In the depths of space, a group of three Hellcats are escorting a medical transport. There is a bit of light banter from Green Leader to the lady at control expressing his wishes to have her at his side. She warns Green Leader and the other pilots to stay alert due to reports of trouble around where they are. Unknown to ALL of the ships, a group of five bandits uncloak to attack the fighters and the transport. One of the bandits drops its wings like a Klingon Bird of Prey and blows one of the Hellcats to bits. The other patrol fighters know that something is up once they see their buddy go off the radar scope. Another of the Hellcat fighters is frantically checking for any sign of the bandits, and he gets an unpleasant and fatal surprise from a bandit blasting him at point-blank range. The final Hellcat takes a hit from another bandit, and his fighter is spinning out of control with all ship systems smashed. The bandit is following too close to the Hellcat, and it runs right into the fighter. The leader of the bandits finishes off the Hellcat, and now it is five fighters against a lightly armed transport. The bandit leader is buzzing around the transport, and they are begging them to stop their attack. He states that ‘Border Worlders take no prisoners’ and a disc-like object is released from the ship and attaches itself to the transport. The bandit group pulls back, and the transport thinks that everyone on their ship will be ok. The disc creates an internal inferno within the transport, and the charred shell is drifting thru space. In a special move, the bandit leader drops a mine and times his afterburner thrust exactly to get out of its detonation range.
On Earth, Paladin is bringing the Senate house to order. Due to the success of his special ops folks for the attack run on Kilrah, Paladin has risen quickly in the world of politics. Paladin promises to hear the opinions of the audience members for their reaction to the numerous incidents that have happened near the Border Worlds. Before hearing from the people, Paladin introduces the commander of the Strategic Readiness Agency: Admiral Tolwyn. Tolwyn gives a small speech about his duties to protect Confed space from acts of aggression. He then says he has few answers to the questions on who is behind this increase in tensions between Confed and the Border Worlds. The crowd’s not too happy with that, and they leap in with theories on who could be causing the trouble. The Admiral makes an attempt to calm the fury of the crowd by reminding them that the Border Worlds were a loyal ally in the recent victory against the Kilrathi. He also states that the public should not let a lust for revenge to cloud their thinking, and they should remember the Border Worlds are their friends. During the war against the Kilrathi, the Border Worlds were going thru social and political changes. The Admiral promises an investigation into the true culprit, and the crowd is enthused over that proposed course of action. Paladin gives the Admiral his blessing, and acknowledges that the current tensions are at a dangerous level. In order to give some time to let the tensions cool down as well as to allow the Admiral to complete his investigation, Paladin gives Tolwyn two weeks before letting the decision of war with the Border Worlds come to a public vote.
Hellespont 1
I’m entering a bar and hear the concluding remarks from the news personnel about Admiral Tolwyn’s address to the Senate. I head straight to the bar, hoping to forgot my recent troubles. Things did not pan out with Rachel after the war, and I went into farming in attempt to find something else I was good at. The farm is doing ok, but I was much better as a combat pilot and am beginning to wonder what lies over the horizon. Before the bar order of a Hell’s Kitchen can be delivered, another person who claims to be a veteran of the war wants me to give him some money to help him out. I decide to help him, and ask him to use it to buy a meal instead of a drink. The bartender laments how a lot of veterans are having equally difficult times transitioning from military to civilian life. Unemployment is above normal, and I state my belief that we all make our own paths in life. The bartender recognizes my face after I tell him that I’m a war veteran too. Before the bartender can positively identify me, I see a woman slapping somebody and hear a familiar voice. It’s Maniac, and he’s STILL trying his desperate moves to have a relationship with a woman. Maniac figures that ladies on the ‘edge of nowhere’ have no appreciation for civilized men. I return a retort that they do display appreciation when they meet somebody more civilized than Maniac. Maniac has a little laugh and says that it’s good to see me again. He then throws in an insult about my choice to farm instead of fight. I admit that it’s a peaceful life, and he thinks that I’m wasting my talents by being an earthworm instead of an eagle. If it’s anything like the Wild Eagle squadron that Maniac once led, you can count me out of that action. I ask Maniac if he has continued flying after my departure from military duty, and he says that he could not think of a better use for his talents and considers my successful bombing run on Kilrah lucky. I get a little tired of his insults and explain that I made my choice because it was what I wanted at the time. Maniac thinks my reply sounded rehearsed, and before I can respond I turn my attention to a scuffle in the bar. Some person is treating a fellow human like a piece of dirt, and I wonder if anybody will do anything to stop the abuse. Maniac’s uncommitted about the matter, just like everything else. I decide to step in and stop this. That person seems to be seething in hate towards his fellow man, and I ask him to let him go. He tells me to buzz off, and I let him know that I’m prepared to do what is necessary to stop him. The man pulls a knife and holds it close to my throat. He then says that I’ll wish we had never met. I state coolly that I already do, and he gets a small laugh from that. He withdraws the knife and states his wishes to meet me again. I have a feeling that it will be on his terms and personal. Maniac comes charging over after the man with the knife is gone and makes feeble attempts at bravado. Despite my misgivings about Maniac, I can’t afford to let him do something supremely stupid and distract him with my question on what he wanted to talk to me about. Maniac gives me the news that I’m being recalled to active military service. I tell Maniac that the war with the Kilrathi has been over for a while, and he tells me that he was sent to retrieve me. I ask who sent him, but it must have been somebody in the upper ranks since he does not have a clue. Maniac then rants on how he’ll never understand Confed command decisions including his lack of promotion. He continues his rant on how lucky I was in defeating the Kilrathi, and I stop him cold by asking when we’re leaving. That stuns him enough that he does not have yet another witty reply, and he tells me that there are two Hellcat fighters waiting outside. Once we’re both in our fighters, Maniac is back to his usual self and tosses more insults my way. I ignore a few of them, and am about to tell him to stop it when he admits that he knew he was going too far but knows I did enjoy his repartee to a point before.
Maniac has a special surprise for me with a virtual dogfight challenge in order to see if he is better than me. I get right behind him before acknowledging the challenge and quickly tag him a few times with 40% virtual damage. He comes on a direct pass, and we exchange equal damage. He accuses me of getting lucky again, and then a bit of an ambush happens. Maniac and I are caught completely defenseless, but he sends the signal to reconfigure our fighters for battle. It takes approximately twenty seconds for the reconfiguration to complete, and I’m dodging around and using afterburners to keep from taking hits. I see our opponents, which happen to be two Razor fighters. These things look like rockets with wings and a cockpit. They are REALLY fast, but can’t take many hits before exploding. My missiles handle both pirate fighters, and Maniac is blanked again. We head for Orlando depot, but before we land a pilot in an Avenger launches all of its torpedoes at it. The depot goes up, and Maniac curses over the loss of life as well as our low fuel status. He’s not sure if we can make the next nearest station which is Bluepoint, but there is no choice. We both autopilot to Bluepoint, and get clearance to land with some fuel to spare.
Maniac and I are flying together in a shuttle, and he’s wondering how the pilot of the Avenger knew my name during the attack on Orlando depot. I admit my puzzlement, but also my desires to personally deal with that unknown pilot. Maniac thinks that the special maneuver the pilot pulled with the mine drop and afterburn trick was hot-dogging, but I know better. I get a nice surprise in seeing the Victory in orbit around Saturn. Maniac tells me that it has been made into an orbital museum, and teases me a few times. As we pass the Victory and close in on our destination, we both see two super carriers under construction. Maniac gets quite a good look at the one nearing completion. It’s called the Vesuvius, and it is definitely much longer than a standard Confed carrier. We land, and I enter the office of Admiral Tolwyn. I get his attention, and he points out how spectacular the Vesuvius looks. He then states the obvious by saying that we could have used something like that ship during the war, and thinks the cats would have thought twice about attacking such a large target. I’m not entirely convinced, since the Behemoth was a super ship itself and the Kilrathi were able to destroy it. I point out that carriers don’t fly themselves, and he acknowledges that it is the personnel that can make or break a Confed capital ship. Admiral Tolwyn admires the lack of detrimental effect that farming had on me. He explains that if he felt more confident about the current Confed security situation, he would walk away. He asks about, and I confirm some trouble along the way to this meeting. Tolwyn thinks that law and order are crumbling concepts for Confed. I point out that we are going thru transitional times after the finish of the war with the Kilrathi, and the Admiral points out that the cats presented a common enemy for everyone to fight. Now with all the different factions, there is a high amount of uncertainty. I’ve seen the destruction firsthand myself, and Tolwyn explains that is part of the reason why I’ve been brought back to active duty. I state that it’s no secret where my loyalties are, and the Admiral is counting on that. Tolwyn explains that for the last few months there have been acts of piracy, terrorism, and sabotage in an undeclared war being waged against Confed. I ask if there is any strategy being shown by these actions, and Tolwyn says that each time he makes a connection it is pointing to the Border Worlds as the culprit. I ask for confirmation that they have undertaken a guerilla war, and he’s not entirely sure although the relationship has been uneasy even during the war. Tolwyn says that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and I figure that is another reason I’ve been asked to come back. Tolwyn acknowledges that we have had a rocky past, but despite our differences that we’ve achieved much together. The Admiral then explains the final reason that I’ve been allowed to return. I’m to be a potent message as well as an extension of the Admiral’s eyes and ears. I admit no expertise in being a politician, and the Admiral admits that he thought it would be good for me to get reacquainted with an old friend: the thrill of battle. Maniac and I board the Confed carrier Lexington, and Maniac is off to his usual antics of trying to impress the crew. A lot of the pilots on the ship express their thanks in meeting me, and Maniac gets jealous. He calls me ‘Heart of the Tiger’, so I return the favor in saying that the Admiral talked all about him during my meeting. Of course, if I told him anything I’d have to kill him. Maniac insists he has clearance to hear what I have to say, but I’m going to be holding my tongue to keep him in line and in suspense for a while.
Hellespont 2
I meet Captain Eisen, and he reminds me of a bet that I made with him at the end of the Kilrathi war. I said that I was done with flying, but Eisen made a bet that I’d be back in action. I admire how good the Lexington looks in comparison to the Victory, and express my belief that Confed has been taking good care of him. The duties and tasks of the Captain have changed slightly, but the need for good and experienced pilots has not changed. The Captain gets called away to the bridge over the intercom, but he encourages me to have a good look around the ship during my stay here. I happen to see another familiar face from Vagabond in the lounge, and I lose a card draw for the next drink. I ask Vagabond if he’s still living up to not being tied down to one place. He has done a lot of roaming around until his assignment here, and then went into the active reserve. After a while, he got reinstated to active service and Vagabond admits that it was a stupid mistake. I tell him that I’ve yet to see him lose when it mattered, and head over to the bar to get his drink. I head to the briefing room to see what my first mission from the Lexington will be. Eisen tells me that he expects pilots to use their heads and not worry so much about contingencies. My task is to help in tracking down a base of operations for pirates in this area. The pirates have disrupted convoy shipment traffic in this sector, so I’ll be flying with a wingman to escort a convoy to a jump point. My next goal is to do a patrol relief for a communications array under construction. I express my feelings that it’s good to be flying under Eisen’s command again and take off in a Hellcat with Vero on my wing.
We encounter pirate Razor fighters, and I let Vero go to work. She and I split for pirate fighter kills. At the next nav point, it’s pretty much the same encounter with the same results. At the communications array, I see multiple Thunderbolts attacking. The patrol requests help in the defense, but one of the bombers is destroyed before either Vero or I can get in range. My guns take down the other one. I get a communications message from Captain Eisen to tail the Thunderbolts so that we can find their base. I stay within visual range of the pirates, but not too close to disobey Eisen’s order. I succeed in the objective of getting the pirate home base location, and head back to the Lexington. Both of our Hellcats are in perfect condition, so that’s a good way to start off.
Hellespont 3
I see a new Lieutenant that looks like he’s lost. I ask if he needs assistance, and he points out that he just shipped in. He’s obviously not sure on whom to report to, and I ask if he’s fresh from the Academy. It turns out that he was the number one graduate from his class, and was hoping for some Kilrathi action with his callsign of Catscratch. Maniac comes up the stairs to ask me a question, but by using my name Catscratch recognizes that I’m the pilot who handed the Kilrathi their final defeat. Catscratch certainly sounds impressed after meeting me, and wants to tell everyone he knows of our meeting. Maniac feels that the new kid is brown nosing, and I ask him if it’s true. Catscratch denies Maniac’s accusations, and admits that it has been a dream of his to fly with a veteran like myself who could teach him on how to be an even better pilot. He is sure that I have plenty of stories to share with him, and I tell him that the greatest instructor will be from flying missions. Catscratch really wants to fly on my wing for the next mission, and I tell him that I’ll decide if I want him to come along. I check with Captain Eisen for the latest briefing, and it’s time to go after the pirate base. There is uncertainty over whether the pirates are acting alone or working along with the Border Worlds militia. Due to obeying Eisen’s orders, Confed intel was able to determine that the pirates have a frigate operating on the edge of the Hellespont asteroid belt. We’ll be flying in Longbow bombers to take out the frigate, and we’ll also have fighter cover to help us out.
I let Vagabond come along since I feel I need somebody with some previous experience. There are a few Thunderbolts along the way to greet us. The Longbow handles the same sluggish way it did before when I used it against the Kilrathi. The fighter cover and Vagabond handle one of them, and I get very close to the other and give him a gun barrage that fragments his ship. At the next nav point, there is a more serious greeting. The fighters and Vagabond distract the pirate defense, and I get an easy torpedo shot on the frigate. Two of the enemies are downed by the time the frigate is taken care of. Vagabond deals a pirate a losing hand, and I see a good target with an enemy Thunderbolt. Again, I let the guns do the damage and the bomber is blown up. Vagabond scores another kill, and I let one of the fighters have a missile for a meal. We head back to the Lexington, but Captain Eisen wants us to investigate reports of a Border Worlds probe invading the Hellespont area. The Lexington recently picked up an SOS from a civilian transport carrying terraforming colonists, so Eisen wants us to check out the transport. Together, Vagabond and I head off for the transport. When we arrive, we are greeted with a gruesome sight. There are bodies floating around outside the transport. A shuttle from the Lexington gives us a report that some new type of weapon has caused this carnage. The unknown weapon caused the artificial atmosphere in the transport to super heat and turn into an inferno. Vagabond wonders why anybody would choose a civilian target for a military weapons test. There’s nothing to do here except to clean up the mess.
Tyr 1
I see Vagabond and Maniac at the bar, and they’re both making guesses for who was responsible for what has been going on lately. Maniac thinks a Border World radical faction is the culprit, but I point out that a test like the one on the civilian transport is beyond their current technology. Maniac is not entirely convinced since there has been enough time since the end of the Kilrathi war to make some technological advances. Maniac is right that pirates would not have the kind of firepower to destroy Orlando as well as the transport. Vagabond points out that Confed has used the Border Worlds as a dumping ground, so that has so far been their reward for helping us win the war against the cats. The only rationale that Vagabond can see for the Border Worlds turning against Confed is a desperate attempt to obtain their own freedom. I check in with Captain Eisen for my next briefing. He expresses doubts over the intelligence that we’ve been receiving from Confed. The Border Worlds have taken an important hostage has been taken due to the tensions. I’m given the mission of doing aerial reconnaissance in order to rescue the hostage. In order to get as much recon as possible, my Hellcat has been outfitted with a device that will allow me to get good pictures. There are three points on the planet that I’ve been ordered to check out, so I’ll have to get pictures at each point to ensure success for the hostage rescue. Eisen tells me to also check the mission notes and nav map before taking off. There’s obviously going to be a hostile reception, so I have to make the most of the Hellcat’s capabilities to avoid annihilation.
I take off, and there are two Border Worlds Banshee fighters in orbit around the planet to stop me. I tail one of the Banshees and overshoot him on my pursuit. I’m close enough that I accidentally ram the fighter, so now it’s a one-on-one situation. My front has taken serious damage, but I’m still able to fight. I’m able to stay on the rear of the other Banshee, and multiple barrages from my guns eliminate him. I head down to the planet surface, and make sure that my power and gun settings are ok before going to the first designated point. There is a missile turret along with two Vindicator fighters. They look a bit similar to the Kilrathi Ekapshis, and are just as maneuverable. I take out the turret first, and then attempt a multiple missile launch against the Vindicator ace. He decoys the missiles away, so I handle things the old fashioned way with my guns. I almost get too careless by taking multiple rear turret laser hits from the Vindicator, but I pull out of that line of fire and re-engage him from the rear. I hammer him enough that he’s gone for good, and go after the remaining defender. Again, I run into the rear of the fighter but it’s not a fatal blow for his fighter or mine. I get the recon pictures at this point and head onwards. The resistance is lighter with only a missile turret and Vindicator to deal with. I nail the turret by strafing it from a low attack approach, and turn my attention to the fighter. I decoy away a few missiles, and don’t play his game of ground chicken. I make sure that I let my shots count, and multiple hits vaporize the Vindicator. I get more recon pictures, and go on to the third point. Another missile turret with two Vindicators are there, so I do the same high speed strafing attack to handle the turret. I again use a multiple missile launch on one of the Vindicators, and I succeed. I have one Vindicator and one missile left, so there is no point in holding back. I get very close behind the Vindicator and let him make friends with my missile. I’m hoping there is not another reception of fighters awaiting me after I exit the planet atmosphere. I get the needed recon pictures and trust to luck. There is no further opposition, and I land on the Lexington.
Tyr 2
I see Captain Eisen in his cabin, and see him at work. I ask if it’s the recon data he’s looking at, but he tells me that he’s just composing a transmission to his grandchildren who are starting a new school year. The Captain asks if I came in for a particular reason, and I ask about the rescue mission assignment coming up. The Captain promises to fill me in once I see him in the briefing room. Once I enter the briefing room, Eisen tells me that Confed has made the hostage rescue a critical mission that I need to succeed at. I ask if there’s a reason that this rescue is so important, but Eisen cuts to the chase about what to expect for resistance on the rescue. There are expected reinforcements coming in fast, so time is of the essence. A Marine trooper transport will rescue the hostage, and due to the recon data I obtained we know exactly where to go as well as the expected resistance at that point. I’m to cover the transport so that it can succeed in its mission, and Maniac is along to assist.
There are again two Banshees patrolling outside the atmosphere of the planet. Maniac promises to give the Banshees his magic, and I quickly take one out with a missile. Maniac and I combine for the other fighter kill. After entering the atmosphere, I have to make readjustments to my settings since they were reset. At the hostage rescue point, I see a familiar reception with two Vindicators and a missile turret. I get the ground missile turret the same way I did on the previous mission and let Maniac keep the Vindicators busy. He takes one down, and I get the other one with guns. The transport lands, and gets the hostage on board. More adjustments have to be made after we exit the atmosphere, and we head back for the Lexington. There is a reception committee of four Banshees here to stop us. I hand one of the Banshees a missile, and Maniac blasts one as well. I get another with a missile, and am then forced to fly evasively and use five decoys to keep a missile from hitting me. I feed that final fighter my last missile, and he fails to digest it. We head to the Lexington with no further opposition, and I get clearance to land. We’ll be heading out of this system shortly.
There is a new Captain arriving on the Lexington. He identifies himself as Hugh Paulsen with orders from regional Confed command. Eisen is impressed, and feels they must be very important orders to be delivered personally by Paulsen. Paulsen explains that we are to go to the Masa system where we will rendezvous with the Third Fleet. Eisen asks to be filled on these orders, and Captain Paulsen says there will be much to discuss in private inside Eisen’s cabin. I head into the briefing room to receive a personal communiqué from Admiral Tolwyn. The Admiral is confident that I’m having good feelings about protecting the interests of Confed again. He is also sure that I have renewed old friendships, as well as making new ones. He expresses his regret that he can’t personally experience such camaraderie. Without the unifying presence of resistance against the Kilrathi, the Admiral must now contend with multiple different political interests. He asks for my evaluation of things on the frontier, and asks if we’re heading for war with the Border Worlds. I submit my reply that things are fluid on the frontier with us having to deal with pirates, the Border Worlds militia, and unmarked ships. There is difficulty in discerning any sort of pattern. I then make an inquiry about Captain Hugh Paulsen, and his ‘orders’ from Third Fleet.
Masa 1
Maniac is trying to help Catscratch win against Vagabond in a card match. He then wonders if I noticed the bioconvergence chemist we rescued from Tyr. Maniac feels that he has a good chance to be successful in his maneuvers to have a passionate fling with the scientist. He chastises me for not keeping up to date for science briefings, and says that he’s going to use his recently gained science knowledge to impress the scientist. I have a feeling on how that’s going to go down due to his lack of success when we met at the bar, and Vagabond is amazed that Maniac is making the effort. Maniac says that he’ll do anything to impress a woman, and he makes a lewd comment. I express my feelings that it would be an act of desperation for the scientist to even like Maniac. Catscratch loses his match, and he’s impressed on how good Vagabond is. I admit that he’s the best I’ve seen at cards, and I remark that I’ve never seen him show mercy to any players. Vagabond says that he’s just giving Catscratch some wisdom and experience. Catscratch asks for my feelings about the arrival of Paulsen, and Vagabond chimes in that there are too many cooks in the kitchen. I explain that new brass are usually a pain in the rear, and that things get a bit top heavy with too many senior officers on board. I head to the briefing room, and get surprise in seeing Paulsen there. I ask if Captain Eisen will be joining this briefing, and I get the news that Confed has given him other duties from orders. I attempt to find out more, but Paulsen says that he can’t discuss personnel matters with me. He does say that Captain Eisen’s new obligations won’t let him continue his previous functions as Captain of the Lexington. The Border Worlds have hijacked an important military spacelab, and Paulsen will be sending in the Marines to take it back. I’m to cover the Marines, and Paulsen expresses his confidence that I’ll succeed in my mission.
This time, I let Catscratch come along and we head off for the spacelab in Hellcats. There are multiple Avenger bombers here, and I let Catscratch break off in pursuit. I stay on an Avenger’s rear long enough to take him down, and Catscratch has helped with a kill. I get a few hits on another Avenger with my guns, but decide that speed is more important and finish him off with a missile. I seriously damage another Avenger, and Catscratch finishes it off. The Marines thank me for clearing a path for them, and they are moving in on the spacelab. Our work is not quite done yet since I see more Avengers approaching. I do the same approach of softening up the rear of an Avenger and finishing him with a missile. I then assist Catscratch in finishing off an Avenger that he did some significant damage to. Two more Avengers come in to attack as soon as the Marines dock at the spacelab. I get those last two bombers with my missiles, and there are no other hostile Border Worlds forces in the area. It takes a few minutes for the Marines to report a successful acquisition of the spacelab. Catscratch and I head back to the Lexington to get landing clearance. I receive news that Captain Paulsen is pleased with our performance, but I’m not enthused over how things are being handled with Captain Eisen. Something is seriously wrong, and I hope the situation does not go further south.
Masa 2
Maniac makes his move on the scientist, and she shoots him down in typical Maniac ‘magic’ style. Barbara Miles from the TCN Nightly News comes on a screen in the lounge, and she states that there will be a brief interview with Admiral Tolwyn about the escalation tensions with the Border Worlds. The Border Worlds are claiming that they are no longer going to be governed by Confed. In a response, all Border Worlds craft in Confed space will be required to fly under Confed escort. Barbara introduces the Admiral, and he informs about the increase in harassment by Border Worlds forces. Until the personnel primarily response for these acts of violence are brought to justice, the Admiral feels justified in his decision for the required escorts. Barbara asks if Confed and the Border Worlds can come to terms, and he says that there is not much choice if war is to be prevented. Maniac feels that Tolwyn is right in his actions to maintain order, and Vagabond feels that the action is an insult to the Border Worlds that will only increase tensions. Maniac thinks that the Border Worlds should feel grateful that it’s not Kilrathi bossing them around, and Vagabond pipes in his feelings that the Border Worlds kept us in the fight against the Kilrathi long enough for us to obtain victory over them. Vagabond asks my opinion on whether the Border Worlds should be forced to fly under escort, and I feel that Confed is having a hard time in relinquishing some of the control they’ve had for over forty years. Vagabond asks if I’ve seen Captain Eisen, and I shake my head no. Vagabond thinks that Eisen is lying low, and I decide to visit him in his cabin. I ask for an explanation of the new ‘orders’ that Eisen received from Paulsen. Eisen explains that he’s just waiting for a transfer to another ship. I state my belief that senior Confed command personnel will rescind this decision, but Eisen explains that things have changed since my previous tour of duty. Apparently, commanding a carrier like the Lexington takes a new breed of Captains like Paulsen. Eisen does his best to assuage my concerns and asks me to relay to the crew that he’s looking forward to new challenges. I enter the briefing room for my next mission assignment from Paulsen. I’m to take a Longbow, and use ‘any means necessary’ to enforce Confed’s interdiction edict. We’re to give them one final warning before we take this action.
I take off with Fhish as my wingman, and boy is he good! I’m not even in torpedo range of the Border Worlds cruiser, and he takes down a Banshee. I’m still heading for the cruiser and making some evasive maneuvers, and Fhish fries another fighter. I then launch a torpedo as soon as it locks on. The torpedo hits, and I have to afterburn in order to make a second torpedo attack on the cruiser. Fhish gets yet another kill, and I hear the lock tone for the torpedo. The second one hits, and forces the Border Worlds to surrender. We head back for the Lexington, and get congratulations from Paulsen for a job well done.
Masa 3
I see Catscratch in the lounge, and he’s concerned that attacking the convoy may trigger the start of war with the Border Worlds. I explain that it’s going to take a while before the fuse we just lit to trigger the bomb of war. Catscratch tells me of his Border Worlds background, and explains his doubts that what we are doing is right. It’s hard to make a good decision without all the data that is needed, so I tell Catscatch that I’ll chat with Captain Eisen again. I know that Paulsen is part of the problem, so there is no hope for help from him. I enter Eisen’s cabin, and he expresses his desire to make sure that his transfer will go off without a huge hassle. I tell Eisen about the doubts concerning the missions we have been flying. Eisen feels that the Kilrathi war made decisions about loyalty to Confed easier since the alternative was annihilation. I express my surprise in having to come to the point of being forced to shoot down fellow human pilots. Eisen explains that people will always strive for positions of power, and defends Confed as the driving force that led to victory during the Kilrathi war. The success of Confed in uniting humanity against the Kilrathi was second to none. I realize that this is our ultimate goal, and Eisen feels that the largest challenge is how to execute this duty. I stand up from my seat and give Eisen a salute, and he gives me an unusual farewell. It almost feels like that he does not expect to see me again. I see Maniac outside the briefing room, and he’s getting the cold shoulder from a fellow pilot. I ask how things went with the scientist, but before Maniac can give an answer we both hear an announcement over the intercom to clear the flight deck. Maniac wonders if even more security crackdowns will be coming in the future, and asks if I know who is arriving. I express my lack of knowledge, but explain to Maniac that I’ll personally rectify the matter by going to the flight deck against orders. Maniac says that he’ll look forward to seeing me in the brig. I return a retort that perhaps the arrival is yet another biochemist. I head down to the flight deck, and hide behind some parts to keep the guards from seeing me. I see the shuttle land, and I get a huge shock. It’s the same person I met during the bar scuffle, and can barely make out his callsign of Seether on his uniform. Paulsen explains his surprise in seeing Seether, and Seether is there to help make things progress as planned. I get another surprise in the briefing room when Captain Paulsen tells me that Eisen has stolen a shuttle and fled the Lexington. Vagabond wonders what Eisen’s motives were, and Paulsen explains that Confed thought that Eisen was giving the Border Worlds Confed intelligence. Paulsen uses that as the reason why Eisen was relieved of command, and his hopes were to resolve the situation silently. Since that failed, we are to stop Captain Eisen from reaching his rendezvous with Border Worlds forces by ‘any means necessary’. Paulsen tells us that Maniac is piloting the shuttle. Captain Paulsen feels that additional information from Eisen to the Border Worlds will cause serious damage that may lead to war. Catscratch and Miner are assigned as my wingmen, and we take off in pursuit.
Once we sight Eisen’s shuttle, Vagabond says that he’s going along with the Captain in defection. I agree to come as well, and Miner tries to mash me with a missile. I decoy it away, and return the favor after I seriously damage his ship with my guns. At the next nav point are more Hellcats from the Lexington looking to eliminate us. I let both Catscratch and Vagabond tangle with the fighters, and pursue my target. Catscratch and Vagabond take down Quality together. I give Hazard a dose of vacuum due to a missile hit, and help to also finish off Hippie. At our approach to the Intrepid, there are three more Hellcats attacking it. The Intrepid nails one with its turrets, and Vagabond ices another. I let a missile handle that final fighter, and we all land on the Intrepid.
The hangar bay of the Intrepid is on fire, and it looks like they took a lot of serious hits. The fire detail crew is doing their best to handle the hangar blaze, and one of the crew wants more fire retardant to handle another blaze. The person in charge of the hangar fire detail overrules that person. Captain Eisen encourages all of us to lend assistance in battling these blazes. We manage to make our way across the hangar to the two leaders of this ship. They let us know that their current troubles were caused by a Confed contingent. Once introductions are out of the way, I recognize them as Panther and Hawk. Captain Eisen asks to see Captain Dominguez, but Hawk explains that anyone on the bridge or in the bays died during the attack. Two thirds of the Intrepid’s crew was lost, and Panther does say that they were briefed about Eisen’s defection before the attack. Panther and Hawk are called away to battle another fire, and most of our group goes along to help. Captain Eisen and I are still in the hangar bay, and Eisen laments losing an old friend that he fought with during Confed’s Venice offensive against the Kilrathi. Eisen asks what things are coming to, and I answer that my hopes were for an answer from him to justify my defection. I tell the Captain about Paulsen’s accusations of Eisen being a spy, but Eisen says that he was acting more like a detective in attempting to ferret out the truth from the bogus intelligence information that was being relayed by Confed. Eisen was able to find evidence that Confed is attempting to provoke a war with the Border Worlds. Apparently the left hand of Confed is not aware of what the right hand is doing, so this means somebody with Covert Operations access is green lighting these attacks. I ask why he did not tell me this before his defection, but he admits that he has no idea about the instigator of the attacks. Eisen felt that his choice to defect might have been a suicidal course that he could not ask me to also take. I express my lack of regrets in my decision to defect. Eisen helps out with the cleanup in the hangar bay, and I lend my assistance in the upper areas of the ship.
P.S. - Sorry for the long delays in my journal reply. I've adapted to flying my missions on Saturday so that I have enough time to do the recording and editing. I've flown eight more missions up to the end of Pasqual, and just need to record the three missions that will happen if you don't defect. I did miss a few cinematics on my recordings, so my apologies to the fans. I'm looking forward to seeing Lorien's report soon, and hope he's not running into technical issues like he did for Wing Commander 3.