test drive meme

[barrayarmods]

Playlists by tsarcasm:
Barrayar ⚔ Cetaganda ⚔ The Invasion

Have you read the FAQ?

The Village ⚔ The Barrayaran Camp ⚔ The Cetagandan Base ⚔ The Fight

You've been on Barrayar for a while now, and you're finally starting to adjust. Or maybe you're not. Maybe this is all still too much for you – the attacks, the constant raids, living in the middle of a war zone by no choice of your own. But if you want to live long enough to make it back home one day, you might as well do what you can to help the war effort. Besides, where else are you going to go?

The fierce Barrayaran winter rages even to the southern end of the continent, and it's been none too kind to Vorkosigan's District. Temperatures at sea level are well below freezing, and up in the mountains, it's even colder. Several inches of snow already blanket most of the mountains all the way down to the Cetagandan base, and the storm that's just started up is only bringing more down. Visibility is low in the flurries, wind swirling snow everywhere, and God help you if you get lost on your own out in the storm. Nights are cold, these days.

A recent attack on the Cetagandan base has left half their facilities damaged and in disarray. Raid parties snuck in by night, planting bombs in previously scouted locations for maximum effect. Damage to the base's water treatment plant and organic grow labs have considerably impacted the Cetagandans' food and water supply, and in the chaos caused by the explosions, the Barrayaran guerrillas raided their medbay and made off with a considerable bounty of medical supplies. One man's bane is another man's boon, and while the Cetagandans have reserve supplies to sustain them for now, some of the damage is extensive and the repairs will take time. But in the meantime, the Barrayarans have scored a precious victory as well as equally precious resources.



the village
The Riverfall villagers are used to the harsh winters of the Dendarii mountains, and though they don't have much themselves, they are happy to offer what they can in terms of cold-weather clothing and extra blankets to those allied with the guerrillas. Despite the cold, the hill children are going wild in the snow, and they may try to lure you into their play by sneakily pelting you with snowballs.

Cetagandan allies, however, may not be met so warmly, and at the first sight of ghem soldiers, any children out playing in the snow will be immediately ushered into their homes. Unaccompanied outsiders from the Cetagandan base might have an easier time talking to the hillfolk, but any attempt at digging information about the guerrillas out of them will get you stonewalled fast. A sneaky hill child or two may steal away from their home to approach one of the "bad guy" outsiders to sate their curiosity.



the barrayaran camp
Morale is higher than it has been in a while after their recent victory, and the guerrillas are in high spirits. And do they ever love their spirits – as night falls, most of the Barrayarans gathered around the campfires are enjoying the deceptively named, dangerously alcoholic moonshine they call maple mead. It might start out sweet, but it burns all the way down, and a few glasses of that stuff will tank even the heaviest Barrayaran soldier.

But the storm rages on despite their celebration, and preparations must be made. Clearing as much snow off the tents as possible will help ensure that no tents collapse overnight, the horses need to be tended to, and the officers are always running training drills. Food is in real supply now, but the guerrillas need help foraging and hunting nonetheless. And when night falls, you'll have to find a way to keep yourself warm – it's a good thing there are a cozy ten of you to a tent.



the cetagandan base
The Cetagandans outnumber their guerrilla enemies almost seventy-to-one, so their base has not been completely devastated, but it hardly looks to be the work of a few raiding parties. Nothing is beyond repair, but the water treatment plant has been taken offline, which means that all water is now locally sourced and must be treated by hand with purification tablets. No one in the base will starve, but fresh food is mostly unavailable until they get the grow labs back online, which means that meals are mostly comprised of ration bars and MREs. Morale isn't exactly at an all-time low, but none of the ghem officers seem to be in a good mood.

They won't hesitate to put you to work, either. They need all the engineers and laborers they can get for the grow labs and the treatment plant, and the medbay's inventory needs to be thoroughly audited before they can send a request for more supplies. But if you need a break, it's not too hard to slip away for a little quiet downtime. Some of the lower-ranked ghem ladies might let you participate in some more artistic activities, or maybe some of the enlisted soldiers who are a little more used to you by now might invite you into one of their Cetagandan games of strategy. Or, since the treatment plant only affected potable water, you could appreciate your comfortable surroundings and take a nice hot soak in the bathroom while everyone else is working.


the fight
PVP
You're in the midst of a skirmish with the other side -- maybe you signed up for the battle, maybe you just got caught up in the fight -- but at least it's easy to tell who's on what side. Only one side is wielding swords, and the other guns.

But then you come across someone who doesn't look like they're either -- not one of the rugged Barrayarans or the face-painted Cetagandans, but an outsider, an exotic like you. They must be. So do you fight?

RECON
Maybe you're not on the front lines, but there's plenty more to winning the war than just fighting. You're partnered with another outsider on recon; the ground is cold, and you try not to let your shoes crunch too loudly on snow as you scout, scanning for patrols or supply lines.

Or maybe you're with the Cetagandans, hiking it thorugh the mountains with one of your fellow exotics in an attempt to locate the enemy camp. Except it's damned cold, and there's hidden ice everywhere, and everything is starting to really look the same.

--

Feel free to write prompts for your character on either side -- you don't have to choose just one for the TDM! Just label it clearly so folks know. GO WILD, MY FRIENDS

Comments

a. i'm taking this tdm very seriously.

[babygotbite]

Sunny has become very used to not receiving presents from towering, menacing adults. And when she has, they haven't been very nice ones, but the General currently has the advantage of not actively trying to kidnap, kill or politely condescend to Sunny which puts him ahead of the majority of the adults she's dealt with of late. Not very many people seem to know what to do with a baby who certainly looks like a proper baby, but keeps insisting on crawling around, packing firewood and supplies and generally being alarmingly helpful.

Or rather, people have plenty of idea of what to do with an unusual baby, it just seems rather difficult when that baby is studiously tending to a pot of stew before carefully dishing it out and serving it on a tray twice her size. There is a war going on, after all, and you can't just gut a perfectly respectable cook, even if they are younger than some of the stock they're cooking.

Sunny does not have her brother's flare for literacy, so she is so far ignorant of the planet's unfortunate tendency towards infanticide. So she dutifully crawls up to the General's desk and does her very best to stand straight and tall, which is a good trick when you're roughly the size of a sack of flour.

"Gen!" she chirped, which generally meant Hello General, sir, was there something I could do for you?

good because i'm taking this thread very seriously

[oldvor]

Piotr is definitely in the category of 'no idea what to do about an unusual baby'. Babies in general are not among the realms of his expertise -- he doesn't even have children yet -- but it's pitiful that such a small child should be brought into a war like this. Even crueler and more unfair than the rest of this war.

He really wasn't expecting her to crawl into his war tent, trying her level best to stand at attention. An admirably courageous act, considering how cold it is, although with babies he's more willing to chalk it up to sheer obliviousness. He frowns in puzzlement at her, bending only slightly to look at her.

"I thought I told Ma Joennes to take you back to the village with her," he mutters, but mostly to himself, because he doesn't really expect an answer. He reaches out a hand, but he isn't sure whether he's supposed to pat her head or...whatever, so he withdraws it and taps a finger to his lips. What the hell.

[babygotbite]

If he were to say so aloud, Sunny could tell him quite a lot about what she know about cruelty and unfairness. Or she would certainly attempt to, at the very least. The steady indifference of adults had never stopped her and her siblings from trying to alert them to Olaf's schemes and disguises.

The General does have the disadvantage of being an adult, which means Sunny is not terribly flattered when he reaches out his hand. She doesn't feel their relationship has evolved to the point of head patting.

She frowns back up at him, clearly undaunted by the towering man leaning over her. "Ma no!!" she says sharply, which gives the general impression of Ms. Joennes is very kind, but I'm not going to spend all day in a crib.

[oldvor]

Piotr's eyebrows raise, but he lets out a little huff that might've been a laugh from someone else, and drops to a crouch, arms draped loosely over his knees.

"Spirited little thing, aren't you?" He's really got no experience with babies -- no siblings, no children (yet), and hardly anyone in camp under the age of thirteen. But a small child, even a girl, with this much attitude is oddly endearing. "But this is no place for a child, I'm afraid. You're liable to get stepped on. Back to the village you go."

He'll find someone to take her back -- one of his Armsmen, perhaps, with a few additional errands to make the trip worthwhile.

[babygotbite]

"Gib," Sunny says crossing her arms in front of her and peering up at the General, giving the impression of I'm perfectly capable of not being stepped on, I'll have you know. The General is no less imposing now that he's as eye level with Sunny as someone as tall as he can be without lying on the floor. Which Sunny wouldn't recommend, it was a bit drafty, but that was beside the point.

"Vig no," Sunny says, looking resolutely up at the General. It sounded a bit like There's too much to do for me to stay in the village and wait around, I would much rather help.

[oldvor]

Piotr's face goes quizzical but curious, peering closely at Sunny. It's not like he has worlds of experience with small children, but this one is striking him as rather odd.

"What d'you think you're going to do around here, eh?" He seems vaguely amused, humoring the notion that this child is acutely following this conversation. "Not a very friendly place. Don't children usually prefer the company of their own to adults?"