(20a) Addendum to (20)

The Crusader Campaign (084-1123)

Kalida's Conversation with Sir Misha

(includes material by Melanie Drake)

    Kalida tells Sir Misha that she's been considering matters, and she'd like to bring up the following issues.
   
    For her first issue, aloud, she muses, "So, if the forces aren't going to hit Adabicci until about a month after 110 (138-141?), what's the adjusted timing for the forces on their way to Tussinian?"
    She explains.  She believes they will probably get there about the same time Adabicci is in danger.  She explains that she is certain there is some threat to Adabicci that she has missed.  She doesn't know what it is, but she thinks it will arrive there at the critical point.
    Everything seems tied together very tightly to Tussinian: it is a critical point not just in space but in synchronous time.  Tussinian, Adabicci, and other critical events are too closely linked to be far separated in time from each other.
    Sir Misha asks her if she'd rather be at Adabicci?
    Kalida would rather do something about that danger.  Whether that means going there and warning him, or just letting him handle it, or whether it would be better just to intercept what might be coming...?
        She makes it perfectly clear to him that the predicament that Adabicci is in is due completely to her failure to analyze everything properly. She missed something, she placed Adabicci in danger, and it's her responsibility to find some way to fix it.  She is very firm about that.  She did not anticipate it, underestimated any threat to him, and thus he does not know it is coming.  Not only that, but actions she's taken since then have just made matters much worse for him.
    She says she'll get back to this point later.

    Now on to Norris' plan for using the Duke of Rhylanor against the Rhylanor fleets: will it work? Will Trin be able to make a big enough difference at Tussinian?
    Both of these definitely seem plausible.
    Rhylanor clearly has personal friends in the Imperial Navy (the now Count of Fulacin, for example) and having to attack him directly rather than just disobey him to attack Norris might sway enough critical officers.  If Santanocheev's own fleets arrive at the same time as Rhylanor's, as Santanocheev has no doubt planned, it is unlikely to succeed.  If Santanocheev is delayed, it is unlikely to fail.  Once again, the critical point in both time and space is Tussinian.
    As for Trin, his effect will depend on how steadfast his fleets will be when faced with overwhelming odds.  He seemed to have confidence in them, but how that will stand up when they need to fight a losing action remains to be seen.  They can certainly hold for a few days, which may be enough -- it should be a large enough action that if fought near to a conclusion could last a week or more and definitely de-synchronize the moments with Rhylanor.

    Her next issue is whether she could make a guess on Lanth? Neutral or moving against Adabicci? Is this perhaps where the additional threat she missed comes from?
    She explains that's not the additional threat.  She's considered Lanth as a potential threat already, if not thoroughly.  The one she's missed, she's missed totally.
    She still has no guess on Lanth's position.  Perhaps it still depends on whether she says "Good morning" to the crew tomorrow or not.

    Now on to her personal effect on things. Her own personal actions, however small, have an effect on everything that goes on.  What effect does she have if she moves to head off whatever's moving against Adabicci? Is it better if she goes there directly and warns him? Or is it better if Nightshade meets them (at Olympia? where?)?
    All actions have unintended consequences, and she is painfully aware of that very thoroughly.  Danger will threaten Adabicci, whether she warns him or not.  He's probably already doing whatever he needs to handle a conventional threat, so without knowing what's coming perhaps it's better to let it run its course rather than interfere and perhaps make things worse for him than she has already.
    Intercepting the threat before it gets there seems like a safe enough action in terms of not making things worse, unless that itself would cause other more dangerous threats to be moved against him.  But she doesn't know where the threat is coming from, or what form it takes.  Based on what she has, though, Olympia does seem to make sense.

    Finally, what sort of trade-off is there between following and harassing Santanocheev on his way to Tussinian versus trying to save the situation at Adabicci?
    That is an interesting question, isn't it?  But the worst case from failing at Tussinian would have disastrous consequences for the Imperium, at least she saw something like that in her last klatrin trance, which would itself hurt Adabicci.  On the other hand, perhaps interfering in Adabicci would pull resources away from Tussinian and prove even better at disrupting Santanocheev.  Then again, isn't Adabicci linked to the space-time event that is the Tussinian thread nexus?  Affecting any aspect of that will do something, whether for the better or worse, surely.  The trick is in knowing what the threads will do after you mess with them....

    Sir Misha understands that Kalida would rather act for Adabicci than against Santanocheev when this trip is over.
    She nods.  The two may not be mutually exclusive.  Perhaps if they could find out more about Santanocheev's plans, that could help identify the problem.
    As Sir Misha says, they needn't actually do anything about this until they get back to Mora.  He asks her pointedly whether is more important to her and Adabicci, or more important to the Imperium at large?
    She says it's more important to her and Adabicci, with them being personal friends.  She feels she betrayed them, not only by failing to analyse the threat, but by deciding to go in there openly she has caused Santanocheev to react and makes things worse.  She is personally responsible.
    Sir Misha asks that if they go to Adabicci, does that abandon the Archduke?
    That is not necessarily the case.  They could still have time to come back and contribute, albeit later on the route, and they've warned Trin which should be doing the delaying that is required.
    So what about the possibility that they go to Adabicci, resolve what's there, but at the same time Santanocheev overruns the Archduke, thus nullifying whatever effect they might have had at Adabicci?
    That's the dilemma, of course, as Kalida addressed in her final point before.  Unintended consequences are everywhere.
    Sir Misha says that all they have committed to the Archduke is to fetch the Duke of Rhylanor.  The Archduke should have a letter of marque for them, but has not asked them to do anything more yet.  There is a chance that he will present them with another task, and Sir Misha and Kalida will have to convince him that they have to do this other thing first.  Sir Misha intends to go with Kalida's gut feeling.  He adds that he does not intend to bring this up with the crew unless someone asks.