Starship Troopers: Coalition. (SST RPG. SWN System. F/Any. Seeking GM)

[Lustful Bride]

"The War rages on! Three years after the capture of the first Brain bug on Planet-P, we still need you! We have the ships, we have the weapons! But we need Soldiers and Pilots! Only by working together will mankind survive the Arachnid menace! Do your part today and earn your citizenship!"

The FedNet News tells the same story day in and day out. 'The bug is no match for the fighting men and women of the Federation!', 'Everyone is doing their part, are you?' or 'The Skinnies are nothing more than a marauding band of slavers, no true organized threat.'. On and on it goes, but the truth is the Federation is just barely holding back to the two front war against two separate bands of alien hostiles. The endless and unrelenting swarm of the Arachnid swarm, and the technologically advanced slave raids of the Skinny Clans. Federation losses are ugly, morale is eroding away and public support for the war dwindles to a defeatist attitude. Especially in the outer colonies, where the threat of invasion is constant.

The Bugs can shoulder casualties much better than the federation can, and are more able to play the long game of attrition with the humans as they continue to expand to other parts of the galaxy, seeding more hives to spread their influence until the Arachnids rule all that is, was, and ever will be. With the Federation stretched across a wide front, fighting back the endless swarm, the propaganda machine can only spin things so far. A true victory is needed, and the bugs know this. They deny it to the Federation by using infiltrators and control bugs to sow chaos behind the battle lines and get the civilian populace more riled up, or using elected officials and military officers to hurt the Federation war machine and getting the public even more against the military.

Several federation worlds have already been considered for being sacrificed to the Bugs in order to pull back to other tactical positions and protecting worlds that would be more critical to the war effort. But it would still hurt them more than it would hurt the bugs to do so. A sign of just how grim things are really looking now.

Even those who used to be staunchly pro-war are beginning to feel the pressure, and beginning to wonder if surrender to the bugs is possible. Things are not looking good, the Federation needs a true win or something that can ease the pressure of off them. This lucky break will come from their more ignored front with the Skinnies.

Most of the Mobile Infantry and Fleet have been pulled towards the Arachnid front, leaving behind only a token force to prevent or offer retaliation against skinny raids. The few forces left there have a real grudge against the Skinnies. Only a handful of clans have agreed to speak with Federation representatives and opened up some miniscule trade or agreed to not conduct slave raids on human colonies. But most adhere so strictly to their caste system that they see speaking to humans as being beneath them. Humans have no caste and are therefore unworthy of any kind of mercy or respect. To them it is almost a mercy for humans to serve as slaves and gladiators for the 'superior' species. This mentality is very evident in the level of cruelty shown to those unfortunate enough to be caught during a raid.

The Federal forces there are spoiling for some payback, to make the Skinny Clans pay for the abuses they have inflicted upon the humans. They have seen families ruined, victims scarred or mentally broken. Too many times they have arrived late and found only empty towns, or shivering survivors. They need a chance to get some real catharsis. They get it when a probe manages to catch another raiding party on the move, it was a small one but they would take what they could get.

The Skinny ships were moving towards an uncharted world past Federation borders (and not in suspected Skinny territory) that showed signs of civilization. The retaliation group believed that it might have been a staging ground for the raiders, or perhaps an unregistered colony of humans who elected not to live under Federation rule.

Either way it didn't really matter. For once they had the element of surprise against the aliens. If they could hit the raiding party now, they hoped to capture the leaders of the raid and break the back of this group. Sending a nice message to the Skinnies and ensuring the populace that the military wasn't just sitting on its hands.

But once they jumped into system, they found out things were different. It wasn't a staging area. It was a raid underway. There was wreckage of alien ships in orbit, and signs of fighting on the ground. It wasn't the typical lightning raid that the Skinnies employed on human colonies. It was as much about killing the ones on the ground as it was about taking slaves. There was so much malice in the attack, that it wasn't the same 'for profit and glory' style moves of previous raids.

But despite the presence of a third alien race, the Federation forces were keyed up for a fight, and engaged the Skinnies.

The raiders were not prepared to be engaged by humans, and between the MI, Fleet, and local defenders, the raiders were given a bloody nose, and sent into retreat. Some dropships even left without picking up slaves or even their own soldiers.

The locals prepared to be engaged by the humans, only to find themselves primarily ignored as the Feds gave their all to give the Skinnies a reason to run faster. By the end of it both sides were left staring at each other and attempting to pantomime negotiations for who should be in charge of the Skinny POWs.

A month of attempted talks later, translations, and misunderstandings later, the aliens officially opened diplomatic relations with the Terran Federation.

These new aliens call themselves the Velgril, meaning 'storyweavers' in their native tongue, though its not an exact translation.

Their people were not a violent one, though they did have a defense force and did occasionally have crimes of passion and anger, though not to the same levels as humans did. Warfare among their society was mostly a lot of chest thumping mixed with espionage, assassinations, and commando raids. It wasn't utterly alien to them to have a pitched battle, but they had never had the world spanning conflicts like those of Humanity.

They had suffered under attacks by the Skinnies and the Bugs without provocation. The arrival of the Federation was the first (relatively) peaceful Alien contact that they'd had. As soon as the survivors on the colony were able to help establish diplomatic talks, the Velgril were more than happy to roll out the red carpet for the Federation, and almost a year later there was now a set of active trade routes going between their territories, some of the Vel were even willing to enlist in the Terran Fleet to gain citizenship and to show that their people can pull their own weight. Very few of them enlist for the Mobile Infantry, and those that do usually take on a support role, working logistics, tech support, engineering, etc.

Their species is an interesting one, very different from humans in many ways, not the least of which being that they have a level of control over their bodies that allow them to shift their forms in ways that the Federation would very much like to learn about. Hence why they allow some of them to enlist, where they can be kept under close watch, and study their shape shifting abilities. Though some Vel spies have already made it into the Federation and kept an eye on the scientific studies made by the Humans. For their less violent nature, the Vel were quite adept at the art of espionage and backstabbing.

The contact with the humans was a very beneficial event for the Vel. No longer were they fighting alone. No longer were they surrounded on all sides by foes who were more capable at war than they were. No longer were they boxed in and trying to make the best use of their resources. With a new ally (one who were much more capable as warriors) they now had supply lines to help their aching economy, and someone to bleed instead of them for a change. In exchange they were willing to agree to allow Terran ships to dock at their ports, to establish bases on their worlds, and share patrol duties against the bugs and Skinnies. There was even talk of sharing more than just civilian technologies.

To the humans it looked as if the Vel had agreed to almost every term that had been asked for, but the higher ups of the Vel knew what they were doing. Humans are easy to use if you know how to push their buttons. Appealing to their nationalistic pride and self imposed image as galactic warriors ensures they are happy to fight to protect the 'weak and delicate Velgril people.'

For the Federation the meeting is a propaganda victory that boosts morale at a critical point. The Federation needed this, and is abit more lenient on the Vel, portraying them as a humble and mysterious alien race. A species of story telling shape shifters who, while strange, is ultimately friendly. It cannot risk a war with a third species at this time, and would benefit more from cooperation.

Though plans are being drawn up for what to do with them once the Arachnid and Skinny threat has been removed. For the time being though, a force of MI and Fleet and Psicorps are being deployed to Velgril space to protect them from their mutual fiends, in the spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit.

Whether this show of friendship and cooperation will benefit one or both species in the long run waits to be seen. It was not an encounter that either the Skinnies or Bugs would have wanted to happen, as it makes things more difficult. But perhaps its for the best, better to wipe out two threats together than just one.



So I will just admit up front that this idea is an odd one and not as well written as it could have been. I struggled with how to really show what I was looking for and I am still not 100% happy with it. Hopefully I didn't present it too poorly. Its an idea that has been kicking around in my head for some time now and my muse will not calm down until I finally write it all out and get it out there in the world.

I am looking to play within the setting of the Starship Troopers Tabletop RPG, as depicted by the old Mongoose Publishing canon. That being said I have decided that it would be best to play this setting out with the System for Stars Without Number. In my opinion (and those of some friends I have asked) using SWN will be so much easier than trying to make things work for the old Mongoose system. It will require some work, but I do think that it can be made viable for this. Especially in regards to the changes I want to make.

I have all of the Starship Troopers RPG books (in PDF form), as well as most of the Stars Without Numbers books (In PDF form), so I am more than happy to share them with anyone who wants to join me in this game.

I am looking to play in the setting but to add on to it so that there is more to do than just go from bug swarm to bug swarm. Especially adding in intrigue with this new (and friendly) alien race that seeks a deeper connection with humanity. Perhaps the Velgril infiltrating the Federation might be a good thing for future generations as they tone down the fascist vibes of the human government, and make it more amenable to long-term coexistence. The irony of the Federations salvation being in manipulation by aliens is too good to pass up.

Part of the inspiration, believe it or not, was me watching the new She-Ra animated series and being heavily inspired by the character of Double Trouble, the shapeshifting nature, the ease with which they took forms and personalities, the playfulness. They really reminded me of Envy from FMA (which is a big plus for me) and I began to wonder about their species, how a culture could form with such an ability and a playthrough of Stellaris, and a healthy dose of ADHD later and here we are. The character in question who helped inspire the idea.

From there it somehow ended up with me thinking about a species of shapeshifters within the SST setting that would possible fill the role that had once been planned for the species of The Forth and The Coven (which were going to be part of the RPG but the license was lost before the publisher could add them in.) I am not thinking of making She-Ra canon to the setting, moreso using Double Trouble as a template for what the Velgril could be like and a common appearance they take when dealing with humans. They prefer not to show their true form to anyone but themselves and know that humans prefer dealing with things that look like themselves.

Here is a great forum with a lot of information on the SST universe, some of it from the RPG and tabletop miniatures game.

Part of what I had thought up is more than up for debate and interpretation but their shapeshifting nature made me think about their evolution affecting their mindset. They survived via mimicry and possibly either through parasitism, commensalism, or through mutualism. (This might determine ethnicities among them.) They mimicked their predators and friendly species of their home world. Evolution and technology only made them better at mimicry. Until running into the Federation and deciding that it might be better to be a combination of all three when given the choice between Humans, Skinnies, and Bugs. (and possibly the other races that were not able to make it into canon because the other rpg books were not finished and they lost the license.)

Their shapeshifting is a combination of alien stemcells, nanotechnology, light psionics, and some other scifi BS ::) Its space magic, we don't have to explain it beyond technobabble :P

They can let the humans do the fighting while they handle crops, trade, medicine and other boring things while fawning over the oh so mighty Federation to make the humans feel like they are the big strong heroes and keeping the shapeshifters safe from their shared enemies. While they decide if it is safe or necessary to subvert/infiltrate the Federation. Their spies are already well entrenched in some areas of the Federation, one lucky agent even made it all the way to Earth completely undetected, and acting as a mistress for a member of the Federation's council.

But most are happy with cutting an alliance and engaging in trade with the Federation. It makes life simpler and the humans are not bad to look at.

Here's how one of them would put it. (also an old Prompt I shared with a friend to help give you an idea of how I pictured them.)

"Besides, why wouldn't our people want this? A friendly alien empire offering to keep us safe from our enemies? In exchange for grain, shiny rocks, and fuel sources we don't even use anymore? Its a good deal and really its not like our people haven't allied with other species before. Though none of them had technology and were really just animals. Its evolution really, my people survived by mimicry, and over a few million years we evolved to be able to mimic our predators and friendly species while yours evolved to tame the ones they liked, and wipe out the ones that threatened them. Killing just didn't come all that naturally to us Vel, too barbaric even for our animalistic days. So we used an even better trick to keep ourselves alive. To the point we only got better at it as we evolved consciousness and Psionic abilities. Then we only perfected it as we learned to make fire, grow crops, harvest silks, and make machines to scare our predators away rather than hiding from them. Then we learn how to sail on solar winds into the ocean of stars, and our evolutionary ability turns out to be less useful than a fancy dress  in a firefight, when on other planets and with other intelligent life....if the bugs can even be called intelligent."

"We could barely mimic the Skinnies, and not for an extended period of time, and we could never do anything with the Ahn Raku...oh I'm sorry the 'Arachnids'. I like our name for them to be honest, its more menacing and dramatic. It means 'Conquering Shadow.'.

But it wasn't pretty when we first made contact and they followed us home. Those four, six, and eight legged freaks took over several colonies and put a real fear of extermination in us. It was easier to blast their ships from a distance or their swarms from orbit, but on the ground? Oh, there they were the kings. You can have the best ships around but at a certain point you need someone on the ground to blow up those Plasma bugs before they bring your ship down, or someone to go down into the hives to burn the eggs so the cycle doesn't start all over again.

Pushing buttons to send bombs or focused electrons is easy but shooting a gun or swinging a sword in the heat of battle? Not really in our nature...tsk tsk tsk… we really should have built war robots like your people did. Would have at least slowed the Ahn Raku down. But it doesn't matter now, you are here, we signed our little alliance papers, and now the Federation keeps us safe while we pay you a tithe now and again and let you use our colonies for bases. Some of us can even be citizens if we want to, and its so much easier to mimic you than a Skinny or a Bug. Just yesterday I finished a commission filming a commercial for Zegema Beach Resorts. All I had to do was 'look handsome and human' while I pose and smile. Easiest credits I ever made. But there are so many other benefits to this."

"Not the least of which being all the new stories you bring us. I've got to tell you, Hamlet? Best drama I've read in years. But aside from that you're all so big and strong, even your females, you're natural warriors. You are inclined to fight, and yet, unlike the bugs, you are reasonable enough to appreciate the arts, and even make arts of your own. Darling I think the Velgril and the Federation are going to have a very long and very mutually beneficial relationship. Though your people's sense of dress is really drab. What's with all the dark and gray colors? Do you even have nanofibers for your vestments? I guess that's what happens when you focus most of your economy and science on blowing scary things up."


(I personally like the idea of the Vel actually taking over the Federation, or at least a Sky Marshal or parts of the council, in order to make it better from within, and ironically being the ones to expose bug infiltrators and control bugs that would have otherwise caused horrible catastrophes if left unchecked. It might get to the point that the Vel have a secret spy war going on inside of the Federation to root out the bugs and keep their allied war machine going. The shape shifters work to keep the Federation from ever deciding to wipe them out while pointing their xenophobic attitudes to their shared foes. This way the war stays away from the dozen or so Vel worlds, and a defense is already prepared for whatever other horrors the galaxy may have.

Never being parasitic just always shifting between Commensalism and Mutualism with their new ally. But if the Federation does prove to be a true threat to them, there are more than a few unhappy humans in it that would prove to benefit from a shape shifting parasite on their side. (The RPG books mention at least two small rebel factions that could help lead a larger rebellion against the Federation in the outer colonies.)

Part of their inspiration also kind of comes from the cuckoo bird, how it will hide its eggs with another bird to allow them to raise and keep its young safe. But I want to portray it in more of a positive light.

I had the idea as well that Skinnies take the shape shifters as slaves, but not what for, (Not sexual but some shifters would rather die than be taken.) And it led me to writing out something from the Skinny POV, what harsher torture is there for someone who can change forms at will, than to be forced to stay in only one?

Such a filthy species. Living an entire existence upon lies. Lying to the universe, to one another, and worst of all to themselves. Its actually worse than the casteless humans! What kind of a life is that? To be born not knowing what you will be? What fate has decided for you. At least they know who they are, but these....these things can't even figure out their own gender! Disgusting! But they have their uses, they are quite entertaining as they struggle to pull off their collars, as they are made to bleed in the gladiatorial arena, as they plead not to be given their blocker drugs, as they remain in the forms we choose for them, as pets, as entertainment. I sometimes wonder if they are even sentient? Some among my clan say they are because they speak. But the humans have an avian pet that perfectly mimics them. Should that creature be given the title of sentience as well?...I thought not.

-Clan Leader Ta'hat Ruko. Main proponent of the slave raids conducted on Humans and Vel.

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Though if (like me) you are familiar with the old TV show, don't worry not all the Skinnies are Evil, some clans, like the one that T'Phai is from can be reasoned with and are not even sure why the policy of the clans changed all of a sudden and they are being made to attack humans and Vel, and take them as slaves and gladiators. The old policy for the longest time was just to ignore them, plain and simple.
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The Skinny people are many things, Raider, Slaver, disunited and fractured. But we know the importance of honesty, and unlike your kind, we do not build our lives upon being the best liars to our own souls. If your kind even have such a thing.

Oh we have souls...monster....and I swear upon mine that somehow, no matter how long it takes, one day, one of my kind is going to find a way, and free us. And if they don't, I guarantee you that they will find a way to kill you and your whole fucking clan!"

"More lies, it seems that lying is the only true language your kind speak. You say you evolved mimicry, but that in and of itself is a lie, you evolved to be parasites. Lying your way about the stars as you infect the universe. You have no right to beg and plead, to claw and scratch, when those you infect burn you away like the ticks you are."

If you are curious about what the Velgril actually look like in what can be considered their 'true' form you can see my idea for them here.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

If you need a more solid story up front, we could also start off an adventure of a new Terran Federation Ship being rolled out of the drydock. The 'Manticore", as it is called, was made with a combination of Terran, Skinnie, and Velgril, technology. Its design is experimental and it isn't the Dreadnaught class ship that they had been hoping for, but instead works as an all purpose ship. A complement of fighters, bombers, and transports are stored within a small hangar. A force of Mobile Infantry and Marauders. A small laboratory for experimentation and scientific study. But its main benefits are its sublight and FTL engines making it faster than almost any other Terran ship, and carrying with it a mixture of Terran missiles and Velgril energy weapons.

The Terran high command decides that it is more suitable for quick strikes into enemy territory and for rapid response to Arachnid incursions into friendly space, able to get there and strike at the bugs before they have too much of a chance to dig in, or worse, to establish a nest.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

If you need a specific character concept to start off with, I have two. An Internal Affairs Agent and a frontline Mobile Infantry trooper. Each option giving a different flavor to the setting and way for us to play out this twist on the setting.

Rosalinda Marshall Reyes is a Psi-Operative of the Federation's Internal Affairs Bureau. The IAB is constantly working in the background of the United Citizen's Federation. Their eyes are everywhere and their ears can hear the slightest bit of dissent being uttered by Citizen or Civilian. Contrary to popular belief though, they don't really care when people are blowing off steam and bad mouthing the Sky-Marshall or how much they have to pay in taxes.

They are focused much more on actual acts of sedition and insurgency. Every member of the IAB has been chosen for their loyalty to the Federation and the safety, security, and prosperity that it offers to the human diaspora spread out amongst the stars. This used to deal more with organized crime, piracy, and the rare act of insurrection in the outer colonies. But ever since the Bug War began, the IAB has been stretching itself thin fighting countless fires across all of Terran Federal space.

There was already some brewing discontent out in the colonies, but the war has made some of these tensions boil over. Certain outer colonies have been trying to secede from the Federation, either through political voting, or through violent uprising. The last time this happened openly was the "New Madrid Madness". An uprising by local militias over Federal regulations that were standard everywhere else.

This was also what put Rosalinda on the path to joining the IAB. She lived in New Madrid with her parents, near a port city that was taken over by the insurgents, angry about taxes, about workloads, about the regulations on how many children a family could have. You name it, they were mad about it. Their ideology seemed to change every time you asked them, sometimes even fighting with one another, but the only thing that truly united all these different groups was their shared hatred of the Federation. They would see their world free of Federal Scum, or see it burn.

And burn it did.

Multiple cities became hellscapes of looting and fighting, even those who might have supported the insurgents to some degree or another were not safe. Rosalinda's mother had once been a proud supporter of the Miner's union on the planet, right up until those same miners used mining charges to blow up a bridge out of the city with people still on it. Trapping the Reyes family inside of the city, with nothing to do but hide and pray for peace, or death in their sleep...

To this day Rosalinda still remembers the fear she had every day while hiding out with her parents in a basement. Always worrying they wouldn't make it back as they went out in the night to find scraps of food, or trembling at the sound of footsteps near the basement door....and screaming when the door was kicked open by a gaggle of insurgents.

Sometimes she still has nightmares about those men dragging her mother away after they knocked her father down. Martha Reyes was gone for hours, and Rosa had been too scared to go out and find her, while her father had been too hurt to pursue the kidnappers, and even if he hadn't been, he just couldn't risk himself dying and leaving Rosa all alone in this hellhole.

Hours later, they heard footsteps once more, and a shuffling, trembling woman came into the basement. It was Rosalinda's mother. It was a miracle she wasn't killed and had even managed to make it back to them, but the state of her clothing told her husband everything he needed to know. Yet the woman did her best to play it off to her daughter, even as her eyes were occasionally full of tears and she was constantly on the edge of breaking down into sobs. Her mother still refuses to talk about what happened, and just acts as if it never occurred, smiling even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.

Her father's physical scars have healed, but when she looks in his eyes, she sees the pain is still there. He never forgave himself for failing to protect his family and made up for it by overcompensating and becoming an overprotective parent. It's no wonder that Rosalinda found herself more comfortable with the IAB than the Mobile Infantry.

The rest of their stay underground is mostly a blur for Rosalinda. Save for the night when there were loud detonations in the sky above the city and out in the ocean past the ports. The whole city shook with explosion after explosion, yet they were far more coordinated than what had happened the day the city fell to the dissidents that initially took it. This went on into almost the early morning where it was followed by the near constant staccato of gunfire and shouting, before finally stopping with announcements broadcast on every channel, from vehicles, from handheld megaphones, and from passing aircraft.

The planet's 'liberation' had come as the Feds issued their response to the insurgents.

Mobile Infantry companies arrived within two months of the uprising, just when the final loyalist regiments in the capitol and were about to break. The Fleet bombed the strongest insurrectionist positions from orbit, while the MI went in and mopped up the stragglers, or chased them out of the populated areas, before a three-month campaign of hunting them down through the wilds.

By the time the troops were rolling through the port city, the insurgency had been broken in a lightning raid and was being defeated in detail on multiple fronts.

When the family came out of the basement, they were not greeted by sneering imperialists, but helpful hands offering food, shelter, medicine. It was the first time that Rosa had ever seen Federal troops in person. It left an impression on her, and helped Rosa to eventually enlist for federal service when she turned 18.

Her parents were absolutely livid when they learned about it. They remembered those horrible days underground with crystal clear recollection, and they shivered at the thought of their eldest daughter putting herself in danger like that. They had been trying to push their daughter to use her Psi-potential for civilian work, nothing tht would put her in any real danger. But she made them understand that those day hiding in a basement were exactly why she was enlisting. So that no one else had to go through what she did.

They only relented when she told them that she'd be going to basic training only up until the Psi-Corps picked her up and put her on track to working with Internal Affairs. Which they reasoned was likely just end up sitting at a desk for her career. Eventually they gave their blessing and bid their daughter farewell when the time came.

After basic training and her single year of service (What Halcion days those were before the bug war), she entered the Psi-Corps, where her abilities were further pushed and sharpened to turn her into a proper field agent for the IAB.

Rosa's initial career was blessedly uneventful. Just helping track down mobsters, embezzlers, smugglers, and other Ne'er-do-wells that plagued society. The only real shooting that ever happened was at the firing range.

Then came the Bug War, and suddenly the IAB is working overtime, with rank-and-file agents like Rosalinda being given extra arresting power, and even sometimes doubling up on investigations into military or civilian matters.

With the Bug War claiming so many lives, resources, and logistics, it provides a perfect breeding ground for malcontents, traitors, and opportunists. The IAB is constantly hunting down people price gouging on valuable supplies, smuggling weapons out of MI armories, supporting sedition movements, and worse.

The IAB does not broadcast it, but the problem with traitor has been getting worse. It's not just people wanting to secede from the Federation anymore. There are pirates who actively help the Skinnies raid civilian convoys and colonies for slaves. There are mad cultists who have started new religions to worship the Arachnids, and their Brain Bug Masters as the 'pinnacle of biological evolution'. Some nihilists are even trying to hurt the war effort by bombing factories or recruitment offices. Not because they like the bugs, but because they think humanities' time is finally up.

There are even rumors of something worse out there. Something that the IAB is keeping close to the chest with special teams dedicated to it, and even involving Federal Military Intelligence in their investigations.

It's all on a need-to-know basis, and Rosa doesn't need to know, at least not yet.

The past year of her life have currently been busy with hunting smugglers in the outer colonies. She didn't even know that the Federation encountered the Velgril six months ago, until she actually made it back to New Madrid while on leave to see her family.

Her leave was sadly cut short, as the needs of the Federation are constant. What should have been two weeks off ended with her bidding her family goodbye and heading out to the nearest Fleet station to book a transport off world, to meet with none other than the Velgril themselves.

Her latest assignment puts her out of Federal space and into the territory of their new, alien, allies. Specifically to a planet known as Altair. A pleasure world of the Velgril that has allowed the Mobile Infantry and Fleet to set up facilities in their continuing war with the bugs, an even act as a world for the human forces to engage in some R&R without having to go all the way back to Terran space. It was a good trade, exchanging protection for pleasure and fostering human/alien relations for a better future.

But it has started to go wrong in some rather horrifying ways.

Only a month ago a Mobile infantry trooper killed the armorer on his base and made it outside...armed with a Morita Rifle, and went to the nearest Velgril building, before shooting down any alien he could find.

Survivors reported that the Trooper had been babbling some kind of madness about 'Infiltrators' and how they were 'all out to get him' while he went room to room looking for targets. As local police and more M.I. Troopers were arriving from the base to put a stop to the massacre, the mad gunman seemed to suddenly appear ill, panicking, shouting at the bodies of his victims, even squeezing off a few shots at the security forces moving in.

He broke down into hysterical rambling, quoting Former Sky-Marhall dean about 'Humanity dominating the Galaxy now, and always!', before turning his weapon on himself.

It was initially chalked up to being an isolated incident brought upon by stress. A tragedy that shouldn't have happened. But while Rosa was on leave, it did indeed happen again....multiple times. In two other bases an MI trooper seemed to lose his shit and go on a killing spree, before putting himself down. On the base of the original shooter a whole MI squad seemed to get it into their heads to gear up and try to make their way to the local Velgril government office, before being stopped by security and killed in the ensuing shoot out.

Political shitstorm doesn't come close to describing the situation. The Velgril on Altair are starting to openly turn against humans. Not allowing them into shops, refusing to service them at restaurants, putting up 'No Humans' signs, there have even been protests happening outside of the MI bases.

"Feddies Out!", "Humans Go Home!",  "You're supposed to kill bugs, not us!" Being the popular chants and picket signs brandished by the local aliens.

It's putting the Federation in a difficult position, and the propaganda machine is working overtime to depict the shooters as hateful bigots who allowed their ignorant intolerance of the Velgril to poison their actions and reflect poorly on the Federation as a whole. The Federation stands for courage, duty, honor, brotherhood. It will not tolerate such speciesism from its fighting forces.

But that isn't what the actual evidence says. According to interviews conducted locally, each of the shooters actually liked the Velgril and regularly spent time among them. They were perfectly happy with the aliens, right up until they went ballistic.

Something is going on and the IAB needs to get ahead of it before the killings get worse and the Velgril stop protesting and start shooting. The Velgril are the first peaceful alien race the Federation has encountered, and their technology, as well as supply lines, are proving vital in turning back the threats from the Arachnids.

Rosalinda is just one of several IAB agents being sent to Altair, in hopes of stopping this madness. She is set to meet with a liaison from a similar agency on the side of the aliens. With any luck, they can solve this mystery and get back to business as usual.

It might just be some MI troopers going off the deep end, but her sixth sense is already telling her its going to be more than that, and it has never led her astray.


Megan Veers. The daughter of a Mobile Infantry Colonel who has served the Federation with honor and distinction. From putting down rebels in the colonies and hunting pirates before the Bug War, to leading charges against Arachnid Hives in various operations across the Galaxy.

His long and meritorious service to the Federation has ensured that his family was well cared for. Megan wanted for little and had a life of comfort along with her brother and their mother. The Federation rewards loyalty, especially to those that put down insurrectionists and can handle the Federation's dirty laundry. But his service in the Bug War had earned him many friends, allies, and those willing to whisper to him when the higher ups of the Federation were playing politics instead of playing war. Which was how he knew of the initial stages of Federal Order Delta-six-zero. The new Draft order.

With the alliance with the Vel formalized, the Federation had a lot more territory to cover. Sure it would reap the benefits of a new ally, with new technology, resources and industry, but their belts were already tightened just from losing worlds to the Arachnids, and from the Skinnies raiding shipping routes or colonies for resources and slaves. The war was looking better than it was in the last year, but resources and manpower were starting to run low, especially for frontline units of the Mobile Infantry, or in certain parts of the fleet.

Colonel Veers' 'friends' informed him of how there were rumors among the Psi Corps and other 'need to know' parts of the Federation, of a draft being planned. He even learned that the initial test runs were being conducted in the farthest colonies from Earth. With each family having to give up one member to the Mobile Infantry, Psi Corps, or Fleet. The logistics of it were being tested out, before they would move on to more densely populated worlds when the bill became public and made it through the Council, to be signed by the Sky Marshall. Among those worlds on the chopping block, was Mars. The home of the Veers family.

He ended up sharing this information with Megan, on a rare chance that his unit rotation let him have some shore leave back home. The Colonel told his family everything, wanting to warn them that the rumors on the Extranet were true, and not just the ravings of conspiracy nuts. The talks were real, the government wanted to federalize all civilian psychics into service. The Federation would get a lot more fresh meat for the grinder, but since none of them had joined up of their own choice, they wouldn't be considered true Citizens and wouldn't have the same rights as those that enlisted willingly.

A convenient loophole for the Federation to get extra soldiers, without having to pay for everyone's prosthetic limbs and healthcare when their tour was up, or if the war ended in a human victory.

Anyone who tried to dodge the draft faced jail time...or worse.

When she'd ask him if families with those who already served would be exempt form the draft, his silence would be the only answer she needed. There was a great deal of politics involved in who would be drafted, if it even passed legislation. But given how the Bug War was going, it likely would. Yet the Federation's councilors couldn't help but use the draft for political gains, and some (maybe even most) of those sent to frontline positions would probably be troublemakers and those who were a drain on society, being fed into the bug menace for the hope that they might at least act as a buffer for more expensive troopers. A modern day version of McNamara's Morons.

Megan's brother Alex was someone who'd definitely be classified as a troublemaker. Having been arrested twice for joining Anti-Federal protest marches on Mars, calling for an end to the war, and possibly a settlement somehow negotiated with the bugs. This would have been bad enough, if not for the fact that he took after his father. Despite Colonel Veers being loyal to the Federation through and through, he still was vocal about his criticisms, especially in regards to the Sky Marshalls. A criticism that had ended up on the news once or twice when he'd opened his mouth to fednet reporters during live broadcasts, blaming the deaths of many good troopers on the incompetence of Federation leadership.

Her father had been a very outspoken critic of various Sky Marshalls of the Federation, mostly after the failed Klendathu invasion and after a few other failed operations, but his meritorious service had always kept him and his family safe. Most of the retaliation tended to be directed at him, and was why he stayed stuck as a Colonel after years of service. But there were still plenty of soldiers and other officers who knew and respected him, so the punishments weren't too bad.

He had friends, influence, and opinions. It made him a problem off the battlefield, just as his skills on it (and the loyalty of his men) ensured there could never be any friendly fire incidents. But with this new draft, his whole family could be taken away from him and sent to the grinder by anyone who didn't like him and his comments.

Which was why he had to ask a very dangerous favor of his daughter. He knew as well as his Megan did, that if she enlisted now she'd be better off than being a draftee, and that if her younger brother or mother were drafted afterwards, then he could rightfully protest against the draft., Maybe he could even kick up a fuss loud enough to make some of his enemies (or even the draft itself) look bad in the eyes of the veteran community, all of which had voting power come the next elections.

Megan didn't like it, she wasn't a soldier. She didn't even know if she'd be able to handle seeing a real Arachnid, or Skinnie, in person. But it was either do it now of her own choice, or risk someone else in the family sent to the frontline against their will. If there was a chance she was going to end up drafted, she might as well ensure that she isn't among those considered 'expendable', or at least not as expendable as the next poor, unfortunate, fucker to be dragged to the Mobile Infantry.

Her brother certainly couldn't do it. While he thought he couldn't be punished too harshly by the cops in his protests, and liked to play chicken with the system, he'd freeze up in any real combat, and wouldn't survive in prison if he became a draft dodger. Something that the Federation possibly knew, and was hoping for with all the draftees.

It was no easy thing being asked of Megan. But a necessary one. Her father gave her time to think on it, and told her that if she didn't do it, he'd find a way to get them off Mars and to some wildcat colony if the draft came for them. Doing so would make him complicit in a crime however, and likely subject to some of the harshest punishments the Mobile Infantry could hand down. Depending on who bribed the judges, he might even be charged with sedition and face a hanging.

Megan tried her best to give it time, and truly consider her actions. But her decision had already been made. She quit her job as a Federal Archivist at the Olympus Mons University, took a month to exercise and prepare her body for the stress of training, and marched down to the local recruiting office. Her scores didn't put her in line for the Fleet or Psicorps, but she'd have her pick of places to go in the Mobile Infantry, and more than a few officers remembered the name Veers enough that it might pay dividends with her asking for transfers later on.

Her training took her from the sands of the Martian Outback, to some of the Hawaiian islands of Earth, to ensure she was ready to fight in countless environments. It was harder for her, enlisting at an older age. Most recruits signed up at 18. She was pushing the age limit for the Mobile Infantry. 28 years of age was the cap for when someone could enlist voluntarily, and she managed to finish her training just before she turned 27.  Her training was hard, it was stressful, and at times it felt everyone was harder on her because of who her father was, yet she still came through and became one of the best that Earth had to offer.

Despite the age difference and her having wanted more of a civilian life, her scores and efforts ensure that she is on the path to moving on to either the Powersuit Corps, or become part of the prestigious Marauder Corps. Her chances of survival are much better with either career choice, as she'd be more valuable than a common frontline grunt, and would have some of the Federation's best technology to help her take on the enemies of humanity.

Either way, her father is still able to give her one last parting gift before her new posting comes in. He has a few friends who can ensure that she ends up with a safer patrol duty, in the newly allied Velgril territory. Surely nothing could go wrong there beyond meeting the strange new aliens, and dealing with the occasional Skinnie raid.


As I said its kind of a crazy idea, and kind of clunky, but hopefully you had some fun reading through my crazy ramblings. If you are interested just let me know, I'd love to try and play this as a system game, and expand on the world and lore and play with dice (though some patience is required as I sometimes struggle with systems, even though I find them fun.). If you would like to know more just PM me and we can discuss things further. I'm sorry for how cluttered this thread is. I may try to smooth it out later but for now it will work as it is.

[Lustful Bride]

*bump* 3/20/2020

Looking for this again. I'm stuck at home and with not much to do I've gotten an urge lately to do my part.

[Lustful Bride]

8/14/2020.  Gave the OP a large overhaul. Added in possible plotline and character backstory, as well as cleaning up grammar errors. I also took the liberty of adding in more sentences to the original storyline to help flesh things out abit more.

Wouldn't mind giving this a try and finding a partner willing to help worldbuild this with me.

[Lustful Bride]

8/20/2021: I have got a lot more freetime on my hands and I am looking for this idea again.

I've also made some edits because I've come to the conclusion that using the system for 'Stars Without Number' to play in Starship Troopers might be much easier than using the actual system the game comes with. So I shall be using the PDFs i have for SST to help make the setting, while the SWN system will be what is used for actual gameplay by applying the SST lore as the window dressing and aesthetics of the game.

If this interests you (and you managed to make sense of my wild ramblings and madness) please feel free to send me a PM and we can discuss things further.