Part 6: Episode V: Delta Force Dalmatian

Stage 2 Theme


So...remember how I said we were infiltrating the Doom Fortress Galuade next? Yeah... Might have jumped the gun a bit there. First, Solid Snake needs to transverse the outer bunkers surrounding the inner wall of the tower.


The area is a wee bit of a clusterfuck. I guess Gindrans excel at landscaping, as evident by the jungle hedge maze, but have a thing or two to learn from the first world regarding property allocation.




At this point Snake is given no real direction other than being yelled at by Campbell to infiltrate the damn fortress already or Weasel explaining that the health restorative rations can be, in a pinch, used to restore health.


Many of the bunkers and trucks in this area are full of supplies for Snake to pilfer. The trouble is that we have already maxed out on rations and every new gun starts with a fully topped off pool of ammo. Since we have yet to restore any health or fire any bullets, we would just receive a loud buzz and the game telling Snake to fuck off since he is full of that item. The only noteworthy new item is located in a bunker to the northeastern quadrant of the map.


The R5 Assault Rifle: Ghost Babel's token fast firing weapon. It still takes 2 shots to kill any guards and it lacks a suppressor. It is mostly reserved for boss encounters. But hey, a little bit of extra firepower never hurts. It is worth noting that this weapon (and its variant the R4) is used by South Africa's armed forces so it does make a nice amount of sense to find one kicking around in this neck of the woods. Unlike the Shadow Moses' Next Generation Special Forces in Metal Gear Solid who were all rocking French FAMAS rifles for no particular reason other than Hideo Kojima probably thought they looked cool.


Weapon chat aside, cruising around the assorted bunkers in the area will reveal another returning stealth hindrance from the earlier titles in the series: metal grate floor panels. If Snake walks over these, every guard in the near vicinity will immediately hear his footsteps and come to investigate. Avoiding them or just crawling past is the best bet for tackling the problem.




As said earlier, we are given no real direction in this area. Nevertheless, it is assumed that eventually the player will wander over to the northeastern most portion of the region and then the game will finally decide to throw us a bone in the form of a Codec call.


Warhead Storage (Metal Gear Solid)


"Can anyone hear me? This is...."
"Who is this?"
"...You probably would have gotten an answer if you waited half a second..."


"This is Sergeant Chris Jenner of Delta Force."
"Delta Force? A survivor?"
"It wasn't annihilated?
"No....Who are you? The U.S. rescue team?"
"No. I'm the black sheep you were supposed to work with."
"....? Not....Fox-Hound?"
"Solid Snake speaking."
"...No... I thought a Liquid Snake was helming Fox-Hound these days."
"Liquid Snake? What sort of codename is that...?"
"Just a touch less like something out a bad porno than Solid Snake?"
*grumble*
"You! I've heard things about you."
"What kind of things?"
"Terrible hygiene... Mullets... Grisly things..."
"....."
"But other than that..."
"The best saboteur ever - the one who destroyed Metal Gear in Outer Heaven, seven years ago. The 'Legend'...."
"Don't believe everything you hear. Some say I'm just an attention-seeking killer."
"So - which is true?"
"Make up your own mind."
"....."
"Sergeant Jenner, are there any other survivors from the unit besides you?"
"....no. Everybody else....I.... They're monsters, sir."
"Also... How many people am I talking to here...?"
"They? You mean those mercenaries."
"Yes. Especially the leader, a man called Viper....There was nothing we could do, even if it wasn't an ambush...."
"An ambush? The mission was leaked?"
"I don't know. But..."
"Well... Entire Delta Force teams don't usually get massacred within an hour into a covert mission..."

The Codec party line beeps and McBride along with Weasel decides to jump in...


"...mission. There is no way it could have been compromised."
"Wanna bet? There's always someone who's willing to sell out. What makes an American brass tick, huh? Money, power, glory, women, men....?"
"Can it! There is no risk of spies here."
"Pretty sure, aren't you?"
"Everyone involved in this mission has undergone rigorous background checks."
"I see.... they're all trusted."
"This question coming from someone named Weasel... Just throwing that out there..."
"How about it, Colonel?"
"This is a top secret mission. Only a handful of people know of it, in the government and the military. I have to agree with McBride."
"...Who is McBride now...? How many people are on this line?! Did I intercept a national security convention by mistake?"
"There's me, the Colonel, some CIA suit, a merc named Weasel and... where is Mei Ling?"
"It wouldn't be polite to mention at the moment."
"And Mei Ling is on the can. I'll try to keep it between you and me. So let's talk sneaking mission..."
"...All right. Sergeant Jenner, is Metal Gear really inside the fortress?"
"Yes. I still don't have the exact location, but the assembly is apparently near completion and the researchers have been confined to another building."
"Do you have the location of the researchers?"
"I'm sorry. All I know is they're somewhere here in Galuade..."
"OK.... How did you enter the fortress?"


Has anyone ever read directions mentioning a drainage system, sewage outlets, or waterways of any type and not immediately groaned?

"The drainage system?"
"Bingo. You saw those buildings with recessed east walls? There are hidden access ways down into the ground in those recesses."
"Building with an indented east wall, entry into an underground route in the recess. Got it. Get yourself back there and get out of here."
"No, I'm staying here."
"No, you're not. I have no time to babysit a Brownie. You get out."
"No."
"Sergeant!"
"I will not abandon the mission!"
"You're not. Just call it a err...tactical retreat..."
"I said no!"
"But -"
"I have to finish this."
"For your fallen comrades....?"
"....."
"....."
"Snake, having an ally in the field could be useful."
"Please, sir."
"...All right. You've got guts, I'll grant you that."
"Thank you."
"We'll rendezvous inside the fortress. In the meantime, gather as much Intel as possible."
"Got it."
"You watch out for your own back until then."
"Of course."
"And no cowboy acts."
"I know that."
"And stay away from any cowboys, for that matter. Bad news. No exceptions."
"...Alright."
"And laser points. You see a laser pointer, you get DOWN!"
"...'kay..."
"And one other thing -"
"Yes?"
"Can I call you Chris?"
"We don't know each other that well."
"We can easily change that."
"As comrades in arms?"
"That's up to you."
"Snake, stop hitting on assets in the field."
"...Yeah yeah."
"OK. My frequency is 140.25. Ask me if you have any questions about the fortress."
"OK, Chris."
"Good luck, Snake."

Chris disconnects...

"All right, Snake. Look for that way into the duct that Sergeant Jenner was talking about. Go to the building with a recessed east wall, and get underground from the concealed entry point in the recess."

Alright. We can continue with the mission now. However, let us take a moment to contact McBride for a chat. A few codec calls are dependant on immediate events. If we contact Mr. CIA Fluff between now and the early parts of the next stage then he'll give us some background info on our new pal Not-Meryl.


"...Sergeant Jenner looked up. Jenner, Christine. Age 25. In service for 8 years. As you can imagine for her having been chosen for this mission team, her records are exemplary. Father and mother, no siblings. Parents divorced when Jenner was 12, mother got custody. The last name Jenner is her mother's. Father is an entrepreneur, never missed an alimony or child support payment. A very generous sum, more than enough for just two people to live on. Jenner certainly didn't grow up hungry. Joined the army immediately after graduation from a big name school with excellent grades. Cleared the selection process for Delta Force with flying colors only 4 years after completing basic training. As you know, Delta Force doesn't take anyone less than the best of the army's best. Since then she's been steadily moving up, and evaluations by her CO have been consistently high. She may be young, but there's no doubt about her abilities."

TLDR: Awesome Mary Sue soldier chick that's great at everything. However, one of these days someone should REALLY tell Japanese writers that 1st SFOD-D only accepts male applicants... At least she is nearer to requirements than ex-Delta Force at 23 Jill Valentine. Not that is saying much.




Anyway, with the vague instructions of "looking for a bunker with an indentation on the eastern side" to go on, we are still left with a bit of wandering around. Said bunker is located around the central part of the eastern half of the compound. First, we need to travel all the way to the northwestern corner of the map and hop into a random parked truck to pick up the Level 1 Keycard.




Armed with that, we can backtrack half way across the area and get past a troublesome chain link fence in order to infiltrate the dreaded sewer level. See the entrance? No? You have to make Snake run to the little recess and then head downwards to the invisible door.


Very intuitive.




From there, it's just a brief empty corridor and a couple ladder climbs and we are done with adventures in Stage 2.


No Alerts, no kills, no rations used and less than 10 minutes and I still got a shit score. I see how it goes, Ghost Babel. I see how it goes...