Topic of the Day: Tau Ceti Foreign Legion

[Caelphon]

The Tau Ceti Foreign Legion has recently been promoted to the official armed forces of the Republic of Biesel, and with it came significant changes (mostly in funding). While the People's Protection Arc isn't exactly finished, what do you think the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion could do better? How do you think they could improve their reputation? 

[ClemTheDuck]

I guess earning some wins on their own. Something to prove they are actually a semi effective fighting force. As it stands they are kinda a meme where they are seen as underfunded and filled with lug heads 

[OffRoad99]

I gotta say, I am somewhat disappointed to see them bumped up as a "professional fighting force". Historically NanoTrasen always seemed skeptical in allowing Biesel to have their own standing military and the TCFL was a half-assed attempt at giving them one. Despite the jokes that afflicts it IC/OOC (every military force in the game has some), the Legion's theme was that of a militia that managed to achieve some impressive results even with what little equipment they were issued.

Turning it into a fully-funded and (I guess in the future) better trained army feels very sudden: how is NanoTrasen even "ok" with this? Why the sudden change of heart? Is it because of the 2nd Solarian Invasion? There is now the legitimate risk of Biesel, one day, turning the TCFL against either NT or the SCC. That's basically giving Biesel an awful lot of hard power. Are they not afraid of that?

Edited January 23, 2022 by OffRoad99

[Caelphon]

32 minutes ago, OffRoad99 said:

Turning it into a fully-funded and (I guess in the future) better trained army feels very sudden: how is NanoTrasen even "ok" with this? Why the sudden change of heart? Is it because of the 2nd Solarian Invasion? There is now the legitimate risk of Biesel, one day, turning the TCFL against either NT or the SCC. That's basically giving Biesel an awful lot of hard power. Are they not afraid of that?

So regarding this, NanoTrasen (and the SCC) essentially control Biesel. If the megacorporations were to suddenly disengage the Republic of Biesel, and retract their assets, the economy would collapse. Biesel relies on the SCC just as much as the SCC relies on Biesel. I wouldn't say that the TCFL represents a significant risk, remember, most of the equipment that they are getting are either sponsored by or purchased from the SCC. They know the weaknesses of their equipment, they know the flaws, they know the kill switches. Additionally funding just means that the SCC has less to worry about in regards to their corporate facilities across the CRZ being destroyed and/or raided. 

[Marlon P.]

I love them

I only personally prefer their prior underdog theme. Not being a heavy hitter made it seem like they can be the good guys. Now they're an oppressive force while still being an underdog so its less fun being a fanboy. The oppressive nature of them subjugating other communities did sour some character concepts, so I rewrote one of my boys out of them since he would not participate in that.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Marlon P.

[Kintsugi]

should stop being called the foreign legion and should just be the legion

[Captain Gecko]

I think they are alright, they do their job as a way to show how little power the Republic has compared to the SCC, let alone other powers in the Spur, yet at the same time, show that the Republic isn't entirely defenseless and can still be considered a rather believable society. No real strong feelings with the rework as of now.

 

Also yes, I agree with Danse just above. To be honest I really love the Foreign Legion name because I'm a fan of the IRL one, however it is true that as far the Aurora one goes, the name isn't really fitting. The idea of the Foreign Legion being called just that assumes that it is made out of non-local (in this case non-french) soldiers, usually gaining nationality/citizenship by the end of their service, as opposed to the other more regular commands.

While the TCFL is quite comparable to the real Foreign Legion in its premise, the problem is that... Well, it's the only "army" of the the Republic. Changing the name to TCRL/Tau Ceti Republic Legion, for instance, would make more sense... Or we could keep the Foreign Legion name (Because I still really love it), but point out that the name has been kept more for tradition's sake than anything else.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Captain Gecko

[OffRoad99]

On 23/01/2022 at 12:17, Caelphon said:

So regarding this, NanoTrasen (and the SCC) essentially control Biesel. If the megacorporations were to suddenly disengage the Republic of Biesel, and retract their assets, the economy would collapse. Biesel relies on the SCC just as much as the SCC relies on Biesel. I wouldn't say that the TCFL represents a significant risk, remember, most of the equipment that they are getting are either sponsored by or purchased from the SCC. They know the weaknesses of their equipment, they know the flaws, they know the kill switches. Additionally funding just means that the SCC has less to worry about in regards to their corporate facilities across the CRZ being destroyed and/or raided. 

The only exploitable weakness I could honestly understand is if their ships, should they pose a direct and violent threat to the SCC, automatically explode upon receiving some sort of long-range signal. A kill-switch, as you put it. Other than that, I'm not sure how knowing the specifics and weaknesses of weapons and armor can be a significant advantage. Yes, you know that X rifle can't penetrate anything at around 200m, their combat RIGs are more vulnerable if struck from behind or in the shoulder plates, but you'd be still facing a literal army at this point.

HOWEVER. As I've been thinking about your reply, it made me think of the United States Colonial Marines Corps (the USCM from the Alien universe) and their relation with Weyland-Yutani: the Company outsources and supplies most, if not everything, of their equipment, and while it does not "directly" controls it, the USCM is very often steered as a security force when the interests of the Company are at risk (literally the whole premise of Aliens).
As of now, the TCFL in my eyes is the exact mirror of the USCM: whereas they used to be a poorly-geared militia, they retained most of their freedom and genuinely answered to the government. Now, to me it is a legitimate, well-geared fighting force, but it has become another asset in the hands of the SCC. We already had a taste of their conduct with the Peacekeeping Mandate, so I can't wait to see how they'll be pushed around to defend corporate interests.