Part 6: The Great Hunt

Before the next mission is a cutscene:

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Mission 6: The Great Hunt

Briefing:

quote:

With recent victories on the civil war front, the GTVA security council has authorized the deployment of two Deimos-class corvettes into the nebular theatre of operations. The Lysander and the Actium crossed the subspace portal in Gamma Draconis at 2335 hours and joined up with the Aquitaine's battle group.

On their last sortie, Epsilon and Iota wings encountered two Shivan warships: a Rakshasa-class cruiser designated the Iblis and a Lilith-class cruiser designated the Asuras. Admiral Petrarch has instructed our corvettes to hunt down and destroy these vessels. The 107th will provide fighter cover.

Alpha wing, your mission is to escort the Lysander and the Actium as they carry out this assault. Your first priority will be to eliminate all hostile fighters and bombers. Only then will you assist the corvettes with their strike against the Shivan warships. If we lose either corvette, you will abort the mission and withdraw from the field immediately.

Simple enough. We're set to protect two corvettes as they hunt down two cruisers.

We enter the nebula once more.



Actium: "Steady as she goes. Those cruisers are somewhere in this vicinity. We're now converging on their last known position."
Lysander: "Are you reading anything on sensors, Actium?"
Actium: "Negative, Lysander."
Lysander: "If we don't find them, they'll find us. I don't expect we'll be disappointed."
Actium: "The Shivans fought nothing but Great War relics. We'll show them what firepower is all about."
Alpha 2: "I'm picking up something! A wing of enemy fighters is closing in!"

It's a squadron of three Astaroths, designated Taurus. Astaroths are nothing we haven't seen before, and the involvement of the two Corvettes leads this to be a very one-sided battle. I can hardly get a few missiles off before the Corvettes' Flak cannons, laser turrets, and anti-fighter beams tear them to shreads.



After destroying the Astaroths, something jumps in to view.

Lysander: "A Cain-class cruiser now coming in to view!"
Actium: "Confirmed. It's the Asuras! Firing all guns!"

The sound of charging beam cannons echoes across the nebula, and the next thing I know, it looks like a Pink Floyd laser light show.



As the Asuras is being smashed, one of the beams from the Actium blasts in to Alpha 2.

Alpha 2: "Damn it, Actium! Watch that friendly fire!"
Command: "Avoid the beam and you won't get hit, Pilot."

Three more Astaroths enter the fray and we sortie between ourselves as the cruiser and corvettes duke it out.



I again, don't have much of a chance to get in on the action. The sky is ablaze with so many explosions that it looks like New Year's. This wave of Astaroths goes down and I still haven't scored a single kill.

Beta 1: "All hostile fighters eliminated. Those Shivans put up a good fight!"

Whatever you say, Beta 1

Command: "Well done, pilots. Help the Corvettes finish off the Asuras, but don't get too close!"

However, the Asuras is destroyed before Command even finishes speaking this line.

Lysander: "We have destroyed the Asuras, Command. That's one more Shivan cruiser out of circulation."
Command: "Okay, let's find that Rakshasa. Continue on your current heading. If you need to rearm, pilots, now would be a good time."

We continue forward. Alpha 3 calls in the support ship for re-arming.

Beta 1: "With the technology they had 30 years ago, it's a miracle we won the Great War."
Alpha 2: "No shields. No flak guns. No beam cannons."
Beta 1: "You hear about Kappa wing? Vanished without a trace five clicks from the Aquitaine."
Alpha 2: "Their patrol found the NTC Trinity, right?"
Beta 1: "Yeah, that was Arthur Roemig's ship. Hard to believe he turned traitor."
Beta 1: "Hey Command, you gonna tell us what the Rebels are doing out here?"
Actium: "New readings coming up on sensors! Incoming fighters!"
Command: "You'll be informed on a need-to-know basis, pilot. Now kill the chatter and focus on your mission."



We face a wing of Maras, however I spend most of the battle flying towards them with the nearby star obscuring my vision. This mission just doesn't want me to see any of the action.

Command: "A wing of Seraphim is approaching fast! Intercept those bombers!"

Finally, something more of my forte. I target the bombers and hit my boosters.



As usual with bombers, they're not interested in me. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. They're entirely focused on the corvettes. I simply need to intercept the bombs out of the air and then blast the ships.

Again, I still have the Corvettes overpowering anything that gets near, but I manage to get a few good whacks in on Aquarius 1.



Command: "The Seraphim are history! Well done, pilots!"

We cruise on our current headings for a few moments.

Lysander: "Iblis now within range! All guns, fire for effect."



Watching battles between the larger ships is truly something to behold.

Of course, if you focus too hard on watching, you might get your head blown off, like I almost did!



Scratch that, I DO get my head blown off.



Command sends in a support ship to repair my damaged subsystems.

The big ships continue to blast each other in to oblivion. The Iblis reaches a paltry 25% Hull Integrity.

Actium: "The hull integrity of the Iblis has fallen below critical! We're almost there!"

Didn't your mom ever teach you not to get too cocky, Actium?

Lysander: "Command, something massive has jumped in! The database does not recognize the configuration!"



You and your big mouth, Actium! What the HELL is that thing?!

Actium: "Where? What is it? I can't get a visual!"
Lysander: "Command, we have a situation here!"

I decide to fly a little closer and get a better look at--- OH MY GOD!



Command: "Can you get a closer look, Lysander?"

Suddenly a massive beam of light that looks like it came from the sun itself blinds us all.

Command: "The Lysander is down! The Lysander is down!"

Sure enough, this monster had destroyed the Lysander in a single blast.



It was larger than anything the GTVA had ever seen before. Everything shown thus far has simply been ONE of its four massive beam cannons.

Command: "All vessels return to base! We need to regroup! Get out of there, pilots!"

Sure enough, I'm not sticking around to see any more of that thing. I jump to base.

Debriefing;

quote:

The Shivan warship we encountered has been designated the SD Ravana. Allied forces have been deployed to engage this vessel.

Given the number of Shivan fighters our wings have encountered, we knew an enemy destroyer had to be lurking somewhere within the nebula. Our impaired visibility and diminished sensor range made locating their base of operations difficult. Command hoped our offensive against the two Shivan cruisers would lure the destroyer from its hiding place. Under these circumstances, there was nothing you could have done to save that corvette from destruction.

Admiral Petrarch has informed me that the 107th may be called in to reinforce the vessels attacking the Ravana. Suit up for your next sortie, pilot.