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Sexy Steampunk Babes: Chapter Sixty One
🕑 Added 2025-01-26 12:23:02 +0000 UTC“Initial reports from squadron leader Inirka of second wave; Two airships struck in initial volley. Damage significant. Fires onboard. Both may be considered combat ineffective. Two shards lost. One chute confirmed. One unconfirmed. Taking over overwatch duties from wave one. Squadron leader Tern confirms her intent to return for refuel and rearmament - with one local element craft,” one of the Jellyfish’s radio operators dutifully relayed. “Current heading parallel to Jellyfish. Will reorientate for return once clear of city limits.”
Good, William thought as Captain Nornhell acknowledged the report.
Things were going well. Or at least, a given value of it. With that latest report, he was officially down one quarter of his forty strong shard complement. Meanwhile, the enemy shard presence had been reduced to just two craft who were in the process of being harried to their deaths as of the last report.
A win by any stretch.
His corsairs had traded quite well, given the sheer disparity in experience between his pilots and theirs – as well as the somewhat rushed nature of this whole deployment.
He’d certainly not planned for his pilots first experience with the new Corsair-C to be in a live combat environment, but here they were. He had no doubt that would be of little comfort to those families who would soon be having their daughters returned to them in boxes, but he’d long since made peace with that reality when he was five years old.
No, this was a success in otherwise less than ideal conditions.
“Please be sure to congratulate Squadron Leader Tern on her success and remind her of the importance of the ‘local element’s’ safety on the return flight,” he said quietly to the woman next to him.
His heart had leapt into his throat when he’d gotten word of a craft bearing remarkable similarities to the Basilisk circling the city. Fortunately, while the Corsair-C had little need of them, the squadron leader’s craft were all equipped with signaling flags.
To that end, it hadn’t taken long for a short ‘dialogue’ to take place between the two craft – one that had the Basilisk folded into the formation of the now returning Corsair-Cs.
Said woman gave him a quick salute before walking over to the captain’s command throne to relay his orders. Which admittedly seemed a little silly, given that she was all of five feet away.
Alas, given the Jellyfish was currently in a combat environment, it wouldn’t do for the lord to be constantly pestering the captain with orders while she was attempting to direct the ship. Hence the need for a go-between.
A role that had until recently been filled by Olzenya, but the young woman had temporarily been removed from said duty while she… processed their most recent discussion. Glancing back, he could see the trio of young women still whispering heatedly amongst themselves.
“My apologies,” he said quietly as he rejoined them in their corner of the bridge. “You were in the process of saying something before we were interrupted.”
“Mostly that I fucking knew it,” Olzenya said smugly. “I knew there was no way you could constantly be pulling new shit out of your ass without being harrowed.”
Well, that was a better reaction than he’d expected really.
“Really?” He chuckled. “Aren’t you… you know, worried? About my mental state? My future plans?”
The high elf scoffed. “You say that like it would be something new? I already thought you were nuttier than squirrel shit. This at least gives me a concrete reason as to why.”
“Indeed, it does go some ways to explaining your more peculiar behaviors,” Marline said slowly – as if she hadn’t already known that he was harrowed. “If anything, the thing I’m more curious about is why you’re not… well, insane.”
He opened his mouth, only for the dark elf to cut him off. “You’re not, at least to my eyes, insane. Nor even Olzenya’s really. You’re eccentric and dramatic to be sure, but you aren’t as a harrowed person should be.”
Olzenya looked like she wanted to argue that point, before ultimately sighing. “She’s not wrong. Admittedly, I’ve never seen a harrowed person, but you don’t match the descriptions for them. Not properly at least.”
Glancing past the elves, William caught the eye of the thus far silent Verity. Seeing his expression, the orc just shrugged. “I… I can’t say I ever suspected anything like Olzenya and Marline say they did. Though to be honest, I don’t really see the big deal. You’ve got magic knowledge in your head.”
Despite himself, William nearly laughed at that, even as Marline and Olzenya cringed. He supposed it made sense. All three of them, being noble-born, had grown up with the dangers of harrowing being constantly drilled into their heads. Verity, by contrast, would likely have only gotten similar warnings in passing once she entered the academy.
She’d not have grown up with the specter of some aunt, uncle or cousin who’d attempted to gain knowledge from the Fae and ended up harrowed leaning over her.
“Well, let’s just say that I’m something of an exception to the rule in a few ways. Not as many as I’d quite like, but as you can see, I’m not entirely insane,” he laughed.
“Quite,” Marline said dryly. “Though, as much as I’d like to ask about why that is, I’m more curious as to why you chose to tell us now.”
“Because people outside our group are going to start accusing me of it now,” he said. “The other things I created, I could hide behind the work of others. The only things people know for a fact that I designed and created were the spell-bolt and the flashbang. The Kraken Slayer was something the Crown supposedly created, and I unknowingly contributed to. The Gramophone was something I worked to keep the origins of as mysterious as possible.”
He shrugged. “This though? Artificial cores? Aether-less bolt-bows? Aether-less javelins? Explosives that don’t require enchanting or alchemy to achieve? At least, not alchemy as anyone knows it.”
He glanced back, to make sure none of the crew were close enough to be listening in. “Nah, I’d say that by tomorrow morning the cat will be entirely out of the bag on just how I keep on pulling this shit off, and there’ll be people who’ll use my status as an excuse to see me locked away.”
There existed legal precedent for those undergoing the effects of harrowing to be institutionalized. For those that were nobles, that typically meant their lands were to be passed onto their nearest relative – or heir. For the moment, given his lack of a spouse or heir, that meant his territory would end up going straight back to the crown.
Which would be pretty ideal for Yelena. She’d get access to all the facilities he’d built, his experienced workforce, and she’d have him under lock and key so they could plumb his mind at will.
Basically, the same situation as she would have had if he’d agreed to marry one of her daughters, but with less steps and even more convenience.
She’d do it too, if she could get away with it. For the longest time, the only thing keeping her from simply locking him away to get access to the secrets of the Kraken Slayer had been the threat of the Blackstones being given access to those same secrets as part of his failsafe if he ever went missing.
For access to artificial mithril-cores though? And whatever else she could get out of me from an interrogation chair? She’d make that trade in a heartbeat, he thought.
Which was why he’d kept this all a secret for so long. Until the moment in which he revealed his true capabilities could coincide with him gaining enough notoriety that he couldn’t simply be cast aside.
Originally, he’d planned for that moment to be roughly around the same time he married the twins and secured the Summerfield duchy for them. As a ducal consort, he’d have been all-but untouchable. More to the point, provided the twins weren’t too horrified by the revelation of his harrowed nature, he’d have also had access to an entire duchy’s worth of industry to pull from.
Ah, but for the plans of mice and men, he thought.
Still, this situation wasn’t entirely terrible. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t unworkable. So long as he actually managed to save the capital from this attack, there was no way Yelena would be able to use his harrowed nature as an excuse to censor him.
For him to save the day – mad or not – and then have his assets seized by the crown? That would wreak of blatant opportunism on the part of a government that would likely need the people’s trust more than ever.
Sure, some nobles would likely still argue for him to be locked away anyway, but William couldn’t see Yelena going through with it. Not with a civil war on the horizon and a decent chunk of her vassal fleet now burning merrily in and over her capital city.
No, she’d work with him.
Harrowed or not.
Still, this was the moment for plugging up any gaps in his defense.
“To that end,” he continued. “In the days to come, people who’ll want to see me… removed will likely approach you. They’ll be asking for insights into my character. For you to speak out against my stability.”
Even as he spoke, he knew he’d soon be having to have a similar conversation with the twins. One he would have much preferred to have after he’d just secured a duchy for them.
As it was, his plan was simply to march down to the hangar and give them a heroic and very sane welcome.
Hell, he wouldn’t even chastise them for their part in tonight’s insanity.
No matter how much he wanted to.
…Hopefully they might also have some idea as to where Griffith is, he thought anxiously.
When they’d spoken over orb, the principal hadn’t been sure of the woman’s location. Hell, she didn’t even know if the dark elven instructor had been part of the initial doom flight up against the enemy fleet or was part of ongoing defense on the ground.
William was praying for the latter. Even if he didn’t have much time to dwell on it.
“I swore an oath to aid you for aiding my family and I meant it,” Marline said resolutely, before she shrugged. “Besides, you already knew I suspected you were… different. As far as I’m concerned, a confirmation like this changes nothing. I know I speak for my family in that too.”
Despite himself, William felt his smile grow as the dark elf spoke – even if he’d sort of already known that was going to be her answer.
It was… nice to have it confirmed though.
“You gave my family a home,” Verity spoke next, tone as firm as he’d ever heard her, before turning bashful as his gaze turned toward her “I mean, to be honest, the harrowed thing doesn’t really bother me. Mostly because I don’t really get why it’s a big deal. You’ve got void knowledge, right? And that usually makes people nutty, but you seem fine! Well, more or less.”
William’s grin grew as he regarded the orc. “My thanks, Verity, for that ringing endorsement.”
The orc flushed and looked away. Which only made him grin more. Not least of all because he already knew Bonnlyn’s answer too. While she was currently out with the bombing team, he knew that if she were here, she’d be talking about how she’d be missing out on the profits from the Gramophone if he got locked up.
Of course, that left him with the one person though who’s support wasn’t guaranteed.
Indeed, as he looked over, Olzenya looked a little conflicted. Sure, he’d offered her the position of captain for the Jellyfish and a plot of land in his territory, but his soon to be opponents would be able to offer a lot more.
And Olzenya had always been a climber; socially, politically and personally.
Seeing that he was watching her now, along with the rest of the team, the elf seemed to come to a decision though as she sighed.
“Well, you already know that I think you’re nuttier than squirrel shit - but no one beyond our team will ever hear that from me.”
Willaim felt a part of his soul he almost hadn’t known existed seem to unclench itself as the blonde continued.
“Not least of all because that would mean I wouldn’t be able to captain the ship that saved the capital. Way I see it, in a month, whoever holds that posting will have to beat the boys off with a stick.” She chuckled. “Plus, I've already picked out a spot of land I liked on that rocky dirt heap you call a territory. I’d hate to have to go through the hassle of doing that again somewhere else.”
She laughed at those words, clearly intending them as a joke, but William was having none of it as he stared at her. “Thank you, Olzenya. Your support, well, it means a lot.”
“Ah, not so fast.” The elf grinned. “I still have one condition. I figure I’m owed that much if it means supporting your insane ass in whatever madness you have planned for the future.”
William swallowed – though he could hardly begrudge the young woman wanting to make the best of the situation. He’d literally just thought that she was a climber…
“I get it,” she continued, seeing his silence as consent – even as she ignored the glares of her other teammates. “I get why you felt the need to hide stuff. From us. From the world. No idea how long you’ve been walking around with all that void shit in your head, but I’m willing to bet you’ve had it since before we met.”
He nodded slowly, not entirely sure where she was going with this.
“Well, no more,” she said with finality. “We’re a team. That means you include us. Your plans. Goals. Secrets. Everything. If I’m in this with you, I want to know that you’re in this with me.”
George hesitated.
William didn’t.
“I… I can do that,” he said slowly, ignoring the dryness in his mouth. “I… no, there’ll definitely be stumbling blocks. But I can try.”
Olzenya huffed, crossing her arms and looking away. “S’all I ask.”
Grinning, Verity looked like she was about to speak, when her eyes widened as she glanced over his shoulder. Turning to see the cause, William found himself face to face with the bridge officer who was acting as his go-between with the captain.
The crewwoman shifted uncomfortably. “Report from Inirka, milord. In response to our attack, it seems the enemy chose to shift an airship into a protective stance above the rest of the fleet.”
William nodded, unsurprised. He hadn’t expected them to retreat.
The adversary likely believed they could achieve their objective before his corsairs returned - or perhaps they doubted his ability to repeat the feat he’d just performed. After all, by local reckoning, his fleet had just unleashed a devastating barrage of enchanted ordnance of a scale capable of essentially depleting the reserves of a smaller noble house.
Personally, he was leaning towards the former. Not that it mattered. Even if they attempted to flee now, the returning corsair wave would be able to catch up in time to hunt them down.
Still, it was unfortunate they hadn’t chosen to flee.
With the airships gone and with the opposing shards too entangled in their losing battle with his own, the Academy’s shards could have finally launched without fear of being shredded on take off.
Well, once the enemy commandos have been cleared out of the hangars and off the runway, he thought.
If they could do that though… Well, an entire Academy’s worth of fighters would let him tear apart the larger fleet threatening the palace in half the time.
“Yes? And?” he prompted, his tone clipped.
The crewwoman hesitated, her voice faltering for the first time. “The – uh - enemy vessel that was moving into defensive formation, sir... they’re deploying troops onto the airships they’re shielding via parachute.”
William froze. “What?”
----------------
Okol loved this feeling. Gliding through the air, her target looming ever larger before her as the wind whistled past her ears.
It was a sensation like no other – and what brought to an end far too soon as she flared the aether-thrusters in her boots and palms. The expulsion of blue-green gas served to just barely slow her descent, such that when she hit the deck of the opposing craft, she still needed to roll to disperse some of her momentum.
Which was fine – that was the plan.
“What the hell do you greenskins think you’re-”
Whatever else the slaver standing on deck had been about to say was cut off as Okol’s flung axe embedded itself in her chest. The orc didn’t wait for the body to finish falling before she brought her bolt-bow up with one hand to spray down the collection of humans manning the nearest pivot-gun.
Mercenaries, brought on this excursion to further muddy the waters in regards to the fleet’s origins. They died all the same.
Around her, other orcish mages were touching down on the Lunite craft, with similar results as they slaughtered the other two elven sailors standing on deck before turning their weapons on the humans. Not one managed to turn their aether-powered pivot guns in the direction of the orcs before they went down.
And with that, the deck was theirs.
Glancing up, Okol could see the parachutes of the Blood Oath’s non-mage complement of warriors slowly start to drift down towards the deck.
She didn’t wait for them as she sprinted toward the nearest doorway into the interior of the craft.
Speed was the name of the game here. The faster they moved, the less chance the enemy had to realize they were under attack. And a surprised enemy was much more easily slain than a prepared one. As exemplified by the sailors on deck.
“What’s going on-”
Okol’s slice sent intestines flying across the deck as she reached the pair of guards manning a bulkhead door. To the second mercenary’s credit, they recognized the folly of trying to draw against an enemy so close and instead sought to tackle the orc before she could bring her axe back around. Unfortunately, they failed to recognize the threat of the greenskin’s elbow as it slammed unerringly into the woman’s face. Blinded and stumbling back from the blow, the woman didn’t see the blow that killed her as Okol brought her axe down in the same location she’d just elbowed.
Pulling the axe back, she made ready to advance – to perform her bloody work against the sailors that would be beyond the doorway – only to pause.
Chains.
That was what she saw first, and she cursed herself for it as she noticed the color of the people in those chains.
Pink. Brown. Yellow.
No green.
Humans. Again.
But unlike the armored ones she’d just slain, these were clad in little more than rags as they stared fearfully at her. Those closest were straining against the chains that had shackled them to their posts as they sought to use the aether-cannon they’d just been manning as an impromptu shield.
Slaves hadn’t been unexpected. Given the clandestine nature of this trip, it had been mentioned in the slavers briefing that the gunnery crews would be comprised of slaves who could be… silenced once the mission was completed.
The crew of the Blood-Oath had simply assumed those slaves would be orcs.
And some were, she now noticed. One or two. Near the back.
But most were human. Or dwarven.
Maybe.
It was possible they were just short. Okol had never had much need to be able to tell the difference.
This… complicated things. The plan had been to take the slaves North with them. As new sisters for the cause.
“You,” she said, pointing her axe at the nearest one. “Why are you chained up!? The Lunite Khanate does not allow for human slaves.”
The young woman who she’d pointed at, widened her eyes, before speaking slowly. “We aren’t slaves. We’re prisoners. Or we were. Ship got taken by Lunite pirates months back. Then a few weeks ago we all got loaded onto these ships. Told we’d get to go free if we just-”
Whatever else the woman was about to say as another chained gunner shrieked.
That warning saved Okol’s life, as she dove to the side just in time to avoid an incoming lightning bolt. The crew of a cannon behind her was not so lucky as the blast fried all of five of them – their chains acting to conduct the lethal power of the spell through all their bodies.
The nearest crews flinched back, now torn between hiding from the orc boarder and the elven overseer who’d just emerged from another bulkhead.
For her part, Okol started to chant her own spell from behind a wooden pillar, but mentally cursed as she glanced out and saw her new foe’s lips were also already moving. She’d likely started chanting the moment her first spell had finished – which meant she’d be a second faster than Okol’s own.
Even as the orc started to bring up her bolt-bow to either kill the elf or throw off her aim, she knew she was about to be a second too slow.
And she doubted her foe would miss twice. This pillar would merely provide a bit of extra shrapnel for when the woman’s bolt hit it.
Which was why the orc’s eyes widened almost as much as the elf’s when the knife-ear was stabbed in the stomach by… one of those stick things cannon crews used to push in the cannon balls.
The blow didn’t look particularly hard, coming in at a slightly odd angle for the young woman holding the implement, but it was enough to throw off the elf’s chant for just a second.
And that was all Okol needed as she both finished chanting and aimed her bolt-bow.
In moments, the slaver was pierced through the chest not just by a shard of ice the size of her leg, but also two bolts. She dropped, likely dead before she hit the ground.
And Okol was left standing there, breathing heavily as she realized just how close she’d come to death by allowing herself to be distracted by the… ship’s unexpected crew complement.
For a moment, her eyes flitted to the human – a girl more than a woman – who’d just saved her life. And for her part, the brunette looked about as surprised as Okol felt. Whether for acting as she had or that she’d lived to survive it, Okol didn’t know.
Grudgingly, the orc nodded at the surprised human – though she didn’t wait to see if it was returned.
Instead, she reached down to grab the keys from the dead elf’s belt, before tossing them to the nearest group of humans.
“Unlock yourselves but… stay back and down. Others from my tribe will follow behind me and you don’t want them to think you’re…”
She didn’t know what to say.
Human?
Not slaves?
Part of the crew?
“...Enemies.” she finally settled on.
That done, she didn’t look back as she walked over to the ladder the elf had climbed up and started clambering down. She had a ship to clear. The question of what would happen to the humans, could come later.
Comments
MS
I'd thought I had read William said henwas always harrowed. Also while a baby he has a grown man's mind, something about his magic being quicker or figuring out how to communicate with his fea while a baby. I took him being 8 and pushing back as when he had figured out hos plans and his family starting to push him into behaving a certain way, like the men of this world suppose to act. Pushing back on that would certainly raise eyebrows
Moonlightwind
Your dedication is truly admirable.
bob semple
Can't wait
Blue Fishcake
I wrote three of each before I switched.
Blue Fishcake
Still ten thirty in Los Angeles, so I'm barely squeaking into Sunday. Seriously, this chapter kicked my ass for some reason. Lots of time sitting at the desk quibbling over words. With that said, the beta readers now have it and it should be up in an hour :D
Alex LordThorsen
You have also given yourself less time to work on the chapters because you're not pushing the deadline out when you release on Saturdays or Sundays.
DMR1
We're ok if you have to kick it forward.
Dovahpriest
On the other hand, Space and Sect only had 2 books written before he segued into the next series in line, so it might be longer this time around since this is the end of Book 2 for Steampunk.
MarakEvans
Low key, I wouldn't be all that upset if you needed extra time to finish. I stay signed up to a higher tier for the excitement and anticipation for the latest chapters. *cough*andtomemeonbluefishcake*cough*
Admiralthrawnbar
3-4 weeks usually, though this one might be a bit longer because I thought Blue said somewhere he was planning on getting the Sect books up on Amazon like the Space ones are during this gap
just_some_guy.
How long is the gap between books? I agree, I don't want to rush the chapter and get a crap chapter, but knowing there are 9-ish more hours in an "American Sunday" given Hawaii's time zone is rough.
Admiralthrawnbar
If waiting just a few more hours is this painful, I think I'm just gonna die in the gap between books
MarakEvans
*8hrs later* *whip cracking noises*
andreas
Thanks for letting us know. Nothing is worse than waiting on a regular schedule and not getting any info. Till tomorrow!
Trevayne
It looks like only 1-2 chapters left (the finale in 62 and possibly an epilogue in 63). Looking forward to seeing who survives this (I think the Queen does) and very interested in seeing the initial reactions going forward. There are lots of players with lots to think about. Yelena might well want to secure William for the crown, but one of the features of feudalism is that it relies on loyalty. She has already rewarded him for his services to the crown. I think trying to lock him up after making him a count and then he saves the academy and the palace would probably destroy her faction. If she can do that to the person who saved her, what could she do to us? William also has decisions to make. He has a power base, but I doubt he is strong enough yet to give the orcs independence. On the other hand, if they win the civil war and the Blackstones are attainted for treason, he might wind up with their territory and have to deal with the situation himself. That probably isn't happening until the next book. In the meantime, the Solites and Lunites also get to react and decide. Does the loss of the Crown vassal airships weaken Lindholm enough for them to make another try at conquering it? Or do they need to get more information about these new shards that apparently defeated the undership force by themselves? At least they can both afford to take the long view due to longer elven lifespans. How do the Blackstones react? Does Eleanor Blackstone think they have to go now before the rest of Lindholm finds out that she decided not to warn the rest of Lindholm about the existence of underships? There is a lot to look forward to.
Trevayne
Thanks for keeping us informed. News, even disappointing news, is better than no news.
mraanonymous
Do you know if we're getting it today or is a next week thing?
Vonbaron
From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me.
Blue Fishcake
American Sunday is still Sunday! ...For now I sleep. To rise again. Seriously, this chapter is kicking my ass (which is pretty par for the course for finale chapters, I'll admit).
Random Information
Ready for Malice at the Palace? Or is the next chapter going to be about something else?
Found&Lost
Is it Sunday yet?
Vonbaron
Considering orcs are slaves I highly doubt they'd let one fly shards. The ship that is run by orcs is the one the orcs showed up in with the screamer. The free orcs are only free because they are needed. I imagine after the mission is completed the orcs would be treated the same as the human prisoners.
Trevayne
“Initial reports from squadron leader Inirka of second wave; Two airships struck in initial volley. Damage significant. Fires onboard. Both may be considered combat ineffective. Two shards lost. One chute confirmed. One unconfirmed. Taking over overwatch duties from wave one. Squadron leader Tern confirms her intent to return for refuel and rearmament - with one local element craft,” one of the Jellyfish’s radio operators dutifully relayed. “Current heading parallel to Jellyfish. Will reorientate for return once clear of city limits.” Interesting point about the advantages of using a single shard design. Most US carriers in WW2 carried at least three different types of aircraft. They had fighters for fighting other aircraft along with dive bombers and torpedo bombers for attacking other ships. Here, everything is done by one design, the Corsair-C fighter bomber. I expect that since Xela's squadron is returning for rearming, they will reload their guns and pick up a load of rockets. They didn't carry them at first because they were initially sent out to kill the enemy shards and rockets would have just slowed them down. Now Inirka's squadron has fired its rockets and can look out for any shards that launch from the airships. The roles have swapped. I expect they will launch Xela's squadron after it rearms and then land Inirka's squadron to reload its rockets. They might wait until all 30 remaining Corsair-Cs along with Bonlynn's Corsair-M and the Basilisk are ready to attack the airships over the palace, or they might have Xela's squadron go straight in first. We will see. Waiting until all the shards are loaded means a heavier initial strike, but gives the enemy more time at the palace. I don't think there is anything left to do at the academy. I assume the orcs will win their boarding actions and then depart quickly. Since the palace is still under attack, I doubt William would pursue. I suppose he could send a shard or two after them to see where they are going. This would be a good mission for Corsair-Ms, since they are not range limited (unlimited aether fuel) the way the Corsair-Cs are. They shouldn't have to worry about enemy shards at all. We saw from Marinna's POV that a few shards had landed, but I expect they took off during the battle. Even if they have a few left (2-3), it will not matter against odds of ten to one against. Even if the Corsairs are more sluggish because of their rocket loads, they become unsluggish quickly after those loads are expended into the enemy airships. Assuming the first volley takes out three airships, the two remaining will have a quick decision to make, surrender or die. They can't escape from much faster shards that can clearly kill them. They might shoot a few down, but not enough. They still don't have any idea where the shards are coming from. It could be a previously unknown ground base or some kind of airship. They have no way of telling.
Trevayne
IIRC it was the Blackstones taking most of the slaves. They would sell them to the Southern Duchies until Yelena's decision to end slavery happened and then they shifted to selling them to the Solites and Lunites using the other Northern Duchy, New Haven as the merchant. The Blackstones didn't not trust orcs, so they would not keep them as slaves themselves. As for your point about the Solites, while they may be temporarily weakened by the losses in conquering the Lunites, they will be much stronger afterwards. Lindholm would be like Britain during the Napoleonic wars, an island facing off against a much bigger continental foe. It would be even worse because Lindholm wouldn't have any allies and airships can fly over oceanic obstacles. Lindholm certainly can try to build up if the civil war is averted or ends quickly, but the new Solite empire would have a lot more resources and can also build up. The main hope for Lindholm would be William reaching further into his bag of tricks. Their opponents may think Corsairs are formidable adversaries, but they have never even imagined something like an F-86 Saber or a Hawker Hunter (I assume William is not limited to US equipment). They would probably need bigger carriers though.
MASC
Great points I did not consider. Plus wasn’t it the south that was exporting slaves and using them on plantations or was it another duchy? Either way it would harm the trade. Also wouldn’t damaging the Lunites help preoccupy the Solites for a decade or two as they take advantage of the situation to conquer the Lunites. If the civil war does not happen and weakens Lindholm like the Solites had been planning then couldn’t Lindholm build up the military via William stockpiling and then attack the weakened Solites who have depleted their resources trying to conquer the Lunites? Solites and Lunites have not yet acquired the Kraken slayer so they cannot press an attack on the new world without losing irreplaceable cores as Lindholm can just keep on using planes to take out any future invasion fleets.
Trevayne
I agree that naval doctrine is going to shift to a shard-based version, but I doubt Lindholm can commit its fleet that far away. The problem with wrecking the Lunites is that leaves the Solites with little opposition. They can build a lot of shards themselves by taking their older conventional airships out of service. IIRC William's current production rate is about two Corsair-Cs a week. His crew might be able to create the airframes, but I think William is still needed to finish the engines. I doubt they can get up to 7 per week any time soon, unless he can figure out how to pass on his comprehension of everything about the Corsair and it's engine. The Blackstones aren't enslaving orcs because it makes economic sense. They are doing it because they want to destroy the orcs and enslaving them helps to pay for their campaign against them. They have been fighting a pretty bitter border war for centuries. Note, I am not suggesting trying to make peace is easy. I expect it will be difficult and might require destroying the Blackstones as a noble family. Even if that is what it takes, it is still worth doing. The hard part might be convincing the orcs that their old enemies are gone and can they now accept a peace short of independence.
MASC
I can imagine William helping develop a new fleet doctrine for the crown and have them prepare for a counter invasion on the elves by changing all their ships into makeshift carriers that will carry out an operation to destroy the lunites industrial capacity. Overwhelm their enemies by quantity. If Will makes 1 Corsair per day they could take the old world by surprise with 300+ planes next year. Would turn into a war of Attrition for the elves as they will have a max limit of shards they can churn out before running out while will has no limit. If Will can put an end to the slave trade with the old continent by helping the crown conquer the main buyer of slaves, it will create an economic incentive to end slavery if Lindholm industrialises and it becomes uneconomical to continue the trade.
Found&Lost
Damnit!
Found&Lost
I would have said "Somewhere between haha you serious? Let me laugh even harder! and none."
Trevayne
To expand on a comment from the previous chapter. On a separate note, I take it this battle and the immediate reactions to it are the end of this book. I expect the civil war or an international war to kick off in the next book. Somehow I doubt William is going back to the Academy any time soon, although I am amused contemplating the reactions of the students and faculty if he did try to finish his education there. He was already famous/notorious/infamous for beating a good third year team with a first year team. Then he shows up at the beginning of the second year in his own airship. That was bad enough, but now he has revolutionized shard design and air warfare while saving the academy and the crown. I expect the academy is just going to pass him, but we will see. Maybe the uncertainty as all the players try to figure out just what happened over the capital will delay the wars and let William finish year two. I can just imagine the reports everybody is getting. Eleanore Blackstone hears that ten Lunite underships emerged from the harbor and destroyed most of the crown vassal airships. That would lead her to strike while the iron is hot, but then she hears that mysterious shards with an unfamiliar design and unheard of performance proceeded to massacre all the attacking airships. This could get her to reconsider, as do worries over whether the rest of LIndholm will find out that she knew about the possibility of underships but did not warn anybody. The Lunites were getting reports of how their underships had destroyed 16-30 or so crown vassal ships, but were then destroyed themselves by the mysterious shards. The other factions are getting similar messages. The interesting question is whether the Queen and Crown vassals will find out about the Blackstones knew about the underships but didn't tell anyone. The Queen might have to restrain her own vassals who will want to see Blackstone executed. Lots of possibilities, and that is just with my imagination.
Trevayne
It is possible that not all the pilots are dark elves. We know at least one ship is run by orcs. I wonder if at least two of the shot down pilots were orcs? For that matter, I wonder if the dark elves can use spells to improve their night vision. It might mean casting one fewer lightning bolt, but being able to see in a night battle is pretty important.
JJR
Looks like sunday it is...
MarakEvans
Sorry, Found & Lost. Wrong comment, my bad.
jkbscopes
I'm in shambles I believed in Friday and for my hubris I am cursed with having to wait
Void Vagabond
Back to rereading old chapters, I go
Void Vagabond
Noice. I'm up waiting for a Friday release too lol what do you think our odds are
Blue Fishcake
Sunday. It'll be Sunday again at this rate :P
Found&Lost
Not really. Being in the middle of the Pacific storms don't usually have enough time to build up to get really bad.
Void Vagabond
Do storms get bad out there? Aside from typhoons?
Found&Lost
Winter. Might be in Hawai'i but still in northern hemisphere
Void Vagabond
Winter storm or summer storm?
Found&Lost
What are you talking about?
JR9364
More I reread these past chapters, I realize this was the best chance for our Corsair pilots. The elves probably have decades or more experience, but book 1 mentioned dark elves have God offel night vision. Fires from burning ships and the city may be helping, but the Corsairs being so much faster could more easily get out of sight. Add on the ridiculous numbers advantage, Redwater airwing is in the best possible position
Found&Lost
I'm hoping it's Friday. Getting hit by a storm and I could use a chapter
Trevayne
Agreed. They aren't figuring out how it works in less than a decade from a wreck. The big problem is they probably can't even turn the engine over with a wreck to start to figure out how the prop turns. They already know how to get propellers to turn but an internal combustion engine is vastly different from a shard engine.
Trevayne
thinking some more about the Corsairs, we know that the plebian pilots first encountered them as they got into the cockpit for their first flights and first combat flight. I wonder how many pilots can say the first time they flew their plane was also their first combat mission. The question I have is did William or Xela ever actually do a test flight of a Corsair-C before he built 40 of them and committed them to combat? The only way I can see it happening is if they took the Jellyfish out on a flight over the ocean and tried it out there so no one could hear the engine noise, except the airship crew.
MASC
Thanks for the recommendation
Diego Urbina
Dang. 😑 I just realized the sub thing resets every start of month.
Business Casual
Speaking of broken components... I dont know if this has been brought up, but anyone trying to reverse engineer the Corsairs would be working off of wreckage, unless a working one is either stolen or William gives one away. I doubt any faction would have the capability to reverse engineer it based on wreckage alone without several years of work. Based on the fact they couldn't figure out the K.S. I'm sure it would already take years with an intact copy, but going off of wreckage will just add to that work.
jkbscopes
Friday believers les go
Trevayne
An interesting additional thought on the Corsairs and the possibilities of reverse engineering them. How do they handle maintenance? Has William been producing spare parts as well as engines or does he expect that he will mage-smith any broken components back into shape? For example, they might need to replace the spark plus. Does William mage-smith the plugs back to a like-new condition, or do they have replacement plugs? This is important, because if William has to do everything, then he needs to be on the Jellyfish most of the time to do it. It also means that the use of Corsair-Cs will be difficult to expand if he needs to do all the maintenance. On the other hand, if he trains other people on how to maintain the Corsair, either by just replacing parts or by mage-smithing, those additional people will need to know how the systems work, especially the engine. More importantly, those people are now a security risk. If any are kidnapped or suborned to work for the Blackstones, the Lunites, the Solites, the Crown or any other faction (the list probably includes every noble that begins to think they have the resources to try), they could decrease the time needed to reverse engineer a Corsair. It might still take a few years, but not decades. That is because anybody who can maintain a Corsair is going to understand the need for fine tolerances. It is going to be interesting to see how William manages to balance these options.
Trevayne
I agree with @Katz, with one quibble. I think they can try to grasp the function of how it works a little faster than decades because they will figure out that fuel goes in, is consumed, and produces rotary motion. If they get access to an engine they can see how the cylinders and listens are supposed to move. Grasping the tolerances and figuring out how to go from a model to a functioning engine are going to be the really hard parts. For that matter, I wonder if anyone will risk harrowing to find out how a Corsair-C works?
Katz
They cannot. An internal combustion engine is not something you can just "reverse engineer". Tolerances and machining aside, an ICE is not something to understand. They lack the basic understanding of chemistry, and they do not understand heat cycles, or gas transformations. Without the knowledge base of why things work they do, I would expect it would take an extremely long amount of time, basically because anyone reverse engineering an engine needs to invet chemistry and thermodynamics while not knowing anything about it...worse still, by having the wrong idea about it due to magic.
Trevayne
I think a better analogy would be how the US Bay of Pigs invasion damaged its standing and improved the standing of the USSR. Iran is not a great example,because the Solites and Lunites are the two great powers. Iran may have gained in standing but it never reached great power status. It was just a regional power. As for the Lindholm civil war, it might well kick off because the Blackstones want to seize the opportunity presented by the sudden weakening of the Crown faction. However, this may be offset by concerns about just how one crown vassal ship defeated the ten raiders after they had already wrecked the rest of the crown vassals. If the Lunite involvement becomes public, New Haven may want to hold up until the Solite Empress decides how they are to respond.
Trevayne
No, AFIAK the Corsair-C was a Corsair modified to use a mithril shard. The Corsair-C airframes were put together from components that were mage-smithed according to his plans. William had to assemble the components himself. By now his people may be able to get the airframes about right, but I think he still has to do the final mage-smithing on the engines and the machineguns. As for copying a captured one, I doubt it. They think they are creating an exact copy but they don't notice the tolerances are off and the engine seizes. If they could create them that easily then why wouldn't William have his people mass-producing them the same way? In that case, why would William have to personally ensure each engine and machine gun is functional? The problem is that this world is too used to using magic to assemble tools and weapons. Every magesmith is like an 18th century gunsmith. They can produce impressive weapons, some of which are works of art, but they aren't standardised and do not use standard parts. The Corsair has to be standardized. The local magesmiths will not find out what they don't know until they try and then they will have to spend a long time figuring out how this is actually supposed to work and how do we get the tolerances right.
Random Information
Development in our world is via tools making better tools, and so on. But in this world magic can short-cut this - as William himself is doing. Didn't William's alchemists make the first Corsair-M by copying aspects of an existing shard? Can the mages of this world just use a captured Corsair-C to create another Corsair-C?
JJR
I'd say it is a tipping point, possibly rallying Lindholm behind the Queen and/or starting the Civil war there on the one hand while igniting the cold war on the other. The solites will definitely use the situation to their advantage. Depending on the actual "geopolitical" situation we might look at a situation similar to Iran after the last Iraq war where they massively grew their influence as a consequence of the US action.
Trevayne
That is an interesting question. We really don't know how many other countries there are. IIRC until a civil war a few centuries ago, the Universal Elven Empire ran everything. Then it split up leaving various successor states, the biggest of which are the Solite and Lunite Empires. They are the major powers. Then there are the secondary powers like Lindholm, the Woodelves, the Dwarves, etc. I don't think we know enough to properly assess the potential consequences. Are there enough minor powers for it to matter? I agree that tensions have gone up further. The Solites and Lunites have been in something like a Cold War for decades, so it wasn't as if tensions were low before.
JJR
Oh, that they do not care is one thing- the US did not as you stated. But they have lost a helluva lot of diplomatic capital and influence with other nations, they might not immediately see the effects but there will be consequences further down the line. From alliances forming to rebellions or simply having to use way more pressure and/or favours and ressources it will be costly. See how the US actions have shaped the world stage since the last invasion of iraq. I doubt that other wars would have been so brazenly started by other nations like Russia, violations of International law are now more prevalent than, during the cold war as a consequence. People are now blatantly attacking even the Red cross (and MsF vaccination campaigns thanks to CIA shenanigans during the search for Bin Laden in Pakistan ) , something that was off limits during WW2 and the few cases that that happened were shamed and not advertised. Or in Hoi4 terms: World tension has significantly gone up.
Trevayne
The ten shards was from this part where William says he has lost a quarter of his forty starting shards. The last two losses mentioned at the start of the chapter should be losses 9 and 10. The first Corsair-C loss was mentioned in the previous chapter and the others were apparently offscreen. On the positive side, there are only two enemy shards left and they are being hunted by a group of his shards and are expected to be finished off shortly. Granted, there might be a couple of shards that went back early to the enemy airships to fix damage or rearm, but the vast majority are gone. Things were going well. Or at least, a given value of it. With that latest report, he was officially down one quarter of his forty strong shard complement. Meanwhile, the enemy shard presence had been reduced to just two craft who were in the process of being harried to their deaths as of the last report.
Business Casual
Where did it say ten shards were lost? I must be looking right over that because of the opening paragraph saying two shards. ETA: I just ask because I'm dumb and don't know how to read some times.
Trevayne
Thoughts on reverse engineering. Everybody is going to try to figure out how William's new artificial core shards work and will try to reverse-engineer them. The Crown is probably in the best position to do so because the Queen's agents spent a lot of time looking through Redwater trying to find out his secrets, especially the Krakenslayer. We saw William was aware of this when he was showing off the interupter gear. Once he started his mages crafting components and subassemblies in large quantities, I expect the Queen's agents managed to get the plans and schematics for those assemblies. Her people probably have the best chance, but it is still going to be very difficult. (I took the rest of this from an answer to @MarekEvans and wanted to boost the visibility of that answer) Reverse engineering is still going to be hard. While they probably have the schematics and the plans, William's people are not really doing full mass production. Even if they take all the subassemblies for an engine and assemble them, unless William does his mage-smith finishing, the engine will seize and probably destroy itself when they try to start it. It was stated explicitly that William has to use his mage abilities to finish every engine and machinegun. I am not sure if he also has to finish every airframe. That is why production is limited to two Corsair-Cs a week. The reason is that his individual component makers are still not used to assembling their parts to the required tolerances. There are engine components that have tolerances measured in thousandths of an inch. I doubt Lindholm has ever had to work that way. They will eventually figure it out, but I think that will take several years and possibly a decade or two. It depends a lot if William is around to help. I expect that even if the Solites or Lunites recovered an intact Corsair-C they would take at least a decade to produce more. Remember, despite the airships and the magic, this world is basically a 17th-18th century culture. They don't even have steam engines. It took OTL Earth roughly a hundred and fifty years to get from the steam engine to the Corsair's engine. Expecting this world to do it in ten without somebody's uplift program is a stretch. The only person who could do that uplift is William and he would need a very great incentive since it would cost him a lot of power/influence since now other people could do some of what only he can do now.
Trevayne
@MarakEvans, regarding your six items 1) I think it will be a negotiation. William starts out in a position of power because he has the only operational airship nearby. That will change once the Royal fleet gets there, but I think both sides realize they have to reach a deal. Unless the Queen somehow captures William, there is very little she can do to compel him. She was able to force him to turnover the Krakenslayer information, but that was because William knew his sister was acting against the crown and her assassination was semi-reasonable in that case. 2) I fully agree that the artificial core shards will be a hot topic. The queen may or may not have all the schematics. But it doesn't matter. William has to do final mage-smithing on every engine and machinegun. 3) I expect the Queen will reward William by proclaiming him a hero and giving him stuff. One really interesting possibility would be to make him the Duke of the Northland and let him figure out how to sell it to the orcs. 4) I think an orcish territory is going to be discussed. The orcs want independence. William, somewhat naively, thinks they should have it because it would cause peace (I think he is wrong). The Queen doesn't want that because it would weaken Lindholm as a whole. Failing that, I think they could be persuaded into self-rule as a duchy, but we will see where Blue wants to go with it. One other thing they can point out to the orcs is the Elves still practise orcish slavery. If Lindholm falls to either faction of the Elves, do the orcs really think they will get to stay independent and not be conquered for a new source of slaves? 5) Yes, they are another headache, although they have their own problems. At some point, they are going to find out that their New Haven "allies" are really working for the Solites. If they are on the winning side and defeat the crown, I am pretty sure the Blackstones are next on the chopping block. I doubt the Solites would tolerate a human-run duchy again. 6) Reverse engineering is still going to be hard. While they probably have the schematics and the plans, William's people are not really doing full mass production. Even if they take all the subassemblies for an engine and assemble them, unless William does his mage-smith finishing, the engine will seize and probably destroy itself when they try to start it. It was stated explicitly that William has to use his mage abilities to finish every engine and machinegun. I am not sure if he also has to finish every airframe. That is why production is limited to two Corsair-Cs a week. The reason is that his individual component makers are still not used to assembling their parts to the required tolerances. There are engine components that have tolerances measured in thousandths of an inch. I doubt Lindholm has ever had to work that way. They will eventually figure it out, but I think that will take several years and possibly a decade or two. It depends a lot if William is around to help. I expect that even if the Solites or Lunites recovered an intact Corsair-C they would take at least a decade to produce more. Remember, despite the airships and the magic, this world is basically a 17th-18th century culture. They don't even have steam engines. It took OTL Earth roughly a hundred and fifty years to get from the steam engine to the Corsair's engine. Expecting this world to do it in ten without somebody's uplift program is a stretch.
Trevayne
@MarakEvans The orcs are fighting for their own lands in the North. While some might want to come to Redwater, most want to keep their homes. This would hand Blackstone a win that nobody really wants to give them.
MarakEvans
An "orc duchy" seems unlikely to me, as Redwater already has the Redwater territories to begin integrating orcs into a more equal/free society.
MarakEvans
@Trevayne 1. It could be a "negotiation" or it could be a shakedown going either direction. 2. The "artificial shards" will be a hot topic... one that the Crown will likely already have all the schematics and parts to, given the "invisible" nature of some agents. 3. Hmm... Forgot about what might be rewarded to Redwater. 4. Orcish territory, not impossible. Highly unlikely since William needs to prioritize strengthening his position so that he can't be rug-pulled by the Crown. 5. Blackstones... geez that's a can of worms I forgot about. 6. "Reverse Engineering" is probably not going to be as difficult as his less... mass-produced "inventions." Remember that, while compartmentalized, the schematics were distributed and production outsourced. Even with the "gag order of bed sharing," there will be leaks. ... I've thought about it... my substitute for forgetting "geass" was weird. I'm leaving it there.
Trevayne
You may be right, however does William know that? For that matter, even if you are right now, if he pulls out something in the future, will she think he has reneged? I expect he can get by with telling them that there are some secrets they really don't want to know and William never plans to use.
Morpheus
why would he ask for an orc duchy? I mean equality between the races is a goal of his, but suddenly asking for THAT would seem totally out of left field. given what he's been doing.
Morpheus
The first two books of this are pretty decent: https://theyaresmol.com/read-the-stories/ Then the fan spinoff: https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/a2tr4i/the_smol_detective_chapter_1/ kinda beats the crap out of the rest of the official thing.
Morpheus
i think she mostly just wants to know his actual plans, not hypothetical things.
Morpheus
on the one hand i sometimes agree. On the other hand most of the conversation would be a naruto level recap of eight chapters ago. so six of one....
DMR1
I really hate how you skip over the best conversations.
Trevayne
I agree this is a diplomatic mess, but I doubt the Lunites care that much. For a real world example, it is like when the US went after Osama bin Laden, violating Pakistani airspace and conducting a commando raid in a Pakistani city. The US was a superpower and Pakistan was harboring its most wanted criminal. The US did not care. Similarly, the Lunites see themselves as the rightful heir to the great Elven Empire. Their only peers are their Solite rivals. They don't really care what Lindholm thinks. they have actually already made at least one attempt to outright conquer Lindholm. The main thing that lets Lindholm stay unconquered is its ability to play one against the other and the inability of either the Solites or the Lunites to throw all their strength against Lindholm. Granted, their appreciation of Lindholm's relative strength may have just changed dramatically. Until now, I doubt any naval theorist really saw shards as more of an auxiliary weapon, something to help against opposing shards, pursue fleeing airships, and cover against boarding attempts. I doubt they were seen as the shipkillers the Corsairs have just shown themselves to be.
Moonlightwind
Yeah I’m not sure, I think a good amount of time has passed since the Orcs arrived on the old continent so it’s possible that they captured them when they started formulating the plan. It’s also possible they were maybe ransom targets, but it seems like they’re just commoners so doubtful that would be of any use. Could be they conduct regular covert ops, so using humans as fall guys is commonplace.
Trevayne
Err, they were captured and held for months. The young woman who she’d pointed at, widened her eyes, before speaking slowly. “We aren’t slaves. We’re prisoners. Or we were. Ship got taken by Lunite pirates months back. Then a few weeks ago we all got loaded onto these ships. Told we’d get to go free if we just-” It does make one wonder why they were held prisoner if they don't use human slaves. I doubt they were acquired just for this mission. More likely they were held pending sale and the Lunite government decided to buy them without bothering to say they were slaves. Alternatively, maybe they were going to be held for ransom or sold on to some party that does enslave humans.
JJR
Not only that but this is now a diplomatic nightmare, they have left plenty of evidence and the plausible deniability as well as the potential winnings are out of reach now-no feasible escaoe by land, air or sea remains. Who ever thought this was a good attack plan has not considered losing and the consequences thereof.
Trevayne
Interesting question, Olzenya wanted no more secrets. I suspect William might well want to reconsider on that. At the very least, I suspect he might want a conversation in a shared dream to confirm that they really want to know about future possibilities, like nuclear weapons, without a geas. Maybe he just tells them he knows some secrets, like the idea that weapons of mass destruction can be built, that should stay secret? Edit: I am not suggesting William introduce nukes or other WMD into this story. I am suggesting that he might well ask if Olzenya really wants to know all of his secrets, including the ones about how a single shard can kill a city.
Logan
It was mentioned that the lunites don't keep human slaves, these ones were prisoners they picked up right before the attack, likely so they wouldn't need to risk their own people
Trevayne
Good point. IIRC only orcs are slaves in parts of Lindholm, but the Elven powers (Solites and Lunites) keep slaves from all species, possibly excepting their own variety of elves (dark or light).
Alex LordThorsen
There's information you've been told and there's information you've seen with your eyes. Verity has only ever known William to be eccentric but sane. She'd have to discount her own conclusions to believe what the academy has told her. That's easier for her teammates who have had a life time of warnings and possibly examples they can talk to.
Killerturd117
Hey blue you've got me really hooked on all your stuff and I was wondering if you have some more recommendations like you do with snekguy and yes I've already read ALL of his stuff but I need some MOAR Love all the books and work you do btw
Moonlightwind
I can imagine even after only being slaves for a few months the humans would have seen the horrors of slavery for themselves. I can certainly see them joining the Orc cause and it would certainly change the tide of opinion if it’s no longer just rebel orcs but a militant group against slavery. It’s one thing to kill orcs who you don’t see as equals and another to kill humans hoping to protect people. Right or wrong humans joining the cause gives them legitimacy, just as white abolitionists did in US.
Trevayne
Eventually yes, but that is a few years in the future. In the short term, the royalist faction has been seriously weakened. Ten underships (9 Lunite, 1 orc) attacked Lindholm. They could get another seven (not the full ten since I think the orcs are getting three) hulls and cores over what Lindholm had. However, at least two of those hulls are badly damaged and others are probably damaged. That said, they lost between 16 and 30 ships from the Royal vassals. The cores are all retrievable, but most of the hulls are either destroyed or heavily damaged. Given a few years to rebuild, Lindholm might well be stronger by seven airships. However, right now they are down 16-30 wrecked vassal airships and possibly up five captured Lunite ships, for a net loss of 11-25 airships. Their real benefit is they have the single strongest airship on the planet, the Jellyfish, on their side. I wonder if Griffith will truly appreciate how the historians who have to discuss the Jellyfish in the future would curse her name because she kept William from renaming it something more inspiring. It could have been Intrepid, Dauntless or Enterprise, but instead history was made by the Jellyfish.
Trevayne
I agree with going for book 3. This book ending in a couple of chapters is likely to set up a nice cliffhanger. The Lunite attack has been defeated, but now what? What does Lindholm do about the Lunite threat? How do they respond to the attack? What do the Blackstones do? Are they going to try to take advantage of the destruction of the vast majority of the Royal vassal airships or will they hear about William saving the day at odds of 1-7 or 1-10 and think "no, we need to know a lot more first"? What does New Haven do? Do they encourage the Blackstiones to attack, or do they go for it themselves before the Lunites try again? Do the Solites commit as well? Lots of possibilities and we haven't even discussed the Blackstone reaction to finding out the Free Orcs are back with two more ships.
Baron Von Mott
If the fleet does surrender, suddenly Lindholm gains a whole new collection of cores and hulls, possibly even more than they lost to the attack. This pre-emptive strike might end up actually strengthing the target! 😂
Trevayne
On a completely separate note, did anyone else find it amusing to see how Blue managed to skip most of what must have been a very interesting conversation? At the end of chapter 59, William is offering to answer his team's questions. We are away from the conversation for all of chapter 60, and in chapter 61, it is now past tense, with only some comments on what was said. Smooth, Blue, very smooth.
Trevayne
Interesting question, where is Admiral Nerensky, the Lunite commander? I suspect she is with the Palace force and ordered Yotul by orb to take the overwatch position that Yotul has just used to backstab her. That suggests that the Admiral is aware things have gone pear-shaped or at least that the Lindholmian opposition has become more effective since two Lunite airships are now badly damaged. She is going to find out just how badly screwed she is when 20+ shards show up and start taking out her airships. If, as I suspect, they can do it from outside the effective range of the airships' own guns, Admiral Nerensky is totally screwed. She will be surrounded by adversaries that can destroy her own airships that she can not outrun. She can't even defend herself because they can strike from outside her own range. Her choices will be to surrender or be shot to pieces by the Corsairs and killed. Unless the Lunite Navy is like the IJN, I suspect they surrender. For that matter, even if he Admiral says to fight on, I suspect some ships might surrender anyway, especially once the Admiral's flagship has been shot down. One more point about the Admiral, I wonder if the flagship has been sending reports back to the Lunite command. Do they have any idea of the disaster that is overtaking their raiding force after its brilliantly successful opening?
Business Casual
Its tied with sect for me, I definitely want book 3 next though.
Trevayne
It is possible, but I expect the orcs will be departing with their captured ships ASAP. At a guess, they will probably let the slaves go a few miles away. While turning them over to the Lindholmians would grant some good will, they probably aren't of any particular importance and probably aren't Lindholmian. The orcs would also need to feed them and help them recover. Better to just let them go a few miles away from a settlement and then they can depart and continue out to sea. It is still going to take time to get the gunports resealed so they can submerge again. Unlike the elves, not every orc is a mage. I do expect all of the orc mages are mage smiths though. They don't have enough mages among the free orcs to allow the luxury of specialization.
Trevayne
It will be a fascinating negotiation. Yelena will have to deal with a new national hero. Nearly every noble house is now indebted to him, as is the Queen, because he saved their lives or their heirs' lives. Still, the Queen will be thinking that "We must have those shards". I expect she will ask for what he wants as a reward, assuming he still refuses to have the entire Royal family as his harem. If he says independence for the orcs, I doubt she would agree, but maybe she would counter with an offer to create an orc duchy. She can point out that making the orcish territory independent is no guarantee of no future wars. The Blackstones or whoever replaces them will probably still be raiding, as will the orcs. They have centuries of grudges and if the orcs are independent, there is no one to tell them to stop raiding. Edit: He could easily offer to throw in a couple of squadrons of Corsairs. After all, reverse-engineering them is likely to take years and he controls the spare parts and ammunition. Still, that might well be a politically acceptable sweetener so that Yelena can appear to be firmly in charge.
Pariah
Oh for sure I dont doubt that she herself is willing to get behind this, but the power disparity in this moment adds fractures to proclamations of loyalty. Its not that I doubt its a good move for her but motivations at the time of making these decisions is important. I.e. an employee could end up with serious buyers remorse if they buy a house from their boss. it wouldnt matter how much of a discount the boss gives the employee on the house if the only motivatiom for the employee is to maintain a working relationship. My point here is that the power dynamic is skewed and anyone thats not already fully invested should be given time later to truly consider/evaluate.
Trevayne
I agree it was a cool moment, although I am not sure they really are two minds. I would have interpreted it as "The part of him that was George hesitated, William didn't". I suspect George did not have a lot of friends and was not accustomed to the accommodations that one usually makes for one's friends. William is more used to having friends, especially after the last year or two since he came to the academy and became part of team seven. We only really see any mention of George when there is a serious decision looming. For the most part, they seem to be a pretty well-integrated gestalt.
Trevayne
That is an interesting question. When Countess Ashfield finds out about his harrowing, she will probably think "Well that explains a lot". At a guess, she will wonder when it happened and might well decide it was probably around his eighth birthday when he first started to exhibit really rebellious behavior and told her he was not going to marry a slaver. She would probably never guess it was as a toddler and the current William/George doesn't have any memories of not being harrowed.
Trevayne
Remember where Olzenya is coming from. IIRC she is the sixth daughter and well removed from being the heir. She is probably hesitant because of all the horror stories about the harrowed, possibly some in het own family. That said, sticking with William is her best opportunity for advancement. I suspect she knows that, but is pushing for more input.
Brian Roger
You did specify shards, so my mistake on saying pilots, haha
Pariah
Something that i think william should keep in mind is that Olzenya just gave an answer of loyalty while on board a heavily armed ship, surrounded by his supporters that just proclaimed themselves as such, during a time of war/battle. If shes on the fence and said shes with him while asking for more knowledge/leverage, it should be... at least slightly questioned. It's a fun story to have his compliment, but shes been put in a highly disadvantageous position and cant give a full answer and evaluation untilshe can answer as a peer, not a potential hostile.
Mark
I am hoping everyone votes for book 3! This is the best you’ve made imoho.
Trevayne
Great chapter with lots to think about. We know that William has lost ten Corsair-Cs and a smaller number of pilots, since some successfully bailed out. I suspect, but am not certain, that all the casualties were due to the opposing shards. That means that as soon as the last two shards are destroyed, William's forces can go after the airships. I suspect he will let the orcs leave. That means he is now free to go relieve the palace defenders by shooting down their airships. It would be interesting to see Yelena's viewpoint in the next chapter, assuming she is still alive. It could show a desperate combat and then one of the airships takes a rocket volley and explodes. At that point the remaining Lunites have to decide if they want to fight to the death or not. Are the Lunites like the IJA or not? Their ground troops are about to be cut off with no hope of retreat because their air support is being destroyed or captured above them. The airships can either surrender or be shot down. They don't really have any chance of escape because the shards are faster. At best, they could abandon their ground forces and scatter. The Corsairs will certainly get some, but the last one might get far enough away they lose contact. If Williams' people think fast enough, they could prevent that by sending out pairs of shards to follow the fleeing airships and report their location. That would take around eight Corsairs, since the main group would be attacking and killing the last airship. they would then go back, rearm if necessary and repeat.
Trevayne
That is a very good point. It will be interesting to see how the free orcs of the North react to the freed orcs of the rest of Lindholm and vice-versa. What do they say to orcs like Verity who are rising inside the system and what does she say to them?
Matt Ober
great chapter but i still think will should have made grumman bearcats instead of corsairs they use almost the same engine and prop but are smaller so they could operate off jeep carriers.
Blue Fishcake
Poll.
Baron Von Mott
"George hesitated. William didn't." That was a cool moment. The duality of our MC, the idea of him technically being two minds sharing a body, is still one of the most interesting parts of this series. I'm excited to see how Blue might develop that more in the future!
Business Casual
Are we going straight to book 3 like we did with space and sect, or will there be a poll?
MarakEvans
Well that complicates things for the free orcs. Also, Yelena will likely push William and then pull back and ask for concessions directly to the Crown. The nobles won't be pleased, but may be placated by the Empress taking something of value from Redwater. As for the twins, they find themselves in a unique position to take full advantage of the impending conflict between Redwater and the Crown. One can, outwardly, ally with the Crown and liaise with her other sibling who is tied to Redwater. Both can be double agents or just be playing both sides. Or they split in genuine conflict... drama.
just_some_guy.
Marlene and Olzenya have both independantly brought up getting pulled in on Williams plans now. Is this going to be a start of a Brain Trust to put another support on keeping William's Harrowed nature in check? They could combine it with his skill to cook, and put some crazy name on it that's a reference to our world like "The Breakfast Club".
Kaywye
Okay. I realize that Verity hasn't had the constant drumming of the hazards of Harrowing like the others, but I still refuse to believe she has that little imagination, that she can't visualize why William with a chronic and subtle deterioration of sanity would be bad on a number of levels. May not want to imagine it, but I'm sure she can fill in those what if blanks with something approaching accuracy. Also I get why William wouldn't say anything about George...but when it was carefully alluded to I was on the edge of my seat, so there's that.... well done.
Just another supporter
Those pirates could definitely use the freed slaves as a bargaining chip with the kingdom or maybe even William if the cards go right. They could find an ally in William for orc equality. It'll be fun to read no matter how it turns out though.
Jason Dortch
Made it here within a hour of release. Feeling myself!
Gjim
I wonder if William will make a deal with the Orcs for his future plans. That would be spicy or not at all of what happens going forward. Appreciate the story you're telling Blue, keep it up.
aj0413
Aye. That moment where the “good guys” gotta confront how the world isn’t exactly black and white. Would love to see our Orkish hero try and argue with Verity she should abandon her friends
22junk
I genuinely hope William never reveals the full extent of his Harrowing. Knowing that her baby boy was erased and overwritten with a man twice her age would be both humiliating and heartbreaking. Please just let people make their own assumptions.
jkbscopes
Ohh a fun chapter I really hope it becomes apparent to city defenders that the Orks are backstabbing and jacking the slaver bastards rides and fleeing, freeing his crews to hit the ships attacking the palace instead Also I'm interested to see if the non ork slaves will be released or if they will join the ork tribes in some way
22junk
Awesome chapter! I’m honestly not sure what the queen will do here. Attacking now and seizing William would be a hefty task, and even if she won she has to consider the blood and shards they’d both lose for future conflicts. But the longer she waits the stronger he gets.
Marius Petrauskas
great update
Andrew
Thank you!
O
Great chapter
Blue Fishcake
Shards lost. Not every shard going down is going to result in a dead pilot. Edit: Went back and did a little editing to make that clearer, so thanks :D
Brian Roger
Good stuff. I half expected the orcs to clear the human prisoners out of hand, but I’m glad to see they didn’t. Also hope Olzenya sticks to her guns on this. I feel like she will. Edited to add: ten pilots lost already seems a little heavy, but I guess they are untested pilots in combat for the first time, with both fighter and bomber roles being played.
Blue Fishcake
Just two left until the epilogue! (Theoretically)
