The enemy in "extended space": SLN or MAlign

SharkHunter wrote:I wouldn't let anyone join my alliances that has a known but not GA verified wormhole junction.

Who let the secret that Felix has a wormhole (let alone a junction) leak to the GA?

Simoes, when it comes up.

kzt wrote:Simoes, when it comes up.

... When exactly was Simoes gifted with this knowledge?

Uroboros wrote:... When exactly was Simoes gifted with this knowledge?

There was a comment is a story along the lines of how the Twins had been the subject of numerous PhDs for MA hyperspace physicists. Want to bet who one of these is?

SWM wrote:
As far as we know, Simoes doesn't know anything at all about the spider drive.

Probably not the technical details. But I suspect that he knows the general concept. And if he can describe the concept in general terms, someone like Sonja Hemphill and her R&D team might be able to work out the details.

No textev for this... just my hunch. Half the battle is knowing that something can be done.

Don

SWM wrote:The text about the ships on the other side of the wormhole appears in Torch of Freedom. The Alignment assigned a group of battlecruisers from the Mannerheim System Defense Force to picket the far side of the Torch wormhole. The order to picket the wormhole came when the Alignment learned that Torch was about to send an exploration ship through the wormhole. Only a few people on the Mannerheim ships knew where they were--most of them believed they were protecting Mannerheim's claim to the Felix wormhole junction, which Mannerheim was keeping a secret until they established the claim. In actuality, Mannerheim is part of the incipient Renaissance Factor, and is controlled by the Alignment.

I have a fuzzy recollection of this story thread. I have complained before that my mind starts swirling in confusion when bunches of new wormholes start popping up out of nowhere. I looked at those maps you pointed me to and I can't seem to find Mannerheim anywhere.

But the thing that bothers me the most about my foggy memory is that I completely forgot about the survey ship being destroyed.

So the only (very) long shot is that as the search for Darius becomes desperate it occurs to someone that maybe Mesa knew about the wormhole and kept it a secret. Then based on that belief they take the extreme risk of doing a simultaneous transit of a squadron of SD's. They might be tough enough to where some of them would survive the initial gauntlet waiting on the other side and defeat it. But I agree with you (and DW) that this kind of wormhole transit would seem more risky and difficult than would be acceptable to just about anybody.

Maybe they will find a hint about the wormhole's importance in documents the uncover on Torch or in the data dump crystals that McBryde supplied. (I can always hope)

StealthSeeker wrote:I have a fuzzy recollection of this story thread. I have complained before that my mind starts swirling in confusion when bunches of new wormholes start popping up out of nowhere. I looked at those maps you pointed me to and I can't seem to find Mannerheim anywhere.

There are a few places mentioned in the books that do not have a defined location on the map yet. DW knows where they are, but hasn't revealed them yet. Probably so that he can change them if needed for story purposes.

Felix, the system with the twins, and Congo are all connected via wormholes and have other termini as well. Mannerheim is near Felix and only Congo is noted on the maps.

There is also the wormhole connection between Mesa (on the map) and Visigoth (not on the map). Visigoth is 60 light years from Beowulf, so is right next door to Beowulf on the scale of the map.

There are a few other wormholes listed in Shadow of Freedom that are not on the map either. Hopefully we will get an update map in the next book.

Kizarvexis wrote:There is also the wormhole connection between Mesa (on the map) and Visigoth (not on the map). Visigoth is 60 light years from Beowulf, so is right next door to Beowulf on the scale of the map.

There are a few other wormholes listed in Shadow of Freedom that are not on the map either. Hopefully we will get an update map in the next book.

Yes, I noted the Visigoth wormhole on the map and I could not remember a time where I read about it being revealed or used. If it's other terminus is so close to Beowulf that might explain, at least in part, why those who choose to leave Beowulf settled on Mesa. That is, if they knew about the wormhole before hand. Other wise it just so much odd luck.

So what is the story on this Visigoth wormhole? If it's existence is well known then it would be of tremendous help in coordinating RMN forces in Beowulf and Mesa.

Kizarvexis wrote:

StealthSeeker wrote:I have a fuzzy recollection of this story thread. I have complained before that my mind starts swirling in confusion when bunches of new wormholes start popping up out of nowhere. I looked at those maps you pointed me to and I can't seem to find Mannerheim anywhere.

There are a few places mentioned in the books that do not have a defined location on the map yet. DW knows where they are, but hasn't revealed them yet. Probably so that he can change them if needed for story purposes.

Felix, the system with the twins, and Congo are all connected via wormholes and have other termini as well. Mannerheim is near Felix and only Congo is noted on the maps.

There is also the wormhole connection between Mesa (on the map) and Visigoth (not on the map). Visigoth is 60 light years from Beowulf, so is right next door to Beowulf on the scale of the map.

There are a few other wormholes listed in Shadow of Freedom that are not on the map either. Hopefully we will get an update map in the next book.

My reference to Mannerheim has to do with the fact that it was part of the Mannerheim SDF with orders top down that triggered the attack instead of capture of the HMS Harvest Joy. The question is how widespread the knowledge that the the Mannerheim forces are "defending a wormhole" exists inside the overall SDF command structure. You can bet they're not going to negotiate treaties without a 'cat in the room, if merely to defend against MA nano-tech induced problems.

Why would the GA/RMN will allow any multi-polity systems with substantial navies into "alliance", especially during wartime (which will continue against the MAlign until it's found and stomped? Picture what an attack killing a population half the size of NYC would have triggered from the US or that the bombing of Britain triggered in WWII. That's the position I would take if I were one of Manticore's diplomats, that negotiating anything long term would have a huge amount of disclosure required. It's sort of why NATO is still US dominated (versus hey, here's how you build ship/aircraft/missile of type X, contract sellable to anyone we think might be a friend!) and the JDF is relatively tiny, 70 years after surrenders were signed.

One of the things I think happens next has to do with the fact that Zilwicki is back in RMN space: everything he knows is going to be gone over with a fine tooth comb by ONI, including knowledge of the Cataphract's, etc. were supplied both to the PNE and Filareta, meaning that any known-to-be significant missile supplier's star system is likely to receive an highly unwelcome surprise in the form of a visiting GA- based task group. They don't necessarily have to blow the system's infrastructure to smithereens, just announce "this system is under blockade/embargo relative to military cargo".

That also has the advantage of probably keeping a big chunk of the SLN reserve in mothballs; what are those ships going to attack with really old missile tech, i.e. the Honorverse equivalent of long distance paintball launchers?

I would also have to think that systems like Yildun and those dominated by long time trans stellars formerly headquartered on or trading extensively with Mesa will be on that list; it serves the purposes of depriving the SLN of arms or weapons and the MAlign of the cover of darkness. Gotta be a whole lot of smoking guns lying around that mess.