"Carousel Waltz" is the third mission of Titan's Shadow.
In pursuit of a rogue AI, you head into space. But is there something worse than ANNETTE waiting for you?
Cast[]
- Sergeant Jody Marsh
- Brent Valmont
- Doctor Frances Dempsey
- ANNETTE
- Kytan Wells
- Wood
Scenes[]
Wayward Lamb
You're running up the tether of the space elevator. You'd taken an elevator car up for days, but at the last stretch it had stopped, forcing you to run. Jody is concerned about ANNETTE's motives. The people she was experimenting on had no traces of the Red Coral from Venus. Valmont suggests that maybe the infection has learned to hide itself better. Valmont complains about Frances lagging behind and the sunglasses she wears everywhere. You're nearly at the station and you'll need to destroy ANNETTE before the gate system opens.
Two Decks Up
Jody uses a torch to create an entrance into the space station. she talks about how Valmont is a good man. She started working as a clerical intern at Valmont Industries when she was 19, but made some big mistakes. Valmont saw her potential and gave her a second chance in security. He saved you, too! Pandora Haze lied about what happened on Venus, and would have ensured your cryo-pod had an "accident" if Valmont hadn't found it first. Frances and Valmont rejoin you and you enter the station. It's a mess inside; smashed loader bots, flickering lights, and "prepare the machine" scrawled on the walls. Frances notices empty methane tanks – strange. The station exports huge amounts as fuel and they shouldn't have run out. The motion tracker detects something. You'd better get moving!
Regrouping
You crowbar open the bridge doors while Frances and Valmont bicker about Frances's glasses. The bridge is in a similarly poor state, but you find one of the crew alive, stuffed into an equipment locker. ANNETTE tells you that the Venus infection is not a concern, but she has a programming clash. Her central protocol is to defend humanity, but there is no humanity left. Instead of destroying, she tried to treat it. You always do it to yourselves. You're interrupted by movement from the other crew member, Wood, who shoves Frances through a locker. They're grabbed by a broken robot controlled by ANNETTE, but she says that she cannot hold them long and she cannot do any more. She's shut the blast doors to the bridge, but Wood dents the metal. You need to get back to the space elevator.
Shadows Moving
Wood tore a strip off Frances's suit and she mends it with duct tape while Valmont wakes up Kytan, the other crew member. Kytan says that Wood went berserk when ANNETTE was mentioned, ranting about protecting the machine, and ripping apart security robots. Kytan hid in a locker and eventually passed out. Jody can't get the elevator working, but she thinks it was Wood who stopped the elevator reaching the station, not ANNETTE. Jody fires at Wood, but doesn't hit her. The lights go out and you have to break out torches. With ANNETTE down, the gateways might be open for you to escape. Keep moving!
Right Behind You
Jody comments on the black veins across Wood's face. It's nothing like the Venus coral! Kytan says that Wood has looked like that for weeks. You head into the storage bay and Wood ambushes you, killing Kytan. Frances gets the gate working and you fire at Wood again, but miss. You can see her eyes reflect the light. You run through the gate, with Wood in hot pursuit!
Threshold
You feel sick after exiting the gate, but Jody assures you that's normal. Frances shuts down the gate so that Wood can't follow you, but something seems strange about it. It's black and spiky. The whole place is strange! There's a map of the solar system on the ceiling that seems to indicate that you're out in the Kuiper Belt on the edge of the solar system. Humans are not supposed to be here.
Codex[]
Artefact[]
Holo Sketches
A series of concept sketches for a VR serial entitled The Hero of Venus by Kytan Wells. These sketches have been doodled with a bootleg 3D-imager, and depict a martial artist fighting alien tripods to protect the Venus One colony.
Letter[]
Five, this is one of the newly released Venus logs. Brent’s never shown it to anyone, not even me.
I know we’re about to step aboard that space elevator, and everyone’s tense enough already. But you need to see this. It was on a data- pad aboard the ship they found you in.
It’s the final log of Maxine Myers.
-Jody
I’m sorry, Five.
I can see you sleeping by the helm. If I wake you up, you’ll try to stop me. I can’t let that happen.
This thing we found on Venus, this alien... whatever... it’s got me. I know it has. The music in my head... it’s beautiful.
It’s telling me the universe is dark and full of nightmares. That the only way to escape it is to land this ship. Go outside. Join with the Mountain we found. That pyre of Red Coral, full of mangled colonists. Maybe I can fight it. Like we fought the colony.
I really hope it’s lying. I hope there’s nothing worse out there.
I thought these logs would help me focus. But it’s getting overwhelming. It wants you, as well.
I’m sorry.
[Captain M Myers, log no. 83/2409/2092]
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
3D Printed Wrench
Air Mask
Air Recycling Filter
Amelia Spens Action Figure
Amelia Spens Wanted Beacon
Antique Paper Book
DNA Sampler
Drone Parts
Earth Seed Packets
Electronic Lock-Pick
Emergency Procedures Leaflet
Field Medical Kit
Freeze-Dried Ration Pack
Holo-card of Earth
Holophoto
ID Chip
Intelligent Blanket
Localiser
Medical Pill
Medical Scanner
Memory Chips
Model Wormhole
Multicable
Pandora Haze Power Cell
Personal Data Pad
Repair Kit
Scans of Venus
Sleepsuit
Space Helmet
Standard Issue Jumpsuit
Transdermal Patch
Utility Power Drill
VI P1000 Multi-Friend
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