Scene 9:
As the scene fades in, you notice your current location
is on top of a pod support, harnessed to the space station. Your
ship is already space born and waiting for you to link up. SAL
unlatches the pod from the tower support and guide it into place
aboard the Monte Hue. As the ship prepares to enter the light
tube, the captain switches on the ship's internal communication
network and begins to debrief the team on the mission. As it
turns out, this one will be a combination effort with both the
military forces and two other PSI 5 shipping vessels due to the
nature of the situation. This colony is suffering from a pirate
introduced virus that, is left unattended, is perceived to wipe
out the whole colony within sixty hours. It has already been
twenty-two hours since the virus was first detected and mass
doses of the medical serum that both your and the other two ships
are caring are desperately needed immediately. As the ship
emerges out of the light tunnel, your ship meets up with the S.S.
Constellation, the S.S. Dark Sun, the M.S.C. Lexington, and the
M.D.C.7. Pyro Christine. As the proper coded messages are relayed
between the ships for security reasons, all ships prepare to
enter the system, with five plasma bolts at the ready. And as the
shield barrier is ripped to shreds, the military ships cruise in
ahead of the three PSI 5 shippers. Quickly, the military vessels
launch their fighters and form a defensive pattern around the
shippers in an attempt to protect them as much as possible. After
all, this system is suspected of having mass enemy activity
present at most of it's planetary bodies. No sooner then the
convoy begins to advance into the outer boundaries of the system
does the enemy squadron begin to surface. First several fighters
from various races shows up, then hordes begin to emerge from
behind the many planets and their moons. The skies begin to light
up from all the weapons fire occurring. Even though you have
plenty of force on your side for this one, your mission is still
challenging due to the amount of friendly's present that you must
concentrate not to shoot at. But, not to worry. In this stage, if
you accidentally hit a couple of friendly's, the only
counter-measures that will come at you will be deductions from
your pay check from any damages that you cause. But beware. In
later stages, hitting a friend may mean your demise. For they
tend to be more dangerous then the enemy, due to the fact that
they have the schematics on your ship and use them to make every
hit count. For they will assume that your ship is under enemy
control and will not stand by and let an enemy just pick them
off. Anyway, just be careful at what you shoot at out there. And
an even better tip would be to take a second and read the quick
glance information provided by the HUD targeter under each ship.
More then two-thirds of the way through the journey, the
convoy runs into an enemy ship the likes of which can only be
described as the equivalent of a large, mobile enemy base placed
in mid-space known as a Star Crusher. (So named due to the
capability of their main weapon's destructive capacity, having
the ability of literally crushing the very life out of a star
within minutes.) But, at this time, you don't have the trouble of
dealing with such an vessel, since the priority of the medical
mission required by the colonists comes before the destruction of
the pirates. And due to this threat, the two military vessels and
their fighters break off from the journey to engage the Star
Crusher. Which means that it is back to business as usual of
fighting off pirate craft with only the help of your fellow
weapon officers. (Eight, to be precise.) And talking about
business, here come some more enemy fighter craft. Time to go to
work.
About a minute and a half later, the PSI 5 convoy pull
into orbit around the colony at the same time as multiple cargo
shuttles are breaking through the upper atmosphere levels of the
planet below. The scene begins to fad out as the communication
system crackles to life with welcome messages and security
protocols and the shuttles link up with the PSI 5 shippers.
Next time the player plays the game, he/she inserts the
required credit(s), then inserts the pass card into the card slot
(located above the quarter slots), and presses the start button
(the button is a combination of the start and plasma bolt) to
begin stage ten.
Scene 10:
As the exterior comes into view, you can tell that the
S.S. Monte Hue is floating in mid-space while cargo transports
are departing from the ship's outer hull doors. The engines begin
their eternal pull against the coldness of space, propelling the
ship into the active Gravitron Ring. As the ship is slung through
the vast, dark plain, the captain reveals that the plan for this
mission is to head to the border of the Cassandra Nebula, punch a
hole in the pirate's solar blockade shielding, meet up with
another Gravitron Ring that is escorted by a heavily armored
Solar Tug, and proceed on towards the colony on Mercury 7.
Identified as The Midway Runner Project, it is hoped that this
operation is the key to keeping supply lines open, despite the
enemies use of system wide shielding.
Seconds later, the ship emerges back into sight from the
high speed journey through the light tunnel, only to find rubble
where the meeting point was scheduled to be. Both the shield and
the nebula are wrecking havoc on long range scanners, keeping
them from sensing any nearby craft. And turning an otherwise easy
operation into just another life-or-death mission.
As the Monte Hue makes a fly by of the system's eighth
planet, sensors (now partially clear from the nebula's
interference) pick up a rather large pirate ship coming around in
orbit from the far side of the planet. No. Make that incredibly
enormous. Actually, way too big to even deal with is more the
thing to say right now. The navigator responds by punching the
engines up to emergency over-thrust. The usual low hum from the
engine's operating processes start to become more than a
background sound. In fact, the whole interior of the ship starts
sounding like the inside of a bass drum while the whole drive
system starts to slowly tear itself apart from the stress. But,
there is a bigger problem then that. That goliath appears to be
breaking orbit and heading your way. And by the look of things,
the S.S. Monte Hue will not be able to outrun that thing. The
communication line breaks in with the report from the scanning
officer. Ship classification has been confirmed. The enemy is a
Star Crusher. Worse yet, she's loaded with pirate fighter craft.
And they're launching. Looks like there is going to be one
powerful battle here. But, one thing is for sure. Win or lose,
the repair bill is going to be high.
Next time the player plays the game, he/she inserts the
required credit(s), then inserts the pass card into the card slot
(located above the quarter slots), and presses the start button
(the button is a combination of the start and plasma bolt) to
begin stage eleven.
Stage 11:
As the scene fades in, you instantly recognize that the
pod is already in place aboard the S.S. Monte Hue. And that the
supply shuttles have already unloaded their cargo and are
beginning their decent towards the planet below. Next, the
captain turns on her ship wide communication system and informs
her crew as to the mission ahead. As it turns out, this run does
not head for a colony, but a high traffic shipping lane where
pirate activity has been running rampant. The mission is to head
through this common flight path and act as a security patrol and
fight off all pirates that are present within the channel. The
bad news is that you will have to do it with friendly ships of
all variety about. Even worse, some friendly ships have the enemy
and their fighters aboard, ready to strike at a passing shipper.
So, be very careful at what you shoot at and try to wait for the
scanning officer to make a firm identification on the kind of
ship that is located in your sights. As the ship launches for the
local Gravitron Ring, you prepare yourself for the new challenge
that lies ahead. "After all, how many pirates could possibly be
hiding in a shipping lane?" you ask yourself. Unfortunately,
you're going to find out, the hard way. On a positive note: Happy
hunting!
As the ship returns to normal space, the S.S. Monte Hue
winds up only seconds away from entering the normal flow of
traffic in amongst the shipping lane. As it merges into the
regular flow, you, the other two weapon officers, and the
scanning officer begin to search for any unusual activity.
Seconds later, you have a confirmed pirate sweeping the traffic
searching for loot. You begin to open fire as soon as you have a
confirmed lock so as not to hit other innocent vessels in the
shipping lane. Although a tough assignment, it sure makes a
refreshing change from the usual routine that you have had to
endure in the last few months of service for PSI 5.
As the mission progresses, the amount of pirate activity
present become all too clear. They are literally littering up the
place. But their greed tends to get the best of them, trying to
score yet another hit off of your cargo holds. Now, if only all
those other ships would just try and get out of the way.
The mission comes to an end just as quickly as it began,
with a transmission from your old ship, the (SHIP NAME HERE).
They're calling in to report that they are ready to begin their
sweep of the shipping lane. Next, as the ship pulls out of the
channel and heads for the nearest Gravitron Ring, the captain
activates the internal communication system and lets the crew in
on the fact that the cargo was just a lure for the pirates to
scan for. And then, as the scene begins to fade out, you see the
Gravity Ring shoot the S.S. Monte Hue back into the light tunnel.
As the next scene fades in, the ship has already come out
of the tunnel and is lining up with an open hanger door at
Starbase 289. As the ship pulls into the darkened hanger, you see
the exterior strobes marking the borders of the walls, with the
light of that system's star glistening off of the metal exterior
of the station. Then, as the portion of the ship that has your
gunnery pod mounted on it slides under the roof of the hanger
door, the exterior becomes exposed to the dark blue lighting used
by many hangers. Seconds later, the ship settles down, landing
struts extracted, upon the landing pad of the bay's floor. Next,
as the hanger door closes, the floor begins to lower as the pad
begins to make a slow 90 degree turn, allowing the ship to be
brought down into the safety of the main space craft bay below.
The sound outside begins to change from the low vibrations of the
main engines as they begin to shut down to the echoing sounds of
mechanical hydraulics bouncing off the walls. As the platform
sets down into its resting position, the regular illumination
begins to return to the bay along with the artificial oxygenated
atmosphere so common to space stations. A floating crane hovers
over your pod and lifts it off the seat and begins to carry it to
an unloading harness, allowing you the privilege of exiting the
gunnery pod. Then, the scene fades out. Next scene to follow is
located inside a large room, somewhere on board the station, set
up with rows of chairs with various people of many species,
family members, and fellow crew members seated in them, an aisle
down the middle, and a podium with a senior officer behind it are
set up at the front of the room on a raised platform, you and
eight other officers (already promoted and waiting for your cue
to start) are here to perform the traditional ceremony of rank
improvement. As the soft music of the traditional PSI 5
ceremonial rank song plays in the background, you (from a first
person perspective) begin to walk down the aisle towards the
podium. As you step up onto the raised platform, the senior
officer reads a traditional speech to you. That speech goes as
follows, "(PLAYER'S CHARACTER'S NAME HERE), you have honored us
with your superior display of authority in amongst the place of
battle. Your success against the odds placed against you by your
adversaries is by far above and beyond the expectations of which
your position was originally intended to be. It is my honor and
privilege to grant you this promotion, passed down by the
Co-Presidential Staff themselves, for the upgrade from your
current rank of Mars to the noble status of Jupiter. Now for
these necessary questions. First of all, do you understand the
requirements that this position demands of you?" You answer by
saying, "Yes." He continues, "Second, do you in any way feel that
you do not deserve this promotion in rank?" You answer, "No."
Next thing the senior officer asks is, "Last, but not least, are
you willing to accept the responsibilities required by you from
both your new position and your commanding officers with no
questions asked, should any occasions to do so ever arise?" You
answer with a "Yes, sir." And with that said, he pins the Jupiter
insignia onto your flight suit. "Let it be known that to this day
forward, officer (PLAYER'S CHARACTER'S NAME HERE) is no longer to
be identified as a Martian Weapon's Officer, but as a Jupitarian
Weapon's Commander." Then, after you line up with the other eight
officers and the applause from the audience calms down, you are
handed a parchment listing your next assignment.
Your ship: The S.S. Pegasus.
Your position: Top ranked weapon's personnel amongst six.
Your mission risk level: High.
Time when your new assignment becomes effective: ASAP.
Several seconds pass by, giving the player a chance to
see and read the documentation before the shot fades out.
As the credits scene fades in, the shot starts out in the
ceremonial room, (wide shot) then it makes a fairly quick 90
degree turn towards the door and starts a fly through scene that
first passes through the closed doorway, then through the walls
of the hallways, (all the time getting faster) until it passes
through the outer shell of the starbase and into deep space,
where credits begin to roll by, along with the traditional star
field effect. While a remixed version of the PSI 5 theme song
plays in the background.
Next time the player plays the game, he/she inserts the
required credit(s), then inserts the pass card into the card slot
(located above the quarter slots), and presses the start button
(the button is a combination of the start and plasma bolt) to
begin stage twelve.
Stage 12:
As the scene fades in, you are sitting inside the gunnery
pod as it departs from the holding bay of a space station under
the control of SAL, your on board AI computer. You see amongst
the loader's framework the impressive ship that it is
surrounding. She is one of the three of her kind in the fleet.
Built right before the end of the pre-solar shield days, this
class of freighter was designed for deep space deliveries and
exploration services with twin class 8 engines, incredible space
for cargo storage, (including the ability to mount external
freight cases) heavy duty power generators for shielding and
refrigeration, reinforced outer armor, and still unmistakably the
largest ship design of the entire PSI 5 fleet. SAL glides the
gunnery pod into position as the extended loading hatchways begin
to retract from the S.S. Pegasus. As the tower's clamping system
latches down on the pod's base, you begin to hear the idling
pulse of the class 8 engines vibrating through the super
structure of the inner framework. As that idle changes into a
slow forward movement, your new captain appears on the
communication screen. Along with general and trivial information,
he talks about the mission that lies ahead. In this one, you will
be making multiple shipments to three different colonies in two
different systems. The first two colonies are located in a system
simply known as G-87. Pirate activity is high within this system
with their usual solar shield in place. And the third is just on
the outskirts of the very system that you will be passing
through. As your information terminal begins to light up with the
usual process checks and ammo load count, you feel the vibration
of the engines as they propel the ship towards the Gravitron
Ring, that wonderful gift provided by another species with which
you can't possibly conceive the idea of space travel even being
possible without. And even before that thought is concluded, the
Pegasus is slung tens of thousands of light years in a mere eight
seconds to its destination, almost effortlessly. Almost as fast
as you can believe that you are here, the command to fire the
Plasma Bolt comes through. And, as routinely as ever, comes the
annoying pirates in their third rate crafts trying to ruin every
second of your existence, just because they consider you, your
ship, and your people trespassers. But, your job is your job. So,
defend your new ship well.
Next time the player plays the game, he/she inserts the
required credit(s), then inserts the pass card into the card slot
(located above the quarter slots), and presses the start button
(the button is a combination of the start and plasma bolt) to
begin stage thirteen.
Return to part 1 of the stage board.
Proceed to part 3 of the stage board.
Return to home page.
Copyright Jerod Underwood Park 1997
All rights reserved