fallsfromtrees wrote:This argues that the true purpose of the GA is to track down and destroy the MAlign. Does anyone present really think that if the SL disintegrated tomorrow, the GA would say "Jobs done, let's stand down and split up the GA"?
SharkHunter wrote:Jaw droppingly good point. Now that it's formed, the GA is more like NATO, which didn't disband just because the USSR split apart, in fact, it added a lot of smaller member nations to the list of "an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us" list. That argues rather forcefully in my mind that Torch IS at least a "provisionary" member of the GA, perhaps just a little bit less visibly than the big powers, with full status "to come" at a more prudent point in time, say after the Old SL goes belly up.
cthia wrote:I can support that. You say "provisionally" I say "informally." Cum se cum sa.
But let's all agree that the original forming of the GA was to stand up to that 600 lb gorilla, regardless of who was pulling the strings. When Pritchard tossed the idea at Elizabeth, I'm sure the more immediate smell of that stinky gorilla was her more primary and pressing concern. How much mileage they all end up getting from that union is besides the point.
Also. That very nice passage that fallsfromtrees left in the passages thread should remind us all that Queen Berry has a very strong-willed mind of her own. And if the big players in her camp want to come through for her and keep the wolves out of her back yard as promised, they might recommend against joining the GA. Remember, the kerfuffle between the League and Manticore isn't over. The fat lady hasn't sang her finale and brought down that house, just yet. So, Torch's logical concern for neutrality per Haven now shifts to the SLN. Why give a bully a reason to pick on you.
From Mission of Honor, where the GA is first proposed (my bolding)
[quote="Mission of Honor]"No, it's not," Pritchart agreed quietly.
"Well," Elizabeth smiled with very little humor at all, "at least I can feel confident now that you'll keep the Republican Navy off our backs long enough for us to deal with this Admiral Filareta."
"Actually," Pritchard said, "I had something else in mind."
"Something else?" Elizabeth's eyebrows rose.
"Your Majesty—Elizabeth—the Mesan Alignment wants both of us destroyed, starting with the Star Empire. I don't know if it honestly believes the SLN can do the job where you're concerned, or if it was anticipating we'd do it when we recognized the opportunity it had given us. But it doesn't really matter. What matters is that this Solarian attack on you is simply one more step in a strategy directed against both of us. So I think something a bit more pointed than simply stopping shooting at each other might be in order."
"Such as?" Elizabeth asked slowly, eyes slitted in concentration.
"I understand your missile production facilities have been taken off-line," Pritchart said. "Tom here tells me you've undoubtedly got enough of those ungodly super missiles in your magazines to thoroughly kick the ass of this Filareta if he really insists on following his orders. But that's going to cut into your reserves, and given that the Alignment managed to rip the hell out of your home system, I think it would be a good idea for you to conserve as much ammunition as you can in hopes we'll find someone a bit better suited to playing the role of target."
"And?" Elizabeth's eyes were opening wider in speculation.
"Well, it just happens that Thomas here has a modest little fleet—two or three hundred of the wall, I believe—waiting approximately eight hours from Trevor's Star in hyper. If you're willing to trust us in Manticoran space, perhaps we could help you encourage Filareta to see reason. And while I'm well aware our hardware isn't as good as yours, every indication I've seen is that it's one hell of a lot better than anything the Sollies have."
"Are you offering me a military alliance against the Solarian League?" Elizabeth asked very carefully.
"If McBryde was right, there isn't going to be much of a Solarian League very much longer," Pritchart replied grimly. "And given the fact that the same bunch of murderous bastards who shot up your home system are also directly responsible for you and I having killed a couple of million of our own people, I think we could say we have a certain commonality of interest where they're concerned. And it's not a case of selfless altruism on my part, you know. We're both on the Alignment's list. Don't you think it would be sort of stupid of either of us to let the other one go down and leave us all alone?"
Brown eyes and topaz met across a table littered with the remnants of breakfast, and it was very, very quiet.
"We're still going to have those problems, you know," Elizabeth said almost conversationally after a moment. "All those people on both sides who don't like each other. All that legacy of suspicion."
"Of course." Pritchart nodded.
"And then there's the little matter of figuring out where this Alignment's real headquarters is, and who else is fronting for it, and what other weapons it has, and where else it has programmed assassins tucked away, and exactly what it's got in mind for the Republic once the Star Empire's been polished off."[/quote]
My argument is that the original proposal for the GA included going after the MAlign from the beginning - that dealing with the SL was only a side issue, and one that wasn't going to be a problem for long.
