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

zarya / overwatch / ota / also voice testing!

[sibearian]

a. barry camp

Ah... [zarya has her hands on her waist and is surveying the training area.] Is just like home! Although...

[she clomps over to a nearby weapons rack, leaving heavy foot prints. even if she no longer has her particle cannon, the heavy armour she wore while wielding it remained. the fact her footprints leave the name of a company that doesn't exist in the same galaxy amused her for all of five seconds. anyway, she carefully takes a sword off the rack - a claymore. holding it in one hand. is she showing off or does she genuinely not know enough about swords to realise it's for two hands? that's up for debate.]

Advanced enough for space travel and holotech, but still using swords? [it's a question she's asking herself as well as anyone nearby.] I cannot be the only one finding this strange. Perhaps if they were a peaceful civilization...

[but seeing as they're in the middle of a WAR...]

b. snow problem

[she manages to explore for all of five minutes before a snowball hits the side of her head, and she whips around to see... a pair of scared looking children. if she had to guess, one of them had dared the other to throw a snowball at the giant pink haired lady, not expecting them to actually take up the challenge.

it's a struggle, but she keeps her expression stony as the terrified child slowly raises his arm to point at his friend, who squawks in reply.]

Didn't your parents ever teach you... [she keeps her voice level.] how to properly pack snowballs?

[yeah there's no way this was going to go any other way. minutes later, zarya can be found sitting on the ground with the two showing them how to pack snowballs for a perfect hardness/softness ratio.]

c. pvp flagged

Stand down.

[it's a powerful command; zarya may not be in a position of authority, but she still seems like it with her stature, posture and sword and shield drawn.]

You seem like me. I don't think we will benefit from drawing blood over this. [she narrows her eyes.] But do not take me for a fool ready to lay down in her own grave.

It is up to you how this day ends.

wildcard

[CUT THE BRAKES WILDCAAAAAARD i'm on jabbers if you want to discuss anything!]

a

[dendarii]

[ Dear god, but that's a huge woman. Miles is a tiny slip of a man in comparison - 4'9" with a gaunt frame that hints at a lifetime of medical ailments. He's extremely impressed, though, and not the least bit dismayed by the thought of a woman soldier despite his accent being obviously Barrayaran. ]

Definitely not peaceful. But Barrayar's always been a planet of contradictions, I've found.

[sibearian]

[small indeed. zarya feels like she should lean down or something, would that be rude?? she opts to continue talking to him like she would anyone else.]

A native? I suppose you must know better than any. Tell me, how is it that your weaponry is medieval but everything else is so advanced? I don't mean this as an insult; it genuinely confuses me.

[dendarii]

[ Miles isn't the slightest bit insulted himself. It's a question he's gotten many times in his time. ]

Well, we've been isolated from the greater Nexus for hundreds of years. All that advanced weaponry is quite new.

[sibearian]

Greater Nexus? What is this? Some kind of thing that stops your scientists doing their work?

[as someone who regulalry weilds a gun that bends gravity... she's a little less than impressed.]

[dendarii]

Oh. Er - the wormholes connecting the various planets. Otherwise we wouldn't have contact with other worlds at all. It's called the Nexus.

[ Completely normal for him, judging by the tone of his voice. ]

[sibearian]

I see.

[well, miles has successfully given zarya the definition of 'nexus', something she already knew.]

You did not answer question. How is it your country has holotech but still fights with swords?

[dendarii]

... But that's exactly the explanation. We were cut off.

[sibearian]

Psh. My world has never had contact from other planets. Still, my usual weapon is a particle cannon.

[YA'LL SUCK.]

[dendarii]

Where are you from, then?

[sibearian]

A country called Russia. It is on Earth.

[she cocks her head at miles.]

Different planet, but we have the same language. Забавно, не правда ли?

[dendarii]

[ Miles perks up instantly. He, more than any other Barrayaran here, has enough contact with standard Russian to translate it smoothly into the Barrayaran dialect. ]

Not funny at all. Logical. Most of our ancestors were Russian.

[sibearian]

The plot has thickened.

[she laughs, happily.]

Perhaps this is simply an alternate universe where Katya led Russia into space!

[dendarii]

It is certainly a timeline where someone led Russian into space. I just don't know who.

[sibearian]

I have not yet looked into your culture's literature. Perhaps it will she some light.

...

Or perhaps I should say, our culture, seeing as we are both Russian.

[dendarii]

[ Miles grins a bit at that. ]

We may be able to find some, if my memories are working correctly. As precious as libraries are here, we're bound to find someone with a few volumes.

[sibearian]

Well, pursuit of history knowledge is just as good as battle knowledge.

[she's still holding the sword! zarya carefully sets it back on the rack.]

PVP flagged and I am so sorry for her

[tough_love]

Oh, oh that appeal is definitely not going to work here. Zarya, you've had the absolutely fantastic luck to run into the Cetagandan's very own borderline-feral problem child. Well, she wasn't technically, but it wasn't a stretch to say that certain (most) people often found certain facets of Looma's personality to be childish- for example, the hair trigger temper and the tantrums that usually involved lots of shouting and threats. Still, the princess was definitely young. She might not have really looked it- given she looked to be about as much of a walking mountain as Zarya, just with two extra arms at her disposal and darker, less colorful hair (which she was still getting used to even having, she hates this place)- but every time the red-skinned young woman spoke it was pretty apparent she was a little behind most of her companions in years.

"I really doubt that- but I grant you the chance to prove it."

It wasn't a request to have the pink-haired woman confirm her outsider status, of course. She was being generous here, and giving her the chance to prove she was a fellow warrior worthy of her respect- and, well, not being shot. But in case the human didn't get the hint, Looma takes the liberty of holstering her weapons before raising her hands back up. She wasn't surrendering, she had something far more fun in mind, judging from the eager grin on her face. Fun for her, anyway- this was not a princess who didn't seize the opportunity for a nice brawl whenever it appeared.

"Battle with honor, and I will let you limp back to join your new friends. Or you could reject my offer- but then I'd have to kill you."

And really, killing seemed like such a waste. She didn't know any of these people, somebody had turned her into some sort of small, squishy excuse for a Tetramand, and frankly hitting people was about the only thing keeping her halfway sane in this nightmare. Frankly, if they someone hadn't messed with her, she'd tower over everyone here and could have wiped out the Barrayans by herself. But no, now she actually has to worry about things like arrows, and fire, and figuring out how you people can see properly with only two eyes.

IM READY

[sibearian]

Zarya can't help but scowl at the voice and attitude. Despite the red skin and extra set of arms, this woman seems to just be a brat. Perhaps she is the same race as Lapis, though Zarya doubts it. The differences in how they behave are too extreme for people brought up in a feudal society.

"As you wish," she states simply. While she gets the impression Looma wants a fun fight, all Zarya wants to do is get it over and done with. She shifts her stance, holding her shield up and bracing the massive sword.

"I am ready for this foolishness when you are."

b.

[littlemissfutility]

[Beth's close enough that she can see the look on the children's faces; they look like they threw a snowball at a cliff and never expected it to react in turn. She's ready to step in if she needs to, but it soon becomes clear she doesn't need to. It becomes even clearer when the woman plops down in the snow and starts explaining how to improve their snowball skills.

As silly as it is, Beth's curious to hear all of it.

So, standing just a little off from a couple of skinny hillfolk children is a slender, pink-cheeked girl of eighteen, her blonde hair fluffing out from around the hood she has on. She holds a lump of snow between her hands, listening with the same intense fascination the children show, but doesn't quite move to join their circle.]

[sibearian]

[zarya is telling the kids an anecdote that's perhaps a little too... active for children of their age, but they seem to be enjoying it regardless.]

--Anyway, that is the day I learned that if I was to fight bears, my snowballs must be perfect.

[she holds the one she'd been crafting up between two fingers. it's perfectly round and looks like a mini-cannonball. it's then that she notices beth.]

Hello, miss. Would you like to join our class? [said with a smile, she gestures to the two children.] My star pupils are very fast learners.

[littlemissfutility]

Oh-- [Being caught out was the inevitable result here, but she's sheepish for a moment anyway. And then she nods. Who knows what kind of skills we'll need here? We need to learn everything we can from each other.] Sure.

[She sits down with them, her own snowball still far lumpier than any cannonball ever could be. It seems perfect snowballs take time and effort. As explanation, she adds,] Where I come from, we don't get a lot of snow. I've never seen anything like this before.

[It's a thought that makes the hill children scoff, and Beth smiles a little. Their certainty in this land of theirs--what it is now, what it will be forever--is more amusing than anything.]

[sibearian]

You do not?

[like the children, zarya laughs. it's just as silly to her, too.]

Does it not snow all over the globe? I am from Sibera, I cannot imagine such an existence!

[littlemissfutility]

Not in Georgia--it's too warm for it. [She grins along with all of them. It doesn't occur to her that for someone in Siberia, "Georgia" probably refers to a country, not a state.] Sometimes the roads got a little icy. We never had enough snow for real snowballs.

[sibearian]

A tragedy.

[zarya scoops up another handful of snow, crunching it in her hands absentmindedly.]

Perhaps I will upgrade you to actual useful survival tactics for snowy plains. [the children groan about that being boring, zarya just shrugs at them.] What? Is just as important as perfect snowballs!