Description
Help defend the GTC Calastay from a Shivan attack. The cargo on the Calastay is vital and must reach earth.

Storyline:
The GTC Calastay is carrying very important information that impacts the survival of the Terran and Vasudan species alike. GTI thinks the Shivans are planning a massive strike on Earth...gee, who'd have thought? Since there is no indication of the when this mission takes place in relation to the Great War campaign, the poor Calastay might be too late, since the jump node between Sol and Delta Serpentis could be gone.

Balance:
You won't get a very impressive selection, but it's better than nothing. You can choose any ship you want, along with any primary weapon, but you may want to stick with your default of dual Avengers and Hornets since poor Beta wing is stuck with armaments comparable to water guns (ML-16s) and spit balls (MX-50s). <p> The Calastay gets eight Ulysess fighters to escort it to the jump node, which isn't so bad (Provided you give Beta wing some REAL weapons). The Shivans on the other hand get eight Dragons and a wing of Shaitan bombers. On higher difficulty settings this situation can get sticky.

Design:
Design isn't bad, as much as it's just sloppy. For starters, there are no events. None. Events are a crucial part to any mission, I can't stress that enough. A mission without events is like a car without an engine - It's not going to go anywhere and no one wants it. <p> Also, the GTC Calastay and the Shivan cruiser are placed facing away from each other. Since the enemy cruiser is near the jump node, the Calastay is facing AWAY from it's destination. Despite the fact that it's a Fenris cruiser, it still takes a good amount of time turning itself around. If you aren't careful, the poor Calastay is instant bomber bait. <p> Additionally, all the ships are placed on the same plane and both Ulysess wings are selected as player starts while the mission itself is marked as single player. To top it off, both Alpha and Beta wings are snuggled right up against the Calastay, so you can expect a few dents in your hull. These are silly mistakes that can be fixed easily to help the rating big time.

Gameplay:
It's fun, it's fast, but tune down that skill level because it becomes too hard. The Dragons become way too difficult to deal with on anything above medium. Their target profiles are too small and they're way too fast. So while your chasing down one of those Dragons, the enemy bombers are turning the Calastay into swiss cheese and your wingmen are getting spanked something terrible by the other Shivans. Keep an eye on the Calastay's hull indicator, because it'll go down fast if you can't get rid of those Dragons quickly. All in all, novice pilots should pass this mission up until later.

Other Thoughts:
A rather decent briefing. Again, on medium skill it gets a little difficult, but above that it really turns into death march.