Did it with the Ursa again. I confess that this is one of those missions where getting it right the first time is pretty tough, regardless of what you do. I blame part of that on the poor design of the Sath model.
I'll need to try this once more WITHOUT flying in the general direction of the Sathanes before it arrives, and not dump all power to engines while lighting the burner as much as possible at the same time...
Regardless, this is how I handled it:
The second primary bank should be fitted with the Maxim. This slot is just great for long-range accuracy shots against those flack guns...
Wingmen coordination is quite important. First, order them to form on your wing. They'll follow you anyway, so this shouldn't matter. However, it should ideally keep them from ramming each other. When the Sath pops up, order all of them to attack the closest beam turret. Keep power to engines full until you're just at the edge of your range limit on the Maxims to the flack batteries. Once you're in position, revert all engine power back into engines and shileds. The Ursa's a surprisingly refreshing bomber - it has a HUGE cannon capacitor. With an augmented recharge, it's just enough to get the fire you need down on those flack guns. Once they're gone, this mission is much, much more simple...
Like all AI wingmen, they'll be pretty stupid. However, given enough time, the rest of Alpha wing will indeed do a good bit of damage to a beam turret. Cycling your wingmen through the turrets while you attack a different one will knock out the beams very fast indeed. As this operation is time-sensitive, good decision-making makes all the differrence. And not to spoil any mission design elements, but attacking the initial turrets closest to you is a very pertinent decision...
Once the beams are down, DO NOT STICK AROUND. The only bomber you have access to for that mission that might stand a chance at fighting the small Dragon swarm is the Zeus, but that obviously doesn't have the ordnance necessary to knock out beams. Gather up yon homies and proceed to the Orestes. Afteryou're at a safe distance from the madness going on over at the Sathanes, rearming and then doing a Braveheart charge back at the enemy is not a poor decision, as long as there's enough of you left. Keeping your head while rolling with the madness goes a long way with this mission.
Now, if you can keep that in mind, this mission actually can be pretty fun. If not, it's terrible. The best thing of course is when it's over, as you can then fly the pattern about the Orestes. The truly best thing about this mission, however, is that Universal Truth is right behind it. This made me very happy until one of those blast-darnit anti-ship torpedoes exploded nearby, vaporizing my poor Myrmidon...
