Tag Archives: Mags

Ghost Ship – Chapter 18

Blair Road
Surebleak

In which Theo and Bechimo start getting to know one another.

Theo’s question to herself – “Who would have given you aid just now?” – isn’t exactly a strong counterargument to the idea that Win Ton would have done better to let sleeping Bechimos lie. If Win Ton hadn’t gotten himself and her tangled up with Bechimo and thus with the Uncle, Theo wouldn’t have been on Tokeo being shot at in the first place.

The Department’s analysts once again misjudge Korval by assuming it has similar motivations to the Department, and underestimating the degree to which Val Con has been making it up as he goes along. I also think she’s overestimating the importance of Natesa’s marriage in the Juntavas’ motivation; it was a personal decision, not a formal alliance, Terrans don’t necessarily put as much weight on marriage ties as Liadens do, and frankly the Juntavas have perfectly good reasons for considering the Department a threat entirely on their own account.

I don’t know if it means anything except that the authors want to keep the text flowing, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time anyone in the Department has accorded Vandar’s population the dignity of referring to their world by its local name instead of by its catalogue number.

Moonstruck was reported in Plan B as the location of Tactical Defense Pod 78. We haven’t yet been told anything else about it.

Ghost Ship – Chapter 17

Portmaster’s Office
Tokeoport

In which Theo meets her new ship.

Here’s another mention of the Federated Trade Commission. What it portends that an operative of the Department is operating under their name, I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s likely that the FTC is simply a front for the Department. It might just be that Operative pel’Naria believes she can take their name in vain with impunity, at least here on Tokeoport where a large pile of cash is the best of credentials.

Either way, I’m thinking the Portmaster, whatever his other faults, shows good sense in not relaxing his guard before they’ve left the room.

Ghost Ship – Chapter 16

Tokeoport

In which Theo is separated from her ship.

The woman with the too-large jacket and the too-large gunbelt harks back to the previous chapter, where the two robbers saw Theo’s too-large jacket and speculated that it was a “trophy”.

In the news report, a car containing a driver, cook and gardener in the employ of Korval returned “immediate fatal return fire” to a hostile action involving a former under-boss and an unspecified number of “backers”. Unless the driver was particularly fast on the draw, I suspect that means the cook and the gardener were also armed.

Ghost Ship – Chapter 15

Arin’s Toss
Tokeoport

In which Tokeoport is not safe.

Theo says a lot of things about how she expects to get away from Tokeo soon and without trouble, which might be a sign that she’s not really confident and needs the self-reassurance. (Or that the authors are cranking up the foreshadowing. Or there’s no reason it couldn’t be both.)

I’m not entirely sure why Daav’s reaction is so violent to the seed pod addressed to Aelliana: it’s not the first time he’s received one since Aelliana died, and he took the one in I Dare much more calmly.