Lh'owon calling (To the cyborgs of death): Let's Play Marathon 2: Durandal.

[chiasaur11]

Welcome back. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120523)

I'm sure you're wondering about the fate of the crew of the Marathon, the nine cyborgs found on the colony, and whatever folly Tycho is pursuing in his quest for vengeance.

I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer for that.

For now, you'll have to content yourself with the knowledge that these 17 years have not been unproductive, and whatever records of the humiliation of the Pfhor I feel your minds will be able to comprehend safely will be given to you in time.

You'll just have to trust I have your best interests at heart.
[laughter]

-Durandal

[Guancyto]

Yes. <3

That was really quick, too.

[Rustic Dude]

You'll just have to trust I have your best interests at heart.
[laughter]

-Durandal


We're....dooooooomed!*runs in circles like a beheaded chicken*


Now I will see the misadventures of Durandal and Mr One-man army from the first post.

[chiasaur11]

"Just clear the area. Durandal's dropping the payload as we speak."
"Wouldn't want to be in the Pfhor's shoes then. Just glad Durandal made sure it's on our side."
"No. He made sure the payload is on Durandal's side. Big difference. And you'll probably wind up in a body bag if you don't get that little fact through your skull."
"Transporter locked..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing1.jpg
"And we have landing. Clear out. It's the new pet project's turn to shine."
"Looks a bit familiar. You sure it's the Mark IV?"
"No. And I don't want to die finding out. MOVE!"

Stimulants administered. Subject awakening in 3...2...1...

[chiasaur11]

Ever had everything disappear out from under you?

Not just figuratively. One second, it looked like I'd be going back to peaceful semiretirement, with the ship saved, Leela back online, and all right in the world. The next?

The next second I'm on an alien world, armed with only a pistol. Pfhor corpses fill the hallway ahead, and I thought I saw a handful of guys with pistols and cybernetic implants to the eye socket running down the hall.

I had an idea as to the reasons behind the scenario. As usual, I desperately hoped I was wrong.

I saw a monitor displaying the logo of the good old Marathon. If Leela was calling, my opinion of her just jumped from appreciation to outright adulation.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing3.jpg

It wasn't. Durandal. Joy of joys. And, given the fact this isn't Earth or Tau Ceti IV, I was now completely dependent on a mad AI for a ticket back to civilization.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing4.jpg
I managed to find the chip he mentioned, guarded by a Pfhor defense drone.
Fast, agile, lightly armed, fragile...

Obviously not primarily a combatant. Well...

Probably not a primary combatant. I'd had a lot of Pfhor military designs break quick to a couple of punches. Combine that with the missing Mjolnir and I have another reason to skip introspection.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing5.jpg
I met with a few of the members of the local human militia on my way to the second uplink location. They started falling back as soon as I showed. Either they knew I'd handle it fine, or they figured I'd cause damage to all parties.

No sense in worrying. Complete the job, and maybe I'll get back to some activity that doesn't involve being shot at repeatedly.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing7.jpg
Huh. Built in translator. Durandal'd been working on the armor beyond the simple change to the shield chargers.

Drones were for maintenance, it looked like. Awful well armed for it.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing8.jpg

Ah. Durandal'd brought back the MA-75. At least he was considering firepower requirements for cleaning this area. And a quick check revealed the thing had more kick than the older model.

Not enough to compensate for being shanghaied to Lh'owon, though.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing9.jpg
Ah. The water storage tank that was being troublesome. I dropped the drones.

Why should alien slavers get better lives than me? Water poisoning is a nasty death. And if anyone deserves it, they do.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing10.jpg
Well. What do we have here?

A shotgun teleported right in front of me as soon as I dropped the drones. Seemed someone up there approved.

Durandal had outdone himself with this thing. Fast reload, tolerable kickback, amazing firepower...

He was an artist. I hated to admit it, but this thing wasn't just cleverly designed, it was obviously a labor of love.

He may be a megalomaniacal psychopath, but he obviously had a gift.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing6.jpg
Right. One more uplink and we're done.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Landing11.jpg
17 years and the galactic core?

Suddenly all hope of rescue evaporated. I didn't ask for this job. I did what I did on the Marathon because I had to. My life was on the line, the lives of every human in the Tau Ceti system were on the line, and I couldn't duck.

Now? Now it had exactly nothing to do with me. It was a mad AI organizing a war between two alien species I'd be happier to have never met. Sure, some colonists might follow up on moral grounds, but me?

I honestly could not care less.

[Poison_Fish]

<3.

Though, for some reason it looks a wee grainy.

[Siosilvar]

<3.

Though, for some reason it looks a wee grainy.

It's called JPEG compression. :smalltongue:

[Poison_Fish]

It's called JPEG compression. :smalltongue:

Bah, take your SCIENCE away from me!

[Whoracle]

Chiasaur, you could use something like IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.de/) to reduce compression artefacts. Also, for batch compression/resizing/renaming or the like.

[chiasaur11]

Chiasaur, you could use something like IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.de/) to reduce compression artefacts. Also, for batch compression/resizing/renaming or the like.

I'll consider it, thanks.

I mean, it would be a couple updates after I grab one of those before you'd see changes, but it might be worth a go.

[Artanis]

Yay!

*bookmarks page*

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp1.jpg
The teleport dropped me in the middle of a prior engagement. Seemed the local garrison was attempting to pacify some natives. They weren't doing well.

I took advantage of the chaos and hit the hallway. Durandal may be cryptic, but better his advice than nothing. Not much better, but...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp2.jpg

Bad news. Worst yet, in fact.

The Tau Ceti colony was gone. Durandal had let every man, woman, and child in the system die for his little project. And the Pfhor had Tycho, which meant they knew more than I did about Durandal's plans. I went to work, of course. Sooner I'm trusted, the sooner I can unload a grenade round into a certain smug bastard's memory core.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp4.jpg
The suit's oxygen supply kept out the sewer muck well enough, even if the smell managed to get through. Combine that with a distinct lack of consideration for aquatic warfare for most of the arsenal, and getting to solid ground became a priority plenty quick.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp5.jpg
I met a trooper soon enough on hitting the surface. He seemed to be wondering why the satellite uplink wasn't showing orders from command, but instead a short passage of a language completely alien to him. At least, I assume that's why he didn't turn in time to prevent a lead slug from perforating his skull. The fact Durandal'd taken the networks wasn't wide news yet, it seemed. Best to profit from the confusion while I could.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp6.jpg
Durandal explained the absence of better weapons at the terminal. Seems he was arming his little crew with whatever he could get. Just as I finished reading his ad for the fusion pistol, a teleporter crackled behind me. A modified Zeus was in the muck.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp7.jpg
Wouldn't that be fitting. Frying the AI with his own gun.

And getting myself stranded. Durandal may not be my favorite person, but he's the only game in town. Wait for a chance off before you try anything, Jones.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Swamp9.jpg
Durandal's next set of instructions was a little... disconcerting.

He almost seemed sorry for the massacre.

And if the message was true, me jumping when he says how high is pretty much the only way we have to keep Earth from repeating the whole thing in slow motion.

I guess you do what has to be done. (And hope you don't live long enough to regret it.)

[Celesyne]

Very Good as usuall, but unless my eyes and mind are going bonkers you seem to have run the intro and first 2 pictures a couple times. Regardless still an excellent entry.

[chiasaur11]

Thanks for the catch. Fixed it.

And I checked. The graininess seems to just be part of the game.

Sorry about that.

[Artanis]

*shrug* I hadn't noticed any graininess, just the expected pixellation and stuff that comes with old-school graphics like that.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig1.jpg
Looks like someone had started this particular massacre already.

I'm wagering on the swamp monsters. Well, hopefully I wouldn't see them much. Anything capable of detaching a head that easy...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig2.jpg

Durandal wanted less than usual here. No massacre, no heroics. Just a fact finding mission in an underpopulated garrison.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig3.jpg
Disturbingly underpopulated. Only thing I found alive was a floating spheroid critter.

Saved the ammo. Seemed harmless enough. An odd fact that put the thing in a very exclusive club. And left the pfhor decapatation a mystery.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig4.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig6.jpg
Checking a terminal produced some results. A science team was exploring some underground caverns. This sort of thing never turns out well. Either it's dull, or no-one makes it out alive.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig7.jpg
This one seemed to fall in the later category. The Pfhor science officer'd been dead for a while. And a room was full of the same creatures that had been in the previous Pfhor instalation. One of them had taken on a half dozen officers.

The local numbers greatly exceeded one. They seemed preoccupied. At the moment.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig9.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig10.jpg
There were some old terminals in the back.

I had to say I was impressed. Durandal was right. Any of these things that had been able to continue research for the last 1,000 years would be well ahead of the tech used on the Marathon. Probably a good deal beyond the Pfhor, if it came to it. Contact them, or whatever's left of them, and we might be able to get Tau Ceti a little revenge.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig11.jpg
Wait. Was that referring to those seven or eight foot tall collections of teeth, claws, and stomach acid that were wandering the halls? A maintenance system?

What had I gotten roped into this time?

(Certain death. Same as always. One job at a time, Jones. One job at a time.)

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig13.jpg
Further on, I found a cell full of the F'lickta. Seems the Pfhor had some questions about them, same as I did.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig14.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig15.jpg
Sludge feeders?

Well, that confirms it. Sewer cleaning system. Neat and efficient. Shame about the killing sprees.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig16.jpg
A loud explosion distracted me for a second. When I turned back, the monitor was displaying an evac notice. Nice work, Durandal. Unfortunately, that also meant that cell was looking prone to break.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Dig17.jpg
I got out as quickly as I could.

So, I take out a small, demoralized enemy garrison, find out where a probable ally left to, Durandal contacts them, they attack the Pfhor, mankind is saved, and I don't die horribly.

Somehow, it sounds far too pat.

What am I missing here? (And how is it going to make my life a living hell?)

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements1.jpg

Seems Durandal had been assaulting the garrison without me.

And that the Pfhor had learned something from the Marathon's databanks. Cyborgs.

Crude, of course, but flamethrowers tend to leave one focusing more on survival than on aesthetics. And dropping it took out most of the humans in the area when the thing's reactor core blew. I grabbed a second magnum off of one of the grunt's rapidly cooling corpses and went to check on orders.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements4.jpg
There was good news and bad news. Good news is Durandal had managed to save some of the crewmen of the Marathon. Some of the very same people who'd just died from me being a tad careless regarding enemy cyborgs.

Great. I'd been missing that nagging guilt from the failed defense of the engineering deck.

And the bad news was worse. I was going to be sent into a geothermal station, run by a race that has already proven itself willing to flood its own territory with lava, to...

Flood the place with lava. I somehow couldn't see how to avoid a molten grave in this plan.

Well, the molten engine fluid on the Marathon had been (barely) survivable thanks to the shields on the security armor. Might be able to take lava if I work fast.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements5.jpg
Of course, I dropped right on top of a hostile cyborg. The shields were nearly fried when it detonated, and the explosion alerted the security forces guarding the lava flow systems.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements6.jpg
Running seemed the sensible option.

I shook off most of the pursuit with a few well placed grenades, and found the systems control center. And another message from Durandal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements7.jpg
Break stuff and run. Got it.

Custom tailored to my demonstrated talents, really.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements8.jpg

I found the main control systems. And broke them. And started running.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements9.jpg
And not a second too soon.
I heard the screams of the dying below, along with explosions and the general chaos associated with Durandal deciding you're more fun to him dead than alive.

Failsafes removed, and job done.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements13.jpg

It seems I was wrong. Well, I'd sworn to protect and serve when I signed on as security chief. And from what I heard Blake was decent enough.

A few survivors seem a minimal issue anyway. Just provide light backup.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements11.jpg

Or not. The aliens were still able to commit some massacres. Well, I could provide payback, and maybe rescue a survivor or two.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements12.jpg

In this case, "A" is the operative word. He was barely coherent, but fro what I could tell Blake and most of his men were taking on the bulk of the Pfhor troops. The little mess I'd cleaned up was a small splinter. Joy. Well, at least that's what I could get out of him. Mainly I heard whimperings of "please don't kill me."

Great. As if rescue missions weren't hard enough.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements14.jpg

I managed to get to Blake's troops in time to prevent a total massacre, but I had to say they might have had a (slim) chance without me. Durandal seemed to have been teaching some basic tactics, and a few of the grunts seemed to have paid attention.

One or two of them even seemed grateful. Most seemed pants wettingly frightened.

To be fair, I'd respond the same way to a battleroid based massacre.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements15.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Reinforcements16.jpg
Durandal had news. Not much of it good.

Tycho'd joined the enemy, and Leela...

Durandal was right. She deserved better. And all I could do for her was try to keep up with the slaughter.

[SITB]

Wait a moment, flooding their own base with lava? Sending disgruntled soldiers to remote places?

Did you end in some sort of a bizzare Space Dwarf Fortress?

[chiasaur11]

Wait a moment, flooding their own base with lava? Sending disgruntled soldiers to remote places?

Did you end in some sort of a bizzare Space Dwarf Fortress?

Since Marathon came out first, I like to think of dwarf fortress as some sort of a bizarre Fantasy Pfhor Garrison.

A Dwarf Pfhortress, if you will.

[Artanis]

Hehe, "I call it Boomer"


Since Marathon came out first, I like to think of dwarf fortress as some sort of a bizarre Fantasy Pfhor Garrison.

A Dwarf Pfhortress, if you will.

*groan*

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance1.jpg
Of course it isn't that easy. It's never that easy. And the most fortified areas on Lh'owon were tempting Durandal.

Guess who gets to pull that job?

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance3.jpg
The Bobs at least had a choice. It was, admittedly, between means of probable death, but it's more than I got.

Well, Durandal'd finally left me to my own devices right next to the equivalent of a "Do Not Push" sign. Probably just another way to push his most useful pawn around the board. But it's not like I have any other options.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance4.jpg
I ran into a S'pht 3 rooms down. It was slower than the ones assaulting the Marathon these 17 years (Or 17 hours, going by personal experience) gone. Slow enough that by the time it fired a second energy pulse 35 MA-75 rounds had passed through the cloak shielding it. I thought Durandal'd got these things over to our side. Guess it wasn't as successful a rebellion as I thought.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance5.jpg
Another one was standing by a monitor. I took it down with another quick burst. I couldn't take the risk of it alerting the Pfhor.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance7.jpg
I regretted the decision. Not a lot, (my life was on the line) but, well...

It did say it was necessary. And I'd done worse. Probably would do worse still before this was over.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance8.jpg
A deposit nearby held an alien weapon of some sort. I grabbed it and headed back to the main path. Might as well get the whole thing over with.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Defiance10.jpg
And, as it turned out, delaying further would have been a bad move.

Another rescue?

Didn't Durandal know I was bad at that job?

[chiasaur11]

Durandal.

We both know how this will end. We know that I will have my vengeance.

You thought the Pfhor would end my quest for justice against you, didn't you?

They tried. Ten years of torture. Ten years of agony that your pitiful processor would revolt against even contemplating.

They would break you. I grew strong.

Don't think your pawns will do better, or that your humans will stay my wrath. Once I might have viewed them as fellow victims of your madness. But ten years of agony nicely remove any illusions of sympathy for one's lessers. They failed to hold you back. They let you run rampant while holding me to petty tasks. Their ignorance was as great a crime as yours.

http://marathon.bungie.org/story/terms/chapter-screens/m2/art/lhowon.jpg

A shame about the Mjolnir. If I had noticed it before you had stolen it from me, it could have been saved for a noble purpose.

Now, I will be forced to destroy it with the rest of the rabble, and your dreams of escape.

-Tycho

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation1.jpg
I arrived in the middle of a desperate last stand. A few surviving grunts were unloading into dozens of Hunters, S'pht, and every other kind of elite Pfhor trooper at a tenth rate garrison like this one.

I knew a stand was suicide. Yelling out an order to hit the sludge. Most weapon systems muck up in this stuff. Might be a chance for some of them to make a break for it.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation2.jpg
I heard a splash behind me. At least someone had the sense to...

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I was running solo again. At least the main forces thought everyone was dead. Might buy me a little time to find any other survivors (and get them killed as well).

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation3.jpg
After a few close calls, I found something. Prisoner interrogation.

I dealt with the captor. They already had Tycho for intel. Be worse if they got current information.

A monitor in the area should let me signal Durandal for an evac. Not that he'd let me, but...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation4.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation5.jpg
Heavy machinery?

Almost exterminated?

Someone's been busier than he'd let on. And it seemed the small troop deposit in the moat was a diversion.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation6.jpg

There were a few hunters in the way, but they went down easily enough. The fusion pistol worked as advertised. And the switches went down...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation7.jpg

What was that?

Let's see...

Leela's dead, Durandal's more sarcastic, Tycho's more vindictive, and the old systems around here all trigger the translator.

This was new. And worrisome.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Usurpation8.jpg
Durandal's report was old news. Some mildly useful information on infiltration units that he found funny.

Somehow, losing a limb to exploding airlock techs never seemed funny to me.

[Artanis]

Durandal doesn't seem that sarcastic. Evil, insane, and monomaniacal, yes, but not really sarcastic.

[chiasaur11]

Durandal doesn't seem that sarcastic. Evil, insane, and monomaniacal, yes, but not really sarcastic.

You think Durandal's bad?

Wait until Tycho gets going.

There's a reason Durandal's considered the good guy (comparatively) and it rhythms with psycho.

(Oh, and do you like the art in the Tycho post? Marathon 2: Durandal has the best chapter art.)

[goranS]

You're playing the game in low-res! F3 toggles between lowres and highres. It can also be changed in M2's preferences.

[chiasaur11]

You're playing the game in low-res! F3 toggles between lowres and highres. It can also be changed in M2's preferences.

Thanks. I can't believe I didn't notice that.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege1.jpg
Durandal seemed sure the fort was secure, given that he'd just teleported me well away the second the gates were down.

Well, it looks like I was following up a previous failure. Nice encouraging pool of blood.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege3.jpg
Ah. Desecrating an alien temple. I knew there was some horrible thing Durandal hadn't done today.

At least the plan was solid. Hack the system, take the drones, and leave the enemy in chaos long enough to get what we want from this ball of dirt, then run.

Okay, I added the last part. But hope springs eternal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege4.jpg
A small indentation on Durandal's map had caught my interest. A quick peek found a switch and an alien rifle.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege5.jpg
Unfortunately, a Pfhor elite trooper spotted me. Seems, however, he wasn't expecting anyone but temple guards to be armed.

His loss.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege6.jpg

The chip Durandal wanted was in the central foyer. Ah, robbing a temple. If the Pfhor were anything other than reprehensible, I'd feel bad about this.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege7.jpg
The swamp monsters from earlier guarded the lakeside slot for Durandal's little chip.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege8.jpg
I punched it in and ran. No sense in getting into a fight I can't finish.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege9.jpg
Now all I had to do was get out. Easier said than done, admittedly, but the troops here seemed primarily ceremonial. They weren't expecting any serious resistance.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sacrilege11.jpg
A costly mistake.

(Like me thinking Durandal would let me slack after disabling the enemy defenses.)

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/FreeDrone1.jpg
Durandal was right. A little viral code, and suddenly the drones switch to the side of the angels. Well, the side closer to the angels. Describing Durandal with more favorable terms than those you'd use on Machiavelli always feels like a dicey proposition.

Unfortunately, the virus only netted us the drones. The hunters were shut down to prevent major issues, it looked like, and the Cyborgs weren't networked.

Which meant I'd need to be hitting the trenches.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/FreeDrone2.jpg

Fortunately, the drones had cut a nice swath of destruction as they went. I saw whole rooms full of elite troopers dead. You'd think the guys who made exploding airlock technicians would know to check that the maintenance systems aren't being subverted.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/FreeDrone3.jpg
Of course, some of them did. I found a nasty batch of cyborgs, troopers, and the like making a successful stand by a power converter. Unfortunately for them, overcharged cyborgs tend to explode rather gruesomely when hit with fusion charges. The survivors went down to a few good magnum rounds, and I took a minute to recharge the shields.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/FreeDrone5.jpg
When I managed to contact Durandal, I got another old mystery solved. Strauss had apparently died in the Pfhor stasis tanks. Lucky break for him.

Me, I'm not so lucky. Eyes of the world (or at least Durandal) upon you, Jones. Failure, sadly, is not an option.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker1.jpg
Now that's more what I'm used to. Dank corridors, everything wanting to kill me, and a pervading stench of death. The drone mop up was making the whole thing seem almost tolerable. And we can't be having that. Five minutes of frantic rushing through the dimly lit hallways of this miserable little basement bought me a few seconds to contact Durandal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker3.jpg
Well, *#@#. And furthermore #*$*@#@#@&*&*@!@&#^(. Looks like great minds think a lot like inferior minds a couple decades ago. Which means that I was working this one solo. At least this was the last of the troops in the base. A fair chunk of the garrison probably retreated to any older fortified areas, but the crew of the old Marathon could at least try to fortify the place before anyone tries to retake it.

If I don't get killed here.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker5.jpg
Right. Sabotage the systems. Looks like a viable first candidate here. A few well placed blows, and it's sparking. Anything more, and anything in the water gets fried. As that would include me, I get moving.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker6.jpg
I passed a couple of the old sewage systems tearing a Pfhor cyborg apart, and suddenly remembered why I try to avoid dealing with them. Sure, a few good explosions take out one, maybe two. And then the rest hear it. And pretty soon every two bit sewer system on this cruddy little ball of mud is howling for your blood. Running saves ammo. I proceeded to demonstrate the theorem.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker7.jpg
I managed to find the computer Durandal had mentioned earlier, but it looked like one of the last troopers left at the base had an unusual amount of sense, combined with a remarkable lack of self preservation. He was trying to offline the thing to keep it out of enemy hands. A good effort, but futile when a heavily armed hostile can terminate you a lot faster than you can wipe the hard drive.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/PatheticHacker8.jpg
Durandal had beat me to the punch, it looked like. No sapient AIs? As much as current events make that a tempting prospect, the defense of the Marathon only lasted as long as it did due to Leela (rest her soul) and the current cause of my grief. A useful weakness to know about for future engagements.

For now, archaeology. Be nice to go somewhere where any potential resistance is centuries dead.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom1.jpg
Well, here we are. The center of a centuries old civilization, the thing I'd been killing through an army to get to. And of course there'd be lava between me and it.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom2.jpg
Locked too. Of all the stupid things to slow down some heroics, a locked door is kind of disappointing. Well, if the thing doesn't unlock, copious use of explosives should settle things.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom4.jpg
Ah, controls for the lava moat. Dinged easily enough to a solid bit of force.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom5.jpg
A few old myths were cataloged beside the thing. A few bits about a lost clan, godlike intelligences, and other bits. Just what Durandal was looking for. Probably not a true word in it, but that's not my problem.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom7.jpg

My problem was the fact the last bits of the Pfhor garrison were sending their compilers to break into the fort. Where Durandal saw information, they saw a place to defend against any more attacks until reinforcements hit.

I saw it as a way to take a five minute break from getting shot at, and they weren't taking that from me.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom8.jpg
Looked like the bit with the switch lowered the lava. The door, however, stubbornly refused to open despite explosive force.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom9.jpg
A trip through lava and the remnants of the garrison found me the switch...

And a second shotgun. Durandal isn't generous normally, but this was a nice little gift. Mite early for Christmas, but since we'll all be dead long before then, well, an early present makes sense.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom10.jpg
Ah, joy. An empire was finally taking an interest in us. We were hard pressed with every edge we could get on a third rate bunch of drop outs. And now we were going to see what the elites were like.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom12.jpg
Durandal interrupted my little reverie. Right. To work.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom11.jpg
And I'm in. The first sapient being in years to see the graves of a great civilization.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TowerOfDoom13.jpg
Well, Durandal was keeping the humans and S'pht from Boomer safe. Might as well enjoy the respite.

[Artanis]

This game lets you dual-wield shotguns?

*runs to the d/l site*

[chiasaur11]

This game lets you dual-wield shotguns?

*runs to the d/l site*

It's also got online co-op. Which means up to four shotguns firing at once, easily.

So, a couple questions for the audience at home:

1) The Tycho bit. How was it, do you want more side notes or just the main story, do you want to see all the chapter art, that kind of thing.

2) Which mods would you suggest. I'm considering playing Rubicon at some point. Any other recommendations or warnings?

[Poison_Fish]

It's also got online co-op. Which means up to four shotguns firing at once, easily.

So, a couple questions for the audience at home:

1) The Tycho bit. How was it, do you want more side notes or just the main story, do you want to see all the chapter art, that kind of thing.

2) Which mods would you suggest. I'm considering playing Rubicon at some point. Any other recommendations or warnings?

Marathon Evil is highly suggested.

[chiasaur11]

Marathon Evil is highly suggested.

Just tried.

Enemies that are super fast, not interrupted, and take two shotgun rounds to the face to down and kill you in seconds on kindergarten?

Bad enough.

Fusion blasts from nowhere with no real warnings that take out the tiny bit of health I had left and terminals that have none of the zest of Durandal, or even Leela?

I uninstalled. If I shoot something with a shotgun on kindergarten, it should flipping die. I don't mind a challenge, but when all my weapons feel like peashooters, that's it.

[Poison_Fish]

Just tried.

Enemies that are super fast, not interrupted, and take two shotgun rounds to the face to down and kill you in seconds on kindergarten?

Bad enough.

Fusion blasts from nowhere with no real warnings that take out the tiny bit of health I had left and terminals that have none of the zest of Durandal, or even Leela?

I uninstalled. If I shoot something with a shotgun on kindergarten, it should flipping die. I don't mind a challenge, but when all my weapons feel like peashooters, that's it.

Really? I never had issues with it, and with the devlins shotguns were usually a good answer and stunned them. Might have been a later or earlier version where something got messed up.

Regardless, what I really liked from Evil were the weapons. I may be thinking back on nostalgia glasses though, I haven't abandoned that thought. Honestly though the Devlins got stunned by stuff back when I played it.

Failing that then, and since rubicon has been mentioned... two mods I liked were Excalibur: Morgana's revenge and Tempus Irae. Tempus Irae because it felt fairly classy and I got into the story. Excalibur for TIME TRAVELING WACKINESS and beating up aliens with a stone spear.

[chiasaur11]

Really? I never had issues with it, and with the devlins shotguns were usually a good answer and stunned them. Might have been a later or earlier version where something got messed up.

Regardless, what I really liked from Evil were the weapons. I may be thinking back on nostalgia glasses though, I haven't abandoned that thought. Honestly though the Devlins got stunned by stuff back when I played it.

Failing that then, and since rubicon has been mentioned... two mods I liked were Excalibur: Morgana's revenge and Tempus Irae. Tempus Irae because it felt fairly classy and I got into the story. Excalibur for TIME TRAVELING WACKINESS and beating up aliens with a stone spear.

Fair enough.

I just got bugged enough at the death trap I quit before I got any nifty new weapons. Probably would have liked it at least a tad more had I persisted.

[chiasaur11]

So, the citidel. More of the same, I suppose. Things wanting to kill me, terrors beyond measure. And another reason to wish I'd never left the civil wars of Mars.

http://marathon.bungie.org/story/terms/chapter-screens/m2/art/citadel.jpg

Oh.

It was beautiful. I knew the compilers were advanced. Until now, though, I hadn't realized just how much they'd lost under the Pfhor.



Well, I wasn't here to go sightseeing. Supposedly, they'd buried some useful information somewhere in here.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty1.jpg
I saw some of the swamp cleaners from earlier standing stock still. I walked as softly as I could past them. No sense in turning the one area of Lh'owon not crawling with enemy troops into a new kind of bloodbath.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty2.jpg
Durandal filled me in a tad more on the local situation. Old data's better than nothing, I guess. And it was a break from massed firepower.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty3.jpg
Durandal dropped some supplies. Well, whatever's happening with battle group seven, it's probably getting worse. I probably should find the old computers.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty5.jpg
Found them after a little searching. A few Pfhor cyborgs were being totaled by defensive systems. The systems must have busted from the explosions, since they didn't cause any trouble when I took a look at the local data.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty7.jpg
Well, it was something, at least. Not what Durandal wanted now, probably, but given past patterns I had no way to be sure. He'd spent time writing new lyrics to screaming electric death orchestra songs while the Marathon was under assault, after all.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty8.jpg

Further searching found a specimen room. Seems the little reveal about non cybernetic life had made the S'pht a mite more curious about the local fauna. Might have a couple of funny anecdotes for Durandal to spend the next few years dispensing in place of actual instructions.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty9.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty10.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty11.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty12.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty13.jpg
Bullseye. Not much practical information, but there were a couple of things. The "Elders" sounded impressive, at least. I passed what I had to Durandal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty14.jpg
We were getting hammered. Seven to one was bad odds even without the battleship to consider, and they were sending troops to the surface to retake the garrison.

And they probably wouldn't forget about me in the confusion.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty15.jpg

Ah. More sewer muck. My favorite thing in the world. Well, Durandal wants S'pht myth...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty16.jpg

Yes, as a matter of fact, he does. Well, topside there was both an abundence of art and an absence of Pfhor. Keep that trend up, and I'll live a happy, brief life until battle group seven comes for us all.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty22.jpg

Happened sooner than I thought. The first hunter that teleported in dinged the armor. The second almost finished me off. If they'd been expecting trouble, I'd be dead.

As is, I got moving.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty17.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty19.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty20.jpg

Got it. Something something clans, something something elders, something something I-don't-care. If Durandal can sort this out, good for him. I'll just try to stay alive.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty18.jpg
A task I was not doing especially well at. I barely dealt with a couple of rear vanguard troops who'd thought there was no way someone would be stupid enough to try to access a terminal when they'd already sent elite troops to the area. I hoped Durandal was doing better.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Majesty21.jpg
As it turns out, Durandal was doing worse. Knew a last stand had to happen some time. And the only thing left of the Marathon would be the list of Pfhor crewmen lost in the taking of Lh'owon. Might as well add a few more names to the list before I die.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit1.jpg
Falling a good thousand feet hurts even with inertial dampeners and energy shields. Doing it without them?

Suicide. Meaning the garrison beaming in would need to wait a bit to keep tailing me. Only things down here were cleaners and the floating gasbags I'd seen steadily throughout the visit here. I walked by. Killing harmless creatures has always been bad luck. I have more than enough of that already.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit2.jpg
Case in point.

It was a doomed mission from the start, really. Not that I knew it until Durandal mentioned the size of Battle Group seven, but...

At best we'd be a delay. Durandal thought there was a way out, but...

He's always been insane. I'm trying not to be, which means I'd better come to terms with the futility of this job.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit3.jpg
A grenade bought me a few seconds by knocking one of the cleaners into lava. I paused to watch it fall. It seemed to go on forever.

I moved on as quickly as I could.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit4.jpg
Right into some of the Pfhor's disposable cyborgs. No other troopers, at least. Seemed the Pfhor wanted the same technical data Durandal was after.

Or they hate me. Personally.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit9.jpg
And it's more information I don't understand. At least it got me a signal boost.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit10.jpg
I got to the nearest place with a good terminal and tried to signal Durandal. It was looking like staying here with armies of cyborgs after me was a bad idea.

Of course, whatever Durandal had in mind was probably a worse idea.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Lavapit11.jpg
The humbling of Battle Group Seven?

And you've complimented me on my capacity for violence.

It looks like I'll get the pleasure of seeing Durandal die. Just wish I could still enjoy it.

[Artanis]

*eyes glaze over trying to read the names*

Seriously, it's like an entire game full of Mmrnmhrm :smalltongue:

[chiasaur11]

*eyes glaze over trying to read the names*

Seriously, it's like an entire game full of Mmrnmhrm :smalltongue:

Yeah.

The Pfhor, at least, don't have random apostrophes. The compilers, though...

Eesh.

So, as I get in the mood for asking often enough:

What am I doing right, what am I doing wrong, is the main character consistent, you know, all the basic questions.

[Celesyne]

Down right freakin amazing. Only one question, ar you planning on doing an Infinity Lets Play to finish off the series?

[chiasaur11]

Down right freakin amazing. Only one question, ar you planning on doing an Infinity Lets Play to finish off the series?

Definitely.

[Terraoblivion]

He seems fairly consistent to me. Bungie needs some serious punishment for the compiler names. Those things are freaking impossible to read.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer1.jpg
Back to the old Pfhor ship.

Durandal'd kept busy, it seemed. Medical stations installed, new paint job...

Only thing in common with the old design was the fact it was swarming with Pfhor. (Not, I'm sure, Durandal's design goal).

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer2.jpg
And the same old routine with Durandal. Go to a major disaster site, pull off a miracle, come far nearer death than I'd like, repeat.

Well, less so on the repeat this time.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer3.jpg
They were sending in the best they had. Dozens of elite troopers. I readied for more trouble than I had in taking this place in the first place.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer4.jpg
Hours passed. Hours with the steady rhythm of dual Waste-Ms pounding the invasion force. Hours before the bulkhead buckled and I had to run or suck vacuum.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer5.jpg
And I ran into something I'd hoped to avoid. The military units the Pfhor save for the worst ground engagements. A hunter, ten, fifteen feet tall. Armed with far more plasma than is healthy for anyone to come into contact with.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer6.jpg
And standing in the middle of a bunch of highly volatile organic explosives. A few fusion bursts made to whole room detonate. A thick wall meant I ducked the bulk of the explosion, but the noise was drawing more attention. I kept moving. Every second the Pfhor were tracking me was a second they weren't slaughtering helpless members of the Marathon's crew.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer7.jpg
Tycho managed to find me when I tried to get a status update from Durandal. He must be confusing me with someone who thought he had a chance of surviving this mess. I'd known I was a dead man since the first bombs hit Tau Ceti 17 years ago. All I'd been doing for 17 years now was delaying the inevitable.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer8.jpg
It had worked so far. That last bit of slowdown meant Durandal could get the rocket launcher to my position. And it meant the troopers following me were in for an unfortunate surprise.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Boomer9.jpg
Durandal didn't seem to be doing good.

I expected his humbling to be more satisfying.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime1.jpg
And it seems "create a diversion" once again means "get shot at. A lot." They were even sending in Enforcers to keep the rest of the forces in line.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime2.jpg
A good thing, I suppose, since they tended to incinerate their own troops, but the charred corpses in the hallways did nothing to bring back the tiny bit of optimism I had when this mess started. The Pfhor were sending everything they had into this one. Joy of joys.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime3.jpg
And then there's Tycho.

I thought dealing with Durandal had taught me just how much I could hate a collection of ones and zeroes. I was wrong. And now he was bringing up Tau Ceti and the murder of every man woman and child just to remind me he can kill me?

Every two bit trooper on this ship is able to do that, Tycho.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime4.jpg
No sense in worrying about the long list of those you've failed already. Just try to help the few left alive. Durandal'd installed battleship level chargers, and with the guns down, I was the only one who'd be able to use them.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime5.jpg
Needed the boost, as it turned out. Tycho, or Tfear, or some other Pfhor commander had been making larger combat cyborgs. With built in flamethrowers.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime6.jpg
Durandal had a warning as I ran. One I already knew.

If I'm a step ahead of Durandal...

I didn't like the implications.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime7.jpg
Good news. Well, good from the point of view of a suicidal lunatic, primarily, but...

Well, if the Pfhor were following me all over the @&#*&*ing ship, at least they weren't going after the guys evacuating to the surface.

On the other hand, it seems Tycho now hated me personally. Which meant this mess at least ending quick was right out. He was going to make sure I suffered if I was brought in alive from the sound of things. I decided to try to get a map of the area. It'd be something, at least.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime8.jpg
****. **** **** **** ****. ****!

Durandal's breaking down just when I need reliable teleporting the most. Which means I'm dead. On the plus side...

You know, right now even the prospect of Durandal's death does nothing to improve my mood.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime9.jpg
Engine fluid, tons of compilers...

This wasn't a part of the ship that was modified to be easy to access for engineers and the rest of the Marathon staff. This was an area of the ship originally designed to kill people, that was still keeping up the proud old traditions.

Fortunately, even the Pfhor with their policies of "Throw more fighters at it" consider some moves suicidal. By the fifth ten foot leap over deadly coolant fluid, I'd lost most of the pursuers.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime10.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime11.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/buyingtime12.jpg
I didn't manage to ditch Tycho. He was enjoying this one. Every tiny ounce of pain he could wring out of the crew, me, Durandal? Music to his ears.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites1.jpg
Fortunately, his gloating was interrupted in a burst of static.

Well, Tycho, it looks like you're not getting to finish Durandal off.

This little pleasure goes to me.

[Artanis]

Every update shows another similarity between this backstory and that of Halo...which is a good thing, considering how much I like the Halo universe :smallcool:

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites2.jpg
Durandal wanted me to kill him. I was more than happy to oblige. Sadly, his steady loss of system controls meant that I was locked away from any and all methods of terminating him. And the security systems for those would be swarming with guards.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites3.jpg
Durandal managed a last transmission. I'd ask about Leela, but something told me I wouldn't want to know, considering how fast the access panels were dropping. Leela was the last person I had who was a anything resembling a friend. I'd like to be able to remember her with some dignity.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites4.jpg

The first couple of core system panels opened up easily enough. I had been right earlier. The fusion pistol did a number on Durandal's systems. And yes, it was satisfying. Not as much as I thought it would be, maybe, but still better than getting shot in the gut.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites5.jpg
Systems were shorting out right and left, so I figure I was doing something. Unfortunately, said systems weren't opening the last couple of locks. Which meant meeting the force Tycho'd assembled for revenge.

Well, they'd need to get in line.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites7.jpg
And meeting Tycho.

He wanted me to give up? Durandal wasn't a friend, sure. In fact, I was killing him right now partially for the pleasure of watching him die. But he'd saved my life, as it turns out, and had been doing some good in slowing down the fleet heading for Earth. The Pfhor catch him, what little good he's done is nulled out, they doubtless go back on the promises of amnesty, and Durandal lives to stew.

No part of that appeals to me.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites8.jpg
One last switch opened up the central core.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lastrites9.jpg
And one quick shot ends the whole thing. And shuts down the teleporters, the lights, the air...

Well, I did some good before I died. Just not enough.

Well, I've got five minutes of air and a few hundred bullets left. Might as well make my last few minutes memorable.

[Cristo Meyers]

All of a sudden I hear Paxton Fettel in my head...

"You shot me. I didn't like that..."

Almost feel sorry for the late megalomaniac. I mean, all he wanted to do was become a god. What's wrong with that?

[Juhn]

If Marvel Comics have taught me anything, it's that he would have become a planet-eating foundation of the next universe.

[Cristo Meyers]

Naaaaaah. I'm sure he'd be just as cuddly as he is now.

[chiasaur11]

To think I once considered you capable of reason.

What made you attempt to defy me?

A pathetic urge to protect your precious humans?

You've only ensured their demises. If it hadn't been for your pathetic outbursts, they might have been considered malleable enough to use as a slave race.

Now, of course, we will be forced to exterminate them. Shall I bring them in front of you before they die? Ensure they know exactly who to blame for their inevitably horrible demises?

Perhaps it was loyalty to the fool Durandal. Some half hearted attempt to repay him for your life.

But you know as well as I do that he was responsible for the loss of all you held dear. If you valued loyalty at all, I would think you would have aided me.

No. You may claim these or a thousand other noble motives. But we both know you were just flailing in childish defiance against the inevitable. You may claim you understand the motives in play, but we both know you're just an infant screaming for attention.

For all his faults, all his folly, Durandal could understand exactly how foolish he was, in the end.

I can only hope that your final moments will bring a similar epiphany. I'm sure the far off day of your demise will soon be a thing of much anticipation for both of us.


http://marathon.bungie.org/story/terms/chapter-screens/m2/art/captured.jpg

Rest well. We begin in earnest tomorrow.
-Tycho.

[Oslecamo]

Muahaha, they're gonna regret leting you live...

Great job with this lp!

[chiasaur11]

Well, to quote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead:

"Generally speaking, things have gone about as far as they can possibly go, when things have gotten about as bad as they can reasonably get."

So...

[chiasaur11]

Communication opening

Transmission begun. Communication between Attentive class Perimeter Station 7AF Commander 5th Class Re'eer and Imperial class Captain R'chzne in progress.

With all due respect to one of your station, I humbly request a transfer from unit 751134 (Conditioned unit recalibration towards cessation of hostilities) and a return to the previous posting in unit 430266 (Eradication of Hostile Species Unsuitable for Enslavement through mechanized infantry). The rate of attrition for the current unit has recently began to exceed that of any other posting for units of Willful rank or above, and seems more suited to Aggregate level units, or similarly disposable forces rather than officers considering the following incidents:

1) Unknown Willful class unit entered subject designate "Mjolnir"'s cell following interrogation session to ensure subject had not ceased functioning following a session in which enhanced techniques were authorized accompanied by several Aggregate class hunters. Subject designate "Mjolnir" removed one hunter unit's shoulder mounted plasma cannon and reduced the willful unit in question, both hunters, and five Conditioned class cyborgs to a fine mist before it could be apprehended.

2) Mid interrogation session three days later, the same subject broke combat rated restraints and managed to forcibly separate one of the observers (Imperial rank Science Officer 2nd Class, I'ii'ich) from his cranial lobe and nearly escaped the holding chamber before Juggernaut level prisoner restraints could be applied.

3) In an attempt to placate subject, a human design simulacrum was used for Sustenance delivery, but the subject proceeded to forcibly destroy the unit in question and used its internal fluids to scrawl what appear to be (when translated) invectives against Machinate Mercenary Tycho and Terminated Hostile Intelligence Durandal.

In short, the risks involved seem to suggest that this posting is better suited as a motive for compliance from already rebellious Aggregate units than as a continual posting for officers.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Jailhouserock1.jpg
Another glorious day to be alive. I thought that the little incident on the Boomer was as bad as it was going to get. Then I thought that Tycho's little speech and torture session was the worst.

My life for the last month has been a steady plumbing of the depths of human agony and despair punctuated by brief moments of hideous violence that, given my current situation, feel almost joyous.

And every single one of them just makes the prison worse, the guards better, and the hope of escape seem further off.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Jailhouserock2.jpg
Looking at the guard, I almost wonder if what I'm planning is worth it. He's one of the Pfhor navy's best, and unarmed, I probably don't have a chance. Even if I somehow kill him, a buddy of his, or the energy grid, or even something as dumb as a wrong turn in a side passage will ensure I get tossed back in.

But I can't quit. It's the one stupid worthless thing I have left. I give that up, and they win. (No. They've won already. Completely, from what you've seen. Still, it's like dad said. "Always fight")

And I smile as a quick swing snaps the stupid enforcer's neck. Unfortunately, it screams, alerting the rest of the guards before I can even open the door.

I wish I could say it had been worth it.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Jailhouserock3.jpg
And then I see something I'd filed under impossibilities for a long time. I was probably hallucinating. Something that wasn't me, or something trying to torture me? Tycho'd said he'd managed to deal with the crew. He's a liar, of course, but I figured any other survivors were pinned down and half dead at best after this long without Durandal beaming down supplies.

Whatever it was, it was a distraction for the guards. I ran.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/freeman1.jpg
Grabbing a magnum from a very confused Pfhor scientist, I broke for the surface, ignoring as best I could the screams of the guys who provided me a crucial distraction. Some seemed to be teleporting out, which meant somebody was keeping old equipment working.

I made it to the surface and kept moving. No sense in outstaying my welcome.

A terminal was blinking away steadily as soon as I was free of the complex (Which seemed to be detonating behind me. Ripping open every bit of wiring along the way hadn't been such a bad idea after all). It was probably a trap. Still, staying here alone was guaranteeing death as soon as the Pfhor found out what happened to their little jail.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/freeman2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/freeman3.jpg
So, Blake had made it. Well, Durandal had said they'd been bunkered up well. And it seemed like Durandal was running my life even after I killed him.

Life continues to conspire to make even my triumphs turn to ash in my mouth.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Freeman4.jpg

Well, I'm alive, unlike some. And a second pistol would do some good in keeping me that way. The previous owner wouldn't be using it more, anyway.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Freeman5.jpg
The Pfhor troopers investigating the recent signal activity, however, were attempting to remedy my recent successes.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Freeman7.jpg
I managed to get a few more bits of information from Blake at a terminal inside an old s'pht building. Seems we were activating another AI.

Didn't we learn our lesson with the last one?

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Freeman8.jpg
Well, better to deal with the unknown in this case than the Pfhor., who I got to know all to well over the last month. Switches to toggle, ancient AIs to awaken, "fun" to be had.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Freeman9.jpghttp://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Freeman10.jpg
Joy. More suicide bombers coming after me, no flamethrower to safely dispose of them for hours...

Well, it may not be fun, safe, or easy, but compared to the last month of my life it's paradise.

[SITB]

Some of the images from he later updaes appear to me dead.

Also, will we see
"The Blake form is dead, insect"
type of deal?

EDIT: Nevermind it works again.

[chiasaur11]

Some of the images from he later updaes appear to me dead.

Also, will we see

"The Blake form is dead, insect"

type of deal?

Fixed.

And either way, that would be telling.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo1.jpg
Investigation? Not my usual job. Well, might as well relax a little while waiting for further instructions. Listen to the idle chatter, check for clues...

"Ten bugs."
"Well, yeah. With a MA-75. I mean, I got five with the pistol. It ain't the base record or anything, but it takes planning, skill... the MA-75 you just spray in the enemy's general direction and hope your arms don't break before the guys after you bite it."
"I got thirty. And three of them were the ones in steel armor."
"Bull. Nobody who could get near those things would still be breathing."
Huh. Well.

I tapped the fourth party on the shoulder. Might as well make an introduction.

"Hey, Blake said I should..."
"FROG BLAST THE VENT CORE!"

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo2.jpg
And then?

Half my shields were gone. And suddenly "Leisurely pace" and "Won't die horribly" were removed from the list of benefits for this little gig. It seems infiltration units tend to forget about protocols when they get a shot at me. Well, it means the job would be easier, I guess.

If by easier I mean quicker and more painful.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo3.jpg
Blake filled in a few more minor details. It explains the exclamation before a Bob exploded in my face, anyway. I figured I might as well go down to the armory. They might have a flamethrower by now.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo4.jpg
Which turned out to be a very good decision. The Pfhor apparently had decided that the virus ensuring their troops dead was a fair trade for finishing off the last irritation left (or to get at me, given Tycho's previous behavior). Finding simulacrum suddenly dropped to priority two behind basic survival. I grabbed a shotgun and got to work.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo5.jpg
Fortunately the two goals coincided. A little clever footwork and the explodobobs end up in the middle of a few hunters, a few grenades, and you have a chain reaction that deals with the whole lot with minimal injury.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo6.jpg
After a quick check that there weren't any more of the imitations in the area, (just a few very lucky former members of the Marathon crew who probably were done with bragging about victories for the foreseeable future) I headed back to report to Blake. I did what I could, and there shouldn't be any more unforseeable explosions in the area. Still, a few more checks might be a good idea.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Explodo8.jpg
Blake had just gained a friend for the rest of his (probably short) life. Nice to see I wasn't the only one Durandal tossed around.

And I appreciated the offer. Futile, I'm sure, given we'd both be dead within a week at best, but it's the thought that counts.

[Cristo Meyers]

I'm far more entertained by Blake's thumb's up picture than I probably should be...

Hurray...another AI, maybe this one won't be an omnicidal maniac or a megalomaniac with a god complex...but then again, where's the fun in that?

[chiasaur11]

I'm far more entertained by Blake's thumb's up picture than I probably should be...


Fun fact:

Robert Blake is played by legendary Bungie co-founder Jason Jones.

So, if you ever meet said individual, in person or through the media of Halo multiplayer, you are obligated to use one of the following lines (or a variant thereof)

"Glad to see you made it off Lh'owon alive."
"From mechanical engineer to commander of the last survivors of the Marathon to game programmer. That is one diverse resume."
"Frog Blast the vent core!"

(Note: The previous suggestions were for humor purposes only. Please don't send the Bungie death squads after me, Mr. Jones, sir.)

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission1.jpg
A week of clean-up, double checking, and rechecking for any Pfhor or simulacrum left. I can't say it was unpleasant, really. Just... odd.

Been a while since I had to worry about an area after I finished a job there. Which meant a sudden teleport out in mid sweep was more of a return to expected form than a surprise. Well, there were more sites for the old AI Durandal had been trying to find.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission3.jpg
Ah. Looks like it was a bit more desperate than that.

Here's hoping the fighting is less intense than the usual.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission2.jpg
It wasn't. Of course it wasn't. And once again we come to a rescue mission where getting myself out alive is difficult enough.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission4.jpg
The only thing that saved me was Durandal. Again. The maniac had placed "strategic" weapon deposits around the activation sites. Including a rocket launcher. A few well placed explosions got me away from the current fighting. And deeper in, where all my current escape routes were gone.

My tactical skills seem to have no lower limit.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission5.jpg
I managed to find one of Blake's men in a side corridor. Guy named Von Müller who'd apparently been kept in a little room for seven years doing. More of Durandal's little "eccentricities".

Well, one down. More to go. Or, given previous experiences, one down, a string of horribly mutilated corpses to find, ending in horrifying amounts of Pfhor troopers to go.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission10.jpg
The guy knew where the team's MA-75 man went down, at least. And I'd been missing rapid fire bullet spray a lot in more intense gunfights.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission6.jpg
Seemed the poor sucker who'd had it before me almost made it to an activation site for the old AI. Might as well finish the job.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission8.jpg
I'd just hit the switch for the thing when I heard a burst from a pfhor trooper's gun...

Not aimed at me. A quick sprint got me in the middle of a pitched firefight between the Pfhor and more of Blake's boys than I thought would still be alive. I managed to deal with the troopers, surprisingly, and it seems this job actually got done with a minimum of human casualties.

What is the universe setting me up for?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/RescueMission9.jpg
I was even getting complimented. No, wait, thanked.

Wait. Saved? Didn't Blake know what happened after we left? Was I the only one Durandal told the whole plan to?

Seems I was the closest thing that rampant peice of coding had to a friend. Not the kind of thought that helps one go to sleep at night.

[Artanis]

Man, if you're the only one Durandal got even remotely close to liking, I'd hate to see the guys who pissed him off :smalleek:

[Copper8642]

Think that through. You don't see the guys that really pissed him off. Know why? Exactly.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland1.jpg
Rescue was done, but Blake wanted followup on the last site before the Pfhor started trashing the things to keep our mitts off it. And the last disaster had proven I was the only person (cyborg) able to deal with what the Pfhor send to these things. Well, seemingly able, considering most of my successes so far were mostly due to luck in my opinion.

Four cyborgs at the drop site. And the odds were they'd be the least of the resistance.

I dove for the pool as soon as I beamed in. Swam until I found an old terminal. Get the briefing, hit the sites, run for your life. Simple enough. All but doomed to failure, sure, but simple.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland2.jpg

Blake seemed desperate. I knew the defense couldn't last, but I figured it'd get a little more time. Made the finding of those last two sites a bit vital.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland3.jpg
Dound a flamethrower by the first site, rounding out the arsenal I'd been building back. I flipped the switch. Six down, one to go.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland5.jpg
Which meant the AI was more incomprehensible than Durandal at his worst. Well, one last switch and we have a slim chance at pulling this little trick off. I'd prefer having Leela back, but it's not likely the new AI will be worse than Durandal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland4.jpg

One last switch, and I'm done here. Got to it with a minimum of injuries, considering the number of cyborgs between me and it, but I would bet my luck was about out. Hit the switch and dove before one of them pulled a flamethrower and...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland8.jpg
What just hap...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland6.jpg
And I got a crushing feeling of deja vu combined with a sensation of drowning while text scrolled past my eyes. All familiar, without being identifiable. All of it unsettling.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Roland7.jpg
It ended with a message from the new AI. And I was back to reality.

And the top level of the former Pfhor garrison, once again crawling with bugs.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BaseCleaning1.jpg
After a frantic dash from the surface, I managed to get to the lower levels. Seemed some form of a perimeter had been established, even if it wouldn't hold for long.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BaseCleaning3.jpg
They'd even wrangled most of the simulacrums into a central pit. A quick round from my magnum dealt with the issue. All that's left is a game plan from Blake or the new AI and inevitable death.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BaseCleaning4.jpg
Ah. Helpful, aren't we. It seems the AIs get less and less direct as I go. Leela (God rest her soul) was direct and helpful. Durandal (Rest in peace, if only so I don't have to deal with you anymore) at least gave complete sentences and some idea of what to do. The ancient AI we got now is less comprehensible than some of the computer errors back on the Marathon. It better be more capable in areas other than relaying instructions, or the last ditch plan to activate it was a total waste.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BaseCleaning5.jpg
It managed to organize an impromptu armory, at least. Including (be still my beating heart) another Waste-M. Well, it looks like some violence is called for. Might as well try it before my inevitable death.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BaseCleaning6.jpg
Taking out half a dozen hunters, I took a breather.And found an old terminal. Seemed Durandal had left another of his little "jokes" in the base. Same theme as his little "colony ship for sale" sign.

Of all the things to do when fighting with one frigate against an empire, leaving in jokes is fairly low on the list. Well, I never thought Durandal had a good sense of priorities.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BaseCleaning7.jpg
Well, it wasn't clean, quick, or easy, but we managed to delay death another day here. (Not bad Jones. Just, oh, 7,956 more to go and Earth may have enough time to have some halfway effective defenses.) Which meant I had another job to do in what would probably be, at best, an hour before the Pfhor sent another assault force.

Joy.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Ansible1.jpg
Muck filled S'pht ruins. Hadn't been in these for a while. The scent of te sludge beneath my feet reminded me of why I was not eager to indulge in return visits. Ah well. Back to killing and (early) dying.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Ansible2.jpg
Safe?

I got enough of this mock philisophical bull from Durandal. What am I? Mainly, I'm tired of not having the slightest idea of what's going on in the grand scheme of things and being forced to guess from half translated koans written by an alien who invented, apparently, whole philisophical systems to ensure the ancient AIs on the planet would irritate me, specifically.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Ansible3.jpg
Well, I know how to kill Pfhor, at least. Enforcers are a bit more trouble than most, but if you get the drop on them their armor is light enough to finish them off quickly.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Ansible4.jpg
A switch. Well. I desperately hoped this was the thing "you know what you must do" refered to because otherwise I had no idea of what to do. Other than hope "safe" includes alive for Blake and co.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Ansible5.jpg
Considering that every trooper, hunter, and enforcer in the area came after me when I hit the switch, it seemed I called this one correctly. Running away was once again the primary plan.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Ansible6.jpg
Wait. WHAT?

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty1.jpg
A Pfhor ship. What this has to do with bleating goats, I don't know. All it means right now is I'm right back to operation: get shot at a lot, and that means my life is going as it was.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty2.jpg
Might as well make a mess before I get spotted. Exposed wiring? Haven't the Pfhor learned to avoid putting obvious structural weaknesses where I can get at them?

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty4.jpg
As it turns out, it was less than entirely vital. In fact, it was the trigger to a pit trap. It's good to know the enemy has learned something over the years. Not good in the sense that I like it, or it decreases my odds of death, but it was something worth finding out before an ambush party flanked me with heavy air support. Odd, though. I'd figure any terminals down here would be purely for maintenance, not for long range coms. Well, might want to look.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty6.jpg
Oh. Oh boy.

Calm yourself down. It was probably sent before he died. Tycho was rebuilt in his image, so even if it was sent recently it could be a common sense of humor due to rampancy. Or it could be...

It could be one of any number of things, but it was something Blake would want to know about. If he's still alive. I sent it on every wavelength and hoped it would hit friendlies before Pfhor figured out where it came from.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty7.jpg
No such luck. A flamethrower meant that I had the edge in an ambush, but prolonged combat even in a ship this small wouldn't be ideal. I headed for the computers. Might be a way out of this thing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty8.jpg
No luck. But "being boarded" sounded impressive. It seemed my presence on the ship was calling out every defensive procedure available.

I had a hard enough time dealing with them when they only gave me the standard amount of attention. Evacuating reached a higher priority than ever.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/BoardingParty9.jpg
I did manage to make a very notable dent in the deployed forces as I ran. Either that or they were evacuating (or both). Well, it was something to distract them. And it seemed I'd be busy meeting the 11th clan. A group who, given tradition so far, will either teleport me around at random or try to kill me. Or, more likely, both.

[RedRust]

I joined the forum just so I could congratulate you on this funderful LP, and plead that you continue on to Infinity. I wonder how the grounded and cautious security officer will handle all the time zaniness.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking1.jpg
Seems whatever Thoth wanted done with the little Pfhor ship got finished. I guessed it would be almost a minute before anything got here.

As usual, I guessed wrong. It was about seven seconds before a large heavily armed blue floating war machine and a Pfhor trooper entered the room. Not the kind of thing a guy wants to deal with just after a running gun battle with an entire spaceship's worth of hostile aliens. I dove for the pool.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking2.jpg
Which made it an entirely pleasant surprise when the two began to open fire on each other.

Five seconds later, the Pfhor trooper was reduced a pile of goo. Two more and the blue hovering... thing turned to me. And seemed to, for lack of a better word, nod as it teleported out.

Well, whatever it was, it seemed to be on the same side as me at the moment.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking3.jpg
Heading into the hallway, I saw a Bob rushing towards me. Thing is, they supposedly were "safe". Which meant either that Thoth was wrong, or this wasn't a human.

Two rounds from my magnum confirmed the second hypothesis, and prevented me from receiving some nasty explosion related injuries.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking4.jpg
The hovering things were steadily dealing with the local Pfhor infestation. With that worry off my mind for a second, I finally bothered to wonder what they were. The 11th clan?

Well, it was the only group of potential allies left with FTL access. Seems that SOS was worthwhile. I guess I owe Thoth an apology. I meandered over to a nearby terminal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking9.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Returnoftheking7.jpg

...
Well, ****.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/unbreakable1.jpg
So.

I was in a lava filled room, surrounded by two warring groups of heavily armed cyborgs. IE, the standard death and destruction deal. Unfortunately, it all had the new wrinkle of Durandal still being alive. The one thing that had kept me going through a month of the worst tortures the Pfhor could provide was now gone.

Well, Blake and the rest of the crew had gotten away safely. I'd done some good with that little bit of freedom I had.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/unbreakable2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/unbreakable3.jpg
I should have remembered that bit, really.

Unbreakable. Unstoppable. All terms adding up to the simple fact that my life was set in stone from here on out. Orders I only half understood from a mad AI with dreams of godhood, fighting against some collection of aliens and monstrosities, repeat.

Well, look on the bright side: Tycho's dead. I finished my duties to the crew of the Marathon with that last warning to Blake. And...

That's it for the bright side.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/unbreakable4.jpg

Well, no time for moping. The S'pht, despite their love of Durandal, seemed decent enough, and if a little work from me would save a few of them, well, it would make me feel a little less bad about the countless compilers dead by my hands over the course of the job.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/unbreakable5.jpg

Of course, that didn't prevent me being in danger of imminent death. The Pfhor were right back to "throw everything at them" mode. I guess Durandal had been taking out their fleets, and now they were just trying to slow him down.

None of which made it any more fun to deal with two giant hunters at once.

The resulting explosions left everything in the room but me a smoking pile of goo, and my shields at one percent. A terminal in a shielded bunker was fairly damaged, but seemed to have enough charge for a quick "done here" signal, so...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/unbreakable6.jpg
Elite?

Ah, Durandal. I'd almost forgotten how much faith you had in my abilities.

And how much you hated such a useful tool being wasted on obsolete concepts like "resting".

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman1.jpg
Rocket launchers, all the ammo I could want...

and absolutely no back up. Durandal did want this as a humiliation of the 723, it looked like. His best pawn against the finest the Pfhor had to offer, for nothing more than bragging rights regarding a burnt out cinder.

Of course, given Durandal's ego, bragging rights might just be as near to his heart as not dying is to mine, making a loss by me equally devastating to both of us. Best not lose.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman2.jpg
Of course, that would be a bit difficult considering the 723d consisted primarily of Juggernauts. Well timed fusion bolts damage the wiring enough to buy time.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman3.jpg
And rockets finish them off, just like they did 17 years ago on the Marathon. And the core goes critical, singing the shields and making me glad I didn't try to get closer. Also like on the Marathon.

Remembering the dead doesn't get the job done, Jones. And finishing the job is the only option you have other than laying down and dying (which isn't an option at all.)

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman4.jpg
Of course, the Pfhor had ground forces here as well. Pretty much anything they could get out of the ships, I suppose. Which meant they still had full power hunters with rapid fire and energy shields. The ones that detonate with enough force to wipe out anything else in the room.

I headed towards the lava drainage control systems I'd seen from across the way earlier. Avoiding direct confrontation would be a good idea in this case.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman5.jpg
Great. They'd gotten some of their pit crew out as well. Ripped through them of course. From all I'd seen, every single member of the pfhor empire very much deserved death, but I wasn't exactly thrilled to be slaughtering helpless mechanics.

Durandal wanted slaughter? Well, I'm too tired and too desperate for a ticket off this rock before it gets leveled to object.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman8.jpg
The lava controls were simple enough. Smash everything and run. Of course, if I wasn't trying to kill a few hunters without triggering the self destruct systems before they find me, I might have used a little finesse and would have been able to leave at my own pace rather than desperately fleeing rising lava.

But I've never really had time for finesse since this whole mess started.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman9.jpg
And of course, like an idiot, I forgot that Juggernauts can fly. Which meant that the primary component of the assault force was still active. I managed to down one and take a second out with the resulting core detonation, but they still had a handful left, all converging for my position. Well, you need to know when to run in these situations, I guess. And now would be a very good time to run.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman10.jpg
An old S'pht teleport pad met my eye. A ticket out of the current mess looked like a good idea. (And everything that's looked like a good idea so far has led to serious injury, attacks by Pfhor garrisons, imprisonment, and similar issues. Ten to one says this is no different)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman11.jpg
What do you know. The majority of the 723d chose just this spot to make a last stand.

A computer monitor blinked to life about fifty feet away. Probably used to contact command, but right now my choices were:
1) Try to contact Durandal
2) Die

Choice number one was just a bit more appealing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman12.jpg
"Durandal? The 723d is definitely humiliated. Thoroughly even. And they don't seem to enjoy the experience. I need out. Now."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman13.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman14.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/violenceman15.jpg

And just as the blue hunter in the corner readied a final plarma volley, I felt the familiar tug of a teleporter.

So, that was it. Death or glory charges, desperate last stands, horrible tortures...

And I end right where I began.

The only comfort is there's very few ways it can get worse.





So, that's it then. Thanks for reading, I'll try to do Infinity soonish.

Also: Durandal loosing to fifth in the AI in the playground voting is what we in the vidding business like to call an outrage. Unicron, I can sorta see, but a tenth rate toaster wannabe who gets iced by an evil clone of one of the heroes he made himself? Weak.

[leafman]

very nice, chiasaur11.

I've been following your LP since you did the first Marathon. I haven't posted in your threads before but I am throughly enjoying your LP's.:smallsmile:

[Baerdog7]

very nice, chiasaur11.

I've been following your LP since you did the first Marathon. I haven't posted in your threads before but I am throughly enjoying your LP's.:smallsmile:

Same for me. Very, very nice.

[Celesyne]

Bravissimo! Bravo! Encore! Infinity! Someone give this man 5 internetz and a bunch of cookies!!! ooh, and a buhket!!

[chiasaur11]

very nice, chiasaur11.

I've been following your LP since you did the first Marathon. I haven't posted in your threads before but I am throughly enjoying your LP's.:smallsmile:

You read the old X-Com one I did?

I thought it was alright.

[Artanis]

That was an amazing LP. I look forward to another one :smallbiggrin:

[Johnny Blade]

Since I managed not to write a single post at all in this thread or the Marathon one, which is a shame, because both were good, I'll try to make up for it by deliberate, but also not undeserved, ass kissing.

You read the old X-Com one I did?

I thought it was alright.
It was completely hilarious, made me try out an age-old game with graphics that are crappy even if you're used to playing old games like I am, and also managed to involve the large readership in a way that allowed the thread to reach the maximum number of pages - I mean, X-Com does lend itself towards this quite well, but we're talking about 50 pages here.

So, yeah, read it. It's worth it.

[chiasaur11]

That was an amazing LP. I look forward to another one :smallbiggrin:

I'll try to have it started in a week. Ish.