>NOw reading that was better than a mocha frapacino and a cherry
>turover. that's for starting my morning the right way.
>
>>There are many smaller mercenary fleets which come and go through
>>history which look with envy and mistrust at the CFMF... mostly
>>because the CFMF tends to steal their 'best and brightest.' There is
>>also a friendly rivalry between WDF and CFMF, and after the founding
>>of the Federation a -much less- friendly rivalry between the UFP
>>Starfleet and CFMF.
>
>Can you go into more detail here? Clearly this problem exists before
>the defrocking of Aya.

It goes back to the IA-Texas campaigns of 2368, as below. Although technically a joint effort between all its member worlds, the UFP Starfleet is predominantly human in makeup and leadership... and prejudices.

Starfleet doesn't have any love for -any- mercenary service, including the Wedge Defense Force... but they -really- aren't overfond of a certain fleet which humiliated the then-tiny Earth defenses in 2368.

>I take it that with the Psi Act Earthdome operatives will try to
>inflitrate the CFA and CFMF. Are CFA citizens covered by the same
>protections as CFMF personnel?

It greatly depends on the situation. However, the CFMF has denied the Psi Corps any access or authority on CFMF vessels, on the grounds that the Psi Act is (in the CFMF leadership's eyes) a violation of the Articles of Federation.

Since there are several psi-active species with large representation in the Freespacer population (Vulcans and Daleks having been mentioned in released text), the number of Psi Corps operatives active on Freespacer ships is pretty small, to the point that in ten years of the Psi Act no Freespacer national has -ever- been detained by the Psi Corps.

>> Virtually
>>the only legislation of note he put forward in those seventy years
>>that passed was the Proto-Sapients Act, which gave protection for
>>those sapient species which, due to morphology, level of intelligence
>>or other conditions, could be abused by other races.
>
>Nani? Can we have some examples. For example Jigglypuffs aren't
>covered by this. Neither is Dorothy, but than again, some people
>don't cosider her sapient.

The Turing Accords pre-dated the P-S Act; I'm not certain, but I think they might even predate the WDF.

The P-S Act was written with a specific species in mind, Zarathustran Fuzzies. Also covered were species such as Sphinxian treecats. More detail on this, and on any application to Pokemon, is for someone else to tell.

>>The Freespacers began an entertainment network and production company
>>as part of the Zardon Civil War; it continued on after the war.
>>"Washuu's Lab" is the only show the Freespacers produced in the 24th
>>Century to achieve galaxy-wide popularity.
>
>Dare I ask what other shows were part of the CFN lineup?

A few examples of shows running concurrent with "Washuu's Lab" produced by CFN: "Smuggler's Blues" - a drama about blockade-runners; "The Narn, The Centauri, and Margaret Moore" - sitcom about three unlikely roommates; "For the Money" - yet another docudrama about past CFMF engagements; and "Apogee" - a soap opera about families on an orbital habitat. Of the samples, none lasted more than three seasons; NCMM never broadcasted seven of the thirteen episodes taped.

In UF, as a general rule, Freespacer television is about as popular among Federation citizens as Welsh television is among inhabitants of Great Britain.

>>Star Kingdom of Manticore, two systems/four worlds/three stars, Enigma
>>Sector, settled from Earth c. 2030. Not a Federation member world, but
>>
>>Barrayaran Star Empire, three systems of one world each, Enigma Sector
>>bordering the Cardassian Regime, settled c. 2040.
>
>Fascinating. If both Barrayar and Manticore are in the Enigma sector,
>wouldn't they be in competition? Oooh, I'd pay to see _that_ war.

First, a sector is a cube hundreds of light-years on a side. It's not a small place.

Second, thanks to the space-warping effects of Enigma's many, many, many black holes, gravity waves, and other anomalies, Enigma is much larger on the inside than it is on the outside.

>Second, isn't there a problem with your numbers?
>
>Manticore has (in DW's version) 1 system, three worlds (Manticore,
>Gryphon, and Sphinx). Barrayar prior to LB's meeting between Cordelia
>and Aral has two systems two worlds (Barrayar and Komarr).
>
>Have you decided to (a) add more worlds and systems for the heck of
>it. (b) include the systems of Trevor's Star and Sergyar in your UF
>versions?

(b) is close. You are neglecting the Basilisk System in Manticore's case, and Sergyar was recognized as Barrayaran territory in the peace which ended the Escobar war. I don't think there's a Trevor's Star in UF, as Hoffman fits its role just as well.

>Also, I noticed the lack of discussion on Manticore. Is this because
>you don't what DW's men in black to hunt you down? Just curious.

No, it's because Manticore in UF is someone else's to tell about, if at all.

In any case, I wasn't aware that David Weber was opposed to fanfics.

>>The net result was that Aral was stripped of rank and title
>>and exiled from Barrayar; out of respect for his father, the hero of
>>the Cardassian occupation, his bloodline was not attainted, and thus
>>any male offspring he would have would succeed Piotr as Count.
>
>Ezar must have been feeling generous. Nifty.

I'm not allowed to say what was going through Ezar's mind, but generosity wasn't it. }:-{D

>>Not a lot. Only the Zardon Republic's Department of Justice and the
>>Earth Alliance do not respect the Freespacer pledge of amnesty, and
>>both of these are a result of incidents in the 2360s.
>
>What happened???? I don't recall anything significant and your
>history doesn't seem to indicate what could have been the problem.

The Zardon Judges' revocation is tied up with someone else's possible story, if it is ever written.

>>Yes, during their brief war against Earth. The small Gamilon
>>expatriate community in the Freespacer Alliance dates from just after
>>that war.
>
>Whose brief war? Gamilon v. Earth of CFMF v. Earth?

More like Gamilon v. Earth/CFMF/others, but again the details are another's to tell if they choose to.

>>>What was it like for Washu to teach on Tomodachi?
>>
>>Humbling.
>
><grin> I thought Skuld didn't go to school.

Skuld was around; that was sufficient.

>>As is alluded to in Wilderness, Washuu spent the entire 23rd Century
>>watching after Redneck's affairs, including a term of office as chief
>>of state of the Freespacer nation. After Sonset she took on an
>>apprentice and provided an occasional service to Lt. Cdr. Martin
>>Rose's group of WDF officers, which became "ThunderForce".
>
>Like what? Did some one need an atomic wedgie?

Possibly. Not my story to tell, at this time.

>>The United States government, bordering on bankruptcy itself, decided
>>to allow California to go in peace; most of the southern USA, in
>>reaction seceded to defend what it called 'the empire of democracy.'
>>Imperial Americana promptly declared war on California, and the USA,
>>Canada and Russia declared war on the Americana, and other wars popped
>>up here and there, and it took ten years of constant war before things
>>settled down.
>
>When did the Third world war occur? Why didn't the WDF intervene?

The Third World War, if memory serves, began almost immediately after the demise of the Wayward Son.

>>In the 2350s, Imperial Americana fought a very
>>short, very decisive war with Mexico, which restored the Valley of
>>Mexico to its prior status as a lake, and a lake which glowed in the
>>dark at that. With its southern border emphatically secured, Imperial
>>Americana stripped Texas of troops for its main battle line along the
>>Ohio and Potomac Rivers.
>
>Damn, it's Chapultepec Castle all over again. Damn you Yankees!

If you want to be technical, it was the Confederacy (sort of) what dunnit. }:-{D

>>Desperate to
>>stave off a total unravelling of its position on Earth, GENOM used its
>>client nations' influence (California, IA, and the Holy Republic of
>>Munma) to sever diplomatic ties with the Freespacers and engineer the
>>CFMF's exit from the war.
>
>How did that happen? IS it tied to the rise of Olympus?

No. Olympus had been in action for some thirty to fifty years before this.

However, California and Imperial Americana possessed strong enough economies to influence Olympus, and the Holy Republic of Munma held the balance of power in the Middle East, and as such they had serious political clout when combined. (The combination is ironic, since Imperial Americana's subsidies were the only thing sustaining the existence of Israel at that point...)

>>The Republic of Texas took control of
>>its historic territory, plus Oklahoma and the southwestern corner of
>>Louisiana, and became one of three Earth nations which did not join
>>the Earth Alliance.
>
>We know Zanzibar is one. Who is the other?

The Argentine Empire.

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