McGuiness wrote:Randomiser wrote:From the descriptions I'm pretty sure it doesn't. It's outside the Temple and forms the impressive approach to it. I have long been of the opinion that Merlin could very probably have taken Clyntahn during the execution of Gwyllam Manthyr by sniping with a then available Charisian rifle if he had really wanted to do so.
I've never really understood why he is quite prepared to shoot troopers who get in his way, but thinks going after high-ups would be morally dubious and corrosive assassination.
Please re-read the final battle scene in OAR and tell me again that you don't understand why Merlin slaughtered every Corisandian soldier in his way in a desperate attempt to reach King Haarahld before his monarch and friend was killed, and those Merlin killed included Black Water, who commanded the entire campaign against Charis. Then tell me again why you don't understand how killing off the leadership of the opposition
in battle would be morally corrosive.
If one of the scout snipers had realized Wyrshym was watching their initial encounter in the Sylmahn Gap from close range, he'd have happily put a round through him, and we'd have cheered! Remember the Battle of Haryl's Crossing in Corisande, where the first shots were all scout snipers shooting the leadership of the Corisandian army? The confusion that caused basically won the battle before the serious shooting started.
Please keep in mind that the sheer number of deaths in this war is weighing heavily on Merlin's conscience. Even if he doesn't deal the killing blow himself, he feels responsible for starting the war - which was inevitable, although his inventions did speed it up by a year or two at most, and enabled Charis to survive. The Go4 started the war over dinner, but unfortunately for them, Charis didn't do them the favor of rolling over and dying!
When Merlin was forced to kill the semaphore crews in MTaT, who weren't soldiers and were just doing their civilian jobs but had to be eliminated so the ironclads could get past them without a message being sent ahead on the semaphore chain, he agonized about having to do it, then basically shut off his brain and let his reflexes take over, because all those people were innocent. That's what's driving Merlin slowly insane, and why he was willing to use the copy of Nimue's personality for the new PICA - she was pure of the horrible deeds he'd been forced to commit. (And I bet he takes the wet jobs and leaves the skullduggery to her.)
As for assassinating the leadership of the CoGA and its armies, (other than Clyntahn) Merlin feels that the EoC should definitely
not be in the business of assassinations, since it's one obvious difference between the two sides The CoGA, Clyntahn, his inquisitors and his Rakurai suicide bombers are murderous thugs, and they
all kill innocents. Charis avoids that whenever possible - note that they actually take
prisoners when their Siddarmarkan allies would happily kill those men instead. (Note that Mab executing soldiers and inquisitors who were guilty of brutal torture and murder was
justice, not assassination.)
I'm not holding my breath that the ICA won't execute the entire staffs of the concentration camps it encounters though, and those butchers
deserve it!
Moving along...
The plaza of Martyrs is just that - a plaza, meaning a flat, empty place. (Although it does have some rather nice fountains.) Platforms and seating are provided for days when the Inquisition is feeling murderous.
Using an M96, especially when high powered smokeless powder is available, Merlin could pick Clyntahn off from nearly a mile away, which would also give him time to escape. Unfortunately, whatever is under the temple might wake up if it senses the nearby presence of a PICA.
Of course a dozen scout snipers might be able to pull it off as well, since their guns have even more range, and if telescopic lenses for rifles have been introduced, they could even get a great view of the the Grand Fornicator in their crosshairs before they pull the trigger. (And another view of him looking around in confusion wondering where the bullets are coming from should they miss and have to fire again, or they could enjoy the view as he bleeds out and gives new meaning to "the Plaza of Martyrs.")
Keep in mind, there isn't a single innocent vicar or inquisitor in the plaza during the final phase of the Punishment of Schueler, and shooting the victims would give them a merciful instant death. Have you read what they
do to "heretics" during the Punishment? Read about the murder of Erayk Dynnys in BSRA! So the snipers should keep on shooting until nobody on the platform is still moving, victims included, since their bodies are already tortured and broken. Death would come as a comfort to them. (Plus there's probably no chance of pulling off a rescue.)
Yes, Merlin could pick off Clyntahn whenever the fat pig sets foot outside the temple, which he almost never does. There was never a chance that Merlin could do it when Gwylym Manthyr and the last survivors of his command were murdered, because Merlin simply didn't have enough time to get there - the temple isn't in the habit of posting schedules regarding the executions of "heretics," or Clyntahn would already be dead.
I look forward to the day when Merlin skewers his Fatness with a sharp pig sticker, which is a scene that will undoubtedly exceed the scene from LaMA when Mab hung the murderous inquisitor to the wall by slamming a Charisian midshipman's dirk through the coward's chest while holding him several inches off the floor and telling him that his "church" was an abomination created by lunatics. The dirk did a
lovely job of keeping the corpse above ground level until the bodies of all the murderers were found, by which time they'd joined Langhorne and company in Hell.
As for shooting the temple with 10" guns or anything else available to the ICN, hitting the temple dome might not scratch it, but the energy of the collision between a 500 lb. solid shot and the battle steel dome has to go
somewhere. In all likelihood the dome would ring like a bell, and the sheer racket might rupture eardrums and internal organs. So it's not worth discounting the value of a shot like that.
However, if a Haarahld VII get that close to the Temple, it means that undercover ICM have already seized it from the inside, so its only job is to blow away any groups of Temple Guards or Inquisitors who gather and try to take the Temple back. Since it appears that the doors can be closed and barred from the inside, once the ICM take the place, it's all over except waiting for reinforcements while some specialists search the basement, and the troops play "Catch the vicar" until all the luxury apartments are empty. Then they get to decide who to hang and (if possible) who to let go - but since Clyntahn murdered the circle, Cahnyr is the
only archbishop left who we actually know is worthy of his vestments.
Oh, there's LOTS of inquisitors in the temple, so the marines are going to have SO much fun!
), he could be available to do the assignation of Clyntahn for Duchairn or Nynian since he is in the temple and has one of the keys to open doors. He could also be reporting to Nynian's other agents or available for other roles.
