Introduction
I was stunned when they told me about Kiko. I was convinced…convinced…that she had been silenced by the evil Council overlords for being a bastion of moral fortitude preventing the wholesale corruption of the Navy.
Perhaps I remembered a different woman than the one she became.
But then again…I keep forgetting that she would’ve bombed Grove if I hadn’t stopped her.
What else had she done…in my absence?-The Memoirs of “Gentleman” Jack Cartwright
25 September, WY603 – Solace
Halsey goes on to say that “considering our entire civilization is in shambles, if you turn around and burn away and dive as soon as you’re able, we can forget this.” After some further delays, she mentions that this is a “no witnesses” facility and she’s trying to grant some leniency to the crew by letting them leave. The crew discusses their options and continues to delay.
Meanwhile, Angelica conducts detailed scans of Dauntless and the SPC, a WDF Casper. Casper has had its drive cone removed and exhibits no way of providing propulsion.
Finally, the confrontation comes to a head. Aiden asks why Dauntless has been pursuing the crew for over a year. Halsey explains, quite heatedly, that Aiden’s obsession with the artifacts led him to Grove, but not fast enough to keep Jericho from stealing them. For a time Halsey thought the crew had the artifacts, and when it was clear they didn’t, the search was called off. She finally presents an ultimatum to the crew to leave as Dauntless enters torpedo range.
The crew chooses to attack. A torpedo volley between the ships does minor damage to Salvage, but the crew uses her superior speed to close to point-blank range with Dauntless. At the same time, Casper accelerates and maneuvers in ways that should be physically impossible, emitting gravity waves indicating they have some ability to manipulate gravity to maneuver.
Salvage fires a point-blank shot from the mass-driver that devastates Dauntless’ drive cones, taking considerable damage to the ship’s armor in return. In a second exchange they manage to hit Dauntless’ reactor, causing the ship to explode. The crew immediately turn their attention to Casper, whose ability to maneuver in unexpected and physically-implausible ways makes targeting extremely difficult. Casper does some damage to Salvage, including disabling the mass driver, before the crew manages to disable her. When ordered to surrender, the ship self-destructs.
From orbit, the crew observes the BioGen facility on the surface of Solace. There are several buildings, including a lab and habitation modules, as well as a large hangar where a ship the size of Casper could be worked on. The entire facility appears very well-defended by anti-air batteries.
The crew marshal their marines and prepare a landing.
