According to this CAOD thread -
- some cracks are starting to appear in the anti -A- / BoBR (will explain the new name later) block.
(EDIT this Scrapheap thread has some interesting snippets too:
http://www.scrapheap-challenge.com/viewforum.php?f=34)
According to the thread Intrepid Crossing (known as IRC) and Etheral Dawn (known as ED) have teamed up with The F0undation to launch an attack on Red Alliance holdings in Innsmother.
Red Alliance are one of Goons oldest allies but were (according to general consensus) much weakened by the 'Russian civil war' which saw a Against all Authorites (-A-) and other Russian groups move into the BoBR camp.
This perceived weakness, combined with the fact that Goons have pretty much abandoned their old holdings bordering Red Alliance space may have presented ED/IRC with a 'land grab' opportunity which was just too good to miss!
According to the thread Goons have now reset their standings with ED and IRC and are publicly talking up their intention of assisting Red Alliance. The main problem that Goons face is that they are currently engaged against -A- and BoBR in Querious and may not have the capacity (at least in the short term) to assist Red Alliance.
Obviously there are many other alliances which could assist Red Alliance. The other Drone Region alliances (who are also nominally part of the Goon block) may feel pressured to assist Red Alliance. Whilst the Northern Coalition (NC) may also lend the Russians a hand. Certainly the French Tau Ceti Federation (TCF) (a major NC member) has historic ties with Red Alliance.
However, as I am not an expert on Drone Region politics, I have no idea what relationships IRC/ED/Foundation have developed as well, nor any clue on how strong all those 'historic' ties actually are post the Russian civil war! There could be any number of interesting permutations. Some could even argue that the Red Alliance contribution to the Goon block has declined so significantly that it wouldn't really make a difference to the anti -A-/BoBR block if they did lose their space anyway!
From my 'neutral' perspective the decision by IRC/ED to attack Red Alliance is certainly a 'welp' moment for them - which could either result in them expanding their territories signifcantly - or being wiped off the 0.0 map completely! Obviously their leadership felt it was the right move but they will be judged by history!
While IRC/ED may not have been the most active members of the Goon block (at least that is what Goons are saying now) they certainly weren't putting any obstacles in the path of those focused on the decimation of the -A- / BoBR block. The fact that they could 'potentially' distract forces from other front does represent a small hole in the dike.
It will be interesting to see if the hole is plugged rapidly - or whether this war indicates a new phase of localised territory wars as alliances take their eye off the big picture and put the needs of their own alliances ahead of a continued campaigning against -A-/BoBR forces...
Time will tell...
ps. If you are involved in this war and you want to enlighten me with any insights feel free to email me at amarrhardin@gmail.com.
As I understand it, Red Alliance had been weakened by the initial splintering into Solar Fleet, Legion of XxDeathxX, Rebellion etc, not the far more recent BoB-AAA merger. What is really interesting to me are the allegations by Farham (which he claims he has proof of) that IRC has been working on the invasion in secret for months so RA would look like the aggressor, sparing them any reprisals from Drone Region Russians.
ReplyDeletehmm working in concert with -A- and BoB/R glas to see pressur ebing put onto the Red Alliance, it will be interesting to see what happens in the future to be sure.
ReplyDeleteopps supposed to read I am glad to see, not glas...
ReplyDeleteJust in case you were wondering, IRC/ED was very active in the greater war against AAA, much more so than RA was at least.
ReplyDeleteThey were both active in the defenses of Feyth and Scalding Pass, ED spent the first postBoB week helping in Delve before going home, and both were called down to defend Darius's titan before Thugh screwd that up.