You find yourself in E1M1

[foq]

>Take Candor back to the... uh... place, and look for the book. Maybe he knows something about it?

>Get some cigarettes

[MadGypsy]

>grab as much of your strongest company as this game allows, go back to the shades we were trying to avoid this whole time and start a war. We've been dicking around in shafts and kitchens but the bottom line is, if we lose the war this story is over and no story ends like that so, we aren't going to lose. It's time to make this story exciting again.

Full on assault on the shades. Also, you made some rule about how many people can be in a company but you never said we couldn't have more than one company. Have Pheonix lead an ambush with the remaining companions from another direction.

We have all these men and firepower just sitting in limbo. Let's get all our resources working toward the goal. I know of no military strategy that has halfyour team hanging out at base doing nothing.

[Shadowswift]

>Take Candor back to the... uh... place, and look for the book. Maybe he knows something about it?

You slash a portal down to the first level, to the hallway before the snipers. You beckon your companion forward.
"That's alright, Captain. I can get there on my own." Before you eyes, he melts into raw Shadow energy and vanishes. You shrug your shoulders and step through your portal. You find Candor waiting for you on the other side. Before you can ask him how, he tells you. "I can disperse into raw energy and travel at the speed of light. Truth be told, most Shadows can. Problem is, it's very difficult to control. When you're moving that fast, it's hard to stop exactly where you want to be. You either have to know exactly where you are going, or you need to be able to lock in on someone you know who's life force you are familiar with. It's a handy trick for scaring the shit out of your friends." You ask him if he can teach you. "Probably not. You may harbor a certain degree of darkness within you, but you are still flesh and blood. Moving like that requires you be ethereal." Oh well. You ask him about the book. "Hm...books...there are a few offices of some of the higher ranking officers that had bookshelves in them. There's also the Science Department's wing. Those are the only places I can think of off-hand that have books in them, but I don't recall seeing a book like the one you're describing. Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't here." You ask if he can take you to them. "Unfortunately, I can only disperse myself. I can't take any travelers with me like your Scythe can." You ponder the situation. What if he takes your Scythe, shifts over to where the books are, then just creates a portal to them for you to walk through? "I suppose that would work. Give me the Scythe." You hand him your Scythe. "Where do you want to go first?" You think for a bit...probably the old Science wing. Away he goes like a bolt of black lightning. A second later, a portal appears before you. You step through and find yourself in a huge laboratory.

>Get some cigarettes

You aren't exactly sure where the impulse to Get some cigarettes came from, especially considering you don't smoke, but there must be some strategic reason behind your thinking. You aren't sure where you might find any in a place like this, but you keep your eyes open for a pack of smokes. Smoking is bad.


-To be continued.

[[Too tired to finish, didn't want to lose what I had already typed. Will finish tomorrow]]

[Shadowswift]

You take a look around your current environment. You don't remember the Science Department being so...big. It's like a huge laboratory inside of a big library. There are books all over the place. You call Irish.
"Yes, Captain? What is it?" You ask him where the Libram was when he last saw it. "Well, the Libram actually belongs to me. I kept it in a chest by my work station. It was one of the many things I wasn't able to grab when we were evacuated. My workstation is over by the portalgate prototype. You'll know it when you see it." Is it locked? "No, I never thought to lock it. I trusted everyone I worked with, and I never kept anything really worth stealing in there." You thank him and break contact. You look around, and see the device he was talking about. The portalgate. Pretty neat-looking, like a slipgate on steroids. A prototype, you doubt if it works, or is even finished being built. Irish's workstation is next to it. You see the chest. Your heart sinks when you notice it flung open and it's contents spilled all around it. You sift through the contents. A bunch of items, likely with personal value to the Scribe...no book. Shit! You were so close. This must mean that one of the Shadows around here has it. Better get this over with. You've spent enough time in this pit of a place.

>grab as much of your strongest company as this game allows, go back to the shades we were trying to avoid this whole time and start a war. We've been dicking around in shafts and kitchens but the bottom line is, if we lose the war this story is over and no story ends like that so, we aren't going to lose. It's time to make this story exciting again.

Full on assault on the shades. Also, you made some rule about how many people can be in a company but you never said we couldn't have more than one company. Have Pheonix lead an ambush with the remaining companions from another direction.

We have all these men and firepower just sitting in limbo. Let's get all our resources working toward the goal. I know of no military strategy that has halfyour team hanging out at base doing nothing.

You call Phoenix.
"Sir?" You tell him it's time to go to war. You explain the strategy of a two-pronged assault: one from the main gate, one from inside the lab. You order Velen and Darkscythe to follow Phoenix's lead. Half of the surviving marines will follow through the main gate. The other half will attack from within via the lab. Candor and SFX will stay with you until you can get the main gate open. "Who is Candor?" Oh. You explain the situation with him. "Really? Are...you sure it's such a good idea? I mean..." You stop him in his tracks and remind him that he has a Fiend and a Death Knight at his command. Anything and everything is fair game at this point. "...I guess. Can I...talk to him?" You tell him that he's listening. "Hey, commander. How...how are you?"
"Stockton...It's good to hear you. I've been better, kid...the last weeks have been very...tiring. But being alongside the Captain here is oddly invigorating. I look forward to seeing you in combat, I can't wait to see how powerful you've gotten under Ray's tutelage." You're pretty sure you can hear Phoenix stifling sobs. "Tough it up, son. I may be dead, but I can still fight the good fight. You ready?" There's a pause.
"I'm ready!" You take charge of the conversation again.
"Phoenix, I'm coming out there to meet you. We have work ahead of us." You break contact and open a portal to the Bailey. You and your followers step through and meet Phoenix and his team.
"Alright, Lieutenant. I'm going back to the complex to gather the surviving marines and arm them all with Lightspark weapons. When I return with them, assemble your own team, and tell everyone else to await my command. Wait by the gate. When the gate opens, charge. I'll do what I can on the inside to make sure that your squad doesn't encounter any enemy traps or ambushes."
"Yes, sir!" You scythe back to your base.
You find yourself by the mainframe. You activate the PA and tell everyone that is able to fight to meet you in the Courtyard. Nearby, Scribe Irish asks what's going on.
"War, my friend. We're going to war."

-To Be Continued

[Shadowswift]

You meet up with the gathered marines in the Courtyard. On one side of the bridge stand nearly 50 fighting men, all ready for your order. On the other side stands you. You scratch your chin...never were really good with speeches.
"Alright, boys. We've waited long enough, I'd say. Back on Earth, there's a city that needs us. Inside that city stands our Headquarters, and festering inside that fortress, the enemy lingers, infecting everything nearby like a sickness. The only cure is swift, brutal and unrelenting justice. You men will be the syringes injecting that cure into the cold, lifeless heart of the fortress. I realize that not all of you are Rangers. Your shotguns and blaster rifles will not be enough to win us this battle. I am authorizing an executive order to arm you with enemy ordinance. Stored inside this facility are enough repurposed Shadowpulse Rifles, dubbed Lightspark Rifles, to arm each and every one of you, as well as enough munition to keep those weapons fully charged for the duration of the fight. I want you to understand the severity of that. This is a one-time deal, men. We're burning our entire stockpile for this fight. Hopefully, once this is over, we won't need them anymore...so make good use of them today." Gunner Garret moves around arming each of the soldiers, including you and Candor.

You got the Lightspark Rifle!
You Shadow Plasma Cells are maxed at 200.

"This will not be an easy fight...and a lot of you may not make it to tomorrow. The headquarters we are assaulting is built to withstand a nuclear attack and is designed to hold an entire army at bay with only a handful of soldiers defending it...only we will not be facing a mere handful. The Shadows inside that fortress outnumber us five to one, easily. However, we will not be fighting like Grunts. We will not be fighting like Enforcers. We will be fighting like Rangers! We are going to execute a pincer attack. While Lieutenant Stockton leads the frontal assault, keeping the bulk of the Shadows occupied, I will be leading an assault from within. It will be our job to mow down the unsuspecting ones rushing to fend off the attack from the front. It will be our job to make sure there are no ambushes lined up to pick off Stockton's team. If we strike hard enough and fast enough, we can cut their numbers down by a factor of 50% before Stockton's team even breaches the front bulwark." You take the shaft of your scythe and use it to scratch out a rough schematic of the Headquarters on the ground. "Our assault begins in the Science Department wing. It's a large enough room for at least thirty men to take position, and it has only three points of entry. Each point of entry will be assaulted by a team of ten, except for my team, which will only consist of seven including myself. My team will be going through this point, Lieutenant Hastings will lead the second team going through this point, and Donovan will lead the third team going through the last point. Our paths will each take us up and around the first and second floors, then back down to the first floor. You should encounter many enemies on these tours. Vanquish them all, let none survive. The more you kill, the less Phoenix and his team will have to worry about when those front doors open. As we return to the first floor, we will follow these three hallways here, here, and here and come to a point where we should all meet up right here." You point to a spot near the main circuit breakers. "Once we retake this room, we can power the place back up and get some overhead lights on, giving our enemies less places to hide. All three teams will rejoin as one, lead by myself, and we will make our way to this point." You point to a spot by the mainframe. "Retaking this room will allow up to kick the base's defense grid back on. Likely, many of the auto-turrets have already been destroyed. Those that haven't yet been blasted will probably only provide a minor inconvenience to the enemy. It is unlikely they will kill more than two or three before the rest of them are destroyed. Retaking the mainframe will also allow us to unseal the front doors. The bulwark at the front will be locked by a Gold Lock. Phoenix's team will need this keycard to get through. I'll make sure he gets it before the fighting starts. Now, according to our good friend Donovan, our enemy has the ability to shift location instantly like I do. When we start to route them out and into the crosshairs of Phoenix's team, they will likely try to shift and flank us from the Bailey. Here's the fun part: if they do that, the Bailey's beam turrets, which we will activate from the mainframe, should keep them occupied long enough for us to catch up to them and finish them off. Phase one complete. Phase two involves the third floor: the barracks. Whatever Shadows remain after phase one will likely retreat either to there, the mainframe, or the breakers in an attempt to undo our progress. Before we leave for the third floor, I will station my followers to guard three critical spots. Lieutenant Stockton will guard the mainframe. Donovan and SFX will guard the breakers. Velen and Darkscythe will hold the Bailey. My followers should be strong enough to repel any attempt by the enemy to retake those key locations. Once we are in phase two, it'll be a simple matter of sweep and clear. Now listen carefully to this part, I want every man here to be fully aware of what I'm about to tell them. One of the Shadows is holding a book. It's an ancient libram, it belongs to Master Scribe Irish. If you encounter the Shadow that has it, retrieve it and protect it with your life. As for whatever other loot the Shadows might be holding on to, if you feel you are able to and that it will benefit your ability to fight, you may use whatever you find on your fallen foes until we win the day, after which point you will be ordered to surrender whatever you find to me for me and my team's use in the final battle. Does anyone not understand anything that I have said up until now? Speak up now." The men stand at attention, not a one dares to speak. "Alright, then." You raise your scythe slowly. You focus hard, pouring your very essence into the weapon. You slash hard and wide, opening a massive rift to the Bailey big enough for the multitudes of men to travel through. "Move out!" The men begin to pour into the rift as you focus your energies into keeping it open. As the last soldier passes through, you allow the rift to shrink down to the size of a normal one-person portal. Just as you prepare to step through, you hear a shout.
"Captain, wait! Waaaiiit!!" It's Irish. He's flailing his arms, running at you, shouting at you not to leave yet. He finally gets to you from across the courtyard, panting.
"What is it, Irish?" He looks up at you and hands you a box.
"H...here. Your Plasma Rockets. We were able to put together ten of them. Use them wisely! Let me know how they turn out." You take the box and empty its contents into your inventory. "Also..." He looks around. "I've been thinking about those swords. I think it's pretty important that we look into that as soon as you get back. It just seems too odd that Davis would try to hide something from the Science Department." You nod. You assure him that you'll make sure to bring back any rapiers that you find. Speaking of Davis, where is he? Is he going to fight, too? "No, he's staying behind with a handful of sentries to make sure that the Shadows don't try to overrun this place during your absence." You thank him.
"Irish, be careful. If anything happens here, call me at once. If you need to hide, there's a secret passageway to the entryway down the stream. Go there and disable the main lift to the courtyard. You should be safe there until someone can come help you." He chuckles.
"Oh, don't worry about me, Captain. I was trained as a soldier once, too, ya know. I may be old, but I can still fight." He smiles at you. "Go now. Save the world again." You step through your portal.
On the other side, you approach Phoenix.
"They're all here, Lieutenant, fifty men. It was the most I could gather without leaving the complex defenseless. Pick your twenty-five. Choose carefully." Phoenix nods and walks around the men, sizing them up. One at a time, he selects the men he wants on his team. He chooses the toughest, and the heartiest of them, mostly Grunts and Enforcers, only a trio of Rangers, for the frontal assault. The other twenty-five that remain are made up almost exclusively of Rangers and Recon.
"Our assault will be frontal. I'll need tougher, beefier men for such a job. Your assault will be more tactical. I left the men with more skills for such an op for you, sir." You smile at your young student.
"Good thinking, Phoenix." You study him. You remind yourself that this strong, tactically-thinking, battle-hardened warrior that stands before you was once the eager, mind-over-matter, gun-jumping young kid that you gave a second chance at life to. "I may not say this much, or show it at all...but I'm proud of you, Stockton. You've grown into such a strong soldier in the short few months we've known each other. If you keep growing at this rate, you'll outrank and outmatch me in less than a year." He looks away and stammers a bit.
"Well, I-I dunno about that..." You cut him off.
"I look forward to that day, Phoenix. I've saved the world half a dozen times now. I've been through more terrible things than a hundred-thousand average men will ever go through in a hundred lifetimes. I'm not a young man anymore, and I'm getting tired of fighting. When the day comes, I will gladly hand the reigns over to you." Phoenix stands before you in a daze, only for a second...then sharply salutes you. You return the salute. "Oh, here. You'll need this." You hand him the Gold Keycard. "Move 'em out, Lieutenant." He rallies his men across the slime moat, and waits at the front gate.

[[Continued]]

[Shadowswift]

You gather the remaining men and open a portal to the inside. It flickers. The Encroaching Darkness within the fortress is resisting your scythe's power. The flickering portal fades away and dies. Shit...hm. There must be some way to increase the scythe's power.
"Captain!" Phoenix shouts to you. "Try Kaio-Ken!" Kaio-Ken...your skill in it is still rather lacking at a meager 7/525. Still...it's worth a shot. You grip your scythe and reach into yourself. You reach past all your inner angst and self-doubt. You reach through the turmoil and confusion. You dig deep, past the fear and hesitation. You reach further into your spirit than you've ever gone. You find within you a spot you didn't really know was there. A spark of pure light dances in unison with a shade of utter darkness. The dance radiates, giving off an untapped power. You grab hold of it and feel it surge through you. Kaio-Ken erupts to life, empowering the blade of your scythe. You swing a mighty slash and open a great portal to the Science Wing. You pour your energy into the portal and strain to keep it open until you and all of your men are through. You release Kaio-Ken and let the portal die.

You lose 20 health
Your skill in Kaio-Ken is now 15/525

You catch your breath and compose yourself. Before you stand the twenty-five loyal soldiers. Candor stands beside you. SFX floats quietly at your other side.
"Alright men. Ten of you on the left, ten of you on the right, the rest of you on me at the front. Keep it quiet until either I give the signal, or until we engage the first enemy. Move." The men follow orders. Hastings takes the left group, Candor takes the right group. You take the front group with SFX joining their ranks. "Alright, Rangers. Keep your headsets on MessageMode2 and stick to the man leading your group like glue. Go, now. Regroup at the breakers. I anticipate meeting everyone there in no more than twenty minutes. Ready?" The men silently nod. You sense their fear. "Steady, men..." You hesitate, knowing that at least a few of these good soldiers will not make it through this..."Move out." Each group leader breaks through their appointed exit, their squad following behind. You break through the front door, checking left and right. You follow the corridor, your men following behind. You move collectively and silently, like ghosts on a moonless night after a storm. As you reach the end of the corridor, you signal your men to raise their Lightspark rifles. One at a time, you and each of your soldiers fires a round of Lightspark at the walls, illuminating the corridor ahead. A shout comes from behind.
"Tango spotted, 1 o'clock!" Your men site their weapons. You give the command.
"Go weapons hot! Squad leaders, go loud!" Your men begin firing upon the Shadow ahead. A violent volley of luminous lethal Lightspark screams forth and obliterate the lone enemy. You begin to hear gunfire in other areas of the fortress. MessageMode2 begins to light up with various orders and acknowledgements. As you press forward, more and more enemies start coming out of their hiding spots. You flush them out like frightened animals running from a wildfire. Enemy sniper fire begins to assail your squad. Your highly-trained Ranger Elite take only a little damage as they dodge as well as they can. You blanket the walls and ceilings in Lightspark. The hidden snipers jump out and try to engage you in melee. You dispatch them swiftly with your scythe. You hear cries over MM2. One of Hastings's men has fallen. Behind you, a small shrapnel explosion goes off, cutting one of your men in half. "Shit! Tripwires, men! Check your feet!" You hear Donovan call out to one of his men to help another that's been wounded. "Press forward, men! We're almost to the last corridor before the breakers!" You and your men pound forward, blazing through Shadow after Shadow. Dozens fall before you as you take point. A pair of Shadows shift behind your squad, getting the drop on the soldier on flank. They manage to cripple his left leg before they are dispatched. "We're still marines, men! Leave no one behind! Get him back up and moving!" Your men administer a stimpak to the wounded soldier's leg, enabling him to continue moving. "We're nearly there! Keep fighting!" You hear Hastings and Donovan give similar orders to their squads. By your count, you've lost four men so far; one from your squad, two from Donovan's, and one from Hastings. "SFX, take flank. Shoot anything that moves. Press on, boys!" SFX falls behind to the flank and floats backwards, watching the squads' six. You continue to mow down the enemy in your path, taking little damage as you surprise them. Over the comm you hear a cry of distress. "Shit! Lieutenant! No!" Fuck...Hastings is the only lieutenant other than Phoenix. You order a sit-rep. "Hastings is down! Don't think he's breathing! We've hit a nest of snipers! We're pinned down! We can't advance!"
"Fuck me...everyone, proceed forward to the breakers. Soldier, keep Hastings alive! I'm on my way to you." You stow your rifle and take out your scythe. In a blast of speed, you backtrack to the Science Wing and follow Hastings's squads trail. In no time, you catch up to them. They are pinned behind a corner. Those fuckin' snipers you encountered earlier are keeping suppressing fire on the hallway. Hastings has been shot in the chest. You kneel down over him. "Quick. Give him to me." You pull out one of your Dream Water Stims and pray for a miracle as you shoot it directly into his heart. Immediately, his eyes open, very dilated, as he looks around drowsily. He looks up at you and smiles.
"Hey...where'd you come from?" You smile back at him.
"He'll be ok, just don't let him fight for a minute or so. I'll take care of these bastards." You pump a Plasma Rocket into your Firewall Launcher. You tell everyone to take cover. You peek the barrel of the gun around the corner and squeeze the trigger. A second later, you hear the most horrible screeching explosion you've ever heard. The suppressing fire stops abruptly. "Come on, let's move. The other two squads should have reached the Breakers by now." You lead Hastings's squad the rest of the way until you converge upon the breakers. The other two squads, including Candor and SFX, have already arrived. Only four men of your men have fallen so far...a good start. Phoenix's voice crackles over the headset.
"Hey Captain, whatever y'all are gonna do in there, might wanna make it quick. They've started appearing in the Bailey!" Damn. The enemy is moving a bit faster than you anticipated. You snap the breakers open and flick on the switches. The castle's power hums to life as the lights begin to flicker on all over the place. "Alright men, no time to delay, let's keep moving!" Immediately, you press on toward the mainframe. Several Shadows attempt to impede your path. Scores of them fall, only minor damage is sustained. You stay at point, shielding your men from damage as best you can. Candor and SFX take flank, guarding the rear. In moments, you reach the mainframe. You activate the automated defenses and unlock the main gate. You hear laser fire all over the base, followed shortly by shadowpulse fire. The laser fire lasts only a short fifteen seconds or so before it stops altogether. The mainframe reports that all interior autoturrets are offline. You let Phoenix know that the doors are open.
"Praise the Lord. Door's open, men, let's move!" You hear the beam turrets in the background of Phoenix's transmission. Good, they are working.
"Let's go, guys, we're not done yet." You and your squad push forward, slaying Shadows left and right. You stop at the front bulwark. Seconds later, it opens. Phoenix and his team greet you on the other side. Seems he has lost only a few men, also. "Good work, Lieutenant. Marines, we begin phase two. Stockton, take your position at the mainframe. Commander Velen, you and Darkscythe remain here in the Bailey and assist the beam turrets in keeping hostiles out. Underlord Novando, take SFX to the breakers and make sure the enemy doesn't mess with them and that they stay powered on. The rest of you, come with me." Your followers go their separate ways.

Candor has left your party.
SFX has left your party.

The surviving marines follow you up to the third level. You can already sense an insane amount of enemy activity up here.
"Be ready, men! Enemies on all sides up here." As you reach the top of the stairs, it breaks off into two hallways. You signal your troops. Hastings, now fully recovered, will lead half of the men left. You will lead the other half right. As soon as your two squads round their respective corners, gunfire commences.
"Shit!" You hear Hastings cry out. "Captain, it's an ambush! There must be a hundred of them in here!" You shout back at him.
"Give them hell, Lieutenant! Don't let their numbers overwhelm you!" You notice that your own squad is also neck-deep in enemy fire. "Shit. Squad, pull back!" You peek over and see a massive line of Shadows blocking your progress. You think quickly, and slash a portal inside that room right in front of the Shadows. Shadow Plasma comes flying through the portal.
"Captain, you must be joking! If we go through there, we're dead!" One soldier speaks out.
"WE are not going through this portal, soldier." Just as the portal begins to close, you pull out your Firewall Launch and slap another Plasma Rocket into it and fire that bad boy through the portal. The rocket eeks through just as it seals. In the next room, you hear the same horrible screeching explosion. You repeat the process for the other side. Gunfire stops altogether.
"Nicely done, Captain! With just two rockets, you must've cleared out two-hundred hostiles!" You thank the Lieutenant. You reach out with your dark senses. You don't feel any more hostile action. "Gentlemen...don't celebrate early, but I think we just won." The men begin to cheer. As they do, you continue to feel out your surroundings with your dark senses. In fact, you only locate one Shadow. You round the corner and find the lone Shadow staring you down. Hastings sees the Shadow and his jaw falls to the floor. You look over at him and wonder what the big deal is. You look over at the lone Shadow.

"G-General Navejar!!"


-To be continued

[foq]

>Client to Server keepalive

[Shadowswift]

As the miasma of acrid smoke and burning shadow disperses around you, you immediately begin to square off with The General, not bothering to wait to see if he is friend or foe, nor waiting for him to even face you. Hastings and the rest of your marines back away. You aim the Chromaspark at him and call out to him.
"General!"
"I had a feeling you'd be back, Captain. Didn't think you'd be able to resist The Master's calls for long. I take it your job in the city of the ancients is done?" You tilt your head. You decide to take advantage of this opportunity to get some answers.
"I have no further business in the Nameless City." He turns to face you. His face is as black and empty as the endless void. He does not appear to be armed.
"Everything's going just like The Master said it would. Ain't it?" You nod, but say nothing. "That idiot Protos out of commission, then?" You nod again. "Good. Damn shame about that boy. He coulda been The Master's number two if he hadn't opened his mouth and stuck his foot in it." The General spoke as he always had right down to his vocabulary. Even his southern twang sounded the same, if a little ethereal. "So, are you ready to get back to what we started last time you were here before you stormed off?" You raise an eyebrow.
"And what was that, General?"
"You know, Irish's Portalgate, we need to get that contraption working so the boss can come on down. Then, the fun'll really begin. I already went through all of Irish's junk...found a book hoping it'd be some instructions or some notes or anything useful, really, but it's nothin' like that. Hopefully, you grabbed Protos's journal when you killed him. It should have a few notes about this thing from when he was working on it with Irish before he turned. If not, then I'll just have to blow our cover and have Davis bring Irish to me personally."
Damn it...you knew that little shit Davis was on the wrong side. You quietly and discretely switch on MM2 and whisper to Phoenix.
"Call Irish over MM2. Tell him to get out of E1M1. Tell him to avoid Davis at all costs. Keep this quiet. No telling who is loyal at this point." Phoenix acknowledges. You return your attention to The General. "Ahem...Protos's Journal, yes. I have it. Haven't bothered to look through it yet."
"Well, we've ****y-footed around long enough, Captain. You've killed a lot of people, both human and Shadow, to get to this point. What say we finish the job?"

The General thinks that you are still The Captain. He's either oblivious to the fact that you've basically just recaptured the castle and decimated his entire standing army, or he doesn't care and thinks that it's just something that The Captain does to go around killing Shadows. Either way, you now stand at a rather crucial decision point. Should you give The General Dalton Kirk's Journal, or keep it and blow your cover? Blowing your cover will cause The General to dummy up. He most likely won't tell you anything useful from that moment on, and will almost certainly engage you in combat. Giving him the Journal will allow you to continue the charade a little longer, but you risk giving vital information to enemy forces.

>

[Adam]

Fire!

[Shadowswift]

Fire!

Your grip on your launcher tightens. Adrenaline rips through your body. Your muscles tighten. Your sight narrows.
"By the way, Captain, this book I found in the scribe's footlocker..." Your eyesight loosens as it shifts its focus from the General to the book he holds up. "It's pretty old...centuries, if not millenia." Shit...if you blast the General, you'll turn that old book into ashes. "It's written in a language I've not ever seen before. Maybe once I have Irish brought down here, I'll have him tell me what it's about. Might be useful to the boss." You swallow hard.
"The Master. Have you...met him?" The General begins to pace back and forth.
"I've gotten about as close to him as anybody can in this dimension. He's been in contact with me for a long time, now...since before the war. Your eyes widen.
"That means the slipgate war was caused by..."
"Me. Yeah, The Master made a better offer, so I rigged the Slipgate, let Quake's wierdos in, messed up everything the military had planned. Made sure that Earth's defenses would be as crippled as possible before he could invade. Then, while you were off playing around in Quake, I was able to pull in a select few officers that I knew would see things The Master's way. Dalton Kirk was the first and best of them, but just as the Portalgate got finished being built, he went off on his own little side projects, started calling himself Protos and pissed everyone off. Threw a wrench in the whole mix. I'm glad you were able to dispatch him without letting him know that The Master no longer had any favor for him. Pretty much guarantees your role as top banana, you know. Perhaps the boss will let you take over his Corrupted project." You've heard enough.
"No, General. I won't be doing that. The Corrupted all died alongside Protos. There will never be another Corrupted." You raise your launcher. The General looks at you and assesses the situation.
"You sound pretty sure of that, Captain..." He turns away from you. "I must say, you fooled a lot of folks as to which side you're actually on. I'll admit, I've never really been sure about you, myself. After you killed The Dragon and came back here,you had us all fooled." Your eyes narrow.
"The hell do you mean?" The General chuckles hollowly.
"Oh, that's right. Protos's Reaper must've wiped that part from your memory before you were able to destroy him. That's pretty funny...and a bit sad. You really don't remember what happened when you came back, do you?" You shake your head.
"You were discharged, Captain. The Master thought you to be too big a threat after you butchered that Shub thing, so he told me to get rid of you. As soon as you got back, I had your discharge papers signed and ready. By order of the President of the United States, you were forcefully removed from service and stripped of your rank. Naturally, you didn't go quietly. The whole time, you knew something was up, so you resisted. Went all the way to Washington to clear it up...only you never made it there." Your brain begins to spark. Memories begin to flicker in your mind's eye. "I ordered Kirk to take you out of commission before you could get to the Pentagon. Kirk's bullet to your brainpan made sure that you wouldn't be talking to anyone about your discharge." A surge rushes through your mind. You feel it, as though it had just happened again. Agony wrenches your skull, like a .223 crashing into your grey matter. Your knees buckle as your drop to the ground. You break the fall with your fists, as you now find yourself kneeling before your enemy.
"You...had me assassinated?"
"Pretty much, though not as effectively as I had hoped. Problem was, we couldn't cover up your murder. A decorated war hero like yourself going missing the day after being forcefully discharged...would raise too many suspicions, so the boss had an idea. He could use his powers to cull your spirit and put it into a new body. Making a replacement body for you was nothing to the boss. Reprogramming your memories, however, proved to be a bit tricky. That's where the Reaper came in. Turns out that guy had a few tricks that none of us were able to duplicate, including mental manipulation. Once he got his claws into your wiring, you were like a puppet on strings to us. Would've been heaps easier to have just had Protos make you into one of his Corrupted right after you were raised, but the Master said no. I've wondered why ever since, but I learned a good while back not to question his actions."

Well...that certainly explains a lot...though resolution doesn't make you feel better the way you thought it would. You feel horrible, ill in many ways. Your stomach feels like it's being squeezed by a gorilla. You drop your weapon to the ground and collapse. Still conscious, you hear the General's hollowed voice whisper over the pounding of your own heartbeat. "It isn't the path I really wanted to take...and the events that have happened since have caused a lot of good men to die...but in the end, I know it'll end up saving countless others. Servitude to an all-powerful god is a lot smarter than dying in defiance of one." Blood rushes to your head. Your brain throbs and your vision turns red.
"No." You slowly prop yourself up back onto your fists. "That's not how the Marines operate, General." You pick your feet up underneath you, slowly rising to a squat. "We fight for freedom...free will." Your legs press your body into a standing position. "We will never serve your Master." You raise your weapon. "You are no longer fit to lead the Corps, General. I'm relieving you of command effective immediately." Your steely determination burns the air around you until your aura finally erupts into a blaze of brilliance. Light and Shadow swirl around you in a dazzling flame of black and white. "Huh. Well, I half-expected this, but wasn't quite sure when it was going to happen." He faces away from you, turning his back to you. "I'd be a fool to stand against you, Ray. You've always been stronger than me, and I'm completely unarmed at the moment. I suppose there's nothing I can do you stop you." You smirk, and begin to approach him.
"But I can." A familiar voice behind you breaks out. You turn to see Major Davis standing behind you detaining Scribe Irish with a knife to his neck. "All of you disarm and get on the ground, face down, or Irish dies."

Fuck. You need Irish. He is essential to you learning The Force, as well as opening the Portalgate to launch your assault against The Master in his home world. If Irish dies, it will be detrimental to your campaign. However, if you and your men disarm and comply, you'll certainly be taken prisoner and executed. Any ideas on what to do here?


>


[[Hey folks! Sorry for the absence. Seems to be my thing. Of course, I do, eventually want to finish this, as it's been SIX YEARS in the making, and I'd hate for it to just die. So, if there's anyone still willing to work with me on this, let's finish this thing up before I get distracted again!]]

[MadGypsy]

Aren't we wearing some wrist computer/console? Can't it also contact SFX?

if so...

> Disarm
> Send a distress to SFX - or whatever similar thing you can do
> Whether SFX is on it's way or not, buy time and look for any opportunity to get the upper hand

[[ I feel ya on this "end the story" stuff but, we can't end it if you keep throwing a plot twist in at every spot where a victory could be had. Your latest post is a good example. Instead of killing the general and getting on with it, now we have to figure out how to overcome this brand new problem. I understand that these things make the story exciting but, this could literally go on forever. It's starting to look like the only way to end this story is

>player got bored with life... (ie kill yourself)

There has to come a point where we fight battles and actually win them or die trying. I'm not saying "You won the battle, the slipgate is fixed, everybody goes home and lives happily ever after" but, definitely working in that direction instead of a new problem to solve at every step. Honestly, I have an excellent memory and I have all but completely lost the scope of this story. I can't even remember the Rangers name or the last 50 things we did. Honestly, I'm not even sure who "The General" is or when he was introduced in the story. I don't know if all this sounds harsh or what but, I am just being completely honest. I mean your last post started with a "Fire" impulse and by your next post we might not even have a gun...LOL! This story is never gonna end. Don't get me wrong... I love your story! I think it is bad-ass! It's just too few and far between with too many derail stories that make the end and remembering it - all but impossible.
]]

[Izhido]

> Player forgot to save.
> Player starts in E1M1.
> Player remembers he's in Quake, after all.
> Player grabs his shotgun and axe, and vows to shoot/cleave anything passing around.
> Player starts walking again.

[Shadowswift]

[[ I feel ya on this "end the story" stuff but, we can't end it if you keep throwing a plot twist in at every spot where a victory could be had. Your latest post is a good example. Instead of killing the general and getting on with it, now we have to figure out how to overcome this brand new problem. I understand that these things make the story exciting but, this could literally go on forever. It's starting to look like the only way to end this story is

>player got bored with life... (ie kill yourself)
There has to come a point where we fight battles and actually win them or die trying. I'm not saying "You won the battle, the slipgate is fixed, everybody goes home and lives happily ever after" but, definitely working in that direction instead of a new problem to solve at every step. Honestly, I have an excellent memory and I have all but completely lost the scope of this story. I can't even remember the Rangers name or the last 50 things we did. Honestly, I'm not even sure who "The General" is or when he was introduced in the story. I don't know if all this sounds harsh or what but, I am just being completely honest. I mean your last post started with a "Fire" impulse and by your next post we might not even have a gun...LOL! This story is never gonna end. Don't get me wrong... I love your story! I think it is bad-ass! It's just too few and far between with too many derail stories that make the end and remembering it - all but impossible.
]]

[[Totally get ya, and this is probably gonna be the last arc before we actually go after the Master. I just don't want to leave any loose ends, while making sure it still makes sense.

Not sure if you were being serious, but just in case you don't want to go back and re-re-read it, player's name is Ray, his followers are Phoenix (Ranger/Scribe), Velen (Death Knight Commander), Candor Novando (Shadow Ranger), SFX (Strogg Flyer) and Darkscythe (Fiend)

Just bear with me through this last arc, and we'll be on our way to completion]]

[MadGypsy]

[[I was serious about forgetting most of this story, including the Rangers name. I knew I could go to the very first post and find the name but, that wasn't the point. One day, out of boredom, I'm going to strip this story of all impulses and allusion to impulses, read it as I go and format it as a PDF. The first time I read this story there were like 30 summin pages to this thread and it took me the better part of an entire day. We are at almost double the pages and I can't see myself reading this again just to read it. I'll read it while I turn it into a completed book for you. This is going to take a long time. Like 51 days might be a good estimate (a page a day). The tricky part is your formatting. I'll probably have to view source for every page, cut out your posts (html and all) and then figure out what part of the quakeone css I need to maintain the style. Then open up Adobe Acrobat and "create pdf from html". Good thing is, I will only have to mess with the css once. Actually, I'll probably just cheat and use the whole damn stylesheet. In the end it should look like one incredibly long post by you without the left-bar avatar and all that. I vaguely recall actually starting this once a long time ago. I got somewhere with it but not all that far. I don't remember why I stopped. Maybe cause you stopped... I can't say.]]

[Shadowswift]

[[A kind offer, but I have that all planned out once the thing is finished. Only problem is, I'm not sure where I'd archive it. I don't have my own website. Chip wanted to put it on Quakewiki, but I never heard back from him about that. ]]