 September 2, 2016 - 11:50am | I was just reading about the South Korean shipping line, Hanjin, filing for bankruptcy. Ships are barred from docking lest fees go unpaid or creditors repossess the ships. Cargo in containers cannot be delivered and crews left in limbo. In the Frontier it would be possible to still unload containers though just detach and hand off to concerned parties. But imagine the disruption if Trans Travel filed for bankruptcy protection? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
September 2, 2016 - 11:53am | Since one of the stated goals of the sathar espionage program is disruption of the Frontier economy this would make a great sathar plot. Engineering a crisis to force Trans Travel into this situation. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 September 3, 2016 - 10:27am | I read an article once about how modern day merchant marine sailors were effectively little more than sweatshop workers in terms of how they are treated by ship owners. It isn't uncommon for some shipowner to get in financial trouble and strand a crew in some foreign port because they haven't been paid and the ship can't sail. Typical account from 1999: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/03/nyregion/crew-of-ukrainian-freighter-stranded-in-new-york-harbor.html |
 September 3, 2016 - 10:51am | This is definitely an interesting idea. You can probably develop it for the upcoming Frontier Explorer issue that deals with space travel. Or, if it wasn't Trans Travel that went bankrupt, maybe it could even revolve around a scandal or incident with the shipping/passenger liners of the other mega corps that suddenly made Trans Travel "the" company to go for. Or, perhaps, the Trans Travel's bankruptcy could be related some how to the beforementioned conspiracy/incident. Maybe the characters could be traveling on the Frontier's equivalent of the Love Boat when they're stopped at some out of the way port of call because of the bankrupcty... and this out of the way place actually has something to do with the bankruptcy. That's my two-cents. And, can anyone provide any more feedback on my Eorna posting? I thought I could spin it into a future story for the magazine, but I would welcome other input. Joe Cabadas |
September 3, 2016 - 11:19am | I suppose another idea could be, shall we say, a sequel to the Dramune Run. Some nefarious individuals, allies of the Malthar, have manuevered the characters into some bad faith deals where their ownership of the Gullwind is in danger. Joe Cabadas |
 September 3, 2016 - 5:53pm | Hold on folks Trans Travel goes bankrupt? This is not a disruption of the Frontier but the end of it. You all do remember the term "To big to fail." If Trans Travel went under the resulting scramble among the other megacorps and UPF, not to mention the planetary governments to claim the starhips and support services would lead to a few shooting wars. Now that the rant is done. Let's all take a few minutes to think about what would happen when any entity with financial resources bigger than any of the Planets and if not a majority than at least a firm controlling interest in any one field will topple alot of others in their fallout. OH and if you forgot Trans Travel does the starships but they are also the major manufacturers of ALL forms of transport. No more spare parts for Explorers, airports shut down and planes unable fly, surface shipping and truck transport grinding to a halt. The party not even able to get on a monorail as they have all stopped since the crews are no longer being paid. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
September 3, 2016 - 6:13pm | Hold on folks Trans Travel goes bankrupt? This is not a disruption of the Frontier but the end of it. You all do remember the term "To big to fail." If Trans Travel went under the resulting scramble among the other megacorps and UPF, not to mention the planetary governments to claim the starhips and support services would lead to a few shooting wars. Now that the rant is done. Let's all take a few minutes to think about what would happen when any entity with financial resources bigger than any of the Planets and if not a majority than at least a firm controlling interest in any one field will topple alot of others in their fallout. OH and if you forgot Trans Travel does the starships but they are also the major manufacturers of ALL forms of transport. No more spare parts for Explorers, airports shut down and planes unable fly, surface shipping and truck transport grinding to a halt. The party not even able to get on a monorail as they have all stopped since the crews are no longer being paid. Yes, then you could have a UPF Special Travel Task Force step in wint economist Shreve Alnerdd the Vimh to lead a restructuring of Trans Travel, shedding and selling off various "unwanted" assets to enhance the value of the company. It will emerge leaner and financially stronger and a lot smaller, but think of the boone it will be to the other mega-corps... unless they too have gone down. It can allo come with the economic bubble bursting over too much expansion. Joe Cabadas |
September 3, 2016 - 7:56pm | I don't see TT failing with out it being pushed. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 September 6, 2016 - 6:55pm | You all do remember the term "To big to fail."
All too well. Executives from Trans Travel show up at the Council of Worlds via a fleet of HS:60 dreadnoughts and beg for a massive bail out. CoW turns them down, asking why the same voyage transporting a small handful of beings coudn't be executed with a HS:6 vessel instead...TT later shows up for the appeal in a scout class ship and gets their bail out. |
September 6, 2016 - 6:55pm | I don't see TT failing with out it being pushed. PGC or Streel could always disrupt them by establishing a Merchant's Guild and enforce heavy fees/tariffs/fines to get that ball rolling. Both of those mega-corps have significant shipyards waiting on standby to start belting out transports (or have already begun belting out said craft in advance). Either/both could also ramp up production on support (ground transport, parts, etc) as a preemptive strike as well, in fact I could easily see a corporate war breaking out between both PGC & Streel as they compete to usurp TT...or even more far fetched forge an aliance with the common goal in mind (and then the resulting corporate war breaks out for the spoils). |
September 6, 2016 - 7:05pm | ...and of course the Interstellar Brotherhood of Independent Haulers is standing by ready to capitalize on the situation with competitive yet highly profitable prices. |
September 7, 2016 - 4:24am | ^And big, friendly Guild agents to...explain...to shippers why using IH ships is in their best interests. |
September 7, 2016 - 7:45am | Executives from Trans Travel show up at the Council of Worlds via a fleet of HS:60 dreadnoughts and beg for a massive bail out. CoW turns them down, asking why the same voyage transporting a small handful of beings coudn't be executed with a HS:6 vessel instead...TT later shows up for the appeal in a scout class ship and gets their bail out. In real life when that question was asked "Everyone stopped using private planes to show they got the message. Which resulted in Cessna closing its factory in Columbus, Ga (where I worked) and abandoning the brand new had only moved in half the equipment factory they had built next door to it and breaking off deals with the wiring factory in Mexico and the assembly factory in China. Sometimes politicians have no idea what their words will result in. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
September 7, 2016 - 7:54am | Again the problem would be even if you go with 80% of starships being built by Trans Travel that means the real money which is in spare parts and maintenance. If that is disrupted even for a week the back log that would build up could take months or years to work through. Then there is the subcontracted factories that Trans Travel does not own but pays to build some specialized items that they either do not want to make or use so few of it is more cost effective to let others make them. Here's something from my time at Cessna. We made parts. Sometimes we had special orders come through for a part for a model of plane that was no longer produced. Even planes that had stopped production 50 years ago, we pulled out the plans and built it. If Cessna was to go under then that would stop because like SF and copyright Cessna would not just let the patents, copyrights and blueprints go. If Trans Travel went under then alot of starhships would suddenly be obsolete. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
September 7, 2016 - 9:07am | ^ And God help the Frontier if TT is like today's corporations and maintains "just in time" inventory control... |
September 7, 2016 - 9:12am | In real life when that question was asked "Everyone stopped using private planes to show they got the message. Which resulted in Cessna closing its factory in Columbus, Ga (where I worked) and abandoning the brand new had only moved in half the equipment factory they had built next door to it and breaking off deals with the wiring factory in Mexico and the assembly factory in China. Sometimes politicians have no idea what their words will result in. All that really shows is just how sub-optimally resources are distributed among the classes, emphasizing pandering to the whims of elites rather than truly socially useful production to improve the lives of the working class. |
September 7, 2016 - 12:20pm | That is where the story gets really silly. The deal with China and Mexico was to build a plane that was kinda like the motorcycle of the aircraft world. A plane not an ultralite that had a 7 gallon fuel tank and sat two people to make it cheaper to teach people how to fly and make flying more affordable. The range was of course limited and the controls pretty basic but you could actually use it. Would have been great for commuting for those who can't do the five hour drive to work everyday and only go home on weekends. Now the whole thing is gone. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
September 7, 2016 - 8:49pm | In real life when that question was asked "Everyone stopped using private planes to show they got the message. Which resulted in Cessna closing its factory in Columbus, Ga (where I worked) and abandoning the brand new had only moved in half the equipment factory they had built next door to it and breaking off deals with the wiring factory in Mexico and the assembly factory in China. Sometimes politicians have no idea what their words will result in. Then on the other side of the aisle...as gas was leaping back up from $1.86/gallon towards $3 again all the government officials --- hot on the heels of that elaborate statement --- were showing up in their big gas guzzling SUVs and limousines. It was the classic "Do as I say/not as I do" syndrome... |
