Need help filing in plot...

[ScrewySqrl]

ok, the PCs in my new game are landing on Spica, 3025.

The planet is in a stalemate between Fed suns and Liao.

PCs are a semi-independent lance of a battalion-sized merc unit hired by Fed Suns.  Onworld are the 4th New Syrtis Fusiliers (Pro Michael Hasek-davion), 2nd Crucis Lancers (Pro Hanse), a mixed bag of mercs (pro C-bills), and the brand-new Spica CMM, which is riddled with Liao spies, they are opposed by the remnant of the original Spica Militia and a stack of merc units, and a Liao house unit or two  (havent decided who, suggestions welcome!)

initially, they're just going to their barracks, but I need some suggestion on how to get my PCs tossed head first into the potential intrigue?

[Jackmc]

Liao is fond of using terrorist and agi-prop untis on such worlds.  That's a good start. 

-Jackmc

[StCptMara]

ComStar...Seriously..they get to their barracks and ComStar messenger delivers an "accidentally" mis-labeled
message to one of them....

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

  Considering that you have a mixed bag of nationalities among your players you may have plenty of entertainment with the Davion troops hazing the "foreign" elements.

  Depending on how anxious your players are to fraternize with the locals civilians, there are plenty of opportunities to gain friends and enemies with a simple visit to the local pub. Having a hedonist in the party opens up a host of possibilities.

  Short term complication: One of your players has a deep-seated hatred for Capellans- This may be a two-edged sword in dealing with locals, the CMM and eventually enemy forces on the field.

  Long term complication: One of your players is on the run from Comstar. If the unit's contracts are processed through Comstar and the player does not have an effective second/false identification expect surveillance teams and an eventual visit by Comstar unnamed operatives for "questioning."

  I am a great believer in applying both short and long term plot lines. Short term issues pop up spontaneously and usually require immediate attention. Short term plot lines should be simple and involve one or more players, although something random and incidental, such as a bomb exploding two blocks away from the cafe where the party happens to be having lunch, could be used to break the monotony and give them a hint of a serious insurgency problem.
  Long term plots are very subtle and while there are hints now and then some players may not piece together the significant portions of the larger picture gradually taking shape. Assigning a loosely scripted long-term plot to each character, with something popping up once in a while, is a good way to keep your sessions interesting.
 

[Klat]

The characters could be assigned to work closely with the CMM since the Davies may not relish the idea having their own people that close to indigs of questionable loyalty. If the players learn to like some of the folks they're working with it could be interesting if they discover that one of their new found friends is not only a spy but has implicated them in their covert activities. The plan could range from attempting to bribe the characters into switching sides to simply gleaning info from the characters via friendly conversation. If the players out the spy they may not only betray a friend but garner more attention than they would like. If the characters cover for their friend then it could yield a double agent until the Davies find out what has been going on. Whatever happens the character's employer will probably be suspicious as to why the player's friends are spies. Alternatively the players could be used to out spies within the CMM by a Fed Suns officer who is actually the real spy. This could put the players in some real hot water if the officer is found out, unless of course they cover for him\her.

The Davies may have a crippling degree of rivalry between the pro-Michael and pro-Hanse camps such that they can't rely on eachother. This scenario could force the players into a situation where they have to choose who to help as commanders from both camps order the players to lend a hand to their respective units. This could lead to the players being forced to choose sides, and while the two camps may not be whiling to go at eachother the one the players don't help may not have any compunctions about "accidentally" letting the Capellans know where the players will be on that next sortie.

Others have already mentioned Comstar; adding them generally turns the intrigue gauge up to 11.