Boarding tactics in ST make no sense...

[HemlockGrey]

...in every instance of boarding I've seen in ST, the attacking ship beams it's forces over to the ship to be captured.

However!

When being beamed in, people are disoriented. Defenders could easily take up fortifiable posistions and cut them down as they come in.

Also, why don't ships merely have a transport disrupter net scattered about, in order to force enemies to blow a hole in the hull, forcing them to approach within range of point-defense weapons?

[Sea Skimmer]

Because that would be logical and smart. Thus the Federation can't do it.

One might also ask why they don't make greater use of all those force fields they seem to have or why they don't have extra security officers on the bridge.

[paladin]

...in every instance of boarding I've seen in ST, the attacking ship beams it's forces over to the ship to be captured.

However!

When being beamed in, people are disoriented. Defenders could easily take up fortifiable posistions and cut them down as they come in.

Also, why don't ships merely have a transport disrupter net scattered about, in order to force enemies to blow a hole in the hull, forcing them to approach within range of point-defense weapons?

You've made some excellent points that ST writers apparently have never considered. But, since B&B run ST we'll never see anything remotely intelligent reguarding tactics on boarding actions.

[Imperial Officer Miller]

Also, why don't ships merely have a transport disrupter net scattered about, in order to force enemies to blow a hole in the hull, forcing them to approach within range of point-defense weapons?

because that would be the SMART thing todo, so its impossible for the ST people to do.

[HemlockGrey]

I thought so.

Damn B&B! Damn them to hell!

Of course, whoever made DS9 also shares some of the blame...

[AdmiralKanos]

It's probably a condition built into the Khitomer Accords: thou shalt not use portable transport inhibitors in a starship or space station, so that we can beam aboard and engage in glorious hand to hand combat with ridiculously clumsy melee weapons.

[Jason von Evil]

What they should do is familiarize their security teams with the interior of each ship they may encounter. Then, when they board a enemy ship, they beam teams to the primary locations on the ship, bridge, engineering and possibly security/armory.

[Howedar]

There seems to be no centralized armory on the Sovereigns, but panels in a great many walls that dispense weapons. Unless you mean the armory rooms housing the ship's weapons themselves.

[Vympel]

There seems to be no centralized armory on the Sovereigns, but panels in a great many walls that dispense weapons. Unless you mean the armory rooms housing the ship's weapons themselves.

What about the scene in First Contact where Picard and Co first try to assault the engineering section?

Lot's of guns on racks there.

[Howedar]

I dunno. In Nemesis we see quite a few weapons panels dispersed throughout the ship, IIRC.

[Vympel]

I dunno. In Nemesis we see quite a few weapons panels dispersed throughout the ship, IIRC.

Yeah- but it doesn't mean the armory we see in FC isn't there anymore.

[Sea Skimmer]

The panels are likely there is quickly arm the security teams whose personal would be dispersed throughout the ship, while the central armory is a general storage and maintenance area as an armory should be. It also likely holds additional weapons to arm other crewmembers.

[Soulman]

If the attackers had any brains they would beam grenades over before the boarders...

[Laughing Mechanicus]

Why are the attackers never simply beemed to the brig as soon as they arrive and disarmed in the process (or just killed with the transporters, transport them outside the ship, or transport their brains right out of their heads ?)

Why would they need those wall storage panels if their super-duper computer could simply beam weapons from a highly secure stockpile to every member of the crew in seconds when a boarding begins?

Why not have some sort of portable barricade designed to fit perfectly into the get-lost-quick standard federation corridors that could be transported into place to trap the boarders? (and thats assuming they can't just *poof* a forcefield round the attackers, maybe one that slowly constricts ).

And finally, why not just evacuate the deck the attackers are in of air, or fill it with something really nasty like the warp core coolant from First Contact? (not sure if thats what it actually was but it was very effective and very quick to clean up.)

Answer, stupid Feddies yes, but dont blame them - it's not their fault, blame the idiot writers who wrote an "action sequence" simply because they wanted one in there and didn't even even consider how the technology, which is the very point of the series, affected that situation.

[Howedar]

Why would they need those wall storage panels if their super-duper computer could simply beam weapons from a highly secure stockpile to every member of the crew in seconds when a boarding begins?

Because there is no point. KISS my friend. I'd rather walk to a panel a hundred meters away than depend on the computer and transporters to reliably beam a weapon into my hands under battle conditions.

[Vendetta]

Why would they need those wall storage panels if their super-duper computer could simply beam weapons from a highly secure stockpile to every member of the crew in seconds when a boarding begins?

Because in any given situation the Computer is the second most likely thing to go horribly wrong and kill the crew.

They could just use the damn replicators to issue weapons as well. (DS9's replicators can double up as disrupter turrets, which, natch, goes wrong and tries to kill the crew)

[Laughing Mechanicus]

Because there is no point. KISS my friend. I'd rather walk to a panel a hundred meters away than depend on the computer and transporters to reliably beam a weapon into my hands under battle conditions.

It wouldn't be beamed into your hands, it could just be beamed next to you on the ground, no running hundreds of meters then fumbling with (hopefully locked) weapons lockers.

But, as Vendetta pointed out, it's more likely the computer is already dead by that point in a battle, I was pointing out that the usual Feddie tactics seen during boardings are extremely badly thought out by lazy writers given the technology at their disposal.

[Howedar]

And you intend to make it worse. Smart.

[Vendetta]

It would be in keeping with the Federation Way™ though, use the most ludicrously high-tech solution available to any given problem.

[AWACS]

If I was in charge of Federation boarding policy, the following rules would be in place:

• When beaming into a ship where defenders are likely, sufficient quantities of knockout gas to incapacitate defenders in the vicinity of transport target location will be beamed over ahead of the boarding party. Several "flashbang" stun grenades will also be beamed to the same location at this time, in case the defenders are equipped with NBC protection.
• All troops on the boarding party will be equipped with NBC protective equipment as a matter of course, as well as body armor and personal shielding devices if and where applicable.
• All boarding parties will transport deployed in a defensive circle with weapons raised, so that they are ready for a threat the moment they materialize. If sensor scans can penetrate the target location well enough to gain a detailed "lie of the land", boarding parties will be transported in formations and into positions to take best advantage of this (for example against walls rather than in the middle of rooms, to reduce the chances of their being surrounded).
• The standard boarding party shall consist of a platoon of 3-4 squads. Each sqaud will consist of four men led by a corporal.
• The standard infantry weapon will be the MK.01 compression phaser assault rifle (CPRA-01) (Similar to the First Contact pulse-phaser type, but with a few add-ons that I consider wise.), with selectable semi or fully automatic fire, a selectable full-auto refire rate of between 400-1,200 RPM, 3 power settings (stun, kill, vaporize), and an integrated sight linked to the video display in the soldier's helmet. This sight will be capable of normal light, NV, and thermal imaging modes of operation. Iron sights will also be present for emergency use.
• Every fourth man (typically a squad corporal) will carry a CPRA-G. Identical to the CPRA, but with an underslung 40mm grenade launcher, fed by its own micro-replicator.
• A class of special circumstances boarding vessel will be commisioned, for transport of troops to target in situations where heavy interference, sensor-impenatrable conditions, or other conditions prevent safe transport into the target vessel. These will be heavily shielded, capable of carrying around 100 soldiers and equipment, and will have cutting equipment and hull attachment equipment to enable them to secure themselves to an enemy hull and breach it to let troops board the target vessel.

What do you think of the likely success rate of UFP boarding actions if conducted according to the rules laid down above?

[Sarevok]

Instead of beaming in boarding parties why not beam out the defenders
crew ? Or is the federation is too dumb to realize the transporters use
as an offensive weopen ?

[SWPIGWANG]

yes...

beam the enemy into a star muhahahahahaha

[HemlockGrey]

What do you think of the likely success rate of UFP boarding actions if conducted according to the rules laid down above?

0%. All the enemy has to do is have a working net of transport inhibitors built into the hip.

[SWPIGWANG]

doesn't matter, they just lock on with the transporter beam to the enemy and what scrambed ass that comes out doen't matter anyway.

Unless you block the beams, which I think need shields.

[Darth Garden Gnome]

doesn't matter, they just lock on with the transporter beam to the enemy and what scrambed ass that comes out doen't matter anyway.

Unless you block the beams, which I think need shields.

Or a transprter inhibitor. Or super-dense armor. Or an electrical storm. Or funny ore in the nearby hills. Or....