Three hours to document the first two missions, but I included some parts of the intro. It feels right that fighter combat exceeds cinematics(with the exception of the first mission) for this go around.
During the reign of the Ancient Ones, Sivar appeared in a vision to the first Prophetess of Kilrah. The words were written in the Tome of Sivar. The prophecy reads, ‘There shall come a time when one who has the heart of a Kilrathi, but is not Kilrathi born, shall rain cleansing fire down upon us. And Kn’Thrak, a time of great darkness, shall embrace us.'
Near the shattered husk of the Kilrathi homeworld, a group of privateers are mining the asteroids for valuable minerals. One of the pilots in the small asteroid mining vessels picks up an unusual reading on their computer. The home vessel asks the pilots to check out the reading, and suddenly a gigantic wormhole is opened. Death itself pours forth in a veil of darkness. A massive capital ship comes out of the wormhole and blasts the home vessel to pieces with a large weapon discharge. The home vessel was able to get an SOS buoy launched from the vessel before its destruction. A considerable amount of other small ships pour forth from the wormhole.
I’m flying alongside an Academy friend on a transfer assignment to a new super carrier called the Midway. I give Maestro a little bit of an egging on him losing his touch, and he decides to return the favor by saying that he’s been ahead of me since the last jump point. Maestro kicks in the afterburners, and I follow suit. Maestro taunts me to watch and learn, and we come in for a landing approach on the Midway. They ask us to reduce speed and set our approach to the rear hangar bays. I admire the size of the Midway, but wonder if all of the bugs for a new ship of this size have been ironed out yet. Maestro tells me to relax since Confed has not seen any action in years. Maestro and I land Piranha fighters, and he is quite enthused to be here. I’m not as enthused since all we’re doing is ferrying the fighters to the Midway. Maestro says that he has the perfect thing to pass the time, and shows me some Altairian brandy. It’s not exactly a smart choice to bring contraband booze on board this ship, and I ask him how he got it. Maestro says that he borrowed it from the Consulate General’s private reserve. I ask Maestro to put it away before we get into trouble. A hard-nosed first lieutenant greets us in surprise, and Maestro drops the booze on the deck. It rolls right to her, and she introduces herself as Stiletto. She tells us that she is the acting commander of the Diamondback Squadron, and Maestro mumbles a question on how she got that assignment. She retorts by saying that she’s good enough to have earned this privilege. She then tells Maestro that the CAG would like to some him in regard to an incident with the Altairian Consulate’s daughter. Apparently, it was a very private reserve. Maestro tells me to shut up, and Stiletto says that I won’t get any slack just because my father was a famous flyer. I tell her that I’ve earned the merit of being on the Midway by my own merits. She says that pilots live or die by the flight stats here, and I point out that I did get the highest scores for any cadet of the same year in the Academy. Stiletto brings up the fact that I also had the highest amount of demerits, and that the Midway is on a make-or-break shakedown cruise. This means that she won’t have time to ‘babysit’ us. She asks us to get registered on the Midway’s system, and tells Maestro to put his contraband booze out of sight before he gets into more trouble from the CAG. Stiletto lets us do as she ordered, and I comment that it went better than I expected. Maestro thinks that underneath the gruff exterior, Stiletto liked him on first sight. I let the matter drop once I hear him wonder what ‘Stiletto’ means.
H’Rekkah 1
In the Rec room on the Midway, I overhear Maniac telling a story of how he dealt with a group of Kilrathi by himself without help from his wingman. I see the nearest table, and ask the people there if an open seat is taken. I sit down, and Hawk gets up to leave. I attempt to introduce myself, but the other pilot also gives me a cold shoulder. I accidentally knock over some glasses sitting on the table, and Maniac stops his story. He makes some comments about the smell in here, and that I’m the cause. I’m a ‘plebe’ in his eyes with my recent graduation from the Academy. He tells me to get lost and to leave the table since it is where members of the Black Widow normally sit. Maniac’s small crowd is dispersing as he’s telling me this, and he gets called away to the briefing room. He makes one more insult before departing by saying that he does not want to see me sitting at the table again. A pilot comes from his seat at the bar in the Rec room, and congratulates me on meeting Maniac and making him mad. He introduces himself as Zero, and takes his time to show me around pilot country. He points out the bar, the flight simulator(with some missions designed by Troy ‘Catscratch’ Carter), and the killboard. He shows me to my locker outside the Rec room, and also points out the flight log computer that will grant me access to the main ship systems. He does point out that the missions on the Midway will be for real instead of simulations like at flight school or in the Midway’s mission simulator. He tells me to meet him in the briefing room once I’ve learned enough familiarity with the ship and the areas of interest that he pointed out in the Rec room. I enter the briefing room, and Zero says that this is a primary focus of where Confed concentrated its money on. The briefing room is the nerve center, and I ask about the computer system used here since I don’t see any map tables around. Zero tells me that the Midway has a new ICIS system that is connected to all other computer systems on the ship. Our mission assignments will be relayed to the ICIS system by the tactical, intelligence, and science divisions. All of this information is relayed to screens on the briefing room desks with a point-and-click interface. Another pilot sitting in a chair in the briefing room says to think of it as a window to view the world if it works. Zero introduces this other pilot as Dallas, and says that he’s the resident cynic on board. Zero says that Dallas is probably already working on another letter to Senator Taggart, but Dallas says that he’s just tracking his investments. He believes that five more years at the rate he is being paid should lead to a wealthy retirement. Zero says that cash is all Dallas cares about, and he confirms that cash is where the real action is. He asks how much money Confed must have saved by building the stand-alone Midway carrier. Zero expresses his dismay that Confed has no backup to the Midway, so if it’s destroyed Confed space would be wide open for any offensive force. Zero then points out that Confed has all sorts of involvement in the economic system, and any cost for the Midway will eventually be made up by multiple revenue sources. Dallas advises Zero to not speak to Commodore Blair about the deficiencies of the Midway, and I go off on a rant about how we heard all sorts of things about Blair during our time at the Academy. I mouth off about wondering how old he is after hearing of all of his accomplishments. I then see Dallas get out of his chair and stand at attention. I realize that I’ve been overheard by one of the brass, and it is Commodore Blair himself! Blair walks up to me, and wonders if we’ve met before. I introduce myself along with my Confed registry number, and he recognizes me as the son of Iceman. Blair puts me in my place by saying that he flew with my father, and that he was a good pilot who followed orders and knew when to keep his mouth shut. The CAG steps into the briefing room, and she makes Commodore Blair stop his dressing down by just looking at him. I lament that I may have to kiss my plans of a productive career goodbye. Zero and Dallas take me to the bar in the Rec room to put out the ‘flames’. After a few minutes to recover, I head to the briefing room. Blair and the CAG are discussing something, but I can’t quite hear what they are saying. A pilot rudely bumps his way past me, and Maestro comes in to ask how things have been going. I admit that I’ve had a pretty cold reception and have managed to get on the wrong side of most of the senior staff. Maestro points out some choice chairs way up in the briefing room where I can try to avoid more scrutiny. Stiletto stops us, and says that our place is at the front portion of the briefing room. I can overhear Blair saying that most of the pilots assigned to the Midway are too green, and I ask who Blair is talking to. Maestro points out that it’s the CAG, and she’s much harder in terms of discipline than Stiletto. The CAG tells us that there has been a change of plans, and that the Midway is on full alert status. At 0400 hours, the Midway received what may have been a Kilrathi distress call. The tactical division has been trying to verify the message, but no further transmissions have been received. We’re the closest ship available to investigate, so Confed headquarters has asked us to check out the transmission source and assess the situation. The Captain of the ship comes in, and he tells us that an SWACS patrol has begun sending live data to the Midway. The Captain orders the channel of the transmission to be opened and displayed on the front screen in the briefing room. The pilots of the SWACS patrol identify a lot of wreckage and debris. They feel that at least three wings of Kilrathi fighters were lost, and only the Fralthi II ship survived a blast that destroyed multiple carrier groups. Due to no contact being available from other Kilrathi ships, the Captain has decided to make it a Marine operation to investigate the ship on the advice of Colonel Dekker. He turns the briefing back over to the CAG, and she tells me that Stiletto has recommended that I lead the Diamondback squadron for this mission due to my Academy record. The CAG points out that this is very unusual and that I am not to treat it as a training exercise. The CAG tells us to check our individual ICIS for mission details and assignments. I look over the briefing, and we’re backup for the Black Widow support of the Marine landing craft escort. We’ll escort the Marines to what is left of the Kilrathi fleet, and they’ll dock on the Fralthi II to investigate faint life signs on the ship. The Marines will also recover the ship’s data log, and we’ll escort them back to the Midway. The CAG then tells us that Commodore Blair has a few words for us. Blair points out that the Midway is not yet fully operational and that this will be the first mission for many of the pilots outside the Academy. He tells us that we’re the best Confed has to bring to bear, and to watch out for each other. The CAG dismisses us after wishing us good luck, and I thank Stiletto for this opportunity. She tells me to make sure that she does not have to come back to save me from destruction. I’m still a little shocked at getting handed this assignment, and Maestro says that it’s time to fly and prove what we’re capable of.
Just at liftoff from the hangar bay, Maniac chides us that it’s about time for our group to join him. We autopilot to the Fralthi II, and it’s a miracle that it is not in several pieces. I watch the Marines land and stay back at a long-range distance. As soon as the Marines start downloading the Fralthi II log, a group of rogue fighters come in. Maniac alerts us to their presence, Maestro correctly identifies them as NOT Kilrathi fighters, and the Marines are taking fire from the fighters. They get back on the transport and undock from the Fralthi II as quickly as possible. Maniac tells us all to engage the fighters, but I’m ahead of him. I start on a fighter with a little stinger called the Stormfire. I chew up a bit of my target’s rear armor, and he does a kickstop to make me swing past him a bit. I compensate and use short bursts of the Stormfire to continue hitting the enemy fighter. The flier of the fighter gets sloppy, and the Stormfire punches thru its shields and armor. Knowing that I have an important mission, I switch to another target as the first fighter explodes. I get on the rear of a second fighter and launch a heatseeker missile. It does minimal damage, so I let the Stormfire do its thing again. As I finish off the second fighter, I get a missile alert and drop a decoy to get it off me. Another of the fighters launches a missile directly at me. I can’t pull up or decoy it in time, but the armor of my Piranha barely held. I return a missile at the fighter, and finish it off with the Stormfire. Maniac says that he hopes we can make it back to the Midway without further help, and goes on to catch up with his patrol. We escort the Marines back to the Midway, and they thank us. I get landing clearance, and find Rachel chewing out various members of the crew to get the various ship systems working without problems. She then asks what I want, and I tell her that I’ve just landed. She tells me to use the computer to check my performance score and to go thru the elevator that leads up to a decontamination area. I find out that I have a good performance score for this mission, and head back to the Rec room after seeing Rachel deal with another ship malfunction.
H’Rekkah 2
Maestro, Zero, and myself are sitting at a table near the flight simulator and Dallas is nervously pacing. Zero asks him to sit down, and Dallas says that getting shot at was not what he was counting on. Maestro points out that getting shot at is part of the peril of being a pilot. I then chime in that we’re not certain who the enemies are yet. Zero then says he heard one of Dekker’s men say that the cats were cut up. Dallas asks for clarification, and Zero says that the bodies resembled a dissection. Hawk comes over to our table, and I get my legs off of a chair to let him sit down. Hawk tells us that the science division is working on breaking the code to the ‘black box’ Dekker and his men got from the Fralthi II. Rachel was asked to help, but she has a plethora of problems in getting the ship back online. I ask Hawk if what Zero said is true about the cats being cut up, and he says that it’s absolutely true. Dekker’s team also found a Kilrathi word spelled out with blood on the deck. Dallas asks what word the Marines found, and Hawk says it was Kn’thrak. Maestro asks what it means, and Hawk is not very good with Kilrathi. He thinks it means night, but Zero corrects him by saying that it has definitions of darkness, void, and evil. Dallas passes out on the floor after hearing that, and I hear the alert go off for us to get to our ships. Maestro smuggles the bottle out of the room, and most of us respond by getting in the closest available fighter. For this scramble, that means I’m in the Tigershark for this mission.
The Tigershark is supposed to be the evolution for the Hellcat fighter. I’ll get to see how it performs here, and the CAG comes on the communication line. She tells me that Maniac’s Black Widow squadron was ambushed while on patrol. I’m to escort the survivors of the ambush back to the Midway. The route planned on my navigation computer should help to avoid other hostile encounters. Another of the senior staff tells us that an unknown source is scanning all communication frequencies. Several of us head for Maniac’s position, and he’s relieved to see us once we’re there. I engage one of the enemy fighters, and the Tigershark guns gobble up an enemy fighter fairly easily. With a combination of lasers and mass drivers, the four guns of the Tigershark are pretty well-balanced. I go after a second fighter, and again the guns eliminate that ship. An enemy fighter attempts to take me by surprise with a missile launch, but I easily decoy it away. I take down a third fighter with guns, and another missile launch is heading my way. Again, the decoys help me to avoid the missile and I get on the rear of a fourth fighter. He just practically sits there while I pound his fighter to a pulp. As I wipe out yet another fighter, Maestro opens up the communication line to Lt. Finley. Two enemy fighters are taken down while I pursue my next target. My fighter also destroys him, and I assist in elimination of two more fighters. Maniac asks us if we were watching, and we head to the next nav point. There are no enemies here, and Finley comes on the communication line saying that analysis of the enemy communication is not giving any information on who or what we are facing. The next nav point has the same amount of enemy fighters that the first encounter did. I get after one of the fighters, and another works in tandem to shoot a missile at me. This time, the decoys don’t fool the missile and my left side armor is completely wiped out. I use one of the Tigershark’s missiles and its guns to quickly finish an enemy. I make short work of another fighter, and Maniac says that he’s almost impressed. I shoot down another fighter, and Maniac pitches in with a kill of his own. One of his wingmen is forced to eject after his ship takes too many hits. Another of the Black Widow pilots asks for assistance, so I again use a missile/gun combination to quickly take care of another fighter. I try another missile on an enemy, but it goes wide. I let loose with the guns and another fighter bites the dust. Maniac is almost impressed again, and one of the enemy fighters tries a missile launch against me. I actually enter into the decoy deployment area, and it’s enough to completely confuse the missile. I get two more of the fighters, and Maniac makes a kill as well. There are no more fighters, and I check the damage. Ouch! With one hit, my core took 20% damage. Rachel’s crew is going to be working on this fighter a bit once I bring it back. I also make a mental note that the Tigershark can’t take much damage, but it can certainly dish quite a bit out. As we return with Maniac’s group to the Midway, he asks the crew where they want our ‘stray’ Tigersharks. I make a landing in the hangar of the Midway, and again note a very good performance score for this mission.
P.S. - I don't see a reason that GBA can't be included for this replay, and the more the merrier in my opinion!