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

[changeth]

He hadn't planned on getting involved in a snowball fight, least of all with children, but as the snowballs keep coming he doesn't see much of a choice. Particularly if, theoretically, there's a maiden to be protected. Whether or not she's laughed at him. Arthur leans only long enough to craft a couple snowballs of his own, lobbing them back at the children before turning back to her.

He's not had much opportunity to meet the Dendarii yet, but they're hard to miss: they lack the pervading unease amongst the people brought here, unfamiliar to this land, but clearly aren't of equivalent status as the hillfolk. He inclines his head, eyebrows raised.

"Ha-ha. My citadel would never fall so easily, whether snow-made or not." This statement would, perhaps, hold more dignity if he didn't have clumps of snow hanging off his clothes and gloves. Or if he didn't then have to dodge another snowball. "Though I'll grant that they're surprisingly tenacious."

[vorbratta]

"Yes, the Dendarii hillfolk are all as tough as stone, I've found. I think they'd have to be, to thrive up here." Sonia grins at him, clearly amused. He's clearly one of the outsiders, but he seems like he could almost fit in here, with a little training, maybe. He seems nice, though, and probably more refreshing conversation than the soldiers. "Ha, and where would that citadel be? Oh -- "

One of the children, ever relentless, lets out a high cackle as another snowball hits Sonia square on the back. Sonia turns around to deliver a clearly chiding remark in Barrayaran Russian, but she's still laughing a little. "Sweet little terrors, aren't they? Oh, but I don't think I ever got your name."

[changeth]

He takes pause just long enough to cast another look about the mountains and the village nestled within them, as though reconsidering after her assessment. Hardy folk indeed, to make such a difficult geography into home and eke not only a living but a life out of it.

"You must be right. This is hardly a home for the faint of heart."

He's not sure he'd call the children sweet so much as terrors, but he doesn't argue with her. Instead, he hefts another snowball and throws; though it misses when the child ducks and stumbles...right into a snowbank. Victory enough.

"Arthur. Arthur Pendragon, of Camelot." He doesn't speak with any real expectation of recognition, this far from home. "And you?"

[vorbratta]

Sonia smothers a rather unprincesslike snort in her hand when she watches the child topple facefirst into the snowbank, and she brushes a stray lock of hair away from her face. She doesn't bow, and she doesn't really curtsy either, but the tilt of her head and her smile more or less approximate the gesture.

"Sonia Vorbarra. A pleasure to meet you, Arthur."

[changeth]

They're royals: subtle gestures of respect are how they roll. It makes her status just as clear, in fact, as appending a title to her name might've done.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replies with a nod of his own, all long-ingrained graces and easy formality.

And then, because it really doesn't feel sporting to leave a small child face-first in the snow, he takes a few steps over to pick him round the middle and set him on his feet. The child's all diffidence for a full moment there, starts to leave...and then tosses one last parting snowball that spatters against Arthur's boots.

"For," Arthur chooses to belatedly amend, walking back to Sonia with a long-suffering look, "present company only."

Meeting impertinent children was not a pleasure!!! And if he thinks otherwise, he'll never admit it.

[vorbratta]

"Not very kingly of you, to be such a sore loser against children," Sonia says lightly, her mouth tilted into a grin. She seems quite amused, and curious too. "Are you really a king?"

[changeth]

"I certainly didn't make it up to intimidate the children," he says, crossing his arms loosely. "Not that it would've been very effective."

As evidenced by the snowball fight. He's not sore that she has to ask -- it's not as though she'd have any way of knowing if he's telling the truth or not -- but new enough to the title that it still feels like a poor fit: prince playing king. Would anyone have needed to ask his father at his age? He finds it doubtful.

(One might call him a biased judge. One would be right.)

[vorbratta]

"Ah," Sonia says, enlightened, and tilts her head. She gives him a slightly impish smile and reintroduces herself. "Imperial Princess Sonia Vorbarra, in that case."

Generally the part she tends to omit when introducing herself, but now she's curious about this putative king.

[changeth]

His eyebrows raise, and he looks suitably impressed, though there's no danger of bowing and scraping.

"I'd no idea we had an imperial princess in our midst. It truly is an honor."

[vorbratta]

She's tired of bowing and scraping, but she'll take that little raise of his eyebrows and raise him a grin in return. She tilts her head and shrugs her shoulders.

"Two, in fact, but my sister's married to Count Piotr now, so she's Countess Vorkosigan first." Which really did make Sonia feel like the only Princess around these days, now that she's the only one still unmarried. She makes a slight face at Arthur, betraying her own flippancy. "They only keep me around for morale, you know."

[changeth]

Which makes Sonia the General Count's sister-in-law, likely here along with her sister. Understandable that he'd want to keep them close when the whole planet's besieged; they'd may as well weather the storm together as not. (The scope is beyond his capacity to imagine, but he'd been gladder to have Guinevere by his side after Cenred's men took the citadel than he'd been without.)

"Morale is an important job." God knows he's given his fair share of speeches, made gestures, for the sake of keeping up morale. It's not hard to imagine how the presence of a cheerful, beautiful princess could boost mens' spirits. "There's no war that can be won with soldiers too downtrodden to fight."