#gurkha

It was memorably said of the Nepalese Gurkha that "If a man claims he does not fear to die, he's either lying or a Gurkha."

Therefore, I posit the existence of a common Belmont/Gurkha ancestor, possibly in the early Iron Age.

Me: As a mixture of the Burma, New Guinea, and Borneo campaign.

Others: … What?

Me: Well, the Valkyria chronicles franchise has always liked toying with some degree of moral ambiguity, with an empire that is clearly in the wrong, but the side you are fighting for, while better, still has glaring flaws. Furthermore, the fourth game implied and talked about the idea that nations within the Federation has colonies, and while I am skeptical of how much of what the Imperial soldier stating that claim is stating established facts or state propaganda, that could be an angle to explore plot wise.

Think about it, perhaps the Empire launches a naval invasion to try and take over these resource rich colonies, and are banking on creating a narrative that they are liberators to the indigenous population, just like how the Japanese did during their initial pushes into Southeast Asia.

This could also mean a new perspective of what I shall dub for the sake of this post, the “Commonwealth”, who draws inspiration from mainly British colonial forces and Commonwealth, more specifically, Indian and Australian forces, with a heavy side of Gurkhas. Where you have to manage and combat this narrative, between members of your squad that are descendants of Edinburgh Federation settlers (Australians), indigenous peoples (Indians, Indonesians, Malaysians, and Nepali Gurkhas) and those actually from the Federation (British).

Not to mention, this could also be interesting to explore in the context of why they are siding with the Federation. Those actually from the Federation might view the conflict through the lens of ideology, and preserving the Empire Federation. Meanwhile the settlers might not care about the broader Federation, but they do care about their home being threatened. Finally those who are indigenous might have negative feelings about their current Colonial overlords, but be even more skeptical to the Imperial claims, or maybe even be exposed to the actual Imperial treatment that is far worse than anything the Federation have done.

And the Darscen can be explored in an interesting lens, as the Federation-native members might have the most amount of anti-Darscen soldiers, while settlers might still talk about them using offensive terms, but otherwise treats them better due to the need for the skill sets often associated with Darscens being particularly useful and valuable, while the indigenous members don’t have the context for the hate, and as far as they’re concerned, it’s someone else’s problem.

Gameplay-wise, the door is open to a lot of creativity. Jungle warfare can open the door to a lot of new mechanics and tactical situations. Maps could be very claustrophobic due to the thick jungle. Closer engagements could lead to having classes be more flexible, such as the inclusion of melee, bonus equipment like flares for the Scout class that helps to boost accuracy within the zone, or even new skills like engineers being able to build emplaced weapons.

Then there are the tanks. Tanks could play an interesting role, as tanks were used in far more limited numbers and roles compared to the European fronts, but I can easily see an interesting exploration in this world about smaller more compact tanks that function like anti-infantry roles, like how the Australians use Matilda tanks in the liberation of Borneo.

I could also see the dropping of the lancer class (iconic as it is), but the adoption of a new class that I would dub the “point man”, who would act as a mix of the scout and the shock class, having high movement range, but armed with more short ranged weapons like submachine guns and introducing shotguns to the series.

And the enemy can be interesting as well, with perhaps less use of the traditional image of the Imperial forces within the series, but instead more like naval troops and sailors and marines, perhaps their own colonial forces, and maybe even native people who side with the Imperials, deeming the Federation too irredeemable.

Finally, aesthetic. I think people are too obsessed with either the German, Soviet and/or American WWII aesthetic, but I personally find British commonwealth and colonial forces too be an awesome aesthetic, and also because I believe people often overlook the actions and achievements of British imperial forces.

Personally, I think people might be intrigued with playing characters inspired and based off Sikh, Malay, Gurkhas, Australians, and even British forces. Slouches hats, Bren guns, Owen guns, and Kukri knives, honestly it would be cool to see and use.

Besides, what could be cooler than siccing a fantasy world equivalent of a Gurkha or Aussie on an unsuspecting Imperial?

Others:… Go back to having the shower thoughts be about Genshin.

In early April, 1982, the P&O Liner, Canberra, was on a Mediterranean cruise when her captain, Dennis (DJ) Scott-Masson, received orders to put in at Gibraltar. He there received instructions to proceed immediately to Southampton under Admiralty orders. (It's unclear exactly where the poor passengers were kicked off).

Within a week, and after a hasty refit which included the installation of helipads, the Canberra set sail for the Falklands, with a reduced volunteer crew and, depending on the source, either 2 000 or 3 000 commandoes of the Royal Marines and Parachute Regiment.

She was taken close inshore in San Carlos Water on May 21st, the first of three occasions, to disembark the troops.

Captain Scott-Masson was later interviewed for the ABC Australia documentary series, Liners: Ships of Destiny. He recalled;

"...Our major fear was that we would be hit by bombs or an Exocet, the ship’s superstructure was built of aluminium, and fire would have been our worst hazard, and that is what we worried about..."

He also conceded that the extreme danger did slightly disrupt shipboard routine;

"...There was one night we didn’t have a drink with dinner, didn’t have wine with dinner... was the night we went into San Carlos..."

The QEII was also on troopship duties, but remained well outside of the battle zone, her own contingent of Guards, Gurkhas and Blues and Royals shuttled from her position off South Georgia in the Canberra.

A contributor to Liners: Ships of Destiny explained why;

"...(The QEII) couldn’t really be exposed to danger, the thought of risking losing the ship that had the same name as the Sovereign was more than the politicians could bear. The fact that the Canberra was exposed didn’t really matter, after all it was only the capital of Australia..."

The Canberra and 2500 troops returned safely to Southampton on July 11th, welcomed by around 250 000 people.

The Canberra was paid off in 1997, after 36 years of service.

Captain Scott-Masson passed away in 2010, aged 81.

Captain Scott-Masson's son is the actor, William Scott-Masson