Re: Enterprise's shields
Originally posted by Capt. Anderson
After watching that combat scene at the end, I need to know what happened to the shields of the mighty Sovereign used in Insurrection and First Contact. From an energy bubble to a tight fitting shield system that resembled polarized hull plating. What is the deal? The latter did not seem to give any protection what so ever for the Enterprise-E.
Hmmmmm..........that is a good question.
If you are referring to the visual effects aspect of it, the only thing I can possibly offer as an explanation....and probably one that will be blasted by NEMESIS' detractors, is that they left the visual effect out for dramatic purposes. I know it doesn't make much sense, but I have often heard one two many times how something may be omitted or included for sheer dramatic purpose.
Again, one can only offer possibilities as to what happened. I would venture to guess three possibilities.
1. Remember, Shinzon's first attack completely knocked out their warp drive. So, their combat power was effectively reduced. That is probably why their shields didn't hold so well during the battle. Impulse power for the sake of power and maneuvering is too little to spread so thinly.
2. Another possibility is that the Enterprise-E was running at high warp with shields down (doubtful though since the ship was at Red Alert from the time Picard was captured). But, the reason I say it as a possibility is to allow for extra energy to get that extra bit o' warp speed whilst it hauls tail to the Fleet waiting on the other side of the Rift.
3. One more possibility (to my knowledge not even mentioned in the novel), is that perhaps the Remans were able to create a sort of Quantum Torpedo of their own. This kinda ties in with my earlier essay about Shinzon seeing the effects of the Starfleet Q.T. first hand during their many engagements against the Dominion. (Hmmmm.....I am thinking this could make for an interesting sideline for my fan-fiction NEMESIS sequel.)
Again, these are only possibilities that may or may not make sense. That is the thing I LOVE about Star Trek. If the fans want to justify a scenario to themselves, and perhaps help others see what may or may not have happened, they can do so.
This kinda falls back on my theory about if NEMESIS were a stand alone movie with no ties to any sci-fi franchise. Without nearly 40 years of Star Trek history to fall back on, NEMESIS' failure at the box office, and with critics and potential fans would have been much more pronounced.
But, since NEMESIS is Star Trek, the fans can draw upon that vast history to answer certain questions for themselves...just like they did for another little known (sarcastic) Trek movie called "The Wrath of Khan."
Sorry, did I just go off on another tangent.
Respectfully,
General Chang
"So the Enterprise is on her maiden voyage, eh? Now that is one well endowed lady. Ah'd like to get mah hands on her ample nacelles, if ye'll pardon the bit o' engineerin' parlance." -Scotty, STAR TREK, 2009