Basket takes the second Federation Cruiser layout out for the first time. The hangar shows the Nisos, Layout B, on Normal with Advanced Edition content enabled, armed with Dual Lasers and the Leto missile launcher next to the ship's own Artillery Beam. The crew list shows Hector, Ohm and Ariel. The goal, as Basket puts it: "try and get this one to the eighth sector, to the Last Stand, and then unlock the C version." Eight parts later the Nisos does both, and destroys the Rebel Flagship for a score of 4321.
Part 1: The Hermes Missile
Sector 1 is a Civilian Sector. The Leto turns out to be a weak opener ("the missile didn't work as well as I wanted it to"), but the fights go the Nisos's way, and Borman joins the crew along the way. On a planet of small, brightly colored creatures, Ariel, a Slug, talks to them telepathically. They turn out to be peaceful, and they point the crew to a crash site where Tee Lek comes aboard.
At a Rebel checkpoint Basket chooses to fight. The Rebel Rigger surrenders and hands over fuel, missiles, scrap and a Hermes Missile. "It does three damage instead of just the one from this guy." Basket upgrades the weapons system so it can run, and the part ends at the Sector 1 exit.
Part 2: Drone Control
Basket picks the Rebel Controlled Sector for Sector 2 ("Zoltan is kind of a pain"). Trading fuel to a ship in trouble updates the map, and an automated ship guarding a sensor station leaves behind an Ion Intruder Drone. The Nisos saves the crew of a Federation ship on the verge of destruction, and GM Faux, an Engi, joins.
At the store Basket buys Drone Control, which comes with a combat drone, then repairs and stocks up on fuel. "I don't want to get stranded on this run." The last fight goes badly: a missile lands where Basket did not want it, boarders get in, and GM Faux drops off the crew list. "The guy that died was our door room guy."
Part 3: The FTL Jammer
Sector 3 is another Civilian Sector. The Artillery Beam finishes off a ship that was attacking an outpost ("Thank you artillery beam"), and at an asteroid mining colony Basket takes the blue missile option. The store has an FTL Jammer, which doubles the time enemy ships take to jump away. "Because they always seem to try and jump away, that's kind of annoying." Basket buys it.
In the nebula, a heavily damaged Federation ship gets help and Kapalka comes aboard. A refugee ship's distress call is a trap ("It's a trap. It's a trap."), and a Zoltan ship mind-controls a crew member, but the Nisos wins and the refugees share their supplies.
Part 4: Hacking and an Ion Bomb
Sector 4 is the Pirate Controlled Sector. At a burning research station Basket risks the hull rather than the crew, and the gamble pays: Jones joins, "a really good repair dude." Helping a civilian ship brings in a Heavy Laser I.
At the store Basket tries something new. "I don't usually have hacking unless the ship starts with it, so I'll try it out." Hacking goes in, and an Ion Bomb replaces the Leto. In a plasma storm the pilot explores the debris and finds a Charge Laser. Boarders later suffocate in rooms with the oxygen cut off.
Part 5: Losing the Slug
Sector 5 is the Engi Controlled Sector. An Engi ship needs help with a Mantis who believes it is human, and taking it home earns a choice between an engine upgrade and a new crew member. "I like a mantis guy." Smith joins.
At a burning Engi research station, Basket goes for the drone schematic instead of the wounded Engi. Ariel drops off the crew list and the reward is a little scrap. "So we lost our snail... and our snail was our weapons guy." The store adds a Defense Drone in place of the intruder drone, and a merchant hands out a quest marker.
Part 6: The Engi Homeworlds
Sector 6 is the Engi Homeworlds. The merchant's lost delivery turns up among damaged ships, and Basket takes the cargo and drops the crew off at a station. Delivering it later pays a second Defense Drone. "I could do two defense drones, but that seems silly."
A quest fight with a Rebel ship carrying a Vulcan pays out another quest marker. A beam cuts a pirate ship free of an asteroid belt, and the store sells Basket a Reverse Ion Field, which can block an incoming ion hit.
Part 7: Type C unlocked
Sector 7 is the Uncharted Nebula, and Basket keeps hoping for a store with better weapons. "I really want a store. I want weapons." None turns up. The fights include a four-shield automated ship, cloaked ships, a Mantis Fighter bumped into in the fog and a Pirate Fighter whose surrender Basket turns down. The savings go into shields instead.
Survivors found floating in the nebula bring Maloney and Graffin aboard. With nine crew, Basket dismisses Smith. Then the Nisos jumps into Sector 8, and a popup names the reward: Federation Cruiser Type C. "We at least did our main objective."
Part 8: The Last Stand
Sector 8 is The Last Stand. The Nisos has four shields, and the store adds a Weapon Pre-igniter. Hacking and the Ion Bomb take care of several fights before Basket meets the Flagship. The first stage falls to hacked shields. In the second, the Flagship shoots down the hacking drone, so Basket sends out a combat drone and keeps firing.
In the third stage the Flagship mind-controls a crew member and teleports boarders across the ship. "So many guys in my base." The Flagship breaks apart in the target panel, and in that moment Tee Lek drops off the crew list.
How it ended
The end crawl thanks the Nisos and its crew: Hector, Ohm, Borman, Kapalka, Jones, Maloney and Graffin. The VICTORY! box shows a score of 4321, marked as a new high score. The hangar then shows the newly unlocked Type C, The Fregatidae, with a Flak Artillery in place of the beam, and Basket plans to fly it next.
