Wait, we can cut deals with the ilClan, we don't immediately have to lick their boots?
I think the key is to cut deals with the right candidate for the ilClan before they become the ilClan.
That and those Raven warships are a negotiating trump card in their own right.
Also, maybe the outrages of crazy Malvina and the rabid Falcons will become a unifying force for inter-Clan coordination/cooperation.
Ah, the good old Bear-Raven sandwich.
The Snakes are the only House sandwiched between two allied Clans, so it seems natural.
Like the FedRats, I suspect the Elsies will become an object of Alaric's attention whether he's ilKhan or remains the Wolf Khan. Maybe the Falcons will assist or maybe they'll be annihilated or exiled first.
The Leaguers or more of their sub-states seem like a natural target for the Foxes or some of their sub-factions.
That leaves the Cappies. Maybe the Horses get transplanted there, or the Cappies become a rump state after the ilClan takes back the old Terran Hegemony.
I forgot... the wild card that can played in the name of Raven fiat is political machinations. The FedRats won't fall for it again. But other Houses or factions might.
This is exactly what I am afraid of, because if I was an Adder, I would do exactly that: go after the largest Warship fleet first.
I personally hope that the Adders and Homeworlders evolve into something other than Operation Revival Mk. II. But if they must invade, they should just forgo the OZ route and head directly for Terra through unoccupied systems. There's no indication this will happen, but the Council of Six finding the Homeworlders sitting on Terra after the Wall comes down would be a great twist. In such an event, I assume the no-holds-barred Aggressors will employ Society computer viruses to sideline any attacking Raven or other Spheroid Clan warships.
Although to be honest, my hunch is that remnants of the Society are hanging out in the old Traders Domain, spinward of the RA because of various cryptic comments in WoR plus Ben Rome's original WoR draft.
Woah... you must start a new thread with the relevant references. Sounds like a conspiracy theory worthy of discussion.