Hi Weird Harold,
The SL is screwed in several different ways, the MAlign has sabotaged it so deeply that at least a couple of the mandarins are likely MAlign agents and the rest on the payroll, NTM being misled by MAlign agents on their staffs besides all the downstream bureaucrats etc.
This was to clear the way for the RF to be the civilized alternative to the chaos the SL ineptitude had brought to all the various members, with no real competition, because Beowulf was ignorant of their plans and wold always be reacting too late while they forged ahead, thanks to their brilliant plan.
It was mainly supposed to be political, with the large RF SDF's to protect the new helpless members from the warlords and pirates in the power vacuum caused by the SL's implosion.
The SL's collapse was intended to be to at least down to a brown dwarf if not of black hole magnitude.
Unfortunately for the MAlign things haven't gone according to plan, especially since Albrecht began reacting, changing the plan too quickly besides making a slew of mistakes.
I don't expect a great big reveal in UC, but some unraveling will definitely confirm some things for the GA.
Like the origin of the Filaretta's missile ships since Mesa ha no TIY missile production facilities; once ONI examines the fleet's paperwork etc.
On the security side, the ~1800 SL members and 600+ protectorates are more militarily naked than European NATO is right now:
[Bonus question; which are the two most powerful European members of NATO, and why is that frightening?]
2/3 of all the SL members have nothing more than SL type LAC's, and the protectorates don't even have that much, while 3/4 if not 7/8 of those with SDF's are too small, too old etc to seriously defend themselves let alone others, though there are also those intent on their own empires.
But the totally unforeseen GA, with the most advanced combined military forces is 'here to save the day', because its ships are so superior to the SLN's that despite being potentially grossly outnumbered tonnage wise, ie 10, maybe even 20 to 1, the RMN can still conquer.
However, from the HoS data and extrapolating from that for the next ten monthes before OB, the RMN is vastly larger than the June 1920 fleet chart might suggest; I suspect easily double the 1920 figures, and as Admiral Cuthbert has demonstrated, rather small TG's can liberate some 12-16 protectorates very quickly, so it won't take that many to free the rest even using just the legacy fleet [old ships listed in 1920 fleet chart], such as old BC's for Sag-C CA's etc.
The old pre-Apollo SDP's and BCP's could each effectively sweep several verge and shell systems in a month, the main restriction might be the number of CLAC's to post in each now free system along with a few escorts, which the RHN might have now in considerable abundance.
The GSN's power might be more concentrated in SDP's, but it too is so incredibly powerful that the RMN might be considered redundant to the joint power and numbers of the GSN, RHN and IAN (granted the IAN isn't officially a GA member yet).
However since the RoH has around 6-8 times the industrial power of the SEM and Yeltsin combined [only 5 industrialized star systems since the TQ's are so far behind], the size of the RHN could now be huge, easily dwarfing the rest of the GA, and while its ships aren't as powerful on a per ton basis, I predict their new non-capitol ship classes are still very superior to the SLN's, thanks to Shannon Foraker, and with several undamaged whole star systems devoted to producing each class, when the SL may only be producing a few dozen BC's, CA's, CL's, and DD's each year, even the FF may find itself already outnumbered, or it soon will be.
However even using the 1920 chart numbers the GA could easily destroy the FF, while even the SLN now knows the BF SD's are ridiculous deathtraps that should never face the GA again, and it would be wise to use their crews to man more FF type ships, though they too are just targets to the GA.
The GA could easily form 200-300 SoV type comparable TG's to free the verge and the shells, perhaps 6-8 star systems for the first sorties, while the new SDP's etc eliminate the BF reserve's storage in the 7 systems and other inner core bases.
The Maya sector is a very important secret strategic industrial reserve, which eventually according to ToF will be critical, but we don't know the time scale yet.
Definitely interesting times.
222 days to go!
Weird Harold wrote:Snipped from a post buried in another thread"
cthia wrote:If the Harrington Plan is to work, they must fracture a big enough chunk of that 3000. Systems are not going to split on account of promises. "You'll send us some ships when? Oh hell no. We are not going to be the next Beowulf!"
The Solarian League looks like a "
Fried Marble" and everyone expects the League to react like a Fried Marble under a big hammer.
The League is more like a
Prince Rupert Drop and Beowulf will turn out to be the tail of the drop.
To witness the dissolution of the Solarian League, click here:
https://youtu.be/xe-f4gokRBs?t=143
