Wing Commander Replay Week 1
- Thread starter Dundradal
- Start date
Sharpshooter
Rear Admiral
Enyo 1
Hey, I get to fly one of my favorite ships. The cats are in for it now.
I use the ultimate "afterburn past enemies, get on their tail and shoot" technique for both navpoints. I used a DF against a Dralthi because I felt like it. Oh, and I told Spirit to break and attack, of course. I successfully afterburned past any asteroids with no problems. I used my second DF against a Salthi and missed. I launched an HS at the Salthi I was chasing, and it got badly damaged. I finished it off with guns, along with the second Salthi. Made it to the TC without a scratch. 5 kills for me, none for Spirit.
Enyo 2
I used the previously mentioned technique again. The Kilrathi never got a chance to damage the Drayman (one Dralthi did manage to hit its shields, but that wasn't enough to damage its armor). Made it back intact. I got 5 kills, Spirit got none. I got a Bronze Star and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
McAuliffe 1
Somehow, this mission felt even easier than the previous ones, probably due to the Scimitar's mass drivers. The enemies were defeated in a matter of seconds. Made it back intact as usual. I never even used a single missile. 6 kills for me, none for Paladin. Oh yeah, and a mine took out my shields, but that wasn't enough to damage me.
Mc Auliffe 2
Took down the Dralthis with no problem. I used a DF against one, just because. The Krants were a bit more troublesome, and actually managed to hit my shields. I used most of my missiles against them and finished them off with guns; they didn't last long. I used my remaining HS against the Ralari and told Paladin to form on my wing (hey, I wouldn't want him to steal my kill). I didn't bother to dodge the Ralari's flak, so I got damaged. I had to do several attack runs since the Ralari kept turning around. 7 kills for me, none for Paladin, and I won a Bronze Star.
Mc Auliffe 3
All 4 Krants were still alive when the Drayman jumped in. Fortunately, a Krant who's busy shooting a Drayman is easy to hit. They damaged the Drayman a bit before going down. The Salthis were harder. I shot down one of Bhurak's wingmen very quickly (before it could hit the Drayman). Then Bhurak wouldn't stop attacking the Drayman, so I got behind him and started shooting like crazy. He broke off his attack and tried to get away, but I quickly got back on his tail and toasted him before he could flee. Then I destroyed the last Salthi, who was busy shooting the Drayman. I shot down 7 ships, Paladin got no kills, I won a Bronze Star and got promoted to Captain.
Gimle 1
Took care of the Salthi without much trouble, although I accidentally rammed one as it blew up. The Exeter needed quick help, so I quickly got behind a Jalthi and shot it down with guns before it could hit the capship. I fired a HS at the second Jalthi and rammed it, which caused it to blow up. Then I started shooting the last Jalthi, and it crashed into the Exeter. I got 6 kills, Angel got none, and I won a Gold Star.
Gimle 2
I afterburned past the asteroid field without getting hit. The first nav point was a joke, I took all 4 Dralthis myself. The second nav point wasn't too hard. I dodged the Grathas' hits. I finished my target as Angel finished hers. I got 5 kills, Angel got 1. I never used a missile.
Gimle 3
Happily shot down all of the Dralthis, including Dakhath (whom I had to chase down after he got damaged). Made it back without a scratch. I shot down all of the ships, so Angel didn't get any kills. I got a Bronze Star. Oh, and I used a HS against a Dralthi.
Gateway, Cheng-du, and Brimstone coming soon (I hope).
Hey, I get to fly one of my favorite ships. The cats are in for it now.
I use the ultimate "afterburn past enemies, get on their tail and shoot" technique for both navpoints. I used a DF against a Dralthi because I felt like it. Oh, and I told Spirit to break and attack, of course. I successfully afterburned past any asteroids with no problems. I used my second DF against a Salthi and missed. I launched an HS at the Salthi I was chasing, and it got badly damaged. I finished it off with guns, along with the second Salthi. Made it to the TC without a scratch. 5 kills for me, none for Spirit.
Enyo 2
I used the previously mentioned technique again. The Kilrathi never got a chance to damage the Drayman (one Dralthi did manage to hit its shields, but that wasn't enough to damage its armor). Made it back intact. I got 5 kills, Spirit got none. I got a Bronze Star and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
McAuliffe 1
Somehow, this mission felt even easier than the previous ones, probably due to the Scimitar's mass drivers. The enemies were defeated in a matter of seconds. Made it back intact as usual. I never even used a single missile. 6 kills for me, none for Paladin. Oh yeah, and a mine took out my shields, but that wasn't enough to damage me.
Mc Auliffe 2
Took down the Dralthis with no problem. I used a DF against one, just because. The Krants were a bit more troublesome, and actually managed to hit my shields. I used most of my missiles against them and finished them off with guns; they didn't last long. I used my remaining HS against the Ralari and told Paladin to form on my wing (hey, I wouldn't want him to steal my kill). I didn't bother to dodge the Ralari's flak, so I got damaged. I had to do several attack runs since the Ralari kept turning around. 7 kills for me, none for Paladin, and I won a Bronze Star.
Mc Auliffe 3
All 4 Krants were still alive when the Drayman jumped in. Fortunately, a Krant who's busy shooting a Drayman is easy to hit. They damaged the Drayman a bit before going down. The Salthis were harder. I shot down one of Bhurak's wingmen very quickly (before it could hit the Drayman). Then Bhurak wouldn't stop attacking the Drayman, so I got behind him and started shooting like crazy. He broke off his attack and tried to get away, but I quickly got back on his tail and toasted him before he could flee. Then I destroyed the last Salthi, who was busy shooting the Drayman. I shot down 7 ships, Paladin got no kills, I won a Bronze Star and got promoted to Captain.
Gimle 1
Took care of the Salthi without much trouble, although I accidentally rammed one as it blew up. The Exeter needed quick help, so I quickly got behind a Jalthi and shot it down with guns before it could hit the capship. I fired a HS at the second Jalthi and rammed it, which caused it to blow up. Then I started shooting the last Jalthi, and it crashed into the Exeter. I got 6 kills, Angel got none, and I won a Gold Star.
Gimle 2
I afterburned past the asteroid field without getting hit. The first nav point was a joke, I took all 4 Dralthis myself. The second nav point wasn't too hard. I dodged the Grathas' hits. I finished my target as Angel finished hers. I got 5 kills, Angel got 1. I never used a missile.
Gimle 3
Happily shot down all of the Dralthis, including Dakhath (whom I had to chase down after he got damaged). Made it back without a scratch. I shot down all of the ships, so Angel didn't get any kills. I got a Bronze Star. Oh, and I used a HS against a Dralthi.
Gateway, Cheng-du, and Brimstone coming soon (I hope).
Dundradal
Frog Blast the Vent Core!
Little busy this week so I'm going to do mine in two chunks, but I figured I should probably get something out there 
The intro screen that started it all. Everything you need to know summed up in one line.
Oh the Sim mission to start the game. What a way to get the player into the action without just throwing them into the rec room. The first conversation choices (Shotglass, Angel and Paladin) and who doesn't go straight to the bar? Shotglass lets you know right away he's going to have some interesting news for you along the way. Paladin with a war story and Angel with technical advice.
Looking back at this initial interaction it is nice to note how it has held up over time. Anyone could become quickly immersed in the game without having touched the manuals (whatever heresy that maybe).
Quick game save in the barracks. You have to wonder if the swimming pool is located directly above the barracks. That leak goes on for quite a while without anyone looking into it.
Enyo 1
The first mission. I wonder how much time they spent deciding what should go into this mission. It introduces the player to the first of the two obstacles which still are dangerous, although one of my favorite things in this game is fighting right on the edge of an obstacle field hoping to push the enemy into a fatal move. The launch animation is still the best of all the games (although I do love the WCP launch tube loading). Watching the cockpit close and then being launched into space gets you right into the mood to take on the best the Empire has to offer.
It's fitting that the first enemy ship you encounter is a Drathli, a ship we all know that has come to symbolize Wing Commander. So after a second of nostalgia I destroyed all 3 of them with little fanfare. Spirit contributed a little damage to one. I have to say while she is an interesting character, I find her flying skills lacking. I manage to make it out of this first encounter unscathed.
Never under estimate an enemy. So I was a little over confident. I didn't turn away when I should have and took a bit too much damage and lost front armor along with moderate damage to communications and ejection system. I did nail one of them in the first run and the other fell not long afterwards.
Seeing the damage to my ship I decided to AB a bit into space so that I could bypass the last asteroid field. I didn't go quite far enough out and was dropped out of autopilot near the field. Not thinking I quickly AB'd again hoping to get the auto light to pop back on. Remember to look before you AB near a field. No sooner had I gotten up to speed then BLAM!
Son of a bitch. Well that's a great way for the organizer of the replay to start his first mission. My second attempt at the mission was over in quick fashion. Landing on the Claw. How cool is it to line up with the flight deck and request clearance? Or if you want just checking out the Claw with a flyby? And the landing animation? Kick ass in my opinion.
The first introduction to Ian St. John who is also known as Hunter nar Aussie. A close second to Jason Bondarevsky on my favorite characters list. The character we met in WC is so greatly expanded upon in FF and the other novels it's great to look back at the humble beginnings. It's also great how they express Hunter and Paladin's accents in the subtitles. It does a great job of putting a voice in your head without speech.
Enyo 2
First escort mission. The ever vunerable Drayman. Ugh, while at this point not to much of a problem to escort. I'm not looking forward to some of the missions in SM2 that are coming up.
This mission has the exact same number of fighters as the first mission. I made quick work of them, while they did manage a bit of damage on the Drayman under Spirit's watch. It jumps out and I make my way back to the Claw.
After debrief let the awards roll in. A promotion and a bronze star. These ceremonies are something that I really wish the other games had brought back in some form. WCP made an attempt at it, but they were nowhere near the level seen in Wing Commander. In light of the recent news, I hope whatever new title is in our future does something to replicate these events, at the very least the awards ceremonies. I love racking up those stars.
To the system where the war started. One of our local artists should really making their own rendition of Alexandria and the Skyhook. *HINT* That is before the Kilrathi destroyed it.
Knight and Iceman. I like Knight as a wingman. Although he does seem to get himself into trouble sometimes. Iceman, my favorite WC1 wingman as well as the father of a future war hero. He's a man who loves to fly as well as engage in combat.
McAuliffe 1
The Kats are up to no good again in this system. 4 point patrol. More Salthi and Drathli. As well as our introduction to the other obstacle, mines. I made quick work of this mission with little to really report. Nailed 4 and Paladin got 2.
Shotglass hit the nail of the head with "You met Maniac and Bossman over there yet? Maniac’s a real lunatic, a good pilot, but way too erratic. He was just comin’ up when the fleabags put me outta commission. Just between you and me, I’d rather fly alone than with Maniac on my wing."
Maniac looks the part perfectly and Tom Wilson does a nice job of replicating it later on. Bossman gives some sound advice and a little foreshadowing of what is to come.
McAuliffe 2
Oh yeah. My favorite kind of mission, capship strike. First up, a Ralari. Outer screen of 4 Drathli are not much of a problem. Few dings in the armor, but nothing major to report.
The one Kilrathi fighter I hate more than any other (and this hate extends to its Standoff equivalent) is the Krant. There is just something about this damn fighter that makes it such a pain in the ass to kill. I don't know what it is or if it's just me, but AH! After I take out the CAP the Ralari is ready to be on the receiving end of a full Dart DF missile strike, as I'd expended my Javelin HS's on the Krants. Missiles are on the way, damage is racking up, gun energy needs some time to recharge and then..."I got her laddie!" Paladin stole the kill. Bastard. But a victory against the Kilrathi is still a victory.
Another bronze star for my chest as well.
Paladin is getting ready to "retire." Ha! He plays the covert ops guy pretty well.
Bossman with some combat advice. Another thing that doesn't appear in the later games which is really too bad because it's something you know pilots would talk about on downtime.
McAuliffe 3
Another Drayman escort. No problem right? Wrong, nothing is easy with Krants around. I managed to destroy one of the Krants before the Drayman jumped in as well as heavily damage another. I got in a longer fight than I should have with one of the other ones which allowed his friend to do a bit of damage to the Drayman. After they were cleaned up I went on to my meeting with the first Ace.
Bhurak is such a bitch. He takes off running so easily it's annoying. This time I'm determined to nail him. So I set out to do just that. I'm engaged with him for no more than 30 seconds when he decides to take off running. Oh no you don't. I waste a few missiles on him but in the end he goes up in flames. I quickly turn back to the Drayman which isn't in the best of shape. Shields are down and its taking hits to the hull. Paladin manages to nail his target and I quickly dispatch the other. A very close call.
Another promotion and reassignment. Star Slayers and the Raptor oh yeah. How I love the Raptor. Oh and I got a silver star as well. Nice cap to an excellent series and then the splash screen. McAuliffe VI has defeated the Kilrathi attack. These screens are one of my favorite things about this game (ok one of many I know), the fact that they are also dynamic depending on your performance is the best part. You really get a feel that your actions are affecting what happens in the war. It's a great way to bring you more into the game.
Ok, I'm going to stop here for tonight and finish up with Gimle later in the week. Have a bit more schoolwork than I thought I would this week so we all know how it goes. Hope to see some more of you guys get your posts up during the rest of the week.
The intro screen that started it all. Everything you need to know summed up in one line.
Oh the Sim mission to start the game. What a way to get the player into the action without just throwing them into the rec room. The first conversation choices (Shotglass, Angel and Paladin) and who doesn't go straight to the bar? Shotglass lets you know right away he's going to have some interesting news for you along the way. Paladin with a war story and Angel with technical advice.
Looking back at this initial interaction it is nice to note how it has held up over time. Anyone could become quickly immersed in the game without having touched the manuals (whatever heresy that maybe).
Quick game save in the barracks. You have to wonder if the swimming pool is located directly above the barracks. That leak goes on for quite a while without anyone looking into it.
Enyo 1
The first mission. I wonder how much time they spent deciding what should go into this mission. It introduces the player to the first of the two obstacles which still are dangerous, although one of my favorite things in this game is fighting right on the edge of an obstacle field hoping to push the enemy into a fatal move. The launch animation is still the best of all the games (although I do love the WCP launch tube loading). Watching the cockpit close and then being launched into space gets you right into the mood to take on the best the Empire has to offer.
It's fitting that the first enemy ship you encounter is a Drathli, a ship we all know that has come to symbolize Wing Commander. So after a second of nostalgia I destroyed all 3 of them with little fanfare. Spirit contributed a little damage to one. I have to say while she is an interesting character, I find her flying skills lacking. I manage to make it out of this first encounter unscathed.
Never under estimate an enemy. So I was a little over confident. I didn't turn away when I should have and took a bit too much damage and lost front armor along with moderate damage to communications and ejection system. I did nail one of them in the first run and the other fell not long afterwards.
Seeing the damage to my ship I decided to AB a bit into space so that I could bypass the last asteroid field. I didn't go quite far enough out and was dropped out of autopilot near the field. Not thinking I quickly AB'd again hoping to get the auto light to pop back on. Remember to look before you AB near a field. No sooner had I gotten up to speed then BLAM!
Son of a bitch. Well that's a great way for the organizer of the replay to start his first mission. My second attempt at the mission was over in quick fashion. Landing on the Claw. How cool is it to line up with the flight deck and request clearance? Or if you want just checking out the Claw with a flyby? And the landing animation? Kick ass in my opinion.
The first introduction to Ian St. John who is also known as Hunter nar Aussie. A close second to Jason Bondarevsky on my favorite characters list. The character we met in WC is so greatly expanded upon in FF and the other novels it's great to look back at the humble beginnings. It's also great how they express Hunter and Paladin's accents in the subtitles. It does a great job of putting a voice in your head without speech.
Enyo 2
First escort mission. The ever vunerable Drayman. Ugh, while at this point not to much of a problem to escort. I'm not looking forward to some of the missions in SM2 that are coming up.
This mission has the exact same number of fighters as the first mission. I made quick work of them, while they did manage a bit of damage on the Drayman under Spirit's watch. It jumps out and I make my way back to the Claw.
After debrief let the awards roll in. A promotion and a bronze star. These ceremonies are something that I really wish the other games had brought back in some form. WCP made an attempt at it, but they were nowhere near the level seen in Wing Commander. In light of the recent news, I hope whatever new title is in our future does something to replicate these events, at the very least the awards ceremonies. I love racking up those stars.
To the system where the war started. One of our local artists should really making their own rendition of Alexandria and the Skyhook. *HINT* That is before the Kilrathi destroyed it.
Knight and Iceman. I like Knight as a wingman. Although he does seem to get himself into trouble sometimes. Iceman, my favorite WC1 wingman as well as the father of a future war hero. He's a man who loves to fly as well as engage in combat.
McAuliffe 1
The Kats are up to no good again in this system. 4 point patrol. More Salthi and Drathli. As well as our introduction to the other obstacle, mines. I made quick work of this mission with little to really report. Nailed 4 and Paladin got 2.
Shotglass hit the nail of the head with "You met Maniac and Bossman over there yet? Maniac’s a real lunatic, a good pilot, but way too erratic. He was just comin’ up when the fleabags put me outta commission. Just between you and me, I’d rather fly alone than with Maniac on my wing."
Maniac looks the part perfectly and Tom Wilson does a nice job of replicating it later on. Bossman gives some sound advice and a little foreshadowing of what is to come.
McAuliffe 2
Oh yeah. My favorite kind of mission, capship strike. First up, a Ralari. Outer screen of 4 Drathli are not much of a problem. Few dings in the armor, but nothing major to report.
The one Kilrathi fighter I hate more than any other (and this hate extends to its Standoff equivalent) is the Krant. There is just something about this damn fighter that makes it such a pain in the ass to kill. I don't know what it is or if it's just me, but AH! After I take out the CAP the Ralari is ready to be on the receiving end of a full Dart DF missile strike, as I'd expended my Javelin HS's on the Krants. Missiles are on the way, damage is racking up, gun energy needs some time to recharge and then..."I got her laddie!" Paladin stole the kill. Bastard. But a victory against the Kilrathi is still a victory.
Another bronze star for my chest as well.
Paladin is getting ready to "retire." Ha! He plays the covert ops guy pretty well.
Bossman with some combat advice. Another thing that doesn't appear in the later games which is really too bad because it's something you know pilots would talk about on downtime.
McAuliffe 3
Another Drayman escort. No problem right? Wrong, nothing is easy with Krants around. I managed to destroy one of the Krants before the Drayman jumped in as well as heavily damage another. I got in a longer fight than I should have with one of the other ones which allowed his friend to do a bit of damage to the Drayman. After they were cleaned up I went on to my meeting with the first Ace.
Bhurak is such a bitch. He takes off running so easily it's annoying. This time I'm determined to nail him. So I set out to do just that. I'm engaged with him for no more than 30 seconds when he decides to take off running. Oh no you don't. I waste a few missiles on him but in the end he goes up in flames. I quickly turn back to the Drayman which isn't in the best of shape. Shields are down and its taking hits to the hull. Paladin manages to nail his target and I quickly dispatch the other. A very close call.
Another promotion and reassignment. Star Slayers and the Raptor oh yeah. How I love the Raptor. Oh and I got a silver star as well. Nice cap to an excellent series and then the splash screen. McAuliffe VI has defeated the Kilrathi attack. These screens are one of my favorite things about this game (ok one of many I know), the fact that they are also dynamic depending on your performance is the best part. You really get a feel that your actions are affecting what happens in the war. It's a great way to bring you more into the game.
Ok, I'm going to stop here for tonight and finish up with Gimle later in the week. Have a bit more schoolwork than I thought I would this week so we all know how it goes. Hope to see some more of you guys get your posts up during the rest of the week.
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ELTEE
Vice Admiral
As soon as I read this, I pictured Blue Hair in all his glory putting arms up in a futile attempt to protect himself as his fighter vanished in a fireball. The imagery was so good in that game!
Then, nothing but floating debris, which always made that strange humming noise as it drifted further into the void...
Mekt-Hakkikt
Mpanty's bane
What can I say except that I am reliving the adventure through your tales? While I managed to get no all WC on CD here, my CD-drive still does not work and I haven't had the time to configure my girlfriend's PC.
It was said many times, it can be said again and again: WC 1, for all it's simplicity, did it, in many things, best. Like Dundradal said, how you start in the simulator, how you meet other people. Cutscenes were a real reward and the medal and launch sequences are just awesome.
And I envy you that you seem to have so little problems with dispatching Bhurak while flying a Scimitar. I hate that. No, I love it because it's good dogfighting. But it's really hard for me.
It was said many times, it can be said again and again: WC 1, for all it's simplicity, did it, in many things, best. Like Dundradal said, how you start in the simulator, how you meet other people. Cutscenes were a real reward and the medal and launch sequences are just awesome.
And I envy you that you seem to have so little problems with dispatching Bhurak while flying a Scimitar. I hate that. No, I love it because it's good dogfighting. But it's really hard for me.
Sharpshooter
Rear Admiral
Usually I can't dispatch Bhurak because I play WC1 on a portable computer with a "fake" and fairly unefficient mouse. This time, however, I'm using a big computer with a real mouse, so it's a lot easier.
By the way, if any of you feel like it, feel free to try to fully complete WC1's sim mission (from the Salthi to the fireworks). I think I'll try it, but it's pretty difficult.
By the way, if any of you feel like it, feel free to try to fully complete WC1's sim mission (from the Salthi to the fireworks). I think I'll try it, but it's pretty difficult.
Dundradal
Frog Blast the Vent Core!
Yes and they tried to bring some of it back in WCP, but still missed the mark a bit, but I think that made more to do with constraints than with what the dev team hoped to accomplish.
If there is one thing I hope because of the recent news is that whatever new product awaits us takes note of how these small little things really make the game beyond just great, but one of the best ever.
LarkInFlight
Rear Admiral
Hey guys, I'll try to join you next week.. I'm very busy right now but I'd love to re-play the game again.. I just love wing1 (my first Wing Commander experience).
Sharpshooter
Rear Admiral
Gateway 1
Afterburned through the asteroids as usual. I took all 4 Salthis without using any missiles. Facing Grathas in a Hornet is pretty tough - these things can take a lot of hits. I managed to get on a Gratha's tail, but I had to be careful since the other one was trying to shoot me from behind. Apparently Paladin wasn't good enough to distract it. I used all of my missiles on the first Gratha and finished it off with guns. I destroyed the remaining Gratha with Paladin's help and made it back with no damage. 6 kills for me - 0 for my wingman.
Gateway 2
Two waves of 4 Dralthi are attacking the Tiger's Claw. Need I say more? 8-0; Silver Star.
Gateway 3
I used all my missiles against the Gratha so I could destroy them before they could hurt the Drayman. In retrospect, it might have been better to save some for Bhurak's team. I destroyed 2 of the Salthi as quickly as I could, then went after Bhurak. He's quite good at dodging, and I had to spin around several times. Then he tried to flee, as usual, but I'm faster than him; so I chased after him and took him down. Then I came back to the Drayman, which was still under attack by the remaining Salthi. I damaged it and Paladin managed to finish it off. We then brought the damaged Drayman back to the Tiger's Claw. 5-1; Silver Star.
Brimstone 1
A lone Salthi is no match for 2 Scimitars. The Grathas who show up once the Salthi is destroyed, on the other hand, are quite dangerous. The fact that Maniac sucks does not help. I used all of my missiles (5!) against the Grathas so I could destroy them as quickly as possible. Once 2 of them were down, I had to avoid Maniac's hits while attacking the last Gratha. The 2 Krants at Nav 2 really weren't much of a challenge after this.
And for once, I did not afterburn through the asteroid field but carefully flew past it instead. 6-0.
Brimstone 2
Destroying the Salthi in the asteroid field required some careful flying. I had to chase after one of them. The Dralthi weren't much of a challenge. Honestly, trying not to get hit by Maniac may have been the hardest part of this mission.
Brimstone 3
The Jalthi were no problem at all, so I didn't use any missiles against them. Slowpokes.
Khajja was much harder. I took down 2 Krants first, and used quite a few missiles doing so . Maniac was busy distracting the last of Khajja's wingmen, so I could freely go after the Kilrathi ace. I had him badly damaged in no time, but he didn't retreat - Kilrathi aces never abandon a ship they're protecting, it seems. Khajja's pretty good at manoeuvering his Krant, but it wasn't enough. One less ace to worry about. After this, I blew up the Dorkir and helped Maniac finish his Krant. Two more Krants showed up, only to be destroyed shortly after. 9-0; Bronze Star.
Chengdu 1
The problem here is that you have to kill the Krants before reaching the Tiger's Claw. I quickly afterburned towards the Krants and destroyed the Krants that were closer to Valkyrie first. I used lasers and 1 DF, using afterburners only when the Krants got too far away. Then the Ralari and 2 more Krants appeared. I waited a bit (we wouldn't want to get far away from Valkyrie too quickly...) and engaged them. Angel and I destroyed the Krants easily. The Ralari was actually a bit difficult, even with Angel's help. I eventually finished it, but my Hornet ended up a bit damaged. 6-0; Gold Star.
Chengdu 2
Taking a capship through an asteroid field? Halcyon has pretty weird ideas at times, but if he says so... Anyway, made it through the asteroid field without a scratch. Dakhath and his wingmen were waiting for us at the jump point. I destroyed a few Dralthi, including Dakhath (had to chase after him). The remaining Dralthis tried to escape after the Exeter jumped out, and some of them apparently succeeded. We were ambushed by 4 Salthis in an asteroid field on the way back, but 2 of them crashed into an asteroid. We easily destroyed the last 2 Salthis. 6-0.
Chengdu 3
Grathas can be pretty bad when you're flying a Hornet. Fortunately, they're easy ti hit when they're busy attacking the Tiger's Claw. Not much else to say there, I did my best to destroy them as quickly as possible with both guns and missiles and ended up landing on a pretty damaged Tiger's Claw. 5 kills for me; none for Angel, 1 for Hunter (I think); Silver Star.
Afterburned through the asteroids as usual. I took all 4 Salthis without using any missiles. Facing Grathas in a Hornet is pretty tough - these things can take a lot of hits. I managed to get on a Gratha's tail, but I had to be careful since the other one was trying to shoot me from behind. Apparently Paladin wasn't good enough to distract it. I used all of my missiles on the first Gratha and finished it off with guns. I destroyed the remaining Gratha with Paladin's help and made it back with no damage. 6 kills for me - 0 for my wingman.
Gateway 2
Two waves of 4 Dralthi are attacking the Tiger's Claw. Need I say more? 8-0; Silver Star.
Gateway 3
I used all my missiles against the Gratha so I could destroy them before they could hurt the Drayman. In retrospect, it might have been better to save some for Bhurak's team. I destroyed 2 of the Salthi as quickly as I could, then went after Bhurak. He's quite good at dodging, and I had to spin around several times. Then he tried to flee, as usual, but I'm faster than him; so I chased after him and took him down. Then I came back to the Drayman, which was still under attack by the remaining Salthi. I damaged it and Paladin managed to finish it off. We then brought the damaged Drayman back to the Tiger's Claw. 5-1; Silver Star.
Brimstone 1
A lone Salthi is no match for 2 Scimitars. The Grathas who show up once the Salthi is destroyed, on the other hand, are quite dangerous. The fact that Maniac sucks does not help. I used all of my missiles (5!) against the Grathas so I could destroy them as quickly as possible. Once 2 of them were down, I had to avoid Maniac's hits while attacking the last Gratha. The 2 Krants at Nav 2 really weren't much of a challenge after this.
And for once, I did not afterburn through the asteroid field but carefully flew past it instead. 6-0.
Brimstone 2
Destroying the Salthi in the asteroid field required some careful flying. I had to chase after one of them. The Dralthi weren't much of a challenge. Honestly, trying not to get hit by Maniac may have been the hardest part of this mission.
Brimstone 3
The Jalthi were no problem at all, so I didn't use any missiles against them. Slowpokes.
Khajja was much harder. I took down 2 Krants first, and used quite a few missiles doing so . Maniac was busy distracting the last of Khajja's wingmen, so I could freely go after the Kilrathi ace. I had him badly damaged in no time, but he didn't retreat - Kilrathi aces never abandon a ship they're protecting, it seems. Khajja's pretty good at manoeuvering his Krant, but it wasn't enough. One less ace to worry about. After this, I blew up the Dorkir and helped Maniac finish his Krant. Two more Krants showed up, only to be destroyed shortly after. 9-0; Bronze Star.
Chengdu 1
The problem here is that you have to kill the Krants before reaching the Tiger's Claw. I quickly afterburned towards the Krants and destroyed the Krants that were closer to Valkyrie first. I used lasers and 1 DF, using afterburners only when the Krants got too far away. Then the Ralari and 2 more Krants appeared. I waited a bit (we wouldn't want to get far away from Valkyrie too quickly...) and engaged them. Angel and I destroyed the Krants easily. The Ralari was actually a bit difficult, even with Angel's help. I eventually finished it, but my Hornet ended up a bit damaged. 6-0; Gold Star.
Chengdu 2
Taking a capship through an asteroid field? Halcyon has pretty weird ideas at times, but if he says so... Anyway, made it through the asteroid field without a scratch. Dakhath and his wingmen were waiting for us at the jump point. I destroyed a few Dralthi, including Dakhath (had to chase after him). The remaining Dralthis tried to escape after the Exeter jumped out, and some of them apparently succeeded. We were ambushed by 4 Salthis in an asteroid field on the way back, but 2 of them crashed into an asteroid. We easily destroyed the last 2 Salthis. 6-0.
Chengdu 3
Grathas can be pretty bad when you're flying a Hornet. Fortunately, they're easy ti hit when they're busy attacking the Tiger's Claw. Not much else to say there, I did my best to destroy them as quickly as possible with both guns and missiles and ended up landing on a pretty damaged Tiger's Claw. 5 kills for me; none for Angel, 1 for Hunter (I think); Silver Star.
SabreAce
Rear Admiral
Personal Log, 2654.110, 1830hrs
We jumped into Enyo today, and I was assigned to patrol duty in a Hornet. The colonel put me in charge of Alpha Wing, with Spirit alongside. Frankly, I was surprised. A rookie like me, flying lead with someone with the reputation of Spirit? I guess the colonel figured I could use the training and confidence boost. We had three nav points to hit, with a couple of asteroid fields scattered about.
We launched and headed out to Nav 1. Ran into three Dralthi before we got there. I told Spirit to break and attack, and we went after the kats. The Dralthis swung around, and we went head to head. During training, it was hammered into our heads that the greatest number of kills happen in head-to-head situations. Well, no kills for anyone this time. I did, however, manage to damage one of the Dralthis, in exchange for some light shield damage. While my shields recharged, I banked around, and spotted the Dralthi I’d just shot up. It was easy enough to ID, what with the sparks pouring out of its engines. Spirit fired at the other two Kilrathi, so I afterburned past them to the damaged fighter, and fired a few laser bursts into his engines. They exploded, taking the Dralthi with them.
Feeling somewhat elated with my first kill, I turned around, to find Spirit duking it out with one of the remaining Dralthi, while the other came straight at me. I settled my gunsight over him, and sent a few laser shots his way. Didn’t do too much damage. As the Dralthi flashed past my Hornet, I cut left as hard as I could, intending to get on his tail. Unfortunately, the Kilrathi pilot picked that moment to break right, and our ships collided. I was lucky – my shields had been at full strength prior to the collision, and we hit at a glancing angle. The shields took the impact, and started to recharge.
Shaken up, I maneuvered my way back onto the tail of the Dralthi. I don’t know if the pilot was injured in the collision, or if his ship had taken some kind of damage my targeting system couldn’t pick up. All I know is he made one very slight evasive maneuver, and then flew in a straight line. At first, part of me felt bad for vaping a foe that obviously couldn’t fight back. Then my mind flashed back to the story I’d read of one Lt. Dibbles. For all I knew, this Dralthi pilot was faking the damage…my target VDU still showed his fighter as fully functional. Giving my 6 o’clock a quick check to make sure this wasn’t a similar ambush, I tightened up on the trigger, and destroyed the damaged Dralthi.
I came back around, and headed back towards Spirit. As I got within range of her target, she let a missile fly and pulled up. The missile spun the Dralthi around, but didn’t destroy it. The kat pilot was good – he recovered quickly, and used the spin of the ship to latch onto Spirit’s tail. Before he could take advantage of his position, I fired a quick laser burst, and scored a direct hit. Spirit’s missile had done enough damage that a single burst of laser fire took the Dralthi down.
We headed for Nav 2, and ran into the first set of asteroids. Never flown through asteroids before, not in real life anyway. I swear I could almost hear them whizzing by the cockpit. My mind flashed back to one of my first instructors. He used to tell stories of asteroids that, no matter how fast or slow you traveled, would blast your ship apart in a single hit. We used to joke that his brown hair would keep him safe, since it seemed to be a trademark of his. No one really believed him about the asteroids, of course. I’ve heard rumors that Confed kicked him out. Something about not wanting an instructor to do some privateering on the side…
Anywho, we got through the rocks, and made our way to Nav 3. Ran into a pair of Salthi. We made a head to head pass on the kats, who, for some reason, didn’t fire back. Spirit and I broke, and each went after one Kilrathi. I latched onto the tail of my target, and started firing. At this point, I found out one thing – Dralthis die easier. Salthis are officially tagged as light fighters, while Dralthis are mediums. I don’t know who wrote that description…all I know is that damn Kilrathi wouldn’t blow up. He was maneuvering enough that a missile would have a hard time staying locked on, so I kept using lasers. What Paladin had told me about Salthis breaking to the left proved true. Fortunately, I was ready for it, and arced around right back onto the Salthi’s 6 o’clock. A few more shots, and the Salthi finally exploded.
I realized I’d gotten well out of range of Spirit, so turned back towards and raced in at full afterburner. I saw sparks coming out of her engines, and knew she’d taken some damage. Pure, rookie mistake on my part, letting that Salthi draw me away from my wingman like that. I figured I’d catch hell for it back on the Claw. Still, Spirit had obviously damaged the Salthi as well, since it only took a few shots from my lasers to kill it.
We traveled the last bit of distance to Nav 3, before swinging around and heading for the Claw. There was a small asteroid field in the way, but we handled it no problem. The Claw sure was a beautiful sight to see upon our return. We landed, and met up with Colonel Halcyon on the hangar deck for debriefing.
Despite my earlier fears about being chewed out for leaving Spirit in the midst of the dogfight, nothing was ever said about it. In fact, Spirit actually praised me and my piloting abilities. Halcyon seemed impressed by what Spirit said, so that’s got to be good. He ran through the mission logs quickly, and pointed out that out of the five fighters we faced, I’d shot them all down.
Hot damn…my first mission out, and I’m already an ace. In your face, Todd.
Personal Log, 2654.111, 1745 hours
Today started with a briefing at 0640. I was supposed to fly with Spirit again, in Epsilon Wing. Had to take a Drayman out to a local jump point. The Drayman was right outside when we launched, so off we went. Instead of going straight to the jump point, we had to head around an asteroid field. Our Hornets could have made it no trouble, but that Drayman would have been smashed up by the first rock it saw.
As we dropped out of autopilot at Nav 1, a pair of Salthi were waiting for us. A quick head to head pass, and Spirit and I each picked a Salthi to attack. Unfortunately, she picked the same one I did. As soon as I saw her firing on my target, I broke off and went after the other kat. It went down pretty easily. I turned to join Spirit with the other one. Couldn’t take a shot at first, since the Salthi was breaking past the Drayman, and any shots I took that missed would have hit the transport. Instead, I chased the Salthi past the Drayman – too bad the Salthi picked that moment to cut his engines and spin around. I’m sure the colonel would be thrilled to know I’m now two missions in and have scraped paint in each one. As the Salthi rebounded from the hit, Spirit’s lasers chewed him up nicely, and he exploded.
We set course for Nav 2, while I watched my forward shields. They’d been obliterated when I hit the Salthi, and my forward armor was gone as well. The shields got back to full strength quick enough, and my computer showed no damage beyond the armor.
As we hit Nav 2, a trio of Dralthi were waiting for us. Knowing Spirit could handle one, we picked our targets and attacked. I went head-on at one of them, gave it three quick laser bursts, followed by a dumbfire, hoping to kill it quickly. The plan was to knock one fighter out of commission and attack the second, while Spirit handled #3. The first Dralthi didn’t die like I wanted him too, though, so I had to spend an extra second delivering the final blow. That extra second proved enough time for another Dralthi to fly past the Drayman, turn, and start hammering her shields. I went to full burner and opened fire as soon as I cleared the transport. It took 6 shots, but the Dralthi went down.
With just the one Dralthi left, I dove back in and assisted Spirit with it, destroying it with a few more laser blasts. I turned to give the Drayman a once over before she jumped out, and couldn’t help but notice the damage she’d taken. It wasn’t much, but it still galled me to think I’d let her take that many hits.
The Drayman jumped out just fine, though, so Spirit and I set course back for the Claw, dodging through some asteroids en route. After we landed, the crew chief informed me that “looks like it got a little hot out there”. The tone he said it in implied that I had dared to damage his fighter, and I’d be damn lucky if he let me borrow his bird for a mission again. I’ve heard about mechanics like that before. Who knew there’d be one on the Claw?
The colonel seemed pretty pleased with the mission results, though. Four kills for me, one for Spirit, and the Drayman through the jump point. He called me up to his office a bit later and told me that we were leaving Enyo, and as a result, I’d be getting transferred to Blue Devil Squadron, flying Scimitars.
Ten minutes later, I was back on the hangar deck, surrounded by a great deal of the Claw’s crew, as Halcyon pinned a Bronze Star on my chest. Pretty nice pair of days, all things considered. Two missions, a medal, and nearly a double ace. Think I’ll go stop by Sam’s for a quick drink, then it’s off to bed. Got morning patrol duty.
Personal Log, 2654.131, 1115 hours
We jumped into McAuliffe today, and I pulled patrol duty again, this time with Paladin. Basic 4 point patrol in theory, but the colonel wanted us to investigate what looked like a mine field at nav 3. Yay?
There was a trio of Dralthi at Nav 1. They started firing their lasers at range, but the Scim’s shields were able to shrug off the hits as we closed in. Once we were in range, I fired, and found out just how wonderful mass drivers are compared to lasers. The first Dralthi went up in a fireball quickly enough that I was able to target and hit a second Dralthi a couple of times before we were past each other. Paladin went after the remaining fighter while I swung around to finish off the second. We swung into a scissor pattern, jockeying for position. Around that time, I noticed my lock-on alarm going nuts – turned out the first kat had fired a missile just before he bought it, and that missile had decided to come around and lock on to me. I spotted the yellow blip on my radar, waited till it was closing in, then broke hard right at full burner. The missile disappeared from radar, so I came about and put a few more MD shots into the Dralthi. Kill #2 for this mission.
As I banked left to join Paladin, he sent the other Dralthi to the great litterbox in the sky…do they even have litterboxes on Kilrah? Point being, as the Dralthi exploded, Paladin came across the comm channel, saying, “That one was for my father”. Kind of brought the war home again for me. I mean, I and my family haven’t exactly been free from harm in this war, but mostly it seems like anything bad is just covered in the newsvids. Hearing my wingman talk about losing a father to the Kilrathi…almost made me forget about flying for a second or two. Thank God the other Dralthi were already gone.
We went for Nav 2, found it clear, and proceeded to Nav 3. I’ve discovered I hate mine fields. I tried handling it the way I handled the asteroids with Spirit the other day. After all, I had managed to get through those rocks without a scratch.
Mines aren’t rocks.
They don’t scratch.
They blow up and cause parts of your hull to turn to vapor.
I hate mines.
As strong as the Scim was in comparison to the Hornet, even she couldn’t take the pounding for long, so I settled on finding a hole in the visible mines, pointing my nose towards it, and tapping the burners. Then find another hole, and repeat. Got through the rest of the mines that way, and headed for Nav 4.
Three Salthis were waiting at Nav 4. I guess the Kilrathi like flying in 3 ship formations as much as we do in pairs. The first attack left one Salthi a floating mass of debris, and a second trailing sparks. It also left me without forward shields, and having a dumbfire shot off my wing pylon. As I punched my ship around, my lock-on alarm went off again. Now, I don’t know what Intel genius wrote the guidelines to kitty ships, but I swore Salthis were only supposed to have dumbfires…and yet this one fires a missile that locks on? Here we go again, playing “Dodge the missile”. Ah well, missile dodged, and a few seconds later, one more Salthi goes up in flames.
The last Salthi pilot was good – he knew he was in a maneuverable light fighter, and we were in the so-called “centaurian mud pigs”. He started juking and dodging with every bit of skill he had, but eventually we hemmed him in. Paladin fired a missile, which impacted at the same moment my mass driver shots did. The Salthi went up in a rather large explosion. I wasn’t sure who got the kill, figured we’d find out in debriefing.
We got back to the Claw, and I found out I’d picked up some moderate damage to my intercom during the patrol. I couldn’t wait to find out what my crew chief would think of that. Sure enough, he was waiting for me when the cockpit opened. “Looks like it got a little hot out there, sir.”
…what, not even a new line? I figured for sure he’d try and rip me a new one. Maybe it’s because mission #3 featured no collisions.
Halcyon seemed impressed when he debriefed Paladin and I. Said I handled the Kilrathi like an old pro. I quickly tried to give Paladin his due, since we both deserved credit for the mission, but Paladin shrugged it off. I was credited with another 5 kills, with Paladin picking up 1. Guess that last Salthi did fall to my guns, not the missile.
Halcyon said he wanted to see me in his office later on, though at the time I couldn’t imagine why. Last time I got called in, it was to swap squadrons, but I figured where I’d only flown one mission in the Blue Devils, it couldn’t be that…
Turns out to have been a promotion! The Claw is now home to a new 1st Lieutenant. 3 missions in, 14 kills, and already promoted. I’ve heard said that fighter pilots are amongst the most egotistical people alive. I’d say achievements like this deserve to flash some ego around. Not too much though. Last thing the Claw needs is another Maniac.
Better wrap this up. The colonel had said something about another mission for most of us this afternoon.
Personal Log, 2654.131, 1820 hours
My first look at a momma kitty. Paladin and I were sent to investigate a bogey about 90,000 clicks from the Claw. Intel couldn’t tell if it was a transport or a warship, so we were tasked with checking it out, and trying to kill it if we could.
Four Dralthi were on wide patrol as we approached. Paladin and I each took 2 of them. I shot at the lead, and, unfortunately for him, so did his wingman. He broke off to the side, giving me a chance to score a couple of hits on the wingman while he was distracted. I broke hard to starboard to keep after them, and managed to hit the lead again a few more times, till his ship exploded. The kat wingman, meanwhile, had tried to follow his lead’s maneuver, but all that did was sit him right in my gunsight. A couple of shots were all it took to dispatch the Dralthi.
Coming about, I was about to help Paladin, at least until it turned out the other two Dralthi were intent on helping me die – Paladin was chasing after them at full burner, but they were still easily within range to take some potshots at me. I dodged the laser shots as best I could, and let the shields handle the couple I couldn’t squeeze by. I then cut back, dropped my sight over the rearmost Dralthi, and pulled the trigger. Paladin must have damaged that ship before, because it blew up almost instantaneously. The other Dralthi pressed his attack, weaving around Paladin’s fire to come at me head-on. I managed to shoot him down by anticipating him breaking left as he came in close to my Scimitar.
We kept heading for Nav 1 at that point. When I caught my first glimpse of the bogey, my first words were “…transport my ass!” Paladin didn’t say anything. Glad I wasn’t flying with Maniac. He’d have said something about “I don’t think they could fit your ass in a Drayman”, and I’d have to waste valuable time killing him.
There were a pair of Krants flying CAP for the big ship, which my system IDed as a Ralari destroyer. We went after the Krants first, and I discovered that the Kilrathi are rather idiotic. Here they have a medium fighter that, even with lasers, seemed a lot more potent than the Dralthis I’ve been flying against so far, yet they seem to believe the Dralthi is the greatest thing since sliced catnip. Maybe Dralthis are easer to build or something. Let’s just hope no Kilrathi ever read what I just said…
Managed to take out the first Krant, then turned for the second. As I did, Paladin broke off his attack on the Krant, and went after the Ralari. While dogfighting with the Krant, I was able to keep track of Paladin, and he just strafed the hell out of that destroyer, from tip to stern and back again. I killed the other Krant, then joined Paladin in an attack from the rear of the Ralari, trying to set off her engines. Sure enough, explosion after explosion came from her engines, till a titanic explosion ripped the entire ship apart. There was barely enough debris left to fill a thimble.
We landed back on the Claw a short time later. Halcyon was pleased again, and Paladin was quick to say I’d done everything, that he was just along for the ride. As much as I appreciated the offer, I wanted to make sure Paladin got his due credit for the mission. Turns out Halcyon was just going to award kills based on the flight recorders, which said I picked up 7 and Paladin got 0. That can’t be right, though. I mean, Paladin did all the work on that Ralari, I just helped in the end. Maybe I can at least convince Halcyon to split the kill, if I have to get credit for it.
I got called back to the hangar deck a little bit later – apparently, I earned another Bronze Star with that last mission. As everyone on the deck applauded, I looked around for Paladin – last thing I wanted was to have him upset that I’d been awarded a medal for kills he should have been creditited with. He was there, smiling and clapping away. That man must have the smallest ego of any fighter pilot I’ve ever seen. Then again, when you’ve been flying fighters for 20-some odd years, I imagine you learn to keep ego under control. Here’s hoping I’ll still by flying in 20 years. Just hope it’s in a peacetime Confed, not against the Kilrathi.
Personal Log, 2654.132, 1700 hours
Faced down a Kilrathi ace today. Since we’re heading out to Gimle tomorrow, we were supposed to escort some transports in to the Claw. Rumor had it Bhurak Starkiller was in system, so everyone was prepping themselves to deal with him. Paladin and I set course for Nav 1, and got there ahead of the Drayman. What we didn’t get there ahead of were the four Krants that were going to make a play for the transport.
The first Krant fell to my guns in the first pass, the second would join him after I swung onto his tail, and latched on – I was getting shaken off. Just stay in his 6 o’clock, and hammer till he dies. Got the third Krant just as the Drayman jumped in. I went to full burner, intending to get the fourth before it could attack the transport. Paladin got there first, though, and fired a missile that spun the Krant around, preventing him from getting a lock on the Drayman. With the Kilrathi disoriented, I took advantage and hit him hard, and the Krant exploded.
We synced our autopilots up with the transport and set course for the Claw. Halfway there, we ran into a trio of Salthis. On their own, not a problem. Only issue was Bhurak Starkiller flying lead for the formation. He started taunting us as soon as we were within range. I fired a Friend or Foe missile at the Salthis, hoping it would distract one of them long enough for Paladin and I to nail the other two – it didn’t. Bhurak broke hard around the missile, and then came back around at us. Sighting him up, I fired, and scored a few hits, forcing him to break off. Rather than pursue, I swung around to engage another Salthi, preventing it from attacking the Drayman. That Salthi exploded quickly, leaving Paladin with his Salthi, and I with Bhurak. Bhurak’s good – it’s easy to see how he’s become one of Kilrah’s best known aces. Still, I’d like to think I held my own. Eventually, after hitting him a couple more times, Bhurak turned away from the fight and went to full burner. Guess he didn’t want to suck vacuum today. Seeing Bhurak flee, the remaining Salthi turned from Paladin and took off running as well. Knowing the mission was to protect the transport, we let the kats run.
Back on the Claw, Halcyon passed along that the Drayman commander wanted to convey his thanks for the protection. I was officially credited with five kills, and having “given the kats a black eye”, according to Paladin. He, on the other hand, didn’t get any kills. I talked to him before the mission today, and he seems not to mind not getting kills. Just as long as he and his wingman come home in one piece, and the mission is successful. Could learn a lot from a man like that.
Personal Log, 2654.135, 0915 hours
Not too much time for a log entry. Halcyon says we’ve got a busy day today, and we’ll all likely be flying multiple missions here in Gimle. Angel and I, as Zeta wing, were assigned to assist an Exeter class destroyer that was under attack by some Jalthi. As soon as we launched, we found ourselves under attack by a pair of Salthi. I switched to full guns, lined up, and pulled the trigger.
There wasn’t a Salthi, or much of anything, left behind.
I think I like the Raptor.
Obviously, the other Salthi pilot didn’t, since he disappeared off my radar quickly.
We got the Nav 1, and found a trio of Jalthi assaulting the Exeter. I sent Angel after one, then dove in on the other two. I fired a quick volley at the first, making him shy off, then turned my attention to the second. Jalthi’s have a lot of punch up front, but once you’re on their tail, that’s pretty much it. The Raptor’s twin mass drivers and twin neutrons chewed that Jalthi up in no time flat. Turning about, I peeled up and over the Exeter, and slipped in behind the Jalthi I’d first attacked. Got a couple of shots in with my guns, then fired a heatseeker as soon as I saw his shields go down. Missile tracked straight in and blew the Jalthi to pieces.
Angel was working on the final Jalthi, so I joined in on that attack. The kat made one last desperate attempt to break between us and make a run at the destroyer, but I turned after him and connected with a full volley, destroying the fighter.
I did a quick check on the Exeter – she was pretty badly damaged, but even so, was in far better condition than she would have been had Angel and I not shown up. En route back to the Tiger’s Claw, we ran into a lone Salthi – must have been the one that tried to run back at the start of our mission. He died as easily as the first Salthi had, with barely an evasive maneuver. Two more blips showed up on our radar near the Claw – turned out to be another pair of Salthi. They at least tried to make a fight of it. Unfortunately for them, by that point I’d pretty well discovered that the Raptor fits me like a glove. Almost feels like I could just set course for Kilrah in this bird, and actually make it there.
I was credited with seven kills off this mission, and due to those kills plus saving the Exeter, I was awarded a Gold Star.
Personal Log, 2654.135, 1300 hours
20 minutes till the next briefing. This schedule’s running me a bit ragged. Don’t know who I impressed in the higher ups, but Angel and I were picked to run the first combat sortie in the Rapier fighter. She’s a beautiful ship, but there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on with her.
We had a three point patrol. The asteroids at Nav 1 were no problem – went through them faster than I did in a Hornet. 4 Dralthi were waiting for us at Nav 2. Took one of them out in three hits with the lasers and neutrons together. Angel nailed one herself just as I finished battering a third into oblivion. The last Dralthi stayed at a distance and fired a missile, which my shields handled with ease – only down to half strength, and then almost immediately recharged to full strength. I came about and kicked in my afterburners, slid around behind the Dralthi while he concentrated on Angel, and blasted him to bits.
Two Gratha were at Nav 3 – first time I’ve seen one of them. Think they’re actually more dangerous than Jalthis. Sure, a Jalthi’s got more firepower up front, but it’s a mule in the mud. Grathas, though – might not be as maneuverable as a Salthi, but they’ll damn sure try for it. Combine that with the firepower they do have, and it’s a potent ship, one worthy of respect. Those Kilrathi pilots were good too – rather than splitting up one on one, they both focused on me. They battered down my forward shields with a couple of hits, so I broke off. Angel tried to hit one of them from behind, causing it to shy away, and giving me a chance to loop around and catch the other Gratha. It took a massive beating before finally exploding. Angel and I teamed up to take down the other one, which took just as much of a beating. Let’s hope the Kilrathi don’t start building a huge number of these things. The war would get that much nastier.
I’ll have to send a message to Angel to make sure that, when shooting at a Kilrathi, make sure I’m not in the way! Did I sprout ears and fur when I wasn’t looking?
Post-landing, I was awarded with 5 confirmed kills, plus one for Angel. The colonel also called me to his office, and promoted me to Captain. I don’t know if that’s good or not…On the one hand, it says I must be doing something right. On the other hand, it could be that so many people have been failing to come back from their missions that they’re pushing all the new guys like me higher up the command chain because they’ve been forced to.
Well, there’s the call to briefing. Here we go again.
Personal Log, 2654.135, 1900 hours
Just a quick entry before sleep. Three missions in one day, and a Kilrathi ace to boot. Angel and I were sent to check out what appeared to be a formation of Dralthi. Well, they were Dralthi. 9 of ‘em. With Dakhath in the formation. Five of the Dralthi came at us first. They all drew a bead on me and opened fire. My forward shields and armor disappeared before I could even blink. I dove away at full burner to avoid the next volley, which led one Dralthi to chase after me. I stayed in afterburner for an extra second, then cut to the side, using my momentum to slide beyond the kat’s firing lane. As my Raptor’s nose swung around, I lined up and let off three bursts of full guns, and the Dralthi went up in flames.
I turned to starboard, and spotted another Dralthi trying to pull around towards Angel, so I slid in behind and blasted him till his shields fell, then sent one last shot up his tailpipes for another kill. In the meantime, Angel successfully nailed a third kat. One of the remaining two Dralthi picked that moment to panic, and fled, so we took care of the last fighter.
Four more Dralthi showed up, with Dakhath leading. I locked my targeting system onto him, figuring he’d be the most problematic. I hit him with every shot my capacitors could fire without recharging, but his ship, though damaged, didn’t explode. He must have had all his shield energy forward or something. While Angel fired a missile and distracted the other Dralthi, I broke hard left and got onto Dakhath’s tail. Remembering what Iceman had told me about not fearing him while still in my ship, I pressed my attack. Dakhath came over the comm., claiming I’d “not put me in the void”. Too bad for him he said that as I lined up and sent another pair of shots into his engines. The last thing he said before his ship finished becoming a fireball was “The void…the void!”
I came about, and found Angel had done a hell of a job keeping the other Dralthi off my tail while I dealt with Dakhath. She’d damaged each of the 3 Kilrathi, so while she tried to pick one off, I did the same. Followed that up with looping up and over to drop in behind the Dralthi that was trying to get on Angel’s 6 o’clock, and blew him up. Angel then forced the last Dralthi to maneuver away from her – right into my sights. A few shots later, and he was gone as well.
Halcyon seemed pleased enough in debriefing – gave me official credit for 7 kills, plus another for Angel. 19 kills today, plus a promotion and a Gold Star. And I heard Confed marines managed to liberate Brimstone. Sounds like the war in Vega is really starting to turn around.
Now it’s off to bed, for whatever sleep I can get before tomorrow’s missions.
We jumped into Enyo today, and I was assigned to patrol duty in a Hornet. The colonel put me in charge of Alpha Wing, with Spirit alongside. Frankly, I was surprised. A rookie like me, flying lead with someone with the reputation of Spirit? I guess the colonel figured I could use the training and confidence boost. We had three nav points to hit, with a couple of asteroid fields scattered about.
We launched and headed out to Nav 1. Ran into three Dralthi before we got there. I told Spirit to break and attack, and we went after the kats. The Dralthis swung around, and we went head to head. During training, it was hammered into our heads that the greatest number of kills happen in head-to-head situations. Well, no kills for anyone this time. I did, however, manage to damage one of the Dralthis, in exchange for some light shield damage. While my shields recharged, I banked around, and spotted the Dralthi I’d just shot up. It was easy enough to ID, what with the sparks pouring out of its engines. Spirit fired at the other two Kilrathi, so I afterburned past them to the damaged fighter, and fired a few laser bursts into his engines. They exploded, taking the Dralthi with them.
Feeling somewhat elated with my first kill, I turned around, to find Spirit duking it out with one of the remaining Dralthi, while the other came straight at me. I settled my gunsight over him, and sent a few laser shots his way. Didn’t do too much damage. As the Dralthi flashed past my Hornet, I cut left as hard as I could, intending to get on his tail. Unfortunately, the Kilrathi pilot picked that moment to break right, and our ships collided. I was lucky – my shields had been at full strength prior to the collision, and we hit at a glancing angle. The shields took the impact, and started to recharge.
Shaken up, I maneuvered my way back onto the tail of the Dralthi. I don’t know if the pilot was injured in the collision, or if his ship had taken some kind of damage my targeting system couldn’t pick up. All I know is he made one very slight evasive maneuver, and then flew in a straight line. At first, part of me felt bad for vaping a foe that obviously couldn’t fight back. Then my mind flashed back to the story I’d read of one Lt. Dibbles. For all I knew, this Dralthi pilot was faking the damage…my target VDU still showed his fighter as fully functional. Giving my 6 o’clock a quick check to make sure this wasn’t a similar ambush, I tightened up on the trigger, and destroyed the damaged Dralthi.
I came back around, and headed back towards Spirit. As I got within range of her target, she let a missile fly and pulled up. The missile spun the Dralthi around, but didn’t destroy it. The kat pilot was good – he recovered quickly, and used the spin of the ship to latch onto Spirit’s tail. Before he could take advantage of his position, I fired a quick laser burst, and scored a direct hit. Spirit’s missile had done enough damage that a single burst of laser fire took the Dralthi down.
We headed for Nav 2, and ran into the first set of asteroids. Never flown through asteroids before, not in real life anyway. I swear I could almost hear them whizzing by the cockpit. My mind flashed back to one of my first instructors. He used to tell stories of asteroids that, no matter how fast or slow you traveled, would blast your ship apart in a single hit. We used to joke that his brown hair would keep him safe, since it seemed to be a trademark of his. No one really believed him about the asteroids, of course. I’ve heard rumors that Confed kicked him out. Something about not wanting an instructor to do some privateering on the side…
Anywho, we got through the rocks, and made our way to Nav 3. Ran into a pair of Salthi. We made a head to head pass on the kats, who, for some reason, didn’t fire back. Spirit and I broke, and each went after one Kilrathi. I latched onto the tail of my target, and started firing. At this point, I found out one thing – Dralthis die easier. Salthis are officially tagged as light fighters, while Dralthis are mediums. I don’t know who wrote that description…all I know is that damn Kilrathi wouldn’t blow up. He was maneuvering enough that a missile would have a hard time staying locked on, so I kept using lasers. What Paladin had told me about Salthis breaking to the left proved true. Fortunately, I was ready for it, and arced around right back onto the Salthi’s 6 o’clock. A few more shots, and the Salthi finally exploded.
I realized I’d gotten well out of range of Spirit, so turned back towards and raced in at full afterburner. I saw sparks coming out of her engines, and knew she’d taken some damage. Pure, rookie mistake on my part, letting that Salthi draw me away from my wingman like that. I figured I’d catch hell for it back on the Claw. Still, Spirit had obviously damaged the Salthi as well, since it only took a few shots from my lasers to kill it.
We traveled the last bit of distance to Nav 3, before swinging around and heading for the Claw. There was a small asteroid field in the way, but we handled it no problem. The Claw sure was a beautiful sight to see upon our return. We landed, and met up with Colonel Halcyon on the hangar deck for debriefing.
Despite my earlier fears about being chewed out for leaving Spirit in the midst of the dogfight, nothing was ever said about it. In fact, Spirit actually praised me and my piloting abilities. Halcyon seemed impressed by what Spirit said, so that’s got to be good. He ran through the mission logs quickly, and pointed out that out of the five fighters we faced, I’d shot them all down.
Hot damn…my first mission out, and I’m already an ace. In your face, Todd.
Personal Log, 2654.111, 1745 hours
Today started with a briefing at 0640. I was supposed to fly with Spirit again, in Epsilon Wing. Had to take a Drayman out to a local jump point. The Drayman was right outside when we launched, so off we went. Instead of going straight to the jump point, we had to head around an asteroid field. Our Hornets could have made it no trouble, but that Drayman would have been smashed up by the first rock it saw.
As we dropped out of autopilot at Nav 1, a pair of Salthi were waiting for us. A quick head to head pass, and Spirit and I each picked a Salthi to attack. Unfortunately, she picked the same one I did. As soon as I saw her firing on my target, I broke off and went after the other kat. It went down pretty easily. I turned to join Spirit with the other one. Couldn’t take a shot at first, since the Salthi was breaking past the Drayman, and any shots I took that missed would have hit the transport. Instead, I chased the Salthi past the Drayman – too bad the Salthi picked that moment to cut his engines and spin around. I’m sure the colonel would be thrilled to know I’m now two missions in and have scraped paint in each one. As the Salthi rebounded from the hit, Spirit’s lasers chewed him up nicely, and he exploded.
We set course for Nav 2, while I watched my forward shields. They’d been obliterated when I hit the Salthi, and my forward armor was gone as well. The shields got back to full strength quick enough, and my computer showed no damage beyond the armor.
As we hit Nav 2, a trio of Dralthi were waiting for us. Knowing Spirit could handle one, we picked our targets and attacked. I went head-on at one of them, gave it three quick laser bursts, followed by a dumbfire, hoping to kill it quickly. The plan was to knock one fighter out of commission and attack the second, while Spirit handled #3. The first Dralthi didn’t die like I wanted him too, though, so I had to spend an extra second delivering the final blow. That extra second proved enough time for another Dralthi to fly past the Drayman, turn, and start hammering her shields. I went to full burner and opened fire as soon as I cleared the transport. It took 6 shots, but the Dralthi went down.
With just the one Dralthi left, I dove back in and assisted Spirit with it, destroying it with a few more laser blasts. I turned to give the Drayman a once over before she jumped out, and couldn’t help but notice the damage she’d taken. It wasn’t much, but it still galled me to think I’d let her take that many hits.
The Drayman jumped out just fine, though, so Spirit and I set course back for the Claw, dodging through some asteroids en route. After we landed, the crew chief informed me that “looks like it got a little hot out there”. The tone he said it in implied that I had dared to damage his fighter, and I’d be damn lucky if he let me borrow his bird for a mission again. I’ve heard about mechanics like that before. Who knew there’d be one on the Claw?
The colonel seemed pretty pleased with the mission results, though. Four kills for me, one for Spirit, and the Drayman through the jump point. He called me up to his office a bit later and told me that we were leaving Enyo, and as a result, I’d be getting transferred to Blue Devil Squadron, flying Scimitars.
Ten minutes later, I was back on the hangar deck, surrounded by a great deal of the Claw’s crew, as Halcyon pinned a Bronze Star on my chest. Pretty nice pair of days, all things considered. Two missions, a medal, and nearly a double ace. Think I’ll go stop by Sam’s for a quick drink, then it’s off to bed. Got morning patrol duty.
Personal Log, 2654.131, 1115 hours
We jumped into McAuliffe today, and I pulled patrol duty again, this time with Paladin. Basic 4 point patrol in theory, but the colonel wanted us to investigate what looked like a mine field at nav 3. Yay?
There was a trio of Dralthi at Nav 1. They started firing their lasers at range, but the Scim’s shields were able to shrug off the hits as we closed in. Once we were in range, I fired, and found out just how wonderful mass drivers are compared to lasers. The first Dralthi went up in a fireball quickly enough that I was able to target and hit a second Dralthi a couple of times before we were past each other. Paladin went after the remaining fighter while I swung around to finish off the second. We swung into a scissor pattern, jockeying for position. Around that time, I noticed my lock-on alarm going nuts – turned out the first kat had fired a missile just before he bought it, and that missile had decided to come around and lock on to me. I spotted the yellow blip on my radar, waited till it was closing in, then broke hard right at full burner. The missile disappeared from radar, so I came about and put a few more MD shots into the Dralthi. Kill #2 for this mission.
As I banked left to join Paladin, he sent the other Dralthi to the great litterbox in the sky…do they even have litterboxes on Kilrah? Point being, as the Dralthi exploded, Paladin came across the comm channel, saying, “That one was for my father”. Kind of brought the war home again for me. I mean, I and my family haven’t exactly been free from harm in this war, but mostly it seems like anything bad is just covered in the newsvids. Hearing my wingman talk about losing a father to the Kilrathi…almost made me forget about flying for a second or two. Thank God the other Dralthi were already gone.
We went for Nav 2, found it clear, and proceeded to Nav 3. I’ve discovered I hate mine fields. I tried handling it the way I handled the asteroids with Spirit the other day. After all, I had managed to get through those rocks without a scratch.
Mines aren’t rocks.
They don’t scratch.
They blow up and cause parts of your hull to turn to vapor.
I hate mines.
As strong as the Scim was in comparison to the Hornet, even she couldn’t take the pounding for long, so I settled on finding a hole in the visible mines, pointing my nose towards it, and tapping the burners. Then find another hole, and repeat. Got through the rest of the mines that way, and headed for Nav 4.
Three Salthis were waiting at Nav 4. I guess the Kilrathi like flying in 3 ship formations as much as we do in pairs. The first attack left one Salthi a floating mass of debris, and a second trailing sparks. It also left me without forward shields, and having a dumbfire shot off my wing pylon. As I punched my ship around, my lock-on alarm went off again. Now, I don’t know what Intel genius wrote the guidelines to kitty ships, but I swore Salthis were only supposed to have dumbfires…and yet this one fires a missile that locks on? Here we go again, playing “Dodge the missile”. Ah well, missile dodged, and a few seconds later, one more Salthi goes up in flames.
The last Salthi pilot was good – he knew he was in a maneuverable light fighter, and we were in the so-called “centaurian mud pigs”. He started juking and dodging with every bit of skill he had, but eventually we hemmed him in. Paladin fired a missile, which impacted at the same moment my mass driver shots did. The Salthi went up in a rather large explosion. I wasn’t sure who got the kill, figured we’d find out in debriefing.
We got back to the Claw, and I found out I’d picked up some moderate damage to my intercom during the patrol. I couldn’t wait to find out what my crew chief would think of that. Sure enough, he was waiting for me when the cockpit opened. “Looks like it got a little hot out there, sir.”
…what, not even a new line? I figured for sure he’d try and rip me a new one. Maybe it’s because mission #3 featured no collisions.
Halcyon seemed impressed when he debriefed Paladin and I. Said I handled the Kilrathi like an old pro. I quickly tried to give Paladin his due, since we both deserved credit for the mission, but Paladin shrugged it off. I was credited with another 5 kills, with Paladin picking up 1. Guess that last Salthi did fall to my guns, not the missile.
Halcyon said he wanted to see me in his office later on, though at the time I couldn’t imagine why. Last time I got called in, it was to swap squadrons, but I figured where I’d only flown one mission in the Blue Devils, it couldn’t be that…
Turns out to have been a promotion! The Claw is now home to a new 1st Lieutenant. 3 missions in, 14 kills, and already promoted. I’ve heard said that fighter pilots are amongst the most egotistical people alive. I’d say achievements like this deserve to flash some ego around. Not too much though. Last thing the Claw needs is another Maniac.
Better wrap this up. The colonel had said something about another mission for most of us this afternoon.
Personal Log, 2654.131, 1820 hours
My first look at a momma kitty. Paladin and I were sent to investigate a bogey about 90,000 clicks from the Claw. Intel couldn’t tell if it was a transport or a warship, so we were tasked with checking it out, and trying to kill it if we could.
Four Dralthi were on wide patrol as we approached. Paladin and I each took 2 of them. I shot at the lead, and, unfortunately for him, so did his wingman. He broke off to the side, giving me a chance to score a couple of hits on the wingman while he was distracted. I broke hard to starboard to keep after them, and managed to hit the lead again a few more times, till his ship exploded. The kat wingman, meanwhile, had tried to follow his lead’s maneuver, but all that did was sit him right in my gunsight. A couple of shots were all it took to dispatch the Dralthi.
Coming about, I was about to help Paladin, at least until it turned out the other two Dralthi were intent on helping me die – Paladin was chasing after them at full burner, but they were still easily within range to take some potshots at me. I dodged the laser shots as best I could, and let the shields handle the couple I couldn’t squeeze by. I then cut back, dropped my sight over the rearmost Dralthi, and pulled the trigger. Paladin must have damaged that ship before, because it blew up almost instantaneously. The other Dralthi pressed his attack, weaving around Paladin’s fire to come at me head-on. I managed to shoot him down by anticipating him breaking left as he came in close to my Scimitar.
We kept heading for Nav 1 at that point. When I caught my first glimpse of the bogey, my first words were “…transport my ass!” Paladin didn’t say anything. Glad I wasn’t flying with Maniac. He’d have said something about “I don’t think they could fit your ass in a Drayman”, and I’d have to waste valuable time killing him.
There were a pair of Krants flying CAP for the big ship, which my system IDed as a Ralari destroyer. We went after the Krants first, and I discovered that the Kilrathi are rather idiotic. Here they have a medium fighter that, even with lasers, seemed a lot more potent than the Dralthis I’ve been flying against so far, yet they seem to believe the Dralthi is the greatest thing since sliced catnip. Maybe Dralthis are easer to build or something. Let’s just hope no Kilrathi ever read what I just said…
Managed to take out the first Krant, then turned for the second. As I did, Paladin broke off his attack on the Krant, and went after the Ralari. While dogfighting with the Krant, I was able to keep track of Paladin, and he just strafed the hell out of that destroyer, from tip to stern and back again. I killed the other Krant, then joined Paladin in an attack from the rear of the Ralari, trying to set off her engines. Sure enough, explosion after explosion came from her engines, till a titanic explosion ripped the entire ship apart. There was barely enough debris left to fill a thimble.
We landed back on the Claw a short time later. Halcyon was pleased again, and Paladin was quick to say I’d done everything, that he was just along for the ride. As much as I appreciated the offer, I wanted to make sure Paladin got his due credit for the mission. Turns out Halcyon was just going to award kills based on the flight recorders, which said I picked up 7 and Paladin got 0. That can’t be right, though. I mean, Paladin did all the work on that Ralari, I just helped in the end. Maybe I can at least convince Halcyon to split the kill, if I have to get credit for it.
I got called back to the hangar deck a little bit later – apparently, I earned another Bronze Star with that last mission. As everyone on the deck applauded, I looked around for Paladin – last thing I wanted was to have him upset that I’d been awarded a medal for kills he should have been creditited with. He was there, smiling and clapping away. That man must have the smallest ego of any fighter pilot I’ve ever seen. Then again, when you’ve been flying fighters for 20-some odd years, I imagine you learn to keep ego under control. Here’s hoping I’ll still by flying in 20 years. Just hope it’s in a peacetime Confed, not against the Kilrathi.
Personal Log, 2654.132, 1700 hours
Faced down a Kilrathi ace today. Since we’re heading out to Gimle tomorrow, we were supposed to escort some transports in to the Claw. Rumor had it Bhurak Starkiller was in system, so everyone was prepping themselves to deal with him. Paladin and I set course for Nav 1, and got there ahead of the Drayman. What we didn’t get there ahead of were the four Krants that were going to make a play for the transport.
The first Krant fell to my guns in the first pass, the second would join him after I swung onto his tail, and latched on – I was getting shaken off. Just stay in his 6 o’clock, and hammer till he dies. Got the third Krant just as the Drayman jumped in. I went to full burner, intending to get the fourth before it could attack the transport. Paladin got there first, though, and fired a missile that spun the Krant around, preventing him from getting a lock on the Drayman. With the Kilrathi disoriented, I took advantage and hit him hard, and the Krant exploded.
We synced our autopilots up with the transport and set course for the Claw. Halfway there, we ran into a trio of Salthis. On their own, not a problem. Only issue was Bhurak Starkiller flying lead for the formation. He started taunting us as soon as we were within range. I fired a Friend or Foe missile at the Salthis, hoping it would distract one of them long enough for Paladin and I to nail the other two – it didn’t. Bhurak broke hard around the missile, and then came back around at us. Sighting him up, I fired, and scored a few hits, forcing him to break off. Rather than pursue, I swung around to engage another Salthi, preventing it from attacking the Drayman. That Salthi exploded quickly, leaving Paladin with his Salthi, and I with Bhurak. Bhurak’s good – it’s easy to see how he’s become one of Kilrah’s best known aces. Still, I’d like to think I held my own. Eventually, after hitting him a couple more times, Bhurak turned away from the fight and went to full burner. Guess he didn’t want to suck vacuum today. Seeing Bhurak flee, the remaining Salthi turned from Paladin and took off running as well. Knowing the mission was to protect the transport, we let the kats run.
Back on the Claw, Halcyon passed along that the Drayman commander wanted to convey his thanks for the protection. I was officially credited with five kills, and having “given the kats a black eye”, according to Paladin. He, on the other hand, didn’t get any kills. I talked to him before the mission today, and he seems not to mind not getting kills. Just as long as he and his wingman come home in one piece, and the mission is successful. Could learn a lot from a man like that.
Personal Log, 2654.135, 0915 hours
Not too much time for a log entry. Halcyon says we’ve got a busy day today, and we’ll all likely be flying multiple missions here in Gimle. Angel and I, as Zeta wing, were assigned to assist an Exeter class destroyer that was under attack by some Jalthi. As soon as we launched, we found ourselves under attack by a pair of Salthi. I switched to full guns, lined up, and pulled the trigger.
There wasn’t a Salthi, or much of anything, left behind.
I think I like the Raptor.
Obviously, the other Salthi pilot didn’t, since he disappeared off my radar quickly.
We got the Nav 1, and found a trio of Jalthi assaulting the Exeter. I sent Angel after one, then dove in on the other two. I fired a quick volley at the first, making him shy off, then turned my attention to the second. Jalthi’s have a lot of punch up front, but once you’re on their tail, that’s pretty much it. The Raptor’s twin mass drivers and twin neutrons chewed that Jalthi up in no time flat. Turning about, I peeled up and over the Exeter, and slipped in behind the Jalthi I’d first attacked. Got a couple of shots in with my guns, then fired a heatseeker as soon as I saw his shields go down. Missile tracked straight in and blew the Jalthi to pieces.
Angel was working on the final Jalthi, so I joined in on that attack. The kat made one last desperate attempt to break between us and make a run at the destroyer, but I turned after him and connected with a full volley, destroying the fighter.
I did a quick check on the Exeter – she was pretty badly damaged, but even so, was in far better condition than she would have been had Angel and I not shown up. En route back to the Tiger’s Claw, we ran into a lone Salthi – must have been the one that tried to run back at the start of our mission. He died as easily as the first Salthi had, with barely an evasive maneuver. Two more blips showed up on our radar near the Claw – turned out to be another pair of Salthi. They at least tried to make a fight of it. Unfortunately for them, by that point I’d pretty well discovered that the Raptor fits me like a glove. Almost feels like I could just set course for Kilrah in this bird, and actually make it there.
I was credited with seven kills off this mission, and due to those kills plus saving the Exeter, I was awarded a Gold Star.
Personal Log, 2654.135, 1300 hours
20 minutes till the next briefing. This schedule’s running me a bit ragged. Don’t know who I impressed in the higher ups, but Angel and I were picked to run the first combat sortie in the Rapier fighter. She’s a beautiful ship, but there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on with her.
We had a three point patrol. The asteroids at Nav 1 were no problem – went through them faster than I did in a Hornet. 4 Dralthi were waiting for us at Nav 2. Took one of them out in three hits with the lasers and neutrons together. Angel nailed one herself just as I finished battering a third into oblivion. The last Dralthi stayed at a distance and fired a missile, which my shields handled with ease – only down to half strength, and then almost immediately recharged to full strength. I came about and kicked in my afterburners, slid around behind the Dralthi while he concentrated on Angel, and blasted him to bits.
Two Gratha were at Nav 3 – first time I’ve seen one of them. Think they’re actually more dangerous than Jalthis. Sure, a Jalthi’s got more firepower up front, but it’s a mule in the mud. Grathas, though – might not be as maneuverable as a Salthi, but they’ll damn sure try for it. Combine that with the firepower they do have, and it’s a potent ship, one worthy of respect. Those Kilrathi pilots were good too – rather than splitting up one on one, they both focused on me. They battered down my forward shields with a couple of hits, so I broke off. Angel tried to hit one of them from behind, causing it to shy away, and giving me a chance to loop around and catch the other Gratha. It took a massive beating before finally exploding. Angel and I teamed up to take down the other one, which took just as much of a beating. Let’s hope the Kilrathi don’t start building a huge number of these things. The war would get that much nastier.
I’ll have to send a message to Angel to make sure that, when shooting at a Kilrathi, make sure I’m not in the way! Did I sprout ears and fur when I wasn’t looking?
Post-landing, I was awarded with 5 confirmed kills, plus one for Angel. The colonel also called me to his office, and promoted me to Captain. I don’t know if that’s good or not…On the one hand, it says I must be doing something right. On the other hand, it could be that so many people have been failing to come back from their missions that they’re pushing all the new guys like me higher up the command chain because they’ve been forced to.
Well, there’s the call to briefing. Here we go again.
Personal Log, 2654.135, 1900 hours
Just a quick entry before sleep. Three missions in one day, and a Kilrathi ace to boot. Angel and I were sent to check out what appeared to be a formation of Dralthi. Well, they were Dralthi. 9 of ‘em. With Dakhath in the formation. Five of the Dralthi came at us first. They all drew a bead on me and opened fire. My forward shields and armor disappeared before I could even blink. I dove away at full burner to avoid the next volley, which led one Dralthi to chase after me. I stayed in afterburner for an extra second, then cut to the side, using my momentum to slide beyond the kat’s firing lane. As my Raptor’s nose swung around, I lined up and let off three bursts of full guns, and the Dralthi went up in flames.
I turned to starboard, and spotted another Dralthi trying to pull around towards Angel, so I slid in behind and blasted him till his shields fell, then sent one last shot up his tailpipes for another kill. In the meantime, Angel successfully nailed a third kat. One of the remaining two Dralthi picked that moment to panic, and fled, so we took care of the last fighter.
Four more Dralthi showed up, with Dakhath leading. I locked my targeting system onto him, figuring he’d be the most problematic. I hit him with every shot my capacitors could fire without recharging, but his ship, though damaged, didn’t explode. He must have had all his shield energy forward or something. While Angel fired a missile and distracted the other Dralthi, I broke hard left and got onto Dakhath’s tail. Remembering what Iceman had told me about not fearing him while still in my ship, I pressed my attack. Dakhath came over the comm., claiming I’d “not put me in the void”. Too bad for him he said that as I lined up and sent another pair of shots into his engines. The last thing he said before his ship finished becoming a fireball was “The void…the void!”
I came about, and found Angel had done a hell of a job keeping the other Dralthi off my tail while I dealt with Dakhath. She’d damaged each of the 3 Kilrathi, so while she tried to pick one off, I did the same. Followed that up with looping up and over to drop in behind the Dralthi that was trying to get on Angel’s 6 o’clock, and blew him up. Angel then forced the last Dralthi to maneuver away from her – right into my sights. A few shots later, and he was gone as well.
Halcyon seemed pleased enough in debriefing – gave me official credit for 7 kills, plus another for Angel. 19 kills today, plus a promotion and a Gold Star. And I heard Confed marines managed to liberate Brimstone. Sounds like the war in Vega is really starting to turn around.
Now it’s off to bed, for whatever sleep I can get before tomorrow’s missions.
Sharpshooter
Rear Admiral
I think my jaw just dropped to the floor.
(I didn't know this replay would lead to fanfics...
)(In other words, that's my way of saying that this was a really great post.)
Dundradal
Frog Blast the Vent Core!
I think my jaw just dropped to the floor.
(I didn't know this replay would lead to fanfics...
(In other words, that's my way of saying that this was a really great post.)
Yeah and this is only week 1 of oh I don't know how many weeks yet. Haven't gone beyond breaking WC1 into playable chunks
But this stuff is great. I wonder how many other CZers are getting jealous that they have to wait until the games they own come up to join in on the fun
Rmax2
Rear Admiral
I use a Wc1 mouse version with large view out of cockpit (f1),
I dont speak english usually, there is probably a lot of grammar error.
Système Enyo
why is there a tv in the bar but doesnt work ? Maybe they given up the idea of news like in wc3.
*Mission 1*
Nav1 :
3 dralthis
"Attack my target". Destroy 1st with gun. 2nd with gun and missile launch very close behind him. 3rd was too close and i hit my front shield in a collision.
Nav2 :
Passing asteroid by shooting them
Nav3 :
2 Salthis
"Attack my target" 1st shoot by gun and locked missile. 2nd try to run. I almost use all my fuel to catch him
Land to base whith a low damaged ship.
*Mission 2 escort*
Nav1 :
2 salthis
"Break and attack" I missed the 1st salthis with the dart and i kill him by guns. Spirit shoot the other one. No impact one the transport shield
Nav2 :
3 Dralthis
"break and attack" Spirit shoot one in 1st. I missed again a dralthis with the dart. I didnt notice immediatly that my speed was set to 0, probably collision with the transport, an i lose time trying to shoot the other kilrathi pancake. I finished last one with locked missile. He was firing at the transport and damage pretty well his bridge.
Transport jump. I return to Tiger's claw by nav1 avoiding asteroid. I notice i lost my rear shield but i dont know when.
Land to base with a low damaged ship. I kill 3 cats and Spirit 2. Bronze star and scimitar squadron affectation.
Système McAuliffe
*Mission 3*
Nav 1 :
3 Dralthis
"attack my target" I shoot 2 kilrathi while the 3rd one lock a missile on me. I press "E" and evade. Oh, i forgot, no countermeasures. That bastard took off I my rear shield and lateral armor ? , and then he run. Maybe i played better when i was child… i manage to catch him, using a lot of fuel. But what was doing Paladdin ?!
Nav 3 :
I did somethin too fast and i missed the nav2. I try to shoot on the mines but look like its not possible.
Get back for Nav2.
Nav 2 :
Nothin
Nav 3 :
3 salthis
This time i tell "break and attack" to Palladin. I lock an ennemy and shoot him with guns. A missile is launch behind, i push afterburner, and, again, i hit the 3rd salthi in collision. Computer system damage moderate, i had better luck than first time.
Land to base with a lot of damage. I kill 6 cats, Palladin 0. Promotion 1st lieutenant.
Metting with Maniac and bossman. I didnt like the face of maniac, that was not one of my favorite character. Bossman remind me Vagabond in wc3.
*Mission 4*
Between TigerClaw and nav 1, 4 dralthis.
"break and attack". My shield take lot of hit but no damage. I didnt see Palladin during the fight.
Nav 1 :
2 Krants
"Attack my target" I shoot the krants and then hit him with dart missile, but i only manage to break his shield. This time i really need Palladin to cooperate, and it works well. We shoot the krants together one by one. I tell him to shoot the ralari with me, i dont care for the kill, but he refuse the order. Paladdin take lot of hits and his ship is damaged. I tell him to return, he refuse, i try every order response is negative. While i was busy with my com channel, he finally destroy the ralari… Well , no comments…
Land to base with no damage. Killboard at this point from begining is 20
In the Bar, Palladin tell me not to try to be a hero. I will keep that way for the next missions
*Mission 5 escort*
Between Claws and Nav 1 : 4 Krants
"Attack my target" Team play sound good and i dont like the scimitar. 1rst cat is down. Palladin is taking hits. I use afterburner to help him fast, but again and again, i have a collision with a another kilrathi. I will die like this soon. Computer system heavy damaged, targeting destroyed, ejection destroyed. I destroy all Krants and the transports jump. Ready to go.
4 Salthis on the way, "Break and attack". Its a little mess, i have another collision and all my screens are "snowing". I m always short of fire and i cannot shoot the cats when i m behind them. I took 3 of the cats but last one take out the transport and run... I will do again the way for nav 1 for catching the bastard.
We found him. Its not Bhurak. I kill the cats while he was trying to run again. Then we return to base.
I kill 5 cats and Palladin 0. I dont know if we had Burhak.
I'm going for a losing path.. science station is lost and i will keep flying scimitar.
Système Brimstone
*Mission 6*
Nav 1
1 Salthi and 3 Grathas.
Maniac dont wait orders. I shoot the salthi while maniac was shooting me, but no damage on my ship. 3 Grathas arrived. If i dont want to die i have to be patient, not always hit afterburner, and wait for complete power on my gun. The fight start bad. It take me lot of time for shoot the 1srt gratha, and the others shoot me several times. When my target have lot of damage he run, i let him go because i dont want to lose all my fuel. Behind me, Maniac just kill the 2 others Gratha alone…
Nav 2
2 Krants. Maniac go straight to the asteroid. I take my time to kill the 1srt gratha avoiding any damage. But Maniac call to help. I go to asteroids field. Quietly i shoot the cat until he run, i let him go.
Nav 3
Nothin to report on nav 3. I make the way again to nav 1 and 2 seeking for the cats who escape.
I only find the krant, i kill him by front, he didnt had the time to fire
Land to base with a average damaged ship. I kill 3 cats, Maniac 2.
That was not a very good mission but i will try to make no mistake and avoid collision for the next ones. Promotion Captain.
*Mission 7 exceter escort*
Between Tiger claw and Nav 1
4 Salthis.
I keep my missile for later. I need Maniac intact, so i try to shoot the same target he choose.
I kill 3 cats, the last one run. I try i little to catch him, but let it go. I need all fuel.
Nav 1
4 Drathlis
I have to remember advice from bossman and colonel : stay on the side of the transport, flying to 200-250k, and maximum to 5000m from it. I dont want to lose time with orders (Maniac dont listen in any event) the cats start to attack. I kill them all with gun and most of my missile. The exceter take some damage, Maniac too.
I return to formation with transport. Speed 250. But i hear Maniac bumping into the transport. I keep a little more distance. That was probably the mistake of that mission and what will follow, if maniac had lot of damage cause of his collision with transport.
Nav 2
2 Salthis.
I shoot the first one with gun and my last missile. They are fighting far away from exceter. I m afraid another kilrathi show up. I let Maniac fight the last Salthi and i return around the transport.
Maniac call to help. I would like to give order to fly in my formation but he would not obey. I m close to the transport and stay with him. It s only a small Salthi i think… Oops, he just kill Maniac. I didnt help him when he call, but he call everytime for help and he dont follow the orders ! Too bad, but i wont leave the transports. I m waiting for the last kilrathi come to my range… but he leave. The mission is a success but i have no honor.
Land to base with a clean ship. I kill 7 cat, Maniac 0 and he die. I fell very responsable for his death. I was too busy trying to make a good mission and improve my flying skill, avoiding any damage on my ship and follow the navpoints. Was it the good choice ?
*Mission 8 Strike*
I ll keep advice from Iceman, keep missile for the Dorkir. But i m alone on this mission. Maybe its better like that. No places for mistake or hesitations this time.
Between Tiger claw and Nav 1
Damn, 2 Jalthis
I just listen to the noise of their gun (like in the standoff gauntlet) if they shoot, i avoid. I dont use cannon until i hear no more guns around me. I inflict lot of damage to the 1srt one. But they are very slow. Even at 300k, i couldnt avoid a collision; The jalthi die, i have got a lot of damage and I lose a gun. Great for striking Dorkir ! At least i dont have to wait my power is full before open fire. I shoot the other jalthi without problem.
Nav 1
4 krants, including a kilrathi ace, Khajja
It s not my day. And with my targeting system damaged, i m not sure i will be able to use missile.
My shield take a lot of hits. I push afterburner waiting for them regenerate, and come back to fight.
And i die.
Merde…
I restart this one.The main problem was i didnt expect the low speed of jalthi.
I die again 2 times against the 2 jalthi. Every time i use afterburner to go behind them. But it makes fatal collision.
3rd try i pass them without problem. I use too much fuel trying to avoid to be shoot by the krants. What should i do ? Go straight for the Dorkir or kill the krants first ? Palladin or bossman tell me to caution with the escort fighters first. But i m alone here. I choose to kill the fighters before i go low on fuel.
I kill 3 krants taking little damage. The last cat is Khajja. He dont run but stay at distance. I have only 2 space of fuel left. He is hard to hit without afterburner. I match my speed to 220 instead of 330. That work well. I kill him easily. But there is another wing of kilrathi. There are quite far away, i go for the Dorkir, but without fuel, that's sound not good.
Dorkir is out with guns and 1 missile. What a piece of cake. I was expecting a real forteress… i can go for the 2 arrived Krants with my others missiles. Its going to be a good day finally. I set speed to maximum and go confident for the fight.
But no. I have no more fuel and their missile hit me several time. I die
I have restarted this mission too much already. I just go in space once again and i eject.
Brimstone is lost.
I choose to continue for the losing path.
Killboard at this point from begining is 35.
I dont speak english usually, there is probably a lot of grammar error.
Système Enyo
why is there a tv in the bar but doesnt work ? Maybe they given up the idea of news like in wc3.
*Mission 1*
Nav1 :
3 dralthis
"Attack my target". Destroy 1st with gun. 2nd with gun and missile launch very close behind him. 3rd was too close and i hit my front shield in a collision.
Nav2 :
Passing asteroid by shooting them
Nav3 :
2 Salthis
"Attack my target" 1st shoot by gun and locked missile. 2nd try to run. I almost use all my fuel to catch him
Land to base whith a low damaged ship.
*Mission 2 escort*
Nav1 :
2 salthis
"Break and attack" I missed the 1st salthis with the dart and i kill him by guns. Spirit shoot the other one. No impact one the transport shield
Nav2 :
3 Dralthis
"break and attack" Spirit shoot one in 1st. I missed again a dralthis with the dart. I didnt notice immediatly that my speed was set to 0, probably collision with the transport, an i lose time trying to shoot the other kilrathi pancake. I finished last one with locked missile. He was firing at the transport and damage pretty well his bridge.
Transport jump. I return to Tiger's claw by nav1 avoiding asteroid. I notice i lost my rear shield but i dont know when.
Land to base with a low damaged ship. I kill 3 cats and Spirit 2. Bronze star and scimitar squadron affectation.
Système McAuliffe
*Mission 3*
Nav 1 :
3 Dralthis
"attack my target" I shoot 2 kilrathi while the 3rd one lock a missile on me. I press "E" and evade. Oh, i forgot, no countermeasures. That bastard took off I my rear shield and lateral armor ? , and then he run. Maybe i played better when i was child… i manage to catch him, using a lot of fuel. But what was doing Paladdin ?!
Nav 3 :
I did somethin too fast and i missed the nav2. I try to shoot on the mines but look like its not possible.
Get back for Nav2.
Nav 2 :
Nothin
Nav 3 :
3 salthis
This time i tell "break and attack" to Palladin. I lock an ennemy and shoot him with guns. A missile is launch behind, i push afterburner, and, again, i hit the 3rd salthi in collision. Computer system damage moderate, i had better luck than first time.
Land to base with a lot of damage. I kill 6 cats, Palladin 0. Promotion 1st lieutenant.
Metting with Maniac and bossman. I didnt like the face of maniac, that was not one of my favorite character. Bossman remind me Vagabond in wc3.
*Mission 4*
Between TigerClaw and nav 1, 4 dralthis.
"break and attack". My shield take lot of hit but no damage. I didnt see Palladin during the fight.
Nav 1 :
2 Krants
"Attack my target" I shoot the krants and then hit him with dart missile, but i only manage to break his shield. This time i really need Palladin to cooperate, and it works well. We shoot the krants together one by one. I tell him to shoot the ralari with me, i dont care for the kill, but he refuse the order. Paladdin take lot of hits and his ship is damaged. I tell him to return, he refuse, i try every order response is negative. While i was busy with my com channel, he finally destroy the ralari… Well , no comments…
Land to base with no damage. Killboard at this point from begining is 20
In the Bar, Palladin tell me not to try to be a hero. I will keep that way for the next missions
*Mission 5 escort*
Between Claws and Nav 1 : 4 Krants
"Attack my target" Team play sound good and i dont like the scimitar. 1rst cat is down. Palladin is taking hits. I use afterburner to help him fast, but again and again, i have a collision with a another kilrathi. I will die like this soon. Computer system heavy damaged, targeting destroyed, ejection destroyed. I destroy all Krants and the transports jump. Ready to go.
4 Salthis on the way, "Break and attack". Its a little mess, i have another collision and all my screens are "snowing". I m always short of fire and i cannot shoot the cats when i m behind them. I took 3 of the cats but last one take out the transport and run... I will do again the way for nav 1 for catching the bastard.
We found him. Its not Bhurak. I kill the cats while he was trying to run again. Then we return to base.
I kill 5 cats and Palladin 0. I dont know if we had Burhak.
I'm going for a losing path.. science station is lost and i will keep flying scimitar.
Système Brimstone
*Mission 6*
Nav 1
1 Salthi and 3 Grathas.
Maniac dont wait orders. I shoot the salthi while maniac was shooting me, but no damage on my ship. 3 Grathas arrived. If i dont want to die i have to be patient, not always hit afterburner, and wait for complete power on my gun. The fight start bad. It take me lot of time for shoot the 1srt gratha, and the others shoot me several times. When my target have lot of damage he run, i let him go because i dont want to lose all my fuel. Behind me, Maniac just kill the 2 others Gratha alone…
Nav 2
2 Krants. Maniac go straight to the asteroid. I take my time to kill the 1srt gratha avoiding any damage. But Maniac call to help. I go to asteroids field. Quietly i shoot the cat until he run, i let him go.
Nav 3
Nothin to report on nav 3. I make the way again to nav 1 and 2 seeking for the cats who escape.
I only find the krant, i kill him by front, he didnt had the time to fire
Land to base with a average damaged ship. I kill 3 cats, Maniac 2.
That was not a very good mission but i will try to make no mistake and avoid collision for the next ones. Promotion Captain.
*Mission 7 exceter escort*
Between Tiger claw and Nav 1
4 Salthis.
I keep my missile for later. I need Maniac intact, so i try to shoot the same target he choose.
I kill 3 cats, the last one run. I try i little to catch him, but let it go. I need all fuel.
Nav 1
4 Drathlis
I have to remember advice from bossman and colonel : stay on the side of the transport, flying to 200-250k, and maximum to 5000m from it. I dont want to lose time with orders (Maniac dont listen in any event) the cats start to attack. I kill them all with gun and most of my missile. The exceter take some damage, Maniac too.
I return to formation with transport. Speed 250. But i hear Maniac bumping into the transport. I keep a little more distance. That was probably the mistake of that mission and what will follow, if maniac had lot of damage cause of his collision with transport.
Nav 2
2 Salthis.
I shoot the first one with gun and my last missile. They are fighting far away from exceter. I m afraid another kilrathi show up. I let Maniac fight the last Salthi and i return around the transport.
Maniac call to help. I would like to give order to fly in my formation but he would not obey. I m close to the transport and stay with him. It s only a small Salthi i think… Oops, he just kill Maniac. I didnt help him when he call, but he call everytime for help and he dont follow the orders ! Too bad, but i wont leave the transports. I m waiting for the last kilrathi come to my range… but he leave. The mission is a success but i have no honor.
Land to base with a clean ship. I kill 7 cat, Maniac 0 and he die. I fell very responsable for his death. I was too busy trying to make a good mission and improve my flying skill, avoiding any damage on my ship and follow the navpoints. Was it the good choice ?
*Mission 8 Strike*
I ll keep advice from Iceman, keep missile for the Dorkir. But i m alone on this mission. Maybe its better like that. No places for mistake or hesitations this time.
Between Tiger claw and Nav 1
Damn, 2 Jalthis
I just listen to the noise of their gun (like in the standoff gauntlet) if they shoot, i avoid. I dont use cannon until i hear no more guns around me. I inflict lot of damage to the 1srt one. But they are very slow. Even at 300k, i couldnt avoid a collision; The jalthi die, i have got a lot of damage and I lose a gun. Great for striking Dorkir ! At least i dont have to wait my power is full before open fire. I shoot the other jalthi without problem.
Nav 1
4 krants, including a kilrathi ace, Khajja
It s not my day. And with my targeting system damaged, i m not sure i will be able to use missile.
My shield take a lot of hits. I push afterburner waiting for them regenerate, and come back to fight.
And i die.
Merde…
I restart this one.The main problem was i didnt expect the low speed of jalthi.
I die again 2 times against the 2 jalthi. Every time i use afterburner to go behind them. But it makes fatal collision.
3rd try i pass them without problem. I use too much fuel trying to avoid to be shoot by the krants. What should i do ? Go straight for the Dorkir or kill the krants first ? Palladin or bossman tell me to caution with the escort fighters first. But i m alone here. I choose to kill the fighters before i go low on fuel.
I kill 3 krants taking little damage. The last cat is Khajja. He dont run but stay at distance. I have only 2 space of fuel left. He is hard to hit without afterburner. I match my speed to 220 instead of 330. That work well. I kill him easily. But there is another wing of kilrathi. There are quite far away, i go for the Dorkir, but without fuel, that's sound not good.
Dorkir is out with guns and 1 missile. What a piece of cake. I was expecting a real forteress… i can go for the 2 arrived Krants with my others missiles. Its going to be a good day finally. I set speed to maximum and go confident for the fight.
But no. I have no more fuel and their missile hit me several time. I die
I have restarted this mission too much already. I just go in space once again and i eject.
Brimstone is lost.
I choose to continue for the losing path.
Killboard at this point from begining is 35.
Dundradal
Frog Blast the Vent Core!
Had time to finish off my last system...Gimle
Shotglass has some interesting things to say about the one habitable world in Gimle. It's a nice touch that adds depth to the Kilrathi at this early point. It's hard trying to forget all the information that comes later and remember that at first this is all we knew. Hearing about how the Kats treated POWs made me want to rush right to the briefing and get to it. Damn furballs.
The conversation between Angel and Iceman does a nice job of foreshadowing that Jalthi are going to be coming up real soon. It's definitely not wise to take a Jalthi head-on.
Gimle 1
First Raptor mission. The Rapier II might be the hot new fighter but I'll take a Raptor over it any day prior to oh say 2662
I've got to provided support for a Exeter that is about to come under attack. Angel will be flying on my wing and I feel pretty good about her as a wingman in a Raptor. We hit space and are instantly confronted with 2 waves of Salthi. We make easy work of them because of the presence of 2 Raptors that are on CAP. I hit the autopilot and head off to the Exeter Nav. There are 3 Jalthi moving in on the destroyer so I give Angel the attack order and weave into the fight. I fire a few shots at the first Jalthi before switching targets and firing again so that they will start targeting me instead of the destroyer. The mass driver - neutron gun combination on the Raptor is devastating against them. They do manage a bit of damage against the destroyer but nothing a new coat of paint won't cover up. At the end of the day I get 6 kills and Angel comes up empty.
I am awarded a Gold Star for my actions in this mission. A nice piece of tin for a job well done.
Shotglass has some interesting things to say about the Rapier II. I agree with him on the Raptor though. It might not handle the best, but once you get it going it's a great machine. It's funny replaying this game again and seeing how they set things up in the three conversations before a mission. I have to say it's something I really enjoy about the game.
Hunter and Maniac have more to say about the Rapier II. Gee I wonder if I'll be getting behind the stick of one soon.
Gimle 2
Wow shocker. Angel and I are taking the prototypes out for a spin. Simple 3 point patrol. We head off for the first nav point and run into some asteroids (although not literally this time). After making my way through to nav 2 we find 4 Dralthi. I make quick work of them with my guns. It only takes a few salvos to take down a Dralthi if you take time to aim. At nav 3 there are 2 Gratha. For some reason I *love* to kill Gratha. I don't know what it is but shooting them down brings great joy to me. A let loose a few gun salvos then fire off a Dart DF at the first Gratha and it quickly explodes. On the second one I switch to Spiculum IR and repeat the process destroying it in quick fashion. I return to the Claw to and learn that I've downed all 6 fighters. Sorry Angel, better luck next time.
Sounds like I'm going to be encountering Deathstroke soon. Good another Ace for my resume.
Gimle 3
Back to the Raptor. Large groups of bogies are moving around the system. 9 Drathli in this mission including Deathstroke. Oh man, It's a slaughter. Angel and I cut through the first wave no problem. I suffer a bit of side armor damage but nothing really worth noting. Deathstroke leads the second wave I head straight for him. I damage his shields then launch a Spiculum at him along with a few more gun rounds and he's down. So much for kill 79 jerkwad. I return to the Claw and am awarded 7 kills.
Another Bronze Star as well. The end system cutscene made me laugh a bit. It looks cheesy now but it still made me want to pump my first for the Confederation. Things are getting better, things are getting better all the time.
Alright well Week 2 starts on Sunday so look for the new thread around 10 am EST. Thanks to all who have participated so far.
Shotglass has some interesting things to say about the one habitable world in Gimle. It's a nice touch that adds depth to the Kilrathi at this early point. It's hard trying to forget all the information that comes later and remember that at first this is all we knew. Hearing about how the Kats treated POWs made me want to rush right to the briefing and get to it. Damn furballs.
The conversation between Angel and Iceman does a nice job of foreshadowing that Jalthi are going to be coming up real soon. It's definitely not wise to take a Jalthi head-on.
Gimle 1
First Raptor mission. The Rapier II might be the hot new fighter but I'll take a Raptor over it any day prior to oh say 2662
I've got to provided support for a Exeter that is about to come under attack. Angel will be flying on my wing and I feel pretty good about her as a wingman in a Raptor. We hit space and are instantly confronted with 2 waves of Salthi. We make easy work of them because of the presence of 2 Raptors that are on CAP. I hit the autopilot and head off to the Exeter Nav. There are 3 Jalthi moving in on the destroyer so I give Angel the attack order and weave into the fight. I fire a few shots at the first Jalthi before switching targets and firing again so that they will start targeting me instead of the destroyer. The mass driver - neutron gun combination on the Raptor is devastating against them. They do manage a bit of damage against the destroyer but nothing a new coat of paint won't cover up. At the end of the day I get 6 kills and Angel comes up empty.
I am awarded a Gold Star for my actions in this mission. A nice piece of tin for a job well done.
Shotglass has some interesting things to say about the Rapier II. I agree with him on the Raptor though. It might not handle the best, but once you get it going it's a great machine. It's funny replaying this game again and seeing how they set things up in the three conversations before a mission. I have to say it's something I really enjoy about the game.
Hunter and Maniac have more to say about the Rapier II. Gee I wonder if I'll be getting behind the stick of one soon.
Gimle 2
Wow shocker. Angel and I are taking the prototypes out for a spin. Simple 3 point patrol. We head off for the first nav point and run into some asteroids (although not literally this time). After making my way through to nav 2 we find 4 Dralthi. I make quick work of them with my guns. It only takes a few salvos to take down a Dralthi if you take time to aim. At nav 3 there are 2 Gratha. For some reason I *love* to kill Gratha. I don't know what it is but shooting them down brings great joy to me. A let loose a few gun salvos then fire off a Dart DF at the first Gratha and it quickly explodes. On the second one I switch to Spiculum IR and repeat the process destroying it in quick fashion. I return to the Claw to and learn that I've downed all 6 fighters. Sorry Angel, better luck next time.
Sounds like I'm going to be encountering Deathstroke soon. Good another Ace for my resume.
Gimle 3
Back to the Raptor. Large groups of bogies are moving around the system. 9 Drathli in this mission including Deathstroke. Oh man, It's a slaughter. Angel and I cut through the first wave no problem. I suffer a bit of side armor damage but nothing really worth noting. Deathstroke leads the second wave I head straight for him. I damage his shields then launch a Spiculum at him along with a few more gun rounds and he's down. So much for kill 79 jerkwad. I return to the Claw and am awarded 7 kills.
Another Bronze Star as well. The end system cutscene made me laugh a bit. It looks cheesy now but it still made me want to pump my first for the Confederation. Things are getting better, things are getting better all the time.
Alright well Week 2 starts on Sunday so look for the new thread around 10 am EST. Thanks to all who have participated so far.
Dundradal
Frog Blast the Vent Core!
I just wanted to say thanks for all those who are participating in the replay so far. It's really nice to see a group of hardcore fans share this collective experience, even those not playing I'm sure feel like they are right in the thick of the action. This has also proven a nice testbed for how to do things in the later games (when I'm sure how numbers will jump from a handful replaying WC1 to probably 10-15+ on WC3+).
So congratulations on the first week well done and here's to several more months of common enjoyment! Wing Commander Replay Week 2 thread will be posted around 10 am EST tomorrow, so get ready next 3 systems are coming up.
So congratulations on the first week well done and here's to several more months of common enjoyment! Wing Commander Replay Week 2 thread will be posted around 10 am EST tomorrow, so get ready next 3 systems are coming up.