Walkthrough: Mission 13

Quintaine and Sinclair have made a breakthrough discovery regarding the alien artifact. They believe the artifact unlocks a vast hyper gate system erected by the race that once controlled the Nomads. The scientists are convinced that once the hyper gate system is reactivated, it will drain the Nomads' power source. Without power, the Nomads will be much easier to control. Explore Toledo Base before launching to space, because you're going to be sent immediately into a difficult combat situation. You'll have a chance to rearm and repair during the mission, however, so don't spend all of your credits at this point. If you do, you might not have enough funds to repair your vessel for the last stage of the mission. Make ship-repair your top priority, and then replenish your supply of shield batteries and nanobots to keep your ship intact during battle. When you're ready, return to the launch pad and launch to space. Prepare for battle!

This battle is only to buy time until Quintaine and Sinclair have the artifact ready to take to the Nomad home world. You'll be called back to land on Planet Toledo, but you won't have a chance to rearm or repair, so be careful in this difficult battle. Monitor your shield strength carefully; Nomad fighter weapons can erase your shield in a matter of a few hits.

Within a minute of the battle's start, Juni reports that a Nomad battleship is uncloaking. She uploads waypoint coordinates into your Neural Net. Select the waypoint and proceed at afterburner speed to the Nomad battleship. Launch a torpedo at the battleship or destroy the vessel at close range with your guns. Continue to battle the Nomad fighters (retreating to recharge shields as necessary) until Orillion orders you back to Toledo's surface.

When ordered, select the planet's docking ring and use your afterburner (or cruise engines if you aren't under immediate attack) to approach it. Perform the Dock maneuver when you're within range of the ring, and land on Planet Toledo. You automatically greet Orillion, then escort Quintaine and Sinclair to the launch pad, and return to space.

When you return to space, Nomad fighters and a battleship are still pounding The Order's base. You're ordered to ignore the firefight and escort Sinclair to the Battleship Osiris. Select the waypoint uploaded into your Neural Net. Activate cruise engines and ignore the Nomad battleship and its escorts. Move as quickly as possible to the safety of the Osiris. Upon arrival, use the Dock maneuver to land on the Osiris. Here's your chance to rearm and repair. You won't have another opportunity before the mission ends, so we recommend that you spend the necessary credits on ship repair, upgraded weaponry, replenished ammunition, etc.

Maximize your ship's potential before this climatic battle against the Nomads!

When ready, launch to space, where you meet Orillion. Scans indicate an alien jump gate into Nomad space nearby. The Osiris is too large for the Nomad gate and won't be able to assist in the battle. Instead, the Osiris will create a diversion on the other side of the system in hopes of luring Nomad fighters away from the jump gate. Enter formation with Orillion's ship, and follow it to the jump gate. (Or select the waypoint in your Contact List and use the Go To maneuver to proceed to the gate.) The Nomads—not a welcoming bunch— have positioned interceptors and a battleship near the gate entrance.

This is your last significant battle with Nomad-controlled fighters and capital ships. Don't hesitate to use most of your missiles and mines against these ships, and protect yourself well with liberal use of shield batteries and nanobots. Retreat from the bulk of the Nomad force if you're under heavy attack. Allow your wingmen to weaken or destroy the Nomad forces while you recover, and return into battle with shields at full charge. When ordered, dock your vessel with the immense Nomad jump gate to enter their space.

You've entered the outskirts of a Dyson sphere, an enormous shell around a living sun. The interior surface is home to the Nomads. Aim your ship toward the surface (specifically the circular formation) and proceed at cruise velocity toward the barrier. Nomad fighters appear and attack—but continue toward the barrier. A shield surrounds the entrance to the Dyson sphere. You must destroy the four generators that surround the shield. Each generator is positioned within a narrow trench around the shield.

Get within close range of each generator, and destroy the structures with your guns. Maneuver through and around the trench, using your afterburner. Reach each generator as quickly as possible; the remainder of your battle group will occupy the Nomad forces until you've completed the task. Once all four generators are destroyed, the shield falls and you can enter the sphere—home world to the Nomads.

With the shield down, fly through the opening into the Dyson sphere. A new waypoint appears in your Contact List. It's the Nomad headquarters—protected by another shield! You must find a way to lower the shield in order to activate the artifact. Cycle through targets within your Contact List to discover the Nomad Power Generators. Unlike the generators you saw on the Nomad's Lair, these generators are large organic objects that resemble floating islands.

Each power generator is surrounded by weapons platforms, so be careful on your approach. Your battle group will occupy most of the Nomad fighters, but you might still have to deal with the weapons platforms. Notice how the power generators are connected to the central structure, supplying it with power. Blast the power generators with missiles and guns until they're destroyed. When you have obliterated all power generators connected to the central structure, it will drop its shield.

Despite the possible danger, you activate the artifact and re-energize the hyper gate system. As the scientists had theorized, this is the Nomads' Achilles' heel. The energy redistribution is too much for them, and their strange starships are whirled away in a vortex of cleansing energy as their dead masters' machines come back to life.

That's it! You've saved the colonies from certain destruction at the hands of this alien force! When you meet Juni again on Planet Manhattan four weeks later, you're for hire once again, a Freelancer without a care in the universe— for now.

Maybe Manhattan isn't that bad after all…