Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

Current Technology (less delay)

4 (40%)

End-Game (more delay)

6 (60%)

Total Members Voted: 10

[C-SH4M4N]

So now we move on to War. WARRRGH!!!
Eh ... oops. Wrong setting!

In my first play, I sided with NN too. Let's just say viewers are in for a surprise (which isn't a spoiler considering how this game zig-zags and plays with many tropes).

Starburst phenomenon ... hmm, now just what could that be? Huh?  Perhaps we might catch a glimpse of it in the future? Wouldn't that be a shocker! 

The Nova Nacion fighters are the best stuff you can buy in the SMC. I stuck with them until the mid-to- endgame.

[Karkov]

Posting to watch.  It's been a fun read so far and the commentary is brilliant.  About how far into this game would you say we are?

[Hanzoku]

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Right now, I'd say that I'm 40-45% of the way through the game. At the end of this chapter, we'll be at the big half-way point in the story.

[C-SH4M4N]

You know what's funny about this whole 'war' thing?
The story basically says that the "Central Elgavan Government" is meant to solve disputes like the one we're about to see in Irvest. So when the first shot was fired, how come we don't hear a pip from them?

Useless space bureaucrats ... :/

[Hanzoku]

The story doesn't come right out and say it, but I think Elgava was doing its very best to start this war. Before he met his unfortunate fate, Cadmus was trying to stop the campaign of exchange that Lanco was setting up between Kalymnos and Nova Nacio, but the plan didn't seem entirely like him. It's possible that Elgava was paying him to disrupt their relations. Unfortunately, he died under a rock before he could spill any information.

Specifically during the Irvest War, Elgava wants Nova Nacio and Kalymnos focused on each other so that neither notices that a good half of Elgava's standing fleet is away. (If I calculate correctly, the Central Elgavan Forces are about 10,000 ships strong, while each of the Sector fleets is 5,000 ships strong.)

[C-SH4M4N]

The story doesn't come right out and say it, but I think Elgava was doing its very best to start this war. Before he met his unfortunate fate, Cadmus was trying to stop the campaign of exchange that Lanco was setting up between Kalymnos and Nova Nacio, but the plan didn't seem entirely like him. It's possible that Elgava was paying him to disrupt their relations. Unfortunately, he died under a rock before he could spill any information.

Specifically during the Irvest War, Elgava wants Nova Nacio and Kalymnos focused on each other so that neither notices that a good half of Elgava's standing fleet is away. (If I calculate correctly, the Central Elgavan Forces are about 10,000 ships strong, while each of the Sector fleets is 5,000 ships strong.)

That ... would make them 8 different colors of stupid, no? Breaking out a war in a resource-rich sector between two internal groups just as a threat is looming on the horizon and you've sent a fleet to deal with it?
Wait a minute, that's what useless space bureaucrats are for. Nevermind then ... 

[Hanzoku]

Remember, the massive fleet capable of intergalactic travel without the benefit of Void Gates is created by a single system that has to be less advanced then Elgava. *eyeroll*

I don't think eight colors is enough to cover the stupid involved here.

[Culise]

Remember, the massive fleet capable of intergalactic travel without the benefit of Void Gates is created by a single system that has to be less advanced then Elgava. *eyeroll*

I don't think eight colors is enough to cover the stupid involved here.

To be fair, Nia does point out why they're being this stupid - Elgava is used to being the big fish in a small pond.  Elgava doesn't really have the mental framework to consider that they might be second-best, and even if they do, they're going to compare to the LMC, not to anything even greater.  They have the example of the polities of the Large Magellanic Cloud in theory, but in practice, communication with there is restricted to a single travel conduit (so the powers of the LMC have been completely unable to exert that military and technological superiority over the SMC), and the only example from the LMC that they have had regular direct contact with is the refugees from Nacio who came to them as supplicants seeking a place to settle, not as a fellow great power that could completely overmatch them technologically and numerically.  I don't recall if it's really commented on, but from their own experiences operating their fleet, they assume using their own abilities as a baseline that any fleet capable of intergalactic travel is going to be dominated by its logistical arm (because when you're crossing between galaxies, you can't exactly make a pit stop halfway to pick up food, fuel, and supplies), which means that only a tiny, tiny fraction of fleet is going to be combat-capable.  In many respects, the mystery fleet is an outside-context problem - Elgava simply does not have the necessary experience to comprehend just how big of a paradigm-shifter is bearing down on them, and so they're approaching it with a completely outmoded thought process. 

[Hanzoku]

Your arguments make perfect sense and explain why Elgava is acting the way it does. My counterargument to that though is that Elgava should be able to see the technology being used by the 'Jackals' that target ships traveling the Magellanic Stream. Their ships are so far ahead of SMC-made ships that they're functionally indestructible. This leads to one of the shortfalls (IMO of the game) - Elgava and the other nations shouldn't be that far behind in technology. They should have found a pirate and bribed him until he gave them the schematics for his ship and weapon systems, or a company willing to sell the civilian versions of LMC ships. This would at least put them a lot closer to the technology used by the LMC.

[C-SH4M4N]

I don't know ... we're talking about Elgava being the unification of the Small Magellanic Cloud. That's a galaxy, not a star system or a cluster of them. I think the writers had no sense of scale when they sold us the concept.

I could see the Elgavan government being something like "The Federation" which covers 1/4 of the Star Trek galaxy; if they were that small, then sure, their modus operandi would make a farfetched bit more sense.

[Hanzoku]

Elgava seems to control about 1/2 of the Small Magellanic Cloud, by my estimate, with Kalymnos and Nova Nacio each controlling another 2/5ths and the last 10% being split up into all the outskirts independent dominions.

However, I think your complaint about their sense of scale is spot on. I've stopped giving planetary populations a long time ago because even newly settled frontier worlds might have populations in the tens or hundreds of millions. I don't mind the number of people, but it boggles the mind at moving all those bodies and everything they need to live to a planet in a short amount of time.

As for Elgava's method of operation, I think they treat Kalymnos and Nova Nacio they way they do because if the two nations could work out their differences, they would be a legitimate challenge to Elgava in a stand-up fight. Elgava would have an advantage in sheer number of ships, while Kalymnos is acknowledged as the superior ship builder in the SMC (mostly for their adamas armor) and Nova Nacio is the source of the premier small craft.

[Hanzoku]

The Irvest War, Part 1
New Characters: Martiro, Ulmo, Letero, Pavlou
New Ships:  Hestia (Other), Ianthe (BB)
New Equipment:  Nova Nacio Bridge Lv 2, Navigation Bridge Lv 4, Navigation Bridge Lv 7, Fire Control Room Lv 4, Radar Room Lv 5, Hanger Lv 3, Hold Lv 3, Crew's Mess Lv 1, Battlesim Room Lv 1, Science Lab Lv 2, Thruster Control Room Lv 3, Briefing Room Lv 3, Regeinland Bridge Lv 2, Navigating Bridge Lv 9, Sick Bay Lv 6
New Fighters:

Spoiler: New Modules (click to show/hide)

xxx
ooo - Nova Nacio Bridge Lv 2 - Gauge Speed +9
ooo

xox
xox - Navigation Bridge Lv 4 - Battle Speed +6, Mobility +6
oox

xox
xox - Navigation Bridge Lv 7 - Battle Speed +8, Mobility +10
xoo

xox
xox - Fire Control Room Lv 4 - AS Accuracy +8, AA Accuracy +4
ooo

xxx
oox - Radar Room Lv 5 - Attack Range +5800
oox

ooo
ooo - Hanger Lv 3 - Fighters +8, Maintenance +5
ooo

ooo
ooo - Hold Lv 3 - Holds +50
ooo

xxx
oox - Crew's Mess Lv 1 - Fame +100, Flagship Only
xxx

xox
xox - Battlesim Room Lv 1 - Artillery Experience +2, Pilot Experience +2
ooo

xxx
ooo - Science Lab Lv 2 - Science Experience +5
ooo

xxx
oox - Thruster Control Room Lv 3 - Mobility +15
oox

The Fame Part Briefing Room Lv 3 also becomes available in this post.

xox
ooo - Briefing Room Lv 3 - Fleet Bonus +10, Captain Bonus +3
ooo
 

Spoiler: Refits and International Politics (click to show/hide)

>>Citadelo

Back on a planet with a functioning shipyard, we take a look at the ships and modules we picked up in the last post.

Ships:

I make the decision to sell the Bugbear and try out the new Necesa design. On second review, it's not quite as terrible as I first thought. It's definitely not as good as the Ianthe-class battleship that we would have gotten from Kalymnos, but it's at least a side-grade from the Pallas-class we're currently using.

The Necesa-class has better speed, mobility and attack range then the Pallas-class, but slightly worse durability, armor, and anti-ship capability. It has four weapon mounts - one large, two medium and one small, against the one large, one medium, two small and one special the Pallas has. However, I never use the special attack because of how weak they are, so losing out on the special slot and picking up another medium slot in place of a small is a fairly good trade.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the Nikusui.

Before:

After:

We have plenty of new weapons to play with as well.

Large:
Double AS Laser Lv2 - 100x2, Min Range: 10k, Max Range: 18k, Accuracy +20

Medium:
AS Laser Lv 3 - 150x1, Min Range: 5k, Max Range: 17k, Accuracy +30
Triple AS Laser Lv 1 - 70x3, Min Range: 6k, Max Range: 14k, Accuracy +30
MRV Missiles Lv 1 - 90x2, Min Range: 6k, Max Range: 15.5k, Accuracy +40, Multiattack

Small:
AS Missiles Lv 2 - 120x1, Min Range: 3k, Max Range: 12k, Accuracy +15

What's Multiattack, you ask? Weapons with this property strike the entire enemy fleet. I didn't really use it in my first run through, but I'm going to try it out this time. All the medium slots in our fleet are switched to MRV Missiles. I'm hoping that between these and our fighters, we can destroy or severely damage enemies that we're not even directly shooting at.

Look at that Mobility. With the right modules equipped, even a battleship can dance around.

I go through the rest of our ships, but I refrain from complete overhauls this time around. Our carriers do get a fighter overhaul, however.

Fighters:
We pick up the new Majesto and Komandi-class fighters. The Majesto is a pure interceptor - 21 Anti-Air, 10 Anti-Ship, high durability, speed and flight time. It's a very solid upgrade over the last Interceptor, the Orlan.

In contrast, the Komandi is a very incremental upgrade over the Zarnicas we're currently using. It's slightly better at everything the Zarnica does. I decide to split our flight team at this point. While the Lanner upgrades to the Komandi strike fighters, the Sharanga switches over to the Majesto interceptors. This gives us the best of both worlds - highly effective interceptors for anti-fighter operations, and solid bombers for blowing up enemy ships.

Ships in order, it's time to get underway.

I realized with the last update that I didn't show off the expanded Nova Nacio sector once we had finished talking to Lanco, so let me correct that.



Our destination is the Void Gate connected to Miraklo. We run into some Kreios pirates along the way, and the multi-attack weapons are doing well, hitting solidly on the primary target, and doing half damage to all the rest.

Once we reach the Void Gate, we jump to the Irvest Sector.

The receiving Void Gate is located in an asteroid field, but at least we're not greeted with a blockade fleet.

Yuri: The Irvest Sector, huh? At least this part of it still looks pretty safe.

Kira: But I feel this... strange undercurrent. Like there's some kind of disturbance in space.

Yuri: Huh?

Kira: I can't explain it. I just have a bad feeling.

Yuri: ...

Meanwhile...

The Interplanetary Union of Elgava
Captain Planet Zvenigorod
Office of the President

Oh hey, haven't seen you for a while, idiot.

Fomich: President Saburov, the assembly of the interception fleet of the frontier is nearly complete. I will be joining them in three days to take command, and we will then move out to meet the Lugovalian fleet as it arrives.

Saburov: Hm... What was it, 5,000 ships?

Fomich: That's right, sir. 5,087 ships, to be exact, sir.

Saburov: I see. Very good. I'm sure the Lugovalians will be quite impressed when they see what's waiting to greet them. Heh heh.

Fomich: Yes, one look and those barbarians will surely prostrate themselves before us, sir.
...I'm sorry, the irony... I can't help myself.

*ahem*

YOU IDIOTS ARE THE BACKWATER OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. YOUR CLOSEST NEIGHBOR HAS SHIPS TEN TIMES AS ADVANCED AS YOURS, AND THEY DON'T BLITHLY FLY FROM ONE GALAXY TO THE NEXT. WHY THE GRUS DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE MORE ADVANCED THEM THE EMPIRE?!?!

...

Sorry about that. I'm not sure what came over me there.

Saburov: But we mustn't forget. These people will eventually be forced to become our loyal citizens. We have to remember to always treat them with the tolerance and benevolence one would expect from a great nation like ours.
...I ... wow.

Fomich: Yes, sir. During my absence, Deputy Defense Minister Nariciso will be taking over my duties. Although, with things as they are between Nova Nacio and Kalymnos at the moment, I doubt there'll be any national threat to us.

Saburov: Yes, we'll just let those two fight in out between themselves for a while.

Fomich: Yes, sir.

The only up side to this whole conversation is I don't feel bad at all about what I know is coming up.

Stupid, arrogant politicians.

Once we (or at least I) recover from our fit of rage, we get to look at the first part of the Irvest Sector. It's a pretty expansive place with six areas, but I'll show areas as they open up more fully. For now...



We're only allowed to visit Ermeno or Universala. Najbaro is blocked off to us. We head to Ermeno first. When we get there, a cutscene plays.

1.25 Million Miles Away From Ermeno
Or 0.0002 lightyears.

To prevent any further encroachment by the Kalymnian forces, Nova Nacio's main fleet, led by Admiral Tajlero Martiro, has constructed a deep-defense column at the front line.

Martiro: Chairman Ulmo, what are Kalymnos' movements?

Ulmo: They don't appear to have enough capacity for an offensive right now. I don't think they'll be making any big moves anytime soon. Being deployed all along the Bactria Line and having such long supply lines must be taking its toll on them.

Martiro: Hm... so I guess now we just wait until it's time to launch Stelalumo.

Ulmo: That's right, sir.
What is Stelalumo? We'll have to find that out shortly.

Spoiler: Official Spy and Making Friends with Old Enemies (click to show/hide)

>>Ermeno
In case you miss the shipyard planet in the last sector, Ermeno is also equipped with a shipyard. When we get down planet-side, we see a Tavern and the Joint HQ.

>>Tavern
>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: They say the carrier Majesta is moored on this planet right now. Our Captain Valso will lay those Kalymnians out to dry!

Our friends have nothing new to say.

>>Joint HQ
Valso: Ah, Yuri, you made it!

Yuri: Captain Valso...

Valso: We're facing a difficult situation out there but we military men must live up to whatever challenges we face.

Yuri: But Captain, I thought you were hoping to coexist with Kalymnos.

Valso: And I still do. But it's like a long-held dream that has yet to come true.

Yuri: ...

Valso: Now, before we start working together, there's someone I'd like you to meet. He's a potential crew member. Do you mind?

Kira: Another crew member?

Valso: Yes, I would very  much like for you to use him on your crew. Ensign Letero, would you please step forward?

Letero: Yes, sir. I'm Ensign Antono Letero. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Yuri: Same here.

Valso: He's an exceptional engineer. I'm sure you'll find him very useful.

Letero: Yes, my engineering skills are very well known. You can count on me to do a top-rate job.

Nia: Hmph. Just come out and say it. You're here to keep an eye on us!

Yuri: A spy?

Nia: Yeah. I mean, just think about it. They aren't gonna let us go 'round footloose and fancy free in the middle of a war. They've got to have someone on board to make sure we're acting in their best interests.

Yuri: Oh, I get it.

Valso: Ha ha! Come, now, we both know it's necessary. You can't blame me for trying to put it in a more pleasant light.

Nia: Nah, up front and straightforward is always best, if you ask me.

Valso: I don't even know how to respond to that.

Yuri: Come on, Nia. I don't mind. Welcome to my crew, Ensign Letero.

Letero: At your service, Captain.

Antono Letero joined as a temporary crew member!

Yuri: So, what would you like us to do?

Valso: There are two operations for which I would like your support. One entails wearing down the enemy's military power by harassing their forces from a base on the planet Najbaro. The other involves severing the enemy's supply line. That operation starts on the planet Universala Confirm your assignments at operation headquarters before you begin. Ensign Letero can act as a go-between with the personnel at each base.

Yuri: Okay, we'll give it our best shot.

Valso: That's all we can ask. My carrier, the Majesto, will be stationed at this planet for the time being. You can come talk to me anytime you deem it necessary.

With that, we leave the building. If we go back, Valso holds forth on military tactics.

Valso: Grandstanding has no place in international warfare. Effectively sapping the enemy's strength and severing their supply line is the surest road to victory. Such small steps win big wars. I want you and your crew to listen carefully to the orders at each base, and then execute your missions based on them.

Now that we've talked to Valso, our friends have new things to say at the tavern.

>>Tavern
>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Soneto: I've never come up against the Kalymnos Forces before, but I've heard how solid their defenses are.

Letero: It's true. We were trying to develop weapons to get past their ships' adamas armor somehow, but I guess it's too late for that now.

Soneto: If they've got engineers of your caliber working for them, it doesn't surprise me that we couldn't make it in time. I guess our only hope is to maneuver our way in.
Ouch... she doesn't think much of Letero.

Letero: ...

We head up to orbit and fit Letero into the crew. He starts at a lower level, and logically has a high maintenance value, along with the special skill Machine Geek Lv 1. Soneto gets replaced for Letero for running her mouth, along with being a worse mechanic overall with no special skills. I guess she was feeling threatened that Letero was simply better than her?

Soneto's next highest skill is Piloting, oddly enough, so she gets to be the Squadron 2 Chief. Good luck out there!
No, pilot characters won't die if your fighters are wiped out, luckily.

We depart from Ermeno and can now travel to Najbaro or Universala. I head for Universala first - we'll be doing both missions, so it really doesn't matter which one we start with.

>>Universala
>>Tavern
>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: A whole lot of foreign units have gathered on this planet for the war against Kalymnos. I guess they all know which basket they ought to put their eggs in, eh?

>>Universala Headquarters
The party enters the strategy room of the Universala base, and Antono Letero asks the official in charge about their assignment. As they wait, a man, obviously not a soldier by the way he is dressed, begins talking to them.

Pavlou: Hey, are you those guys from the Nikusui? Which one of you is the captain, Yuri?

Yuri: I'm Yuri.

Pavlou: Huh...

Yuri: Uh, can I help you?

Pavlou: I've heard about you. You'd younger than I thought you'd be, though. But they say you and Celina Sioufas brought down the Spider Web together, so I guess you must be pretty damn good.
The first in-game acknowledgement of our growing reputation.

Yuri: And who are you?

Pavlou: Oh, sorry about that. Didn't introduce myself yet, did I? The name's Yianni Pavlou. I'm one of the Kreios Pirates left over from your campaign against 'em.
We didn't leave many.

Yuri: What?!

Yuri instinctively squares off, but Yianni Pavlou just smiles at him good-naturedly.

Pavlou: Ha ha! Hey, relax, buddy! I'm not holding any grudges. You won. We lost. It's as simple as that.

Yuri: ...

Pavlou: So you joined up with the foreign mercenaries helping the Nova Nacion forces, huh? I guess that means we're gonna be allies for a while then.
I don't think Yuri's fond of working with former enemies, but he'll have to suck it up and deal with it. As the incident in Elgava showed, pirates are quick to sign on as mercenaries when a war is gearing up.

>>Talk to Antono Letero.
Antono Letero is still talking to the official in charge.

>>Talk to Yianni Pavlou.
Nia: But aren't you a Kalymnian?

Pavlou: Heh heh. You can tell, huh? Yeah, I'm from a little podunk resource planet called Dodecanese. It was so boring, I got out of there way back when I was a kid.

Yuri: And now you're fighting your own homeland?

Pavlou: I don't really think of it as my homeland. I guess the place I really feel at home is on my ship. That's more or less the way it is with us spacefarers. Hey, I bet you know what I'm talking about, right?
Given Yuri ruined his homeland's military and killed it's ruler, I would hope so.

Yuri: Yeah, I get your drift.

Pavlou: This could turn out to be a pretty sweet gig, ya know. I just used up all my money remodeling my ship. Now I've gotta earn it all back!

>>Talk to Antono Letero.
Letero: Okay, I've got our assignment. Our task is to attack enemy transport units around the Kalymnian planet CL-617.

Nia: CL-617? isn't that in Kalymian territory?
Yes? Where else would you find supply line ships?

Letero: That's right. That's why we have to be really careful about who we target. Their main fleet isn't there, but I hate to think what would happen if we run into any of their big backup fleets!
They'd have one less fleet.

Nia: Yeah, well, if it gets too dangerous, I guess we can always just run.

Letero: That would be my recommendation. It'd be a shame for an elite engineer like myself to die on some foreign battlefield. Oh, and they want us to shoot down at least four transport ships, he said.

Yuri: Got it.

With that, we now have a new route open.


With the exception of the planet CL-617, we're not allowed to approach any of the other Kalymnian planets.

It's time to go raid their shipping.

Spoiler: Shouldn't We Have a Letter of Marque For This? (click to show/hide)

Now that we're moving towards the battle lines, we start finding enemy ships to fight. For the most part, they're designs we've seen in the past - Eudora- and Zephyr-class cruisers and Kalliope-class Destroyers. They're more then capable of ruining our day if they get a barrage off, so we tend to play it a bit more cautiously then we have in the past with pirates.

At the first empty sector we come across, we pounce on a supply fleet.

Kira: Yuri, I'm detecting a Kalymnian fleet. One transport ship and two escorts!

Yuri: All right. Let's start the operation! All hands, prepare for anti-ship combat! Our target is the enemy transport!

We engage a fleet of an Ilithyia-class Cruiser, Themis-class Destroyer, and Hestia class transport. They go down without managing to fire a shot.

Letero: We did it! Now all we have to do is shoot down three more transport ships and the mission will be a success!

Yuri: Three more, huh?

Ian: We need to keep our guard up. This is enemy territory, after all.

Yuri: yeah. Believe me, I know.

We check out the empty area below the one linking back to Universala and come across another supply fleet. This fleet even manages to fire, although the one small weapon on the transport barely manages to scuff the Sharanga's armor.

Our next stop is CL-617. Funny enough, we can dock at the planet, letting us restock our fighters, who are becoming depleted in the constant battles.

>>CL-617
You're now in the top 70 of the rankings! Congratulations! As a reward, you got blueprints for the following modules:

Regeinland Bridge 2
Navigating Bridge 9
Sick Bay 6

Onward and upwards. ~23,000 Fame.

We can visit the tavern here.

>>Tavern
>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: I think those Nova Nacions are just plain cowards, that's all there is to it! They attack civilian transport ships and make us ordinary folk living here in the Irvest Sector suffer. I guess they know they can't win fair and square, so they've got to resort to dirty tactics like this!

>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Yuri: Admiral Beleko, why were you working for Cadmus anyway?

Torlo: Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. How could you stand even being around that idiot?

Beleko: I was once attacked by pirates, and Lord Cadmus the First saved me. At the time, he was traveling, looking for new territory. I joined him, and we discovered Spetses together. I've stayed in Spetses ever since, but I'm originally from Nova Nacio. I owed Cadmus the First my life, so when he asked me personally to serve and protect his son, I couldn't say no.

Yuri: Oh. I guess that makes sense...
I don't think it entirely does to Yuri, given how he trails off.

We leave the planet and travel to the upper left empty area from it, to no result. We backtrack and try the upper right empty area, stopping off at CL-617 to get repaired. On the way, we get hailed by a nearby ship.

Pavlou: Hey, Yuri! What's the holdup, slowpoke?

Yuri: Pavlou?

Pavlou: I'll see you later. I gotta go earn me some money! You better hope I don't take all the big ones from you!
From the size, engines and color, I think Pavlou has a Borodino Loc-class battleship. Not bad for a pirate.

And then he streaks away, far faster than most battleships manage.

Kira: Wow, that's one fast ship!

Torlo: He's really got those engines souped up!

Nia: Damn! We can't let him beat us! Can't we go any faster, Yuri?!

Yuri: Geez, Nia, calm down. If we tried to keep up with him at that speed, our engines would burn up.

Nia: Oh Grus! That guy really makes me mad.

Yuri: It's not like we're in a race or anything. Let's just relax and take this at our own pace, okay?

Nia: Hmph.
She just wants to win!

We get lucky and find a third convoy, which falls before our guns.

After we finish blowing the transport apart, Nia gets introspective.

Nia: That's weird...

Tatiana: What is?

Nia: That Pavlou guy. He should've gotten to this sector before we did. So where the Grus is he?
Given the speed he was going, maybe he overshot it?

Tatiana: Hey, yeah! That's a good question.

Nia: Kira, can you track his ship?

Kira: I'll do a search. Hm... Oh, look, Nia! I found something!

Nia: Great work, Kira. It looks like he has an anti-tracker equipped, but he can't escape our ship's search operation abilities. Ha!

Ian: But that's funny. That starlane isn't on the charts.

Nia: Huh. He must've found some kind of bypass route. Hm... it looks like he's going deep into enemy territory.

Torlo: Sounds pretty crazy to me. Does he even know what he's doin'?

Nia: Who knows? I guess he's going after the really big prey. But if he winds up dead, it's not gonna really matter, is it?

Yuri: ...

We travel to the north-west empty sector above CL-617. When we get there, Kira picks something up.

Kira: Yuri, there's a ship putting out a distress signal up ahead.

Yuri: A distress  signal?

I'm not sure you can call that a ship anymore.

Torlo: Hey, ain't that Yianni Pavlou's ship?

Nia: Hmph. He thought he was gonna bag himself some big prey, but it looks like he got bagged himself.

Yuri: Come on. Let's go pick him up. Kira, pull up alongside him.

Kira: Hold on. We've got ships approaching.
Talk about dirty tactics? Let's leave the distress beacon going and see if any ships show up to help. That's a bit underhanded.

Kira: it's a Kalymnian fleet! And one of them is a big one!

Torlo: Hot damn! Should we make a run for it?

Yuri: We can't just leave Pavlou there. We stay and fight!

We're only facing three ships, but one of them is the Ianthe-class battleship that I was drooling over earlier. This... might not be fun. We swarm them with fighters, start dodging and pull back to allow the batteries to charge fully. As we close in, they fire a regular barrage that knocks our cruiser down to 40%. In revenge, we blow away their destroyer and cruiser with normal volleys, leaving only the battleship active.

...Or at least that's the theory. Our fighters show their worth by picking apart the destroyer on their own, right as I'm about to fire on it. I give the Cruiser the destroyer's intended volley and get two solid volleys in on the battleship instead, converting it into a massive lightshow.

After the battle, Torlo comes back from the search and rescue operation.

Torlo: We're back. Pavlou is just fine, too.

Tatiana: Thanks, Torlo.

Nia: Oh, man, Pavlou! Look at you! Your face got all messed up.

Pavlou: Oh, now, that's low. My face has always looked like this. Thanks for coming to my rescue though. I was just about to run out of air. Those Kalymnians knew I wasn't a regular soldier, so they didn't bother to pick me up.

Ian: Ah, the laws of navigation during wartime!
I think he's being sarcastic there.

Pavlou: Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, hey, do you think you could tow in my ship, too?

Nia: What, are ya kiddin' me? Didn't you see it? It's nothing but scrap metal now!

Pavlou: Grus. I was afraid of that. In that case, do you think you could take me on as a crew member? You've got a pretty good reputation. I wouldn't mind working for you for a while.
You need a Fame of over 5,000. We've got that... comfortably... covered.

Pavlou: What do you say?

Yuri: That's fine by me, but the pay might not be exactly what you're looking for.

Pavlou: I'm not worried about that. Hey, it's a Grus of a lot better than nothing, right?

Yuri: All right, then. Welcome aboard!

Yianni Pavlou joined your crew!

Torlo: Oh, but the way, Yuri, I found some blueprints in the transport ship we shot down.
Either he's been holding out on us, or he meant battleship.

Yuri: Blueprints, huh?

Torlo: One of 'em is just for a regular ol' mess hall module, but I can't make heads or tails outta the other one.

Yuri looks at the data plate that Torlo Adkin hands him. It contains what appears to be a set of module blueprints.

Minas: Well, well! These are quite impressive.

Ian: You know what they are, Professor?

Minas: Indeed I do. They're blueprints for a deflector unit. And a new, advanced design, at that!

Yuri: Deflector unit blueprints? I wonder what they have these for...

You got blueprints for a Deflector 4 module!
You got blueprints for a Mess hall 2 module!

Not a bad haul, overall. We return to CL-617 for a refit and to assign our new crew member some duties.

Pavlou is a great addition for us. He has great navigation skills and comes with the special skills Ace Helmsman Lv2, and Maneuver Ace Lv 1. He, to Nia's great disgust, is assigned to the Helmsman position, while I promote Nia to Chief Navigator to keep the peace.

After that hard battle, we return to CL-617 for a refit and start back towards Universala. Hopefully, along the way we'll find our last transport. We get lucky at the second empty sector, and come across the last, and somewhat more heavily guarded transport.

Kira: There. That makes four ships.

Torlo: That should do it for the mission, huh?

Letero: Good. That should wreak a lot of havoc with the enemy's supply line. All of these battles are recorded in the archives. Now all we have to do is go to the base on Universala and collect our reward.

The trip back to Universala is without conflict as we pass back through the battle lines.

>>Universala
>>Universala Headquarters

As soon as the party enters the strategy room, Antono Letero calls over an official.

Official: Ensign Letero has given me the full report on your assignment. I verified everything in your battle records, and so here is your reward.

You got 2,000 G!

Official: Thank you very much, Captain. I hope you continue to lend our forces your support!

As we leave the planet, a cutscene takes place.

Meanwhile, in orbit above Zvenigorod in the Interplanetary Union of Elgava...

With the arrival of Defense Minister Rudak Fomich as ambassador plenipotentiary, the Elgavan fleet is about to set forth.

Novikov: Defense Minister Fomich, welcome to the Bravyy.

Vladykin: We're here to welcome you on behalf of Fleet Admiral Malyshev, sir.

Fomich: Thank you. T his is a fine vessel, quite worthy of the name "flagship."

Vladykin: Admiral Malyshev will be very pleased to hear that you think so, sir.

Fomich: Now even more of the universe will know the prestige and dignity of the Interplanetary Union of Elgava. It will be a good trip.
Ah haha hahahahaha *cough*

Novikov: But if I may, Defense Minister Fomich, sir. We still don't know the military power of the Lugovalian Empire for certain. I think we need to be extremely cautious...

Fomich: What's this?

Vladykin: Captain Novikov, you make it sound like you have no faint in Elgava's strength!

Novikov: I'm only saying--

Fomich: Commander Vladykin is right, Captain Novikov. If you can't remember the pride befitting an Elgavan officer, you may soon find yourself outranked by Commander Vladykin here.

Novikov: Y-Yes, sir...

And then we're back in control. They're really working hard to make sure that we can see that Elgava is run by a bunch of incompetent idiots. When Novikov is the voice of reason, you know there's something wrong.

[C-SH4M4N]

Ah, Necesa-class ... a good class! By the way, what bridge you're using again?

And yes! WAR! Ships blowing! Intrigue! Espionage! and ...

PLUNDERING!!!!

Wait. There's no letter of marque and we don't take the spoils. I. AM. DISAPPOINT!

And like we were discussing earlier, a war goes into full-mode right next to their door and Elgavan bigwigs just keep being idiots. Bastards will regret their choices. Dearly.

Novikov. I almost forgot about him. I wonder if he'll grow a backbone when he meets the Lugovalians ...? NAH! "Impossible!"

[Hanzoku]

Actually, we did get a fair amount of spoils. I didn't show the battle results, but each transport we killed was worth 3,000 G., and we got another 2,000 G. for completing the mission.

As for the bridge, I'll have to look tomorrow. I think I'm using the Nova Nacio Lv 1 bridge, but I'm not entirely sure now.

Remember though, Elgava wants this war to be going on. While Nova Nacio and Kalymnos are turning each other into a fine paste, Elgava is going to incorporate a "star system" from another galaxy into itself. Grus, if Nova Nacio and Kalymnos do enough damage to each other, Elgava might be tempted to step in and take over.

[Hanzoku]

The Irvest War, Part 2
New Characters:  Merita, Abato
New Ships: Thalia (BB), Thalia A (BB)
New Equipment:
New Fighters:

Spoiler: Letero's Lost Love (click to show/hide)

We stop by Ermeno to talk to Captain Valso on our way to Najbaro, but neither he, nor our friends in the tavern have anything new to say yet.

>>Najbaro

With its satellite Monarho, the planet Najbaro orbits around double fixed stars. It was the first planet in the Irvest Sector to be colonized.

Kira: It doesn't appear to have an atmosphere...

Letero: There's a large cavity beneath the surface of Najbaro. They've made use of this cavity by filling it with air and setting up a residential area there.

Ian: That sounds rather stifling to me.
You live near-constantly on a spaceship, Ian, you don't have a lot of room to complain.

Letero: It's really not. Geothermal energy makes it warm all year round, and its soil is rich in nutrients. Crops grow really well there. That's why they started large-scale colonization as soon as this planet was discovered. Now there's nearly two million Nova Nacions living there!

Ian: Very impressive!

We dock with the Najbaro station and take the elevator down to the surface.

>>Tavern
>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: It's kind of weird how on Najbaro we built our colony inside of a cavity, isn't it? But thanks to starlight power generation, we have some pretty efficient agriculture here.

>>Najbaro Headquarters
Many of the people who work on the Najbaro base appear to be civilians. This gives the base a somewhat different atmosphere from typical military installations.

Tatiana: A lot of these people don't look like military to me.

Letero: That's right. This is actually a Project Stelalumo facility, and the military is just using part of it as its base.

Torlo: Project what?

??: Stelalumo. It's a project to utilize Najbaro's double fixed star for large-scale starlight power generation.
The more correct term for solar power, when your sun isn't name Sol?

Torlo: Huh?

Merita: It's been a while, Ensign Letero.

Letero: Merita! Merita Tajloro! I thought you were assigned to a fleet!

Merita: I was, but then they brought me onto Project Stelalumo here as a controller. This actually suits me much better than ship life ever did.

Letero: It sure is great to see you after all this time, Merita!

Merita: Really? You flatter me.

Yuri: Ensign Letero, who is this?

Letero: Oh! Let me introduce you. Ensign Merita Tajloro, another engineer. We used to work in the same division.

Merita: How do you do? I've been assigned to be your liaison here.

Letero: Huh? But I thought you were on the project team as a controller!

Merita: Well, this is basically just a colony planet. It doesn't really have any strategic value. That's why I and most of us posted here have multiple duties.

Letero: Oh. All right, then.

>>Talk to Antono Letero.
Letero: All of the men in my old engineering division were so taken with Merita... When I found out she was being transferred, I nearly told her just exactly how I--

Yuri: ... Uh, Ensign Letero?

Letero: Huh? Oh, where was I?

Yuri: Never mind.
Probably for the best.

>>Talk to Merita Tajloro.
Merita: Now, then. Allow me to explain your assignment with us here. In short, what we'd like for you to do is help reduce the enemy's capacity.

Yuri: So you'd like us to just bring down as many Kalymnian ships as we can?

Merita: No. Your mission is more specific than that. We want you to focus on battleships. In other words, Pallas-class and Ianthe-class ships. We've confirmed that several enemy battleship units have been deployed in the vicinity of CL-665. We'd like you to help alleviate this problem by defeating three battleship units.
Does the one we saved Pavlou from count?

Nia: Three? That's easy for you to say!

Merita: I apologize. Those are the orders from General Staff Headquarters, I'm afraid. Oh, and by the way, we've also received word that the enemy has hired on the infamous pirate, Michijo Abato. Please use the utmost caution.

Nia: Michijo Abato?!

Yuri: You've heard of him, Nia?

Nia: Heard of him?! He's always up at the top of the rankings, a real old-school pirate. This could get really ugly.

Merita: Yes, I've heard of his reputation as well. So do be careful.

Nia: That's it? "Do be careful"? All calm and cool like that? Letero, your "friend" here isn't exactly the warmest gal in the universe, is she?

Letero: What? I beg to differ! Merita is a kind, sweet girl!

Nia: Yeah, yeah. Whatever.

Yuri: Well, all we c can do is give it our best, so let's get ready to go.

Ian: And what if we run into this Abato fellow?

Yuri: We fight him, to the best of our ability.

Ian: And what if we find out we don't have a chance in Grus against him?

Yuri: Then we run.
Pragmatic answer, at least.

Ian: Huh? The old Yuri never would've said anything like that...

I check the rankings before we depart - Abato is actually ranked behind us, at 89. I'm pretty sure we can take him, unless he has another freaking LMC ship.

A new route has opened up for us, leading to the CL-665 colony.



Once again, we need to stay away from any planets, but we can dock at the colony to replenish our fighters.

When we start to cross the battle lines, we run straight into the first of our targets.

Kira: Yuri, there's a Kalymnian fleet straight ahead. Three ships, and one of them is a Pallas-class battleship!

Yuri: All right. All hands, prepare for anti-ship! Don't underestimate the enemy's firepower!

It's us versus a battleship, cruiser and destroyer. I send the fighters in and then begin to dodge while waiting for a full energy bar. They fire a normal shot and do some damage to our flagship, but hidden in the middle of the formation as it is, a lot of the shots miss.

Once we've charged enough, I fire twice and take care of the escorts, leaving the battleship on its own. It takes two more rounds of firing before it goes down, but overall we didn't have too hard of a time.

Yuri: Whew. Looks like we pulled it off somehow.

Letero: Amazing! Absolutely incredible! You people are even more amazing than I thought you'd be!
Maybe we were supposed to do this route first? We did sort of wipe out a more dangerous Ianthe-class battleship in the other mission.

Letero: Now just two more battleships. Let's take care of this quickly!

Torlo: Oh, boy. That's easy for him to say!

We arrive at CL-665 without further incident, and hit up the bar while we get the armor on the Nikusui fixed.

>>CL-665
>>Tavern
>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: Now that the battles around here have died down for a while, maybe I can finally get in touch with my family again. I sure do miss them.

>>Talk to the middle-aged man.
Middle-aged Man: Huh? Sceptro? Johano Sceptro, that you?

A middle-aged man spots Johano Sceptro behind Yuri and calls out to him fondly. Sceptro looks confused for a moment, then breaks into a smile and approaches the man.

Sceptro: Hey, is that really you? Delfeno! It's been, like, forever!

Delfeno: Ha ha! It has been a long time, hasn't it? Whatcha doing with yourself these days?

Sceptro: This captain here gave me a job on his ship. Captain, this is my old pal, Delfeno. He taught me everything I know about being a zero-G dog!

Yuri: Oh did you? You must be very skilled yourself, if that's the case.

Sceptro: He is. Delfeno's got some serious skills! What are you up to these days, old man?

Delfeno: Well... Just take a look at this.

Sceptro: Huh?

Delfeno shows them his legs, and Sceptro looks down at them, puzzled. But then Sceptro's eyes open wide in astonishment.

Sceptro: Huh?! What the Grus happened to your legs, Delfeno?!

Sceptro is practically shrieking in horror and disbelief.

Delfeno: Well, it's kind of embarrassing, really. I had a little accident and lost control of my ship. The next thing I knew, both of my legs were gone from the knees down. I don't have the money to pay for the regeneration treatments. It's been kind of tough to find a good job since then. Heh.

Sceptro: I can't believe this! Hey, why don't I give you the money! 500 G or so oughta be enough, don't you think? Let's see...

Sceptro feels around in his pockets for a while, but then finally stops, looking crestfallen.

Sceptro: Sorry. I don't have anything on me... To be honest, I usually drink my salary right up, as soon as I get it.

We're given a moral decision. 500 G. is chump change to us, so we hand it over.

Yuri: I'll pay for it, Sceptro.

Sceptro: You mean it?!

Yuri: Sure. You can make it up to me by working extra hard.

Sceptro: Hey, don't I always work hard?! There! Now you can get your regeneration treatments, Delfeno! And you'll go back to being a happy zero-G dog in no time!

Delfeno: Thank you, Sceptro. Thank you, young captain. I'll never forget this. Head bowed, Delfeno thanks Johano Sceptro and Yuri over and over again.

You paid 500 G! Yuri's Fame increased by 50!

However...

As always, Delfeno is in a corner of the tavern, boozing it up.

Sceptro: Hey, come on, Delfeno. Go get your regeneration treatments already. A guy like you belongs out there in the sea of stars, right?

Delfeno: Yeah, yeah. I'm just gonna have this one more drink, and then I'm going. I swear...

Sceptro: ...

After listening to the exchange, Torlo Adkin whispers to Yuri.

Torlo: Hey, Yuri. Now that that guy has his G, it don't seem like he's all that interested in the sea of stars anymore, does it?

Ian: I was thinking the same thing. He just used poor Sceptro, didn't he?

Yuri: ...

I feel bad for Sceptro. He's not the brightest bulb in the box, but he wanted to help out his mentor, only to be used for booze money.

Spoiler: Finishing the Mission (click to show/hide)

We leave CL-665 behind and start roaming the empty sectors, looking for our prey. By Byzantium, we run across an Ianthe-class battleship with escorts. It lives up to its reputation by taking three regular attacks and constant fighter harassment before going down.

We head back to the empty sector near CL-665 and find our last target.

Kira: Yuri, there's an enemy vessel ahead. One of them is a big one.

Yuri: Can you see what kind of ship it is, Kira?

Kira: ... No, sorry. I'm looking, but it doesn't come up.

Letero: I bet it's one of Kalymnos' new ships. Wh-What do you want to do here?

Yuri: Well, it's a battleship, right? In that case, we're going in.

Letero: But we don't have any intel on that ship!

Yuri: That's nothing new for us. Kira! Have all hands prepare for anti-ship ship combat!

Kira: Roger!

We're thrown into a battle against the battleship, two cruisers and two transports. The battleship is right in front, but the battle ends if we do too much damage to it. So we focus instead on blowing away its escorts, starting with the two cruisers. In return, it batters the Sharanga pretty heavily, though our cruiser limps through it still functional. We give it a taste of its own medicine and go for a barrage attack.

The enemy battleship has some impressive armor, and our light weapons can't even touch it. Luckily, our medium and heavy weapons are still doing reasonable damage, and between fighters and group damage, the barrage is enough to finish the battle.

Torlo: Damn it! This new battleship is a monster! I can't believe the defenses it has!

Kira: But the funny thing is, its lasers are actually pretty weak.

Ian: That is odd. It's not a very balanced design.

Yuri: Maybe because it's just a prototype?

Nia: I don't think they'd send a prototype out to a raging battle zone like this to test it. Definitely something fishy goin' on here.

Kira: Huh?! Yuri, enemy backup is approaching!

Yuri: Backup, huh? What kind of ship is it?

Kira: I can't tell... but it's fast!

The screen fades before we can get a good look at the ship type, and it opens communications with us.

Abato: You, there! Do you read me? This is Captain Michijo Abato.

Yuri: Abato?!

Kira: So this is him, is it?

Abato: For reasons of my own, I'm working for the Kalymnians at the moment. Who's the captain there?

Yuri: ... Me, Yuri. I'm the captain!

Abato: Well, well. So this is your ship, is it? Well not for long, sonny boy! You're going down!

He closes the channel abruptly.

Yuri: Hey!

Nia: here he comes, Yuri!

Now it's us against two battleships, with Abato's battleship guarding the one we were pounding. We launch fighters again and back off while dodging to fill up our energy meter.

It takes three normal volleys, but we finally pop our original target, leaving Abato on his own. However, the Sharanga is hanging on by a threat at 57 HP, and our fighter squadrons are down to 25% strength. We can't go too much longer like this. Another normal volley from the enemy spells the death of the Sharanga, cutting out a large portion of our anti-ship firepower as well. We dodge a follow up barrage that would have wrecked our day and keep charging for a counter barrage.

Our few remaining fighters retreat back to rearm and refuel, and we get a barrage into Abato's ship that ends the battle.

Abato: Hmph. What was that captain's name? Yuri, was it? He's young, but he's good. I'll remember his name now!

With that, Abato's severely damaged ship spins and makes a run for it.

Letero: No! Look! Abato is getting away!

Nia: Let him go. We'd never catch up to him anyway, as fast as that ship is.

Letero: What are you talking about? We can still catch him! Go after him right away!

Yuri: (...)

We're given a choice of who to listen to, Nia or the new guy.

>>Don't go after him.
Yuri's Leadership experience increased by 50!

Yuri: No, I guess we'd better not. We don't want to get too far off track.

Letero: What? We can still catch him, I tell you! Go, go!

Nia: Can it, Letero! If you don't cut it out, I'll knock ya into Grus!

Letero: Eep!

Nia: Tsk. Anyway, Yuri, I'm borrowin' Professor Minas for a little while.

Yuri: Okay, but what for?

Nia: Gonna go check out that new battleship!

The screen fades and returns while they do so.

Minas: Whew. All this spacewalking is tough on an old man like me.

Nia: ha ha ha! What are you talkin' about, Professor? You did great.

Minas: That's very kind of you to say, young lady.

Yuri: Welcome back, Professor Minas. Did you find anything out?

Minas: yes, that ship was equipped with some extremely powerful deflector units. They were so large, I imagine they required nearly all of the ship's generator output.

Torlo: Oh, so that's why the laser output was so weak, huh? Just like Kira said.

Minas: That's right. As a battleship design, it's just far too unbalanced. I wonder what in the universe their objective was!

Yuri: ...

Letero: E-Excuse me, Yuri.

Yuri: Yes?

Letero: That makes three battleships. If you go to the Najbaro base, you can get your reward now.

Yuri: Oh, okay. Right. Good idea.

Torlo: Huh. What's with Ensign Letero, all meek and mild all of a sudden?

Tatiana: Maybe Nia scared him when she yelled at him.
That's what my money is on.

Torlo: Heh. She does have that effect on people!

We stop by CL-665 to get our cruiser rebuilt and fighters restocked, and then return to Najbaro.

Spoiler: Rock Falls, Everyone Dies (click to show/hide)

>>Najbaro
You're now in the top 60 of the rankings! Congratulations! As a reward, you got blueprints for the following modules

Regeinland Bridge 3
Navigating Bridge 15
Engine Room 14

~24,000 Fame.

We take the elevator down into the colony and check in at the bar first.

>>Tavern
>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Yuri: Even though there's a war going on, there doesn't seem to be all that much tension in this sector.

Letero: Yes, well, it's pretty far away from the front line, after all.

Torlo: Well, we sure ain't gonna put a quick end to this wary by hangin' around here!

Letero: I bet neither Nova Nacio nor Kalymnos wants a long, drawn-out war. If we can come up with a really decisive strategy, I'm sure Kalymnos will quickly lose the will to fight.

Nia: A decisive strategy, eh? You got any specific ideas?

Letero: What? Oh, um... I don't know. Some new battleships? Or new fighters, maybe?
I think he knows more then he lets on.

Nia: Hm...

>>Najbaro Headquarters
The party finds Merita Tajloro in the Strategy Room of the Najbaro base.

>>Talk to Merita Tajloro
Merita Tajloro checks the battle record disk that Yuri hands to her. After a moment, she looks up, her expression entirely unchanged.

Merita: I've checked your data, and I must say, I'm very impressed.

Letero: Didn't he do great? Just like I said! Yuri is an excellent captain!

Merita: Here is your reward of 3,000 G.

You got 3,000 G!

Nia: We noticed something weird, though.

Merita: What's that?

Nia: About that new battleship we fought, the one ya just saw in the battle records. I added a note to the report about this too, but it had some unusually powerful deflectors installed.

Merita: What do you think it means?

Nia: Who knows? But I got a bad feeling about it. Think ya could report it to the higher-ups for us?

Merita: All right, fine. I'll send the information to General Staff Headquarters.

With that, we're done here. On leaving, a scene plays out.

The Ermeno Sector

Martiro: Looks like the enemy is making its move. This is happening sooner than I thought it would.

Ulmo: They probably decided it would be wiser to go ahead with the strength they have now, rather than wait on more reinforcements. I expect they'll come at us with every ship they have assembled here at once.

Martiro: It looks like our disturbance tactics have paid off. In any case, the outcome of this battle will decide the entire course of the rest of the war.

Ulmo: Yes, sir.

Martiro: As planned, we'll send first-strike fighter units to quickly demoralize the enemy. Send them out as soon as the enemy is within flight range!

Well, they weren't kidding about Kalymnos coming with everything it has. Nova Nacio's fighter squadrons dive through torrents of anti-air fire and start strafing the Kalymnian warships.

Operator: The enemy fleet has opened fire!

Martiro: Hmph. They won't hit anything at that range.

Ulmo: Admiral! There's an urgent communication from one of our patrol ships in the Beta Quadrant!

Martiro: What does it say?

Ulmo: A large number of the enemy's new ships are advancing on Najbaro.

Martiro: Najbaro?! Do you suppose they know about Project Stelalumo?!

Ulmo: We don't know yet, but I would say that it is highly likely.

Martiro: Grus. It's not even finished yet! What ships can we send to counter them?

Ulmo: If we pull any out of this battle now, it could be a debacle. I think our only choice is to send in the mobile units from the back.

Martiro: All right. Get me the Majesta, then!

The screen fades to black as Valso is given his marching orders.

As it fades in, we're back with Yuri and the crew.

Kira: Huh?! Yuri, we're getting a communication from Captain Valso.

Yuri: All right. Put him on.

Valso: Ah, Yuri! I caught you.

Yuri: What's going on, Captain?

Valso: We've got an emergency on our hands. A large number of Kalymnian ships is heading for the Najbaro base. We're on our way, but we'd like for you to scramble to intercept them, too.

Yuri: Hold on. Najbaro isn't a very strategically important position. Why would Kalymnos--?

Valso: I don't know. But now that such a crucial battle is beginning at the front line, I doubt it's just a diversionary tactic. In any case, they're starting to position themselves around Najbaro's satellite, Monarho. Please go to Monarho and intercept the enemy.

Yuri: All right. We're on our way to Monarho!

We now have a route to Monarho open to us. Amusingly enough, we can also travel just about anywhere else we want to, including taking the Void Gate back to the Nova Nacio sector. I guess the Kalymnians will wait for us?

I don't abuse their patience, though. Let's go blow up some more battleships!

Kira: Yuri, I see the enemy fleet! It's those new battleships!

Yuri: I can't believe they've already infiltrated this far. All right, let's do this!

Our first battle is against one Thalia-class battleship with two Eudora-class cruisers in escort. They get some good hits in on the Sharanga, but we wipe them out utterly in return.

Our second battle is against the same setup, with the same results. Our cruiser is getting a bit battered, but we're blasting our way through their forces, one group at a time.

When we get to the moon, we run into some stiffer odds.

Kira: Yuri, there's a Kalymnian fleet ahead! There are so many of them!

Yuri: Damn it. We don't have a chance.

Ian: Yuri, look! Around the satellite!

What the Grus?

The ship shakes for a moment.

Yuri: Huh? What are these quakes?

Nia: Professor Minas, what's going on here?!

Minas: Hm. Gravitational waves, generated by the enemy's powerful deflectors!

Torlo: What the Grus are they up to?

Nia: Uh oh. I think I have an idea.
So do I.

Nia: Kira! Run a computation on Monarho's orbital path for me, would ya?

Kira: Huh? Oh, roger! She falls silent as she does the work.

Nia: Kira, hurry!

Kira: J-Just a second... I've got it! The satellite has strayed from its regular orbit and is slowly approaching Najbaro!

Yuri: What?!

Nia: Damn. So that's what those high-powered deflectors on all those battleships were for!

Torlo: H-Huh? I don't get it.

Ian: Their plan is to knock Monarho off its orbit and send it hurtling towards Najbaro.

Letero: Wh-What?! But that would mean Najbaro--

Minas: As soon as Monarho crosses the Roche limit, in other words, gets too close to Najbaro, it will disintegrate. The fragments of the satellite will hurtle down on Najbaro, causing untold destruction.

Letero: No...! That can't be! Merita is on Najbaro! And two million other people!

Yuri: Grus! All right. We'd better start trying to get rid of as many enemy ships from around Monarho as we can!

Kira: Yuri, there's a ship heading our way! It's... Michijo Abato!

Yuri: No! This is the worst possible timing!

Abato opens a communications channel.

Abato: Yuri, was it? You won't stand in my way this time!

Yuri: Abato! Do you have any idea what Kalymnos is trying to do?! They plan on slaughtering every last person on this planet! How can you get behind this?!

Abato: I could say the exact same thing to the leaders of Nova Nacio.

Yuri: Huh?! What are you talking about?!

Abato: They use their own people on the ground as shields while they sharpen their swords. It's their own brutality that's forcing us to do this!

Letero: Oh, my...

Yuri: Huh?

Abato: Anyway, I'm not wasting my breath on you anymore! Prepare to die!

Yuri: Hey! Wait!
Who wants to guess that Project Stelalumo isn't just 'advanced starlight power generation', but a big-ass laser beam?

Kira: Yuri! Here he comes!

It's us against Abato in his modified Thalia A-class battleship.  He opens up almost immediately with a barrage, and only the fact he tried to blast the Nikusui with it instead of the damaged Sharanga kept us in one piece. I swarm him with fighters in return and wait for the energy bar to charge.

He takes three volleys to the face without flinching and charges up to the red bar. I dodge just in time to avoid a special that would have hit every ship in the fleet with a barrage attack - this would have seriously wrecked our day.

Reaching full charge, we give him a barrage of our own to see how he likes it. It apparently annoyed him, as he tanks it like a champ before wiping out the Sharanga. This cuts our fighter squadron in half, as all of the ship's fighters disappear with it.
The Lanner's fighters return to restock, and our battleship is knocked down to half-health by a volley from Abato's ship. We manage to dodge another special that would have killed us, send out the fighters again and put a volley of our own into his ship. This finally proved to be enough, and the battle ends.

Abato contacts us again.

Abato: Bah. I'm done for... But you're too late. Now you'll see the evil you've been a part of. May the image of this wretched planet be forever burned in your memory!

And then Abato's ship explodes, taking him with it.

Yuri: We... got him? But what's happening with Monarho?!

Minas: This is not good! It's starting to accelerate... It's being drawn into Najbaro's gravitational pull!

Yuri: So it's going to come down?

Minas: Nothing can stop it now, I'm afraid.

Yuri: No... There has got to be a way.

We can ask Nia, Minas or Letero for advice. If we ask the right person straight away, we'd get ten fame. Eh, for that, I'll show all the dialogue.

>>Talk to Nia Lochlain.
Nia: Don't look at me, kiddo. I have no idea how to stop this.

Yuri: ...

>>Talk to Gavriil Minas.
Minas: Even I don't have any idea what to do at this point. It would take instantaneous and total annihilation of that massive astronomical body to avoid disaster now.

>>Talk to Antono Letero.
Yuri: Ensign Letero, what did Abato mean by what he said? "They use their own people on the ground as shields while they sharpen their swords."

Letero: I-I don't know... I don't know anything!

Nia: Don't give us that. I saw your face when Abato said that.

Letero: ...

Yuri: There's some kind of secret about Najbaro, isn't there? You've got to tell us!

Letero: ... Well, you have to understand that what I'm about to tell you is all just rumors.

Tatiana: Just spit it out!

Letero: All right. Fine! They say that there's a secret agenda behind Project Stelalumo.

Ian: What kind of secret agenda?

Letero: The starlight power generator is supposedly just a smokescreen. When, in fact, they're actually building a super long-range laser on the ground, designed to take control of this sector.
I honestly hadn't remembered this when I talked about a laser earlier.

Minas: Ah, now it makes sense why they never tried to create an atmosphere on Najbaro. That would have only reduced the power of any laser being fired through it.

Torlo: But would they really build something like that on a planet full of ordinary people? That sure sounds like "using their own people as shields" to me.

Tatiana: But that's still no excuse for trying to drop a satellite on Najbaro!

Torlo: You got no argument from me there.

Yuri: ... They're both equally in the wrong. There's a foreign threat about to invade, they're warring with each other, and worst of all, they're both about to involve innocent civilians in all this mess. It's inexcusable, on both sides!

Kira: Yuri...

Nia: All right, Yuri. We all feel the same way, but freakin' out about it right now just isn't gonna help anyone.

Yuri: But what can we possibly do about any of it now?!

Nia: If this super long-range laser really does exist... how about if we use it to wipe out the satellite before it comes down on Najbaro?

Yuri: Oh...
I think he's stunned by how audacious the plan is.

Nia: Whaddya think, Professor Minas?

Minas: Hm... Well, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Nia: And Ensign Tajloro is a member of the project team, right? She might be able to help.

Yuri: Hey, maybe you're right.

Kira: Yuri, make a decision!

Yuri: yes, let's get to Najbaro!

We're contacted by Valso, fashionably late.

Valso: Yuri! I'm glad to see you're all right! We just arrived. We'll be right behind you!

Yuri: Captain Valso, you're just in time. Please order a complete evacuation of Najbaro!
What good will that do? You can't move two million people in an hour.

Valso: A complete evacuation? What's this, now?

Yuri: The satellite Monarho is going to drop down on Najbaro! We're going down to the surface, so we're going to leave the enemy up here to you!

Valso: H-Hey, wait! Yuri!

We get the satisfaction of being the one to cut communications.

We're back at the map screen, and our travels corridors are cut - we're only given the choice of heading for Najbaro.