Well, I love shooting holes in theories (my own as well as other people's), so here goes:
1. He could not have known that the other ship had crashed. For all he knew, his ship had been badly damaged and the other ship was on his tail. It's highly unlikely that he would have had the necessary technology aboard the pod, to track his own ship as well as the aggressor's.
Even if he had noticed that it crashed, it would be impossible for him to know whether or not there were any survivors, or if it had even crashed within walking distance.
In other words, he had no reason to assume that he wasn't alone.
2. Rations are unnecessary aboard a fighter designed to fight in space. If you eject outside the atmosphere, you'll be floating around and running out of oxygen long before you starve to death. You would have to crash on a planet with a breathable atmosphere to have any use for rations. The craft would most likely burn up anyway when it enters the atmosphere.
It looked like a suicide mission anyway. You don't launch attacks unless you are absolutely certain that you will succeed. A handfull of fighters against a fortress? Not likely. If you want to take out a big target you use heavy ships armed with heavy weapons.
Conscripted civilians also get trained and so they do become soldiers. I can also tell you that there is no difference in quality between a conscript and a professional soldier. The term "professional" does not imply any professionalism, but only that being a soldier is his profession. The real difference lies in the quality of the training one has received and the motivation of the soldier.
----
Rated R for violence, sexuality, and language.
reply
share
AlexWard
19 years ago
Let's also not forget that fighter jocks are not infantrymen. They are trained to survive for a few days or weeks until they are picked up by friendly forces. It was cool to me just how much better prepared the Drac was. He had an escape pod, not just an ejection seat. This provides him with shelter and warmth. He had rations and a rifle where Davidge only had a pistol and a knife. Davidge's suit was so many tatters after four years while Shigan's was still in good shape, only dirty. Apparently the Dracs were more technologically advanced.
Oderint Dum Metuant
reply
share