ImperiumSidhicum wrote:
New Frenky wrote:
ImperiumSidhicum wrote:
New Frenky wrote:
ImperiumSidhicum wrote:
I must point out that sending a whole
battlegroup of battleship-sized vessels into Imperial space for any reason is a very poor idea and would effectively amount to a declaration of war. It would be pretty much like the Russians openly taking a couple Kirov missile cruisers and Typhoon-class subs for a joy-ride along the US East Coast during the height of the 1983 Cold War crisis.
So I strongly suggest against deploying a battlegroup of Frenkish warships into Imperial space. Not only would they have to stray along the outer edges of Imperial star systems to avoid detection, making them effectively useless for the mission they were brought in for, they would become priority targets for every single Imperial Navy task force in the sector upon detection, and given the ease with which a single Imperial strike cruiser dispatched a dreadnought designed specifically to combat the Asimovs during the Lenin affair, it would be a pretty one-sided fight once any of those task forces found the Asimov battlegroup.
Deploying a single Asimov, custom-fitted with a stealth suite and the aforementioned tractor beam, however, would be a whole different thing. It could realistically avoid detection, and invite much less Sidh wrath if caught than a whole battlegroup - for the sake of good relations, the Sidhae might even let it off to home dimension with just a stern warning.
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And hello everyone, by the way! As you might have deduced by now, I'm the guy writing the Sidhae.
See, when I first proposed the idea, it was entertained on the basis that the group would (maybe) have support from the Earthbound Judicators (as I'm sure they would agree that Trotskaya needs to be stopped), and they just might agree that sending in Frenkish ships would be the best bet, considering they've been designed to hunt ships like the
Mezghorye-class (and they might not want to embarass themselves by reporting an incident like this to their superiors, what with one of the Judicators going rogue and an Earthling going on a rampage back home in a stealth warship). And in that case, one of the Judicators might accompany the fleet as to provide clearance (perhaps with a cover story of the battlegroup being "mercenaries" for a "special mission" of said Judicator) when it inevitably gets detected by the Sidh Navy. Again, that was just the rough outline, so I went along with it.
But, if you don't think that will work, I can definitely settle on having one upgraded ship for that purpose. I just wanted about five for the purpose of giving myself "breathing room" when it comes to taking casualties, but (like you said) might not even have to take very many if I don't get caught.
Thing with the Sidhae is their extreme paranoia. Mercenary outfits rarely tend to have more than a single small warship at their disposal, so a task force of battleships which is quite obviously expensive enough only for foreign states to afford obviously couldn't pass with the "mercenary" cover story. Deploying an entire task force of such size in Imperial space would be something that even a Judicator could not (nor would ever) sanction.
A single ship with a Judicator on board, however, could pass for a well-funded merc outfit in the employ of that Judicator. I propose assigning Halko as the liaison and nominal employer of your crew for the mission, Serena and Olhon already being aboard the Polunochnaya for the same reason.
Halko? I was hoping you'd either give me Serena or him, so no complaints whatsoever. I'm very eager to see how he responds to Harrigan!
Most probably he wouldn't respond to him at all. He's there to ensure the Frenks and whatever guests they might have aboard don't get killed by mistake and don't get too nosy themselves. As long as Harrigan doesn't impede Halko in doing his job, the Judicator would most probably take little interest in him besides the usual information-gathering on notable foreign individuals.
I suppose Halko won't have nearly enough trouble in keeping Harrigan & Co out of trouble as Serena is bound to have with Trots and her volatile temper.
Hmm...considering their personalities (Harrigan's, at least, just as an example, he would have no problem exterminating a Sidh planet to draw Trotskaya out, telling Halko to "not interfere, Xeno" if he calls him out), I think it's not impossible for them to clash at one point. After that, they'd probably despise or deeply respect one another (and I'm not sure which is worse, honestly).
I mean, you can't put two ultraviolent quasi-sociopaths in such confined space together and expect them not to tear at and/or befriend one another!