That thought had crossed my mind. It would be treacherous, running through Foreven. Which might be an interesting enigma in a pretty decent adventure.
Foreven is dangerous for all the usual geopolitical reasons. It's "Central Asia" or the "Balkans" because the two superpowers bordering it prefer it to remain "Central Asia" or the "Balkans". Independent systems and even independent nations in independent systems in Foreven act like Rhine river barons on steroids.
The technology has changed, the people haven't. Remember?
Crossing Foreven requires a fleet of armed escorts: e.g. a squadron of Broadswords, per Adventure 7. There is something dangerous in Foreven. There be dragons.
New Frontier Trading Partners is operating merc business in a region of space where everyone hires mercs and, while a
Broadsword is a good battle taxi, it's a poor warship.
The Imperium has a consulate in the League of Suns and the Keiths' Far Frontiers work certainly suggests that visitors from the Imperium aren't a rarity. Crossing Foreven may be just a matter of staying on a 57th Century version of the 16th Century's "Spanish Road".
Leave that "road" and start poking around in the rest of Foreven could certainly uncover some "dragons".
Assuming Windhoek's only options are to disappear or get away, and he chooses the latter, via the League of Suns in Far Frontiers (or further), then his route ultimately is through Vland or the Rift, perhaps through Corridor, through Deneb or the Trojan Reaches, through the Marches and Foreven.
Vland-Corridor-Deneb is a possibility. Whether he can pass through them will depend on how fast he reaches those regions. Vland declares independence after Corridor begins to collapse and Corridor start to collapse after Lucan's redeployment orders are obeyed. Can Windhoek pass through before those events? I'd say no for two reasons.
First, he leaves Capital in a jump6 Type-TJ and shifts between four ships in several weeks. It doesn't necessarily follow he'll stay aboard them, however, because the Imperiallines network is the same network which will be disseminating Lucan's order to arrest or kill Windhoek. I'd think Windhoek would use Imperiallines until a point where news of the Assassination has arrived before the ship he's on does. That would mean he's now behind the news "wavefront" and it's time to start relying on stealth instead of speed.
Second, if Windhoek uses TJs exclusively to scoot through Vland, Corridor, and "points west" that lessens the chances the players can interact with him.
Regarding his route to the Marches and beyond, I agree with you that Inarli is out as a destination as Windhoek wouldn't go within a dozen parsecs of his planned diversion. I still can't help looking at the various reference points in the Great Rift. (The number of points is a bit of a retcon but their existence is not. We knew about the ones linking the Islands with the Imperium and could guess at others. Only the numbers and locations are new.)
Let's say Windhoek is using forged orders to travel deadhead aboard TJs towards Vland from Capital He reaches some system, finds himself behind the Assassination's "news wavefront", and learns about the fleet redeployment orders. It's now time to drop speed for stealth because he can no longer outrun a kill/arrest order. Furthermore, because he worked in INI before becoming a protocol aide, he can guess what the results of those redeployment orders could be; maybe not complete collapse but enough disorder to make his flight harder if not impossible.
He now rules out his original Vland-Corridor route and diverts toward the trailing edge of the Great Rift with an idea of linking up with someone or some group wanting to use reference points in the Rift to reach Deneb or the Trojan Reach. Windhoek isn't the only person who will be trying to escape the Imperial Core. There are bound to be groups in Corridor and Gushemege looking for ways to flee across the Rift. Windhoek can "buy" his way in to a group with his skills and knowledge.
He alternately is chased by and shakes off Lucan agents, Norris agents, Solomani agents, Dulinor agents, you-name-it.
Agreed. There are going to be agents working for all sorts of parties who will want to grab him just on principle alone. They don't even need to know who is and what he knows, the fact that he's a fugitive would be enough to pique their interest.
Is there anyone he can trust? Craig? Strephon? Maybe not, other than friends and connections who have no political ambitions... so he pulls strings where possible, and spends all his influence to get away.
There's no one he can truly trust. It's just not Lucan, Dulinor, and the other Big Boys who will want him. There are too many organizations and people at all levels in the "game" and he's a poker chip which they might be able to use.
He's going to gravitate towards people at the players' level because it's less likely that they'll know who is his or have the ability to use what he knows.
