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

[dendarii]

As far as Miles is concerned they're probably already affecting things, so why not save Vorkosigan Vashnoi? But - that's neither here nor there, for now. They have more pressing issues.

"All right, all right," he murmurs, conceding the battle if not the war. "We'd have to survive that long, anyway. And I don't think Gran'da will let either of us live if he finds out how much we've been lying to him."

[jacksonian]

Mark grimaces. He'd protest, saying that Piotr surely wouldn't murder his own grandchildren, but...well. He's heard about Miles' history with the man. Demonstrably not true.

"How much you've been lying to him, maybe," he retorts. "I'm steering clear of him. And he can try." A beat, and then he ventures to ask, "Has Father been born yet, do we know?" Since that would affect just how much force could be used in, potentially, averting any attempted filicide by the old General.

[dendarii]

Very demonstrably not true. It's familiar, though, and comforting in its own way. (He just feels like he's seventeen again, desperately struggling for his grandfather's affection.)

"You're going to have to lie to him eventually," counters Miles. "If you intend to stay here, anyway. We may as well get our stories straight." Because there's no way their physical resemblance is going to go unremarked. "And I've no idea. Gran'da's barely older than me, though."

[jacksonian]

Mark gives a short shrug. "Or I could just let you handle him," he responds. "It's not like you don't have experience. And I don't have any great desire to get to know him." Not that there isn't a faint prickle of curiosity, of course, but it's more academic than anything else - Piotr is the source of Mark's middle name, of course, so there's that connection, and the great General shaped the personalities of both Miles and of his father in palpable, if largely invisible, ways. On the other end of that scale is potential death - or at best deeply hurtful comments. No thanks.

"So what story are we going with, then? Are you pretending to be Barrayaran or galactic?"

[dendarii]

Miles sighs a bit. Fine, he can't force his brother. And it probably is less complicated if Mark doesn't approach. Let Miles take the brunt of this ... "All right, all right," he says. "But be careful anyway." He starts to pace lightly as he thinks. "I've told him I'm Barrayaran originally, but galactic since I was seventeen. Off-world mercenaries."

[jacksonian]

With a faint hint of sarcasm, Mark asks, "Naismith rides again?" But he moves on before Miles gets flustered or kicks up a fuss. "What name are you using?"

[dendarii]

"Oh god, no." He shakes his head quite firmly. "It's as Betan as they come. I'm going by Ilyan instead."

[jacksonian]

A beat, and then a snort laced with plenty of brotherly derision. "For a genius tactical thinker, you really aren't very creative, are you?" He shakes his head. "Naismith, of the Dendarii Mercenaries. Now Ilyan. Honestly, you're going to name your would-be mercenary group the ImpSec Players, aren't you?"

[dendarii]

Miles just rolls his eyes a bit. "Ilyan is a perfectly good name. Prole, with no significant relatives alive at the moment." And it's comforting to have something familiar.

[jacksonian]

"Yeah, but I don't want to name myself after him." Not that Mark has any great lingering ill-will towards Illyan, but there was a time when the man made him livid. Nowadays...Well. Nowadays, he's retired, and it's hard to really hold a grudge against someone retired. But - well - still.

"Anyway, what happens if the real Illyan ends up showing up here? We pretend he's our father?"

[dendarii]

"The real Ilyan is too young," counters Miles. Well, before the obvious thought occurs to him. "Unless he shows up time-displaced as well."

[jacksonian]

"I don't think he's even born yet," Mark says. "So - yeah. That's exactly what I was thinking. What, do you actually think he wouldn't? Of course he'd stick his nose into this."

[dendarii]

"I don't think he has a choice one way or another. No more than we did." He paces lightly as he thinks, his boots leaving tracks in the snow. "I still don't know why we're here."

[jacksonian]

Mark, who is not zen but who is very well accustomed to being fucked with for reasons beyond his comprehension, gives a short shrug in return. "Sometimes things happen," he responds, arms crossed across his chest, watching his brother as he paces. "Maybe there's no reason."

[dendarii]

"Time travel is a bit much," says Miles. "I think the Cetagandans may be trying to influence history."

[jacksonian]

"Cetagandans?" Mark frowns a bit, thinking that over. A little reluctantly, he admits, "If it were anyone, it would be them."

[dendarii]

"Just so." In theory, anything is possible, but ... Surely Barrayar wouldn't pick this era if they had the tech. He swallows a bit. "It's a key point in history. If they stop the resistance, we're done as a planet."

[jacksonian]

"This is a minor planet, though. As far as their war of conquest goes." Mark gives a little shrug. "It seems like there would be better uses for this technology."

[dendarii]

"Then maybe we're a test case," counters Miles. "Proof of concept."

[jacksonian]

He shakes his head. "If we were that, it wouldn't be the Cetagandans. They would test it on their own history. They'd test it on someone else's."

[dendarii]

"But we're here." He's taken up pacing again, deepening his tracks in the snow. "There has to be a reason why."

[jacksonian]

A small shrug. "Betans?" But he's shaking his head soon as he's saying it; that's decidedly not in their nature. His experience there this past year has certainly demonstrated that.

[dendarii]

Miles is quick to disbelieve that. "Not their style in the slightest," he says. "Not even for an experiment."

[jacksonian]

He's quiet a moment. Then he looks away, a muscle jumping in his jaw, before he suggests - "Komarrans?"

[dendarii]

Well. Mark would know better than anyone. But Miles is silent instead, not bringing up the obvious point. "Possible," he says after a moment. "They'd have reason to try and unbalance both planets. Either way mean a change for them."