Part 15: The Doctor is In

The Sunrider will be vulnerable without our ryders. What are your orders, captain?
That's a risk that we'll have to take. I want all our ryders to go forward and save the civilian vessel.
Understood, captain.
Our old friend Cosette Cosmos might be out there. Watch your tail, everyone. All units, launch!



Ah, my favorite space pirate. I see you've still been skimping on the milk.
G-gurk!
Y-you've interfered with my plans for the last time! Kill them!



We’re up against another pretty standard pirate fleet, but we’ve got something new this time.




The Phoenix does one thing, but it does that one thing very well. It hasn’t come up before now, but if you move a unit into a hex directly next to another unit, they get a free attack on you. The Phoenix, however, has an ability that negates that.






The Phoenix moves fast enough, and has a high enough evasion score, that it’s a perfectly viable strategy to keep her inside your shield/flak bubble until an enemy ryder gets too close, and then dart out, cut it up, and dart back into cover.

Finally, the Phoenix is one of the few ryders with its own flak, so when it’s not performing as an interceptor, with a few upgrades it can serve as a pretty effective anti-missile platform.



These guys are still flying around without shields. I teach them the error of their ways.



Like so.





Told ‘ya.



This is exactly where you want the Phoenix to be. Also I learned this time that the Havoc’s melee attack doesn’t work when you’re next to them; it has to be one hex away to use it. Strange. Either way, Cosette misses Icari.



Working for the big bad now, huh? Birds of a feather …



Captain Kayto Shields, of the CSFS Sunrider. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?
Bah! No matter! You are no match for I, the glorious Veniczar B. Cullen! I will rid the Neutral Rim of vermin like you and unify these poverty stricken worlds into our new galactic order!
And where does the orbital bombing of millions of innocents fit into this unity of yours?
Pah! The likes of you will never understand the necessities of war! Now en garde, captain! Allow me to show you the true power of PACT!

Cullen is not the most nuanced of villains.

(Looks like Veniczar Porkchops means business. We're heavily outnumbered now ... Should we fall back?)



Weird?
A sudden spike in power usage ... Something inside it is coming online …



I guess it's time to get moving, huh?




Captain, a ryder! Hidden inside the storage compartment in the Alliance vessel!
Patch me through to her.
This is Captain Kayto Shields of the CSFS Sunrider to the unidentified Alliance ryder. State your intentions.



(An extra ryder. This should even the odds.)
All right, Claude. The Sunrider is at your service. Let's get these bogies off of you.



It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is the next new crewmember we get, so let’s take a quick look at her ryder, the Bianca.



Like the Liberty, the Bianca is a support ryder.



Right now it doesn’t have a shield bubble like Chigara does, but we’ll soon be rectifying that. Between an upgraded Sunrider, Liberty, and Bianca, you can have units under triple shielding, which pretty much makes them immune to laser attacks.



Where the Liberty focuses on buffing or debuffing defenses, the Bianca does the same for offense.



She also has this, which lets her spend energy to move an enemy ryder. Why would that be useful? Well, remember what I said about moving units into hexes next to enemies?





This is pretty situational, though. Where this strategy really shines is when you either pull an enemy ryder outside of a shield bubble and laser it to death, or pull it close enough so that Icari can fly out and cut them in half.

Anyway, Icari cuts through the remaining pirate ryders and we laser a cruiser into oblivion after Chigara shuts their shields off.



Wait, what?



Oh, I didn’t look at the entire map. Oops.



Not that it really matters. With the PACT cruisers down there aren’t any shielded units, so after Icari drives off the Havoc, we mop up the rest with lasers.



Looks like today's not your day, Veniczar Porkchops.
T-tsch ... How dare you! I will not stand for this mockery! Mark my words ... You will regret crossing me, captain!



I'm truly shaking in my boots.



Good. Let them go for now.
Aye sir.
Let's bring our new friend on board.



Welcome aboard the Sunrider.

Oooaaahh …



Ugh ... another weirdo.



Yeah, sorry everyone, now this is happening. We’ve already got the energetic one, the shy one, and the tsundere one … now we get the slutty one.
What were you doing out here alone? This area of space is dangerous.
I was just delivering some medical supplies to a clinic on Tautenia when I was stopped by those pirates. I imagine I would have been killed had you not arrived in time. Looks like I'm in your debt now, captain.
Medical supplies? But you don't look like a freighter pilot ...
Oh, no, no. I'm a doctor.
A doctor, huh? Well, that makes more sense. Well, uh, aside from the ryder piloting part.
Eh-heh ... You pick strange skills like that up when you've stayed in the Neutral Rim too long.
Well then, we'll just drop you off at Tautenia and you can take a shuttle to the surface. Glad we could be of help.
Oh, no, captain! I couldn't possibly leave without first repaying my debt. Eh-heh ... _{not to mention it'd be a shame to leave a total hottie behind so soon …}
What's that?
Oh, nothing, captain! Say ... I don't suppose you need a doctor on board this ship?
Actually, we do! Our sickbay's been closed ever since we've left Cera without our doctor!



Haha, what good luck! Hey Ava, we finally have a doctor for our ship!
Oh captain! I'm so glad we could meet!
Nah, I'm glad you're here to help. Haha, I was getting worried about the sickbay!



Uu-uwah ... Chigara, I think you've met quite a formidable rival here ...
M-me? E-eh?

Later …



Is there an issue?
I've been looking into our new “doctor.” The only problem is that I can't find her medical license on the Alliance Medical Association's database.
Strange. Maybe she's licensed with a different medical organization?
Possibly. Despite the AMA being the most reputable, many neutral planets run their own medical licensing programs. But I've checked through all of the major neutral medical databases and she's nowhere to be found.
… weird ...
Well, keep up the search, Ava. She's gotta be licensed with someone.
Wouldn't it be better to just ask, captain?
Oh right, I suppose I could do that.
Really?
Really.
...
I should go.



It's time for your medical exam!
Okay ...
I hear you've operated this ship without a doctor for nearly a month! Now that simply will not do!
Let's just say we didn't have much of a choice.
Well, time to unbutton your shirt ~
O-oohh....
Uh, is something the matter, doc? You're staring pretty intensely here ...
O-oh? N-no! Absolutely nothing wrong! I'll just feel up your ribs, make sure nothing misplaced! Haha! Hah!
Say... you are a doctor, aren't you?
What do you mean, captain? Of course I'm a doctor!
Uh ... Y-you wouldn't happen to have a certificate, do you?
Of course I do! Unfortunately, it was on the Mochi when the pirates got to it.
I-is that ... REALLY!? W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?



HURK! A-Ava!?
I found it!
F-found what!?
That little skeever isn't a doctor at all! Look here on this bulletin! Medical license suspended due to malpractice. WARNING: This individual is known to masquerade as a medical practitioner. Her skills fall below all reasonable standards of modern medical care. Patients are advised to seek the advice of a professional medical practitioner instead of this individual.
I-I knew it!
Orders, captain!?
F-fire vanguards!
... ... ...
I mean, get me my clothes damnit!
You're under arrest!
. F-for what?
For impersonating a doctor!
(And molesting a starship captain!)



H-EH!? C-c-c-c-captain!?

*thump*

C-Chigaraaa...!



Send a transmission to the Alliance. We'll just turn her over to the authorities.
Sniff... sniff...
...
Y-you wouldn't do that to ol' Claude now, captain, would you? I was just trying to help! I didn't mean any harm by it. Whenever I see someone in need, I just can't stop myself from trying to help ...
Hmph.
(This girl's good, I'll give her that. But she's not going to fool me twice.)
We're here on serious business for the Ryuvian throne. A warship is no place to fool around, Claude.



(Damnit! I accidently let slip what we were here for. That was careless.)
The Mnemosyne Abyss? What do you know about it?
It's pretty well known among the locals on Tautenia as the site of an ancient Ryuvian battle. Thousands of derelict ships litter the area. It’s largely unexplored, so many hidden treasures still remain there.
(Hidden treasures? This sounds like a possible lead on the Crown Jewel ...)
What do you think, captain?
It's the best we have right now. It's worth investigating. We'll set course for the Mnemosyne Abyss.
And what of our “doctor?”
Looks like we'll have to delay turning her over to the authorities.

Choose one:

A:
She'll be confined to quarters in the meantime until we're finished with our mission.

B:
Get her to the hangar. She'll be more useful as a pilot than a doctor.