Talk:Planetary shield

Before the topic moves here, I'll copy the discussion from the StarfleetJedi wiki on this topic.

"The Federation science outpost on Calder II had a deflector shield to protect it and the archaeological ruins being studied there, but there was no indication that this shield protected the entire planet. Phaser fire from a single mercenary vessel of modest size was unable to defeat it without assistance from Federation Captain Jean Luc Picard who was working undercover. (TNG: "Gambit, Part I", "Gambit, Part II")" -- Starfleet Jedi article on planetary shields, as of 1/8/2013.

The claim that "Phaser fire from a single mercenary vessel of modest size was unable to defeat it without assistance" is unsupported.

PICARD: Calder Two isn't just another archaeological site. There's a Federation outpost there.

BARAN: (dismissive) I don't see that as a problem.

...

VEKOR: (concerned) What are their defenses?

BARAN: Nothing to worry about. They have a type-four deflector shield protecting the outpost and the ruins.

...

BARAN: Our weapons are more than a match for their defenses. I anticipate we'll be able to destroy the outpost in less than fifteen minutes. After that, we'll send in Tallera and the landing party to secure the relics.

-- http://tng.trekcore.com/episodes/scripts/256.txt

Baran clearly believes that his ship has the firepower to get through the base's shield. Picard's assistance isn't required to defeat the outpost's shielding; it's needed to do it without harming anyone on the surface.

BARAN: Charge main disruptor array... destroy the outpost.

PICARD: That would take too long. Starfleet might be here any minute.

BARAN: What are you doing?

PICARD: I'm configuring the disruptors to fire a phase-resonant pulse... If I can hit their shield generator at precisely the right frequency, I should be able to knock it off-line with a single shot.

Baran's mercenary ship is clearly capable of defeating the outposts defenses. The incident also demonstrates -- yet again -- the vulnerability of the wave nature of Federation shields. --Ted C 15:19, 8 January 2013 (MST)