[ february ii event results ]

[barrayarmods]

Quick links: Team Rosters / Loyalty Gamble / Riverfall (PVP)
BARRAYAR: Supply Train / Interrogations / Catch the Traitor / On Guard
CETAGANDA: Moon-Poetry Party / Science Advisory / Mystery Plot

Keep sittin' on the edge of your seats, pals, this is a bit of a long one

Vorbataille is caught on the 20th, and the loyalty gamble mission happens that evening. Both the Riverfall village party and the Cetagandan mystery plot happen on the evening of the 21st. The Riverfall PVP mission takes place on the 23rd, the moon-poetry party takes place on the evening of the 24th, and the breakout takes place on the evening of the 25th. The science advisory meetings take place between the 20th and the 23rd.



Loyalty Gamble Party: Darkstalker WilliamAgent Maine Supply Train Party: William Agent Carolina Beth Greene Duv Galeni Interrogations: Miles Vorkosigan Catch the Traitor Party: Agent Carolina Duv Galeni Zarya On Guard Party: Miles Vorkosigan Riverfall Party Alpha: WilliamBeth Greene Zarya Miles Vorkosigan

Moon-Poetry Party: Natasha Romanoff Symmetra Kaidan Alenko Agent Washington Darkstalker Deanna Troi Science Advisory Party: Symmetra Deanna Troi Natasha Romanoff Ratchet Agent Washington Kaidan Alenko Mystery Plot: Kaidan Alenko Natasha Romanoff Agent York Riverfall Party Eta: Darkstalker Jasper Pearl Lapis Lazuli

loyalty gamble: darkstalker
Roll 1: Successfully complete loyalty mission -- SUCCEED
PVP Roll: Darkstalker wins
+2 LP to William and Maine
+4 LP to Darkstalker (doubling the 4 LP bet)
Darkstalker has been assigned a risky mission to prove his loyalty: aerial surveillance of the Dendarii mountains in an attempt to spot some guerrilla activity, a clue to where they might be. His excellent night vision makes him an ideal candidate, and he's sent out with a Cetagandan ground party for support and lent a wristcom to communicate with them. It's a cold night, and the wind is strong...and there's always a snag.

William and Maine, down nearer the foothills on a scouting mission beyond the perimeter of camp, are separated from the rest of their squad when Cetagandan soldiers are spotted. A skirmish breaks out, and when Darkstalker's on the ground, William and Maine find themselves facing not only a squad of soldiers much better armed than they are, but also a goddamn dragon. Outgunned and out-dragoned, the fight does not go down in the outsiders' favor. They manage to get away in more or less one piece, disappearing back into the mountains with the rest of their squad. The Cetagandan squad took their fair share of hits, though, and decide to turn back, but Darkstalker did at least learn something of value: he notices that the guerrillas are moving in the general direction of Riverfall village.

supply train
(Each character was rolled individually for their success in carrying supplies back and forth.)
William and Beth both fare very well in their assistance with the supplies, making it back and forth without any incident at all. Duv and Carolina, on the other hand, both botched their rolls so badly that they probably injured themselves or something. Nice going, guys.
+1 LP to William, Beth, Duv and Carolina

interrogations
Roll:: Help Piotr interrogate Vorhalas -- FAIL
Eager to prove himself as ever, Miles volunteers to help with Lieutenant Vorhalas's interrogation. He does not wind up being very helpful at all, and Piotr regrets a little bit.

However, during the course of the interrogation, Piotr does extract Vorbataille's name...and that'll bring with it a whole new violent interrogation, because Piotr isn't able to get the name of their Cetagandan contact out of Vorhalas. Oh, joy. Of course, they'll have to catch him first, because by the time Piotr manages to drag that out of Vorhalas, Vorbataille is already making his escape.
+3 LP to Miles

catch the traitor
Roll: Stop Vorbataille before he manages to complete his escape -- SUCCEED
Vorbataille has already taken one of the horses from the stables and made his escape southward, presumably to make it back to the Cetagandan base for sanctuary. Luckily, in his haste, he left a glaring trail in the snow. All they have to do now is catch up to him and take him down, which Carolina, Zarya and Duv do with flying colors. It is, admittedly, kind of an unfair fight.
+2 LP to Carolina, Zarya and Duv

on guard
Roll: Kill at least one Cetagandan soldier and bring his body back to camp -- FAIL

Honestly, this just goes very poorly.
+2 LP to Miles

moon-poetry party
(Nothing to roll for here. Just enjoy the poetry. Or don't.)
The moon-poetry party is about three hours long and steeped in ceremony, each participant taking their turn to recite. This is, apparently, not a recitation of one's own work, but rather selections of classical Cetagandan poems, and in so referencing something culturally ubiquitous, each makes a statement in its mere selection and juxtapositions. If you pay close enough attention, you might notice that each participant has very subtly coordinated their outfits to further complement the theme of their recitation. Although there is a definite dignity to the party, it doesn't take much to pick up on the fact that this is yet another arena ghem use to try and socially one-up one another. Among the participants are both the Chief Medical Officer Colonel ghem-Naru and Doctor Amai ghem-Soren, whose performance was especially well-received, the theme apparently being something about subtle passions.
+1 LP to Natasha, Wash, Darkstalker, Symmetra, Kaidan and Deanna

science advisory
Symmetra, Agent Washington, Natasha Romanoff, Deanna Troi, Ratchet & Kaidan Alenko
(Note: I rolled for each field your character had a stat in; if the margin of failure was below a certain point I dropped the result. The PCs in each group were the ones who rolled passably enough to have had anything useful to contribute. Nobody succeeded in Mathematics or Aerospace Engineering.

There will be a thread for each interview, as well as a "mingling in the lab" option for overall group CR. If there's something extra you'd like to do with this event thread-wise, let me know.)

Now that the science officers have had a chance to cursorily consult with each of the volunteers, they arrange a series of group interviews by field to more or less pick their brains to see if any of the exotics could help them with some current problems faced by the wormhole project. The interviews are headed by science officers from the military, but either Diya or Amai is also present at each of the interviews.
+2 LP to Symmetra, Wash, Natasha, Deanna, Ratchet and Kaidan

NEUROLOGY ETA: Deanna Troi and Kaidan Alenko
Diya is present among the science officers. They're primarily calling on Deanna's expertise to discuss theories of neural netting in five-dimensional space and the unique neurological characteristics of some of the exotics -- herself included. They've brought some brain scans for examination as well. Any insight Kaidan has to offer is welcome, of course, but they are more concerned with Kaidan's knowledge of neural implants. They will explain that pilots of jump-capable ships must be outfitted with special neural implants to navigate through wormholes; these implants allow them to experience and function in five-dimensional space in a way that the naked human is not capable. They seem interested in any similarities to Kaidan's own implants.

NEUROLOGY SIGMA: Natasha Romanoff and Agent Washington
Diya is present among the science officers. Although neither Natasha nor Wash's particular areas of expertise line up exactly with what they're looking for, they have brought some brain scans for examination. They're interested in the unique neurological characteristics of some of the exotics. They're also interested in Wash's neural implant -- they will explain that pilots of jump-capable ships must be outfitted with special neural implants to navigate through wormholes; these implants allow them to experience and function in five-dimensional space in a way that the naked human is not capable. They seem interested in any similarities to Wash's own implants.

ASTROPHYSICS: Deanna Troi and Ratchet
Amai is present among the science officers. True faster-than-light travel technology does not exist in this world, but clearly in others it does. Deanna had already mentioned warp technology to Diya, who'd taken note, and they'd also like to hear about what kind of FTL technology exists in Ratchet's universe.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING: Symmetra, Natasha Romanoff & Ratchet
Amai is present among the science officers. R&D has already been reaching out to Symmetra regarding a sort of technology exchange, and here they hope her expertise may be useful. They are naturally interested in her hard light technology and how it may be used for fabrication. They're hoping that Natasha and Ratchet can provide any insight or expertise on part fabrication or share any engineering concepts from their own worlds.

mystery plot
Kaidan Alenko, Agent York & Natasha Romanoff
Roll 1: Avoid detection by Diya -- SUCCEED
Roll 2: Gain extra intel -- SUCCEED

This will happen on the evening of the 20th, when Natasha, York and Kaidan are all inthe wormhole lab, late enough that it's otherwise empty. (Either Natasha and York are working a late shift together and Kaidan comes to meet them, or they're all sneaking out late together, or whatever strikes your fancy!)

They'll hear a strange racket coming through the walkway that leads to the wing dedicated to the gene labs, the entrance to which is decorated with the same screaming bird insignia as every door beyond it. If they go towards the sound, they'll overhear what looks like a struggle and two familiar voices -- Lady Diya d'Zefyst and Doctor Amai ghem-Soren. At first it sounds like they might be fighting with each other, but after a minute it becomes apparent that they're struggling together, and whatever's going on is making a lot of noise. There's a garble of after it and what did you do and move quickly now, scrambling and clattering and something sloshing onto the floor.

After a few minutes, whatever it is they're struggling with comes into view of the exotics -- something that must be human but looks somehow overgrown and underdeveloped, staggering down the hall at an alarming speed. As it passes the exotics, safely out of sight, they're hit with a sudden blast of empathic emotion -- little more than blind panic and confusion. Diya and Amai both run after it, just a few meters behind, and just as it looks as though they're gaining, it rips a water dispenser clear out of the wall. The water seems to flow out into the air, fast but shaky, only to splash on the floor just before Diya and Amai. Diya's voice rings out, uncharacteristically sharp.

"Stun it!"

"I -- I don't have a stunner!"

Diya's response is garbled in the subsequent crackle that sounds very little like stunner fire. There's a final clatter and thud, and then the hall is quiet save for the slow drip of water and distant heavy breathing. When Amai's voice emerges again, it's shaky, bordering on angry.

"The inhibitor sequence -- "

"This had nothing to do with the inhibitor sequence," hisses Diya. Their voices echo strangely around the corner, sliding off the wet floors. "This was a failure of design."

"Design," repeats Amai in a choked voice. "This was function without form -- this isn't what the ba are for, Lady Diya!"

"The ba are loyal servitors," comes Diya's taut voice, chilled. "And they serve us even in death."

That's all they'll get to hear before it gets too risky to stick around, so they'll have to bail back the way they came through the walkway back to the R&D wing.

(You have the option of encountering Amai at the end of this thread. Let me know what you guys decide!)
+2 LP to Kaidan, York and Natasha

riverfall
(Note: This PVP mission is a little more freeform than the last one. There's no winner or loser in this situation. Rather, this is an opportunity for outsiders and exotics to encounter one another while they're both trying to learn more about what the Cetagandans are doing with all this Science.)

TEAM ALPHA: William, Beth Greene, Zarya & Miles Vorkosigan Roll 1: Remain undetected by the Cetagandans -- SUCCEED Roll 2: Gain science/tech intel -- SUCCEED +2 LP to William, Beth, Zarya & Miles

TEAM ETA: Darkstalker, Pearl, Jasper & Lapis Lazuli Roll 1: Recognize the outsiders before the outsiders recognize them -- FAIL Roll 2: Gain science/tech intel -- FAIL Roll 3: Get along with the villagers -- FAIL +2 LP to Darkstalker, Pearl, Lapis & Jasper

Zarya, William, Beth and Miles are in Riverfall with some of the Barrayaran soldiers on a supply run, just preparing to leave when the Cetagandans arrive. It'd be too suspicious for all of them to try to sneak off right away, so instead they need to bunker down and try to blend in with the villagers as best they can. Of course, this is also a rare shot at actually learning something, because the Cetagandans are here with all that equipment for a real reason. Not to mention that Pearl, the outsider who was captured during the food raids, is among them, and so is the goddamn dragon that William fought with Maine a few days ago. The outsiders, remaining hidden, identify the exotics before they realize the outsiders are there. Between the four of them, they're able to get close enough to the Cetagandans to learn the following: this is confirmation of what Piotr got out of ghem-Miko -- they're clearly scanning for signs of wormhole activity, and what's more, they seem to be looking for evidence to link it to the wormhole that collapsed 700 years ago. They apparently have a working design schematic, but they've yet to solve some of the most crucial problems, including the Necklin field problem. However, some of the exotics have been offering some scientific consultation to help the Cetagandans.

When Lapis, Darkstalker, Pearl and Jasper arrive in Riverfall, it's like the entire village just closes up shop. Most of the children are rounded up and brought inside, but the older villagers at work continue to go about their day in stubborn maintenance of routine in spite of the Cetagandans' clearly invasive presence. Of course, there are others hidden among them, but the exotics won't realize the outsiders are there before they're identified first. The Barrayaran soldiers successfully keep themselves hidden from the Cetagandans; despite being oblivious, however, some of them are a bit nervous being this far up in the mountains after Doctor ghem-Miko's capture. They'll be given free reign more or less to wander around the village since it's fairly small, although they don't want anyone going too far. But between the four of them paying close (ish) attention to the Cetagandans, they'll learn the following: the advisement they've been getting from the exotics still isn't enough to solve the Necklin field problem , and as one scientist points out, even if they do solve it, they don't have the means of fabricating Necklin rods on this planet. There are also a few murmurs about the conflicting orders they've been getting lately. The villagers absolutely despise them despite any attempts to make nice with them. They eye the lot of them with contempt and unease, particularly toward Darkstalker, and a few of the villagers make hex signs at them as they pass. They super do not like you guys.

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 numbers. All rolls are d20 rolls; the skill ratings of 1-4 are converted into modiifers of -1 to 2. The number of people in each group is also added to the total modifier.

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	Miles Vorkosigan Darkstalker
+6 LP	Natasha Romanoff Kaidan Alenko
+5 LP	Zarya William
+3 LP	Symmetra Deanna Troi Agent Washington Agent Carolina Duv Galeni Beth Greene Agent York
+2 LP	Ratchet Jasper Agent Maine Pearl Lapis Lazuli