the Zoners

[cmfalconer]

I don't want to really drag the players into the NPC discussion, but as for the ooRP "powertraders" playing as zoners, it's only because of the misconception that they cannot be pirated.

spank them a few times, take their credits, and when the whine to the admins that their zoner got pirated and are told "tough luck bub, you're fair game" the word could and would get around.

As for the NPC faction, reading all the opinions here, I'm inclined to believe the stance of a small group of loosely knit people with a common ideal of living free of the constraints of house life. Looking at the histories of the freeports and such, it shows that they're all relatively young in comparison to the House and most pirate bases, and the movement being (outside estimate) 100 years old.

The rest of the "Houses" (taking for this instance that the zoners are looking to EVENTUALLY become a House) took how long before they were actually established within their own sphere, let alone contact with others. 200-300 years if i recall the histories (which I might not). Right now, the zoners are fledgelings, with a lot more stations than might be expected, but a grand total of just over 4000 people living on ALL the freeports (except XV, no data given). Assuming the population of all the other stations except Canaria (Ames, Sparta, Lividia, etc) and excluding Gammu and Primus (for good reasons) as being "large" stations, there's maybe around ten thousand true zoners around the whole of sirius on the stations.

Now (gross overestimation) double that number for the zoners who are flying about sirius on their own ships of fortune, and 20000 people does not a "vast superpower" make, even with a dozen Juggernauts. Now there's probably 3-4 Juggernauts around, one at freeport11, and another in O49 and MAYBE one more roving the cosmos. The Fearless Destroyer's infocard states that it is the backbone of the Zoner fleet. OK, so 12-18 of them, and a shedload of fighters. that's IT.

based on all that, my opinion is the zoners are based almost solely on insinuation, innuendo, and outright lying to cement their position playing one side against the other with them the balance point.

Back to the pirating thing. Now, all that being said, yes, the zoners could tell a pirate "you shouldn't do that, or us zoners will take away your rights to our stations". But if this is done, would the pirates A)scoff, trade with the junkers, and blow up any zoner they see, making the zoners weaker and possibly ripe for a full-scale assault or B) skip that route, threaten zoners with full-scale war with perhaps the whole of whatever side of the corsair/outcast alliance they're with, and wipe them out completely?

All pretty far-fetched scenarios i'm sure, but still not outside the realm of possibility.

$.02

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