A Call to Arms
The State to Establish Mechanized Irregulars and Militia Forces
Those who may be following recent Polysentience political forums will not be surprised to hear that the Free State has finally begun to answer their Call to Arms presented to them by the Nepleslians. The combined threat of Yamatai, the Mishhuvurthyar, and the Reds cannot be ignored, so efforts to form a defense force has begun. While weapons designs have been proposed and honed, there hasn't actually been any body to utilize these on behalf of the State -- until now.
The Art of Never Again, the manifesto of our State, is strongly against the creation of any standing army, and the various Fleets are strong agreement. Instead, it has been decided to develop an irregular militia fighting force. As of last month the State has already begun distributing combat software and began making basic weapons operations mandatory in certain sectors.
Many more pacifistic fleets were initially against the effort, as the State has always advocated a united pacifistic policy. However, after hours of discussion the general consensus was one of reluctant acceptance, and the project was initiated. In the closing hours of the discussion forum, one foreman stated:
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Opportunity Knocks
Opportunist's Social Club Begins Entering Final Stages
In related news, the Free State has also begun officially sanctioning the formation of large-scale mercenary forces. The basis of the concept is that by allowing a fighting force to be contracted out for foreign employment they will gain vital combat experience, aid the Free State in field testing new combat equipment, and pay for their own upkeep; the net result of which is an experienced, able fighting force without putting considerable strain on resources.
The Opportunist's Social Club, as it is most commonly called, is the backbone behind this endeavor. The OSC is designed to provide anonymity to protect clients from political fallout by acting as proxy for exchanges between companies and clients. Likewise, companies are protected from retaliation, if they so choose, by operating out of one of the OSC Motherships: Alcatraz, Gulag, or Botany Bay. The OSC will also escrow services to ensure that all transactions and accounts are stable, private, and protected, while its operation as an anonymous proxy allows "nonpersons" to purchase goods through legal channels they wouldn't otherwise be able to access -- likewise, so-called nobler companies can access black market goods without having their reputation tarnished. Finally, the OSC will ensure very high quality standards and established work ethics by imposing severe fines for those who breach contract parameters; by policing the behavior of mercenaries they will vastly increase their reliability in general, making potential clients much more likely to hire OSC-certified companies.
Private militaries, like the majority of any other enterprises, will usually fail in the long run. For this reason the Polysentience network has began accepting submissions from potential mercenary commanders -- both local and foreign -- to found at least a handful of different companies filling different criteria.
The project was founded by Opportunity, an SI construct who is rather (in)famous in the Free State for it's strong advocacy of high-risk, high-payoff investments. Opportunity has always had a strong backing since its first project, the foundation of Freehold Factory, brought vast quantities of precious materials into the Free State. Once it announced its second major endeavor a large number of Fleets did not hesitate to donate capital to fund it's project. In a recent forum we had a chance to converse with this SI construct:
The State to Establish Mechanized Irregulars and Militia Forces
Those who may be following recent Polysentience political forums will not be surprised to hear that the Free State has finally begun to answer their Call to Arms presented to them by the Nepleslians. The combined threat of Yamatai, the Mishhuvurthyar, and the Reds cannot be ignored, so efforts to form a defense force has begun. While weapons designs have been proposed and honed, there hasn't actually been any body to utilize these on behalf of the State -- until now.
The Art of Never Again, the manifesto of our State, is strongly against the creation of any standing army, and the various Fleets are strong agreement. Instead, it has been decided to develop an irregular militia fighting force. As of last month the State has already begun distributing combat software and began making basic weapons operations mandatory in certain sectors.
State Address said:>>set/RE: wiredrovers@node, astralinterlopers@node, wishgranters@node, libertarianrepublicians@node, merchantraiders@node, distributedartificalintelligence@node[...]
>>set/sum: all fleets be advised sitrep as follows:
>>set/point: within the next year production of Militant Automata will be stepped up until they match and maintain values consistent to 2% of the population
>>set/point: all ships frigate-sized or larger vessels are to be issued a minimum of 0.75% the ship's net tonnage in Psuedonoave cruise missiles.
>>set/point: every able-bodied construct to be issued a Finagle's Revenge Recoilless Rifle along with a eight-round belt of slugs in a sealed tin
Many more pacifistic fleets were initially against the effort, as the State has always advocated a united pacifistic policy. However, after hours of discussion the general consensus was one of reluctant acceptance, and the project was initiated. In the closing hours of the discussion forum, one foreman stated:
Anonymous Foreman said:Our forerunners once fought,
So that they could be free.
Should a threat come to bear,
Then so again shall we.
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Opportunity Knocks
Opportunist's Social Club Begins Entering Final Stages
In related news, the Free State has also begun officially sanctioning the formation of large-scale mercenary forces. The basis of the concept is that by allowing a fighting force to be contracted out for foreign employment they will gain vital combat experience, aid the Free State in field testing new combat equipment, and pay for their own upkeep; the net result of which is an experienced, able fighting force without putting considerable strain on resources.
The Opportunist's Social Club, as it is most commonly called, is the backbone behind this endeavor. The OSC is designed to provide anonymity to protect clients from political fallout by acting as proxy for exchanges between companies and clients. Likewise, companies are protected from retaliation, if they so choose, by operating out of one of the OSC Motherships: Alcatraz, Gulag, or Botany Bay. The OSC will also escrow services to ensure that all transactions and accounts are stable, private, and protected, while its operation as an anonymous proxy allows "nonpersons" to purchase goods through legal channels they wouldn't otherwise be able to access -- likewise, so-called nobler companies can access black market goods without having their reputation tarnished. Finally, the OSC will ensure very high quality standards and established work ethics by imposing severe fines for those who breach contract parameters; by policing the behavior of mercenaries they will vastly increase their reliability in general, making potential clients much more likely to hire OSC-certified companies.
Private militaries, like the majority of any other enterprises, will usually fail in the long run. For this reason the Polysentience network has began accepting submissions from potential mercenary commanders -- both local and foreign -- to found at least a handful of different companies filling different criteria.
The project was founded by Opportunity, an SI construct who is rather (in)famous in the Free State for it's strong advocacy of high-risk, high-payoff investments. Opportunity has always had a strong backing since its first project, the foundation of Freehold Factory, brought vast quantities of precious materials into the Free State. Once it announced its second major endeavor a large number of Fleets did not hesitate to donate capital to fund it's project. In a recent forum we had a chance to converse with this SI construct:
Opportunity said:"...I'm not saying we are or aren't taking over black market hubs to supply nonpersons who refuse to be collected by national authorities, nor am I saying we're hacking corporate databases to redirect supply shipments to said nonpersons. I'm simply reminding you that we have and always will promote anarchical ideals rather that forcing our people under a national government, so if a number of our people do participate in unauthorized activities the Free State is not liable for their actions.
"Anyone who does break interstellar law is a very bad person, and should feel very bad, too; we believe this is punishment enough for lawbreakers. Naughty, naughty!"