And FS2 is always respectful of how things work in real life.
FS2, like most works of fiction, runs on Like Reality Unless Noted so it doesn't spend twenty years doing exposition.
I should not have to explain that to you. You're smarter than that.
Even if the NTF do record all cockpit conversations, (and that is an assumption), Snipes obviously has somehow disabled that in both your craft and his own. Furthermore he's obviously disabled it in such a way that it doesn't instantly draw suspicion on him the second the NTF start thinking that his squadron might contain a spy.
Considering he's able to scramble communications between you and hide them as targeting data, this doesn't sound hard. Your communications systems have already been significantly altered from their standard operating modes
and that's not detectable either.The door is wide open.
That they don't record communications is the option I find more believable.
Why? For purposes of arguing with me alone?
As noted: Electronic trickery is already in play. Your craft's communications systems have already been noticeably tampered with simply to allow you and Snipes to talk securely and unobtrusively. This wouldn't even be
necessary unless NTF ships maintained accurate electronic records of communications (there's that pesky recording again!), as in the heat of combat a scrambled transmission from one fighter to another probably isn't something of note. Snipes also uses his secure communications method even when there are
no witnesses, c.f.
Love The Treason, suggesting he has more to get around than just being seen talking to you by others.
Double the number of people talking to Terran Command and you double the number of people who can get caught talking to Terran Command.
And if you can get caught talking to Terran Command directly and are a highly placed critical intelligence asset,
you don't talk to Terran Command directly at all. The resources the GTVA was willing to commit to extract you alive, to extract the Sunder, to extract Snipes during Loop 2, indicate that you and he are of great value and as such will not be placed at casual risk such a method of communication would pose.
There
is an argument here, that Snipes would be trusted with such a method of communication since as a long-term trained operative of SOC he would be trusted to know when its use was necessary...but such an argument boils down to the GTVA's faith he won't use it. Which as far as we know he never did, if he did had it, which he probably didn't considering his training and job. (And don't cite the Grall, that could easily have been the transport's own communication systems.)
Who's to say Snipes doesn't have a long distance version of the same dohickey he used to talk to you.
See above. See below. See anyone with a basic understanding of how intelligence operations work.
Who's to say it also doesn't register as targeting data?
Because there are attack my target commands within the comm menu. Because your fighter is presumably like all other friendly fighters and when targeted by a friendly broadcasts to them what you are attacking. Because it's only useful information to someone directly engaged in combat. Because a stream of such data from outside the battle zone could be picked up by too many people regardless of the tightness of the beam, all it takes is another fighter passing in front of yours relative to the source. Because they would notice the lack of a ship it's being transmitted from. Because without a direct view of the battlefield the disguising of it as targeting data can be easily ****ed up to not match battlefield conditions. Because there's no reason to be beaming targeting data off into deep space.
Like I said, you're making massive assumptions and then assuming that anyone who contradicts you hasn't thought things through.
If you will not explain your reasoning, why should I take it seriously? I may make assumptions, but they are good ones. Yours, on the other hand, appear adopted solely so you can argue with me, an impression reinforced by the fact you don't explain them. And that I can so easily think up reasons why they don't make sense.