Okay, better. Man, the scent of synthesized odor killing solvents really is not appealing. So, I was going to tell you about what we found in the last mainframe. Well, we've sorted it out, mostly, and just scanning through the pages, what's of particular interest -- as far as you are concerned -- are of these "E-Class Warriors" that the Renegades employ from time to time. It's most likely you've already seen them. Let me kinda paraphrase what we have here... it's a combination of pure information and recent news-like posts.
"Elite Action Response Warriors, also known as E-Class Warriors, are among the strongest combatants that we [the Renegades] have to deploy. Clad in the brilliant and noble yellow and blue armor to pay homage to our greatest warrior, Tz'rcle'ft, they are extremely powerful and quick. It is said that no single being can stand up to any E-Class Warrior." Okay, yeah, you've seen them before. Looks like what is said is wrong. Continuing on with some other topics, though.... oh. "Specialists in the biosynthesization field are sumbitting worried queries about the mental condition imposed on their newly-created subjects. Particularly, they are concerned that the crazed battle frenzy attitude applied to them, which was taken strictly from the combat-enabled Akn warriors [we think these are the actual S'pht], is too self-destructive. To note one example, in a recent skirmish with Pfhor soldiers, a battallion of biosynthesized Pfhor Hunters, when injured, turned on eachother and gunned eachother down in pure bloodlust -- something that has not been spotted as a common activity of real Pfhor Hunters. We have made moves to put calming hormones into their nutrients." Fascinating, no?
Oh, here's something good. "Progress on the Dark Star is almost complete, though harvesting the energy required to destroy another body of energy is nearly impossible. Pfhor raids on the area are thankfully proving unsuccessful, due mostly to the turrets near the top of the tower. Some of us are also forwarding concerns about the possible damage from a lightning storm which is heading our way..." If only we knew what this was, but the lightning storm? Yesterday we did some wide-beam scans of the planet, and we picked up an area concealed by a lightning storm. While you're here working today, we'll do another scan of the region. We'll keep hacking away at this database -- it's huge!! -- but for the moment, you need to get working. We are running out of time. The Pfhor are being too aggressive for us to handle on the Acheron, and we need you able to come and help us soon. Put the chip into a slot -- it's somewhere in the tower in the sludge over there -- and then return here for removal. But before you go, allow Dr. Johann to tell you about the last addition to your arsenal.
The TOZT that you used to employ, while a powerful and effective weapon, was not in the least bit worth the manufacturing costs, and not a particularly versatile addition to your arsenal. To help counter that, research and development came up with a new model of flamethrower, which you will receive shortly. The FRPE-9c is only different in one aspect, though it is major: the tanks are filled with gasoline instead of napalm, meaning that, rather than the flame burning out after a few feet, you get a continuous stream of ignited fluid that travels as far as the fuel can be shot out of the tube. Unfortunately, gasoline is less corrosive than napalm, meaning that anything mechanical (Hunters and Juggernauts, for example) will not be harmed by the flame; it'll just slide off. Organics, however, will burn quite nicely. Get moving. We'll send the gun as soon as we can.
Well well well! You're in for a treat. Karuma did us no wrong in leading you here, that's for certain -- and now we know something that is a bit frightening, combining what we've just found in the new mainframe, and also what we've compiled from the other one... First, the widebeam scans. Yesterday's tempest has moved and dispersed, revealing a massive tower that can be seen from space. Surrounding the tower is a gigantic citadel, all polished and refined, and we have reason to believe that this is the central renegade headquarters -- everything leads back to this point. As to what the tower is, this would be the Dark Star that was referred to by the other mainframe. The tower has a massive cylindrical tube going right down the center, and energy scans are picking up huge amounts of it spewing out of the top. The Dark Star is a weapon... one capable of destroying celestial bodies. Don't ask me how -- it doesn't seem like a laser should be able to do that -- but it can. Think of something similar to the trih xeem the Pfhor have intended to employ in the past.
Speaking of, this gets better. We've relayed this information back to the S'pht'Kr, who are very interested in what you've been doing, and they've surmised the following, which I will paraphrase: In an act of blind and enraged revenge, the Renegade Akn almost certainly intend to do in the S'pht homeworld, Lh'owon, by annihilating the system's sun [using the Dark Star's weapon, which apparently has a very remarkable range, as we are quite far from there] and causing the whole system to collapse in the frigid cold. Tell me what's wrong with that plan. Give up? The Pfhor only recently attempted to do the same thing to take down Durandal, and it was only through your efforts that it didn't occur -- due to the prophecy of the W'rkncacnter that resides in the sun, waiting for it to burn out so it can be free again. The A'khr are either unaware of the demon or, more likely, are convinced that their Dark Star can also destroy the beast once it's destroyed their enemies once and for all. This is, according to the S'pht'Kr, folly.
Should the Dark Star fire on Lh'owon's sun and destroy it, the beast will be let free, and all life as we know it will cease to be. That's a bad thing. Fortunately for us, the Dark Star takes an ungodly amount of energy in order to fire, which is harvested from the planet [thus the mining operation that we disrupted earlier, most likely], so we have some time. Not much, though. Maybe a day. It's almost ready. The Pfhor are rallying and making an assault on the citadel in an unrelated attack -- they and the Renegades have been fighting constantly since the Pfhor have arrived. We're going to attack at the same time, but from a different direction. We will be "accompanying" a small Pfhor contingent, in that we will be following them and cleaning up the mess. We'll do our best to sneak into the tower and disrupt the cannon before it fires. Prepare yourself for combat immediately once you get there. There's a mountain path, and it's heavily contested at the moment.
[ S'pht translator active ] Message from Karuma commences: Administration would like to caution units stationed in this facility that the Pfhor Juggernaut machines stored in the bays ARE COMBAT READY. Coming into contact or otherwise attempting to interact with the machines may result in your death. You are thereby advised to not attempt to alter, modify, or otherwise fiddle with them. Your eternal attentiveness to our scheme is always appreciated!
interlevel teleports
