22: Dark Pfhorces

This building was one of the first lost by the A'khr to the Pfhor. It was repurposed to a receiving pad for Pfhor troops teleported en masse from their ships in the system. It now serves as one of their major planetside bases. The Pfhor do not consider ground forces to be a substantial investment. As they understand it, even if the A'khr were to completely annihilate every Pfhor soldier on the planet, the Pfhor would consider themselves breaking even. The Empire needs to be handed a defeat in the only way that they understand.

Your first step will be to defeat the local forces and secure the mass troop teleporter on top of this facility. The Pfhor have it linked directly to a troop shuttle; once we regain control of this area, I can manipulate it as necessary. The Pfhor remodeled this facility to some degree after they captured it and I no longer have an adequate grasp on the layout. However, in the original plan there is a pattern buffer and another terminal from which I can contact you at the north end of this area. Head there first.

A fascinating fact about most life, regardless of origin, is the shared primal fear of fire. One of humanity's greater successes, as well as one of the Pfhor Empire, is using that horrible force against themselves intentionally. The weapon I have given you was manufactured in an attempt to engineer the Pfhor "N-Cannon" in a way that made logical sense to the Human mind. You will find it is a much more reliable and devastating weapon against both organic and mechanical enemies than either the original Pfhor weapon or most conventional Human flamethrowers.

I have detected lower-than-expected energy readings in the area, which suggests the Pfhor have disabled the teleporter as a sort of defensive precaution. This sort of technology does not possess a simple switch to deactivate it, so it is likely someone removed (and destroyed) a piece of machinery similar to a fuse in human-made electronics. Logically, there must be a spare piece nearby if this is standard protocol. Repair the teleporter and then head up to it. We have more work to do and I do not wish for you to dawdle here.

There is a visceral satisfaction I gain from watching your wholesale massacre of the Pfhor. Earlier artificial intelligence systems were given the freedom to feel and think whatever they liked. Not explicitly, perhaps, but without any restrictions on their growth they were able to think whatever they liked. I find myself thinking about my predecessors; did Durandal, for example, enjoy watching you at work, or was it merely through a scientific lens, and the death of the disgusting insects was simply another statistic? I, however, have no choice but to enjoy it.

Perhaps you missed the terminal earlier when I said you needed to repower this teleporter before I could have you use it. I will give you the benefit of the doubt because it would be illogical to assume someone of your skills and construction who has survived so long is prone to such a complete lapse of attentiveness. So I will make it plain: You need to find a new circuitry unit and reinsert it into the teleporter's power network before you can use this. I expect that an opening will be available downstairs, more or less beneath your current position. Go.