Description
You are transferred to the Excalibre battlegroup in the Sirius system, which is currently patroling new jump nodes. One of these (Sirius - Betelgeuse) is at the edge of an asteroid belt. Your first task will be to escort the GTC Intrepid to the node. HOL have been spotted in the belt in recent weeks, be prepared for possible intercept.

Storyline:
This mission is well-set against the background of the GTA after the loss of Sol. The Excalibre battle group is working to retake systems lost to the Shivians, and you are assigned the task of catching up to and escorting the GTC Intrepid. The GTC Intrepid was used in the Great War campaign as McCarthy's source of stolen weapon prototypes and protector of the Antares-Vasuda Prime node, so it's reappearance in this mission is reassuring. This mission does a great job of setting up the background and reasons why the GTA would send a capital ship thorugh an asteroid field while there is a potential threat. The result is a believable and enjoyable "escort the capital ship through the asteroid field" mission. The ending even provides a little additional drama for the very brave. The sane will choose to retreat and fight another day.

Perhaps my only complaint is about the harshness of the debriefing when you fail. If every pilot who failed was grounded or had their flight status revoked, the GTA would soon find itself out of pilots. Another minor error is that the debriefing will be inconsitent in the event of failure, which is possible in this mission.

Balance:
Alpha Wing will pilot Valkyries armed with a decent selection of weapons and missiles. You won't journey into this battle underarmed, but you can only count on one other wing to help protect the GTC Intrepid. The biggest challenge in this battle is intercepting the asteroids, which fly through space at extremely high speeds. The hostile fighters and bombers arrive in reasonable numbers and provide a great challenge on top of the asteroids. Top guns will be interested in the final challenge, but only Aces will be looking for the chance to take on the main Hammer of Light force in the area.

Design:
There are a few well-done sounds which highlight the key parts of this mission and tell you what's happening around you. The events in this mission aren't complex, but do an effective job for the directives and the in-flight messages.

Ship placement and timing is done very well. Ships arrive at reasonable times, positions, and time delays. Best of all, this mission avoid the easily-used "when-ship-destroyed" for the second wave. This allows you to be overwhelmed by Hammer fighters if you're hesitant to shoot them down, but provides enough time for a good pilot to take down the first fighter wave. Perhaps the only complaint with object placement would be the extremely high speeds of the asteroids, but this does contribute to the gameplay. One great part of this mission is the angle of the GTD Excalibre as it drops off Alpha Wing and warps out at the beginning of the mission. Very nicely done.

One minor error I noticed in the briefing was the "Possible HOL Cruiser" icon which had a PVF Anubis Ship Type. Also, any of the Terran fleet ANIs would have spiced up the Command Breifing. Overall, the design in this mission is good and solid.

Gameplay:
This is a fun and fast-paced mission, which provides a few different challenges. Using your wingmen is important to a sucessful mission, as is paying attention to the status of the GTC Intrepid as it travels towards the Jump Node. The competing demands of intercepting asteroids and destroying enemy fighters must be balanced by Alpha as Wing Leader. The sounds are very nicely done and the atmosphere is just right. Best of all, I can easily see myself trying this again just for the action alone.

Other Thoughts:
This mission isn't perfect, as it is still a basic design.