Page: 119

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Krulle
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Krulle »

That may be militaristic professionalism.
Even if front attacks are common, a larger non-attrition attack breaking through the steppes, together with a flash message recalling ALL available crafts, is surely not common.
But they are non-weaponized, on a special diplomatic mission and in another direction, they cannot interfere or help, so they lean back and wait for news, what else could they do?
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

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icekatze
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Re: Page: 119

Post by icekatze »

hi hi

I'm not ignoring Beryl's comment. I am, in fact, starting to notice a pattern. Like I said, Beryl is an optimist. :P

"But this is nothing for you to be concerned about. All will be well!"

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dragoongfa
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Re: Page: 119

Post by dragoongfa »

I think that it has a lot to do with Loroi mentality in general. The Loroi are into the 'come what may' mindset, like Julius Caesar put it when crossing the Rubicon river: The die is cast/Alea iacta est.

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Fireblade
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Fireblade »

"The All-Father wove the skein of your life a long time ago. Go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won't live one instant longer. Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing."
- Herger, The 13th Warrior

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CF2
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Re: Page: 119

Post by CF2 »

icekatze wrote:I think I've got Beryl figured out now, she's an optimist!
She might also be trying to keep the sensitive male Envoy from worrying his pretty little head, which is less optimistic and more female-chauvinistic I guess?
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White
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Re: Page: 119

Post by White »

I'm just wondering why Beryl and Spiral would be talking in such a situation. Perhaps they see it as an opportunity to "inform" alex of things.

Perhaps the whole system alert is a fabrication? (It's a stretch, I know. I'm not thinking of too many other options, though. [Courtesy? No way!])

Also, does anyone else think that "Naam" is a humorous reference to Vietnam?

JQBogus
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Re: Page: 119

Post by JQBogus »

"Naam" was one of the system names in Master of Orion II, IIRC.

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icekatze
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Re: Page: 119

Post by icekatze »

hi hi

It was Tempo's hope that, once Alex knew more about the Loroi situation, he'd be in a better position to help. Perhaps this is all part of that hope?

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SVlad
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Re: Page: 119

Post by SVlad »

"Stray" fleet
Does Talon refer to the Kikitik's fleet from previous chapter? Or does she just mean a random straying fleet, that strayed in wrong direction?
In first case shouldn't it be spelled as "Stray's fleet"?
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Krulle
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Krulle »

I didn't remember Kikitik-27 was nicked "The Stray". Then, yes. Yes, you're right.
It is Stray his fleet, Stray's fleet. (This is how I remember where the apostrophe goes.)

[Edit] just looked up Talon's precise wording:
Talon wrote:Not so likely. Six divisions is more than twice the size of that [S/s]tray fleet, and much too large for an attrition attack.
Since the font does not allow for knowing if Talon used capital "S" or not, we also do not know if she referred to "the Stray's fleet". She also said "that stray fleet", which seems to refer to a specfic straying fleet, and she does not say "twice of Stray's fleet", which would unambiguously refer to The Stray's fleet. Or does "the Stray" (Kikitik-27) have more fleets under his command? (How would he do that?)
But then, translating Trade to Standard may cause grammatical ambiguities.

Summing up, I think the grammar is correct, and she refers to a straying fleet, and not to the Stray's fleet.[/Edit]
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

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cacambo43
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Re: Page: 119

Post by cacambo43 »

Except that in the context of the comic, the stray fleet IS "the Stray's" fleet. What other fleet would she possibly be referring to?

Regarding the earlier comment and observation: why are they speaking aloud? Even allowing for Alex's presence, "sanzaiing" should be as automatic as speaking is for us, right? I think it comes down to "us" needing to know what's going on, so there has to be verbalizing. If Arioch had the Loroi characters always expositing everything for Alex's benefit (as opposed to "normal" sounding conversation), the comic would become almost comically unreadable as a space opera.

CJSF

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dragoongfa
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Re: Page: 119

Post by dragoongfa »

My guess is that during training Loroi warriors were made to communicate only verbally in order to make themselves somewhat fluent with talking.

The limited time available to them obviously didn't let the young ones master the art of talking but it could leave them with the quirk of being able to talk mainly vocally once the mental switch is flipped.

Talon and Beryl could be talking both for Alex's shake and because they haven't 'turned' that mental switch off since they are paying attention for processing Alex's words.

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Arioch
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Arioch »

SVlad wrote:"Stray" fleet
Does Talon refer to the Kikitik's fleet from previous chapter? Or does she just mean a random straying fleet, that strayed in wrong direction?
In first case shouldn't it be spelled as "Stray's fleet"?
She's referring to Kikitik-27's fleet, alluding to his nickname "The Stray." This term hasn't been introduced in the comic yet (Alex will later ask about it), so it's meant to be slightly ambiguous to the reader.

Talon's speech is deliberately irregular, which is why she said "that stray fleet" instead of "the Stray's fleet". I'm sure it's difficult to replicate Talon and Spiral's speech patterns when translating.
cacambo43 wrote:Regarding the earlier comment and observation: why are they speaking aloud? Even allowing for Alex's presence, "sanzaiing" should be as automatic as speaking is for us, right? I think it comes down to "us" needing to know what's going on, so there has to be verbalizing. If Arioch had the Loroi characters always expositing everything for Alex's benefit (as opposed to "normal" sounding conversation), the comic would become almost comically unreadable as a space opera.
Beryl and Talon are speaking to Alex, informing him of what's going on. Even in the cases where it seems like the Loroi are speaking directly to each other, they're technically speaking to Alex. Beryl would do this without being prompted, but Tempo gave specific orders to the pilots to do the same. They also occasionally make announcements for the benefit of the flight recorder (as telepathy cannot be recorded), and they speak to each other over the comm between ships.

Anyone who has to communicate over the comm must regularly use speech, and so the pilots are accustomed to using spoken language (even if they don't always use it very well).

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SVlad
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Re: Page: 119

Post by SVlad »

I know, why this war has begun: Umiaks are local grammar nazi, who was deeply offended by Loroi abuse of spoken language. :lol:
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CrimsonFALKE
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Re: Page: 119

Post by CrimsonFALKE »

Arioch wrote:
SVlad wrote:"Stray" fleet
Does Talon refer to the Kikitik's fleet from previous chapter? Or does she just mean a random straying fleet, that strayed in wrong direction?
In first case shouldn't it be spelled as "Stray's fleet"?
She's referring to Kikitik-27's fleet, alluding to his nickname "The Stray." This term hasn't been introduced in the comic yet (Alex will later ask about it), so it's meant to be slightly ambiguous to the reader.
So would Kikitik be given a battalion to command in battle? I mean he is lucky and skilled given his tactics have probably contributed to his battle group.

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Arioch
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Arioch »

CrimsonFALKE wrote:So would Kikitik be given a battalion to command in battle? I mean he is lucky and skilled given his tactics have probably contributed to his battle group.
Not sure what you mean by a "battalion" in this context; in infantry armies, a battalion is usually smaller than a division. Kikitik-27's fleet at Naam (what we saw of it) was about three divisions (~220 vessels, not including gunboats and other light escorts).

To clarify the unit nomenclature used by the Loroi (and which is also applied to the Umiak to some degree):
  • Squadron: 4-8 vessels. A typical Loroi squadron is 3-4 cruisers and 3-4 destroyers; a typical Umiak squadron is one heavy and 3-5 medium vessels + 2-4 towed escorts.
  • Group: 3-6 squadrons
  • Division: 3-6 groups (typically ~75 vessels)
  • Fleet: a sector fleet or task force, usually of 2 or more divisions

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CrimsonFALKE
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Re: Page: 119

Post by CrimsonFALKE »

Arioch wrote:
CrimsonFALKE wrote:So would Kikitik be given a battalion to command in battle? I mean he is lucky and skilled given his tactics have probably contributed to his battle group.
Not sure what you mean by a "battalion" in this context; in infantry armies, a battalion is usually smaller than a division. Kikitik-27's fleet at Naam (what we saw of it) was about three divisions (~220 vessels, not including gunboats and other light escorts).

To clarify the unit nomenclature used by the Loroi (and which is also applied to the Umiak to some degree):
  • Squadron: 4-8 vessels. A typical Loroi squadron is 3-4 cruisers and 3-4 destroyers; a typical Umiak squadron is one heavy and 3-5 medium vessels + 2-4 towed escorts.
  • Group: 3-6 squadrons
  • Division: 3-6 groups (typically ~75 vessels)
  • Fleet: a sector fleet or task force, usually of 2 or more divisions
Well would he be given the forces to make this kind of large scale offensive based on his experience? I take it the little bugger is well known in his own circles or at least to military command he has 2 noted successes of returning successfully. Could he have been speaking of his own upcoming offensive?

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Arioch
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Arioch »

CrimsonFALKE wrote: Well would he be given the forces to make this kind of large scale offensive based on his experience? I take it the little bugger is well known in his own circles or at least to military command he has 2 noted successes of returning successfully. Could he have been speaking of his own upcoming offensive?
Well, the Umiak have their own brand of internal politics, just as the Loroi do.

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CrimsonFALKE
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Re: Page: 119

Post by CrimsonFALKE »

Arioch wrote:
CrimsonFALKE wrote: Well would he be given the forces to make this kind of large scale offensive based on his experience? I take it the little bugger is well known in his own circles or at least to military command he has 2 noted successes of returning successfully. Could he have been speaking of his own upcoming offensive?
Well, the Umiak have their own brand of internal politics, just as the Loroi do.
I see so he wouldn't be behind this and his mentions of it are him trying to warn the Lori so he can get more commands?

Zakharra
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Re: Page: 119

Post by Zakharra »

Arioch wrote:
CrimsonFALKE wrote: Well would he be given the forces to make this kind of large scale offensive based on his experience? I take it the little bugger is well known in his own circles or at least to military command he has 2 noted successes of returning successfully. Could he have been speaking of his own upcoming offensive?
Well, the Umiak have their own brand of internal politics, just as the Loroi do.

Heh. Given what little we know about the Umiaks and their tendencies to be very humble, I had an image of the Umiak military commanders and politicians practicing a form of very aggressive humbleness. He (or she) who is the most effective at their job strives to appear the most humble to disguise their ruthlessness.

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