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

[oldvor]

Dragons are...really something else.

They're something out of old Earth mythology, but with what technology can do these days -- and what the Cetagandans have made themselves into -- Piotr is learning to mitigate his surprise. At this point, it's no more ridiculous than anything else that's happened since the arrival of the outsiders.

Piotr wasn't expecting sentience, much less such civility, out of a mythical beast, but he won't complain. The dragon doesn't quite intimidate him, but that doesn't mean there's no respect there. The kind of respect you extend to a creature that could probably kill you with its bare claws. Piotr meets Darkstalker's gaze head-on.

"Do you deal with humans much, where you're from?"

[threemoons]

Darkstalker frowned slightly. That was admittedly not one of the conversation topics he anticipated. For whatever reason his ability to read the possibilities of the future did not seem to be, well, there. He composed himself, carefully crafting an answer. He wanted these people to trust him, and admitting they'd kept humans as classroom pets was not the way to do that.

"Not particularly, they're considered quite rare where I'm from. Nothing like here. I could never have dreamed of the opportunity of meeting so many in one place."

[oldvor]

Piotr's eyes are narrowed slightly in a look of appraisal, trying to gauge Darkstalker's responses. He has very little frame of reference for what dragons think of humans -- well, alright, he has none -- and he has no idea how much he can even trust this beast. He'd like to be able to, if only to reduce the risk.

Piotr lets out a vaguely surprised hum in the affirmative, his face mostly impassive save for the curiosity. He's not sure he likes the idea of humans being so rare. "And your kind and humans, they get along?"

[threemoons]

Darkstalker shrugged. "Well enough I suppose. No better or worse than the different dragon tribes."

That wasn't information the general count was looking for, and Darkstalker knew it. He may not be able to read the scavenger's mind, but he wasn't an idiot. Did he have anything to gain by being elusive? If Piotr thought he was hiding something now, it would make him less likely to trust Darkstalker in the future, which would make things much more difficult.

In his experience, it was better to give authority figures the answer they wanted to hear. He met the general's eyes meaningfully.

"But that's not what you want to know. You want to know if I'm a threat. Whatever relations exist between dragons and sc- humans in my world has nothing to do with that. We have a mutual need. I'm stuck here, the only dragon in a strange world. You need soldiers, and there's no one in your army capable of what I can do for you."

[oldvor]

Piotr's eyebrows raise slightly in response, but he doesn't look annoyed. A good answer when there aren't many to begin with, especially since Darkstalker's revealed enough by what he's trying not to say. Piotr doesn't like the implications, but the dragon makes a fair point.

"And what can you do for me?"

[threemoons]

A confident, winning grin spread across Darkstalker's face. Time to really sell it.

"For one thing, last I checked your forces have no air support or defenses. My mother led the air defense for my tribe, so I know I thing or two about how important it is when you're fighting a war. Also unless my sources are inaccurate, which is doubtful, humans aren't exactly known for their night vision while NightWings on the other hand are nocturnal and are excellent night hunters. I also personally worked with Queen Vigilance to develop new strategies in our ongoing war against the IceWings."

Granted, those had mostly involved using his animus magic, which would be worthless here, but he was confident he could still come up with some very clever ideas that would work here.

[oldvor]

Piotr turns a hand palm-out to acknowledge Darkstalker's self-assuredness. "That's quite the resume. Not many of the outsiders here have experience in wartime. And you speak with conviction."

He drops his hand, clasping both of them behind his back in a loose parade rest. "We aren't able to use any galactic technology without revealing our location to the Cetagandans. The energy signature of even the use of anti-gravity tech would be a beacon to them. Our only advantage is our knowledge of the terrain -- without any energy signature to give us away, the face-painted bastards have a hell of a time trying to find us in these mountains. So we have no heavy artillery, no. Whenever the Cetagandans happen to find our location, when they bring in aerial forces -- we don't fight back. We retreat."

[threemoons]

Darkstalker grin faltered for the slightest moment. He knew that about the technology, they'd made it very clear when he showed up. Which did bring up the question of what on earth their enemies may have at their disposal, since the humans kept mentioning things that would only be possible with animus magic back home.

"Certainly, sir, you're correct a proper air defense would be impossible, without a full wing of dragons anyway. A more straightforward way to phrase it would be to simply say I can fly and you can't. It is still invaluable to have someone who can use the skies freely. An aerial scout for example would be very valuable to your cause."