Stephen Williams (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} stephenw32768) wrote,@ 2008-06-28 15:36:00 |
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Rogue Galaxy, part 3
Missed the previous instalment? Part 2 is here.
The "rules" I mention in these posts are, of course, taken from The Grand List of Console Role-Playing Game Clichés.
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Now finally en route to Zerard, Monsha explains the mission to Dorgenark's crew. They are to visit the Galaxy Corporation to renew Dorgenark's travel visa. Even pirates need to keep their licence and registration up-to-date!
As the ship sails towards its destination, we are treated to a cutscene. In a plush office, a mysterious character whose face we don't get to see discusses a plan with a middle-aged woman in a hideous outfit (that'll be Rule 137, then) who seems to be his personal assistant. He plans to open the "gate to Eden" using two tablets, inscribed "Person" and "Gate". The PA comments that once he does so, he'll be emperor of the galaxy. None of this makes much sense; I'm sure all will be revealed in due course.
Dorgenark arrives atCoruscant Zerard and docks at the spaceport. Monsha charges Jaster with the task of renewing the visa. Lilika decides to go ashore as well to see how different Zerard is to Juraika. Simon also joins the party; he's a native of Zerard and wants to reacquaint himself with his old stomping ground.
The Galaxy Corporation headquarters is within easy walking distance of the spaceport. Also nearby are the Daytron starship factory and Rosencaster prison. As our heroes make their way towards the Galaxy Corporation, they overhear passers-by talking about the soaring prison population; people are being given stiff sentences for even minor offences nowadays. One wonders how the prison has room for everyone...
Lilika doesn't think much to the air on Zerard. Compared with the clean air of Juraika, the planet-sized city air is polluted and stifling. She is fascinated by the architecture, however; glass towers and imposing spires are the order of the day. The Galaxy Corporation HQ is a glass pyramid, an attractive addition to Zerard's skyline.
Jaster and co. approach the Galaxy Corporation reception desk. MIO, the girl behind the desk, is something of a local celebrity; she's the receptionist equivalent of an idol singer. Admirers come from all over the planet to have their photos taken with her; even as Jaster asks about the visa, two middle-aged men interrupt to take MIO's photo and express their admiration for her in a highly disturbing and inappropriate fashion. (What's even more disturbing is that people like this actually exist in Japan...)
MIO explains (in a Californian accent, with frequent interjections like "OMG" and "kawaii") that the computer system is down and so no visa renewals are currently possible. Lilika loses her temper; just as she starts to threaten MIO, there's an explosion! A bomb rips a hole in the wall at the front of the building! Within seconds, the place is swarming with police. MIO tells the officers that Jaster's party were acting in a threatening manner; our heroes are promptly arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
(As the police take Jaster, Lilika and Simon away, we see Zegram lurking out of sight, a remote detonater in his hand. Under his breath, he whispers an apology to Jaster, but he really needs him out of the way...)
One would think that the galaxy's most advanced planet would have an advanced legal system, but apparently not. Rosencaster (a hideous, hulking brute of a man) summarily sentences Jaster's party to imprisonment in a maximum security cell. They find themselves locked up in a cell with a short, elderly man in a long robe, his face hidden by a hood. After a few minutes, a guard comes and unlocks the cell door. The old man gets up and walks straight out the door, advising Jaster and co. to do the same.
(Easiest RPG jailbreak ever!)
It's a long journey from the maximum security cells to the surface, and everywhere looks the same; metal floors and walls, steel mesh, and big heavy doors. The party pass several guards as they make their escape, but are allowed to proceed unchallenged. The guards all hate Rosencaster; he's been cutting their pay and funnelling the money into his own projects (whatever they may be...) so the guards aren't going to go out of their way to round up escapees. The monsters roaming the prison are another story; why would there be monsters in a prison? The ones that look like they used to be human are the most worrying.
As the party make progress, the complex starts to look less like a prison and more like a laboratory. Things get really weird when they find a room containing the smashed-up remains of the Mark VIII Salamander that Jaster encountered on Rosa. The PA from the earlier cut-scene is there too, inspecting the wreckage. In another cut-scene, we see her talking to Rosencaster and learn the nature of his experiments: he's experimenting on the prisoners (hence the need for a continuous influx of new inmates), messing with Rune-cell cultures, attempting to create artificial soldiers. She seems to be his boss.
In a large laboratory, the party catch up with the old man who facilitated their escape. Rosencaster confronts them. The old man (who, sans hood, turns out to be a humanoid cat) seems to know Rosencaster, asking him how an honourable old soldier could stoop to committing such atrocities. Rosencaster begins to attack the old man; a well-aimed arrow to the shoulder from Lilika's bow soon puts a stop to that. Of course, he's not going to let her get away with that...
R O S E N C A S T E R
For a hulking brute, he's not much of an opponent, really. After incapacitating him, our heroes make a swift exit. They don't see the middle-aged PA arrive on the scene; they don't hear her tell Rosencaster that he's fired by order of Valkog (whoever that is); they don't see her draw a pistol; they don't hear the bang.
Leaving the complex, the party are confronted by several police officers. They're friends of the strange old man; turns out that he's Admiral Banarge, the commander-in-chief of the Longardian military, opposed to the continued hostilities with Draxil. Pro-war elements within the government were probably responsible for his imprisonment.
Zegram inspects Rosencaster's body. Does he know what caused Rosencaster, once a heroic soldier, to fall so completely from grace? We see that Rosencaster died clutching a photo of a girl; does she have anything to do with anything?
Missed the previous instalment? Part 2 is here.
The "rules" I mention in these posts are, of course, taken from The Grand List of Console Role-Playing Game Clichés.
R
O
G
U
E
G
A
L
A
X
Y
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
Now finally en route to Zerard, Monsha explains the mission to Dorgenark's crew. They are to visit the Galaxy Corporation to renew Dorgenark's travel visa. Even pirates need to keep their licence and registration up-to-date!
As the ship sails towards its destination, we are treated to a cutscene. In a plush office, a mysterious character whose face we don't get to see discusses a plan with a middle-aged woman in a hideous outfit (that'll be Rule 137, then) who seems to be his personal assistant. He plans to open the "gate to Eden" using two tablets, inscribed "Person" and "Gate". The PA comments that once he does so, he'll be emperor of the galaxy. None of this makes much sense; I'm sure all will be revealed in due course.
Dorgenark arrives at
The Galaxy Corporation headquarters is within easy walking distance of the spaceport. Also nearby are the Daytron starship factory and Rosencaster prison. As our heroes make their way towards the Galaxy Corporation, they overhear passers-by talking about the soaring prison population; people are being given stiff sentences for even minor offences nowadays. One wonders how the prison has room for everyone...
Lilika doesn't think much to the air on Zerard. Compared with the clean air of Juraika, the planet-sized city air is polluted and stifling. She is fascinated by the architecture, however; glass towers and imposing spires are the order of the day. The Galaxy Corporation HQ is a glass pyramid, an attractive addition to Zerard's skyline.
Jaster and co. approach the Galaxy Corporation reception desk. MIO, the girl behind the desk, is something of a local celebrity; she's the receptionist equivalent of an idol singer. Admirers come from all over the planet to have their photos taken with her; even as Jaster asks about the visa, two middle-aged men interrupt to take MIO's photo and express their admiration for her in a highly disturbing and inappropriate fashion. (What's even more disturbing is that people like this actually exist in Japan...)
MIO explains (in a Californian accent, with frequent interjections like "OMG" and "kawaii") that the computer system is down and so no visa renewals are currently possible. Lilika loses her temper; just as she starts to threaten MIO, there's an explosion! A bomb rips a hole in the wall at the front of the building! Within seconds, the place is swarming with police. MIO tells the officers that Jaster's party were acting in a threatening manner; our heroes are promptly arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
(As the police take Jaster, Lilika and Simon away, we see Zegram lurking out of sight, a remote detonater in his hand. Under his breath, he whispers an apology to Jaster, but he really needs him out of the way...)
One would think that the galaxy's most advanced planet would have an advanced legal system, but apparently not. Rosencaster (a hideous, hulking brute of a man) summarily sentences Jaster's party to imprisonment in a maximum security cell. They find themselves locked up in a cell with a short, elderly man in a long robe, his face hidden by a hood. After a few minutes, a guard comes and unlocks the cell door. The old man gets up and walks straight out the door, advising Jaster and co. to do the same.
(Easiest RPG jailbreak ever!)
It's a long journey from the maximum security cells to the surface, and everywhere looks the same; metal floors and walls, steel mesh, and big heavy doors. The party pass several guards as they make their escape, but are allowed to proceed unchallenged. The guards all hate Rosencaster; he's been cutting their pay and funnelling the money into his own projects (whatever they may be...) so the guards aren't going to go out of their way to round up escapees. The monsters roaming the prison are another story; why would there be monsters in a prison? The ones that look like they used to be human are the most worrying.
As the party make progress, the complex starts to look less like a prison and more like a laboratory. Things get really weird when they find a room containing the smashed-up remains of the Mark VIII Salamander that Jaster encountered on Rosa. The PA from the earlier cut-scene is there too, inspecting the wreckage. In another cut-scene, we see her talking to Rosencaster and learn the nature of his experiments: he's experimenting on the prisoners (hence the need for a continuous influx of new inmates), messing with Rune-cell cultures, attempting to create artificial soldiers. She seems to be his boss.
In a large laboratory, the party catch up with the old man who facilitated their escape. Rosencaster confronts them. The old man (who, sans hood, turns out to be a humanoid cat) seems to know Rosencaster, asking him how an honourable old soldier could stoop to committing such atrocities. Rosencaster begins to attack the old man; a well-aimed arrow to the shoulder from Lilika's bow soon puts a stop to that. Of course, he's not going to let her get away with that...
R O S E N C A S T E R
For a hulking brute, he's not much of an opponent, really. After incapacitating him, our heroes make a swift exit. They don't see the middle-aged PA arrive on the scene; they don't hear her tell Rosencaster that he's fired by order of Valkog (whoever that is); they don't see her draw a pistol; they don't hear the bang.
Leaving the complex, the party are confronted by several police officers. They're friends of the strange old man; turns out that he's Admiral Banarge, the commander-in-chief of the Longardian military, opposed to the continued hostilities with Draxil. Pro-war elements within the government were probably responsible for his imprisonment.
Zegram inspects Rosencaster's body. Does he know what caused Rosencaster, once a heroic soldier, to fall so completely from grace? We see that Rosencaster died clutching a photo of a girl; does she have anything to do with anything?
