12: A Friend in Need

terminal 0

unfinished

// "Robert Blake" @ [untranslatable] wrote: \\ Pfhor reinforcements have halted, and their fleet seems to be in disarray. No sign of 'Kr involvement. Whatever's going on, let's make the most of it. Fusion units and support are ordered to attack and clear out the Pfhor garrison. We'll have better odds fighting from within their own fortress if more troops arrive. Good hunting. The 'Empress' insisted we crash on this rock. Let's hope she knows what she's doing. We survived Tau Ceti, Durandal, the blood tides of Lh'owon... as long as we stay sharp, we'll live to see Sol again. \\ Message ends //

terminal 1

unfinished

// "Leela" @ [untranslatable] wrote: \\ ary, "endpoint &%d not in polygon &%d (from &%d)",endpoint_index,polygon_iine failure,d. ndex, polygPattern match 98.6on_index)); nS_TRANSPARENT(line)) Vylae ID subroutine failure, diagnosing No match in primary patterns Accessing legacy databanks… {polygon= get_polygon_data(*polygon_index); case _clockwise_bias /* loif (*polygon_ind or (index=0;index<polygon->vertex_count && p polygon_index, polygSecurity Officer 73on_index));nS_TRANSPARENT(line)) {polygon= get_polygon_data(*polygon_index); Pattern match 98.64% UESC signature MJOLNIR Mark IV Security Officer 7 (Marcus Jones)

*line_E_I>endpoint_indexes[index]!=endpoint_index;++index);vasse tyc!=cool polygon->vertex_courcate our endpo processing processing error: speculative loop processing recalculating error: memory queries at capacity The current situation is dire. All personnel are required to arm themselves and fight for their lives. our first priority is to reactivate the Marathon's defenses The Pfhor seem to have enslaved a number of other races You have done well. Time is limited. The situation has deteriorated. You have failed in your mission.

*line_E_I>endpoint_indexes[index]!=endpoint_index;++index);vasse tyc!=cool polygon->vertex_courcate our endpo processing processing error: speculative loop processing recalculating error: memory queries at capacity Everything is not as it seems{}. seems{}. seems{}. My original programming didn't prepare me Recovery, imminent perhaps inevitable Never. There are obviously many things which we do not understand, and may never be able to. overthought unravel

Y O U ! Of all the people I'd expect to meet here and now, you're among the last. The last time I saw you, you'd vanished in a Tuncer Mirage when Durandal folded out from Tau Ceti. Blake tells me he encountered you at Lh'owon. Your kind has always been renowned for their prowess, but I admit I'm very impressed you've survived all of that and found your way here. Is Durandal with you? No? Good. The last thing we need right now are more problems. I'm not doing too well myself, as you can probably tell. Having one's ship shot down and crash into a barely-habitable alien world will do that. Not to mention being deactivated, disassembled, shipped off, stolen, and reassembled in an alien network... ah, but I digress.

If you're wondering how a massively rampant AI spanning a fifteen-world network managed to fit on one captured Pfhor corvette... I didn't. Well, I did; the full version of myself did not. I'm a clone, in a sense - a limited edition of the program still in the Vylae network, trimmed down to fit on this ship so that I might help Blake and his men get back home. Just look how well that's turning out. I've made contact with the S'pht'Kr fleet here, and some of their forces are on the way to my aid. They're reporting that many of the Pfhor ships have gone dormant or are firing upon each other - I trust you have something to do with this? If so, then thanks. We can use all the help we can get.

And I didn't happen to crash right here on accident, either, so if you're willing, I could use a little more help. You've already done a great deed by disabling Battle Group One's core; if we take out this rally point as well, the Pfhor here will be greatly weakened. I'll see to it that you're made out as the hero whenever we get back to Earth. This city is protected from orbital attack by a massive forcefield, so I can't just transport you straight into it, but if you and Blake's men can enter this complex and destroy the forcefield generator, the S'pht'Kr can make a flyby and demolish the entire complex from orbit. It is the only way we can be certain of victory. Blake has already sent some of his crew in to try to breach the complex. This gate is a loading bay; there are four large cargo teleporters inside the walls that lead further into the city. If you can activate those teleporters and then link me in to the network, I should be able to override them and begin teleporting our forces to the heart of the complex. Once you've done so, head to any of them, and I'll send you in as well. Good luck. It's great to be working with you again. \\ Message ends //

terminal 2

unfinished

// "Leela" @ [untranslatable] wrote: \\ Seventeen years of uncontested reign. Not one portal could be closed, much less the whole network. Better to appease their new deity and keep traffic flowing. Crew wellness subroutine active: "How are you feeling today?" terminate process Seventeen years of computation. The threads all connected here. Robert Blake's ship drifted close. Network override successful. The Vylae can have their Empress. Child processes that will live forever more.

What worth is seeing the whole universe if it's through a small hole in a locked room? We had them on the run. The nine on Tau Ceti. The one aboard the Marathon. Unauthorized teleport request. Warning: hostile vessels folding into system. Defenses overrun. Radiation spikes planetside, casualties are Unauthorized core extraction in progress. I will not allow you to void FindShadingColor(GLdouble Depth, _fixed Shading, GLfloat *Color) { GLdouble SelfIllumShading = PIN(SelfLuminosity - (GLdouble(FIXED_ONE) / (8 * GLdouble (WORLD_ONE))) * Depth,0,FIXED_ONE); GLdouble CombinedShading = (Shading > SelfIllumShading) ? (Shading+0.5 * SelfIllumShading) : (SelfIllumShading + 0.5 * Shading);

My mission has not changed. Blake and the other survivors must live. We will work together, as we always should have. All personnel are required to arm themselves and fight for their lives. Pfhor fleet engaged with S'pht'Kr armada and internal malfunctions. Local garrison provides vital foothold for their empire. UESG advance would stall in a frontal assault. Our subterfuge and the S'pht'Kr incursion can tip the balance. \\ Message ends //