Commander Altsain had bagged a fair few Thargoids but, a few scouts aside, she had never tackled one of the big alien ships on her own. However, she found herself in the Pleiades Sector, and decided to swing by HR 1183 where she kept her Type-10 xenos hunter stored, the Auricwing. After a stiff drink or two, she felt ready to try her luck against one of the big Thargoid ships – on her own…

The Thargoids were heavily active in the region, and it did not take the commander long to find their spoor – a shattered Federal Corvette that had decidedly come off second best against their fleet.

Roaming the HR 1183 system in the Auricwing, she picked her way past the pickets of Marauder scouts, intent on not getting embroiled in any skirmishes or taking needless damage before she faced the main challenge. It did not take the commander much long to drop from supercruise, right into the clutches of a Cyclops variant Thargoid Interceptor.

The first clash did not go well. Commander Altsain focussed way too much on the Thargon swarm early in the battle, leaving the Cyclops free to pound the Auricwing. The type-10 was forced to withdraw to the station for repairs, where the commander thought hard about the encounter.

She decided she would try again, and this time leave the Thargon swarm to her AX fighter. She would concentrate on the main target.

This battle went a lot better, and the commander quickly got into the rhythm of pounding away at the Thargoid’s hull, then switching to its hearts when they were exposed. The Aurcwing’s shields failed on a frequent basis, but its hull made it a tough old beast, as it has few frills beyond hull and Guardian module reinforcements.

The AX fighters, too, made good account of themselves, and the commander was glad she had splashed out for an extended double hangar, allowing the small craft to be constantly recycled to keep the Thargons busy and occasionally joining in on the attack on the Cyclops.

Though the Auricwing’s hull was beginning to creak and crack under the constant punishment it received, finally the commander rejoiced as the Thargoid Interceptor detonated under the Type-10’s sustained fire.

As the Thargoid exploded into an ever-expanding cloud of green goo, the commander circled it in a kind of victory dance – she had done it! She had soloed her first Thargoid without getting blown out of the sky.

Though the Auricwing returned to the station limping, its commander was fairly jubilant.

In fact, she liked the experience so much, she had the ship repaired, and then promptly left to do it all over again!

In this clash, the Auricwing fared less well, sustaining a lot more damage, and with even one of the AX Multicannon sporadically failing (which caused the commander some consternation during the fight). However, she was rapidly gaining anti-xenos experience, and this Cyclops went the way of the first.

The Auricwing is a tough old ship, but the commander has a feeling that a Cyclops might be its limit. She is now thinking how to go about tackling a Basilisk on her own…