I'm not talking about single characters today. I'm talking whole fictional universes.
The question I've been pondering for a while is this: Who would win in a galaxy wide war: Star Trek or Star Wars. This has been debated hotly among nerds since before the Internet existed, and the net has only made it easier to find someone who disagrees with your opinion.
Bona-Fides: I am a complete sci-fi obsessive. My first love was star wars, I have read every single expanded universe star wars novel multiple times, I have the complete movie collection on Blu-ray, I can quote in-universe stats and trivia from star wars all day long. I know ship designs and military tactics from the early days of the old republic to the second galactic civil war (the one after the Yuuzhan Vong invasion). I even listed Jedi on the census form last time I filled it out (because I was a teenager, and I thought it was funny).
My relationship with Star Trek has been a little more rocky, but no less full of love. I have seen every episode of every season of every series multiple times. (Full disclosure, most of my knowelege comes from the next generation era, as ToS didn't really hold my interest as well as the newer stuff did.) I think that the old Picard and Kirk debate has a definitive answer (Benjamin Sisko) and I can back that up with facts and stats. My favorite Trek anything (and one of my top five media anythings) is Deep Space Nine, which also happens to go into detail on how the Trek universe would handle a major war.
Whatever I don't know off hand I will look up on the respective franchises wiki sites: 'Wookiepedia' and 'Memory Alpha'. Go on, guess which is which!
With that out of the way, let's get started. Who wants to watch as the two biggest sci-fi franchises in the world go head to head in an all out intergalactic war? Welcome to part one of the first installment of a recurring segment I'm calling: Pop Combat.
VERSES
Ground Rules:
We're going to assume that the Star Trek (s.t.) and Star Wars (s.w.) galaxies have been combined together and the two galaxies are going to fight each other until one is forced to surrender. I don't know why, maybe Q had a game of chess against Abeloth or something. Here's how we're going to do this. We are going to assume a few things to set the stage:
1 - No Interspecies Conflict: This means the Yuuzhan Vong aren't trying to conquer the s.w. universe and the Borg aren't trying to conquer the s.t. universe. The dominion and the federation and the Klingons and everybody from that era of s.t. are working together. This also means that the Vong, the Empire, The Galactic Alliance, and even The Corrrelian Confederation are working hand in hand for s.w. For this war, it's galaxy vs galaxy.
2 - No Divine Intervention: The Q Continuum isn't going to be interfering with their omnipotence, nor are the Bajoran Prophets going to be disappearing any fleets. This also means that a group of Force Ghosts or Abeloth aren't going to become an unstoppable killing machine and tear through the federation like Sherman marching for the coast.
3 - Both Galaxies Are Prepared For War: The battle is taking place at the height of technological advancement that has been portrayed in their respective media. S.w. has full access to species technology at the height of its warmaking ability. This means the Vong are in conquer mode. The Empire has Super Star Destroyers and a fully operational Death Star. The Jedi are well versed in using the Force Meld to assist troops and have access to StealthX's and Shadow Bombs. And The Alliance has it's Y.V.H. Battle Droid factories up and running. Conversely, over in s.t. land, The Dominion is fully armed and prepared for battle, with a fresh crop of Jem'Hadar, as are the klingons, as are all the other major players in the galaxy. The Borg are ready for war, complete with their queen and hive mind intact. And the federation has access to all the technology developed during the dominion war, including cloaking devices.
I'm going to divide the actual conflict up into different classes of battle, from troop level stuff on the ground all the way up to galaxy-wide intergalactic war. I will go over the major strengths and weaknesses of each universe, and decide on an advantage for either side in the conflict.
So, let's get started!
Ground War - Troops, Personal Armaments, Tactics, and Materiel for fighting over the surface of a planet.
Star Trek: The major contributors to the ground war efforts would obviously come from the Klingons, The Dominion, and The Borg. All three empires have lengthy histories of ground warfare and can provide warriors aplenty. With their ability to grow new troops to maturity in less than a year, the Dominion and their Jem'Hadar forces will make up the bulk of the offensive military. With secondary numbers of Klingons followed by smaller numbers of Federation, Romulans, Cardassians, etc. While The Borg will most likely form the backbone of any defensive garrisons, with their hive mind tactics and ability to adapt their personal shields to incoming fire after a bit of conflict, not to mention the drive to assimilate captured and injured troops into new drones for the collective, the Borg are perfectly suited to defend outposts where they have quick access to assimilation technology.
Star Wars: The most warlike species with the most ready troops in the s.w. universe would have to be the Yuuzhan Vong, and as such they would make up the bulk of the living ground forces at first. The s.w. universe has a much deeper pool of warlike species to throw into the effort, but less actual major empires. Aside from the Yuuzhan Vong and The Empire (mostly human stormtroopers in light armor) most of the fighting force of this side of the war will be made up of a disparate group of species. From humans (the average baseline) to wookies (Stronger, Faster, and Larger than humans, well suited to jungle/forest environments). From Chiss (blue skinned humanoids similar to civilized klingons in their outlook and culture, but basically the same, physically speaking, as humans) to Killik (Insectoid species that form a Borg-Like hive mind, though this mind is different for each Killik hive or nest. Killik come in several different shapes and sizes, from massive tank like monsters to small swarming beetle like fighters). The s.w. universe is a diverse mix of fighters. Let's not forget the super beings of the Star Wars universe, the Jedi (from many different species). While they may be few in number, they make excellent squad leaders and infiltration or strike forces.
Basic Armaments: Blaster Rifles that fire a bolt of plasma energy that can explode on contact. Unlike Disruptor or phaser fire from the s.t. troops, blasters cause most of their damage from the bolt of energy exploding on contact. This can cause limbs to be seperated on unarmored targets, and a large concussive force to disorient armored foes, as well as batter down personal force fields. Most s.w. troops would carry a small number of grenade like thermal detonators as well, which can be used to bring down structures or even to incapacitate groups of enemies. Specialized troops will also carry ion blasters, which don't do much to flesh targets, but will fry and shut down any electrical equipment carried by the foe. Ion blasters and cannons would be particularly effective against The Borg with their cybernetic drones.
The other half of the major living army fielded by s.w. would be the Yuuzhan Vong. Humanoids who are slightly faster and stronger than the average human, (though nowhere near the level of Klingons or wookies) they stand out because Vong do not use ANY technology. All of their war materiel is created through genetic engineering. The basic Vong trooper wears armor made from a living crab that can stop a Lightsabre and protect the wearer's torso from blasters and disruptors, though it does little to slow concussive blasts. They carry two different throwing weapons engineered from insects, Thud Bugs which are heavy marble sized flying beetles that home in on a foe and smash into them at nearly the speed of sound, and Blaze Bugs which are slower and lighter than thud bugs but explode on contact and spread a napalm-like jelly when they do. Vong also carry Blorash Jelly, which is thrown on the ground to cling to and immobilize a ground troop. But the main weapon of the Yuuzahn Vong is the Amphistaff. A snakelike creature that can be coiled like a whip, and can spit poisionous venom up to ten meters, this creature can also activate an internal network of energy cells that straighten it and harden it, extending the energy field one atom from the edge of the serpent, giving the Amphistaff a cutting edge that never gets dull and can cut through most things with ease. Vong are raised from birth as warriors, and see pain as pleasure, Vong do not hesitate to charge into battle, and even see dying in battle as a great honor.
Notice I said 'Living' army in the above paragraph. That is because I have left off the game changer for the Star Wars universe until now: Droids.
The species from the s.w. galaxy can and will make entire factories cranking out battle droids by the millions. Battle droids in this case don't mean the ineffectual doofuses from the Star Wars Prequels, but Y.V.H Battle Droids, huge, armored, and armed to the proverbial teeth. Battle droids are stronger than humans and can take more punishment, they also carry the same assortment of weaponry as the s.w. troops, blasters, thermal detonators, and the like. Some models even have personal force fields, though these are rarer than a standard model. Unlike Star Trek, which can breed Jem'Hadar very fast or assimilate new Borg from fallen enemies, s.w. will have trouble replacing troops that fall in battle. This is where droid factories come into play. Droids will probably make up the bulk of the ground fighting force of the s.w. universe for the most part, but there will always be living troops on each battlefield to supervise the droids. Droids also have the drawback of not being able to benefit from the Force Meld that the Jedi can provide, instead relying on overwhelming numbers and firepower to overcome the foe.
Special Weaponry:
Star Wars: When it comes to special weaponry and tactics in ground combat, Star Wars only really has one trump card.
Jedi: An order of warrior-monks who have a connection to an energy field called The Force, Jedi have their own unique weapons at hand. Aside from blaster pistols and a few explosives, all Jedi carry a Lightsabre, a sword with a blade of pure energy that can cut through almost anything and can deflect blaster (and Disruptor) fire away from the Jedi and sometimes even back at the troop who fired it. Jedi also have a major advantage in The Force. Without going into too much detail, Jedi can use the Force aid themselves and their allies in battle. Including the following:
- Danger Sense: A Jedi can get a warning before an enemy strikes, allowing them to begin to react even before the strike has been launched.
- Battlefield Awareness: Jedi can sense the presence of other living beings, allowing the Jedi to find otherwise hidden troops and plan sneak attacks through weaknesses in enemy lines.
- Force Battle Meld: Jedi can use the Force to link their minds into a sort of temporary hive mind so several Jedi can act in concert with nearly instantaneous communication. This can also be used by certain Jedi to coalesce a disparate group of warriors into a fighting unit that seems to react instinctively to each others actions, bringing whole squads and even battalions into almost Borg levels of hive mind singular purpose.
- Enhanced Reflexes: Jedi can use the Force to make themselves much faster and stronger than their opponents, combined with the danger sense, this can make a Jedi an almost unstoppable killing machine in close quarters combat.
- Telekenisis: Jedi can move objects and people with their mind, this can include disarming foes and hurling natural obstacles at an enemy. Not to mention a Jedi can and will throw her Lightsabre in a spinning ark through an enemy line to cut down as many troops as possible, guiding it straight back to her hand. This also allows a Jedi who has been disarmed to quickly pull a weapon to hand from anywhere close by.
The Jedi make excellent troops in combat. Unfortunately for the s.w. forces, the Jedi are extremely few and far between. Usually less than a thousand Jedi are spread over the entire galaxy wide conflict. This leads them into natural leadership positions in ground combat, but Jedi are much more suited to special missions, which we will cover later.
Star Trek: Ground combat is where the most warlike species from the Star Trek universe really shine. But The major special technology s.t. has access to that s.w. doesn't is a real doozy.
Transporters: A device which allows the instantaneous translocation of matter from one location to another, usually limited in range to orbit-to-surface or from point to point on a planet, a transporter is the real trump card of the s.t. universe. With the transporter, s.t. can beam supplies, weaponry, and even entire battalions of troops to any battlefield on the planet instantaneously. Not having to rely on easily broken supply lines, the transporter allows the s.t. forces much more flexibility in battle, which can be a MAJOR advantage. Transporters are not infallible, though, and do have several drawbacks.
- Cannot transport through force fields: Both sides in this conflict have access to 'shields' (energy force field technology) which can stop a transporter beam cold
- Transporter signals can be disrupted: The beaming process is not completely infallible, enough natural materials of the right type, or electronic devices designed to mimic their electromagnetic effects, can scramble a transporter beam and make rematerialization impossible. This has the side effect of most likely killing any living being who was in transit when the beam was scrambled.
- Requires Power: Unlike The Force, which is a natural, innate ability of the Jedi, a transporter requires a support system to operate. This means a base of operations with a power generator and all the attached defenses. Which means that s.t. troops will be forced to dig in and fortify several positions on the battlefield while s.w. droids (which require little to no supplies) can engage in more guerilla like warfare.
Conclusion: Overall, the Star Wars and Star Trek universes are pretty evenly matched on the open battlefield, with similar weaponry and numbers of troops, it all boils down to the leadership and tactics used in combat. While the Star Trek transporter is an extremely valuable asset in a ground war, it's usefulness can be mitigated with proper planning and defenses. On the other hand: Jedi, while extremely useful during a ground engagement are extremely rare. Often you won't find more than one (if even that) Jedi operating on any given world. Jedi are powerful, to be sure. A single Jedi is most probably the match for any twenty troopers from the Star Trek universe. But even a Jedi can not be everywhere at once, so their usefulness is limited in a planet wide engagement. Also, droid troops are fine and all, but sentient troops will always have the advantage in randomness and unexpected tactics. While the Vong are bred for combat, they are not able to field the same sheer numbers as the quick breeding Jem'Hadar, leaving the bulk of the fighting up to the droids, making the s.t. ground troops just a bit more effective on the battlefield
After much consideration, I feel like, in a ground war, the transporter just provides too much utility to be easily overcome. Don't get me wrong, Star Wars forces can and will take planets, but, given parity of forces and tactics on both sides, the transporter is probably too powerful a tool to overcome. Star Wars forces will have to work extra hard to fortify their bases from unexpected attack which can come from any direction with no warning. While it is by no means a definitive advantage, I'm going to have to give a slight edge in ground warfare to Star Trek
- WINNER -
Wow, that got long winded! Don't worry, though, I won't be doing this every day. Also, if you are interested in this series, I will be covering way more than just ground combat in the future! So stay tuned!
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