After the unpleasant surprises of the first Firekka Mission, we’re off on patrol once again. Still flying Hornets, and with a stern admonition from Col. Halycon that we’re to do recon and not engage against overwhelming odds. We’ll see what that means momentarily.
Nothing particularly ominous in the bar chatter, save for the info from Shotglass that the Kilrathi have just pulled up stakes and left their Vega Sector bases. Which is … odd. Eh, it’s probably nothing. Probably.
Just a few of the new Dralthi Mk. IIs for an appetizer. Those Mass Drivers definitely pack a bit more of a punch, but they’re still attached to a flying bullseye. Not a big deal. Next come a quartet of Krants. Again, nothing we haven’t dealt with a hundred times before. The Hornet doesn’t have a lot of firepower, but it’s certainly enough for something like this.
Finally, the big show at Nav 2. A bunch of Jalthi, all flown by the elite Drakhi pilots, escorting a trio of Fralthi-class heavy cruisers. Yikes! Here’s where things get interesting. A successful mission means just targeting one or more of the Fralthi and then high-tailing it back to the Tiger’s Claw. Interestingly enough, successfully dogfighting all of the enemy fighters (there’s a wave of a half-dozen or so Dralthi Mk. IIs after the Jalthi) and capital ships will actually earn you a chewing out by Col. Halcyon in the debriefing! Apparently he really didn’t want you to take on suicidal odds just yet.
At the end of it all, there’s a nice little cinematic of the Human – Firekka treaty signing, and a quick chat with the Col. It’s time to move back into Rapiers.