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

pvp

[mirrortide]

While she doesn't know what half of this.. human stuff is, it hardly takes a Peridot to figure out that the thing being pointed at her is dangerous. Granted, the thing she has on her person is also dangerous, but she had hardly been ready for an ambush like that.

The blue girl doesn't even bother reaching for the plasma gun on her. She doubts she could do it fast enough to get a shot off before being shot.

"... Feel like pretending we never saw each other, then?"

No one ever said Lapis was the bravest or the most fearless gem.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl isn't about to argue. This isn't his war. He's here because he has to be, but his interest is in surviving it, not winning it.

He doesn't drop his bow, keeps it aimed on the blue girl's head, but he takes a slow step away. Cautiously, carefully, he gives her what benefit of the doubt there is. "And keep it to yourself."

[mirrortide]

"That works for me." She watches cautiously, because she's still not really sure, even when he takes a step away. It's a small gesture, but honestly it does little to relieve her.

She mimics his movements, taking her own cautious step away, though hesitates once her foot hits the ground. He's still aiming at her, and it's a terrible idea to even ask, but she has to. It might be useful information for later. Maybe.

"You're with the barrayarans, right? Can I ask you something? It- It's not for any sort of critical information, or anything."

[pigsfeet]

Daryl narrows his eyes, wondering if this is some kind of trick. He keeps his bow trained on her, ready to strike the moment she proves false.

"Ask, then."

[mirrortide]

There's no tricks here, thankfully. Lapis wants to leave just as soon as she can as well. Say she never saw anything. No one has to know different, after all.

"There isn't a human kid on your side, is there? Small? Named Steven?" Lapis only knows that he's not on the Ceta side, but she's never had a chance to figure out the other side of things. "I just want to know if he ended up here by any chance too."

[pigsfeet]

Daryl measures the merits of honesty. War is war and all that macho crap, but Daryl knows what it is to be in this girl's position, wondering if her people have been caught on the wrong side of the conflict. Honesty wins out.

He nods slowly, bow still raised.

[mirrortide]

"He's- He's on your side?" Is she reading that nonverbal communication right? She hopes she isn't, because just the thought of Steven being caught up in a war, of being on the other side of the clear winners (in her mind) is enough for panic to shoot through her fast and hard, she takes a half step forward, before she remembers that she's not the one who has any business being demanding right now.

To their credit, Human wars are so much unlike Gem wars. There's rarely prisoners in Gem wars.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl takes a step forward as well, twitching his bow as a warning. He won't shoot her unprovoked, but she doesn't know that. "That's what I said."

He's pretty sure he saw a kid named Steven running around, anyway. He's been trying to distance himself from the group, but he's good with names.

[mirrortide]

"Please! I need to find him! I have to keep him safe!" She's hardly considering that there might be more than one human child named Steven running around. The twitch of his crossbow hardly means anything in the face of the fact that Steven is on the wrong side of this war.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl remembers being in this girl's place, knowing the right person was on the wrong side and being willing to do anything for them. He doesn't question it, just nods his head. The crossbow stays up, though. "You coming with?"

As far as he sees it, that's the only option he'll allow.

[mirrortide]

It's a fair enough trade, honestly, but Lapis nods eagerly, taking a slow step towards him. She's been a prisoner before, and while she's not this time, she knows more or less what to do and how to pose herself. As non threatening as possible.

"Lead the way."

[pigsfeet]

Fair enough. Daryl lowers his bow, but not completely. The battle rages on behind a line of trees that Daryl avoids, snaking back through the underbrush in another direction entirely. He's not, actually, going toward their camp; this could all be an elaborate goddamn trap as far as he's concerned.

But it might not be, and then what?

"Who's this kid to you?"

[mirrortide]

"I was trapped in a mirror for thousands of years. He saved me." When no one else even cared to bother wonder who she had been. "He's my friend." Well, if she understood the concept of Family, that might be closer to the mark, but 'Beach Summer Fun Buddy' doesn't really sound like an apt thing to say in this sort of situation.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl barely resists the urge to rolls his eyes. "You were trapped in a what?"

Look, he knows he's on an alien planet fighting in some freaky war, but that is somehow more easy to believe than this fairytale bullshit.

[mirrortide]

"A mirror. Do they not have them where you're from?" It's hard to say, with people coming in form all over, from different times, even. Maybe he doesn't have them in his place and time. Who knew?

[pigsfeet]

There's only so much that Daryl can take in good faith. It's a limited amount in the best of times, but this is really pushing it. "That why you're blue?"

[mirrortide]

"No? I'm blue because I'm a Lapis Lazuli. Or was, before I got here, anyway. Now I'm just a blue human, I guess." It's very complicated, and honestly she doesn't want to think about it too long. She couldn't even be considered a hybrid like Steven, because at least Steven still had his powers. Lapis has... nothing.

[pigsfeet]

"You want me to take you to our camp, you better start talking sense." After a certain point, someone as filled with unknown variables as this lady becomes dangerous. Daryl isn't letting her anywhere near the camp until that, at least, is sorted.

[mirrortide]

"I am talking sense though?" Er, obviously she's said something wrong. She doesn't know what, but somehow in that last sentence of hers she's done it. And he's clearly no going to take her to see Steven if he doesn't trust she's not about to do anything.

[pigsfeet]

Okay, great, the crazy blue girl thinks she wants to give him a hard time. Daryl does roll his eyes, this time. "Gimme a reason to trust you're really looking for this kid." And not, you know, doing more stupid shit in the war. A blue person would be a shitty spy, but they're only as shitty as the idiot who leads them to camp.

[mirrortide]

"I don't know how to do that. I just want to know that he's okay, I don't care about anything else. Please." She's not sure what she'd do if Steven got hurt and she couldn't have done anything to stop it. She doesn't even know how she would do anything to help him in her current state.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl groans. This is getting to be too much. "Gonna lead you to a neutral place'n send the kid your way. Anything else's off the table."

[mirrortide]

"That's alright. I probably shouldn't go straight to your base or anything, that might not be good for either of us." And Lapis likes living, especially likes living when there's a war around her which has done nothing but threaten her every Diamond forsaken day.

[pigsfeet]

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl grouses, and they continue on through the woods. He hopes this blue kid doesn't have too good a sense of direction. Of course, this could all be a stupid trap, and Daryl isn't about to get anyone killed over his blunder and a bleeding heart.

He takes out a large, wicked-looking knife, and stabs it into a nearby tree, carving an X. "Stay here. Go anywhere, deal's off."

[mirrortide]

"Er, I wont go too far at least? I don't want to be seen by your side." Lapis would probably laugh if he called her a kid outright. She does have at least a few thousand years on him after all. Assuming he's completely human, anyway. Lapis is only getting marginally better at telling one organic life form from another.

"But I'll definitely be around." That way she can, and she probably should have thought of this sooner, tell if it's a trap on his end too.