Zen and the Art of Running away.. {spoilers guaranteed}

Arakiel · Post by **Arakiel** » Sat, 2. May 09, 19:53

Doc Quixotic wrote:It would have been easier because he can jump in and out without hassle in Commonwealth sectors. This allows a ''Blitz'-like action to take place whereas he needs a full-scale invasion to get into Terran space. Also, he could have made use of in-sector jumps to avoid attackers (or to engage them on his terms).

That sounds like a hell of a lot more effort then the atmo lifters. He already walked into Terran space and blew the hell out of it, now he can sit back in Jupiter and cap as many atmo lifters as he wants and has the resources to get. Patrols don't go anywhere near where the lifters spawn so he doesn't NEED blitz actions nor deal with a constant barrage of sector defenses, he can just sit there capping away to his hearts content. I was just there, I capped 7 lifters before I got bored. Nothing ever even hit my gravidar in terms of sector defenses. N-S's only limitations are fuel, jumpdrives and pods. Once he runs out of those he has to stop and get out but until then he is already in the sweet spot.

NUKLEAR-SLUG · Post by **NUKLEAR-SLUG** » Sun, 3. May 09, 00:59

81 - Ice Ice Baby!

.. What works once will probably work a second time.

I can see it, but the Atmo-Lifter isn't on gravidar yet so quickly reassigning Gold Wing I send them off in the general direction. Once they pick it up properly I split the wing again and order them to attack shields. This time tho the shields drop remarkably quickly so it looks likes this one might be severely undershielded. Also, despite the the Lifter doing in excess of 100m/s, the gap between us is narrowing so it would seem this one is actually headed my way. Well if it's doing that then I'm in no hurry so calling off my Solanos for the moment I decide to wait until I'm much closer. As the gap closes I order the Solanos to get back to suppressing those shields and fire the pod at about 5km range. As the pod tracks in the Lifter passes within scan range and I'm able to see why the shields dropped so fast. Only 1x200Mj shield and the rest all 25Mj. An oddity, but not my concern, the guys are onboard and doing their stuff and within a short time the Lifter is mine..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ut/81-1.gif

.. And even got some Ice leftover in the hold. I think when we get back home we'll be celebrating a successful op so that'll come in handy!

Unfortunately no jumpdrive again which poses somewhat of a dilemma. I came equipped to capture one Atmo-Lifter, but hadn't actually anticipated the possibility of capturing a second, so no spare jumpdrives knocking about. While I do have a couple ships back home that have jumpdrives installed they're all over there and I'm over here which does me no good whatsoever. No real option for calling in additional equipment as I'm in Terran space means I'm faced with the prospect of sacrificing a ship to get the Atmo-Lifter home. Counting my essential core-ships out of the equation then purely from a cost perspective it would be preferable to sacrifice my M8, but I've found replacing Bombers to be tricky, which makes sacrificing one of my Heavy Centaurs the obvious alternative option. Costly, but sometimes you have to make hard decisions.

Either way I better make a decision fast as I've just noticed sunlight reflecting of hull-panels in the distance and the gravidar shows nothing which means I'm going to have to try a manual identification. Bringing up the vid-gogs then it seems I was right to think that small Terran patrol was screaming for backup. It appears as tho I'm about to have company..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ut/81-2.jpg

..and it doesn't look happy..

Assets
1x Brigantine 'Why So Serious?'
1x Kraken 'Just Who Is This Steve Anyway?'
1x HCP 'Feersum Endjinn'
1x Albatross 'Two Jam Butties Short Of A Picnic'
1x Atmo-Lifter 'Big Daddy'
1x Atmo-Lifter 'Big Mommy'

2x Heavy Centaur 'Yang/Yong'
4x Solano 'Gold Wing'
1x Solano 'Scout - 01'

1x Minotaur
1x Centaur
1x Vali 'SecDef - 01'
2x Heavy Nemesis
2x TP
3x M8 Bomber
3x TM Zephyrus
1x Pleco
1x M
1x Caiman Miner 'Ore miner - 01'

Credits: 376,944

Troubleshooter11 · Post by **Troubleshooter11** » Sun, 3. May 09, 02:36

Not to familiar with Terran ships. Can anyone ID that one?

Btw, nice going N-S! Be sure to use that ice to not only celebrate, but also toast to the memory of your sacrificed Heavy Centaur.

JoeVN09 · Post by **JoeVN09** » Sun, 3. May 09, 03:32

USC Osaka M2. Probably not what I'd want to make angry when I had a load of ships to get home

EDIT: Spelling

Legionnaire · Post by **Legionnaire** » Sun, 3. May 09, 04:28

You obviously miunderstand its approach, Its being sent as a peace offering to get Mak to leave Terran space, unfortunately the Terrans dont realise Steve will be leading the 'peace' negotiations

Legionnaire

Tiedyeguy · Post by **Tiedyeguy** » Sun, 3. May 09, 04:49

Could you please provide us with a list of what ships you have in Terran space and how many JDs you have available for your Op? Personally, I'd move Gold Wing to one of the 'Lifters and sacrifice the Gold Leader TM.

Fendalis · Post by **Fendalis** » Sun, 3. May 09, 05:18

Why not just fight your way back to Heretics End or whatever the sector south of Asteroid Belt is? Then do some creative docking/jumping til everything is home again? Shouldn't be a need to sacrifice anything if youhave enough firepower to get back through Terran space...plus, blowing up stuff is fun.

mms333 · Post by **mms333** » Sun, 3. May 09, 11:55

I know it's too late for that now but for securing boarded ships I always bring a TM which has a JD for itself and at least one fighter docked to it that has a JD.
After boarding one JD gets tranferred to the new ship(s) and one stays on the TM. Fighters dock, everybody gets out. Tadaaaa!

perkint · Post by **perkint** » Sun, 3. May 09, 14:53

mms333 wrote:I know it's too late for that now but for securing boarded ships I always bring a TM which has a JD for itself and at least one fighter docked to it that has a JD

Yeah - but does Mak have enough JDs for that? It's not just about organisation, it's about whether you have enough resources!

And on that note, if you have enough missiles, why not take the whole fleet out again? Surely there won't be too much heavy opposition in position, yet?

Tim

softweir · Post by **softweir** » Sun, 3. May 09, 15:11

Mak had two spare jumpdrives. He was planning on only one heist, so only brought one of them. The other is in a ship he felt was surplus to requirements, and so left in commonwealth space, and would be too likely to be destroyed if he tried to bring it to him. He stands to lose a ship one way or the other, but he doesn't want to lose a jumpdrive if he can help it!

If he leaves behind his fastest large ship then he might be able to send it far enough off the map for it to stay safe while he jumps the rest of the fleet back home, rearranges his jumpdrives and makes another foray into Terran space to retrieve the last ship - but that would cost a lot in missiles and might be excessively dangerous.

NUKLEAR-SLUG · Post by **NUKLEAR-SLUG** » Sun, 3. May 09, 22:52

Tiedyeguy wrote:Could you please provide us with a list of what ships you have in Terran space and how many JDs you have available for your Op? Personally, I'd move Gold Wing to one of the 'Lifters and sacrifice the Gold Leader TM.

Brigantine 'Why So Serious?'
Kraken 'Just Who Is This Steve Anyway?'
HCP 'Feersum Endjinn'
Atmo-Lifter 'Big Daddy'
Atmo-Lifter 'Big Mommy'
Blue wing - 2x Heavy Centaur 'Yang/Yong'
Gold Wing - 4x Solano 'Gold Wing'
Gold Leader - Zephyras
M8 - Chew On This!

All have a jumpdrive apart from the Solanos and I already did as you suggested and sacrificed the TM to provide a jumpdrive for the first Atmo-Lifter with a view to jumping Gold wing out with it.

softweir wrote:...but that would cost a lot in missiles and might be excessively dangerous.

Cool, lets do that then!

82 - MIA

.. And it's brought a whole bunch of unhappy little friends with it too, although some aren't that little tho. As the Osaka finally enters Gravidar range I can see one Yokohama M7 and three Katana M6 tagging along as well as the smattering of smaller fighters and bombers. Not a force I'm inclined to tangle with.

My initial reaction is the same one I generally go for when encountering something I don't like the look of, break out the atomics and vaporise it. Some may consider this an overreaction but personally I've found the disproportionate use of force to be a quite effective solution to a lot of lifes problems. That said it's always worth a moments second consideration. Wiping out the first Osaka battlegroup down in Asteroid Belt was still the right choice I believe. Given my proximity to the gate at the time I wasn't in a position to mess around so removing the threat as quickly as possible was the best option. In this instance I think an alternative option is on the cards. Someone give Leo a kick, I got a little job for him..

Range is on my side at the moment, long-range means little lateral motion for a target ship, which means slow turning torpedoes like the Firestorm have a much better chance of making a connection. Targetting the larger ships then I fire off a couple at each, I only really need one to get thru as I'm not necessarily intending to kill the actual target (although that would be nice) just thin out the bulk of the fighters. Unfortunately the range is too great to provide any swarm-missile cover fire which is always preferable when trying to sneak in a big warhead but as it happens my lucks in and I get sufficient hits to put some large holes in the formation. The three Katanas go down along with some of the lighter fighters, but the Yokohama seems a lot more on the ball and intercepts the ones aimed it's way.

Initial strike over it's mop up time which means Thunderbolts for the M3s and Tempests for the M4s while the last couple Bombers get a Hornet apiece. That should adequately take care of the fighter cover so while my fleet heads out-system I can transport to my Bomber and roll some torpedoes at the Yokohama which is closing fast..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ut/82-1.jpg

.. and proving remarkably difficult to kill as well. While fighters explode in the background and static howls across the comm bands as transmissions are abruptly cut off the Yokohama is very effectively picking my Tomahawks out the sky. In fact it's doing so well and closing so rapidly with murder in mind (mine!) that I decide I need a little help here and call for a support Hammer barrage from my Kraken. That does the trick and finally cracks it's point defence. A valiant fighter who probably deserved better. Had I the luxury of the time I'ld have perhaps attempted to capture the Yokohama intact, but with that Osaka barelling up from the rear that probably wouldn't have been wise.

With the Yokohama down tho I can concentrate on dealing with the Osaka now which, with 11Gj of shields, is a somewhat daunting prospect. I'm sure I can remove them but not entirely sure how well I'll be able to control them recharging as I've a limited amount of Flails and just expended 2/3 of my Hammer supply dealing with that troublesome M7. It takes a little while to gauge the recharge rate versus a strike from a Tomahawk but eventually I think I've got it sussed and make my move. As the last Tomahawk arrives and reduces the shields to a couple percent I fire a stream of Flails and then the pod followed up by the remainder of my flail supply. The initial Flail barrage is arriving on target and keeping the shields steady but before I can get the report that the guys have made hull contact there's a flash and suddenly the Osaka is gone..

Oh dear, I think Leo and the boys/girls are currently sat in a boarding pod, aimed at a ship that's no longer there and consequently hurtling off into deep space at a spritely 480m/s..

Assets
1x Brigantine 'Why So Serious?'
1x Kraken 'Just Who Is This Steve Anyway?'
1x HCP 'Feersum Endjinn'
1x Albatross 'Two Jam Butties Short Of A Picnic'
1x Atmo-Lifter 'Big Daddy'
1x Atmo-Lifter 'Big Mommy'

2x Heavy Centaur 'Yang/Yong'
4x Solano 'Gold Wing'
1x Solano 'Scout - 01'

1x Minotaur
1x Centaur
1x Vali 'SecDef - 01'
2x Heavy Nemesis
2x TP
3x M8 Bomber
3x TM Zephyrus
1x Pleco
1x M
1x Caiman Miner 'Ore miner - 01'

Credits: 376,944

Dragoongfa · Post by **Dragoongfa** » Sun, 3. May 09, 23:12

Whats the range of a boarding pod again?

I think that once the pod self destructs you should be able to pick them up.

googlemeier · Post by **googlemeier** » Sun, 3. May 09, 23:18

Oh dear, I think Leo and the boys/girls are currently sat in a boarding pod, aimed at a ship that's no longer there and consequently hurtling off into deep space at a spritely 480m/s.

"Where are we headin' captain?"

"Second star to the right, steady as she goes..."

chelo_boga · Post by **chelo_boga** » Sun, 3. May 09, 23:21

Hi N-S

First of all. Great story so far. Im not ashame to say that I adopted a few of your tactics (especially thr RSLG maneuver)

I have a question though: How do u transform your eslaves into marines? The manual states that it can be possible after "spending some time at a Rehabilitation Facility" (Pag. 50 of the manual)

The thing is I dont have a clue which facility the mean or where to go

Sorry if u answered this before

Many thxs, and keep the story coming. I thought Squiddy was good but this is turning to be better!

Olterin · Post by **Olterin** » Mon, 4. May 09, 00:19

You had me going there for a second with the story title... thought it'd be you and not your marines who'd be MIA... phew

I guess it's back to the drawing board time, then? (Great story, keep it coming

)

Tiedyeguy · Post by **Tiedyeguy** » Mon, 4. May 09, 01:29

chelo_boga wrote:I have a question though: How do u transform your eslaves into marines? The manual states that it can be possible after "spending some time at a Rehabilitation Facility" (Pag. 50 of the manual)

That feature got dropped from the game so there is no direct Passenger->Slave->Marine transforming. Nuke has just been limiting himself to the number of marine he can have based on the number of slaves he sells. He sells 4 slaves, he can buy 4 marines. He sells 12 slaves, that's 12 new "recruitment vouchers" he gets.

chelo_boga · Post by **chelo_boga** » Mon, 4. May 09, 02:33

Tiedyeguy wrote:That feature got dropped from the game so there is no direct Passenger->Slave->Marine transforming. Nuke has just been limiting himself to the number of marine he can have based on the number of slaves he sells. He sells 4 slaves, he can buy 4 marines. He sells 12 slaves, that's 12 new "recruitment vouchers" he gets.

Really?? Thats how he does it? Are u sure hes not transforming them into marines?

mayan · Post by **mayan** » Mon, 4. May 09, 03:37

It is not possible to convert slaves or passengers directly to marines.

Hence N-S pretends that he is able to do so by converting his passengers to slaves, selling them at a pirate station and then purchasing the same number of marines from a mercenary or pirate base.

Orion1632 · Post by **Orion1632** » Mon, 4. May 09, 03:44

Darn, sorry to hear about your marines, hope you manage to get them back somehow.

What happened to the Osaka? way there a stray missile running around?

softweir · Post by **softweir** » Mon, 4. May 09, 03:59

Jumped out? Launched a humongous missile which detonated in the blast radius of one of Mak's, thus getting wiped out by its own missile? (Easy to do when shields are near zero.)

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Zen and the Art of Running away.. {spoilers guaranteed}