CT Only: Merc Ticket!

[mike wightman]

I don't know about that. As I said above, the Imperium takes a hands off approach to world politics.

Except when it doesn't...

The Imperium enforces its Rules of War (see Striker Book 2 pages 43-44 for the best version) when it has something to gain from doing so. Remember that we are dealing with a sector a long way form the remote central government, where local planets have autonomy.

Only when local conflicts threaten either the security or the economy of the area do lmperial forces take an active hand, and then it is with speed and overwhelming force.

There you have the real reasons for intervention:
security - the outcome of a conflict may lead to a planet leaving the Imperium
economy - the conflict is interrupting the tax take.

mercs can be hired by:
the Imperium itself (see FFW)
subsector dukes
planetary governments
rival planetary governments
rebels against planetary governments
megacorporations
anyone with the credits...

I can see them stepping in if the merc company uses nukes or some other weapon that the Empire has outlawed. Maybe chemical weapons.

On a TL13+ battlefield I don't see an issue with nukes and chemical weapons, but they do provide a convenient excuse for intervention if one is needed by the local IN captain to send in the Imperial Star Marines to settle things...

But, if the merc company destroyed some local religious shrines? I don't think the Empire would interfere.

That would depend upon how much influence the world government has on the local Imperial nobility and IN and if they petition for the intervention, no taxes until the mercs heads are on spikes...

Or, what if the merc company completes a coup against its own employer, setting itself up as the local ruler. Again...I'm not sure if the Empire would go in and set things right.

If only there was evidence for this sort of thing happening...

oh, wait a second

The government on Quiru is a military junta which is the result of a mercenary operation. Imperial force has not yet been brought to bear.

Lunion subsector of the Spinward Marches. Note it doesn't even get an amber zone designation...

 

[Condottiere]

It really depends on whose toes get stepped on, and how much pressure that foot can bring to bear to get the Imperium to take a hand.

 

[aramis]

It really depends on whose toes get stepped on, and how much pressure that foot can bring to bear to get the Imperium to take a hand.

Really, tho', who is footing the bill for the mercs makes a big difference.

If the subsector duke is having a hard time with a local world tax-evading, send mercs as cadre to create rebels, through a cutout person, then fund the rebels covertly, and have them hire more mercs...

In very short order, the planet's in chaos, and the noble can then justify sending in the marines... ISTR that kind of thing happening in one of the Falkenberg stories. Once the marines are there, cooperative (ie, willing to pay the taxes levied) rebels are ensconced as the "official" government by the IISS (at the request of the SS duke, no doubt.).

Meanwhile, if the situation is essentially a tax revolt, the Duke is probably going to be open about helping squish the rebels. Not by hiring mercs, no... but by making the needed introductions.

 

[Condottiere]

Poul Anderson dealt with tax farming as well, by burning the receipts, or at least provoking the provincials to do so.

West of Honour, the criminal gangs could be pseudo mercenaries, some of them being sponsored by whatever corporation Falkenberg has a feud with, and assisted by the local lackey governor.

Hadley was a pacification campaign with a rather underequipped but oversized cadre; Tanith a territorial dispute, with undercurrents of a power play between Grand Senator (Bronson?) and the Navy over their cash crop.

New Washington was basically a success only striker ticket; Falkenberg finds personal and logistical reasons to stay (on very sound legal grounds), also having a rather clear idea about what's about to happen back on Earth.

I think that false flagged stories seem more prominent post Vietnam, not to say that tactic hasn't been used before, though agent provocateur seems a more safer option.

 

[RandyB]

I thought you were quoting the following song from 1978...
Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money

Kratman references the song directly in the Countdown series, in the very context discussed here. It's the unofficial theme song for that element of the mercenary business he depicts.

 

[RandyB]

Poul Anderson dealt with tax farming as well, by burning the receipts, or at least provoking the provincials to do so.

West of Honour, the criminal gangs could be pseudo mercenaries, some of them being sponsored by whatever corporation Falkenberg has a feud with, and assisted by the local lackey governor.

Hadley was a pacification campaign with a rather underequipped but oversized cadre; Tanith a territorial dispute, with undercurrents of a power play between Grand Senator (Bronson?) and the Navy over their cash crop.

New Washington was basically a success only striker ticket; Falkenberg finds personal and logistical reasons to stay (on very sound legal grounds), also having a rather clear idea about what's about to happen back on Earth.

I think that false flagged stories seem more prominent post Vietnam, not to say that tactic hasn't been used before, though agent provocateur seems a more safer option.

I see a lot more Falkenberg in Book 4 than I see Slammers. Good examples.

 

[Supplement Four]

I need to read the Falkenberg stuff. I have a couple of them--just haven't read them yet.

 

[RandyB]

I need to read the Falkenberg stuff. I have a couple of them--just haven't read them yet.

Having read Falkenberg and Slammers, I prefer the former by a modest margin. The comparative scale being "good to better": Slammers good, Falkenberg better.

 

[Supplement Four]

Having read Falkenberg and Slammers, I prefer the former by a modest margin. The comparative scale being "good to better": Slammers good, Falkenberg better.

I read about 90% of the Slammers BITD. Liked them, but they didn't send me hollering with my hair on fire.

I don't know what's different. Mood? Taste? Age?

I'm reading the first omnibus, and I've got to say that I'm loving it. It's been so long that only bits and pieces of stories look familiar. I mean, I read these things probably 30 years ago.

There's a few that I've never read.

I seem to remember them being just a collection of war engagements in a futuristic setting. Today, I'm getting so much more out of the stories. There's a lot of emotion in them. There's ethical questions and moral ambiguity.

I've got to admit, I'm really digging them this time through.

I find them excellent.




EDIT: Besides re-reading the Slammers, I want to re-visit some other series that I read BITD but number finished. Like all of the Saberhagen Beserker books. I really enjoyed the first four or so BITD.

And, I want to re-start the Man-Kzin wars, too. I loved the first four or so of those. Heck, a new one just came out!

Besides the stuff I've read that I want to re-read, there's some works that I've never read, but want to. What are your thoughts on the Bolo stuff?

Plus, I want to read more of C.J. Cherryh's Union stuff. I need to finish the Foundation books. There's a ton of Star Trek to read. Horseclans, which I love, I need to re-visit. Conan pastiches. Honor Harrington, I want to re-start. I've got several James Bond books to read--newer ones. David Drake's The Fleet anthology. Etc.

Man...so much to read...

 

[aramis]

Having read Falkenberg and Slammers, I prefer the former by a modest margin. The comparative scale being "good to better": Slammers good, Falkenberg better.

For me, Slammers was mediocre. Falkenberg was Very Good.

I never had an urge to reread Slammers. I've reread the Falkenberg series.

And yes, I see more Falkenberg than Slammers in Book 4, as well. Much more compatible tech paradigm leads to much better fit.

To do Slammers in Traveller, one needs to add powergun stats, Bk4, and Bk6.
To to Falkenberg, one needs to add Bk 4. Even the other end of the CoDo, all the tech except spinal lasers is added in Bk 5.

 

[Supplement Four]

To do Slammers in Traveller, one needs to add powergun stats, Bk4, and Bk6.

We could look to the (underwhelming, imo) MGT Slammers book.

But, I think I would take the Loren Wiseman route and scale off the PGMPs.

 

[Condottiere]

Pournelle made a mistake farming it out to Stirling.

 

[aramis]

We could look to the (underwhelming, imo) MGT Slammers book.

But, I think I would take the Loren Wiseman route and scale off the PGMPs.

Underwhelming? Not even that good.

The thing is, Powerguns are available in compact pistols, etc.

I'd say, target armor mods from FGMP-15, range mods by size of weapon. Damage about double that of a comparable firearm.

The problem is that Powerguns are pure LOS weapons; anything in the path stops it (and usually dies).

 

[RandyB]

For me, Slammers was mediocre. Falkenberg was Very Good.

I never had an urge to reread Slammers. I've reread the Falkenberg series.

And yes, I see more Falkenberg than Slammers in Book 4, as well. Much more compatible tech paradigm leads to much better fit.

To do Slammers in Traveller, one needs to add powergun stats, Bk4, and Bk6.
To to Falkenberg, one needs to add Bk 4. Even the other end of the CoDo, all the tech except spinal lasers is added in Bk 5.

The biggest Falkenberg vibe I get from Bk 4 is the "no overwhelming TL advantage" limit on mercs. That's straight out of Falkenberg.

 

[Supplement Four]

Underwhelming? Not even that good.

Yeah, it's crap.

The thing is, Powerguns are available in compact pistols, etc.

I'd say, target armor mods from FGMP-15, range mods by size of weapon. Damage about double that of a comparable firearm.

The problem is that Powerguns are pure LOS weapons; anything in the path stops it (and usually dies).

Which is why I suggested the Loren Wiseman method, referring to his infamous Laser Pistol developed from a Laser Carbine.

 

[aramis]

Yeah, it's crap.





Which is why I suggested the Loren Wiseman method, referring to his infamous Laser Pistol developed from a Laser Carbine.

I used the Wiseman method.

But it doesn't solve the fundamental issue that Powerguns have huge issues with cover. Facial Tissue can stop a powergun shot. (The resulting explosion at the tissue might kill the guy holding it, but the explosion won't be his skin.) It's essentially a matter conversion beam - converts a small amount of the target to thermal and kinetic energy...

 

[Supplement Four]

I used the Wiseman method.

But it doesn't solve the fundamental issue that Powerguns have huge issues with cover. Facial Tissue can stop a powergun shot. (The resulting explosion at the tissue might kill the guy holding it, but the explosion won't be his skin.) It's essentially a matter conversion beam - converts a small amount of the target to thermal and kinetic energy...

What does Falkenberg use?

 

[aramis]

What does Falkenberg use?

Mostly slug throwing rifles.

Professor John Christian Falkenberg II:
Delivered at Sandhurst, August 22nd, 2087

In the last decades of the 20th century, many predicted that the battlefield of the future would be one of swift and annihilating violence, ruled by an elaborate technology. Instead, in one of history's many illustrations of the Law of Unintended Consequences, the 21st century saw military technology enter an era of stalemate. Cheap and accurate handheld missiles swept the air above the battlefield clear of manned aircraft; railguns, lasers and larger rockets did likewise for the upper atmosphere and near space.

The elaborate dance of countermeasures made many sophisticated electronic devices so much waste weight; tailored viruses made networks of linked computers a recipe for battlefield chaos. Paradoxically, many of the most sophisticated weapons could only be used against opponents who were virtually unarmed. By freezing technological research, the CoDominium preserved this situation like a fly in amber.

Beyond Earth, the rarity and patchy development of industry exaggerated these trends in the colony worlds. CoDominium Marine expeditionary forces often operated at the end of supply lines many months long, with shipping space too limited for heavy equipment, on thinly settled planets where a paddle-wheel steamboat might represent high technology. The Marines—and still more the independent mercenary companies—have been forced to become virtually self-sufficient. Troops travel scores of light-years by starship, then march to battle on their own feet, and their supplies may be carted by mules. Artillery is priceless but scarce, and tanks so rare a luxury that the intervention of half a dozen might well decide a campaign. Infantry and the weapons they carry on their backs; machine guns and mortars and light rockets, have come into their own once more. Apart from a few flourishes, body armor and passive nightsight goggles, the recent campaigns on Thurstone and Diego showed little that would have puzzled soldiers of the British Empire fighting the Boer War two centuries ago.

Coloring added for emphasis.

The opening sketch above is pretty much the abstract for CoDo weapons.

 

[whartung]

Mostly slug throwing rifles.

I may be mis-rembering, or simply conflating it with Dorsai. I thought the rifle of choice was, like, a spring/sliver rifle. Firing slivers sheared off of a solid magazine, offering the shooter 100+ rounds per magazine, but essentially a mechanically simple device.

 

[aramis]

I may be mis-rembering, or simply conflating it with Dorsai. I thought the rifle of choice was, like, a spring/sliver rifle. Firing slivers sheared off of a solid magazine, offering the shooter 100+ rounds per magazine, but essentially a mechanically simple device.

That's Dorsai.