			    TRAVELLER Digest 115

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) TRAVELLER digest 113	by jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com (JEFF ZEITLIN)
  2) Left-hand weapons	by CyHiggin@aol.com
  3) Re: Ship designs	by merrick@RT66.com (Merrick Burkhardt)
  4) Re: Deep Site Meson Guns & Effects of an Anti-Matter Beam	by "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
  5) Traveller Reading List FAQ	by Mike Basinger <dbasinge@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu>
  6) thanks	by Joni M Virolainen <jonimv@evitech.fi>
  7) Laser penetration.	by "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
  8) Re: Laser Penetration	by Liam_McCauley@qsp.co.uk
  9) Thanksgiving Delay Apology	by "David E. Brooks Jr" <dbj@MPGN.COM>
 10) comments on deep Site Meson Guns	by lewis@chara.gsu.edu
 11) -No Subject-	by Derek Smith <Derek_Smith.LOTUS@crd.lotus.com>
 12) Re: TRAVELLER digest 113 	by dethlejd@galt.osd.mil
 13) Eight characters. (Long...long..long)	by alvin plummera <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Nov 94 21:23:00 -0500
From: jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com (JEFF ZEITLIN)
To: TRAVELLER@MPGN.COM
Subject: TRAVELLER digest 113
Message-ID: <89E7503.010003A19D.uuout@execnet.com>


T::>  > 2) What is GDW planning on doing with Old Expanses
 ::>  > subsectors not covered in Path of Tears. I note that
 ::>  > both adventures in World Tamers are set in the
 ::>  > So Skire subsector.

T::>  So Skire and Bascoj (aka Sitah) subsectors will show up in
 ::> _Aliens of the Rim_

 ... which is scheduled to arrive at New York City's 
 _Compleat_Strategist_ \when\?  They seem to get stuff late; I was 
 only first able to get Challenge 75 the Monday before 
 Thanksgiving...
==========================================================================
Jeff Zeitlin                                      jeff.zeitlin@execnet.com
---
 þ QMPro 1.53 þ Another fine Good Intentions Paving Co. project!

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Nov 1994 16:42:44 -0500
From: CyHiggin@aol.com
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Left-hand weapons
Message-ID: <941127164243_8078994@aol.com>

From: Hugh Foster

>Here's a thought for you. "Modern" Traveller weapons are bullpup >design,
yeah ? Now, if the receiver's back behind the level of the >trigger guard,
that's pretty close to the face, hmm ? Isn't that gonna >mean that a leftie
is going to get an earful of hot brass everytime he >pulls the trigger ?
Answers on a postcard...

1) "Modern" (TL 8+) Trav weapons use caseless cartridges.

2) That's why lefties get left-handed receivers.  Steve cites the
British Individual Weapon, which has two spare parts that are 
swapped out to change from right-handed to left-handed.  Steve
says all Real World bullpup weapons that he knows of come in
right & left-handed versions.

3) You don't need to have a bullpup to get a faceful of hot brass
when shooting a rifle offhand.  I've shot both SKS and MAC-90 
(semi-auto AK-47), and they both throw brass all over the place.
I was told of an incident where someone lost an eye shooting a 
right-handed MAC-90 left-handed -- brass case thrown in his eye.
Most Real World guns (not just bullpups) are available in both 
right- and left-handed versions for that reason -- no one likes
cases thrown across their face (or into their face!).

                                                  -- Cynthia


< Remember, in Cyberspace no-one can heal your bream...>

I don't heal my bream, I eat them. :-)




------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Nov 1994 18:06:22 -0700 (MST)
From: merrick@RT66.com (Merrick Burkhardt)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Ship designs
Message-ID: <9411280106.AA19826@RT66.com>


Thanks for the input so far... we've been discussing it at the office
all weekend.  Just a couple comments/clarifications:

> merrick@RT66.com (Merrick Burkhardt) says:
> 
> >I've been making some 1:1000 scale ship miniatures, as well as bashing
> >some in the same scale from model kits. I have a couple of designs for
> >Zhodani ships based on some earth defense force (Starblazers) ships.

It is important to note that all the SB ships I've bashed have been
changed a fair bit.  I ground the 'flying bridge' parts off all of them,
and the bridges are a raised bump (like an airliner) on the top front
(it pre-exists on the models).  In addition, I added slightly forward
swept 'wings' (4 of 'em) arranged like an x-wing from star wars (like
the ship on the cover of The Journal of the TAS #23 (dunno if it was
ever printed... I don't have any past #22, but the cover was shown in
the "next issue' section)

> James Kundert says
> 
>  Based on every Zhodani ship picture to see print, I've seen a few
> consistent factors.
> 
>  -The Zhodani almost always mount maneuver drives as a pair or set of
>   smaller thrusters, instead of one large central thruster.

I hadn't noticed this before.  Are there *any* pictures of decent sized
ships (10,000 being barely decent)?  I only wonder since it seems that
smaller ships would be more varied within a culture simply because
they're built in more shipyards (as well as by local gov.s for 'coast
guard' stuff).

>  -The bridge is always in the classic jet airliner spot: Front-High.
>   The bridge is usually built within the basic hullform instead of standing
>   out from it.

Hadn't seen this either, but it works for the ones we've played with so
far :)

> 
>  -Overall width of the hull will be greatest on the lower decks. The
>   paired engines are often set in distinct nacelles which form the widest
>   part of the ship (see the Vlezhdatl).

>  -There are three basic hull formats: beveled box (typified by the
>   Vlezhdatl in BL), flowing (The Ninz scout and the Zhdits), and sharp

I'd be willing to say the Vlezhdatl is the exception if there aren't any
other examples :)

>   and needle-like (the Chatl scout and the Stedlas SDB). Of these three,

I haven't seen the Stedlas at all (I have most of the CT, some of the
MT, and some of the TNE stuff... but I don't have many of the FASA ship
designs which seem to be most of the canon Zho stuff)

>   the boxy form is used mostly for larger ships and the flowing form
>   and needle mostly for the smaller ships. The flowing and needle forms
>   are sometimes combined in one ship (see the Stedlas).
> 
>  -Zhodani ships rarely have flat tails. They are almost always tapered
>   to a point (Zhdits), or have a ridge running across the back (Ninz).
>   Box-form ships have the engines protrude aft slightly, and the main
>   hull will be beveled instead of flat-backed.

If I were to come up with a bunch of designs that we thought were cool,
what do you think the reaction would be given that the observations
you've made are only based on 5-6 ships? (there isn't much to work with
here, which is why I wanted some input :)

> 
>  -Many Zhodani ships are "necked" in shape, having a narrow portion
>   between two main hull sections. The proportions of the two halves
>   to each other varies considerably (see Vlezhdatl and Chatl for
>   extremes), but is always either balanced or tail-heavy.

My critters all look tail heavy at this point, too.  Yipee :)

>  -The Zhodani do not gratuitously streamline. If a design does not need
>   streamlining, it won't be built with it. Their fleet refueling doctrine

Who would?  On a related note, at the velocities that ships move, sloped
armor (as well as having the ship pointing along its vel. vector) would
help defeat micro (and not so micro) meteor impacts (the impact missile
discussions, along with some simple calculations of the
damage/penetration values for bullet-sized particles at 100km/sec made
us think about this)

>   apparently depends on gas giants, so we can expect capital ships to be
>   streamlined.

I'd say damn near all military ships that would operate away from fleets
would (BTW, all my Zho ships are military so far)

>  -Ships of the flowing or needle types generally have one or more forward
>   swept fins. These are more common on starships than on subcraft. It
>   is my opinion (backed up by the original Vargr Module) that the Vargr
>   taste in finned ships came from their first contacts with the Zhodani.

I've got these, and they look really cool.

>  -Civilian ships intended for use within the Consulate are rarely armed
>   or capable of carrying arms.

I'll keep this in mind.

>  -Civilian ships intended for use within the Consulate rarely have
>   internal security based on bulkhead divisions, as Zhodani are all
>   "completely trustworthy".
> 
> 
>   Those with Brilliant Lances will have recognized some of the
> ship names I've used above. All originated with FASA and the Keith
> brothers many years ago, and can be found in Adventure Class Ships Volumes
> One and Two. The Vlezhdatl appeared in a seperate package from FASA.
>   The oldest Zhodani ship in print is the Shivva Patrol Ship from
> Adventure 4: Leviathan. The edition that I have has a picture that _might_
> be a Shivva, but it is a rather eccentric picture. I prefer to consider
> the Shivva to be unpictured to date.

I agree, yucky picture.  One of my (greatly altered)  EDF Patrol
Cruisers is upwards of 400 tons.  Once I finish the basic hull form,
I'll make a mold, and cast it in urathane resin--then I'll find out its
volume based on the resin's density (it's damn hard to do volumes on the
odd shapes, but my upper limit on this one is 550, and the lower is 270
tons--before adding wings and other goodies, so maybe it'll be a shiva
:)

> 
>  To answer the specific question, I view the tapered cylinder with flying
> bridge (ala Star Blazers and Captain Harlock) to be a Solomani thing

I kind of agree here, but since we're interested in a CT setting (using
TNE stuff) in the Marches, we wanted Zho ships.  The only pic we had
seem to be the majority of the ones you mention, but we didn't think
there were enough to make a decent generalization.  I axed the flying
bridge 'cause I thought it looked goofy, and wreaked the otherwise
streamlined shape.

Thanks for the ideas, and once I get some casted up, the stats can
always be altered if they all look wrong for a given region.


-Merrick

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 94 11:14:00 EST
From: "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
To: tml <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: Re: Deep Site Meson Guns & Effects of an Anti-Matter Beam
Message-ID: <2EDA8080@msmail.trl.oz.au>


Lewis Roberts <lewis@chara.gsu.edu> writes:

 ------------------------
Greetings,
While fellow TMLer Tariq Rashid and I were waiting to get into Star
Trek, we started talking about Planetary assualts in Battle Rider.
Tariq had just made up a meson gun designed as a Deep Site Meson gun,
ie one to be buried deep underground in a planet, for planetary
defense.  We started to wonder how to fight one of these.
  Sensors won't be able to see it, sense it is buried under ground, I
assume it is deep enough to damp out all E-M radiation.  So you won't
be able to simply shoot it.
 The buried meson gun will need sensors on the surface to see enemy
ships so it can shoot them.  But the sensors can be spread across a
planet.  By the time an orbiting ship can start a sensor sweep to
detect the sensors, the deep site gun will fire on it, mostly likely
blowing it up or crippling it.
The only thing I could think of was to drop troops on to the surface,
basically below the senors, and have troops run around trying to find
the dishes and blow them up.
 Can anyone figure out another angle of attack.
 ------------------------------

Sure can! All you need is a passive EMS ( or similar ) and for the meson gun 
to shoot at you as couple of times!! This works well if you have a lot of 
ships or strong screens.
As I understand it the mesons used have a very short half-life before they 
decay into other particles and energy. As the meson beam travels to the 
target, individual mesons decay along the way thus providing an energy trace 
that may be triangulated if the meson gun fires at a moving target more than 
once. Once the triangulated position is determined you can blast it out of 
existance with your own meson guns.

"Les Howie"  <lhowie@192.219.29.90> writes:

 ------------------------------
Lewis Roberts writes
>  Anti-neutrons do exist, (They were discovered in 1955 at the Berkley
> Bevatron) but they have the same problem that neutrons have, you can't
> guide them or accelerate them with magnetic fields. You would have to
> use some sort of gravity focusing or some science fiction thing.

True - I believe that is why the NPAWS is not introduced until the same tech 

level as the other gravetic technologies.  Remember, too, that we are 
talking
about technologies which (in the case of the Alliance ships which have been
posted on xboat) can produce and handle anti-matter on a scale that, seems,
well, pure science fiction ;-).
 -----------------------------

I seem to recall in FF&S that that NPAWS in fact fire Helium nuclei ( 2P,2N 
) through a cloud of electrons that stick to the nuclei thus forming neutral 
atoms. The electrons could even be accelerated as well thus providing a 
handy mechanism for fine beam control.

 -----------------------------
> Anti-protons would be more useful.

But would they not all have a negative charge, and so tend to disperse -- a
poor beam weapon?
 -----------------------------

Yes indeed, a very poor beam weapon!

 -----------------------------
>  I don't think they would be more effective then normal neutrons. A
> normal neutron would smash into an atom, releasing photons though
> Bremstrahlung, (The release of photons by a decelerating charged
> particle) THe atom it hits will also be effected, either flying away or
> releasing other particles.
>   An anti neutron will collide  into things until it hits a neutron and
> it decays into gamma rays. These are pretty lethal to crew memebers,
> but so are just neutrons, hence the old concept of the neutron bomb.  I
> think anti-matter bombs are a more inventive way to use anti-matter.

Now, it is clear from your answer that you are quite knowledgable on these
matters, but I find the conclusion surprising.

Looking first at the neutron stream impacting armour: The armour is dense 
and thick, designed to absorb attacks such as this.  That means that there 
is a high probablity that the neutron, having caused some photon release, 
broken up a few neuclei, etc will finally exhaust itself having done some 
degree of damage to the material proportional (more or less) to its kinetic 
energy.  This will doubtless cause some damage to the hull material (such as 
happens, say, to the materials within a fission reactor) but will probably 
cause most of its
effects to the target as a result of secondary radiation: I believe that 
this was
expected to be the main cause of AFV crew kills with the neutron bomb.

On the other hand, the anti-neutron stream will do damage not only as a
result of the kenetic effects but as a result of the release of the 
rest-energy of
both the anti- and target neutron.  Also, since the target material is
designed to absorb neutrons, the stream should be fully converted to energy 
within a very short period of time.  I would expect that the  resulting 
release of energy and wholesale atomic breakdown within the fabric of the 
hull itself should not just have particle level effects: there should be 
obvious macroscopic effects from the shock wave as a portion of the target 
suddenly becomes a plasma.

That is, wouldn't it blow a boody great hole in the hull?

I am prepared to be disuaded of this (Lord knows it wouldn't be the first
time on this list). ;-).
 ---------------------------

Yes, an anti-neutron beam should be more devastating than a neutron beam but 
why use neutrons? Whats wrong with anti-hydrogen of anti-helium used in the 
manner I describe above?

Django.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 01:02:28 -0500 (EST)
From: Mike Basinger <dbasinge@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu>
To: Traveller Mailing List <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: Traveller Reading List FAQ
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9411280008.A2716-0100000@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu>

I want to start a new FAQ with the help of TML and X-Boat. I would like 
to start compiling a list of books and novels that are Traveller-like (in 
any of its forms). If you have any books you would like to 
suggest please e-mail me at

dbasinge@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu

To make things easy for me, mail me in the following form.

Name: Name of book, short story, etc.
Author: Author of book, story, etc.
Reason: The reason you find it similar to Traveller (ie: similar 
technology, similar background).
ISBN: ISBN Number (opitional). To help people find/order the book at 
there local bookstore/library.
Misc: Any misc info you want to include (book out of print, etc)

Thanks,
mike

ps: If anybody can help me find a copy of H. Beam Piper Space Vikings, I 
would appreciate it,\.

 --
D. Michael Basinger [N9YYO]
dbasinge@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu
<http://bronze.ucs.indiana.edu/~dbasinge/>
"Not speaking for Indiana University"


------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 09:38:50 +0200 (EET)
From: Joni M Virolainen <jonimv@evitech.fi>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: thanks
Message-ID: <199411280735.CAA27176@Mithril.MPGN.COM>

Thanks for David Hoey. That will help me a lot when my players will
walk to my trap, Buum!

Joni Virolainen
jonimv@evitech.fi


------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 94 16:41:00 EST
From: "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
To: tml <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: Laser penetration.
Message-ID: <2EDAC9BE@msmail.trl.oz.au>


There have been complaints on tml about the penetration performance of 
(small arms) lasers.
The rules in FF&S have made the assumption that it is impossible to focus a 
laser on any area with a diameter smaller than 1 cm!
As this is clearly at variance with reality I propose a new rule.

Lasers may be designed with a short range less than the maximum allowed.
This may result in an intensity (I) greater than that at the maximum 
allowed. This intensity (I) figure is to be used for IPR calculations ONLY.
The normal intensity figure is used for damage calculations.

This should make handheld (but short ranged) lasers more capable against 
armoured targets.

Django.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 09:38:48 +0000
From: Liam_McCauley@qsp.co.uk
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Laser Penetration
Message-ID: <ed9a51e0@pc173.qsp.co.uk>

     Several people have brought up the issue of Laser penetration, which 
     reminded me of some questions I had when first reading FF&S.
     
     Derek Smith writes that he can't get a small arms laser to have a 
     non-nil penetration.  Presumably this is because "Intensities ... of 
     less than ... 0.39 Mj / cm^2 ... have a final penetration rating of 
     nil" (FF&S p129, para. 7C).
     
     In this part of the design sequence, IPR (Inverse Penetration Rating) 
     is calculated as an intermediary step in calculating final penetration 
     rating (it doesn't seem to be used anywhere else).
     
         Penetration rating = 1 / IPR.
     
         IPR of less than 0.5 is rounded down to 0, giving a penetration 
     rating of Nil.
     
     This means that lasers can only have fractional penetration ratings, 
     or 1, or Nil:
     
         IPR    Penetration rating
         ---    ------------------
         3      1/3
         2      1/2
         1      1
         0.499  Nil
     
     It strikes me as odd that a laser couldn't have a penetration rating 
     of, say, 2 or 3, like other small arms.  The only thing stopping this 
     in the rules is the statement that an IPR of less than 0.5 gives a 
     penetration rating of Nil.  There is a brief explanation given for 
     this in the rules, but I can't follow its logic.  I don't know whether 
     this is due to my lack of understanding, or a mistake on the 
     designers' part.
     
     Throwing caution to the wind (well, you only live once :-)) I propose 
     that the offending statement be thrown out, and IPR should only be 
     rounded if it is going to produce a fractional penetration rating 
     (e.g. IPR of 9.3 rounds to IPR=9 -> Pen=1/9), otherwise the IPR is not 
     rounded, but the final penetration rating IS (e.g. IPR=0.3 -> Pen of 
     3.3 rounds to Pen=3).
     
     Using this proposition, I ran some figures through, to see what I got:
     
         I (Mj/cm^2)  DV  Pen           Hard AV that can be penetrated
         -----------  --  ---           ------------------------------
         0.0244       8   8 (i.e. Nil)  -
         0.0319       9   7             1
         0.0434       10  6             1
         0.0625       13  5             2
         0.0977       16  4             3
         0.1736       21  3             6
         0.3906       31  2             15
         1.5625       63  1             62
         6.25         125 1/2           lots!
     
     Looking at these figures, it seems possible to design a laser that CAN 
     cut through Battle Dress:
     
         TL14 Battle Dress AV=8.
     
         Laser, I=0.25Mj/cm^2, IPR=0.4 -> DV=25, Pen=3.
     
     Of course, all this hinges on Penetration ratings of >1 being allowed 
     for lasers.  If anyone can explain to me why they shouldn't (i.e. why 
     the current rules are right, and I'm wrong), then please put me right.
     
     
     Cheers,
     Liam McCauley
     
     Liam_McCauley@qsp.co.uk

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 09:37:15 -0500 (EST)
From: "David E. Brooks Jr" <dbj@MPGN.COM>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: Thanksgiving Delay Apology
Message-ID:
<Pine.ULT.3.90.941128093406.21252A-100000@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>

It seems that we had a process hung on the machine handling the
mailing lists.  Because of it, the load average was pushed too high
and sendmail refused to process the outbound queue.

No one should have lost any messages, they were just backlogged until
the problem was disovered and corrected this morning.

Sorry about that folks....(shy blush).

I wonder if the Traveller News Service ever suffered from these kinds
of problems?

-- Dave

--
David E. Brooks Jr                                    Phone: (305) 293-8100
Tantalus Incorporated/Multi-Player Games Network        Fax: (305) 292-7835
P.O. Box 2310                                        E-Mail: dbj@mpgn.com
Key West, FL 33045                                    Quote: print chr$(34);


------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 94 11:04:51 -0500
From: lewis@chara.gsu.edu
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: comments on deep Site Meson Guns
Message-ID: <9411281604.AA04880@chara.gsu.edu>

Lots of people responded to my initial post, so I'll just respond to them in
bulk.  

Several people suggested either nuking the entire planet, or dropping
rocks on it.  I was trying to avoid destroying the planet, and
commiting genocide.  Also I think according to the old Library Data
book, didn't the imperial rules of War prohibit the use of nuclear weapons.  

Another popular idea, is treason.  While this is the ideal situation,
knowing where the gun is before hand, I didn't think it would always be
possible, otherwise why have a deep site gun.  Though i am sure
considerable effort would be directed down this road.  

Erich Schneider says:
>One would think one could use triangulation-type techniques to locate
>it based on its firing patterns.
I can't see how. The only way to detect the mesons is to be a target,
and  the target probably won't be long for this world.  Meson guns are
firing rather tight beams of particles, triangulation normally works
for broadcasting, like Tv or radio signals.  

>Not only on the surface of the planet - off the planet as well, if the
>sensors have meson communicators installed.

Why would they need sensors off the planet?  I hadn't really thought
about how the sensors communicate with the gun, if they used local
phone lines or something, these would just become the target, so they
would need meson communicators.  But those are really expensive, and
only available at TL 15, i think, Maybe they could have dedicated
lines, buried underground, or something, still pretty expensive.
Something to think about.


 StarWolf says:
> 2. Detonate several nukes in the upper atmosphere. This will destroy 
> most electronic hardware. And sensors are very hard to shield against 
> these types of attack. Their antennas have to be disconnected 
> *before* the Electromagnetic Pulse arrive. Circuit breakers may 
> protect the process units against EMP, but the antennas will most 
> likely be fried.

I kind of assume by tl 15 electronics can be hardened pretty easily,
and cheaply.  Isn't this normally done with by encasing all electronics in
metal, 

Andy Lilly says:
>MISSILES
>Just direct ARMs (Anti-Radiation Missiles) or a higher tech equivalent at
>the planet's surface. If the missiles are tuned to the frequencies used by
>the meson gun's sensors then you won't go hitting every single military
>sensor, just the important ones. You'd still need an excess of missiles (vs.
>number of sensors) to allow for anti-missile laser defences, etc. but it
>ought to work.

The planet would be using passive sensors.  With the diameter of a
planet to work with, you can have a pretty good passive sensor.  

>JAMMING
>Jam the meson gun sensors from a starship (probably disguised as a merchant
>ship) or, better still, from one or more covert teams operating on the
>ground (requires far less power than from space because the jammers are so
>much closer to the sensors)
This would only slow down the gun.  

ZSABOTAGE
>Destroy selected sensor sites using covert ground teams. Perhaps they might
>even gain access to the meson gun site?
>SABOTAGE 2
>Gain access to any one sensor site using a covert team - try not to let
>anyone else know you've got in. Implant a virus (not 'The Virus') in their
>software - preferably in the communications section; watch as all
>communications between the gun and the sensors are cut off at a
>predetermined time (just before your ships get in range). Attack!

This was the best that I could come up with also.  As someone else
pointed out, it does make for a dandy adventure idea.

>LOSE POWER
>The meson gun must require a substantial power plant with a fuel system. By
>the use of covert ground operatives, either (a) contaminate the fuel, (b)
>disable the power plant by infiltrating the engineering staff, sending a
>sabotage robot down an airshaft, drop a nuke down an airshaft, direct a
>nuclear damper at the power plant, etc., etc.

I figured the power plant is next to the gun, ie deep underground also.
 the fuel would just be hydrogen, so kinda of hard to contaminate.  The
best way to get the hydrogen would be from an  undeground river, and
just purify it on the premises.  

 Cynthia says:
>#1: Put heavy meson screens on your assault landers and 
>assault cruisers.
Tariq, had actually designed this thing to blow through heavy meson
screens.  He said he will post it soon, probably after finals are done
with this week.  That is also really expensive, but then again so is
this meson gun. :)

>Yep.  Why do you think Hi-tech, Hi-Pop Imperial worlds are
>nearly impossible to invade?
I guess this is why Lucan started the Black War.  
Does anyone remeber what TL Terra was at, when it was captured. 
Wondering if it had any meson guns. That assualt took along time, if I
remember correctly, can't remember the source though.  Anyone have a better
memory.

Lewis

------------------------------

Date: 28 Nov 94 11:45:31 ES
From: Derek Smith <Derek_Smith.LOTUS@crd.lotus.com>
To: traveller <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: -No Subject-
Message-ID: <9411281639.AA06565@internet1.lotus.com>

100326.446 @ compuserve.com (Hugh Foster) wrote:

>Yet more AM burble: Another reason for supposing that "canonical" AM
>explosions aren't massively big is that MT ship designs allowed the
>fitting of AM missile warheads (and provided -er- proton screens I
>think to defeat them). Now if the explosion was gonna be as big as some
>folk here suggest, this would be a weapon of similar usefulness to the
>plasma grenades developed by one of my players (a normal man can't
>throw one far enough to get it out of the danger space...)


Point 1:

The AM missile would have a BIG BOOM, *much* bigger than a nuke if
done properly.

But it depends on how much AM you want to put on it.  You certainly
don't want to make it any easier to shoot down than other missiles.
And you have to prevent accidents while carrying them, too.

A magazine hit on nuclear missiles probably won't cause a nuclear
explosion.  A magazine hit on AM missiles means you can kiss your
ass goodbye.


Point 2:

There's nothing wrong with the Plasma Grenade, because:

You don't *throw* grenades.  You *launch* grenades.

Besides, Jonathan "Gronk" Verdell likes them.  You wouldn't want
to have an argument with *him*, would you? 8^)


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Derek Smith - Lotus Development Corporation - Release Engineering

George: 
"If we do happen to step on a mine, Sir, what do we do ?"

Edmund Blackadder: 
"Normal procedure, Lieutenant, is to jump 200 feet in the air and
scatter oneself over a wide area."

                          --somewhere in No Man's Land, BA4

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Nov 94 11:47:50 -0500
From: dethlejd@galt.osd.mil
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: TRAVELLER digest 113 
Message-ID: <9411281647.AA29808@galt.osd.mil>

Hey all:

A few years ago (maybe 10, I dunno') I developed a rather extensive
database of information as well as a bunch of new ships for the
original GDW Traveller.

One in particular was based on the current ballistic missile
submarines.  A stealthed cruiser carrying 18 or so 50 ton, Durasteel
slugs, with ablative reentry coatings.  This thing pops in-system,
somewhere over the plane of the ecliptic and a good distance out from
the target planet, and pumps these puppies out at 25,000 Kps.  The
onboard computers are large enough to compute orbital tracks for impact
on population centers (there's no real need to be accurate or
anything).  The ship itself dumps back into warp, and is gone.  A month
later, if all goes properly (and it should, finding 50 tons of radar
absorbing material outside of the normal plane of search has got to be
exceedingly difficult), You should be able to PULVERIZE any pretargeted
sites dirt-side.  It makes for a nice, clean (radiation-wise), softener
for assault troops.  Hell, if the planet is small enough, you might
just peel off the atmospheric shell.

As a matter of fact, this would make one hell of a blackmail tool. 
Hold whole planets under the "Rocks of Damocles" as it were.  They pay,
you pipe them the orbital tracks.  The don't pay, POOF, instant
ice-age.  Oh what a drag, sucks to be you.

- Jim Dethlefsen
  Systems Engineer (and destroyer of civilizations)
  Electronic Data Systems, Inc.
  OSD Backbone Services

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 21:22:26 -0500 (EST)
From: alvin plummera <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Eight characters. (Long...long..long)
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.941121165603.5372C-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


A while ago, someone asked for extra character's and plots.  Well, here 
are eight characters, with built-in plotlines, waiting to jump into your 
campagin... or take it over by force!

Count Dietrich von Schunamann
CEO, Schunamann und Sohn, AG  (the SuSAG megacorp)

Statistics: Schooling 1 term                   Rank CEO
            Manager   6 terms      
            Human                              Gender Male
            UPP 537467-E                       Age 43     
            Height  163 cm                     Weight  90 kg
            Hair  Balding salt & pepper

            Birth + Residence: Mora, capital of the Regency
(Mora: Spinward Marches/3124  AA99AC7-F  A  Hi In Cx 112 Re M4 V )

Skills:    Admin/Legal  5 (11)         Carousing    2 (9)
           Liaison      4 (11)         Willpower    3 (7)
           Marketing    3 (9)          Leadership   1 (8)
           Bargain      3 (10)         Pilot (Grav) 1 (4)
           German       2 (9)          Gambling     1 (5)
           Ground Vechile (Legged)     4 (7)

Possessions: Anything he want's, he get's.  

             His most famous possessions include ancient German 
             memorabelia (including the only known surviving East German 
             flag in existence), and a Sio Moff zero-G glass sculpture, 
             presented to his ancestors by Crown Prince Cleon, son of 
             Cleon IV (born 423, crowned 475, assassinated 555).
 
             Most of his families' treasured possessions is feared 
             lost, somewhere in Magyar sector. 

             The possessions that von Schunamann most loves, however, are 
             his collection of TL F battle mecha.  These 12-15 m high 
             vechiles/androids, armed with explosive devices (which cause 
             more flash than damage)  are used in a variety of "Mechasports".

Background:  von Schunamann is the achnowledged head of the Schunamann 
             family.  The 60 acknowledged family members form the core of 
             SuSAG; once a megacorp with interest's across the Imperium, 
             it's now restricted to the Regency providing chemicals, 
             pharmaceuticals, biogeneered products, and 
             semi-legal psi boosters. 

             von Schunamann is only an adequate CEO, delegating much of 
             his duties to trusted aides and pulling the regins only when he 
             needs to.  He spend's much of his time either meeting 
             figurehead duties, enjoying himself in very high social circles
             or playing Mechwarrior with other profoundly wealthy men.  
             [Mechawar is to the Regency what Polo was to the British
Empire].

             von Schunamann is happly married - maintaining not even one 
             concubine, to the astonishment of Court circles - and 
             delight's in his eight children.

--------------------------------

[Mini-info update: (info from: archive info by David Johnson) 
  A: Ling Standard Products (mining, electronics & computers, small arms, 
                             starships, starship systems, power generation) 
      
Ling Standard is probably the megacorp most directly involved in 
fighting Virus.  They are also major contributer's to the Regency 
Quarrentine Service, and invented the 150-Disp stretch scout.

  B: Hortalez et Cie (Banking and investment)

Pre-Rebellion, Hortalez et Cie was the most powerful megacorp in the 
Domain of Deneb.  Now, they probably _the_ force in the Regency (only the 
Government itself is more powerful) and have complete control of Regency 
banking and financial services... excluding the scraps, of course.

-------------------------

Pidiris Razlehmehid
Religious Hymnist

Statistics: Entertainer  2 terms             Rank  "Obscure Unknown"
            Darrian Human
            UPP  A69A78-4                    Gender Male
            Height 175 cm                    Age  28
            Hair   Silver Brown              Skin  Bronze
            Eyes   Black

            Born: Darrian 
               (Darrian: Spinward Marches/0627  A463955-G Hi 225 Da G1V M1D)
            Resides: currently touring the Spinward Marches

Skills:   Song               6 (14)    Willpower 1 (11)
          Music - acoustics  2 (12)    Carousing 1 (9)
          Enviromental Suit  1 (10)    Computer  1 (8)
          Zero-G gravity     1 (10)    History   1 (8)

Possessions:  Two Middle Passages
              A personal translator, with a Darrian/Anglic memchip
              An expensive (80 000 Cr) set of Tl C 'Acoustic enhansers'
                    (needed to modify any room to the correct acoustics)
              A duffel bag "with all my worldly possessions"
              2000 Cr... in Darrian currency

Background:  Pidiris Razlehmehid is a large, rather gregarious fellow, 
             both strong and intelligent.  He lives to sing, but also 
             enjoys a bit of roughhousing and carousing wherever he 
             goes.  Like about 30% of Darrians, he doesn't believe that 
             humans originated on Terra, putting that belief down to typical 
             Solomani supremist dogma. 

             Razlehmehid is a strong, powerful tenor, and a member of a 
             Darrian 'Tengobhes' group of singers.  Tengobhes groups 
             specialize in Ancient Darrian Hymns and chants in a style 
             most closely resembling Islamic forms of singing, often 
             spin-dancing at the same time.  Of course, Razlehmehid himself 
             is not a believer in the long-dead Yalema faith.

             His Tengobhes group is composed of four men (including 
             himself, there's Dulyunal Zgehngehbher, Pune Mbalzihrer, and 
             Zlaneyr Nyeghihndihligh).  After several marginally 
             profitable tours in the Darrian Confederation, they have 
             decided to take their first tour in the Regency, where 
             Tengobhes singing is still a rarity.  Because they can't 
             speak Anglic - and are still in culture shock - the other three 
             singers have unofficaly made Razlehmehid their leader.

             Razlehmehid is married, and has two young daughters - and a 
             nephew - to care for.  Whenever possible, he visit's them 
             back on Darrian.

--------------------------

Charolette Stanley
Infamous Personality

Statistics:  Housewife  1 term                  Rank "Notorious across
             Wealthy Traveller  1 term                the subsector"
             Human                              
             UPP  746777-9                      Gender  Female
             Height  154                        Age  27
             Hair  Mousy Brown                  Weight 67 kg
             Eyes  Brown                        Skin   White        

             Born & Resides on Treece 
                (Lanth: Spinward marches/2311  D232866-8  Na Po 610 Re M1 V)

Skills:     Childcare   5 (14)         Persuasion  3 (10)
            Streetwise  1 (8)          Liasion     1 (8)
            Psychology  1 (8)          Riding      1 (7)
            Admin/Legal 1 (8)

Possessions:  Four High Passages, Two Middle Passages
              70 000 Cr in the bank
              A large, beautiful underground home in the capital of Treece
              A "Child Alloeance" of 1000 Cr / month

Background:   A rather bland, stout woman, Mrs. Stanely is infamous 
              subsector-wide as the sole survivor of the doomed shuttle 
              Wayrith. 

              The Wayrith was en-route to an insystem mining colony when 
              an engine malfunction occurred.  Because of the loss of fuel, 
              the best the captain could do was put the shuttle in an 
              elliptical orbit around the colony, and await rescue.

              Rescue was long in coming.  Meanwhile, food ran out, and 
              eventually lots were drawn to determine who get's eaten.  Mrs. 
              Stanley - the sole woman on-board - managed to excempt 
              herself on the basis of her pregnacy and persuading the men 
              not to kill her. "Imagine what the press would say!  You 
              wouldn't last a day in court!"

              When the rescuers finally arrived, only Mrs. Stanely and 
              her newborn infant lived.  When they spotted her - in a 
              haze of bones, split for their marrow - her first words were 
              "Look, darling!  Food!  Food!"

              She arrived home in a wave of sensationalism and notoriety.
              Aquitted of all charges, she became very wealthy and a 
              major figure of controversy.  Most of her money she blew in 
              buying a large home in a prestigous ungerground location, but 
              she still has enough to tour the subsector with her 6-year old 
              son.

-------------------------

Breziavrverp Eriench Zavtienzhvlaz
Zhodani Graduate Student of Naval History

Statistics:  Schooling (to Masters) 2 terms          Rank  T.A.
             Zhodani Human
             UPP A69873-8                            Gender  Male
             Height  168 cm                          Age  29
             Hair  Black                             Weight 145
             Eyes  Brown                             Skin  Lt. Brown

             Birth:  Fia'epkiar (Ievrnie'tlieadl: Yiklerdanzh/2124
                     B682757-C  Ag Ri  202 Zh  G8V M1D)
             Resides: Rhylanor  (Rhylanor: Spinward Marches/2716
                     A434934-F  A Hi Cp  810   Re M2VI)

Skills:      History   7 (14)       Anglic    2 (5)
             Research  4 (12)       Robotics  0 (7)
             Native Zhodani speaker

Possessions:  Zhodani & Regency ID
              81 000 Cr
              A "Chtoteshtier" ultraexpensive travel pass, good on any 
                Zhodani ship going to Fia'epkiar, to Middle Passage 
                accomodations (worth more than 290 000 Cr)
              An Upper Class suite at the Baron Dang Bao Residence at MRO 
                University, Rhylanor
              A Zhodani-made Translator, Zhodani/Anglic memchip
         
Background:  A portly, arrogant man from a rich agricultural world, 
             Zautienzhvlaz is a walking turn-off to his fellow graduate 
             students at MRO University.  With his thich accent and 
             less-than-perfect command of Anglic (he refuses to use his 
             translator outside of class, perferring to pratice his 
             incomprehensable Anglic instead), Zautienzhvlaz endlessly 
             preaches the superiority of Zhodani civilization to anyone 
             within striking distance.

             He hates the Nobility.  He hates the Democratic reforms.  He 
             hates the immoral entertainment districts.  He hates the 
             clumsiness of Regency design.  He hates Regency art.  He 
             _vocally_ hates anything that suggests either greed or deceit.
             About the only thing he likes is the psionic reforms, that 
             he feels will inevitabily lead to the Regency becoming  
             Just Like Zhodane.  And whenever possible, he will rub the 
             PC's noses into the fact that the Collapse was caused by 
             Imperials, and the Consulate was untouched by it.

             Why is Zautienzhvlaz in the Regency at all, over 110 
             parsec's from home?   Mainly because he cannot believe that 
             the Imperials crushed the Zhodane navy at Rhylanor, ending the 
             Fifth Frontier War (1107 - 1110).  His doctorate, focusing 
             on the battle, is his intellectual attempt to explain away this 
             defeat.  He also has an interest in robotics, and was 
             profoundly dissapointed to learn that the Rhylanor Institute of 
             Technology was closed down, giving him one more thing to whine 
             about. 

-----------------------

BTW: Yiklerdanzh is two sectors spinward of the Spinward Marches, so:

Yikler.  |  Far Frontiers  |  Foreven  |  Spinward Marches.

-----------------------

Mai Hyi Hui
Field Representative, Deneb Starguild of Mercenaries

Statistics: Army Officer  3 terms              Rank  R1 (1st class rep)
            Bureaucrat    2 terms
            Solomani Human (Clone, #3 of 18)
            UPP 476774-8                       Gender  Female
            Height  142 cm                     Age   33
            Hair  Black                        Weight  58 kg
            Eyes  Dark Brown                   Skin    Yellow

Skills:     Admin/Legal     3 (10)      Persuasion  2 (6)
            Investigation   1 (8)       Liasion     2 (6)
            Psychology      1 (8)       Streetwise  3 (7)
            Pilot-Grav      1 (8)       Vargr (Urzaeng)
            RCV Ops         2 (9)                   2 (6)
            Enviro Suits    1 (7)       Recruiting  1 (5)
            Parachute       1 (7)       Leader      1 (5)
            Slug Pistol     1 (5)       Service     2 (6)
            Slug Rifle      1 (5)       Map         1 (8)
            Unarmed MA      1 (5)       G. Tatics   1 (8)
            Autogun         1 (5)       Trauma Aid  1 (8)
                                        H. Artillery   1 (5)

Possessions:  4 800 Cr in service bank account
                 20 on person (bankcard)
              A collection of Vargr suveniours
              Four Low Passage tickets
              One Gauss pistol
              A small apartment in an unsavoury neighbourhood
              A fair supply of illegal soft drugs.

Background:   Ms. Hiu is a small, somewhat overweight woman  (about 10 
              lbs) from Kubishush.  After serving 13 years with the local 
              army (rising to Lieutenant), she mustered out to join the 
              Mercenaries Guild, as a 2nd class Field Representative. 

              She spent most of the last five years in Ziafrplians 
              Sector, as an Assessor: insuring that the legal terms of 
              mercenary contracts are met in the field.  Hui enjoyed 
              herself immensely there, with her favourate experiences being 
              with the Urzaeng Merc companies (including the famous 
              Errgh Okzarsdaem battalion).

              But after being transferred back to Regina for the last 2 
              years, she realized that her carrer has ground to a halt.
              Coupled with a lack of excitement and friends, she has become
              in turns weepy and irritable, alienating those around her.

              Currently, she is saving for a trip back home, to Kubishush.

------------------------

BTW:  the location of Ziafrplians
             Ziafrplians  |  Gvurrdon
             Foreven      |  Spinward Marches

Urzaeng Vargr's are _big_ (they can take on male Aslans!), and not too 
bright.  They can be found throughout the Vargr Extents.

------------------------

Mother Superior Edith Witherspoon, O.H.S.
Imperial Catholic Nun (Deneb Rite)

Statistics:  Schooling  2 terms              Rank  Mother Superior/
             Medicine   2 terms                    Hospital Administrator
             Bureaucrat 1/2 term
             Solomani Human                  Gender  Female
             UPP  355875-9                   Age     37
             Height  163 cm                  Weight  59
             Hair  Black, greying            Skin    Purple/Black 
             Eyes  Hazel

             Born on Uakari (Antra: Deneb/1701  C5348AA-6 912 Re K6VI)
             Resides on a 25,000 Disp Starship

Skills:      Biology     7 (14)        Willpower    2 (10)
             Diagnosis   5 (12)        Observation  2 (10)
             Trauma Aid  5 (12)        Instruction  2 (10)
             Chemist     2 (9)         Theology     1 (8)
             Psychology  1 (9)         Liasion      1 (6)    
             Zero-G      1 (6)         Vilani       1 (6)
             Enviro Suit 1 (6)         Service      1 (6)

Possession:  Gov't and Catholic ID papers
             Historical works on the Catholic Church (books)
             Medical references (books, electronic holochips)
             Always travels with a TL D First Aid kit
             Made an oath of "Poverty, Chasitity, Obedience"

Background:  Mother Superior Witherspoon is an imposing and forthright 
             woman, even in her Order's white habit with ornate gold & black
             trim.  She considers her command of the 25,000 Disp jumpship 
             _St. Degaaka of Aladon_ to be a trust from God, and is 
             relentless in preserving that trust. 

             Born on a backward world on the edge of the Quarrentine 
             Zone, Witherspoon became a Catholic nun at 12.  Educated at 
             Antra, capital of the subsector (Astra: Deneb/1808 
             A53789C-E  Cp 501 Re M0D K5D), she became a doctor at the 
             Free University of Immin Shishadiim and joined the Order of 
             Holy Succor, a medical order.

             As a member of that order, she was posted to _st. Degaaka of 
             Aladon_, a medical/convent jumpship.  With a crew of 130, the 
             73-year old ship is equipped to TL D standards, with 700 
             beds and medical facilities to match. 

             Sister Witherspoon was only elevated to Mother Superior two 
             years ago, and her hands-on style conflicts with the 
             administration & bureaucratic needs of the convent.  Moreover, 
             she has only limited leadership qualities, tending to ram her 
             way through problems and expecting that everyone will 
             automatically do her duty, scolding those who don't meet her 
             detailed standards. 

             Currently the _St. Degaaka of Aladon_ is posted to District 
             268, a backward subsector troubled by Aslan/Human 
             conflicts.  The _St. Degaaka_ is desprately needed here, as so 
             many systems have no access to TL D+ medical care.   But 
             money is tight and Collace (District 268: Spinward Marches/1237 
             B628943-D S Hi In 101 Na F1V M6D), the only port that can 
             repair the aging _St. Degaaka_, is harrasing the convent to 
             please the Aslans, who oppose a Regency hospital ship in 
             the subsector.

---------------------

Gannon Carmick O'Connor
Professional Assassin, SuSAG

Statistics:   Undercover Agent  11 terms            Rank "Respected"
              Human       
              UPP 354858-7                          Gender  Male
              Height   176 cm                       Age   64
              Hair   Grey                           Weight  65 kg
              Eyes   Grey                           Skin   White

              Birth & Resides: Porozol (Rylanor: Spinward MArches/2715  
                     A867A74-B  Hi  201  Re  M1V  M9D), one parsec from 
                     Rylanor itself.

Skills:       Act/Bluff     4 (12)    Streetwise  3 (11)
              Slug Rifle    2 (5)          [4 in Porozol System]
              Small Blade   7 (2)          [5 on Porozol itself]
              Psychology    5 (13)    Research    1 (10)
              Observation   4 (12)    Stealth     4 (9)
              Persuasion    2 (10)    Intrusion   3 (8)
              Liasion       2 (10)    Tracking    1 (9)
 
Languages:    Native speaker of : Anglic   (10)
                                  Ess'oun  (10) the native lang. of Porozol

              Also knows:         P'nnji  0 (8) the language of Aldiss
                                          (F330814-A), an gas giant moon
                                  Vilani  1 (9)

Possessions:  A variety of ID's, all forged
              800 000 Cr in various deposits and paper companies
              Several disguise kits, hand computer, IC binoculars
              Several high-power slug rifles, with scopes
              A variety of daggers, knives, stilletos (some ornamental)
              A 'hold-out' body pistol, of TL G plastic
              A comfortable residence in an orbital station

Background:   Mr. O'Connor is a slim, kindly old man with a warm voice.  
              His long face - graced with laugh lines - and gracious manners 
              hardly seems to belong to a professional psychopath, but it 
              does.

              Born in the corrupt Kingdom of Siev perogy, his 
              intelligence and lack of scrples eventually landed him a 
              place in the local Secret Service.  However, while a majjor 
              revolt seemed about to topple the Kingdom, he judiciously sold 
              out several of his fellow agents while refining his image as 
              "The Wise Old Man" to his subordinates, thus protecting his 
              safety in both camps.
 
              At 1177, after the Kingdom was 'unexpectedly' overthrown, 
              O'Connor found a new position as an enforcer for SuSAG.
              Reliable and discreet, he would carefully research and 
              observe his target before striking, by either gliding a blade 
              across the unsuspecting victim's jugular or by flicking a 
              monofiliment pumpknife into the base of the skull, again from 
              the back.  Only rarely would he resort to the rifle, an 
              "inelegant instrument", not quite as fine a kill as the knife.

              O'Connor usually is sent after "white collar" criminals 
              who threatened the company (both employees and otherwise).  
              Even though the divided and (largely) corrupt local police 
              looked the other way, a "posting to Porozol" is quietly 
              dreaded by SuSAG managers in Rylanor subsector.

-----------------------

Baron Pedro Khugiili del la Arellano
Pertender to the Throne: Time Traveller

Statistics:  Bureaucrat  1 term             Rank   Baron
             Corsair     1 term
             Vilani Human                   Gender   Male
             UPP 527469-C                   Age   26 (well, sorta)
             Height   132 cm                Weight  79 kg
             Hair   Black                   Skin    Light Brown
             Eyes   Dark Green

             Born: Regina (stats for 592, from the First Survey)
(District 259: Spinward Marches/1910 A788505-9  N  Ag Ni 203  Im F7V M8D M6V)
             Resides: 728-907 (in Low Berth)
(Vilis: Spinward Marches/1214  D955000-0 Lo Ni Ba 610 Re F1V M4D)

Skills:      Admin/Legal       3 (9)    Act/Bluff   2 (11)
             Recruiting        1 (10)   Liasion     1 (10)
             Bribery           1 (10)   History     1 (7)
             Old High Vilani   1 (10)   Ship's Eng  1 (10)
             Vilani            1 (10)   Psychology  1 (5)    
             Persuasion        1 (10)   Zero-G      1 (3)

Possessions: (in his Low Berth ice cavern)
             1 TL D, 100-Disp scout
             50 000 Cr [with early 600's Design; a variety of Imperial 
                        profiles]
              4 000 ounces of gold
             access keys to other stashes of loot
     [NOTE: all items are locked with top-of-the-line retina and DNA locks]

             a TL D computer, w/terminal
             a private office & bunk
             two TL D warbots
             four TL D starship crew androids

Background:  Locked away in his low berth, Baron Arellano is probably the 
             last of the Civil War era combatents (604 - 622)

             A flightly, vainglorious man with a fixation on "My Destiny 
             of Greatness", he was an eccentric noble on the raw frontier of 
             the Spinward Marches.  Half of the systems were still 
             unsettled, and he spent most of the time acting as defacto 
             judge on lawless Regina.

             As Emperor battled Emperor back in Core, Arellano got the 
             idea that his Calling has arrived.  He declared himself 
             Emperor, and managed to raise up a ragtag fleet of armed 
             merchants and patrol cutters before leaving for Core.

             He never left the Marches.  Grand Admiral Arabellatra Alkalikoi
             sent a minor task force to stop the Baron. Althought they 
             never quite caught him, they did force him to abandon his 
             half-baked plans and live the pirate life.  Time after time 
             he'd devise a Rube Goldberg scheme to get past the task force, 
             and time after time it would blow up in a wild and wolly 
             manner.

             Finally, he was forced to abandon his fleet, and in 618 
             retired to his hideaway on 728-907.  On a whim, he set the 
             controls to 1201 and retired to see what the glorious future 
             would hold.

---------------------------

BTW: Baron de la Arellano is dedicated to the memory of the French 
Emperor Napoleon III, who once tried to conquer France by loading a ship 
with about 50 ruffians, and crossing the Channel to France and Glory!

Well, it didn't _quite_ work out... but he later did get himself elected 
Persident, and two years later proclaimed himself Emperor.

P.S. at the time of the Civil War...
    - the top Imperial TL was 13
    - the Solomani Confederation was part of the Imperium
    - the Imperium included Foreven Sector
    - there were no x-boat routes
    - the closest anti-grav cities were in Vland Sector
    - the 2nd Frontier War was raging (615 - 620)
    - there were no Aslan's this side of the Great Rift

--------------------------

Sherali Daya
Bioform Artist

Statistics:  Entertainer  4 terms       Rank: Known in 'conniseour'
             Solomani Human                   circles only
             UPP 697B74-7               Gender: Female
             Height   84 cm             Age  34
             Hair   Black               Weight   59 kg
             Eyes   Dark Brown          Skin  olive

             Birth: Mora, capital of the Regency
(Mora: Spinward Marches/3124 AA99AC7-F  A  Hi In Cx 172  Re M4V)
             Resides: Ansirk, basically one big naval base
(Lamas: Deneb/1609  B100100-F  N  Lo Ni Va 122 Re F2V) .. note: no 
                                                     _pernament_ population.

Skills:      Genetics     5 (12)      Act/Bluff   1 (8)
             Biology      3 (10)      Persuasion  1 (8)
             Xeno-Biology 1 (8)       Willpower   1 (12)
             Painting     4 (15)      Liasion     1 (8)
             Sculpture    4 (15)      Map         1 (8)
             Guard/Hunting Beasts     Survival    1 (12)
                          2 (9)       Enviro Suit 1 (8)
             Zero-G Env.  3 (10)

Possessions:  2 000 Cr
              A special line of credit, granted by Fleet Admiral Dame Mary
                E. Hofstetter (213th fleet), for use for her project
              Typical Regency and Naval (civilian-class) ID's
              A truly expensive, 200-year-old prayer mat from the 
                   Julian Protertorate
              Offical head of the Ansirk Biosculpting Project

Background:   Born and raised in the Kairovan community on Mora, Miss. Daya
              is one of the very few who can claim to be a pure-blooded 
              Arab.  From her youth she wanted to follow in the footsteps of 
              her ultra famous great-grandfather Ali Daya (1088 - 1150).  
              Ali Daya's suite of four interconnected biosystems under the 
              themes of "Loyalty, Trial, Victory" ranks with the best of the 
              Old Masters in Dasudashag, and had the same effect on the 
              Deneb artistic community as the 1118 tri-v film "Stand on 
              Rhylanor" had on the general populance, or the Connie 
              Chung series "Why We Are Imperials", or Norris' Ascension 
              Speech when he was formally proclaimed Archduke.

              Sherali Daya stayed away from the epic-scale work of her 
              great-grandfather for years, focusing instead on doing regular 
              commission work.  But as her reputation & skill grew so did 
              her aspirations, and in 1192 she accepted a commission from a 
              Fleet Admiral to create a new biosphere for the Naval Base at 
              Ansirk, home of 7 million Naval personnel.

              The biosphere - to reside strictly within the installation, 
              as the world is airless - is to emphasise the motif 
              "Controlled Fury".  This theme is sympolized by the Terran 
              lions, Vilani anshuui, and Reginian LiClok which stalk 
              some of the corridors and parks of the station.  The predators 
              (actually as safe as dogs) are simply at the top of the 
              station's "biosystem", which extends down to the carefully 
              bred rats and tailored airborne viruses.  

              Probably the most charming change to the station has been the 
              introduction of perenay's; a geneered variation of the white 
              dove, with rainbow-coloured wing feathers.  The ones at the 
              station have been bred for low-G flight, and are 'wired' to 
              preform complex aerobatic flight patterns and make a most 
              haunting call.

------------------------

Alvin Plummer
(You mean, you _don't_ have lion's on your naval bases?)

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End of TRAVELLER Digest 115
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