General notes:
Chekov is awesome. The
T'Mir has been awesome. McAdams is awesome and I do not fault her one bit for chewing out the Apiata queen who is actively trying to bring about a war by chipping away at Cardassia.
ON THE SYNDICATE
Yeah. We definitely need a reasonably clear idea of how much more of this we can take, since 2311 has been a tough year on the Cost front. And we really should think in terms of expending more PP up front in an
@OneirosTheWriter, is it even possible for us to get more Effect against the Syndicate by expending political will? If so, I can think of no better use of Sousa's bonuses.
ON THE APIATA AMBUSH
It is totally, 100% understandable that the Apiata want revenge against Cardassia.
The problem is that they're trying to bring on a war, and not a war they would realistically be able to win without us. They're taking our military support as a given. And assuming that because of our support, they have an opportunity to seek revenge on their enemies, even if that revenge leads to a broader Cardassian-Federation War.
Now, if this incident of the Apiata luring a
Jaldun in to launch a piratical attack on one of their ships, then pounding it, was unique, I'd say "this is the Apiata trying to teach the Cardassians not to do that." The Cardassians have been engaged in opportunistic piracy with regular fleet units against the Apiata for ten years now, after all. If they want to keep reaching into that cookie jar, the Apiata have every right to train them that when they do so, they get slapped.
BUT there is also the matter of the convoy attack. That wasn't a case of the Apiata punishing the Cardassians for offensive behavior against the Apiata themselves. That was the Apiata turning the tables and becoming pirates themselves. That's consistent with a war of revenge, not with trying to protect themselves.
Captain Kirk had a few choice words to say, about people who consider an ongoing death toll from a 'minor' war as something preferable to peace.
As a rule, it seems that smaller ships seem more resource efficient than bigger ones. So one [badly damaged] Jaldun seems to be a decent trade for a basically destroyed Stinger, especially once when you consider how little Apiatan queens think of their drones compared to how much the Cardassians value their trained personnel.
The Cardassians practice conscription. Killing Cardassian spacers may hurt the Cardies'
feelings more than killing workers hurts those of the Apiata, but it doesn't hurt Cardassia as a polity much more than it hurts the Apiata as a polity.
Basically, for crew losses to really matter to either side, you have to kill their crew very fast, and pick off a disproportionate number of the trained veteran long-service officers and noncoms. In principle, this can create a situation where the Cardassians (or Apiata) can't actually train crew fast enough to replenish losses, while still prosecuting the war. Because they need their 'aces' both on the front lines keeping things from collapsing, AND in the rear training the next wave of crew.
The Germans and Japanese fell into this trap during World War Two, for instance.
Pinprick raids and ambushes like this won't have that effect, though. Because both sides can easily order up more replacements for something like that, and do so indefinitely.
ON THE SYDRAXIAN AMBUSH
Point of order, if it matters,
@OneirosTheWriter; I already gave the
Courageous a communications officer: Lieutenant Chatsworth. She's human, though in terms of her outward deportment she seems more Vulcan than most Vulcans. Very quiet, very restrained, very precise, very analytical, very
controlled. Inadvisable to get her angry, though.
I don't think we're revoking anyone's spacefaring privileges. That's an idea that will get Sousa very fired. And then courtmartialed.
Even if we were to fight and win, the Federation is not an Empire. Dictating to a conquered people isn't their style. An aggressive war that ends in a surrender treaty would have little resemblance to what you proposed.
Also, the Gretarians are the people with "no concept of organized violence beyond the personal". You want to go in there and dictate their privileges at phaser point? That actually disgusts me.
Okay, well please be specific,
what do you suggest?
Are we going to keep staking our ships out there to be ambushed in ones and twos?
Are we going to spend the next fifty years ignoring Gretarian distress calls because space puppies are too easily coerced into acting as bait for a Sydraxian trap? How many Gretarians die as a result of this?
Are we going to try to coerce the Sydraxians into stopping this crap?
Because I'd rather not dictate anything to any Gretarian person. I don't think it's necessary. But we have to do
something, or the Sydraxian fleet (which is growing) will be picking off our ships at an increasing rate for decades.
If you're going to rule out morally repugnant actions, then either:
1) Find us a course of action that is not repugnant and offers us a realistic hope of EVER resolving this problem, or
2) Pick one of the several repugnant courses of action as least-bad, and stick up for it, or at least don't complain about it.
