Tour of Duty 8: Rearguard

Mission 1: "Return to Babel"

Location:

• Nebula

Objectives:

• Capture NTF Iceni
• Destroy Sammael
• Destroy Azmedaj

In Game:

• Destroy Aries wing
• Destroy Azrael cruiser
• Command switches Iceni to friendly as Shivans attack it.
• Destroy Azmedaj
• Distress call from Iceni; almost the entire crew slaughtered by Shivan troops.
• Admiral Bosch and 14 of his top aids boarded a Shivan transport.
• Order strike on Aquarius group
• Destroy Sammael cruiser
• Protect NTF Iceni
• Destroy Cancer, Virgo groups
• Protect Transport Qeb (Primary 1/1)
• Destroy Scorpio group
• Destroy Libra group

This can be a really tough mission thanks to the constant onslaught of bombers. The key is to always focus your wingmen's attention on them, not necessarily yourself.

The mission starts out pretty simple - get rid of Aries wing. By then, one of your wingmen should find the Iceni is under attack by Shivan bombers, the ship is disabled, and a small band of crew members onboard are making a distress call. It seems the Shivans took on Admiral Bosch's deal, but were strict with the terms. Bosch and a select group of officers made the transport off - everybody else was slaughtered. To make matters worse, Bosch set a self-destruct sequence on the Iceni.

Order your wingmen to hassle fighters while you deal with the Azrael and Azmedaj. They go down fairly quickly, and some of your wingmen might help out if they are running low on fighter targets.

When only the Sammael is left, bombers start pouring in. Make these a priority - the Iceni are a lot stronger than you think. A good idea with bombers is to hit B and check for incoming bombs. Destroy one, and the chain reaction usually destroys the rest. Learn how to switch between your primary weapons, and the bombers go down a lot faster, too.

Eventually, the Qeb should arrive to dock with the Iceni, grab the survivors and take hold of the quantum communicator. Put the transport on a hotkey and order all ships to protect it - if the Qeb goes down, the mission is over. From there it is a matter of defeating waves of bombers. They never seem to stop, so I recommend leaving when the Qeb is out of there.

Tour of Duty Eight:
Mission 1 | Mission 2 | Mission 3

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