Rise of the Remorhaz Society

[geoschmo]

[quote]Originally posted by Puke:

it is imperitive to the morale of a man fighting in space that he believe that he can be rescued, and that his comrades in arms will do anything in their power to rescue him.

This might be true from a military doctrine perspective. But what the soldiers tell themselves to keep sane during a battle, and what the actual circumstances are usuallly difer wildly. I was talking about more from a believable story perspective. A ship sunk at sea anywhere on earth is a few days at most from a friendly port. It is entirely possible that survivors could be recovered before they run out of supplies, even in a hostile area controlled by enemy forces.

However in space generally, and in Sachmo's story specifically, this ship was at best three months from the nearest Remoraz colony, and well behind enemy lines. The chances of a succesful recovery are at best extremly remote. And that would require an immediate military operation to return to the sight of the initial battle. Without that the chance becomes zero. It's not as if the men can open the hatch and drink rainwater and rig up a fishing line to catch some food. Unless you make the case that they could find a habitable planet in the system to hide on. That idea has some possibilities.

On the other hand a P.O.W. camp would be fairly believable, and interesting arc for the story. And then there would be some chance at repatriation down the road.

Geoschmo