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

charlie matheson | revolution (ota)

[vindictive]

hunting;

Charlie's favorite part of any day is getting the time to go hunting. She's made herself a close replica of the crossbow she made back home, and a handful of arrows to go along with it. She either wakes up early or heads out of camp after her tasks are done for the day, taking care to make sure that she always goes alone. Having people around are liabilities, and she's usually not up for idle conversation.

Today though, it seems like someone's either followed her, or is out traipsing about with little regard to the sound of their footsteps. Annoyed by the fact, she stops focusing on the animal she's tracking because she can hear it running off. Aiming her crossbow toward the footsteps she fires an arrow meant to land a safe distance before them, in an attempt to get them to stop walking. Without waiting to see if it lands near her mark she makes her way over to retrieve her arrow.

"I could hear you all the way over there. What're you doing all the way out here?"

"celebration";

It's late when Charlie stalks out of the tent she's supposed to be sharing with a handful of others, draped in furs to keep herself warm enough. She doesn't mind sharing space with others, but at least half the men in the tent snore. It's made even worse with the fact that most of them are passed out drunk after a night of celebrating. Not too bothered by needing to relocate for the night, she makes her way through camp. She spots small groups still drinking and celebrating, and she settles in on the edge of the larger of the groups so she can have access to the warmth of the fire that's still burning bright nearby. Finding a crate to sit on, she doesn't realize that it's holding more of the supply of alcohol until well after she's in the middle of working on sharpening her supply of arrows.

As someone approaches her and goes straight for the crate she's on it takes her a matter of seconds to leap up and take on a defensive stance. When she realizes they don't want anything to do with her but with the crate she arches her eyebrow and points an arrow over at them.

"You're not going to be able to stand up tomorrow. If you're even able to get to what's inside."

village;

Charlie has a soft spot for kids. So when she goes to trade with the villagers she easily is lured into a game with the local children. And as she's caught up in building and making snowballs she's the most relaxed anyone has likely seen her since arrival, smiling and laughing as she doesn't go easy on the kids and pelts them in the face. By the time the game is over, her hair is covered in snow and her cheeks are red, but she's wearing a smile on her face as she builds a couple more snowballs to finish things off. The children shout with laughter and scatter, leaving Charlie holding snow in both hands.

Needing to rid herself of them, she shrugs and throws them at the first relatively familiar face she sees. They're likely someone from camp, she thinks. And if not, it's a good thing she can run fast.

hunting

[quitsmiling]

The arrow is in the ground, but there's no feet for them to have stopped... not at first glance, anyway. Then an acorn comes flying down to smack her somewhere, shoulder or head or arm, whatever's easiest to hit. Glaring down at her from up in the trees is... a raccoon. A very large raccoon, in clothes, with what looks like a homemade gun slung across his back.

"Watch where you're shootin', humie," he growls.

Yes, the raccoon just spoke.

[vindictive]

Of all the things she's expecting, a talking raccoon doesn't even fall on the list. She stares for a minute, wondering if there's some kind of clan of mutated animals running around here. Ones who...carry guns. Squinting up toward where he sits in the tree, she heads over to pull her arrow out of the ground and put it back into the quiver worn across her back.

"You should approach quieter." She's never had a conversation with an animal before, but with everything else going on here, it feels like the right time to go ahead and have one.

[quitsmiling]

"Last time I did that, I got shot at, too," Rocket grouses. "Maybe somebody thought I was dinner. Sure did yell when I cussed 'em out, anyway. Can't win when you ain't the same species as the locals, I guess."