Terran Plot (Page 2 of 3)

Written by Spike

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Rendezvous

It is strongly recommended that you complete the first mission of the Operation Final Fury plot before attempting this mission.

Jackson informs you that amongst other things downloaded during the Xenon attack on Sol were blueprints for Terraformer technology. It looks like the Terraformers you just located were constructed somewhere in the Commonwealth, though no-one is sure where. The best guess is to be made by undercover operative Robert Pearle, who is presently on the Trading Station in Nathan's Voyage. First order is to go there and pick him up.

When you arrive, you're interrupted by a very rude woman who demands that you follow her. Might as well. If she knows you then she knows why you're here. Turns out she's Pearle's accomplice, and just trying to fit in with the locals on comms in case the Argon are monitoring her. It seems that she and Pearle are not undercover anymore; he got caught hacking an Argon data terminal and he's been taken to Argon Sector M148's military outpost. If you hadn't completed the OFF first mission, going into that sector would be suicide, as every ship there would shoot at you on sight. Now, we have a chance. But first, you've got to talk to a Teladi contact. If you don't mind crawling around at snail speed then just sit back and let your autopilot do the work. Otherwise, fly to Grand Exchange. The contact is on a station there. Don't dock, just fly up to it.

When you get in range, the Teladi will start chatting to you; you don't need to wait for Heywood. Apparently, the Teladi can get you into M148 but wants something in return; you need to shut down his 'friend's' drug smuggling operation. Proceed to sector Tears of Greed.

When you arrive, a cutscene plays showing your target. This luckless Teladi has to meet his end today. Blow him away. After that messy business is done with, you need to scan for remaining smugglers. Check your Sector Map and they'll be highlighted in a special section. Scan them for contraband and if there is any, open fire. When that's done, return to your Teladi contact. They're grateful and have arranged a trade run to M148; you need to deliver 200 Teladianium.

So, take your nice shiny well-equipped fighter... and dump it somewhere in favour of a big fat slow badly-armoured defenceless freighter. You aren't going to fit 200 Teladianium in anything smaller than 1000 units of cargo space. If you don't own a freighter, then buy and equip a Pelican at the local shipyard; it is a long way from ideal but it'll do. Put your prize fighter inside it. I recommend heading south to Queen's Harbour to pick up a Jumpdrive from Atreus HQ, putting it on your fighter and filling the ship with a hundred or so Energy Cells to get out of trouble in a hurry. You'll need it. Then stock up your Pelican with 200 Teladianium and head to Argon Sector M148.

Move up towards the Military Outpost, which has turned blue just for you. Dock, and Heywood will also dock with it. She's going to bust Pearle out of there, and you need to be ready to pick them up. Undock, and get ready with your fighter. It'll need 12 units of cargo space free.

When Heywood rescues Pearle, she can't get back to her ship. They jump out of an airlock in their EVA suits. You need to pick them up; this is difficult at first as they're moving so fast but they'll eventually slow down to 14m/s. When they do, slow down to about 20, creep up and get them on board. Then jump out.

Mission finishes when you make it to the Orbital Defence Station in Heretic's End. It'll be some time before your next mission.

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Reconnaissance

The plot resumes at Ishiyama's base in the Asteroid Belt.

According to Pearle, the Terraformers are being selective with their targets; they're hitting the Boron and some Split factions hardest. That implies that one of the Split families is in control; Pearle suspects either the Ryk or Zyarth. We are to drop recon satellites in Split space to figure out which.

Collect three Navigation Relay Satellites and move to Family Zyarth. There's a Xenon sector in the way so you might want to jump there. Drop the satellite somewhere in sector and move to Family Ryk. Drops another navsat and them move to Zyarth's Dominion and drop the third. You have to wait a short while whilst Pearle checks for Terraformer activity.

He soon spots some unusual activity in Family Zyarth; some Terraformer ships that didn't enter the sector by gate. They quickly jump out. Move back there. Pearle, having a Sherlock Holmes moment, comes up with a brilliant idea; if the Terraformers are being manufactured in Family Zyarth and they have jumpdrives, then we can trace freighters with jumpdrive components to find the factory. This idea isn't so brilliant for the poor sod who has to do the scanning, though. The ships are highlighted as before, in a separate section on the gravidar.

When you find the right one, he tries to get away. You have to force a bail; the pilot will bail when his hull strength drops low enough, and you'll need the ship afterwards, so be gentle and try to do as little damage as possible. When the pilot bails, do some repairs, and claim the ship.

Now, transfer the shields from your fighter to your new acquisition, along with your jumpdrive and enough jump fuel to get at least 1 sector. You'll need that equipment. Then save, as you'll need that too. Send your fighter to the Trading Station in the next Sector.

There's an Elephant roaming round the sector somewhere; should be easy to spot. This is your factory. Fly up to it, and Pearl will instruct you to plant a tracking device. You have to be close and a counter will appear. To make it really hard, a group of Terraformer fighters will swarm out and attack you. As soon as the counter hits 100%, activate your jumpdrive. Get back to your fighter and rendezvous with it; transfer yourself and your equipment back and dump the freighter. No time to lose; proceed to Ocean of Fantasy and rendezvous with the Terran Odin there. Make sure you have a Cargo Lifesupport System installed too.

The tracking device you planted shows that the Elephant is in the Unknown Sector east of Zyarth's Dominion. You've been given a prize for your efforts; a Cutlass. Fly to the target Sector and you'll find the Terrans mounting an attack on the Elephant. There are three Scabbards trying to board the TL. You have to protect them until they reach their destination. Forget about the cloud of Split in front of you and let the Terrans take care of them; your priority should be the line of Split ships that the TL launches at you when you get close, so stay with the lead transport.

When the Scabbards get close, they board the Elephant without much happening. Some charges blow up the information terminals, preventing the Marines from finding out who is responsible. However, a Split ship is hit and the pilot bails. You must pick him up and when you do, take him to the Military Base in The Moon, which your clearance is upgraded for. There's also an Enhanced Jaguar waiting for you next to the astronaut should you be so inclined.

When you dock at the Moon military base, General Ichiyama informs you that this could take a while. Your time is your own.