Scuffles wrote:cthia wrote: Initiate a few well-placed tac-witches to pull an Oops, grand scale.
If your plan requires magic to work I'd say it's a bad plan.
Let me put my Detweiler hat on for a moment.
Alright, don't I look stylish. Here's the plan:
Do nothing.
Don't look at me like that. I'll explain a little. We can't defeat Manticore in a straight up fight. We can't defeat Haven in a straight up fight. We can't even defeat Grayson in a straight up fight. Therefore, we must avoid getting into a straight up fight. Just because we king hit them doesn't mean we need to stand there and exchange punches because that they didn't fall down.
This is fine, because ultimately our plan doesn't require us to militarily dominate the galaxy, it requires us to politically dominate the galaxy. Ultimately all we want is to be able to work our genetic wizardry to uplift all of humanity. That doesn't mean we have to shoot all the dissenters, we just have to make sure they don't shoot us while we're working on convincing everyone. The plan didn't involve Manticore still existing and it certainly didn't involve them having an alliance that includes all the big guns in the galaxy but that's the reality we have to live with for now.
Manticore and friends hate our guts and would happily shoot us all, but that's okay because they don't know who we are or where we live. All they know is that we exist and that we used to be on Mesa. That's why we pulled a Houdini.
The most important thing we needed from this phase of our plan is for the Solarian League to fall to bits. That's in motion so we're in good shape. We don't need to take any military actions that drag us out into the light for all to see because that would be a disaster.
We just need to do what we were going to do anyway - quietly gather allies in a conventional manner. Presumably our members extend a helping hand towards any neighbours that need assistance as things go wonky for the league. Presumably we stir up some trouble (covertly) to make sure that neighbours that we want on side need our help. Then we let things settle down while we very slowly and carefully flex our new-found political muscles to very slowly change this ridiculous attitude towards genetic engineering. It's still a plan that spans centuries, no need to act precipitously.
Okay, let me take off this ridiculous hat.
The alignment needs to not fight the Grand Alliance right now. Any direct action they take against said Alliance increases the chances of getting found out. Assuming that Houdini is clean (It probably won't be, but they need it to be) then they should not look to inflict further damage on Manticore because they don't have the capability to destroy the Alliance's military forces right now. That can change with time and for now they have time.
Assuming that they got away with Houdini.
WHAT IS THIS???!
Besides the most incredibly insightful yarn of a thread I've read in a while. Your analysis is another refreshing post, and probably as close to spot on as you can get...without actually leaving a spot. Kudos!
But...
I don't wear hats. Allow me a paci-fier. (Pacifiers allow one to get away with...murder.)
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaa waaaaaaa waaaaaa I wan't my all-in response. Mommy!"
Now that I have your attention (you don't want this big baby crying in the aisles of the local grocer) and you've picked me up and are carrying me on your hip (aren't I a cute baby waxing on his pacy?) I'm liable to get what I want...
I'm feeling the pressure that the MA must also be feeling. Their plan has caught a few snags and just like a woman's hose you can't just sit and do nothing and watch that snag develop into a full blown run. That plan was one of the most brilliant
and flawlessly executed as any in the entire Honorverse. Including Honor's verse! Too bad there's simply no way to plan for uninvited guests...that Demon Murphy. And Murphy has let the cat out of the bag. Now that the GA knows, they're going to be sniffing like a well trained hell hound. The Malignment will be found and whether they can duke it out with the GA will be a moot point then. So, be the aggressor, create the stage and give yourself home field advantage or just sit around and wait to be dead. Doing nothing would only be a good plan if so much hadn't been let out of the bag. That ship has sailed.
On to the unfair part of my analysis. RFC has announced that there will only be one or two more mainstream novels with Honor as the central character. While there's nothing preventing him from carrying on and stretching out this MA thing, textev has hinted of Honor riding helm on that vengeance mission. And if RFC doesn't deliver on that hint, I'm going to begin a planet wide petition to initiate the first automobile-like recall of a book...to write an alternate ending!
That being said, the perpetrators can hear the pendulum swinging and the clock ticking. That's why I said now might finally be time for an all-in.
This is fine, because ultimately our plan doesn't require us to militarily dominate the galaxy, it requires us to politically dominate the galaxy.
Unless that plan has gone awry and your leaders have written a check their asses can't cash by pissing off the three most militarily advanced nations who have blood in their eyes and missiles up their sleeves. And when they find you and you don't have military dominance, they're going to shove a starship right up your wedge.
So I still say go for broke. Pull out all the stops. Set the nannies loose without reservation. Assassinate. Don't procrastinate. Kill. Don't
be killed. And for reader's sake, give us some action to look forward to. If everyone is going to be reasonable, then that's Utopia not the Honorverse.
This still doesn't discount much of what you said Scuffles. I just hope that most of what you said has already taken place, in storybook fashion, behind the scenes.
Baby just wants another epic battle, a few throw downs. At least a few skirmishes or...scuffles?
What's this in my mouth?...spits out pacifier.
Cries for it back.
