Part 10: The Ice Planet Hustle

: Yes. The fleet is scrambled, so expect aerial skirmishes again.

: Good, now we can fly out of here!
: No, they detected us from the ground. We'll need to get to the hatch of Starbase 3 fast. It's landed somewhere up ahead. Earthgirl and I have been blasting out a path that should point us in the right direction. One more should do the trick.
: Now, tell him the bad news.
: It's good news. They are going to dust the entire site to eradicate the virus. We have to get to the hatch before this happens or we'll be atomized.
: How long do we have?
: Once I get the signal, we have 5 minutes.
*some sound effect plays*



: The signal! Run ahead. Maybe you can stall the blast!

So yeah, you have 5 minutes to reach the starbase before you all get vaporized by the Krill "dusting" the planet of the virus. It's a bit tense but not all that bad. Five minutes is surprisngly plenty, provided you know what you're doing.



More switches and spikes with a timer going down?



First Ice Planet random battle! Luckily, the 5:00 timer is paused during these battles. Those ice chunks just float there and those blue crosses float directly up at varying speeds.



I like the graphics here, they're pretty cool, no pun intended. To my knowledge, the Ignite Impact Data does not cause increased damage.



Shortly into the race against time, there's a path split. If you check the map, it'll show the upper path being a direct way to the starbase landing. However, if you go this way you find this pillar in the way. With one minute down, you'll be hard pressed for time if you don't know where you're going. I decided to just restart the timed segment.



Now we're going the right direction.





Up on this bluff a little off the path is the Impact Data, Fork. It makes shots split into two little bullets that spray diagonally forwards in both directions. When it doesn't kill something I think both bullets hit for extra damage so I equipped it.



They're hard to differentiate from the EXP drops, but some of those blue bullets are the Fork bullets.



Take the right path split above or find yourself in a dead end! Not that it's hard to backtrack here, you just lose 10 seconds I guess.



The timer keeps counting down during saving! Hurry up!



One of the minibosses! It's...well it's pretty weird.



The only way to hurt it is by shooting it's core when it splits out all its pieces.



Of course, they can close at any time. Eventually it dies and drops about 1200 EXP



Gah, more spikes! Switch is down below.



Welp, that's no fun when you spawn in the battle and immediately crash.



Revenge of the Bomber! Haven't seen it in a while so I knew my luck would be running out soon. If you can see it, those weird triangles are actually part of a larger enemy made up of four of those. They're pretty resilient so...



Bomb time!



Got a level up, thank goodness. My health was getting lowish.



Honestly I think this was an accidental picture take because I don't recall having anything to say when I took the picture. Uh...green Hen'nk? Still no match for the Krill Puck.



Now we're on the other side of that pillar. Stupid thing.



Finally! Let's get inside!



I'll be she did.
: Let's see, we've got Recker and [Psyme], and... *Ek makes a strange laugh* Look at this! What do we have here? A pretty little Earth female!
Yes, the game misspelled Psyme's name as Pysme.
: Hey!
: Cool off Recker. This is Scarlet. She's a gift for Commander Nomak, so hands to yourself!
: That's a crying shame, that is! I lost my pet a week ago today! Could do with a replacement.
*screen shakes*
: Whup! Sounds like the site blasting's begun. Good thing you didn't dawdle, eh? Miss Psyme, by a good girl and wash that pet before giving her to Nomak. Get some of that Earth stink off her.
: Idiots.



: You'll find Commander Nomak in his office.

Ek breaks my theory that all Krill have five-letter names. Previously, we had Bloss, Psyme, Zelly, Blune, and Nomak.



Starbase 3! It's pretty tiny to be honest. One big room, Nomak's office, the Comm Room and the obligatory save and mission select rooms. I like the blue colors though.



It only started like, two minutes ago...



: for a jog in the snow to try them out. Yup, those sure were some snappy boots.

Huh.



: Yes sir! Reporting for duty sir!
: Looks like I'm your third boss since enlisting. That's a lot of transfers, especially for an offworld soldier.
: If I may interject sir! I have a message from Blune, my previous team leader. He is requesting a transfer from Starbase 2.
: Hah. That Zelly wench drives every man to wit's end. I'll see what strings I can pull.
I like this guy so far. Looks scary, but seems nice enough.
: Ah, your pals are here.



: This is Scarlet, Commander. Just a little thank you for the promotion.



: Psyme, have you lost your mind?!
You know, as much as I dislike the idea, Recker and Scarlet don't exactly have any leverage here. They're both humans in the midst of the Krill.
: Welllll! Pay attention Recker! Psyme here really knows how to suck up! She'll be a great officer in the new order, eh?
: I would serve you very well Commander.
: I'm sure. There's no shuttle between starbases for the moment. We're using every available ship to wipe out that nasty virus. Can't be too careful. So you kids clear out. I want to get better acquainted with my new pet here. Get the door on your way out.
: What are you doing?! Don't leave me here with this lunatic!
: You heard him Recker! Enjoy your pet, sir.
: You! You did this just to spite me!
: Maybe next time you'll remember your place. Come on!



I'm sorry Scarlet...

Searching for Gun Data I ran into the next portion of the story.



: And?
: You said he's on Starbase 2 working for Commander Zelly? Because it looks like that starbase has gone off line.
: Is that normal?
: No.



: There's no contact with Starbase 2.
: It must be Zelly. I wouldn't put it past her to can the entire staff.
: Maybe Blune too.
: This is highly irregular. I'll notify Commander Nomak. There should be a shuttle in the bay now. Take it back to Starbase 2 and check it out.
: Will do. Psyme!
: What?!
: I'll go alone. Just try to keep Scarlet out of trouble would you? I think you owe her that much.
: What do I owe her for?
: Wake up!! If not for Scarlet, you'd still be buried in snow! Zelly tried to bump you off, don't you get it?!
: sigh... Very well.







Join me next time as we investigate what the hell Zelly is up to.

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Current Weapon Data:

: 3 - Triple Cannon. Fires shots in a forward spread.
: 3 - Heavy Shot. A large projectile with a large hit area.
: 10 - Fork. Shots fork forwards.