week.

Prompts TBA. Please do not reply to this comment.

By now, Sonia has embraced her role in maintaining morale in the war effort — not as a mascot, but as a facilitator, playing the closest a Vor lady can get to socialite in a war camp. She helps keep the atmosphere as hopeful and determined as she can with visions of a future Vorbarr Sultana, sharing stories from time travelers that have sustained her for the last five years.

Despite being what is considered "advanced age" for a Vor maiden of her status (29), Sonia is still unmarried — adamantly and by choice. Even though some people on her father's side would love to see her married and out of the way, she refuses to be parted from her sister, let alone to be traded off in a political marriage to some Count's son.

Throughout the month, she’ll be taking photographs of (or with!) the outsiders as keepsakes. She has her camera set up with a little bit of improvised staging by the nearest cave entrance in camp. She’s also quite partial to leaf viewing, particularly in the evening as the sun sets, and usually with a drink in hand. She can be found frequently looking after her nephews, four-year-old Mikhail and baby Aral, whom she clearly loves as though they were her own sons.

Sonia is leading the welcoming party to greet the returning outsiders as they’re escorted to the camp in batches by Piotr’s soldiers. Playing Vor hostess is, of course, firmly in her wheelhouse, so she's taken it upon herself to make sure all the outsiders get situated for the next four weeks. It is also a convenient excuse for her to meet her old friends again as soon as possible, because she’s been thrumming with anticipation about this day for weeks. She’s tried not to get her hopes up too much, Micah had emphasized how hypothetical all of this was, but now that the day is here, she can hardly wait, and there’s a gleeful sparkle in her eyes that might just as quickly turn to tears of joy once she sees some familiar faces.

Edited 2025-09-23 23:05 (UTC)

And there is a familiar face indeed among the oncoming outsiders, once enough of them have peeled away to let his face be visible. A bit less haggard than the last time she saw him, in plain clothes - if perhaps a bit too on the nose with being Vorkosigan colors, though he has taken advantage of the walk to hastily drape the jacket over one arm and therefore have plain white on top. That lack of jacket has one side effect, however: a clear view of his left sleeve, pinned midway up his bicep, and a clear lack of arm below that.

It’s still Miles though. Still crooked, still squashed, still social. If not with the other outsiders, then certainly with one of the soldiers, who he has delighted by addressing in perfect Barrayaran Greek. He seems cheerful, and also faintly terrified, and also delighted to be back, especially when he spots -

“Sonia? Is that you?”

Sonia would know that voice anywhere — she's spent enough time hearing it in her memories, reliving old conversations with her time traveling grand nephew to keep her company when things have been rough. She turns in the direction of the sound, looking down, and there he is.

Her eyes light up like the sun, small tears already welling up in the corners, and though she's clearly older than the last time he saw her — closer to his own age, now — she's still very much the same Princess Sonia he said goodbye to on the Star Gate ship.

"Miles!" The joy in her voice is clearer than a struck bell. She closes the distance between them, and the soldiers actually make way, no longer treating her like a child underfoot. Her arms open, ready to scoop MIles up in a hug, and then she catches Miles's distinct lack of one. Her mouth falls open, her brows crease, and she looks back at his face. "Good God, Miles, what happened to you?"

Somehow, she shouldn't be surprised that that's the first question out of her mouth. It is Miles, after all.

Very nearly his own age, indeed. Miles is thirty, himself, if nearing the end of that particular year of his life; the looming birthday was one of his primary concerns until all of this happened, and he is secretly glad of the distraction. Ish. Well. It’s never simple with him.

When Sonia doesn’t quite complete the gesture, Miles pouts with a touch of drama and moves to embrace her anyway, despite how lopsided the gesture is. “Long story - best told in private perhaps.” By which he means time travel nonsense and maybe a little emotion besides. “Besides, I’m all right now.”

You know. Given the lack of left arm.

Sonia wraps both her arms around Miles and gives him a tight hug with a puff of a helpless laugh, then pulls back, holding him at arm's length to get a good look at him. He doesn't look any older, to her surprise, but then again, she hasn't got the education for all the highbrow wormhole science and who knows with time travel anyway. Yes, she's sure this story does need to be told in private.

"I can see that," she says, a touch bemused but mostly looking at him thoughtfully. Well, she has to hear this — and news. Whatever news he can share without spoiling the future, at any rate. God, she just wants to talk with him again; it could be about the weather, for all she cares. But Miles always has the most interesting stories.

She taps a finger to her chin, then draws an arm around his shoulders with a smile. "I think it's time we had a drink," she proclaims, steering him towards her own tent. They've already exchanged greetings — by Barrayaran standards, they're behind schedule. "I've got a nice little vintage I've been saving for a special occasion."

And what's a more special occasion than Miles, really?

Good, that stupid joke had roughly the intended effect. Miles is glad to see the tension ease in her shoulders. Favorite great-aunt for sure. He leans into her arm with a small grin, gladly permitting himself to be steered. “I would never turn down a drink from you, milady,” he says. “Especially if it’s maple mead?”

That last part comes out a tinge hopeful. Don’t get him wrong, he will gladly drink anything she has on offer. But. God he missed the mead around here nearly as much as the people. The modern vintages don’t quite manage the same underlying flavors. A side effect of brewing in somewhat desperate circumstances, or an effect of being in said desperate circumstances? Maybe both.

"Miles," Sonia says with great fondness, "you have such vile taste. Maple mead? At this hour?" She grins. "But of course. Maple mead, wine, vodka…the Princess's bar is well-stocked these days."

There's a general hustle and bustle around the camp as the Barrayarans get things together to accommodate the outsiders' stay, and as they make their way towards Sonia's tent, she waves and says hello and offers a helpful word of advice or instruction to people here and there. She has a certain self-possession about her, something she was still figuring out how to cultivate five years ago that comes nearly as easy as breathing to her now. When they get to her tent, good old Armsman Gavalas is standing by, the light of recognition in his eyes at seeing Miles, though as always, he looks a little doubtful.

"Armsman Gavalas, you remember my dear friend Miles, don't you? We're going to have a private chat. Could you kindly make sure that it stays private?"

Astonishingly, it sounds a lot less like girlish wheedling, and a little bit more like a lighthearted order from a Vor maiden. Gavalas takes in Miles's missing arm, his brow creases, but he only half-sighs a yes, milady. Sonia favors him with a sunny smile, then turns it on Miles as she lifts the tent flap for him.

"Go on, have yourself a seat. Armsman Gavalas will make sure we're not disturbed."

Miles’s eyes track said hustling with a keen eye. At this hour, she says, and Miles has to wonder exactly which hour this is, precisely. Victory? Defeat? Well, surely not a pure form of the latter, given how much better the camp looks since the last time he saw it. Plus he has the experience of hindsight, and perhaps a mild obsession with digging up as much history on the time period as possible upon his return to the future. Alas, the best source on that topic was still dead for more than a decade by the time he’d returned. He’d have given a lot to talk to his gran’da again, all things considered.

But that’s not the only thing that’s changed, has it? Miles takes in Sonia’s new self-assurance with a gleam of joy in his eyes. Now that is a Vor lady, yes? If she hadn’t run to him for a hug at the beginning of all of this, he might have assumed her to be someone else. He sweeps her a little bow, then ducks under the tent flap, glad to be away from Gavalas’s gaze as well. Sigh. As if being a mutant wasn’t enough. That missing arm is going to cause a bit of trouble, isn’t it?

Better things. More cheerful things. He is so glad to see Sonia again. “You’ve really come into your own,” he says, glancing around the tent for a spot to sit. “How long has it been?”

"Oh — five years," Sonia says, indicating a weathered but surprisingly sturdy cushion adjacent to her cot. As far as war camp furnishing goes, it's comfortable. Goodness, but five years feels like a mere breath now. She had longed to spend time with Miles again, but she hadn't anticipated just how quickly it would make all the time in between disappear. "It doesn't seem to have been quite so long for you, though."

She had expected him to look older, it's true — and she'd been curious to. A little taste of getting to see her grand nephew grow up, even if the time travel math makes it all a bit weird. But she hardly complains, and she positively glows under his praise, as earnest as ever, though a wry smile touches her lips.

"Oh, Miles, you have such a way with words. Count Piotr just calls it growing up." She lets out a little laugh as she produces two ceramic cups to fill with amber liquid from a small jug. So unassuming-looking, maple mead. "I confess, I had a little help. I met a couple of time travelers a while back with the most ludicrous notions — that I didn't have to be quite so helpless, for instance."

Certainly she's come this far on her own merits, but she knows just how much of a push Miles and Byerly had given her back then, and how much she must have needed it.

Alas, with only an additional year, Miles looks mostly the same, aside from the most obvious change. Perhaps the first fleeting whisper of gray at his temples, and a small, conflicted ache behind his eyes. He’ll have enough to say about both those things very soon.

But first, thank god for maple mead. Miles accepts the small cup with no small amount of glee and immediately raises it to his lips for a sip. Ah, just as bracing as he remembers. “He would call it that,” Miles says, with only a small cough from the mead. That first swallow burns. “He certainly used those words with me, once upon a time.” And the rest… Miles feels his cheeks burn a little. “We really had as much impact as all that?”

He believes her - how could he not? - but at the same time, it seems like so much to lay at his and Byerly’s feet. It seems to him she figured out most of it on her own. Those five years have settled themselves well on her, it seems. He did not miss even a little of that new Vorish confidence. It’s good to see for the same reasons she’d hope to see him older: he wants to see more of her life.

Edited 2025-09-25 01:59 (UTC)

GENERAL COUNT PIOTR VORKOSIGAN [NPC]

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PRINCESS SONIA VORBARRA [NPC]

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for wash, backdated to a few years ago

DR. MICAH NIADEM [NPC]

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