Ambush Sovereign Force:
“Sovereign’s already trying to strike back, it seems. Headed for some comms post out near the borders of what we call The Drift.”
“I think I can call on someone to have it cleared out so we can set up an ambush. Given the size of the force, I’m not sure what they have planned, but if we bring them down, we could get a better picture of what they’re up to, not to mention throwing them into disarray.”
6 Elite Guards, 2 Commanders, 4 Close Combat Specialists
Reward: 4 Favor. Fewer infantry will appear in the battle at the Research Station. There may be other effects.
Importance: Moderate (1-4 Heat)
Sabotage Sovereign Mechanized Units:
“Some of what Sovereign's been doing is taking machinery from other parts of the Drift to make their own war machines. Seems like there’s more people supporting them than we first thought. Not the most pleasant thought. But there is a bright side.”
“Does blowing up robots count as a bright side?”
“It’ll mean Sovereign will have less hardware to work with. Plus, with Oxide on board, there might be something more we can do to muck up their plans.”
2 Light Mechs, 4 Heavy Combat Robots, 2 Drone Ops
Reward: 6 Favor. In future battles, robots. drones, and mechs will be weaker, fewer, and may suffer malfunctions or other negative effects. There may be other effects.
Importance: High (1-6)
Collect Decoy Vessels:
“Looks like there’s another small fleet setting out soon. Plenty of smaller vessels, which shouldn’t be too hard to knock over. Plus, I think we can use this when it comes time to hit the station...”
“Ooh, hijacking? Damn, wish I could come with, that’s always fun.”
“You’ll get your time soon enough.”
4 Elite Guard, 1 Commander, 2 Medium Combat Robots
Reward: 2 Favor. Battle fewer enemies overall when attacking the Sovereign Research Station. Can be combined with certain other effects.
Importance: Low (1-2)
Disrupt Sovereign Communications:
“This how they’re keeping in touch with whoever’s supporting them?”
“That’s right. It’s rather brute-force to destroy their equipment, but since they’re helping coordinate the supply lines of their little operation, sabotaging that should help scramble things up.”
“Making it all the easier for us to swoop in and attack.”
2 Heavy Gunners, 2 Heavy Security Turrets, 2 Close Combat Specialists
Reward: Reduce Heat by a significant amount and slightly weaken all enemies during the attack on the Sovereign Research Station. There may be other effects.
Importance: High (1-6)
Attack the Sovereign Research Station:
“Uh... you don’t mean, like, right now, right?”
“We’ll mostly be relying on surprise and what little intel we have, but I think we’ve got enough that we could destroy that Trespasser they’re harboring. The data we took from the Phlogiston has shown us where the most volatile sections of the station are, as well as what failsafes are being used. If those can be sufficiently compromised...”
“I... Damn, Lyra, that’s starting to sound a lot like an actual plan. Wasn’t expecting that.”
Lyra just shrugs. “I’ll be sure to call in all my favors to give us as much of an edge beforehand. Plus, we’ll be coming along too.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yes, really.” Lyra pinches the bridge of her nose as she thinks. “We’d have more to work with if we did some more missions, but that’ll give our enemy more time to prepare, too, and that could make things even harder.
A vote for this needs to be unanimous, though.I don’t want to do this unless we’re all ready for it...”
Security:
Stage 1: 4 Close Combat Specialists, 2 Heavy Turrets, 1 Heavy Combat Mech
Stage 2: 6 Elite Guards, 3 Heavy Turrets, 2 Light Combat Mechs, 2 Close Combat Specialists, 1 Project MG-004 “Meerkat” Combat Robot
Stage 3:
Reward: Mission Completion