The Battle of Darius - What would you say?

Slneezy wrote:

Loren Pechtel wrote:
What happens when the BSC with treecat assistance starts checking all the freighters that could have delivered the bombs? Those computer cores should be very interesting indeed...

Since MAlign isn't run by utter incompetents the freighters aren't likely to yield much. If Haven could keep Bolthole a secret for years MAlign isn't going to leave sensitive data on disposable black ops ships.

But holes in the records will still tell a lot.

I wonder if the Malignement discouraged ships or development near the other terminii. Likely using pirates and the slave trade as bad guys. But with the aliance going to Mesa, the slave trade and the rogue mega corps will be disrupted. So the disruption of their assets could lead to someone discovering those terminii. Sure Felix is guarded, but it is a risk.

SYED wrote:I wonder if the Malignement discouraged ships or development near the other terminii. Likely using pirates and the slave trade as bad guys. But with the aliance going to Mesa, the slave trade and the rogue mega corps will be disrupted. So the disruption of their assets could lead to someone discovering those terminii. Sure Felix is guarded, but it is a risk.

Felix is guarded with Mannerheim ships. Felix is close enough to Mannerheim, for Mannerheim to have a legimiate reason to be there (from outsystem exercises to piracy patrol). If the veil parts, they have the cover that THEY found a wormhole and are secretly trying to get rights to it.

Manpower had the Congo terminus covered with forces at Congo/Torch, and with it's loss, Mannerheim has the other side covered with BCs.

But these are all mobile patrols - if you remove them , 2 hours later, no one knows you were ever there.

SYED wrote:(Snip) But with the alliance going to Mesa, the slave trade and the rogue mega corps will be disrupted. So the disruption of their assets could lead to someone discovering those terminii. Sure Felix is guarded, but it is a risk.

That is an interesting point. Manpower, according to Albrecht himself, is not really competitive in providing actual labor, despite the advertising, except in the sex trafficking trade.

Not sure how much of Jessyk Combine's actual revenue is based on the slave trade, but I'll wager all those ships violating the equipment clause of the Cherwell convention will be moved into safer space for the time being.

I'm sure the genetic slave trade is just too lucrative to just abandon.

pappilon wrote:

SYED wrote:(Snip) But with the alliance going to Mesa, the slave trade and the rogue mega corps will be disrupted. So the disruption of their assets could lead to someone discovering those terminii. Sure Felix is guarded, but it is a risk.

That is an interesting point. Manpower, according to Albrecht himself, is not really competitive in providing actual labor, despite the advertising, except in the sex trafficking trade.

Not sure how much of Jessyk Combine's actual revenue is based on the slave trade, but I'll wager all those ships violating the equipment clause of the Cherwell convention will be moved into safer space for the time being.

I'm sure the genetic slave trade is just too lucrative to just abandon.

Slavery is NOT really profitable. Anton pointed that out a while ago which was one reason he felt there was something more behind Manpower.

Also, having slavery means you have an immense amount of property that can/will be lost as soon as it is located. Torch will lead the way but remember that Manticore, Beowulf, and Haven were three of slavery's main enemies.

As for Darius, people from outside might not recognize it as a slave state. People lived well; chances are there was no poverty (jobs would be found for those without, even if they didn't want it).

The main difference between residents of Darius and Manticore is that the latter could vote for their leaders. Take a look at Europe now where the EU Parliament makes decisions for countries even if the countries do not like it. Yes, there is a difference but not a big one.

If ships from the GA came in, they could be greeted, treated reasonably well, and then they would leaves. Darius might be producing ships like crazy but it might now be easy to actually prove connections to MAlign. As for the few thousand Mesans there, they would not be hard to disguise from casual visitors.

ldwechsler wrote:
If ships from the GA came in, they could be greeted, treated reasonably well, and then they would leaves. Darius might be producing ships like crazy but it might now be easy to actually prove connections to MAlign. As for the few thousand Mesans there, they would not be hard to disguise from casual visitors.

I think seeing ships being built somewhwere in the system that lack a traditional hammerhead design as the Lenny D's certainly lack, would be at least a yellow flag for any halfway alert tactical officer seeing the data feeds from the shell of recon drones her ship launched as soon as they made translation.

Say torch claims both the twins and Felix, that would force Darius into some kind of relationship with the kingdom. Darius is said to be in a barren and remote location, so it needs access eventually to the rest of human space. Who ever controls Felix has most of the power over the junction?

SYED wrote:Say torch claims both the twins and Felix, that would force Darius into some kind of relationship with the kingdom. Darius is said to be in a barren and remote location, so it needs access eventually to the rest of human space. Who ever controls Felix has most of the power over the junction?

Uh, right. So after they don’t get blown to shreds by the blockading force they then claim a system that is owned by at least 3 other valid competing claims. How do you think this will end? I think it will end with the RF navy coming to the aid of the poor dispossessed claimholders who had their property taken away by pirates.

Apparently a couple of mega corps have claims on Felix, and I bet they are the corrupt ones. So I doubt the league would stick their neck out here, so long as they can use it. Especially considering the lights Mesa went to obscure the junction. They might ceded the claim to torch, to make sure to stick it to the alignment.

SYED wrote:Apparently a couple of mega corps have claims on Felix, and I bet they are the corrupt ones. So I doubt the league would stick their neck out here, so long as they can use it. Especially considering the lights Mesa went to obscure the junction. They might ceded the claim to torch, to make sure to stick it to the alignment.

No, the league definitely would not. However, I'll wager that the Renaissance Factor with Mannerheim in the fore certainly will. Especially seeing as how it would be Mannerheim's BCs that Torch blew the ever lovin' out of to even "discover" The Twins.