Time: 15:49, September 18 Location: Abandoned garrison on Artemis Yes, that was a S'pht'Kr that attacked you earlier, although the 'Kr we're in contact with deny their existence in the clan, which is bizarre. Bizarre and dangerous. These guys are different than anything I've ever seen before. This garrison is loaded with all sorts of this-and-that. It seems to extend pretty far underground, too, and with the appearance of these new hostiles, there must be something more interesting beneath. I'd teleport you directly, but there's two things: one, it appears to be impossible to remotely teleport any living thing into this complex. The other thing is that I want you to explore the area. So, to summarize: explore the area. See what you can find. To the northwest we're picking up stronger signals, so head that way. Then find a teleport system once you're done and we'll move on.
[ S'pht translator active ] Message from Karuma commences: Warning: foreign presence detected in sector 11. Subject does not appear to belong to the Pfhor ranks; allegiance is unknown, but methods are hostile. Seems to be carrying some form of S'pht technology; indicates involvement with the Foul Clans. Subject appears to be mostly human, although partially cybernetic. Due to a display of hostility and violence on a Fellowman, orders are strictly to exterminate on sight. Do not allow subject into the complex. Do not allow subject to invhello. my name is karuma i am broken the burning tower awaits save us all
Teleport system network 9 status: Inbound teleports: Accepted Outbound teleports: Denied [err=7 : denied by master system ] [err=9 : queued target = null ] [err=12: automatic response to intrusion ] System status: Valid System integrity: 73% [sys damage: forceful override by master system ] [sys damage: vital power chip missing/damaged; replace ]
Teleport system network 9 status: Inbound teleports: Accepted Outbound teleports: Accepted [err=7 : denied by master system ] [automatic sys override - sys protocol 2 ] System status: Valid System integrity: 92% [sys damage: forceful override by master system ] [override attempt denied - sys protocol 2 ] [err=66 : outbound teleport 3 not functional ] [sys workaround: do not attempt to use teleport 3 ]
This would be the teleport area that I would take you out of, if your objectives were complete, but there are some problems. 1) Make sure you've fully explored the entire region, particularly the northwest caves. 2) The outbound teleport system doesn't work due to an override from something, probably an AI. I've teleported an override chip in, but the beam was deflected and sent somewhere else. You'll have to find the chip and put it into the control station to your left. Now hurry up. I can't keep waiting for you; the S'pht'Kr insist this is a matter of utmost urgency.
Okay, good work. The S'pht'Kr have been watching you as you explored the area, and they can only come up with one possible solution, as well as a brief history as to the level of conflict that we've unfortunately stumbled into. They were, naturally, long-winded and indirect, so I'll summarize what they had to say. The enemies that you have been fighting in this region belong to an offshoot of the Eleventh S'pht Clan; that is, the S'pht'Kr that we know. During some sort of civil war around 1000 years ago, the S'pht'Kr abandoned their home of Lh'owon to avoid the brutal and relentless infighting of the other ten Clans - you are already familiar with this history, I'm sure, but it gets better. Apparently, a small minority of the Kr decided they wanted to fight as well and declare dominance over the other ten Clans, defying the message that their great leader "Whatsit" had told them so long ago. The movement to war was crushed and this faction then left the Clan, fleeing the system until they would rebuild their strength to once again declare war on the S'pht.
The S'pht'Kr were looking (although they admit not very hard) for the location of the renegade faction for the last thousand years, but it appears that we seem to have stumbled on it rather accidentally. I doubt they are particularly happy about stirring up the renegades, but there's more news. The presence of the AI personality cells that you've found earlier indicates that Artemis is not just a temporary outpost, but a permanent base, and personality cells mean they possess an AI of great power. Remember the destructive power of Durandal or the manipulative abilities of Tycho over the Pfhor? This could be like that, but we have yet to see. Unfortunately, the Kr know very little of the renegades, outside of the history - that one paragraph sums up a thousand years of research. How about that.
What we do have to worry about is the presence of the Pfhor that you fought in this hall. I don't entirely know what they're here for, but they certainly don't seem to be like the Pfhor that scamper along the corridors of the Acheron. While we delve into this mystery, I suggest you start delving down into the bowels of this garrison. Under the garrisons lies a large mine system. I'd like to teleport you there from here, but I can't. Bummer. Instead I'm going to send you to a different section of the garrisons nearby. Maybe you can get underground from there.
interlevel teleports
