((Wow, I didn't intend to write that much when I started.))
((Been there, wasted time like that.))
-snip-
((Your argument about the larger drones being more powerful for the same cost is potentially true*, but you're ignoring that the PDL make it better to have a large number of drones. We need to find a balance between number and power...which I, unlike you, think is possible. As long as they're only part of the "boarding party," which you'll find is what Pariah is suggesting.))
*((If risking violating the laws of thermodynamics once you take it far enough. Which I'm pretty dang sure you did.))
Guerilla tactics. Well... okay. This could even work if we were, say, attacking a ship that is drifting in space, or maybe even fleeing from us, or maybe imposing an embargo or something. We're likely going to face a situation where the only crew that matters is the pilots and the gunners, and every minute the drones waste on trying to guerilla their way into the ship means a whole lot more orbital bombardment for us. It's not a viable defense tactic, kinda like stopping an enraged bear with a poison dart. There is no poison fast-acting enough to kill the bear before it mauls you.
((On the other hand, poison darts aren't going to be systematically slicing apart the blood vessels and nerves and muscles across a swiftly-spreading area of bear. And they won't be accompanied by little molecules that can use amps or plan how to best organize the assault on the bear. And in your scenario, the maulee isn't being protected by a bunch of, um...other bears? And the ability to shoot lasers at the bear's...claws? No offense, but this analogy sucks.))
I don't know, deflector shields don't seem to be a thing, but I'm fairly certain interstellar ships have ways of dealing with both mines and micrometeorites.
((Probably the PDL. Point Defense Lasers, in case that wasn't clear.))
150 drones actively dodging attacks, however, present themselves as a bigger target, while being a harder target.
((Wait, if they're dodging...doesn't that require reaction mass as well? Doesn't that mean we encounter the exact same problem you were describing for the little drones' power?))
And the best way to do that is a coordinated takeover, not a guerilla invasion. A surgical strike via remote units, if you will. Even if it'd be more efficient to do it with guerilla tactics, the timeframe it'd need to be done it simply won't allow it. If we could afford to sit there while the enemy loiters around in orbit, we could just starve them out, because we're on a planet, and they're not.
((You're describing his plan pretty well.
And you're exaggerating. We can't survive weeks, but we can survive minutes, probably even a few hours.))
In short: While drones aren't great on their own, they're plenty terrifying, and make a great supplement to any boarding parties.
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Topic: Einsteinian Roulette (Missions 9a, 10, 11, and Heph post war survey team) (Read 464249 times)