Let's get to this!
Bar's closed! Even Paladin is back on the flight line? And where is Shotglass going? Hopefully finally taking a shift off.
Valgard 1
So we've got some good news and some bad news. Sivar is low on fuel (you'd think since we've destroyed quite a sizable fleet!) and he's nearby. But we've got to find him. Iceman is on my wing so I know it's going to get heavy out there. That's probably the understatement of the century as well.
Nav 1 has 4 Krants and Lumbari. Sorry Sivar that tanker isn't going to be topping off your tanks! The Krants are no problem when Iceman is on your wing. Thank god for that.
Nav 2 isn't much better. 4 Jalthi and a Dorkir. As long as you stick to the tried and true methods for this it shouldn't be much of an issue. However....
Nav 3 What the HELL! 4 Krants and 2 count'em 2 Fralthi! You've got to take the Krants out ASAP, but we don't get off that easy! Oh no! They are followed by 2 Gratha who are then followed by 2 more Gratha and 2 Jalthi. My Rapier isn't exactly in the best shape, yeah you could say that. I'm not sure what isn't damaged, smoking, on fire, venting atmosphere, etc. After fighting for my life, it's finally time to nail these damn Fralthi. I make sure Iceman and I are attacking the same one so that we can save some missiles, because you know in SM1 there's always something else.
This is one of the toughest nav points I have to say and of course I've got to head back through Nav 1 to get to the Claw without hitting the minefields...
Where of course there are 3 Gratha and a Ralari awaiting my arrival. I rely heavily on Iceman here since my Rapier is falling apart. Good thing he's on my wing now instead of someone of lesser ability. After a good fight it's finally time to retire to the Claw. I better get a damn medal for this one!
Hit the showers?!?! Take it easy for a while!?!?! Are you kidding me?! There was 25 enemies in the last mission and Halcyon tells me to take it easy? AHAHH! Some grateful Confederation.
Ok what the hell happened in the course of a mission? The Claw has gone back to shit somehow. What the hell is wrong with everyone!?! Fighting each other?! I just fought two damn Fralthi! Why is everyone so freaked about about being behind enemy lines? We are on the verge on nailing the Sivar and they are panicking like a virgin at the prom.
I was injured? Rumors? Has this ship lost control of order? I don't understand why after coming out of the whole everyone is right back in it. Ok, so we don't find the Sivar on the last mission, relax we will.
Ugh Spirit. You're going to on and on about Philip for a decade and it's kind of getting old already.
Valgard 2
This is just an odd thing to say..."Listen closely, pilots, because we don’t have much time. Our success against the supply depot has left a large number of Kilrathi fighters without a home base. Tactical says those ships are heading here. They’ll be very low on fuel, they may try to take the Tiger’s Claw intact."
Intact? Yeah ok. Just show me to my ship. This mission is just a simple Defend the Claw. 4 Waves. 4 Krants, 3 Jalthi, 3 Gratha and 3 Krants. The only wave that scared me was the Jalthi. They can put a lot of damage on the Claw very quickly, but if you can taunt or force them away things should go smoothly.
Well at least I got a Bronze Star...
Ok so now Shotglass is sort of back to normal. Is the whole crew bi-polar?
Knight is the first to actually have a halfway decent point about being behind enemy lines. We need resupply as much as the Sivar does. And he's back on my wing....he's no Iceman.
Always save your missiles.
Vigrid 1
We've found the bastard! But of course the Kats have other ideas and send a strike at the Claw. Luckily, we have to fly out to nav 1 to intercept the strike so the Claw isn't in direct danger at first.
Nav 1 is 2 waves. First one is 2 Jalthi and a Ralari followed by 4 Krants. Quite the strike package. SOP works just fine here. No need for anything fancy.
Then it's back to the Claw for the Gratha party! 3 waves. 4 Gratha in the first and 3 in the other two. This is quite the fight. You've got to use your missiles well here in order to make sure the Claw doesn't rack up damage. Taunting is key here to lure the Gratha away, as well as being a good shot. The Claw's a little worse for the wear but she'll hold up.
Halcyon is a little snide in his debriefing. Of course I killed the Ralari. You kidding me?
And everyone is back on the up! This whole crew is bi-polar I'm telling you all! Then again this is it. Time to nail the Sivar!
Heh. Bossman ain't kidding. Everyone here is a lunatic!
Ahh stoned Maniac. You retard. Thanks for being Capt. Obvious.
Vigrid 2
This is it. Halcyon gives everyone a little pep talk. The one concerning us is actually interesting.
"Halcyon: Maverick, no astrobatics, nothing fancy. Do the job and get out of there alive.
Maverick: Aye, aye, sir.
Maverick considers what the Commander said. He was saying goodbye to the pilots… just in case."
So he thinks we fly a bit fancy eh? You ain't see nothing yet! Let's DO THIS!
Nav 1 is the remaining support fleet. 2 waves of 2 Krants and a Ralari. I might go back later and count the number of capships we've destroyed in this campaign. The Sivar's fleet was certainly formidable and would have been a match for a full-sized Confed Task Group.
Nav 2 is the party destination! This is not easy. 3 waves. 6 Krants, 5 Jalthi and 6 Gratha along with the big bastard. This fight requires fancy flying to stay alive as well as use of Bossman. Every now and then I throw a few rounds at the Sivar just to let him now that's he's the target. After what seems like an enternity it's finally time to take the Sivar on. I've saved my missles and unload them once his shields go down. As fast as they lock I'm firing them off. He takes a beating but the explosion is very satisfying. Truly a victory for the Confederation. The bi-polar crew better be happy.
A Gold Star is a very fitting reward, even though I think a deserved a Silver Star for Valgard 1. Ah well.
The death of Grand Admiral Gilkarg. A more fitting reward for nailing the Sivar. Another one of the few insights into Kilrathi culture we see during the original game. Time for the rise of Crown Prince Thrakhath. But before that we've got a little celebrating to do and a transfer to a quiet sector. A little system called Firekka. They've got a native bird-like population that wants to join the Confederation. Sounds like a cakewalk to me....haha.
Well it was a fun 3 weeks guys! SM1 is really a fantastic addon. The amount of capship killing is great! And the story adds nicely to the base laid in WC1. It only gets better from here!
Next week starts Secret Missions 2: Crusade. Where the hell of escorting Draymans is brought to a new level. SM2 will actually work just like SM1. 3 weeks, 6 missions the first 2 and 4 the last one. So all of the WC2 fans that are itching to get involved, take heed only 3 more weeks.