Begging for the next snippet

The first three were on a nine day schedule.
Number four was delayed by medical treatment.

Since then, DW has done some rewriting about Battle
Dragons. Perhaps he counts his post about that as
a snippet.

Meanwhile, let's guess what is in the Next Snippet.
1 Toralk reports to Harshu?
2 Carthos receives his withdrawal order; sets up pickets?
3 At Fort Ghartoum, junior Arcanan officers object to
torture of Sharonan captive doctors?
4 A scene with Klian? With mul Garthik?
5 Jasek, Gadrial, Shylar and Jathmar approach New Arcana;
get word that Arcana attacked HG? Perhaps they learn
that Arcana took prisoners, so that S&J are no longer
a "unique intelligence source?"
6 Perhaps we finally get a scene of people actually on
Arcana? Ransor, Mythal, Andara, other?

HTM

PeterZ wrote:

Mil-tech bard wrote:Is it snippet #5 time yet?

I suspect, baring unfortunate events, we are on a 2 week schedule between Friday and Sunday.

We need to skip some time or this series will be 5 books like just to cover the first year of the war. The only story lines that wouldn't benefit from a delay would be the politics behind the Sharonan integration and the perils of Arthag's Odyssey.

That tells me that we switch back to Andrin's announcement of who she will accept as her betrothed with a bit of daring do from Arthag avoiding he pursuers.

Howard T. Map-addict wrote:The first three were on a nine day schedule.
Number four was delayed by medical treatment.

Since then, DW has done some rewriting about Battle
Dragons. Perhaps he counts his post about that as
a snippet.

Meanwhile, let's guess what is in the Next Snippet.
1 Toralk reports to Harshu?
2 Carthos receives his withdrawal order; sets up pickets?
3 At Fort Ghartoum, junior Arcanan officers object to
torture of Sharonan captive doctors?
4 A scene with Klian? With mul Garthik?
5 Jasek, Gadrial, Shylar and Jathmar approach New Arcana;
get word that Arcana attacked HG? Perhaps they learn
that Arcana took prisoners, so that S&J are no longer
a "unique intelligence source?"
6 Perhaps we finally get a scene of people actually on
Arcana? Ransor, Mythal, Andara, other?

HTM

For snippets I agree that a two week interval is the norm. So right now he is only about 30 minutes late and that is too little for me to start begging. But, I will give my guess for the contents of the next snippet.

I expect Harshu briefs Toralk on the current situation as he knows it, especially regarding messages from Mul Gurthak, expectations regarding reinforcements in the next four to six months, and his plans for that time period. He may also inform Toralk that 500 Neshok is dead since I suspect mul Gurthak tried to kill him when he sent Harshu the message we heard about at the end of HHNF. Since we already heard the gist Toralk's briefing of Harshu in Snippet 4 I don't think it will be repeated.

After that I hope we will hear what 50 Ulthar and 50 Sarma are up to. My impression is that the conversation that began at the very end of HHNF with 50 Sarma telling 50 Ulthar "we need to talk" marked the beginning of their planning to do whatever the Andaran honor code tells junior officers to do when their superior officers (in this case Thalmayr and Harshu) are behaving in ways that dishonor everyone who obeys their orders. They have had at least a few days to plan so they ought to be ready to act by now. I have been curious what they will do for a very long time.

Nicholas

Howard T. Map-addict wrote:The first three were on a nine day schedule.
Number four was delayed by medical treatment.

Since then, DW has done some rewriting about Battle
Dragons. Perhaps he counts his post about that as
a snippet.

Meanwhile, let's guess what is in the Next Snippet.
1 Toralk reports to Harshu?
2 Carthos receives his withdrawal order; sets up pickets?
3 At Fort Ghartoum, junior Arcanan officers object to
torture of Sharonan captive doctors?
4 A scene with Klian? With mul Garthik?
5 Jasek, Gadrial, Shylar and Jathmar approach New Arcana;
get word that Arcana attacked HG? Perhaps they learn
that Arcana took prisoners, so that S&J are no longer
a "unique intelligence source?"
6 Perhaps we finally get a scene of people actually on
Arcana? Ransor, Mythal, Andara, other?

HTM

PeterZ wrote:I suspect, baring unfortunate events, we are on a 2 week schedule between Friday and Sunday.

I too would like to know what Ulthar and Sarma are up to. However I suspect we won't find out until whatever they are planning actually happens. It can't be much of a surprise if we see all of their plan. We might get a little bit of them talking to others (healers and like minded individuals).

I can see the next part about Carthos, but I suspect he will be doing more than withdrawing and setting pickets. What could he do to piss of sharonians even more (when they find out about it)?

We could also get a piece of Harshu finding out about railroad transport capacity, and have him set plans in place to interrupt the supply lines.

I don't think Jasak and company are going to arrive on Arcana for another month or two at this point. We may not see a viewpoint from Arcana until he does reach it. Although a bit about the news reaching Arcana's governing body and the shock it creates would be interesting.

I would also like to see what chan Baskay and Arthag
are doing.
Especially since it now seems that there are no dragons
available to pursue them. I guess that Arcana's
commanders did not want to risk transport dragons near
where they might be, lest the dragons be shot down.
Even so, leaving enemies to wander around behind you
is seldom the best plan.

HTM, snippet-hungry

Astelon wrote:I too would like to know what Ulthar and Sarma are up to. However I suspect we won't find out until whatever they are planning actually happens. It can't be much of a surprise if we see all of their plan. We might get a little bit of them talking to others (healers and like minded individuals).

I can see the next part about Carthos, but I suspect he will be doing more than withdrawing and setting pickets. What could he do to piss of sharonians even more (when they find out about it)?

We could also get a piece of Harshu finding out about railroad transport capacity, and have him set plans in place to interrupt the supply lines.

I don't think Jasak and company are going to arrive on Arcana for another month or two at this point. We may not see a viewpoint from Arcana until he does reach it. Although a bit about the news reaching Arcana's governing body and the shock it creates would be interesting.

Given the way chan Baskay and Arthag disappeared from the books after the initial attack on Hell's Gate I don't expect to see them again until Sharonan forces get back to Hell's Gate. The have valuable prisoners to protect so ought to be carefully avoiding contact with Arcanans.

You are right that "leaving enemies to wander around behind you is seldom the best plan" but in that regard chan Baskay and Arthag are among Arcanas smallest problems. There were 23 survey crews within four transits of Hell's Gate when the conclave started to meet (HG Chapter 40) and that number doubtless went up before the attack happened. We don't know how many people that is but a really conservative estimate is 600 and triple or quadruple that would not surprise me. In addition Kinlafia used remounts from PAAF liveries as he traveled, each of those will be small and out of contact but spread over regular intervals for several thousand miles there ought to be a lot of men, if someone gathers them together. Rear area security is going to be a major Arcanan problem.

Nicholas

Howard T. Map-addict wrote:I would also like to see what chan Baskay and Arthag
are doing.
Especially since it now seems that there are no dragons
available to pursue them. I guess that Arcana's
commanders did not want to risk transport dragons near
where they might be, lest the dragons be shot down.
Even so, leaving enemies to wander around behind you
is seldom the best plan.

HTM, snippet-hungry

Many of these crews are likely not in a position to make any real impact on arcanan forces. Once arcana becomes aware of these groups, their survival and effectiveness will go down. Surveillance flights will find many of these groups, and gathering them together will actually make it easier to find them.

Under the right circumstances they could pose a danger to Arcanan forces. Attacks against transport dragons that have landed for rest, and against the force sent back for feeding and hunting.

I have several issues with that thought starting with most of these survey crews have voices of their own, or lacking that, powerful flicking talents.

Additionally, several of the universes over run have rail lines and likely a larger number of 'flicker' talents as a part of the rail signals network, whose inability to be blocked without being killed means a much larger intra-universe communication net when added to voices.

Nestok (sp?) et al have not figured out the implications of a behind their lines speed of light teleport-communications network -- including from inside their POW camp -- means for spreading word on their atrocities.

Killing all Sharonan soldier/POWs will not fix the problem.

NB: Rail network flickers who are not policed up immediately and who join loose survey crews are very bad news for the Arcanians. Especially if they are capable of flicking hand grenade sized objects within one of Arcanian encampments.

Astelon wrote:Many of these crews are likely not in a position to make any real impact on arcanan forces. Once arcana becomes aware of these groups, their survival and effectiveness will go down. Surveillance flights will find many of these groups, and gathering them together will actually make it easier to find them.

Under the right circumstances they could pose a danger to Arcanan forces. Attacks against transport dragons that have landed for rest, and against the force sent back for feeding and hunting.

The only railroad that has been overrun is the incomplete one in Karys. The work crew pulled out, and would have picked up any one managing the signals as they did.

While the survey crews have voices they could use to coordinate activities, this only gives them one free shot. After that they still have to deal aerial surveillance, rapid response forces (faster than sharonians could). Having voices does not help if the survey crew is halfway around the planet from arcanan forces. MAny will be to far away to have any effect on the war.

As for the prisoners communicating with others they would need flickers, writing materials, and the time to write messages. The time is easy with apparent arcana guard policies (surround the building with infantry dragons and leave the prisoners alone), also the presence of a flicker is a possibility, but not guaranteed.

Now if a survey crew had a flicker and got close enough to sharonian prisoners, what could they send? Probably not a rifle, a knife maybe? How about a loaded pistol? Start off with arming the prisoners as you can, and then flick improvised explosives (survey crews with grenades are unlikely) around the fort. Draw out a response, kill some soldiers, and otherwise create a major distraction. Prisoners escape during the chaos. Not likely to work more than once though.

I have survived another weekend of no snippets only through he diligent contribution of my family. They have sustained me past my twitching, flashbacks of HHNF and Snippet #4 as well as those random, anguished laments of "not Janaki!". Now Father's Day is past and the every day flow of events threatens to prod my withdrawal symptoms to flare and leave me non-functional.

I am beset by demons traveling on the Road to Hell. Save me, Runsforcelery! You are my only hope!