Part 134: Hyperion System, Vega Sector, Mission 2 (Story)

I don't even understand why we get the extra special congratulations Outro either. I mean, I was under the impression it's supposed to be a reward for good performance in some manner, but seriously that mission's so easy that I literally did check to see that I still had the game set to Nightmare. I can only imagine what it'd have been like on Ace...anyway, have the other half of the update.

Hyperion System, Vega Sector
TCS Victory

The Confederation and the Kilrathi send additional ships into the Hyperion system; the Victory and her escorts move to intercept the lead elements of the Kilrathi force in order to screen the Confederation build-up.

Barracks



Flash is taking the war about as seriously as he ever does (I mean, he's actually awake and everything). Several of you will probably be disappointed to learn that this is the high-morale dialogue.

: So all we gotta do now is nuke Kilrah and I can get back to some serious test-piloting…
: Something like that.
: Gotta tell ya, I’m surprised I survived all these missions. Surprised you too, I bet, huh?

At this point you have the options of admitting to being impressed with Flash's performance, or telling him not to get ahead of himself yet, given there's still Kilrah to survive.

Bridge

Vaquero, possibly appropriately for somebody who'd already be dead if we'd gone after Hobbes, is more reflective:



: That T-Bomb’s something, ain’t it, Colonel?
: It’s unique.
: I can smell the end, sir. With a weapon like that – well… if that doesn’t do it, nothing will.
: Maybe our grandchildren won’t have to fight this war after all.
: Well, in any case… I want you to know that… I’ve learned a lot from you.
: Well, you can return the favour when I visit your cantina – maybe teach me to play that guitar.

Gunnery Control

Also in a reflective mood - which is a pity, given he could have been talking about the Confederation's apparent love of blowing up inhabited worlds and lying about it, which would be rather more in character than something even Blair seems to be surprised with - is Vagabond. I get that what's supposed to be happening is the flight wing's looking back, but I don't think these scenes really add anything to either the characters or the story. We can tell we're near the end, we don't need signposts. Also, every galaxy? Does Vagabond have some other form of jump drive he's not telling us about?



: I’ve been to just about every corner of every galaxy… and it’s been a hell of a ride…
: What’s this? Weepy nostalgia from the hardened card shark?
: Well, it’s just that… I’ve been thinking. Here on the Victory… for the first time, I feel like I’ve put down some roots.

And as with Flash, here we've got a choice to praise his contribution to the Victory or warn that the worst is yet to come.

Our girlfriend retains her lead over Maniac as the best of the rest on the killboard.



Mission Briefing
Briefing Room



: Colonel, let’s go over the mission, shall we?
: Yes, sir.
: We’re jumping back into Hyperion – Confed’s decided it’s a good staging area, and we’re building up a fleet there. Apparently, the Kilrathi have got wind of this build-up. We’ll be escorting the big boys. Good luck, Colonel.

(No, I don't know why Eisen said we're jumping back into Hyperion either; we've not been shown to have left. Nor do I know which "big boys" we're escorting since we don't see any ships that aren't part of the Victory's battle group. Again, I am left the impression a lot of this dialogue was recorded before the missions were written).

Choose your own Blair!
So now we've got the matters of getting drunk and choosing our love interest out of the way, you guys can get back to some serious careBlairing. Or not, if that's your wish. There's also the matters of fighter and wingman to consider. In an almost entirely unexplained "fuck you" to the player, we're limited to the Arrow, Hellcat and Excalibur - the ships that don't have torpedoes - for a mission with three Kilrathi capital ships in it, two of which are heavies (I say "almost" unexplained because I can infer from the presence of the Sheffield, Coventry, and Ajax at a nav point each we're supposed to let them deal with the capships). Wingman is everybody who's left alive, and Vagabond and Flint have now joined the rest of them on the at-risk list, so everybody can be killed.