3: Murder on the Rue Acheron

terminal 0

unfinished

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Time: 1:22, September 18 Location: Abord the Acheron The main architectural standard behind Pfhor spacecraft is remarkable in the fact that there is no standard; unlike UESC craft, which all have extensive guidelines on how thus-and-such machine should go, the Pfhor have no standard. That might explain why all of the ships you see are built so differently. Or you might not care.

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In any event, the Acheron is built more like a human ship than something you and I are unfamiliar with. We'll be right at home. We want to take this ship as quickly as we can. With the cannons safely disabled, there's nothing restraining the Acheron from leaving the planet's orbit. However, of course, we need to reach the bridge, kill the captain, reboot the hyperdrive, and all of that fun stuff; you can't pilot the ship from here.

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That being said, retaking the bridge is not your job. I've assigned a different contingent to that deck. Your goal is to reactivate the hyperdrive engine and purge the ship's computer banks, which will have their AI command mecha and all of that fun stuff. Fortunately for you, doing both shouldn't be too difficult of a job. 1. The hyperdrive needs to be flushed. Pfhor ships of this design have a liquid-based hyperdrive; after each FTL jump, there's tons of buildup that needs to be ejected. Ejecting the fluids should be a simple flick o' da switch. 2. Reboot the computer mainframe. Nearby is the main computing chamber; two switches must be thrown in order to restart the systems with a clean slate. Oh, the difficulty!

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When your chores are finished, return here. We need to discuss our continued adventures on Artemis. Oh! Hey! Wait! Try to leave the S'pht alone whenever you can, alright? They're probably too busy fiddling around with the Pfhor machinery, and they'll sure be helpful in running the ship for us; they undoubtedly know more about it than we do. Also, we've issued the latest MA Assault Rifle model. Dr. Johann is busy, but you should be familiar with the gun, right? He mentioned that the machine gun should be more accurate than before, but functions the same otherwise.

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success

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The Acheron is... not yet ours. Unfortunately for us, there was a much larger force on the ship than we gauged. All of the soldiers left are now busy attempting to claim the ship, room by room, but it's proving to be intensely difficult. The S'pht have rallied alongside us, but even with their assistance, it's a long fight. Nevertheless, you can't stay and help, though I know you enjoy running around dark and smelly ships. No. Widebeam scans of the planet are revealing more unknown structures. I'm sending you back down there to explore. Maybe you can find something cool.

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<teleport to level 4>

terminal 1

unfinished

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[ Pfhor translator active ] Regional maintenance report -- to be carried out according to protocol 51X issued by rank Willful ID 22427123728. Bilge pumping in Sector 11 has failed again. We've had to turn off the pump itself while we clear the maintenance tubes. To be done: Tubing is cleared, but the pump must be reactivated manually. I must take care of that immediat-- what is that? INTRUDER ALERT INTRU [ Unexpected end of message ]

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terminal 2

unfinished

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Great. With the hyperdrive system flushed, all you need to do is re-activate the hyperdrive core, which is in this structure. However, the Pfhor had the indecency to lock it. They did a similar deed with the computing hall. All you need to do is look for the security override; the best I can tell you about that is that it's up the stairs to your right. When you pass through here, don't forget to reactivate the hyperdrive core.

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terminal 3

unfinished

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[ Pfhor translator active ] EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY All as-yet unassigned units of rank conditioned or higher must immediately ready themselves for emergency hostile boarding repulsion. Human attack force seems to be either led or coordinated by rogue unconditioned cybernetic unit responsible for repeated failings on Lh'owon; must be treated with extreme caution and executed immediately upon sight. Security systems must be set to maximum to impede process.

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terminal 4

unfinished

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[ Pfhor translator active ] personal log ID 75236711902 The unconditioned human mind is so fascinatingly simple; how an underdeveloped species such as this can imagine it to be our equal -- or indeed, imagine at all -- is quite comical. Unfortunately, there's little we can do with them. Once conditioned, they are of little use; too weak and too unintelligent to manage either the manual or technical labor required from conditioned species.

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terminal 5

unfinished

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[ Pfhor translator active ] This mainframe interfacing terminal cannot be used right now due to an emergency state of level 9. In order to interface with mainframe, seek permission from rank executive or higher, or wait for a more secure period.

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