# Space fighters vs. space battleships **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055 "2011-06-11T01:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/81 "2011-06-17T20:16:52Z")
Although, you’d think that jump points would be pretty heavily fortified. There’s a picket around the one that leads to the Moties’ system with orders to destroy anything and everything that comes through, but you’d expect at least a routine patrol (who’s prepared that they _might_ have to destroy things) posted at every jump point. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/82 "2011-06-17T20:42:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Although, you’d think that jump points would be pretty heavily fortified. There’s a picket around the one that leads to the Moties’ system with orders to destroy anything and everything that comes through, but you’d expect at least a routine patrol (who’s prepared that they _might_ have to destroy things) posted at every jump point. IIRC, the Star Kingdom simply doesn’t have enough ships to do that, while still maintaining an offensive against Haven. They do try to fortify the crucial jump points, but they run into basically the same limitation: every fortress being built in space dock means one less super dreadnaught being built that they can use to to push on to Nouveau Paris. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/83 "2011-06-17T20:44:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > IIRC, the Star Kingdom simply doesn’t have enough ships to do that, while still maintaining an offensive against Haven. They do try to fortify the crucial jump points, but they run into basically the same limitation: every fortress being built in space dock means one less super dreadnaught being built that they can use to to push on to Nouveau Paris. I think **Chronos** was talking about the “Mote in God’s Eye” Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/84 "2011-06-17T20:58:12Z")
Oh, duh. I read “Moties” as “Manties.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/85 "2011-06-17T20:59:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Oh, duh. I read “Moties” as “Manties.” > > :smack: Coulda been worse, coulda read that as Manatees. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/86 "2011-06-17T21:01:21Z")
Or Mounties. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/87 "2011-06-17T21:11:21Z")
So, when the sea cows, in their snappy red uniforms, are piloting their giant space cruisers… ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/88 "2011-06-17T21:15:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, when the sea cows, in their snappy red uniforms, are piloting their giant space cruisers… We call that race the Dugongidae. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/89 "2011-06-17T23:12:28Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, when the sea cows, in their snappy red uniforms, are piloting their giant space cruisers… In that classic, the Mooooote in God’s Eye. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/90 "2011-06-18T00:06:50Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > We call that race the Dugongidae. Pretty sure that is a district near Seoul. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055/91 "2011-06-18T02:27:16Z")
The Manticorans did put an understandably high priority on heavily reinforcing all of the wormhole termini, which is the closest thing that universe has to “jump points”. But it’s still possible to hyper in pretty much anywhere outside the hyper limit, so they also need extensive mobile forces (of which they never have as many as they’d like). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-fighters-vs-space-battleships/585055.md?page=4)