Mercenaries

Created Wednesday 29 September 2021

Janisary

• Not slaves per se, though. Just a group of people who will do anything for money. Go anywhere in anything.
• Of out-sized importance in military operations. A fundamental aspect of interstellar warfare is operating under advserse conditions. Only a few sentient species are fairly-well adapted to life in space (the raptors, blattids, Good, succubi, and---of course---mycons; even the sleepers aren't really adpated to living in space), even none of those actually thrive there. So, the ability to survive longer in a given theatre is one of the main ways to win in that theatre. A lot of war is joint (and conflicting) efforts to survive in space---usually along paths between strategic points.
  • Strategic points themsleves are usually very well defended. Like the middle ages, lots of direct conflict was through raids---persistent and not. Lots of low-level, simmering struggle. The history-making, set-piece battles are rare, often decisive, and led by those who are delusional, audacious, and/or desperate.
• So, for humans, these raids and "beachheads" are of great strategic importance.
  • And the textbook example is as much Heavy Infantry as can be trained and mustered padded by as many Janisary are are needed to fill in the gaps all supporting an effort to establish a Hägge-centered presence that then turns into a productive waypoint and keep.
  • Most common support sent to waypoints are MULEs. They're usually the closest troops to far-flung places---either out there already in the wilderness or stationed "with" these waypoints to scout and gather more widely-distributed resources. Of course, they can also travel fast & light and have come to adapt their craft to this style of warfare. Sort of the light infantry of inhospitable terrain---both the "mountains" and "steppes" of space.

No skanky chicks and no stunky beer. Those are our terms. You and your accountants can work out the details (and les hors d'hoeuvres). We'll worry about the bigger picture.