Verge Liberation Movements

n7axw wrote:There is a case in Swallow with a 27 year SLM vet connected with the Allenbys who provided training to the resistance which was a lot better than than the opposition lined up with the system government. We don't have any word on how that turned out.

Don

A not so minor nit. He was a honorably discharged, retired vet who satisfactorily completed his service. He then returned home to use what he had learned to help his people.

MarkAustin wrote:Widening the topic slightly, how long is it going to be before OFS/SL starts seeing significant defections of Verge personnel. Firebrand states in one of the books that he only joined up with OFS because it was the only game in town, and Thandi Palane joined the SL Marines as the way out of poverty. It's stated in one of the books that the SL Marines have a significant proportion of Verge recruits. How long before some of these elements start peeling off either to Manticore or to local independence movements?

While I don't see large scale desertions taking place from any single unit, I do believe that there will be at least some individuals who manage to plan and execute a return to their home planet. Some will be deserters, but some will be those who complete their enlistment. Most of these will be people that do believe in their home system or are still involved with their families. When I believe the SLN/SLM will start having problems is when systems start aligning themselves with Manticore and telling the SL to get lost. At that time, really stupid commanders will manage to severely upset their men (by over-reacting), the adequate will keep them in line but still cause unrest and the good ones will let the ones that want to go, go and the ones who want to stay, stay. Eventually, most Verge and protectorate worlds will build up a cadre of trained fighters for use if needed.

Since OFS prefers criminally inclined individuals, they wont have much of a desertion problem. They might have a problem with a sever depletion of numbers, but that will be because as the stories about Manticore's intervention spread, OFS will lose it's biggest protection: fear. Once people are no longer afraid of the SLN showing up to help OFS maintain control, the thugs and bullies they use might just start seeing some midnight justice.

n7axw wrote:There is a case in Swallow with a 27 year SLM vet connected with the Allenbys who provided training to the resistance which was a lot better than than the opposition lined up with the system government. We don't have any word on how that turned out.

Don

KNick wrote:A not so minor nit. He was a honorably discharged, retired vet who satisfactorily completed his service. He then returned home to use what he had learned to help his people.

Picking at your nit, First Sergeant Vincent Frugoni, Solarian Space Marines (retired) was not a native of Swallow; his sister had gone there, fallen in love with the Cripple Mountains and Floyd Allenby, and who was killed by a missile strike by Government troops...which made the 1st Sergeant Very Unhappy....

I still think RFC owed us another chapter on Swallow that got cut out of SoF. Hopefully we'll catch up the next time.

Remember the SLNS Hoplit? at Loomis and how the CO was getting tired of KEWing ground target what if that CO decided to say the heck with it and land her Marines and support the LLL instead.

Also in CoS IIRC a SLG intervention batt. suffered 60% casualties in a friendly fire incident from a SLMC battalion.

Hi Saber964,

Kudos for making the points I was going to.

I just finished the thread, and think it was an above average excellent thread, so thanks to all.

Possible clarifications; The number of protectorates has always been in the hundreds, not thousands, not even ever expressed as near a thousand.

But given the variety of relationships we've seen so far, there could be well over a thousand OFS non or indirect type 'protectorate' systems where OFS runs the system like Saltash at the invitation of a few of the locals, with just a single battalion of Gendarmes (backed up by the SLN) [but how long before they have an effective underground or the RMN/GA returns?], or some other non-direct relationship.

For example Mobius wasn't a direct OFS controlled protectorate though its aid could be requested (and was rejected many times), yet it seems to be a common situation in the verge.

Yet the MAlign hasn't attempted to create resistance movements in every system, because while the OFS and transtellars were hated, conditions weren't right or ripe for rebellion.

So a major question, asked on other threads as well, is what fraction or percentage of OFS's slave empire are being used in this attempt to ruin the SEM's reputation?

20-25%?

15%?

Please feel free to detail your reasoning, as I look forward to being swayed by your arguments.

Regarding the GA's TG's designated to respond, eventually joint operations will be the preferred solution, but there's too little time to expect RHN and RMN marines and warships not to experience various 'frictions' without ever having trained together, so the initial ground component may need to be all from one navy for the time being; imagining the chaos of two or more separate command and control com networks competing with each other and the confusion resulting from a little misunderstanding like the "Battle of Barking Creek" to say nothing of the night battles off Guadalcanal etc.

Imagining a [MAlign] terrorist attack aimed at one force over another with the usual chaos [communications jammed etc] and it could get quite horrible quickly.

Until RFC lets us know, DDM RMN cruisers may need to escort RHN troop transports, even though RMN troop transports such as marine assault/command cruisers have been textev since FoD.

I've suggested before the RHN might have the numbers to handle a lot of these operations on their own, their manpower problems are far less than the RMN's, although although reserve veterans from the first war have had 2-3 years to get retrained etc, but the points regarding the lack of textev for RHN DDM's etc are excellent though from almost two years ago, perhaps enough for Shannon to have put something into service by now.

Having MDM's already, making DDM's ought to be pretty easy, and the RHN ships should have faster rates of fire since they're not powered by mini-fusion bottles than have to be spun up or energized; albeit with far fewer missiles, perhaps half what the Sag-C or Nike would carry, while the Roland equivalent really is a light cruiser, but as big as many old heavy cruisers.

Mars class CA's were 600 KT until SoS [their new replacements might be that big again], so tractoring ~40 pods might enable them to each kill a couple of SD's or several BC's simultaneously if that's required.

Besides the learning and growing together such joint operations would enhance among all the GA navies, the system locals would probably feel reassured by the variety and balance of the GA TG, which could easily include GSN, Beowulf and Torch ships as well, perhaps with lesser allies and even neutrals having liaison or observer officers, thereby avoiding having it seen as an 'all Manticore operation'.

One way of reinforcing that impression is having any courts have neighboring systems' as observers or even participate as less personally involved judges etc.

L

saber964 wrote:Remember the SLNS Hoplite? at Loomis and how the CO was getting tired of KEWing ground target what if that CO decided to say the heck with it and land her Marines and support the LLL instead.

Also in CoS IIRC a SLG intervention batt. suffered 60% casualties in a friendly fire incident from a SLMC battalion.