Part 40: Mission #36: 28 June 2654, Firekka system

Mission #36: 28 June 2654, Firekka system

Previously on Wing Commander: We are at Firekka for signing of a treaty, but there are indications that a Kilrathi convoy may be cruising through the system for unknown reasons. Also a slightly alarming appearance of Kilrathi Imperial Guard elite pilots, also for unknown reasons.


Let's see how the ladies are doing. But first, of course...







It was kinda weird, actually, there wasn't a major battle or anything like that... the cats just closed up shop and left.




Uh, I guess... Sounds very strange though.















And one of the Tactical officers said that there might be more Kilrathi in this area. Fortunately, we are not alone in this sector. If we need more combat pilots, they will transfer personnel from the TCS Austin.




Oh, Angel, what will it take to get YOU to lose your cool?



Mission Time!

So, we need to go and investigate that convoy I would expect.






Yay. I suppose...



Other news: Most of you didn't run into any trouble on your last patrol, but some of you encountered ships from that Kilrathi convoy... including some very tough Kilrathi pilots.




That IS a little worrying...







If you're close enough to target, your cameras will automatically switch on and get the data we need. You'll fly Hornets again, so if you run into trouble, you'll be in a fast ship to return here and report. Wing assignments... Kappa wing will be Maverick and Iceman.




Um, he said asteroids and the map shows mines... which one is it? (Spoiler alert: it's mines, map is correct.)





So in a bit of a departure from usual, we are supposed only to find that convoy, but not actually destroy it. Not like we could anyway in a measly Hornet in any case.

• Mission Video (Youtube)
  

Well, except for the convoy, this mission almost felt like ones we flew at the beginning of the Vega campaign, didn't it? Ok, well there's the improved Dralthi, sure. And you know, it can actually trip you up a bit, at least in a Hornet... since you are used to Dralthi being a completely laughable ship, you may forget that it has increased firepower now until it already starts shooting at you! And in a Hornet it does make a difference!

The convoy... there really isn't much you can do there, five Drakhai flown Jalthi against two Hornets is a lost battle from the start. The only even remote advantage you have is that you are much faster than them. But chances are, you will be out of fuel long before they are destroyed. And don't forget that even if you kill all 5 Jalthi, you will have another set of Imperial Guard Dralthi to fight there. I guess you could try a hit and run with the Fralthis, but again, there's three of them so it can take some time even that way. And best of all, if you do manage all that, all you get in debriefing is a reprimand for being reckless! So all in all, not really worth doing.

In any case, now we know what the Firekkans look like, mostly like very large birds pretty much. Next time, things will definitely start getting complicated. Also, we are back in Rapier for the next couple of missions, but don't worry, we'll be flying a Hornet again before you know it--I said that SM2 mixes it up quite a bit with ships you fly.

Very low number of kills on this mission, as the majority of the enemies are concentrated in that convoy which you aren't supposed to fight:





Next time on Wing Commander
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