Part 130: Freya System, Vega Sector, Mission 3 (Story)

What's wrong with an Ekapshi's tail? Is it just the way it would melt the trailing wing with the ion exhaust? If there is another video for the ground assault on Alcor V, I've not seen it. There are videos for this and the next two ground attacks; so I think it's probable that Alcor V does just use the same one we saw.

This is a short update, since there's not much betweeen this mission and the next one.

Freya System, Vega Sector
TCS Victory

The Victory's fighter wing ambushes Kilrathi forces coming through the jump point from Kilrah.

Rec Room

Our intercession with Eisen having been successful, Vagabond's back to his old seat at the card table. If we'd chosen "try the soft touch..." Vagabond wouldn't have been released yet so this scene doesn't play and he'd not be available as a wingman; but Eisen would relent and release him in time for the next mission. Though I'm not entirely sure the attitude the Colonel seems to be promoting is entirely helpful - though he'd probably argue that elite pilots fighting against improbably long odds on a series of offensive missions have relatively little need of strong discipline provided they stay focused in their cockpits, which (since they're not dead yet) doesn't appear to be a problem.



: Colonel! Pull up a chair.
: For a guy who's been staring at four grey walls for a while, you look pretty chipper.
: Well, that's it, isn't it? I'm not playing solitaire anymore. Got you to thank for that.
: Well, we all lose it once in a while.
: Yeah, well, if I had it to do again...I'd still pop the bastard.

Meanwhile, here's the killboard. Maniac overtakes Flint again to be the first wingman to 200 kills. With six missions left in the game, I don't expect to have trouble sending Blair's kill count north of 400 by the end.



Mission Briefing
Briefing Room



: Colonel, let's go over the mission, shall we?
: Yes, sir.
: Colonel, now that we've secured the jump point, we have to clamp down on the Kilrathi coming through. They can't get word back to their command that we own the jump point now. Give it your best, Colonel. Dismissed.

Reinforcements? In this game? I seriously don't think the idea that one side or another in a battle might have sent out a transmission calling for help has actually been a factor to date, other than in that the impossibility of doing it at Loki VI was part of Tolwyn's plan with the Behemoth. Practically, I understand the point of Eisen's plan here, but I somewhat question whether the Kilrathi will fail to react to everything they send through the jump point going missing for long enough for it to actually work.

Choose your own Blair!
No dialogue choice this time - barely any dialogue at all in fact. Fighter and wingmen are both free choices, though. Well, mostly free choices, I mean this mission is seven waves of almost pure dogfight (there's a single corvette), so there's a fairly obvious right answer to the ship conundrum. Still, you've got the entire range to choose from if you must. And since the last mission didn't have any wingman at all, you've got everybody who's still left alive (Vagabond, Vaquero, Flash, Maniac, Flint) available there; though only Vagabond and Flint are still immortal.