How good are the solarian transtellars?

pnakasone wrote:

drothgery wrote:I suspect unless they're carrying unambiguously SLN or Alignment war material, the plan will be to just let it go. Especially since the freighters operating under a flag of convenience are much more likely to be Manticorans than Solarians, since they're the ones who have the ships "now". It's in everyone's interest except the current League government and the Alignment for trade to keep going on.

Even if they do not stop them the Manticorans could cause considerable delays in such ships transit times by enforcing the full body of customs, safety, and health regulations on them. There are probably dozens of obscure regulations that have not been enforced or needed for decades that could delay ships for days or weeks to work threw. But they will always stay within the strict letter of the law.

That just seems likely to encourage the same sort of "strict" enforcement down the line when Manticore is trying to get their trade going again. Selective enforcement is a law is a tactic of evil dictators everyone. You'll just make yourself look evil.

quite possibly a cat wrote:That just seems likely to encourage the same sort of "strict" enforcement down the line when Manticore is trying to get their trade going again. Selective enforcement is a law is a tactic of evil dictators everyone. You'll just make yourself look evil.

Very true.

But it would interesting for them to bring up such tactics in a discussion as a possibility even if they discard the idea as counter productive to their current and future goals.

It would be intesting to see what happens if the GA start seizing SL flagged ships. So far they are just turning them away from whatever termini that they hold.

One intent of not allowing SL ships to use wormholes and removing Manticore flagged ships from SL space was to cripple the SL economy along with making it difficult for the SLN to move materials and people other than using existing military transport. The SL flagged ships turned away from wormholes are probably going to get back to SL space eventually. Even those that were defected on outbound trips could make the contracted deliveries - vastly late but eventually- and get home with other cargos (who's) terms would acknowledge the longer times due to not being able to use wormholes.
The loss of all that Manticoraing shipping capacity is the major part of the shipping shortage. We have already talked about the years it will take to deliver existing ships under construction and then the money fight (with military grabbing the capasity they feel they need) to get more transports built at vastly inflated prices.

The GA (primarily Manticore as it's their Junction and all the wormholes shown seized in Lacoon II were taken by RMN ships) might just let a whole bunch of things continue to move via the wormholes -on other than SL flagged ships- other than actual weapons and some more high value/difficult to aquire materials that are primarily used in military applications (like warships and missiles).
That would actualy be to the advantage of Manticore. They would get the fees for transits and, while they would be confiscating some stuff, keeping trade open for a lot of people.
So SL Member 893's companies and citizens are responsible for and the sellers of all of the SS BigAssedPeacock heading to Silesia with agricultural equipment and civilian consumer products. The BigAssedPeacock is registered with the Left Droopy Nut System (some bit of swam covered rock out in the verge) who has never interested OFS. See, if it isn't "military" materials on THE LIST, neutral flagged shippers can take it on through. Funny, a lot of people in the SL worlds will have almost business as usual as long as they don't use SL flagged ships. Shortly the only thing they do have to worry about is the League comming around to break fingers, kneecaps and their orbital infrastructure for using Manticoran and other GL held wormholes- not even for trading goods with the GA.
Trade (like Spice) must flow, the real heavy here is the SL Buracracy Leadership and the SLN.

On the subject of building ships, there is no question but what the League could overwhelm the GA with its industrial capacity...given time.

But can they do it in time to keep from losing the war?

He who wins is ultimately not the biggest, but whoever can muster the most manpower and resourses most efficiently.

That is where the League loses out. Even after OB, the League is seriously outgunned by Haven alone who has a huge number of building slips that were developed prior to and during its war with Manticore which leaves the League choking in the dust of the GA's running start.

The same goes for R&D. There is no question but what the League could asssemble teams to rival Manticore. But long before they could get their act together, the war will be over and the League will have lost.

Don

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n7axw wrote:On the subject of building ships, there is no question but what the League could overwhelm the GA with its industrial capacity...given time.

But can they do it in time to keep from losing the war?

He who wins is ultimately not the biggest, but whoever can muster the most manpower and resourses most efficiently.

That is where the League loses out. Even after OB, the League is seriously outgunned by Haven alone who has a huge number of building slips that were developed prior to and during its war with Manticore which leaves the League choking in the dust of the GA's running start.

The same goes for R&D. There is no question but what the League could asssemble teams to rival Manticore. But long before they could get their act together, the war will be over and the League will have lost.

Don

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Also how long until stealing as much as you can from the League becomes the best idea? I'm not talking the Sepoy option with the Maya sector. I'm talking OFS governors, frontier fleet admirals, or groups of battle fleet deciding their own pocket empire beats dying for the SLN.

MWW has been clear there's no other 'neo barb' nation besides the GA and Andermanni that have a serious enough fleet to carve off chunks of the SL.

But if I'm a corrupt Admiral, I see the League is doomed, absent the sort of reform that will land me in prison for the rest of my prolong life, setting up an empire is tempting. Hence a 'Warlord Era' is possible. Especially in places where the rot runs deep, and Battle Fleet being scrapped means I've got a shot.

quite possibly a cat wrote:Selective enforcement is a law is a tactic of evil dictators everyone. You'll just make yourself look evil.

Ah, but what's the difference between "selective enforcement" and "intelligence-led prioritisation of customs sweeps"?

feyhunde wrote:Also how long until stealing as much as you can from the League becomes the best idea? I'm not talking the Sepoy option with the Maya sector. I'm talking OFS governors, frontier fleet admirals, or groups of battle fleet deciding their own pocket empire beats dying for the SLN.

The GA is rather counting on such desertions from OFS and/or the SLN. Without the League fracturing into many small satraps the GA can't hope to win in the long term.

Where they can, the GA will work with such warlords. Where they can't, they'll work with neighboring systems to form a counter to the warlords they can't work with.

Of course, any Warneke wannbes are going to meet a similar fate.