Are Goa'uld Motherships Practical?

[thekillman]

sigh....

Atlantis has 3 ZPM's. we have the Odyssey ZPM, and the ZPM on the Arctic weapon. seeing as they only mentioned the chair, the last mentioned ZPM is still there. the SGC uses it to dial the cargo ship.

also, you're honestly thinking that a reactor onboard a ship capable of reaching Pg fast can not dial a stargate for a long enough moment to send a databurst through? a few dozen Mark I's could power a gate for 1.3 seconds. they could send everything they had learned and then had almost a full second left for videos. we only need a short databurst, .3 seconds or less.

[Xaeden]

sigh....

Atlantis has 3 ZPM's. we have the Odyssey ZPM, and the ZPM on the Arctic weapon. seeing as they only mentioned the chair, the last mentioned ZPM is still there. the SGC uses it to dial the cargo ship.

I'm not really sure where this is coming from. I never said Earth couldn't dial Pegasus. I pointed out that the cargo ship had to use one of three methods to get help, (if there was no 304) but obviously if they were able to get in contact with Earth, Earth could dial a Pegasus gate directly to send help (just not Atlantis, since, in this hypothetical scenario, there's a problem that prevents that possibility). I never said otherwise, nor do I believe that I implied otherwise.

also, you're honestly thinking that a reactor onboard a ship capable of reaching Pg fast can not dial a stargate for a long enough moment to send a databurst through? a few dozen Mark I's could power a gate for 1.3 seconds. they could send everything they had learned and then had almost a full second left for videos. we only need a short databurst, .3 seconds or less.

I didn't say they couldn't do it, I said I don't think they have enough spare generators [to make trying it the go to option]. If they use ones critical to the ship's operation and they overload before getting a message through, they're screwed. So I would hope that they used the extra storage capacity afforded to them by building a cargo ship to haul enough supplies and machinery to build a proper Alpha site so they can go get help there (or they rebuilt the midway station). But, if all else fails and they thought they had to try to it dial Earth, then so be it - That's why I put it down as a possible option.

[thekillman]

i dont follow your line of thought......

the cargo ship sends a databurst to earth, earth sends troops to the cargoship to take back atlantis. using a new shield penetration measure we can land directly in the city. it's safe to assume our shields are drone-proof, so we'll get close enough. also, the ATA gene is probably closely guarded so the enemy wont use the chairs that easily. meanwhile, we hack the shields, send more troops through that.

[Xaeden]

i dont follow your line of thought......

the cargo ship sends a databurst to earth, earth sends troops to the cargoship to take back atlantis. using a new shield penetration measure we can land directly in the city. it's safe to assume our shields are drone-proof, so we'll get close enough.

I think the problem is that you're not reading my posts in full before replying. Using the city's defenses against the cargo ship was one possibility that I offered up. I also said that there could be ships in orbit (the cargo ship might think it could slip by them) or that ships could be hidden or appear after the cargo ship starts heading for the city. Also, if they land the ship in the city, there's always the possibility that it could be commandeered (like the jumper that they used to board Michael's Cruiser).

But, that's the point - Sometimes they have to take risks and a cargo ship can't always avoid being thrown into the middle of things, nor is always safe regardless of certain precautions. So the question is, is it worth it to risk using highly advanced technology, on less secure platforms and do these added precautions outweigh the added risks? Also what about the benefits - Is it really that cost effective to build a cargo ship that it doesn't take away too much from their 304 construction? Although, I have made an effort to point out all the possible risks involved, (I think we've become too hung up on that) I'm on the fence about it. In their current situation, this advanced technology is their only real edge. They have very few ships and they build new ones/replace lost ones very slowly. They get by, in part, because they have a technological edge (thanks to the Asgard) and they need to be extra careful to maintain that until they can catch up with the kind of numbers other space faring races have. However, they also need to not be too careful. They need to take risks and they need to try to operate as efficiently as possible so that they can "get the job done."

also, the ATA gene is probably closely guarded so the enemy wont use the chairs that easily. meanwhile, we hack the shields, send more troops through that.

I'm not so sure. Based on the times we saw it, it seemed to be just something that they keep in their medical facilities and it's guarded by guarding the city in general. They even gave it freely (and without debate) in "The Tower." It was only one dose and it was to people who already had the gene, but it seemed like they'd give them more if they wanted it and Sheppard just left them with it, rather than having a doctor only injected approved individuals. So, it's a minor point, but I can see someone getting their hands on it if they took over the city. I can also see there being a group of more advanced people with the gene that has been hiding from the Wraith until recently or some Travelers trying to take the city and interfacing with the city like they did with their warship.

[thekillman]

i do read your posts fully, i just didnt get them.


but i see why now.


there is one piece of misunderstanding: My cargoship would not be a stripped 304. it would have 304 engines, a 304 hyperdrive, shield and powercore, and beaming. for convenience, so you dont have to design new shields etc.


these are mounted on a box shape, with a box-sized gap in the middle. the middle gap is filled by a huge box-sized container which can be attached and detached. this box is the cargo container. this way, you can carry immense amounts of cargo in a relatively small ship.

it's purely industrial and could be used in MW and in a MW-PG ferry. it would also allow large-scale mining of naquahdah without requiring more "gate time".

[Laxian of Earth]

Well see It's not as simple as why dont they build their own ships, they can't do that because they dont know how to. Ha'tak are good ships just because the jaffa cant replace them dont mean that they are inpractical.

of course they are - if you can maintain them (but isn't it like that with all technology? a BC304 would be just as bad if there would be no one to repair battle damage)

even more: they are practical because they have things like asgard beams, decent ship to ship weapons (better then the grubby railguns earth has as they have not enough puch to damage shields), shields (ok not really decent against asgard/ori weapons, but hell, these technologies are a lot further in development) and a fast hyperdrive (stealing from thor's brain was really practical)

greetings LAX