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On that note, twin heirs to the throne is a contentious situation at the best of times - but when that throne is newly-forged out of two rival realms and you name one child for each side, you're basically begging for a disastrous civil war.
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Feb 7, 2016 07:58
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All succession in the Sphere should be handled like Alexander the Great, so as to create ever more, smaller, and more belligerent successor states.
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Feb 7, 2016 08:08
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Dolash posted:On that note, twin heirs to the throne is a contentious situation at the best of times - but when that throne is newly-forged out of two rival realms and you name one child for each side, you're basically begging for a disastrous civil war. Hanse Davion's blind spot seems to be not realizing that everyone thinks the sun shines out of his rear end. He thought that Katrina's plan to improve the LCAF over a generation was too slow, so he just brought in AFFS advisors and made unit COs subordinate to them. I guess he assumed everyone would just thank him for showing them the light or something and definitely not resent that. This seems pretty spot on for him; he'll be real surprised when people don't think it's a great compromise.
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Feb 7, 2016 09:19
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Given that the Drac capital of Luthien is still in Clan hands, and the military is being pretty heavily integrated, is a Civil war along ethnic boundaries as feasible as all that? The Dracs wouldn't have a very good base to work off of, especially not with a bunch of Clans at their back. That is of course unless the Star League here does another Operation Bulldog, but Hell Horse's have parked themselves pretty well into the IS at this point.
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Feb 7, 2016 14:42
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Crazy Joe Wilson posted:the military is being pretty heavily integrated Forcibly integrated! 
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Feb 7, 2016 14:52
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Let's not forget that Theodore Kurita is in control of the Black Dragons, and is biding his time until the opportunity presents itself to take back his country. Even without the twins, the situation was ripe for civil war in the Draconis Suns.
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Feb 7, 2016 15:48
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And don't forget that just as House Kurita has a long-standing belief in the superiority of the Japanese, but House Davion also has a history of anti-Asian discrimination and even purges.
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Feb 7, 2016 20:27
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Pussy Cartel posted:And don't forget that just as House Kurita has a long-standing belief in the superiority of the Japanese, but House Davion also has a history of anti-Asian discrimination and even purges. To be fair that's probably because this is the first time in at least 500 years that they haven't been at war.
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Feb 7, 2016 20:40
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Honestly, I don't think the Mariks are in that strong a position, with the Capellans nullifying the Comstar interdiction. They are effectively blind and half-crippled (given SAFE's comedic level of incompetence), Amaris is apparently so strong as to be using Andurien (a FWL planet to my knowledge) as his bizarro-Tukayyid "capital" without worrying too much about what Duncan might think about that, have two-plus Clans tearassing through their space (even if they are content to ignore the FWL, the FWL is weak enough to be ignored), and they are probably still in a war with the Capellans that is still up in the air even after they got a favorable Interdiction. What positives the Mariks have on the board are limited, cancelled out, or nebulous. The New Star League is promising, but too new and unformed yet to count on in terms of support, or the demands likely to be made on it. Are the Clans likely to share technology with the FWL? If not, are we going to be looking at the Intergalactic Incompetency Championship between SAFE's industrial espionage department and the Clan Watch's counter-intelligence service? Are the member Clans' actually committed to stomping out the NRWR like apparently all true Clans are supposed to? Will the whole NSL be drawn into that as a result? Also, I just wanna say it is funny that while Duncan is the guy we heard ordering that plans be made to take over ComStar's HPG network, it is the Capellans who ended up doing it.
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Feb 7, 2016 20:59
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Dolash posted:On that note, twin heirs to the throne is a contentious situation at the best of times - but when that throne is newly-forged out of two rival realms and you name one child for each side, you're basically begging for a disastrous civil war. The Federated Combine lasting long enough for the twins to fight over it would be an accomplishment in the first place.
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Feb 7, 2016 21:23
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Servicio en Espanol posted:Honestly, I don't think the Mariks are in that strong a position, with the Capellans nullifying the Comstar interdiction. They are effectively blind and half-crippled (given SAFE's comedic level of incompetence), Amaris is apparently so strong as to be using Andurien (a FWL planet to my knowledge) as his bizarro-Tukayyid "capital" without worrying too much about what Duncan might think about that, have two-plus Clans tearassing through their space (even if they are content to ignore the FWL, the FWL is weak enough to be ignored), and they are probably still in a war with the Capellans that is still up in the air even after they got a favorable Interdiction. What positives the Mariks have on the board are limited, cancelled out, or nebulous. All of the bullshit Marik has to deal with is a big reason why he's so popular: everyone else has a few major problems to deal with, while the FWL is basically drowning in them (sabotage by Amaris and Comstar, the Capellan offensive, roaming Clan ships, incompetent officers, etc). As for the Capellans, the Comstar interdiction was only partly nullified: they still can't communicate with other states or use C-bills (presumably), and there's also no guarantee that they'll be able to actually run all the facilities they captured, much less repair them (in the canon timeline, the successor states all took over the Comstar facilities eventually, but were quickly forced to ask Comstar to help operate them, thus changing very little in their actual operation). The Capellans also just declared war on Comstar, who still has their hidden army/navy, on top of a lot of money to hire mercenaries with; Amaris may also be forced to take action against them, if he wants Comstar to keep backing him. Which is good, because both Liao and Amaris are annoying amazing at everything they do, so at least one of them should experience a failure that doesn't get spun into a success.
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Feb 7, 2016 23:52
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NRWR doesnt need better coms than the inner sphere, it just needs comms that arent constantly being monitored and development crippled by Comstar.
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Feb 7, 2016 23:56
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thetruegentleman posted:All of the bullshit Marik has to deal with is a big reason why he's so popular: everyone else has a few major problems to deal with, while the FWL is basically drowning in them (sabotage by Amaris and Comstar, the Capellan offensive, roaming Clan ships, incompetent officers, etc). The Cappellans have Clan scientists, and the Clans know how to build and operate HPGs. This may be less of an issue for them than it would be the cannon IS houses.
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Feb 8, 2016 00:30
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Zaodai posted:The Cappellans have Clan scientists, and the Clans know how to build and operate HPGs. This may be less of an issue for them than it would be the cannon IS houses. The Cappies also seized almost all of the Comstar HPGs in their territory, so its much much less of a problem for them.
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Feb 8, 2016 01:47
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Coffeehitler posted:The Cappies also seized almost all of the Comstar HPGs in their territory, so its much much less of a problem for them. His point was that just because they seized them, it wouldn't mean they'd know how to operate or maintain them. Having people who know how to build and run them on staff eliminates the problem.
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Feb 8, 2016 02:26
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The Society might not have anyone that can though. I refuse to believe that they wouldn't, but there's always the possibility.
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Feb 8, 2016 02:36
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Night10194 posted:All succession in the Sphere should be handled like Alexander the Great, so as to create ever more, smaller, and more belligerent successor states. Now I'm imagining a dual cockpit battlemech punching itself in the cockpit with both the left and right arms while each pilot demands the other leaves their sovereign territory. 
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Feb 8, 2016 02:38
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Coffeehitler posted:The Society might not have anyone that can though. I refuse to believe that they wouldn't, but there's always the possibility. Even if they don't have anybody who directly specializes in HPGs, they'd at least be baseline familiar with the equipment. It's the same situation anyone who has ever worked in IT has been in hundreds of times. "Hey, you're good with computers, right?" "Yes." "Can you fix my DVD player/cell phone/CNC machine/other non computer device?" They'd have at least some advantage against the IS Techs who are A) murdered by ComStar for understanding technology to well and B) clinically retarded like everyone else in the Inner Sphere.
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Feb 8, 2016 03:18
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Zaodai posted:Even if they don't have anybody who directly specializes in HPGs, they'd at least be baseline familiar with the equipment. It's the same situation anyone who has ever worked in IT has been in hundreds of times. Reboot it. Check for updates. Take it apart and put it back together, ending with a few extra parts you can't remember the right place for (at least one screw/bolt is in that part pile, but not the nut that would go on the other side). It works better than new now. At least that's my experience and usual order of operations for various things that I'm asked to fix. I'm not even an IT guy.
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Feb 8, 2016 05:11
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Olothreutes posted:Reboot it. Check for updates. Take it apart and put it back together, ending with a few extra parts you can't remember the right place for (at least one screw/bolt is in that part pile, but not the nut that would go on the other side). It works better than new now. Exactly. And if you're in the 40k universe, just light some incense and say a prayer before you get to the checklist. Oh mighty Omnissiah, please clear us of the crytpo-virus that has encrypted all of our files, for the HR department will never cease in their quest to download all the pornography onto their workstaitons. Amen.
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Feb 8, 2016 06:13
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Zaodai posted:The Cappellans have Clan scientists, and the Clans know how to build and operate HPGs. This may be less of an issue for them than it would be the cannon IS houses. Ordinarily, I'd say that capturing one clan-conquered planet's worth of clan technicians couldn't possibly have given them enough people to both run the network *and* develop new weapons, but since the Cappellans went through the trouble of capturing all of the Comstar facilities, it only makes sense that they have some way of getting them functional, so  . Maybe Dr. Wily built Coms Man at the same time he built his Mech Robot Masters.
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Feb 8, 2016 10:30
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thetruegentleman posted:Ordinarily, I'd say that capturing one clan-conquered planet's worth of clan technicians couldn't possibly have given them enough people to both run the network *and* develop new weapons, but since the Cappellans went through the trouble of capturing all of the Comstar facilities, it only makes sense that they have some way of getting them functional, so I feel like I missed something; Why was 'The Society' (or the PTN equivalent) on this planet the Capellans captured? And why was there more than a small expedition of them there? How they were convinced to join is obvious. Warcrimes, the threat of or opportunity for, as appropriate.
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Feb 8, 2016 11:01
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Teledahn posted:I feel like I missed something; The cappies have the clan scientists from the Death Commando raids much earlier in the thread. Apparently they captured and made off with them in addition to blowing up the escaping clanners on the other dropship. Those scientists made the new Capellan Society and were using the facilities on this planet for some of their production, but are now on the way to Outreach to continue the experimental warcrimes research. I suspect that the cappies took this planet because it had the facilities or resources they needed to further the research being done, or they took it and realized it had said facilities/resources and set up shop. It just happened to be the one that Carlos was on. Also I suspect that most of the clan scientist caste knows how to work the HPG. That's like email for them. Building one from scratch, maybe not so much, but using them for sure. How else do you collaborate with other scientists on other planets? You certainly aren't going to wait for that one guy who can work the HPG to come back from vacation/sick leave/fighting someone to the death over a trivial matter/whatever to send out that data to the factory so the warrior caste will shut the hell up about those new improvements to whatever weapon they wanted. Olothreutes fucked around with this message at 11:51 on Feb 8, 2016 |
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Feb 8, 2016 11:49
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So originally the Clan Invasion was supposed to happen on the Rimward quadrant of the Inner Sphere, and finish of the Capellans. The Capellans are doing far too well in this thread, FAR too well. Methinks the 2nd Crusade might try this.
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Feb 8, 2016 12:42
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They've had what? Two years? Maybe the death commandos have actually raided the homeworlds somehow and gotten more scientists?
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Feb 8, 2016 17:59
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I've been having a heck of a time coming up with something worthy of a political vote after writing the state of the Inner Sphere fluff. Who's up for some mercenary contract negotiations instead?
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Feb 8, 2016 18:03
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Oooh ooh me, me, I wanna see mercenary company contract negotiations. We never meet the negotiators and lawyers that all these space mercenary units must have somewhere.
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Feb 8, 2016 18:12
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Yes please!
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Feb 8, 2016 18:14
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PoptartsNinja posted:I've been having a heck of a time coming up with something worthy of a political vote after writing the state of the Inner Sphere fluff. What the hell, why not: we've benched these mercs enough as is, and the LP started with the Kell Hounds, so starting again from the intermission with some more mercs helps to make good book ends.
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Feb 8, 2016 18:39
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As long as one of those negotiators is named Roger Smith I'd say go for it.
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Feb 8, 2016 18:53
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Mercs are never a bad option. Unless they're the Grey Death Legion. Good thing they've been taken care of. 
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Feb 8, 2016 19:04
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thetruegentleman posted:Ordinarily, I'd say that capturing one clan-conquered planet's worth of clan technicians couldn't possibly have given them enough people to both run the network *and* develop new weapons, but since the Cappellans went through the trouble of capturing all of the Comstar facilities, it only makes sense that they have some way of getting them functional, so The guys who understand the HPGs could write a manual. Or maybe the Cappellans have captured Clan manuals. They don't need to individually run every HPG, just be the troubleshooters that get called in if stuff goes completely nutso. They don't need to be there to power cycle the equipment, just if the transmitter suddenly catches fire. If one user can't figure out how to send email, you can point them in the right direction or train a guy in 15 minutes to find most of the common causes. If the Exchange server explodes, THEN you call the guys who actually understand the workings of the system. PoptartsNinja posted:I've been having a heck of a time coming up with something worthy of a political vote after writing the state of the Inner Sphere fluff.
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Feb 8, 2016 19:10
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Loxbourne posted:Oooh ooh me, me, I wanna see mercenary company contract negotiations. So, I don't know how contract negotiation works, but I think any freelancer in the thread knows how payment works. Kalma-Youngblood Mercenary Company LLC , Accounting and Collections department. Not-Outreach, January 7, 3035 "So, the check we received doesn't match up with our invoice we sent you last month. What about the riot control we performed? Is that in the space-mail or, what's going on?" "Look, Jerome, Can I call you Jerome?" "It's Jason. And there was a loving revolution." "Jerome, pal, I'm sorry, but the statement of work we approved is just for 'garrison duty plus reasonable ammunition expenses'." "The contrac--" "Buddy, my bosses tell me we just can't pay you for something we can perform in-house. We like your work a lot, but frankly, we've got some guys in the 22nd who can shoot civilians for cost. If it were up to me, things would be different, but this is the way things are." Octatonic fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Feb 8, 2016 |
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Feb 8, 2016 19:16
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Grizzwold posted:As long as one of those negotiators is named Roger Smith I'd say go for it. Please tell me he negotiates with a 100-ton Battlemech armed with dual Pilebunkers.
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Feb 8, 2016 19:22
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I can't wait to see how the
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Feb 8, 2016 20:50
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PoptartsNinja posted:I've been having a heck of a time coming up with something worthy of a political vote after writing the state of the Inner Sphere fluff. Something with Ulric making contact with Goliath Scorpion raiders to troll the Widowmakers? Alternately, the Wolves have got a lot of poo poo to prove back in Clan Space.
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Feb 8, 2016 20:53
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Zaodai posted:The guys who understand the HPGs could write a manual. Or maybe the Cappellans have captured Clan manuals. They don't need to individually run every HPG, just be the troubleshooters that get called in if stuff goes completely nutso. They don't need to be there to power cycle the equipment, just if the transmitter suddenly catches fire. The problem is less about sending messages and more about making sure each message gets where it is supposed to go. Basically, the Cappellans need to do the following: 1. Clear each HPG array of any viruses or self-destruct programs. 2. Repair each HPG as needed. 3. Adjust each array to break contact with non-Cappellan controlled systems, to avoid jamming or HPG virus uploads. 4. Re-align each array so broken to re-establish contact with the rest of the network. 5. Pray they capture the Class A HPGs intact so they don't need to re-align the entire network continuously. I'm assuming that the Cappellans already have a list of their "home" space HPGs and where these HPGs should be pointed in case of interdiction, but the border worlds would be much harder to both capture and align correctly, which is a problem, since these worlds are the ones where quick communication is the most important, either to counter an enemy attack, or to exploit weak points in enemy lines through use of reserve units. Not that I actually expect any of this to come up or matter, mind you: the LP is called Battletech, not Space AT&T Logistical Operations Director. It's just kind of an observation about how difficult this kind of operation would actually be, even without worrying about the success of operation 'Multiple Simultaneous Offensive Deep Strikes'.
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Feb 8, 2016 20:59
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Of course it's entirely possible ComStar won't want to point their HPGs at the Capellans either - two can play the "upload a virus to your FTL network" game and the Clan science caste is probably at the top of their nasty tricks game.
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Feb 8, 2016 21:05
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thetruegentleman posted:The problem is less about sending messages and more about making sure each message gets where it is supposed to go. Basically, the Cappellans need to do the following: HPGs work on magic technology where a stationary transmitter on the opposite side of a planet, on the far end of an orbit "behind" its sun, can still transmit to the same HPG. They're already having to clear the HPGs of deadman's switches and nukes, so they're at least already clearing out the systems. If they took the HPGs in-tact during their initial assault, they shouldn't have to re-align anything except the HPGs on the outer-rim of their network, and even then only if Battletech actually has viruses as a thing that exist. HPGs are space telephones. And not even modern space telephones. Space telephones-from-the-1950s. The vacuum tubes might fail, but at least they can't get a virus!
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Feb 8, 2016 21:22
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The real problem is that it's hard to call central tech support on your space-phone when your space-phone is broken.
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Feb 8, 2016 21:44
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