What If? Battle of Witchhead- What if?

[Ash's Boomstick]

Recently I have been looking over some old Andromeda fics and tech info from different sights and that had me thinking about the Systems Commonwealth fleet. As we know at the Battle of Witchhead the last of the High Guard's active fleet assembled for an attack, now from what I can ascertain of the one hundred ships there, nine at the minimum were XMC (Glorious Heritage Class) and one was a smaller vessel (Renewed Valor, possibly a recon ship) confirmed.

Here the Andromeda prevents the loss of the Valor and the weapon used to destroy the Nietzschean Fleet is far more successful, the Andromeda and Valor are there when the High Guard fleet arrive and the combined force mops up the last few dozen ships and inform them of what has happened and where they are from. The fleet captains agree to return with the Andromeda wholesale but send one ship to hide and begin building up supplies and equipment hidden from the galaxy, once that is done the 99 remaining vessels return to the future to assist in rebuilding the Commonwealth.

So with the idea that of the one hundred ships that had survived thus far, the majority were XMC class with a smattering of smaller recon ships and maybe the sole surviving unaccounted for Deep Stand Off Destroyer (Siege Perilous Class) What do you think that those ships with their fully trained crews and Lancer corps personnel could do if they came through slipstream with the Andromeda?

 

[Husky_Khan]

My first reaction was an obvious one.

Clearly if Dylan Hunt had a hundred ships and tens of thousands of trained crew members they could re-create the Systems Commonwealth much, much faster. After all didn't Dylan Hunt do the same thing in those early Andromeda seasons with a single ship and a uniquely talented freighter crew? Granted their baby Systems Commonwealth was barely a fraction of the size of the multiple galaxy spanning original Commonwealth... but still.

Then I thought on it more and pondered... considering the setup of the OP, Andromeda played an important and recognized part of the battle and thus Dylan Hunt in turn would be given a great deal of respect for what he did. But would he be in command still? I have no idea on the merits of the actual High Guard Admiral, Costanza Stark but from what I know of her final incarnation Constantine Stark... I have my reservations.

<this is the part where I snip out all of my anger at later Andromeda seasons where Dylan Hunt somehow became a fugitive from his own Commonwealth he founded and furthermore how the series somehow got worse from there...>

Then again, maybe the Admiral, despite being in charge, would actually listen to Hunt and his experience and the fact he already pulled a few worlds, including the fish people IIRC, into his Systems Commonwealth so maybe she won't be as radicalized as she was when she founded the Templars.

But that actually is my main reservation... it's not a problem with Dylan Hunt, if he was the Admiral in charge, I think he'd do fantastically with a hundred fully crewed ships. But my faith in him is not equal to my faith in everyone else in the old Systems Commonwealth or High Guard.

Obviously... I think they'd do better but there's always that chance of fracturing because Dylan Hunt might be at odds with the Admiral for one thing... and perhaps other unknown High Guard officers as well who might be his near equal or even his senior. And that kind of schism could tragically derail everything (though nothing comparable to the tragedy of the final season of Andromeda).