I knew I'd have a choice between doing the journal and reflying the G'mar missions after the recording glitch. I felt the journal was a higher priority since I won't be uploading the G'mar missions until Wednesday anyway. I'm looking forward to Lorien's return so that I have somebody else flying along these missions as well.
T’lan Meth 6
I walk up to Hawk at the bar in the Rec room and ask him how long he’s going to give me the silent treatment for not attacking the Kilrathi on the previous mission. Hawk says to not expect a pat on the back for not telling the brass about his desire for revenge. I tell him that I did not want to help him to kill these Kilrathi. Hawk points out that these cats are what he considers to be terrorists, and I point out that the design of the Kilrathi fighters is decades old. Hawk wonders what my point is, and I state that these cats are still trying to fight the old war of the Kilrathi versus humanity. That war has been over for years, and those who are still attempting to fight this war again including Hawk should be pitied. Hawk does not like hearing that and pulls out his knife. He pins me to the table, and thrusts the knife into the table very close to my head. He says that the Kilrathi still are the enemy. I say that the Kilrathi were an enemy in the past, but this new enemy of the alien bug menace has the cats on the run with us as the next target. Hawk then realizes his mistake, and says that he’s a good pilot who is still alive to fight these bugs. I reply that the earlier advice from my father to stay alive is still a good idea. Hawk then helps me get up from the table, and I go into the briefing room for the next mission. Unexpectedly, Finley is in the room with the transmission assembly of the jamming device we retrieved on the first mission in this system. I ask her why it’s in this room, and she says she needed the special communications equipment in this room to test a theory. By using specific key codes from the assembly, she has more information to break the codes the aliens are using for their communications. She shows me a transmission coded in two parts that was recently intercepted. I see the ugly mug of one of the bugs on the briefing screen, and it says that it has captured one of the non-aligned for transport to Dula 7. I ask Finley what the alien meant by non-aligned, but she has no idea. She does say that there was a Kilrathi starbase in Dula 7, and the aliens must have taken it over. I comment that it’s strange for the bugs to capture the starbase installation, and Finley says that she has even more strangeness for me to see. She shows me the second part of the transmission, and I see what looks like something organic. Finley congratulates me for being right, and says that these look to be very thorough tissue sample scans. Finley thinks these scans could be from humans picked up by the bugs. This would mean that people are being dissected for study, and that the non-aligned are us. It takes a while for Finley to clear the briefing room for use again. The CAG asks for quiet and says that the tactical division has developed a new strategy. In order to get more intelligence about the starbase the bugs are now using, an SWACS will be sent to do a perimeter sensor scan. By sweeping a specific route, the SWACS will get full visibility of anything lurking in the starbase’s radar shadow. Obviously, the bugs won’t like us snooping around so the SWACS must be protected at all costs.
I launch in a Panther with Maestro on my wing as well. At the first nav point are a few new alien ships along with some Mantas. I attack the Mantas first since they are the most familiar threat. One Manta goes down quickly from the guns of my fighter, and the second one fares no better. There’s a new alien ship called a Lamprey doing a frontal attack against my fighter. It rapidly shoots ringed energy bursts, and those shots look designed to purposely designed to drain my shields. With help from my wingman, I blast that Lamprey to bits. I then approach the other new alien ship, and the radar identifies it as a Ray. This ship has multiple orbiting satellites called Remoras. The Ray can occasionally drop mines and launch missiles, so I match its speed to attack it without overflying it. Once the Ray is destroyed, its Remoras go off rapidly in random directions to attack. Maestro takes out two of those small Remoras, and I get three. We attack and destroy another Ray, and five of the Remoras fall to my guns. Maestro gets two more of the Remoras, and we head off to the next nav point for more scans by the SWACS. At the next nav point, there are some Morays along with two more of the Rays. Since the Rays present a smaller threat, I attack the Morays first. The first one takes a bit of extra effort to pulverize, and the second one also is a bit tougher to take out. Maestro took out a Ray while I was working on the Moray, and he also dusted two of those Remoras. I take care of the remaining Remoras from that Ray, and destroy the second Ray. I get six of the Remoras, and Maestro pitches in with a kill. We head off for the third nav point, and there are Morays, Mantas, and Rays here. The Manta is a bit far off, so I attack the Moray first. I pound the rear of the Moray with the Panther’s guns and hit it with a missile. That fighter is still there, but a few more shots take it out. I then pursue the Manta since it’s within a range to now present a threat to the SWACS. A Moray is a bit hot on my tail while I’m running after the Manta, and I have to do some evasive flying and dropping of a decoy to keep him from getting thru the rear shields. I get within gun range of the Manta, and give it a close encounter with the vacuum of space. I turn on the Moray that was pursuing me, and let it have a missile up its tailpipe. I finish off the Moray with guns, and go after one of the Rays. After the Ray is destroyed, I get five of its Remoras and Maestro gets two kills. Together, Maestro and I remove the Ray from the radar scope. Its Remora satellites are all dispatched by the guns of my Panther. Maestro and I head back to the Midway with the SWACS, and Anderson congratulates us on a good job. I check the performance score for my mission after landing, and am astounded at the 99% rank along with almost 40 blasted bugs. Stiletto comes over to tell us the news that Hawk got attacked by two squadrons of bugs while flying a recon mission. Only the wreckage of his fighter was found, so it must have been a concentrated attack to kill Hawk. Stiletto apologizes for giving me this sad news once she sees my reaction. We both had the same teacher of my father for his advice to get thru that tough time I was still having guilt over Blair’s abduction.
T’lan Meth 7
I see another pilot in the ready room cleaning out Hawk’s locker. I say that he was a good man, and the pilot says that Hawk was crazy. It was all work and no play with Hawk as far as the pilot was concerned. I state that it sounds like he did not like Hawk, and the pilot says he understood Hawk since it was the Kilrathi that made him act that way. The pilot tells me about how Hawk’s home planet of Mylon 2 was terraformed by the Kilrathi with proton bombs. Hawk was training at the Academy at the time, and his return to his homeworld showed no sign of survivors from the attack. The pilot says that Hawk died on Mylon 2, with today as a formality. He hands me Hawk’s knife, and says that Hawk would have wanted me to have it. I’m left to feel my sorrow for Hawk’s death and wonder how many more are going to die in this new war on the bugs. I go into the briefing room, and find that the SWACS data has found an alien destroyer in the radar shadow of the starbase. The sensors of the Midway have detected the destroyer moving away from the starbase and its defenses. Stiletto will be in command of a fighter wing to deal with fighters from the starbase, and our group of bombers will attack the destroyer.
I launch in a Shrike, and we head to the destroyer’s location. There are an array of alien fighters here with Morays, Mantas, and Squids for fighter cover. There are also alien Barracuda corvettes, but I’m more concerned over the Mantas. I destroy one of the Mantas with a missile after our fighters are able to seriously damage it. I get a Moray to back off with a charged mass driver shot missing its mark. Another Manta gets in range of my guns and one shot is all it takes for the charged mass driver to destroy it. I call for assistance against a Moray, and a combined response gets rid of that fighter. I help out on a Barracuda, and the full power of a charged mass driver shot takes out the armor on one side of the corvette. Our fighters finish off that ship, and I see another Barracuda close by. This time, I get to finish it off with a single shot after multiple fighters soften it up. Stiletto warns me of more alien fighters coming in to help, but the distance is over 100,000 for the Squids. The destroyer is much closer, so I concentrate on getting that shield emitter down and putting the engines of the destroyer out of commission for the other bombers in my group. I get the shield emitter eliminated and park right behind the destroyer. At my close range, its turrets can’t hit me. Two heavy torpedo hits explode the engines, and I see the bridge is also badly damaged. One of our pilots is lost to the destroyer, and I need to finish off that bridge to prevent more deaths on our end. The shields of the destroyer absorb two light torpedo hits from my Shrike, but the third shot strikes true and that destroyer is left as charred shell. We head back to the Midway, and Rachel congratulates me on my performance. The Shrike did take a missile hit during the attack on the destroyer, but its armor held. Compared to how damaged I’ve been before in a Shrike, I’m thankful that I got thru this mission in better condition.
T’lan Meth 8
I head right into the briefing room with a bit of an adrenaline rush after my last mission. Due to our success against the perimeter defenses of the starbase, we have an opportunity to make a direct attack on the starbase. All of our fighters will be assigned to handle the aliens at a specific zone, and I am responsible for eliminating any resistance in my zone.
This mission puts me back in a Panther, and as soon as we arrive at our assigned zone there are three Lampreys trying to make a run for it. All three of the Lampreys fall to the guns of the Panther, and I then make short work of a Moray. One of the other Morays gets a successful missile hit on my right side, and I make mincemeat of a second Moray. I squish two more of the Morays, and the wingmen of my fighter group eliminate a Ray. I get four of its Remoras, and one fighter from my wing takes out an alien ship. I vaporize another of the Morays, and get a compliment from one of my wingmen. There is just one Ray left here, so this should be a simple target. After the Ray is reduced to rubble, six of its Remoras are fried by the guns of my Panther. We got a call for help from a second nav point, so I set course for it. There looks to be a mix of Mantas and Morays at this location. I get to work on a Manta and skewer it with a combination of a missile and my guns. I destroy a second Manta with just my Panther’s guns, and a Moray is destroyed by one of our fighters. I head over to pitch in on a third Manta, but the other fighters destroy it without my assistance. I turn on a Moray that was on my tail, and give him a missile and gun treatment. That fighter is quickly destroyed, and the other fighters in our group handle the last alien left. I return to the Midway, and Rachel again congratulates me on my performance.
T’lan Meth 9
I head right for the briefing room since I expect that the Marines will be involved on this mission. The CAG says that the Marines will land on the starbase to take control of it. Any prisoners on the starbase will be rescued, and there should be a lot of valuable data to assist us in further efforts against the aliens. We’ll escort the Marine landing craft to the starbase, and continue covering the Marines while they storm the starbase. We run to our fighters in enthusiasm, and proceed on this important mission.
Mantas and Morays are providing cover for the starbase, and I focus on the closest Manta. It’s quickly ventilated by the guns of my Panther, and another Manta attempts to avenge its friend. Those Gorgon gun blasts of the Manta go wide, and I’m on the tail of that creep. I dispatch the second Manta, and the Marines notify us that they’ve docked at the starbase. I get another Manta eliminated, and the Marines say that the starbase is set on a self-destruct sequence. I fry a third Manta, and blast a Remora to pieces. The Marines notify us that their scans have located human life signs on the starbase, and they’re going to check it out. I take care of a fourth Manta, and then destroy a Moray and a Remora before the Marines tell us that they’ve made it to where a human prisoner is being held. There’s little time before the starbase’s self-destruct will go off, so the Marines are running back to their landing craft post-haste. I scuttle another Moray and Remora, and see another Manta on the radar that could be a threat to the withdrawal of the Marines. The Midway tells the Marines that the reactor of the starbase has already gone past the critical point, so the starbase could explode at any moment. I get rid of the Manta, along with two of the Moray fighters. There are no alien forces left at this area, and I make sure the Marines have launched off the starbase before heading back to the Midway. The starbase goes up in a series of explosions, so we lose the intelligence value of it. After landing on the Midway, Stiletto tells me that the Captain has recommended that I receive a Silver Star medal. I’m more concerned about the human prisoner the Marines rescue, and Stiletto tells me that it’s Commodore Blair! Stiletto tries to tell me something about Blair, but I want to see him right away. I rush to the elevator and find the Commodore in the briefing room. I tell Blair that I’m sorry, and he asks why. I tell him that I felt responsible for his abduction, but Blair says that I did the right thing by staying with Dekker and the Marines on the H’hrass mission. The Commodore winces in pain, and asks me to excuse his condition since the bugs bounced him around a bit. I express my thanks that he did not end up dissected. Blair says that the bugs did cut into his mind and made him relive everything he tried to forget about. The destruction at Telamon, the actions of Admiral Tolwyn, the destruction of Kilrah, and his tragic romantic involvement with Angel were some of the memories he relived. Blair’s puzzled on why the bugs let us find him, and says that they are fascinated by our darker nature of being able to kill without remorse or pity. I ask Blair if he knows who they are, and he says that they are death for everyone that encounters them.
T’lan Meth 10
After the emotional high of rescuing Commodore Blair, I go into the briefing room pumped for my next mission. The bugs have brought in a significant portion of their fleet assaulting E’loy to try to pin the Midway against an asteroid belt. The Midway has detected multiple bogies closing on its position at attack speed. Although we did receive a reply from Confed that they are sending reinforcements to our area, it’s highly unlikely they will reach us in time to provide assistance. The wing of Panthers I’ll be with are assigned to a specific intercept zone to destroy all ships in that zone. Just before taking off on this mission, the CAG asks for a bit of my time. She tells me that the Midway has been getting communications from the Kilrathi on E’loy about my ‘hairless’ clan. I explain that Hawk and I were instrumental in helping the Kilrathi out on the fifth mission in this system. She then says that Kilrathi would likely use this opportunity to provide assistance for this mission against the bugs. I admit that the experience of having the cats help out would feel a bit strange, and the CAG says that it can be a strange world.
Maestro and I launch in Panther fighters and proceed to the intercept zone. More Mantas and Morays to deal with here. I engage and destroy the closest Manta, and the next nearest ship is a Moray. The Kilrathi come into this area, and say that they’re here to help out with Vaktoth fighters. I destroy two of the Moray fighters, and one of the Kilrathi Vaktoths is destroyed. Maestro and I make a Moray sorry that it ever tried to attack us. Half a dozen hits to the rear end of another Moray destroy that ship. I shake a Manta from trying its heavy guns on us, and finish off that fighter before it can attempt any more damage. I destroy a Manta, and then have to make multiple hits permanently discourage another from using its full firepower. Two of the alien fighters are dealt with by the other fighters in our group. The Midway comes on the communication line, and tells us all to return since they are under attack. There are still Morays and Mantas to deal with, but it should be little problem with our two-to-one margin. I destroy a Moray and a Manta, and the Kilrathi take out the last Moray. We all head back to help out the Midway. The closest alien I see is a Stingray, and I go after it since I know how dangerous they can be if three link up together. The next priority target is a Skate bomber cluster. I break that cluster apart, and take down two of the smaller Skate segments with my missiles. Maestro scores an alien kill, and I let another missile take down another Skate segment. I see a banged up Stingray, and pursue it. Multiple hits to its rear end its threat, and I go after a Manta. I see the Midway take a torpedo hit, and Anderson comes on the communication line to implore that I keep attacking the bombers. I fry that Manta, so there is now one less torpedo threat. Multiple alien fighters are biting the bullet from the Midway’s turrets and assistance from the Kilrathi. Anderson again comes on the communication channel to say that the Midway is taking more hits. I see a Manta that is very close to the Midway. I let a missile and my guns take care of that enemy. I have to fly over the top of the Midway, and I see one of its missiles kill a Skate segment. I pursue a Manta, and introduce its pilot to the void of space. I destroy a Skate segment with one of my missiles, and the cats pitch in with a kill against a Manta. There are two Skate segments left, but they are no match for our fighters and the Kilrathi assistance. I get to see the three remaining Vaktoths line up in formation as I request clearance to land. Part of me hopes that perhaps one day may see the Kilrathi and us fighting together as one group. After landing on the Midway, the Captain congratulates me on my work. I express my regrets that Hawk is not here to see this, and a new Confed fighter called the Vampire lands. The CAG says that the support from the Kilrathi would never have happened without our earlier assistance. There’s a bit of a crowd here to congratulate me as well, so it feels very good to know that Confed and the cats are united against the alien foe.