the Zoners

[Unseelie]

Now, for my cascade failure of the Zoner Military:

Note: I'm assuming they have a huge fleet. A fleet comparable to a house, with at least a dozen Juggernaughts.

This fleet, to be any help at all, has to be spread out. Just to fend off pirates and criminals and maniacs. Freeport one, Freeport 2, Freeport (uhm, whatever, I think there are about 7 of them.) And planet Gran Canaria. Now, assume they've a rather large portion of their fleet near Freeport 11, because of the Corsairs and the Nomads. A smaller bit near freeport 9, and an even smaller one up by the Outcast freeport (10, I think?) Then there's the fleet for Gran Carnina. We'll assume, for the purposes of this scenario, that its the corsairs who make the first move.

The corsairs bring a huge fleet through the JH into Theta. They're probably losing ground in eta because of this move. If the entire juggernaught fleet is there, we'll say that the corsairs lose, horribly. But, then...Word gets out. Fast. The Outcasts, for the first time, feel lucky, because they know where the Juggernaughts are. They take the fleets who were pressing the corsairs in Eta, and ram them into tau 37. Freeport 10 is captured. The zoners have lost a station, and a large portion of their fleet. The corsairs are licking their wounds. Rhienland thinks it could rejouvanate the economy if it could just add two more internal markets..Freeport 2 and...(7? the one in omega 7, anyway) But they can't take both. They send diplomats to Liberty, Kusari, and to Bretonia. The agreement is simple. Rhienland gets the omegas, Liberty gets freeport 2, and the surrounding systems, bering and hudson Kusari gets freeport 6(though, honestly, the empire might not care, and try for Harris while bretonia trys for GC). Bretonia, Bretonia gets 49. Each station, and GC, are suddenly facing the military might of three or Four Houses. They can beat, or draw, one house. If they can make it, I suspect they'd pull the fleet back to GC. So, maybe, they keep that. They've now a much smaller, but more concentrated fleet, and a planet. Two freeports. And are an entirely known quantity.

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