Really short shorts..

[Cannonshop]

Sol Oort cloud, 3 days after Alaric Ward's victory party...

It only pulls one gee, but it'll do it for days...all the way to where it's going, no turnover, no slowdown, and the light output is relatively small.

This is for Titan,  It's for Titan, and for Ganymede, Metis, Io, and the rest.  We tolerated McKenna, Camerons, Amaris, Kerensky, Blake, Toyama and Stone.

It's for the Beltas being rounded up and 'processed' for this 'ilclan'.

it's our message to would-be overlords who've decided to 'take us in hand'.

Because it's enough ******.

We've finally had enough.  the calculations aren't that tough, by the time they see it, it's going to be too late, moving too fast to intercept and too dense and big to just shoot down.

Because we're finally sick and done with it.

So let's see how Ward's new 'star League' and its caste system handles a ****** rain of dinosaur killers.  This one's aimed at Yellowstone Caldera...

fin

[cawest]

oh god... that is going to suck for someone...  way to go!!

[Cannonshop]

Somewhere in the Rasalhague Dominion, while violence is spreading...

"Where are you going?" the Bears have a patrol out here.  I have a jumpship with cargo.  The cargo isn't what was registered on the manifest, and I'm not going where my transit papers say I am.

and my Warrior Caste Minder is currently floating among globules of cooling blood in my port side airlock.

"It's in the flight plan."

"You may not depart."

"Watch me." I stab the triggers on the jump drive...

They really think they own us.  that we're just property, that we're livestock to cage and use.

well...****** them.  ****** them all, ****** them, and their precious 'ilClan'.

the coordinates I registered are for an inhabited system, but the ones on the jump computer? Not so much.  Where I'm aimed, nobody on the main routes ever goes.

Space is big, you see.  My people have known it's big for a very, very, very long time.  There's a lot that gets missed, or forgotten.  whole worlds even.  Places none of them look.

Places to run to, when the worlds stop making sense...I have a cargo dropship full of people who've come to realize their leaders are insane, and so are most of their neighbors.

We're off to where the madmen don't walk, not even in their battlemechs, and this time?

Not coming back.

We're not the only ones, either.  They can search, and search and search for us, but space is big, and when you go off the axis, it's even bigger.

[Luciora]

We like short shorts! o/~

[Daryk]

Indeed!  More please!  :thumbsup:

[Cannonshop]

What do you do when....

...you're completely irrelevant?  We play tetris.  There's a tetris league in the touman.  It's something to do, since the whole reason for our Clan's existence?

Is completely and utterly irrelevant.  There is no enemy to pose a challenge, there really are no viable enemies at all.

Nothing to do.  Every potential enemy, every possible conflict? well, when you have a power curve that goes from 'infantry commando raid' straight to 'apocalyptic war crime' without much in the middle?

There's nothing to do.

I mean, sure, we can dominate...as long as there's something out there worth the resources.  The problem being, there really isn't anything we can dominate on the ground that is worth the resources to schlep them into position, that isn't already held by the ilClan our Khans just swore us to support.

There are no navies to contest with, there are a few lingering relics, in bad condition, and some planetary-defense-boats...dropships...but those aren't strategic assets and don't really pose a challenge.

we have nothing to do.

Maybe I can get adopted by another Clan...wait, why would they?  My training and skills are optimized for a kind of battle that will never happen again.

hell with it, I'll go play tetris until we get the next orders to fly around doing very little or nothing against opponents who literally can't challenge us because they don't have the gear, or the organization.

[Daryk]

Tetris FTW!  :D

[Artifex]

That just shows that the clans are utterly incapable and not geared towards peacetimes.

[ThePW]

I think someone, very recently, pissed in your wheaties, CS. (but losing the home world prize would explain why it took 40 years before the 3rd Star League (from the FailNgoVerse) had the time to deal with the Lyrans: It took that long to deal with ANY Belters left before hand...

[DOC_Agren]

tagging in

[Euphonium]

These are fun, thank you Cannonshop!

[mikecj]

Kind of reminds me of the end of Downbelow Station series...

The Mazianni off to their own world but capable of raiding back in whenever they want.

[Cannonshop]

Okay, here's your career path, alright?  This is how you do it.

1. Finish your Academy term, if you can.  If you can't, try to get the basic training classes and tactical done.  The rest of it may matter a little bit if you're smart or have some talent.
2. Leave the LCAF, and go mercenary.

That's it, that's how you succeed in a military career as a Lyran. You leave, because unless you're already in with the corporate contractors or have wealthy socialite friends (and we don't, buddy.  You and I? we're not connected like that)?

You're screwed for promotion, screwed for advancement, and first up to get killed by someone else's brain-dead incompetence in the event the shooting actually starts anywhere nearby.

If you have talent and you're not a direct cousin of the Archon, you're going to die if you stay.  That is the truth, that has been the truth for centuries, it's what's going to be the truth tomorrow.  If you want to make the military a career, and you actually don't like dying in the stupidest way possible, you quit the LCAF and go mercenary.  Hell, if you want to make a difference, or even win occasionally, you go Mercenary.

That's the truth of it.

OR...you can do your five, and get the ****** out while all your pieces are still attached, and go home, and let some other father's kid get killed by the morons at Mount Asgard.

Sounds bitter, doesn't it? 'But Dad, what about-'

Before you start that, really look.  When left to their own devices, our military leaders blow goats.  Every successful battle, every successful offensive, every success we've had in wars, can be traced to either foreign leaders imported to stiffen things, or mercenaries.

It's all the time, get a little traveling done, as I did after my tour, and you find out-everyone knows the LCAF's leadership is incompetent.

Everyone.  Dracs, Free Worlders, Cappies, Rassies, even Taurians and Canopians, everybody knows this, it's gone on so long that it's a universal stereotype-the only 'competent' Lyrans, are found on Outreach or Galatea.

Now, you're going to induction next week. keep your head down, don't get noticed, do your job, pay attention, and keep your eyes open and your ears listening and you'll make it through training.

But don't think that by being good at the job, or loyal, or effective, you're ever going to be promoted.

Because that doesn't happen in the LCAF.

[mikecj]

Sad but true...

[DOC_Agren]

well said CS, some of the greatest Lyran Military Talents end up as Mercs.

[Nikas_Zekeval]

well said CS, some of the greatest Lyran Military Talents end up as Mercs.

Even if your competence gets you promoted?  There is only so long patriotism will let you put up with being the street sweeper following the elephants in a circus parade.  :runaway:

[Daryk]

It almost sounds like you've seen some of those going away presents from the Joint Staff...  :D

[cklammer]

And: "Never volunteer!"

[Blade4]

Just that attitude alone is toxic to the service because it means no one tries anymore. There is no point. Keep your head down and get out soon as you can. Dont try to fix shit because you cant. The whole edifice needs to be burned down and start fresh. Frankly the lyrans should have collapsed in the succession wars despite their industry just because they cant consistently not ****** themselves with idiot and meaningless social bullshit.

[DOC_Agren]

Just that attitude alone is toxic to the service because it means no one tries anymore. There is no point. Keep your head down and get out soon as you can. Dont try to fix shit because you cant. The whole edifice needs to be burned down and start fresh. Frankly the lyrans should have collapsed in the succession wars despite their industry just because they cant consistently not ****** themselves with idiot and meaningless social bullshit.

The only reason they didn't, are the unsung heros, those competent low ranks member who saved the command by not listen to social general/staff incharge and did the right thing.

 That and when you use your Assault Lance Recon Team, sometime you get lucky... :thumbsup:

[Blade4]

Ah Steiner scout Squad the true unsung heroes of the lyran commonwealth saving it one beer and pretzel party at a time.

[georgiaboy]

The Lyrans can win battles, they just can not win wars when they do not have decisive leaders.


Look at their history. The Lyrans have steadily lost worlds at their borders, sure they have reclaimed some, but not many.
They have not totally collapsed due to several reasons.


-The Lyrans had most of their mech production being Assault and Heavy class mechs. So in set-piece battles, they can be decisive.


The DCMS mech production leans more towards the Lightweight Mechs.
The Mariks lean towards the medium-weight Mechs.
The Liao's and Davion's have limited ability to project military forces into the Lyran Theater.


And then their are the Authors and Game mechanics taken into count for how the setting is protrayed.
With how the setting portrays the Lyran Social Generals, it is worse than how the Colonial British Empire is portrayed, especially in comparison to the India colonial times.


Then there is the handicap on vehicles vs mechs. Sure mechs have the best mobility in comparison to vehicles, but vehicles and infantry should have a better life expectancy and there seems to be complete nerfing in the amount of milita units on each world.

[cklammer]

Just that attitude alone is toxic to the service because it means no one tries anymore. There is no point. Keep your head down and get out soon as you can. Dont try to fix shit because you cant. The whole edifice needs to be burned down and start fresh. Frankly the lyrans should have collapsed in the succession wars despite their industry just because they cant consistently not ****** themselves with idiot and meaningless social bullshit.

Almost 40 years ago way back when during BOLD GUARD 1986 when I was a Western German Bundeswehr conscript at the end of my basic my training company commander asked my assembled platoon about who speaks "English" and almost all hands go up. Next question was "Who wants to translate something for me?". On a Friday afternoon ... my hand was the last one down. Stupid me.

Some translation that turned out to be my furry behind: four hours later I was at Jagel Naval Air Station up in Schleswig-Holstein handed over to some outfit called "United States Marine Corps Force Recon" for two weeks of fun and games and translating German in the forest ...

So "Never Volunteer!". Should have listened to Granpa who told me exactly that having made through WW2 from beginning to end with the Luftwaffe.

As to those "Force Recon" gentlemen from the USMC: top down from their Colonel I was treated very nicely although they were a little surprised when they found out that I was still being a recruit in basic. The squad I ended up with tore down my kit starting with my G-3 down to my spare socks and reassembled it based on their field craft for the coming two weeks. They liked my G-3 ... I had one from the early 1960ies still with the nice wooden stock older than myself :)

Then the squad staff sergeant informed me "no parachuting this time and the other option helicopter night time ride would simulated by night time trucking so sorry being boring" ...................... okay ....

During the two following weeks I sorta saved my new found friends from drinking from a stream full carrying loads and loads of untreated sewage and/or chemical waste... apparently the squad I was with had not been briefed about the water situation in 1980ies Germany ... they believed me only when they saw that stream carrying downstream foamy chemical waste past us just as they were about to fill their canteens ... I arranged for us staying at a farmer's garage for the last few days as the bit of forest we were in as it was owned by that farmer gentleman ...

The Mission was listening to military radio traffic - preferably Eastern German radio traffic - but as we somewhat south and west of Kiel and north and west of Lübeck no dice with that FM radio scanner we were carrying: only got some civilian Kiel police and Lübeck customs traffic ...

When I parted ways afterwards from my newfound friends I was told that I had behaved nicely in the field and we all signed some one dollar bills as keepsakes to remember ... I am still carrying my dollar bill in my wallet to this day.

@CS: if you think I am hijacking too much I'll shorten/cut this. Never told anyone about this before ...

[Lazarus Sinn]

Navy is really an acronym that means Never Again Volunteer Yourself. I learned that one the hard way.

[Blade4]

@CS: if you think I am hijacking too much I'll shorten/cut this. Never told anyone about this before ...

It is still a fun story and thanks for sharing. Its the small history and personal stories that are so easily lost to time.

[ThePW]

*claps* That was a cool tale. That was also an entirely different story armed forces back then (still using Vietnam era gear or equipment built in the Vietnam era but refitted/refurbished for the 80's)

That's very cool. None of my few international interactions with foreign service was nothing that good.

[Daryk]

Thirded!  :thumbsup:

[EAGLE 7]

I have a few “ volunteer and volunteered stories😉