What choice does he have though? Turn on his former colleagues and try to escape, then spend the rest of forever hoping the planet he’s on doesn’t get genocided by the Dranglax?
The Federation may have a corruption problem, but I don’t see them advocating destroying planets in order to wipe out all other sentient species
The choice in theory is to just walk away from it all, let the Feds fight off the Dranglaex (and assume Feds will eventually win), then simply hide it out in a quiet backwater before moving on.
That’s not really a viable option for so many reasons, but if you are able to convince yourself that it could work, it definitely has its appeal over the guaranteed unpleasantness of the actual options. The choice between preferring Federation or Dranglaex is pretty obvious, but choosing whether to join the genocidal war and/or potentially being pressed into service is a lot harder.
gnarph
8 months ago
I always knew I liked Speck but this is the moment that tells me why. They have come to the conclusion Cort will be on the front lines of whatever happens next. They dont want to fight but there’s no consideration of going “I’m out – have fun Monkey Boy; Speck is not turning into Splat”. The immediate conversation is basically “Lets think about how WE handle this because where you go, I go.”
I feel it’s actually more “YOU better think about how you handle this because where you go, I go” Speck made it clear in the beginning that Cort was still thinking of a way to get out of this mess even tho it’s quite clear that he is neck-deep in it. I feel he is still thinking of a way to convince them to let him go. But as it is now there are only two options: running and therefore picking a fight with the federation as he will not be able to get out of there without turning everybody… Read more »
Scarsdale
8 months ago
I think Speck is too good of a friend to take off at the worse possible moment, plus he knows Cort all too well. They can’t walk away, they can’t talk it out, nor can they just go guns blazing. Some serious tactical thinking is required, since the powers-that-be seem to be influenced by the enemy.
Izzy
8 months ago
How come his scar isn’t visible in the top frame? Is it an artistic choice because of lighting somehow? I probably wouldn’t have noticed but I was staring at his scar in the other two frames and was wondering how he got it and wanted to see it from the side too but then it isn’t there. 🙁
Based on the image filename, I think the page got edited.
Izzy
8 months ago
You don’t need to approve this message, I just wanted to say Thank You! I love imagining you having to rush out the art abilities to add it in real quick lol.
Rolando
8 months ago
The Federation is already quite unlikely to let Cort choose, beyond “we can do this our way, or our way but less pleasant.” But considering time is against them, they might agree to giving him some leeway. Ripping the Starcaster off him and attaching it to someone else, then expecting that someone to be able to handle it at all… That’d take too much time, and it might backfire spectacularly. HOWEVER… I’m pretty sure that leeway will NOT include “you can choose not to fight.” They NEED that edge. The Dranglaex are outgunned, but knowing this has turned them into… Read more »
Like helping to defend against the potential major Dranglex attack that may be coming in with the goal of killing him and ripping the starcaster from his corpse?
As I said in a comment in the previous strip, the Federation and Cort need to focus on the many common interests they have. Not becoming Dranglaex trophies is one of those, yeah.
This is clearly a “lesser evil” situation. In time, we’ll see how much so. In any case, the bar for being “lesser” than the Dranglaex on the evil thing is set OH SO LOW…
24
Darn conscience, always getting in the way.
Sometimes, violence IS the answer
What choice does he have though? Turn on his former colleagues and try to escape, then spend the rest of forever hoping the planet he’s on doesn’t get genocided by the Dranglax?
The Federation may have a corruption problem, but I don’t see them advocating destroying planets in order to wipe out all other sentient species
The choice in theory is to just walk away from it all, let the Feds fight off the Dranglaex (and assume Feds will eventually win), then simply hide it out in a quiet backwater before moving on.
That’s not really a viable option for so many reasons, but if you are able to convince yourself that it could work, it definitely has its appeal over the guaranteed unpleasantness of the actual options. The choice between preferring Federation or Dranglaex is pretty obvious, but choosing whether to join the genocidal war and/or potentially being pressed into service is a lot harder.
I always knew I liked Speck but this is the moment that tells me why. They have come to the conclusion Cort will be on the front lines of whatever happens next. They dont want to fight but there’s no consideration of going “I’m out – have fun Monkey Boy; Speck is not turning into Splat”. The immediate conversation is basically “Lets think about how WE handle this because where you go, I go.”
I agree. He’s definitely an awesome character.
I think he’s probably my favorite character in the whole Starcaster series.
I feel it’s actually more “YOU better think about how you handle this because where you go, I go” Speck made it clear in the beginning that Cort was still thinking of a way to get out of this mess even tho it’s quite clear that he is neck-deep in it. I feel he is still thinking of a way to convince them to let him go. But as it is now there are only two options: running and therefore picking a fight with the federation as he will not be able to get out of there without turning everybody… Read more »
I think Speck is too good of a friend to take off at the worse possible moment, plus he knows Cort all too well. They can’t walk away, they can’t talk it out, nor can they just go guns blazing. Some serious tactical thinking is required, since the powers-that-be seem to be influenced by the enemy.
How come his scar isn’t visible in the top frame? Is it an artistic choice because of lighting somehow? I probably wouldn’t have noticed but I was staring at his scar in the other two frames and was wondering how he got it and wanted to see it from the side too but then it isn’t there. 🙁
What are you talking about? Scar is there in the plain sight.
Based on the image filename, I think the page got edited.
You don’t need to approve this message, I just wanted to say Thank You! I love imagining you having to rush out the art abilities to add it in real quick lol.
The Federation is already quite unlikely to let Cort choose, beyond “we can do this our way, or our way but less pleasant.” But considering time is against them, they might agree to giving him some leeway. Ripping the Starcaster off him and attaching it to someone else, then expecting that someone to be able to handle it at all… That’d take too much time, and it might backfire spectacularly. HOWEVER… I’m pretty sure that leeway will NOT include “you can choose not to fight.” They NEED that edge. The Dranglaex are outgunned, but knowing this has turned them into… Read more »
Like helping to defend against the potential major Dranglex attack that may be coming in with the goal of killing him and ripping the starcaster from his corpse?
As I said in a comment in the previous strip, the Federation and Cort need to focus on the many common interests they have. Not becoming Dranglaex trophies is one of those, yeah.
This is clearly a “lesser evil” situation. In time, we’ll see how much so. In any case, the bar for being “lesser” than the Dranglaex on the evil thing is set OH SO LOW…
Speck has excellent situational awareness.