Nicely stated.
Indeed that's the very crux of the "Onslaught" NEXUS attack event that the player faces if saving both Transports and both Sergeants (Wilkes and Gibbs). NEXUS forces pushing the player into a corner where the player needs to choose between fight or flight. The player persevering and eventually turning things around.
What your idea implies to me, from a gameplay point of view, is that we offer the player a "way out" if something happens to the command units (Wilkes, Gibbs and the Commander). I
do have a replacement Tac Sergeant already in the templates along with a Rescue Force (including Construction Droids) that can arrive
anytime. What if we were to do the following:
a) Commander, Gibbs and Wilkes have all been eliminated. NEXUS calls off the Assault, having been victorious.
b) The Rescue Team enters the zone. The player is given control of these forces, with instructions to
quietly set up shop. The Coalition forces in the area advise the Rescue Team that they, in fact, were the ones who had called for assistance on behalf of Team One because the battle had gone very badly. NEXUS could not be allowed to continue operating, and the Project was the best group to deal with Dr. Reed and NEXUS.
c) With information in hand (and a nice quiet sector to set up Delta Base), the player can then prepare for whatever needs to happen without interference (and we can send the player to M4's area to begin operations there).
Or, we can simply have the player lose like before and simply try again.
