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Space Cossacks: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''Imperial authority tolerated the Kimashargu for a time but eventually cracked down on the movement about AD 950''
''Many thousands of Kimishargu fled Imperial space entirely, settling beyond the rimward frontier''|[[GURPS]] [[Traveller]]: ''
There is no hope and [[You Can't Go Home Again]]. [[The Empire]] is spreading out. Even [[The Federation]] has too many [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]s. There is no way for free men to get out of the reaches of [[The Government]] and even mounting [[La Résistance]] will be of no avail. So what do you do? You become '''Space Cossacks'''. You flee to the border and live in a tough area where you all [[HAD to Be Sharp|have to be sharp.]] You set up as [[Space Pirates]] or as [[Hired Guns]] or as [[Intrepid Merchant]]s. Or all of these at once. With you are various dissidents like people who feared being [[Made a Slave]]. There might be a [[Noble Fugitive]] or two, perhaps even a [[Defector From Decadence]]. You and your brave band of [[Fire-Forged Friends]] will struggle on to survive and maintain your freedom and heed no laws but your own and respect no authority but that of your [[Team Mom]] and/or [[Team Dad]]. Songs will be written of your deeds.
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[[The Empire]] most likely officially considers these guys outlaws, either in the sense that they're to be shot on sight, or in the sense that they're "outside the law" and are to be left alone as long as they stay out of the way. Either way, they probably consider them useful, as they both screen the empire from external threats and [[Terraforming|tame the fringe worlds]] into a state ready to be colonised. They may also provide a handy place to send people who are to be [[Reassigned to Antarctica]].
Given the [[New Old West|parallels]] to the [[Wild West]], a [[Space Western]] is almost sure to be set amongst such people.
The reference comes from the old Russian custom of disgruntled people fleeing to the steppes and joining a Cossack band.
{{noreallife|Real Life is not speculative fiction.}}
{{examples}}
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Star Wars]]'': Han Solo
** Han himself is more of a [[Defector From Decadence]], being former Imperial officer and all, but the underworld he joined fits this to a T.
* The entire human species became Space Cossacks in ''[[Titan A.E.]]'' after the destruction of the Earth.
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* The [[Hyperion]] Cantos has the Ousters, who fit this trope quite nicely.
* This was the background for [[H. Beam Piper]]'s Space Vikings, in the book of the same title. "at the end of the Big War. Ten thousand men and women on Abigor, refusing to surrender, had taken the remnant of the System States Alliance navy to space, seeking a world the Federation had never heard of and wouldn't find for a long time." Eight centuries later, their descendants have begun raiding into the territory once held by the now-collapsed Terran Federation.
*The Nomads in [[The Peregrine]] lead a gypsy like existence with each ship being a clan of it's own and tribal law being based on their ships(incest for instance is simply copulating with someone born on your own ship rather then transferred via marriage). They meet periodically to discuss gossip, bid for temporary exclusive claims to a trade route or whatever, talk of matters of general interest and try court cases.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In the [[BattleTech]] universe, there are the [[Proud Warrior Race|Clans]]. They are an interesting example as by the beginning of the main storyline they have become the dominant power in their own space and hold many systems of their own. Their warrior culture is enforced rather than necessary.
* ''[[Traveller]]'': Has a lot of examples of this. Among them are the Vilani Kimashargur, The Classic Traveller volume "Pocket Empires". And much of the history of the Sword Worlds as well as this troppers favorite sample campaign from the Gurps volume of that name. Many others.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Raynor's forces {{spoiler|post-Mengsk's betrayal}} in [[
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[[Category:Tropes in Space]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
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[[Category:Tropes of Hats]]
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