New Uncompromising snippet #1

RunsForCelery wrote:mostly I have been working on a book which has been kicking my butt. My original plan didn't work . . . but I didn't realize that until I'd written about 100,000 words. So I had to . . . dispose of those and start over again. Ah, the joys of authorship!

Given the original 'about the schedule' post from last year, I have a feeling that book is the next Safehold novel. I wonder what didn't work? The 20 year jump?

This is, indeed, another straw on the League's back.
What are the advantages to the Alignment of doing this?
Maya has been a productive and unworrying part of the OFS protectorates. This is going to divert all sorts of assests in that direction at exactly the moment when the SL doesn't need anymore fragmententing of either resources or concentration. 1st it gives both the SL Intelegence services something elce to chase down and pry around in looking to find out what is/may be happening.
Our spy friend delivering this URGENT bit of informaton has managed (we haven't seen everything but it is reasonable) to NOT mention something that the chief spook should already know- that Maya sent that Task Force to defend Torch (which is well up on the list of Systems that Manticore cares about)- and it is actualy quiet reasonable from that perspective for Manticore to have sent someone to talk with Smoking Frog at that level. That it was a photo of an Alignment imposter just makes it easier to provde the "Maya" photo. Note all the rehash of Maya wooing Erwhon to the SL after the falling out with Manticore. Does the Alignment know Maya is looking to break away from the SL and all about Operation Sepoy? Depends. They probably know someting is going on but perhaps not exactly what. They did try that pass with the imposter- which is very much a much higher end operation than what Harlap was running since it involves the OFS Governor BUT, this could be more in the relm of setting up a set of disinformation to shortly (like the scene we were just shown) where it wil be used to toss a fox into the SL henhouse about the defection of an OFS Governor. And it seems to be having the intended effect.
Of course, that Maya is going to be able to crush a investagatory visit by OFS/SLN ONI backed but by just a Task Force of an SLN SD squadron with escorts as intimidation/enforcer visit - well the 1st one anyway- if Berrogos has to pull the trigger on Sepoy because he's been semi-outted by this new crisis. That would cost the SL a bunch more of thier remaining 1st line ships/crews, demand that they respond with the standard SLN massive overkill package- and heavily damage at least the orbitals of Smoking Frog's system, AND probably draw Erwhon into it- on the side of Maya since it will shortly become abundantly clear that there is a lot more going out there and Erwhon (in the rapidly changing thinking and growing paranoia of the SL) may have made a deal with Manticore and is suborning Berrogos. Remember this is the SL we are talking about and Sr. OFS officers are, well, deviouis, greedy, corrupt, masters of playing "the game" and other things that make the new picture look bad for OFS/SL. That the OFS Governor might actually be working for the best interests of his people- and himself but not in the standard OFS manner- isn't going to enter into SL' thoughts.
If it did, they would be even more concernted because if an OFS leader of a Sector thinks it's time to get out and become independent then the League system is really going to Hell.

EARC on Sunday! WOOT!

Thank you for sharing the snippet.

And here I was thinking I had time to read through the back catalog before the Earc came out.

Norm.bone wrote:EARC on Sunday! WOOT!

Thank you for sharing the snippet.

And here I was thinking I had time to read through the back catalog before the Earc came out.

Read fast.

Listening to A Rising Thunder again. To make sure i remember the political stuff correctly

NervousEnergy wrote:

Norm.bone wrote:EARC on Sunday! WOOT!

Thank you for sharing the snippet.

And here I was thinking I had time to read through the back catalog before the Earc came out.

Read fast.

Brigade XO wrote:This is, indeed, another straw on the League's back.
What are the advantages to the Alignment of doing this?
Maya has been a productive and unworrying part of the OFS protectorates. This is going to divert all sorts of assests in that direction at exactly the moment when the SL doesn't need anymore fragmententing of either resources or concentration. 1st it gives both the SL Intelegence services something elce to chase down and pry around in looking to find out what is/may be happening.
Our spy friend delivering this URGENT bit of informaton has managed (we haven't seen everything but it is reasonable) to NOT mention something that the chief spook should already know- that Maya sent that Task Force to defend Torch (which is well up on the list of Systems that Manticore cares about)- and it is actualy quiet reasonable from that perspective for Manticore to have sent someone to talk with Smoking Frog at that level. That it was a photo of an Alignment imposter just makes it easier to provde the "Maya" photo. Note all the rehash of Maya wooing Erwhon to the SL after the falling out with Manticore. Does the Alignment know Maya is looking to break away from the SL and all about Operation Sepoy? Depends. They probably know someting is going on but perhaps not exactly what. They did try that pass with the imposter- which is very much a much higher end operation than what Harlap was running since it involves the OFS Governor BUT, this could be more in the relm of setting up a set of disinformation to shortly (like the scene we were just shown) where it wil be used to toss a fox into the SL henhouse about the defection of an OFS Governor. And it seems to be having the intended effect.
Of course, that Maya is going to be able to crush a investagatory visit by OFS/SLN ONI backed but by just a Task Force of an SLN SD squadron with escorts as intimidation/enforcer visit - well the 1st one anyway- if Berrogos has to pull the trigger on Sepoy because he's been semi-outted by this new crisis. That would cost the SL a bunch more of thier remaining 1st line ships/crews, demand that they respond with the standard SLN massive overkill package- and heavily damage at least the orbitals of Smoking Frog's system, AND probably draw Erwhon into it- on the side of Maya since it will shortly become abundantly clear that there is a lot more going out there and Erwhon (in the rapidly changing thinking and growing paranoia of the SL) may have made a deal with Manticore and is suborning Berrogos. Remember this is the SL we are talking about and Sr. OFS officers are, well, deviouis, greedy, corrupt, masters of playing "the game" and other things that make the new picture look bad for OFS/SL. That the OFS Governor might actually be working for the best interests of his people- and himself but not in the standard OFS manner- isn't going to enter into SL' thoughts.
If it did, they would be even more concernted because if an OFS leader of a Sector thinks it's time to get out and become independent then the League system is really going to Hell.

Quite a lot packed into that post.
1)We do have textev that the Malign does have a low level informant on Manticore, I forget where, that notified Det clone whichever about Zilwicki and Cachat's meeting with Harrington. So, yeah, safe to assume they know as much as Manticore does about Sepoy.
2)Said informant could also be the source of the picture.
3)It is no secret, because Barregos is filing reports (lying and relying on the paperwork)about the ships Erewhon is supplying complete with construction bonds issued by Maya which Treasury promptly grabbed for their own. Even drafted phony ship designs and specs if demands for said are demanded.
4a) If a RFO is issued, Barregos can merely admit that, yes he did have a visitor. that he had heard rumors of Manty involvement to stir trouble in the verge. And "we have it on good authority from our contact on Erewhon that this guy is a big fat Phony."
4b) if said RFO is accompanied by a squadron of BCs, same thing, but they trot out their official Erewhonese contact to swear he knows all the royal family and this guy, just ain't"
4c) Assuming Barregos ain't ready to pull the trigger anyway.

5) Manticore was supposed to be toast by now (A) Oyster Bay guts manty alliance production of ships and missiles. (B) Operation Raging Justice whittles away at remau=ining Manty Alliance SDs. RHN charges back for Beatrice 2.0 crushing the thrice damned Manties, their Salamander, their 4drive missiles, and FTL communication. Sorry didn't happen. So now everything Manty is ad lib and ad hoc.

6) Yes Maya is diversion of more military assets into the maw-of-death-and-devastation which will soon be The Sepoy Option. Also a distraction of Intelligence from what The Malign does not want them looking at.

7) possibly 6B, hoping to create military engagement before Barregos is militarily ready for Sepoy, thus not also further reducing SLN assets and again making them look like buffoons, but also(hopefully) denying the GA another ally.

I am not convinced that the discussion has not gone astray We could reasonably be seeing a legit photo of someone whose features are masked, but who is in fact someone standing near High Ridge once upon a time. The person seems unlikely to be Pat Givens, no matter how good the cosmetic masking is. So perhaps at good point the good Solly spooks will find the right person to interrorgate.

That's not how you spell it.

It is the way they are going to do it.

phillies wrote:I am not convinced that the discussion has not gone astray We could reasonably be seeing a legit photo of someone whose features are masked, but who is in fact someone standing near High Ridge once upon a time. The person seems unlikely to be Pat Givens, no matter how good the cosmetic masking is. So perhaps at good point the good Solly spooks will find the right person to interrorgate.

That's not how you spell it.

It is the way they are going to do it.

OK, I'm willing to concede that the pic is absolutely genuine and not a photo with our man Flint photoshopped onto it. Further, that some MAlign agent went through considerable (or not so much) modification to be a 93% match for the innocent stooge in the photo.
I don't think anyone is actually saying that the man in the photo who showed up in Smoking Frog, is Patricia Givens. I think the speculation went "wouldn't it be great if they actually got a photo of Pat Givens Adm, RMN, also, as she was, also, stepping into a meeting with Barregos." Hey, boy, golly, that'd roast some toasties.

Which, since they don't, should raise red reader flags as to the veracity of our little disinformant. Lets just make up a source and plug it in to bpass the boss' BSometer.

phillies wrote:I am not convinced that the discussion has not gone astray We could reasonably be seeing a legit photo of someone whose features are masked, but who is in fact someone standing near High Ridge once upon a time. The person seems unlikely to be Pat Givens, no matter how good the cosmetic masking is. So perhaps at good point the good Solly spooks will find the right person to interrorgate.

That's not how you spell it.

It is the way they are going to do it.

N(whatever) said he had two separate reports of Manty contacts. He never said both of them were about the same person. The snippet cut off before he started to discuss the second one, which was probably Vice Admiral Givens.

Since we know that N(whatever) is an MAlign mole, the photo identification of the first one is questionable; it depends on what he wants to tell his boss. Since we know that the person in question is with Operation Janus, it also calls into question exactly how much the MAlign actually knows about Barregos' plans. They do know he's planning to secede, in fact they're planning on using that as the trigger for a wave of secessions throughout the Verge. I suspect that what they're trying to do is get him moving.

pappilon wrote:

phillies wrote:I am not convinced that the discussion has not gone astray We could reasonably be seeing a legit photo of someone whose features are masked, but who is in fact someone standing near High Ridge once upon a time. The person seems unlikely to be Pat Givens, no matter how good the cosmetic masking is. So perhaps at good point the good Solly spooks will find the right person to interrorgate.

That's not how you spell it.

It is the way they are going to do it.

OK, I'm willing to concede that the pic is absolutely genuine and not a photo with our man Flint photoshopped onto it. Further, that some MAlign agent went through considerable (or not so much) modification to be a 93% match for the innocent stooge in the photo.
I don't think anyone is actually saying that the man in the photo who showed up in Smoking Frog, is Patricia Givens. I think the speculation went "wouldn't it be great if they actually got a photo of Pat Givens Adm, RMN, also, as she was, also, stepping into a meeting with Barregos." Hey, boy, golly, that'd roast some toasties.

Which, since they don't, should raise red reader flags as to the veracity of our little disinformant. Lets just make up a source and plug it in to bpass the boss' BSometer.

I do not put ti beyond disguise technology to arrange for Patricia givens--yes, I did remember her gender--to appear to be a woman, until she got inside. However, it would be amusing to have the annoying intruder spring Givens as the second person with whom Barregos met.