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General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Eightball on April 04, 2006, 04:02:49 pm

Title: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Eightball on April 04, 2006, 04:02:49 pm
In mission 17, Rebels and Renegades, you are tasked to protect the Iceni.  Obviously, you need to do this so there can be more story.  However, from the standpoint of the GTVA, why would it be a bad thing if the Iceni succumbs to errant Vasudans and dastardly asteroids?

There are only two reasons I can see that the GTVA would want Bosche to survive: they want to know about ETAK, and they want to put him on trial.  But I would think they'd rather have the rebellion ended than the ETAK data (which shouldn't be a big deal if they never learn about it).  As to trying Bosche, I could see why they would want to have him face a trial instead of being made a martyr, but still, ending the rebellion then would have saved thousands of lives.

Does this bother anyone else, or am I just weird?
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Mars on April 04, 2006, 04:19:19 pm
The reson most people on this forum think that GTVA (Allied) Command is stupid, is because they sacrafice their pilots, officers, and enlistees, all for the sake of somthing they know nothing about. In the SOC loop mission Love the Treason... a Vasudan admiral attempts to destroy the Iceni, earning him renegade status, and his inferiors followed his order, even when they knew they would be court-martialed. Obviously Allied Command has some sort of plot or other reson for trying to save the Iceni, but the way they go about it is all off.
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: karajorma on April 04, 2006, 05:20:42 pm
Actually that happens in Rebels and Renegades. Exactly the mission Eightball was on about. Love the Treason is the mission immediately after it.

I've got no idea if you've played the rest of the game yet so I won't spoil anything but you're on the right track. Notice how the blockade was pulled back in Deneb to allow Bosch to leave the system.
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Mars on April 04, 2006, 05:32:46 pm
I've been getting those mixed up. *goes into Golum like bout of self loathing* :hopping:
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Eightball on April 04, 2006, 07:16:39 pm
I'm on the last few (Exodus is hard!) so I think I've finished with the Bosche "side plot."  I only have a few suspicions, and am interested in the ideas of others, and if there is an accepted explanation within the Freespace community.

If Bosche is "allowed" to escape by GTVA Command, then they must know at least something about his goals.  According to his monologue (#4) it is in an attempt to form an alliance with the Shivans.  We know from Mission 32 ("Return From Babel") that the meeting between the NTF and the Shivans resulted in carnage inside the Iceni - presumably leaving hundreds, if not thousands of NTF personnel and an unknown number of Shivans slain.  Only a few NTF survivors escape on the rescue transport, and it is presumable that the number of humans who were taken aboard the ST Azrael was relatively small - just Bosche and his leading generals and staff.  We never resolve what happens to Bosche or the Azrael, as the transport is not recovered in Mission 33 ("Straight, No Chaser").

Further damning evidence takes place in the failure of the Colossus to crush the Iceni as it escaped in Mission 25 ("Endgame").  The Colossus' beam weapons failed due to "sabotage" by rebel sabotuers.  They must have been skilled in avoiding detection - even though there are 30,000 crew on board, how hard is it to secure what should be one of the top priority systems on the ship?  Unless they were under deep cover for a long time, I find it difficult to imagine the NTF infiltrating GTVA forces while they are losing the war.  Most of the NTF personnel are defectors from GTVA forces, not vice versa...

Also interesting is the rescue of Lt. Commander Snipes (Mission 35, "As Lightning Fall").  We do not know what information Snipes has, he is deep within Shivan territory.  Apparently he was onboard the Grall (a prison transport, perhaps?) and docked to the Iceni during Mission 25 ("Endgame") as it evaded the Colossus at the jump node into the nebula.  GTVA Command and GTVI were willing to put you and two wings of fighters, including four advanced Enyries into a risky combat operation with a projected low probability of success.  And Snipes won't spill the beans on what he has in his head.  Perhaps more about Bosche?

As to Command letting Bosche escape at Deneb, it isn't so straight-forward, and I could see a botched job of insertion due to scrambling warships to repel the return of the Shivans.  It is fishy, and fairly unlikely that you could have stopped the Iceni in a Myrmidon with just Rockeyes and Tempests.  Maybe you would have been joined by capital ships who were "reprioritzed" and sent to Gamma Draconis...
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Mars on April 04, 2006, 08:25:38 pm
Quote
The Colossus' beam weapons failed due to "sabotage" by rebel sabotuers
Not to influence your thinking, but some people suspect the sabotuers were SOC, or just GTVI, some even belive they were sent by the GTVA high ups.

I haven't actually heard any discussion about the fact that Myrmidons couldn't take down the Iceni in a million years, but I agree, there's definitely somthing going on behind the scenes.
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Eightball on April 04, 2006, 08:56:09 pm
One major thing that I don't get is that GTVA has Vasudans in it - one hopes, anyway.  But why would they let Bosche get a free pass, especially since he's trying to forge an alliance with the Shivans primarily against the Vasudans?  Is this a human-only led conspiracy?  Or is the GTVA just interested in any and all information about the Shivans, no matter how they get it?
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Mars on April 04, 2006, 09:09:22 pm
I don't know specifics, everything's open for interperatation, left up for you to figure out.
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Eightball on April 04, 2006, 09:11:23 pm
"You tell me, pilot.  I'm on a need-to-know basis."  :lol:
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Mars on April 04, 2006, 09:17:24 pm
You just made me think of somthing... is Freespace on Wikiquotes?
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Eightball on April 04, 2006, 09:30:10 pm
No!  We must rectify this injustice!
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Mars on April 04, 2006, 10:09:43 pm
The Wikiquote page is up, I added everything I could off the top of my head, but the top of my head is kind of empty of late, go add http://wikiquote.org
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Trivial Psychic on April 05, 2006, 01:04:49 am
Also interesting is the rescue of Lt. Commander Snipes (Mission 35, "As Lightning Fall").  We do not know what information Snipes has, he is deep within Shivan territory.  Apparently he was onboard the Grall (a prison transport, perhaps?) and docked to the Iceni during Mission 25 ("Endgame") as it evaded the Colossus at the jump node into the nebula.  GTVA Command and GTVI were willing to put you and two wings of fighters, including four advanced Enyries into a risky combat operation with a projected low probability of success.  And Snipes won't spill the beans on what he has in his head.  Perhaps more about Bosche?
Just a point of accuracy.  The Grall entered the nebula before the Iceni.  The Grall was docked to the NTC Alexandria (IIRC) which entered the Knossos before your mission started.  It's the only other NTF warship known to have entered the Nebula, besides the Iceni (and Trinity), and its fate isn't known but not hard to imagine.
Title: Re: Rebels & Renegades (spoiler warning?)
Post by: Eightball on April 05, 2006, 03:37:25 pm
Ah, thanks for the correction.  Still, who knows what Snipes was up to?

Ooo.  Freespace quotes.  :eek2: