Description
Several months after Capella, pirate groups are taking advantage of the severely weakened GTVA military to raid commerce. Desperate for a solution, GTVA Research & Development employs a radical new tactic to attempt to ease the problem of increased piracy throughout GTVA space.

Storyline:
In an original premise to a mission, the player is a pilot for the GTVA Research and Development, (known as the "mad scientists,") which is a refreshing change from all the S.O.C. missions I've been playing. The mission involves a new GTVA convoy strategy, outfitting convoy craft with heavy weaponry, in hopes of deterring pirate activity that has become rampant since the end of the second Shivan war. The nice lengthy command briefing sets up a storyline that I could really get into, should this mission become part of a campaign in the future, because it focuses on several possible directions that the campaign could go. In addition, there is some excellent pilot chatter about the pirate groups in the area. My one complaint with the storyline is the debriefing, which I found to be succinct and fragmented.

Balance:
Although this is a difficult mission, I give it high marks for balance because of the player's ability to control how difficult the mission is. When enemy fighters arrive to soften up the convoy, a pilot can either break and attack immediately, and take significant damage from the attackers superior numbers, or wait, and draw the attackers near the Q-ships, receiving welcome aid from the powerful anti-fighter weapons the Q-ships possess. The same is true in the second attack on the convoy. It is a tough mission, but with a little strategy, it is very doable.

Design:
The author was certainly thorough in the design of this mission, providing under-attack and death messages for every ship in the convoy. While this makes for a long list of events, it lends itself nicely to the gameplay. Another example of the author's thoroughness in design is the waypoints used for the Q-ships attacking the Privateer, instead of ai-chase goals. This allowed all the Q-ships to bring their weapons to bear, (and stay near the convoy.) It would have been nice to see some repeating events to direct the beam weapon fire though. The only other notable design flaw is the lull in the mission between the first and second attacks. If the player cleans the first attack quickly, there is a long delay before the Privateer arrives.

Gameplay:
Although the Q-ships are a formidable escort, they will not survive or protect the convoy adequately without the assistance of the fighter escort. They will also fall before the firepower of the Privateer without the assistance of Alpha one and two. The mission boasts intense dogfighting and the excitement of making bombing runs in a more nimble Myrmidon fighter. The storyline adds to the player's involvement in the mission. It is a generally fun mission to play.

Other Thoughts:
I wonder how the Vega Syndicate would fare against Whitehall and her Bloodhawks... =)