Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Mk_C]

Ugh... Look, asshole, a plasma focus can't overload the screen, but it can weaken it! And, that''s the engineering data for one plasma focus at it's maximum effective distance. The former emperor was called in to a massively outnumbered sector with numerous gunship incursions, and, I shouldn't have to remind you, gunships carry torpedoes! And guess where all of those torpedoes were aimed when the flagship showed? The idea that the Mizol are behind the late emperor's death is probably the dumbest single thing I've ever heard. Hundreds of ships were lost in the offensive! Do you honestly believe that the Mizol were particularly central to the loss of one?

Hhhmmmmmmmm~

[Arioch]

Hhhmmmmmmmm~

I try to maintain a policy of "assume goodwill." I assume that your statement was joking, therefore I'd like to suppose that his response was joking as well.

On the chance that you weren't joking, White, that's not an acceptable way to conduct discussions on this board.

[Krulle]

It says there were suspicions of treatchery, but I get the feeling that the accusations were ones of convenience.

Plasma focus can't overload class VI screens. Tinza was an inside job!

Ugh... Look, asshole, a plasma focus can't overload the screen, but it can weaken it! And, that''s the engineering data for one plasma focus at it's maximum effective distance. The former emperor was called in to a massively outnumbered sector with numerous gunship incursions, and, I shouldn't have to remind you, gunships carry torpedoes! And guess where all of those torpedoes were aimed when the flagship showed?

Hmm, something here gets me wrong.

I understood "Tinza was an inside job" an ironic stab at the guys in here and now who spew things like "the moonlanding was a fake"...
The terminology you used here, I simply presume to be used as the people from Aachen (NL: Aken, FR: Aix-la-Chapelle) used it *: "I don't agree with you, but for the sake of arguments I say the following:"...

But still, please refrain from using that terminology here. Thank you.

[*]

SpoilerShow

Up until the 70's, in Aachen political culture there was a big difference between saying
"Du Arschloch", and "Sie Arschloch". The second was always an insult, the first one just used as: "you're a political opponent, and I don't agree with your conclusions, so let's give you my argumentation again, so that you may finally see the light". But the "Du" (informal "you") placed the addressed person on the same level as the speaker was (thus recognising him as "equal"), while the "Sie" (formal "you") placed the person at the bottom of a long staircase while the speaker saw himself at the top.

The first two levels of courts were placed in Aachen and saw no insult in "Du Arschloch" (as long as argumentations were still exchanged and given). Of course, the next instance, which is located in Cologne, decided that the pronoun does not matter, and that therefore both have to be considered to be insults.
That changed political debate culture in Aachen.

"Du" and "Sie" explained: https://www.german-way.com/history-and- ... u-and-sie/

[White]

Hhhmmmmmmmm~

I try to maintain a policy of "assume goodwill." I assume that your statement was joking, therefore I'd like to suppose that his response was joking as well.

On the chance that you weren't joking, White, that's not an acceptable way to conduct discussions on this board.

Haha, I was joking. And, I think MK_C was assuming goodwill as well, considering he quoted me as "Totally-Not-A-Mizol-I-Swear".

Which is a preposterous accusation, by the way.

I mean, why would anyone think I'm a Mizol? Because I don't engage with the ruinous conspiracy theories of traitors?

Oh, I meant how the fellow military Loroi who later came to free the systems would view it. As in, would they see the loss of life as neccesary, inevitable, or would the local commanders be charged with gross incompetence?

Of course, this was under the assumption that there were local commanders, who would have learned from their experiences with the Mannadi the potential consequences of such resistance.

It feels strange that you seem determined to blame the Loroi for what the Umiak did to them. So... in WWII, when the Maquis blew up a German train, and the Germans executed French civilians as a reprisal, is it your view that the resistance fighters were responsible for the civilian deaths, and should have been court-martialed for incompetence? (Not sure how you'd do that, as many of them weren't actually soldiers.) Does all the enemy have to do to get you to surrender into enslavement (or worse) is threaten to kill some civilians?

Consider what it means to be a warrior culture and a military oligarchy, and how the Loroi view death and duty. The individual Loroi serve the state, not the other way around. Civilians serve the warrior class, not the other way around. The Steppes partisans didn't know in advance what the Umiak response would be to resistance (though I doubt they thought it would be good), but they also didn't know what the Umiak response would be to surrender and submission, any more than the Jewish Maquis fighter knew what would happen to him family if he surrendered rather than resisting. (Spoiler: it didn't turn out well for those who surrendered.)

Thanks for answering. Although, I don't think I've been overly harsh to the loroi. I even said in my original comment that the Umaik were responsible.

I was just curious as to how the Military loroi would view those in charge of Seren afte the fact. (And, really, I was focusing my question specifically on those in charge. I said early on that I expected the average fighter to be remembered well.)

Of course, as you've said, there really wasn't anyone in charge, so I suppose it's a moot point.

[Mk_C]

I mean, why would anyone think I'm a Mizol? Because I don't engage with the ruinous conspiracy theories of traitors?

That's exactly what a Mizol agent would say.

SpoilerShow

[danuis]

In regards to Planet-bound combat, are Submarines still in any use? Putting the 'Navy' back into 'Space Navy', I guess. In any of the three powers, though as the Loroi worlds are the one feeling the brunt of the war, did they ever just say 'get in the Sub, we're going to take pop shots from the depths'?

[Arioch]

In regards to Planet-bound combat, are Submarines still in any use? Putting the 'Navy' back into 'Space Navy', I guess. In any of the three powers, though as the Loroi worlds are the one feeling the brunt of the war, did they ever just say 'get in the Sub, we're going to take pop shots from the depths'?

Naval vessels are primarily useful against opponents on the same planet. You can arm them with anti-orbital missiles, but any ship on the surface is a pretty easy target for a spacecraft in orbit. Subs might remain hidden if they're deep enough, but if they can't see you, you can't see them either, so you'll need external targeting information from surface sensors, and communication with a submarine that's gone deep will be problematic. I think that camouflaged underground missile silos would probably be more effective and much cheaper.

Ground war thread

[Mr.Tucker]

So then... how WOULD the Loroi react to our use of domesticated animals? Would they find it rational or reasonable? What about attachments, like say, to a cat?

[Arioch]

So then... how WOULD the Loroi react to our use of domesticated animals? Would they find it rational or reasonable? What about attachments, like say, to a cat?

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider176.html

Having rediscovered starflight and having explored many worlds and met many alien cultures, the Loroi in general have knowledge of or access to a wide variety of organisms that could be or already are domesticated. Loroi do use domestic animals, it's just that in pre-starflight times they had limited available options on Deinar and Taben (which are the source of the dominant modern Loroi culture). Deinar had the boar-like miros, which were farmed for meat and hides, and sometimes kept as pets. Perrein made use of a wide variety of semi-domesticated native organisms, including some kept as pets (though these were the kind of "pets" that you had to keep in a cage). Since the return to starflight, the Loroi have been able to gather together a larger collections of Soia-Liron domestic animals and some alien animals for use in the colonies, notably Maia. Spiral was born on a farm on Maia, and so she would have grown up around a variety of domestic animals.

Our favorite pets are domesticated from mammalian predators, and this is a niche that's empty in the available Soia-Liron set of domestic organisms. If the Soia colonists had the equivalent of guard dogs and rat-catchers, they don't appear to have survived.

[Mr.Tucker]

So... I assume the concept of keeping around an animal for comfort/companionship/engagement rather than utility is not unknown to them?

[Arioch]

So... I assume the concept of keeping around an animal for comfort/companionship/engagement rather than utility is not unknown to them?

I think there is probably very little that is "unknown" to the people of an interstellar empire spanning hundreds of systems and dozens of alien biomes. But the Loroi have a military culture, and so bringing a snuggly pet along on duty would be impossible for lower ranks, and contemptuously eccentric for someone of higher rank (though now that you mention it, that would be a hilarious quirk to add to one of the Loroi brass). But I can imagine Loroi children growing up on colonies with pet animals to having had a favorite pet as a small child.

Going down the list of known alien biomes -- there must be some animals in the Fenrias/Delrias/Morat panspermia (I can't think of a better word for it) that fit the niche of snuggly pet, and I can imagine a robust trade in small snuggly animals from the Tenuki world before the borders were closed. Derro has a goat/sheep analogue (dagiis/dakiis); it has a luxurious wool (which can be bred into bright colors), and gives a high-fat milk that the Neridi like to make cheese out of, and they breed miniature versions that are kept as pets in rural areas. The Mannadi have domesticated hunting "hounds" that are not the least bit cuddly. The Arekka homeworld also probably has some very brightly colored snuggly domesticated animals. Perrein has partially domesticated beimish that are kept in cages like songbirds (bioluminescent, poisonous songbirds that will lay eggs into your soft tissues while you're sleeping if they can get out of their cages). The Barsam use some species of Armis minnir for a kind of extreme falconry, but they're not yet fully domesticated. Amenal Taben children sometimes keep litipodi (small jawless fish similar to lancelets) in fishbowls like goldfish. Lenzano (Pipolsid homeworld) probably has all kinds of tropical marine creatures exported as food and/or pets. A Loroi colony called Begalona has trees with a flighted larval form (sirar, sort of like coral planulae, but looking like a cross between a maple seed and a giant moth) which Loroi children catch and fly like kites in the high winds between the day and night sides (the planet being tidelocked to its sun).

[Mr.Tucker]

I can imagine a robust trade in small snuggly animals from the Tenuki world before the borders were closed

HAH! I KNEW THOSE FURBALLS WERE SLAVERS!!!

Derro has a goat/sheep analogue (dagiis/dakiis); it has a luxurious wool (which can be bred into bright colors), and gives a high-fat milk that the Neridi like to make cheese out of, and they breed miniature versions that are kept as pets in rural areas.

Interesting. Might make good trade.

The Mannadi have domesticated hunting "hounds" that are not the least bit cuddly.

Hmmm... sounds like the slaver hounds from EVE Online lore.

Perrein has partially domesticated beimish that are kept in cages like songbirds (bioluminescent, poisonous songbirds that will lay eggs into your soft tissues while you're sleeping if they can get out of their cages).

Oh, Perein... never change.

Right, thank you for the infodump. I've found out a lot more than I'd bargained for. Cheers!

[wasp609]

I was reading the insider about ground warfare and i am now wondering what caste a Tonzadi and what their U.S. rank equivalent be. My first assumption is that they are Teidar which would made them equivalent to a Marine Corporal.

[Arioch]

I was reading the insider about ground warfare and i am now wondering what caste a Tonzadi and what their U.S. rank equivalent be. My first assumption is that they are Teidar which would made them equivalent to a Marine Corporal.

The Tonzadi is a squad leader, which could be a Corporal or Sergant in US Army terms. Even a baseline Teidar usually has a minimum rank roughly equivalent to our Second Lieutenant.

[GeoModder]

I think there is probably very little that is "unknown" to the people of an interstellar empire spanning hundreds of systems and dozens of alien biomes. But the Loroi have a military culture, and so bringing a snuggly pet along on duty would be impossible for lower ranks, and contemptuously eccentric for someone of higher rank (though now that you mention it, that would be a hilarious quirk to add to one of the Loroi brass). But I can imagine Loroi children growing up on colonies with pet animals to having had a favorite pet as a small child.

Going down the list of known alien biomes -- there must be some animals in the Fenrias/Delrias/Morat panspermia (I can't think of a better word for it) that fit the niche of snuggly pet, and I can imagine a robust trade in small snuggly animals from the Tenuki world before the borders were closed. Derro has a goat/sheep analogue (dagiis/dakiis); it has a luxurious wool (which can be bred into bright colors), and gives a high-fat milk that the Neridi like to make cheese out of, and they breed miniature versions that are kept as pets in rural areas. The Mannadi have domesticated hunting "hounds" that are not the least bit cuddly. The Arekka homeworld also probably has some very brightly colored snuggly domesticated animals. Perrein has partially domesticated beimish that are kept in cages like songbirds (bioluminescent, poisonous songbirds that will lay eggs into your soft tissues while you're sleeping if they can get out of their cages). The Barsam use some species of Armis minnir for a kind of extreme falconry, but they're not yet fully domesticated. Amenal Taben children sometimes keep litipodi (small jawless fish similar to lancelets) in fishbowls like goldfish. Lenzano (Pipolsid homeworld) probably has all kinds of tropical marine creatures exported as food and/or pets. A Loroi colony called Begalona has trees with a flighted larval form (sirar, sort of like coral planulae, but looking like a cross between a maple seed and a giant moth) which Loroi children catch and fly like kites in the high winds between the day and night sides (the planet being tidelocked to its sun).

Do tell, can we at some point expect to see an Insider travel guide?

[Mk_C]

Do tell, can we at some point expect to see an Insider travel guide?

For the love of everything we hold dear can we just keep this particular sort of inquiries down until Outsider is finished? You'll give him ideas!

[Krulle]

The hitchhiker's guide to the Union.

[kiwi]

The hitchhiker's guide to the Union.

Well now we need to know: what is the Loroi version of a Gin and Tonic, and how does it stack up against a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster?

[Krulle]

The answer is (36)[sub]12[/sub].

Edit:meh, no sub or sup tags....

I wonder if the Umiak (or Barsam if we stay within Unionspace) poetry is as bad as the Vogon's poetry.

[jterlecki]

What is the furthest the Loroi have ever reported going to/explored from their primary homeworld? This undoubtedly would have been pre-war.