Description
Escort the Terran-Vasudan Convoy A-395 through a possibly Shivan infested area near a jump node.

Storyline:
The thoughtful briefing tells a story about a basic Terran-Vasudan Convoy that must be escorted, despite the possibility of Shivan attackers. Through a nice big twist in the mission, the storyline gets better. However, towards the middle of the mission things seem to die down in terms of messages.

Balance:
The enemy defense wings die off very quickly, soon only leaving the corvette they were defending alone. I guess this is okay though, since your wingmen also drop like flies due to the beam cannons. This is not to say, though, that you're on-your-own for most of the mission. But, you will take a backseat to the duel between the cruiser and the corvette at the end.

Design:
While not really noticable during the game, the design in FRED2 is a bit inefficient. The author could have used the new send-message-list to cut down on the number of events. At the same time, more enemy wings would have been nice. The designer could have also bumped up the intelligence of the good guys a notch (it is set on the default "Captain" AI). Also, don't forget that when assigning AI orders, that if two orders have the same priority level, neither will be completed. This is what happens to the enemies in this mission which ultimately spares their would-be targets.

Gameplay:
I really like the fun twist in the mission, the dialogue is good (what exists of it), and how the briefing gives you a false impression of what will happen. It's one of those missions where you go in expecting one thing, only to have something completely different happen. Pretty cool.

Other Thoughts:
It is remarkable how wicked beam cannons look when they are charging up, huh? You'll get a great screen shot opportunity in this mission.