As a newcomer I have a question.

[rushy]

I think the PKs wanted Talyn to study how to make more like him.
If the PKs' main transport vessels are leviathans, being able to produce gunships like Talyn would add more 'bang for your buck' to those transports.

As for long distance space travel: I don't think it was really explained. Other than wormholes, Starburst seemed to be the only 'explained' mode of FTL.
They tended to avoid explaining tech stuff (w/ wormhole tech, I think, being the only 'science bits' expounded on. For everything else, it's usually "this is how it works..." <cut to different scene> "...and that's how it works.") so while, for example, we hear 'hetch drive' and a 'hetch x' (where x is, I guess a speed value), that's pretty much it.

Hmm. Come to think of it, there's a mention of fuel (ep. Green Eyed Monster), but they don't ever mention much in terms of ship logistics, I think: how often is Moya/Talyn refueled? what are the maintenance requirements? Leviathans and Talyn are biological - do they eat? photosynthesis, perhaps? Lotsa questions...(not that answers are necessary: the characters and the story are awesome enough without expanding on the tech stuff )

Maybe the RPG book has an explanation for the long dist. travel and ship logistics issues? Or the illustrated companions? (too lazy to check now... )

I think that the Hetch Drive is an equivalent to a Warp Drive from Star Trek. Remember in Premiere, after Moya escapes from Peacekeeper custody, Pilot says that their maximum speed is barely Hetch Two(Warp Two)

[deevalina11]

WOW, some questions.....loving it....

[rosey_angel]

I agree with all of the above responses, but there's also probably something to having a ship that wants to keep fighting for you. Sure, there are ways to bypass the safety features in any ship (and we have seen many sf shows do this when the time is needed), but having a ship that wants to fly and fight and help even when it's disabled is probably a big selling point, too. a captain or pilot can only push their ship so far becuase it is a piece of machinery, but a living ship has that extra will to push itself further

[the fifth man]

I agree with all of the above responses, but there's also probably something to having a ship that wants to keep fighting for you. Sure, there are ways to bypass the safety features in any ship (and we have seen many sf shows do this when the time is needed), but having a ship that wants to fly and fight and help even when it's disabled is probably a big selling point, too. a captain or pilot can only push their ship so far becuase it is a piece of machinery, but a living ship has that extra will to push itself further

You do make a very good point.

[Thunderstorm]

but having a ship that wants to fly and fight and help even when it's disabled is probably a big selling point, too. a captain or pilot can only push their ship so far becuase it is a piece of machinery, but a living ship has that extra will to push itself further

This actually becomes a point in one of the episodes.

[Huaracocha]

A lot of valid reasons for the "Talyn experiment" but let's not forget.. the Peacekeepers are a massive (evil) intergalactic empire with at least one powerful enemy. As such it's to be expected that they'd attempt all sorts of weird and questionable experiments. Look at some of the insane / pointless military experiments major powers on earth have gotten up to and this one seems positively well thought out and conservative!

[gotthammer]

I wouldn't call the PK 'evil', per se. Misguided, perhaps (and subject to problems w/ 'human nature' in terms of those who lead it), but not 'evil'.
Then again, most 'evil empires' tend to just have bad rulers w/ misguided followers...
(ex.: in Star Wars: only the Emperor, and some of his more 'important lackeys', like Grand Moff Tarkin <esp. on how he became Grand Moff>, could be called 'evil'. Then again, I don't think they ever gave a reason why the Emperor wanted all that power to begin with...maybe it was 'galactic peace'? )

If you've seen Peacekeeper Wars, it'll all make sense.

[Huaracocha]

Yeah they're debatably evil which is why I popped it in brackets. Still though, on the evil side of the coin, they're racist, fascist and have people like Grayza and the loveable rogue Scorpy in positions of power!

[the fifth man]

Yeah they're debatably evil which is why I popped it in brackets. Still though, on the evil side of the coin, they're racist, fascist and have people like Grayza and the loveable rogue Scorpy in positions of power!

The Peacekeepers definitely had a lot of work to do in terms of becoming a more "friendly" force in the universe.

[maneth]

And that's putting it mildly. Although I fear living under Scarran domination would be even worse.