It occurs to me now that this might be the most intense game of reverse hot potato that I’ve ever seen
James Rye
5 months ago
And with that the Federation just lost a Starcaster. That will bring HUGE panic in every Federation department, may it be political or military. Cort’s value just skyrocket with that poor dude’s death. Because if he is not dead yet, he gonna die soon when he gets his starcaster ripped off his body.
And I think with 20/20 hindsight, we should have known that a 3 to 1 advantage wasn’t going to last. Likely, this guy has had training on how to use it, so he’ll be able to get up to speed faster than Cort.Losing an experienced Starcaster and Corts inexperience will rock the Federation back and makes them the underdogs. Classic Reversal trope
I imagine one thing Cort may have is some “out-of-box” thinking about how to use the Starcaster that will take the others by surprise.
There’s an exceedingly unlikely scenario that the Drangs make an effort to keep him alive, sans the left arm. Might be a good hostage, if I may be so optimistic.
It has been suggested that either this starcaster or its wielder were simply not as strong as the other 3. We know that the Drang’laex was able to destroy an entire planet, and a barely-trained Cort took out a pretty good portion of a moon. The surviving Federation Starcaster seems to be very powerful in her own right, and clearly had top billing over this unnamed fellow. Not only did we never see him use it, but when the fleet attacked he didn’t sound confident that he could stop them- he implied that the best he could do was buy… Read more »
Most likely it was a madman who supported the “cause” of the Drang’laex, because I highly doubt that (from what Tim has shown so far of how they think) they used inferior species to carry out their attacks.
Hans
5 months ago
Now lets see if they can use it as well? Apparently it takes some training so maby the federation can intercept this fleet as well or smt
My guess is he won’t be able to bond with it immediately; seems like they’ll need their emperor (or whatever title he is)’s approval first. So the Fed may be able to stop them from leaving with it (unlikely, but a possibility).
John
5 months ago
I was hoping they wouldn’t loose the 3-1, tho not surprising.
I hope this guy atleast gets a nice shot off before they take his arm. maybe blast the drang dudes leg off?
He has a puddle of blood under him, mostly visible under the shoulder. It looks like most of it could have come out of the head wound. Highly unlikely that the brain is still functioning with this blood loss. Of course, the starcaster might be in process of repairing that, but the dude should not be conscious.
Darkhorse
5 months ago
It is very ballsy of him to just walk on a ship with an enemy starcaster that they don’t know if it’s in play. Though the Starcaster isn’t able to blast himself out of every situation, they are certainly dangerous. A starcaster could instantly scuttle the ship, blasting several other ships as well. Though this isn’t a very viable tactic to not get caught. We see starcasters blowing up ships requiring assistance. Yet at such a dire moment the Starcaster could just sacrifice himself. He could burn through his body, blasting as much as possible. The Starcaster seems lost either… Read more »
I can see a couple of counter-arguments. First, if the Starcaster on the Federation ship was in play, that would have been made fairly obvious waaay before the Dranglaex had a chance to board it. I’m no tactician, but I believe that it’s generally safer to keep the enemy at a distance, because it makes the fight a bit more predictable, whereas boarding is pure chaos that could go either way. Therefore, it makes sense that the Federation ship would throw everything they had at their opponent, including an active Startcaster, to prevent the boarding. They didn’t do it, so… Read more »
I think the only reason they would think Cort is on this ship is if they’re reading the comments section with all the confusion about which ship was attacked. But then they would know not to mess with the main hero of the story.
In any case Dranglaex intelligence capabilities are not _this_ good.
I’ve had a theory about that since before the bomb went off, and I’m sticking to it: First off, we know the Drang’laex were tipped off by one of their spies, and many of us assumed that spy was telling them about Cort. Secondly, we know that the last time Quel tried to accept Cort’s surrender, the info was leaked and it nearly got Cort killed. My theory is simple: This time around, Quel lied to the Federation brass about which ship Cort was on. Then, when his location was leaked to the Drang’laex, their spy was unwittingly giving them… Read more »
I feel the theory is full of holes. The bomb first, where it is a random unexpected act. It isn’t that such unexpected things can happen, but the timeframe is off. The Drang’laex just arrived. This person wasn’t just going to bomb the bridge randomly, he knew they were coming. There was no time to grab the bombs from wherever, so he needed to have them already and going to/being close to the bridge. How did he know to go there? You could argue that he was tipped off, but more likely he was the spy himself. Another nail is… Read more »
Two massive issues with that theory: Then why are the Dranglaex attacking the perfect target? Why are they still about to seize an isolated Starcaster? (I know that’s really only one issue, but it’s such a big one, it’s worth mentioning twice.) Even if we’re going to ignore all the obvious difficulties with how much implausibly perfect control of information there’d need to be for that scenario, as well as ignore the part where the Dranglaex information was explicitly mentioned to be reliable, as well as coming from an asset aboard the ship (so not some brass hearing it indirectly),… Read more »
Shecky
5 months ago
So much for the healing aspect I guess…
Ben
5 months ago
WAIT!!! Wait just a gorram minute here.
It sounds as if the Drang’laex don’t know about the bomb that exploded on the bridge. If that suicide bomber wasn’t part of THEIR plan, then who was that guy and why did he do it??????
That was probably the spy who told the Dranglaex about the ship he was on, acting on his own initiative to help his idols/masters/allies/(however he views the Dranglaex) to achieve the ideal of galactic purity.
There didn’t seem to be much coordinated back-and-forth between the Dranglaex and their spy, it might’ve been just a quick message along the lines of ‘Yo, I’m currently on an isolated ship with a Starcaster. See enclosed coordinates XYZ. Please come seize it’.
This. It seems unlikely that a spy could have a lengthy back and forth communication. The spy probably send it, never knowing for sure it would arrive. He prepared for the expected quick response of the Drang’laex and walked towards the bridge when he reasonably would find them entering the system. Dying for the cause while taking out the bridge, preventing good communication, escaping and good retaliation, as well as taking out the Starcaster before much damage could be done.
El_
5 months ago
Remembering that starcasters draw their power from stars, I suspect the reason he didn’t defend and is in such bad shape, maybe dead, is that they’re just too far from a star to do anything. Had a look back and couldn’t see any systems or nearby stars or references to being inside a solar system. Of course, a few windows in a few panels aren’t much to draw a conclusion from either way but seems plausible to me.
Either way, I can’t see it ending well for him. If he’s not dead already, he may soon wish he were..
PhobosRising
5 months ago
Apparently that starcaster was still set to “vibrate” when the battle started….
Larsig
5 months ago
I really want a second suicide bomber to run in just as he’s putting the starcaster on.
Crestlinger
5 months ago
His horoscope for the day: ‘your lucky colour is purple.’
Xolodno
5 months ago
I’m going to speculate the Drang’laex developed a deep network of spies and believers after the complacency and corruption problems really started to plague the Federation. This Starcaster was probably their main target the entire time. Probably still a bit on the novice side and realized this was easier target. Plus there attack plans seemed to be designed on quick hits and run in different places, thus making it hard on the Federation to find them and drop their guard. I don’t think Cort was ever their target, probably a lot of people trying to find the last Starcaster and… Read more »
They probably began planting spies long before that, even. This war has been the plan for over a century, since before they failed to seize the Odrossian caster and had to put it on hold trying to fix that. They might not even need to rely on traitors, they could’ve raised sleeper agents from birth at this point. I wouldn’t say Danton was really their ‘main’ target, they probably have spies looking for any strategic information they can. Starcasters, army movements, anything to help win the war. Danton happened to present a good opportunity, so they seized it. But they’d… Read more »
Pyre
5 months ago
I know that I’m a month and change late to the party but we gotta have a Console Wars strip on the end off the First Console War (I know there were consoles before it but this is the first one that I remember having two sides actively taking shots at each other.)
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It occurs to me now that this might be the most intense game of reverse hot potato that I’ve ever seen
And with that the Federation just lost a Starcaster. That will bring HUGE panic in every Federation department, may it be political or military. Cort’s value just skyrocket with that poor dude’s death. Because if he is not dead yet, he gonna die soon when he gets his starcaster ripped off his body.
And I think with 20/20 hindsight, we should have known that a 3 to 1 advantage wasn’t going to last. Likely, this guy has had training on how to use it, so he’ll be able to get up to speed faster than Cort.Losing an experienced Starcaster and Corts inexperience will rock the Federation back and makes them the underdogs. Classic Reversal trope
I imagine one thing Cort may have is some “out-of-box” thinking about how to use the Starcaster that will take the others by surprise.
My bet is on Cort figuring out the original, creation role of the Starcaster and using that to save the day.
Yes, that’s the direction I’m thinking, stating that the Starcaster is more than just a weapon is foreshadowing.
There’s an exceedingly unlikely scenario that the Drangs make an effort to keep him alive, sans the left arm. Might be a good hostage, if I may be so optimistic.
I think it’s more likely that they gonna burn through dozens if not hundred candidates while trying to find a new host for the starcaster.
I imagine the brother is going to try and get it attached to himself considering their little sibling rivalry they have going on.
Damn, I hoped the Starcaster holder would be quick to shield or something… :/
That would have complicated the things to the bad guys…
From what we’ve seen so far they’re more suited for repairing rather than actually preventing damage.
It has been suggested that either this starcaster or its wielder were simply not as strong as the other 3. We know that the Drang’laex was able to destroy an entire planet, and a barely-trained Cort took out a pretty good portion of a moon. The surviving Federation Starcaster seems to be very powerful in her own right, and clearly had top billing over this unnamed fellow. Not only did we never see him use it, but when the fleet attacked he didn’t sound confident that he could stop them- he implied that the best he could do was buy… Read more »
His name is Danton. It was very briefly mentioned – I had to go back to 2020 to find it.
Well, he did have a name, Danton
But yeah, still definitely a red shirt.
The bomber’s speech was long enough…
Interestingly enough, it sounds like neither the federation *nor* the Drang’laex were expecting that bomb.
Makes me wonder who arranged for that guy to kamikaze the bridge, and why.
Most likely it was a madman who supported the “cause” of the Drang’laex, because I highly doubt that (from what Tim has shown so far of how they think) they used inferior species to carry out their attacks.
Now lets see if they can use it as well? Apparently it takes some training so maby the federation can intercept this fleet as well or smt
Since he’s not as level headed as his brother, I’m expecting him to kill himself with his first shot.
My guess is he won’t be able to bond with it immediately; seems like they’ll need their emperor (or whatever title he is)’s approval first. So the Fed may be able to stop them from leaving with it (unlikely, but a possibility).
I was hoping they wouldn’t loose the 3-1, tho not surprising.
I hope this guy atleast gets a nice shot off before they take his arm. maybe blast the drang dudes leg off?
He has a puddle of blood under him, mostly visible under the shoulder. It looks like most of it could have come out of the head wound. Highly unlikely that the brain is still functioning with this blood loss. Of course, the starcaster might be in process of repairing that, but the dude should not be conscious.
It is very ballsy of him to just walk on a ship with an enemy starcaster that they don’t know if it’s in play. Though the Starcaster isn’t able to blast himself out of every situation, they are certainly dangerous. A starcaster could instantly scuttle the ship, blasting several other ships as well. Though this isn’t a very viable tactic to not get caught. We see starcasters blowing up ships requiring assistance. Yet at such a dire moment the Starcaster could just sacrifice himself. He could burn through his body, blasting as much as possible. The Starcaster seems lost either… Read more »
I can see a couple of counter-arguments. First, if the Starcaster on the Federation ship was in play, that would have been made fairly obvious waaay before the Dranglaex had a chance to board it. I’m no tactician, but I believe that it’s generally safer to keep the enemy at a distance, because it makes the fight a bit more predictable, whereas boarding is pure chaos that could go either way. Therefore, it makes sense that the Federation ship would throw everything they had at their opponent, including an active Startcaster, to prevent the boarding. They didn’t do it, so… Read more »
I don’t think they thought they were going after a starcaster that was “in play.” They thought this was the ship Cort was on.
I think the only reason they would think Cort is on this ship is if they’re reading the comments section with all the confusion about which ship was attacked. But then they would know not to mess with the main hero of the story.
In any case Dranglaex intelligence capabilities are not _this_ good.
I’ve had a theory about that since before the bomb went off, and I’m sticking to it: First off, we know the Drang’laex were tipped off by one of their spies, and many of us assumed that spy was telling them about Cort. Secondly, we know that the last time Quel tried to accept Cort’s surrender, the info was leaked and it nearly got Cort killed. My theory is simple: This time around, Quel lied to the Federation brass about which ship Cort was on. Then, when his location was leaked to the Drang’laex, their spy was unwittingly giving them… Read more »
I feel the theory is full of holes. The bomb first, where it is a random unexpected act. It isn’t that such unexpected things can happen, but the timeframe is off. The Drang’laex just arrived. This person wasn’t just going to bomb the bridge randomly, he knew they were coming. There was no time to grab the bombs from wherever, so he needed to have them already and going to/being close to the bridge. How did he know to go there? You could argue that he was tipped off, but more likely he was the spy himself. Another nail is… Read more »
Two massive issues with that theory: Then why are the Dranglaex attacking the perfect target? Why are they still about to seize an isolated Starcaster? (I know that’s really only one issue, but it’s such a big one, it’s worth mentioning twice.) Even if we’re going to ignore all the obvious difficulties with how much implausibly perfect control of information there’d need to be for that scenario, as well as ignore the part where the Dranglaex information was explicitly mentioned to be reliable, as well as coming from an asset aboard the ship (so not some brass hearing it indirectly),… Read more »
So much for the healing aspect I guess…
WAIT!!! Wait just a gorram minute here.
It sounds as if the Drang’laex don’t know about the bomb that exploded on the bridge. If that suicide bomber wasn’t part of THEIR plan, then who was that guy and why did he do it??????
That was probably the spy who told the Dranglaex about the ship he was on, acting on his own initiative to help his idols/masters/allies/(however he views the Dranglaex) to achieve the ideal of galactic purity.
There didn’t seem to be much coordinated back-and-forth between the Dranglaex and their spy, it might’ve been just a quick message along the lines of ‘Yo, I’m currently on an isolated ship with a Starcaster. See enclosed coordinates XYZ. Please come seize it’.
This. It seems unlikely that a spy could have a lengthy back and forth communication. The spy probably send it, never knowing for sure it would arrive. He prepared for the expected quick response of the Drang’laex and walked towards the bridge when he reasonably would find them entering the system. Dying for the cause while taking out the bridge, preventing good communication, escaping and good retaliation, as well as taking out the Starcaster before much damage could be done.
Remembering that starcasters draw their power from stars, I suspect the reason he didn’t defend and is in such bad shape, maybe dead, is that they’re just too far from a star to do anything. Had a look back and couldn’t see any systems or nearby stars or references to being inside a solar system. Of course, a few windows in a few panels aren’t much to draw a conclusion from either way but seems plausible to me.
Either way, I can’t see it ending well for him. If he’s not dead already, he may soon wish he were..
Apparently that starcaster was still set to “vibrate” when the battle started….
I really want a second suicide bomber to run in just as he’s putting the starcaster on.
His horoscope for the day: ‘your lucky colour is purple.’
I’m going to speculate the Drang’laex developed a deep network of spies and believers after the complacency and corruption problems really started to plague the Federation. This Starcaster was probably their main target the entire time. Probably still a bit on the novice side and realized this was easier target. Plus there attack plans seemed to be designed on quick hits and run in different places, thus making it hard on the Federation to find them and drop their guard. I don’t think Cort was ever their target, probably a lot of people trying to find the last Starcaster and… Read more »
They probably began planting spies long before that, even. This war has been the plan for over a century, since before they failed to seize the Odrossian caster and had to put it on hold trying to fix that. They might not even need to rely on traitors, they could’ve raised sleeper agents from birth at this point. I wouldn’t say Danton was really their ‘main’ target, they probably have spies looking for any strategic information they can. Starcasters, army movements, anything to help win the war. Danton happened to present a good opportunity, so they seized it. But they’d… Read more »
I know that I’m a month and change late to the party but we gotta have a Console Wars strip on the end off the First Console War (I know there were consoles before it but this is the first one that I remember having two sides actively taking shots at each other.)
https://mashable.com/article/atari-acquires-intellivision
Now, just as an aside. The first time I saw this Major Danton, I had the thought, “Oh, he’s gonna die.”
That thing better start regenerating him back to health quick
Ruh, roh, Raggy.
And…just to be clear, I posted this before reading ReaverRogue’s comment on the next page.
I guess great mind’s think alike.