Feint! Parry! Riposte!
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ACT 1, MISSION 10
Fighter squadron: 242nd Suicide Kings
Description: The 242nd and the GTC Rampart have been assigned to lure out the NTD Repulse so that the GTVA Colossus can destroy it and secure Epsilon Pegasi.
Background
The 242nd Suicide Kings and the GTC Rampart are to act as bait for the Neo-Terran Front. Their orders are to launch a feint attack on two NTF cruisers, which will hopefully lure Rear-Admiral Koth's warship, the NTD Repulse, into the immediate area so that the GTVA Colossus can destroy it.
Walkthrough
When you jump in, the GTC Rampart, a Leviathan-class cruiser, will be flying beside you, escorted by Iotas and Zetas 1 and 2. About four kilometers in front of you, a wing of six Hercules-class fighters have their guns pointed at you and your wing and are advancing at full speed. Behind them are six more fighters and two cruisers.
You will be facing a total of twelve Hercules fighters and two hostile Fenris cruisers, the NTC Majestic and NTC Refute, for the first part of this mission. They may only be Fenris-class, but the cruisers' AAA beams are a danger to your squadron. Try to lure the Hercules fighters away. You can lure six of them away on the first approach. Avoid face-to-face combat on higher difficulties as Hercules fighters are more durable and have more firepower. On the upside, if you get on well with an interceptor fighter, you can take down the Hercules fighters in a GTF Perseus without much trouble.
Taking down the second group of fighters is much more difficult. Approach the fighters carefully, and pull back if they seem to begin approaching on you. You have to do the same like you did with the first wave, but the cruisers here are within firing range. Take down some of the anti-fighter beams, and after it, assist your wingmen in taking down the fighters. Alternatively, you can fly back to the Rampart if the NTF fighters engage, keeping them just out of range, but close enough so that they will be enticed to chase you. If you choose to do the latter, matching speeds with your closest attacker is recommended. Once the fighters are down, do not continue (or start) attacking the cruisers. Pull back and rearm while Iota and Zeta wings break formation and bombard the two NTF cruisers. By this time, all three warships should be within firing range, so they will be firing their beams at each other. The Rampart should have no problems attacking the cruisers and bearing the brunt of their combined firepower.
When both the Majestic and Refute have their hull integrities reduced to critical, the NTD Repulse will jump in. Command then orders the GTVA Colossus to jump in, which it will once you start engaging the Repulse's fighter escort. The Colossus starts to bombard the Repulse with its beams, and its captain orders Rear-Admiral Koth to surrender, announcing that the Polaris jump node, the Repulse's only means of escape, was blockaded. The rear-admiral then announces that he has no intention of escaping or surrendering, and sets the Repulse on a collision course with the juggernaut. His effort will come to naught, however, as his kamikaze gamble only inflicts "minimal damage".
Notes
- For some awkward reason, the Repulse gets halfway inside the Colossus sometimes before it is destroyed.
- You can attempt to disable the Repulse's engine subsystem so that it cannot ram the Colossus, but the damage done to the juggernaut will still be the same.
- If you wait for the NTC Majestic and NTC Refute to finish most of their waypoints before destroying their fighter escort and engaging the Repulse's escort so the Colossus will jump in, the cruisers will end up in the juggarnaut's upper-rear blindspot and will slowly pound it to death. The Colossus will remain immobile and unable to return fire, as all of its beams are mounted on the side and front.
