Universal Truth (WiH)

From FreeSpace Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
BP-Banner.png
The following information has not been confirmed by Volition
and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe.


Previous Mission


Campaign Walkthrough


MISSION 23
ACT 3, MISSION 07

Fighter squadron: Falcata Wing, Fedayeen

Description: The way prepared, Laporte must journey inside her own mind in order to learn the truth about Ken and the greater threat to humanity than the GTVA.


Background

At last, the Fedayeen are prepared to send Laporte on the mission she was recruited for in the first place; to use her mind and CASSANDRA to infiltrate the Nagari network and gather the truth about Ken, the Shivans, and their plans for Earth. Laporte's mind will be connected to the CASSANDRA supercomputer and, with the help of the Idun Dictionary, a miniaturized quantum pulse transceiver constructed from plans given to her by a Hammer of Light agent aboard the GVL Pesedjet, and a lot of drugs, her consciousness will be inserted into the Nagari network, backtracing Ken's Nagari transmissions to their point of origin. As this is similar to the Dreamscape, Laporte and the world around her will resemble spaceflight; however, this all takes place inside her head.

Her primary task is to find out the nature of the entity known to her as "Ken" and, if he's real, gather intelligence about the great threat to humanity and intelligence about the Shivans -- their origins, tactics, and technology. Time will be of the essence, as prolonged Nagari communication will be detrimental to Laporte's mental state; signs of mental breakdown will include visual effects, aural hallucinations, etc. Laporte's DNI system will warn her if her mental state requires her to abort, but she must break the link herself; the Fedayeen cannot do it without turning her into a vegetable. She must gather what is needed, and return while she is still sane.

Walkthrough

This is, in essence, a giant story mission; there will be very little fighting happening here. This walkthrough will be limited to telling you what you need to complete the mission; there will be as few story spoilers as possible.

As the briefing says, you have a sanity counter that will be decremented when certain events take place; if it drops to zero, you go insane and fail the mission. In general, straying too close to enemy ships, making extra effort to gather information, or being attacked by the enemy will reduce your sanity. As you lose sanity, your HUD will get weirder and weirder.

You start off in the dreamscape amidst of a Shivan bombardment of Earth. Soon enough, Ken starts talking to you, and tells you to "search the Leviathan's jaws". He means the Dante-class at your 3 o'clock. There will be two openings on its bow; fly into one -- they lead to the same place -- and enter the jump portal there.

You will end up in a great darkness. Ken gives you instructions. Do what he says; hit your burners, head toward the light, and do not look behind you. Not following Ken's instructions will likely make you go insane.

You then end up in a nebula. Ken is here, and he agrees to give you info on the Shivans to complete your mission. Several Shivan comm nodes will jump in. Link with them by flying close enough and hitting your primary fire button to gain info on the subject in question. You can query each node twice, at the cost of some of your sanity. After whetting your curiosity, talk to Ken, where he agrees to take you, his little Theseus, deeper into the labyrinth. Unfortunately, he gets interrupted.

The interloper is someone quite familiar to anyone who's played Age of Aquarius. You and he will talk for a bit, and then you have to run again. There will be several jump nodes on screen, all pointing to one at the end. That one is your ultimate goal. The ones in between let you hear dialogue; if you wish to hear it, fire to link with them as you pass, but don't dawdle. Also, avoid the ships, as they will sap your sanity.

Once you're through, there will be two more sections to get through. Both are pretty straightforward; head to the next jump node before time runs out. Whilst this is happening, you'll be treated to some more story exposition.

Eventually, you'll come to the end of the maze, to find your prize -- Ken and the answers you've been looking for. More story exposition here as you converse with Ken about what your role is in the greater scheme of things. At the end, you probably won't believe it, and you'll retreat inside your mind to something more...familiar. This will, of course, drive you insane in the end. Ken attempts to coax you back out with one more piece of info; after getting it, you can either activate the recall system or stay in the dreamscape. Staying in the dreamscape will unlock your weapons. From here, the goal is simple; kill as many enemy ships as you can before you go insane.

If you choose the recall option, you'll be pulled out of the dreamscape and debriefed. Congratulations, you've answered a lot of questions! Too bad there are more lying in wait. But never mind that now, you're needed at the front.

Notes

  • Based on the death debriefing in Her Finest Hour, it's possible that this mission's codename was NABOPOLOSSAR.

Total number of forces