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forbarrayar_ooc2017-04-01 06:55 pm
barrayarmods) wrote in forbarrayar_ooc2017-04-01 06:55 pm
[ april i event results ]
BARRAYAR: Harvest Moon / Hunting 2: Hunt Harder / Scouting: Resistance / Resources: Weapons & Equipment
CETAGANDA: Culinary Garden / Eavesdropping / Research: Specs & Power Supply / Research: Star Gate / Lab Assistants / Gene Therapy / Undercover
TIMELINE
4/5 Eavesdropping Eta
4/6 Eavesdropping Sigma
4/8 Eavesdropping Mu
4/10 Mystery Plot
4/11 - 4/12 Resources: Weapons & Equipment
| Harvest Moon Beth Greene Agent Carolina Agent Washington Ratchet Lucy Preston Hunting 2: Hunt Harder Duv Galeni Beth Greene Agent York William Miles Vorkosigan Daryl Dixon Scouting: Resistance Alpha William Agent Washington Scouting: Resistance Bravo Beth Greene Ratchet Resources: Weapons & Equipment Alpha Lakshmi Bai Lucy Preston Resources: Weapons & Equipment Bravo Agent York Miles Vorkosigan Resources: Weapons & Equipment Charlie Duv Galeni Agent Washington Mystery Plot Alpha Agent Carolina Agent Maine Mystery Plot Bravo Miles Vorkosigan Lavernius Tucker |
Culinary Garden: Byerly Vorrutyer Natasha Romanoff Deanna Troi Symmetra Vex'ahlia Jasper Eavesdropping Eta Jasper Symmetra Eavesdropping Sigma Byerly Vorrutyer Lapis Eavesdropping Pearl Kurt Ambrose Pearl Research: Specs & Power Supply Jasper Whirl Research: Star Gate Deanna Troi Natasha Romanoff Mystery Plot Natasha Romanoff Tarn |
harvest moon
| Beth - 18 Carolina - 1 Wash - 10 |
Ratchet - 19 Lucy - 19 |
Helping the villagers with farming is an overall success, giving them some much-needed help. Congratulations! Except for you, Carolina. You can…you can stop helping.
hunting 2: hunt harder
| Duv - 19 Beth - 9 York - 2 William - 8 |
Miles - 18 Wash - 14 Daryl - 8 |
The hunting party this month goes fairly well, raising the camp's food supply by a considerable amount. York, however, is so spectacularly terrible at that he definitely injures himself trying to use a bow. And I guess Daryl's having an off day. Sorry, buddy.
scouting: resistance
TEAM ALPHA: William & Wash
Roll 1: Find soldiers in the other half of Piotr's army - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Find additional reinforcements - SUCCEED
TEAM BRAVO: Beth & Ratchet
Roll 1: Find soldiers in the other half of Piotr's army - FAIL
Roll 2: Find additional reinforcements - SUCCEED
It takes over a week of tireless scouting through the mountains, but the Barrayarans finally make contact with the rest of their army. Beth and Ratchet don't get very far, perhaps getting a little lost in the Dendarii Mountains, but William and Wash are among those to make contact with a patrol from the other half of Piotr's army. Piotr can debrief his missing staff on the situation with the outsiders as he sees fit -- the situation is difficult to explain on the fly and there may be a misunderstanding or two at first -- but the most important thing is that they now have another 158 soldiers added to their ranks.
+2 LP to William, Wash, Beth & Ratchet
resources: weapons & equipment
TEAM ALPHA: Lakshmi & Lucy
Roll 1: Successfully make contact without detection - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Gain additional supplies - FAIL
TEAM BRAVO: York & Miles
Roll 1: Successfully make contact without detection - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Gain additional supplies - SUCCEED
TEAM CHARLIE: Duv & Wash
Roll 1: Successfully make it out of the city without detection - FAIL
Piotr sends a number of squads covertly into Vorkosigan Vashnoi to gather supplies and smuggle them back to the camp. On the 11th, Piotr sends the outsider squads to the city, with instructions for Teams Alpha and Bravo to get in touch with specific contacts who can provide them with what they need, and for Team Charlie to secure their exit strategy.
Piotr and Ezar have specific contacts in the city, members of the civilian underground resistance who have been doing their best to help the guerrillas from inside the city. Lakshmi & Lucy are sent to a smithy in one of the ghettoes many of the proles have been shunted into, while Miles and York are instructed to get to a bar in a more heavily occupied area. Both are told to make contact with the owners of the shops and tell them "We represent your accountant." This passphrase confirms that the outsiders are with Piotr's army, and get them into the back rooms of both establishments, where they've been stockpiling armaments. The plan is to discreetly offload supplies onto covered carts, which the teams will then drive to a rendezvous point to meet Duv and Wash, who will have the first leg of their getaway trip secured.
Meanwhile, Duv and Wash are charged with meeting their getaway drivers -- a couple of local proles who run a grocery delivery business. They have agreed to help transport the supplies to the edge of the city, where they'll be swapped to a different delivery wagon for actually exiting city. The plan is for all six outsiders to hide out in the back of the wagon with the supplies for the ride back, ostensibly a produce delivery to Riverfall -- in fact, the mission is timed around this exact delivery route.
Of course, things never quite go according to plan.
Lucy and Lakshmi have spectacular success in getting their weapons out of the smithy and to the rendezvous point, though they don't have time to grab anything extra. Miles and York get their own cart through the more heavily Cetagandan-populated district without incident, and even manage to grab a little extra. Duv and Wash are eat the rendezvous point with the first wagon and its driver when they arrive. So far, so good.
Here's where it gets a little rough.
A Cetagandan patrol catches onto what they're doing on the first leg of their escape, and you know what that means: CAR CHASE. Or, well, the Cetagandans have a groundcar anyway, whereas the outsiders have a horse-drawn wagon. The only advantage the outsiders have is that Vorkosigan Vashnoi's old streets are a little too narrow for a groundcar to zip around at full speed. It's a wild chase, and the handoff is messy, but they succesfully make it out of the city in the second wagon.
+2 LP to Lucy, Lakshmi, Miles, York, Duv & Wash
culinary garden
| Byerly - 10 Natasha - 15 Deanna - 8 |
Symmetra - 17 Vex - 17 Jasper - 8 |
The Cetagandans greatly appreciate all help in the kitchens. They mostly relegate the exotics to more menial tasks -- dishwashing, basic preparation, and the like, but Natasha, Symmetra and Vex prove themselves adept enough that the Cetagandans actually let them cook. Everyone else…you tried, but the Cetagandans have higher standards, sorry. Thanks for all that dishwashing, though!
eavesdropping
TEAM ETA: Kurt & Pearl
Roll 1: Get back to quarters without getting caught - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Get extra intel - SUCCEED
On the night of the 5th, Kurt and Pearl will sneak into the tactical building and overhear the following conversation in the war room between Zahal, Diya, and Sei:
Both the haut and Zahal have quite full schedules, so it isn't until late that the three have a chance to convene in the war room to discuss a matter of great significance. Diya and Sei are already there waiting when Zahal arrives, Sei in her iridescent force bubble, Diya reserved in white robes decorated with a spring flower pattern along the edges.
Both the haut and Zahal have quite full schedules, so it isn't until late that the three have a chance to convene in the war room to discuss a matter of great significance. Diya and Sei are already there waiting when Zahal arrives, Sei in her iridescent force bubble, Diya reserved in white robes decorated with a spring flower pattern along the edges.
"My lord Zahal," Diya says, her rich voice strangely toneless, "may I present to you the Handmaiden of the Star Crèche, Haut Sei Navarr."
They have already met at the formal reception, of course, but a meeting of people of such standing demands further formality. Sei's voice comes out flat and slightly crackled through the force screen.
"General Lord Zahal ghem-Zefyst," Sei intones. "I am pleased to make your personal acquaintance once again."
As much as Zahal enjoyed being right about the Star Crèche’s interest, the true reality of it is that he likes Sei’s presence here just as much as Diya does. His lips thin into the most neutral expression he can muster as he nods to the haut behind her bubble. “It is my pleasure to serve the Star Creche and its appointed handmaiden in any way.”
Naturally it is. The ghem exist to serve the haut, and the haut exist to serve...life itself, in a way.
"You serve the Empire well, ghem-General." Not the Star Crèche, not exactly. The only way he serves the Star Creche is by his mere existence, by passing down his genes along with Diya's to their progeny.
"Your outpost has been blessed with great fortune of circumstance," she continues, not a trace of irony to her flattened voice, despite the heavy losses Zahal has just suffered from the epidemic, "and I am given to understand that your military scientists have been handling the matter of the wormhole phenomenon. You seem to have made great strides in your research, especially with your recent acquisitions. But the Celestial Garden is of the opinion that this matter is far too significant, far too delicate, to leave in the hands of the military."
In the hands of the ghem is the unspoken subtext, impossible to miss. Diya's expression doesn't shift, although she feels a strange pang of vindication at the implication. She extends a delicately perfumed envelope out to Zahal as Sei continues, the seal stamped on it not of the Star Crèche, but the Emperor's himself.
"To that end, it is the Emperor's wish that all research related to the exotics be turned over in whole to the custody of the Star Crèche. Our Celestial Lady has seen fit to send me as a delegate, to oversee the project and ensure its continued success."
Zahal does not refuse the envelope, but his neutral expression does flicker, his lips thinning slightly. "The Emperor has never overburdened the ghem junta with oversight. The Star Crèche's interest in the Star Gate Project is understandable, but as far as I know wormhole science has never been in its purview."
The slight edge to Sei's voice comes perfectly clear through the force screen. "And the Star Crèche's interests have never been the ghem junta's concern. The Celestial Garden has merely reevaluated its priorities. That is a writ from the Emperor himself, ghem-General Zefyst. Please do open it."
Zahal swipes a thumb under the wax seal, opening it easily, and he takes a moment to waft the envelope under his nose before pulling the delicately calligraphed letter out. He reads it through twice and frowns.
"Far be it from me to question an Imperial order," he says slowly, neutrality back in his face, even a touch of that jovial warmth to his voice, "but it strikes me as disruptive to the project's progress to revoke all military access to the research."
"You will note," murmurs Sei, "that the Emperor's writ says nothing about access. Merely oversight and jurisdiction. It would be disruptive and foolish indeed to detach those minds from the project. But the Star Gate Project will no longer take direction from your officers, ghem-General. Your scientists as are attached to this project will, in this context, belong to a different chain of command."
One which Zahal is notably absent from.
Zahal glances discreetly at his wife, standing statue-like at the force bubble's side. Her face is unreadable, though she meets his gaze briefly. She is getting what she wanted after all -- haut control over the Star Gate Project -- but this is, Zahal suspects, hardly the way she wanted it. Be careful what you wish for, my lady…
He gives Sei a deep nod, nearly a bow, in acknowledgment, a smile returning to his face with some effort. "Of course. Forgive my impertinence, Handmaiden. I will see to it that my officers turn over all research to date."
…and that's all they hear before it becomes imprudent to stick around any longer, lest they be caught. Time to scurry back off to the barracks for the night.
+2 LP to Kurt & Pearl
TEAM SIGMA: Jasper & Symmetra
Roll 1: Get back to quarters without getting caught - FAIL
Roll 2: Get extra intel - SUCCEED
In one of the common rooms of the women's quarters on the afternoon of the 6th, Jasper and Symmetra will overhear the following conversation between Diya and Sei from Diya's personal tea room:
Soft music flutters through the women's quarters, gentle strings and whispering flutes and the occasional sweet chime, mingling with the incense to culminate in a thoroughly relaxing atmosphere. The Lady Diya and the Handmaiden are not quite sequestered in privacy, but they occupy the Lady's personal tea room in the back wing of the women's quarters, beyond one of the broad, circular art rooms. Their voices can be heard drifting from the room, Diya's soft and rich, Sei's oddly musical despite the flat timbre through the force screen.
Soft music flutters through the women's quarters, gentle strings and whispering flutes and the occasional sweet chime, mingling with the incense to culminate in a thoroughly relaxing atmosphere. The Lady Diya and the Handmaiden are not quite sequestered in privacy, but they occupy the Lady's personal tea room in the back wing of the women's quarters, beyond one of the broad, circular art rooms. Their voices can be heard drifting from the room, Diya's soft and rich, Sei's oddly musical despite the flat timbre through the force screen.
"How has married life been treating you, Diya?" There's no mocking tone to her voice, but the question alone implies it. "Ghem clans are so very different from our own constellations. Not just in structure, but in dynamic – how do you fare with the ghem-General's other wives?"
There's a brief moment of silence, followed by the gentle clink of a teacup back onto a saucer. Diya's voice is smooth, though just slightly strained. That Sei keeps asking about her life in this manner seems more torment than friendly catching up.
"My lord Zahal's wives remained on Eta Ceta. To attend to the children and oversee his clan affairs during his deployment."
"And what are his ghem wives like?" Sei asks with an air of genuine curiosity. But it's that very hautish brand of curiosity that feels more like being put under a microscope. "I understand that dynamic in particular can become…rather complicated. You outrank them, naturally."
"I would not know." A slow sip of tea. "I have met them only in passing. My lord Zahal was stationed here five years before I was sent here."
Not married. Sent.
"Well," Sei says after a delicate pause, "you seem to have made the best of your circumstances. Few haut wives would have such a…well, a career opportunity in their new lives. You are most fortunate, my dear."
A terse silence only follows, and when Diya doesn't speak, Sei smoothly carries on.
"Still, your dedication to the Star Crèche even now does not go unnoticed. I must admit, I was not expecting such fervent devotion. But it is admirable. You have done great work thus far."
"Thus far," Diya repeats, after another terse moment of silence. Her voice loses its grip on that cool composure, coming out slightly strangled. "Until you came along, you mean."
"Until the Dowager Empress saw fit to send me," Sei corrects smoothly, not quite sweetly, but there's a tiny hint of a smile in that voice, even through the force screen.
"Did the Dowager Empress find my work unsatisfactory?" Bitterness creeps into Diya's voice like a choking vine, taking root. "I have no less at my disposal here than you do. This project has flourished under my direction for five years, and that has hardly changed. If anything, it is only now just starting to truly bloom. The possibilities with the exotics are endless, and all my work, all my efforts, have been concentrated on cultivating their potential for contribution to the Star Crèche. I have hardly failed. If anything, I am only just beginning to succeed. I have poured every effort into this project. And now you come to take it out of my hands entirely, after all my efforts."
"Oh, no," Sei says with a light laugh that filters strangely through the force screen. "It isn't a matter of effort. Your work is self-evident. But you simply are not qualified for this anymore."
Anymore. Diya vents out a short breath, barely composed. "My -- status has nothing to do with my qualifications, Sei." A brief silence, another breath. "I just want a chance to prove myself."
"But to what end, dear?" There is a distant, amused curiosity to Sei's voice, like a mother questioning a child. "What do you think this tireless work will earn you, beyond a commendation from the Dowager Empress? A great honor unto itself, make no mistake -- but what is it you think I am taking away from you?"
"I had hoped," Diya says, her voice quiet and tightly controlled, because it must be, because she no longer has the luxury of her own force bubble, "that my service to the Star Crèche in bringing this unprecedented discovery to fruition would show not only that I am faithful, but that -- " She has to stop for another breath, just to steel herself. "That I am worthy of returning to the haut. That perhaps the reward for such service, such extraordinary results, might be the consortship of this planet, once this war is over."
The silence that follows is just a few beats too long not to be uncomfortable. And then the strangest sound comes through the force screen -- laughter.
"I think your chance at a consortship passed with -- " Sei stops herself, thinking better of her choice of words. "Well, it certainly has passed, dear Diya. What you suggest simply isn't done. You know the culling is permanent. No culled haut returns to her constellation, even if she should outlive her ghem husband. It's entirely unprecedented."
"So is everything else about this situation," Diya counters, frustration in her voice. More emotion slithers into it, more than she usually permits herself, but Haut Sei -- she seems to have a way about her with Diya. Diya's voice drops to an anguished whisper, seeking comfort in roses and finding only thorns. "I hate this, Sei. It's so lonely here. I miss Eta Ceta. I miss -- " She chokes down the thickness that starts to rise in her throat. "I was happy on Eta Ceta, with you, with -- Shiki. I'm not happy here."
Sei's thoughtful hum comes through almost as static through the force screen. "Oh, Diya, dear," she sighs, "it cannot come undone as simply as that. Imagine how happy you might be if you spent less time imagining how happy you might be."
The scrape of Diya's chair on the floor seems to shatter the tranquil air around them. "I think," she says, her voice tight and small, "I shall fetch more water for tea."
"Oh, send the ba, dear."
But Diya is already up and walking out into the hall.
…and when Diya walks out into the hall, she sees Jasper and Symmetra well within earshot, and she looks uncharacteristically ruffled for a moment before she composes herself into that impassive mask again. She chastises them both sharply for listening in on what clearly a very personal conversation. She's especially disappointed in you, Satya.
+2 LP to Jasper & Symmetra
TEAM MU: Byerly & Lapis
Roll 1: Get back to quarters without getting caught - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Get extra intel - SUCCEED
Early in the morning of the 8th, Byerly and Lapis will spot Diya and Ba Talim in the otherwise empty gardens and witness the following conversation:
The ba are mostly only seen in the company of the Handmaiden, but contrary to any other notion, they do have some degree of autonomy, free to move about the base as they please. It's just that they are simply not as interested in exploration and socialization as they are in service. But despite their breeding, the ba are every bit as Cetagandan as the haut and the ghem, and they appreciate art no less.
The ba are mostly only seen in the company of the Handmaiden, but contrary to any other notion, they do have some degree of autonomy, free to move about the base as they please. It's just that they are simply not as interested in exploration and socialization as they are in service. But despite their breeding, the ba are every bit as Cetagandan as the haut and the ghem, and they appreciate art no less.
Diya encounters the Ba Talim in the gardens, somewhat surprised to find it alone. It is the most loyal ba to Sei, perhaps the longest in her service, as far as Diya is aware. It's easily distinguishable from any other Cetagandan on the base, not only by its lack of face paint, but its conspicuous lack of hair -- not even eyebrows. Something of a current fashion trend in ba design, so to speak.
"Ba Talim," Diya says as she approaches -- not in that usual distant tone, but something softer, almost fond. The ba turns from the bed of snowdrops it had been contemplating -- Diya's gaze follows its to the snowdrops for a moment before returning to the ba. She doesn't quite smile, but there is a certain longing in her eyes.
The ba turns to her and bows its head to her, nearly as deep as it does to Sei, but not quite. "Lady Diya," it responds in a pleasantly musical voice -- not so rich as the haut, but the ba serve as their artistic testing grounds, after all. No distance in Ba Talim's voice, either. Just an echo of deep devotion. "Are you well?"
A small, wry smile with only the faintest trace of bitterness crosses her face. No impassive mask between her and this ba. "As well as one can be when one is out of season."
This must be some private joke or some such thing, because the ba smiles slightly. "I am glad to hear it."
"And you, ba?"
"I am. And pleased to be in my lady's service."
"I am glad to hear it. I was not aware you had become one of Sei's servitors, but I suppose -- after Lady Shiki's passing, you must have been sent back to Eta Ceta to serve Sei?"
Ba Talim nods. "It was my late lady's will. Though even if it hadn't been, I believe I would have been turned to Lady Sei's service regardless."
Diya nods in concession at those, though she looks…sad. Slightly troubled. "I suppose you would have nowhere else to go," she says lightly, or tries, anyway. The ba merely smiles kindly, its expression softening slightly, and at that so does Diya's. Her voice drops into a murmur.
"I miss you, you know." Diya gazes down at the snowdrops, then back at the ba, her erstwhile servitor of a fashion. There is a loneliness in her eyes she permits no one to see, not of her own volition. Exposing it to Sei had only caused her pain. "I miss…all of it. Those days long past. You were so faithful to Shiki, to all of us. Your service…your company is missed as much as your late lady's, ba."
The ba bows its head again. "It is kind of you to say, Lady Diya."
"You must miss her terribly."
Ba Talim's voice is soft and mournful. "We all do."
Diya hesitates. "Do you…miss me, Ba Talim?"
It lifts its head to look up at Diya, looking conflicted for a moment. Then it smiles sadly and says, "Of course, Lady Diya. You are missed as much as my late lady."
Diya looks somehow stung by that, by some implicit insult the ba may or may not have intended, but she doesn't look angry. Just…tired and sorrowful.
"Were the details of my late lady's will ever made known to you, Lady Diya?" Ba Talim asks carefully. Diya's brow knits slightly.
"No," she says, a bit shortly. "I was not even permitted to attend her funeral."
It hesitates, its voice going softer. "Then you…would not know that it was my late lady Shiki's wish that my service may one day be willed to you, as you were to be on Rho Ceta with her."
Diya looks deeply shaken for a moment, crushed under the weight of some nameless sorrow. "But then I was culled," she says flatly. The ba bows its head slightly in lieu of a shrug.
"The timing was…most unfortunate."
"I have always remained faithful to the Dowager Empress, even after I was displaced from the Navarr constellation. Ghem-General Zefyst was to have a haut wife. It was -- it was no personal slight of the Empress that I was chosen for it."
Not personal at all, not from her Celestial Lady. She was a mother and sister to all. But then Diya blinks, and her eyes narrow. "Ba Talim…"
Ba Talim ducks its head as though begging pardon, averting its gaze. "I am sorry, Lady Diya. I must keep my lady's confidence."
Diya's eyes widen just slightly. "Her confidence in what, Ba Talim?"
She takes a step toward it, not like a beast cornering prey, but a woman dying of thirst to the mirage of an oasis. The ba doesn't step back, only looks up at her sadly and says again, more softly, "I must keep my lady's confidence. I am -- sorry to have disturbed you. I must take my leave now."
…and as the ba starts to leave, it's time for Lapis and Byerly to get gone too, before either Cetagandan knows they were there.
+2 LP to Byerly & Lapis
research: specs & power supply
Jasper & Whirl
Roll 1: Discover a compatible power source - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Gain additional data - FAIL
Jasper and Whirl assist Micah in the lab, evaluating what general specifications the Star Gate will need, as well as assessing its power supply needs. This is helped in part by Symmetra and Pearl's work in the hard-light device, and between the three of them -- surprisingly -- they're able to determine that plasma power, the same kind of power used by the generators in the base, is the only heavy-duty enough power source that could feasibly get the Star Gate up and running with a considerable margin of safety. However, before they're able to determine the ideal voltage and amperage, the plasma power pack they're using for research explodes, throwing the lab into disarray -- but the damage isn't too bad, and no one is badly hurt, thanks to Jasper and Whirl's quick intervention. Or maybe it's Whirl's fault that it exploded in the first place which, let's be honest, is pretty likely.
+3 LP to Jasper & Whirl
research: star gate
Deanna & Natasha
Roll 1: Discover why people are appearing on the planet surface instead of local space - SUCCEED
Roll 2: Gain additional data - FAIL
Deanna and Natasha are putting their math heads together with Micah's five-space mathematical and astrophysical expertise to try and figure out why the collapsed wormhole is manifesting people on the planet instead of its immediate local space. After several harrowing days in the lab running five-space equations and studying the plotting and particle activity data the Cetagandans have collected, they realize that the collapsed wormhole is projecting a field that bears some resemblance to a modified Necklin field. However, on closer study, they realize it is an entirely new discovery: rather than folding entities in and out of five-space, it acts as an extension of the womhole's five-space itself, causing entities passing through the collapsed wormhole to remain so folded until they have reached the planet's surface. The plotting data is incomplete, as they only have known locations for the exotics' appearances, but it's clear that the field encompasses a specific radius on the planet surface. This new data, though still incomplete, could help them solve the problem of generating smaller Necklin fields. Unfortunately, before they can get that far, there is a critical equipment failure in the lab -- the sensors attached to the Necklin rods salvaged from a Cetagandan jump ship that they've been using for tests go haywire and cause unexpected interference in the EM field holding up the rods, leading to one of the rods to fall and crash in the lab space. Micah sustains minor injury but is otherwise alright, but it means that section of the lab is closed until repairs and cleanup are completed, putting a temporary damper on further Necklin field research.
+3 LP to Deanna & Natasha
lab assistants
Thanks to Micah's research -- and the
Meanwhile, Natasha, the only exotic currently working in the gene labs, is still not privy to much, but she will notice that while there are fewer operating uterine replicators than there were before Sei's arrival, there are still plenty whose indicator lights signal that they are active. Of course, most of them are from the gene lab's routine use, but not all of them… They also seem to be having some considerable success reincorporating non-human-based DNA traits into fully-human gene complexes, the first half of the gene therapy they've started trials for.
gene therapy
In addition to Pearl and Lapis being drafted into the gene therapy trials last month, Natasha has also signed up in the hopes of regaining some of her edge. The subjects are called to the gene labs for routine appointments at least once or twice a week; the gene therapy is delivered via injection, followed by several sessions of monitoring and data recording.
Pearl's case shows some promise, but with very little progress in the first round -- their attempts at increasing her physical durability haven't gone very far beyond human capability yet, but on the other side, she's displaying no signs of complications.
Lapis's case is of the most interest to them thus far: she has actually started to display signs of regaining her hydrokinetic abilities, but very weakly. However, she's also the only one to begin showing signs of complications. Her lab-controlled attempts at using her hydrokinesis seem to be messing with her internal circulatory system, resulting in recurring migraines.
Natasha's case hasn't shown any progress at all, despite the related ongoing testing she's been undergoing with Diya, but she also has yet to display any signs of complications.
undercover
Byerly Vorrutyer
Roll: Maintain cover - SUCCEED
Byerly has been acting as an undercover spy for the Barrayarans for the last month, attempting to put himself in various positions to learn whatever information he can, as well as cultivate possible informants among sympathetic exotics. Thus far, he has maintained his cover, despite being really fucking bad at hiding it from other extrauniversals, apparently.
mystery plot: your princess is in another castle
On the 10th, during a visit to Riverfall village along with several outsiders and Barrayaran soldiers, Sonia is captured by Cetagandan soldiers. The Cetagandans demand her surrender with the promise that no harm will come to her or anyone else, but of course, the Barrayarans vehemently refuse. A fight breaks out in the village…and here's how it goes down.
| TEAM ALPHA: Maine & Carolina Roll 1: Defend villagers - SUCCEED Roll 2: Cetagandan kills - FAIL TEAM BRAVO: Miles & Tucker Roll 1: Defend villagers - SUCCEED Roll 2: Cetagandan kills - SUCCEED | TEAM ETA: Tarn & Natasha* Roll 1: Clean getaway - SUCCEED Roll 2: Villager kills - SUCCEED For this trip, Natasha is armed with both a stunner and a nerve disruptor; as Tarn has not taken weapons training, he is provided only with a stunner and basic training on its use before they depart. |
| BARRAYAR VS. CETAGANDA CASUALTIES: Cetaganda wins Cetaganda: 12 dead Barrayar: 22 dead (12 villagers, 8 soldiers, 2 Vorkosigan armsmen) +3 LP to Carolina, Maine, Miles, Tucker, Natasha & Tarn | |
Optional: If you guys would like, I can roll 2d4 to see which PC on each side is closest to Sonia when she is actually captured for potential threading purposes. Let me know if you'd like this option!
Sonia is in Riverfall village helping with the spring planting and anything else the villagers need a hand with on the 10th, along with twelve Barrayaran soldiers, two Vorkosigan armsmen, and her own bodyguard, Vorbarra Armsman Gavalas, plus Carolina, Miles, Maine, and Tucker. Even with the information relayed by Byerly and Natasha, their intel on Cetagandan patrols is incomplete, and they're taken by surprise when a patrol of 20 soldiers, accompanied by Tarn and Natasha, march into the village. The soldiers immediately do their best to blend in and stay out of sight, and Gavalas hurriedly tries to get Sonia out of sight, but it's too late -- the head of the Cetagandan patrol, one of Zahal's intelligence officers, recognizes her and, seeing an opportunity to please one very pissed-off ghem-General and dismantle Barrayaran morale, immediately orders her capture. He promises that no harm will come to Sonia or the villagers if she is turned over peacefully, to which the general Barrayaran response is: like hell.
The fight breaks out so quickly, it's hard to tell just how it starts, but you can be almost certain the Cetagandans fired the first shot. Though there are only twenty of them, plus Natasha and Tarn, they're much better armed with nerve disrupters, plasma arcs, and stunners, and few of the villagers have weapons of their own -- and the Barrayarans are armed only with swords and bows. The center of the village rapidly descends into a chaotic battle zone as Barrayaran and Cetagandan forces collide, but the Cetagandans have clear orders to take Sonia alive.
Both Vorkosigan armsmen are shot dead by nerve disrupter fire trying to protect the Princess; Gavalas fiercely disarms a Cetagandan soldier of his nerve disrupter, but is almost immediately stunned. When the Cetagandans finally do get to Sonia, they hit her with a heavy stun to head off any inevitable resistance. All sides take heavy casualties -- there are only eight Cetagandan soldiers still left standing in addition to Tarn and Natasha, and near the end it looks like the Barrayarans might win out and retake their hostage, but the Cetagandans have already called for evac -- a small Cetagandan aircraft descends on Riverfall just in time for the Cetagandans to escape with their new prisoner.
Nearly thirty bodies litter the ground of the village, Cetagandan and Barrayaran alike, with many others injured, and as the dust settles, it's time to collect the dead and tend to their wounded…and someone will have to report this back to Piotr and Olivia. A most unenviable task.
Between the casualties and the new reinforcements, the Barrayaran army is now 270 strong, but there are only 48 Riverfall villagers still living -- their population has been nearly halved in the last three months, when the small village flourished with about 80 people.
Please comment if you have any questions! NPC starters will go up for each mission top-level with the IC log as usual, and, as always, here are the rolls for this event. All rolls are d20 unless noted otherwise; the skill ratings of 1-4 are converted into modifiers of -1 to 2. The number of people in each group is also added to the total modifier.
And a big special thanks also to Ana (
And don't forget to take down your new LP! As of this post, event LP is immediately granted and you can go hit up the loyalty perks page if you so choose.
| +7 LP | Agent Washington Natasha Romanoff |
| +6 LP | Miles Vorkosigan |
| +5 LP | Jasper |
| +4 LP | Deanna Troi Agent Carolina Beth Greene |
| +3 LP | Ratchet Lucy Preston Whirl Duv Galeni Symmetra Byerly Vorrutyer Agent Maine Tarn Agent York William |
| +2 LP | Kurt Ambrose Pearl Lavernius Tucker Lapis Lazuli Lakshmi Bai |
| +1 LP | Vex'ahlia Daryl Dixon |