Has the Mesan Alignment already lost?

tonyz wrote:The MAlign has one big advantage: it's a single force and not a coalition. It's techniques of using diplomatic judo throws to turn a much stronger opponent against itself will probably be applied in spades. The difficulty will be that they don't have the deeplai s groundwork that they did in the Solarian League.

HB of CJ wrote:First off, the usual dis qualifiers. I do not have the physical time to research and deliver specific time frames and events. Too little daily time. This Excellent Forum must compete with other Forums. Hope you all understand.

I look at it differently. Who can hurt the Grand Alliance, (GA) and how badly and when? The Sollies have painted themselves into a horrible corner. They must respond to the GA, (mostly Mantie) defenses and successes BY ATTACKING.

But...direct Sollie attacks do not work. But wars can be fought by other means. Kinetic planetary strikes? How badly could the GA be shattered by last ditch successes by the Sollies ... even with no chance for a Sollie victory?

Then what about the Mal-alignment? (MA) They pulled off Oyster Bay. What else do they have in their shot locker? How easy do they want to go into the night? How bad could the war become for the GA? Wow! Very ugly indeed. Just me.

No rules. No laws. No morality. Just vindictive destruction. Plagues. Kinetic strikes. Poison the wells. Salt the fields. Lots of historical references. Punic wars? Things could get very very nasty for all sides quickly.

YIKES indeed! HB of CJ (old coot) Cm. I love this Excellent Forum. Just fun easy thinking! (sometimes overly morbid)

Weird Harold wrote:

Amaroq wrote:The formation of the GA might almost be more disastrous than the Alignment getting "outed" before it was ready. It was a concentration of power that the Alignment's planners couldn't have foreseen. It also represents another player that has the strength to stand up to the League and the Alignment.

On the contrary, the GA or at least an alliance between Haven and Manticore has been the target of the MAlign for a century or so. Starting with the rise of the Legislaturalists and Dolists in Haven to the assassination of King Roger, they've done everything they could to keep Haven and Manticore hostile to each other.

Hutch wrote:It may be that I am suffering from Too-Early Monday Morning syndrome (it often lasts until Wednesday afternoon... ), but it appears that you and Amaroq are strongly in agreement here?

Weird Harold wrote:

Hutch wrote:It may be that I am suffering from Too-Early Monday Morning syndrome (it often lasts until Wednesday afternoon... ), but it appears that you and Amaroq are strongly in agreement here?

Nope, at least not on the point that the GA couldn't be anticipated by the MAlign; it has been anticipated and the MAlign has done everything it could to prevent the GA from forming. (Not the GA precisely, but an alliance between Haven and Manticore.)

Weird Harold wrote:

Hutch wrote:It may be that I am suffering from Too-Early Monday Morning syndrome (it often lasts until Wednesday afternoon... ), but it appears that you and Amaroq are strongly in agreement here?

Nope, at least not on the point that the GA couldn't be anticipated by the MAlign; it has been anticipated and the MAlign has done everything it could to prevent the GA from forming. (Not the GA precisely, but an alliance between Haven and Manticore.)

roseandheather wrote:If I recall correctly, it has been hinted that the DuQuesne Plan which produced the PRH - and turned Haven from my Athens of the Stars into something that would even frighten Stalin - was in fact engineered by the MAlign.

cralkhi wrote:Makes sense. A total galactic war of destruction where pretty much every inhabitable planet is totally wrecked and the rest "bombed back to the stone age" would leave them in a very strong position, if they could have one hidden planet (like Darius) survive with a good tech base.