OBT Forum

In Character as a Star League citizen.  Yes.   Seeing what the succession lords have done to my nation, what a periphery bandit has done to my people probably my family.  Hell yes I would have left.  I've no intention on abandoning the man who has led me through a war (Kerensky) who's orders have saved my life, who liberated Terra and brought the Usurper to justice.  Now my nation is gone, my home is destroyed, my people are shattered by war, it's time to get out of dodge.

In Character as a member of the House nations. No. I joined Kerensky's fight because it was the just thing to do.  The Usurper was destroying the Hegemony and would have eventually turned on my homes and my family too.  Now the war is over and my Lord says my duty is to protect my nation.  I protected my nation from the Usurper now I will protect them from others.

Two very different perspectives, both followed Kerensky for a reason to protect their homes.  One is leaves because his home is gone.  The other stays because their home is still threatened.

Out of Character - me - Yes for the adventure.  I've no ties I've seen what the Inner Sphere is like, Kerensky could find the same at the end of his trip or it could never end but it will be an adventure and that is what MechWarriors sign up for!!  If there was a family involved maybe a different answer then again it's the same here if I live on one of the border worlds or in one of the Terran Hegemony worlds I know war is coming to my home.  Kerensky offers at least a little bit more peacetime.

I view impartially that Aleksander Kerensky's departure of the Inner Sphere is a moral failure on the part of the great general, and he is personally responsible, every bit as much as the House Lords, for the evisceration of the Terran hegemony, Rim Words Republic, and the rest of the Inner Sphere.

to depart the Inner Sphere because you do not have the stomach to finish what others started is cowardice of the highest order.

Unless I'm forced to adopt the role of an active combat SLDF member for this question (which I'm not clear if such is the case from the OP), no. I have no desire to be an actual member of the military in the BT setting (they are pretty universally poorly run, horribly used, and a mess), so I don't have the Kerensky love-fest going on. As a civilian, even maybe with a desired skill set...I'd still say no. It doesn't take long to look at Kerensky's plan and say "Hey, did anybody put more than two minutes of thought into this? This sounds like a one-way trip to marooning on a barren world and Donner party antics."

If you're asking as active duty SLDF as my role? Yeah, no. After the utterly disgusting nature of the Amaris Crisis and Liberation (particularly if I'm from the Hegemony), I'm finding the nearest quiet beach, and drowning myself in alcohol until death results. It's always been a real pet peeve of mine that Kerensky somehow had 90% of the remaining SLDF go with him. It should have been 90% of "what was left after 50% of the survivors retired into gibbering madness, chemical self-medication, and/or PTSD." So about a battalion or two.

OP

1) as an active combat member of the SLDF/citizen of the Hegemony

2) active combat member of the a member state that fought with/was loaned to Kerensky to assist in Amaris removal

3) your choice forget the military you are with imagine yourself right now in BT universe.  You get asked how about a little trip?

Do you go all 3

Unless I'm forced to adopt the role of an active combat SLDF member for this question (which I'm not clear if such is the case from the OP), no. I have no desire to be an actual member of the military in the BT setting (they are pretty universally poorly run, horribly used, and a mess), so I don't have the Kerensky love-fest going on. As a civilian, even maybe with a desired skill set...I'd still say no. It doesn't take long to look at Kerensky's plan and say "Hey, did anybody put more than two minutes of thought into this? This sounds like a one-way trip to marooning on a barren world and Donner party antics."

If you're asking as active duty SLDF as my role? Yeah, no. After the utterly disgusting nature of the Amaris Crisis and Liberation (particularly if I'm from the Hegemony), I'm finding the nearest quiet beach, and drowning myself in alcohol until death results. It's always been a real pet peeve of mine that Kerensky somehow had 90% of the remaining SLDF go with him. It should have been 90% of "what was left after 50% of the survivors retired into gibbering madness, chemical self-medication, and/or PTSD." So about a battalion or two.

Spot on!

I voted no. I won't follow a coward and a traitor.

Quote from: SSJGohan3972 on October 24, 2012, 09:00:00 PM

1) No, I think Kerensky (from the point of view of the SLDF officer) was wrong to abandon the Hegemony

Was there still something like that?
The Successor States were trying to steal the power and the mighty strength of the SLDF (or what was left of it).

I'd have said as soon as the Cameron family died the writing was on the wall for the Hegemony it was going to fall, just like the Republic was - too many people wanted a piece of it or their technology and power.

There lies the ultimate problem with the end of the Terran Hegemony and the Exodus.

The SLDF had a strong war leader and a strong army in Kerensky and the Battle Hardened SLDF.  But that was also their ultimate downfall as well the Succession States were scared that Kerensky was going to be the next Cameron, that his armies would lord over them.

They had seen what Kerensky did to Amaris, for all his failings was a nation's leader, they had seen what he had done to the Rim Worlds Republic and IMO they all were crapping themselves.  This led to them removing Kerensky as Protector of the League, ordering him to disband his army.

If Kerensky had refused their fears would have been legitimized.  I haven't read FM-SLDF yet but looking over the other books it was very clear to me that the Cameron Family had enough respect and will to force the Succession States to tow their line of thought.  Camerons say cut your forces, the Succession States did it (perhaps not as much as the Cameron family wanted but they did cut down forces)

Kerensky knew that he didn't have their respect and that his army was a tool.  He knew that if his army was disbanded its arms would fall into the hands of the Succession Lords who were already well on their way to disbanding the League.  He also knew the sacrifices his army had already made and the break from the fighting that they needed.

IF the SLDF had stayed it would have been broken into chunks and taken into the Succession State armies OR if he had tried to keep control of it his war wary army would have been the target of Succession State aggression which I personally don't think they could have won.

Against one target the SLDF was very capable of cutting down its enemy and being the victor.  Against 5 it would have fallen to pieces and Kerensky for all his skill was no politician (seen in Operation Klondlike as his army fell into disarray around him) without political breaks and pressure his army was a fighting force with nothing to support it.  They would have been like the largest mercenary force in history.  Kerensky didn't have the support around him, or someone in high political standing who could have stood on the grandstand and kept the Succession States in line.

Although saying that why Jerome Blake and Kerensky didn't work together to keep the Hegemony together and with a leader is a good question?

Jerome Blake was able to keep Terra above the fighting between Kerensky and Blake could they have kept the Hegemony above it all?