Traveller-digest       Sunday, August 15 1999       Volume 1999 : Number 961



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Decided on system... 
Re: Decided on system... 
Re:First In
Re: First In
Re: More back to topic?
Re: Alternate Game Mechanics - Cybertech
Re: People's Republic of Berzerkley
Re: Endorphins...
Re: Oops... Off Topic...
Re: Alternate Game Mechanics - Cybertech
Re: More back to topic?
Re: First In
re: The Sunbeard Declaration
Re: First In
Re: Oops... Off Topic...
Re: First In
Re: First In
Re: Ethically challenged merchants
Ditzie's Chopper-wopper

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 18:34:08 -0400
From: "Keven R. Pittsinger" <jamstar@accesstoledo.com>
Subject: Re: Decided on system... 

> Points taken.  Just for reference, here's how I assigned all of the skills:
> 
> · Any skill that requires extensive schooling automatically defaults to No
> Base.
> · Hand-to-hand combat skills default to Dexterity.
> · Missile combat skills default to Intelligence.

Shouldn't this be Dexterity instead of Intelligence?

> · Vehicles that can be navigated by sight default to Dexterity. (So you're
> right, I've screwed up on some of the vehicle skills :)
> · Vehicles that require computer operation or are not navigated by sight
> default to Intelligence.
> 
> The term "social engineering" comes from Bruce Sterling's bok, The Hacker
> Crackdown.  It's a catchall "fooling other people" skill.

Carousing mixed with Liason.  <grin>  The stuff they teach Harvard MBAs to 
get one up on their competition.

Keven

- -- 
tc++ tm+ tn t4- to ru++ ge+ 3i c+ jt au st- ls pi+ ta+ he+ so- vi zh sy
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Science-Fiction Adventure
                                                     In Reavers' Deep

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 18:14:48 -0500
From: Anthony Salter <badman@austin.rr.com>
Subject: Re: Decided on system... 

>> · Missile combat skills default to Intelligence.
>
>Shouldn't this be Dexterity instead of Intelligence?

Perhaps.  But doing so makes almost all combat skills default to Dexterity.
 I had them default to Intelligence for the sake of play balance.

Perhaps we could handle it another way.  Classic Traveller assigns positive
DMs to melee combat for Strength, and positive DMs to missile combat for
Dexterity.  Perhaps I could have all melee weapon skills default to
Strength, all missile weapon skills default to Dexterity, and all tech
skills to Intelligence.  That way all three of the main Stats give some
sort of skill advantage.  What do you think?

>> The term "social engineering" comes from Bruce Sterling's bok, The Hacker
>> Crackdown.  It's a catchall "fooling other people" skill.
>
>Carousing mixed with Liason.  <grin>  The stuff they teach Harvard MBAs to 
>get one up on their competition.

Exactly :)

Badman
"Ain't it always the way?  You get in the mood n' company shows up."
         - The Joker, "Mask of the Phantasm"

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 16:57:41 -0700
From: "Bruce Macintosh" <bruce.macintosh@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re:First In

>>Where does this put the so called hot gas giants apparently being discovered
>>in inner orbits? Is there a theory about their formation?
>A theory? No.      Lots of Theories? Yes. :)

Most theories make the "hot gas giants" out at the normal outer part of their
stellar systems and then shuffle them in to their current orbits, either
through
graviational billiards with other planets, or through slower tidal drags from
the protoplanetary disk of material orbiting the star.

Bruce

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 17:42:00 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: First In

> "hot gas giants"

Is skimming these for fuel impossible, problematic, or simple? Are they hot
enough to affect the habitable zone? Outside of the TML, I have never heard
of these. Any good resource pages out there?
BZA
////////////////////////////////////////
Akella 0609 C654474-6 S kk+ hi++ as+ va+ dr+ da+ so@ zh- vi+  A523
IMTU tc++ ?t4 ru@ 3i+(-) c+ jt au@ st- ls+ pi+ ta@ he+

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 11:40:21 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: More back to topic?

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Legate Legion <legate@futureone.com>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Friday, August 13, 1999 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: More back to topic?


> From: The Roc <roc@kewl.com.au>
> Subject: More back to topic?
>
> >On topic:  BDSM recreational drugs?  Chemical (drugs) technology is huge
in
> >many sci-fi settings, this has to be a derivative??
>
>     That would violate S, S, & C.  Hell, I will not punish my subbie when
I
> have had one beer.  And, if a drug is around that intensifies pain, well
> could it not be used for torture?
>

Agreed, I *DON'T* do drugs (period), and alcohol is a definite no no in
play.  But something that enhances feelings, gets the subbie into that
"sub-space" faster or more pleasurable would be SSC if the submissive seeks
it out (though I don't agree with r/l drugs and alcohol being taken by a
submissive before play either... they need to be aware of the world about
them and their senses as much as a Dominant does)

> >The electronics and computer aspects should make any kinkster's heart
> >flutter?  ;^)
>
>
>     Well, remote control vibes are here, but what about a set of remote
grav
> restraints?  I.e. your subbie is walking along, you hit the remote & she
is
> spread eagle, floating in mid-air, & you can have your wicked way with
her.
>     Of what about a collar that tells you the physical condition of your
> subbie?  How much pain she is feeling, how much pleasure, that sort of
> thing.
>     And, what about a computer game based upon BDSM?
>
> Legate Legion

And electronic manacles with built-in stimulators (T.E.N.S units?) and such.
The collar sounds good... I'd like one for the missus!  ;^)

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 11:08:04 +1000
From: "Alan Bradley" <alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au>
Subject: Re: Alternate Game Mechanics - Cybertech

> From: "Kurtis Rodgers" 
> Sounds good to me.  IIRC, the Tarsus box went into some detail about this
> lo-pop's simple-but-effective comm network.  The kind of net I was
refering
> to was a full bore VR, Johnny Mnemonic kind of thing.  Which might be
> another example of your tech growing phases - a sohpisticated TL15 world
> might find such a construct rather silly.  :)  Also, any net that can be
> built, can be hacked.  Which is why I see a reduced reliance on nets by
> hi-tech military and megacorp organizations.  At some point, the benefits
> may not outweigh the risks.  Without FTL comm, management structures have
to
> be decentralized anyway.

Hmm, I'll have to take another look at Tarsus.

I was assuming that you were talking about a Johnny Mnemonic thing.  Such a
thing would partly be a result of population density, and not purely of
technology.  Or in other words it would be a social construct.  In fact it
would differ entirely between societies.  Imagine a Zhodani Net.  No
security!  (Unless it's military, of course.)

Military organisations, at least, will absolutely require effective
communications networks.  

> Hehehe.  I agree completely!  Most applications for chrome in a cyber
genre
> game are replaced at higher techs with far less invasive techniques. 
Drugs,
> gene therapy, clone organs - the list goes on.  The first - and last -
valid
> cyber application I see in use by anyone in the 3I is neural interfaces
of
> some kind.  Above a certain tech level (TL11?) they wouldn't be visible
> (induction or possibly a very short range transmiter).  You'd still be
the
> definition of a 3I uber-geek by having one though.  Probably a highly
paid
> uber-geek, though!  :P

It might even be possible to do this non-invasively too.  The problem would
be feeding the information back into the meat.

> Even within Shadowrun, cybertech is slowly being replaced by bioware.  I
can
> imagine a TL15 black lab that performs mods of a totally non-cyber
nature.
> Not only can you get custom designed 'improved' organs, glands, etc., I
can
> see really cutting edge tech body scultpuring via DNA programming.  How
> about Niven's RNA skill training?

I tend to assume a fair capacity for body sculpturing, following Poul
Anderson's "Flandry" series, among others.

Bioware would probably be harder to detect than "chrome".  It also has a
long history in the kind of space opera-ish stuff which Traveller draws
from, so it's probably pretty OK.  

(If anyone has a problem with me saying that Traveller is a space opera
game,  please let me know:  I will call various Emperors, Cutlass-wielding
Marines and Talking Dogs to my defence, assuming they can take the time off
from their various galaxy spanning wars....  OK, it's at the real science
end of the scale, and we can call it "Hard SF" if we want, but at heart
it's deeply silly.  And so am I.)

The OTU is carefully set up, of course, to ensure that Bioware is a rare
thing, firmly under the referee's control, as it should be.  Kind of like
Psionics, or any other potential advantages for PCs.

> > Are there advantages to covertly equipping people with "stuff"?  Of
> course.
> >  Most of the time, however, I suspect that it would tend to be
"Stainless
> > Steel Rat" type gear - itself, of course, pretty serious.  Now I think
of
> > it, I was using that kind of stuff in campaigns pretty much from the
> > beginning, along with "power-holsters" - quick draw gear lifted from
the
> > "Deathworld" books.
> 
> Those are good examples.  Haven't read "Deathworld" (recommendations?
> author?).  I can see a lot of very specialized uses of neural links
(besides
> computer nerds, that is :), such as battledress, 'smartguns', ect.  A
link
> with a memory module, and the capability of recording everything you see
and
> hear, could be a useful intel application at some tech levels (the old
> 'human camera' trick).
 
There are IIRC, three "Deathworld" books, by Harry Harrison.  They're
actually pretty average, but are very Travellerish.  I may even reread them
myself, now that I've thought about them.  The titles are very imaginative
- - "Deathworld", "Deathworld II", etc.

> > I've always been intrigued by the possibility of running a scenario
where
> > the 3I runs into a "cyberpunk" world.  The image of a massively
powerful
> > "Big Iron" interstellar state colliding with a bunch of smart
barbarians
> is
> > kind of appealing.  The Imperial Marines hits the mean streets....
> 
> I'm considering a campaign set in the M:0 Wilds, beyond the expanding
> imperial fringe.  I can easily imagine a semi-retrograde (TL10?) hi-pop
> world falling into 'perverse' technological practices.  :)

Maybe with higher tech computers?

Alan Bradley
alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 11:29:19 +1000
From: "Alan Bradley" <alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au>
Subject: Re: People's Republic of Berzerkley

> From: cos 90 
> >There's surely an Ob Traveller in there somewhere.
> 
> Either a Minor Human Race from an idyllically warm planet where
> clothes are unnecessary (think the South Seas, but on a planetary
> scale), or a religious sect that eschews clothing for some reason
> or other... the fun part will be working them into a plot...

I've used permutations of the first idea a few times, although not with
Minor Races - over time, clothing will change to reflect climate.

Plot ideas:  If you really want to make a big deal of the naked part,
religious missionaries start denouncing the "immoral" natives.  Either the
natives run the missionaries out of town on a rail, or the missionaries, or
their local converts, start using more forceful means to spread "morality".

Alternatively, the locals tend to avoid unnecessary possessions in general,
so the naked thing is just a side effect.  That doesn't mean that they're
low tech, though.  When whoever it is that's pushing the "primitives"
around goes too far, the "savages" start pulling out the Gauss Rifles.... 
The local "big man" turns out to have been an S-3 scout.

Oh, and light skinned populations might need some method of protecting
themselves from sunburn/skin cancer.  Possibilities include:
hi-tech sunscreens, produced by genetically engineered plants, 
similar sunscreens, mixed with body paints,
precursor substances to melanin, or something like that.

So your "Naked People" could have any skin colour you like, including
flourescent green.

Alan Bradley
alanb@elf.brisnet.org.au

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 12:01:10 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Endorphins...

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Kiri Aradia Morgan <tiamat@tsoft.com>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 1999 4:23 AM
Subject: Endorphins



>
> So will I, under normal circumstances.  But... in the circumstances under
> which I will sometimes seek it, it doesn't hurt.
>
> It is a strong sensation, but it doesn't feel painful the way that it
would
> if someone did that to me under different circumstances with an aggressive
> intent.  I cannot really describe this, you'll just have to trust me on
this
> one.
>

As one woman who holidayed with us from Utah put it, "There is "pain" (which
she liked) and there is "hurt" (which she didn't), the difference came from
by whom and how they were delivered, with a touch of preference by the
receiver."


> > Some say it's (endorphins) akin to an addictive drug, I don't accept
pain
> either, so I honestly cannot say... but people *do* get "high" from it,
> believe it or not.
> >
> Endorphins are a naturally occuring body chemical and the effect is not
> addictive.  Addiction occurs because drugs destroy the body's ability to
> produce endorphins and more and more drugs are needed to maintain a normal
> state, let alone the drugged state.  BDSM is not like that-- it's more
like
> a "runner's high".
>

Which I believe is from endorphins?  I was subject to similar effects placed
upon me from runs/marches in the army, but never analised it (and never
liked it much either, it was a job).  The same woman quoted above worked for
the US Defence department and quoted such things as you mentioned (from
various sporting aspects; long distant swimmers, marathon runners, distance
runners, etc.), she was quite into it and needed it analised, so she did.

> I am not in any way submissive (they call me Mistress Tiamat for a reason)
> but I do have some slight masochistic tendencies.
>
> I also have abnormal endorphin production under certain kinds of
situations;
> the two may be related.  For instance, studies have shown that people who
> like to eat hot peppers produce endorphins in response to the pain they
> receive from the capsaicin, and those who don't like them, don't do that. I
> love to eat hot peppers, too, though I don't care for jalapenos-- I prefer
> serranos or habaneros.  And after surgery, they had to put me on a pain
> medication schedule because my blood pressure was rising in response to the
> physical trauma of "pain" but I didn't *feel* "pain" so I didn't ask for any
> drugs.
>
> But if I get a toothache, I'm as miserable as anyone else.
>
> ObTrav:  In the TU, are there designer drugs that create this kind of state
> in people?
>
> Possibly even designer drugs that can be slipped to people, like roofies,
> that will make them accept and crave and even enjoy pain that not only is
> well past their limits but well past safety?  Pain that will basically kill
> them while they die with a smile on their face?
>
> Tracing the source of that stuff would be quite an adventure, esp. if you
> had a rich Patron whose little sister had died in such a situation...
>
> Kiri
>

Definitely non-SSC and a good plot device I must say.  If I get my campaign
running again, I may just use that.  Thank-you Kiri.

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 12:20:24 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Jory Earl <j-man@iname.com>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 1999 6:46 AM
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...


> Thanks Leonard, for explaining that more in depth.  I think I may
understand
> why now.  I could still never willingly do it to someone though.  My own
> "give pain" reflex is too tightly meshed with my "anger and hate" reflex.
> you can gurantee by the time I'm inflicting pain on someone, they no
longer
> matter to me in just about any way.  :)

This is very much a "YMMV" thing.  With someone you love who craves such
things as "natural," you would be denying them an outlet (it's not always
sexual either) which could place strain upon a relationship.  It also works
the other way, "being forced to hurt someone you love" can place strain upon
the relationship if you don't like doing it.  Then there is the "I couldn't
comprehend doing such a thing to my wife/girlfriend/lover until I did, and
saw what she got out of it and man..."

There is no simple answer to such things, but you either do or don't do it,
but you never know until you do if you are going to like it... weird huh?

- -- The Roc

PS:  My wife and I am a r/l councillors on safety and emotional issues in
BDSM-D/s activities and relationships in our local kink scene (which is why
the Goth-gamer/BDSM thing struck me).  *We* know it is not black and white,
but it sure can get murky.  You wouldn't believe the stress and damage we
have seen from uneven relationship desires, or even the turn arounds from
those who don't like pain (giving or receiving), it can be amazing

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 19:19:58 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Alternate Game Mechanics - Cybertech

In mail you write:

>>  Most of the time, however, I suspect that it would tend to be "Stainless
>> Steel Rat" type gear - itself, of course, pretty serious.  Now I think of
>> it, I was using that kind of stuff in campaigns pretty much from the
>> beginning, along with "power-holsters" - quick draw gear lifted from the
>> "Deathworld" books.
>
> Those are good examples.  Haven't read "Deathworld" (recommendations?
> author?).

"Deathworld", "Deathworld II" (aka "The Ethical Engineer") and
"Deathworld III" (aka "The Horse Barbarians") are all by Harry
Harrison. And all three of the worlds described would be nasty
surprises for players.

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 12:46:12 +1000
From: "The Roc" <roc@kewl.com.au>
Subject: Re: More back to topic?

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Legate Legion <legate@futureone.com>
To: <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 1999 10:25 AM
Subject: Re: More back to topic?



> >>    And, what about a computer game based upon BDSM?
> >>
> >Um, that's been done already, there are bunches of those in Japan.
>
>
>     I did not know that.
>
> Legate Legion

There is also an anime website I was once directed to where you can strip
and tie and torment an anime "paper doll", but it's a paysite so I never got
to play with it (*eg*) and never bothered to remember the site...

- -- The Roc

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 19:37:36 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: First In

In mail you write:

>> "hot gas giants"
>
> Is skimming these for fuel impossible, problematic, or simple? Are they hot
> enough to affect the habitable zone? Outside of the TML, I have never heard
> of these. Any good resource pages out there?

They are called "hot" because they are much closer to their stars than
Mercury is to Sol. They are very unlikely to have satellites as stable
orbits would probably be inside the Roche limit (the distance at which
tidal forces will tear a "natural" satellite apart). 

And since just about all theories have them moving in from the outer
system, the odds of any useful planets farther out is pretty unlikely.

As for skimming, *I* wouldn't try it. They are *much* more massive than
Jupiter. And being so close to their stars, you'll already be hotter
than hell *before* you have to deal with friction heating from the
skimming run. 

It's the sort of thing you do only if death is the alternative.

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 23:22:12 -0400
From: "Walter G. Smith" <smithw@hartwick.edu>
Subject: re: The Sunbeard Declaration

Ian Whitchurch wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
I wrote two more P-word posts, but then decided 'fuck it', and just hunted
out this.

Walt, will you do the honours if anyone on your side breaks the truce ?
>>>>>>>>>>>
I have a side? Who's on it?

Wow, somehow I got put in charge of the pro-piracy faction. I feel
like a TML Elite. <weg>

OK, so http://hartwick.edu/~smithw/traveller.htm has an essay on
piracy, is that enough to make me a ringleader? I swear officer, it's
all hypothetical...

Walt

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 20:31:06 -0700
From: "Justice Hypercleats" <eris@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: First In

Where can I purchace "First In" and "Far Trader" online?  (titangames does
not have them).

Thank you.

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 23:53:22 -0400
From: "Jory Earl" <j-man@iname.com>
Subject: Re: Oops... Off Topic...

Roc carves this :
- -----
"being forced to hurt someone you love" can place strain upon
the relationship if you don't like doing it
- -----

This explains me.  I must admit there is a lot of my childhood wrapped up in
my abhorance to violence; I watched my mom get nearly beat to death several
times and I was too little to stop it.  So I have a really big block towards
inflicting pain on others.
___________________________________________________________
 J-Man
 ICQ# 2843475
 New Hampshire - U.S.A.
 Email : j-man@iname.com
 Home Page : http://www.geocities.com/~jman037/
___________________________________________________________

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 23:43:19 -0400
From: "Thomas Schoene" <TomSchoene@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: First In

- ----------
> From: Justice Hypercleats <eris@sierratel.com>
> To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> Subject: Re: First In
> Date: Saturday, 14 August, 1999 11:31 PM
> 
> Where can I purchace "First In" and "Far Trader" online?  (titangames
does
> not have them).

Try SJGames themselves. Their online catalog is at
http://www.warehouse23.com/

They don't discount, though; they don't want to undercut their FLGS.

Tom Schoene

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

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999 21:24:26 -0700
From: "Justice Hypercleats" <eris@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: First In

> 
> 
> ----------
>> From: Justice Hypercleats <eris@sierratel.com>
>> To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
>> Subject: Re: First In
>> Date: Saturday, 14 August, 1999 11:31 PM
>>
>> Where can I purchace "First In" and "Far Trader" online?
>
> Try SJGames themselves. Their online catalog is at
> http://www.warehouse23.com/
>
> They don't discount, though; they don't want to undercut their FLGS.
>
> Tom Schoene
>
What is "FLGS" and were can I find one online?

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 09:43:47 +1100
From: Ian or Katts <ianw@orac.net.au>
Subject: Re: Ethically challenged merchants

>From: "Daniel Phelps" <phelpsd@gate.net>
>Subject: Re: Ethically Challenged Merchants
>
>In a recent post re this thread it was suggested that one of the big
>problems for pirates is what to do with the ships they take.   It was
>suggested that most pirates just take the cargo and run.  I had a rather odd
>thought at that, how about a pirate ring that runs a high tech chop shop.
>They steal to not just to fill a cargo bay with looted cargo but parts from
>an "order list" as well.  No need for fake transponders if you strip the
>ship to the hull and run.  Seems to me that such an enterprise would go over
>pretty well with the doggies,  they are always in need of cheap spare parts.
>Anyone see any huge holes in the logic/economics of it?
>
>Dan

Running a freeport is a very unhealthy business in or near the 3I. Piracy
is a crime against the state in the Imperium - it was set up to ensure the
safety of commerce, after all. Note that the Imperium has Vargr client
states, and these presumably know their continued existance relies on them
doing the right thing vis a vis freeports supporting corsairs preying on
the Imperium. There is also the possibility of the Reinsurers Association
passing the hat around and getting some thugs to find the operation's base
and take it out of business (hey ! There's an adventure hook).

Even if you ignoring the mechanics of grand theft starship (fraud,
hijacking or barratry are far more profitable ways of turning a dishonest
credit than using an exceedingly expensive, very noticeable, very fragile
asset like an armed starship), you still have the problems of getting the
bits to the freeport without being noticed.

Armed action has the problem that you are almost always under heavy time
pressure - hours or less. If you had a week in a deserted system, yes you
could strip just about anything out of a ship. It's a different proposition
if you have between minutes and hours until the cavalry arrives (this is
part of why I postulate piracy is viable in the Outsystem, away from
mainworlds. They can see you with that Sens 14 mil-spec PEMS, but it will
still take them days to get to you ... needless to say, traders who trade
in the Outsystems are heavily armed with the proceeds from the higher
freight rates that hold in unsafe outsystems).

Action with the active co-operation of the crew is much easier - you
'misjump' somewhere safe (providing plausible deniability for the crew),
and go for it.

If your freeport is in a State that doesnt care (pretty rare within the
reach of an IN task force IMO), then you dont have a problem. If it does
care, if just to provide plausible deniability, then you are going to need
to smuggle the stolen parts in, then 'rebadge' them for re-export to the
Extents.

The obvious counter for the Imperium is to severly regulate (and thus
require scads of paperwork for) export of starships and starship parts to
the Vargr Extents (1). RICO type laws could make smuggling a
high-concequence operation (the point was made that this is an open
invitation to the Imperial Bureaucracy to fake the evidence in order to
sieze the ship. My reply to this is "And ? There are reasons for that
dropoff in trade between states, and for the existance of Interface Lines").

In short, stealing stuff as valuable and important as starships isnt easy.
Nor is getting rid of it afterwards.

Ian Whitchurch

(1) I dont see it as unreasonable for starship parts to be held in a bonded
warehouse until the receipt is countersigned by the Issuing Authority on
the part's origin world. It's only about 3 months to Mora from the border,
and at Imperial interest rates of about 3% that means the opportunity cost
of holding them there will be about 5% when all is said and done. Of
course, if you have the right connections, you dont have to go through this
rigamarole. After all, we dont want the wrong people trading with our Vargr
Friends, do we ? 

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

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 10:02:29 +1100
From: Ian or Katts <ianw@orac.net.au>
Subject: Ditzie's Chopper-wopper

OK. Ditzie is crashed out again - a combination of too much design work
outside of her comfort zone of starships and what are euphemistically
called 'hand weapons'.

Here is the first cut of the FS TL12 Stealth Helicopter, codenamed
'Mixmaster Bilongum Divil'. Whilst not particularily stealthy in the
visual, infrared, radar or sound spectrums, it is guaranteed undetectable
by gravitic and neutrino sensors.

As a first cut, it only includes the main stuff. Things like sensors,
electronics, crewstations and so on will go in later.

Tandem Rotor Helicoper, TL12

1000 kN Tandem Rotors ; 3.5t, KCr 53, <20 MW demand>

21 MW TL12 Fuel Cell ; 23.1 t, KCr 465 <21 MW provided. Note 21% efficiency
increase from scale>

2 hours fuel ; 9.45 t

4 megajoule TL12 Rapid Fire NPAW (one shot per 2.5 seconds. 2m long, 0.25m
diameter) ; 0.165t, KCr 200 <nb needs Beam Pointer. 15 km range in atmos
6-9. DV 14)

6 minute/8 MW TL12 battery pack ; 2.2t, KCr 6 <144 shots for squirt gun>

100 MJ Box Magazine Plasma Gun ; 7.67t, KCr 606 (DV 400, 1 km short range.
Includes box with 10 Thud Gun cartridges)

Mass is approximatly 40 tons without armour. We at FS havent flight tested
this baby yet, but Ditzie thinks it should be able to do the top speed of
350 km per hour with lots of armour. She would appreciate the help of
anyone who actually understands the aircraft rules in FFS2.

The NPAW is going to go into a chin turret, in order to provide point
defense capability and swat those annoying but crunchy infrantry in
battledress.

The Thud Gun is a spinal mount.

Well, it needs some work, but Ditzie thinks it will fly. The cost will be a
bit over a megacredit when all is said and done - possibly more with fancy
electronics.

Famile Spofulam - High Energy Solutions for High Energy Problems in a High
Energy Universe

Ian Whitchurch
 

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

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #961
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