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Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...

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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by Jonathan_S   » Sat Jan 07, 2017 5:17 pm

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cthia wrote:Invariably, a somewhat large portion of the introspection that I wanted to impart in this thread is that the Alignment has the technology to effect an Eridani strike with impressive ease and execution on an unprecedented and unimaginable scale. Well, I can imagine it.

If Manticore's own stealth technology enabled them to park probes close enough to the observation decks to view what was being served in the galleys, then certainly the Alignment's tech is at least a cut above. How close can the MA park a few Lenny Dets to the planet at optimum distance and vector to disable power stations, grids and other key military targets on the planet that will serve to cripple it in lieu of killing it? Communications planet-wide destroyed, moments before a supporting attack. And certainly, Mount Royal could be considered a military target.

It almost seems criminal for the Alignment not to usher in a new age of EEV. The technology and capability is in their hands as with no other navy. Because they have such unrivaled supporting technology, means that they could execute an EEV strike HUMANELY. They could rewrite the galaxy's perception of the concept.

"Because we can get in so closely—for all intents and purposes— to your planet unseen and lay doggo with our EEV strike computers running at maximum capacity, we can pinpoint your critical planetary arteries and sever them with ease. Our computers, meticulously and without error, calculate the reaction times of your ships in the vicinity of each launch. Resistance is futile."

When the galaxy hears the news, they'd be appalled, then stunned that all of their friends and loved ones are still alive. This was a humane strike, the act of a humane adversary. But then...

Um, as long as the MALign asked the planet to surrender first none of the bombardment you're talking about appears to be a violation of the Eridani Edict. So it's not a "humane EEV strike"; because it's not a EE violation at all.

If your fleet is in the planet's orbitals and can't be driven off (in this case because they're essentially invisible) the planet is supposed to surrender. If they don't your fleet is allowed to bombard and and all military targets until they do. [David elaborated on this over 10 years ago here
That includes:
* Military units
* Weapons emplacements
* Power plants supporting weapons or bases
* Communicaion facilities used to coordinate / control military or weaons
* Government facilities / personnel that provide civilian control of the military
And there's no "human shields" allowed by the Edict - if you plant your government, military headquarters, or missile defense battery in the middle of a major city then it's your fault it gets bombarded (causing civilian megadeaths) because you wouldn't surrender when your enemy took the orbitals.
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by Jonathan_S   » Sat Jan 07, 2017 5:18 pm

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cthia wrote:Because, iinm (please correct me if I am), their technology hides an entire ship under power. IINM again (please correct me again), GA tech cannot do that. GA tech can hide a ship lying doggo. And with the Lenny Dees, they will be hiding a much larger ship. The fact that the MAlign turned the concept on its head and factored in the development of a propulsion system to be instrumental in the overall stealth design is besides the point. The overarching factor is the absolute accomplishment of the total stealth of a warship, not the total tech consumed by the objective.
cthia wrote:
Weird Harold wrote:
Manticoran tech can hide a reccon drone moving into position and shadowing an enemy ship/formation; that implies that Manticoran tech can hide an active impeller wedge.
No Harold. It doesn't imply that. Hiding a recon drone and hiding a much larger ship under power is two different balls of wax.

The Manticorans always resorted to tactics which includes concealing Honor's ships by positioning other wedges in front of hers. They can NOT hide a ship's wedge under power. They can play tricks with it, to make it appear as a different class of ship. But they can not hide it. And they certainly cannot enter a system undetected. Unless the books I've read is missing a chapter or two.
Um, they can hide a ship's wedge, but not when it's running at full power.

As early as Flag in Exile we see that
Flag in Exile wrote:Of course, Manty stealth systems were good. They were 5.9 light-minutes back, and the Manties had proven in the fighting around Nightingale and Trevor's Star that they could hide low-powered impeller wedges from the PN's sensors at as little as six light-minutes. That meant it was possible they'd been here all along, creeping in under cover of their EW in an effort to ambush him as he ran into their arms on his way out

And Ashes of Victory has this snippet about an older battle
Ashes of Victory wrote:But at Third Yeltsin, Earl White Haven used his stealth systems and low-powered wedges to keep the Peeps from seeing his additional units at all.
And in the same book describing a CLAC strike on a Havenite system
Ashes of Victory wrote:Their acceleration had been held down to a leisurely four hundred and fifty gravities to help the efficiency of their stealth systems.


For what it's worth the same appears true of the Ghost Rider drones - at reasonable range they can hide accelerations of as much as 5000 gees; which appears to be about 50% power. An SD(P) with its vastly larger and more powerful wedge would probably need to stay below 20% accel to prevent detection at medium-long range; but that's still 140+ gees.

The stealth systems only decrease the detection range, the most power you use the harder it is to hide and the closer you are the harder it is to hide. Obviously no power is the hardest the hide, so there have definitely been cases when Manticoran units have dropped to zero accel or even dropped their wedge entirely to slip past enemy sensors. But they can hide some accel as long as they're not right on top of the enemy's sensors.
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by WeirdlyWired   » Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:10 am

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Sorry, just too lazy to try to find the book and page. but aren't the MAN stealth systems able to disguise all but a bit of the waste heat signature, which it is able to vent way from sensors. which would be defeated if it passed between two enemy ships? That sounds at least marginally better than Manty stealth.
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by The E   » Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:12 am

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WeirdlyWired wrote:Sorry, just too lazy to try to find the book and page. but aren't the MAN stealth systems able to disguise all but a bit of the waste heat signature, which it is able to vent way from sensors. which would be defeated if it passed between two enemy ships? That sounds at least marginally better than Manty stealth.


It would, if Manty stealth didn't have to do exactly the same thing (Except RMN stealth systems also have to deal with the wedge being massively more powerful than the spider, reducing their effectiveness while under way).
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by Weird Harold   » Sun Jan 08, 2017 8:33 am

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WeirdlyWired wrote:Sorry, just too lazy to try to find the book and page. but aren't the MAN stealth systems able to disguise all but a bit of the waste heat signature, which it is able to vent way from sensors. which would be defeated if it passed between two enemy ships? That sounds at least marginally better than Manty stealth.


That quote is a few posts back in this thread.

MAlign stealth is undoubtedly different than RMN stealth. That is NOT the same thing as better than RMN Stealth.

The "bit of waste heat" you remember is a veritable beacon of IR energy in one aspect. Waste Heat is not a big problem for anyone else, because it gets dumped into the Wedge. RMN (and virtually every other Navy) doesn't have to worry about being surrounded and unable to find a "safe" vector for that waste heat.

The difference reminds me of the old Jack London story, The Shadow and the Flash. The MAlign has gone for Transparency and everyone else has gone for Absolute Black. Both have betraying features.
.
.
.
Answers! I got lots of answers!

(Now if I could just find the right questions.)
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by John Prigent   » Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:03 am

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I don't quite follow why a planet should surrender to an enemy that can't be detected. Wouldn't the fleet need to uncloak in order to issue a credible demand for surrender? And once uncloaked, wouldn't it be vulnerable to immediate fire from planetary/satellite bases? Please elucidate, because I'm baffled to understand how bombardment of a planet without showing oneself would not be an EE violation..

Cheers, John

Jonathan_S wrote:
cthia wrote:Invariably, a somewhat large portion of the introspection that I wanted to impart in this thread is that the Alignment has the technology to effect an Eridani strike with impressive ease and execution on an unprecedented and unimaginable scale. Well, I can imagine it.

If Manticore's own stealth technology enabled them to park probes close enough to the observation decks to view what was being served in the galleys, then certainly the Alignment's tech is at least a cut above. How close can the MA park a few Lenny Dets to the planet at optimum distance and vector to disable power stations, grids and other key military targets on the planet that will serve to cripple it in lieu of killing it? Communications planet-wide destroyed, moments before a supporting attack. And certainly, Mount Royal could be considered a military target.

It almost seems criminal for the Alignment not to usher in a new age of EEV. The technology and capability is in their hands as with no other navy. Because they have such unrivaled supporting technology, means that they could execute an EEV strike HUMANELY. They could rewrite the galaxy's perception of the concept.

"Because we can get in so closely—for all intents and purposes— to your planet unseen and lay doggo with our EEV strike computers running at maximum capacity, we can pinpoint your critical planetary arteries and sever them with ease. Our computers, meticulously and without error, calculate the reaction times of your ships in the vicinity of each launch. Resistance is futile."

When the galaxy hears the news, they'd be appalled, then stunned that all of their friends and loved ones are still alive. This was a humane strike, the act of a humane adversary. But then...

Um, as long as the MALign asked the planet to surrender first none of the bombardment you're talking about appears to be a violation of the Eridani Edict. So it's not a "humane EEV strike"; because it's not a EE violation at all.

If your fleet is in the planet's orbitals and can't be driven off (in this case because they're essentially invisible) the planet is supposed to surrender. If they don't your fleet is allowed to bombard and and all military targets until they do. [David elaborated on this over 10 years ago here
That includes:
* Military units
* Weapons emplacements
* Power plants supporting weapons or bases
* Communicaion facilities used to coordinate / control military or weaons
* Government facilities / personnel that provide civilian control of the military
And there's no "human shields" allowed by the Edict - if you plant your government, military headquarters, or missile defense battery in the middle of a major city then it's your fault it gets bombarded (causing civilian megadeaths) because you wouldn't surrender when your enemy took the orbitals.
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by munroburton   » Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:18 am

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One of the ships gets on the com and calls the government of the planet. "Surrender. We have 100 invisible warships in orbit."

"No."

It is now legal to bombard.

A merciful invader would simply carry out a limited strike with that one ship, to demonstrate capability, intent and will. Even if the defenders were able to trace and destroy that ship, there'd be another 99.

A less merciful conqueror would simply start shooting until their victim surrendered. Or didn't exist anymore.
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by Theemile   » Sun Jan 08, 2017 3:30 pm

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munroburton wrote:One of the ships gets on the com and calls the government of the planet. "Surrender. We have 100 invisible warships in orbit."

"No."

It is now legal to bombard.

A merciful invader would simply carry out a limited strike with that one ship, to demonstrate capability, intent and will. Even if the defenders were able to trace and destroy that ship, there'd be another 99.

A less merciful conqueror would simply start shooting until their victim surrendered. Or didn't exist anymore.


If I remember correctly, the important phrase of the EE is "control of the orbitals". So if there are still defensive ships or installations in orbit, you do not control the orbitals, even if you are immune to their attack. However, once they are dealt with, and you can keep anything else from entering the orbitals, you can issue the demand.
******
RFC said "refitting a Beowulfan SD to Manticoran standards would be just as difficult as refitting a standard SLN SD to those standards. In other words, it would be cheaper and faster to build new ships."
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by cthia   » Tue Jan 10, 2017 4:52 am

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munroburton wrote:If Manticore can't hide low-power wedges, along with their warships, then how did the DDs scouting Haven's systems(mainly between Solon & Lovat) manage to complete their missions?

There are numerous other instances in textev where warships running with low powered wedges manage to avoid detection for some time.

And whilst textev has told us that the MA can't detect their own spider drives at ranges of above a light second(300,000km), this was in reference to passive sensors - ie, gravitics. It did not include active sensors(LIDAR), which is normally effective up to a million kilometres.

The GA may not be able to cover an entire star system with LIDAR, but they should be able to cover a dozen million kilometres of space in any direction with active search platforms - enough to protect a planet and its orbitals.

The MA had only one shot at Manticore. They failed to make it quickly enough, to catch the RMN's new Apollo-capable construction. They failed again when their entire plan relied on Haven and Manticore remaining at war and they ended up allying. Now the MA can't even carry out an Oyster Bay II against Haven or New Berlin.

Operation Oyster Bay? More like Operation Neobarbarossa.

I thought the missions were completed by dropping virtually undetectable probes into the system then coming back later to get a report. The same tactic the RMN always used. I'll have to have a reread since you are implying that I am mistaken, and I doubt that you're leading me astray.


Be careful what you ask for.

And I did ask to be corrected if I was wrong.

I do recall Manty ships avoiding detection in storyline. But I thought it was just as much a factor of distance, luck, inferior Havenite hardware and a non-Foraker-like entity at tactical. I don't equate being out of range with being invisible.

A question that jumps to my front burner now...

How good is the MAlign's detection of Manty wedges?

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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Re: Eridani Edict Violation of the most Dismissive Kind...
Post by cthia   » Tue Jan 10, 2017 5:20 am

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John Prigent wrote:Thinking about designated successors, I suddenly wondered: are the commanders of US Antarctic bases on the list? And if not, why not? They're the most likely to survive a decapitation strike.

Cheers, John
The way it works it seems that everyone is inferred, even if not formally on the list. However, what calibre of commanders are those unfortunate enough to receive an Antarctic post? Wouldn't these be the Youngs and Santinos - who draw polar caps duty?

Which brings me to a point I failed to make. Many posters are adamant about their being someone that can be found to carry on. Perhaps so. The MA wasn't trying to kill everyone. They were simply going for the entire line of succession as deeply as possible. Even if they missed quite a number of people, the MA just wanted the key players removed who were apt to make solid successors.

Harping on the fact that "someone" might be legally found in such a case severely misses the point. The Havenites thought that a single decapitation would serve the purpose of hampering and handicapping the Manticoran government's effectiveness. Can you imagine removing the line of succession significantly past Michelle?

IOW, I cannot see that the Manty government would fair so well being replaced by the aforementioned Aldermen, City Council members, subordinates or if you're really really fortunate... an overbred cretin of the Houseman variety that would be more apt to flee than fight and would be quick to suggest that the Manties trade with the League to set differences to rest.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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