The Defiant vs. The Discovery in a Battle

Which ship would win in a battle? The Defiant or the Discovery?

The Defiant has a Cloaking Device and 24th Century technology, including Quantum Torpedoes. The Discovery might only have 23rd Century technology but it also has Spore Drive on its side.

The Defiant's quantum torpedoes won't be able to do anything if they can't actually hit Discovery.

NOTE: Don't say "Whichever series the battle is on!" That's too easy.

 

Defiant can probably score a hit on Disco while it's spinning before engaging spore drive. That'll knock the ship out. After that, easy pickings. Defiant wins.

 

Discovery doesn't have the weaponry necessary to penetrate the Defiant's shields or ablative armor. Discovery could teleport across the universe and make it a stalemate though.

 

Defiant uses the cloaking device to get into firing position, decloaks and cuts lose.

The spore drive takes time to get ready, if they're not expecting a attack the spore drive is useless.

 

Heck, I'll take the TOS Defiant against the Discovery. The 24th century version would make quick work of the Discovery.

 

Yeah. Since the Defiant was designed to fight the Borg and its shields and armor could withstand an attack from a Borg Cube (for a little while anyway)... Discovery would have to keep hitting the same area of the Defiant's shields over and over to gradually erode its shield strength but the battle wouldn't last long enough and the Defiant wouldn't stay in the same place long enough for Discovery to be able to do that, even with Spore Drive...

So it looks like the Defiant would win if it could catch Discovery. Otherwise the Discovery would've forfeited, if it never came back.

 

Defiant, no question. Discovery could escape the battle, sure, but actually do damage to the Defiant? No chance.

Their only chance would to do some sort of feigned helplessness trick.

 

If they battled in the Mutara Nebula, Defiant wouldn't be able to see. Discovery's big front window would win the day and they could jump away when Defiant fires back.

 

Driving your enemy off, second best to defeating them, but you still win.

 

I assume this was a tongue-in-cheek response (in an arguably tongue-in-cheek thread), but do we have reason to believe (not having seen the show) that Discovery's drive would work in the nebula?

 

Defiant is over hundred years more advanced and built for combat. This is not even a question.

 

With Sisko, Kira, Worf, Dax and O'Brien on the bridge the Defiant would be the victor without a doubt.

 

Not being a Discovery watcher, how have they reconciled the fact that this Spore Drive technology never appears in any later series?

 

Not yet. But they've shown the serious flaws with it.

My opinion and this is only speculation is that either the Spore Drive is officially ruled a failure or Discovery ultimately ends up lost in another time, place, or universe. Either way I think something happens to Discovery, which is why Spore Drive isn't used later on.

 

It'll have to be something amazingly special, since Discovery has made 133 jumps without incident and 1 with, which was an act of sabotage.

Janeway turned back time to get her crew home slightly sooner. I think she'd kill for those odds.

 

It put Stamets through physical Hell. I can't see Starfleet being okay with this now that they know the effects. It was shaky to begin with, even without considering a war-time situation, but Lorca didn't care.

 

In a crisis sitation, I'm sure they'd have officers lining up to take the risk.

And Starfleet gets very "ends justify the means" when things get bad.

 

But Starfleet also likes to present itself as "moral" and "above board", whether or not it actually is. Public Outrage or the appearance of looking inhumane would make them drop Spore Drive. It's all about the Image.