Mission 10 - Skull Bearer

## 10 - Skull Bearer

The iconic Skull Bearer, the pride of the Thorun Empire, left in a state unfitting by Warlord Bleda.

## Battle Information

### Location

Skull Bearer's last known location, Sedra System

### Aftermath

Moral Thorun Empire Victory* Imperial Flagship Skull Bearer recovered, under control of Prince Thalok.
* Remaining Thorun Sedra campaign forces now under the control of Thalok.

## Belligerents

* Thorun Empire

* Athrael Theocracy

## Commanders

* Thalok

* Unknown consultant

## Forces

* Marauder and Havoc corvettes
* Corsair assault craft and Grinder siege engines.
* Defenses including Guard Stations and Ion Cannons
* Automated Thorun Material Silo
* Blood Moon and Silent Blade

* Intruder strike craft and Lancet strike drones
* Warpglider corvettes and Flanker cruisers
* Rector platforms and Invader destroyers
* Harbinger drone ships and Martyrprobes
* Defenses including Polaron Spheres and Obelisks

## Objectives

* Recover and repair the Skull Bearer.

* Clear the area of Thorun forces.

## Casualties and losses

Substantial
Severe

## Involved Characters

* Thalok
* Garuga
* Kagan

> "Even though we are a superior race which has conquered space, we are enslaved by our superstitions. We have burnt half of the Athraels' home system, but losing a vessel which carries a skull causes our warriors to lose their courage! I’m not even sure this old skull even belonged to our greatest hero!"
>
> - Prince Thalok

*Skull Bearer*, named after the Thorun Flagship of the same name, is the tenth mission of Chapter 02 - Ascension in the Five Nations campaign.

## Setting

During Prince Thalok's siege of the Athrael manufacturing facilities at Morael in the Sedra System, Warlord Bleda's main force, whom charged the offensive towards the Athraels' home moon of Vemana, suffered a surprise counter-attack from the Athrael Theocracy, leading to devastating losses. Thus, Bleda and his loyalist forces abandoned the campaign and most of the present legion in the system behind, but not before sabotaging the Aether Gate device aboard Bleda's flagship, the iconic Skull Bearer, and abandoning the ship to it's fate as Bleda returned to the Algor System. As the news spread of the loss of the Skull Bearer, the morale across the attacking legions eroded.

While Thalok was unwilling to recover the Skull Bearer at first, despite it's symbolic value, it took the arguments of both Imperator-warden Kagan and Grandmaster Garuga - respectively that the Skull Bearer would prove Thalok's legitimate claim to the throne (if he was to return and challenge Bleda for abandoning the campaign) and that the Flagship also beared an Aether Gate device needed to return to the Algor System - to convince Thalok into heading out to find and recover the Flagship.

## Lost Ships

Thalok's forces, including Thalok's and Kagan's very vessels, the Blood Moon and Silent Blade, arrived at the last known area of the Skull Bearer, according to Garuga's spy whom was aboard at the time. Amongst Thalok's escort was a pair of Corsair assault craft whose broad shielding systems and spatial beams that dealt widespread damage would prove useful in covering Thalok. The asteroid field where the Skull Bearer was supposedly situated was modestly occupied by Athrael forces whom had set up patrols and blockades, including guarding Obelisks which Kagan could dispatch, effortless and single-handledly. Along the way, Thalok's group encountered other Thorun vessels whom once belonged to Bleda's main fleet. The vessels' pilots, doubtlessly disgusted with their former Warlord for leaving them behind as he retreated, immediately swore fealty to Thalok.

Eventually, Thalok's forces managed to localize and reach the Skull Bearer, mostly intact, which was guarded by a small assortment of ships and defenses. One of the local warriors informed Thalok that the few present were those whom rebelled against Bleda after he ordered these warriors to leave their comrades to die. As the sacred Flagship was mostly disabled, especially it's engines, Thalok ordered Garuga's scholars to board the Skull Bearer and start repairs, which would take some time.

However, the time needed for the Skull Bearer's repairs - to at least be able to operate - would be all but peaceful as the Athraels, having noticed the increased Thorun presence, started moving in force towards the Skull Bearer's position. Thalok assisted in organizing a makeshift defense to buy Garuga's scholars the needed time, including establishing Ion Cannon platforms that could neutralize most Athrael vessels with a few potent shots.

Thalok's defenses held long enough for the Skull Bearer to be repaired and start moving away from the sector.

## Walkthrough

The player starts commanding the Blood Moon, the Silent Blade, a pair of Corsairs and a trio of Marauders. The Corsair, in this and later missions, will prove useful as both a shielding unit against direct fire, especially from strong anti-hull units, as well as the late-game option of choice against enemy interceptors due to it's splash damage, although the player may still prefer Marauders as anti-fighter choices due to accessibility.

The path towards the Skull Bearer is first to the west where the player will come across a trio of Obelisks the player should definitely keep their distance while using the Silent Blade to neutralize them - it won't ever be detected as the player will start the mission with Absorptive Plating already researched. After this, the player will be blocked by destructible asteroids which must be destroyed, on which afterwards the way ahead will be guarded by a pair of Invaders aided by an Explorer. The player should neutralize the Explorer as quickly as possible and then use the Silent Blade to neutralize both Invaders, keeping them away from the main group to avoid heavy losses, and then moving in the Marauders, Corsairs and the Blood Moon to neutralize the Revengers that spawn from it. After this, the player can then move north, as the Skull Bearer's position is revealed at the center of the map, and shortly following the rescue of the Vanguard (see below), the player will come across a trio of Rectors to be destroyed before reaching the Skull Bearer. Up until the player reaches the Skull Bearer, the Blood Moon should have it's Overcharge ability set to autocast and then, when the objective comes to defend the Skull Bearer, should switch to the Tractor Beam ability.

Across the map, however, there are a number of unit groups which can be rescued (see map for positions) which can greatly assist in defending the Skull Bearer and make access to certain areas easier, and thus should be rescued before reaching the Skull Bearer:

**01)** A trio of Grinders that will facilitate destroying the blocking destructible asteroids and even a barricaded Polaron Sphere close to rescuable group **03**. There is only a blocking Flanker and Polaron Sphere on the way, which both can be neutralized with the Silent Blade.
**02)** A rescuable Material Silo which will provide the player with all three resources - Metal, Helium-3 and Tachyon - every few seconds and may prove useful if the player wishes to build additional Ion Cannons and Guard Stations or research upgrades at the Guild, Forum (though not necessary) and Anvil. The player can either fight off the guarding Rector and Warpgliders at the beginning for a cruiser to rescue, or later send in a Welder to rescue it.
**03)** A group of over five Marauders that will be useful for bolstering fire support and anti-fighter fire, especially from fighter attacks at the Skull Bearer's east entrance (read below). Though the player can rescue them later with a Welder, too, the player will still need to destroy the destructible asteroids to be able to release these Marauders. The asteroids are guarded by a barricaded Polaron Sphere which the Grinders from rescuable group **01** can rush towards and destroy effortlessly, as well as the asteroids.
**04)** A group of Havocs that will be very useful in neutralizing the Rectors' shielding as well as providing fire support on the defense, as well as some rescuable Power Plants that will make Energy generation faster, especially for researching upgrades or building Ion Cannons. They are only blocked only by destructible asteroids, but these are guarded by the pair of Invaders and the Explorer.
**05)** A Vanguard which is on the way to the Skull Bearer. While at first it may seem it's only there for it's Probe ability to allow a better vision of the guarding Rectors for the Havocs and other units to shoot down, it can also later contribute to defense with it's Tractor Beam ability set to autocast.
As the player later reaches the Skull Bearer, the player will receive the objective to protect it for 10 minutes, and will only have between the first thirty seconds to one minute to start establishing defenses before the Athrael waves start spawning. While the player can build additional Welders, the player might be blocked in Supply due to the rescued forces, particularly the Grinders, which the player may need to sacrifice if wanting to have more Welders. The player should take this time to at least have the weapon upgrades under research at the Guild, possibly the Protective Shield upgrade at the Forum to protect the other units from the Vanguard and Grinders when these die and explode, as well as building additional Guard Stations and Ion Cannons behind them. The Ion Cannon is a very potent defense capable of dealing exceptional damage, capable of destroying most vessels in a few shots, but has a large minimum range, is very vulnerable to fighters and reliant on Power to fire it's weapon, hence requiring multiple numbers. Constructing further Ion Cannons also take large amounts of Energy, so the player will be limited by the inability to build further Power Plants or Habitats to barricade for defenses.

The attacks against the Skull Bearer will come from all four cardinal directions (North, West, East and South) around it, including the path the player previously took since the mission's start. Each direction's attack force composition is described as follows:

**North** - Rectors and Flankers which can be dealt with a pair or three Ion Cannons, but will later spawn Martyrprobes as well, so a couple of Guard Stations may still be required, as this is the closest to the Skull Bearer as well.
**West** - General waves of Intruders, Warpgliders and Flankers, which the majority of the Marauders, Havocs and the Blood Moon should effortlessly handle, especially if supported by the Vanguard, both it and the Blood Moon with Tractor Beam set to auto-cast.
**East** - Waves of Warpgliders and Harbingers at first, later supported by Intruders and Lancets. The player must definitely deploy the Silent Blade here as it can both paralyze and then destroy the Harbingers before they can get into firing range of either the entrance's defenses or the Material Silo if it was rescued, and this wave will never spawn with any Explorers. Still, the player should build a couple of Guard Stations and Ion Cannons to receive both the Warpgliders and fighters, perhaps divert a couple of Marauders to assist in anti-fighter defense.
**South** - Waves of Warpgliders and then pairs of Invaders that can cost the player the mission if not prepared for them. A couple or trio of Ion Cannons close to the Guild can help in neutralizing them, while using the Grinders, if alive, to both distract and provide vision, possibly one or two Havocs for quickly depleting shields. A Marauder or two may also be needed to help dispatch the Revengers that will spawn from the destroyed Invaders.
The attacks, especially on Hard difficulty, will require some attention (arguably more on the East and South) and perhaps micromanagement to counter most waves effectively and minimize casualties. The player can always remember that the Silent Blade can use the Warp Drive ability to increase speed and catch up to enemy Harbingers on their way to the Skull Bearer, and should retreat the Blood Moon back to the Skull Bearer if shields and hull become dangerously low. Also, the player will also have Friction Welding already researched, so additional Welders for repairs is not a bad idea.

When the 10-minute timer is up, the mission ends in victory.

## Notes

This is the sole mission which the player can build only the respective Thorun defenses - the Guard Station, Ion Cannon and Provincial Beacon - as the related tech requirement structures - the Guild, Anvil and Forum, respectively - are present along with the Skull Bearer.

This is also the sole mission which the player controls a Material Silo but cannot harvest any resources, instead receiving them periodically the longer it's controlled.