Starship Operators 8

Gripping and unyielding in its intensity, episode 8 is Starship Operators at it’s finest yet. The Amaterasu and Shenlong prepare to execute Shinon’s rather delicately balanced plan. It starts with a huge salvo of torpedoes launched at the Hedgehog and Hammerhead, courtesy of the transport vessel brigade. Next, a pair of rescue shuttles are sent to advance on the incoming Hedgehog. The commander of the Hedgehog scoffs at these efforts, as the torpedoes were launched at such long range that their chances to connect with the Hedgehog are nil, as the ship evades the missiles easily. The commander also assumes the incoming shuttles are filled with land mines, and orders them to be shot down as well. However, all this defensive maneuvering has impeded the Hedgehog’s progress by a small amount, which leads to the next part of Shinon’s plan. The Amaterasu has been equipped with boosters to increase its speed far beyond the Hedgehog commander’s expectations, and combined with the delays, allows the Amaterasu to slip by the Hedgehog, forcing it on a hopeless U-turn trajectory.

Unfortunately, the Shenlong commanders have plans of their own, and launch their ship prematurely towards the Conquistador, scrapping the planned rendevous with the Amaterasu. The commanders’ intention is to buy some time for the Amaterasu to escape to the outer perimeter, and then sacrifice themselves to force the Xiu government to surrender. This move would leave the Amaterasu nothing left to protect, and thus no reason to stay in the sector. Shinon and Ciska come to this realization, but attempt to proceed with the original plan. They face off with the Hammerhead 1 on 1, and initiate a scattershot attack with solid projectiles, which destroys two of the Hammerhead’s weapons. Takai busts out the plasma cannon, but only scores a glancing shot due to the Hammerhead’s evasive maneuvers. The Hammerhead retaliates with its laser as it draws within close range, but the Amaterasu’s state of the art heat dissipation system quickly restores hull integrity, and Takai is able to take a second shot with the plasma cannon to destroy the Hammerhead. The crew then heads towards the Conquistador in an attempt to save the Shenlong.

In the meantime, the Dragonfly has deployed its special short-warping apex, and it begins wreaking havoc on the Shenlong with its rapid-firing pulse laser. The Shenlong can’t hit it since it warps in, makes a fast strafing run, and warps out, making target tracking impossible. The commander of the Conquistador is watching the proceedings with interest, but upon learning of the destruction of the Hammerhead, decides to finish off the Shenlong. One burst from it’s powerful main cannon overloads the Shenlong’s heat dissipation systems, and the resultant heat intensity boils its crew alive before the ship explodes.

As predicted by the Shenlong commanders, the Xiu government surrenders, but their sacrifice was for naught, as the Amaterasu is surrounded and cannot escape. The crew of the Amaterasu is at a complete loss as to what to do – the Hedgehog has completed its U-turn and is rapidly approaching, as is the Dragonfly. Even the Amaterasu’s advanced systems are no match for the warping apex, and Takai pretty much gives up trying to shoot it manually. The officers decide that a forced warp is the only option, but Peter from the Galaxy Network demands that they stay and fight to the death – after all, he doesn’t care who wins or loses, only that they “make it hot.” As if the incineration of the Shenlong wasn’t enough >_< Shinon angrily heads for the A.I. room with Rio in tow, and lashes out at her for getting them all into this mess in the first place. But then, Rio admits to her secret – she and Ciska didn’t come up with the idea, it was “him,” A.I. Technician Yuki, the only senior officer who stayed on board the ship. Shinon goes to confront him, but received a rather languid response. He only suggested the possibility, Yuki claims, and left Ciska and Rio to draw their own conclusions. He originally predicted that the publicity from the Starship Channel would prompt the Earth Federation to send its troops out to quell the war, but that never happened. Yuki seems a bit too relaxed for someone who’s on board a ship that’s about to be blown sky-high, but I’m guessing he’s like Hari Seldon from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, and has already predicted Shinon’s angry outburst and their subsequent plan of escape. Shinon demands that Yuki make the necessary calculations for a blind warp within the solar system, a move that could potentially warp them straight into an asteriod or solid mass. Yuki warns them of this possibility, but goes along with their plan. As Peter mocks the crew for “running away,” the ship commences the blind warp, and the resultant warp interference disintegrates the Dragonfly’s apex. The Kingdom commanders, surprised at the suicidal warp by the Amaterasu, proclaim their job complete.

Hot damn, I’m not sure where this is going to go next, but it’s been one hell of a ride so far. I really hope Yuki actually has a plan and didn’t just give up. I have a feeling that the AESOP A.I. will play an important role in the future (I mean, hey, it’s featured in the eyecatch), and may be related to those women in flowing robes featured in the ending, perhaps in a Ryvius-like turn. Did I mention that I totally dig the “tactical zoom” effect used in many of the starship battles? StarOps continues to rock my socks, and I look forward to ANBU’s next release!

Related posts:

1. Starship Operators 7
2. Starship Operators 11
3. Starship Operators 6