Oh! I have forgotten to mention the most important reason! That fleet has a small plot armor modification. If it would simply vanish, it wouldn't even be half as interesting to read about as a fight would be. Oh, and since the first Benga fleet is also the smallest, a few ships of all classes have to survive as a source of experience in both fighting and taking it apart and looking at its technology.kyli wrote:I know it's not likely. I did say I was only half serious and I will want a bit more action then that. It's just something I thought of that I wanted to mention.MartinK wrote:[...]no easy erasing of enemy fleet[...]
Yes, i agree. Every major power has a colored view of its largest adversary. The US clearly needs unfriendly major powers to justify the huge part of their budget that goes into the military. So, both russia as well as china will be displayed as much more dangerous than they are in reality. Depending on the needs, the US will also either be presented either more dangerous or very harmless in russia or china. All information about the Benga comes from their enemies and is therefore not to be trusted. Thus the need of espionage in Andromeda, which will hopefully have resulted in verification of any and all major powers there.I'm not sure the Confederation will attack the syndicate right away in the same way the karinnes did with the consortium. So far, there has been no contact, hostile or otherwise, between the syndicate and the Confederation. The Confederation might decide that they don't want to initiate the hostilities, even though they know that there will be hostilities. I'm imagining a scene where the syndicate is knocked out of hyperspace and then receive a communication in the Benga language from the Confederation to "leave the galaxy or else..." It would be a missed opportunity for the Confederation to strike when the syndicate isn't expecting it but I just can't see them laying a similar ambush as the one they laid for the consortium. The consortium had already initiated the hostilities when the karinnes ambushed them. But maybe the confederation (or the karinnes) will decide to contact the syndicate leaders directly, telling them to recall their ships or else. With the Kimdori in Andromeda, the message and response could get there and back in real time, and with a negative response, the confederation could ambush the syndicate fleet with the ability to say that they tried to communicate first. Maybe I'm wrong and the Confederation will just attack, but I'm not so sure.
Communication is a bit more difficult. I am sure that the Confederation wouldn't want to tell anyone in Andromeda about whatever has arrived in their galaxy. If you start talking to them via a source of communication that has to be based in their galaxy, it tells them you are already there. But the technology in use by the Benga isn't exactly good at sending messages from the Milkyway and getting answers in a timely matter either.
Nonetheless, they MUST attack the Benga before they arrive in the Milkyway, pretty much for the same reasons the consortium had to be attacked. Don't attack and it will cost you lifes, probably a lot of them. Chances are, the Syndicate intelligence service hasn't yet stolen the information about the consortium ambush and is therefore unprepared. Or perhaps they know, but see them as weak and haven't properly prepared for such an attack.
So, find out whats going on in Andromeda, find a way to talk with the Syndicate before their fleet gets past the best ambush positions on their way to our galaxy and if they aren't really as bad as the Consortium, ask them to leave. In case they ignore you, ambush them.