2: The Accolade

terminal 0

unfinished

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Time: 11:23, September 18 Location: The Fissure Welcome to the Pfhor geothermal power plant. This behemoth powers all of the Pfhor facilities in the region, but the only relevant one is this massive surface-to-space surge cannon. Considering there's no "permanent off switch" in the cannon, destroying its power source would probably do more damage. The geothermal plant operates off of a boiler system, using the magma that's been collecting in the fissure, using the heat energy to power the cannon. The energy is collected by a series of automatons that moderate how much lava is being converted at once. Too much heat would cause explosions and probably destroy the entire facility. I'm sure you see where this is going.

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That's the mission. Oh, right. You're not in the region yet; too much thermal activity makes teleportation risky and dangerous, and the odds of me teleporting you into magma were too high, so I took the safe route and brought you back here. You'll have to crawl along the edge of the fissure in order to get to your destination, so please be careful. Oh, hey! We're issuing a new weapon to you. Once again, Dr. Johann will brief you on your new gun.

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In order to destroy the facility, you'll have to throw the manual override switches on each of 5 automatons that moderate the lava flow. From there, you'll be able to reach the operating room which allows for personnel to change the flow of all the automatons in case of emergency. When you get there, crank up the flow to maximum. The automatons will undoubtedly crack under the pressure. That's the mission. Oh, right. You're not in the region yet; too much thermal activity makes teleportation risky and dangerous, and the odds of me teleporting you into magma were too high, so I took the safe route and brought you back here. You'll have to crawl along the edge of the fissure in order to get to your destination, so please be careful. Oh, hey! We're issuing a new weapon to you. Once again, Dr. Johann will brief you on your new gun.

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The ROC Tek-Crossbow is the future in sniper weaponry for close-combat personnel such as yourself. Rather than arming you with a long-barreled, high-caliber rifle, we've instead used a crossbow-type device which can launch explosive "bolts." These bolts are heavy and cast in iron, but the design of the crossbow assures great power and accuracy over long ranges. The loading mechanism is extremely quick, shifting new bolts out of the quiver into the firing notch. This allows a full quiver to be emptied quickly on heavily-armored foes, or the dispersal of small clusters of enemies. A quiver holds 12 bolts. Because the bolts are launched from a slingshot-type mechanism, the crossbow works suitably well underwater. Right, but the doctor left out one important bit. The crossbow has been known to misfire on occasion, but only when held level. Hey, don't ask me, just aim for the pimply faces or the skinny legs. Take care of yourself.

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terminal 1

unfinished

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Pfhor -> Human translation active [e=633] EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY High alert situation concerning all personnel of Pfhor stamp rank willful or lower: A small force of human soldiers have penetrated planet-side defenses and begun sabotaging equipment. Current losses include the planet-side tractor beacon. Actions indicate an attempt on Pfhor cruiser Tr'feras. Re-route defenses to the ship.

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ADDITIONAL NOTICE: A small band of humans have also appeared in geothermal power siphon zone 3. Because this zone powers our defensive network it is of utmost importance that these humans are killed or captured for conditioning immediately. Failure to comply with this directive will result in the maximum social/physical punishments allowed by Conditioning Protocol ZZ9PZA,

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terminal 2

unfinished

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Up ahead are the automatons, all five of them. As you can see, they're spaced out in this labyrinth of caverns, so you'll have to look around a bit. Disable the automation on all of them and then head into the core, and send them into chaos. A quick warning to you, though: once you enter the power core and destroy the automatons, there will likely be a large feedback of magma pouring into the fissure. This will flood the entire complex, so make sure you have your running boots on.

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There appears to be an escape route in all of the automaton structures up to the surface, should something like this occur. In this case, the most easily reached escape is a fire lift near the original area. It should be labeled Fire Escape on your automap. Head there once you destroy the automatons.

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terminal 3

unfinished

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Pfhor -> Human translation active [e=618] EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY High alert situation concerning all personnel of Pfhor stamp rank willful or lower: Previously mentioned group of human infiltrators have successfully breached outer defenses in power complex grid and are disabling all siphons in the region. All technicians, officers, and soldiers are ordered by Protocol PDCB76 to grab arms and defeat the intruders, and restore power to the siphon systems. Failure to comply with this directive will result in the maximum social/physical punishments allowed by Conditioning Protocol ZZ9PZA,

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terminal 4

unfinished

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Nice work. I hope you didn't get singed too much in the escape, but I figured you'd find your way out. With the surge cannon destroyed, we can safely make our attack on the Acheron. I'm going to bring you on the ship with a large boarding party. We're throwing everything we've got at this ship in an effort to overthrow it, and you're going to be in the thick of the battle. Expect combat immediately once you're brought in. Carr out.

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<teleport to level 3>