Journel of the Travellers' Aid Society 3

Mongoose recently completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for The Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society 3, which was fully funded in only 43 minutes and ultimately picked up 1,257 backers pledging £131,832 (roughly $169,340). The campaign raised enough money to develop volumes 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the JTAS, which provides short articles on Charted Space for Mongoose Traveller. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I have several articles slated for the first few issues, many of which were pieces cut or trimmed from The Deep and the Dark.

PDF versions of Volume 13 have already been sent out to backers, and I had three articles in the “Charted Space” category:

“Confederation Admiral Arturo Coglan.” When I initially developed my own version of Magyar sector, fairly little canonical information was available, though much could be inferred, interpolated, or extrapolated by looking at neighboring sectors of Reaver’s Deep, Dark Nebula, Daibei, and the Solomani Rim. I was struck by the large number of high population worlds with poor starports and low tech levels in the Imperial subsectors of Magyar, which generally corresponded with areas of fighting during the Solomani Rim War. Based on this, I began to imagine a Sherman’s March-like campaign through the sector, which destroyed infrastructure and economically devastated the region. 

About the same time I had recently finished The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara’s great historical novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. His sympathetic portrait of Confederate General James Longstreet helped spur a popular reappraisal of Longstreet’s legacy, which had been trashed by “Lost Cause” enthusiasts following the Civil War. Longstreet inspired Admiral Coglan, though this concept began to drift as I fleshed out Coglan’s nemesis, Imperial Admiral Miiri Elixibeth Kemper, who herself was initially modeled on Sherman but eventually grew to more closely resemble Bill Belichick (seriously!). In my own campaign the current subsector duke of Clown is the Duchess Dorotti Shulimaar Kemper of Kobayashi, the second generation clone of Admiral Kemper.

“The Endurance of Ftahalr.” The Peace of Ftahalr is a pretty remarkable treaty by any measure. First, it has held for over 700 years. Second, it was only executed by four major clans and the Imperium—meaning technically, it binds less than 0.1% of the 4,000+ clans found in the Aslan Hierate. To understand why the Peace has held, it’s important to remember the singular role honor plays in Aslan society, as well as the Tlaukhu’s role in establishing and enforcing treaties. To an Aslan, a treaty is not simply a legal instrument: it is a debt of honor.

“The Hkiyrerao Passage.” The one section cut from The Deep and the Dark manuscript that I really rued was the story of Hkiyrerao, the Tralyeaeawi navigator on the Iyeheilr, the first Aslan ship to reach the Solomani Rim. Her story was heavily influenced by C. J. Cherryh’s Chanur novels, which I think are invaluable in understanding the female Aslan point of view. I’m very glad to see the piece resurrected.

Although I don’t think the contents of JTAS volume 14 have yet been announced, JTAS 15 is slated to contain the following articles I worked on:

Mercenaries of the Deep and the Dark: Learn about seven new mercenary companies found in Reaver’s Deep and ‘the’ Dark Nebula including Caledon Highlanders, Longshot Inc., Wolmaran’s Black Jackets and more… 

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Nymph Provincial Merchant: An interstellar trade vessel commonly encountered in the Reavers’ Deep region. Its triple turret allows it to defend itself should it become necessary. 

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Trade Pioneers: Brand new career option for your Travellers. Become an employee of an entrepreneurial company are get dispatched to the unexplored and underexploited regions of Charted Space. Choose from three assignments: analyst, negotiator and factor.

I can’t wait to see the rest of the JTAS volumes!