Re: Communication and Travel

You wrote: 

>A general slowness in interstellar travel might also justify the use 
by >larger powers of mobile "amphibious" forces, perhaps with most of 

>This could give rise to assorted FT scenarios such as recce to find a
>lurking phibron, recce in support of the phibron, skirmishes to stop
>couriers or drop raids etc.

Minor peeve--note that it's only possible to actually conquer a small, 
small colony from space.  Once you get a couple million colonists with 
a homegrown industry, it becomes impossible to physically land enough 
troops to do more than raid.  Example:	Israel, with 6 million 
inhabitants, can field 13 armored divisions, and one parachute division 
(or is it 12 and 1?  I don't recall).  Taking down a force that big 
would require either massive and indiscriminate use of orbital support 
(trashing what you're supposed to be trying to conquer!) or one even 
larger--which would be prohibitive to transport.

John M. Atkinson