Ooh, that clip reminds me of in one of the novels when Thrawn executed a conscripted bridge crewman for incompetence.
Star Wars Rebels Season Three (spoilers)
- Thread starter Reverend
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The first thing that came to my mind was actually that scene in 'Schindler's List' where the supervisors time a worker in his task, then point out if he's so efficient, why has he completed so few units?
I do recall that scene from the Thrawn trilogy but IIRC that had a very different connotation. First of all he had his bodyguard execute a crew member, thus demonstrating that unlike Vader, Thrawn never sullied his own hands with violence and secondly, he did so because the crewman tried to shift blame for his own failing to his training officer. At least I think that was the reason.
I seem to remember reading about something like that (and probably actually reading it myself, assuming it was in one of the first two books, though too long ago to remember directly). Something where Thrawn forgave a subordinate who took responsibility for his own mistake but killed the one who tried to dodge responsibility.
I'm only going on half-remembered things, but as I recall, after a target ship escaped Thrawn approached the crewman in question, a technician operating the tractor beam and his supervising officer. Thrawn asked the crewman for an explanation, the crewman gives him some excuse. Thrawn, having worked learned the crewman was conscripted grills the supervising officer if that meant he was treated differently during training, the officer says he trains everyone equally regardless if they enlisted of their own will or were conscripted. Thrawn then deduces the crewman must be the problem and kills him, or maybe he did have his bodyguard kill him.
Which bit Lando in the ass in the Hand of Thrawn duology.
It was already canon.
It was added to Battlefront in September, and was in the Star Wars:Commander Mobile game back in 2014.
Let me guess... These TIE Interceptors are going to be in Rogue One and will have shields, and this episode is a tie-in to the movie. (When they said they were working on a "new weapon" in Section A2, at first I naturally assumed it was working on some facet of the Death Star.)
If fighters can have shields, though, why don't they as a rule? I can buy the Empire being that callous about the lives of its pilots, but what's the Rebellion's excuse? Maybe they don't have the technology to miniaturize a shield generator or balance its power with fighter engines/weapons effectively?
If fighters can have shields, though, why don't they as a rule? I can buy the Empire being that callous about the lives of its pilots, but what's the Rebellion's excuse? Maybe they don't have the technology to miniaturize a shield generator or balance its power with fighter engines/weapons effectively?
I thought they did going back to a line about angling deflectors forward during the trench run in ANH.
They just aren't as strong of those for a larger ship because of size and power limitations.
Hera's concern could be that without shields, it negates the advantages the imperials have with the ties (sheer numbers and and tie pilots are probably better trained).
The new TIE Defender, in the old TIE Fighter game from LucasArts back in the 1990s, was more or less the super fighter of the game and especially well liked by players/pilots, since it had shields, a hyperdrive, weaponry equal or greater than most Rebel fighters, and the speed/maneuverability it make it effective against most Rebel fighters. It makes the game much easier when you aren't flying around in a shieldless TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, or TIE Bomber that can be out gunned by nearly every Rebel fighter. The other two fighters of the game, the TIE Advanced and Assault Gunboat, are more or less equal to Rebel fighters on some levels, while the TIE Defender is a true Space Superiority Fighter.
The problem with the TIE Defender is cost. One TIE Defender is said to cost as much as five TIE Interceptors. Add to this the fact that the Defender's mission profile is in stark contrast to the Tarkin Doctrine of rule through fear and superior numbers. The TIE Fighter is cheap to mass produce and has no hyperdrive, so the pilots cannot decide to defect and run away from the Empire in most situations. TIE use swarm tactics because they usually outnumber their enemies and use those numbers as their main advantage, since the fighters themselves are relatively weak. Rebel A-wings and Y-wings are not so much a problem for TIE Fighters or the better TIE Interceptors, but the Rebel X-wings (which we have not seen yet in Rebels directly) are in theory space superiority fighters that cam make mince meat out of the regular TIEs more often than not. The cost problem is due to the Empire building 2 Death Stars, something like 13 Star Dreadnoughts (also known as Super Star Destroyers), and more Star Destroyers. The cheap TIE Fighter series can be built in large numbers to fill these new starships and bases. The TIE Defender, probably can't be built without cost overruns since even the newer and better TIE Interceptor can be built at a ratio of five to one verse the Defender in cost terms.
The TIE Defender cannot be built in large numbers due to cost and it not setting will with the Star Destroyer commanders and Moffs. But having even a few of them present will usually be enough to make the Rebels day really, really bad. While they will likely be assigned to the elite TIE pilots, the job they would likely fall into based on the Empire's present failings is convoy escorts. A quartet of hyperdrive equipped space superiority fighters of that quality as escorts in the convoys the Rebels keep hitting would likely slow or end the usual hit and run tactics the Rebels employ now. The Rebels would need either more firepower (warships), which would justify the Empire using capital ships as escorts with whole squadrons of TIE Fighters, or deploy better fighters to deal with the Defenders (X-wings, B-wings, and maybe E-wings).
As to why the Rebel fighters have shields and the Imperial ones don't? The Empire is cheap and doesn't particularly care about its soldiers. Cheaper than the Republic. The old fighters had shields at for the clones, though the Jedi fighters might not have had shields. As it turns out, shields don't help all that much in a dogfight, as the weapons technology of the Empire can usually punch through Rebel shielding. It just seems to mitigate it slightly so that the Rebel craft might survive a hit or two, while a TIE might go down from a glancing blow, with the TIE Bomber being more armored and potently survivable due to it having to make runs on defended targets as its job (but still doesn't have shields).
One thing noted in the episode, Phoenix Group and another Rebel cell are planning on hitting Lothal. Likely this is General Dodonna's group, which we see in Rogue One and A New Hope operating out of Yavin IV. This would be the group that uses X-wings and the recently stolen Y-wings. This also might be a good time to bring in a B-wing or two, assuming they don't want to have those be part of yet another Rebel cell (perhaps on attached to Ackbar and the Mon Cala group).
The problem with the TIE Defender is cost. One TIE Defender is said to cost as much as five TIE Interceptors. Add to this the fact that the Defender's mission profile is in stark contrast to the Tarkin Doctrine of rule through fear and superior numbers. The TIE Fighter is cheap to mass produce and has no hyperdrive, so the pilots cannot decide to defect and run away from the Empire in most situations. TIE use swarm tactics because they usually outnumber their enemies and use those numbers as their main advantage, since the fighters themselves are relatively weak. Rebel A-wings and Y-wings are not so much a problem for TIE Fighters or the better TIE Interceptors, but the Rebel X-wings (which we have not seen yet in Rebels directly) are in theory space superiority fighters that cam make mince meat out of the regular TIEs more often than not. The cost problem is due to the Empire building 2 Death Stars, something like 13 Star Dreadnoughts (also known as Super Star Destroyers), and more Star Destroyers. The cheap TIE Fighter series can be built in large numbers to fill these new starships and bases. The TIE Defender, probably can't be built without cost overruns since even the newer and better TIE Interceptor can be built at a ratio of five to one verse the Defender in cost terms.
The TIE Defender cannot be built in large numbers due to cost and it not setting will with the Star Destroyer commanders and Moffs. But having even a few of them present will usually be enough to make the Rebels day really, really bad. While they will likely be assigned to the elite TIE pilots, the job they would likely fall into based on the Empire's present failings is convoy escorts. A quartet of hyperdrive equipped space superiority fighters of that quality as escorts in the convoys the Rebels keep hitting would likely slow or end the usual hit and run tactics the Rebels employ now. The Rebels would need either more firepower (warships), which would justify the Empire using capital ships as escorts with whole squadrons of TIE Fighters, or deploy better fighters to deal with the Defenders (X-wings, B-wings, and maybe E-wings).
As to why the Rebel fighters have shields and the Imperial ones don't? The Empire is cheap and doesn't particularly care about its soldiers. Cheaper than the Republic. The old fighters had shields at for the clones, though the Jedi fighters might not have had shields. As it turns out, shields don't help all that much in a dogfight, as the weapons technology of the Empire can usually punch through Rebel shielding. It just seems to mitigate it slightly so that the Rebel craft might survive a hit or two, while a TIE might go down from a glancing blow, with the TIE Bomber being more armored and potently survivable due to it having to make runs on defended targets as its job (but still doesn't have shields).
One thing noted in the episode, Phoenix Group and another Rebel cell are planning on hitting Lothal. Likely this is General Dodonna's group, which we see in Rogue One and A New Hope operating out of Yavin IV. This would be the group that uses X-wings and the recently stolen Y-wings. This also might be a good time to bring in a B-wing or two, assuming they don't want to have those be part of yet another Rebel cell (perhaps on attached to Ackbar and the Mon Cala group).
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Plus it can't even block an arrow fired by dinky little Ewok arms. A good silk shirt could probably do that.
I think we have seen troopers knocked out like that before. As said above, the Empire is cheap, I think they just buy those cheap, thin plastic, halloween stormtrooper costumes for kids in bulk.
One thing we have seen is that stormtrooper armor does protect against blaster fire. While they can't shrug it off, they survive at least some of the time. They have a nasty burn mark and are knocked out, but sometimes we see troopers that were shot by the heroes getting back up later on and troopers that probably should have died in an explosion are seen later on as they remember the earlier encounter with the Rebels. This happened a few times on Lothal.
As for Ewoks, those critters must be stronger than they appear with all the huge traps they set up using redwood trees. Also the black bodyglove seem to be a weak point in the armor. Other than that the Ewoks seem to defead most troopers by blunt force trauma and numbers. Tiny furry Zulus against the White clad Imperalist who do not have the advantage of fortifications, nor are prepared for the furballs at all. They were expecting Rebels, and maybe an attempt like whatever happened in Rogue One again. Not massive numbers of natives that seems to have have been setting traps all around the Imperials garrison.
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Random thought...where are Wedge and Hobbie? I've not been paying attention to the background Rebels or their fighter pilots. We know Wedge was at Yavin IV base by the Battle of Yavin and that Hobbie was on Hoth later on in Rogue Group. But where are they presently in Rebels?
As for Ewoks, those critters must be stronger than they appear with all the huge traps they set up using redwood trees. Also the black bodyglove seem to be a weak point in the armor. Other than that the Ewoks seem to defead most troopers by blunt force trauma and numbers. Tiny furry Zulus against the White clad Imperalist who do not have the advantage of fortifications, nor are prepared for the furballs at all. They were expecting Rebels, and maybe an attempt like whatever happened in Rogue One again. Not massive numbers of natives that seems to have have been setting traps all around the Imperials garrison.
EDIT:
Random thought...where are Wedge and Hobbie? I've not been paying attention to the background Rebels or their fighter pilots. We know Wedge was at Yavin IV base by the Battle of Yavin and that Hobbie was on Hoth later on in Rogue Group. But where are they presently in Rebels?
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Seems unlikely to me, I don't know why.
It is ironic isn't it? wasn't Thrawn trying to develop a new TIE that was better then the Defender in that game?
That has been confirmed for a while.