Jason_Ryock said:
Tolwyn never showed any restraint with teh Behemoth. He fully intended to use that on Kilrah, even if he wasn't ordered too. There's alot of speculation in the novel and the game that Tolwyn himself wants to win the war. I think he was insane before WC3 started.
first off, how do you show 'restraint' with a weapon designed to destroy a planet? and of course Tolwyn would have used the behemoth on kilrah even if he wasn't ordered to, just as paladin would have used the temblor bomb on kilrah even if he wasn't ordered to. why? because both men understood that was the only way to win the war
Also, he never "had to" do any duty like Behemoth. It was always referred to as "his pet project". You don't have pet projects that you hate. I think Tolwyn LIKED the Behemoth because it destroyed the homeworld.
sure he had a duty. his duty was to win the war, and behemoth was a way to fulfill that duty. and sure you can have a 'pet project' you hate. in false colors, tolwyn says that the ONLY reason he pushed the behemoth into service was to get the war over quickly before the belesarus (sp?) group was able to launch their coup and take over the gov. you think that tolwyn or paladin WANTED to kill millions of kilrathi civilians by destroying kilrah. no, of course they didn't. but they both understood that it had to be done.
In Fleet Action and End Run he seems normal, sane, concerned about his crews. Then they give him the third fleet, and, to hell with strategy, lets engage at Sirius! And then, Yes, there were 2 million people on that planet. And he gets his ass kicked.
what do you mean 'to hell with strategy'? Sirius was the place where all the jump points came together. it's the logical choice to wait for the kilrathi. and when he figured out where thrakath was coming from, he moved up. why? because it's logical to engage the enemy as far from your homeworld as possible. and when he fell back to sirius, yes, he says that he should have fallen back more, but grecko says that they couldn't have given up sirius without a fight. as for tolwyn getting his ass kicked, yeah, he may have lost the battle, but he kept his fleet intact, which in that situation, was much more important than wining the battle right there.
And then Behemoth, and WC4. I don't think Tolwyn was ever REALLY Sane, but some strange combination of events just pushed him over the edge.
sure tolwyn was sane. just look at action stations, WC2, endrun, fleet action, and false colors. i think that a combination of civilian government stupidity, the losses at the battle of earth, the loss of the concorida, finding out about the belesarus (sp?) group, and losing the behemoth, which he thought was the only way to win the war, is what pushed him over the edge.