Leigh Kimmel’s Reviews > Ring of Fire III (3) > Status Update

Technicalities of fusing the bombs -- and the decision to go belt and suspenders.

The desperate effort to build bombs to fight a battle in which our heroes will be at a severe disadvantage.

Reflections on logistics. What marching to battle means in the early Seventeenth, vs WWII newsreels.

The problem of indiscipline in a military unit, and how it eats away at effectiveness -- but the man who needs to deal with it has no effective tools with which to do so. And now we know that yes, this is set after Tom and Rita's sojourn in England -- it's roughly contemporaneous with 1635: The Eastern Front and 1636: The Saxon Uprising.

A discussion of motivations

Tom and Rita make connections via radio, so they can coordinate.

The enemy realizes that the airship has gotten away.

Desperate battles, and the logistics of getting a blimp aloft -- which includes a few explicit tie-ins with "Upward Mobility" earlier.

The man they desperately need to help them escape has been badly injured, and its uncertain whether he may also have internal injuries.

Desperate plans are made. Fleeing puts them in danger, and remaining leaves them in even worse danger. The only hope is hillbilly familiarity with firearms, and strength in numbers.