artwork by runawayballista

1. Barracks
The Cetagandan barracks are appropriately spartan, but nonetheless true to Cetagandan style, a variety of art decorating the polished walls, every one of them by Cetagandan artists. The bunks are relatively spacious for a military outfit and fit four to a room, and the communal bathrooms stocked with a little more than the bare essentials. The soldiers' common areas area comfortably furnished, with delicate mixed fragrances and artful flower arrangements. Some enlisted soldiers are designated for the task of maintaining the base's aesthetic value.

The exotics are relegated to a single section of the barracks closest to the medbay, at the end of the northmost barracks house, although they do not have their own private bathroom.

2. War Room & Officers' Quarters - RESTRICTED ACCESS
Ghem-General Zefyst and his general staff reside in these quarters, closest to the fortified building colloquially known as 'the war room', although it is comprised of several offices and conferencing rooms. The central of these is the war room proper, where general staff briefings are held. Special clearance is required to enter any of these buildings, although lower-ranked officers may be permitted to enter with an escort. Exotics are unlikely to be granted such a privilege.

3. Women's Quarters
These quarters house the ghem lady population of the compound. The majority of them are on Barrayar in a scientific capacity, all of them excelling in their field. They are assigned to all scientific divisions of the base, although many of them are overseen by ghem officers, with the exception of the gene labs. The gene labs are strictly women's territory, overseen by Lady Diya. The women's quarters are more comfortably furnished than the barracks, even more flush with Cetagandan art, with an entire wing devoted to artistic exploration and expression. Much of this art is genetic engineering itself, albeit not with human DNA.

4. Mess
The mess hall is as orderly as the rest of the base. The kitchen is manned by the Mess ghem-Captain, with enlisted soldiers serving as kitchen staff on a rotating basis. Mealtimes are scheduled, but broadly, in order to accommodate the many rotating shift schedules around the base. Food is of high quality, a mix of local harvest and their own agricultural output, although all meat served is strictly vat-grown.

5. Medbay
The medbay is more like a hospital wing, fully staffed with military doctors with assisting ghem lady med techs where matters of genetics are concerned. All of their equipment is beyond state-of-the-art, the latest in technology straight from Eta Ceta IV, and the expansive medical suite includes four operating theatres and sophisticated robotic arms for surgical assistance. The medbay is also well-stocked with Cetagandan-developed pharmaceuticals of all kinds, but a large portion of their drug banks is restricted access and requires a certain security clearance.

6. Gene Labs - RESTRICTED ACCESS
The gene labs are the center of scientific operations on the base, although it is an entirely separate project from any military endeavor. Rather than benefiting the war effort, the work done in the gene labs is reported directly to the Star Crèche, the branch of government concerning the Cetagandan genome, and a particularly opaque one. The genetic project on the base in Vorkosigan's District is similarly opaque, and while the basics are common knowledge – that their research is aimed at any new genetic potentialities to be discovered here – specifics are classified information.

Each room in the gene labs has its own security clearance displayed on the door's security pad; one such room is classified at Lady Diya's clearance level only. The gene labs' clearance levels are an entirely separate hierarchy from military clearance. Every door bears the screaming bird insignia of the Star Crèche, but with different names, such as Replicator Storage, Hot Labs, Ba Development, and several Freezer Rooms.

7. Research & Development - RESTRICTED ACCESS
The R&D division is the primary scientific division of the military itself, specializing in war technology such as biowarfare, weapons development, and defense research. Rooms in the R&D buildings require different levels of military clearance, and while many of the researchers are ghem women, this area is dominated by the ghem military.

8. Armory & Supplies - RESTRICTED ACCESS
Located by the motor pool, the armory not only holds combat armor and standard sidearms – stunners, disruptors, plasma arcs – as well as more specialized and heavy weaponry such as needlers and sonic grenades. Biowarfare materials are not stored in the armory, but in the medbay's drug banks. The base's supply cache of sundries is also located in this area. Unescorted entry to the armory requires military security clearance.

9. Motor Pool - RESTRICTED ACCESS
The motor pool is home to the small fleet of vehicles utilized by the Cetagandan army. It includes both groundcars and aircars, armored vehicles, and several light-flyers for aerial surveillance and inter-district travel. Signing out any of these vehicles requires military clearance.

10. Water Treatment Plant & Grow Labs
The water treatment plant purifies and treats locally sourced water for Cetagandan consumption, although untreated water is used for non-potable water purposes. The grow labs exist as a sort of high-tech greenhouse, with advanced hydroponics and agricultural technology providing produce and grains to supplement their local supply, as well as providing food products not native to Barrayar. Vat-grown meat protein is also grown in this facility; in most of the Nexus, this has replaced the outdated need to slaughter animals for food. Most galactics find the idea of eating an actual dead animal kind of abhorrent.

The base's lush gardens are adjacent and attached to the Grow Labs, providing a place for formal events, botanical art, and simply a place to relax and enjoy the quiet and beauty.

11. Main Generator - RESTRICTED ACCESS
As Barrayar has no power network to tap into, the Cetagandan bases have their own power supply. The main generator is in a well-guarded annex connected to the treatment plant and grow labs, which are some of the highest demands on the base's power supply.

12. Backup Generator - RESTRICTED ACCESS
In the event of a main generator failure, there is a backup generator behind the kitchens in the mess building. The backup generator is programmed to automatically come online at the first sign of power failure.

13. Secondary Backup Generator - RESTRICTED ACCESS
The secondary backup generator is programmed to come online at the first sign of backup generator failure. However, this secondary backup generator only powers the most vital facilities on the base – the gene labs and medbay.

14. Base Fortifications
The base itself is surrounded by two high walls made of steel-reinforced concrete with a nerve disruption net running between them. Keeping a forcefield over the entirety of the base would consume too much power; however, the nerve disruption net requires only a low power supply and uses the same technology as handheld nerve disruptors. This discourages enemy forces from trying to enter the base by simply penetrating the walls; the nerve disruption net will kill on contact. The base also utilizes anti-aircraft heavy artillery in the case of airborne attack. Each of the gate entrances to the base are manned with guards around the clock.

15. Runways
Two long runways run the north and south sides of the base for incoming terrestrial aircraft, which often bring supply drops.

16. Landing Zone
The landing zone is the endpoint of the runways, but also serves as a landing area for light spacecraft such as shuttles.