Mission 3 - Prisoner of War The location of Admiral Hawkes is established, but can you save him in time?
Objectives:
Find a navigable path to the other side of the antimatter ribbon
Locate and rescue Admiral Hawkes with a Troopship
Blackwell must survive
Things aren't going so well in Alkaid. The Mantis forces have attacked your forward supply base. You lack defences and the base is falling to their Frigates and Carrier vessels.
Objective:
Fend off the Mantis attack on your forward supply base
Switch back to Tau Ceti. Gather your Corvettes and Missile Cruisers and order them through the wormhole to Alkaid. Explore the area around the destroyed supply base at Alkaid Prime to locate the Mantis fleet. Target the Frigates first (make sure the entire fleet is together and the Missile Cruisers haven't lagged behind). Your receive new orders once the Mantis ships are destroyed.
Objectives:
Secure the Alkaid sector
Build at least two Laser Turrets in Alkaid around the jump point into Danan
Build a Light Shipyard in Alkaid
Build a Supply Platform in Alkaid
You need to accomplish a series of tasks at this point. Manoeuvre a Fabricator to the wormhole to Danan - it's in the bottom middle of the Alkaid sector. You may wish to construct a second Fabricator at your Headquarters in Tau Ceti. Construct several Laser Turrets around the wormhole to Danan.
Use a second Fabricator (or the only Fabricator if you want to take more time) to construct a Light Shipyard and Supply Platform around Alkaid Prime. You may also wish to build a Refinery and then use the Refinery to construct a Harvester so you can gather the debris resources and asteroid ore around the planet. Once the Light Shipyard has been built, start increasing the size of your fleet with Corvettes and Missile Cruisers. You should also use the Ballistics Lab in Tau Ceti to upgrade your ships' weapons.
TIP: Alkaid 2 is located in the lower-right section of the map. You can construct a Supply Station and other structures here. Manoeuvre your fleet to the wormhole to Danan. As soon as you go through, a Carrier and a Plasma Spitter attack from the asteroid field on the left. Continue toward the bottom of the map, exploring a second asteroid field containing another Carrier. More Carriers can be found on the right side of the map, once again lurking within the dense asteroid belts. Continue to restock your fleet with additional ships from Alkaid. Search the right side of the map to locate the wormhole to Baai, which is protected by a Mantis Jump Gate.
Objective:
Destroy the Mantis Jump Gate
Order your entire attack group to blast the alien Jump Gate to free the wormhole to Baai. If you move a Fabricator to the wormhole to Baai and decide to build a Jump Gate, realise that the Mantis force on the other side will simply destroy it. Instead, construct several Laser Turrets to protect the entrance into Danan. Bolster your fleet with additional Corvettes and Missile Cruisers.
When you approach the wormhole to Baai with the large fleet, the Mantis send in their massive armada. Make sure your fleet remains together (don't let the Corvettes attack without aid from the Missile Cruisers). Combat the Mantis fleet, concentrating fire on the Frigates first, then the Hive Carriers. Resupply your fleet back in Alkaid and replace any destroyed ships with new vessels.
Enter Baai and eliminate any remaining enemy forces around the wormhole. Proceed toward the right edge of the map (there's a small gap between the antimatter ribbon and the neula on the bottom edge). You reach a Mantis base in the lower-right corner of the map. Destroy its structures and defenders. You may need to resupply by this point. Return to Alkaid to resupply and replace any destroyed ships.
Eliminate all defences around the alien planet. Clear out all Mantis structures. Move in a Fabricator to Baai and toward the planet. Construct several Laser Turrets around the planet for protection. Move a Troopship toward the planet. Wait for the Mantis Weaver (the equivalent of the Fabricator) to move toward the planet. Capture the Weaver with a Troopship. Now you can construct a Cocoon (Headquarters) or a Fabricator to construct a Headquarters to supply the new planet.
Organise your fleet and get them to Baai Prime. With a Supply Station active, you now have a forward base to conduct the remainder of the mission. Explore the area around the antimatter ribbon above your new forward base and eliminate the incoming alien vessels. You'll locate Baai 2 in the map's centre. Destroy the Mantis defenders and structures. Use a Fabricator or the platform at Baai 2. You may be low on ore by this point as well. Consider a Refinery to harvest the nebula clouds or decide not to construct the Refinery.
Explore the left side of the map to uncover Baai 3. Build another supply platform at Baai 3 to resupply your vessels. Continue exploration to the upper-right corner of the map to discover Baai 4. Eliminate the structures around the Mantis-controlled planet. Build a Supply Station if you wish. Manoeuvre around the upper antimatter ribbon to the upper-left corner of the map. It's here you discover the wormhole to Alkaid within the antimatter ribbon. Move your fleet through. Proceed toward the upper left and encounter the planet Alkaid 3.
Objectives:
Troopship Hawkes' prison
Build a Marine Training Facility
Send a Troopship to assume command of the Mantis' Warlord Training Grounds structure to complete the mission with success.