This is the only other highly detailed campaign idea I've done. It was originally designed to be a non-mod campaign, but there's so much you can do with it. Enjoy.
Legacy of TimeAs the Great War was winding down, and the Hades rebellion was heating up, VTAC (Vasudan-Terran Alliance Command) decided to investigate a strange signal picked up in Altair. Just as the Great War was beginning, this signal was picked up in Altair and originally classified as Shivan. It was only later that it was realized that it wasn’t Shivan, and instead of unknown origin. It was decided to send a small task force, called Legacy, to investigate. But the Great War had drained resources, and a whole destroyer could not be spared for such an undertaking. So a pair of cruisers, the Leviathan GTC DeLorain and the Aten PVC Shenrin, were modified to carry a few fighters and sent on their way. With a few transports and 60 some fighters and bombers in tow, Task Force Legacy headed beyond Altair in search of the source of the signal.
Legacy first encountered the race known as Tweedles, for the funny way they speak, was soon after entering the system. Flying Shivan fighters and transports, the Dumms, as this faction of the Tweedles would be called, claimed to have stolen the ships and were using them to fight the Dees, whom they claimed had made a pact with the Shivans. Privately declared suspicious, Legacy sent a small contact group to find the Dees and get their side of the story. There they found a strange tablet with Terran and Vasudan characters that said, cryptically, that the Dumms were not to be trusted. Soon after discovering the Dees and their tablet, the Dumms turned on Task Force Legacy. Though quickly defeated, the Shivans soon arrived, and harassed the small force while they cleared out of the system with the Dees in tow. The Dees were later settled secretly in Altair.
Part 1, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumm, 10-15 missions. I love crusiers. These ships, whether you realize it or not, are big, and can do oh so much. In this, the star is the DeLorain (you'll get the name in a sec), with a modified hull to carry two or three fighters and docking ports of a dozen more. On average, half the pilots and fighters are flying while the other half are docked. Wear and tear on our poor fighter jocks. I wonder what a moded DeLorain would look like. . . The Dumms are in Shivan craft because this was originally designed not to have any mods, not even for the DeLorain.The successful return of Task Force Legacy was quickly brought to the attention of the VTIC (Vasudan-Terran Intelligence Command). At the time, the Hades Rebellion had all but finished, and many of their secrets were revealed, from the Hades itself, to possible links to a Shivan communication device. But the greatest secret was the possibility of a time travel device, using only a subspace disrupter and a Harbinger bomb. After extended discussions, VTIC decided to attempt to prevent the 14 Year War from even starting, which would hopefully keep the Shivans from arriving in the first place.
Using all available data, the direct start of the war was identified. On December 21, 2321, just before the full out break of the war, a Vasudan convey, carrying a member of the Vasudan royalty, was attacked by Terran forces, killing the royal. This became the spark that started the war. Legacy was sent back to stop the event from occurring.
The initial mission was a failure. It turned out later that the convoy had been part of the interstellar drug trade, and the royal was one of the highest members. The Terrans who had destroyed it, lead by Captain Leroy Deller of the GTC Columbia, was part of a rival drug cartel. To ensure justice was served, Commodore Brown ordered the capture of Deller and his crew to be returned to modern times for trial. As Legacy attempted to leave for home, they came across the rebel GTI ship in charge of the time travel project, the GTD Cronos. A brief battle ensued, with the Cronos escaping into time. Legacy returned to the present with their report.
Part 2, In the Beginning. . ., 15-20 missions. What's not here is the fact that the Harbinger bombs that are brought along, for some reason don't work after the time jump. So you have to hunt down a Terran transport carrying early versions of the weapons. Capturing Deller is fun because you have to pose as old school GTA pilots in preperation to spring a trap. Just another theory for the 14 Year War.Assured that time could not be changed by the events of a future ship on the past, VTIC decided to chase down the Cronos to find out all it knew about the GTI’s activities.
Using the scant evidence that had been obtained, Legacy was redirected to the period when the infant GTA first entered the subspace node to Delta Serprentis. In a short, and mildly eventful stay, Legacy managed to defend the explorers from the attacks of the Cronos. A second time jump to when the Vasudan’s first intersystem jump was followed by yet another encounter with the Cronos, and another preservation of history.
This part is caught in limbo between part 2 and 3, though it can go with either. It does touch on the pre GTA and PVE days though, so you get to see some truly ancient stuff fly around. You also get to see what I think the GTA was like before intersystem subspace travel.The next time jump, with the best equipment, lead to the period when the Shivans destroyed the Ancients. They discovered a beaten race, with only a handful of ship. Obscenely large ships, but weak ones. During the brief visit, Legacy left a tablet on the Tweedle homeworld, and watch the Shivans destroy the last major outpost of the Ancient empire. As the Ancient’s ships left for one last hiding space, they took a Terran and Vasudan ambassador with them, in the hopes that one day, they could return to help fight the Shivans off and defeat them once and for all. As Task Force Legacy prepared to leave, the Cronos, at last, appeared. Somehow, the great ship had suffered massive damage, and appeared to have come from even farther in the past. In a final fight, Legacy was forced to destroy the Cronos and its escorts, losing the Shenrin in the process. With only a couple of captured GTI fighters in tow, the DeLorain returned to the present, through a fire storm of a Shivan attack.
After a re-supplying, the DeLorain prepared to jump to the point the Cronos had apparently been to in an effort to find out what happened to the ship. As the last capitol ship of the Task Force Legacy prepared to leave, the remains of the rebel GTI attacked. In the heat of battle, the DeLorain left, leaving many of its escorts behind. The ship was never seen again. . .
Part 3, The Ancient Truth, 15-20 missions. The tablet in part one is placed here, and the term "Task Force Legacy" disappears from the campaign for good. Going back to the Ancients is one thing, going farther back is another, which is why the pilot would likely miss it. And it gets too much into my personal theory of where the Shivans come from (no, not he Barbeque theory). "Obscenely large ships." I wonder what those are. . . 
Until 2367, when the Shivans returned. As civil strife erupted after the destruction of Capella, the GTVA was forced to scavenge for new ships and crews to fight a new force, the Neo-Hammer of Light. While searching out NHOL forces and remnants of the Shivans, the GTC DeLorain was rediscovered. During a refitting to make it battle worthy, strange modifications had been made to it, including an advanced stealth system and shielding system similar to the Lucifer’s shielding. The DeLorain was quickly turned over to the GTVI, who sent it to the Tweedle’s secret home, which was in NHOL territory, to recruit them to help stop the war. Unable to refuse, the Tweedles secretly helped end the NHOL war, and then returned home.
Part 4, Back to the Future, 15-25 missions. Who was surprised to see NHOL pop up? This is where it actually started, the most basic idea anyway. If NHOL 1 was ever done, this likely would have been a subplot. The campaign actually starts with trying to recapture the Aquitaine soon after the DeLorain is found, which requires lots of scanning and fear of the Aquitaine's own guns! You also get to save Petrach's (sp.) lifeAfterwards, the DeLorain was virtually torn apart as the GTVI tried to get as much information about its advanced systems, and where it had been. After getting what they could, the DeLorain was put back together and assigned to use the time travel device to explore Capella and where the Shivans had come from. Several dramatic jumps later, the DeLorain and her escorts discovered a strange, obviously Shivan world. As they tried to escape, she was destroyed by the Shivans. Only a handful of fighters managed to escape the slaughter, but they never made it home.
The GTVA never learned what the DeLorain discovered. She was declared lost and forgotten, again. Still, a faint Terran distress signal can be heard coming from a distance star.
Part 5, Beyond the Lions Den, 15-25 missions. Originally, the old DeLorain was replaced with an Aeolus of the same name, but I nixed that idea. Ever wonder what was beyond the third Knossos? Here's my answer. There's nebula fighting in Capella, Sathanas's running around all over the place, Shivans everywhere, and you in a tiny fighter escorting a crusier and some transports. Not fun, or at least not easy. The last few missions see all but the player wiped out as they try to escape. Then the single, most depressing ending I can think of comes.That's it of the two I detailed. There is, of course, all three NHOL campaigns, which meld nicely into the storylines of both Blood and Guts and this one (except for a single ship name, but I can fix that easy enough). Then there's the far future campaign called "Vishnu," where the Shivans are finally defeated. Kind of. Sort of. Almost. The Patton and the info from the DeLorain comes back in that one as well.
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I know there is a method, but all I see is madness.
