-I don't see how Thingguy could get much more silly, and still be a legendary figure. I also like to think that the defeat of KOTOS weighs as an important lesson on him. Not as much as it does on Talmid and Luke, but some. -I agree on pretty much all of these points looking back at it. Still, I'd keep it in there, again, for all the reasons you mention, as well as one other. This story is as much about Thingguy and Stirling as it is about the proverbial 'Calvary' of the title. Plus, if Strider gets to do a background story, then Thingguy gets one too! :P -I'm glad that made sense. Wasn't sure if it did.Â
-Reason for not going into details is 1: I Didn't want to have to restrict future Merry Band involvment (Like in SA or Book III) by having Thingguy outline it all right then and there, and 2: Didn't want to have the reader go over it all *again*. (Having that issue in other stories I'm writing, where it's ABSOLUTLY necessary, and it ain't fun to read OR write.)
- Thingguy has been travelling all over Militeregnum. he's been hiding for a few years now, making friends in low places. When he says 'people who would call themselves KOTOS' he doesn't mean active KOTOS members. He means rebels who would fight against thedude if they felt they had a chance. The original KOTOS failed, and at this point, Thingguy hasn't found any of the original gang, so a part of him sees that old KOTOS as dead, or nearly dead. When he says 'KOTOS' in the above quote, he's talking about a new KOTOS. a KOTOS made of rebels. Because Thingguy knows: KOTOS will never be the same again.
-Talmid? No, it's my understanding that Talmid's in Orlan for the entire 15 years leading up to SA. Otherwise, he would have been saved along with the rest of the Doom-Defiers. The reason for that being that Thunderclap Keep is still under construction.Â
-So, there's actually plenty of ways that Oswald could 'listen to the ships'. Oswald isn't building from scratch, he's building from scrap. There's protocols and software in everything, and all of these have bits and peices of the puzzles necessary to crack a code or find the right frequency. If you want to get specific, you could say that The Merry Band was the one to scavenge The Cosmic Brownie all those years ago. I want to say, though I can't quote them offhand, that we've had instances where Paradox Rogues have inflitrated NF messages before, even if inconsistently, which would mean that any Rogue communications device would also have that possibility, or a hint that a tech-wiz like Oswald could find and utilize.  Beyond that, there's also the possibility that *not everyone* on the blockade is trying to remain encrypted... Finally, the overarching issue that resolves all of this is that Oswald didn't actually display his ability to Thingguy. Another display of keeping it vauge, Oswald's idea of 'listening' could be complete jargon to all but the best radioheads. He might not even *have* translation protocols, but has just learned key signals or waves in the scramble that stand for things. His setup is one-of-a-kind tailored to him, and not even powerful enough to send out a single word. Definetly not established-lore-breaking, and absolutely feasible.
-I actually have no clue who the Nexus Forcer is. The original half-thought I had when writing it was that it was one of the NF people from Major's most unfortunate venture, but I'm not even certain that could fit. I've got no excuse for this one. :|
-I'm glad that you like it, and as for stuff that will surprise you, that's in other stories! :P