There was one aspect of this thread early on that got me thinking. The idea that a single fighter could be able to take down a powerful capital ship. Though it may seem absurd at first, I believe it is entirely plausible.
Consider the following scenario which pits a single fighter against a capital ship. I realize the conditions are quite different from the Wing Commander universe, but I think the comparison can be made. I'll choose a Soviet vessel because of its power and size, and I'll choose an American fighter because, well, I'm American, so why not?
: It's 1985, and the Soviet Union is the only remaining nation in the world to employ a battlecruiser class ship. IMO there were few other single ships that could be considered as powerful; the Kirov's array of weoponry was formidable. Now imagine an F-18 skimming the waves at mach .91; it has managed to quietly close with the Kirov while the ship and its fighter screen are occupied with other important matters. Suddenly in range, the pilot quickly pops up and fires off a couple of Harpoon anti ship missiles, turns, and flees the engagement zone.
Now, there can be speculation as to whether or not the Kirov could eliminate the incoming missiles; could it even detect them in time? Missile interception was always a difficult task, especially in the 1980's. Even American ships equipped with the latest in Aegis radar and point defenses were still considered quite vulnerable to missile attack. Perhaps our friend the Kirov could find herself surviving the above scenario, but it is possible that a series of events could lead to a single fighter deploying an ASM with the capability of sinking a large, expensive, and incredibly powerful vessel.
I suppose it does reveal the interesting relationship between fighters and capital ships. Both types need each other; neither would last very long without the other. And, on a humorous note, I couldn't really ever see an alien from Alien fitting into a cockpit of any kind to fly a fighter of any kind! I'm glad the Kilrathi evolved the way they did. It would be boring in Confed space without them!
