White Star #21

Match 31 began with an unsuccessful Operation Delta Storm. Darrow quickly took down a Cerberus bomber near our gate and then jumped back out for a module change. Tricky raced out to stake territory at the 10 sector before the enemy could, followed by most of the other ships. Stu decided to take a different route and attempt to sneak around. Stu and Darrow were this match’s hunters, looking for support kills. Tricky managed to secure a foothold in an ideal sector, but soon found the entire enemy team pushing towards him. He deployed a barrier to lock up their team, and it was working well until one ship, Shai, with his level 9 bond, disrupted it. Shai was able to grab Tricky through his level 9 barrier and started dragging him towards a large group of Cerberus ships. Worse still, Tricky’s barrier moved with him, making it impossible to hold off the enemy army for much longer.

Their flagship launched cataclysm, so Tricky not only had to fend off enemy ships but also a hail of missiles. Just then, Falkio arrived and deployed another barrier to save the day, holding everyone off a bit longer. This also gave Space Titan the time to move to the front line. With most of the enemy trapped in barriers, they couldn’t escape Space Titan’s vengeance, and he caught four battleships, two miners, and a transport in his level 9 vengeance explosion. It did massive damage but didn’t affect the cataclysm missiles. This unexpected twist gave Tricky the chance to use destiny to break the bond and avoid being dragged into the Cerberus pit. He was then transported right behind enemy lines, giving him the opportunity to kill a miner and trigger a transport’s stealth.

Enemy ships quickly closed in on him. He considered running, but if he did, the recoil drones he was fighting would transport to Cobra and kill him and the friendly support ships at the planet he was guarding. Tricky knew he would likely die, but it was worth the sacrifice to save our largest transport in the white star. He weakened the recoil drones enough for Cobra to finish them off just as the enemy approached. They snared him with suspend, slowing him down and preventing his escape. Then the unexpected happened again. The enemy used bond on Tricky and destiny to teleport him back to where he originally came from, right into the heat of the battle where he actually wanted to be.

Although still under bond, he was able to provide chain ray support to the other guardians, Falkio and Talon. It was a brutal battle with Falkio and, surprisingly, Captain Barnacles at the front. Talon, just behind, provided Falkio with chain ray support. Darrow then rushed in with his impulse shields, and an epic battle ensued. After the dust settled, the Titans stood as the clear victors.

During this battle, Stu managed to get behind the enemy lines and create significant chaos. The enemy had lost most of their support ships, making it appear that the Titans would secure an easy victory. However, not all opponents went down without a fight. Daeva, positioned on the other side of the map, was looking to cause trouble for the Titans. Initially, Arto and Darrow were standing guard near him, but when Darrow left to join the main battle, Daeva seized the opportunity to move against Arto.

The flagship and Cobra moved in to assist Arto. Cobra was engaged with the recoil drones that Tricky had risked his life to weaken. In a misguided attempt to save Arto, Cobra flew away from the battle, inadvertently allowing Qphenoms’ transport and relic drone to be destroyed. This was only Cobra’s second white star, so he was still learning the ropes. Daeva used bond to carry Arto away, bypassed the flagship, and swiftly eliminated Cobra like a bug on a windshield. His primary target was our support units.

Tricky and Captain Barnacles rushed over to contain Daeva. Using a barrier, Daeva managed to keep everyone at bay and destroy a relic drone and a miner. He was on the verge of taking out a relic drone full of relics when Captain Barnacles used a level 7 rocket drone to eliminate Daeva just in time, saving three relics for the Titans.

Meanwhile, Talon, who was supposed to be guarding our support ships as a backup guardian, inexplicably flew straight across the map into the enemy jump gate and was killed. Another enemy ship, captained by Droggs, attempted to attack our support on the right side, but Tricky intercepted. Using a barrier and chain ray combo, Tricky won the fight decisively. However, he had to travel all the way to his own gate to finish Drogg off.

The Titans had control of the map, but they knew a counter-offensive was imminent, with fresh respawned ships on the way. Shai led the charge, followed by Fr3d and Awkan, all armed with barrier and bond. This team knew how to utilize these mods better than most. The match was tied at 2-2, and many relics still lay in the middle of the map on the level 10 planet. Whoever controlled this area would have a distinct advantage.

Falkio and Darrow were preparing for the attack, which was now commencing. Falkio deployed a barrier, but Shai swiftly used bond to pick Falkio up and carry him away, out of weapon range, leaving Falkio with little he could do. Darrow rushed in with impulse shield and barrier to stop Shai, trapping him in place. Shai retaliated with his own barrier, locking both Falkio and Darrow in place while his vengeance was triggered.

Meanwhile, Space Titan (level 118) and Captain Barnacles (level 75) moved south to confront Fr3d (level 459) and Awkan (level 373). Despite the apparent disparity in levels, the battle was intense and unpredictable, as the lower-leveled Titans would need to rely on strategy and teamwork to face their formidable opponents.

Falkio and Darrow were completely destroyed by Shai’s vengeance and he was now en route to attack. At the last moment, Qphenom swooped in. Having respawned, Qphenom had entered the battlefield, traveled two sectors, decided he didn’t like his modules, turned around, flew back to the jump gate, jumped out for over five hours, returned with different mods, used impulse shields, and arrived right in the nick of time to join the fight and assist Captain Barnacles and Space Titan.

Qphenom placed a vital barrier that prevented the enemy from advancing. Space Titan tanked the chain ray, triggering his vengeance and severely damaging Fr3d and Awkan. Qphenom used a weapon amplifier. While Space Titan still had alpha shields active, he tanked the chain ray, and together, he, Captain Barnacles, and Qphenom managed to finish off Awkan. Cobra also arrived around this time, catching Shai and killing him off.

The enemy team was nearly finished, both physically and mentally defeated. The Titans celebrated as victory was now secured. Space Titan had just scored five points and Cobra scored one, making it 8-2. With hardly anyone left from the enemy team, the Titans could run up the score for the next 24 hours with no opposition. The final score was 17-2.