Another out of sequence snippet

bigrunt wrote:

runsforcelery wrote:And, yes, whatever else may be true about the snippet, Nimue is definitely arguing for a boom. A great BIG boom delivered air express. Precisely what the nature of the boom may be remaineth classified.

It is interesting seeing Nimue getting caught up in the emotion of fight. Merlin had resigned himself with the torture/death of Admiral Manthyr, and while he considered taking action he never argued for it.

Nimue is younger than Merlin. He carefully didn't supply a full copy of his experiences since he awoke in Nimue's Cave, to spare her what he'd been through. She'll have quite enough opportunity to accumulate her own bad memories.

Merlin has had to grit his teeth, realize that Shit Happens, now matter how good you are or what you do, and that people who were his comrades and friends would die before affairs on Safehold were settled and he couldn't prevent it. Worse (though it doesn't appear Nimue has internalized it yet), Merlin is effectively immortal, and everyone he knows will die while he's still around to see it. With luck, they'll live to a ripe old age and have had a long, happy, and productive life, but they'll still be dead and he won't be.

He'll be dealing with a variant of what Honor Harrington deals with in the Honorverse series, because she comes from a society where Prolong provides lifespans of 300 years or more, but various people she knows come from places that didn't have Prolong, and are too old to accept the treatments now that they are available. She'll watch them age and die while she's still in what they would think is the bloom of youth.

Nimue is getting caught up in the emotion of fight because she can. In the war against the Gbaba, everyone was doomed and knew it. All they could do was go down fighting. In the war against the Church of God Awaiting, she's on a side that can win, and some of the things Clyntahn and friends will get up to will provoke a "I was going to settle for hanging you, but I think I'd rather see you subjected to the full rigor of the Punishment and watch you die screaming like your victims" response. She's hardly the only one to feel that way.
______
Dennis

To piggyback on what other people have said about Nimue's eagerness to use modern tech vs Merlin's restraint, there's an important point to consider: responsibility of command.

An example from my personal experience: I advocated flying through the engagement envelope of heavy AAA to deliver supplies to troops on the ground, because I felt that the risk was worth it compared to the inherent risk. When comparing the toughness of my airframe against the talent of the Taliban, I've always got to like those odds well enough to go in, even during broad daylight, even wearing blaze orange. But I only had to worry about surviving to tell the tale.

My pilots had to be able to justify the risk.

I wonder what event (or chain of events) happened before Nimue expressed such a strong opinion. Must be a "really bad thing" from Clyntahns side ... maybe something to do with the first "out of order"-snippet? On the other hand, such kind of behaviour is more or less regarded as "par for the course", as far as the Inquisition is concerned ... It has to be something bigger, something, thats able to inflame not only Nimues rage but of anyone who regards him- or herself as on Charis' side as soon as they know about it ...

So - an attack against Crown Princess Alanah?

runsforcelery wrote:All I'll say is that the Inquisition has more than one facility in Zion and that the biggest and most important to them is not in the Temple or attached to the Temple Annex. It isn't even the one they hauled Gwyllym's men off to.

And, yes, whatever else may be true about the snippet, Nimue is definitely arguing for a boom. A great BIG boom delivered air express. Precisely what the nature of the boom may be remaineth classified.

A few posts upthread seem to think this refers to a kinetic orbital strike. I'm not sure about that. Remember the bomb system on the recon skimmer introduced at the end of HFQ? It used a 500lb bomb to destroy the ship, but text said it could handle a 2000lb bomb. And was clear that the bombs used had modern explosives, not black powder as their charges. I submit that a city of civilians, in an age where black powder is high tech, could view a 2000lb bomb filled with modern explosives as something akin to Langhorn's rakurai. Especially if said bomb drops with precision and without warning onto a target in Zion.

Wow!

5 snippets in 7-8 days?

Happy days are here again!

Thank you RFC, very much!!

Maybe it is Nynian they've caught, and if she and Merlin haven't consummated their predicted relationship yet, since its not part of the temple complex, he's going in there to get his woman, and no inquisitor in there will live to tell about it.

I suspect any innocent victims will be mercifully put down if they too can't be taken to the cave for regeneration.

We've seen OWL's battle 'bots in action, now we may see them close up or the inquisitors do before they die.

BTW, how long before Nimue and general koryn consummate theirs?

Very interesting times indeed.

L

lyonheart wrote:
5 snippets in 7-8 days?

5? Did I miss one? By my count, as of this posting, there are four; two chronological and two out of order.

Rod wrote:

runsforcelery wrote:All I'll say is that the Inquisition has more than one facility in Zion and that the biggest and most important to them is not in the Temple or attached to the Temple Annex. It isn't even the one they hauled Gwyllym's men off to.

And, yes, whatever else may be true about the snippet, Nimue is definitely arguing for a boom. A great BIG boom delivered air express. Precisely what the nature of the boom may be remaineth classified.

I have top secret clearances
PM me!

Only problem: it's classified as "Suicide Before Reading". Just sayin'...

Undercover Fat Kid wrote:

lyonheart wrote:
5 snippets in 7-8 days?

5? Did I miss one? By my count, as of this posting, there are four; two chronological and two out of order.

Lyonheart is probably including the HH snippet as part of the 5.

Rod wrote:

runsforcelery wrote:All I'll say is that the Inquisition has more than one facility in Zion and that the biggest and most important to them is not in the Temple or attached to the Temple Annex. It isn't even the one they hauled Gwyllym's men off to.

And, yes, whatever else may be true about the snippet, Nimue is definitely arguing for a boom. A great BIG boom delivered air express. Precisely what the nature of the boom may be remaineth classified.

I have top secret clearances
PM me!

But do you have the requisite compartments - you know - crypto, nuclear, RFC material?

Henry Brown wrote:SNIP
A few posts upthread seem to think this refers to a kinetic orbital strike. I'm not sure about that. Remember the bomb system on the recon skimmer introduced at the end of HFQ? It used a 500lb bomb to destroy the ship, but text said it could handle a 2000lb bomb. And was clear that the bombs used had modern explosives, not black powder as their charges. I submit that a city of civilians, in an age where black powder is high tech, could view a 2000lb bomb filled with modern explosives as something akin to Langhorn's rakurai. Especially if said bomb drops with precision and without warning onto a target in Zion.

I think this is coming from the strike being referred to as "Langhorn's Rakurai". The implication for me is the presence of some sort of flame trail through the atmosphere which eliminates plain old bombs no matter how big and powerful.