Brigade XO wrote:It is unlikely that the SL would have gotten involved if Masada somehow slipped nukes into shipments to Grayson and blew up several cities or even if the Masadan plan worked with the help of Haven and ended up using even one of their own (not a Haven built) warships to drip a KEW or two on specific points on Grayson after taking the orbitals.
Why? Because even if Manticore was there to notice, the SL wouldn't care. Neither Grayson nor certainly Masada had anything at that point that OFS would have concidered worth streaching out to take. Grayson is a LONG way from the SL. Heck, we don't even see any transtellars sniffing around Grayson. It would have been treated by the SL, if they got word of it in any kind of timelty manner, as little more than a neo-barb civil war driven by two sets of twisted religious fundimantalinsm.
The only reason Manticore was there was the same reason the Peeps were. Grayson occupies a stratigic location relative to Haven and Manticore in the tactical conciderations of Haven's expansion (specificaly taking Manticore) and Manticor'e needing to both deny Haven that position and gain support.
The approch was very different but the basic reasons were the same. You want to go with plot driven approach contrasting Haven vs Manticore, Manticore was perfectly willing to ignor Masada if they left Grayson alone and since they clearly didn't see the Haven involvement except diplomatic presence on Grayson, about the only true concern Masada presented would be possible pirate activity (they have been listening to those paranoid Graysons again) and potentially usefull but very inferior tactical position for Haven vs. Grayson. Manticore shows up with usefull modern equipment (not "glass beads and trinkets" ), offer of trade agreements and military alliance to Grayson. Masada- nada.
Of course, Grayson is not constantly plotting to take over Masada and the upper level of government clearly doesn't trust Haven but dispite the very differnt take and possibly degenerate view on religions from the Grayson point of view, Manticore has a history and tradition of fair dealing.
And so the plot unfolds.
And NONE of those FF KEW attacks on revolts pushed along by Harlap and friends nor the Intervention Battalion deployments would have been considered EE violations since FF was just doing their job at the request of the legitimate (in the eyes of the OFS and SL) governments.
As I've written, there are loopholes galore. And when you're the biggest (and you can also say "only") power around, you can do what you want.
How can a planet complain to the League about what the League has done?