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

[komarran]

"Captain?" Followed by a Vorpatril? Duv stares at the other man for a good, long time. The same man under his command on Earth who couldn't report in on time somehow holds the rank of Captain? The same rank he has? This has to be a joke. A poorly crafted one though the differences in Vorpatril's appearance nag at the back of his mind.

"When I left Earth, you were still a Lieutenant," he says flatly.

[whatdidisay]

"When I left Barrayar, you were a Commodore and in charge of Komarran Affairs," Ivan points out -- why is it that everyone has to say his rank with disbelief? Surely it's not that disbelieving. "Earth was, good God, Duv -- seven years ago?"

If it's a joke, it's an awful one. Along with everything else about this place.

[komarran]

"Seven years?" And he's made it to Commodore in ImpSec HQ? Duv blinks back his surprise as he pulls back from the other man. "I was reassigned recently to Komarr as an analyst, but Commodore..."

That promotion is still a ways off for him much less a posting at ImpSec HQ on Barrayar.

[whatdidisay]

"You deserved the promotion, Duv," Ivan confirms, with a congratulatory slap of his shoulder. Like friends do, because it hasn't yet occurred to Ivan that they haven't become friends yet. "Miles thinks so too, although I'd think having a reputation for getting a little frothy when helping him go through his attic would have set you back a little in his eyes."

[komarran]

Is the man seriously slapping him on the back? "What happened in those seven years?" he exclaims staring at the offending hand. Something happened to make Vorpatril think he could act like this around a commanding officer even if they were in differing branches. They had become better acquainted after the mess on Earth, but this level of comradery was far from their usual fare.

"I helped Miles go through his attic?" Back on Barrayar where he apparently is according to Ivan.

[whatdidisay]

"You, uh. Managed to get to be less of a," Ivan fumbles around for a polite way to say stuck up hard ass with a stick up that same ass and settles on "you get to be more personal, at least." There, he's helping.

As for the attic, well. "Yeah. You should see what they've gotten shoved away up in there. I think there's a bag of scalps someone gave Great Uncle Piotr." He shudders at the image, before being reminded that he's in the time period where that sort of thing happened. Groaning, Ivan gives Duv a once-over. "So are you having a great time with this whole thing? Being a historian, I mean."

[komarran]

"Funny. Vor seem to be the only ones who have trouble speaking with me," he remarks dryly. The others he worked with at the embassy hardly had a problem with him and he's pulled more than his fair share. He'd say it wasn't by choice, but he did voluntarily throw himself into the madhouse that was the Imperial Service. And supposedly he becomes friends with a former subordinate. Their time on Earth had a more lasting impact than he could have predicted.

The mention of scalps causes a glint to appear in his eyes. Sitting in Miles attic? Really? But that's neither here nor there, they have more pressing matters to attend to.

"I'm a Komarran historian stuck in the Cetagandan camp," he hisses back in a low voice. "How much of a 'great time' do you think I'm having?"

[whatdidisay]

"Thought that would have applied to every Barrayaran," Ivan shoots back, grinning. It'll be fine for Duv, even if he doesn't believe it. Seeing that glint in his eye, Ivan's about to expand on whatever Miles keeps in his attic before the other man mentions what camp he's in.

"The Cetagandans? But the rest of us -- we all ended up with the Barrayarans!"

[komarran]

"I didn't choose my posting." In case that was being called into question. It's not as if his subconscious had a desire to aid the Cetagandans particularly with the legacy this event left behind.

"Who else is with you in the camp?"

[whatdidisay]

"I wouldn't think you did," defends Ivan. It just seemed odd that someone who's technically a subject of the Imperium would end up on Cetaganda's side. Maybe some stupid joke on behalf of whatever or whoever brought them here? As for who's all there, well. "Uncle Aral, Simon, Miles, Mark..." he says, ticking them off with a finger, "By. And then there's good old Great Uncle Piotr and his wife and my grandmother."

Just in case Duv wondered what Ivan was doing very far away from the camp. He's avoiding his relatives like nothing else was as important.

[komarran]

"They're all there?" he asks in disbelief. Duv's torn between being grateful he's on the Cetagandan side of the camps and wanting to dash to the Barrayaran to conduct interviews on those of this period. How far would he get before the firing squad got him? He may find out soon enough depending on how the situation proceeded.

"Are the others not from here from your point on the timeline?" Because as insane as it sounded, Ivan Vorpatril did appear older.