4Game

It's a damn shame there's zero on-foot content. Picture this:

You dock at one of the rescue megaships and disembark. News is that the Federation now offers bundles of Weapon Components, Tungsten, and other personal equipment upgrade materials in exchange for Thargoid materials such as Hearts and Tissue Samples, and you've picked up a few of those in your recent battles.

As you walk down the megaship's central corridor, a man with a haunted look approaches you. "Please, can you help? I don't know who else to turn to." Normally you'd brush him off; everyone's got a problem these days. But something in the man's eyes gives you pause.

"It's my brother. He recently took a job providing security for one of those settlements out on the fringe. When the Thargoids attacked… I've been checking the arrivals records from all the evacuation ships coming in. Nothing. Please. If there's any chance he's still alive… I know this is asking a lot of you, but I would never forgive myself if I didn't try."

Looking the man up and down, you can smell the desperation. You also notice his clothes. Executive-chic. Sirius-branded jewelry. Upper management, maybe? There might be an angle here. After a brief negotiation, he agrees to provide you with a fat ream of Sirius Corporation's newest personal equipment Manufacturing Instructions. Looks like this job just became worth your while.

The settlement is deep in Thargoid country. Bit of a hike, but you're not worried. Your Chieftain's hull is thick and your thrusters are engineered out the wazoo; anything you can't break, you can outrun. Sure enough, jumping to the system you get stopped by the locals. Barely an inconvenience. Another jump takes you to your destination.

Your ship groans and creaks as you plunge toward the settlement at a steep angle. Best make it quick. "Flight control, this is Lakon Tango Alpha Sierra, requesting docking." Silence. "Anybody home?" No response. Lights are off; the settlement is dark. "Yeah, figures." Then again, maybe you're not entirely alone after all; extending your landing gear, your ship blurts out a frame-shift anomaly warning, and a trio of Thargoid Interceptors emerge in the sky above you. You deploy your ship's Scorpion SRV and immediately dismiss your ship. The Interceptors turn to chase your craft and open fire on your Chieftain, but it jumps out before they can do any real damage. Thank the stars for fast engines and heavy armor.

"Alright, let's see what we've got ourselves into here." Using your SRV's sensors to scan for contacts, you pick up a whole lot of gear that was left behind, but no active personnel transponders. Great, just great. You have half a mind to just leave, report there was nothing here, and cash in those Manufacturing Instructions, but… well, there IS a lot of stuff here that the settlers left behind. Would be a shame to just let the Thargoids have it. You step out of the SRV.

It doesn't take long before you discover the first body. Sprawled out in the central courtyard in a crumpled, mangled heap, it looks like the guard fell from a great height. That's… odd. You glance around. There aren't any structures tall enough for that kind of fall. Maybe they slipped from a ship as it was escaping? You use your Profile Analyser tool to make sure this guard isn't your target. As the scan completes (it's not him), your suit also downloads a file from the guard. Some kind of audio recording? "Oh god, they're taking them! They're just scooping them up! rifle firing YOU'RE NOT GONNA TAKE ME, YOU FILTHY BUGS! rifle firing, runs dry No! NO! NOOOOOO—"

The hairs on your neck stand up. On second thought, the Thargoids can have all this stuff, you're leaving. You stride back to your SRV, when suddenly your suit registers a ping. You turn to look. There, just beyond the landing pad. Is that… a Thargoid Scavenger? And it's carrying something? Yes, sure enough, the Scavenger is hauling some kind of pod. It's going faster than you can run, so you jump into the Scorpion and give chase. Sensors confirm your worst fears: there's a person inside that pod, or cocoon, or whatever that is. You crest a hill in pursuit, and more contacts appear on radar. More Scavengers, more personnel transponders, more pods. They all converge toward a Thargoid Interceptor unlike any you've seen before, slowly gobbling up pods using its tractor beam.

There. Your SRV highlights one of the pods for you: your target is inside that pod! No time for subtlety; you spin up the Surge Repeater and make giblets out of the Scavenger carrying the pod. Well, they did not like that. The Scavengers swing toward the new threat and open fire, and the Interceptor pulses red, ready to attack.

Fizzlesticks.

You deploy the cargo scoop and grab the pod. Alien weaponry chews up the ground around you. You send the recall order to your ship, then show the Thargoids how a CMDR can make an SRV dance. The Scorpion is tough, but the Interceptor's weapons are more than your vehicle can handle. Where is that damn ship. Another Interceptor emerges from witch space, ready to join the party, seconds before you hear the sound of your Chieftain dropping in. Now or never. All pips to engines, you floor it, racing toward the open hangar bay. Once inside, you scramble into the cockpit and lift off, pushing your craft to its absolute limits as you try to outrun the incoming shutdown field. You point your nose toward the stars and boost, just as your ship shuts down. You glide, weightless, whispering a litany of prayers to whoever is listening. In a slow tumble, you find yourself looking back at your pursuers. The strange Interceptor is heading toward you… deploying a tractor beam? Your ship's systems kick back in, and you're gone.

Stars above, you're alive.

Your heart rate has almost dropped back down to normal by the time you return to the megaship. The contact is beyond grateful for what you've done for him, and he is confident his brother will make a full recovery. Today, you've made a friend in Sirius Corporation. You say your goodbyes and leave, heading straight for the bar. You need a god damn drink. The place is crowded, but a spot opens up at the bar just as you enter. You sit down and order a drink. Lavian Brandy. You feel like you earned this one. Just then, a woman sitting next to you turns to you. "So I hear you've been poking around Thargoid territory. Word travels fast around here. If you're not scared to tussle with the murder flowers, I may have a job for you. You see, there's this research settlement…"

Like, why even have Odyssey when they're not doing anything with on-foot content? Don't even need new assets or anything. Like, I don't need to fight Thargoid foot soldiers right now, Scavengers are fine for the time being. (But maybe foot soldiers and new Thargoid War personal equipment later?) FDev should absolutely make on-foot missions that use settlements in Thargoid territory. The sheer lack of on-foot Thargoid War missions feels really bad.