Caleb Schumann’s Reviews > Shadow of the Storm > Status Update

Stormshadow heads in for repairs, piloted by Browning - at Crowe's suggestion, as a sort of "thanks for helping save all us from dying". We cut to the epilogue, where we learn nine worlds attempted to secede- most failing, several successfully rising, but likely to be stomped out as the Imperium seems unlikely to intervene directly. For it all, the Comfederation stands. HAIL TERRA!

At a tremendous cost, though. Every surviving ship - which, shockingly, was all but the Marasti - was crippled, and the station was nearly spent of all fighting capability; their only spaceworthy craft was the captured transport, Vesikko. Crowe decides he's content, especially learning Carstairs, Dupuy, and Urasnicz were all still alive, even if Dupuy was in critical condition and hospitalized. I'd be too.

-really just sheer spite. Stormshadow barely avoids Mikula, which transmits surrender codes, though far too late. Nothing could be done for her, as she continues to crack and splinter and ultimately just fucking explode as the fires reach her magazine. Against every odd conceivable, the Stormshadow, somehow, had survived; and Troubridge Naval Base, just over the traitorous Dolor, had too.

The pilot - at gunpoint courtesy of Browning - agrees. Just as Crowe resigns himself to his - really quite heroic - fate, he gets a reading on the console. Mikula, desperate to evade, is putting all power to drives.. and ripping itself apart from the hull stress. Crowe orders a diversion of course at the last second in a panic that he might actually live, while Browning sprays the Mikula with point defense out of-

-out before he's killed from decompression, not having a suit. He takes in the situation, seeing Bainbridge joining the charge after taking out Regolo in a straight-on ship duel, and learns someone in engineering has taken emergency helm control. Lacking power over much of anything, he does the last thing he can- he issues the order for torpedo batteries, if any still exist, to fire, as Regolo emergency jumps out.

--, who had been sent to take turret control and seemingly been killed, had loaded the torpedo launchers and were ready to fire!?
Maybe it wasn't a gambit after all. Lesos hurls herself in the way of oncoming fire, sustaining crippling damage to save Stormshadow- which is practically disabled itself in spite of only taking a few hits, with the bridge taking a hull breach, forcing Crowe to shove Connelly -

-destruction together, Lesos committing all it's guns to point defense for Stormshadow, which succeeds in it's plan; the Mikula turns every missile on the two. Crowe thanks Browning and she transmits the ship's logs on open waves. No matter what, people will know of the sacrifice made today. Just then, Connelly - the ship's doctor, now final remaining bridge officer - rushes in and reports Morwood and her marines-

With the corvettes out, two hostiles remain- Regolo, in a horrific firefight with Bainbridge, and Mikula, Reutens' flagship, under heavy attack by Dolor's gunships. Crowe resolves to rush the Mikula as if to torpedo it, even though his turrets are all out, in the hopes of drawing fire. Lesos's captain calls him insane, and perhaps he is. But they're going in with him regardless. The two ships charge into certain-

-up on it as it tries to jump, it's lasers causing an overcharge and a *certain* misjump. Hopefully whoever was still aboard died quickly.

-the Regolo easy pickings for Bainbridge & co. Crowe goes to aid the beleaugered loyalist corvettes; corvette, as he finds Marasti has been lost with all hands. Battered, Lesos keeps up the fight and manages to force one of its opponents into an emergency jump out, scoring big hits thereafter that open up a second for Stormshadow's torpedoes, which complete the kill. The third strikes colours, but Crowe opens-