Ivic War

Hub is Elizabeth Bartley's campaign set in the universe of James Schmitz's Hub stories. Beth ran a couple of solo adventures for me. My PC is Marius Lecks, an empathic doctor. Josh's PC, Jealousy Jones, didn't actually participate in the adventure, though she learned about it later. When Josh was available, he played Marcus Lecks, Marius' paramilitary cousin.

---

Marius Lecks docked his ship, the Galen, in an Ivic spaceport owned by his family. He disembarked, accompanied by his brother, Curtis, and Katrina, Lauren's President Pro Tem. After an attempt on her life, she had decided to pretend that she was dead and to keep a low profile. Ivic seemed like a quiet enough place for that.

It was, therefore, something of a surprise when the trio encountered blaster fire as soon as they left the Galen. Nevertheless, Katrina and Marius soon stunned the shooters with their own blaster fire, while Curtis took cover and made a couple of calls.

"Why are people shooting at us here?" wondered Marius, no stranger to ambushes. He knew that he and his two companions had plenty of enemies. But how had any of these enemies managed to get into the Lecks family's spaceport?

Between Curtis' calls and the spaceport personnel, Marius' question was answered.

"They're from the Toturi family," explained one of the workers. "They declared war on the Lecks family."

Marius groaned.

Curtis chuckled. "It has been awhile," he said.

"An Ivic war's not a real war," said Marius, hastily, to Katrina, whose planet was only now emerging from a civil war.

"Why don't you explain it to me?" she suggested.

An Ivic war, as Marius and Curtis explained, was part duel, part sport, and part military training exercise. Killing was absolutely forbidden, and serious injuries were frowned upon. One family would challenge another, and the "war" would begin.

"So, what are you fighting for?" asked Katrina.

"An acre of land," said Marius. "Two acres, I mean. One from each side. But, that's just the excuse."

"The Toturis said they could take us," explained Curtis. "Grandfather said they couldn't. Speaking of which --" He gave his younger brother a sharp look. "Marius, Grandfather should have sent you a message informing you that there was a war."

"Ah... I'll check." Marius went back on board the Galen. After a moment, he returned. "There was a message. I -- I didn't check before we docked." Marius sighed. "Grandfather's going to rake me over the coals, isn't he?"

Curtis nodded, unsympathetically. Marius sighed and arranged to pick up an aircar.

The aircar was ambushed and disabled, but Marius was able to land it. He had a quick conference with Curtis and Katrina.

"We could make our way home on foot," he said.

"You just want to put off facing Grandfather," said Curtis.

"True, but I still think we've got the edge."

"How much do you two know about making your way through the woods?" asked Katrina.

"Ah, moss grows on the north side of the tree. Usually," said Marius. Seeing Katrina's expression, he added, "I do know how to wipe my ass in the woods. Curtis does, too. He's slept rough on some of his assignments. I've done the same -- I got involved in a planetary war once, a real one, not on Lauren. Like I told you and Jealousy, you wouldn't want me leading the troops, but I can take orders.

"Also, soft as Curtis and I are, the Toturi boys following us are probably softer." Marius looked to Curtis, who nodded in agreement, then continued, "So, you think you can lead a pair of soft aristocratic hicks through the woods?"

"I think I might," said Katrina. She gave rapid orders and was pleased to see them obeyed without fuss.

The upshot of these orders was that the dozen or so young Toturis closing in on the Lecks brothers and Katrina found themselves taken down rapidly. Marius took five down himself.

"Nice shooting," said Katrina, who had equaled his performance.

"Thanks. Been practicing. Shall we take their aircar?"

[or did they continue going through the woods? Was there a smaller wave first?]

Home

They arrived at the Lecks home with no further trouble and with three prisoners. Ancus Lecks, grandfather of Curtis and Marius Lecks, looked the brothers over sharply, and nodded to Katrina.

"Do you all wish to be present when your prisoners wake up?"

Marius and Curtis nodded.

Katrina said, "I think so. I don't know where outsiders fit into your wars"

"The Toturis shot at her when she came off the Galen," said Curtis.

"Ah," said Ancus. "In that case, it is entirely up to you, Katrina. Outsiders are not normally permitted to take part in our wars, but the Toturis fired on you. Clearly, they consider you a combatant."

"I see," said Katrina.

"But, you don't have to," said Marius hastily, hoping Katrina wouldn't find the entire thing too much of an obscenity.

"It sounds like fun," said Katrina.

A boggled Marius followed Ancus, Curtis, and Katrina to where the Toturis were being held. Marius revived, but did not unstrap, them.

All three stared at Katrina.

"You're supposed to be dead," said one of them. "We figured Curtis could use a distraction. Has he gotten around to proposing yet?"

Have I been that indiscreet? wondered Marius. Curtis, a receptive telepath, made a sign indicating that he had not. Gossip traveled, and that was all.

"He hasn't!" said the Toturi man, delighted. "Will you marry me?"

"Hey!" said Marius. "If she turns Curtis down, I'm next in line!"

"But, Curtis hasn't proposed," the prisoner said.

Marius looked at his brother.

Curtis went down on one knee.

"Katrina, will you marry me?" he asked.

Pausing briefly to wonder why the Ivic aristocracy seemed to consist of men of her generation who considered her a prize catch and their elders who agreed, Katrina said gently, "No. The current situation on Lauren doesn't permit it."

"That situation will change," said Marius, quickly. "When may he ask again?"

"No earlier than six months from now," said Katrina, as Curtis rose. Turning to her other suitor, she said, "I'm sorry, but we've only just met."

"If my grandsons have quite finished entertaining you," said Ancus, "let me know if any of you are willing to give your parole."

None of the Toturis took him up on this.

Later, Marius spoke with his grandfather, admitting that he'd neglected to check for messages before docking. Ancus did not, in fact, rake him over the coals, but it was very clear to Marius that he had better not make that mistake again.

"So," said Ancus, "how is it that my maverick grandsons are taking orders from an off worlder?"

Marius blinked. "She was the ranking officer with knowledge of the field."

Ancus nodded.

"It was odd working with her and Curtis on that station -- you got my report on that?"

"Yes. Odd how?"

"She was our strategist. She gave most of the orders. But, I checked with Curtis for details about which of my tricks to tell her about. And, when Curtis spoke, he was Ivic."

"That's good," said Ancus.

Over dinner, Curtis and Marius were brought up to date on the war. Marius asked about working with the Toturis to protect valuables, in case an offworlder decided to take advantage of the chaos.

"Maybe something to mark a thief," he said.

This met with general approval, as did Marius' suggestion of attacking the estate of Ancus' counterpart, Mika Toturi.

"After all," said Marius, they've loaned us a perfectly good aircar."

---

Marius piloted the aircar, instructing one of his younger cousins so that she could take over at need. Marius dropped off many of the Lecks troops. These were led by his cousin, Marcus Lecks, a good commando leader.

In the course of the raid, Marius "disabled" the estate's sensors, but the aircar was shot down. Later, Marcus and his unit felt a rush of ecstasy from the empathic doctor.

Marcus: He's either found another aircar or he's having sex.

Someone Else: This is Marius. He's found another aircar.

Marcus was captured, but either escaped or was rescued. Marius surprised his father by discussing how prisoners could work with either Curtis or himself to send information out mentally.

"I hadn't thought of prisoners as resources," said Ancus.

"I've had to," said Marius. "Especially when I've been the prisoner."

While Mika remained untouched, the mission was a success. The Lecks family had scored many points for style and had taken prisoners and an aircar.

"It's a very nice aircar," said Marius, wistfully. "I suppose I do have to return it after the war?"

Ancus nodded. "Unless you want to buy it from the Toturis."

As the war went on, the "body" count grew and the style points mounted. Ivic social life continued as usual. Marius took Katrina to visit the Fabians.

"They can only challenge one other family," he told her. "The rest of us wouldn't stand a chance against either. The Fabians are a strong military family."

The Fabians were delighted to see Katrina, and many of them fought bouts and exchanged techniques with her. She netted no new proposals, but only because they had discreetly assured themselves that such would be rude to Curtis.

Meanwhile, Marius asked about receiving training.

"Now?" asked one of the Fabians of his father's generation. "You know we'll charge high."

"No, not during the war. After. I'm being too careless, given my lifestyle. I need advice.

The other nodded. "Heard you're pretty good with a blaster. Show me?"

Marius obliged.

"Not bad," said the other. "Talk to us after the war, then. You may want to learn hip shooting, literally."

Marius and Katrina returned to the Lecks estate, exhausted, but satisfied. Later that night, two of the Toturi prisoners attempted an escape and nearly succeeded. Later that week, Ancus had some business with an uninvolved Ivic family.

"Do you need an escort?" asked Curtis.

"Not there," said Ancus. "That would be as disruptive as attacking me while I conducted the actual business. I do want an escort back."

Marius and others provided an aerial escort, keeping Ancus' aircar from being forced down by Toturi aircars. Marius was a little surprised to see that Ancus was actually inside the aircar, as he'd half expected the whole thing to be a decoy while Ancus secretly left in another direction.

Shortly after, there was another raid on the Toturis. Unfortunately, the Lecks family was not behind it. This had been an attack by offworlders, and they had succeeded in stealing several valuable items. They were marked, as intended, and the Toturis began tracking the them down via private detectives. The Lecks family made it clear that they were willing to provide whatever help the Toturis required to deal with the presumptuous offworlders who had invited themselves into a private game.

Meanwhile, the war continued. Marius' suggestion that Ancus' estate be booby trapped and abandoned was met with an enthusiasm that surprised him. Ancus was privately pleased by Marius' own enthusiasm and his realization that Ivic wars were not utterly frivolous, but were useful training exercises. It was good to see his grandson beginning to mature.

Marius was learning things about his homeworld that he'd never suspected. Ivic, it seemed, did mock planetary invasions as well.

"The last was when I was a little girl," said his mother. "I was a radio operator. You know, we should do another one soon."

Marius also learned things about his homeworld that disturbed him. He asked his mother about a mock biological attack. She firmly vetoed this idea, saying that it was not something one did to civilized enemies.

Marius thought about this. He thought about all of the vaccinations Ivic children received routinely, some of which were not effective if they were administered to adults. Many of the vaccines were for exotic enough illnesses that Marius had assumed Ivic as a whole was simply being paranoid.

Marius had been able to raise the question of a mock biological attack in large part because he did not think he or his family or his planet would ever condone a real biological attack. Conversations with his elders confirmed that a mock biological attack was not an option in a regular Ivic war precisely because they considered it a possible tactic against extremely uncivilized enemies, the sort prepared to commit mass atrocities against combatants and non-combatants alike.

Marius brooded about this, feeling decentered. He spoke about it with Katrina after confirming that Ivic had absolutely no objection to offworlders knowing this.

"Let me get this straight," said Katrina. "There are illnesses that one can only be vaccinated against as a very young child?"

"Yes," said Marius, and proceeded to give her the medical explanation.

She listened, and said, "So, this hypothetical invasion force would have little resistance if they were not already vaccinated against these?"

"Exactly. It would do little to no good giving them the vaccination at that point."

Katrina sat down with writing materials. "Marius," she said, "give me a list of those vaccinations. I think I need to expand my planet's medical program."

"Sure. Let's also review the most efficient ways to set up vaccination programs on Lauren."

All good things must eventually come to an end. Oh, it took a while. Ancus was "killed" when one of the younger Toturis recognized him and used a fake grenade, "dying" himself. Ancus was both annoyed and impressed. Mika was killed a little later, but the Toturis eventually won.

"Six of them were left standing when the last of us fell," Marius told his friend, Jealousy Jones.

"Sounds like you had fun," she noted.

"Hmph. I seem to have accidentally started a corporation."

"You? How?"

"Well, I commandeered an enemy aircar, and it was a lovely aircar. So, after the war, when I returned it, I asked about, um...

"Buying it?"

"It turns out that one of the Toturis had calibrated it as, well, as an aircar that anyone in the family could use. Sweet work. So, we got to talking about aircars, and how he could do work that might be better than what's on the market now, and, well, now there's a corporation. Stop laughing!"

"Why?"

As Marius was unable to think of answer to that, he changed the subject.

"Oh, and my mother said that there's also a bigger version of the war, the alien invasion one. And she thinks we're overdue for another one."

"Sounds fun. Can I play an alien?"