A lot of Komarrans hold a grudge against Barrayar for conquering them, forgetting or ignoring that they brought it on themselves by sharp practice and treachery. But never mind that; something more important has come up.
A Komarran investigative reporting team has found evidence of two, make that three, shocking facts about the Barrayaran invasion:
1. It got a lot of covert support and planning guidance from ... ... the Combined Command Staff on "culturally significant but militarily unimportant" Earth. The place may still be balkanized, but Terrans can work together for something that affects the planet as a whole, and the CCS is a collection of the most icily Machiavellian military brains "the Mother of Men" boasts. Some of them would've given Reinhard Heydrich nightmares. Komarr's trade gouging didn't just put a hurt on Barrayar, it was pushing Holy Mother Terra to the brink of worldwide depression. Something had to be done about, or to, Komarr. Barrayar was the cat's-paw, because the Barrayarans did after all have their own good reasons to want to wale on Komarr.
2. The Solstice Massacre, likewise, was ordered by Earth, not anyone on Barrayar. Komarran businesses needed to be cut back, not just put under Barrayaran oversight, so the CCS ordered the murders with the full intention that it'd turn the conquest into a guerrilla war that'd keep Komarr and Barrayar both occupied for a decade or two to come. The Political Officer who gave the orders on scene was Barrayaran born and bred, yes, but his loyalty had long ago been transferred to Terra.
3. That was the soft option. If the Terrans had had to do the job of taking Komarr down all by their lonesomes, well ... they couldn't garrison the planet effectively, it's at the end of too long a string of wormhole jumps. So instead of conquering and administering the planet, the Terran Plan B was to crack open most or all of the habitat domes, killing the overwhelming majority of the Komarran populace. A pity, but they were in Terra's way.
I have no preconceptions as to where this story should go from here, except that any action which harms Terran interests is of course unacceptable, and anyone proposing to write such a tale will be liquidated by CCS fiat. Frankly, I just enjoyed the thought of the Komarrans' horror as they realize Barrayar isn't nearly as much to blame for the whole mess as they'd thought.
Yes, I was in a very bad, very mean and evil mood when I wrote this.
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
A Komarran investigative reporting team has found evidence of two, make that three, shocking facts about the Barrayaran invasion:
1. It got a lot of covert support and planning guidance from ... ... the Combined Command Staff on "culturally significant but militarily unimportant" Earth. The place may still be balkanized, but Terrans can work together for something that affects the planet as a whole, and the CCS is a collection of the most icily Machiavellian military brains "the Mother of Men" boasts. Some of them would've given Reinhard Heydrich nightmares. Komarr's trade gouging didn't just put a hurt on Barrayar, it was pushing Holy Mother Terra to the brink of worldwide depression. Something had to be done about, or to, Komarr. Barrayar was the cat's-paw, because the Barrayarans did after all have their own good reasons to want to wale on Komarr.
2. The Solstice Massacre, likewise, was ordered by Earth, not anyone on Barrayar. Komarran businesses needed to be cut back, not just put under Barrayaran oversight, so the CCS ordered the murders with the full intention that it'd turn the conquest into a guerrilla war that'd keep Komarr and Barrayar both occupied for a decade or two to come. The Political Officer who gave the orders on scene was Barrayaran born and bred, yes, but his loyalty had long ago been transferred to Terra.
3. That was the soft option. If the Terrans had had to do the job of taking Komarr down all by their lonesomes, well ... they couldn't garrison the planet effectively, it's at the end of too long a string of wormhole jumps. So instead of conquering and administering the planet, the Terran Plan B was to crack open most or all of the habitat domes, killing the overwhelming majority of the Komarran populace. A pity, but they were in Terra's way.
I have no preconceptions as to where this story should go from here, except that any action which harms Terran interests is of course unacceptable, and anyone proposing to write such a tale will be liquidated by CCS fiat. Frankly, I just enjoyed the thought of the Komarrans' horror as they realize Barrayar isn't nearly as much to blame for the whole mess as they'd thought.
Yes, I was in a very bad, very mean and evil mood when I wrote this.
-----
Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.