Caliban 1
I hear Rollins on the ship’s intercom asking me to come to the bridge ASAP. As soon as I arrive, I ask what’s going on and Flint tells me that the communication system is being jammed by the Kilrathi. Eisen asks Rollins to do something about this, but he’s not had the experience of dealing with a video virus worm. Before Rollins can do much to try fixing the problem, Prince Thrakhath comes up on our video screens. He says our Bible’s predictions of Armageddon are about to come true. The Prince goes into a litany of threats on what the cats will do to us if they win. The crew’s not impressed, with Vaquero making a retort and Maniac making a mock imitation of Thrakhath. The Prince warns us to not be emboldened by my presence, and he’s given me the nickname of ‘Heart of the Tiger’. He also says that he’ll personally mete out his revenge upon me for all the kills I have inflicted. The last time we tangled in combat was in his attempted defense of K’Tithrak Mang with his Bloodwing fighter. I was able to take care of him then, but he has had plenty of time to get much better as a combat pilot. Prince Thrakhath breaks his transmission after saying that he’s giving us time to contemplate our bleak futures. Flint’s surprised that I’ve had a history with the Prince, and I explain that we’ve gone a few rounds. Eisen points out the nickname Thrakhath used, but I tell him that this is an ‘honor’ I could do without. Vagabond believes the Kilrathi are a bit scared about us winning this war, and Captain Eisen wonders if our movement into the Ariel system led to a change in the Kilrathi psyche. Eisen calls over Hobbes, who takes a few moments before giving us his viewpoint. Hobbes points out that the Kilrathi always believe that war is a psychological contest of wills. Vaquero pipes in with his belief that Thrakhath was talking trash, but Hobbes explains that the Kilrathi mindset has always been one of being superior to us. Hobbes does not think it’s one of the better Kilrathi social skills, and Cobra storms away in disgust in her belief that the Kilrathi are just a pack of animals. Rollins tells the Captain that a Kilrathi force is coming after us, and Eisen says that he’ll see me in the briefing room soon. I go into gunnery control, and I find Maniac despairing over the obstacles we’ve been running into lately. I decide to rag him and say that at least he has something to hide behind. I go to the lift and head down to the living level. I find Flash moping in the berths, and he’s not feeling positive after having been thru the closing of the jump point in Ariel. He thinks that it’s only a matter of time before the Kilrathi make their kill of our carrier. I tell him that we don’t know for sure that the jump point was closed, and that the current theory is that it was cloaked instead. Flash complains that the only reason he’s here is because he lost a bet, and I tell him he got what he deserved for shooting off his mouth. I go back to the lift, and go down to the flight level for my next briefing. Eisen wonders if I really believed all of Prince Thrakhath’s hot air, and I tell him that I was not fazed. Intel thinks that the reason the Ariel jump point was closed was due to a special capability of using the nebula gasses to put a curtain over the jump point. There is a strong belief that Ariel is the only system where the Kilrathi can use this capability, which Eisen thinks is why there is such heavy convoy traffic. In order to break the Kilrathi pursuit into manageable numbers, we’re breaking our battle group into two contingents. I’m to help out the destroyers of our group against a Kilrathi attack. I give the lowdown to the other pilots and pick Vaquero as my wingman. I pick the Thunderbolt as my ship due to expectations of some Kilrathi cap ship presence in their attack on the destroyers.
I take off after my standard pre-launch adjustments, and we find a Kilrathi destroyer with Vaktoth fighter defense. I let Vaquero loose and I go after the closest Vaktoth. One of the Vaktoths launches a missile that hits my ship. I shake loose a second missile and take down my target. The Sheffield eliminates the Kilrathi destroyer, so there definitely won’t be another wing of fighters to come after us. I hit the other Vaktoth multiple times and finish him off after a frontal pass by his fighter. We head over to the next nav point, and again there is a destroyer with a wing of Vaktoths. This time, I go straight for the destroyer and launch a torpedo against it. I hear the destroyer blow to bits, and Vaquero has helped out by getting a kill. I go after the lone remaining Vaktoth and let him have it on a frontal pass. That fighter is fried, and we head back to the Victory. Rollins says this will teach Thrakhath to not taunt us again. I see Rachel after landing, and she gives me the standard congratulations.
Caliban 2
I find Flint on the flight level, and she says that her father believes that adverse conditions like the nebula here in Caliban can be used against enemy opposition. She tells me that she got a message from her father after Rollins fixed the communications issue after Thrakhath’s taunt. I ask her what her father is flying, and she says that it’s only a desk. I sympathize that it’s tough getting old, and that he likely still wants to be in combat action. I do express a wish to see him someday since people like him wrote the book on how to fight this war. She responds by saying that he would like to meet me and that he was impressed when Flint told her father that she was flying on my wing. I go into the briefing room since there are no other fellow pilots to talk to. Eisen tells me that some fighter groups may have found the jump point inside the nebula and are heading outside of the nebula to send a clear transmission to the Kilrathi. I’m to prevent that at all costs, and I explain the same setup to my fellow pilots. I pick Flint to fly on my wing and again choose the Thunderbolt in case of more cap ships.
We take off after I do the usual configuration, and go on our patrol. At the first nav point are some Darkets and I decide to go after them solo without Flint’s help. The first one takes a bit of effort to eliminate, but I get him with my guns. The second fighter goes down pretty quickly, so there are only two left from the Kilrathi wing. I gun down the third one without too many troubles, and the final one takes a slightly extended period of time to eliminate. At the next nav point, there are some Dralthis here. I again engage the fighter wing without Flint as backup. That first Dralthi is destroyed with little difficulty. A second goes down quickly from a barrage of guns on a frontal attack. A third one goes up in a ball of flame after taking three hits to its rear, and a fourth is wiped out rapidly. The next two Dralthi don’t fare any better than their friends did. A wing of Vaktoth come in, so I let Flint loose to help me out against them. She must have been itching to prove herself to me, since she vaporizes two Vaktoths quite quickly. With just one left, I finish him off and we go on to the next nav point. There are multiple cap ships here, with two Corvettes, a Destroyer, and a Scout. I launch a torpedo against the Destroyer, and Flint takes down the Scout from a torpedo of her own. I concentrate on the Corvettes while Flint tries to take down the Destroyer. She’s forced to ask for assistance, so I bail out of my attempt to eliminate one of the Corvettes. I take a few passes on the Destroyer, and dish out some damage. I ask Flint to help out on this target and she gets the finishing blow. Now to turn my attention back to the Corvettes. I make multiple strafing attacks against one with Flint also attacking the same target. She also gets this cat, so there is only one cap ship left. After several passes, I get to finish off that ship. I do notice that my fuel is dangerously low, so I hope there are no further Kilrathi encounters. Flint and I head back to the Victory with no more Kilrathi opposition, and Rollins likes how we mowed down the multiple enemies. My Thunderbolt is unscathed, although Flint’s has definitely taken some hits. Rachel will certainly be happy to do light maintenance to my fighter, although I suspect Flint to get some flak in regards to her fighter.
Caliban 3
There’s no shipboard interaction here, so I find out about our next mission. We’re to head to the jump point for other Confed action, and Eisen feels that there will be an attempt at a noisy Kilrathi send-off. I choose Flash as my wingman and pick Arrow as my fighter. At the first area are Darkets along with a Corvette. I take on the fighters solo, and they’re no match against the speed and firepower of the Arrow. With the fighters out of the way, I let Flash go after the Corvette. I help him out, and systematic sweeps clobber the Corvette. At the next nav point, it looks like the exact same thing. Multiple Darkets with a Corvette are here. Two of the Darkets get real sloppy and crash together before I even make a kill. I get the third one the normal way with guns, and the fourth folds underneath multiple hits to the rear. Time to again let Flash go after the Corvette. This time he makes the final blow, and I know my Arrow took some hits to its armor during the attack. The next just has Dralthi fighters. I make short work of two of the fighters, and the next two don’t do any better. Another wing of Dralthis jumps in with a Corvette. There are only two Dralthi with the Corvette, so they are swatted like flies. Time to let Flash do his thing against the Corvette. Neither of us makes the kill on the cap ship since the Victory’s guns take it out before we can. Yet another group jumps in, but the jump is deadly for a Vaktoth in the group. One less cat to worry about, and Flash and I split the remaining fighter kills, but my Arrow took a missile hit. Another jump happens with more Vaktoths and a Darket or two. The Darket falls quickly to a missile, and Flash gets a fighter kill before I can ice a Vaktoth. Flash takes out the other Vaktoth, and another jump occurs. This time it looks like light Darket fighters, so this should not be too difficult. Flash and I both get a kill at almost the same time, and my guns destroy another Darket. Again, we both make separate Darket kills at almost the same time. There are no more jumps, so it’s clear for us to land.
Rollins says that we’re expecting some company to come, and he hopes it’s a young and pretty female for him to look at and possibly pursue. After our battle group jump, a shuttle is landing on the Victory. Due to the expectations of high brass, Eisen spots a possibly offending toolkit and orders Rollins to get it out of sight. Rollins complains about being made into a maid, and we get to see our visitor. It is Admiral Tolwyn, and Eisen welcomes him aboard. The Admiral looks over our group of pilots, and I am given an opportunity to score points. I instead select to point out that there are no special ‘legends’ here, and that we are all pilots doing our best to get the job done. Tolwyn thinks I’m being too modest and wants to add to my legend. The Admiral has also brought along his personal cook and will see to it that we get some decent food. I thought our feast at Blackmane was pretty darn good with steak and eggs, but a little extra spice to the menu should be good for everybody’s morale.
Torgo 1
I find Flint in gunnery control, and she says it must feel like an old time reunion with both the Admiral and Prince Thrakhath. Flint apologizes after seeing my reaction and realizes that she knows who I’m really thinking about after checking about my history. She correctly identifies Angel as my concern, and I ask her when she decided to look at pilot histories. She admits that this was her weapon when growing up, and that her research gave her an edge. She also knows about my frequent crossing of paths with the Admiral. I admit that it’s more of a confrontation where Tolwyn is concerned, and the Admiral makes it his goal to know the history of pilots he meets. Tolwyn has no quibbles about using rules and regulations, and Flint and I agree that he does not know the human heart as well as he could. I head down to the flight level, and see the Admiral in the briefing room along with Captain Eisen. The Admiral explains that we’re here to rendezvous with ‘destiny’, and I find that this destiny is with a massive ship called the Behemoth. It’s a super ship with one function: destruction of planets with Kilrah as the obvious target. The Behemoth has not had the time to get fully operational, so it has been pressed into service earlier than expected. This is due to the successful war effort the Kilrathi have been making, so there is little choice in the matter. Either deploy the weapon now or risk the cats conquering Earth in six months or less. The defenses of the Behemoth are thin in certain areas due to the accelerated deployment so it will need extra protection against attack. Tolwyn receives a communication message during the briefing, and he tells us that the Kilrathi are attempting to spoil any attempt to use the Behemoth. I’m given orders to scramble all fighters, so it’s a magnum launch in an Arrow. Flint is along as my wingman, and I do get enough time to make my standard launch adjustments.
At the first nav point are Paktahn bombers with some stealth fighter backup. Since the bombers are the more dangerous targets, I go after them and let Flint deal with whoever she wants. I match speed and get behind one of the bombers and multiple blasts to the bomber take it out of action. I get another bomber after some weaving in and out of its rear turret fire, and look for any uncloaked stealth fighters. I’m able to get on one long enough to eliminate him, and I get lucky attacking the second stealth fighter. My shots hit him while cloaked, and there are no more cats here. Time to go onward in our efforts to save the Behemoth from attack. At the next point are Paktahns along with Vaktoths. Flash is here along with Primate to deal with the Kilrathi. It’s four fighters against whatever surprises come our way. I head for one of the bombers, and blow it to bits. A Vaktoth launched a missile and hit my Arrow, so I keep my ear open for any more launches. Flint takes out one of the ships, and I soon follow with vaporization of a Vaktoth. Another wing comes in, and there are more Vaktoths to deal with. My Arrow takes another missile hit from a Vaktoth, but my ship is holding together pretty well. I get a Vaktoth with my guns after making several series of evasive maneuvers to evade enemy fire. I see a Paktahn bomber as a good target, but its turrets do some damage to my Arrow. I go after the Vaktoths instead, and Flint has splashed another cat. Flint gets the last Vaktoth in the wing, but another group comes in. I spend quite some time staying evasive, and Flint takes out a fighter. She guns down another Vaktoth, and I manage to make a kill myself. Another wing of Vaktoths jump in, and it takes me some time to take one down. Another fighter bites the dust, and I sight a bomber. I match speed and do some weaving in and out of his rear turret fire. I eliminate him, and yet another wing of Vaktoths jumps us. After persistent effort, I gun down one while another one is dealt with by my wingmates. There is a Paktahn left, and I get behind him and give him a taste of my guns. The way is now clear to go to the next nav point. Vagabond is here, and says he could use the help. There are some Paktahns and other ships here, so Flint and I get busy. I shred a bomber with the guns of my Arrow, and notice Strakhas trying to do their standard stealth tactics. I get one of them with my guns, and the other is taken down. At long last, the way is clear for us to go to the Behemoth. This ship lives up to its name, and it is far bigger than the Victory or the Concordia. I spend quite some time taking a look at it, and then we head back for the Victory. The Admiral comes on instead of Rollins, and says that he was correct in his choice to send me to defend the Behemoth. There is some maintenance to due on the Behemoth before we head out of this system, so I should have more opportunities to defend the ship and hopefully see it in action soon. Rachel congratulates me on smoking the opposition after my landing. I talk to her in the hangar bay, and she’s looking over schematics of the Behemoth on a pad. She admits that while the ship is quite large, the shields are thin and she thinks it is because of the power output for the primary lancing beam of the Behemoth. I tell her that Confed might make another model of the Behemoth with better improvements. By that time, the war will have ended one way or another so I expect this to be a one-of-a-kind design.
Torgo 2
I see Rollins in the lift, and he’s pointing out unusual coded transmissions from this ship. I tell him that this is to be expected due to Admiral Tolwyn’s presence, but he explains that this messaging is not standard Confed traffic for high-ranking personnel. I ask him if he’s sure, and he explains that he knows communications well enough to spot strange stuff. I ask him to keep me in the loop, and head up to the bridge level. I walk over to the Admiral, and he’s impressed so far at what I’ve done including my ability to keep my combat reflexes from getting bad. I reluctantly ask the Admiral what he is doing here. Tolwyn explains that he took the Behemoth project when it started 10 years ago, and he is looking to protect his investment. I ask if his real intention is to take over Eisen’s command, and he’s offended by this suggestion. He stiffly chastises me for thinking that he would usurp Eisen, and had believed that I had at last given him respect. He then points out that my assignment to the Victory was meant as a defense of the Behemoth once she was ready to join our battle group. Knowing that Kilrah is the biggest target for the Behemoth, I ask if we’re heading there. The Admiral leaves no doubt that Behemoth’s primary objective is to incinerate the planet. I head down to the flight level and the briefing room before I get myself into more trouble with the Admiral. Eisen explains that I am to mine four nav points, and the Longbow is the only ship available that can do this job. I choose Cobra to come along, and I takeoff with my standard settings.
At the first nav point are Paktahs and Vaktoths. I let Cobra loose and pursue the more dangerous Vaktoths. I get one with my guns, but due to the slow speed of the Longbow I have to wait for the Vaktoth to make direct frontal attacks. Cobra takes down a Kilrathi, along with a Paktahn I pursue. I deploy two mines here, and head for the next nav point. It looks like the same reception here of Paktahns and Vaktoths. I’m able to make fairly short work of two Vaktoths with the guns of my Longbow, and its capabilities go up a few notches for my opinion of it. A Paktahn is attempting to attack Cobra from her rear, but I have her six and prevent the bomber from scratching her. I’m able to gun down yet another bomber, so the Longbow is definitely effective versus bombers and heavy fighters. I use two more mines and move onwards. There are again Vaktoths and Paktahns at this area. It takes me some time to take down one of the Vaktoths, and another ship is destroyed during my pursuit. Cobra takes out a Kilrathi, and I make another systematic shattering of a Vaktoth. I again deploy more mines here, and it’s off to the fourth nav point. There is more of the same resistance here, although it only looks like Vaktoths this time. I get one of the Vaktoths after too many forward passes from it. Cobra scores a kill as well, and I get another of the Vaktoths. Cobra tells me that she needs to retreat, but there is no other opposition here so I don’t give her orders to return to base. Together, we head back to the Victory and Rollins expresses his frustrations in our missions to keep the Behemoth in pristine condition.
Torgo 3
There is again no shipboard interaction here, so I check in for my next briefing. Our task is to disable three Kilrathi tankers so that the Behemoth can fuel up. This seems simple enough, so I go with the Hellcat on this mission and pick Vagabond as my wingmate. The Kilrathi decide to spring a small surprise on us: Asteroid fighters! This is a clever move by the cats since the tankers are in an asteroid belt, and I go after one. I blow multiple pieces off the fighter before it explodes, and I make rubble out of another rock fighter before turning on the tankers. I make multiple passes on the tankers, but an asteroid fighter reminds me that this can be a deadly idea. Time to finish off the fighters before I’m blown to fragments. I get a third fighter, and Vagabond has disabled a tanker. I gun down two more of the flying rocks, and make a few minor attack runs on the other two tankers. Vagabond has disabled the second tanker, so there is only one left. I fill another asteroid fighter with multiple craters before he is eliminated. I then turn on the last transport and get within range. I use enough firepower to disable it myself, although Vagabond does help a bit. We return to the Victory, and Rollins wonders why our side never thought of anything as clever as the asteroid fighters. Our next goal is to put the Behemoth thru its paces and test its capabilities.
Meanwhile, somebody on the Victory is sending a coded transmission about the Behemoth. Prince Thrakhath receives the message and laughs due to his plans to sabotage us working. After our jump, I get to see Rachel all spruced up. I explain about me hearing about her getting criticized by Tolwyn for her ‘sloppy’ appearance. Rachel makes a threat to loosen the screws to every part belonging to people like Tolwyn, and I ask her to save me a screwdriver.