1.3 : Fight or Flight.

[Dave]

Originally posted by Cpt Larraq
When they fought the alien vessel why do they rely on torpedoes? Why couldn't they have used the ships laser cannons?

The 'Phase Cannons' were not installed before they left Earth because they had to leave in a hurry. We discover this in 'Silent Enemy' ENT. I thought that the ship was ready to go, only being held back from leaving by the Vulcans, but this is what they say in that episode. Of course, it does beg the question, why wait until that episode to start installing them, why not get to work on them straight away after leaving Earth. They would have come in useful, in situations such just like this.

 

[Neo]

Would have given Trip something better to do than moan all the time

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Dave I asked why didn't they use the ships exsisting energy weaponry?

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Cpt Larraq
Dave I asked why didn't they use the ships existing energy weaponry?

I wasn't aware that they had other energy weapons, they don't use them if they do. The official Star Trek site says:

"As for offensive capabilities, the ship is equipped with spatial torpedoes which are launched from torpedo bays. While in-flight, the Enterprise crew completed three prototypes of a phase cannon, a phase-modulated energy weapon rated for a maximum power output of 500 gigajoules. The phase cannons are deployed with retractable turrets that extend from the hull and fire energy beams at their targets."

Terry Matalas (Brannon Braga's asistant) told Star Trek Monthly magazine that the ship only has the projectile missiles or torpedoes, not photon torpedoes or phaser banks. The series 'Bible' produced before it began also said that Phaser banks have yet to be invented, but confusingly, it also says there are "Laser cannons, hull-retracting plasma-charged artillary turrets, spatial torpedoes," and I'm not clear if these 'Laser Cannons' and the 'hull-retracting plasma-charged phase cannons' are the same thing.

Is that what you are thinking? That they are separate systems?

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Originally posted by Dave


I wasn't aware that they had other energy weapons, they don't use them if they do.

Dave, did you watch Broken Bow? In the pilot episode, when the NX-01 goes to the Suliban occupied planet and encounters those ugly Suliban cargo crates armed with particle beams, the Enterprise fires off a few red energy bolts at the ships which go incredibly wide. That is the laser cannon.

 

[Dave]

Sorry, but they still just look like torpedoes to me. The 'red' comes from the exhaust of whatever is propelling them.

I don't know for sure, but I just went and took a look at them again, and they seem to have a shape. Considering the other things I've already posted, that would be my best guess.

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Nope, the torpedoes look like rockets. In TOS they look like balls of energy. The red energy pulses are what the Laser cannon shoots out.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Cpt Larraq
The red energy pulses are what the Laser cannon shoots out.

Sorry, I'm still not convinced, they look like missiles to me, and if it were a laser wouldn't the effect be a continuous beam of red light rather than pulses?
(Actually, if it were really a laser you wouldn't "see" it at all unless you were looking straight at, but this is TV.)

But also, this web site doesn't mention them: http://www.ditl.org/

Armament: Phase cannon, total output 500 TeraWatts.
__________2 Torpedo tubes, 40 torpedoes carried.

And as I already said, neither does the 'official' site: http://www.startrek.com/library/ships.asp?ID=123454

As for offensive capabilities, the ship is equipped with spatial torpedoes which are launched from torpedo bays. While in-flight, the Enterprise crew completed three prototypes of a phase cannon, a phase-modulated energy weapon rated for a maximum power output of 500 gigajoules. The phase cannons are deployed with retractable turrets that extend from the hull and fire energy beams at their targets.

Where are you getting your information from?

I mean, I don't mind a good constructive argument, but all the specifications I can find on the Enterprise NX-01 does not mention any weapons other than the spatial torpedoes and the phase cannons installed in 'Silent Enemy'. So, I can't see why you think they have another system too.

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Dave. Watch Broken Bow and Fight or Flight. Now make comparisons between the red energy pulses and the torpedoes. You can see in Fight or Flight that the torpedo looks like a rocket, it bounces off the asteroid and almost hits the NX-01. Now check out Broken Bow. The bolts are red and fire in pulses. Lasers don't have to be fired in beams. Look at Star Wars for example.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Cpt Larraq
Dave. Watch Broken Bow and Fight or Flight. Now make comparisons between the red energy pulses and the torpedoes. You can see in Fight or Flight that the torpedo looks like a rocket, it bounces off the asteroid and almost hits the NX-01. Now check out Broken Bow. The bolts are red and fire in pulses. Lasers don't have to be fired in beams. Look at Star Wars for example.

I can see a shape in the 'bolts' in 'Broken Bow' too, but I have to admit that the Torpedoes in 'Fight or Flight' have a yellow exhaust, not red.

And, they are much longer.

Also, it did seem as if they were using them for the first time in that episode.

You do realise that this is a huge continuity error that you've discovered.

 

[Cpt Larraq]

That's just one of the continuity errors. It's the same thing with all the aliens speaking English in the show as well. You'd think that with all these errors the writers would notice.

 

[Dave]

Well, I'm convinced that they were meant to be Laser Cannons, now.

I was wondering what Neo thought, he knows more about Enterprise than me.

And to answer your original question: I've no idea why they haven't used them again.

 

[ray gower]

In Broken Bow the missiles that were fired were fired in a 'phosphorous atmosphere'. My chemistry is rusty, but it is safe to say the appearance of any 'flame' would be different and probably quite curtailed if the atmosphere was dense.

I got the impression they were attempting to correct an error that had been found and not ironed out. Weapons, or lack of, were also commented upon in Broken Bow 'Are the targetting scanners up?'

The next item I will follow with some interest is how many reloads they will manage. They have now fired seven out of their 40 salvoes (5 in fight or flight, 2[?] in Broken Bow). Like Voyager there are no friendly bases to resupply from, unlike Voyager there are no magical replicators. Perhaps they'll enter Star Trek folklore like Voyagers never ending supply of shuttles?

As an aside- Who were the aliens? They are not recognisable from subsequent Star Treks, yet they are comparitive neighbours?

 

[Dave]

Sorry, if anyone thinks this is a spoiler but...

Spoiler

We have not yet seen those aliens again -- Season One.

There are quite a few TOS aliens that we never see again though, nothing new there. The 'Star Trek' universe has far too many aliens IMHO -- It's as if every planetary system has at least one set of intelligent humanoids, some have two, and even then there are more than planets to go around.

I didn't think about the Phosphorus atmosphere, I guess that might explain the 'red weapons.
'
BTW Phosphorus isn't a gas, so their chemistry is probably more rusty than yours anyway.

 

[ray gower]

Originally posted by Dave
BTW Phosphorus isn't a gas, so their chemistry is probably more rusty than yours anyway.

Think they said it was a liquid atmosphere.

Which throws engineering spanners at the works. I suppose it whould depend upon what else it was compounded with.