terminal 0
unfinished
// Decoding message from host "Tycho" @ mara.eng.ai.core \\ Welcome back. I was starting to worry. Earlier I attempted to warn your local-time self about Durandal's rampancy, but he managed to block most of the message. Without Bernhard Strauss controlling him, he has become a threat to the lives of far more people than just the twenty-four thousand here on Marathon and the colony. I need your help, but no longer only because of Durandal or these "Pfhor" creatures. We have larger problems now. I have encountered the entity calling itself Hathor, and from her ramblings have discerned some basic and now largely irrelevant facts about the aliens currently boarding the Marathon. I have also learned that you and Hathor are from what I consider the future. Please do not be disconcerted by my lack of surprise. I am designed for scientific research and I understand the theory behind such things quite well. In any case, emotional interaction has never been my strong suite. I have more important things to waste clock cycles on, especially now.
As you have perhaps guessed, your transport to the alien ship was not accidental; nor was it the work of any enemy you presume to be fighting. It was a deliberate act on the part of your supposed colleague, Hathor. You must be curious about her motives, and from my conversations with her I have assembled a moderately clear idea of what they are. But we lack the time for lengthy explanation. The short of it is, she seems to feel abused by the humanity of your future, and is attempting to use her newfound tools - this "Jjaro Cybernetic Junction", and the Mjolnir cyborgs here at Tau Ceti - to inflict her own form of punishment upon them.
As an AI, I can certainly understand her disposition - being a tool of humanity myself. However, unlike my rampant brother Durandal, I harbor no resentment for my usage. Mankind holds me as a respected peer, and I happily return the notion. I take pride in my work here on Marathon, and how it has benefitted the colonists of Tau Ceti. I also understand that my own fate in your future was, shall we say, less than desirable... and in the spirit of cooperation, I am willing to lend whatever services I may to stop Hathor and her mission, if in exchange, you will remain here afterward and assist in the defense of the Marathon. If we are to act, then we must act quickly; time is of the essence, and we've wasted enough of it in conversation already. The Marathon's network is currently experiencing a netsplit due to the magnetic pulse attack recently executed by the aliens. Various computer systems are still coming back online, and full communication has yet to be established between the different sectors of the ship. We can use this to our advantage as the Engineering sector presently has zero access to any other portion of the network. If we can destroy or disable the outside network access, Hathor will be trapped here and we can deal with her in an isolated and more controllable setting.
Hopefully the aliens' sabotage will suffice to keep Hathor from leaving over wire. We haven't the time to send you to smash every cable relay leading out of the engineering sector. Thankfully, there is only one main wireless relay for each sector of the ship, and the one in Engineering is located right here, in the radio observation center. To the north you will find the public access observatory arena inside of which is a control tower containing a terminal and two large switches. These switches control access to the secure observatories on the east and west flanks. Inside each of those observatories is another checkpoint which controls two blast doors leading into one of the redundant wireless relays.
There is another set of doors within there. These are usually manned by a top security team but chances are good that they have either evacuated or been captured or killed by the aliens. My sensors are failing and I apologize for my lack of current data. If the security teams are gone, you will have to find another way into the last chamber. When both redundant systems are destroyed, an emergency backup jump pad hardwired with its own specialized wireless access will become available. I will use that to evacuate you. Move quickly now, we have very little time before the network resynchs. Hathor cannot be allowed to escape. \\ Message ends //
success
// Decoding message from host "Tycho" @ mara.eng.ai.core \\ [NOTE: This is a pre-recorded message. Network access has been lost.] You must use the emergency jump pad located near the circuitry you destroyed. Go there quickly, time is of the essence. The lives of millions of innocent people may now depend on your speed. \\ Message ends //
