The Bolitic themselves are not that large in number, the entire race is estimated to only number about 500 million. However the Bolitic make heavy use of subject races, especially in warfare. One area where Bolitic technology is second-to-none is in mind control drugs. The Bolitic are able to control armies of thousands of aliens and use them in suicidal ultraviolent battles against other Houses or enemy powers. The Bolitic do not hold back with any weapons, to them their slave armies are worthless and their ideal situation is to win the battle but have their slave army wiped out in winning it! Typically heavy use of NBC weapons is made. In one recent battle between 2 Houses it is estimated over a million aliens on both sides died in a single day with chemical and radiological weapons used freely. NBC weapons are not allowed on the home world however, in any event most warfare takes place on other planets or in space.
Bolitic warships are large and powerful, but also slum and lumbering. The Bolitic do not possess advanced engine technology so compensate with heavily protected and armed ships. Their current battlecruiser, the Snarl, can only reach around 300c but is powerful enough to hold it's own against types like the Quasar and Dinomark RS. The Bolitic can muster around 50 battlecruisers of the Snarl and older Helwin types plus a large number of smaller types.
In land warfare the Bolitic often show strange innovation with their weapons, they are very keen on their war zeppelins, though it may be these are preferred by barons and knights as it is a good way to get rid of ambitious (and therefore dangerous) underlings by putting them aboard a slow giant bag of gas over enemy lines. The Bolitic, if possible, like to fight with their swords.
Most warfare is between the various Houses, around 12 are powerful enough to possess fleets. The Bolitic can very easily put these differences aside to reunite to face a common foe (indeed it is said that inter-House warfare is the Bolitic equivalent of sport). There was a documented case of 2 Houses being engaged in bloody warfare, then they had to fight side by side to combat an attack by the Dinos, once this conflict ended the 2 Houses resumed their war as if nothing had happened.
Inter-House warfare keeps the Bolitic sharp and assists their weapon development however it does also weaken the Bolitic strength overall. The Central Authority harmonises various aspects of the weapon systems such as communication protocols so the Bolitic can fight as one easily. This does mean that some individual innovation is discouraged however.
6.12.07
Jimmy tries to save his career
Following the chaos of the televised debate where Jimmy was tricked by a rogue adviser into humiliating himself, his support collapsed to just 26.3% with M-B-H rising to 45.2%. Jimmy knew he had to do something quick to save his political career as the final vote is only in a few days. He appeared on TV this morning and announced that he had been tricked by Pircasa and was sorry to his supporters.
Then he said he took corruption very seriously and was resigning as Interior Minister with immediate effect. He said, if he was elected Consul, he would dedicate himself to pursuing and halting corruption in all spheres of public life. He would set up a dedicated anti-corruption agency to clean up Dino government.
The slide in his support has stopped and his support rallied slightly to 27.1% but M-B-H is still well ahead but on 45.7% is still short of a majority. The Senate Executive Officer Razorback has taken over temporary control of the Interior Ministry.
Then he said he took corruption very seriously and was resigning as Interior Minister with immediate effect. He said, if he was elected Consul, he would dedicate himself to pursuing and halting corruption in all spheres of public life. He would set up a dedicated anti-corruption agency to clean up Dino government.
The slide in his support has stopped and his support rallied slightly to 27.1% but M-B-H is still well ahead but on 45.7% is still short of a majority. The Senate Executive Officer Razorback has taken over temporary control of the Interior Ministry.
5.12.07
Understanding the Bolitic Confederacy (2) : Culture
Some may say Bolitic culture can be defined by one word : "war" or "violence" but in reality it is a little bit more complicated than that, however it is true that Bolitic culture is geared around warfare and combat. It is thought that the early Boliticians, when they were cut off from their homeland, had to struggle to survive on the rather bleak planet of Castarian and this struggle has influenced the society that came out of the colonist's survivors.
Bolitic society is based on the barony system, everyone has to be aligned to a baron (those living in non-baronial areas by default are aligned to the Emperor). The centre of life in each barony is the Baronial Residence which has 2 sides to it : civilian and military. All soldiers must approach the residence from the Fighting Gate side. Even in warfare enemy forces will not approach a residence from the civilian side even though this would give them a great advantage. Nowadays discreet security sensors are placed on the civilian side as aliens cannot be expected to follow the Boliticians' quirks.
Respect for authority is a key part of Bolitican culture, however also Bolitican knights and barons are expected be ambitious and seek to defeat their peers. Barons plot to defeat other barons and ultimately overthrow the Emperor so although the other barons respect the Emperor they all want to kill him. The Boliticians are a rather contradictory lot.
Slavery is a large part of Bolitican life, prisoners of war are automatically made slaves though can purchase their freedom, aliens are not so fortunate and countless alien slaves are hurled into Bolitican wars. There is no respect for the lower levels in society, knights care not if they send their squires into a suicidal battle and don't even bat an eyelid if thousands of alien slaves die.
Bolitic society is based on the barony system, everyone has to be aligned to a baron (those living in non-baronial areas by default are aligned to the Emperor). The centre of life in each barony is the Baronial Residence which has 2 sides to it : civilian and military. All soldiers must approach the residence from the Fighting Gate side. Even in warfare enemy forces will not approach a residence from the civilian side even though this would give them a great advantage. Nowadays discreet security sensors are placed on the civilian side as aliens cannot be expected to follow the Boliticians' quirks.
Respect for authority is a key part of Bolitican culture, however also Bolitican knights and barons are expected be ambitious and seek to defeat their peers. Barons plot to defeat other barons and ultimately overthrow the Emperor so although the other barons respect the Emperor they all want to kill him. The Boliticians are a rather contradictory lot.
Slavery is a large part of Bolitican life, prisoners of war are automatically made slaves though can purchase their freedom, aliens are not so fortunate and countless alien slaves are hurled into Bolitican wars. There is no respect for the lower levels in society, knights care not if they send their squires into a suicidal battle and don't even bat an eyelid if thousands of alien slaves die.
Understanding the Bolitic Confederacy (1) : Structure
In a new series, drawing on DDS, Sirikwanese and Dino intelligence resources we will examine the mysterious Bolitic Confederacy and attempt to draw light on this aggressive faction.
The Bolitic Confederacy are a warlike people descended from Dino settlers in the now little known original technical civilisation on Dino-Land millennia ago. The Bolitic are very different to the Dinos and hate them very much. The Bolitic Confederacy is a collection of hundreds of baronys all competing with each other for influence and resources though in reality only around 12 baronys are strong enough to have any real influence and maintain a space fleet, other baronys subcontract their resources and manpower to these elite.
Each barony is headed by a Baron who has an official residence and territory somewhere usually on the capital planet Castarian (though some recent baronys have set up on other worlds in the Confederacy). Bolitic society is rigidly hierarchical though money can provide a shortcut (see below). Baron titles are hereditary though the Baron's heir can (and increasingly is) passed over in favour of someone else. Murder is considered an acceptable way to replace the Baron but only by a legitimate heir, which is why most Barons send their sons away to seek service with other Barons as soon as they can hold a blaster.
The Bolitic Confederacy itself is headed by the Baron with the most powerful army and fleet, informally he is known as the Emperor though this title is unofficial. Currently Baron Aliowati has this position. He has survived at least 42 assassination attempts over the last few years, in fact it is over 200 years since the last "Emperor" died peacefully.
Other barons are often in combat against each other though the Emperor can order them to cease hostilities if he wishes, for example if the Bolitic have to pool forces against a common foe or the battlezone is close to where the Emperor wishes to play golf as happened recently.
Below the baron are the knights, who are the commanders of his army. These are freemen who are knighted by the Baron or are the sons of other knights. A knight cannot serve the same Baron as his father though and young knights when they come of age must leave the barony of their birth and seek employment elsewhere. Many, especially those not so good at fighting, do not succeed and instead are employed by the Central Facility. Knights who do find a new baron however then tend to remain with the barony for the rest of their lives, no matter how many times the baron himself is replaced. Trusted knights can hope to be chosen to succeed the baron though of course many just live out a life of service and then retire. A few knights do assemble the money they need to set up their own barony though as the amount needed is huge (5 million zarks alone for the various fees, probably 3 or 4 times that to actually set up a barony).
Knights (and barons for that matter) cannot be stripped of their titles though sons of knights in disgrace can be stripped of the right to inherit their father's status. Knights in disgrace are kicked out of their barony and often end up as outlaws, or enter civilian life. Selling insurance is a common occupation for them for some reason.
Below the knights are the freemen, civilian and military. The military are the footsoldiers of the Confederacy. Each owes allegiance to the knight first and then his baron second. Civilians tend to have allegiance to the baron in whose territory they live. For inhabitants of the major cities which fall outside of any barony allegiance tends to be to the Emperor. Freemen who excel in service can be knighted by the baron though there is no money shortcut to become a knight. Soldiers who cannot find the service of a knight are in a kind of limbo and many join the Central Facility.
The Bolitic Confederacy are a warlike people descended from Dino settlers in the now little known original technical civilisation on Dino-Land millennia ago. The Bolitic are very different to the Dinos and hate them very much. The Bolitic Confederacy is a collection of hundreds of baronys all competing with each other for influence and resources though in reality only around 12 baronys are strong enough to have any real influence and maintain a space fleet, other baronys subcontract their resources and manpower to these elite.
Each barony is headed by a Baron who has an official residence and territory somewhere usually on the capital planet Castarian (though some recent baronys have set up on other worlds in the Confederacy). Bolitic society is rigidly hierarchical though money can provide a shortcut (see below). Baron titles are hereditary though the Baron's heir can (and increasingly is) passed over in favour of someone else. Murder is considered an acceptable way to replace the Baron but only by a legitimate heir, which is why most Barons send their sons away to seek service with other Barons as soon as they can hold a blaster.
The Bolitic Confederacy itself is headed by the Baron with the most powerful army and fleet, informally he is known as the Emperor though this title is unofficial. Currently Baron Aliowati has this position. He has survived at least 42 assassination attempts over the last few years, in fact it is over 200 years since the last "Emperor" died peacefully.
Other barons are often in combat against each other though the Emperor can order them to cease hostilities if he wishes, for example if the Bolitic have to pool forces against a common foe or the battlezone is close to where the Emperor wishes to play golf as happened recently.
Below the baron are the knights, who are the commanders of his army. These are freemen who are knighted by the Baron or are the sons of other knights. A knight cannot serve the same Baron as his father though and young knights when they come of age must leave the barony of their birth and seek employment elsewhere. Many, especially those not so good at fighting, do not succeed and instead are employed by the Central Facility. Knights who do find a new baron however then tend to remain with the barony for the rest of their lives, no matter how many times the baron himself is replaced. Trusted knights can hope to be chosen to succeed the baron though of course many just live out a life of service and then retire. A few knights do assemble the money they need to set up their own barony though as the amount needed is huge (5 million zarks alone for the various fees, probably 3 or 4 times that to actually set up a barony).
Knights (and barons for that matter) cannot be stripped of their titles though sons of knights in disgrace can be stripped of the right to inherit their father's status. Knights in disgrace are kicked out of their barony and often end up as outlaws, or enter civilian life. Selling insurance is a common occupation for them for some reason.
Below the knights are the freemen, civilian and military. The military are the footsoldiers of the Confederacy. Each owes allegiance to the knight first and then his baron second. Civilians tend to have allegiance to the baron in whose territory they live. For inhabitants of the major cities which fall outside of any barony allegiance tends to be to the Emperor. Freemen who excel in service can be knighted by the baron though there is no money shortcut to become a knight. Soldiers who cannot find the service of a knight are in a kind of limbo and many join the Central Facility.
Raegris fleet developments
The first Raegris built Isometric frigate, the DF-1, has been launched at a ceremony on the Raegris homeland. The DF-1 is based on the Isometric-E platform but of the highest optional specification and is also similar to the future DDS Battle class frigate.
The Raegris are also building Pentekonter-Es for export customers and have ordered 3 for themselves for the training and local patrol roles. The type will be the lower end of the specification options and will be known as the PC-1. Deliveries are expected in 2110.
Meanwhile the unaligned planet of Helinox has said it is interested in procuring Pentekonter-Es.
The Raegris are also building Pentekonter-Es for export customers and have ordered 3 for themselves for the training and local patrol roles. The type will be the lower end of the specification options and will be known as the PC-1. Deliveries are expected in 2110.
Meanwhile the unaligned planet of Helinox has said it is interested in procuring Pentekonter-Es.
Jimmy campaign in chaos as M-B-H roars ahead
Jimmy's support has collapsed mere days before the final vote for the 2108-2110 Consul after a catastrophic error in a debate between the 2 men live on TV. It is thought a key member in Jimmy's Liberal Party was really working for Veritas = Truth. In the debate Jimmy produced a document which he said proved financial misdealings in M-B-H's Culture Ministry but when the document was actually read it was an Audit Office document proving corruption at Jimmy's Interior Ministry!
Jimmy did not read the document which had been given to him by his assistant Centurion Pircasa. Following the debate Pircasa could not be contacted but one source said he was seen in the company of Sleeze and M-B-H.
Jimmy's support has collapsed to just 27% with M-B-H rising to 45%. Quite a lot of voters are still undecided but surely M-B-H's jibes at Jimmy that he was incompetant must be heavy on their minds.
Jimmy did not read the document which had been given to him by his assistant Centurion Pircasa. Following the debate Pircasa could not be contacted but one source said he was seen in the company of Sleeze and M-B-H.
Jimmy's support has collapsed to just 27% with M-B-H rising to 45%. Quite a lot of voters are still undecided but surely M-B-H's jibes at Jimmy that he was incompetant must be heavy on their minds.
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