Federal Fleet Athena-class mobile infantry / drop-ship carrier only scene was towards end of Starship Trooper movie, urging civilians to join the Federal Service, fight the Bug War, and earn one's citizenship through the "Service Guarantees Citizenship" program, which is a noble, if not prudent concept for 21st-century America.
US Service for Citizenship ? Starship Trooper movie did conjure up a contemplation.... by US Constitution, all persons born in the United States automatically entitled to US citizenship (originally it took a 15-year naturalization, nowadays it takes 5 years). Doctrine setup by American founding fathers some 200 years ago was to prevent foreign-born nationals (aka European aristocrats or anarchists) from gaining electoral power in US body politics, thus preserving newly form American Republic to establish its own national identity separate from European socio-political machinery. Given US cosmopolitan mix after some 230 years (300 million people of which circa 55% Americans from European descent, 13% from Hispanic descent, 11% from African-American descent, rest from Asia-Middle East origins), concept of earning one's citizenship thru military or social services seems reasonable, prudent, and vested interest to national security. Constitutional Topic: Citizenship - www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html
Granted, US constitution will need to be amended to negate automatic citizenship provision to insert this citizen-service clause (by dejure, no part of the Constitution may be removed, thus it can only be negated thru Congressional / State Convention amendment ratification process). One scenario to service-citizenship path is that male/female serve 2 to 3 years in military enlistment, or 3 to 4 years in social services (ex. peace corps, inner city education, rural medical care, etc.). This will inject much manpower into both arenas, the military will gain personnel without hard-pressed recruitment drives, social sector will gain candidates that would have been siphoned away to higher-paying jobs. Like I stated, this is one scenario of re-establishing a coherent American Republican citizenry.
Federal Fleet carrying Mobile Infantry assault troops, approaching bug planet Klendathu, being peppered by plasma bombs launched by Tanker Bugs from planet surface. Plasma is high-energy ionized gas, seen here is concentrated coherent form.
Federal Fleet being plastered by concentrate bug plasma volleys. Enemy fire has no homing device, just massive saturated fire into localized area where troop ships are disembarking infantry drop-ships.
Scene shows structural vulnerability of ship's 4 rear outboard engines, one of which was destroyed by plasma blast, immediately compromising ship command-n-control, thus colliding into front hull of another in close formation. This weakness was corrected in Athena design where its rear engines are snugged into the hull.
The "Rodger Young" troop transport ships runs out of luck during fleet operations over bug Planet P (in search of infamous Brain Bug). Direct hit in midship area by single bug plasma volley after she has dropped all her infantrymen.
The "Rodger Young" in her death trolls, severed in half by plasma volley. Movie director Paul Verhoeven made poignant scenes of crew bodies being blown asunder in the explosion, body parts afloat in space, and shear terror of impending death on surviving crew.
Being a witness to WW2 horrors in both Nazi and Allied urban bombing campaigns, he staunchly defends his statement that "war makes fascist of us all".
Fleet dropships during its first offensive against bug planet Klendathu. These ships were carried by both Rodger Young and Athena-class carriers for all Federal bug ops. U-shaped dropship contained transport pod underneath which could be hotswapped for specialized configuration of mobile infantry (MI), heavy weapons, logistics, med-evac, etc.
For Klendathu ops, MI landed into bug ambush and were massacred in-masse, losing nearly a million casualties. In this regard, it reminded one of WW2 Allied Operation Market Garden debacle when faulty intelligence led British Airborne troops to land on top of 2 German Waffen-SS divisions in Dutch city of Arnhem in Sept. 1944. Battle of Arnhem | Wiki
Ending Starship movie scene, showing same dropship version departing from Athena-class carriers for another bug planet ops.
