Into the Lion's Den

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SOC LOOP 2, MISSION 2

Fighter squadron: 99th Skulls (?)
Description: Snipes leads Alpha wing of the 99th Skulls on a mission through the second Knossos portal.

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Background

Somebody has to go through Knossos 2 and see what's going on over there. Guess who's been selected?

Walkthrough

Prepare yourself for this mission, as it's widely considered the best Volition ever made. Get up and go to the bathroom first, make sure you're not going to feel the need for food or water in the middle of it, and make sure you're wearing clean underwear.

Check your loadout first. My oh my, is that a Mara? Yes, it is. Kit it out however you like, but the Mara's probably the only fighter that can truly support an all-Kayser gun configuration and it would be a waste to mount anything else (save possibly a single Maxim). You'll be called upon to kill some somewhat sizeable stuff, so you could kit out a bank of Trebs if that strikes your fancy. However such deep secondary bays are practically crying out for an all-Tornado loadout.

Now take a deep breath, swallow any food or drink you have in your mouth, and hit the "Commit" button.

Are you splattered across the front of a Sathanas juggernaut now? Well you should have done what Snipes told you! Trying to pull up is tempting and looks at as if it will work, (indeed, it looks more likely to work then diving), but appearances are decieving, and attempting it will leave your fighter's wreckage a Sathanas hood ornament.

Fifteen minutes 'til you can change your shorts if you happened to soil them, just like the man says. Immediately locate and head for one of the funny-looking "Unknown" things. You know, the ones with the spinning arms. Those are your primary targets this mission. They're widely spaced, so consider diverting some power to your engines. Each can be killed by a well-placed dual Treb hit; aim for the "Crystal" subsystem if you're going the surgical-kill route, once this is destroyed they self-destruct. Otherwise just pour on the firepower. They won't last too long. Deliever the final blow from a distance, because those devices blow up reaaally nice. Once one is down, head for the next one. It's tempting to dogfight it with your brand new super dogfighting machine, but restrain yourself and only bump off those enemy fighters that get in your way or prove particularly offensive.

Don't forget to listen to the commentary from Snipes. He's in top form.

Now, once you have killed all three devices, call for your wingmen to cover you and head for the node. Hopefully you've still got a good amount of time left. Diverting power to your engines will probably be a wise idea. Remember, you must be at the node at the 15 minute mark.

Try not to get run over by the SD Nebiros when it jumps in. Or killed by its after SAAA.

Now you're at the node, and it's fifteen minutes on the mission clock, so hit Alt-J and call it day. Or at least we hope you're at the node and not still dogfighting Aeshmas 10km off.

If you miss your window, you are doomed to die.

Notable ships present

Sathanas 3, Sathanas 4, Sathanas 5, SD Nebiros

New equipment

• SF Mara (Terrans)