Lots of combat in my ongoing Space Rangers 2 game from 3307 to 3312. I’d finally managed to join a proper military operation to liberate a system in the game, but while it was success, taught me to pay attention to which system is actually being liberated. You see, these operations start by docking with the military base organizing the expedition. When you agree to join in, you’re placed in suspended animation until the date and time of the attack, and then the entire base warps into the target system held by the Dominators. Then everyone undocks from the station and proceeds to kick Dominator ass.

The battle itself went well enough, as by that point I’d upgraded to a great combat ship with max weapons slots and a special +15 to shields, which means any incoming damage is reduced by a further 15% in addition to the base defense of my shield generator. I did need to redock with the station for repairs once, but overall, destroying all of the Dominators garrisoning the system was fairly easy, and I happily hopped over to one of populated planets to be properly congratulated and feted.

It was only when I went to the galaxy map screen to actually see which system I’d liberated and where I should go next that I discovered to my horror that I’d ended up smack in the middle of Dominator-occupied space. I looked frantically around and confirmed that there was indeed no friendly system within jump range and that unless I wanted to stay in and defend the system I’d just liberated forever, I would need to jump through a Dominator-controlled system to reach Coalition space. It took multiple tries to do this but by using two of my programs that automatically causes a Dominator to self-destruct when transmitted to it, I managed to get back into friendly space by the skin of my teeth. And being surrounded by Dominators, the system I’d just liberated very soon fell to them again.

I did make a point to join in such operations again whenever possible, but I’ve been extremely careful that the target system being liberated is located close to friendly space. One problem with fighting the Dominators is that the repair fees adds up, and there’s no reliable reward from defeating them. If you’re lucky you might be able to grab some valuable loot off the destroyed Dominators to sell at a science base, but for the most part, I had to alternate between fighting them and doing more traditional missions to build up my cash pile and continue upgrading my gear.

One consequence of the fighting I’d been doing is that I’d gotten promoted twice, from Cadet to Rookie, and from Rookie to Pilot, with each promotion earning me a powerful energy weapon that isn’t normally available for purchase. I’ve also been steadily climbing up at the ranks and I’m now within striking distance of the top ten rangers in the galaxy. I’ve noticed that my title changes over the course of the game depending on what I do most. I started out as a Magnate, became a Merchant when I was making most of money from courier missions and trading and now I’ve become a Mercenary.

Another thing that’s become clear is that the game is ending soon. The Coalition has kept the pressure on the Dominators and gained control of about 60% of the galaxy. Whatever I choose to do, the Dominators are doomed. I’ve been warned that this is a possible consequence of the normal difficulty level, but I’m still going to try to be as involved as I can as the war reaches its climax.