Dexi wrote...
Nomarch wrote...
Dexi wrote...
Nomarch wrote...
And finally, the DOCTRINE of the alliance fleet is to avoid engagements where they are outclassed and instead regroup with other forces to get superior numbers and superior targeting ability. The primary strength of the alliance fleet is mobility and the ability to act in a tactical scheme that is more about hitting weak targets with superior numbers. Using the fleet in a way that is the exact opposite of what it was designed as would be extremely stupid, and I just cannot see the alliance fleet as putting its fleet up against an unknown enemy force in a move that is against their own doctrine, unless the writers decided to do a pisspoor job of staying consistent with lore. Hopefully they didn't, which would mean only a recon detachment of the systems alliance fleet would suffer destructions while the real fleet regrouped and awaited reinforcements from other races (enter Shepard to get them).
Systems Alliance seems to use some form of adoption of Sun Tzu's "art of war" and just "slugging it out" with no intel against superior forces would be nothing like what they fight like if they follow their doctrines.
And unfortunately, this is completely useless against the Reapers. The point of hit-and-run, implies that you have a place to run back to and resupply and rearm. And you seem to be talking about warships as if they are infantry, a little food, some ammo, a place to sleep, and you're all good. Warships need parts, ammo, food, water, air, and fuel to keep them going. And you don't get those without a shipyard. And shipyards are static emplacements. So while the Alliance fleet, or anybody else "hits-and-runs," the Reapers move in, blow the shipyards to hell, and the war is over, whether its a glorious last stand or a slow lingering death. Warships are not infantry and you simply cannot play hit and
run if it costs you your shipyards and supply line. The fleets HAVE to
defend those static emplacements, bringing them into the exact
engagements they don't want to fight.
Or, let's get nasty and remember indoctrination. Reapers hit Earth, damaging the fleet in orbit. Following Alliance procedures, it stays mobile and falls back. Reapers land on earth and start indoctrinating as many people as they can. Once they've done enough, they stage a war between their indoctrinated thralls who are happy to die in the feint, making it look like the Reapers have been kicked off world by the survivors. The ships come back for much needed repairs and resupply, and are bombed in the yards by the indoctrinated populace. Or even nastier, those "repairs" install Reaper-tech in the ships and indoctrinate the crews, allowing them to surprise the fleets of other races when their "allies" show up. And if this doesn't happen on Earth, it happens elsewhere. And remember, a tiny fraction of the galaxy is explored by the Council. The Reapers could say "screw this" head into the wilds to indoctrinate races who haven't encountered the galactic community yet, indoctrinate them, use them as inexhaustible slave-labor to create an armada armed with Reaper tech in a few short years, and then come rolling in.
Short of the mother of all Deus ex Machina's I'm not sure how the Reapers get beaten if they are played as even remotely intelligent.
One flaw to your idea.
Indoctrination would mean dumbing that population down, they couldn't do what you said... repair and stuff.
The most they can do with them is more husks. But I don't see how husks can help in space-battle... Maybe launching them or something rofl...
Saren, Matriarch Benezia, and the lady from the last DLC were all totally indoctrinated and fully functional to the point of being able to deceive others about their allegiances. There is a difference between husks and the indoctrinated.
Read codex. Indoctrinated people go dumb.
Saren was indoctrinated but until to the point logical conclusion met with indoctrination. He wasn't doing Sovereign's bidding just because, he was doing it with a reason.
"Rana Thanoptis, an asari neuroscientist on Virmire, goes into more detail. She describes indoctrination as a subtle whisper you can't ignore, that compels you to do things without knowing why. Over days, perhaps a week of exposure to Sovereign's signal, the subject stops thinking for themselves and just obeys, eventually becoming a mindless servant."
EDIT: + "But as Saren Arterius discovered during his research into indoctrination at the facility, there is a balance between control and usefulness. The more control Sovereign has over a person, the less capable they become. Saren realized that to keep his mind free of Sovereign's control, he had to make himself an invaluable resource. He believed that Sovereign would allow him a reprieve from indoctrination, because the Reaper needed Saren's mind intact to find the Conduit."
You're right, I'd forgotten that it was mentally degenerative. But Benezia's case, even with her momentary resistance, shows that its possible for someone to be pretty heavily enthralled without their losing the ability to appear functional, even if that state doesn't last long. And it wouldn't have to last long in the above cases, just long enough to get their hands on the ships in the yard. And all that is just a sideshow to the main point that the fleets can't play hit and run, and if they lose their supply chains they are done.
Retour en haut
