You think being unstuck in time is bad? Let's play Marathon ∞

[chiasaur11]

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

I have no idea where I am, how long I've been here, or what happened to everything and everyone that wasn't when something crawled out of the nova near Lh'owon.

All I know for sure?

My name is Victor Jones.

And something has gone very wrong.





Yes, after Marathon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120523)and Marathon 2 Durandal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125000) I'm heading right into Marathon ∞'s single player campaign, Blood Tides of Lh'owon. Sure, I could take a break, but it feels wrong to go at a game called Marathon in sprints.

So, questions, requests for actions at branch points in the game, complaints, etcetera are now requested.

And of course, this whole thing could crash and burn at any time. No promises.

[Pie Guy]

Well, uh, good luck!

[Artanis]

I've never been able to figure this out: which one is the shield indicator?

[chiasaur11]

I've never been able to figure this out: which one is the shield indicator?

Red bar.

Blue one's oxygen.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis1.jpg
A dream. Of course it was a dream. Just been long enough since I slept I forgot the details of the sensation.

New ship looks a bit different than Pfhor construction I'd seen before. Well, it's Durandal, and questioning his logic just leads to confusion and suicide missions.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis2.jpg
Okay, that one's odd. The nearest Pfhor were either dead or trying to blow up the sun somewhere near Lh'owon. Which we should be pretty far away from by now.

So how come their guts are getting splattered all over my hands?

And on the secondary concerns note: How come they weren't sending everything they had? Ever since the time I spent in a Pfhor cell, they seemed scared stiff if they had anything less than a hunter deployed. Now they were going after me with the same zest they had killing hapless bobs back on the Marathon. This whole thing feels off even by my standards.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis4.jpg
Wait.

Tycho's alive, the Lh'owon incident never happened, there are survivors of Battle Group Seven...

Worst of all? Durandal was scared. The smug **** who had been playing everything since he met his first compiler was suddenly facing something he couldn't control.

(And he was trying to save me? As I said, whole thing feels off.)

I think I saw the chaos he mentioned when the sun destroyer fired. Getting away was probably a fool's errand.

But as I said, I'd seen it, which meant I was going to need to try.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis5.jpg
The Pfhor had some of their hackers with them (yet another oddity) but they seemed less composed than normal. I hate to use the expression "a look of incomprehensible terror" for something that didn't even have a face, but...

They seemed to know what was coming.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis6.jpg
Huh. Seemed Durandal had a few new shock troopers on the table. A plan that'll never get completed.

A bit sad.

But mourning an idea while worlds die feels kinda petty. And since nobody'll be missing me if I bite it, I really should keep moving.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis7.jpg
Through the muck and the mire. Well, been there done that.

Didn't like it then, of course, but doing the unlikable and familiar beats the horrible and unknown IE: Death.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis8.jpg
A shotgun awaited me in a side passage. It wouldn't do me much good, probably, but having something other than the old magnum would be nice.

And maybe it'd shut up that little voice in the back of my head whispering about my mortality.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis9.jpg
Didn't, to my incredibly limited surprise. A vent duct led to the shuttle bay, it looked like. Seemed a good way to get off this tub, and a bad way to escape long term.

I focused on the first part. The second part applied to pretty much every method open, after all.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis11.jpg
There it is. Tycho's ship.

And the slimmest hope of salvation. Hop to it, Jones. The sooner you're gone, the better.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis12.jpg
Surprisingly, the Pfhor crew objected to my gaining access to their ship. A did my best to hold them off...

When suddenly it all stopped mattering. A wave of nothingness passed over the ship, more horrible than anything I'd felt before. The troopers began decaying into dust before my eyes.

And as I turned towards the source, I desperately wished for the same fate. Whatever it was, however it came here, Durandal had been understating it. My memories had been underrating it. And then everything else faded away.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/NeCedeMalis13.jpg
And then I was gone. Text filled my visor, and ground formed itself beneath my feet.

I was involved in something that I didn't understand, against something worse than I could remember, let alone imagine, and what little help I'd had in the past was less useful than pocket lint.

Remember how I was wishing for the peace of oblivion a minute ago?

Yeah. That hasn't exactly changed with more knowledge of the situation.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem1.jpg
My new situation was better than the old, if only because the horrible... thing that had devoured everything around me was gone.

But not much better, as I was staring down the barrel of a Pfhor enforcer's rifle.

All of the sudden, a trooper charged the thing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem2.jpg
The short period of time I had before the enforcer finished the idiotic trooper charging it meant I could get to a charger and assess my situation. Guns: gone. I'm aboard a Pfhor ship that's apparently in mid revolt. Alright. I can use that, maybe.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem6.jpg
A few pistols were laying outside for me to grab. Well, why question favors? Four shots for the enforcer, three shots for the trooper, and one for me. If the chaos from earlier comes back...

I won't have time to use it. Might as well make sure the trooper in front of me's dead rather than save the thing until it's too late.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem4.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem5.jpg
Tycho expects me to do his dirty work? I was just getting used to the idea of him not being dead. Also, he seems not to recognize me, which is...

a bit odd. Still, that meant any damage to the ship would be considered "accidental". Make the most of it, and I might manage to contact a ticket out of here.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem7.jpg
A few hunters were fighting the Enforcers at the end of the hallway. Join in, I get shot. Let them be, both groups die, Tycho loses some power, and I get the pleasure of seeing Pfhor bite it with no risk.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem8.jpg
Besides, the bodies lying by my feet seemed to indicate the direct route wouldn't work. Looks like Tycho'd used other poor schmucks from the Marathon before me.

I can't say I was surprised.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem9.jpg
Then the cause of the deaths became a little clearer when Tycho flooded the room with acid. Seems I wasn't the first guy to relax on the job, and that wasn't allowed.

Shields bought me some time, though.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem10.jpg
Enough to get deeper in and break a few mildly important looking structures. Not Tycho's core memory, but it was a start.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem11.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem12.jpg
The pleasant little diversion led to a Pfhor general notice. Tycho'd been busy with this little frame up. And he had top brag to me about it.

If I gave a **** about the lives of Pfhor troopers, I could wreck the whole thing right now. As is?

Less for me to kill.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem13.jpg
I picked up a flamethrower in what looked like a lab. Tycho really should have left a guard, but it seems a little power play was more important to him.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem14.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Enforcerproblem15.jpg
Unfortunately, Tycho managed to find me through the security network.

Fortunately, he thiought I'd been killing the Enforcers on his orders, rather than everything on general principle. Looks like I'm going back to the surface.

And waiting for things to go oh so wrong.




(Wouldn't mind a few more comments from time to time. I know from the view count that people are reading, but it's hard to tell if you're slumping without feedback.)

[Juhn]

Well, I for one am rather intrigued.

[Terraoblivion]

Poor guy, constantly being put in life threatening situations as a pawn for two utterly insane AIs in their battle against each other. Will he ever get some rest from them?

[Juhn]

Well, there was also Thoth there for a while.

And Leela, but she was actually nice.

[Artanis]

Wait wait wait...this is set before Marathon 2, but Jones remembers Marathon 2's events?

I am so confused...but I guess that's part of the point :smalltongue:

[Poison_Fish]

Infinity is intended as a mind trip.

[Oslecamo]

So, I'm trying to play this nice trilogy from the begining for a change from all the strategy games I usualy play, but it seems life shield healing stuff is really are. Am I missing something, or is the game just so hardcore I've got to try to dodge every enemy blow?

[chiasaur11]

So, I'm trying to play this nice trilogy from the begining, but it seems life shield healing stuff is really rare. Am I missing something, or is the game just so hardcore I've got to try to dodge every enemy blow?

No, just most of them.

There are shield recharge stations. First game, they have little bars going up and down when you use 'em, and they have unlimited charges, making running back to earlier stations an option.

Later games also have one use charges, but the stations are still around.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot1.jpg
It seems Tycho considering me reliable and Tycho considering me unreliable both add up to certain death, given that he dropped me right in the path of a rocket packing group of troopers.

A few shots might have got one of them, but I was ducking behind a terminal before I could check. Not dying is more of a priority than aiding the one AI who makes me miss Durandal. For all his faults, Durandal's long term goals and mine coincided, more or less.

Tycho's goals and mine should diverge soon. Might as well check.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot4.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot6.jpg
Looks like that little break comes once the captain's dead. Hopefully Tycho's delicate central processing unit will be located before then. I'm nearing the point where I'd willingly take another month in a Pfhor prison to ensure Tycho dead.

Then again, he's my best ticket to finding Thoth, and Thoth? He might have some idea about the thing in the sun.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot7.jpg
I vented my frustrations on Tycho's hunters. Gotta love Pfhor programming. Set something as a friend and they won't go after it if even if it slaughters the rest of their unit in front of their optics.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot8.jpg
The troopers weren't so friendly. Well, I found the transmitter, at least. Might as well prime it for some destruction. Infighting means less work for Blake's crew.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot9.jpg
Quick, firery burst ensured the wiring didn't make it through the day, and we're done here.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot10.jpg
Or not. Slave unit?

Well, call me Spartacus.
Still, doesn't hurt to check for the remaining hostiles.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot11.jpg
Which consisted of a single harmless hopping bit of indigenous life.

Wow. Terrifying.

Actually, it was the tiniest bit unsettling. I hadn't seen this thing before, and it felt a bit... off.

Well, it wasn't trying to kill me. I could afford to ignore it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot15.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot16.jpg
A routine little update. So, I can stall for a little more time to find something to delay the firing of the nova burster. It might not prevent whatever was in the heart of the sun from escaping, but it couldn't hurt.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot12.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot13.jpg
Scratch that. Tycho was wanting me for a little human hunting. I started running. I don't want to be dealing with everything at one.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot14.jpg
And I found a shotgun right in my way. A Waste-M, Durandal's design. That pain-in-the-brain might have some idea what's going on. Which makes finding him a project, I guess. Once I got away from Tycho, it's an idea, anyway.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot17.jpg
Hunters. Great.

Durandal better be ready with a teleporter before Tycho finds me, because I got fifty five seconds at best otherwise.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot18.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Troopershoot19.jpg
That ain't Tycho's writing. On the other hand, Durandal's stuff is in green generally. I was still wondering when a teleporter snagged me.

[Johnny Blade]

Infinity is intended as a mind trip.
Considering this, I guess I can admit relatively freely that I am a wee bit confused.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Intermission1.jpg
Ducking Tycho just got me dropped on top of a rocket launcher. I always knew Durandal had armories on the planet.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Intermission2.jpg
But one this good? Well, given that Tycho's busy with infighting, I figure Durandal should take this one easily.

Which means that the Trih Xeem'll get fired. And the whole mess keeps going.

I did not think this one through.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Intermission3.jpg
More Shakespeare?

The comedy of errors. Appropriate.

And suddenly I'm gone. I knew something was going to happen on this front, but...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Intermission4.jpg

Ah, another rousing game of "Where the HELL am I?" This never gets old. Lava, an unsettling atmosphere...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Intermission5.jpg
And quasi-demonic Pfhor enforcers. Looks like the question contained a reasonably solid guess at the answer. Or would, if it wasn't for the fact I'm still breathing. A terminal shines in the corner, which may mean an exit.

Or it may be another ticket to death. Either way...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Intermission6.jpg
Thoth?

What is going on here?

[RationalGoblin]

Oh snap. :smalltongue:

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace1.jpg
I'd been here before. Which was not a good thing, as I'd been here seconds after an all consuming evil devoured reality.

So, might as well review the situation, then.
First, Durandal finished off most of the fleet at Lh'owonn. Then, the Pfhor blew up the sun as they left.

After that, everything stopped making sense. Somehow, something was destroying everything but me. Then?

Then I keep waking up before the whole thing started with all details of the universe dating after the defense of the Marathon different. Tycho in charge, Lh'owon ignored by all parties, wholle lot of minor details change.

The few things in common? The Pfhor blow up Lh'owon's sun, a being more horrible than the human mind is meant to understand comes crawling out, I wind up in one of these places (if you can call them places) left with only my conscience and unsettling murmuring, repeat.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace2.jpg
Scratch the alone part. There was something in the dark. And it was coming for me.

I ran. The distance never seemed to change, I never could see it, but I knew if I slowed down it would devour me. I was a dead man walking, again. The faint glow of a terminal was in the distance, never seeming closer. Probably a figment of my imagination, but this whole thing wasn't exactly seeming solidly real.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace4.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace6.jpg
Durability.
Dur.
Durandal? What does any of this have to do with my situation, him, or...

I'm going mad. It's the only sensible explanation. Then again, madmen tend to think they're sane. And either way, if I stop, I'm dead. And if I'm not mad, stopping means everybody's dead.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace8.jpg
And it will be entirely my fault. I'm not abandoning humanity to be devoured.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace7.jpg
Somehow, the side passages seem to slip towards solidity as I proceed. Not where I was, but anywhere's better than where I was. And the hissing in the dark seems to be receding.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace9.jpg
Seemed to be a station in orbit around Lh'owon. No idea why, but solid ground is a nice change. Might even have a way to stop the sun buster from firing. Com terminal was blinking. I'd even be grateful for a message from Durandal at this juncture.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace10.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Badplace11.jpg
It wasn't. And I realized that it was too late for heroics. The... thing was outside. And I started to think Durandal had been wrong about it being mindless. It was moving too deliberately for that, if any function the abomination had could be described as moving. It seemed to be trying to find...

me. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Nice job hero. Real nice.

[Artanis]

I'm not sure "mind trip" is quite sufficient a description anymore :smalleek:

[Oslecamo]

I'm completely lost on the history.

I LOVE IT! I always had a weakness for the super-mind blogging stuff.

Still in the first part of the trilogy tough. Playing the marathon at snail pace.

[Kalbron]

I'm not sure "mind trip" is quite sufficient a description anymore :smalleek:

Seriously.

Loving the LP, but it certainly feels like this game isn't anything more than the leftovers of the previous game that the Developers made but couldn't/wouldn't/didn't want to fit with the rest of the storyline. So they slapped it together and called it a new game.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Hey chia, want me to add this to the index?

[chiasaur11]

Hey chia, want me to add this to the index?

That'd be nice.

I thought I put some sort of request up already, though.

[I_Got_This_Name]

Seriously.

Loving the LP, but it certainly feels like this game isn't anything more than the leftovers of the previous game that the Developers made but couldn't/wouldn't/didn't want to fit with the rest of the storyline. So they slapped it together and called it a new game.

You're half-right; Infinity's main feature was the map editor that was released with it in the original release, not the levels. However, some of the context is being changed for this LP, and some of the terminals (and intervening space). The game feels (marginally) more unified, and, after some substantial analysis here (http://marathon.bungie.org/story/volunteersseries.html) by a whole mess of people, Infinity even begins to make a semblance of sense. Naturally, that link's quite spoiler-ridden if you're actually going to play the game. The explanation offered that makes the most sense to me is that your character comes up with a plan and never tells you (cryptic terminals with no discernible source are the closest he ever comes to it, and they're written from the perspective of someone talking to you), although bouncing around timelines blindly also seems likely, and is more like what playing felt like to me.

I don't think there is an adequate explanation of how Tycho survived to Ne Cede Malis (the first level), if it fits into the timelines where the general consensus says it is. There are a bunch of other things that don't exactly fit, and other inconsistencies, too (at one point you fight an Enforcer on a Vacuum level, despite them not being Vacuum-enabled).

Chiasaur:
I noticed you took the secret level route around Confound Delivery. I take it you couldn't figure out a way to make this character do it? What are you going to do when it comes to Naw Man He's Close or A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things?

[chiasaur11]

You're half-right; Infinity's main feature was the map editor that was released with it in the original release, not the levels. However, some of the context is being changed for this LP, and some of the terminals (and intervening space). The game feels (marginally) more unified, and, after some substantial analysis here (http://marathon.bungie.org/story/volunteersseries.html) by a whole mess of people, Infinity even begins to make a semblance of sense. Naturally, that link's quite spoiler-ridden if you're actually going to play the game. The explanation offered that makes the most sense to me is that your character comes up with a plan and never tells you (cryptic terminals with no discernible source are the closest he ever comes to it, and they're written from the perspective of someone talking to you), although bouncing around timelines blindly also seems likely, and is more like what playing felt like to me.

I don't think there is an adequate explanation of how Tycho survived to Ne Cede Malis (the first level), if it fits into the timelines where the general consensus says it is. There are a bunch of other things that don't exactly fit, and other inconsistencies, too (at one point you fight an Enforcer on a Vacuum level, despite them not being Vacuum-enabled).

Chiasaur:
I noticed you took the secret level route around Confound Delivery. I take it you couldn't figure out a way to make this character do it? What are you going to do when it comes to Naw Man He's Close or A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things?

The character's just going to be miserable then.

But delaying incredibly horrible things makes it funnier more miserable for all concerned.

Also: From what I've read, Ne Cede Malice is another alternate. The "real" timeline bought it before the game starts.

[Johnny Blade]

I know one thing, and that's that I'll read the first Marathon Let's Play again tonight.


Well played. :smallamused:

[Starbuck_II]

Time travel is kinda weird.
Surprised there is no time roaches in Marathon.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Spacestation1.jpg
Wound up somewhere else. Again.

Seems I'm working for the lesser of two evils this time. Which seemed nice right up until I noticed the hissing of an oxygen leak. Looks like I'm on a strict time limit.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Spacestation2.jpg
Corridors were full of Pfhor cyborgs, of course. Every single job has them. The vacuum enabling on the shotguns?

The reason I was breathing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Spacestation3.jpg
Seemed Durandal had been working on a different project over here. SMG variant. No grenade launcher, and less ammo than the good old MA-75, but it's a bit more accurate, and, more importantly, it works in without an atmosphere. Meaning it can cut through the troopers giving me trouble before I suffocate.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Spacestation4.jpg
On to something?

Something that might delay the death of everything?

Probably not, but I couldn't pass up a chance.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup1.jpg
Juggernaut?

Durandal still doesn't seem to believe in slow acclimation to a position. I dove for cover while unloading all four barrels into the flying tank. Not enough to stop it, but it might take out a couple of the...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup2.jpg

Oh.

The resulting explosion had dealt with the troopers and left most of the wall I was hiding behind severely singed. Didn't know why I wasn't getting hammered with a plasma volley, but you don't question these things until you get a breather. Or a breath. I really needed to find some oxygen.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup3.jpg
Durandal provided a map with the job. Saw a few likely recharger sites to hit, but they were a ways away.

At least I got the question on the explosions answered. Seems docked Juggernauts aren't shielded, making them fairly easy to take down. I finish the job before an alert sounds (Or I suffocate), this just might work.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup4.jpg
And there goes the plan to finish before an alert sounds. Running low on air, too.

It's one of those days. To be fair, it's been "one of those days" for more than 17 years now.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup5.jpg

Oxygen station showed up in time, barely. Couldn't get a full refill before someone would catch me, but some is better than none. Work fast, it might even be enough to finish the job.

(And then everyone is devoured by the chaos. Fatalism gets a bit more appealing when it's true. No time for it, though.)

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup6.jpg
Trying to get contact with Durandal only found some old requisition forms.

Seems like the current boss is keeping low until the job is done. Well, at least it means no new verses to his little "Durandal" song.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup7.jpg
The last few vehicles were easy enough to deal with. A few stray shots and the whole room blew up. Between that and the crushers, it seems the Pfhor have even less idea of proper safety inspection than the guys who designed the Marathon.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Repairsandcheckup9.jpg
The AI?

Well, we might be getting somewhere after all.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy1.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy3.jpg

A base on Lh'owon before Durandal hit?

Huh. More little changes. No point counting them. World'll be gone before I count them all. Anyway, I got a job.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy4.jpg
A quick scout around didn't find the native life. Just as well, since they'd proven a hassle in the past and them not bothering me probably meant they were bothering the Pfhor instead.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy5.jpg
Slipped into the main building with minimal hassle. One or two scouts got their necks snapped, a few drones went down, but no major incidents. They kept some key data here. Which meant I'd be breaking stuff soon.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy9.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy10.jpg

I now remember why I let Durandal sort through alien files. Five pages to say nothing, and it looked unlikely to stop. Well, at least it makes getting shot at look warm and inviting.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy11.jpg
Compiler was dealing with some of the same sort of files below me. I figure killing it would be a minor act of mercy.

And it would get me a little more information on the garrison. Which might buy the universe a little time.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy12.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy13.jpg
No wonder there was so little resistance. Place had enough problems before I hit to ensure they wouldn't notice one commando dropping. And they hadn't got enough warning to know better.

Finish quick, and they won't ever get that deficit remedied.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy14.jpg
And there we have a systems access card. Well, the less they find out, the less likely they are to call in heavy firepower. If we get the AI soon, we can run before...

No, Durandal would want to show off. Not good. I need a better plan.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy15.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy16.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy17.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy18.jpg
Nothing much of interest. A memorial tower, a few dead. Hard to care when you've seen worlds die. Harder when you're the one who killed 'em.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy19.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy20.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy21.jpg
Bit more interesting. Someone was studying compilers. Nothing much new, but it wasn't more of the same mind numbing bureaucracy, and that made it a relief. Well, with this little bit I figure Durandal had every system in this part of the garrison at his call. Best see if he's ready to call this bit a day.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Beurocracy22.jpg

I'll take that as a "yes".

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages1.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages2.jpg
Seems Thoth is as disoriented as I am from what Durandal's saying. Well, either that or he's just being his standard incomprehensible self. And considering how little time Durandal has left before Tfear comes calling, it looks like this world is probably doomed. Still, work to be done, and a little delay might mean more time to find a solution to the problem. Might even be enough, although the odds of that are pretty bad.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages3.jpg
A couple of higher ranked guards were talking in the hallway. No idea what about, and I killed them before they could finish the discussion, but they sounded panicked. Like to think it was just the usual results of running one of Durandal's errands, but there might have been something else going on. No way to know now.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages4.jpg
Juggernauts. Great. Worse, they were active and looking for intruders. How did a tenth rate holding team on a world with no action for centuries get these?

Right, right. The universe hates me and wants me to suffer as much as it has.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages9.jpg
I really wish I could laugh this off as the rantings of a lunatic trying to decipher incomprehensible babble as a prophecy. I would like to, but I'm counting on Thoth, an AI who once told me to keep bleating goats away from the planet, to figure out why the universe was being destroyed by something where the closest analogies for its existence come from Lovecraft. I was in no position to be skeptical of anything on offer here.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages10.jpg
A dive into the sewage got me a little distance from the sentries, and access to the systems Durandal mentioned.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages11.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages12.jpg
Well, I'm not exactly surprised. These things never come easy. I headed back down the corridor.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages13.jpg
I passed the corpse of the Garrison commander on the way. Almost mentioned Durandal's compliment, which more or less confirms I'm circling madness.

Well, look on the bright side. With what's probably coming, killing someone before the chaos gets to them is the closest thing to an act of charity available to me. Think of it as a tribute to an unrecognized genius.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages14.jpg
Before too much longer, I managed to find the stuff Durandal said to break. The Pfhor really should have better security, but I'm not complaining.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages15.jpg
I spoke too soon, as usual. The local commander had placed Juggernaut patrol patterns to ensure no intruders would be able to get at the switch. As I'm rather low on ammunition, that group includes me to an even greater extent than normal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages16.jpg
Sadly, Durandal was still being unreasonable about the whole thing. All I could do now was wait for the fleet to come, or try to make my one roket launcher round left count.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages17.jpg
Well, with what remained of my fusion batteries it managed the job, barely. Which meant I could rip apart what remained of the flooding controls and run before the next Juggernaut came around. Durandal better be happy with this bit of work, because I don't have the resources for anything fancier.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages18.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Floodingdamages19.jpg
Here we go again. Same pattern as before, but with the end coming sooner and sooner.

A faster march towards oblivion's all we're getting, Durandal. So much for escape.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds1.jpg
Doomed world. I'd been thinking it wasn't in the best position, but getting booted back to wherever here is seems to indicate continued presence back in reality? Not going to do much good.

Staying here won't improve things either

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds2.jpg
Our own death foretold...

Why am I not surprised? Don't know how I even made it this far. Everyone and everything else dead, I keep moving. It's happened more than once. And I still don't have an explanation for the latest case. All I got is survivor's guilt.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds3.jpg
And I fall deeper. Here's hoping something resembling reality surfaces before things get too weird.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds4.jpg
Floating incomprehensible objects that fade in and out of existence seem to qualify as too weird, but...

they weren't whatever was waiting in the dark last time. Still, I heard something coming. Joy.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds5.jpg
Whatever it was, it had made a mistake. It had physical form, or whatever passed for it here. And I had a desperate need to vent some aggressions. Fight or flight, and it was dumb enough to block the path to flight.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds9.jpg

What is this? And why does it feel somehow familiar?

Don't want to know. I just want out.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/lavapitbetweentheworlds10.jpg
And then the screaming starts. No way out until I set this right. I don't think I can set this right.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Worldsdie1.jpg
And then I wind up back on the orbital station. A last chance, I suppose.

Well, I have to try. Not that it'll do much good. I just wish the Pfhor troops would have the sense to realize this thing is bigger than them or us.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Worldsdie2.jpg
They didn't, and given my severe distaste for my own death, I ran for the elevator. And the Hunters followed. Joy.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Worldsdie3.jpg
Emptying the shotgun, firing every fusion round...

And I barely made it through the fight alive. Still, no sign of the looming chaos yet...

Well, Durandal's the only guy who might have a plan for this thing. Hell, he almost figured out what was going on earlier. If I'm able to fill him in on what I've seen...

Well, this whole thing might have a solution.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Worldsdie4.jpg
Oh. Oh no.

It was coming. Whatever it was, it was sweeping through everything. And that everything somehow included the S'pht hive mind.

Mindless? I know now that isn't the case. Of course, part of me feels like it has know this little tidbit forever. Five eternities...

And then it comes to the station, looking for me. And I desperately try to flee and then I'm gone.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Worldsdie5.jpg

The pattern repeats and repeats and repeats.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Worldsdie6.jpg

I've seen every way there is to kill or die. I've seen everything consumed so many times. And without Durandal I never get anywhere near success, and without Tycho winning, the gun gets fired and the sun goes boom.

Which means the next world with Durandal alive, well, it's my last chance. No matter what I have to do...

I can't let a world burn again.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/betrayal1.jpg
Another day, another doomed world. Well, it looked like Durandal had some of the advanced troopers he'd mentioned done. Might as well meet and greet.

And then they start unloading fusion rounds into me. What's going on here?

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/betrayal2.jpg
I didn't like my options. But...

I'd seen too many worlds die to give up now. Didn't take much, a couple of shotgun rounds. I needed to find Durandal if anyone was going to see the tail end of this mess, and I couldn't do that dead.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/betrayal3.jpg

And the Pfhor troopers continue the work. Don't focus on every horrible thing you've done to get this far, Jones. Just don't let it go to waste.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/betrayal4.jpg
Tycho had further instructions, of course. A fusion round to the monitor wasn't the most civil of responses, but it did make my opinion clear. And then all I had left was running and hoping that I could get to Durandal before the fact everything with a pulse on this ship was out for my blood caught up to me.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/betrayal5.jpg
I managed to corner a guard. The standard "cooperate and I won't blow your brains out" treatment worked wonders. Honestly, it's the first time I've been able to use something other than direct violence to solve problems in a while.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/betrayal6.jpg
I took the poor schmuck down with a quick punch to the back of the head and ran for the nearest term.

Teleport when ready. Well, it's a chance, and Durandal has placed any enemy of Tycho as a friend of his in previous meetings. Here's to hope.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels1.jpg

Well, on the upside, I didn't get sent into the depths of space, so Durandal's giving me a chance.

On the downside, compilers were still trying to kill me.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels2.jpg
The upside was the Bobs weren't. No idea what was going on (and how is that different from the way things go normally?). Might as well find a coms terminal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels4.jpg
Tycho.

Well, I'm sure my betrayal hurt him deeply, as he's never even considered treachery at any point in his long and loyal history. Well, keep moving Jones. He might get a lock on you otherwise.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels5.jpg
A steady string of pops behind me confirm the suspicion. Tycho was pretty much sending whatever was where I'd been out into the vacuum of space. Not my idea of a good time. He seemed to have either lost me or given up by the time I reached the central chamber, which gave me enough time to check another term.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels6.jpg
Paydirt. Friend of a friend?

Seems Durandal has some idea of what's going on. Unfortunately, it looks like he's not in a position to capitalize on it. Well, you do what you can. And I'll be damned if I'll let another world fall.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/sideoftheangels7.jpg
A little work and some Pfhor hunters trying to kill me later, I get another message. And everything repeats, it looks like.

Some patterns in my life have a good deal more durability than I'd like.

[Starbuck_II]

Wait, we double agented Tycho?

[chiasaur11]

Wait, we double agented Tycho?

Well, sort of.

In the immortal words of The Spy:

"I never really was on your side."

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside1.jpg
Okay. Durandal wants me to kill him. Fine, done this before, so I can just enjoy the moment and not be surprised by the end result. Compiler at the terminal wasn't going after me yet for some reason. Might as well check that the routine is the same for this ship as it was for Boomer.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside3.jpg
Wait. Tycho wants the exact same thing as Durandal this time?

Well, he's learned something. Not enough, given that he's not assuming Durandal has a plan for this, but compared to the "watch the deadliest AI in the universe squirm" plan, it's almost intelligent.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside5.jpg
I managed to get a clean shot at some of the central conduits. Still a lot of stuff left to break, but it's a start.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside6.jpg
I even managed to find some of the crew Durandal mentioned down here. Mostly dead, but some were still breathing.

What does it say about my life that a handful of survivors make this an unqualified success?

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside7.jpg
Things moved back to the normal standards of quality in my life soon enough. Turns out Pfhor troopers weren't informed of Tycho's little plan, casting doubts on his ability to pardon anyone. Well, needs must.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside8.jpg
A few rockets and a lot of frantic running later, I managed to get to the last bit of Durandal's systems. And something on the ground. System interface chip. Odd.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside9.jpg
Well, no reason to forget what I'm here for. I unloaded a fusion round into the core...

And then text starts scrolling aross my visor, a voice in my head says something about durability...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/wellsomeonesside10.jpg

And then the whole world starts to fade. I thought I'd done it right this time. Guess not.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Fireyrepeat1.jpg
And here we are again. The junction between worlds. (Why did I use "we" there?)

Well, nothing to do but the standard run. Bit harder this time, though. Thinking when running for your life isn't usually easy, but there's a kind of background humming making the job harder than the standard.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Fireyrepeat2.jpg

Thoth still isn't exactly coherent, but something clicked this time, for some reason. Well, as much as any comments from an ancient AI with a penchant for insane metaphor can make sense. Geriatric circuits, can't use 'em.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Fireyrepeat3.jpg

Well, this bit's new.

Still, there's a little voice at the back of my head bugging me about, well, everything. I mean, this sort of thing never feels right, but... well, it's a new kind of not right.

Focus on destruction. It's what you're good at. Leave the big picture questions to those of us better suited for it.

Okay. I'm pretty sure that wasn't my typical thought process. What's going on here?

[Artanis]

Hehe, "Focus on destruction. It's what you're good at."

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows1.jpg

I woke up in a Pfhor prison cell. Thing is, this time there wasn't the standard devouring of all reality prelude. In fact, although I wouldn't bet money on it, it felt like the logical consequence of what happened just before I left.

Well, whatever the reason, I was getting out.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows2.jpg

And busting out any other prisoners still breathing.

As gratifying as this must be to your overdeveloped sense of heroics, it brings us no closer to the salvation of the entire universe, which I assumed was your goal in this endeavor.

And I get another bit of thinking that doesn't match up. I don't like where this is going.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows3.jpg

The drones that should have been going after me weren't, at least. Seems I have an unseen benefactor.

So far, that kind of thing has never turned out well.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows4.jpg

And my old Magnum 44 mega class is sitting right there. Someone has a job for me, it looks like.

Given that Durandal's dead and Blake wouldn't have reason to assume I'm still alive...

Dead? I thought you would have learned how this goes by now. Roland couldn't break me. I doubt Tycho could come any closer to success.

Well, that explains things I was hoping to be able to ignore. Still, my current benefactor remained a mystery.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows8.jpg

I've told you before not to ask questions when you already know you won't like the answer. It seems Tycho's folly has caught up with him. A shame we need him to distract the Pfhor while I find a mechanism to delay the Trih Xeem.

And now I'm getting orders from two mad AIs at once. Well, better Durandal than the chaos from the heart of the sun.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows9.jpg
Of course, neither of the guys giving orders made any effort to make my job easier. Security for Tycho's core consisted of at least ten heavily armed cyborgs, a number of drones, most of which still weren't under Tycho's command, and a garrison's worth of Pfhor troopers. Not easy to break out of.

This level of security would make it difficult for Tycho to escape, but Tycho never has been very clever. If this was the trap they had planned for me, I greatly overestimated the risk posed by the Pfhor.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows10.jpg

Explodo-bobs. Another excuse to make my life miserable, I suppose.

At least these ones were tagged as hostiles by the motion tracker. Made it easier to be sure.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows12.jpg

More of our host's imbecilic brutality. Cells designed to crush prisoners at the slightest movement. You will note that this system could easily be triggered by accident, destroying the potentially useful prisoner with no benefit other than briefly amusing any trooper on duty at the time.

The Pfhor devotion to cruelty over efficiency never ceases to amaze.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows11.jpg

Well, here we are. Tycho's prison. A few quick bursts and the system should be shut down.

It never ceases to be a joy to watch you work. Too often humans waste their energies attempting to rise above their level and comprehend problems meant for their betters. But you avoid their folly and concentrate on things your destructive impulses can understand. You break even the complex problems into simply killing or being killed, destroy or be destroyed. And it seems that simple form is enough to sustain you through trials you were never designed for.

Gee. Thanks.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows13.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows14.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/StrangeBedfellows15.jpg

Treachery from Tycho?

Why am I not surprised?

[chiasaur11]

So...

Probably stupid question.

Am I writing Durandal tolerably? I mean, it's something I've wanted to try since the beginning of this thing, but I also have been kinda living in fear RE: mucking it up.

Any advice on the matter would be appreciated.

[Redpieper]

Well let's see, we got arrogance (however justified it may be), style, snark, humour and an overal mocking of everyone else.

I'd say that's a success :smallamused:

Edit: Oh and I'm really enjoying your Let's Play's :smallsmile:

[Poison_Fish]

Good jorb!

[Starbuck_II]

Treachery from Tycho?

Why am I not surprised?

Technically, he was never your ally so he never betrayed you. :smalltongue:

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Theotherside1.jpg

Tycho had a job for me? Well he could just...

As satisfying as it would be for all involved to reduce Tycho to his component atoms, our current plans require that he not suspect that we are actively plotting the downfall of the entire Pfhor empire. Some problems, despite a certain cyborg's opinions to the contrary, can't be solved with direct force. A little subtlety is required if you're planning to have a universe to exist in when this is all over.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Theotherside2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Theotherside3.jpg
It's just another infiltration mission, really. Go in, disable defenses, get out. I ignore the details, and I'll be a lot happier.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Theotherside4.jpg

Of course, it's harder to ignore the details when they cover your hands in blood. Tried my best to go for non-lethal, but it's hard when you haven't had reason to do anything but go for the kill in a fight for years. Harder when the target is shooting at you the whole while.

Even if I save the whole universe, there's blood on my hands that won't come off.

It seems I underestimated your skill at self pity when I called destruction your most notable trait. You've been made and trained for mass slaughter. A slight change of species involved, and suddenly you care that some of your victims would be on the same side as you, given the choice? You've killed countless S'pht and Drinnol before now. You and I both have done things we would have avoided had there been a choice. Unfortunately, there wasn't. And if you want this to be anything other than a chain of random atrocities, I suggest you finish the task you came here for.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Theotherside5.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Theotherside6.jpg

Unfortunately, there was still more to come. Well, Durandal said he had a plan. And I guess I had to trust him on it. Not that I had any other choices.

[Errant_Polearm]

Actually, something seemed a bit off with Durandal's thoughts/speech last post, and this one made me realize what: he sounds like a caring person (in a way). Given universes exploding and not being exactly the same Durandal, though, this might be appropriate.

[chiasaur11]

Actually, something seemed a bit off with Durandal's thoughts/speech last post, and this one made me realize what: he sounds like a caring person (in a way). Given universes exploding and not being exactly the same Durandal, though, this might be appropriate.

Noted.

This is the Durandal that called the player "old friend" and all, but I'll try to do better on that front in the future.

[Artanis]

Does the "function of intelligence" thing remind anybody else of Dr. Breen in Half-Life 2?

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside1.jpg
More work from Tycho. Joy of joys.

And the pay wasn't exactly great. Durandal, for all his faults, supplied everything I absolutely needed for a job.

Tycho gives me... a fusion pistol.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside2.jpg
Blake's last stand. I should be helping. Instead, I'm letting Tycho walk all over the last people on what should be my side. I can't decide who I hate more. Tycho, or the crawling chaos that brought me into this mess.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside6.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside7.jpg
Tycho interrupted my cataloging of how horrible my life is with more specific instructions. 30 activation sites? Well, not my primary skillset, but it'll delay having to murder more Bobs, and maybe buy them enough time to evacuate.
30 activation sites? Tycho's idiocy continues to astound. I would hope, however, he wouldn't assume that I had sunken beneath his intellectual level.


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside3.jpg
If Tycho had the intellectual acumen of a human, let alone the bare minimum one would expect from an artificial intelligence, he should have found my little back door system. It wouldn't have done him any good, of course, but I expected a little better from anyone supposedly created in my image. The defenses should be disabled now. Time for you to get to work.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside4.jpg
Well, no sense in stalling longer. The automated defenses may be down, but it seems Blake still had guards posted.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside5.jpg

They didn't take long. I managed to make my way to the central chamber without too much in the way of followup incidents. Tycho wanted the whole place flooded with lava. I almost went through with it. But...

I could stop this. I might be able to turn this fight back to the way it was intended to go.

You also would ensure the destruction of an entire reality for a slight balm to your conscience. Normally, your idiocy would be entirely your concern, but in the current situation, I am unfortunately dependent on your decisions to escape the apparently inevitable demise of this reality. Which means that you need to slaughter a few hapless former allies (less, in all likelyhood, than would die if you insisted on attempting to repeat your former victories without any of your former advantages). In exchange, I'll try to pretend to care about their deaths.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside8.jpg
Durandal, as much as I hate to admit it, was probably right. This bit of nastiness might be the only way to prevent the Pfhor from deploying the early nova. And it'd put the survivors relatively safe in cryo sleep.

Not the plan I'd want, but better than nothing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside9.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside10.jpg
I may have been mistaken. So much for Durandal's planning.

I assumed you knew me better than that. Tycho may fail to account for others defying him, but, as you may have noticed, I was not idle in the moments leading up to my "death". The forgotten sons of this world should return soon, and with them, salvation for their brothers. More importantly, however, they should provide enough of a distraction for the Pfhor that capturing you would become the least of their concerns.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Thebadside11.jpg
Thoth? I have to admit, I wasn't expecting him yet.

And then the sun started to glow. So much for that plan.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Anotherworldgone1.jpg
The station. The last glimpse of a world I get before it all dies. Some Sph't on the station this time. Not that they did any good for anyone. All it did was make sure someone was shooting even when I wasn't in the room.

I'd be a witness to another world dying.

Even Durandal seemed quiet. Anything that make him shut up reaches the upper echelons of worrisome.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Anotherworldgone2.jpg

The last recording I could find from anyone wasn't any more comforting. In spite of everything, the last survivors were counting on me. And died knowing I failed them.

Which means trying again is right out. I need to set this right.

And then the chaos reaches the station.

Before it all my genius is nothing. I see now what I was trying to warn myself of, why you were so quick to doubt your own little codes and ethical limits for even a chance to delay it. I gave my central codes a cozy little niche in your cerebral core because it seemed you were the only being to escape this nightmare's previous rampages. It would be for the best for both of us if you avoided making this another cause for disappointment at your capabilities.

[I_Got_This_Name]

I was wondering where that level had gotten off to.

How did that timeline's Durandal know about the W'rkncacnter before you went to its ending, anyway?

[chiasaur11]

I was wondering where that level had gotten off to.

How did that timeline's Durandal know about the W'rkncacnter before you went to its ending, anyway?

Durandal seemed to have tipped himself off to some of the details of what was going on (presumably using the security officer) judging from the terminal in Foe Hammer. The "friend of a friend" bit seemed to be referring to other Durandals, and our favorite rampant AI seems more likely to be on top of things than anyone else.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat1.jpg
And now we're between worlds again. And it seems a whole lot of things I very much didn't want to do were for nothing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat2.jpg

Well, just press on. Gotta say, this last stop? It wrecked what little hope I had of eventual success. Durandal couldn't do a thing to stop whatever it was in the heart of the sun.

Don't confuse a lack of success in one incident with a lack of overall ability. I managed to find out something about the orbital station you've grown so familiar with that might be of some aid in our mutual efforts towards escape from this doomed cycle. I understand you've been preoccupied on your visits with concerns of mere survival, but I would have hoped you would have made some guess as towards the purpose of the orbital emplacement. It could be a solution to our problem.

Right. And that is?

The legacy of the Jjaro. A weapon system built to restrain something called a W'rkncacnter that fits the description of the nightmare we just escaped. Unfortunately, the system is exclusively under the control of Thoth, who hardly seems cooperative at most junctures.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat3.jpg

I figured that Durandal might have some idea what was going on. Good to be proved right.

Then I noticed something. Every step behind us was leaking back into something that was starting to look like our starspawned nemesis. I picked up the pace. It looked like every method to save reality was com8ing a little late.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat4.jpg
Odd little octopus things meandered about. Echoes of the thing consuming all of reality, and most things that aren't.

Keep moving. If there's a path, follow it. If there ain't, make one. Otherwise, you'll go down like everyone else.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat5.jpg

I had assumed that the S'pht collective consciousness would manifest itself in some form here, given their references to places outside of space. I had, however, hoped they would be capable of aiding us. It seems that the influence of the w'rkncacner is more pervasive than I had thought.

It seems your talent for slaughter is useful once again. Try not to let it slow you down.

So that's what that one compiler meant by "My last thoughts my own." And here I thought it couldn't get any worse.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat6.jpg

A... switch.

Seems this place is influenced by my thought processes.

Which pretty much means I'm going mad.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat7.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat8.jpg
As if I needed more proof, more of the odd narrative assailing me every visit to this little corner of unreality shows up. Durability. Not much of that. Everything breaks, gets rebuilt, breaks faster and worse.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat9.jpg

And it gets stranger and stranger. Flashes of realities, mazes of text,hints of things I'm missing.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat10.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat11.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat12.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat13.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat14.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat15.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat16.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat17.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat18.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat19.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat20.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat21.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat22.jpg

And every time it ends with the death of everything. I leave reality to a preset course...

And I fail. Every time.

So, I can't take the path to the finish. And no deeds of mine, good or bad seem to do anything in the end. There's got to be a way to set things right.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat23.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat24.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat25.jpg

Eat the path?

Okay. That's the end of attempting to reach deep revelations through introspection.

Here's hoping desperate heroics can compensate.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Betterthanthat26.jpg

Thoth?

It seems we're near our goal. Slide another clip in your assault rifle. You have work to do.

[Terraoblivion]

The white text narrative is very...odd. I mean it is not too strange as a narrative through the eyes of someone stark raving mad, but its placement is odd.

[Johnny Blade]

This Let's Play is great to read later in the evening.
Not only is it well-written, you can also try to fully understand what's going on, which means your head will hurt sooner or later, which in turn means you'll get tired sooner or later, which finally means you don't risk oversleeping the next day.
Splendid! :smallbiggrin:

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Computerrepairs1.jpg
Okay. Reality seems to be reasserting itself. The little hopping thing in front of me seems solid enough, even if there's a faint feeling of dread about it. Of course, knowing you're on a planet and knowing where you are and what you're meant to be doing?

Different things.

We seem to be exactly where I meant you to go. The central activation site for the S'pht AI in charge of the Jjaro defense satellite. As the name given him is tediously long, confusing, and apostrophe filled even by S'pht standards, I feel it would be best if we persisted in the precedent set by my predecessors and refer to him as Thoth. If I can gain access to the systems he's guarding, we might be able to hold back our current nemesis.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Computerrepairs2.jpg

And there's the AI we're looking for. Just hit the sites and we're done.

If only your goals could be accomplished so simply. Thoth might have once been capable of maintaining the defenses against his ancient foe on his own, but recent events indicate that he is helpless against the W'rkncacnter as the rest of the inhabitants of this sphere. If we are going to save anything from chaos, it will require a better mind than a geriatric program incapable of comprehending degrees of gray. I'll need to work in the system myself, even if it means enduring more incomprehensible gibberish from the last caretaker the Jjaro left the S'pht.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Computerrepairs3.jpg
Great. The floating octopus things are leaking into reality.

Which means the W'rkncacnter (or whatever it's called) is probably nearer release than any other visit I've had to reality.

Which means this falls under the category of a last chance.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Computerrepairs4.jpg

Well, here we are. Central site found, uplink chip in hand, Durandal ready to vacate my skull...

Well, here goes nothing.

For what little it's worth, if this all fails...

You were a reasonably capable aide. I may not hold with Leela's sentimentality towards allies, but I hope that you will manage some kind of survival.

And then, he's gone. Well, no idea what happens now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Computerrepairs5.jpg

And then a passageway lights up, and at the end, I see a monitor. Well, best check if there's anyone who has some idea on what's going on.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Computerrepairs6.jpg
Okay, this is new.

Well, it sounded like something was being done. I just hope it'll do at least a little good.

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/DesperateSignal1.jpg

The S'pht'kr? I thought calling them had been, well, a bad idea the previous times we'd tried this. Well, I'll just add that to the list of things I don't understand about this whole mess and hope it works out.

Well, not much I do understand about this. Durandal was almost a constant for a bit, and now he's gone. Pretty much all I know now:

All of reality is counting on me.
This involves killing a whole lot of people, aliens, and robots.
The odds of success? Really, really bad.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/DesperateSignal2.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/DesperateSignal3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/DesperateSignal4.jpg
Well, those little facts and Tycho being the most hateable being in existence. It looks like he found out what's coming...

And is just sitting there and letting it happen. And then, like an idiot, I stand still long enough for Tycho to get a signal lock. The fate of everything on the line, and I let a single fatalistic AI sabotage what little chance I had left.

Smooth, Jones. Real smooth.

[Starbuck_II]

He says you are going to a party. Bring some drinks when you go. :smallcool:

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch1.jpg
So this is Tycho's little party. A gladiatorial deathmatch, me against the best systems the Pfhor have to offer. I've pulled similar bits before, but those times I tended to have backup and full loads of ammo. Here?

Less so.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch2.jpg

And then it gets worse on alevel I was hoping not to need to deal with. Wherever I was when I was hopping between timelines, I ran into some kinda nasty entities, Pfhor with a twist of chaos and pure evil. Nasty, but when you're halfway between oblivion and reality, nastiness is to be expected. They weren't supposed to show up when I have my feet firmly planted in reality.

And yet, here we are. And the crowd doesn't realize that they're as doomed as I am.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch4.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch5.jpg

Well, Durandal, or whatever I should be alling him now, seems to be able to get in, but it isn't doing me any good. Well, slap a clip in...

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch6.jpg
And watch as your problem gets worse. Now they got troopers. Which means I'm not just dealing with entities infected by nightmares beyond the imagination of all sapient races, I'm dealing with the aforementioned entities armed with automatic weapons.

I unloaded into them with everything I had. And, oddly, it seemed to be hurting the things.

Well, might as well make the most of it.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch7.jpg

No sooner are the troopers down then I get hunters. And this time they came with a gut wrenching feeling of dread. Well, I managed to get this far. Might as well keep fighting.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch8.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch9.jpg
Success?

Well, for the moment. Still, this sort of thing? Not what I expected. I shouldn't be alive, let alone able to get in touch with an AI that's sounding more and more like Durandal with every message.

And then the crowd starts objecting to me escaping the arena. I deal with that quickly enough. (I just somehow killed the best warriors the Pfhor had infused with the essence of some kind of nightmarish creature from the edge of reality. I figure a few drunken spectators shouldn't pose an issue.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch10.jpg
And then they call for security. Which, joy of joys, is "just" a heavily armed flying tank. I mean, it looks ready to kill me, and past experience indicates it should be able to pull it off if I get at all unlucky, but...

It's not the chaos from the heart of the star, and I guess that makes a lot of difference in these things.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch11.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch12.jpg

Ammo? Well, whatever I'm going to have to do for my second least favorite AI next, it looks like it'll be a nasty bit of work. Well, I might have a chance at success. Been a while since I had that.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch13.jpg
Man. Lot of ammo here. Well, it's the last chance we have, I guess holding back now would be a bit suicidal. Which means, if it makes the mission a success, everyone's expendable.

Well, I've been expecting death for years now. Can't say I'll be going unprepared.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch14.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch15.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch16.jpg
Back to the station?

Been there before. More than once. And every single time it ends badly.

[I_Got_This_Name]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/Gladiatorialmatch16.jpg
Back to the station?

Thoth says:
Typo in your [?link].
[Image is broken]

(fixed here)

[chiasaur11]

Thoth says:
Typo in your [?link].
[Image is broken]

(fixed here)

Thanks. Fixed it.

[Johnny Blade]

After all that's happened so far, I wonder if this is the actual end game now. :smallamused:
(Don't tell me, of course.)

[chiasaur11]

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem1.jpg
The station. Always the station, a desperate fight for my life, and then the end of everything.

Supposedly, though, Durandal'd set up a plan to avoid the last step. And previous experiences seemed to be indicating that the convenient option to try again wasn't open this time.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem2.jpg
The station's sewage systems made getting to an uplink point a little easier, but they also meant wading through a lot of slime of indeterminate orgin. Not the worst thing I've had to do (or anywhere close), but it's still unpleasant. But then, it isn't wading through human entrails.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem3.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem4.jpg

So, we've got a plan. Sort of. The Pfhor have been trying to gut this station for a while, it looks like, which means that simply letting this thing click on isn't an option. I'm going to need to recover some vital system components from rapidly cooling Pfhor corpses. Joy.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem5.jpg
Well, it looks like I'm not the only one bleeding all over the station. Some of Durandal's buddies from the lost 11th clan were providing support. Which gave me a better chance of not dying before the job gets done.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem7.jpg
Scratch that. The guys more or less on my side were dealing with the hunters...

But I still had an angry Juggernaut to deal with. Still, it's only a heavily armed Pfhor construct. I guess the damage I dealt to the chaos back in the arena slowed it down enough that it isn't destroying the sun (and the rest of the universe) yet.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem6.jpg
And, of course, now that I could use some back up, all I'm getting on the monitor is ancient gibberish. Great.

Well, it seems like I slowed down a being that's fairly close to a god with nothing but guts and a KKV-7 10mm Flechette SMG SMG. I figure I might have a chance against a flying tank.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem8.jpg
Luck was on my side, for a change. I managed to get the chip and hit the first power up site. Well begun...


http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem9.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem10.jpg
Ain't anywhere near done. The "combined Durandal S'pht entity" was sounding more like Durandal by now, which probably means I'm back to where I started even if we win. Still, winning isn't exactly certain yet, and I'm pretty sure working for Durandal marginally beats out oblivion as a fate.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem11.jpg
I managed to find the last uplink chip, but...

something was looking odd about the sun. I figured I didn't have much time.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem12.jpg
I managed to kick the station to life before anything too nasty showed...

And then...

The sun went weird in a whole new way. Never exactly been a big fan of science classes, but I think that I saw the first stages of a sun turning into a black hole. Which would probably deal with the current problem. And given that it seems to be moving in slow motion, I guess there should be enough time to evacuate. I guess...

I guess this is over, hard as it is to believe.

Back to working for Durandal, I suppose. Great.

Should have known nothing as minor as the destruction of everything would end that deal.

http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem13.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz27/chiasaur11/TrihXeem14.jpg

Wait. Release whatever hold...

I'm free?

Well. Huh. What the hell do I do now? I've been killing Pfhor (and humans, and S'pht...) for...

probably centuries now. Pretty much all I've been doing is killing and trying not to die. And now?

I have no idea. I'm on an alien space station, Leela and everyone else I might have considered a friend is either dead or gone, I still have no idea what just happened, I'm light years away from anyone who can contact Earth, with a whole empire of alien slavers hating and fearing me...

But I'm free. And I guess that's good enough for now.


And...

Well, that's it. Marathon LPs from me?

Over. Finished. I mean, the epilogue should be up tomorrow, but, other than that, I'm done. Hope you all enjoyed, no idea what I'm going to do next.

[chiasaur11]

Huh. Normally the finale of the main stuff gets a response.

Did this entry suck? Should I redo it?

I really don't want to end three months of work on a whimper.

[SilentDragoon]

It was very interesting to see the main character's degradation from the original vaguely hopeful cyborg with Leela for an ally to a psychopath that just hopes for help from Durandal. I'd never heard of this series before, and only now can I actually appreciate why Durandal is spoken so well of in the versus threads and elsewhere.

This last portion (infinity) however was best described earlier as a mind screw. My only response to the game itself is reminiscent of the principal's response to Adam Sandler's attempt at answering a question in Billy Madison, substituting randomness and weirdness for stupidity. I'll be blunt... now that I've seen the entirety of the LP of the game I have even less idea of what happens than before I'd ever heard of it. The fact that there were meandering and degrading loops in time with an oncoming BBEG were about all I vaguely understood of it, and my brain hurt the first time I tried to make sense of the Durandal's words as he was being deleted as well as the white text descriptions of a previous normal? life (the ones with the switchblade and fractal pictures).

All that said, an excellent series of LPs that I've been following as you posted them. Thank you for taking the time to walk us through the series.

[Artanis]

Huh. Normally the finale of the main stuff gets a response.

Did this entry suck? Should I redo it?

I really don't want to end three months of work on a whimper.

Nah, it didn't suck. It was good, it just took me a while to get around to reading it :smallbiggrin:

So, any plans for more LPs? :smallwink:

[chiasaur11]

Nah, it didn't suck. It was good, it just took me a while to get around to reading it :smallbiggrin:

So, any plans for more LPs? :smallwink:

Eventually, yeah.

I might be taking a short break though. Still, I have some...

ideas. Not that I wouldn't accept suggestions.

[Terraoblivion]

And having seen these last bits i have to ask...what happened? I mean it seemed less mindscrewy than i had expected, but still quite confusing throughout it.

[chiasaur11]

And having seen these last bits i have to ask...what happened? I mean it seemed less mindscrewy than i had expected, but still quite confusing throughout it.

In a nutshell?

Well, when the Pfhor fired the Trih Xeem at the end of Marathon 2, they released space Cthulhu on accident, who proceeded to eat everything and everyone in the universe...

Except our favorite Mjolnir Mark 4, Security Chief Victor Jones of the UESC Marathon. Seems Battleroids were built with tech no-one fully understood in them. Which means our hero, when the universe starts crumbling, falls right out...

And into some kind of weird dreamworld between realities, where the W'rkncacnter attempts to finish the job while Jone's subconscious manifests weirdness and guilt in odd terminals.

When he finally gets back to reality, of course, he tries his hardest to prevent the Trih Xeem from being fired. And fails. Then the whole cycle repeats.

This happens a lot. And every time, subtle to major details change. There are a few constants though, and two guys who seem to have a vague idea what's going on. Thoth, and Durandal. Since Thoth tends to be incomprehensible, Jones seizes at the first real opportunity to meet with Durandal in a while, even if it means murdering a few Bobs. (They were shooting at him.)

The good news is, Durandal has some vague idea what's going on, and might even have a plan. The bad news is that all that's irrelevant since Tycho's going to win. Fortunately, Durandal had an out even for that. Unfortunately, that landed him right in Jones's cybernetic consciousness.

And more unfortunately: To pull off Durandal's plan, the security officer is going to need to work for Tycho. Which fails.

And reality gets eaten. And it seems like that's going to happen everywhere. Durandal has a plan, of course, and our mildly heroic (and somewhat sociopathic) cyborg does his best to defy fate and save the day.

Managing to get back to a reality, it seems like the chaos from the heart of the sun got there first. In a last ditch effort, Durandal merges with the ancient S'pht AI Thoth to try to fire an ancient Jjaro super weapon with the help of the lost 11th clan of the S'pht (The guys from the end of Marathon 2).

Unfortunately, Tycho's got an idea of what's going on too...

And he's even more fatalistic than Vic, hard as that may be to believe. Which means Chief Jones gets hijacked into an arena duel with gigantic, possibly W'rkncacnter possessed Pfhor super soldiers.

Winning there seemed to delay the whole W'rkncacnter getting loose bit, which buys enough time to activate the ancient station, trap the W'rkncacnter in the heart of a black hole, and save the universe.

And then the combined Durandal S'pht entity frees Jones of the previous obligations to Durandal vis a vis slavery.

Wow. Look at all the words for the summary. I should have gone with my earlier plan to just play Rubicon.

Epilogue soonish.

[chiasaur11]

http://marathon.bungie.org/story/m2finalscreen.jpg

http://marathon.bungie.org/story/_images/mifinalscreen.gif

And we're done. 3 months of writing wrapped up.

It's been fun. Thanks for reading.

[Johnny Blade]

Well, thanks for writing. :smallwink:

While I'm at it, nice epilogue.
But, to be honest, the finale was lacking some tension, though I don't think you're actually to blame for this. I mean, there wasn't even a big explosion or something.

[Artanis]

Alas, all good things must come to an end...and as such, this, too, must come to its end :smallfrown:

I enjoyed the entire series quite a bit, and hope to see more in the future :smallsmile:

[chiasaur11]

Thanks.

Anyone have suggestions for a potential future project?

Just wondering. I mean, current system leans toward old or turn based, but...

[Johnny Blade]

I guess you don't have a working Baldur's Gate copy by now?

[chiasaur11]

Nope. And until I get a new computer, my shiny copy of Mass Effect?

Right out.

[Johnny Blade]

I'm somewhat torn between suggesting a second X-Com style Let's Play and a game that would allow deeper character writing.

Do you have any of the Icewind Dale games? Could combine both that way by making willing forum members your character's companions. And if you set the difficulty high enough, there will be some opportunities for personnel turnover. Especially in IWD2.

[chiasaur11]

I'm somewhat torn between suggesting a second X-Com style Let's Play and a game that would allow for somewhat deeper character writing.

Do you have any of the Icewind Dale games? Could combine both that way by making willing forum members your character's companions. And if you set the difficulty high enough, there will be some opportunities for personnel turnover. Especially in IWD2.

Nope, unfortunately.

And what I was planning on doing next, indexing the LPs?

Not enough not me posts in the marathon ones to bother. I probably will sort out the X-Com one, though. You know, old times sake.

I'll check Good Old Games. Might be something worth a look.

Also: Got Mechwarrior 3 today. So, got Gal Civ 2 (core), all the X-Coms, Deus EX, STALKER, Half Lifes, Fallout 1 & 2, Star Control II: The Ur Quan Masters...

[Artanis]

Get the MechCommander games as well. They're free now (http://www.mechcommander.org/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=53) (and legally so, at that).

I'm about to start a MC2 LP though, so keep that in mind :smallwink:

[Rama]

Very well done Chiasaur. Highly entertaining, although this game was tough to follow.

For the next, I'd suggest another X-Com. The original X-Com LP you did was the best of them all, imo. Although a Deus Ex LP could be interesting...

[chiasaur11]

Very well done Chiasaur. Highly entertaining, although this game was tough to follow.

For the next, I'd suggest another X-Com. The original X-Com LP you did was the best of them all, imo. Although a Deus Ex LP could be interesting...

Best of which set?

My LPs, X-Com LPs in general, LPs ever, best anything ever even better than bacon?

Because the first one, well, I've only done two basically, so it's not saying much, and the later ones, well, thanks a lot, but I do feel it's overestimating.

And Deus Ex might be tricky. I'll think about it, though.

[chiasaur11]

Okay, I got my choices down to three.

Either Fallout 1 as a minor Doctor Who antagonist, Fallout 2 as Bertram Wilberforce Wooster of Number 6A, Crichton Mansions, Berkeley Street, or "Your Tax Dollars at Work: The Denton Disaster."

So, vote if you care. Or even if you don't. It's a free country.

[Terraoblivion]

I am voting for Fallout 1. Should be fun to see how someone else goes through that game.

[Johnny Blade]

Bertie!

White text!

[Raroy]

I think you should start off with Fallout one. Not that I'm saying you should do Fallout Two afterwords. Which, you probally will.

[Malek]

Another vote for Fallout - mostly because I've still have to sit down and install the first part :P

Also the Marathon LP's were great. They made me play the game (just finished the first part - it was frustrating at times but fun nonthenless).

[The Dark Fiddler]

Either Fallout 1 as a minor Doctor Who antagonist

This, except as The Master. :smalltongue:

[chiasaur11]

This, except as The Master. :smalltongue:

I'm sticking with my initial antagonist choice. Yes?

[The Dark Fiddler]

I'm sticking with my initial antagonist choice. Yes?

I can live with that.