Part 36: Minor Diplomatic Incident

Part 36: Minor Diplomatic Incident

Last time, we managed to convince the Selkath court that Sunry - who was in fact 100% guilty of murder even though the person he killed was a Dark Jedi - did nothing wrong. Now that Jolee's old friend has been acquitted, it's time to get back to the main quest and that means entering the Sith base in Ahto City and find the Republic droid they stole.



Hey, we've got a passcard. What could possibly go wrong?



I'm a flooring inspector. I tell you what, I am not impressed by what I'm seeing. The absolute state of this place, it's disgraceful.



Or I guess we could show off the passcard we've got.



Commander Grann, report to the security desk immediately!

Great. Off to an excellent start, as usual.



I presume Commander Grann is the one not made of metal.



I don't know them... and their identification doesn't match up! They're spies!



Balls. What was even the point of getting the passcard in the first place, then?



I guess we'll have to handle our diplomatic visit to the Sith embassy in a slightly less diplomatic manner.



The computer at the reception doesn't work, so we'll have to find another terminal if we want to open any doors or blow up any power conduits.



Let's start our exploration of the base by heading east.



More doors. The one to our left is a dead end, so we'll proceed forward.



GAH



Would someone please warn us about those mines? Do Jolee and T3 think it's funny when we get blown up? (I'll admit it's a little funny) I decided to equip this ugly headgear to boost Zila's awareness, but her awareness is so low that the headgear does precisely jack shit to help.



This is the flow control room. Before we can do anything in there, however, we'll have to take care of the formalities.



T3 is now equipped with the Baragwin Flame Thrower, which only does half the damage of the Advanced Flame Thrower but has infinite uses so he can go hog wild and incinerate absolutely everything.



These doors leading to two identical hallways are going to be important very soon.




I could have sworn the adjutant's section was not in the Xbox version, and looking back at the footage that appears to indeed be the case. The text just ends after the commander talks about getting to the Selkath. Wait a minute... Selkath at the Sith base? Interesting. Anyway, the adjutant's section appears to have been added to the PC port because the original hint was too vague.



We'll play around with the ridiculous flow control system in a bit, but first we shall head west.



Force Wave vs. Force Lighting, which one is better?



In this case, Force Wave clearly wins out.



Well, we aren't going that way. As Commander Hasek lamented before presumably catching a hockey puck while standing on his head, the ludicrous pump mechanism is the only way to the north part of the base, so we'll have to go play with that.



However, we still have more rooms to check here in the south part.



By rooms, I of course meant hallways. This place has more hallways than the Raccoon City police station.



We do have some rooms as well. The door to our right is just decoration, so we can choose between the disassembly room to our left or whatever is up ahead. Let's try the door in front of us first.



Err, hello.



Okay, let's try something else, such as not dying.



That's more like it.



One thing I don't think I've pointed out yet is that droids use repair kits instead of medpacs. The difference is purely cosmetic, as each type of medpac has its repair kit equivalent. The construction kit is just a life support pack for droids.



Before we go any further, let's check the disassembly room. There is a broken droid we can repair if we need to, but we'll be fine.





We don't need any extra firepower to dispose of these chumps.



There's some decent droid accessories in the footlocker in this room. We already have the Security Domination Interface so we don't need the Decryption Interface, but the Universal Computer Interface (Computer Use +6) is a straight upgrade so that goes on T3.



However, what we actually came for is right here. This is the Republic probe droid, and we need to retrieve its data module before the Sith can decrypt it.



Technically speaking, we're done in this base and could just go back the way we came, but where's the fun in that? There's plenty more to find and kill in this base!



See?



Killing the Sith in the west lounge nets us enough XP for Jolee to level up, so he gets another point in Wisdom and learns Force Resistance. Force Resistance/Immunity is not as crucial to companions as it is for the main character, but it's still good to have. We could've taught him Force Wave, but I'm pretty sure I've never actually seen companions use it. Even when we're controlling someone else, Zila will only use Force Whirlwind despite the fact she normally can't use that anymore after learning Force Wave. This presumably happens because the Force Wave screen effect would be really disorienting if the power was used by someone you're not controlling.



T3 gets another DEX point.



North computer room, you say? That sounds like we might find a terminal there, so let's go check it out!





On second thought, maybe let's not.



The EVIL RED STEAM (yes, I know it's just supposed to be the lighting making the steam appear red) will fuck you up so you do not want to go into that hallway. I think you might be able to facetank the steam if you have enough health, but it's not worth it. There isn't anything important at the other end, except a computer that lets you turn the steam off because I believe that is where you would enter the base if you chose to go through the Ahto City docking bay.



This door is purely decorative as well.



Alright, let's take a look at these doors. We can see the one to the left has a blue gauge next to it, indicating the chamber behind the door is filled with water. The chamber to the right isn't, as indicated by the gauge being white.



Like that.



This panel does not work, so let's try the one on the north wall.



That would flood this chamber, or at least it would've before the safeguards were installed. If we try to transfer the water to the chamber we're in, it just won't happen.



Right. Because the south hallway is blocked off due to the malfunctioning panel, we have to figure out how to get through this hallway instead.



Again, can't transfer the water to the chamber we're in because that would be bad.



There goes the water to the next chamber.



That gauge on the south wall is white, so maybe that'll work.



It still gives this warning, though.



It's very easy to get confused here, because if you're anything like me you'll see the warning and think "Well, if I press this it'll just yell at me about flooding the chamber again and won't let me do it, so what the fuck am I supposed to actually do here?"



However, it actually does let us transfer the water. The addition to the water pump analysis datapad makes this so much easier to figure out.



Um, guys? I'm kinda about to flood that chamber so if you'd please...



I warned you, you know. Your companions are a total pain in the ass in this segment, because they just keep getting in your way in these cramped spaces. Well, RIP Jolee and T3, I guess.



Now that we've successfully murdered our party members and made it through the water pump hell, we can access the north part of the base.



Oh, I guess they're fine. Never mind, then.



Not going back that way.





This little room to the south has a few Dark Jedi waiting for us. No big deal.



Another thing I haven't shown off is the fact you can bash containers if you don't have enough security skill to open them, as in regular D&D. Some will still require a key or security skill, though. There's actually no penalty if you choose to bash every container you find, so you don't necessarily need all that much security skill if you don't mind having to smash everything like a cave troll. In KotOR II, certain items in bashed containers can break so you have to be slightly more careful.



dammit



More Sith. What a surprise.



You know, I kinda feel like Stasis, Force Whirlwind and Force Wave might be overdoing it a little when it's just this one guy.



We've finally located a terminal, so let's see what we can do with it.



We'll start by zapping the soldiers in the east barracks.



There's the force field in the security room.



We'll disable that so we actually have a sane path to the south part of the base. We could disable the droids, but I chose to corrupt them instead so they attack each other.



In the training room, we see a Selkath with a Dark Jedi. Is the Selkath a prisoner? If so, why does he (she?) have a gun?





Murdering all these people gave us enough XP to level up, so Zila gets another Persuade point and finally learns Burst of Speed. Manaan has so much backtracking that this is essentially mandatory, and the upgraded Knight Speed and Master Speed powers are actually really helpful even if you don't care about the speed boost. They give you extra attacks each turn! I never realized this until someone in the thread pointed it out, so thanks very much for that.



I forgot to deactivate the steam vents in the red hallway, so let's do that now.



There we go, we can get to the north computer room now. There's nothing in there, but we can get to it.



Let's just keep heading further to the north part of the base, I guess.



This random trooper is having a really bad day.



That's where the force field was. We can see the droids are now attacking each other, but they are very inefficient and this will go on forever unless we help them out a little.



There we go, that's better.



The Selkath at the base are not prisoners but apprentices. I think we can figure out what's going on here.



This apprentice attacks us on sight so we have to defend ourselves. Hopefully, there will be others who are less hostile, or we're gonna have some extremely bad news for Shaelas.



At the end of that hallway is a large room with three rooms, one of which leads to another hallway.



I guess we'll check the dormitory first.



Well, we've found Shasa. Hopefully, we won't have to kill her because that would be really awful for Shaelas.





So they did have a palette-swapped Selkath model, but instead of mixing them up for variety they decided to only have these identical groups of Selkath.







Shasa is the only one of the apprentices who has a name.



The Sith are teaching us mastery of the Force. Our alliance with the Sith will bring strength to Manaan and the Selkath people!

I bet it will.



You know what, let's try something out.





This cannot fail!



Yeah, pretty much got it in one.





After the Revan reveal, you occasionally get a chance to try and convince people you used to be Revan, but the results tend to be more or less what we see here (the exception is siding with Uthar on Korriban after the reveal). And why wouldn't they be? You're some rando claiming to be a dead Sith Lord, and Revan wore a mask so the general public doesn't know what she looked like.



Looks like we'll have to convince Shasa some other way, then.



The Sith have promised to guide us in the use of the Force, as a sign of their good faith. And once the Republic is defeated, the Sith have promised to withdraw from Manaan and respect our independence.

Great. Dustil's back, in fish form.





This is useless.



Did he now? That's odd. The Sith don't usually look favorably on apprentices who try to leave the fold.





Yep, we're doing the Dustil quest again.











We will not report your presence to our Sith Masters yet. If you bring us proof of Sith lies and torture we will return to our families and report this to the Ahto City authorities. Until then we shall stay here and continue our training in the ways of the Force.

What training? You're just standing around, not doing anything.



Right. Let's hope one of these rooms nearby holds the answer, because we've explored the rest of the base and found nothing. I guess if BioWare wanted to be dicks, they could put the evidence in the north computer room on the other side of the base, but thankfully that is not the case here.



In the training room, we find another Selkath apprentice practicing against some droids. Unfortunately, the Selkath is also hostile so they won't help us find any evidence of the Sith's evil deeds.





Well, let me guess! You intend to collect this reward, right?

I like how this Dark Jedi went from "wait what the fuck" to the canned Dark Jedi line. "Oh yeah, shit, I need to say the line Malak gave us or I'll look like a dumbass... *ahem* LORD MALAK WAS MOST DISPLEASED..."





Jolee is pretty good.



Well, if you insist.







Nice knowing you, fellas.



Past the Dark Jedi master and his apprentices, we come to what is presumably the master's room. That footlocker looks promising...







Hm. Another datapad. Let's see what this one says, wouldn't be the first time the Sith leave incriminating evidence lying around.


Well, what do you know? The Sith are evil and want to take over the planet!



We certainly have! We probably should've checked the last room in the training annex before returning to Shasa, but that's okay.





I... I cannot believe it. And yet, the evidence is right before me. The Sith wanted to use us to betray Manaan! I must apologize for doubting you. The Sith are truly as evil as you have claimed.

You don't say.



The other Selkath students wander off.



It's nice to see they weren't too far gone to listen to reason, unlike some of the other apprentices we met.





Um, Shasa, they already left.



We'll go tell Shaelas the good news once we get out of this base, but before we can leave we should check out that one last door. That leads to the medical area of the training annex.



Oh no.



Shasa is safe so we won't be able to tell her about this guy, but this is the student who the Sith supposedly allowed to go home. Galas, I think his name was.






This token can be used to convince Shasa, but requires high Persuade skill to do so. The datapad in the training room is a much better option. We're now done here at the base, so let's make our exit.



GOTTA GO FAST



With the data module from the probe droid in our possession, we should go back to Roland Wann at the Republic embassy and find out what he knows about the Star Map.



Oh, shit.





Don't any of you guys have anything better to do?



Our cameras recorded you entering the base shortly before contact was lost and fighting apparently began. It is the conclusion of the Ahto City Civil Authority that you are responsible for the disturbance here, and you are hereby placed under arrest. You will come with us to await your trial. As material witnesses, the individuals who accompany you will be detained at your vessel, and the vessel itself prohibited from leaving Manaan.

Absolutely brilliant.



There is no way out of this. We'll have to go with them.



Well, lead the way, I guess.



At least they assigned us a lawyer, although I think we could probably represent ourselves just fine.





That's it? That's basically nothing, then. Slap us with a 100-credit fine and be done with it.





Sure, that makes sense.



Uh... well...



We had a passcard! It's not our fault their systems thought it was out of date!



Somehow, I don't think Bwa'lass believes us.





None of these options is going to help our case, so we'll go with the least offensive one that is also clearly a lie.



That should be all the information I require of you, for now. If you wish, we can begin the trial whenever you are ready.

That... is a bit sudden, is it not?





This is a disaster. We're heading straight for execution.





This is absolutely not going to work. We have to do something, quickly.





Didn't you see us defend Sunry? We've got this.





Having Bwa'lass as our Arbiter is actually pretty funny and in hindsight I'm slightly disappointed I didn't choose to have him represent us. The guy is a completely worthless ambulance chaser who, if you didn't boot him out by that point, eventually tries to convince the judges that "the client is not capable of forming complex thoughts".



We don't need him, of course. We never needed him, even if he was competent at his job.



Hey, guys. Long time no see.



How do you plead?



If you plead guilty, they'll put you in a cage and electrocute you. That, in case you were wondering, is a game over, so let's not do that.



This again.





I'm leaving these in so you can tell which one's which.





The gang's all here.



Given the severity of this trial, we can dispense with the normal formalities of the court and proceed directly.

You have pleaded not guilty, yet there were reports of weaponsfire and detonations from within the Sith Embassy.

You were seen entering and leaving the Embassy. The Sith have not conferred with the authorities about this matter, but from all available evidence, it would seem that you are the source of the disturbance. What is your explanation for being in the Sith Embassy?



If you're really good at lying, you can get out of this without ever meeting Shasa or finding the datapad. Well, of course you can. Otherwise, it'd be a bit difficult to continue the main quest. Finding the evidence is the easiest and best way to get cleared, though.



Why, yes.





Have they ever.



You can also try to convince the judges with Galas' token, but why would you? At best, that would implicate the Sith in the killing of one Selkath whereas the datapad proves they're planning to overthrow the government.



Hm... This is... most disturbing. The court will adjourn for a brief period to verify this evidence and discuss its importance.





No calls or incidents from their base will be attended to until this matter is dealt with, as they are no longer subject to the protections of Selkath law.

Not only did we clear our name, but we also fucked over the Sith in the process. That's always appreciated.



Alright! Hopefully, this is the last time we have to talk to the Selkath judges.



Next time, we'll go looking for the Star Map.