Hi C. O. Thompson,
I think we can agree that while your idea is interesting and enjoyable for us fans, RFC has other ideas.
Clyntahn's fate won't be so secret, and the MHoGatA is almost 4000 miles away, or around 100 days in good weather by barge, too far to be recalled to protect him.
Rather the foreshadowing of the Holy Langhorne Canal's vulnerability implies it might be visited next spring by BGV or another winter mobile corps, since the EoC has had another year to make more winter gear, probably in the middle, who destroy the locks for 250-300 miles north and south before the MHoGatA at either end can get anywhere near, then head further south well away from the canal, to possibly link up with EHM or DE etc.
Having exhausted its food during the winter and unable to be resupplied, the northern MHoGatA would have to retreat past the destroyed locks [~1200 miles or over a month] without firing a shot at the allies.
I'm also getting the impression that Rainbow Waters will be a major player in North Harchong's future, regardless of what Rayno, who is Harchongese, wants along with the rest of the empire's aristocracy.
From HFQ, the new crop of MH senior officers are much less tied to the nobility, being far more practical, which may align with the bureaucrats when the time comes.
Once Merlin assures Thirsk his family is alive with a communicator that enable real time communication from HMS Destiny, his next concern will be his navy then his country, so it could be a long light, especially if OWL injects him with a sober-upper, though seeing his children etc alive ought to go far in that direction.
Thirsk is very unlikely to run away, even in Dreadnought, but will stay to become a regent for the new king, along with Ahlverez.
After Thirsk pleads for the lives of his men, I initially envisioned the KHVII's catching the western fleet in a dead calm near their port; the weather finally averaging back into the ICN's favor, so only the screw galleys could maneuver, which were easily destroyed by the BB's heavy guns and weather independent movement, with the galleons then captured quickly by the BB's larger boats and/or steam launches, to prevent them from blowing themselves up which 2-3 might yet do.
However it might be much simpler for the ~6 KHVII's to simply show themselves to the northern Harchong while trashing all their ports, so the terrifying reports of these monsters 3 times as long as a galleon and almost twice as wide and twice as deep, or ten times the tonnage of many of his galleons gives Thirsk the excuse to recall the western fleet back to GC, where they can all be neutralized at the appropriate time.
A pair of the BB's helps take Dairnyth, to cut the semaphore communication nexus along with the messenger-wyvernries along both coasts of the Bay of Bess and Mathyw's Passage to reduce alternative communications, giving those Dohlarans opposed to Clyntahn much more time [~2 times] to react and counter his likely plans for Dohlar by his agents, who Nynian and OWL might decapitate as they see fit.
Once Dohlar has been neutralized, or devolved into a civil war if there are still that many temple loyalists, Silkiah becomes much easier, though I still like the idea of capturing the two sets of locks by infiltrating if not smuggling scout snipers in from Jahras Bay.
BGV might yet reach Zion by sea next summer, while DE, EHM and Symkyn advance through the southern border States, focusing all the Go4's attention if interesting things don't happen this winter in the temple and Zion.
A cold war, where the CoGA remnant attempts to innovate enough to catch up with the allies might be the best way to fully break the proscriptions.
In terms of time, HFQ was the shortest except for BSRA, IIRC, so it will be interesting if the next is shorter still since that seems to be the trend.
L
C. O. Thompson wrote:Dilandu wrote:'quote="Louis R"'AAMOF, the good guys don't need to somehow know about that. One of them owns it
'/quote'
But did they knew, who exactly drink this?
After all, not only Clyntahn could drink vines in the Temple. And, i believe he would use some kind of tasters (or he would be poisoned long time ago) and/or the element of chance (buy ten bottles and drink just from one).
So, they need something that would work specifically on Clyntahn. They need to obtain his DNA for that; then, they could quite easily construct some sort of virus (i'm not sure about nanotech - the Temple may have some sort of screening for that sort of things), coded to the Clyntahn DNA.
Louis is right that one of the good guys owns the shop and he knows that it is Clynthan's favorite but I have to re-read to see if he thought to share that bit of info with Merlin's alter ego. If he has a bottle with the seals in place (child's play for Owl) and gives it to the steward then it will get into Clynthan's hands sooner or later. That is why I suggested that it be able to send a signal out when it activates. Now that I think of it, it would be likely that rumor would spread like wild fire when he has his stroke.
Rayno likes the Harchines but doesn't like armed peasants so Clynthan would have to have a reason to call for the "well trained and well armed support that is closest to him to try to defend the temple if his inquisitors found out that ICN/ICA and the RSA troops were on their way by ship.
I don't think it would have to tailored to his DNA, nor do I think he would be giving his private stock to anyone else and... even if the temple had tech to screen for it (rather unlikely given the exotic nature of the attack) by now Clynthan would only see it as a God light
I don't know anything... take my comments for the full value of their worth ...
