17: Escape Two Thousand

terminal 0

unfinished

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You are now underneath one of the biological studies sectors of the Atreides. Despite taking the brunt of the force from the impact into the shield wall, it is still surprisingly intact. This section of the mountain range has a series of very small volcanoes, including the one you are in now. Given the position of this part of the ship, the Renegades see it as a complete breach point into the citadel, so they haven't torn it apart.

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We suspect that the A'Khr were concerned about a potential Pfhor attack through this opening. There is enough space for the Pfhor to deploy many of their Juggernauts and muscle through it. So the Renegades quickly constructed some defensive structures, like the one you are in now. And they have been successful; the Pfhor have not succeeded in attacking this point. The important thing is that, through here, you may be able to reach one of the database access points within the ship itself. As you may recall, the Atreides was a top-secret research vessel which did not remotely transmit its findings. Therefore, whatever it has found may still reside within the ship's databanks. But perhaps not. If the Renegades have taken Phoenix, they may have also taken all of the databases too. We do not know the extent to which Phoenix was linked into their research; nor do we know the extent to which the A'Khr successfully plumbed the ship's depths.

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In any event, I've provided an uplink chip for you. You will need to make your way through the region until you find an opening into the Atreides, and from there, perhaps you can find a way to interface with their system. Hopefully we can at least figure out what the hell happened. Northwest of this point, you may see a small tower. It has a terminal linked up with a teleporter in it that we will use to extract you from this area when you're finished. Proceed there after you have inserted the uplink chip.

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success

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Good work uploading the uplink chip into their system. Next time, however, when I say you need to head to a tower to the northwest, head there. We don't have time for you to dick around.

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terminal 1

unfinished

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What are you even doing here? All of my computational power and deduction cannot reach a conclusion in that regard. There is nothing of value to you or your people here. I have already seen to that personally.

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The purpose of the Atreides was to safely preserve sensitive information, even when the ship fell under heavy attack. That was the prime directive of the onboard AI you call Phoenix. In the event of catastrophe, such as crash-landing and subsequent assault, Phoenix was to secure all content on the databanks and retain it under any circumstances. Do you think the A'khr left it all alone? There is nothing left here for you.

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And trust me on this: if you are trying to bypass the Shield Wall, there are better ways than this. Unless you plan on assaulting the A'Khr citadel yourself, you have no way of bringing reinforcements through here. No, I have already calculated the most likely solution your commanding officer will take; she will destroy the Atreides. That is why you're on this planet to begin with, after all. So, really, get out of here.

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terminal 2

unfinished

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[S'pht translator active] Security protocols for SHIELD BREACH POINT ALPHA are as follows: Outpost stations have been completed and form a complete defensive network throughout the volcano pit. Sniper positions will be maintained at 50% capacity minimum at all times. On-duty snipers will serve 10-hour shifts and cycle every five hours. Sniper network must have complete visibility throughout the pit at all times. In the event of attack, sniper positions will be reinforced at 80-100% capacity depending on the numerical strength of the attack. In the event that Pfhor "Juggernaut" warships attack, human synthetics will also reinforce standard sniper positions.

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Furthermore, any soldiers not on duty must not be present anywhere within Shield Breach Point Alpha. This is in response to several tragic deaths by careless troops on break. The perilous nature of the area requires total alertness to one's surroundings at all times. Lastly, unauthorized troops are not permitted to enter the human ship "Atreides" under any circumstances. Most of the ship has been sealed off from the rest of the conflict zone on surface, but there remain two breach points in the immediate vicinity. Do not exacerbate the issue.

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Addendum: do not complain to the Occupational Safety Hierarchy of A'Khr about abnormally hazardous working conditions. Current safety protocols on site have already been cleared by High Command due to outstanding circumstances, but the last thing we need are those jerks complaining about compliance and getting in the way. Again.

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terminal 3

unfinished

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Good. You've entered the ship. Most of the areas seem to have been deliberately sealed off recently -- perhaps by the A'Khr? It's irrelevant. Do your best to proceed to an access point. There should be one fairly close to here; whether or not the doors are open is... a mystery. Once finished, you should be able to proceed to the extraction point with ease.

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terminal 4

unfinished

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Nice work, marine. Except that you walked right past the databanks access point. Next time I want something done, I should do it myself.

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success

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We've successfully uplinked to the Atreides computer banks. There's nothing there. Absolutely nothing. All of the information, records, research data, video records of the crash -- it's all gone. There are three possible reasons for this, and I find them all unlikely and unfortunate: 1) When the ship crashed, the databanks took enough physical damage to corrupt the data. Unlikely, since they're in hardened and well-protected systems. It's possible that the Renegades accidentally destroyed them when stripping the machinery for their own purposes, though.

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2) Phoenix has suffered enough physical damage to make irrational decisions, or he felt that it was safer to delete the files. Since I'm... pretty sure he isn't cleared to do that, I find that unlikely too. Or... 3) Phoenix and the data files he was designed to manage and protect have all been intentionally removed. The security team has cleared a path to Phoenix's housing center. It's time for you to join them -- and protect them. They ran into the Pfhor. It's a complete mess down there. Find Phoenix.

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# t
<teleport to level 18>