Re: Crew for Space Stations

 mehawk@internetcds.com (Michael Sandy) wrote:

>Yes, and that is a good reason to have some of the planet's
>garrison in orbit.  Very little deters rebellion better than
>knowing that there are troops you can't get at who nonetheless
>can get at you.  Think of the effect of Norman Castles.  They
>deterred rebellion because even with surprise the lord was
>safe in his castle until reinforcements arrived.  And
>versus a serf rebellion you can be sure that his neighbors
>would help!

Good point on the orbital garrison. However, that would be a fairly
expensive way to house troops. After all, all their supplies need to
come
out of a gravity well.

I suspect that they would be housed seperately, meaning in an entirely
different orbital, than our proposed "small station." Icould see it on a
large station, however.

>My interpretation of Power Armor is that they are, in effect,
>construction equipment.  Power Armor should be able to dig a
>man deep foxhole in a very short period of time in most soil
>conditions.  It should be useful for creating field
>fortifications on short notice as well.

They may be construction equipment for military style fortifications,
foxholes, etc., but I shink they might fare rather worse in rebuilding a
reactor station cracked in an earthquake. By rebuilding, I meant more
along
the lines of constructing shelters for those who've lost their homes.

Schoon