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

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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 and Marathon 2 Durandal 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.

Well, uh, good luck!

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

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Artanis

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

---

Red bar.

Blue one's oxygen.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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There it is. Tycho's ship.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.

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Enough to get deeper in and break a few mildly important looking structures. Not Tycho's core memory, but it was a start.

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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.

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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.

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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.)

Well, I for one am rather intrigued.

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?

Well, there was also Thoth there for a while.

And Leela, but she was actually nice.

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:

Infinity is intended as a mind trip.

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?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oslecamo

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Quick, firery burst ensured the wiring didn't make it through the day, and we're done here.

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Or not. Slave unit?

Well, call me Spartacus.
Still, doesn't hurt to check for the remaining hostiles.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.

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Hunters. Great.

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

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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.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Poison_Fish

Infinity is intended as a mind trip.

---

Considering this, I guess I can admit relatively freely that I am a wee bit confused.

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Ducking Tycho just got me dropped on top of a rocket launcher. I always knew Durandal had armories on the planet.

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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.

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More Shakespeare?

The comedy of errors. Appropriate.

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

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

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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...

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Thoth?

What is going on here?

Oh snap. :smalltongue:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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And it will be entirely my fault. I'm not abandoning humanity to be devoured.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Artanis

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.

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

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Dark Fiddler

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.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kalbron

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 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?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I_Got_This_Name

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 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.

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


Well played. :smallamused:

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

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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.

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Corridors were full of Pfhor cyborgs, of course. Every single job has them. The vacuum enabling on the shotguns?

The reason I was breathing.

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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.

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On to something?

Something that might delay the death of everything?

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

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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...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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The AI?

Well, we might be getting somewhere after all.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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/z...urocracy15.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...urocracy16.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...urocracy17.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...urocracy18.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/z...urocracy19.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...urocracy20.jpg
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/z...urocracy21.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/z...urocracy22.jpg

I'll take that as a "yes".