[BT] Ugly PUG?

[pel...@gmail.com]

Maybe someone who is really familiar with the workings of the Federated
Suns can answer this inquiry.

In a long running BT campaign, the regimental commander of my merc unit
was granted knighthood and a sizable land grant on Macintosh for
success in battle under the employ of the FedComs.

Unfortunately, Macintosh is near the Pirate's Haven and the land grant
(which is a large island with three large communities on it) has been
hit once by pirates seeking to plunder harvested crops.

I'd like to form a local militia in each of the three communities,
train them, and equip them so they can provide a measure of resistance
against the likes of pirates to buy time before my base garrison forces
can arrive. Obviously, I could put my own merc troops in the
communities but I'd rather the local populace have their own
forces...much like the minuteman.

So, as a knight of the Federated Suns, would that be authority enough
to raise a militia? Or would that consitute the raising of a Planetary
Guard (PUG) and thus the authority do to so would fall to a higher rank
or to the FedCom PDZ Command?

Thanks!

[zircher]

It's only one island. That hardly constitutes a planetary defense
force. I'd see no problem in raising a militia or if you want a more
disarming title, a heavily armed police/security force.
--
TAZ

[Cra...@gmail.com]

On Jan 18, 1:37 pm, "pel...@gmail.com" <pel...@gmail.com> wrote:
> So, as a knight of the Federated Suns, would that
> be authority enough to raise a militia?

If the planetary government lets you. FS planets have all sorts of
private militaries. Some are broken into squabbling, feuding fiefdoms
where local military assets are used against other FS subjects on the
same planet, while other planets are a picture of unity and smooth
operation.

In short, it's a GM's call.

No, wait. You're on Macintosh. That's a corporate-owned planet. It's
owned by Apple Computers Interstellar (I'm not joking.) It already has
a sizable defense force of corporate security protecting the high-tech
computer manufacturing facilities on the planet.

> Or would that consitute the raising of a Planetary
> Guard (PUG) and thus the authority do to so would
> fall to a higher rank or to the FedCom PDZ Command?

Generally, it'd only be an Ugly PUG if you tried to make it one. Ugly
PUGs are a formal, local defense force meant to aid AFFS and March
Militia units. If you were just keeping things in your fief, then
that's your own militia (unless your immediate liege/mayor/governor/el
presidente/whatever says "no.")

In this specific case, I suspect Count Alta DeGrassy (the Apple CEO in
3067) would not be against you raising a militia unit, but would
probably want to coordinate the militia with planetary defense and
would add some clauses about ultimate control of the unit belonging
with the planetary government. (After all, what modern government wants
people running around with private battle tanks and battlemechs?)

The good news about that is that the unit might be deployed around the
planet in response to pirates. Macintosh is a juicy planet with lots of
places to hit. This will give you more opportunities to encounter
pirates. Otherwise, the chance they'd pick your group of villages to
raid when there's mammoth warehouses stuffed with advanced computers is
low.

Mike Miller, Materials Engineer