Part 85: The First Ring

With the success of Fang's tractor beam, we've been able to push the UCS back far enough that we are now in sight of the Alpha Quadrant. Unfortunately the UCS beat us to the area and we'll need to dislodge them before we can fortify the area and establish the first power stations needed to reactivate the SUNLIGHT system.



Look at that! Believe it or not, this is the first mission in the LC campaign where you'll need to build a base. Yes, we've gone through 5 missions where you don't need to build an actual base.



So let's get building! Remember, the LC power plants now have an effective range. Unfortunately, the F9 command to see the power grid doesn't work for the LC. You can rely on the power indicators from the build screen though. If it says a building will be unpowered it's out of range.

The setup I'm showing here is great for this mission. With the Solar Power Plant nestled in the back of the base, it will be very tricky for the UCS to knock out our vulnerable solar cells.





The starting units I've been given are off doing the usual scouting thing. It looks like there are more minerals up to the north and south. Capturing these would enable us to strangle the UCS and win a war of attrition. Allowing the UCS to mine these would give them the upper hand.

This will be our first target.



Unfortunately our starting units don't have shields. We'll need to wait for the reinforcements from HQ to get here before we can evict these squatters.




But we need more information before we strike. Where is the UCS base? I'm guessing they're on the other side of this land bridge. If we can quickly seize the land bridge and establish an outpost the UCS will be forced to go right through us to get at the main base.



...Well, it seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately the UCS had the exact same idea and they were here first. We cannot allow that outpost to remain. It's far too close to us and our position is far too tenuous at this point.



The few Tiger Ps have been cleared out, and our power range just reaches the resource fields in the north and south.



We need to take the enemy outpost as quickly as possible. I muster the LC army as soon as it lands off the Jupiter and order them to take the outpost. If we can catch them early we may be able to overwhelm them.



What good fortune! Note how the UCS Fortress is currently reconfiguring its guns. This means the outpost's power is completely undefended.



We must punish such blunders by the enemy. With the land bridge now firmly in our control, we have control over the only conduit into our base. Good work ladies!




Normally, this sort of construction would be left to our engineers and scientists on SUNLIGHT. However, the transporters the team needs to get out here is unavailable. The team has given us access to the new Xyrex Power Plant and told us we need to do the construction for them once the enemy is removed.



The UCS has returned to try and rebuild while we move north, looking for the main UCS locations. It's no match for the three Fat Girls I send after it. Still, good attempt by the UCS. If they had managed to rebuild our army would be pinned between two UCS bases with no means of escape.

Research: Upgraded Super Fighter



We've found what looks to be a side entrance into the base. It's very lightly defended. Much easier to go in this way than wherever the front door is.



See! We're inside the base in just a few minutes. The UCS must have gotten wind of our construction plans as they've built towers around the crater we need to build our structures in. Clever robots. Very clever.



Too bad the towers don't work without power.



With the power cut, the front of the base can't provide much in the way of resistance. A few Tiger Rs and a plasma tower can't hope to stop this onslaught.



With the base mostly neutralized, I order the bulk of the army to fall back to the land bridge. I'm sure the UCS will plan a counter attack. Plus, 3 Fat Girls and 2 Moons should be more than enough to clean up here.



Especially once the last power plant has been destroyed.



Just as I thought, the UCS are attempting a breakthrough. Well, attempting is a generous word. So is breakthrough. Two Tigers ain't gonna cut it here.



We've secured the first crater. Now to find the second. I'm guessing it's in that large unexplored area to the south.





There looks to be a second base down there, but before we get there we'll need to ruin the UCS's mining operation. Well we don't have to, but where's the fun in letting them live? Also, note that the UCS do have stealth technology at this point. Those stealth towers didn't build themselves.



Even the supposedly well-fortified front entrance of the base is a joke. If the UCS had all this time to prepare, where are all the defenses? What the hell is the UCS army doing right now?





Damn, take a look at the size of those Xyrex plants. At 16 squares, they have the largest footprint of any structure in the game. In general, you're going to need a lot of room to build them. Once the Xyrex plants and Mines are down we'll be halfway done with our building for this mission.



The southern base is set up exactly like the northern one, just colored light blue and reversed. It too falls in minutes.



With that, we can build SUNLIGHT's buildings again. I have no idea why there's a tunnel entrance in that crater. Maybe the UCS were planning on stealing the resources out of the crater.

Research: Detector I II and III, Shield Recharger II and III, Regenerator I II and III, and the 1500 PSU shield generator. Basically everything that goes on a Phobos.





With this, it looks like Alpha Sector is ready to go. We're one step closer to completing Project SUNLIGHT. Good job ladies!






The UCS, despite their early successes are starting to take heavy losses. We don't have them on the ropes yet, but I can feel the Luna campaign starting to turn in our favor.



Fang's in serious trouble. The work of ACME Labs may have been lost on Earth, but thanks to his presence on Luna and the cooperation of the Ixchel Research Center, we've begun to work on reverse engineering some of Fang's weapons. Unfortunately, it seems the UCS have discovered the base and have begun shelling Fang's temporary quarters and research lab. This explains the relatively weak and scattered resistance in this mission: the UCS are far too focused on killing Fang and stealing his research. The loss of the research would be a tough blow to take. The death of General Fang would be an unmitigated catastrophe and would be a mortal blow to our cause.

Sisters! There's no time for continued discussion and debate over General Fang's citizenship. We must act now! We must save Fang!