Commerce Is All
Sarna News
| Commerce Is All | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Short story |
| Author | Steven Mohan Jr. |
| Pages | 13 |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | BattleCorps |
| First published | 22 October 2004 |
| Content | |
| Era | Succession Wars era |
| Timeline | 5 January 3033 |
Commerce Is All is a short story by Steven Mohan Jr. that was published online on BattleCorps on 21 December 2004. It was later also published in print in the first BattleCorps anthology, The Corps.
[edit]
| “ | New Author Steven Mohan, Jr. brings us to the periphery in 3033 to find out what soldiers do on the eve of war. It may not be what you think! | ” |
Plot summary[edit]
The Canopian Pleasure Circus DropShip Bacchanal has ventured unusually far from the Magistracy. It now sits in orbit of Trondheimal in the Illyrian Palatinate, a small state rumored to become a target of the nearby Circinus Federation, a pirate state, soon.
With the prospect of an upcoming invasion, Illyrian troops including Thor's Army (mercenaries from the Arms of Thor) find welcome distraction aboard the ship. Captain Douglas Berg is in no mood to party, but came along on invitation of his friend Lt. Sullivan. He meets Circinian Captain Car Negdren and Arissa, a prostitute who is working with him. Berg quickly realizes that Arissa is spying for Negdren, but when confronted Arissa reveals that she has an agenda of her own, and only pretends to be spying. In reality, she provides the Circinians with exaggerated reports on the Illyrians' military strength, hoping to stave off the looming invasion in this way. She explains that she originates from Niue, a world devastated by two warring pirate factions, and that her sister Katrina was killed in the fighting as a five-year-old.