[Aardwolf]

Well, it says the conversations are chronologically ordered and non-simultaneous. So...

"Aboard GTD Imperieuse" = pre-blitz?
"Aboard UEFg Yangtze" = probably before Laporte gets transferred
"Bergher-Tanikawa Suites, Duchenne, New Berge, Hulldown Continent, Beta Aquilae" = after the capture of the Agincourt
"Aboard GTC Arcane" = between that and the assassination plot
"Aboard GTD Atreus" = pre-delenda est?

So "contingencies for the contingencies" was after the capture of the Agincourt as well. 

[T-Man]

On the other side of things...if you were Steele (or some other GTVA military person), how do you think the war should go from a GTVA strategic standpoint?  What would you do to win the war for them?

...

Surrender.

...



Okay seriously, assuming i'm not allowed to sue for peace or defect, i would probably have the Atreus go Solaris hunting, perhaps with Serkr team in support if they can jump as quick as the Atreus seems to in Darkest Hour; they might be able to get in, cause some proper damage (maybe even destroy the target) and pull out before the UEF can properly respond or the Solaris' torpedoes can hit.

[rant] What i certainlty wouldn't be doing is bombing civilians and blowing up medical transports!!! *waves fist at imagined Steele* [/rant]

[MatthTheGeek]

The only thing Steele has to do to win the war is wait. The UEF military is in such a logistical disarray after 18 months of warfare and the Earth Blitz that it is sure to collapse in months or weeks. Steele just has to maintain enough pressure to make sure they don't recover. By the end of WiH, the war's fate is already decided.

[General Battuta]

The only thing Steele has to do to win the war is wait. The UEF military is in such a logistical disarray after 18 months of warfare and the Earth Blitz that it is sure to collapse in months or weeks. Steele just has to maintain enough pressure to make sure they don't recover. By the end of WiH, the war's fate is already decided.

Of course, there's also increased political pressure to draw the war to a rapid conclusion. The real threat to the GTVA comes not from the UEF military but from its own political and social powder kegs.

[CT27]

There's also the "Secret Project" of Byrne.

From the GTVA's perspective:  if it turns out to be really dangerous, they might want to bring in another destroyer.

[Klaustrophobia]

it's been rather strongly hinted that the secret project is not something that will be affected by bringing more military assets to bear against it.

[NGTM-1R]

it's been rather strongly hinted that the secret project is not something that will be affected by bringing more military assets to bear against it.

Unless it's completely noncorporeal, this is somewhat doubtful. And I don't think the UEF are THAT good.

[CT27]

I don't think they've hinted that the secret project is necessarily an instant win button for the UEF either.

[MatthTheGeek]

The war doesn't have to end with a UEF victory for the UEF to survive. The "Project" could be anything that would stop the war, force the Tev to retreat, make the Tevs loose popular support, force everyone to focus on something else, whatever. Probably something nobody here that isn't in the BP team has thought of.

[CT27]

Admittedly , Steele may not have as much time as he would like, but from a military perspective if I were him I'd concentrate on hit and run attacks against transports/logistics and whatnot.  Solarises aren't the only valuable military target out there (of course if the opportunity presents itself you take it out).

[LordPomposity]

Seekrit Project notwithstanding, it's in the GTVA's best interest to grind the UEF to a logistical collapse. The GTVA will be in a much better position against the Shivans if they can take the UEF's warships intact after the UEF runs out of fuel and ammunition than if they have to blow up the remaining UEF fleet.

[Scotty]

That's not as huge of an advantage as you might think.  UEF vessels are by design very short-legged and logisitics intensive.  They can afford to be, they have what is presumably the single largest industrial and logistics base in Terran or Vasudan space.  The GTVA's TEI doctrine on dealing with Shivans is not well suited to having lots of expensive, high performance, short-legged vessels clogging up the orders of battle and logistical pipelines.

[NGTM-1R]

That's not as huge of an advantage as you might think.  UEF vessels are by design very short-legged and logisitics intensive.  They can afford to be, they have what is presumably the single largest industrial and logistics base in Terran or Vasudan space.  The GTVA's TEI doctrine on dealing with Shivans is not well suited to having lots of expensive, high performance, short-legged vessels clogging up the orders of battle and logistical pipelines.

While true, there are certainly specific technologies that the UEF uses (the beam jammers) which would be of immense value. Their bombers would also be welcome additions. Taking as much of their military intact as possible broadens the chances of getting the tech needed.

Also simply having all the hardware available to police Earth and protect it is valuable since that will be the GTVA's largest industrial base in Terran or Vasudan space.

[Aesaar]

I strongly doubt UEF beam jamming would work against Shivan targeting systems.  And apart from the Lapith, I think UEF bombers are a little too unwieldy to be really viable.  There's a reason the GTVA considers heavy bombers like the Ursa a dead end.  The Uriel might have a role, but I think the GTVA would be better off designing their own version to extend range and endurance (though the Nyx might already qualify.  Doesn't have the Archer, but has more missile capacity and is more maneuverable).

Slammers and Paveways, on the other hand...

[LordPomposity]

That's not as huge of an advantage as you might think.  UEF vessels are by design very short-legged and logisitics intensive.  They can afford to be, they have what is presumably the single largest industrial and logistics base in Terran or Vasudan space.  The GTVA's TEI doctrine on dealing with Shivans is not well suited to having lots of expensive, high performance, short-legged vessels clogging up the orders of battle and logistical pipelines.

Support from GTVA logistics ships could probably mitigate this to some extent. Worst case, using UEF designs to guard Sol and other highly developed systems with the infrastructure to support them would free up the ships that would normally perform those duties for offensive operations.

Also, Narayanas with AWACS support for precision jumps are the closest thing anyone has to an effective anti-Sathanas weapon by a pretty wide margin.

[SpardaSon21]

I thought the best way to kill Sathanes was to flank them with Chimera and Bellerophon spam directed by Aurora fighters.  I doubt the GTVA can use Solarises and Narayanas to their maximum potential without building a lot more solar antimatter farms to get the antimatter for all their Apocalypse torpedoes.

[MatthTheGeek]

Antimatter isn't an issue. The UEF already has enormous stockpiles of antimatter from decades of harvesting.

If the Tevs manage to capture most of the UEF fleet intact and ready to serve, I doubt they'll just throw it away. It's just too many ships to scrap and replace. Once the shipbuilding facilities and industrial power get into the hands of the Tevs and get retrofitted for Tev use, I do expect enough new designs to be rolled out quickly enough to make captured UEF ships obsolete some years after the fact.

[CT27]

A particular question along those lines:

What would the GTVA do if they win the war and manage to take a Solaris; what would they do with that?

[-Norbert-]

Probably use it, as it is or make some very small upgrades/changes.
Refitting a ship intended for torpedo and gattler spam with meson reactors, beam emitters and a powernet to support all would be such a massive change that it comes down to taking the ship completely apart and rebuilding it into something that is most likely going to be a hackjob working only half the time.

The ressources and time are much better used in building a new ship from the ground up.

And the Solarises are just a bit too usefull intact to let them rot away (figurativly speaking) im some junkyard or spacedock.

[Aesaar]

Heavy carrier.  It's got more fighter capacity than the Hecate (maybe more than the Titan), and can certainly defend itself better, though I expect it expends its magazines fairly quickly.  Retrofitting it with meson reactors and anything bigger than AAAs probably isn't worth the trouble, though.  Would work fine as it is as a staging point for fighter and bomber attacks.