Journey's End

The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe.

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MISSION 23

Fighter squadron: 222nd Nightwolves

Description: The 14th Battlegroup traverses the jump node to Sol once again.

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Background

With some assistance from the Vishnans, the GTVA 14th Battlegroup traversed the Delta Serpentis-Sol jump node once again. The question is: did they return to their own universe this time?

Walkthrough

This mission is a playable cutscene on Red Alert. You, Corey, Taylor and any other surviving wingmen start this mission off with the same ship and same amount of damage taken in Universal Truth, as do all warships in the 14th Battlegroup.

As the GTD Orestes does a status check on all ships under its command, a warship jumps in several klicks away. This is the United Earth Federation frigate Renjian. As soon as the Renjian declares its affiliation with the UEF, Taylor breaks the uneasy silence and exclaims that the 14th Battlegroup had, indeed, returned to their own universe, along with the Terran sleeper ship Sanctuary.

Command then hails the Orestes and reveals that the GTVA had last contacted the entire battlegroup several days ago. The Orestes requests a re-confirmation of its standing orders, which Command confirms should be carried out immediately. In an unexpected turn of events, Admiral Bei takes control of comms and informs Command that he is unable to carry out the Orestes' standing orders because of what he experienced over the course of the past few days. When Command refuses to relent and insists that the Orestes carries out its standing orders, Admiral Bei retires and passes command of the destroyer to Vice-Admiral Morian. Morian announces that he is ready to carry out the orders.

The Orestes demands that the Renjian surrender and be prepared to be boarded, adding that the whole of Sol is now under the direct jurisdiction and authority of the GTVA as per the Beta Aquilae Convention.

The Renjian does not take the Orestes's demands lightly. The frigate turns hostile and begins to bring its guns to bear on the Orestes. However, the Orestes, despite being damaged, engages the Renjian with full force, and completely destroys the frigate.

Without warning, the Sanctuary turns hostile and begins to warm up its engines. Before the other ships in the 14th can stop it, the Sanctuary warps out. As if on cue, a lone Hermes-class escape pod emerges from the Orestes' fighterbay. Admiral Bei then announces that he is on this escape pod.

Admiral Bei reveals the shocking truth behind the 14th Battlegroup: the Sol Expeditionary Force was never intended to enter the system in peace. Command deliberately created the battlegroup from a combination of the best and most powerful warships in the entire GTVA fleet. The probes deployed earlier by the GTVA suggested a government in Sol that Command deemed too dangerous to exist and too stubborn to submit to them—the UEF. At full strength, no ship in the UEF would have been able to stand up to the combined strength of the 14th fleet. Admiral Bei adds, however, that after traversing through to a universe where the Earth was a scorched hulk of rock and where the Terrans no longer existed as a race, he found himself unable to carry out Command's orders. After he bids farewell to everyone present, the escape pod jumps out.

Command declares both the Sanctuary and Admiral Bei to be traitors of the GTVA and destroyed on sight, adding that any ship who chooses to join them will face likewise.

This proves to be the last straw. In a moment of anger, you rubbish everything about the GTVA out loud over the comm channel. Corey asks you what you should do, and you reaffirm your stand; you refuse to fight for a faction that is willing to destroy the future of your species in order to satisfy those at the top of the ladder. You add that Corey and Taylor are free to do what they wish, and you will not drag them into it, but they both agree.

Just like the Sanctuary and Admiral Bei, you, Corey and Taylor engage your jump drives and defect to Earth and the UEF.

Notes

• The Renjian is fated to be destroyed in this mission. However, if you are playing this mission on the FS2_Open 3.6.12 RC1 Inferno build, you can speed things up a little due to a bug—the Duke, Bretonia, Persephone, Labouchere, Miranda and Boreas are all under your command for this mission, and you can command all of them to destroy the Renjian, which they will do with frightening efficiency.
• In the debriefing for this mission, Samuel Bei states that the beachhead operation ultimately failed, as half of the battlegroup defected to Earth, and the other half lacked sufficient supplies and firepower to press the assault.
• Prior to the release of the first two acts of War in Heaven, it was speculated that the Temeraire also defected. The release of said campaign disproved these rumours.
• The defection of the Fortune has been stated a few times by some members of the Blue Planet team as being the result of a coin toss between it and the Solace. Whether it won or lost this coin toss remains unclear.
• Many players have questioned the motives behind the beachhead operation. Replaying the campaign will uncover a few clues in the early missions. Why were the initial probes not simple greetings? Why was the advance into Sol so cautious and militaristic, if the GTVA anticipated a joyful reunion with its GTA brethren? Why were no Vasudans included in the mission?

Total number of forces

Forces involved
Belligerents
GTVA	UEF
Ships
1 GTD Erebus Orestes 1 GTD Titan Temeraire 1 GTCv Bellerophon Boreas 2 GTCv Chimera Labouchere Miranda 0-3 GTC Hyperion (**) Duke Bretonia Persephone 2 GTL Anemoi Solace Fortune 1 Orion Refit Sanctuary 1 GTEP Hermes Shuttle Admiral Bei	1 UEFg Karuna Renjian
Strikecraft
4 GTF Erinyes Alpha 1 (*) Bei Alpha 2 (*) Corey Alpha 3 (*) Taylor Alpha 4 1-4 GTF Kulas Beta (4) (*)(**) 1-4 GTF Perseus Gamma (4) (*)(**)
Casualties
1 GTL Anemoi Solace (#) 1 GTCv Chimera Labouchere (#) 1 GTC Hyperion Duke (#) 1 Orion Refit Sanctuary (&) 1 GTEP Hermes Shuttle (&) Admiral Bei 3 GTF Erinyes Alpha 1 (*)(&) Bei Alpha 2 (*)(&) Corey Alpha 3 (*)(&) Taylor	1 UEFg Karuna Renjian

(*) Default ship listed; actual ship type is based on ship type assigned in previous mission
(**) Number of units alive is based on surviving units at the end of previous mission
(&) Defected
(#) Defected post-mission

Gallery

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  A GTF Perseus separates itself from the now divided 14th Battlegroup.

Videos

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Note: missions starts at 19 mins