After posting my two Visions of Empire, now it's time for a poll: which of them would you like to see developed, or even played? Come and vote!
I'll repeat the visions here for your reading convenience:
Vision #1: These Stars Are Ours!
In this Vision, Humanity has missed its chance to start its own interstellar state. In the hyper-consumerist 21st century, apart from some privately-owned space tourist outfits and some abortive attempts at belt mining, we Humans did not pay much attention to space, preferring instead to focus on our day-to-day lives here on Earth. Space programs were cut back, and the single manned Mars landing in 2043 was not followed by any further exploration. But then the Reticulans came.
In 2082, several Reticulan (more particularly, House Thiragin) capital ships appeared in Earth orbit, sending a wave of smaller saucers to hover above Earth's major cities. Soon enough, through promises of advanced technology and access to vast wealth through interstellar trade, most Earth governments signed pacts with the alien visitors. In a matter of months, Earth was transformed from a chaotic collection of independent states into one big client-state of the Reticulan House Thiragin, ruled by the Earth Federal Administration (EFA). A few Earthlings did resist this economic and political takeover, however, under the umbrella of the hastily-formed Terran Defence Committee (TDC), which, for several years, launched covert operations against the aliens and their collaborators, until hunted down and defeated by the EFA's bio-augmented Federal Security Apparatus (FSA), better known as the Men in Black.
While self-administered and allowed to build its own armed forces - mostly to serve as auxiliary troops for House Thiragin - Terra was under the alien thumb, its economy and resources exploited by the alien Thiragin, some of its people used by Thiragin scientists as lab-rats for various bio-tech experiments, and its soldiers send off to fight distant wars on the behalf of its alien masters. the EFA allowed relatively little freedom to its citizens, but, on the other hand, developed its own sphere of space around Earth with nine new colonies settled by Mankind, exporting goods to the Thiragin monopoly and the larger Reticulan Empire.
But then, in 2232, Humanity had enough. After a century and a half of subjugation, massive protests against the EFA's unfair tax burden and tyrannical practices turned into open rebellion on Terra and the nine major colonies. Out of the chaos, rose the United Terran Republic (UTR), which declared itself an independent state, and, soon after, called for the Reticulans' other thralls and client states to rise up in rebellion as well, towards a free Interstellar Republic.
The Reticulans responded by trying to crush this impudent uprising, sending their own Thiragin Huscarls as well as Cicek mercenaries. Thus began the Terran Liberation War. Stubborn Terran military resistance, as well as diplomatic efforts, found, however, their success, as parts of the Cicek hordes broke off from their own, Reticulan-dominated client-state, forming what was first known as the Cicek Democracy and later as the Cicek Confederacy. The combined might of Terran troops and allied Cicek dissidents crushed, in 2239, House Thiragin's might, breaking through the defensive lines and approaching Zeta 2 Reticuli, House Thiragin's Sector Capital. Until then, however, the other Reticulan houses, content to see their Thiragin competitors embroiled in what was seen as a minor rebellion of barbarians and thus weakened, have not intervened. Only when UTR and Cicek Confederation troops were two jumps away from Zeta 2 Reticuli, the Empress herself sent her Legions, supported by numerous auxiliaries, to crush the rebellion.
Ultimately, they failed. Fighting raged for a decade more, with the lines moving back and forth between the Terran-Cicek alliance and the Reticulan Empire, but, in January 2250, the fabled Terran Guard, supported by Colonial Troops and a heavy Cicek fleet, smashed through the Reticulan lines, capturing Zeta 2 Reticuli and thus declaring the entire Reticuli Sector (now Terra Sector) their own.
The Empire had to capitulate. In June 2250, they signed a treaty with the UTR, recognizing its sovereignty, as well as its conquest of the Reticuli Sector, and setting up a Demilitarized Zone between the two states, where ships above 5,000 tons were disallowed to enter (the war saw ships as big as 50,000 tons in action). Furthermore, Terra forced the Reticulans' hand into allowing the various minor races of the Demilitarized Zone to secede, if desired, from the Empire.
Now it is 2258. After two decades of war and eight years of recovery, a large part of the Terran military is being demobilized. Your characters were among those who were mustered out (anyone serving 3 or more Traveller terms have actually fought in the Terran Liberation War!). Opportunities for civilian, or mercenary life abound in the far reaches of the Demilitarized Zone. Between petty squabbles of newly-independent worlds and the two major powers' attempts to covertly exert their influence into the DMZ, there is a big market for mercs, spies-for-hire, and, on the other hand, merchants opening up new markets on distant worlds. Adventures await!
Technologically speaking, the current Reticulan Empire is squarely at Traveller TL13, the UTR at most at TL12 for civilian applications with some TL13 military gear (especially starship weapons and Jump-4 military couriers) and the Cicek TL11 for the most part.
I'll repeat the visions here for your reading convenience:
Vision #1: These Stars Are Ours!
In this Vision, Humanity has missed its chance to start its own interstellar state. In the hyper-consumerist 21st century, apart from some privately-owned space tourist outfits and some abortive attempts at belt mining, we Humans did not pay much attention to space, preferring instead to focus on our day-to-day lives here on Earth. Space programs were cut back, and the single manned Mars landing in 2043 was not followed by any further exploration. But then the Reticulans came.
In 2082, several Reticulan (more particularly, House Thiragin) capital ships appeared in Earth orbit, sending a wave of smaller saucers to hover above Earth's major cities. Soon enough, through promises of advanced technology and access to vast wealth through interstellar trade, most Earth governments signed pacts with the alien visitors. In a matter of months, Earth was transformed from a chaotic collection of independent states into one big client-state of the Reticulan House Thiragin, ruled by the Earth Federal Administration (EFA). A few Earthlings did resist this economic and political takeover, however, under the umbrella of the hastily-formed Terran Defence Committee (TDC), which, for several years, launched covert operations against the aliens and their collaborators, until hunted down and defeated by the EFA's bio-augmented Federal Security Apparatus (FSA), better known as the Men in Black.
While self-administered and allowed to build its own armed forces - mostly to serve as auxiliary troops for House Thiragin - Terra was under the alien thumb, its economy and resources exploited by the alien Thiragin, some of its people used by Thiragin scientists as lab-rats for various bio-tech experiments, and its soldiers send off to fight distant wars on the behalf of its alien masters. the EFA allowed relatively little freedom to its citizens, but, on the other hand, developed its own sphere of space around Earth with nine new colonies settled by Mankind, exporting goods to the Thiragin monopoly and the larger Reticulan Empire.
But then, in 2232, Humanity had enough. After a century and a half of subjugation, massive protests against the EFA's unfair tax burden and tyrannical practices turned into open rebellion on Terra and the nine major colonies. Out of the chaos, rose the United Terran Republic (UTR), which declared itself an independent state, and, soon after, called for the Reticulans' other thralls and client states to rise up in rebellion as well, towards a free Interstellar Republic.
The Reticulans responded by trying to crush this impudent uprising, sending their own Thiragin Huscarls as well as Cicek mercenaries. Thus began the Terran Liberation War. Stubborn Terran military resistance, as well as diplomatic efforts, found, however, their success, as parts of the Cicek hordes broke off from their own, Reticulan-dominated client-state, forming what was first known as the Cicek Democracy and later as the Cicek Confederacy. The combined might of Terran troops and allied Cicek dissidents crushed, in 2239, House Thiragin's might, breaking through the defensive lines and approaching Zeta 2 Reticuli, House Thiragin's Sector Capital. Until then, however, the other Reticulan houses, content to see their Thiragin competitors embroiled in what was seen as a minor rebellion of barbarians and thus weakened, have not intervened. Only when UTR and Cicek Confederation troops were two jumps away from Zeta 2 Reticuli, the Empress herself sent her Legions, supported by numerous auxiliaries, to crush the rebellion.
Ultimately, they failed. Fighting raged for a decade more, with the lines moving back and forth between the Terran-Cicek alliance and the Reticulan Empire, but, in January 2250, the fabled Terran Guard, supported by Colonial Troops and a heavy Cicek fleet, smashed through the Reticulan lines, capturing Zeta 2 Reticuli and thus declaring the entire Reticuli Sector (now Terra Sector) their own.
The Empire had to capitulate. In June 2250, they signed a treaty with the UTR, recognizing its sovereignty, as well as its conquest of the Reticuli Sector, and setting up a Demilitarized Zone between the two states, where ships above 5,000 tons were disallowed to enter (the war saw ships as big as 50,000 tons in action). Furthermore, Terra forced the Reticulans' hand into allowing the various minor races of the Demilitarized Zone to secede, if desired, from the Empire.
Now it is 2258. After two decades of war and eight years of recovery, a large part of the Terran military is being demobilized. Your characters were among those who were mustered out (anyone serving 3 or more Traveller terms have actually fought in the Terran Liberation War!). Opportunities for civilian, or mercenary life abound in the far reaches of the Demilitarized Zone. Between petty squabbles of newly-independent worlds and the two major powers' attempts to covertly exert their influence into the DMZ, there is a big market for mercs, spies-for-hire, and, on the other hand, merchants opening up new markets on distant worlds. Adventures await!
Technologically speaking, the current Reticulan Empire is squarely at Traveller TL13, the UTR at most at TL12 for civilian applications with some TL13 military gear (especially starship weapons and Jump-4 military couriers) and the Cicek TL11 for the most part.
