Basket takes out the Federation Cruiser Type A, unlocked the day before. The hangar shows The Osprey on Normal with Advanced Edition content enabled and a Burst Laser II in the weapons slot. The ship also carries an Artillery Beam that Basket describes as a weapon "you don't actually target, it just charges up and shoots on its own." The crew list reads Sem, Will, Bjorn and Mr Buga. The Osprey reaches Sector 8, The Last Stand, and is torn apart by the Rebel Flagship's final form for a score of 3825.
Part 1: Master of Patience
Basket reads out the ship's achievements first: destroy a ship with only the artillery, take four blue event options, and reach Sector 5 without upgrading the weapons.
Sector 1 is a Civilian Sector. In a plasma storm Basket sends the crew to search the wreckage of crippled ships, and Bjorn drops off the crew list. "I hate losing guys, especially right in the beginning like this." The next beacons make up for it: Elnubnub joins at a distress beacon, a slaver ship beaten into surrender hands over Cremity, and on a planet of small, six-legged, horse-like animals Basket tries to talk to them peacefully and comes back with Roper.
Sector 2 is a Pirate Controlled Sector. Defending a civilian ship, Basket fires nothing but the Artillery Beam and waits it out. "Yay, I got the achievement." The Master of Patience popup appears in the corner. Boarders get fought off in the Medbay, a store sells a second Burst Laser II, and an arms dealer sells a Backup Battery.
Part 2: The Uncharted Nebula
Sector 3 is an Uncharted Nebula. A ship with a missile keeps knocking out the sensors. "We need better weapons, but I think we need more energy." Basket buys extra power, and a station investigation turns up a drone. Following a ship to help it brings in another recruit, Chriz. "Ah, we got a free guy."
At the store Basket buys Drone Control, fuel and a little repair. "I think we'll want drones eventually." A chase through the nebula ends in a fight that Basket wins before the Rebel fleet catches up. At the exit a fix-it shop upgrades the doors for 14 scrap.
Part 3: Mercenary work
Basket picks the pirates for Sector 4 over the Slug Controlled Nebula: "They're big meanies. I always die to them." The first pirate ship has mind control, and a later one leaves a Hull Laser behind. "I would love to have a Hull Smasher Laser. Thank you." The store adds a Crew Teleporter, and trading away missiles the ship never uses gets the hull repaired and a free reactor upgrade.
A settlement asks Basket to damage a pirate ship without destroying it. Basket powers down a weapon, lands one more volley on the shields, and lets them go home for the reward. Boarders in the nebula get the airlocks: Basket vents the rooms and lets them suffocate. A blue option on a damaged Federation ship brings in another crew member, and a pirate ship surrenders fuel, a drone part and scrap at the sector exit.
Part 4: Two stores
Sector 5 is another Pirate Controlled Sector. With two stores side by side, Basket buys an Ion Bomb, sells a weapon, then buys a Clone Bay and a Defense Drone Mark I. "Our guys will take longer to heal up, but then we can more freely just drop into the enemy's base." The Medbay is gone from the ship after that.
Slavers demand a crew member, and Basket answers with the guns. The slaver ship surrenders and offers a slave, Graffin, but the crew is already full, so Basket dismisses one of the Mantis to make room. An ion storm fight leaves fires everywhere and the doors broken before the enemy surrenders fuel and scrap. At the exit Basket confirms the weapons achievement is out of reach: "We didn't get that one achievement, for sure, because now we're leaving Sector 5."
Part 5: A science experiment
Sector 6 is the Mantis Controlled Sector. The Engi crew help a colony cure a disease, Basket jettisons a Mantis escape pod rather than open it ("I like all my guys"), and Mantis boarders get fought off. "Will is about to die," Basket warns, but Will stays on the crew list.
Short on scrap, Basket turns down an enemy ship's surrender and teleports the two Mantis, Will and Cremity, aboard as it jumps away. Both names leave the crew list. "As a science experiment, I chose to put my two Mantis guys on his ship when he was jumping away. They do not come through the teleporter, just so you know."
Sector 7 is an Abandoned Sector. A pirate ship firing on a refueling station pays out a Pike Beam and another weapon, and a drifting Lanius ship turns out to be live and hacking. With the fuel gone, Basket sells the Pike Beam at a store, buys fuel and hires Turing, a Lanius, as "a suffocating attack guy." A Lanius stealth ship with mind control is the last fight of the part.
Part 6: The Last Stand
Sector 8 is The Last Stand. Basket upgrades the Artillery Beam ("that goes through all shields, I kind of like that") and buys more power. Two fights pay well before the Flagship arrives.
The first Flagship fight is a slog of hacking and Ion Bombs on its shields, and the Flagship pulls away. A side trip rescues a group of refugees. The second fight sends boarders over, and the Flagship pulls away again. Then the game's warning: it has transferred power to its teleporter and some kind of super weapon. "Be prepared... this is it!"
The last fight goes badly. Fires spread, the door controls fail, and the Flagship mind controls one of the crew. "I think we're dead right now, actually, if we don't dodge this." Then: "I only have one health left."
How it ended
The Osprey breaks apart in front of the Flagship with Sem, Mr Buga, Elnubnub, Roper, Chriz, Graffin and Turing on the crew list. The game-over screen reads "One last explosion marks your fate as your ship is torn apart," score 3825. "Darn, close. We did pretty good, but not quite." Basket plans to run the Federation Cruiser A again next, this time without upgrading the weapons.
