Originally posted by Raa
The GTA lost 
of pilots after the utter failure known as Operation Thresher. More than the Vasudans.
That's not clear. We don't actually know Vasudan losses. We do know that Operation Thresher was
not a total failure: it achieved at least half of its objectives by seperating the Vasudan fleet in Antares from sources of supply, though it failed to take the Vasuda-Antares node.
Originally posted by Raa
The shield prototype would have given an advantage for... what, 3 months? Until the Vasudans copied it, or were leaked schematics by Terrans under Vasudan control in the GTA? The Avenger only succeeded as well as it did, because of the joint cooperation between the species. I'm sure that both were producing them at the height of the war, because the Vasudans wouldn't entrust the Terrans with making that laser exclusively for both. I know I wouldn't trust an enemy of 14 years to give me a proper working laser.
The Avenger existed in functional form before the Shivan arrival. You also seem to think Lieutenant McCarthy was somehow typical. He wasn't. He acted because of the Shivans, remember? There is no evidence whatsoever that the Vasudans would have gotten ahold of the Avenger without McCarthy. Nor is there any evidence they could have gotten ahold of the shield prototype so rapidly. In fact, the only mention of pre-existing spies not created due to the Shivan threat is of
Vasudans under
Terran control.
But more to the point, those three months would be devastating to the Vasudans. Witness what the Shivans were able to accomplish in far less time with shielded craft. They laid waste to all who opposed even before the Lucifer came on the scene.
Originally posted by Raa
The cruisers may have been better, but the Vasudans were more willing to Kamikaze than the Terrans. The Vasudan fightercraft at the height of the war were also better. Ignoring the Anubis, of course.
The only craft developed jointly with the Vasudans was the Ulysses. And you can't count the Thoth, because the Thoth was the Vasudan side of the Ulysses project.
Now tell me again that they're going to do well against Hercs, Medusas, possibly even the Ursa. Given the timeframe involved, these craft all had to have been in the final stages of development before the Shivans arrived. Ditto the various cannons. The Interceptor missile wouldn't exist, as it combined a Terran warhead and Vasudan engine, but the Tsunami, Phoenix V, and Hornet would in all likelyhood.
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