Noncombatants in the Dominion War

[Mikey]

I didn't really miss a big battle at the end. Like some of the others, the only problem I had was Sisko's transubstantiation.

[Tsukiyumi]

Funny, I missed the fleet battle, and liked the Prophet's intervention.

Q saved Picard's ass more than once, after all - after he'd put him in danger, but still. It's not like non-corporeals can't intervene.

[Mark]

Trek is full of non coporials intervining

[Mikey]

Funny, I missed the fleet battle, and liked the Prophet's intervention.

As we say in the car business, "There's an ass for every seat."

Q saved Picard's ass more than once, after all - after he'd put him in danger, but still. It's not like non-corporeals can't intervene.

It's not the fact of the intervention that I mind - it's the fact that it was used for the summation of the role. Yes, I know all about AGT - but that, as you said, was entirely a self-contained construct of Q's.

[Tsukiyumi]

As we say in the car business, "There's an ass for every seat."

I'll try not to take that as an insult.

[Mikey]

Good. My insults are far less clever and far more direct.

[Tsukiyumi]

No subtext for Mikey, eh?

[Mikey]

In jokes, yes. In truly-meant insults, I don't have time for games.

[Tsukiyumi]

[Mark]

Heh.......something to be said for directness

[Bryan Moore]

We know the Dominion attacked Betazoid. Clearly the whole planet wasn't a military target, so we can assume lots of casualties there. In the EU, it's alluded that millions died.

[Sionnach Glic]

We know the Dominion attacked Betazoid.

Of course they did. It was an enemy-held planet.

Clearly the whole planet wasn't a military target,

No, but it was a strategic target. The whole purpose of conquest is just that: to conquer territory.

so we can assume lots of casualties there.

Why? The fact that it had little military assets should actualy imply the opposite: that there were less casualties among the civillian populace. With less fighting, there'd be far less collatoral damage among the cities, causing far less civillian casualties.

the EU, it's alluded that millions died.

The EU says a lot of things, all of which are non-canon.

[Teaos]

Heres some food for thought.

The Federation, the core worlds especially, seem to depend a lot on replicators. Maybe its just a SF thing but if it is the whole population then they are in trouble.

Considering Replicators can make anything, including weapons, very easily I can't see a occupation army like the Dominion letting the public or anyone really use replicators. This would cause massive food supply problems along with a host of other issues.

[Sionnach Glic]

Have we seen replicators make weapons?

If they can, it's possible that certain objects are blocked from being made on civilian models.

[Captain Seafort]

Have we seen replicators make weapons?

The only example I can think of was "Civil Defence" - part of Terok Nor's counterinsurgency programme was producing a beam weapon in the Ops replicator that targeted non-Cardassian lifeforms.

If they can, it's possible that certain objects are blocked from being made on civilian models.

Almost certain in my opinion - Starfleet aside, we've never seen any evidence of weapons on Federation planets.