Solauren wrote:Okay, Star Wars 888, let's run it another way.
Earth lacks the ability to reach Orbit in any way meaningful to a organization with the technology of the Empire.
You've even said that's why not Star Destroyers or orbital combat support. Fine.
So, I'm Darth Vader....
I'm going to Park say, 10 Tie Fighters in orbit, and have them open fire on the planet from space. This is beyond Earth's ability to stop.
Star Wars weaponary, it's space weaponry, anyway, have ranges measured in hundreds of thousands of kilometers. i.e Beyond the Orbit of our Moon. Star Wars fighters might have a limited 'in clip' supply for firepower, but they recharge nicely. Tie Fighters might even be able to recharge from Solar power.
I'm going to order those Tie Fighters to level several major points on the planet. From space. This will happen to the natives of the planet with little warning, and in a way that get's there attention
Therefore, kiss Hoover Damn, and several other major damns, good bye. For the hell of it, I might also order them to take out the Dikes in Amsterdamn, effectively drowning the entire country. Heck, I'll order a few large forests toasted from orbit too.
I then tell the Earth "Hi, and welcome to the Galactic Empire. Start shipping tribute, now. Failure to comply will result in more orbital bombardment."
I'd also ask my engineers about taking the shield generators off a couple of Tie Fighters, linking them into the AT-ATs power sources, and using them to shield my troops. Instant Garrison base.
if the AT-AT's are also air-tight (we've seen lots of evidence of this in the EU), I'm hauling them into orbit as well.
In any event, even without haulikng the AT-ATs into orbit, Inow have the ability to level the planet, and there is nothing the planet can do to stop me.
Yes, I'll run out of supplies, eventually. However, I'm willing to bet that the planet runs out of infrastructure for me to destroy, effectively knocking the planet back into the dark ages, or possibly the stone age, FIRST. Meaning, they'd have to be beyond stupid to not surrender. I might lose the 'battle', but they've lost the war. Permanently.
Then we have Darth vader himself.
Just have a Tie Fighter or two, or hell, 10 of them, fly around, picking up space rocks. (or shooting up an asteroid to make them). Park those in a good orbit (the kind that will not degrade), and Vader himself can use those as weapons.
Nothing says "I'm your Master, now", then a guy that can pull asteroids down from orbit to crush your cities.
I'm sorry, but if any sizeable force from the Galactic Empire shows up on Earth, (Hell, a sizeable Force of Star TREK equipped forces show up on earth), and it's under the command of someone with more then 1/4 of a brain, we're boned.
The only way Earth would stand a change in this scenario is if you remove the Tie Fighters and Darth Vader completely.
And with no WMD allowed, I'm betting on the Empire leveling the American contients before they are stopped.
So, stop being a dishonest little shit, man up, and shut up.
Problems:
1. You're overestimating the accuracy of tie fighters. They cannot hit precise targets from hundreds of thousands of miles away. You'll have to prove that they can if you want to make the assertion that they can. Otherwise why do they have to fly closer to the other side's star destroyers to attack? Why not simply attack from further away instead of doing pass overs WW2 style?
2. You're overestimating the range of tie fighters. If they really had that much range, how come in Star Wars space battles they leave their star destroyer and go over to the other side's fleet and start doing passes over them? If they really were as long ranged as you claim they'd actually have a longer range than star destroyers. Why would they need to leave their star destroyer and do passes over that of the other side's? Surely they could stay in place and shoot!
3. You're overestimating the supplies of tie fighters. They had about 2 days consumables and were designed to be dependent on star destroyers or other places where they can resupply. They were not designed for sustained, independent missions.
4. The invasion force still fails. Even if they do as much damage as you think they can do, they haven't conquered Earth.
Batman wrote:
Because you insist on them moving barely faster then Mach 1. I'm merely pointing out that even IF they were that slow in the movies, that wouldn't override the ICS numbers.
And your point is? I didn't bring up how fast or slow they were in the movies, so you're debunking something I didn't say.
Because they give nice concrete numbers. Since those numbers happen to coincide nicely with what we see in the movies-them reaching orbit in a matter of SECONDS-I simply see no reason not to use them. Those accelerations, incidentally, ARE all over Star Wars material. The movies, the Clone Wars cartoon, the EU novels...
Give me a quote from the ICS showing their exact, concrete number.
'why would any starfighters need landing gear other than repulsorlifts then? Wouldn't repulsorlifts count as landing gear, which tie fighters lack?'
Oh really.
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Actually, repulsorlifts would. Note that repulsorlifts would continue to consume fuel.