The Dragon Awakes
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MISSION 3
Fighter squadron: 222nd Nightwolves
Description: The Nightwolves are deployed on another reconnaissance mission.
Background
The reports from the Nightwolves' patrol and the GTD Temeraire are in, and they both tell the same story: Earth, as well as every other inhabited planet and moon in Sol, is gone. The Earth, it seems, has suffered a fate similar to Vasuda Prime, and it is suspected that the Shivans are behind its bombardment.
The Orestes has attempted to relay its reports back to GTVA High Command but, apparently due to the interference generated by the Sol-Delta Serpentis subspace portal, have been unable to do so. The GTC Duke has been sent back to Delta Serpentis to reestablish contact.
Fighter wings are being deployed to scour the system for survivors, and the 222nd has been tasked to search the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. While Commander Bei takes charge of Alpha wing, comprising of him, Corey, Taylor and Temeraire newcomer Lieutenant Nehru and will search one side of the belt, the Nightwolves' squadron leader, Al'faddil, takes charge of Zeta wing and will be searching another portion of the belt.
Walkthrough
The first part of this mission is similar to the last; fly to the waypoint and listen to the chatter from your wingmen. As you pass Waypoint 1, your sensors pick up an unidentified object nearby. Corey brings up the possibility that it may be another escape pod, since it appears to be of similar size.
When you close to within 2000 metres of the object, your sensors identify it as a Shivan Manticore fighter. Corey quickly transmits this information to the Orestes, and the destroyer transmits orders to destroy the Manticore. Do it.
As the Manticore explodes, several hostile blips appear on your radar. As they draw closer, your sensors pick them up as twelve Shivan Dragon-class fighters. As the Orestes prepares to deploy reinforcements to your area, the Dragon fighters enter firing range and engage. You must now attempt to stay alive until reinforcements arrive. The slower your ship, the harder this is, and even on the easiest difficulty levels, surviving can be quite a challenge.
Approximately ninety seconds after the Shivans first appear on your radar, Zeta wing, comprising of Captain Al'faddil's GTF Erinyes and two Aurora-class fighters, jumps in. Al'faddil immediately orders his wing to engage, and they quickly mop up the Shivans with lightning efficiency. As the last Dragon explodes, Al'faddil reports to the Orestes that the area is secure. The Orestes then orders both Alpha and Zeta wings to return to base, adding that they are deploying an assault wing to sweep the area.
Notes
- Zeta 1 is invulnerable for the entire mission.
- The idea of Shivans hibernating is not dissimilar to a similar concept in Derelict.
- Even if he survives, Lieutenant Nehru will make no appearance throughout the rest of the campaign, suggesting that his encounter with a full squadron of Dragons left him in the Orestes' psychological ward.
- This mission has achieved a small degree of notability within the FreeSpace community after the release of the Director's Cut, mostly due to the Lieutenant Nehru Memorial Challenge, as well as the use of the Wilhelm scream upon Nehru's possible death during this mission.
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(*) May be replaced with the GTF Hercules Mark II, GTF Perseus and/or GTF Myrmidon
