Basket takes the Rock Cruiser out again, this time hunting achievements. The ship is the Bulwark, Layout A, with an Artemis, a Hull Missile and the Rock Plating augmentation. The crew list shows Berko, Caldwell and Turing. Five parts later the Bulwark reaches The Last Stand and destroys the Rebel Flagship for a score of 4722.
Part 1: Lasers first
Before the first jump Basket reads out the ship's achievements. One needs fire and crew teleporting, and another needs a kill with only missiles while the enemy has a defense drone up. "So that one might be tough."
Sector 1 is a Civilian Sector. A signal from a planet's surface brings Charlie aboard ("now we have another rock guy"), and at the first store Basket buys a Chain Burst Laser, which charges faster each time it fires. Hector and Ma Fan join the crew along the way. "Humans learn a little faster," Basket says, and puts Hector on weapons.
Sector 2 is a Rebel Controlled Sector. At a store Basket buys a Fire Bomb with the fire achievement in mind, then puts the savings into a second layer of shields. The part ends with the Rebel fleet close behind.
Part 2: The missile achievement
Sector 3 is a Rock Controlled Sector. Basket has read up on a quest line and wants the stasis pod that starts it. A Slug cruiser and a Rock ship in a standoff end in a fight that leaves the Bulwark a Zoltan Shield Bypass ("we can teleport bombs and crew through the shield"), and a distress beacon leads to the Damaged Stasis Pod. Another surrender adds Bjorn.
Sector 4 is a Pirate Controlled Sector. In a dense asteroid field the Rock Plating option searches a drifting ship safely and finds a Burst Laser Mark II. "Now we might not even have to use any missiles."
Then the achievement chance turns up: a pirate ship with a defense drone up, attacking a civilian ship. Basket fires missiles at it until it breaks apart. "Yes, that's my achievement, right? Yes." At the next store Basket buys Drone Control with a Defense Drone, and a Backup Battery.
Part 3: A second Chain Laser
Basket decides the stasis pod quest is out of reach this time ("we can't do that quest probably"), and the Bulwark heads into Sector 5, another Pirate Controlled Sector. At the store Basket weighs a Chain Ion, a Flak II and a Hull Repair Drone. "I don't know what to do, guys." The Damaged Stasis Pod is sold, and a second Chain Laser joins the weapons bar.
Kirkner joins after a fight, and a nebula event brings Maria for free. That puts the crew over capacity, and Caldwell is dismissed. A search through a hostile trade station turns up a friendly shuttle with fifty scrap. "I'm glad I searched amongst the stores."
Part 4: Saving up in the nebulas
Sector 6 is the Slug Controlled Nebula. "I hate the slugs." Shields go up to a third layer early on. At a store Basket sells the Artemis and the Fire Bomb, buys a Heavy Laser I and adds Hacking, which goes on enemy weapons in most fights from then on. Paying off a Rock ship's debt in a Slug standoff turns out to buy nothing. "That was a waste."
Sector 7 is the Uncharted Nebula. A pirate smuggler takes one look at the weapons and pays a bribe. In a plasma storm the pilot explores the debris and finds an Anti-Personnel Drone plus 51 scrap, and Basket sells the drone at the next store. More fights pay well, and the part ends at the exit with over 300 scrap saved. "I'll save this money for now."
Part 5: The Last Stand
Sector 8 is The Last Stand. Basket spends the savings on a fourth shield layer, then on an Ion Charger in place of the Heavy Laser. The Flagship's first stage loses its shields to hacking and charged volleys and pulls away. Two more fights on the way to the next meeting go the Bulwark's way.
In the second stage the Flagship has a drone that shoots down hacks ("never mind"), so Basket skips hacking and fights with the lasers. The third stage sends boarders and mind control across the ship while fires spread. "That mind control is still going, that's crazy." Then the Flagship breaks apart in the target panel.
How it ended
The end crawl thanks the Bulwark and its crew: Berko, Turing, Charlie, Hector, Ma Fan, Bjorn, Kirkner and Maria. The VICTORY! box shows a score of 4722, marked as a new high score. "We got another victory," Basket says, and plans to fly the same ship again to look for the Rock sector quest.
