Mission Name: Retreiving Your Ship!
Objective: Pay 2,250,000 credits to the Teladi Trading Station in Ianamus Zura (Acquisition Repository start) or Tears of Greed (Tears of Greed start)
Time Limit: 12 hours
Reward: Enhanced Kea with 5x 25MJ shield, 2x HEPT, 2x FBL, 3x Banshee Missile, Boost Extension, Cargo Lifesupport System, SETA, Video Enhancement Goggles, 32x Microchip, 18x Quantum Tube, 176x Energy Cell and random ship upgrades
The timer for this mission begins immediately for the Tormented Teladi starting scenario even if the player tries to ignore the mission triggering message. If ignored the message will automatically pop up after 20 minutes of gameplay. Avoid accepting the Flight School mission as the clock is ticking.
What makes this mission challenging is the player starts out in a slow M5 with only 1MJ of shielding and 2x IRE limiting your combat capacity early on while the small cargo hold and S cargo class excludes the player doing lucrative courier and passenger transportation missions. The low starting finances of 1,815 credits and cargo class also restrict trading early on. Unlike X3: Terran Conflict the player cannot rely on finding abandoned claimable ships to sell.
Factors of this starting scenario that work in favour for the player completing this mission are starting neutral to all Races except the Pirates and Xenon and the starting locations being near sectors with a lot of fighting.
Option A:
Head straight to the Argon/Terran warzone salvaging and selling every ware that is a small cargo class along the way (with luck something valuable like weaponry or disintegrator rifles will drop). Also try to trade Energy Cells and Bio wares along the way for extra credits (buying and selling them as individual units can help inflate the player Trade Rank so missions give larger rewards). Only accept combat missions if there are several friendly combat ships nearby so they can help kill the mission targets.
Once in the warzone patrol between Heretic's End and Elysium of Light salvaging everything that drops in the fighting (if two fleets engage several hundred thousand credits worth of missiles can drop). Use the first income to max the engine of the player ship (do not bother with cargo or rudder) and get the Navigation Command Software and Trading System Extension. Keep salvaging until at least 40,000 credits are earned (can be quick if some Remote Guided Warheads drop) and then head to PTNI Headquarters.
Go to the Satellite Factory and purchase 2x Navigational Relay Satellites before docking at the Stock Exchange. Pay the 10,000 credits charge, save the game and invest in Natural wares that have an index close to 100 or higher (Biological Micro-Organisms, Construction Equipment, Weapon interface Chips, Terran High-Tech Goods and Jumpdrive Components are quite volatile). If the index does not move or goes closer to 100 load and make a better investment. If the index drops earning credits save and wait to see if more money can be made loading if the profit drops. Each investment can easily make a >60% return however, they are unpredictable, unreliable and limited to around 600,000 credits investment so a transition into stock market manipulation is recommended.
At around 1,000,000 credits place a Navigational Relay Satellite 6 squares above the ecliptic in PTNI Headquarters and head to Ianamus Zura via Xenon Sector 347 (if the player Combat Rank has not been increased the NPC ships will have the Xenon on the ropes). Make regular stops at stations to save and check the stock market. In Ianamus Zura visit the Energybolt Chaingun Forge and buy all the Energybolt Chainguns (1,040,000 credits for 8 keeping 600,000 credits for the stock market). Visit the Teladi Space Equipment Dock in Ianamus Zura and Military Outpost in Eighteen Billion buying the Energybolt Chainguns (for a total of up to 16) ensuring there is at least 140,000 credits left.
Head to Grand Exchange, gain access to the local Stock Exchange and place the second Navigational Relay Satellite 6 squares above the ecliptic. Buy as many Energybolt Chaingun stocks as possible (should be (4+number on player ship)*2 available assuming no rapid response craft). Fly through the West gate to Belt of Aguilar and sell the shares before flying back to Grand Exchange to buy the shares again (this can be done at least 6 times per minute). Keep repeating until the shares are earning 150,000 credits per transaction (do this at least four times) and fly to the Military Outpost in Merchant Haven to buy another 4 Energybolt Chainguns giving the player total control of the Energybolt Chaingun stock price. Continue the Belt of Aguilar/Grand Exchange Energybolt Chaingun stock cycle until 3,000,000 credits (enough to complete the mission and start generating money again fast).
Finally fly to the Teladi Trading Station needed to complete the mission and say "Yes" to the message that appears when you enter the system to claim the reward and unlock the easier Poisoned Paranid starting scenario. This mission can easily be done in under 6 hours with the transition from first Stock Exchange investment to stock market manipulation and mission completion taking under 2 hours (most play time is taken getting to the warzone in the slow un-upgraded starting ship and the unpredictability of salvageable ware drops). The advantage of this method of completing the mission is that the player not only can succeed well within the time limit but also maintains good relations with all Races and has the start of a credit generating engine that rapidly allows for empire building.
Option B:
Patrol the pirate sectors between Ceo's Doubt and Cardinal's Domain salvaging wares and missiles. Use the stronger missiles to start plundering undefended Paranid Arms Dealers buying a 5MJ shield (Teladi Space Equipment Dock in Ianamus Zura) and 4x PACs (Military Outpost in Eighteen Billion if not dropped by killed ships) as soon as possible. When fully equipped it is possible to cap M5, M4, TS and even weaker M3 ships which can be sold at the Ianamus Zura Shipyard along with any equipped weapons. This method will complete the mission but reduce the player back to a ship and a few credits state with limited income options while the Paranid will hate you.