☆ the vorkosigan saga psl post, volume 3

[runawayballista]

welcome to hell

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[vorbratta]

[ sonia watches in taut silence. the ghem-colonel drums his fingers on the table. ]

Names, Vorrutyer.

[vorrutyer]

[ He gives a little gasp, and his head drops. Sweat beads on his forehead. He laughs, suddenly, incongruously, and groans out - ]

The charming York. Handsome Kaidan. Haven't - haven't you noticed how handsome he is? My word. Those cheekbones, those hands - so blunt-fingered, so charming, so marvelous -

[ The little bit of him that's still aware tries to force himself down a path of unrelated chatter. It's not easy to do consciously, but once he's gotten onto that path it's not hard to think of more to say. ]

[vorbratta]

[ sonia swallows, but nothing about this part is -- bad. or a surprise, in the context of byerly acting as a spy. the ghem-colonel takes note of this. ]

And have you succeeded?

[ york was clearly a success of some kind. but kaidan remains here. ]

[vorrutyer]

[ His eyes flutter closed. He swallows. ]

Still - working on it. Say, I don't suppose either of you would be interested in...defecting?

[vorbratta]

[ well, that's a relief to the ghem-colonel, anyway, though he rolls his eyes. sonia chews nervously on the end of a lock of hair, unbearably tense. next: ]

Who do you report to?

[vorrutyer]

[ This is less fraught. There are no additional names to conceal. Because Byerly has some other targets, whose names didn't pass his lips...Vaguely, in his unfocused drugged way, he's aware of having passed a little point of danger. ]

Vorkosigan.

[vorbratta]

[ sonia bites down hard on her hair. it's not a surprise, shouldn't be one, it's general vorkosigan, but it feels oddly like a blow.

the ghem-colonel doesn't look surprised either, but the confirmation is appreciated. ]

How secret was your mission?

[vorrutyer]

[ He lets out a shaky laugh. ]

Completely and utterly. Known only to the three Vorkosigans.

[vorbratta]

[ the ghem-colonel narrows his eyes. sonia's, on the other hand, widen, and she leans forward in her chair but doesn't dare get up, just mouths a panicked stop at byerly, but she knows it won't do any good. ]

There's a third Vorkosigan? [ well, that is interesting. he turns his narrowed eyes back on sonia. ] This didn't come up in her interrogation.

[vorrutyer]

[ No, no, no - But in this state, Byerly can't stop himself from going on. He laughs and quips - ]

Oh, was he below your notice, Sonia? No, I'm quite certain she knew of him. No one else does. Oh, except for Lakshmi. And Duv...Honestly, that fool is terrible at keeping secrets. Probably everyone knows by now.

[vorbratta]

[ lakshmi? why hadn't this come up in her interrogation, either? the ghem-colonel looks even more suspicious, as sonia frantically shakes her head in the most minute way possible. ]

So this third Vorkosigan is supposed to be secret, then? [ he casts a look back at sonia, calculating, considering. she shrinks back in her chair. ] Is that why he was privy to your mission?

[vorrutyer]

He's privy to my mission because I report to the damned dwarf.

[ He sighs and stretches. His manner is both weary and affable. ]

God help me.

[vorbratta]

[ sonia's damn near in danger of giving herself a haircut with how hard she's biting at her hair. the ghem-colonel raises his eyebrows. ]

Dwarf? Is he a mutant? [ that's such a barrayaran word for it, but then, he is interrogating a barrayaran. ] Is that the reason he was kept secret, then?

[vorrutyer]

He's been kept secret because Piotr Vorkosigan would kill him or himself if he found out they were related. Do you know how the Great General would shit himself if he learned he had a mutie grandson?

[ He laughs. ]

It'll come out eventually, I suppose. Oh, how I want to be there when it does...

[vorbratta]

[ sonia's eyes go wide and her mouth all but drops open. no, byerly, god, no... it isn't his fault, but she still feels sick all the same.

the ghem-colonel leans forward, his face unreadable. ]

General Vorkosigan is thirty-two.

[vorrutyer]

[ Byerly leans forward in return and says, mockingly mimicking the ghem-Colonel's accent: ]

We're time travelers.

[vorbratta]

[ sonia's throat works, a look of disbelief shimmering over her face -- miles she'd known about, yes, but byerly -- then again, the clues were all there. she just hadn't put them together, somehow. stupid, stupid...

the ghem-colonel looks like he doesn't want to believe this is possible, but then, they have a dragon and a bunch of talking space rocks. ]

Time travelers. From the future.

[vorrutyer]

Mm. Yes. About sixty years from now.

[ A grin cracks his face. ]

And guess what? I'm Barrayaran, not a subject of the Ninth Satrapy. And - ooh. Go on, ask me what happens to all of you after you're recalled off this planet back to Cetaganda. Ask me, please.

[vorbratta]

[ sonia almost chokes on her own breath. they win? they win the war? the vorbarr sultana that byerly's been painting all this time -- does it really exist? she knows he can't be lying, he can only say what he believes is true, but sonia can't take him for a madman. she covers her mouth with both hands and start to cry, silently.

the ghem-colonel's face is hard now. this isn't a simple interrogation anymore. this is going to be a problem. this time, when he speaks, it's through his teeth. ]

By all means.

[vorrutyer]

[ He laughs. The sound is affable, cheerful - and all the more chilling for that. Because immediately afterwards, he looks to the ghem in the room and tells them - ]

You're executed. And you're executed. You're all such blunderers that none of you are allowed to live.

[ Another laugh, cheerful as anything. ]

So tell me...any second thoughts about defecting? Oh, it's cold, yes, but it does mean life for all of you...

[vorbratta]

[ sonia wishes she had something to hold onto right now, anything. she feels like the room is tilting out from under her. please stop asking, she thinks fervently, frantically. please stop asking, i don't want to know.

the ghem-colonel snaps his teeth shut, nostrils flaring. coolly: ]

I think the rest of that line of questioning is better saved for another interrogation. The ghem-General will want to sit in on that one. What I would like to know right now is why the Countess was included in your mission. Don't you Barrayarans think less of your women?

[vorrutyer]

[ If he were more in control of himself, Byerly would keep picking at it, boring at that little crack, driving after the ghem-Colonel's fear, fanning its flames. That's what he does best. Plants doubts, plants bad ideas, flatters and flirts. Turns people away from their usual purposes. Finds out where the seeds of doubt are and reports it back to his superiors. Under fast-penta...he just cheerily nods and moves along. ]

You know, it's sweet. I think the old man genuinely loves her. I think he respects her.

[vorbratta]

[ sonia's brow knits at that. of course he does. she may not be piotr's biggest fan, but olivia wouldn't pick anyone less than him. the ghem-colonel raises his eyebrows. ]

Enough to include her in top-secret missions over his general staff?

[vorrutyer]

Ask her.

[ Byerly's bright eyes focus on Sonia's face. ]

She knows.

[vorbratta]

[ sonia shrinks back in her chair, unprepared to be the sudden focus of the interrogation. the ghem-colonel purses his lips and mutters: ]

I just might. [ sonia swallows. the ghem-colonel continues. ] I'm asking you, Vorrutyer. Why would he share that information with the Countess, and only the Countess?