Walkthrough: Mission 2

Once you can meet the mission requirements, Juni contacts you and uploads a waypoint to Planet Manhattan. Follow the waypoint back to the planet and use the docking ring to land on the surface. Enter the bar and speak with Juni to receive your mission objective. Liberty monitors the alien-artifact trade, and the LSF has a line on a smuggler who's been moving artifacts in and out of Liberty space. The smuggler, Sean Ashcroft, has been under investigation for a while. He plans to move a shipment to New York through the Colorado jump gate. Orders are to capture Sean Ashcroft alive and bring him in for investigation. Juni outfits your ship with a scanner and a tractor beam. Along with the payment, she promises a bonus if you're successful: the access codes to all of Liberty's jump gates.

Return to the landing pad, where you bump into your old "friend" Lonnigan, who has escaped from Manhattan Medical. Lonnigan seems extremely paranoid, saying, "They want us all dead!" and babbling on about Freeport 7. Two Liberty guards show up. They shoot Lonnigan with a smart gun and disable you with a stun baton. The next thing you know, Juni is rustling you awake—it's time to meet King in space and resume the mission. Launch into space.

Select the trade lane that moves between Planet Manhattan and Fort Bush. Dock with the trade lane. After reaching Fort Bush, dock with the trade lane that moves between Fort Bush and the Colorado Jump Gate. In response to the attack on Admiral Schultzky, the Liberty Navy has moved heavy battleships to all jump gates. When you reach the Colorado gate, you're scanned by the Battleship Unity. Dock with the jump gate to leave the New York system and enter Colorado space.

Upon reaching the Colorado system, King orders you to take up position near the trade lane. It's a designated waypoint; simply select the waypoint and use the Go To maneuver to reach the position. Cut your ship's engines to maintain a stationary position. Juni radios in—Ashcroft may be on the way and headed straight for your position. You must scan every ship that comes within range. To scan a ship, target the ship by left clicking on the ship or by using the Contact List (under the Important filter) in the lower-left corner of your heads-up display. Then click on the Scan Cargo icon in the lower left corner. A convoy—two transports and an escort fighter—soon arrives. Target the fighter and scan the vessel. There are artifacts in its cargo hold!

This isn't a difficult combat scenario—it's you and King against a single ship. Shoot the hostile vessel with your guns, missiles, or turrets until its engines are disabled. King is preparing to arrest Sean Ashcroft when it's discovered that the ship's pilot isn't Ashcroft! It's just a poor sap named Cosmo Van Nostrom. King orders you to stand down from combat. Juni contacts you. A trap that the LSF had set up near Pueblo Station has failed: Ashcroft managed to break through the blockade, and now contact with Pueblo has been lost.

A waypoint is uploaded to your Neural Net. Dock with the trade lane designated New York Jump Gate to Pueblo Station. Proceed along the trade lane until you reach Pueblo Station, which is under attack from six Liberty Rogues. It's up to you and King to eliminate them and save the station. You and King are outnumbered three to one. Use missiles (if you have them) to whittle down the Rogue numbers so you aren't pounded from all sides, while attempting to corner one hostile ship. You must eliminate all six Liberty Rogue vessels to save Pueblo Station and receive the next mission objective.

Sean Ashcroft wasn't among the Liberty Rogues but Pueblo Station informs you that they marked one of Ashcroft's ships. It's headed into the Silverton Debris Field. Select the waypoint that's been uploaded to your Neural Net and use the Go To maneuver to proceed toward the designated position. Juni orders additional fighter wing support to assist in the pursuit. When you reach the waypoint, you're ordered to ignore the transports. There's also a weapons platform in the area to avoid (though you could also destroy it). There's no sign of Ashcroft, but you're ordered to engage the enemy Rogues.

You must destroy four of the Liberty Rogues to receive your next objective. King spots Ashcroft fleeing the base. Ashcroft engages cruise engines and King attempts to stop him with a Wasp missile, to no avail. King uploads a waypoint to your Neural Net. Select it quickly and use the Go To maneuver to activate cruise engines and pursue. Follow Ashcroft at cruise speed. When King reaches approximately 4,000 meters from the waypoint, he detects a disturbance—possibly a jump hole—so you must work quickly.

Waiting at the waypoint are Sean Ashcroft and four Rogue fighters. You don't need to engage Sean Ashcroft's ship immediately. In fact, it is better if you leave it for last, because once Ashcroft's ship is destroyed, he ejects in his lifepod, which you must retrieve within a couple of minutes or the mission fails. Target the other Liberty Rogue ships first, and then tackle Ashcroft. Once he's destroyed, target his lifepod by selecting it in your Contact List. Maneuver within 1,500 meters of his lifepod and activate the tractor beam to retrieve the pod. Scour the Rogue ship debris for other loot before resuming the mission. It's time to deliver Ashcroft to Juni. Back to New York!

Proceed from your position to the New York Jump Gate by following the waypoints. Once there, dock with the New York Jump Gate to return to the New York system. Upon arrival, the Battleship Unity scans your vessels. Juni announces a change of plans. Instead of returning to Manhattan, you must proceed to the Battleship Missouri; Juni plans to interrogate Ashcroft there. Dock with the nearby trade lane designated Colorado Jump Gate to Fort Bush.

As you reach Fort Bush, another squad of Liberty Rogues launches a surprise attack. It's a daring assault so close to Fort Bush—in fact, the military installation launches a couple of fighter wings to assist you and King against the Rogues. Perhaps those Rogues are too daring!

Stick close to Fort Bush during the battle and remain near your fighter support. The mission ends soon and you'll be able to dock and re supply, so don't hesitate to expend missiles, nanobots, or shield batteries to stay alive. After you eliminate the Rogues, new orders arrive to dock with the trade lane marked Fort Bush to Norfolk Shipyard. You'll find the Battleship Missouri near the Norfolk Shipyard.

King leaves to assist a convoy near Pittsburgh, and Juni awaits your arrival on the Missouri. Dock with the battleship to conclude the mission. Upon your delivery of Ashcroft, Juni gives you your pay as well as the access codes to the Liberty jump gates, and an additional bonus in credits. Juni hopes the interrogation of Ashcroft will provide vital information about the smuggling ring.