White Star #22

White Star 22 began against Brasil Star, a formidable opponent. WashingtonJr1992 (445), R Magnussen (367), MythicMercury11 (358), and Asuramuru (383) led their lineup. We didn’t have Jim, but we had Falkio (422), Stu (310), and QPhenom (232) as our top leveled Titans. Their flagship was level 8 with cataclysm, floating shield, and EMP rocket. Our flagship was level 5 and lacked all those enhancements. It looked like an uphill battle from the get-go.

Our battle plan was to mine at the 10 planet on the far right but hold position at the 10 planet center right. This would give us a little buffer area for our battleships and miners. The map was littered with Cerberus bombers that would be a constant nuisance, shooting rockets at any ship in the vicinity. Darrow came out with an attack ship and swiftly annihilated the closest Cerberus bomber, creating three relics with his miner. He then exchanged his battleship for a guardian build.

The other team seemed organized. Two powerful guardians with level 10 and 9 chain rays protected their support ships and were equipped with blast shields, making them very difficult to attack. Their miners started to freely mine the area without any fears. Their hunters and flagship started lining up outside our sector preparing for an attack. We also still had a bomber to our backside. These ships were bigger and stronger than ours, and the outcome of this battle didn’t look great. Internal conversations were ongoing about whether to retreat, stand our ground, or make a surprise charge. The debate got heated, and the first officer Darrow had to step in to make the final decision. He chose to stand our ground. The amount of hydrogen here was too much to just walk away from.

Stu tried to sneak around to get to some of their supports behind the front line but was quickly captured and executed. QPhenom attempted to get around them on the opposite side of the map. He too was encountered by two battleships that ensnared him in a barrier. QPhenom used destiny to hastily teleport himself behind the enemy. He killed a miner, then went to attack their main group of support. He was caught in another barrier and, due to a time machine issue, his bond didn’t trigger, and he too was swiftly killed. The guardians protecting these support ships just proved they weren’t going to go down easily.

Meanwhile, at the Titans’ center of operations, they saw two hunters trying to get by them. MythicMercury11 used impulse to speed through but was caught in Falkio’s barrier. He immediately countered this with bond carrying Falkio away, but before he could get very far, Tricky caught him in a barrier of his own. These barriers were also strong enough to destroy Geller2, who was teleporting over with a bomber build and was instantly vaporized, unable to trigger his vengeance and alpha shield. The Titans were holding them off for a moment until Falkio’s and Tricky’s barriers expired. The second hunter used bond on Drab Psychic, who had the last active barrier. Falkio and Drab were getting carried away. What was worse, their flagship launched cataclysm. Twenty-one inbound rockets were all launched at close range. No one was left with a barrier mod to counter this attack. We had five battleships in the sector that would all be annihilated in less than an hour if they didn’t react quickly. Space Titan, who was closest, used his alpha shield to survive the blast. Captain Barnacles was able to move out of range just in time. Tricky had to use impulse shield for a speed boost to get away in time. Drab was carried away safely by the opponent’s bond. Falkio wasn’t so lucky. He, along with Drab Psychic and QPhenom’s transporters, were caught in the blast and instantly incinerated. At first glance, it appeared all was lost as everyone went scrambling for cover.

Tricky was able to do massive damage to the first hunter, MythicMercury11, while he then flew into Cobra and our flagship to be finished off. As soon as Drab Psychic was released from his bond, he quickly attacked and killed the other hunter Ienor. The enemy flagship was headed towards our miners. Captain Barnacles went after it but was thwarted by its floating shield and an EMP rocket. Captain Barnacles had an EMP of his own and was able to slow down the flagship so Talon and Space Titan could swoop in. Space Titan made sure to keep the flagship locked on him so it couldn’t shoot any support ships. The enemy flagship used teleport to stop itself. Space Titan flew on by, unable to stop, but was able to launch a repair drone at the flagship. The flagship was forced to target the repair drone, saving a miner from certain death. Tricky finally swooped in and destroyed the flagship once and for all. No miners were lost. During all this commotion, no other enemy battleships advanced. This left the Titans time to regroup and continue with minimal losses. The Brasil Stars missed their opportunity to capitalize on the situation.

On the other side of the map, Darrow was attempting an assault on their main planet, similar to QPhenom’s earlier attempt. He was followed up by a newly respawned Stu. Darrow started by dropping a rocket drone that quickly destroyed two miners despite being guarded by a battleship. He then walked towards the enemy’s main group, which was guarded by two large guardians who quickly put up a blast shield when they saw him coming. The other battleship, who just failed to protect the two miners, also came to defend the group. There were four support ships and a relic drone filled with relics at this planet. Stu landed just prior with a transport using dispatch but did no damage due to the blast shield. Darrow rushed in, bonded one of the guardians, and used impulse shield through all their supports, two of which were on their way back with five relics. Darrow then used destiny to kill one of the battleships. The other battleship was finally able to kill Darrow but barely, limping away on 1,560 health.

Stu came in after Darrow. They had a battleship still at the planet, another battleship, which Darrow hurt, limping back to the planet, and a fresh third ship heading in. Stu bonded the same battleship Darrow did. This battleship set off an EMP but missed, most likely due to the bond. Stu carried him away, killing the battleship left at the planet in the process. The third battleship arrived too late and did not give chase. Stu then carried the bonded battleship into a Cerberus sector, completing the Phenom Pit maneuver flawlessly.

The Titans were looking good. They withstood the attacks from the enemy and disrupted their entire mining operation. With their backs against the wall, the enemy made one last attempt. They sent all their surviving battleships and support ships to their level 5 planet, trying to scrape together any relics they could get. The Titan mining operation was now under no threat of attack because the last of the opponent’s battleships were attempting to defend their support ships. This is when the Titans brought the attack to them. Captain Barnacles led the charge on their level 5 planet, followed by Talon and Tricky. The enemy had two battleships stationed at the planet and a couple others on their way. Three miners with hydrogen were en route, with a transport following them. It didn’t appear like the Titans would arrive in time. Tricky launched a rocket drone that sent a missile towards the planet. The enemy battleships were engaged with a Cerberus guardian, making them unable to shoot down the rocket. The rocket killed the first miner right before he dropped off his hydrogen. Tricky then turned on his impulse shield to race to the planet, and a second rocket was launched. The second miner was able to reach the planet in time to create a relic for them. The third miner, with the most hydrogen, was then killed by a rocket. Tricky swooped in and used a barrier to push the enemy with an EMP out of the way. His impulse effect and chain ray killed the other battleship before it could escape. He then pounded the battleship he bonded with chain ray like a chained rat out of range for his EMP and mass battery. A third battleship was coming in with a transport. Captain Barnacles came in from behind them. He triggered the transporter’s stealth and followed him until he killed it. The battleship MythicMercury11 no longer had a transport to protect. Once he arrived at the planet, our flagship’s recoil drones rained down upon him. MythicMercury11 was strong, though, and defeated the recoil drones and Captain Barnacles. He then headed towards Tricky to help save his bonded compadre. Tricky waited until he was just in chain ray range and used a barrier. This barrier was also used to damage a third battleship, who was also instantaneously trapped in the barrier. Tricky finished killing the first battleship, then moved onto MythicMercury11, slowly eating away at his hit points. His barrier wouldn’t hold much longer, so Tricky instituted Tricky’s Trap. He initiated destiny as soon as the barrier wore off, catching MythicMercury11 in the 9,400hp damage blast. MythicMercury11 was no more. Tricky had teleported away safely, avoiding the incoming enemy battleships, and his impulse shields were coming off cooldown, providing him new life and the capability to wreak havoc once again. You might be asking yourself what ever happened to Talon, who was also in this initial assault. Everyone else was too.

Time in the match was coming to a close. The Titans brought in all the relics they could before the time expired, winning the match 13-3. All the Titans made it out before the supernova, leaving Brasil Star in the imploding star with a devastating loss. This was an upset that will go down in history and another stunning win for the Titans of Terror. This was also Space Titan’s first white star without exploding.