Lucifer vs. Vor master post

[vorbarra]

WHO: Lucifer + the whole damn cast + a bunch of unfortunate victims of circumstance.
WHERE: Various.
WHEN: Starting 5/27 and onward.
WHAT: Lucifer has Mark kidnap Gregor. Shit hits the fan.
WARNINGS: There is definitely going to be torture and violence. Will update with specifics.


Table of Contents (roughly chronological)
Initial kidnapping -- Gregor, Mark, Lucifer
So honey, I haven't told you... -- Aral, Cordelia
Secondary kidnapping -- Lucy, Mark, Kel
Hawke vs. Vorhouse -- Hawke, Miles, Aral, Tex, Jim, Spock, Kel
Miles at the hospital -- Miles, Kitty, Tex, Ed, Jim, Bucky, Ken, Kareen, Mark, Newt, Kel
Location: rubble -- Winry, Miles, Ed, Tex
Ruined date and getting voluntold -- Duv, Kasumi, Aral
Torture log -- Lucifer, Dean, Gregor
Assignment -- Lucifer, Mark
Telepathy -- Aral, Tex, Gregor
Wagon circling -- Miles, Winry, Roy, Ed, Yuri
Requests -- Aral, Jim
Rescue -- Lucifer, Miles, Kitty, Hermann, Mark
Hellhounds -- Lucifer, Roy, Ed, Hawke, Mark, Aral
Main fight -- Lucifer, Aral, Hawke
Swamp mingle -- Tex, Hawke, Ed, Winry, Roy, Jim
Post-rescue at hospital -- Gregor, Miles, Kitty, Duv, Cordelia
Following the trail of burger wrappers and tears -- Duv, Nicolas
Hospital threads part three -- Miles, Cordelia
End of the line -- Duv, Mark
Family reunion & oath swearing -- Mark, Gregor, Aral, Tej, Duv, Miles, Tex, Winry, Ed, Simon
Recovery OTA -- Aral, Miles, Duv, Cordelia, Ed, Winry

Comments

[watch_me_burn]

Ah, yes. Of course. He couldn't very well show favoritism to his child during such a time. [Or he could have, but that wasn't Aral's style, which was why he was chosen for Regent in the first place.]

I'm afraid I never got to see that, but I did think them to be rather self-indulgent at times. Believing what they want, doing what they want despite... societal objections.

[dendarii]

Just so. He was very careful not to.

[ With all the benefits and drawbacks that entails. ]

... That's not self-indulgence, though. It's strength.

[watch_me_burn]

... An interesting perspective. But from that vantage point, I must seem particularly weak.

[dendarii]

[ Miles winces a bit at that. ]

That's not - there's different kinds of strength.

[watch_me_burn]

Oh, come now, Vorkosigan, I'm not scolding you. No, I know exactly where I stand, or rather, where I stood.

[She settles back in her chair and gazes at a wall, thinking back on Barrayar in that "sheltered" life of green.]

A woman in my place had no ability to do or say or think anything different than what was expected of her. For most of my life I was content to do just that. It was tolerable.

[dendarii]

[ Miles' jaw sets in a stubborn line, but he swallows the comment that comes to mind first. ]

And then Serg?

[watch_me_burn]

[Kareen's brow twitches at the name, but otherwise her expression doesn't change.]

The first three years of marriage were dark for me, but after I became pregnant with Gregor things became... easier. Emperor Ezar began to make efforts to see that I was rarely in the same place as Serg, and never alone whether he was in attendance or not.

[dendarii]

That makes him seem rather like he was protecting Gregor than you.

[watch_me_burn]

[Kareen's gaze returns to Miles.]

It would be naive to think otherwise, Vorkosigan.

[dendarii]

... One can hope.

[ But he doesn't argue. Not in the slightest. ]

[watch_me_burn]

Hope isn't logical, Vorkosigan. It was always based on logic. And what kind of prisoner can afford to hope when they've been delivered a life sentence?

If you want to know further details, I can tell you that it wasn't until after the baby was confirmed to be a boy that I gained any sort of additional protection. If I had only been pregnant with a girl I doubt it would have worked out the same.

[No woman could carry down the bloodline. A girl would have been a wasted effort.]

Of course, I could be wrong but... [She let the statement hang.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles recoils a bit from that. Would it really have been that bad? Barrayar is backwards in so many ways, but for a female sibling of Gregor's to receive no protection from Serg at all ... that does seem wrong. ]

You would know better than I.

[watch_me_burn]

[Kareen didn't like to imagine what might have happened to her if she had been pregnant with a girl. After all, Serg had some very perverse tendencies and Kareen wouldn't put anything past him.]

Your Barrayar sounds much kinder than mine, Vorkosigan. I regret never getting to see it.

[dendarii]

[ Miles flinches even more at that thought. ]

I assure you it was not kind to me either.

[watch_me_burn]

[Kareen's attention is diverted from her own dark thoughts and she gazes steadily over Miles.]

... No. I don't suppose it was, Regent's son or not.

[dendarii]

Just so. Made worse for my position, I'm sure. As you well know from experience.

[watch_me_burn]

Ah, yes, the gilded cage of societal and political pressures, and the cultural stigmas that further barricade us inside them. We both shoulder more than our fair share, I'd say.

[dendarii]

... On that, I think we can agree completely. Poor Gregor suffers as well.

[watch_me_burn]

Gregor...

[Her poor son. He was in a dire situation now and there was little she could do about it. Even if he were safe back home, there was nothing she could do to help him. She was useless.]

It's... funny, isn't it? How sought-after the Imperium is to those lusting for power, and yet they don't realize just how stifling it can be.

[dendarii]

The most stifling of all. He manages it, somehow, but I desperately do not envy him. Even the thought of -

[ He stops very abruptly, just barely keeping the words marrying him from tumbling out. ]

-- of some godawful succession nonsense putting me on the throne is terrifying.

[watch_me_burn]

Well, I wouldn't worry about that. If he survived attempts while at the age of five due to your family's assistance, I can't imagine that being any easier now that he's an adult and retains that assistance. Besides, he has your loyalty.

[Not to mention Miles' obvious physical deformities disqualifying him in the eyes of many other Vor; Ivan Vorpatril was more likely to gain support as an usurper than Miles... or that would have been the case in Kareen's time. Honestly, she wasn't sure where things stood anymore. It had been 20 years and it seemed so much had changed.]

You'd never do something that would displace my son, I'm sure.

[dendarii]

[ That is the better constant to rely to. Miles nods quite fiercely. ]

Never. I don't want it, to begin with - and the thought of allowing Gregor come to harm is horrifying in the extreme.

[watch_me_burn]

So... this situation we have right now must greatly upset you.

[dendarii]

[ Miles seem to crumple in on himself at that. ]

I ... yes. Very much so. Beyond my ability to cope with if I must stay here and do nothing.

[watch_me_burn]

Vorkosigan... For those of us unable to act, we must put our faith in those who can.