Part 13: Unlicensed Aviation

13: Unlicensed Aviation


Oh my god.
The captain of that ship must have found this and was returning home to show it to Jinam's leaders...they have must have realized that they had been decieved.
Couldn't they just have transmitted it?
This close to the Core, long range radio transmissions are pretty garbled. We have to show this to my father.
But the capitol is surrounded by Jinam's troops.
We can fly in with my ship!
_{I don't know if I'd trust something this chick built...
It's our only chance, Grubb, you'll just have to deal with it.}
Find me an AE-35 Power Converter to get the ship running, and we're in!

If we can get this message to the chiefs of staff, or whatever Ankara has, we can probably end the war quickly - and point both nations at Doskias at the same time, although they're a bit beaten up now.

That said, we need the converter first, and where would we find such a thing?

[talk] What kind of converter do you need?
AE-35, are you deaf or something? We need the boost if we're going to fly into the capital...maybe you can find a converter in one of the shipwrecks?
[talk] What's with the boots?
They're not boots...I have robotic legs.
Hey, I'm sorry. What happened?
An accident during military training...ever since then, my father won't let me do anything important.
You're a mechanic, right? That's an important job.
Yeah, but what I really want to do is kick some Jinam butt!
[Runner] Where did you find Runn/er?
Who?
The robot!
Oh, he was just limping along, I figured he needed some help. Finders keepers, you know?

Now we have a target - back to the Tiamat to search it more thouroughly. First, though, we should talk to the Ankaran soldier who's appeared here since last time we visited.


No there isn't, they all deserted.
[Jinam Soldiers] Has the invasion gotten this far?
No...they're concentrating on the capitol right now.
[talk] What did Led do to runner?
Uh, fixed 'im?
What the hell was wrong with him?!
He needed better power levels and a new shock overhaul. Whoever built him must not know the first thing about robotics.
I KNOW PLENTY!
[Runner] You understand that Runner is not your property...
_{I wouldn't say that too loudly if I were you...}
[talk] What are you doing here?
Well, they say I'm not good enough to fight. So I'm helping Led.
He's not right, you know, in the head and stuff.
Yeah, I'm always wrong.
[talk] That's a strange necklace you have.
Oh, these? Dog tags, from an enemy sergeant. You want 'em?
Uh...sure, thanks...
I'm gonna go look for supplies, see ya later...

Dave leaves as soon as you talk to him with Maya and get the dog tags, so if you want to hear any of his other conversation paths you need to do that last.



Let's not think too hard about why robotic soldiers would need, or have, dog tags.



Instead, let's run back to the Tiamat and use them to open that locked door we couldn't get through before!





This part of the ship is a bit larger than the one we entered through. At the moment, though, all that's accessible is the southern corridor and the two rooms leading off it.




We get jumped by a robotrooper and two repair bots as soon as we enter. I finally goad them into using their healing ability before finishing them off.



The first side room contains some more Jinam soldiers. They're easily dispatched, and once they go down, you can search the ruined soldiers along the wall for a Truesight.



The Truesight boosts Perception, and by extension Strike, Power and Core. I move the Cat's Paw to Corgan and give the Truesight to Maya. This makes Corgan our heavy hitter, Grubb our caster and Maya our generalist.



The next room contains another Sergeant and two Guard Bots, and inconveniently places your party so that the Sergeant can hit two at once with his beam weapon and the Guard Bots can hit everyone with explosives. For all that, though, it's not a hard fight.




They guard a lever that opens this door - the first left turn after entering the level.



On the way back there, we stop to examine the locked door at the far end of the hall, but it won't budge. Instead, we backtrack to the now-open door.




Smashing through some robots gets us to the T-intersection in the upper left.



Bearing left from there leads us to this room. The dead robot contains a GearMuscle, a boost to Strength that's only equippable by robots.



The other side of the room contains this device, but our habit of blowing up all the Jinam cyborgs we come across has left us without anything to connect to it...for now.



Going back to the intersection and heading right this time takes us to the last room in the area.



I manage to sneak past the guards...



...but the robots inside are more alert, and violence ensues.



Fortunately, they were guarding exactly the piece of gear we need.



While it doesn't show up as such, this is indeed an AE-35. Now we just need to sneak back out and deliver it to Led.




Led answers by turning around and installing it into the ship. After a bit of fiddling...

It's all done! We can leave at any time.
[talk] Is the ship ready to fly?
Whenever you are!
[talk] That ship looks none too stable...
It'll be fine...don't worry!



To actually take off, you need to examine the ship directly rather than talking to Led.



She promptly edits herself and Runner into your party. This flight is for women and robots only.


Yeah. You, me, and Runner will fly in, and then we'll find my dad.
What about us?
We can't carry any more.
We'll be back as soon as possible.
Be careful...
Wait for me, okay Grubb?
Hey Corgan, let's get a look at that holoprojector!
...did he ignore me?
No, he's just...preoccupied most of the time.
He doesn't like me because of my cyborg legs...what man would?
No, really, he doesn't realize you like him.
Don't make excuses for him. He's not that great anyways. We've got work to do. Let's go.

Led has more than her fair share of insecurities and Grubb is not helping. I think he's still sore over Runner, but even so, that was a bit much.



The heavily laden ship wobbles its way into the air...



...skims south over those buildings...



...approaches the capital...



...and finally either spontaneously explodes, or is hit by antiaircraft fire. I've never been entirely sure...



...but in either case, this is the result.



Look at all of this, the capitol must be on its last legs.




We crashed near the prison, but it's not very interesting. More interesting are the NPCs wandering around, who are too busy worrying about the Jinam invaders to worry about our motley crew crashing an airplane into the town square.

I have to find your leaders!
Most of 'em are dead by now.
Have you seen my father? General Campbell?
Look near the military headquarters.


Headed south.
Why?
Left to fight another day, I reckon.
Is General Campbell alive?
Not sure, but I think he made it.




The defences of the capitol lie dormant; either the Jinam troops are taking a breather, or the city is already so battered it has no fight left.


Any time now...get out if you can!
Where are the ground troops?
Wiped out! Jinam has help from the Chosen!

That's new information. We never find out what sort of help - it could be anything from "clandestinely feeding the Jinam intel on Ankaran movements" to "vaporizing Ankaran strongpoints from two Shells up with his flagship's main guns" - but it would explain why Ankara is getting their asses kicked so completely despite spending the years since the last war preparing for this one.

Of course, he could also be a paranoid conspiracy theorist talking out of his ass and the Jinam are winning because they have a giant robot army.




She doesn't want to talk, but her neighbor in yellow is willing.

I have a message for your leaders!
Go to the military headquarters...
Where's the army? Where's the marines?
Gone, all destroyed...



We've talked to everyone, so there's nothing left to do here but go to HQ.

We have an important message for your leaders!
They can't be disturbed!
I'm the daughter of General Campbell! Let us in!
Uh, sorry miss, uh, ma'am. Go right in.

It's also possible that Ankara is losing because of all the rampant nepotism.





Why?
His fleet has been sent to retrieve the Doomsday Device from the research lab in the north. His orders are to use it against the Jinam, and bring this war to an end...
What Doomsday Device?
It fires a missile which embeds itself into the enemy's continent. From there, it will grow and create a gravitational field, raising the entire land mass to a higher orbit.
But that will kill every citizen of Jinam...they won't be able to withstand those kind of forces!
We have no choice.
But the Chosen are playing Jinam and Ankara against each other!
Play the message, Maya.

General Scott kindly lends us the situation room's holoprojector.


By Dogo...how could we have known?
I think this Chosen warlord, Doskias, knew that your two nations were the only force that could have stopped him from reaching the Core.
Led, you have to stop your father. He can't be allowed to continue with his orders!
You can't recall him?
Radio transmissions that far are impossible this close to the Core...even this Chosen enemy needed to use a holorecording. I will give you a personal holomessage to deliver to Campbell. You must reach him before he uses the superweapon...
Go! There is a secret way out through the subways under the city...follow the old mountain highway to the research lab...hurry!

He hands us a potion and a core relic and we book it, as the view cuts away...



..to Doskias's flagship.




The Emperor will be furious...to steal them right from under his nose!
Are you afraid of the Emperor, Balcaam? Perhaps this is too much excitement for you...
Enough. The Emperor will not dare to oppose me. With the Keys in my posession, the secrets of the Core will be laid open before us.
But the ancient prophecies say that the secrets of the Core can only be attained at the time of the Conjunction...that's a lifetime away. What good will these relics do us now?
Fool! Our plan will bring the conjunction to us!
And for that...we must prepare.