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[Hanzoku]

Spoiler: Maybe We Were Overconfident (click to show/hide)

Before we leave, I remember that Barberis needs something to do and take a look at him. He's a really average character - no special skills, and his top skills are combat (handled better by others), and maintenance. I make him an Assistant Engineer for the moment, until we get someone with better engineering skills.

When we reach the blockade beyond Heraklion, the SSA ships clear a path for us.

Kira: Yuri, the Sector Security Agency ships are moving out of the way.

Yuri: It looks like Commander Ioannou sent them word, then.

In an empty sector right before the Spider's Web, Kira picks up something.

Kira: Yuri, we're getting a distress signal.

Yuri: A distress signal? Here? Can you tell where it's coming from?

Kira: It's close by. Somewhere up ahead.

]

Torlo: It looks like the pirates got 'em. I just can't believe they made it all this way in a ship like that!

Tatiana: What do you want to do, Yuri?

Yuri: They put out a distress signal. We should see if there are any survivors.

Torlo: All right! In that case, me and Ian will go have a little look-see. Ian, you know how to do exterior work, don't ya?

Ian: O-Of course I do! I've just never done it before...

Time passes as Ian and Torlo look through the remains of the other ship.

Torlo: Man, I never thought we'd find someone alive in this mess!

Kira: You found a survivor?

Torlo: Yup. We thought it was a dead body. But then it moved, so we thought, maybe not. Oh! But then Ian here-- Ian hits him. Ow!

Ian: In any case, she was pretty shaken up, so we put her in a room to rest. Tatiana is looking after her now. She doesn't seem to be badly injured, so we can probably expect a full recovery soon.

Yuri: We can? Well, that's good news. So what did you do, Ian? Did you scream like a baby?
Hahahaha

Ian: ... Ian hits Yuri

Yuri: Gah!

While amusing, we have a survivor and a pirate-infested asteroid belt to push through. Let's get that done. Before we get there, we run into some opposition.

Kira: Yuri, a fleet is approaching ahead. They're going to attack!

Yuri:  It's the Kreios Pirates. Take evasive actions and get ready for battle!

The first battle is two destroyers and a cruiser. We play 'Pop Goes the Pirate' and they disappear.

Kira: More pirates are approaching! At two o'clock!

Yuri: They just keep coming! I guess the Kreios Pirates are a bigger deal then I thought!

two destroyers, two cruisers.  'Pop Goes the Pirate' remains a favorite, and they don't even get a shot off.

Kira: Yuri, they've got reinforcements! Twenty... thirty... They keep coming!
Oh good, they might become mildly diverting.

Nia: There's no end to 'em. They're way beyond anything we ever saw in Elgava, and that goes for weapons and scale to boot!

Yuri: I hate to admit it, but I think I might've been a little overconfident here.

Minas: So does it look like we won't be able to make it to Mytilene?

Yuri: I'm sorry, Professor. I don't think we should try to go any further right now.

Minas: I see... I guess you're right. We won't get much research done if we're dead.

Yuri: I'm sorry. But don't worry. We'll find a way! All right, full-speed retreat!
Plot barrier gets in the way. We head back to Heraklion to regroup.

When we reach Heraklion, Tatiana speaks up.

Tatiana: Yuri, Rhea wants to talk to you.

Yuri: Rhea? Who's that?

Tatiana: That woman we rescued from the wreckage of that ship.

Yuri: Oh, okay,

Rhea: Are you Yuri, the captain? My name is Rhea Loizou. I don't know how I can thank you enough. You saved my life.

Yuri: You don't have to thank me. We just happened to come along. But what were you doing in a dangerous place like that?

Rhea: Yes, I'd like to talk to you about that, actually. Could we talk sometime, when you have a free moment?

Yuri: Oh. Yeah, sure.

Tatiana: I told her about what we're doing, and she says she'd like to help. She's had a lot of experience aboard ships. What do you think?

Yuri: I think that'd be great! Welcome aboard, Rhea!

Rhea: Thank you, Captain. I look forward to working with you.

Rhea Loizou joined your crew!

I go ahead and set Rhea up with a spot immediately. She's a somewhat poor character, with Control, Artillery and Management her best skills. Her special skill is AA Genius, which makes our anti-air fire more accurate.

Except that, once we have fighters, I will never use that command.

We're lacking gunnery crew, so I set her up to assist Gadina as our Artillery Officer.

We'll have to go along with the Security Agency's plan, it seems  - three ships against thirty with plot armor is poor odds. We head back to Veroia to have another chat with them.

>>Veroia
Ioannou: So how did it look? Do you think you can make it to Mytilene on your own?

Yuri: (Well...)

We swallow our pride.

>>I'm not so confident.

Ioannou: I see... Well, in that case, would you consider helping us out with an operation we have planned? I know it's asking a lot of you, but I'm afraid this operation is our only hope for dealing with the Kreios Pirates.

Yuri: We'll do it. Unless we do something about those pirates, we won't be able to get to Mytilene.

Ioannou: All right, then. Fine. Ensign Pappas will fill you in on the details of the operation. Let's see. You can talk in the --

Pappas: Let's talk somewhere where we can relax. This isn't really a discussion we can have inside this building.

Ioannou: I suppose you're right. Yes, that would probably be safer, over all.
Why do I get the sense we're going to be asked to do something dangerous, illegal or both?

Pappas: We'll meet you in the tavern, then. Come on, Delis.

Delis: Right behind you.

With a wave, Belen Pappas and Vlasis Delis leave the room.

We head to the tavern and start talking.

>>Talk to Vlasis Delis.
Delis: We really shouldn't be getting private citizens like you involved in this. But it's gotten to the point where we just don't have any other options. Anyway, Pappas here will fill you in on the details.

>>Talk to Belen Pappas.
Conversation #1
Pappas: Oh, there you are! Come relax and have a drink with me, won't you?

Yuri: But we're underage.
Hasn't stopped Nia before.

Pappas: Ha ha! So order a glass of milk or something. But this pretty lady is old enough, isn't she?

Nia: Look, we don't have all day here. Just get to the point, will ya?

Pappas: Aw, don't be that way, pretty lady! We ought to get to know each other a little better before we --

Nia: Get to the point, Mac. Or are ya tired of having your teeth in your mouth?
Nia is awesome.

Pappas: Ahe! All right, I get your drift! I was just trying to be friendly...

Conversation #2
Pappas: Okay, getting straight to the point, then. How much do you know about the Kreios Pirates?

Yuri: Well, let's see. We heard their leader, Kreios, was apprehended about a year ago. And t hat their rival is a pirate named Celina Sioufas.

Pappas: You know enough, then. That should make things easy. The problem is that the power of the Kreios Pirates hasn't been curtailed one b it by the arrest of their leader In fact, now they have even more ships then before! We're embarrassed to admit it, but they've grown to such a scale, the Security Agency can no longer handle them.

Torlo: Wow, that's gotta be pretty tough to admit.

Yuri: Can't you get the regular military to help you?

Pappas: Nah, those Volos guys are useless. They just say it's our jurisdiction.

Torlo: Sounds like a whole bunch of head butting, if ya ask me.

Pappas: To their credit, I guess they do have their hands full with defending the border from Nova Nacio. And I guess they can't really act unless they have a government-level order. Anyway, that's how we came to the conclusion that we were going to have to fight fire with fire.

Tatiana: What do you mean by that?

Pappas: We're going to try to make a deal with Celina Sioufas and have her help us take down their leader, Kreios.

Torlo: Huh?

Nia: You're gonna make a deal with a pirate?

Yuri: Are you sure that's a good idea?

Pappas: Nope. Not sure at all.
At least he's honest.

Torlo: Sounds way too risky to me!

Pappas: Yup. Probably way too risky.

Torlo: ...

Pappas: But we don't have any choice at this point. The Kreios Pirates are getting bigger and more powerful every day. And if we don't do something fast, then this junction sector, the shipping hub of Kalymnos, will be completely wiped out.

Conversation #3
Yuri: All right, I'm following you so far, but what do you want us to do to help?

Pappas: We want you to negotiate with Celina, and convince her to cooperate with us. She'd never agree to talk to us Security Agency guys directly. For her cooperation, we're willing to tear up all her arrest warrants, for every sector in Kalynos, and wipe out all criminal charges that are more than three years old.

All 20,000 of them.
Holy Grus.

Nia: I dunno. Do you really think a kick-ass pirate like her is gonna go for a deal like that?

Pappas: that's the best we can offer her, I'm afraid. I mean, we're the Security Agency. We can hardly pay her a reward, right?

Yuri: Where can we find her?

Pappas: She can usually be found in the area around the resource planet, Zante. There are a lot of upper-rank Kreios Pirates in that target the mining transport ships.

Ian: And then, in turn, Celina targets the pirates, is that right? A pirate food chain, if you will.

Yuri: All right, we'll try to convince her.

Pappas: Thank you, and good luck! If you manage to talk to her, come to the Security Agency and let us know how it went. Oh, and here's a map to the ship design company on Volos. It might b e a good idea to check it out.

The Ship Design Company ahs been added to the planet Volos spaceport menu!

We talk to Delis one final time as well.

Delis: Celina isn't a completely unreasonable woman. At least she doesn't murder innocent citizens left and right like the Kreios Pirates do. But she is dangerous. Very, very dangerous.

Yuri: ...

With that cheery thought, we leave for Volos to check out the new ship designs.

>>Volos
With a somewhat giddy feeling, we pick up four designs - the Pallas-class Battleship, the Eudora and Zephyr-class Cruisers, and the Kalliope-class Destroyer. We immediately head up the elevator to compare our new toys with our old ones.

Destroyer
The Kalliope-class is still a downgrade to our Skoryy-class Menthi. It's slightly better in the anti-ship category, bur worse in all other aspects, has one medium and two small mounts in comparison to the Skoryy's two medium and one small mount, and it has ten less module blocks available.

Cruisers
The Zephyr-class is worse than the Askold-class Fragarach, with lower stats across the board and less module space. The Eudora-class however... is a nice little upgrade, it loses a little module space, but makes up for it with small bumps in all the stats, and two medium and one small mount instead of one medium and two small.

We welcome the Sharanga to the fleet.

She's a bit flatter than the other ships we've used, which makes it difficult to mount the L form modules, but we fit in all the necessities.

Battleship
The Pallas class is a small upgrade on the Borodino-class Fomorion. It's worse in anti-air, and is slightly less mobile and durable, with less module space. However, it comes with four free weapon slots, and the fifth is filled with a super weapon.

Super weapons show up in battle as an extra command, like Yuri's Final Roar or the XO's special skill. They're honestly not all that useful, but it's nice to have sometimes.

We bid the Fomorion goodbye as well, and greet the Bugbear.

New ships in hand, we're ready to go hunting for the deadly and 23rd most famous pirate, Celina Sioufas. Hopefully she'll listen and not just start shooting.

[Sirus]

Ugh, the Pallas. I got my good old Borodino all the way to the second half of the game with no issues and I just don't see the draw of anything else before then :/

There's just so little module space on the Bugbear...

[Hanzoku]

Yeah, the Pallas-class loses something like ten module spaces, and it's a lot less well laid out compared to the Borodino class. The big draw is supposed to be your first superweapon, but those things are really a trap.

The bonus to the superweapon is you can fire it from across the whole combat area. The downsides is it's not that much better then a large-type laser, takes a complete energy bar to fire, and disables charging for a few seconds. I don't think after I saw how um... unuseful they were that I ever used one again in my first playthrough.

However, it's base stats are slightly better then the Borodino class, and I did want to get around to showing off more of the ship types with this playthrough... though I really can't force myself to buy obvious downgrades just because they're new. (IE, when every stat is worse and it has less space. I'm looking at you, Zephyr- and Kalliope-classes.)

[Hanzoku]

Covert Operations
New Characters:  Celina, Nikitas, Glaucus
New Ships:  Adonis (M)
New Equipment:

Spoiler: An Audience With The Night Queen (click to show/hide)

Before we go after Celina, we have a chat with Rhea, as she asked us to a few planets ago.

>>Talk to Rhea Loizou.
Yuri: So, Rhea, you were going to tell me what you were doing in that dangerous area.

Rhea: I was traveling. Actually, I've been traveling all over the sea of stars for a while now, looking for my boyfriend, Leo. He was a fire control system developer. But after perfecting the Oort Interception System for the prison planet Skantzoura, he just disappeared!

I've got to find him! So while I was working here as part of your ship's crew, I'm going to keep up my search.

>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Ian: Speaking of Celina Sioufas, she's always in the top ranks, you know.

Torlo: Yeah, I've seen her there myself. She's always in the top ten.

Tatiana: Celina Sioufas is so cool, isn't she? I mean, she was already listed in the rankings back when she was our age! I used to pretend I was her when I was a little kid.

Torlo: ...

Yuri: What's with the face, Torlo?

Torlo: Oh, I was just rememberin' how Tats always used to make me play the wimpy pirate that got his ass kicked by Celina Sioufas.

Yuri: Come on, Torlo. You've got to admit, that's pretty funny!

Torlo: Yeah, yeah. Hilarious.

If we talk to the bartender about jobs, we come to an unexpected request.

Bartender: Well, how about transporting a trunk for me? Deliver this trunk to Nerekhta in the Interplanetary Union of Elgava, and I'll pay you 1,200G.

We accept.

Bartender: You'll do it? Great! All right, then. Please deliver this trunk to the bartender of the tavern on Nerekhta. Are you sure you've got all that?
Yup.

>>Nerekhta
Bartender: Yeah, the bartener on Volos told me you'd be coming. Is this the trunk? Thanks.

He takes the trunk

 And here's what I owe you. 1,200 G.

A job well done! you got 1,200 G!

We talk to our friends again.
Conversation #1
Ratai: I've never come into contact with a famous pirate like Celina Sioufas. I've only ever seen her name in the rankings.

Nia: Aw, you don't have to get all nervous over Celina! I mean, it's not like she just goes around shooting down ships for no reason, or anything. And you trust Yuri, don't you? You wouldn't be here if you didn't, so don't sweat it!

Ratai: Okay...

Ian: But what if her feathers get ruffled and it turns into an all-out battle? What then?

Nia: No problem. All I've gotta do is threaten to tell all her embarrassing secrets to the universe! Heh heh heh.
Nia knows more then she lets on.

Conversation #2
Musin: They say Celina's ship is amazing. It's armor, amde from a mineral called black lapulus, has a black body rating of ninety-nine percent.

Yuri: What's with a black body again? It's some kind of black matter, isn't it?

Musin: That's right. A full black body absorbs all electromagnetic radiation, including light. That's what makes it appear black to the human eye. And then they say that Celina's ship's armor is further coated with a luminous body on top of that.

In stealth mode, I doubt that any radar could pick her ship up.
Stealth battleship... scary thought.

Yuri: I can't say I understand everything you've just said, but it sounds pretty amazing.

Nia: The Lykourgos is why she's known as the Merciless Night Queen. I hate to admit it, but that's one impressive, advanced ship!


Distraction out of the way, we head back to the Kalymnos Juntion and head for Zante.

We stop by the tavern at Dodecanese before heading on.

Bar Patron: Hey, it's you guys again!

As soon as the party enters the tavern, one of the customers jumps to his feet in a rage. It's apparently one of the gang that was beating up the trader before. He appears to be alone this time.

Bar Patron: C'mon! One of ya take me on, one on one! You ain't getting in until ya do!

We're given a choice. Yuri, Torlo, Ian or Nia can fight him. I'll give all the results here:

>>Yuri, Torlo or Nia
The screen shakes with violence.

Bar Patron: (groans) Ya got me good... I guess I messed with the wrong person.
Damn right you did.

The man leaves the tavern quietly.

>> Ian
The screen shakes with violence.

Bar Patron: Ha ha! How do ya like them apples?! And now you can pay my tab, too! Pay up, and then get the Grus outta here!

You had to pay a 50 G tab! You were thrown out of the tavern!
Mmm... worth it to get Ian beat up.

After one of the people who knows how to fight wins, we go into the tavern as normal.

>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Tatiana: Tell us more about your boyfriend's disappearance, Rhea. Do you have anything to go on?

Rhea: Not much, unfortunately. We used to work together in the same module design company. But then one day he got scouted out by Skantzoura. We were both so happy about it. Just think! A project for a government organization! Think of the resources!

Yuri: But then when the system was finished, he just disappeared, huh?

Rhea: Exactly. And they tell me the technical development team he was working with at Skantzoura broke up a long time ago. Where can he be now? I'm so worried...
 
In an empty sector before Zante, we run into a battle.

Kira: Yuri, there's a large ship ahead. It seems to be engaged in combat.

Yuri: A large ship? Could it be Celina?

Kira: I'll bring it up on the monitor.

It's certainly a design we haven't seen before.

Nia: Yup, there's no doubt about it. That's Celina Siousfas's Lykourgos.

Yuri: Who is she attacking? That doesn't look like a Kreios pirate ship to me.

Nia: Who knows? The ship looks like a pretty good one, made in the LMC, but I bet it won't be able to hold out much longer.

Holy wave motion cannon!

Unsurprisingly, the other ship doesn't take it well, but it does survive it.

Nia: What did I tell ya?

Ian: What kind of attack was that? I've never seen anything like it.

Nia: That was a laser accelerator, the best weapon in Lykourgos's arsenal. It uses anti-gravity lenses to accelerate the lasers, and then gravity lenses to focus them into one beam and let it rip. There aren't a lot of ships that can hold up against it.

Yuri: All right. Let's get in between them. We have to talk to Celina.
...You want to do what?!

Yuri: Kira, patch me through.

Kira: Roger.

Yuri: Celina Sioufas, do you read me? My name is Yuri. I want to talk to you.

We plunk ourselves down between two ships that make ours look antiquated. Yuri doesn't lack for balls, at least.

Celina's response is to turn and fly off, however. On the up side, she didn't blow us away!

Yuri: Hey!

Torlo: She completely ignored us!

Kira: Yuri, I'm getting a communication. It's from the other ship.

Yuri: Huh?

??: Hey! Do you read me?! What's the matter with you?!
I'm wondering that myself.

??: I almost had her, you bastard ! What're ya trying to do to me here?!
You almost had a laser enema.

Yuri: What?

Torlo: Are ya outta your mind? You were just about to get blasted to bits!

??: You don't know what you're talking about! Just forget it! I don't have time to waste on peons like you. Just don't get in my way next time! You got that?!

And then the other ship lights off after Celina.

Tatiana: He didn't let us get a word in edgewise.

Torlo: That cocky son of a --! Celina was just about to beat him down!

Ian: Be that as it may his ship is still LMC-made. That means he could easily outdo us.

Torlo: Aw, Grus!

The tavern on Zante is still deserted, so we return to Dodecanese.
After beating up an idiot again, we have a chat with our friends.

Conversation #1
Nia: Well, I hate to owe Celina anything more than a drink, but she's not a bad gal to have in our corner.

Torlo: I know she's really good, what with bein' a ranked pirate and all, but when ya get right down to it, she's just a woman. Ya think she can really pull this off?
I don't think he's being misogynistic specifically - more that she's just one person, behind the reputation.

Nia: You really are as dumb as you look! Don't ya know that when she gets really angry, a woman is twice as dangerous as a man? You wanna test my theory out?

Torlo: Um, no thanks. I can take your word for it.

We leave and go to try again.

Kira: Yuri, there it is!

Yuri: Celina's Lykourgos?

Kira: yes, that's it, without question.

Yuri: All right. I'm going to talk her this time. Kira, open up a line!

Kira: Roger!

Yuri: Celina Sioufas. This is Yuri. I want to talk to you. Please respond!

??: ...

Tatiana: She really is ignoring us.

Yuri: ...

Nia: This isn't getting us anywhere. Here. Lemme do this, kiddo.

Yuri: Huh? Yeah, okay, sure.

Nia: Hey! I know ya can hear us, Celina! Get on the horn right now, or I start blabbin' all your secrets, woman!

??: ... ...

Celina: that voice... That vulgar manner of speaking... Nia Lochlain, could that be you?

Nia: Of course it's me! Come on, now, Celina. I gotta talk to you face to face.

Celina: ... All right, fine. I'll go to your ship.

Kira: T he communication was broken off.

Nia: If she says she'll come to our ship, she'll come to our ship. Pull up next to the Kykourgos, kiddo.

Yuri: Okay, but how do you know Celina, Nia?

Nia: Well, ya know how it is. Long story.

Not Celina, I'm thinking.

Nikitas: ...

Much better.

Celina: ...

Yuri: (So this is Celina Sioufas, huh?)

Celina: Never thought I'd see you on this kind of crew, on this kind of ship. You're always full of surprises, Nia.

Nia: Well, you know how it is. Long story. I'm kinda helping this kid out.

Yuri: Hello. I'm Yuri, the captain of this ship.

Celina: Well, well! So this is your plaything of the hour, is it? Your tastes have changed, my dear.

Yuri: What?!

Kira: What are you talking about? It's nothing like that!

Yuri: ...

Celina: Heh heh. Fine. Whatever. So, you said you wanted to talk to me? Then talk!

The screen fades out and back as Yuri lays everything out.

Celina: So that's it, is it? Veroia must be really hard up. But did they actually think I'd agree to a deal like that?

Yuri: Well...

Celina: ... But guess what? I'm going to do it.

Yuri: You will?!

Nikitas: Are you serious, Captain?!

Celina: It's a good opportunity to get onto Skantzoura, don't you think, Nikitas?

Nikitas: Oh, very good thinking.

Nia: Wait a minute, you crafty little witch. Just what are you up to?

Celina: Heh heh. Just a little bit of fun. Anyway, take me to the Security Agency. I'm prepared to be arrested.

Yuri: What?!

Celina: They arrest me, and send me to the prison planet Skantzoura. That's the deal I want.

Yuri: But...

Torlo: What could she be thinkin'?

Nia: Who knows? But those are her terms if we want her to help wipe out the Kreios Pirates. I say we take her to the Security Agency fast, before she changes her mind!

Yuri: Okay. I guess you're right.

Celina: It's settled, then. Nikitas, take care of the Lykourgos for me.

Nikitas: Yes, Captain!

With the Merciless Night Queen as our guest/prisoner, we make our way back to Veroia.

Spoiler: Breaking Into Prison (click to show/hide)

>>Veroia Security Agency
Ioannou: What a surprise! I didn't think you'd actually manage to bring Celina Sioufas herself right here to Veroia!

Nia: Couldn't quite convince her to come into the Security Agency yet, though, so she's hidin' out on the ship.

Delis: But what do you suppose she wants onto Skantzoura for?

Nia: Who knows? We asked her a million times, but she wouldn't cough up her reasons. But I'm thinkin' maybe--

Pappas: It has something to do with old Kreios, who was thrown in there a year ago, right?

Nia: Exactly. Anyway, knowing her, she's gonna have a trick or two up her sleeve.

Ioannou: Hm...

Delis: Commander, we have no idea what Celina is plotting. Don't you think we should rethink this whole thing?

Nia: Don't worry. I'll go with her, make sure she doesn't try anything funny. Hey, I know! I could be her underling. Even though the idea of it kinda ticks me off...

Yuri: Nia, you want to go into the prison with Celina?!

Nia: Yup. I'm gonna make her keep up her end of the bargain.

Yuri: But...

You're given a choice of what to say, but only one leads to a bonus.

>>You can't do that!

Yuri: You can't do that! It's a prison planet! Anything could happen to you there!

Delis: Yuri's right. And Skantzoura isn't your average prison planet either. Even though it's part of the judiciary system, it's completely cut off from the outside world. We get very little information about what actually goes on inside.

Nia: But if I don't see to it that Celina keeps her promise, you aren't gonna be able to take down old Kreios, right? And then that means we won't be able to get to Mytilene and find out more about those Epitaphs.

Yuri: But...

Nia: look, you're not gonna get anywhere if ya let little things like this set you back, are ya? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing!

Yuri: ...

Yuri's Leadership experience increased by 20!

Ioannou: It was a risky plan to begin with. Now that we've come this far, I don't see any alternative to doing as Celina is suggesting. Ensign Pappas, how long will the paperwork take to get them incarcerated?

Pappas: There's no shortage of criminal charges we can bring Celina up on, so we should be able to get the papers together right away.

Ioannou: All right, then. Pappas, you serve as the escrot and take Celina and Nia to Skantzoura. And then I want you to stay there on Skantzoura and give me a report every twenty-four hours on the dot.

Pappas: Yes, sir. I'll take these two in my ship, but what will the rest of you do? You can't really come with us all the way to Skantzoura.

Yuri: I'm still a little freaked out about all this, so we'll go with you as far as we can.

Pappas: Okay, fine. Well, we'll ship out as soon as you're ready then. Nia, you and Celina move to my ship.

Nia: Gotcha.

Nia Lochlain left your crew temporarily!

Before we head out, we chat with our friends.

Conversation #1
Gadina: Yuri, I know you're freaked out about Nia, but try not to spaz out too much, okay? Just remember, the great Celina Sioufas is with her. That ain't no small thing. Nia's gonna be just fine.

Yuri: Do you really think so?

Gadina: I can't count how many people got sent to Grus by that Celina after they tried to mess with her. She's bad-ass, I tell ya! They don't call her the Merciless Night Queen for nothing, you know!

Yuri: I sure hope you're right.

Conversation #2
Yuri: ...

Kira: Yuri...

Yuri: Yeah?

Kira: Oh, nothing.

Yuri: Sorry, Kira, but I've got a lot on my mind. Could you give me a little space right now?

Kira: Oh! Okay, no problem.

Tatiana: Come on, Kira. Never mind about Yuri right now. He's all worried about his precious Nia, that's all.

Kira: ...

Conversation #3
Ian: From what I've heard, a power struggle isn't the only reason Celina Sioufas wants to crush the Kreios Pirates.

Torlo: What's goin' on with her, then?

Ian: Apparently, Celina and old Kreios know each other from way back when. Something that happened between them a long time ago is fueling the feud they're having with each other now.

Torlo: Huh. What do ya suppose happened between the two of 'em?

Yuri: Beats me.

Conversation #4
Ratai: I hope Celina is okay, too. I mean, I know she's a really great pirate and all that, but what can she do if she's trapped inside a prison?

Ian: Don't worry. Really great pirates are just as resourceful on land as they are in space. I think.

Ratai: "I think"? What kind of reassurance is "I think"?
Haha, even Ratai gets to yell at Ian every now and then.

Worries vented, we take off and head for a newly unveiled path in Area 3 that leads to the prison planet.

Torlo: What's this?

Pappas: It's the Oort Interception System. It's a defense system that seals off the prison planet from the rest of the worlds.

Yuri: So this is the system your boyfriend designed, Rhea?

Rhea: That's right. It's a perpetually operating combination of observation and auto-attack systems. If anybody tries to get through without permission, they'll be annihilated in only seconds.

Ian: Very impressive. They aren't taking any chances, are they?

Pappas: Anyway, this is as far as you can go. I'll take it from here.

Yuri: Ensign Pappas, please take care of Nia.

Pappas: Oh, I wouldn't let anything happen to such a lovely young lady. And besides, I get the distinct impression that she can take care of herself just fine.

Pappas' ship passes through the Oort Interception System without incident.

Torlo: There they go.

Yuri: I don't know. I still don't like this.

Tatiana: Well, it's done now. There's no sense in second guessing now. And Ensign Pappas is going to give us periodic reports, too.

Yuri: Yeah...

Glaucus: Ha ha ha ha! Welcome to Skantzoura! I'm the prison warden here, Dardanos Glaucus.

Pappas: I'm Ensign Belen Pappas of the Sectory Security Agency, Anti-Pirate Division. I'm here to escort these two prisoners.

Glaucus: Welcome, welcome! And look what we have here! Two lovely young ladies...

Nia: ... (Hey, my face is up here, buddy!)
Sorry Nia, but that top is really distracting.

Celina: ...
You too, Celina.

Glaucus: Mmm-mmm. Such beauties... and TWO of them! Mm, female prisoners...
Creep factor red alert!

Pappas: Uh, Warden?
You're even weirding out Pappas.

Glaucus: Don't you just love those words, "female prisoners"? Such a nice ring...

Pappas: Huh?

Glaucus: Oh, ahem! Never mind. So I hear you'l be staying a week or so yourself, will you?

Pappas: that's right. We have to take every precaution we can with an infamous pirate like this one.

Glaucus: Yes, yes. Absolutely. I understand completely. I'll have a room readied for you right away. I do hope you enjoy your stay...

Well, that was disturbing.
With our friends getting into position, we head back to Veroia. We don't have a lot to do but to pass time waiting for a signal from our friends.

Spoiler: The Waiting Game (click to show/hide)

After bouncing back and forth between Veroia and Volos a few times, a scene occurs.

Nia: It's been three days already. How long are we gonna keep hangin' around like this?

Celina: What, are you bored, my dear?

Nia: Nah. I just figure we oughta have enough of a handle on their routine by now.

Celina: He heh. I see your point. What do you say we take a little walk, then?

Nia: Where to?

Celina: The control building. If old Kreios is here, that's where I think he'd be.

With this, Celina Sioufas pulls out a hair from her head, spits on it, and inserts it into the lock panel. A few seconds later...

There's a small explosion

Celina: Voila. It's open.

Nia: Not too shabby! A nitro string, huh? I see you're still up to your old tricks.

Meanwhile, aboard the Bugbear...

Yuri: Still no word from Ensign Pappas?

Kira: It looks that way. The Security Agency still hasn't tried to contact us. I've been trying to get in touch with them for days now.

Yuri: Grus! It's been three whole days already! Something's got to be wrong! Ensign Pappas was supposed to make a report every twenty-four hours!

Kira: Yuri...

Tatiana: Yelling at Kira isn't going to help anything. I know you're worried about Nia, but please try to calm down and stop with all the yelling.

Yuri: I am calm! And I'm not yelling!
I'm just... forcefully expressing myself!

Tatiana: You are so yelling! You're the captain, so you'd better start acting like one, you hear?

Yuri: ...

Torlo: Oh boy.
You broke him.

If we visit the security agency, all of our contacts have disappeared. We're forced to keep waiting.

After a few more bounces, we receive a message.

Kira: Yuri, I'm getting a communication from Commander Ioannou.

Yuri: Really?! Patch me through to him right away!

Ioannou: Captain Yuri, this is Silas Ioannou of the Sectory Security Agency.
We know who you are.

Yuri: Commander Ioannou! Have you heard from Ensign Pappas?! Is Nia all right?!

Ioannou: That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm afraid Pappas hasn't reported in once.

Yuri: Not even once?! How can this be?! But you told him every twenty-four hours!
Grus, calm down Yuri.

Ioannou: I know. We're applying for a permit to investigate from the Justice Bureau now.

Yuri: How long is that going to take?!

Ioannou: I don't know, but we're trying to get them to hurry. Anyway, I wanted to let you know the situation as it stands. I'll give you another update as soon as I can.

Yuri: Hey! Wait a minute!

There's a sound as Ioannou breaks the connection.

Yuri: Huh.

Kira: He's gone.

Torlo: Whaddya think happened to them?

Ian: I don't know, but it's starting to look like we'd  better come up with our own plan.

Yuri: Do you have any ideas?

Ian: Yes, I do. Let's talk in the tavern.

We head down to the surface and  hit the tavern.

>>Talk to Ian Fenevich.
Conversation #1
Ian: There are too many things going on with Skantzoura that just don't add up, wouldn't you agree?

Yuri: Like what?

Ian: Well, first of all, the fact that, even though their leader, Kreios himself, is presently incarcerated, the Kreios Pirates continue to flourish. And then Celina Sioufas volunteers herself to be thrown in there. There's something very strange going on, if you ask me.

Yuri: True, but without more solid proof...

Ian: I know. But even the Security Agency knows that something is fishy. That's why they went along with Celina's suggestion without questioning it. What we need is some kind of solid evidence that something strange is going on.

Yuri: You sound like you have a plan.

Ian: I do, and it's simple. All we have to do is ask a Kreios Pirate.

Yuri: Huh? And how are we supposed to do that?

Ian: We grab one of them and make him talk, of course. All we have to do is get into a melee battle, and once we're on board the enemy ship, we capture someone.

Yuri: Wow, that's a great plan, Ian! Looks like those glasses of yours aren't just for show!

Ian: What do my glasses have to do with anything?
Er? Either way, Ian came up with a plan I approve of for once.

We board the first pirate we come across.

Yuri: Did we do it?! Did we capture a pirate?

Torlo: Yeah, but ain't gonna be any help to us. He's jsut one of the low-ranking dudes. We gotta nab one of the bosses if we wanna get any really good info out of 'em.

Yuri: Oh. (We'd better target one of the big shots next time.)

This is a tricky one, requiring you to remember some previous information - Celina hangs around the Zante area because the senior Kreios pirates like to hunt the ore freighters there. So we'll head to Zante and find a high-ranking friend there to talk to.
 

[Neonivek]

Mmmm that is good sexism. Constant constant sexism.

It is like the males and female characters in this game come from two entirely alternate dimensions that just happen to intermingle.

[Hanzoku]

The reason for the sexism does vary by character at least.

Yuri: has a strong overprotective streak. Intellectually, he knows Nia can take care of herself, but he still shorts out and has to try to protect her.
Torlo: Young and too much testosterone for his own good. Tends to open mouth and insert foot, sometimes going for both at the same time.
Glaucus: Creepy as all hell.

Fanservice-y clothing aside, I think most of the female characters come across as strong and capable. Nia is your mentor, Celina doesn't take crap from anyone, Gadina does her own thing and has no problem knocking some idiot out for some quick cash.

The other thing to think about is that the guys of the main cast have an average age of fifteen, and that's not an age most guys are at their most sensible around woman.

I do agree that Yuri goes *way* over the top while Nia's not around, and she'd have probably ripped him a new one if she had to listen to him.

[Neonivek]

Ohh, I am aware there is a reason for it. It is just funny

Because the guys are always like "OHh she is just a girl"
and the women are like: "OHH CRUD it is a woman! that is much more dangerous"

Hense why it feels like they are from other galaxies. With the women comming from a galaxy where all the women are capable and competent, and the men comming from the 1950s.

It is like that WEIRD anime I watched where all the female characters became so annoyed that the men were so romantically hopeless that they actually started a feminist revolution... and it became a REAL thing.

[kaian-a-coel]

GAH! So much technobabble, and all of it so wrong... Accelerating a LASER using anti-gravity lenses, what did I just read...

[Neonivek]

GAH! So much technobabble, and all of it so wrong... Accelerating a LASER using anti-gravity lenses, what did I just read...

Yeah what the crud was that? Also wouldn't using a gravity lense just slow it down AFTER you use an antigravity lense?

Black Body though... does make sense.

[Hanzoku]

Yah, I read that, twice, started to rant in italics and took it out after I had vented, since it wasn't a funny rant. I end up just filing it under 'Wave Motion Gun, check.'

As for the guys perception vs. girls perception, I get most of my amusement out of Tatiana or Nia giving the idiot a verbal smackdown.

[Sirus]

GAH! So much technobabble, and all of it so wrong... Accelerating a LASER using anti-gravity lenses, what did I just read...

It's a space opera with easy FTL travel and communications, energy shields, some really freaky shit that happens later on...why would you expect scientific accuracy?

[Neonivek]

GAH! So much technobabble, and all of it so wrong... Accelerating a LASER using anti-gravity lenses, what did I just read...

It's a space opera with easy FTL travel and communications, energy shields, some really freaky shit that happens later on...why would you expect scientific accuracy?

Yes, but this is some beautifully delicious technobabble, and we didn't even have to flood the warp nasals to do it.

[kaian-a-coel]

GAH! So much technobabble, and all of it so wrong... Accelerating a LASER using anti-gravity lenses, what did I just read...

It's a space opera with easy FTL travel and communications, energy shields, some really freaky shit that happens later on...why would you expect scientific accuracy?

I'm OK with things that don't exist being there. I'm not OK with things that do exist being used incorrectly. Replace "laser" with "plasma" and I'm perfectly fine.

[Sirus]

GAH! So much technobabble, and all of it so wrong... Accelerating a LASER using anti-gravity lenses, what did I just read...

It's a space opera with easy FTL travel and communications, energy shields, some really freaky shit that happens later on...why would you expect scientific accuracy?

I'm OK with things that don't exist being there. I'm not OK with things that do exist being used incorrectly. Replace "laser" with "plasma" and I'm perfectly fine.

So anti-gravity lenses exist now? Face it: for all we know the silly things can in fact accelerate lasers using magical futurescience. Just settle down and recite the MST3K mantra...

[Korbac]

Has anyone heard of Dyson Tubes? Apparently, their anti - electromagnetic dark matter properties can cause mass microexplosions of up to 20 Billion Thousand Tetrajoules, causing a Hard - Light Laser to fly for roughly 0.004 Light Years.