Are Space Vikings viable in the setting?

[rebs]

As for how pirates (viking-like or otherwise) come about obtaining more spacecraft, I imagine capturing civilian use or comercial grade jumpships and dropships is quite easy.  Most jumpers aren't military grade, even the military ones are said to have token defenses (but they have their dropships and ASF which will hurt the attackers). 

It would be a viable strategy not to seize all of those vessels that present soft targets, but only their cargo, so as not to scare the rest of the neighborhood too much.  Keep commerce lanes alive to keep the raiding lanes wealthy.  Those types of ships would be easiest to maintain, but only good if resistance has been cleared so they can safely land to deploy hordes of repo grunts.  And pirates only need so many of these.

Seizing military grade dropships would be another kettle of fish entirely.  But I could imagine some fairly entertaining ways that it might go down, either seizing droppers on a planet, or somehow pulling off a bold ambush at a jump point, perhaps, netting a jumpship and couple or few dropships right at an inopportune time.

Then obtaining a reliable supply of spare parts for their vessels also presents issues.  Cannibalizing other ships, maybe crashed dropships scattered around or near their territory, or old retired warhorses, would be their prime sources.  And again, whatever they can manage to steal.

Vikings are closer to a non-technologically advanced nation state, but could build the technology they needed for their raiding. In Battletech before 3070 that means a Great House, Com Star, the Clans, or Star's End.

Reinforcing the previously mentioned idea that all of the Great Houses have used their military in Viking fashion at one time or another.  And we know the Clans very much resemble a collection of ritual-based pirates when they are at relative peace.  Comstar is comstar, we think.  And Stars End, we know what they are.  Unlike the rest, they only hid their location, and not their outward identities.

[worktroll]

As for how pirates (viking-like or otherwise) come about obtaining more spacecraft, I imagine capturing civilian use or comercial grade jumpships and dropships is quite easy.  Most jumpers aren't military grade, even the military ones are said to have token defenses (but they have their dropships and ASF which will hurt the attackers). 

It'll be easy - once. Those JS and DS are also incredibly valuable to the periphery merchants or states. If you start losing them going to Backofassawhompset IV to trade, you'll just stop going there - it's not as if periphery merchants have a space navy/police force to call on, true?

You also mention the other problem - to a pirate with a Trader and a Union, a couple of ASF could represent damage to your fragile JS. And you then have to assume you can capture the other JS intact. Otherwise you've lost your working capital, and your ride home.

[Archangel]

1) Vikings weren't into the whole "hire an expert" thing, culturally. They did take numerous prisoners with perceived skills.

Maybe not all Vikings, but the Danes did and the Normans likely did as well.  Both were founded by Vikings.

2) Somehow I'm not entirely sure that slave labour make for good high technology industrial workers. The only known examples run dangerously close to the "no politics" rules, but in any case were both managed by centralised intensely bureacratic states, not loosely-bound individualists.

Then why not stay within the BT universe.  On Robinson the DCMS is holding the families of the RSB's factory workers hostage against the continued functioning of the factory lines.  No reason why the "Space Vikings" couldn't do something similar.  "Work for us for a set amount of years, train some of our people in your craft and afterwards we will release you.  Refuse to work or sabotage your work and you and your family will suffer."  Take some hostages along on raids and one risks killing them as well.

[rebs]

It'll be easy - once. Those JS and DS are also incredibly valuable to the periphery merchants or states. If you start losing them going to Backofassawhompset IV to trade, you'll just stop going there - it's not as if periphery merchants have a space navy/police force to call on, true?

You also mention the other problem - to a pirate with a Trader and a Union, a couple of ASF could represent damage to your fragile JS. And you then have to assume you can capture the other JS intact. Otherwise you've lost your working capital, and your ride home.

No doubt about the value of the merchant vessels.  I figured that would be why you do not want to take everything, just the cargo if possible.  Pirate attacks would still be enough to ward off traders for a time, perhaps long or short, depending on all kinds of reasons.  And that's another reason to stay on the move - aside from wishing to stay out of reach of the anti-piracy forces that might seek them out one day.  Certain of the Houses have been known to cull the pirates from time to time, but we know that can come at strategic cost along other borders.  By staying ahead, one can skulk into other, less-suspecting pastures and allow the site of your last raid to return to normal. 
(edit: I'm thinking years for things to settle.  I would see the need to manage my territory, plot out loops that take you through a long circuit, plot contingency loops and more contingencies on top of that.  Perhaps some places never see you again after you make off with a dropship full of particularly valuable loot.  Returning to the scene of a crime is bad news, they say, and I can think of why that would be too.  We all could, that's a standard battle on the table; waiting for the pirates, and *poof* here they come...  )

Aside from that, I would also bet that most pirate bands are too self-interested to ever attempt a seizure in space, and for great reason.  The cost of failure is loss of your assets and likely death by all kinds of means, from the hazards of the undertaking, to capture by vengeful enemies if you really botch the attempt. 

But the old Redjack Ryan color fiction piece from The Periphery indicated that such a move could happen, and it inspired me to think that it might have a chance to work given the right set of circumstances and a lot of luck.   

The ASF issues are mighty formidable, too.  Most pirate groups do not seem to be all that ASF savvy, that it's kind of a luxury to have even a handful of flyers.  So it would definitely be a perquisite to an attempted seizure, if simply to combat the ASF forces of the defending vessels. 

Risky business for sure.  Agrarian planets with no outside communication and no defending forces of note are so much more welcoming.  :)

[worktroll]

Maybe not all Vikings, but the Danes did and the Normans likely did as well.  Both were founded by Vikings.

At which point, technically, we're no longer talking about "space Vikings". Both the Danes and Normans had feudal societies with heirarchy, stratification & specialisation capable of supporting far more technology than the original Norse ancestors.

All of which does support the idea that, while "space Vikings" are unlikely per se, "space pirates" are an almost inevitable development in the BT universe, something the writers cottoned on to (for good reasons, or otherwise) much earlier.

[glitterboy2098]

one would imagine that out the Steiner/FRR way, you could find Pirates with a distinctly Scandinavian bent..  O:-)

[worktroll]

Bent Scandihoovians? The worst kind ...  ^-^

[Colt Ward]

From what I understand the Vikings had more of a strongman type situation, which led to their stratification into feudal governing where they set up shop.

[blackjack]

If there are "Space Vikings"....



...Do they finally win the Super Bowl?

 >:/! Nope they still don't have a QB. 

[soshi]

the clans are space vikings

[DarthRads]

One of the players in my old InnerSphere In Flames campaign headed a nation called The Odinoord. They were 'space vikings' but he emphasised the explorer/mariner rather than berserk warrior aspect of the culture....shame that campaign fizzled out as there were some great ideas...