Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 8:03:06 GMT -5
This topic is a child of the Chopping Blocks article directory.
ONE LAST TIME
Mercenaries in the Chopping Blocks come in all flavors; freelance daredevils, penniless battalions, and daft bandits with a xenophobic streak. What most share in common is their level of sophistication. As a result of the considerable Space Looney presence, room for amateurs is scarce and fickle. Low-technology brigands are quick to die and slow to grow. Competing with the most advanced organization on Set demands skill, hardware, and copious amounts of luck in equal measure.
As a result, many of the mercenaries in the blocks are former spacers, Loonies, or even Space Loonies. Many companies are spaceborne outfits that have downscaled and exchanged their old ships and equipment for terrestrially-suited counterparts. Most are informed on Space Looney tactics, doctrine, and important positions in the blocks. For mercenary bands that are short on spacers, freelancers are popular alternatives. Solo guns-for-hire are pointedly common in the otherwise company-dominated sprawl of the blocks.
Even with all the resources in the world, success rates for raids on Space Looney dumps are abysmal. Only a quarter of all raids find something of value. Only a tenth are able to replace lost manpower and equipment with their profits. Even just surviving the raid itself isn't good enough; more often than not, the Space Loonies or their landed cousins remain a constant threat to a successful raider. Keeping ahold of acquired equipment is a death sentence in the blocks. Putting it to use is the surest way to be caught in an orbital strike.
Consequently, most mercenary raiders in the blocks are at the end of their rope. Whether running out of food, ammunition, or marketable commodities, desperation is the king of the day. On a civilized planet, it might mean no more than downscaling and seeking new opportunities. On Set, bankruptcy means a slow death to starvation, mutiny, and desertion. The pauper elite of the blocks have no other option but to hurl themselves into a final blaze of glory in an attempt to secure the funds they need. The eye-raising quantity of debt-ridden outfits is how the Chopping Blocks earned their name; for them, it's death or glory.
In keeping with the preponderance of spacers and former Space Loonies, interests from orbit are common. Of particular note are Unity Station's unionite overseers, many of whom hold considerable bounties on specific examples of Space Looney technology. More successful spacer outfits may contract their ailing peers to secure unique resources. Planetside interests hold a similar paradigm. Some Loonies on the ground have offered their own bounties for indiscriminate killings of Space Loonies, often with an emphasis on alien casualties. Successful planetside mercenaries have sometimes offered rewards for high-grade Looney equipment for their own personal arsenals.
The most curious connection to the Chopping Blocks centers on Cloneston. The prime artificial intelligences of the city of clones have long held an interest in their sister "city". Many have offered exorbitant rewards - even lifetime refuge in luxury - for countless tasks. Some have sought to secure connections to the garbage hauler network, others have asked for no more than live fire demonstrations of Space Looney hardware. Contracts from Cloneston are so common that even its native factions will, on occasion, dispatch their own members to fulfill them. Commandeered clones in the blocks are rare, but recurring sights.
Not all mercenaries in the blocks are driven solely by desperation or greed. The common objective of most has not stopped rivalries from forming between different companies and lone wolves. Some even seek out the Chopping Blocks as a proving grounds to settle their feuds. Countless others are hired on by larger outfits to fill out their ranks before a major operation. Others still put down roots in the towns scattered around the husklands and blur the lines between militia and mercenary. A rare few even secure the esteem of the Loonies, spaceborne or otherwise, and go on to serve as an auxiliary arm of their defenses. Many stories start the same in the blocks, but few ever end the same.
ONE LAST TIME
Mercenaries in the Chopping Blocks come in all flavors; freelance daredevils, penniless battalions, and daft bandits with a xenophobic streak. What most share in common is their level of sophistication. As a result of the considerable Space Looney presence, room for amateurs is scarce and fickle. Low-technology brigands are quick to die and slow to grow. Competing with the most advanced organization on Set demands skill, hardware, and copious amounts of luck in equal measure.
As a result, many of the mercenaries in the blocks are former spacers, Loonies, or even Space Loonies. Many companies are spaceborne outfits that have downscaled and exchanged their old ships and equipment for terrestrially-suited counterparts. Most are informed on Space Looney tactics, doctrine, and important positions in the blocks. For mercenary bands that are short on spacers, freelancers are popular alternatives. Solo guns-for-hire are pointedly common in the otherwise company-dominated sprawl of the blocks.
Even with all the resources in the world, success rates for raids on Space Looney dumps are abysmal. Only a quarter of all raids find something of value. Only a tenth are able to replace lost manpower and equipment with their profits. Even just surviving the raid itself isn't good enough; more often than not, the Space Loonies or their landed cousins remain a constant threat to a successful raider. Keeping ahold of acquired equipment is a death sentence in the blocks. Putting it to use is the surest way to be caught in an orbital strike.
Consequently, most mercenary raiders in the blocks are at the end of their rope. Whether running out of food, ammunition, or marketable commodities, desperation is the king of the day. On a civilized planet, it might mean no more than downscaling and seeking new opportunities. On Set, bankruptcy means a slow death to starvation, mutiny, and desertion. The pauper elite of the blocks have no other option but to hurl themselves into a final blaze of glory in an attempt to secure the funds they need. The eye-raising quantity of debt-ridden outfits is how the Chopping Blocks earned their name; for them, it's death or glory.
In keeping with the preponderance of spacers and former Space Loonies, interests from orbit are common. Of particular note are Unity Station's unionite overseers, many of whom hold considerable bounties on specific examples of Space Looney technology. More successful spacer outfits may contract their ailing peers to secure unique resources. Planetside interests hold a similar paradigm. Some Loonies on the ground have offered their own bounties for indiscriminate killings of Space Loonies, often with an emphasis on alien casualties. Successful planetside mercenaries have sometimes offered rewards for high-grade Looney equipment for their own personal arsenals.
The most curious connection to the Chopping Blocks centers on Cloneston. The prime artificial intelligences of the city of clones have long held an interest in their sister "city". Many have offered exorbitant rewards - even lifetime refuge in luxury - for countless tasks. Some have sought to secure connections to the garbage hauler network, others have asked for no more than live fire demonstrations of Space Looney hardware. Contracts from Cloneston are so common that even its native factions will, on occasion, dispatch their own members to fulfill them. Commandeered clones in the blocks are rare, but recurring sights.
Not all mercenaries in the blocks are driven solely by desperation or greed. The common objective of most has not stopped rivalries from forming between different companies and lone wolves. Some even seek out the Chopping Blocks as a proving grounds to settle their feuds. Countless others are hired on by larger outfits to fill out their ranks before a major operation. Others still put down roots in the towns scattered around the husklands and blur the lines between militia and mercenary. A rare few even secure the esteem of the Loonies, spaceborne or otherwise, and go on to serve as an auxiliary arm of their defenses. Many stories start the same in the blocks, but few ever end the same.
