Snowflake Challenge, Day Twelve
Jan. 12th, 2018 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunlit_stoneIn your own space, create a fanwork. Make a podfic, an icon, a sketch, a meta, or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Cross stitch. Draft an essay about a particular medium. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of book you love, a ship manifesto, a you-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay.
I thought about doing meta! I'm good at meta, I like meta. But the main meta post I have in mind right now is Kylo Ren redemption meta, and 1) I wanted to do something totally new for this challenge and 2) that is way too much work for me at this time of night and I am tired. So....
The chime from the comconsole woke Vorlaurence from his daze, and he quickly set his papers aside to answer it. It was Galeni; or at any rate, the thought occurred to him, someone using his console.
But no, it was Galeni, after all, and Vorlaurence found himself almost weak with relief. Galeni looked exhausted, accompanied by a peculiar sort of irritation that even Vorlaurence rarely saw and a deeply exultant triumph; he had not, after all, been convicted of treason.
"Duv," he said. "I am so glad--I knew you had not, I never doubted--" he stopped, trying to wrestle words around his exhaustion into some kind of useful order.
"Yes, I got your message," said Duv. "For the record, addressing a passionate defense of a recently imprisoned suspect to 'whomever the honourable agent is, who is monitoring Colonel Galeni's commconsole,' was probably not your best idea." He hesitated. "That said--thank you, Will. I can't pretend I'm not grateful."
"I appreciate your kindness, but I cannot accept your gratitude," said Vorlaurence. "It was not more than any honourable man would have done; even beyond any ties of personal affection I bear for you, there is the horror of condemning an innocent man, nor could there be any question of leaving free a man who would attack Captain Illyan."
Galeni was looking at him with a fondness that Vorlaurence had come to recognize, but he said only, "Mmm. Well, you weren't the only one to feel that way. Miles got me out."
"Lord Vorkosigan?" A sliver of his earlier uncertainty returned. "Are you--that is, have you truly been cleared--"
"No, God no, I'm free. Stop worrying, Will. They even found who did it." He blew out a breath. "I don't think I can tell you who, though, not yet. It'll come out in the next few days, but it's, ah, delicate. Needs careful handling." He stopped again. "I'm babbling. Look, I should get some sleep. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all right." Then, squinting at Vorlaurence, "You look exhausted, too. Have you gotten any sleep, since I was arrested?"
"I wished to be awake," said Vorlaurence, "that I would hear any further news of you, or in case I might be useful in some way to the cause of your freedom." He was glad to have done so; he would sleep far better now, knowing Galeni free and the guilty party arrested, than he would have contemplating Galeni in ImpSec's dungeons. Nevertheless, "I am glad that you called, Duv, and I greatly appreciate your thought for me. But I fear you are right about sleeping."
"I'll call you tomorrow. Explain a little better," said Galeni. "But it's good to see you. Good night, Will."
"Good night," Vorlaurence echoed, and watched as the screen returned to the static of a cut connection.
I thought about doing meta! I'm good at meta, I like meta. But the main meta post I have in mind right now is Kylo Ren redemption meta, and 1) I wanted to do something totally new for this challenge and 2) that is way too much work for me at this time of night and I am tired. So....
The chime from the comconsole woke Vorlaurence from his daze, and he quickly set his papers aside to answer it. It was Galeni; or at any rate, the thought occurred to him, someone using his console.
But no, it was Galeni, after all, and Vorlaurence found himself almost weak with relief. Galeni looked exhausted, accompanied by a peculiar sort of irritation that even Vorlaurence rarely saw and a deeply exultant triumph; he had not, after all, been convicted of treason.
"Duv," he said. "I am so glad--I knew you had not, I never doubted--" he stopped, trying to wrestle words around his exhaustion into some kind of useful order.
"Yes, I got your message," said Duv. "For the record, addressing a passionate defense of a recently imprisoned suspect to 'whomever the honourable agent is, who is monitoring Colonel Galeni's commconsole,' was probably not your best idea." He hesitated. "That said--thank you, Will. I can't pretend I'm not grateful."
"I appreciate your kindness, but I cannot accept your gratitude," said Vorlaurence. "It was not more than any honourable man would have done; even beyond any ties of personal affection I bear for you, there is the horror of condemning an innocent man, nor could there be any question of leaving free a man who would attack Captain Illyan."
Galeni was looking at him with a fondness that Vorlaurence had come to recognize, but he said only, "Mmm. Well, you weren't the only one to feel that way. Miles got me out."
"Lord Vorkosigan?" A sliver of his earlier uncertainty returned. "Are you--that is, have you truly been cleared--"
"No, God no, I'm free. Stop worrying, Will. They even found who did it." He blew out a breath. "I don't think I can tell you who, though, not yet. It'll come out in the next few days, but it's, ah, delicate. Needs careful handling." He stopped again. "I'm babbling. Look, I should get some sleep. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all right." Then, squinting at Vorlaurence, "You look exhausted, too. Have you gotten any sleep, since I was arrested?"
"I wished to be awake," said Vorlaurence, "that I would hear any further news of you, or in case I might be useful in some way to the cause of your freedom." He was glad to have done so; he would sleep far better now, knowing Galeni free and the guilty party arrested, than he would have contemplating Galeni in ImpSec's dungeons. Nevertheless, "I am glad that you called, Duv, and I greatly appreciate your thought for me. But I fear you are right about sleeping."
"I'll call you tomorrow. Explain a little better," said Galeni. "But it's good to see you. Good night, Will."
"Good night," Vorlaurence echoed, and watched as the screen returned to the static of a cut connection.
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Date: 2018-01-13 08:04 pm (UTC)Galeni looked exhausted, accompanied by a peculiar sort of irritation that even Vorlaurence rarely saw and a deeply exultant triumph;
♥
And ahhh, they are up to first names now, which is nearly as significant in Vorkosiverse canon as in Temeraire-verse.
"I am so glad--I knew you had not, I never doubted--"
I love that this is the first thing Laurence has to tell him, and that he sent a letter with a snarky address. And it is so neat to see Laurence's feelings on people unjustly accused of treason from the other side (and especially the bit where part of his anger is that this means the real culprit is not neutralized or punished).
Miles got me out."
"Lord Vorkosigan?" A sliver of his earlier uncertainty returned. "Are you--that is, have you truly been cleared--"
I loved this bit! So, Laurence is sufficiently familiar with Lord Vorkosigan's MO to have justifieable worries in this regard XD
(So, is grown-up Vorlaurence ImpMil? Does he, through a heroic accident, end up captain of a brand-new experimental sentient Cetagandan dreadnaught who refuses to answer to anyone but him? ;)
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Date: 2018-01-15 03:51 am (UTC)Yes, they have become Very Good Friends. (For Laurence's reactions, I was thinking again of the way he reacts to Tharkay, who I think becomes his closest friend in the books.)
I think that Laurence is a big believer in justice. Which is not the same thing as revenge! It's not that he wants the bad guy to be caught because he wants to hurt him. But he thinks that offenders should be brought to justice. (And of course he says he's doing what any honourable man would do, which...is clearly not the case except for Laurence's stringent definitions of honour. You've got to love him.)
Laurence is sufficiently familiar with Lord Vorkosigan's MO to have justifieable worries in this regard XD bwahaha! No, okay, that's great, but what I was /actually/ thinking is that it's well within Lord Auditor Vorkosigan's powers, even as Ninth Lord Auditor, to order that Galeni be let return home. He wouldn't, of course; for the stain on Galeni's honour to be removed, he needs to be cleared, and the real traitor found, and Miles knows that. But Vorlaurence doesn't know that he does, hence his concern. But honestly I love that, and now I'm picturing Miles, presumably at some earlier stage in his career, plotting a break-in to ImpSec HQ to rescue
a POWGaleni, and maybe recruiting Vorlaurence along the way.As to Vorlaurence's future career, I'm afraid my thought process at the time was more *stare blearily at screen* what would this character do. Okay now the other character. *squints determinedly at an adverb for five minutes*--it was not exactly full of detailed worldbuilding notes, is what I'm saying. (For one thing, pretty sure this doesn't begin to match up with the timeline suggested by the first one.) That being said, yes, I think Vorlaurence must be ImpMil, and I love the idea of Temeraire being a Cetagandan experiment that Vorlaurence accidentally ended up with...but what if instead of a dreadnought, the Cetagandans are trying to build an animal that can survive in space, and maybe carry a small crew with? I'm sure you can justify various dragonish traits as being useful in space somehow, plus biotech is very Cetagandan and I honestly just like the idea of Temeraire being a creature, still (and imagine the Barrayaran higherups trying to deal with a sentient dragon the size of a medium-small ship!)
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Date: 2018-01-15 08:08 am (UTC)Yes, definitely!
what I was /actually/ thinking is that it's well within Lord Auditor Vorkosigan's powers, even as Ninth Lord Auditor, to order that Galeni be let return home.
Ah! Yes, that would work, too. I mean, would work for Laurence to worry about, not that Miles would actually do it.
and maybe recruiting Vorlaurence along the way.
Haha, now THAT would be something to see!
the Cetagandans are trying to build an animal that can survive in space, and maybe carry a small crew with? I'm sure you can justify various dragonish traits as being useful in space somehow,
Or dragons are just aesthetically pleasing and we all know what the Cetas are like XD But, yeah! Biotech IS more their thing than sentient spaceships, and I suppose if anyone would think of breeding a space-dragon, it would be Cetagandans XD And they might be successful at it, too.
(and imagine the Barrayaran higherups trying to deal with a sentient dragon the size of a medium-small ship!)
Ha! (Well, I think their first reaction, after goggling at the Cetas are breeding what now, would be intense relief that the person who ended up in charge of it is not Miles but a solid fellow from the fleet. But I bet this relief would be short-lived once they figure out just how much of a mind of his own Temeraire has.)
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Date: 2018-01-16 09:09 pm (UTC)Temeraire absolutely has a mind of his own--hmm, I bet you Gregor is one of the people who could bring some kind of moral pressure to bear on him, too. That would be an interesting exchange. As to 'a solid fellow from the fleet'--hahah, it's true but it just means they're entirely unprepared. I'm kind of imagining Illyan--though it wouldn't actually be Illyan, hmm. Unless he transferred to ImpSec because of the Ceta-dragon? Anyway, I'm kind of imagining Illyan being very unimpressed at him for whatever shenanigans he's ended up in lately. "Captain Vorlaurence. Do you know, I personally assured the Emperor that from all you were a solid, reliable soldier and that if one of His subjects had to bond with a Cetagandan spacedragon you were very nearly the optimal choice," and so forth. (Actually they were both just overcome with relief that it wasn't Miles, since you know that any situation this ridiculous had to have involved Miles as ImpSec man-on-the-scene. Probably in his Naismith disguise, too. Hmm--maybe it's another thing he overheard on Cetaganda, like Terrence, and that's how the whole adventure gets kicked off?
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Date: 2018-01-19 03:03 am (UTC)That would definitely be plausible!
Good luck getting Galeni back from a shipsize dragon who's decided he's crew!
Ha, I like this idea even better! (Miles and Temeraire can fight it out over "ownership" :P)
I do think Temeraire would be receptive to Gregor eventually, yes. Because Gregor would take him seriously, and also be genuinely curious, and I think his sort of quiet honor would remind him of Laurence's, so he would respect him. Plus Gregor could promise him shiny gold things, that's important, too.
(Actually they were both just overcome with relief that it wasn't Miles, since you know that any situation this ridiculous had to have involved Miles as ImpSec man-on-the-scene.
Laughing at this, because both parts of this are very true! Miles probably did overhear it on Cetaganda, and couldn't resist playing dragon-slayer or whatever, and naturally the whole thing ended up being far stranger (dragon-...kidnapper? doesn't have quite the same ring to it... XP)
And, yeah, somehow I agree that it feels fitting for Simon to inherit the Cetagandan spacedragon headache...
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Date: 2018-01-19 11:54 pm (UTC)Because Gregor would take him seriously, and also be genuinely curious, and I think his sort of quiet honor would remind him of Laurence's, so he would respect him. Plus Gregor could promise him shiny gold things, that's important, too. Exactly, yes. --and now I'm imagining Gregor offering in a very serous voice to make sure that Laurence's awards are extra deliberately shiny, and Temeraire taking him up on it delightedly while Laurence is dying of mortification in the background.
and naturally the whole thing ended up being far stranger It's true! It's kind of like the whole situation with Taura, only more so.
somehow I agree that it feels fitting for Simon to inherit the Cetagandan spacedragon headache... Simon: "Money, power, sex...and spacedragons."
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Date: 2018-01-22 12:23 am (UTC)Haha, EXACTLY! :D
and now I'm imagining Gregor offering in a very serous voice to make sure that Laurence's awards are extra deliberately shiny, and Temeraire taking him up on it delightedly
This is such a wonderful mental image! And Laurence is probably looking at Illyan in mute appeal, despairing of Simon being highly unsympathetic of his plight.
It's kind of like the whole situation with Taura, only more so.
That is an excellent point of comparison! (Miles probably is rather sad the spacedragon didn't want to join the Dendarii, but it's definitely for the best.)
Simon: "Money, power, sex...and spacedragons."
XD
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Date: 2018-01-24 09:45 pm (UTC)Miles probably is rather sad the spacedragon didn't want to join the Dendarii, but it's definitely for the best Oh good God, can you imagine Temeraire in the Dendarii? I'm not sure if that would end well or ridiculously badly. I mean, the Dendarii are a lot less chain-of-command focused than Laurence's military is, but I'm not sure he'd really fall into the whole cult of personality thing Miles has going there, and you still need /some/ ability to follow orders/go along with the troop. (Though, on the other hand, he'd probably get along well with Tung!) (--and now it's occurring to me that the only way he'd go along with Miles like that is is he were /Miles'/ dragon, and there is a truly terrifying notion, even aside from completely blowing Miles' cover.)
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Date: 2018-01-26 03:36 am (UTC)Totally! :D
he were /Miles'/ dragon, and there is a truly terrifying notion, even aside from completely blowing Miles' cover.)
Miles with a very protective dragon is definitely a terrifying thought (and OH, OH, can you imagine Mark trying to fool Temeraire, and potentially forming an uneasy alliance (and while his Captain's clone is definitely not his Captain, I bet Temeraire would decide that this means Mark belongs to him anyway, and needs looking after...)
And he would definitely get along well with Tung, yes!
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Date: 2018-01-27 06:01 pm (UTC)Oh, man, Mark trying to fool Temeraire would be the greatest thing. Although I can imagine Temeraire just deciding to go along with him--he might not get why it would be a bad idea, and especially early on he's definitely a fan of the frontal assault :P But then, how would Memory go, if Temeraire was publically associated with Miles Naismith? Though maybe Miles would be less worried about being replaced, then, hmm--but there's still the question of how the hell you're ever going to be able to retire his cover... Hmmm.
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Date: 2018-01-28 02:20 am (UTC)Ahaha, that's so true! (Miles would definitely be pleased, I think, though he would, for propriety's sake, try to hush him up. But he seems to feel bad that his triumphs are hidden ones and everyone sees just the unclassified non-illustrious career, so I think he couldn't resist his dragon talking him up :P)
he might not get why it would be a bad idea, and especially early on he's definitely a fan of the frontal assault :P
That's true, actually! I could see him just deciding to go along with it.
but there's still the question of how the hell you're ever going to be able to retire his cover... Hmmm.
They're just going to have to pretend Vaughn Wedell managed to reverse-engineer (or just clone) a different spacedragon, who ended up imprinting on Lord Auditor Miles somehow. I mean, it's not a very solid cover story, but if Temeraire goes along with it, hopefully nobody would try to actually argue about it with a spacedragon?
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Date: 2018-01-31 03:59 am (UTC)hopefully nobody would try to actually argue about it with a spacedragon Hahahahaha! It's true by the end of it his secret identity isn't all that secret. ("I trust his resurrection won't prove necessary," and all that.) Oh, man, though, if we've got Mirror Dance going here that means that Miles is dead, for a while. I imagine Temeraire would not react at all well to that, especially since it would be a lot harder to deny than Laurence's "death" at sea, and also especially given his own part in it... IIRC Miles makes Bel resign, in canon. I feel like the whole thing would really mess Temeraire up.
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Date: 2018-01-14 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-15 03:26 am (UTC)