Originally posted by Ganidiirsi O'Flynn:
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Yeah, but just HOW tripped out would your Band of Mercantile Mercenaries be if the Mob of Ugly Locals laid a Grond (the flaming iron battering ram) upside their Beowulf's cargo hatch.... Too close for missiles or sandcasters to arm for detonation and too low for the upper turret to depress... Christopher Stasheff, "The Wizard in . . ." series, provides the example where there is one single world where "Magic" works, and the rest of the universe of strictly Science Fiction. I've toyed a number of times with setting up a world IMTU, set in an "empty" hex, empty because all information about it has been suppressed to make sure the blockade held by a full battleship squadron (only six of whom on board (Captain, XO, and the three Sensor watch-standers) any particular vessel ever get to see outside the ship or the results of sensor information; naturally, fighters aren't carried by these ships, that would cause too many problems). But I've never thought of using Tolkein's world. It would be most interesting, I think, if the Imperium first encountered the world around the beginning of the First Age.
The first Scout Ship, say, in the first century, 0-99, jumps in-system to chart a star otherwise ignored by the 1st and 2nd Imperiums (for whatever reason). It is a Preliminary Survey Vessel, about 300 dTons, with a crew of 4 and a mission team of 4. It survey's the planet, finds a highly active medieval society of mulitple sophont species (including multiple minor branches of Humaniti), apparently locked in war, on the western continent. On the easter continent, they see only wilderness (from orbit).
The Scouts do their orbital mapping. Probes sent down to the eastern continent do not return, which makes the Mission Commander nervous, and so she avoids it. The western continent, though, yields up substantial information, including enough verbal records to assemble several different languages (which makes the linguist among the Scouts push to descend and infiltrate first hand; but all of the Mission Team wants to get a First Contact credit). All mention of "evil", "dark lords", "monsters", and other mythical references are thought to be quaint superstitions. The crew medic prepares an RNA memory boost (mentioned briefly on page 43 of Book 2 as one of many possible high-tech learning systems, and one of many such methods employeed by characters in SF novels, even to this day), and the contact team takes sleep learning on the languages.
The Captain take the ship down, and they happen to begin descending into the lower atmosphere over Thangorodrim. Morgoth takes note. A pair of balrogs are ordered aloft to take a closer look . . .
Multiple Triple Turrets (Laser, Missle, Sandcaster) vs. whips, flames, and sorcery. Burp, delicious, yum.
After the battle, smoking remnants of two balrogs floating to the plain below, the crippled survey ship is descending into Hithlum, where they get to run into such impressive figures as Fingolfin, among others.
Perhaps the remaining weapons aboard the ship can turn a battle or two . . . heh, but anything substantial would alter the outcome of the eventual story. It's a study in an alternate history for a fictional milieu.
Eventually, rescued, the crew report back their findings. They're all believed to be insane, but follow up missions prove them to be right.
Worried about the existence of the such extremely beings (the "Vala"), the Imperium, believing them to be left-over ancients locked in an inexplicable power play amongst themselves, places a Red Zone on the system, and then moves to suppress all information about the planet, and ruthlessly prevent anyone from discovering it again.
