Marathon's Story... Marathon II (Preview)
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<CMND PRAMA &49c2>
Welcome back.
I've awakened you from stasis and teleported you down to a planet where
I need some work done. You are on Lh'owon, the homeworld of the S'pht.
I'm sure you're wondering where you are, why you were in stasis, what
happened to the Marathon and Tau Ceti and most of all where your rocket
launcher and fusion gun are. There'll be plenty of time for
explanations later. Right now I need you to repair some damaged
network connections for me. Be careful you're about to meet some old
friends.
Your mission is to place two uplink chips at
two different locations in this complex.
This will give me access to the Pfhor
garrison's net.
I've marked the two places for you
to use the chips. When you arrive in these areas I
will transport the necessary parts to you.
One is marked on the map here.
The other is marked here.
You should encounter little oranized
resistance because the Pfhor are
preoccupied. I've been introducing them to
the wonders of orbital bombardment.
Your suit has been modified so that you can
recharge at the alien power stations on this
planet. There is one at this location that
you should use when your shield energy get
low.
Similarly, there are satellite uplink
stations where you can download yourself
into a pattern buffer on my ship. There is
one at the location I have marked.
Waterloo Waterpark (Terminal 1: 2nd message)
<CMND PRAMA &49c2>
Seventeen years have passed since the human colony on Tau Ceti was
attacked and you helped me capture the Pfhor scoutship. During these
seventeen years, the S'pht which I liberated from slavery and I have
been searching the galactic core in that stolen scoutship for the S'pht
homeworld, Lh'owon. This is where you are now. Lh'owon was all but
destroyed over thousand years ago during the battle in which the
Pfhor enslaved the S'pht.
Immediately before we left the colony on Tau Ceti, I teleported you
directly into one of the stasis chambers on the scoutship and you
remained there for our entire journey through the core. One instant
you're looking forward to retiring from combat as the hero of the
defense of Tau Ceti and the next you're on an alien world seventeen
years later and half a million light years away.
But you'll thank me later when you hear what happened to the colony.
Waterloo Waterpark (Terminal 2)
<CMND PRAMA &41c2>
*Translation System Active*
Water system breakdown at sector 6:
Directive from Garrison Command:
To: Leader Station 6-d
Planetary bombardment by hostile orbiting in
our (??captured) ship has caused a major
disfunction (??malfunction) in the water
purification (??cleaning) systems.
Send drones: 94126 95239 29581 to make
emergency repairs.
<CMND OVERRIDE &@1494>
There were many humans in stasis on the Pfhor ship which the S'pht
and I captured at Tau Ceti, destined for slavery in the Pfhor Empire.
As I saw the colony was about to be destroyed, I did not restore them
before we left. I also realized they might become useful, and that
time has come.
I have begun reviving these colonists and asking for volunteers on
the following terms: assist us and control your own destiny, refuse and
face indefinite return to the unreliable Pfhor stasis chambers.
Few are refusing.
The first assault on the garrison took place
at and around the Pfhor's secondary landing
field. I dropped fifty colonists through a
gap in the garrison's teleportation shield.
The attack was aborted when the Pfhor
flooded the area with lava by modifying
their extensive geothermal power system. I
have located their underground geothermal
pumping station and have a plan.
The first part of the plan has already been
executed. I smashed a hole in the roof of
this complex by bombing it with a small
asteroid. Then, I dropped you and some
humans into the hole where you await the
second part of the plan.
Up the stairs from this location is
a ventilation shaft that leads to the
underground geothermal station. Because only
you would survive the fall, you're going
this mission solo.
I have breached a terminal at this location.
After you drop down the shaft, you will need
to find your way to this terminal. I will
give you further instructions when you
arrive.
What! About! Bob! (Terminal 1: 2nd message)
<CMND OVERRIDE &@1494>
Were you ever curious about the tenth cyborg which was supposed to be
on the Marathon? Why could Leela find only nine? Was it ever
activated? Was it destroyed during the defense of the colony? You are
right to be curious.
Poor Leela. Tycho tells me she was dismantled and shipped to the
Pfhor home world for study, along with most of the other computer
systems aboard the Marathon. Leela was so loyal and tried so hard; she
deserved better.
What! About! Bob! (Terminal 2)
<CMND THRESHOLD 92%>
The switch to your right activates gangways
to two sets of control panels isolated in
the center of the lava pools. You can access
the panels simply by opening them.
Behind the panels is vital circuitry. One
maintains the power to the lava pumps, and
the other powers various safety mechanisms.
Use the grenades to destroy both panels, but be
sure to destroy the one closer to this
terminal first. Otherwise, you'll be trapped.
If you've wasted all your grenades then
you can do it the old fashion way-with
your fist.
After you destroy the circuitry, return to
the surface by way of the stairs and help
the colonists with the attack. When the area
is clear of aliens, find a terminal for
further instructions.
Also, there are likely to be Pfhor on the
stairwell leading out. Eradicate them before
you deactivate the pumps or else you will
have difficulty outrunning the lava flooding
down the safety drains.
Oh, did I leave that part out? When the
safeties disengage, the lava on the surface
will descend through drains into this area,
burying the main Pfhor power station.
We will cripple them.
Good luck.
What! About! Bob! (Terminal 3: 'Unfinished' message)
<CMND OVERRIDE &@85f2>
Ths area is not secure, and humans are still in combat.
Return when the area is secure.
What! About! Bob! (Terminal 3: 'Success' message)
<CMND OVERRIDE &@85f2>
Sorry about the lava bath. There was no other way.
Prepare for Teleportation.
<Pragma Junction ^7921 Engaged>
The humans are good fighters, and they can handle any remnant Pfhor.
I have transported you to the S'pht Citadel of Antiquity. The primary
tower is inaccessible by direct teleportation evidently because some
of the Citadel's defenses are still functional.
The S'pht barricaded the main tower during the war which led to their
slavery. From my understanding, the Pfhor were routed several times in
the battle. Their defeat convinced them to use radiation weapons to
kill all the S'pht who were inside. Again what was another's demise is
our luck. When the S'pht realized what was happening, they made one
last effort to escape. This should make your entry into the tower
possible.
Once inside, your signal will allow me to overcome the ancient
defenses, and we can explore the tower.
This is where you are now. I have managed
to make contact with the ancient S'pht
computer net.
Finding a way into the primary tower will
be difficult, the ground floor entrance is
locked and blocked by a moat. You will have
to overcome both these obstacles to gain
entrance.
I will continue to search through this
network, and I will attempt to contact you
later.
BaseDestruction (Terminal 1: 2nd message)
<Pragma Junction ^7921 Engaged>
If you insist on stumbing around when our time here is limited, I may
just decide that you're not all that special after all and teleport you
out into space.
GET INTO THE TOWER!
Still Rampant,
Durandal
BaseDestruction (Terminal 2)
<Mnr *@1cz 9cm2>
--<Translator Engaged>>--
When once S'pht fought brutal combat,
when hatred burned the tissues of one's
enemy, one clan, the S'pht'Kr, reclusive and
solitary, abandoned Lh'owon.
The clan went forth and up, stopping on
K'lia the third sister of Lh'owon, to build
a new home, free from their warring brothers.
For a thousand and one orbits, the clan was
forgotten, lost upon the battlefield smoke,
until the all powerful Y'rr sent K'lia out
to the stars.
BaseDestruction (Terminal 3: End message)
Message from Durandal
I am going to teleport you to the higher levels of the Citadel.
Hopefully, we can find some useful information at the top.
We must determine what happened to the eleventh S'pht clan.
Hamish Sinclair
Hamish.Sinclair@tcd.ie
Last updated Sept 19, 1995