Postwar Conversations

Were we ever graced in textev with the POV of Shannon, (and Tourville - I think), when news of Honor's survival hit?

Did Honor ever find out the measure of deceit a few Havenites chanced to cover her escape to Hades?

There are lots of postwar conversations around a fireplace, featuring Brandy and Old Tillman, that are bound to happen at some point. Many a POV's a fly on the wall could report.

Second Battle of Yeltsin's Star

After the Masadan mutiny, the ship headed directly at the planet Grayson by command of Sword Simonds, and was engaged by HMS Fearless. The Masadan crew were very green, and relied on the ship's computers. After the first engagement, the crew was able to start being more self-reliant. Thunder of God was damaged at Missile Two, Missile Twenty-One, and Graser One.

In the second phase of the battle, Thunder of God focused the attack on HMS Troubadour while throwing some missiles in the direction of Fearless. Thunder of God was hit by multiple missiles with damage to more lasers, a radar array, two more tractor beams, and another missile tube. Fearless fired nine more missiles at Thunder of God using the ECM drones from Thunder of God as beacons. One of the missiles was equipped with a nuclear warhead, which was able to get through and heavily damage Thunder of God. The badly mangled Thunder of God retreated.

In the aftermath of the second engagement, there were over twelve hundred dead, including no vacuum suited soldiers, the port broadside was reduced to six lasers and five missile tubes; which half of them were on local control, the vessel's maximum acceleration was reduced to twenty-one percent, half of the gravitic sensors and the other half of the sensor suite were gone, including everything on the port side, the sidewall generator on the same side was nearly destroyed, but everything on the starboard was untouched.

Sword Simonds ordered an immediate course for Grayson. Fearless was able to repair its impeller ring enough to set an intercept course. Thunder of God engaged Fearless with missiles, but Fearless kept her belly wedge toward Thunder of God, closing in for an energy duel.

HMS Reliant and the Manticoran relief force arrived in the system, but Thunder of God was unaware of this because of battle damage. Reliant and her division fired long-range missile broadsides at Thunder of God . Five missiles arrived and detonated ahead of her. While turning away from the next salvo, Thunder of God exposed her bow to Fearless, and was destroyed by energy fire. (HH2, HH3)

roseandheather wrote:I want to see Michelle Henke come face-to-face with Thomas Theisman and Eloise Pritchart for the first time since the Grand Alliance was formed. I love Michelle to absolute pieces, but I think it might do her some good to eat a bit of crow as far as her suspicions of those two were concerned.

cthia wrote:Another conversation that just has to take place, if it hasn't, and I felt sorry for both Estelle Matsuko and Honor for the way this went down.

After Honor was victorious On Basilisk Station, Fearless had taken a whipping, and Honor didn't have time, or intact communications to touch bases with Estelle, to let her know she had survived. Textev states that Estelle hadn't even known who was the victor. In retrospect, I don't see why Reliant couldn't dispatch a report to the system governor.

At any rate, Estelle is going to tell Honor, in a mushy scene, how very worried she was about her. And probably something along the lines of, "Don't every do that to me again!"

If Michelle is around that fireplace, she'll add a certain "Seems she has a nasty little habit of doing that to her loved ones."

SWM wrote:

cthia wrote:Another conversation that just has to take place, if it hasn't, and I felt sorry for both Estelle Matsuko and Honor for the way this went down.

After Honor was victorious On Basilisk Station, Fearless had taken a whipping, and Honor didn't have time, or intact communications to touch bases with Estelle, to let her know she had survived. Textev states that Estelle hadn't even known who was the victor. In retrospect, I don't see why Reliant couldn't dispatch a report to the system governor.

At any rate, Estelle is going to tell Honor, in a mushy scene, how very worried she was about her. And probably something along the lines of, "Don't every do that to me again!"

If Michelle is around that fireplace, she'll add a certain "Seems she has a nasty little habit of doing that to her loved ones."

Actually, the textev says that no one knew there had even been a battle, because the Saladin was jamming their comms. And after Saladin was in no condition to jam the comms anymore, the Fearless was in no condition to even provide life support, let alone comms. It wasn't until a ship came out to track them down that anyone knew for sure that there had even been a battle. I think we can be confident that Estelle knew what had happened as quickly as anyone else outside of the rescue ships, since the story of the battle is vital information for the governor of a system under imminent threat of attack.

SWM wrote:

cthia wrote:
Another conversation that just has to take place, if it hasn't, and I felt sorry for both Estelle Matsuko and Honor for the way this went down.

After Honor was victorious On Basilisk Station, Fearless had taken a whipping, and Honor didn't have time, or intact communications to touch bases with Estelle, to let her know she had survived. Textev states that Estelle hadn't even known who was the victor. In retrospect, I don't see why Reliant couldn't dispatch a report to the system governor.

At any rate, Estelle is going to tell Honor, in a mushy scene, how very worried she was about her. And probably something along the lines of, "Don't every do that to me again!"

If Michelle is around that fireplace, she'll add a certain "Seems she has a nasty little habit of doing that to her loved ones."

Actually, the textev says that no one knew there had even been a battle, because the Saladin was jamming their comms. And after Saladin was in no condition to jam the comms anymore, the Fearless was in no condition to even provide life support, let alone comms. It wasn't until a ship came out to track them down that anyone knew for sure that there had even been a battle. I think we can be confident that Estelle knew what had happened as quickly as anyone else outside of the rescue ships, since the story of the battle is vital information for the governor of a system under imminent threat of attack.

"Status?"

"All stations manned, Captain," the exec said crisply. "Impeller wedge coming up—we should have movement capability in another ten minutes. Sirius has been underway for six-point-eight minutes . . . at four hundred and ten gees."

He paused, and Honor's jaw clenched. That was low for most warships, but impossibly fast for a freighter, and it confirmed Santos's deduction. Only military impellers could have produced that kind of acceleration for a ship Sirius's size . . . and only a military grade inertial compensator could allow her crew to survive it.

"The courier boat?" Her voice was sharp, and McKeon frowned.

"She started powering her wedge just after we did, Ma'am."
"Understood." Honor looked over her shoulder. "Do we have a link to the Resident Commissioner, Mr. Webster?"
"Yes, Ma'am."

"Put it on my screen." Honor looked back down just as a pale-faced Dame Estelle appeared. The commissioner opened her mouth, but Honor raised a hand and spoke first. "Excuse me, Dame Estelle, but time is short. I think I know what's going on now. Have you heard anything more from your patrol?" Matsuko shook her head mutely, and Honor's face went more masklike still.

"Very well. I am dropping my Marines now." She shot a sideways glance at McKeon, and he nodded and hit an intercom key to give the order. "Aside from that, there's very little we can do for you, I'm afraid. And unless I miss my guess, we're going to have problems of our own soon enough."

"I understand," Dame Estelle broke in, "but there's something you should know before you do anything else, Captain." Honor cocked her head and gestured for the commissioner to continue. "We picked up a transmission from the general area where our patrol went down just after we lost contact with Lieutenant Malcolm," Matsuko said quickly. "It was scrambled but not encrypted, and we just broke the scramble. The transmitter didn't identify himself, and he used a code name for his recipient, but we detected a transmission to the freighter from the Haven Consulate immediately afterward, so I think we know who it was intended for."

"What did it say?" Honor demanded. Dame Estelle didn't answer in words; she simply played the message off, and Honor's eyes went cold and flat as a male voice gasped over her com.

"Odysseus! It's Odysseus now, damn it! The frigging Shaman's lost his goddamned mind! They're boiling up out of the caves, and I can't hold them! The hopped-up bastards are kicking off right fucking now!"

A surflike roar of Medusan voices and the whiplash cracks of countless rifles echoed behind the words, and then the sounds cut off as Dame Estelle stopped the playback.

"Thank you, Dame Estelle," Honor said flatly. "I understand what's happening now. Good luck."

She killed the circuit and bent over her maneuvering display, ignoring McKeon as she punched in the parking orbit pattern and laid vectors across it. It was going to be close, but there was far less orbital traffic than there had been, and if she could pull it off . . .

"Impellers in three minutes, Ma'am," McKeon reported.

"Mr. Webster!"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Stand by to record a signal to Lieutenant Venizelos at Basilisk Control for immediate relay to Fleet HQ. Fleet scramble, no encryption. Priority One."

Heads turned, and Webster's swallow was clearly audible.
"Aye, aye, Ma'am. Standing by to record."

"'Mr. Venizelos, you will commandeer the first available Junction carrier to relay the following message to Fleet HQ. Message begins: Authentication code Lima-Mike-Echo-Niner-Seven-One. Case Zulu. I say again, Zulu, Zulu, Zulu. Message ends.'" She heard McKeon suck air between his teeth at her shoulder. "That is all, Mr. Webster," she said softly. "You may transmit at will." Webster said absolutely nothing for an instant, but when he replied, his voice was unnaturally steady.

"Aye, aye, Captain. Transmitting Case Zulu." There was another brief pause, then, "Case Zulu transmitted, Ma'am."

"Thank you." Honor wanted to lean back and draw a deep breath, but there was no time. The message she'd just ordered Webster to send and Venizelos to relay to Manticore was never sent in drills, not even in the most intense or realistic Fleet maneuvers. Case Zulu had one meaning, and one only: "Invasion Imminent."

"Captain, are you sure—?" McKeon began, but her raised hand stopped him.

And then there had been the long voyage home. The long, slow voyage that had seemed to crawl, for Fearless's communications had been out. There was no way to tell Dame Estelle or the Admiralty what had happened, who had won, or the price her people had paid. Not until Fearless limped brokenly back into Medusa orbit thirteen hours after she'd left it and a white-faced Scotty Tremaine brought his pinnace alongside her air-bleeding wreck.

cthia wrote:

SWM wrote:Actually, the textev says that no one knew there had even been a battle, because the Saladin was jamming their comms. And after Saladin was in no condition to jam the comms anymore, the Fearless was in no condition to even provide life support, let alone comms. It wasn't until a ship came out to track them down that anyone knew for sure that there had even been a battle. I think we can be confident that Estelle knew what had happened as quickly as anyone else outside of the rescue ships, since the story of the battle is vital information for the governor of a system under imminent threat of attack.

****** *

"Status?"

"All stations manned, Captain," the exec said crisply. "Impeller wedge coming up—we should have movement capability in another ten minutes. Sirius has been underway for six-point-eight minutes . . . at four hundred and ten gees."

He paused, and Honor's jaw clenched. That was low for most warships, but impossibly fast for a freighter, and it confirmed Santos's deduction. Only military impellers could have produced that kind of acceleration for a ship Sirius's size . . . and only a military grade inertial compensator could allow her crew to survive it.

"The courier boat?" Her voice was sharp, and McKeon frowned.

"She started powering her wedge just after we did, Ma'am."
"Understood." Honor looked over her shoulder. "Do we have a link to the Resident Commissioner, Mr. Webster?"
"Yes, Ma'am."

"Put it on my screen." Honor looked back down just as a pale-faced Dame Estelle appeared. The commissioner opened her mouth, but Honor raised a hand and spoke first. "Excuse me, Dame Estelle, but time is short. I think I know what's going on now. Have you heard anything more from your patrol?" Matsuko shook her head mutely, and Honor's face went more masklike still.

"Very well. I am dropping my Marines now." She shot a sideways glance at McKeon, and he nodded and hit an intercom key to give the order. "Aside from that, there's very little we can do for you, I'm afraid. And unless I miss my guess, we're going to have problems of our own soon enough."

"I understand," Dame Estelle broke in, "but there's something you should know before you do anything else, Captain." Honor cocked her head and gestured for the commissioner to continue. "We picked up a transmission from the general area where our patrol went down just after we lost contact with Lieutenant Malcolm," Matsuko said quickly. "It was scrambled but not encrypted, and we just broke the scramble. The transmitter didn't identify himself, and he used a code name for his recipient, but we detected a transmission to the freighter from the Haven Consulate immediately afterward, so I think we know who it was intended for."

"What did it say?" Honor demanded. Dame Estelle didn't answer in words; she simply played the message off, and Honor's eyes went cold and flat as a male voice gasped over her com.

"Odysseus! It's Odysseus now, damn it! The frigging Shaman's lost his goddamned mind! They're boiling up out of the caves, and I can't hold them! The hopped-up bastards are kicking off right fucking now!"

A surflike roar of Medusan voices and the whiplash cracks of countless rifles echoed behind the words, and then the sounds cut off as Dame Estelle stopped the playback.

"Thank you, Dame Estelle," Honor said flatly. "I understand what's happening now. Good luck."

She killed the circuit and bent over her maneuvering display, ignoring McKeon as she punched in the parking orbit pattern and laid vectors across it. It was going to be close, but there was far less orbital traffic than there had been, and if she could pull it off . . .

"Impellers in three minutes, Ma'am," McKeon reported.

"Mr. Webster!"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Stand by to record a signal to Lieutenant Venizelos at Basilisk Control for immediate relay to Fleet HQ. Fleet scramble, no encryption. Priority One."

Heads turned, and Webster's swallow was clearly audible.
"Aye, aye, Ma'am. Standing by to record."

"'Mr. Venizelos, you will commandeer the first available Junction carrier to relay the following message to Fleet HQ. Message begins: Authentication code Lima-Mike-Echo-Niner-Seven-One. Case Zulu. I say again, Zulu, Zulu, Zulu. Message ends.'" She heard McKeon suck air between his teeth at her shoulder. "That is all, Mr. Webster," she said softly. "You may transmit at will." Webster said absolutely nothing for an instant, but when he replied, his voice was unnaturally steady.

"Aye, aye, Captain. Transmitting Case Zulu." There was another brief pause, then, "Case Zulu transmitted, Ma'am."

"Thank you." Honor wanted to lean back and draw a deep breath, but there was no time. The message she'd just ordered Webster to send and Venizelos to relay to Manticore was never sent in drills, not even in the most intense or realistic Fleet maneuvers. Case Zulu had one meaning, and one only: "Invasion Imminent."

"Captain, are you sure—?" McKeon began, but her raised hand stopped him.

And then there had been the long voyage home. The long, slow voyage that had seemed to crawl, for Fearless's communications had been out. There was no way to tell Dame Estelle or the Admiralty what had happened, who had won, or the price her people had paid. Not until Fearless limped brokenly back into Medusa orbit thirteen hours after she'd left it and a white-faced Scotty Tremaine brought his pinnace alongside her air-bleeding wreck.

I thought Honor made it clear to Dame Estelle that she'd be having trouble herself, soon, and that all she could further do to assist Estelle was to drop her Marines. Which she was doing even as she and Dame Estelle spoke. The battle raged on for quite some time which should have logically implied to Dame Estelle that something did indeed happen. My last post seems to imply that Honor was aware that Dame Estelle knew something had happened, and would be worried.

Also, Lieutenant Venizelos was at Basilisk Control when he received orders and acknowledgement of a Case Zulu. Surely he would have shared that with Dame Estelle? No?

Of course, this may all be subjective and dependent on how I personally assimilated it all.

But, I think I have to concede. All circumstantial.