Mazianni
Encyclopedia
Mazianni is a term used in C. J. Cherryh
's science fiction
Alliance-Union universe
. It refers to the military starships and their crews who remain loyal to their commander, the charismatic, ambitious Conrad Mazian, when he renounces his allegiance to Earth.
.
Losing a war of attrition
, Mazian devises a subtle, dangerous plan to establish a firebreak
between Union and Earth. Implementing his strategy costs five of his ships. When he launches the Fleet for the last critical attack, he is forced to abort when he receives a message from a high Earth Company official, announcing peace negotiations and ordering him to stand down. The Fleet retreats to Pell, less one more ship.
At this point, Mazian makes the fateful decision to rebel and attempt to take over Earth itself. Downbelow Station ends with his (implied) failure, and the defection of one of his most senior captains, Signy Mallory, and her ship Norway to the newborn Merchanter's Alliance, based at Pell. The remaining ships, outlawed by all three major powers, return to guerrilla warfare
: hit-and-run raids and preying on merchant ships for replacement personnel and equipment.
At least three subsequent merchanter novels
mention the Mazianni. In Rimrunners
, Keu's India is trapped while trying to refuel at the Thule star system and is either captured or (more likely) destroyed by Norway. At the end of Merchanter's Luck
, Tom Edger's Australia is forced to evacuate a little-used station by Norway, supported by the armed superfreighters Finity's End and Dublin Again. Tripoint
however discloses a more promising fate for the renegade Fleet: a distant, habitable planet has been discovered and a new colony is being secretly built there.
s and aircraft carrier
s. They are well armed and can fight on their own, but also carry "rider ships" to augment their firepower. The latter are short-range, intrasystem vessels, incapable of interstellar flight on their own. In Downbelow Station
, Norway has four of them. Also notable is their immense acceleration advantage over merchanters and other non-military ships.
Attested names of the Fleet ships are as follows:
and "rejuv" (rejuvenation), a medical treatment that extends life. (In Rimrunners
, a Loki crewman claims to have served on a slower-than-light ship that actually predates the Earth Company Fleet.) Others are recruited, voluntarily or not, from "merchanters" (interstellar traders) and "insystemers" (spaceships incapable of interstellar flight). Signy Mallory is an example of the former, Bet Yeager (from Rimrunners) the latter. Lastly, there are survivors of lost Fleet ships. For example, Norway has crew from Brazil, Italia, Wasp and Miriam B.
The crew includes space marines
equipped with armed and armored suits, similar to those in Heinlein's
Starship Troopers
. Rimrunners describes them and their capabilities in some detail.
C. J. Cherryh
Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
Alliance-Union universe
Alliance-Union universe
The Alliance-Union universe is a fictional universe created by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. It is the setting for an epic future history series extending from the 21st century out into the far future....
. It refers to the military starships and their crews who remain loyal to their commander, the charismatic, ambitious Conrad Mazian, when he renounces his allegiance to Earth.
History
The ships began their existence as the Earth Company Fleet, 50 strong, built and sent out to enforce Earth's control of its star stations. In the long Company War between Earth and the breakaway Union, that number had been whittled down to 15 patchwork ships with waning loyalty to an increasingly indifferent Earth by the beginning of the novel Downbelow StationDownbelow Station
Downbelow Station is a science fiction novel written by C. J. Cherryh and published in 1981 by DAW Books. It won the Hugo Award in 1982, was shortlisted for a Locus Award that same year, and was named by Locus Magazine as one of the top 50 science fiction novels of all time in 1987.The book is set...
.
Losing a war of attrition
War of Attrition
The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed, but by late 1970 it was clear that this mission had been...
, Mazian devises a subtle, dangerous plan to establish a firebreak
Firebreak
A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...
between Union and Earth. Implementing his strategy costs five of his ships. When he launches the Fleet for the last critical attack, he is forced to abort when he receives a message from a high Earth Company official, announcing peace negotiations and ordering him to stand down. The Fleet retreats to Pell, less one more ship.
At this point, Mazian makes the fateful decision to rebel and attempt to take over Earth itself. Downbelow Station ends with his (implied) failure, and the defection of one of his most senior captains, Signy Mallory, and her ship Norway to the newborn Merchanter's Alliance, based at Pell. The remaining ships, outlawed by all three major powers, return to guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
: hit-and-run raids and preying on merchant ships for replacement personnel and equipment.
At least three subsequent merchanter novels
The Merchanter novels
The Merchanter novels is a term that describes several loosely connected novels by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh set in her Alliance-Union universe...
mention the Mazianni. In Rimrunners
Rimrunners
Rimrunners is a science fiction novel written by C. J. Cherryh and set in her Alliance-Union universe, in which humanity has split into three major power blocs: Union, the Merchanter's Alliance and Earth...
, Keu's India is trapped while trying to refuel at the Thule star system and is either captured or (more likely) destroyed by Norway. At the end of Merchanter's Luck
Merchanter's Luck
Merchanter's Luck is a science fiction novel written by C. J. Cherryh. It is set in the author's Alliance-Union universe, in which humanity has split into three major power blocs: Union, the Merchanter's Alliance and Earth...
, Tom Edger's Australia is forced to evacuate a little-used station by Norway, supported by the armed superfreighters Finity's End and Dublin Again. Tripoint
Tripoint (novel)
Tripoint is a science fiction novel written by the United States science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh, and was first published by Warner Books in September 1994. It is one of Cherryh's Merchanter novels and is set in the author's Alliance-Union universe.-Background:In the Alliance-Union...
however discloses a more promising fate for the renegade Fleet: a distant, habitable planet has been discovered and a new colony is being secretly built there.
Ships
The ships of the Mazianni, like their counterparts in the Union military, can be likened to a combination of current-day battleshipBattleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s and aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s. They are well armed and can fight on their own, but also carry "rider ships" to augment their firepower. The latter are short-range, intrasystem vessels, incapable of interstellar flight on their own. In Downbelow Station
Downbelow Station
Downbelow Station is a science fiction novel written by C. J. Cherryh and published in 1981 by DAW Books. It won the Hugo Award in 1982, was shortlisted for a Locus Award that same year, and was named by Locus Magazine as one of the top 50 science fiction novels of all time in 1987.The book is set...
, Norway has four of them. Also notable is their immense acceleration advantage over merchanters and other non-military ships.
Attested names of the Fleet ships are as follows:
- Downbelow Station: Brazil, Italia, Wasp, "the jinxed" Miriam B., Norway, Europe, Tibet, Africa, Australia, India, North Pole, Atlantic, Pacific, Lybia
- Devil to the Belt: Hamilton.
Crews
It is likely (though not explicitly stated) that some of the crew date back to the original launch of the Fleet, made possible by time dilationTime dilation
In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an observed difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravitational masses. An accurate clock at rest with respect to one observer may be measured to tick at...
and "rejuv" (rejuvenation), a medical treatment that extends life. (In Rimrunners
Rimrunners
Rimrunners is a science fiction novel written by C. J. Cherryh and set in her Alliance-Union universe, in which humanity has split into three major power blocs: Union, the Merchanter's Alliance and Earth...
, a Loki crewman claims to have served on a slower-than-light ship that actually predates the Earth Company Fleet.) Others are recruited, voluntarily or not, from "merchanters" (interstellar traders) and "insystemers" (spaceships incapable of interstellar flight). Signy Mallory is an example of the former, Bet Yeager (from Rimrunners) the latter. Lastly, there are survivors of lost Fleet ships. For example, Norway has crew from Brazil, Italia, Wasp and Miriam B.
The crew includes space marines
Space Marines
Space Marines is a science fiction miniatures wargame created by A. Mark Ratner. There were two editions. The first was published by FanTac Games and the second by Fantasy Games Unlimited . Both versions include artwork by David C. Sutherland III.The FanTac version of the game included conversion...
equipped with armed and armored suits, similar to those in Heinlein's
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December, 1959.The first-person narrative is about a young soldier from the Philippines named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his...
. Rimrunners describes them and their capabilities in some detail.
External links
- Alliance-Union timeline until 2300, from Cherryh's official site
- Alliance-Union timeline, with book citations (contains plot detail)
- Star maps of Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe
- List of Earth Company/Alliance/Union ships