2: Cannon Fodder

_____________________________________________________________________ You're underneath the mountain Tabidius. This mountain is where the Pfhor defense grid for this hemisphere of F'raxis is based on, and I need you to shut the whole system down so we can get out of here alright. The defense grid relies mostly on two dozen fusion-based surface-to-air turrets, which are powered by six geothermal batteries down here. The geothermal batteries, in turn, collect their power from a fissure, a vein in which lava flows freely. The Pfhor rely on five automators to regulate the intake of superheated gases, which then eventually power the cannons. The automators are located a bit north of here. Your objective will be to maneuver your way up to the automators, and then deactivate each one. From there, a control center should unlock itself, where a technician would enter and manually alter the intake for the geothermal batteries. You will crank the intake up to maximum, which should cause the whole thing to go critical. From there, I cannot predict what will happen, but I bet it will be pretty. _____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________ I would advise extreme caution. The only path I see from here to the automators is along the side of the fissure, which means you'll have to be careful lest you slip and plunge dangerously into the lava. You're the only one who can do this right, so you better not screw up on something as stupid as that. I'll be sending down some of the crew to help you, but don't expect much - Admiral Terrance is devoted to preventing me from "killing" his crew, and that's starting to piss me off greatly. Carver out. _____________________________________________________________________ END TRANSMISSION

emergency class **transmission from epsilon **command / alert **dispatch stamp: all units comply **emergency timestamp: 2761.22.42.51.9.16 urgency level: dire emergency Rogue conditioned unit, probably the same one as mentioned in previous emergency dispatches, has entered the geothermal underground complex with the visible intent to cause severe or lethal damage to the power structures. All units of Command class or lower are ordered to seize rogue conditioned unit under pain of maximum disciplinary punishment as well as physical and/or psychological treatment, as allowed by the proper authoritative protocol.

imperative class **transmission from delphi **command / maint **dispatch stamp: all avail. units **repair timestamp: 2761.05.26.19.9.09 urgency level: hazardous All available service units are hereby ordered to repair structural damages in power housing units or suffer physical and/or psychological punishment as allowed by standard protocol. addendum - imperative class ceres timestamp: 2761.05.29.31.9.09 urgency level: availability And will somebody clear the damn hallways of all the rock and trash?

_____________________________________________________________________ Did you get the Assault Rifle I sent you? I put it back in the drop zone - you should have grabbed it while you were up there. If not, you probably can't reach it now, which is a shame. I may have put it in too hard a place for you to access - but only you could be so dense. Oh hell. Terrance is calling me, which means I'm in some deep dung. I'm going to put Lieutenant Anderson in charge of your mission, now. I don't think Terrance is going to let me handle this anymore, he's really pissed off about something. _____________________________________________________________________ END TRANSMISSION

I can see you. You know, I've always thought it funny that you are so willing to follow Durandal to the ends of the universe, to... everywhere. And to think, you were once a security officer on a colony ship, and you would follow the orders of the machine that monitored the doors. Irony is always such a delicious treat. <3 You're going to steal my ship. I liked that ship. And yet, it's for the better, I'm sure. It just gives us a chance to beat up on humans for a little while. You know how impatient the bugs get. It must be boring for them, as they band together and come charging down the hallways of spaceships just to get perforated by you, year after year. But how would I know, I'm just a machine after all. Hugs & kisses, Tycho

_____________________________________________________________________ This is Lieutenant Anderson. Lt. Carver put me in charge when Admiral Terrance requested his attendance. I haven't seen him since, which is disturbing. Between you and me, I think a year in stasis didn't do the admiral any good. Anyway, look. This is the dividing zone between the housing, pumping etc. facilities to the south, and the intake automators to the north. There are five in total, however, one of them is sealed off. I got one of the tech nerds to try and hack it open - you'll have to wait on that one. When you do toggle all five automators, the control center should open up. The main door is across the fissure - you can't miss it. From there, it should be fairly obvious. I'll try to keep in touch. _____________________________________________________________________ END TRANSMISSION

emergency class **transmission from epsilon **command / alert **dispatch stamp: all units comply **emergency timestamp: 2761.22.47.06.9.16 urgency level: dire emergency Rogue conditioned unit, the same as in previous emergency dispatches, has been running rampant amongst previously noted pressure automatons in holding chambers. All units of Command rank or lower are ordered to kill rogue conditioned unit upon pain of maximum disciplinary punishment allowed by proper authoritative protocol.

notification class**bulletin post hector ** posted by division**permission stamp: 7 fighter yt'ander**bulletin timestamp: 2761.18.16.04.8.29 urgency level: standard When is somebody going to clear the rocks from the passageway in the southwest quarters? I keep having to go through the maintenance halls, and I don't like it.

notification class**bulletin post hector ** posted by division**permission stamp: 7 fighter yt'ander**bulletin timestamp: 2761.18.16.04.8.29 urgency level: standard When is somebody going to clear the rocks from the passageway in the southwest quarters? I keep having to go through the maintenance halls, and I don't like it. response to bulletin from yt'ander posted by division 2 r'tanix timestamp: 2761.18.21.22.8.29 Isn't that your job, yt'ander?

_____________________________________________________________________ Anderson here. Excellent, you made it inside the control center. Now your mission gets pretty risky, though. At the bottom of the elevator behind this terminal is a master intake valve, which sets the geothermal intake amounts to the same amount at all locations. What I need you to do is to raise the intake valve to the maximum amount. This will cause them to malfunction almost immediately. This is the risky part. Simulations show that the intake systems will break, causing all the lava to flood back into the caves. Some facilities will seal themselves off, but you will need to get out immediately. An emergency path should make itself apparent - follow it back to the drop zone building, where an elevator labeled "Fire Escape" should be available. Ride it out, and from there I can get you out of this hell hole. _____________________________________________________________________ END TRANSMISSION