The Last Hurrah

Mission:	The Last Hurrah
Location:	Mayasura System
Date:	82.10.22
Many cycles ago, the Mayasura System was among the greatest and richest independent polities of the Sector. A center of culture and wealth, it stood as a wall against the spread of Hegemony influence both in the fact of its mighty fleets and as symbol of an independent path for future history to follow. The crown of the Mayasura system was the triad of vast arcology-stations hanging above the world of Mairaath. Combined they housed tens of millions and formed the keystone of the terraforming project which transformed Mairaath into a paradise-world of fantastical transgenic re-imaginings of old-Earth biomes amidst bountiful fractal plains of robot-tended agriculture. A fanatical sect of the Luddic Path pledged itself to destroy this great false idol. They organized a decades-long operation of subtle infiltration and sabotage. On the chosen day, at the chosen hour, one station was rammed by an enormous Prometheus-class fuel carrier while, at the same, every safety system simultaneously engaged itself in an infinite reboot cycle. This station was cast from orbit on a bleeding tail of fusion fire crackling with radioactive dust. One station was pushed by its own thrusters, slowly at first, but faster and faster and with gravity's dread inevitability it crashed to the surface of Mairaath. Lines of great destruction were scored upon the face of the world, mushrooming into cloud-banks of ash as firestorms raged and the carefully nurtured weather systems spasmed into extreme failure states from terraformers' nightmares. The destruction attempt carried out upon the final station was a victim of its own chaos. This station remained in orbit, wounded and bleeding air, debris, and bodies out among the sparkling shredded membranes of solar mirrors. Impotent, the bulk of the Mayasurian fleet stood vigil in orbit around the planet able to offer only token help to the dying population but unwilling to leave. When the Hegemony task force appears on the outskirts of the system, the fleet commander knows what they came to do and moves to block their path, determined to fight to the last. The experienced Commodore Jensulte in command of the Hegemony detachment is not about to take any chances and begins a methodical advance to erase the symbol of Mayasura alongside the fact. Your captains know what it is to lose everything and can be trusted to carry out your orders in the face of overwhelming odds.
Tactical Briefing
- Defeat all enemy forces - MSS Garuda must survive - Maintain tactical awareness and use superior mobility to choose your battles. - Remember: If you engage the enemy flagship in a fair fight, you will lose.
Your Flagship
Name:	MSS Garuda
Type:	Conquest-class

Order of Battle
Attacking	1x Conquest 1x Eagle 2x Falcon 2x Heron 1x Hammerhead 1x Sunder 1x Gemini 3x Vigilance	Attacking	1x Onslaught 2x Dominator 4x Mora 2x Condor 3x Enforcer 1x Hound 4x Lasher 2x Warthog 3x Broadsword 4x Khopesh 6x Talon 1x Gladius
Mayasuran navy with heavy fighter complement		Hegemony fleet under Commodore Jensulte

Tactics

Notorious for being one of the most difficult menu missions, "The Last Hurrah" is probably that one has the most to teach you. You cannot simply rely on fleet management, or having a good refit for your ships, or better ship micro, all of these things need to come together. Jensulte's fleet is full of strike craft and going PD heavy is 100% a strategy because your two herons are simply outmatched by 4 Moras; His capital is much, much stronger than yours and will absolutely smoke the MSS Garuda given the chance AND your fleet as a whole is simply outnumbered and outgunned. What it is not however, is outmaneuvered. Maximize the strengths of your Midline-dominated ships and minimize the strengths of Jensulte's Low-Tech ships. The quasi-entirety of Jensulte's fleet is slow, lumbering and heavily armed, whereas your fleet is fragile, fast and adequately armed. Focus on the Onslaught's escorts (ESPECIALLY his godforsaken Moras), ORDER your ships to avoid him, pincer them and focus fire his minions, then go for him.

The first thing to do is to go to the refit screen and replace Garuda's loadout. One suggested option is Hellbore Cannons and Hypervelocity Drivers. Because the opposing Hegemony ships are all low-tech, high-explosive damage should be prioritized over kinetics.

At the start of the level, capture some of the buoys and send your forces out to help hold them. Advance with the Garuda to the center of the map and engage targets at will; the Conquest's guns will make quick work of anything smaller than itself. Bear in mind that your allied ships have the "fearless" trait, and will annoyingly disregard their own safety while attacking the enemy; it's best to take advantage of this by being aggressive yourself and catching the enemy in pincer maneuvers.

When the Onslaught appears, make sure you're not standing in front of it at any time; try to get it at an angle where it can't use its Thermal Pulse Cannons on you and you can force it on to the defensive with long-ranged fire. If you can get behind it, so much the better. Maneuvering Jets is invaluable here. Bear in mind that especially with the Conquest's terrible shield efficiency, trying to shield against both the Mark IX Autocannons and the Annihilator Rocket Pods will have disastrous results.