The galactic calendar shows that it’s already June 30th, which means it’s time for the final chapter of our Pirate Legacy adventure.

We remind you: the Expeditionary Fleet, consisting of the bravest Commanders, went searching for the treasures of the legendary pirate Chris Hailstorm. An immense field of asteroids was left behind, but soon a formidable pirate fleet took its place. This encounter cost a lot. And as if that wasn’t enough, a mysterious spaceport appeared out of nowhere, and as luck would have it, right in the orbit of Chris Hailstorm’s treasure planet. The Expeditionary Fleet faced the last and most difficult choice, on which the fate of the entire campaign depended.

The last voting took place in grave silence. Everyone perfectly understood how much was at stake. With a stone face, the Supreme Commander counted the votes received on his onboard computer.

– Gentlemen, ladies. For most of you, I have good news. We take your damaged ships with us and go straight to the planet. For the rest, I can only say one thing: it was a pleasure to meet you. And it looks like this is our last meeting. The majority has spoken and we can only follow. Either we all get through this together, or no one gets through.

– Excellent decision, Commanders! I am very pleased with your reasonableness. It is hard to imagine how much any other decision would have affected the morale of our fleet! And this doomed tone is unnecessary, Supreme Commander. We will have a whole fleet of ships left! As a last resort, we can use some of them as fire ships. Everything will be fine, I can feel it.

– A whole fleet of leaky vessels, you mean? Which have already been lost and are not even able to move independently. Let me remind you that fireships need engines, or at least enough supplies to navigate them with blast waves. And that’s not to mention tons of explosives, which we are just short on. And, we will also spend a huge amount of energy to put this rubbish into orbit! Your decision will bring an end to all of us…

– But!..

– Enough! The decision was made, and the people had their say. We don’t need an internal split here in addition to everything else. Everyone, take your positions and prepare for towing. If you believe in some gods, it’s a good time to call on them to help us. We won’t leave anyone behind – these were the final words of the Supreme Commander, spoken in a tone that brooked no argument.

Most of the Commanders greeted the announced decision with joyful exclamations. Nobody wanted to lose their ships acquired by hard work and their main source of income. Even the prospect of incredible wealth could not overcome the simple human attachment to their possessions.

After spending a lot of time and resources preparing for towing and departure, the Expeditionary Fleet left the hospitable satellite and headed towards Chris Hailstorm’s treasure planet.

The fleet moved slowly, without using the warp drives, while the damaged ships were placed in the rearguard. After about a day of the flight, the Fleet covered only half the way to the cherished goal. And it was at that moment that what everyone was afraid of happened. Radars reported up a swarm of unidentified targets behind the fleet. Judging by the suddenness of their arrival, the opponents had emerged from warp space. And this time there were even more of them than during the previous clash.

– To Commanders of all the ships. We’ve been spotted. Judging by the trajectory and movement speed of these unidentified objects, the enemy will intercept us within forty minutes. And this time our old acquaintances brought a lot of friends. Everyone, prepare for the battle. Build up the damaged ships in a wall and drop the tows. Hopefully, this will give us some cover. Did we manage to make several fireships?

– That’s right, Commander. We have a dozen old Sparrows stuffed full of explosives. I will stay under their cover and blow them up as soon as the main body of the enemy is in the blast zone. I ask only one thing: lure fire on yourself so that they do not find me before I could accomplish my goal. And yes, I know this is a suicide mission, but I hope that my sacrifice will help to save at least part of the fleet. I’m afraid we can’t have a drink with you, Supreme Commander. But I was still glad to meet you. It is a shame that I did not manage to get under your command earlier.

– Damn you. We will do everything possible. If during the years of my “fishing” there were more guys like you, then perhaps you would be looking for the treasure of mine now. Thank you for your service, Commander. I will not forget you.

– Get ready, Commander. Let’s show these pirates they’ve chosen the wrong fleet for easy money.

– All ships, prepare for battle. Warm-up lasers, load torpedoes, calibrate ballistics. As soon as the enemy is in range, open fire from the Capital Cannons. End of transmission.

On that heroic note, the intercom session ended. As predicted by the Supreme Commander, forty minutes later the first pirate ships (it was them, without a doubt) entered the firing range of the Capital Cannons and the first volleys were fired. Enemy ships exploded one after another, and the commanders showed miracles of courage and skill. But there were too many enemies. The makeshift barricade of damaged ships worked well, the commanders successfully maneuvered between the wreckage and used them as covers from enemy fire. But soon all the damaged ships were destroyed. The expeditionary fleet was able to successfully lure the vanguard of the enemy fleet capable of close combat, while the rearguard equipped with long-range weapons was in the blast zone of a makeshift minefield. A bright explosion destroyed most of the pirate rearguard. But even this was not enough for a complete victory. However, after a while, it was all over. The pirate fleet was destroyed. And with it, the Expeditionary Fleet met its glorious end. Only one dilapidated PSS EL-K made it out that day. And this ship belonged to the Supreme Commander, although now he was just an old and tired pirate, without a fleet and hope for success.

Records from the PSS EL-K logbook, wreckages of which were found on the surface of an unnamed moon of planet X 40 days after the fleet departure.

Second to last record, 6 hours since the last battle:

“My luck of the Gentleman of Fortune has not left my side even now. And for the first time in my long life, I’m not happy about it at all. My ship is almost destroyed, the oxygen generators are out of order, the reactor compartment is almost destroyed, and only one engine remains in the engine compartment. The entire ship is powered by a single small reactor and forced by a damaged small ion drive. Two-thirds of the ship was destroyed and the vacuum of space is the only inhabitant there. I breathe the last remaining oxygen on board. Luckily (ha-ha) I have two space suits with a decent supply of oxygen within. We were able to win the last battle but at too great of a price. The entire fleet has been destroyed. They were calling me Supreme Commander, but I didn’t even have the heart to veto their suicidal decision. Shame on me. If we had abandoned those damn ships, we could get to the satellite or the spaceport. I’m sure this cursed treasure was located in the spaceport. Or maybe the spaceport itself was that treasure. In any case, even a maneuver to the surface of the satellite would not be a disaster, we would have enough supplies to get to the spaceport, albeit barely. I’m too old for all this. I hope I can make it to the spaceport.”

Last record, 26 hours since the last battle:

“I did it. I was able to make it to the spaceport. I can already see him through the porthole. However, the last engine malfunctioned and died. And the supply of oxygen in one of the suits came to an end. Now I will crawl into the second and try to fly to the spaceport on the spacesuit’s jet system…

To those who find these records: you will not believe it. This spaceport is alive. Not in the usual way, no, but it has intelligence and consciousness. A drone went in my direction, and the following message arrived on the communicator: “Damn it! I had such high hopes for your ‘Expeditionary Fleet’ thingy, bloody hell! I thought someone worthy had finally arrived to blow the dust off of me and show the entire damn galaxy and the cursed Federation that the Galaxy Coast still exists! And what is the result? One salty old man on a broken vessel?! This is a so-so company for a triumphant return! Yes, Old Man, that’s right, I don’t care if you hear me! Curses, but you’re better than nothing, of course. Now I’ll drag you on board and see who you are and what you are made of! End of the crappy transmission!

I’m willing to swear it’s Chris. The damned pirate is still alive! For those who hear me – find this spaceport at any cost, a lot depends on it. Captain Finch. End of transmission.”

A month and a half after the expedition started, a small research group reported that no objects similar to the one described in the logbook were found within a radius of several sectors. The investigation is ongoing and the Federation Foreign Intelligence Corps has been informed and put on high alert.

On this triumphant-mysterious note, our adventure “Pirate Legacy” ends. Or maybe only the first act of this story came to an end? Time will show us, Commanders!

But now it’s time, to sum up, the results. Unfortunately, the Expeditionary Fleet was unable to find the treasure of the legendary Chris Hailstorm. This happened due to the fact that the “fleet condition” indicator dropped to zero in the last battle. The final stats could be seen in the art below.

Important note: in the previous chapter, the art contained an error in the stats changes. The first skirmish with the pirates took away 20 fleet condition points, not 15.

However, you were very close to success, so we decided to distribute consolation awards to each member of the expedition. And the reward for those who have fulfilled all the requirements of the event will be 15 Auction Points. In the next few days, we will check the fulfillment of all requirements and proceed to the distribution of rewards. However, if you are sure that all the conditions are met, you can already contact us in the DM. Be sure to provide proof of fulfillment of all requirements and write about the selected award.

And that’s all for today! We would love to hear your feedback below.

Till the next time at the Arena, Commanders!