Description
It is an exercise in which a wing of Medusas, covered by a wing of Valkyries, must take out a Leviathan cruiser. The cruiser is guarded by two wings of Hercs.

Storyline:
Although it's not always clear in the mission briefing, this mission recreates a Terran training exercise with "simulated" damage instead of live ammunition. Instead of destroying your opponent, they will be deactivated. This seems like a plausible Terran military operation, and explanations are even offered for the inconsistencies with what happens in the display screen.

Balance:
The Medusas and Valkyries are a reasonable match for the Hercules wings, but the Leviathan could contribute a little more fire in its own defense. Personally, I would have increased the ship AI from "Lieutenant" to "Major" for a more interesting and challenging battle. <p> Ship selection is limited, but reasonable given the training exercise to destroy the Leviathan cruiser. Weapon selection is adequate, giving a few Tsunami, Hornets, and Synaptic bombs.

Design:
I didn't believe the mission briefing that this was a training exercise and that ships would be "disabled" rather than destroyed. I was wrong: when shields are penetrated and some damage is done to the defenders, then each ship will become disabled, non-targetable, and invulnerable! This sexp event was extremely creative and, frankly, I am suprised that it could be done. Kudos! <p> Ship placement and timing could have been better, though, as Beta conducts acrobatics as it warps in and the defending Hercules don't arrive until a few seconds into the mission. Not only did this seem strange, it forced each side to "form up" before the battle in a manner inconsistent with the briefing. Distance is great for Alpha, however, the 2000 meters is just enough time to choose your heavy bombs and begin to acquire a missile lock. It doesn't take much time at all to get into the thick of the mission.

Gameplay:
The mission was interesting, but not difficult by any measure. This was probably because the AI was turned down to "Lieutenant," since I found the mission much more balanced and fun with the "Major" AI setting. <p> Having the "disabled" ships clutter the battlefield was enjoyable and certainly a different twist. They also served as good cover from the Leviathan's cannons. It was also fun to take out the slow-turning Hercs in a bomber, which just re-emphasized that flying a Hercules isn't too far removed from flying a bomber. <p> Overall, I enjoyed myself immensely when I found that the ships were really programmed to be "disabled" instead of destroyed. Just out of curiousity, I'm going to play this one through a few more times to see if it's possible to "break" the sexp and "accidentally" kill my fellow Terran trainees. :) Although you wouldn't call it "friendly fire."

Other Thoughts:
This is why I decided to do mission reviews: to find gems that would have never otherwise be played. If you passed over this one because it was an "exercise" mission, take another look at this one!