FTL: The Drifters

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

Steve somehow manages to vent all the fires on board using the airlocks and then repair the hull breaches and primary systems - then with no fuel to go anywhere, activates the Distress Beacon and waits. The first ship is a merchant who is unwilling to help without payment, and given the status of Steve's vessel can tell he can't pay anyway, so the merchant simply leaves.

The second ship is a Federation ally! "What luck!" Steve exclaims as he shares the important data with them while they give him a tiny amount of gas before parting ways. Now feeling blessed, Steve pushes forward into... the same auto-fighter that killed his friends. It recognizes him and without hesitation, tears him and his ship into space debris.

MISSION FAIL.

Meanwhile, on the Waverider - Sara had Gideon, the ship AI, analyze the data cube Steve had given her. "That guy really lucked out that we were passing by," noted Amaya as she entered the control room. "I'll say, did you see the way he looked at you?" joked Zari.

"It seems this is as important as he said it is," confirms Gideon, interrupting the giggling. Sara nodded.

Time for things to get weird.

"Alright girls, buckle up! We've got a job to do!"

Insight: The rebel fleet actually sweeps the sector map from left to right (marked with a very dangerous red highlight). If you are not moving for long enough they will get you.

FTL: Bugly Bugs

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

Escaping from the asteroid field, the Bugly Bugs arrived at the edge of an uncharted nebula where the next LRB sat in eerie silence. Much like the station they found Notch at, this one seemed devoid of life but desperate for fuel they decided to dock anyway.

Instead, they only found a terrible flesh eating virus that Notch comes in contact with. Steve and the direbugs quickly shut the airlock to save themselves, leaving Notch to die in a worse place than they found him. Haunted by his screams, Steve pushes the ship forward and past its limits - into the next nebula sector and right into a Mantis ship!

At first the battle is fierce, until it becomes clear that it is a stalemate with neither vessel being able to penetrate the other's shield. Eventually they tire of each other and move on, with the Bugly Bugs finally running out of fuel as it reaches a rebel supply point guarded by an automated fighter craft.

With no options left, they engage the fighter and are quickly hammered by its superior fire power. One of its missiles explodes Paylise and her station into dust while another causes a hull breach that pulls Buglybugs into the fatally cold vacuum of space.

That's never a good sign.

Sensing the Bugly Bugs' lack of fuel, the enemy fighter then picks up the supplies, and indeed, the entire supply way point then leaves his opponent to die helplessly alone in space.

Insight: Rushing early leaves your ship too weak to survive the later sectors. It also brings a severe lack of fuel.

FTL: Need for Speed

[Part of the Adventures in Space journal]

Steve looked quizzically at the data cube El Duce had placed in his hand as he boarded his Engi style spaceship 'Bugly Bugs', with his monstrous, space faring direbug friends Paylise and Buglybugs who have already proven their space faring skills by previously finding him at the center of the universe!

Armed only with an ion stunner and battle drones the Bugly Bugs had to rely more on speed to fly past any foes - reaching the first LRB in record time. There, a hauntingly empty station lured them in - rescuing the lone survivor, Notch, from a pirate massacre.

Fighting in an asteroid field is not a great idea.

Steve then opted to jump the ship into an asteroid nebula to avoid detection and were surprised to find a Slug ship already hiding there! The Slugs weren't in a sharing mood though and opened fire. Fortunately, a single battle drone supported by well timed ion strikes was more than enough to deal with them. They would have been permitted to leave, if their ship hadn't then been crushed between two large rocks.

Insight: A lot of this game is about unlocking stuff, such as ships and ship layouts by performing random feats. Unlocking the Engi craft only requires reaching the 5th sector which the Marauder (previous ship) was able to do.

Spore: Steve in the Center

[Part of the Direbug Saga]

The unrelenting Grox sent wave after wave of fighters at the allied fleet, and at 85% to the core all his allies are dead and Buglybugs must duck onto a small moon orbiting a gas giant to hide from the pursuers - putting down a colony for repairs.

Evil cyborg space goblins!

Having used only under a third of the prepared supplies, he was in good shape though - and soon continued on the mad dash through the Grox Gauntlet. It was still terrifying with ever shortening travel distance allowances, but soon he made it... and the Grox all backed off.

There in the swirling core, Buglybugs met Steve (a human?) who congratulated him on getting this far, proving the Direbugs are worthy of advancement and gifting him the Staff of Life (instant terraform). Steve also mentioned to visit the third rock from Sol sometime, before vanishing and leaving Buglybugs the unenviable position of having to run the gauntlet in reverse to return to Pyrachs.