Everything is Permitted

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

Previous Mission	Campaign Walkthrough	Next Mission

MISSION 19
ACT 3, MISSION 02

Fighter squadron: Falcata Wing, Fedayeen

Description: Laporte infiltrates behind enemy lines to eliminate the traitor that killed Elder Lin Taudigani.

---

Background

"If you are Fedayeen, you've always been Fedayeen."

With those words from al-Da'wa, Laporte is initiated into the secretive cabal of sociopaths harnessed for the good of humanity. With no uniform discipline, no clear command structure, and the run of the frigate -- except for CASSANDRA in its Frame 16 sanctum, guarded by a platoon of combat armor -- it is clear that the Fedayeen is no ordinary combat unit.

As Laporte gets to know the other Operators on her wing, Thorn and CASSANDRA have found the mole that betrayed the UEF's Vasudan diplomatic mission, killed Elder Lin Taudigani, and betrayed the Wargods to Admiral Steele. Elder Svetlana Henriksson was originally selected to meet with Admiral Recamai to open diplomatic relations with the Vasudans, but she opted out, saying she was too ill at the time to travel. Apparently, this was a ruse; she transmitted the details and itinerary of the plan to Steele, who set up an SOC op to derail the talks. In addition, her close friendship with Admiral Netreba gave her access to Second Fleet's military plans, helping Steele to lure the Wargods into a trap.

Henriksson's rationale for turning traitor appears to be twofold. First, she is convinced that the GTVA will inevitably win the war, and wants to minimize the loss of life. Second, she is convinced that Shambhala -- the code name for the Council's end-state contingency -- is a reckless gamble with humanity that may cause its extinction.

The Fedayeen attempted to capture Henriksson on Luna, but the SOC managed to extract her to the GTCv Fortitude. She was badly wounded during the extraction; she is being moved to Artemis Station for treatment and debriefing. As the information she holds about the Federation and Shambhala would destroy everything the Council would hope to achieve, al-Da'wa has unilaterally authorized Henriksson's termination.

Laporte will take a single Ainsarii fighter to Artemis Station. From there, she will hack into their communications system using backdoors left during the Fall of Jupiter. Once she has the encryption keys, Laporte will determine which transport Henriksson is on by listening to her transmissions to Admiral Steele and vice versa. As they are using directional transmissions, Laporte will need to monitor the signal strength of the transports whenever a transmission is sent or received.

Once Laporte determines which ship Henriksson is on, she is to destroy it, and escape capture by Tev forces once they go on alert.

Walkthrough

Direct Attack Method

The multiple paths available for the assassination of Elder Henriksson make an interesting exercise. You have several options, both direct and subtle, though I prefer the direct approach. The Ainsari's glide feature will be of great help, and while the selection of weapons is good, this mission is only going to require firepower if that's your style — and if you plan your approach carefully. With a small amount of luck, it's quite easy to get a perfect no-damage playthrough.

One approach uses Gattlers and Shrikes.

First, cover the distance to Artemis Station as fast as possible. Take care not to approach the AWACs near the Atreus. During your approach, you'll see the Marcus Glaive leaving the area. (This is a good opportunity to find out how your signal gauge works, incidentally.) Scan the comm subsystem of Artemis Station, since you need this no matter what happens. Lambda Transports will arrive by the time you've completed this.

Second, move out towards the transports, using Glide Mode. Point your trajectory so that you'll pass a couple of kilometers "above" the transports and their escort fighters. While you're doing this, a second group (Omega) will arrive. Elder Henriksson will transmit a message to Admiral Steele. This is your first opportunity to narrow down her location. The signal gauge is sensitive enough to narrow down which group she's in from a few kilometers away, so now you can move in a bit closer. Her second message, about a minute later, will allow you to just about specify which transport is hers. Stay within a kilometer of that ship, because her third message a minute later will be enough for confirmation.

Target the transport's engines and head directly away from it. Gliding backwards, your Shrikes have enough range to be fired from several kilometers away—five is plenty. Move quickly as you won't be noticed for several more seconds. Cancel glide mode and change your trajectory. Best bet, move yourself significantly "up" or "down" relative to the plane of the action and start gliding again—then shut down. If you've done this quickly enough, you'll have just enough time to watch your missiles' impact on the transport.

Give it several seconds to move yourself out of the danger zone. The fighter escort should spread out a bit, searching for you in the areas nearby (but don't be surprised if one or two lurk near the transport.) Now's your time to strike: Change your glide trajectory again, this time aiming to pass near the disabled transport. You have one chance to make this pass, and the Gattler's range makes this a viable option. It will take a few seconds of sustained fire to destroy the transport, after which you should jump immediately.

This approach doesn't require you to use the decoy transport or any of the other tools in the mission, making it good for reducing complexity.

On-Site Sabotage Method

This method allows you to kill the Elder without having to fire a single shot from your ship. You still have to maneuver your way carefully, and rely on timing.

Follow the first two steps above from the Direct Attack Method, but while you're near Artemis Station, scan the Weapons subsystem so you can hack into the Mjolnir RBC ThorNet, and the Sensors subsystem so you can jam all sensors in case you need the extra cushion to egress. Use any maneuvering means to identify Elder Henriksson's transport (the approach can be wide-above or wide-flanking, do not approach head-on).

Pick the Mjolnir Cannon that you want to hack (do not start the hack until you have a positive ID on Elder Henriksson, as your control window is only 30 seconds), and pay attention to any patrols whose path may align with it (use your F11 key to track any station-side patrols).

The only trick to this is timing: wait until the patrol wings next to your selected Cannon have their backs turned and are at least four to five kilometers away. Press your 3 key to hack the Cannon. Stay close to it for the next 30 seconds. The cannon name will turn blue on your Escort List.

Start moving away to an egress position as soon as the hack is successful. While you're moving, target the Elder's Transport, and order your hacked cannon to destroy it. Look back (use your rear-view or glide and turn in the opposite direction) to watch the fireworks and hear the panicked response from the station. As soon as you've confirmed the kill, warp out. If you find that the patrol or escort wings are closing, use the Sensor Disruptor to temporarily overload the sensor net (you'll be affected too, but you can still jump out safely).

Total number of forces

Forces involved
Belligerents
UEF	GTVA
Ships
	1 GTD Erebus Atreus 1 GTA Charybdis Argus 2 GTC Aeolus Ascendant Warwick 1 GTC Hyperion Titania 1 GTCv Deimos Legionary 1 GTCv Diomedes Fortitude 1 GTL Anemoi Hastings 2 GTG Zephyrus Avila Venture 2 GTFR Triton Calypso Tremblant 1 GTM Hippocrates Pasteur 6 GTT Elysium Lambda (3) Omega (3) 8 GTSG Mjolnir Mjolnir (8)
Strikecraft
1 UEF Ainsarii Laporte	Artemis Provisional: 2 GTF Aurora Scorpio (2) 4 GTF Myrmidon Aries (4) 4 GTF Perseus Libra (4) 627th Rooks: 4 GTF Nyx Corvus (4) 4 GTF Myrmidon Auriga (4)
Casualties
	1 GTT Elysium Lambda (1) or Omega (1)