Mission 15

Mission 15 takes place on June 24, 2161 and is part of the Frontier Operations campaign.

Briefing
"OK, listen up.

Our long-range scanners have been picking up traces of Coalition ion trails in this sector for over two days now. Captain Foster wants a general sweep of these four Nav points, so see what you can dig up. If you come across anything, report back to the Reliant and we will take it from there.

Time to lock and load, people."

Recommended loadout

 * Pick a fighter with Blind Fire and stock up on fast-locking missiles. You'll be facing a broad variety of enemy units across the mission, including having to cripple two Coalition cruisers for an attack later on in the mission.

Walkthrough

 * Standard launch. Jump out to the first navigation point. Bandit will point out that the silence is too fishy. Diceman will remark about fluctuations in the lower ion frequencies and soon, you'll be greeted with nine Basilisks to fight. There's no time limit here, so preserve your missiles and take them out with primary weapons. Once the Basilisks are mopped up, the Coalition will follow up with a Saber wing of six Black Eagles. Only once they are gone does Alpha regain communications capability and contacts the Reliant.
 * The ion trails were a ruse to draw fighter cover away from the Reliant. As the squadron fought off the Basilisk and Sabers, a Coalition carrier group attacked the Reliant, destroying its jump drives and shields. Rather than draw his pilots in for a hopeless fight, Captain Foster orders them to rendezvous with the ANS Victorious instead and join up with the evacuated crew of the carrier. Jump out and link up with the convoy. Shortly after your arrival, Commander Enriquez will arrive - followed by a wing of five Basilisk fighters and two Coalition Kamov bombers that proceed to attack the Alliance convoy. The bombers launch their torpedoes immediately after jumping in, so you're on a time limit. Your primary goal here is to take out the torpedoes. All other considerations are secondary. You can afford to lose three Alliance vessels and complete the mission with full honors, so don't reload the moment a torpedo hits. Keep calm and take them out one by one. You will still need to protect the convoy from another round of torpedoes after getting the first wave down. The attack is followed by another wave of two Kamovs and three Basilisk, before culminating in a last-ditch Golden Warriors attack with a wing of four Azans.
 * Once the attack is beaten off, you'll be treated to a cutscene wherein Captain Foster reports that the battle against the carrier group, led by CS Volga, has gone poorly. In a daring last stand, the Captain rams the entire carrier into the Volga, destroying the Coalition flagship and crippling the offensive. However, two Coalition cruisers are still pursuing the retreating group.
 * You jump out to the ANS Yamato, which engages in a running battle with the CS Kiev and CS Yevstafiy to protect the Victorious. First, you're ordered to destroy the engine and shield generator on the Kiev to render it vulnerable to Yamato's torpedo strike, then to follow up with the strike on the Yevstafiy. Use afterburner to get to the second carrier immediately after wiping out the subsystems on the Kiev, to save time. Then, land on the Yamato, your new base of operations.

Outcomes

 * Success+: Less than four convoy ships lost, Kiev and Yevstafiy destroyed.
 * Success: Less than four convoy ships lost, either Kiev or Yevstafiy destroyed.
 * Partial success: Four to six convoy ships lost, Kiev and Yevstafiy destroyed.
 * Partial fail: Four to six convoy ships lost, either Kiev or Yevstafiy destroyed.
 * Fail: Over six convoy ships lost.