A Star Destroyer encounters the Space Amoeba

RThurmont · Post by **RThurmont** » 2006-03-21 02:44pm

Actually if Sienar Fleet Systems was to build a 15km cage for the amoeba, it would make one heck of an interesting zoo exhibit. In any event, it is axiomatic that the Empire is fully capable of dealing with it. I disagree with the assertation that they would not automatically do something about it, as you have to remember, the Amoeba did effectively eat the entire Gamma 7A system, as well as the Intrepid. So clearly it is somewhat of a risk, and while with a power the size of the Empire, the loss of one system is ultimately irrelevant, if it attacked, say, Kuat or Fondor, the results could still be momentarily irritating. The question ultimately becomes one of where the Amoeba was discovered...if it was 12 hours away from Coruscant, then obviously there would be a pressing need to obliterate it.

The Empire might also be interested in the Amoeba as a planet-destroying super weapon. While obviously less impressive than the Death Star, it would be considerably less expensive to operate, and acquiring it would be free. In addition, if they could figure out a way to get it to reproduce, they could effectively build a large strategic arsenal of amoebas, using caging systems or alternately, the Dark Side, as a means of controlling them.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2006-03-21 03:13pm

Kazuaki Shimazaki wrote:
If I suddenly feel a power drain on my ship, I'd either go all stop (in which case there's nothing to suck) or ahead flank.

Not immediately.

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2006-03-21 03:43pm

Kazuaki Shimazaki wrote:
The Silence and I wrote:2) An ISD's sun-like output is not normal, and represents maximum reactor output. At nearly any point in time the reactor would put out far, far less.
If I suddenly feel a power drain on my ship, I'd either go all stop (in which case there's nothing to suck) or ahead flank.

If you shut down completely then the ameboa will pull your ship into itself in short order. Presumably any captain would consider this potentially bad, and avoid it if possible. More likely a captain would test the strength of the pull, and not go to full afterburners at the first tug. Depending how hard it is to break free the ship might expend considerable energy, but no seasoned captain would panic and try to blast free immediately.

If it stops sucking, energy will be forced into it anyway via TL.

Tangental to the point.

Kazuaki Shimazaki · Post by **Kazuaki Shimazaki** » 2006-03-21 06:45pm

The Silence and I wrote:If you shut down completely then the ameboa will pull your ship into itself in short order. Presumably any captain would consider this potentially bad, and avoid it if possible. More likely a captain would test the strength of the pull, and not go to full afterburners at the first tug. Depending how hard it is to break free the ship might expend considerable energy, but no seasoned captain would panic and try to blast free immediately.

Fine. Just a matter of time, then. Remember that even 10% on an ISD's reactor is still worth countless Enterprises.

Tangental to the point.

Why would you say that? The main point is what will happen if ISD meets amoeba. If amoeba sucks, I predict it will be over its head, and it can't back out because I really doubt the ISD's going to let it go after that sucking.

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2006-03-21 07:23pm

Kazuaki Shimazaki wrote:
The Silence and I wrote:Tangental to the point.
Why would you say that? The main point is what will happen if ISD meets amoeba. If amoeba sucks, I predict it will be over its head, and it can't back out because I really doubt the ISD's going to let it go after that sucking.

It is tangental to the point I was making in the post you quoted a while back, that the ISD's reactor imput needent necessarily damn the amoeba.

The ISD is allowed to shoot it to its heart's content, but that has little to do with the effects of trying to absorb the output of an ISD's reactor.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2006-03-22 01:32am

RThurmont wrote:Actually if Sienar Fleet Systems was to build a 15km cage for the amoeba, it would make one heck of an interesting zoo exhibit.

Update: the amoeba was stated in "The Immunity Syndrome" to be around 11,000 miles across (~15-17,000km). My fault for the initial misstatement and I got cut off from my dialup connection before I could expound further.

As for how a stardestroyer might fare against one... This thing essentially "ate energy". It drained starships of power and human beings of their life energies, and at the extremis environmentally devestated whole inhabited worlds. The closest guess I can come up with to explain this is that the thing was essentially a huge living heat-sink which derived sustenance through some sort of thermo-electric process. The question is how well an Imperial starship would withstand exposure to its effective forcefield.

As for killing it, the Enterprise crew were able to destroy the creature with an antimatter charge drained from their own fuel supply. Surely any Imperial starship would have comparable materiel on hand.

The Empire might also be interested in the Amoeba as a planet-destroying super weapon. While obviously less impressive than the Death Star, it would be considerably less expensive to operate, and acquiring it would be free. In addition, if they could figure out a way to get it to reproduce, they could effectively build a large strategic arsenal of amoebas, using caging systems or alternately, the Dark Side, as a means of controlling them.

When the Empire already possesses far quicker-acting and more efficent superweapons, this would not be a practical undertaking from any standpoint.