Path to Darius (Spoilers)

We know this system is important if the alliance ever hopes to defeat the alignment, yet htey dont even know it existst alone how to reach it. The knowledge was highly retricted.
There are two systems that offer the best chances of getting the information torch or mesa. The aliance will be turning up quicker than expected in mesa. They might not have had a chonce to get assets off world or destroy any evidence concerning or linked to the Alignment.
The other is torch, as ships potentially could travel to the twins. While the mannerheim if more in the casino, would any sgipd hre

SYED wrote: There are two systems that offer the best chances of getting the information torch or mesa.

Mannerheim, or more specifically high ranking Mannerheim naval officers, are the most likely source of information on the Felix Junction and the two "hidden" termini. (Darius and the Twins.)

The second most likely source of information is capture of a MAN ship's computers -- streak drive DB or Spider Drive ship.

SYED wrote:We know this system is important if the alliance ever hopes to defeat the alignment, yet htey dont even know it existst alone how to reach it. The knowledge was highly retricted.
There are two systems that offer the best chances of getting the information torch or mesa. The aliance will be turning up quicker than expected in mesa. They might not have had a chonce to get assets off world or destroy any evidence concerning or linked to the Alignment.
The other is torch, as ships potentially could travel to the twins. While the mannerheim if more in the casino, would any sgipd hre

They know something like Darius exists, just not what it's called, where or how to get there.

The MAlign finished getting everyone off Mesa and cleaning up evidence three weeks before Eleventh Fleet arrived. How well they did the cleanup remains to be seen.

They've apparently given up the idea of trying to trace the other end of the Torch wormhole, and in any case they don't know that it has anything to do with Darius --- only that their first ship didn't come back.

How RFC will have them locate Darius for the final climactic battle is something only he knows at this time.

I seriously doubt that Torch is going to play a significant role. The path to Darius goes through the Twins and then Felix, which is close to Mannerheim. If they do trace Darius through the wormhole connections, they'll find Mannerheim, and Mannerheim is a known system with trade and political connections, so it would be easiest to simply grab off the Felix junction. Whether the best logistics path goes through Torch or somewhere else is, again, something only RFC knows at this time.

JohnRoth wrote:

SYED wrote:We know this system is important if the alliance ever hopes to defeat the alignment, yet htey dont even know it existst alone how to reach it. The knowledge was highly retricted.
There are two systems that offer the best chances of getting the information torch or mesa. The aliance will be turning up quicker than expected in mesa. They might not have had a chonce to get assets off world or destroy any evidence concerning or linked to the Alignment.
The other is torch, as ships potentially could travel to the twins. While the mannerheim if more in the casino, would any sgipd hre

They know something like Darius exists, just not what it's called, where or how to get there.

The MAlign finished getting everyone off Mesa and cleaning up evidence three weeks before Eleventh Fleet arrived. How well they did the cleanup remains to be seen.

<snip>

Not really... they know the following

1) A fleet of heavily stealthed assault ships of unknown type and origin attacked Manticore and Grayson without notice.
2) A group on Mesa has been playing a long term game upsetting and controlling galactic events, including recent Solarian attacks on GA powers and assignation attempts on their leadership, and long term economic and political destabilization.
3) That group has left Mesa, erasing their tracks and deliberately leaving Mesa in a political and economic mess to further obfuscate them.
4) The Stealthed fleet - attributed to the Mesa Cabal, was not in the Mesan system, and there is no evidence it was produced in the Mesa system (especially since the Mesans don't have shipyards which can produce them.)

There is an inference that they are somewhere else in the Mesan/Manpower empire, but that is conjecture at this point. Given their known hooks in ...well everything, anyone could have produced those ships for them and the Mesan Cabal could be vacationing on Sol....or even Manticore.

JohnRoth wrote:I seriously doubt that Torch is going to play a significant role. The path to Darius goes through the Twins and then Felix, which is close to Mannerheim. If they do trace Darius through the wormhole connections, they'll find Mannerheim, and Mannerheim is a known system with trade and political connections, so it would be easiest to simply grab off the Felix junction. Whether the best logistics path goes through Torch or somewhere else is, again, something only RFC knows at this time.

The only way I can see it happening (because I sort of agree with the consensus about assualting a wormhole) is due to some heavy-duty thinking.

Remember, the MWW left Kare and Wix alive in Torch of Freedom, and with an interest (based on their lost/dead comreades) to find out more. And they mentioned in ToF about that peculiar 'bump' in the data.

Now, if that 'bump' is because of the Twins, and somewhere in the Galaxy the data from some centuries-ago survey has data recording that same 'bump', and you have a highly-able data-cracker (Princess Ruth) available...probably a longshot, I know, but at least RFC has two of the most knowledgeable wormhole experts in-play if he needs them.

We shall see, eventually.

IMHO as always. YMMV.

Not all of Houdini potential evacuees got out or erased. IIRC Jack McBryde mother and sister survived. Also we have information that Darius is on the far side of the SL from Mesa , remember the slave station the RTN was hitting it was IIRC roughly 200LY from Erewon.

saber964 wrote:Not all of Houdini potential evacuees got out or erased. IIRC Jack McBryde mother and sister survived. Also we have information that Darius is on the far side of the SL from Mesa , remember the slave station the RTN was hitting it was IIRC roughly 200LY from Erewon.

WE have that - the RMN/GA does not. No one at the station knows anything about Houdini, and the ships passing throughare going to bounce around several more times and trans-ship their charges to confuse anyone trying to rebuild what happened.

All the Survivors of the Onion on Mesa don't have critical information on the Onion - at best they know it exists and some of their work was for the alignment. Anyone with more knowledge was removed or.... removed. Remember that self-destruct device in Lajos's head? How many others have that installed and will just go off when their carrier signal disappears for 12 hours?

I'm wondering why this thread was marked as a spoiler thread? There isn't any text to give spoilers about.

The thing is mapping termini is very tricky, to use it you need specific and detailed navigational data, which very few ships would be allowed to have. Even the Mannerheim ships would be limited to the twins. Say they take Felix, they could surprise the twins guard which would ease potential logistical issues for those operations.
Felix is said to have 4 termini, one to darius, one to the twins, and two to the verge with one in or near the haven quadrant.
I bet any ship that carries the data or have those that know it have orders to destroy it all rather than risk any one getting it. There is that mean scientist that is being shipped by a slaver, want to bet she might have clues to darius.
Felix would be key, as it allows access to other regions of the verge, do help to mess with frontier security even more. There is said to be at most only 200 termini,, but even lesser ones are incredibly valuable.
Darius has yo captured as the best Medan science is kept here, so best way to remove their advantages. They might not be able to destroy the alignment, the can deny the junction and darius yo them.

The slave ship that escaped, I wonder if it might head to parmley station. That would allow it to be captured and so get the info to the good guys. Also, there is said to be a termini in or near the haven quadrant, what if that is the target here. Soave ship will have limited options now, the terminn are being taken by manticore. Go to safety or fast a long distance journey.

SYED wrote:The thing is mapping termini is very tricky, to use it you need specific and detailed navigational data, which very few ships would be allowed to have. Even the Mannerheim ships would be limited to the twins. Say they take Felix, they could surprise the twins guard which would ease potential logistical issues for those operations.
Felix is said to have 4 termini, one to darius, one to the twins, and two to the verge with one in or near the haven quadrant.
I bet any ship that carries the data or have those that know it have orders to destroy it all rather than risk any one getting it. There is that mean scientist that is being shipped by a slaver, want to bet she might have clues to darius.
Felix would be key, as it allows access to other regions of the verge, do help to mess with frontier security even more. There is said to be at most only 200 termini,, but even lesser ones are incredibly valuable.
Darius has yo captured as the best Medan science is kept here, so best way to remove their advantages. They might not be able to destroy the alignment, the can deny the junction and darius yo them.

The slave ship that escaped, I wonder if it might head to parmley station. That would allow it to be captured and so get the info to the good guys. Also, there is said to be a termini in or near the haven quadrant, what if that is the target here. Soave ship will have limited options now, the terminn are being taken by manticore. Go to safety or fast a long distance journey.

I'm not sure where you get the number of 200 termini. As far as I know, there is no text or infodump with that figure.

Most of us believe that the connection mentioned from Felix to the Haven Quadrant is the one through the Twins to Torch. That's why Torch was so important to the Alignment--it is their backdoor into the Haven Quadrant. The other two termini apparently go nowhere interesting at the moment.