Interesting post Vince, and on-time. Thanks.
Vince wrote:cthia wrote:If there was some prestigious event, like a certain monumental wedding that brought many of Her Majesty's military officers and many of its alliance partners together on-planet at Mount Royal Palace - and perhaps if the MA can learn of this event and location enough in advance, perhaps it can serve up a kinetic strike to decapitate many of the GA's crème de la crème.
Imagine, Honor, Michelle, Theisman, Truman, White Haven, Hemphill, The Admiralty and quite possibly the Queen herself. EE violations of the Lenny Det type can decapitate an entire government.
Yet, what one event would cause so many to assemble in one spot? A wedding perhaps??? What certain wedding can cause the GA, in a sentimental moment of weakness, to place so many of its officers in one Mount Royal basket? If a Grayson, say Abigail, married the right Manticoran it would be big. Huge! Monumental!! Many would attend.
A successful kinetic strike by the MA on Manticore, meant to decapitate several navies command structure by removing so many of the most important tactical and strategic commanders would be devastating to the GA and would weaken them considerably. A Manticore laid to waste just may incite the League's desperate gorilla to pound on its chest again, prompting the chiseled down gorilla to launch another "Kick 'Em When They're Down attack!" With that, the MA could speed things up a bit with a renewed war.
Although I can't think of a single event that would be so monumental that so many seasoned officers couldn't miss - except perhaps a marriage between a certain Grayson and a Manticoran.
The problem for the MAlign is in the part of your post that I bolded. Since a wedding recently took place on Manticore without incident that included everyone on your list except Michelle Henke, plus some others in:Italics are the author's.A Rising Thunder, Chapter 33 wrote:Now, as Honor looked across to where Roger and Rivka stood on the terrace, smiling easily, laughing as they chatted with one guest after another, she knew how right she’d been.
“It is an impressive guest list, I suppose, Jacques,” Hamish said now, his tone judicious.
“‘Impressive’?” another voice repeated. “What? Is that your studied understatement of the day?”
Honor turned with a chuckle as a life-support chair slid up beside her.
“I think it’s probably as good a description as Uncle Jacques’s ‘remarkable,’ Emily,” she said. “And you have to remember the source. Neither of them is all that good with the language, you know.”
“You’ll pay for that later,” Hamish promised her with a devilish glint, and Nimitz bleeked a laugh on Honor’s shoulder.
“I await the moment with trepidation,” Honor told her husband sweetly, then turned back to her uncle. “However, I have to say that in your own language-challenged ways, you’re both right. I wonder if there’s ever been a wedding quite like it?”
“I doubt it,” Emily said. “In fact, I’m pretty darn sure there hasn’t been one like it since the Diaspora got everybody off Old Earth, anyway! Let’s see, we’ve got the Empress of Manticore, the President of the Republic of Haven, the Protector of Grayson, the chairman of the Beowulf Board of Directors, Queen Berry, and the Andermani emperor’s first cousin. Not to mention your own humble self as Steadholder Harrington and the commander of the Grand Fleet, followed by a scattering of mere planetary grand dukes, dukes, earls, members of the Havenite cabinet, three other members of the Beowulf Board of Directors, the chairman of the Alliance joint chiefs of staff, the First Space Lord, the Havenite chief of naval operations, the Beowulfan chief of naval operations, High Admiral Yanakov, Admiral Yu, two or three dozen ambassadors, and God alone only knows who else. I’m sure there’ve been other weddings that had the same guest count or better, but bringing all of these people together in one place?”
She shook her head, and Honor found herself nodding in agreement.
And Emily forgot to mention many of the other RMN Admirals which were mentioned by Rivka in:Italics are the author's, boldface is my emphasis.A Rising Thunder, Chapter 28 wrote:“I think so,” Roger agreed, then looked at Rivka as she laughed suddenly. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
“I was just thinking that the Navy’s going to be pretty well represented, anyway,” she explained. “Your uncle’s going to be present in uniform, and so is Admiral Truman, Earl White Haven, Admiral Caparelli, Admiral Givens, and Admiral Hemphill. Then there’s Admiral Theisman, Admiral Tourville, Admiral Yu, and High Admiral Yanakov for the foreign contingent.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Elizabeth agreed with a smile, not mentioning the one flag officer Rivka hadn’t named and who was not going to be in uniform. Honor Alexander-Harrington had agreed to serve as one of Rivka Rosenfeld’s matrons of honor, but she would be present in her persona as Steadholder Harrington, not Admiral Harrington.
Well, technically she’ll also be present as Duchess Harrington, I suppose, Elizabeth thought. On the other hand—