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[Hanzoku]

I'll have to take a good look - I normally just click through the attack sequence, since it's rather binary - the enemy ship has exploded or it hasn't. I think they currently hit for 70-80 for small, 120-130 for medium and 190-220 for large laser attacks.

I'll get back to you on the setups, but not hugely, no. We've been using the same ships for quite a while now because the ship pacing is really bad. You get two battleship designs and then nothing until the second half of the game, and the last destroyer from Elgava is simply the best for a long time, despite six odd rivals being introduced. Cruisers have a similiar problem - you get a really good design and then all the designs after it don't even compete properly.

[Culise]

I'll have to take a good look - I normally just click through the attack sequence, since it's rather binary - the enemy ship has exploded or it hasn't. I think they currently hit for 70-80 for small, 120-130 for medium and 190-220 for large laser attacks.

I'll get back to you on the setups, but not hugely, no. We've been using the same ships for quite a while now because the ship pacing is really bad. You get two battleship designs and then nothing until the second half of the game, and the last destroyer from Elgava is simply the best for a long time, despite six odd rivals being introduced. Cruisers have a similiar problem - you get a really good design and then all the designs after it don't even compete properly.

Yeah, but at least the Borodino's a stout ship, capable of carrying you through much of the early game. ^_^

[Hanzoku]

Accidental Regicide
New Characters:  Katida
New Ships: Kamarado (CG), Ariadne (CV)
New Equipment: Second Bridge Lv 2, Lookout Lv 1, Engine Room Lv 4, Hanger Lv 2, Captain's Cabin Lv 1, Thruster Control Room Lv 2, Amplifier Lv 2, Maintenance Room Lv 4, Briefing Room Lv 3, Gym Lv 2
New Fighters:
 

Spoiler: Ian has a Plan (click to show/hide)

Our interlude with Valantin over, we head to Oenus.

>>Oenus
Like Leucas, there's only a tavern here.

>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: I see you have some pretty fine young ladies with you...

Yuri: Huh? Is there anything wrong with that?

Bartender: Well, it's just that here, in the Dominion of Spetses, it may not be the wisest thing to do. To parade them around like that, I mean.

Yuri: What do you mean by that?

Bartender: Uh, nothing at all. Forget I said it.
That was a bit disturbing.

>>Talk to the young man.
Cico: Huh?! You!

Yuri: Are you--

Torlo: You're that guy that was gettin' your ship "remodeled" by Valantin!
Crude but accurate.

Cico: Hey, whaddya mean? I was just startin' to get a handle on him! Besides, you guys got in my way! I woulda had him, ya know.

Nia: Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. But, hey, you were gettin' slammed pretty hard. I'm glad to see you're still in one piece.

Cico: that's right! I'm not like your average Joe, ya know! I'm tough! And maybe yeah, I let Valantin get away this time, but I know where to find him, so don't you worry 'bout a thing! He won't get away so easily next time!

Tatiana: (sighs) You don't learn, do you?

Cico: Anyway, whatever. Hey, white top! Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!

Yuri: Me?
He might have meant Nia.

Cico: You see anybody else with white hair here? So you're the captain, huh?

Yuri: Yeah. I'm Yuri, captain of the Bugbear. Nice to meet you.

Cico: You're about my age, aren't ya? But you're pretty damn good. I'm Cico. Cico of the Rudianos. You shoulda been mindin' your own business back there, but... ya know... Thanks for steppin' in when ya did.
He's capable of at least reflecting honestly on what Valantin was going to do to him.

Torlo: So, Cico, what's your deal, anyway? How come you're always pickin' fights with the big guns like Celina and Valantin?

Tatiana: That's right. If you want to fight, why not try somebody more your own size?

Cico: I've gotta build up my reputation, fast. I don't got time to be foolin' around. Besides, where's the fun in fighting weaklings?

Kira: But you shouldn't be too reckless, either, you know. You could get hurt... or worse, Cico!

Cico: Yeah? (blushes) Well... that's a good point, uh, Kira...
Oh dear.

Torlo: Hm?

Tatiana: Well, well! (smiles)

Cico: What>?!
You have a thing for green hair, it seems.

Cico: So what are you guys doin' way out here? Spetses is a pretty rough neighborhood!

Yuri: Well...

Yuri spills the whole story to a complete stranger.

Cico: You're gonna go up against Cadmus?!

Torlo: You idiot! Hey, keep it down!

Cico: Oh, sorry. But are you guys serious?

Yuri: I'm dead serious. If we don't do this now, a war could break out.

Cico: Hm... You know what? I like it! Count me in!

Yuri: Are you serious?

Cico: Hey, I'm always serious! Dead serious! Ha ha ha! Besides, I like the idea of goin' up against the whole fleet of a nation!

Yuri: But--
Give it up, he's as nuts as you are, Yuri.

Ian: Listen, Yuri. I think you should definately take him up on his offer.

Yuri: Do you have an idea, Ian?

Ian: In fact, I do. Cico, you said you know where to find Valantin, is that right?

Cico: Yup. My Rudianos is equipped with a special radar. It told me he headed to the Sardis Asteroid Belt. He's probably gonna hang out there for a while, I figure.

Ian: Hm... I've got it, Yuri!

Yuri: Yeah? What have you got?

The screen fades to black while Ian lays out his master plan.

Ian: ...And that's my plan. It's extremely risky, but if it goes well, we can cut down the Spetses forces quite dramatically. Cico, are you okay with your end of the plan?

Cico: Sure! I mean, it's not the most glamorous role, but damn, I ain't lookin' to be no movie star. So yeah, I'll do it! I'm off, then!

Cico leaves to carry out his part of the plan.

Ian: Okay, now the rest of us--

Yuri: We head to Cadmus's blockade, right?

Ian: that's right. And we put the plan in motion as soon as we arrive.

Before we leave, we talk to our friends one last time.

>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Ian: All right. Let's go over this one more time. We head to the Spetses blockade.. And we put the plan in motion as soon as we arrive. Is everybody clear on this?

Yuri: Got it.

Torlo: And their fleet has a lot of carriers. We'd better be sure we're equipped with anti-air, or we're gonna be in trouble.

Yuri: Got it. You can count on me.

Nia: Heh heh.

Minas: What is it, Nia?

Nia: Oh, I just think it's funny how fast kids can grow up, ya know?

Minas: Hm...

Conversation #2
Torlo: That Cico ain't such a bad guy, once ya get to talkin' to him.

Ian: I really question the prudence of his always picking fights with much stronger opponents, though.

Torlo: I'm with you on that. He's gonna get himself buried if he keeps that up. I wonder what he's in such a big hurry to build up his rep for.

Kira: I don't know why, but I get the feeling he always has his mind on someplace very far away.

Yuri: Really? Like where?

Kira: I don't know. Just someplace far, far away, someplace we don't even know about.

Yuri: ...

Conversation #3
Yuri: You look upset, Miss Nobelo. We've been having one b attle after another. Is the tension getting to you?

Nobelo: No, the thing that's getting to me is... the solvenliness you people seem to deem "acceptable living" on this ship!

Yuri avoids something thrown at him.
Yuri: Yikes! Uh, what are you talking about?

Nobelo: What am I talking about?! The filth and disarray, from the bridge, to the captain's cabin,
to the crew cabins, to the bathrooms! It's disgusting! A captain has to keep his ship clean and in good order at all times! He has to be ready for any emergency! What kind of example of leadership is...

Yuri: ...

You got chewed out by Adorinda Nobelo! Yuri's Ship Management skill increased by 2!
She's good.
Done talking to our friends, we depart the planet in our newly-scrubbed ships and head for Orion. Along the way, we liberate a resource asteroid in the Kilkis Sector for 1000 G.

>>Orion
Orion has a module company in addition to the Tavern, and we pick up a pile of new modules. I'll list them the next time we come to a shipyard where we can remodel, though.

We then hit the tavern to see what other gossip we can acquire.
>>Talk to the bartender.
Bartender: I've got some good advice for you folks. Leave this area as fast as you can.

Ian: What makes you say that?

Bartender: I've got a wife and kids at home to feed, so I can't risk saying why, but just trust me on this, okay?

>>Talk to the zero-G dog.
Zero-G Dog: Huh? Loukas? Is that you, Loukas Barberis?

Noticing Loukas barberis standing behind Yuri, the zero-G dog hops to his feet, a broad smile on his weathered face.

Barberis: Hey, Comis, is that you?

Zero-G Dog: You remembered me! You saved my life in that mine in Dodecanese, and I'll never forget ya for it! What are ya doin' here, you ol' devil?

Barberis: Well, here's the story...

Barberis explains how he ended up on Yuri's crew.

Zero-G Dog: So you're on a ship now, eh Loukas? But a zero-G dog at your age! Aren't ya havin' a rough time of it?

Barberis: I... I've been hangin' in there.

Zero-G Dog: Hey, why don't I give ya a few pointers? After all, I really owe you!

Barberis: You'd do that?

Zero-G Dog: Of course! Now, whaddya wanna know about?

Barberis: Let's see. I guess I'm havin' the most trouble with...
You can give Barberis a bonus to his Artillery, Navigation or Management skill, none of which he's using at the moment. I have him increase his Artillery skill for the hell of it.

Zero-G Dog: Okay, you got it! Now just sit back and listen up...

The screen fades and returns as he explains the intricacies of space gunnery.

Zero-G Dog: ...And I guess that's about it.

Barberis: You're a fine teacher, Comis. That was real clear and easy to understand.

Loukas Barberis's Artillery skill increased by 2!

If we talk to the zero-G dog again...

Comis: I owe Loukas my life. Take good care of him, won't ya? He's a tough guy, but he's not a kid anymore, you hear what I'm sayin'?

>>Talk to your friends.
Conversation #1
Rhea: I've been reading about Cadmus the Second. All about how he lives in an ugly, garish fortress, and how he has a harem of enslaved women...

Yuri: Where did you read that?

Rhea: Here, in this article, "Dominion Report."

Rhea Loizou brings up images of Cadmus's gaudy fortress on the mobile terminal and shows them to the party. The images reveal Cadmus's living quarters, done up in tawdry neon colors so bright they hurt the eyes.

Torlo: Whoa! What a sweet pad! I mean... Erm...
You have horrible taste, Torlo.

Ian: Ugh! This is the height of bad taste!

Tatiana: Unbelievable! This man has no class whatsoever!

Rhea: What did I tell you? There's definitely something wrong with a guy who'd live in a place like that.
Torlo wisely stays quiet.

W'e're all set. The next step is to go annoy the blockade forces.

Spoiler: Breaking the Blockade (click to show/hide)

Kira: Yuri, the fleet is straight ahead. I see fifty.. no, seventy ships.

Yuri: Whew. That's a lot!

Nia: That's about how many I'd expect. They're defendin' all of Spetses, ya know.

Ian: Okay, Yuri. Let me urn down the plan again. Our aim is to lure out the Spetses fleet and draw it to the Kilkis Sector. In order to entice as much of the fleet as possible, stick strictly to defense. Don't take down any of them, do you hear me?

Yuri: Right. I've got it.

Kira: Yuri! The enemy noticed us! A few ships are heading our way!

Yuri: Okay, all hands to your stations! Our goal is to lure the enemy. Do not take down any of the enemy ships. Stick to defense only

Our first encounter is a cruiser and two destroyers. We start dodging and back all the way to the left, keeping out of their range as long as possible. They seem reluctant to get stuck in, and we sort of hover out of each other's weapon range.

Someone communicates this to Cadmus.

Cadmus: Hm? Somebody is taunting my fleet, you say?

Spetses Soldier: Yes, my lord. It's just a few ships, but we believe they're the ones who defeated the border guards. I ordered Task Force 4 out to counter them, but so far they haven't attacked, my lord.

Cadmus: Grus! Get Admiral Beleko in here!

Spetses Soldier: Yes, my lord!

Beleko responds to a communication ping.

Beleko: Lord Cadmus, you called for me?

Cadmus: Why are you dragging your feet, Admiral? Send out the entire fleet immediately and crush those intruders!

Beleko: It's too risky, my lord. The enemy is acting suspiciously.

Cadmus: Hmph! The Lord of Spetses gave you a direct order! Send out the entire Spetses Fleet now!

Beleko: Yes, my lord.

Back onboard our ship, we notice the change in enemy tactics.

Ian: All right, Yuri, the rest of the fleet is on the move!

Yuri: I see them. Now we just lead them to the Kilkis Sector!

We make a run for it, half-way there, a few of the fastest catch up with us.

Torlo: Uh oh! Got a few right on our six!

Nia: Tsk. Fast little buggers, aren't they?

Yuri: We still can't bring any of them down. We don't want them putting their guard up before we reach the Kilkis Sector!

This time it's two cruisers and two destroyers. We repeat our previous tactic. We manage to stay out of their range long enough.

Kira: More and more are coming after us! More than fifty now!

Yuri: Good. Keep heading for the Kilkis Sector!

We keep running, they keep chasing.

Kira: We've reached the Kilkis Sector! The enemy is still in pursuit!

Yuri: Where's Cico?! Do you see him?!

Torlo: Not a trace of 'im! Grus, we're gonna get penned in!

These aren't good odds. We'd still win, but the Bugbear would be the only survivor.

Yuri: Damn! We've got to buy some time until Cico gets here!

Tatiana: We can't take them on! There are too many!

Yuri: Damn it.

Suddenly, a Kalymnos warship shows up on their flank and starts laying into the Spetses with all the firepower it can bring to bear.

Yuri: Huh?

Ian: Somebody's backing us up...?

Pappas: Do you read me, Yuri?

Kira: Oh!

Yuri: Ensign Pappas!

Pappas: I'll back you up!

Torlo: Great! But wait a minute... You're Security Agency. How can you--?

Pappas: I just turned in my resignation.

Yuri: What?!

Pappas: I'm a private citizen now! But never mind that. We've got some urgent business to attend to, right in front of us!

Yuri: Right! All hands, prepare for an anti-ship battle! No need to lure them anymore! Just shoot down everything you see!

We're up against a carrier, two cruisers and  two destroyers. I back off to give us time to build up a full charge. Our bombers make a good showing and keep the enemy fighters occupied, but are pretty heavily mauled in the process. However, the fighters are our only real losses, as our ships come out of it relatively unscathed.

After wiping out our closest attackers, we're still embattled.

Tatiana: Yuri, they're still in hot pursuit!

Torlo: They're comin' in droves, man!

Yuri: Any sign of Cico, Kira?

Kira: Here he comes!

Yuri: Really?!

More to the point, he pissed off Valantin this time, and the Corsair is chasing after him.

Yuri: Cico!

Cico: Ha ha! Sorry about the wait, bro!

Ian: Did you get Valantin to follow you?!

Cico: Yup! I feel just like a matador!

The two warships plow through the Spetses fleet.

Kira: The Corsair and the Spetses fleet are now engaged in battle.

Yuri: Good. Now's our chance to get out of here. Ensign Pappas, follow us!

Pappas: Roger!

While Valantin vents his irritation on the Spetses, we sneak away.

Torlo: Man, that Corsair is one incredible battle machine! That Spetses fleet is sure shrinkin' fast! (whistles)

Pappas: you guys are the ones who are incredible. What a brilliant plan! I came here to avenge Commander Ioannou on my own, but I sure met up with some fine allies!

Yuri: And thanks to Ian's plan, the Spetses forces should be stripped down to almost nothing by now. Let's take Cadmus down and rescue Katida Lanco together.

Pappas: Roger that!

We race through the former blockade zone to the planet Alonnisos, the last line of defense before Spetses itself.

Spetses Soldier: Admiral Beleko! I'm getting a reading on the intruder!

Beleko: Hmph. Good thing we at least left the elite guard behind. What about the pursuit detail? Are they heading back this way?

Spetses Soldier: I'm afraid they're not responding, sir.

Beleko: Hm. I guess they're done for. All right, send a message to the guards! Tell them to defend the capital planet at all costs!

Kira: Yuri, there's a  unit heading this way. Eleven ships!

Yuri: Eleven, huh?

Nia: Looks like these guys didn't fall for our trick. They've been waitin' for us. This isn't gonna be easy.

Yuri: I know. Cico, do you read me?

Cico: Yeah, I hear ya. I'll take the ones on the left.

Pappas: You take the ones in the middle, Yuri.

Yuri: Roger! All hands, prepare for anti-ship!

We're in an interesting battle. The enemy formation is two cruisers in the front, the leader (a carrier) in the middle, and two destroyers hiding in the back.

If we kill the carrier before all the other ships are dead, we win the battle, but we lose out on a really good character. We also don't have many fighters available, so we're going to get stuck in place sooner or later. I close range and prepare to slug it out with them. We keep our fighters onboard and manage to get into small weapons range before we're locked down by their fighters.

The first two cruisers and one of the destroyers go down before our energy bar is drained, leaving us in good position to pop the other destroyer before they start extending the range. When the last destroyer dies, a scene plays.

Spetses Soldier: The enemy brought down all our escort vessels, sir!

Beleko: Hmph. I guess it's all over, then. What about the rest of our fleet?

Spetses Soldier: They're still holding out, sir, but just barely.

Beleko: All right. Order the remaining troops to withdraw. Get the crew off this ship, and set it to autopilot. I'll buy some time for their retreat.

Spetses Soldier: But, Admiral--

Beleko: Do it now!

Spetses Soldier: Y-Yes, sir!

Beleko: Hmph. I owe my life to Cadmus the First, and I end up repaying that debt to his idiot son. This hardly seems right, but...

Two barrages later, and the nearly abandoned carrier is coming apart.

 Kira: All enemy ships have retreated from the area. They've scattered in all directions.

Yuri: So the battle is over, huh? Let's go in for the survivors.

Kira: Roger.

Ian: The entire Spetses fleet has just essentially been wiped out.

Yuri: And it's all thanks to your strategy, Ian. Thank you.

Ian: Oh. Yeah, sure. I... I knew it would work.
I'll give Ian credit, it was crazy, but it succeeded.

The screen fades and returns as the rescue operation completes.

Torlo: We're back, Yuri, my man! We picked up every last survivor we could.

Yuri: Thanks, Torlo.

Torlo: Found somebody on the bridge of the flagship, too. Might be the captain.

Yuri: The captain of the flagship? Is he okay?

Torlo: I dunno. He's messed up pretty bad. I give it about a fifty-fifty chance whether he'll pull through or not.

Yuri: This brave guy put his own ship out there as a shield and gave his men a chance to escape. I hope we can save him.

Torlo: Yeah. Me, too. I'll give the medical team the low-down.

[Hanzoku]

Spoiler: Sic Semper Tyrannis (click to show/hide)

We reach Alonnisos, but it's a dismal world, and the tavern here is abandoned. However, Yuri has reached a milestone on the way here.

You're now in the top 90 of the rankings! Congratulations! As a reward, you got blueprints for the following modules:

Maintenance Room 4
Briefing Room 3
Gym 2

Fame needed: ~20,000

We leave Alonnisos and head for Spetses.

Minas: Oh, look, Yuri! There's a dead gate here, too!

Yuri: Looks like Ms. Mistika's prediction is turning out to be true.

Minas: And another thing she was right about...

Yuri: What's that?

Minas: As you recall, Aminda mentioned getting a strong Higgs boson reading in this area recently. Doesn't it stand to reason that it may be because Valantin is here? After all, as you said, he has the Epitaph he stole from you.

Yuri: Oh, that's right!

Minas: Her theories are being proven out, one by one. This is getting very interesting, indeed!

Yuri: ... (Cadmus has got to be taken down. And if he just so happens to have an Epitaph too, it'd be almost too good to be true.)

Cico contacts us.

Cico: Hey! hey, Yuri! You there?

Yuri: Yeah, I'm here.

Cico: I'll stand by here. If any stragglers come up from behind, I'll take care of 'em.

Yuri: Great. Thanks, Cico.

On the planet, panic is growing.

Spetses Soldier: Lord Cadmus! The intruders are headed this way!

Cadmus: Hmmmmm?! Where's Beleko?! What's the matter with him?!

Spetses Soldier: We haven't been able to reach him, my lord. In all likelihood, he fell to the enemy.

Cadmus: Son of a--! Grus! That fool! That's how he repays me, after Daddy saved his sorry-assed life?!
With Cadmus, it's all 'me, me, me'!

Spetses Soldier: Our forces have been depleted. We can't stand up to them. What do you want to do, my lord.

Cadmus: Hmmmmm... What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I know! I'll run away!
Brave Sir Cadmus, bravely ran away...

We don't meet any resistance at the orbital station, and shuttle down to the surface. There's a Tavern, a Prison and the Fort to visit.

>>Tavern
The tavern is deserted.
Sort of stands to reason.

>>Prison
Guard: Seize them!
The guards attack the party!

Our 1300 crew against 400 guards. We get into a shooting battle, but it really doesn't end well for the guards.

A great number of people are being held captive in the prison.

Torlo: Huh? Do they have a lot of crime here, or what? I bet the property values are really low around here.

Pappas: People are locked up here for their political beliefs or their ideas. Everybody who dares to go against Cadmus is considered to be a criminal.

Ian: Sounds like a real coward and a despot to me, this Cadmus guy.

Pappas: Let's spread out and look around. Miss Lanco might be here somewhere.

Tatiana: All right.

The screen fades and returns.

Yuri: Hey!

In one of the rooms, Yuri finds a blond girl who looks very out of place in this environment.

Yuri: Is your name by any chance Katida Lanco?

Katida: That's right. Who are you?

Yuri: My name is Yuri. I came to get you out of here.

Katida: You did?! I knew it! I knew somebody would come! I knew Grandpa would have me rescued!

Yuri: I'm going to get this door open now. Stand back.

Yuri forces the door.

Yuri: Don't worry. You're safe now. Right this way.

Katida: ...

Nobelo: Oh, Miss Lanco!

Katida: Miss Nobelo?! You came to rescue me, too?

Nobelo: yes! Yes, of course! Oh, thank goodness you're all right! I've been so worried!

Yuri: Are you hurt?

Katida: No, I'm perfectly fine. Your name was "Yuri," right?

Yuri: That's right.

Katida: Thank you. I'll ahve to make sure you get paid handsomely for this. You can take me to see my grandfather now.

Yuri: H-Hey, wait a minute! We still have things we need to do.

Katida: You can take care of them later. I want to go home now. I positively have to take a bath and change out of this dreadful outfit.

Yuri: Look, uh...
Yuri hasn't quite mastered being rude yet.

Nobelo: Miss Lanco, the captain has something very important he needs to do first.
He needs to gut Cadmus like a fish.

Pappas: That's right. Why don't I take you to see your grandfather in my ship?

Katida: No. I want Captain Yuri to take me! Come along now, Yuri. I want to get back as quickly as possible. I'm ever so tired. In fact, could you maybe carry me?

Yuri: Uh, look, I... Ensign Pappas, she's all yours!
Good idea.

Yuri gets out of there before her aura of spoiled bratiness becomes too overwhelming.

Katida: Hey...

Ian: He ran away!

Torlo: That ain't the type o'gal a guy could take a lot of, if ya ask me.

Outside, Yuri stops and catches his breath.

Yuri: Phew. That was scary.

Torlo: Hey, Yuri, my man!

Yuri: Torlo, what happened with Miss Lanco?

Torlo: Ensign Pappas took her in his ship. He said not to worry, and to leave it to him.

Yuri: He did? Oh good. Now we just have to find Cadmus.

Alright, that's one of our two objectives. Now to deal with Cadmus.

>>Fort Cadmus

As soon as the party arrives at the throne room, they're attacked by guards!

Same fight as before, same results.

Inside the fortress, the party finds a large group of attractive women milling about. Cadmus is nowhere to be found.

Torlo: Man, look at this, Yuri! Jackpot! A whole army of beautiful babes.

Pappas: They must have been brought here by the Kreios Pirates as part of the slave trade. Captivating... (coughs) I don't see Cadmus here, though.

Tatiana: Yuri, I asked the women, and they say that Cadmus ran off into the desert to the east!

Yuri: The desert? Why would he go there?

Kira: Well, there are Epitaph ruins in the desert...

Yuri: Epitaph ruins, huh?

Minas: Oh, Yuri! Let's go there at once!

Yuri: Right!

A new destination opens up - the Epitaph Ruins.

>>Epitaph Ruins
Minas: Look!  This looks just like the ruins on Mytilene!

Ian: Yuri, there are fresh footprints here.

Yuri: Cadmus has got to be here, all right.

We explore the ruins and find our good friend, Cadmus, hiding in one of the buildings.

Cadmus: Eek! Get back! Stay away from me!

Torlo: We found him!

Yuri: So you're Cadmus, huh?

Cadmus: Eek! What do you want?! What did I ever do to you?!

Yuri: You murdered Commaner Ioannou, that's what you did! Don't tell me you forgot!

Cadmus: Ioannou? H-He invaded an autonomous dominion! A Security Agency man! Th-That's why I had to do it. He broke the laws of space! What choice did I have?!

Yuri: The laws of space?

There's the sound of a blade being unsheathed.

Cadmus: Eek!

Yuri: What the Grus would a spoiled man who never stepped one foot off his planet, who stayed holed up there doing whatever the Grus he pleased, what would he know about the laws of space?!

Yuri: And now, by the laws of space, I'm going to take you down! That's a plasmic blade on your belt, isn't it? Draw it now!

Cadmus: Eek! No!
That's my murdering sword, I can't possibly wield it in a fair fight!

Yuri: Come on, my friends aren't going to touch you! You're going to answer to me!

Cadmus: but I don't want to fight you! I don't want to! No! No! No! I don't want to, and you can't make me!
That's true. Yuri can't make you draw your sword, but you can't stop him from cutting pieces off of you.

Cadmus: I'll give you anything you want! I'll give you the whole dominion! Just don't hurt me...

Nia: (sighs) I've seen some pathetic men before, but this is ridiculous.

Yuri: ... Damn. Panfilov... Balik... Argun... They might have been some despicable men, but at least they weren't spineless. But you! Why did Commander Ioannou have to die at the hands of somebody like you?! This is all you deserve... This is all a man like you will ever deserve!

Well, beating him to death with your hands instead is also an option.

Cadmus: Aaaaaaaaagh!

Yuri: (panting)

Cadmus: Ow... Ooooow...

The ground shakes.

Yuri: Huh?!

Torlo: What's that?!

Nia: Something big is landing!

The ground shakes again.

Yuri: Agh!

Cadmus: Eek!

More shaking.

Nia: Oh, Grus!

Yuri: Kira! Get back!

Cadmus: Aaaaaaaaagh!

The screen fades and returns.

Yuri: Unh... Is everybody all right?

Torlo: Yup. Kira's okay, too.

Yuri: Good. What about Cadmus?

Nia: He's underneath that rubble. At least he saved us the trouble of havin' to bury him.

Yuri: ...

Valantin: Oh, did I crush that rich little brat, Cadmus? Aw, ain't that a pity?

Yuri: Huh?!

Kira: Yuri! Over there!

Yuri: You!

Yuri: Valantin!

Valantin: Hey, kid! How's life been treatin' ya? Startin' to grow into quite the rugged young lad, ain't ya?

Ian: Damn. I thought the Spetses fleet would keep him busy for a little while longer.

Valantin: Ha ha! I knew about your plan from the get-go, ya know. I was just nice enough to play along with your little kiddie games. So where's my thanks, eh?

Ian: Vexed because you fell for it, huh?

Valantin: Yeah, well, let's see which one of us is gonna be more "vexed."
I'll give Ian credit, he has the balls to taunt Valantin.

Valantin: You want the Epitaph, don't you? Well, there it is, right behind me.

Yuri: Huh?

Minas: Oh! So that's an Epitaph, is it?! I never thought I'd actually get to see one with my own eyes!

Yuri: Grr... All right, fine! I'll fight you for it! Again!

Valantin: Now, hold on, there. Not so fast, kid. I came here to give this to ya.

Yuri: What?!

Valantin: Here ya go.

Valantin slowly picks up the Epitaph behind him and tosses it to Yuri.

Yuri: Huh? Why would you--?

Valantin: Heh heh. And whether or not I let you live depends on what happens right now.

Yuri: ...

Yuri: Aaaaagh!

Valantin: Huh?! Yeah! C'mon, now!

Kira: Yuri! Nooooo!

Yuri: The Epitaph... It's changing...

Valantin: Bingo! This is the one!

Yuri: What? Writing?

Valantin: Ha! Har har har! And that would be the Epitaph's true form! All right, now, chosen one. Tell me what it says! Read the Epitaph, read the inscription on the tombstone of all those who go to space to die!

Yuri: Agh!

Cico watches the beam spear away from the planet.

Cico: What the Grus is that light?

Somehow, the light has engulfed and restored the nearby Dead Gate.

Yuri: Agh!

The screen fades to black.

Yuri: ...

When it fades in again, we see Kira.

Kira: ...

Tatiana: ...

Ian: Wh-What just happened?

Valantin: heh heh heh. You did good, kid. The path is open now.

Yuri: The path?

Valantin: You oughta go check to see what happened to the dead gate floatin' near this planet. Har har har har!

Valantin leaves.

Yuri: Hey! Wait!

Minas: Yuri! Forget about that pirate! Let's go examine the dead gate!

Yuri: But--

Nia: Yuri, I agree with the professor. We oughta go see what just happened, and see what Valantin was talking about.

Yuri: Okay, you're right. Let's go.

[birdy51]

Poor Cadmus... He was just misunderstood!

[Neonivek]

Villains really don't go with dignity in infinite space do they?

[Hanzoku]

Villains really don't go with dignity in infinite space do they?

Not really, no. That's reserved for the good guys.

[Korbac]

Genuinely thought Cadmus would escape and become a recurring villain. Oh well.

[Sirus]

Villains really don't go with dignity in infinite space do they?

Not really, no. That's reserved for the good guys.

Well, maybe if we met a villain who wasn't a total scumbag...

[birdy51]

Villains really don't go with dignity in infinite space do they?

Not really, no. That's reserved for the good guys.

Good, dignified villains are rather hard to create though. They take time to shape, time to evolve and allow people to see behind their curtain. Characters like Cadmus are easy to kill off, because they are blatantly evil misunderstood. Its harder to kill off magnificent bastards because people love them too much. Valantin, if he is a villain and if he does die, will probably take a lot more screen time and is liable to not go down with a fight. Cadmus' death on the other hand, is easy to justify, and sufficiently fuels the audience's bloodlust. That said, I'll miss him. It's not his fault that he became a tyrant.

That said though, I wonder... How many people have been killed under Yuri's watch? It seems like wherever he goes he tends to paint space red and shrapnel. I am really getting worried about the pirate population. He's killing everyone.

[Hanzoku]

oh yes, believe me, with the enhanced encounter rate, Yuri's deathcount is probably over 100,000 now. It's just that 99.9% of them are faceless mooks.

I'll have to calculate number of fights times average number of ships times average crew complement to give a rough figure, but it's epic. And yeah, he tends to kill the leadership of every pirate organization he's come across.

[Sirus]

Yuri does indeed have an impressive bodycount for a JRPG protagonist, but have you looked at the planetary populations lately? Planets having tens of billions of people is far from uncommon, thus averting the cliche of having ten bandits for every villager while simultaneously making Yuri's bloodbath seem like a drop in an ocean.

[Hanzoku]

That's true. I stopped giving planetary populations because even newly colonized worlds will have populations into the hundreds of millions.

Statistics:
Yuri & Co have fought (and won) 794 battles. Let's say that the average number of enemies can probably be placed at 3 per battle - it was 2 per battle in the first few updates, 3 through most of the rest of the updates, and 4 in the last three updates or so.

We'll use an average crew of 350 - most of the ships we've destroyed are destroyers, with the smaller corvettes and larger cruisers balancing each other out.

Granted, this is a lot of assumptions, but as a rough calculation, Yuri and crew have destroyed 2,384 ships, and killed 833,750 people while doing so.

And we're not even half-way through the game, where the second half features 5 ship fleets commonly and mixed battleship/carrier/cruiser groups.

[Hanzoku]

The Fine Line Between Death and Life
New Characters: 
New Ships:
New Equipment:
New Fighters:

Spoiler: Game Over (click to show/hide)

Most of the options on the planet have disappeared, so we leave Spetses behind. Once in orbit, Cico gets in touch.

Cico: Hey, Yuri! What happened out there?! I saw the Corsair, and then this weird-looking light...

Yuri: I don't know exactly. That's what we're going to the dead gate to find out!

Pappas: Huh? What's going on, Yuri?

Yuri: I'll explain later. Ensign Pappas, take care of Katida Lanco for me, will you?

Pappas: Okay, sure thing.

Cico: Hey, hold up there a minute, Yuri! I'm comin' with ya!

On the map, the dead gate is indicated by a new ? ? ? area, so we head there.

Cico: Yuri! Look at the dead gate!

Yuri: Is it... reactivated?

Sure looks that way.

Kira: And look there, in front of the gate. There's the Corsair.

Yuri: What, were you waiting for us, Valantin?

Valantin: Har har har! Do you read me, kid?! A newly-opened gate! Where it leads, nobody knows! Think ya got the guts to come after me?!

With that, Valantin backs through the gate.

Torlo: Hey! He went through the gate!

Yuri: Damn.

Nia: What are ya gonna do, Yuri? Just like he said, nobody knows where that gate goes. It could lead to a black hole, and then we'd all be done for.

Yuri: (What do I do?!)

We're given a choice, but not really. If we don't go first, Cico does and we follow him. Showing decisiveness at least nets us leadership bonuses.

>>Go through the gate.
Yuri: Valantin went through the gate. Valantin's a pretty clever guy. If he thinks it's safe to go through, then it probably is.

Nia: Sounds like a good argument to me. Ready to take the plunge?

Yuri: Let's do it!

Yuri's Leadership experience increased by 30!

Yuri: Adjust the bearing angle for the gate! We're going in!

We plunge through the gate into the unknown.

It's a hell of an unknown.

I hope we're in a nebula, because reality isn't meant to be technicolored and spinning randomly.

Ian: What in the universe is this place?

Torlo: It sure is creepy. It doesn't look like a black hole, though.

Kira: What do you think, Yuri?

Yuri: I don't know, but don't worry. The ship seems fine. We're gonna be okay.

The comm beeps.

Cico: hey, Yuri. You read me?

Yuri: Yeah, loud and clear, Cico. Do you have any idea where we are?

Cico: Nope, not a clue. My chart and navigation functions aren't working, either/

Yuri: Chart functions? Is that true, Kira?

Kira: ... Oh, he's right. I'm not getting any positional coordinates at all. Huh?!

Our gate back is dissolving. What the GRUS?!

Ian: The gate! It's gone!

Yuri: What's going on?!

Tatiana: Ngh...

Torlo: Tats! What's wrong?!

Tatiana: I... I don't know. My head feels funny all of a sudden.

Ian: Yes, now that you mention it, I've been feeling odd, too.

Yuri: What is going on here?

You're given a choice of three people to ask - Ian, Nia or Minas. Only one gives a leadership bonus, and that's a fairly logical choice.

>>Ask Gavriil Minas.
Yuri's Leadership experience increased by 30!

Minas: Hm... Yes. Fluctuation sectors like these have been known to exist. They have only been observed from the outside, though, of course.

Yuri: Fluctuation sectors/ What are those?

Minas: Sectors in which all phenomena continuously diffuse and converge in irregular patterns, forever oscillating. Scholars call such sectors "phenomena fluctuation sectors," or "the Flux."
Sounds like the warp from Warhammer 40k. Hopefully, nothing ugly will burst out of Ian now.

Nia: "The Flux"?!

Kira: Have you heard of these sectors, Nia?

Nia: I've only heard rumors from other space-farers, but they made 'em sound like pretty dangerous places.

Yuri: Dangerous in what way?
Well, our route home just dissolved, for one example.

Nia: Just like Professor Minas said, everything in a sector like this, even life forms like us, it all fluctuates. That means that if we stay here, our very existence will go all topsy-turvy, and before we know it...

Minas: Approaching nothingness, it will scatter and become last within this sector. In other words, we're going to b e null and void.

Torlo: S-So you mean we're gonna die?!

Minas: No, it has nothing to do with death. It will be as if we never existing in the universe at all.

Torlo: B-But...

Ian: Never existed?! I mean, I'm not afraid to die, but for it to be as if I had never existed at all... That's... That's simply...!
Dying's not really a good option either, Ian.

Tatiana: Ian's right! It's just too awful for words! Professor, Nia, isn't there anything we can do?!

Minas: Hm...

Nia: ...

Yuri: (What should I do?!)

I hope you saved before coming in here! You're given three options. Two kill you, one saves you.

>>Look for a way out. / Keep going straight ahead.
Yuri: Well, we have to do something! Let's get moving. If we keep going straight ahead, we should make it through to the other side of this sector eventually.

We travel from empty sector to empty sector...

Torlo: Grus. Just the same old scenery. It don't matter how far we go!

Yuri: Let's just keep going. There's got to be a way out somewhere!

... to another empty sector.

Yuri: Kira, do you see anything?

Kira: No, there's nothing new at all.

Tatiana: Yuri, my head is starting to feel really fuzzy.

Ian: Y-Yes, mine too.

Torlo: Are we really just gonna disappear, man? Just like that?

Yuri: Damn.

...losing our way in this formless, shifting nothingness.

Kira: Yuri, I don't think I...

Yuri: Damn. My head feels weird now, too. Is everybody okay?

No.

Yuri: Huh?! Hey...!

Kira: Y-Yuri...

Our friends, all gone...

Yuri: Kira?! Grus! No...

And then so are we.

It's a somewhat pretty way to die, but it's still death.

The very existence of the party members waves and vacillates, ultimately scattering and becoming lost throughout the sector. The universe continues on as before, as if nothing had happened....

Game Over.

Spoiler: Salvation (click to show/hide)

Let's try to avoid dissolving into our component atoms.

>>Look for Valantin.
We followed him in, maybe he can lead us out.

Yuri: Okay, I say we look for Valantin. I bet he knows a way out of this sector.

Nia: I bet you're right. Kira, can you track the Corsair's path?

Kira: I can detect the inflatons it left behind, so, yes, I think I can.

We follow the trail left for us, racing against time.

Torlo: Damn! Where's that Corsair?

Kira: Its trail continues on from here.

We doggedly follow Valantin, hoping to catch up.

Yuri: Kira, any sign of the Corsair yet?

Kira: Its trail is getting clearer. I think it must be nearby.

Tatiana: Yuri, my head is starting to feel really fuzzy.

Ian: Y-Yes, me, too.

Torlo: Are we really gonna disappear?

Yuri: Damn it...

We rush to find that ship before the end is upon us.

Success! But no gate nearby.

Yuri: There he is! Kira, open up a line!

Kira: Roger.

Valantin: heh heh heh... Feelin' a little panicky, there, kid? Looks like you're catchin' on to just what kind of place the Flux really is!

Yuri: But if you stay here, you're going to disappear, too What are you going to do?!

Valantin: Wouldn't do ya any good if I told ya. It's not like you could copy me! Har har!

Yuri: Grr.

Valantin: Well, kid, I gotta run, but lemee leave ya with a little piece of advice. Whether ya get outta here or not depends on what's in your heart.

Yuri: My heart? What do you mean by that?!

Valantin: You figure it out. Har har har! So, are ya just gonna disappear, not even turn into dark matter, or are ya gonna --

Kira: Yuri, look! The Corsair!

Yuri: What is it doing?!

Holy Grus, it's forming a void gate.

the Corsair backs through the gate, and it snaps closed behind it.

Yuri: No way! It warped all on its own, without even using a void gate?! Did you see that, Nia?! Nia...?

Kira: Yuri, what's happening to everybody?!

Yuri: Nia! Torlo! Ian! Tatiana...

Kira: Yuri... This is really freaky!

Have we come this far, only to fail anyway?

Yuri: Kira?! Kira! Nooooo! We're disappearing?! This can't be happening! Nobody will even know that we ever existed?! No... No...

Yuri: NOOOOOOOOO!

The screen fades to white, then to black.

The Flux whirls faster and faster, our ship at the center as the light grows stronger.

The light compressed into a shockwave that fills the screen with white light.

The screen fades to white, then to black, then to white again.

We're alive. Against all odds and logic, we're alive and back in normal space.

??: Yuri. Wake up, Yuri.

Yuri: Unh...

Tatiana: There! You're finally awake!

Torlo: Ha ha! Kira's asleep too. Do you two have to do everything together?!

Tatiana: I know you're tired, Kira, but your shift's not over yet, you know.

Kira: Huh...?

Yuri: Where are we?

Torlo: According to the chart, this is the Irvest Sector. Who knew there was a gate here from Spetses, eh?

Yuri: The Irvest Sector?

Nia: Yup. It was just discovered recently. The charts on it aren't even complete yet, from the looks of it. There's supposed to be lots of inhabitable planets in this sector too. Kalymnos and Nova Nacio are racing each other to check out the area.

Yuri: ...

Ian: What's the matter, Yuri? Don't you feel well?

Yuri: I, uh... I... guess I'd better set a course.

What the Grus just happened? Everyone is fine, but noone is talking about the Flux sector. There's a new sector that we've never heard about, but that's been there for a while now apparently. Everyone but us knows it existed.

None of this makes any sense.

And that closes Chapter 5. We've now met both Nova Nacio and Kalymnos, we overthrew another independent dominion, and we nearly got dissolved into our component atoms. And trust me, the ride doesn't stop here!

During the next chapter, you'll get to vote in a poll - do you like Kalymnos better, or Nova Nacio better? This is an important decision, as it determines crew members, ships and modules that will be available to us.

Kalymnos gives us the following:

Ships: Ianthe-class Battleship (an upgrade we would use), Thalia-class Battleship (a terrible ship we won't use.), Eudora 2-class Cruiser (an upgrade that we would use).

And later, the Adrasteia-class Battleship (a hybrid battleship/carrier, and a likely upgrade over similiar ships.)

Modules: Elgava Bridge Lv 5, Second Bridge Lv 3, Nav Bridge Lv 6, Hold Lv 3, Reference Room Lv 1, Security Room Lv 3, Deflector Lv 3, Shield Frame Lv 2, Shield Generator Lv 3

People: three skill-less characters, one ace helmsman Lv 1, one AA Genius Lv 2 (whoo)

Nova Nacio gives us the following:

Ships: Necesa-class BB (Correction, the Thalia is a bad design we wouldn't use, this is a terrible design we wouldn't use.), Gromki-class Cruiser (This makes the Necesa look good. fixed armament, weaker in every aspect versus the Eudora-class we currently use, no fighter capability.)

Later, we would get access to the Paradizo-class Carrier (an excellent fleet carrier design.)

We would also  gain access to two fighter designs, the Majesto and Komandi.

Modules: Nova Nacio Bridge Lv 2, Nav Bridge Lv 4, Nav 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, Deflector Lv 4, Mess Hall Lv 2

People: Machine Geek Lv 1, Ace Helsman Lv 2, Cool and Calm Lv 1, and later Ace Pilot Lv 3.

In summary, Kalymnos gives better warships and direct combat modules, while Nova Nacio has better people, general use modules, fighter hangers and an excellent though not irreplaceable carrier down the line.

Spoiler: Katida's Fate (click to show/hide)

In addition, who we make friends with decides the fate of Katida Lanco. If we go with Nova Nacio, she'll have an okay life. If we go with Kalymnos, she has a terrible life and we deal with the consequences.

[Sirus]

Dude, spoilers 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Although if I remember my old cheat sheet properly Katida's fate is determined by way more than just which nation you like better. I never did get her on my crew...

And damn, I forgot just how creepy the Flux was. Retroactively erasing your very existence...I get the chills just thinking about it.