Keepers of Hell

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MISSION 17

Fighter squadron: Vishnu

Description: The Keeper confronts a Shivan blockade at the jump node to Delta Serpentis.

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Background

The minimal losses sustained by the Vishnan Sacred Keeper and its fleet at the Knossos in N362 have prompted the Shivans to pull their remaining forces out of N362 and Laramis, allowing you and the Vishnans to charge through both systems without any additional trouble.

As the fleet approaches Delta Serpentis, you feel that the decisions you make at the end of your journey will determine the fate of the human race.

The Vishnans guessed that the Shivans have retreated to the Ross 128-Delta Serpentis jump node, where they will establish a more powerful blockade. They deem that such desperate measures coming from the Great Destroyers must mean that the hour of reckoning for the GTD Orestes is almost at hand.

You are warned that this Shivan blockade, although a vestige of the Shivan force that originally arrived here, is still a danger nonetheless, and can give even the Keeper a severe beatdown, or destroy it outright and deliver a fatal blow to any hopes of you reaching the Orestes.

Walkthrough

As soon as the Keeper arrives, order your wingmen to ignore the two Ravana destroyers and guard the Keeper. Boost your shield and engine power and use your secondaries to disarm the forward beams of both Shivan warships. If you feel you have time and hull integrity, do whatever you can to take out the stinger beams as well. On lower difficulties, ignore the Shivan fighters attacking you - your shields can handle it.

Once the two Rakshasa cruisers and Moloch corvette have arrived, order your wingmen to ignore the Moloch, then disarm the two cruisers of their main beams by whatever means necessary.

You will complete the primary objective of this mission if the Keeper manages to jump out to Delta Serpentis. Destroying the Shivans is nowhere as important as ensuring that the Keeper makes it to the node. If it does not, the mission ends immediately.

Once the Keeper leaves, you are given a directive to jump out at the node. Fly into Delta Serpentis jump node and warp out.

Notes

• This mission has been rebalanced. In the original campaign, it was arguably harder than Forced Entry, requiring split-second timing in disarming each and every large Shivan beam. This included the beams of two Lilith-class cruisers flanking the Keeper.
• The Vishnan Inquisitor was originally available in this mission. It has since been removed.
• The Tartaruchi and Temeluchus are scripted to always target and destroy the Keeper's main gun with their first beam salvo 10 seconds after its arrival. An additional sabotage-subsystem sexp is set on the Keeper's main gun if it is made invulnerable through cheats.
• You cannot jump out unless you are within 700 metres of the Ross 128 jump node. If you are already within 700 metres of the jump node, you will not be able to jump out if you are more than 700 metres away from it.

Tips

• Your highest priority is to disarm the two destroyers parked at the jump node. Consider shunting all energy to engines until you are targeted by a Shivan fighter. This will increase your speed and afterburner recharge and slightly reduce the amount of time needed to cross the vast distance between both sides.
• While the Bebelith is a corvette and can deliver the same warship-shattering punch as the Balberith and Bathin, it is not positioned to do so. The cruisers should be your second-highest priority as they have their main guns pointed directly at the Keeper and are easier to destroy.
• There is a bonus objective in this mission. Destroy all Shivan forces.

Total number of forces

Forces involved
Belligerents
Vishnans	Shivans
Ships
1 Vishnan Sacred Keeper Sacred Keeper 2 Vishnan Arbiter Arbiter 1 Arbiter 2 2 Vishnan Protector Protector (2)	2 SD Ravana Tartaruchi Temeluchus 1 SCv Moloch Bebelith 2 SC Rakshasa Balberith Bathin
Strikecraft
4-8 Vishnan Missionary (*) Beta (4) *2 waves 3 Vishnan Preacher (**) Alpha 1 Bei Alpha (2) 3-6 Vishnan Seeker Delta (3) *2 waves	6 SF Manticore Arjuna (6) 6 SF Astaroth Rama (6) 12 SF Mara Shivore (6) Vishnu (6) 6 SB Nahema Brahma (6) 6 SB Taurvi Shiva (6)
Casualties
0-2 Vishnan Arbiter Arbiter 1 Arbiter 2 0-2 Vishnan Protector Protector (2) 0-8 Vishnan Missionary (*) Beta (4) *2 waves 0-2 Vishnan Preacher (**) Alpha 1 Bei Alpha (2) 0-6 Vishnan Seeker Delta (3) *2 waves	2 SD Ravana Tartaruchi Temeluchus 0-1 SCv Moloch Bebelith 0-2 SC Rakshasa Balberith Bathin 0-6 SF Manticore Arjuna (6) 0-6 SF Astaroth Rama (6) 0-12 SF Mara Shivore (6) Vishnu (6) 0-6 SB Nahema Brahma (6) 0-6 SB Taurvi Shiva (6)

(*) May be replaced with the Vishnan Preacher and/or Vishnan Seeker
(**) May be replaced with the Vishnan Missionary and/or Vishnan Seeker