Death Star novel ***may contain spoilers***

[NoogDeNoog]

I am still reading this but I was totally blown away by the size of the initial rebel attack. I won't say anymore until I know it is okay to talk about such subjects. Is there a rule concerning discuss of relatively new books?

[Vehrec]

Good sir, I must ask. What year are you living in? Because your post is dated 2009, and the Death Star novel was released in 2007.

And the attack you were totally blown away by was one carrier with a full load of fighters. Nothing special in the grand affair of things.

[Simon_Jester]

Yes, but it's also far more X-Wings than the Rebels actually fielded at, say, Yavin, and Yavin was not a minor base.

The escalation is in the implied scale of the Rebel fighter forces, because those fighters seldom operate in multiple-wing strength in other parts of the setting. Even when they're going up against entire defended planets, it's more typical to see forces of 10 to 100 craft than several hundred.

Of course, I suppose it's possible that the reason the Rebels don't field hundreds of X-Wings anywhere else is because they only had, say, 700 to begin with, and the Death Star fighter garrison managed to kill most of them at Despayre...

[NoogDeNoog]

Good sir, I must ask. What year are you living in? Because your post is dated 2009, and the Death Star novel was released in 2007.

And the attack you were totally blown away by was one carrier with a full load of fighters. Nothing special in the grand affair of things.

Sir, I said RELATIVELY new.

Once the carrier was destroyed, they implied that the x-wings had nowhere to go so they pressed their attack.

Why couldn't the x-wings escape to hyperspace?

Why would they make a suicidal charge at the death star without trying to protect themselves from the fighters?

As for the number of X-wings, I imagine it being the fighter complement from a newly defected planetary defense force.

I know it depends on the pilot, but how many TIE/In's is a X-wing worth in battle?

[Ghost Rider]

Given it's been a done topic, go ahead. Don't expect much given the discussion has been done with and it's used as a reference source for a few new bits.

[Vehrec]

Good sir, I must ask. What year are you living in? Because your post is dated 2009, and the Death Star novel was released in 2007.

And the attack you were totally blown away by was one carrier with a full load of fighters. Nothing special in the grand affair of things.

Sir, I said RELATIVELY new.

Well, you'll be relieved to know that I believe we only have a six month statue of limitations on spoilers around here.

Once the carrier was destroyed, they implied that the x-wings had nowhere to go so they pressed their attack.

Nowhere to go? Maybe they did. Xwings are dependant on droids for their hyperdrives, which makes them tactically inflexible until they can swap out new hyperdrive jump data. Or maybe they could have left but opted to press the attack in the face of the opposition because they wouldn't get another chance at it.

Why would they make a suicidal charge at the death star without trying to protect themselves from the fighters?

Because it's a strike mission? The plan may have been for an Endor style attack by flying inside the partially completed structure and attacking vital components-the Rebels obtained several sets of plans to make the final technical read outs, and any one of them might have revealed a crippling weakness that could be struck at during an attack on the unfinished machine.

As for the number of X-wings, I imagine it being the fighter complement from a newly defected planetary defense force.

Unlikely. X-wings were manufactured more or less exclusively for the Rebellion. While the plans were out there, they were so tainted by rebel influence that they were difficult to justify the use of.

I know it depends on the pilot, but how many TIE/In's is a X-wing worth in battle?

Depends on the mission. Strike missions favor the heavier armament and tougher build of the X-wing. Interception, recon, general CAP duty is probably a better fit for the higher accelerations and smaller profile of the TIE. If the X-wings go loaded out with anti-fighter munitions, the balance probably tips in their favor, one on one.