Sector X

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IJI
An Assassin showed up and helped me defeat Iosa, a really important Komato hero... at least, that's what she told me.

DAN
Holy crap! That must be why...

IJI
What? What's going on?

DAN
I just caught and deciphered a broadcast to all Komato troops in this area - the countdown to the Alpha Strike has been put on hold, but all ground activity in the vicinity is being concentrated on hunting you down!

IJI
Oh no...

DAN
Whatever you do - don't panic. As you know, the Tasen's last planetary shield generator was shot down, but the Komato broadcast also says that the Tasen have been totally exterminated - now they're only waiting for all their ships to leave the ground and they'll commence the Alpha Strike!

IJI
Exterminated? But the ones in that outpost - if I don't hurry they're all dead too! Wait, are you sure you're safe this time?

DAN
I'm as safe as I can get.

IJI
I hope so! I don't want to worry about you again.

DAN
Sheesh, I promise. Now hurry to the General - he's already landed, and this is Sector X, so he's gotta be somewhere nearby!

IJI
Okay, stay safe. I'm gonna find him!

This time: We go up!

NUKEJUMP

Secret area!

I need to destroy that window, but if I use another Nuke, I'll destroy the boxes...

SPLINTERGUN

Upwards!

Two Shredders, directly above me!

ANOTHER NUKE

Nearly destroyed the Shredders, but OH WELL

And the Shredder gets me across!

To...

DAN
Iji, er... who are you talking to?

IJI
Oh, *cough* nothing. It's just this crazy urge I have to find all these posters. I've no idea why.

DAN
Okay, that's... kinda scary. Moving on.

Final poster!

The teleporter just takes you back to the normal game route, so... time to restart, because I killed a guy with that first Nuke.

Annihilators! Skygraspers! Chaos!

Onwards!

The reactor! This presents some problems. Specifically, I need to fight Asha to open the second set of doors, and he won't go down without a fight to the death.

And these blast doors are nuke-proof, too...

So I'll just cheat a little.

And that's half the sector skipped!

If I wanted to snag that last Supercharge, I'd have to now go and unlock both doors, which is a no way scenario. Hooray for skipping the Asha fight!

Straight to the final gauntlet!

Sadly, Annihilator Beta errs a little on the side of lethal, so... gotta skip it.

This part is kind of a maze!

MORE ANNIHILATORS

Hacking open a way to bypass part of the final gauntlet!

Dodging Annihilators!

I am SUPER GLAD that these things don't count as kills!

Made it!

And to the left:

My reward for reaching this point with 0 kills.

Massacre
Damage: 96 HP Muzzle Velocity: 90 m/s Requirements: 0 kills Ammunition: 50 Armor

This is Assassin Ansaksie. I forgot to thank you for your help. It's because of your cracking skills that we got anywhere near beating Iosa at all. The Imperial Army won't take her death lightly, and whatever happens when you get to Tor can only make it worse. Still, you've got a strong mind. I'm with General Tor, but if a mere human is enough to change him... perhaps I need to change as well and leave the Army. Don't worry about me, just do what you think is right. At any rate, if things go wrong and you need to put Tor in place, that Shotgun won't do you any good. I believe violence is a tool that should be used sparingly, but with utmost force. You understand this too, and as far as I've gathered, you have survived this far without killing a single one of your enemies, not even when the chance was right in front of you. I admire that in a person. Therefore I have left you a Massacre, a weapon that was once used on Ciretako. Look up the weapon info if you're interested. Either way, this prototype is not as powerful as the real deal, and will drain your Armor when fired, but it should suffice to keep a Komato General in check. Good luck, Anomaly. /Ansaksie

Final break room!

Let's get ready.

Look what I found!

DAN
What's wrong?

IJI
Ah -

DAN
Look, you have to hurry before the Komato General leaves his post and returns to lower orbit! You can do it, but quickly!

IJI
Ah, thanks Dan, I'll reach him soon. I won't let you down!

DAN
Of course not, you haven't made it this far for nothing... I believe in you, so hurry up! Show 'em not to mess with my sis!

IJI
Got it!
Mia... thank you for everything. I'll never forget you!

(More on the Ribbons in the third playthrough. Sort of.)

That Security door to the right has a strange Nanofield lock on it. It says it will only open "if you've beaten the game at least once before". Well, whatever keeps people out.

I've beaten the game once before!

What's your deal, Zekailo? Always poking your nose in things. I suppose I'll tell you what I'm guarding here. You see, normally the "Eidolon" General exoskeletons take some time to achieve the full power of their weapon arrays after first being activated. If a General needs to do combat unprepared, the exoskeleton's weapons will start out weak and gradually increase in power as they are used. This is rarely the case, as the Generals of the Imperial Army are nto simply surprised by their enemies, and any battles with the Tasen are carefully planned. In case of an emergency, however, a mobile power core can be used to perform a "Maximum charge" of the exoskeleton, upgrading all of its weapons to their full potency as soon as it's activated. We actually have a power core dedicated to charging Tor's exoskeleton right here, but I doubt we'll have to use it. If you were to mess with that terminal over here, it means Tor will be FULLY charged for battle, absolutely no punches held.

Zekailo! Just in case you poke around up here after I leave, I must warn you again - DO NOT MESS WITH THAT TERMINAL, or once General Tor enters his exoskeleton, this power core will raise its weapons and defence shielding to maximum power! You'll get in trouble if you do that without permission!

TO HELL WITH COMMON SENSE

DAN
...sure that you know exactly what's going on?

IJI
Yeah, I'm sure. I'm ready.

DAN
Good luck... I'm counting on you. The Komato have all left around here, so I'm heading outside to meet up with you when you're done.

IJI
W, What?! Are you crazy?

DAN
Hey, there's no reason for me to stay here anyway. Especially if things go wrong again. Uh, not that I'm saying they will...
I believe in you, sis.

IJI
Wh, but!

DAN
Don't worry. You'll make it just fine. You, if anyone, should know how horrible this war is - you won't have any problems convincing the General of it.

IJI
That's not what I'm worried about, you idiot! I'm worried about YOU!

DAN
Heh. It's not easy seeing you fight for your life either, you know... I need to get it out of my mind before crazy.
Go, sis. Hurry to the General, and I'll be waiting for you when you return. Okay?

IJI
Well... okay. Thanks.
See you soon. And take care.

DAN
By the way, I saw through the cameras that the Assassin who captured me before seems to have blown himself up. He looked really angry about something. Don't make the General do the same, okay?

Anomaly... I had been waiting. Waiting to kill you or die trying, but no. NO. You wouldn't give me the pleasure... escaping life by your hands would be the only thing less shameful than returning without the bounty. My arm... my reputation... losing to a human... and now failing to kill you. I've become so stained, it's far too late to cleanse myself. Give my regards to the General, the General that will soon end your miserable, pathetic excuse for alife, snuffed out like the trillion others at the hands of the Komato. Do you understand, human? This planet will end. Everyone will die. Everyone. Death. DEATH!

ANSAKSIE
Hey. Don't mind me, I'm just here to pick the audio log out of Tor if he dies.

IJI
I didn't come here to -

ANSAKSIE
I know, but with the way you "argue" this'll turn out like Iosa. Just remember that I can't hold your hand this time, Anomaly.

IJI
My name's Iji! And there's nothing else I can do, I'm not gonna let you destroy the world!

ANSAKSIE
Hm. The General has an easier time listening to someone calm and rational. Don't get too excited, Iji.

Only time in the game an alien uses Iji's name!

And here we are again.

This conversation is more or less the same, albeit with Iji stuttering more and allcapsing less.

All right!

MAXIMUM CHARGE TIME.

Notable differences!

In addition to all his attacks being stronger, Tor's up to a whopping 1200 HP. Also, every time he jumps down, he summons a pair of Skygraspers.

Also, when he drops health recovers, he drops half as much!

Fortunately for me, I, too, have a new weapon.

...Hot diggity.

In addition to doing positively insane amounts of damage, the Massacre wipes out the Skygraspers in one shot!

Gotta remember to use the Reflector, too, or he'll wind up with three charges!

Whee!

Getting into the flow again, but this is much harder!

Unfortunately, Tor is picking up on the fact that I suck at dodging max-level Fractal Rockets.

This is seriously harder than I remember!

Just gotta keep blowing him to pieces, reflecting, and picking up the health when I can!

Both of us are running pretty low on health!

RAAAAAAAAGH

I WIN MOTHERFUCKER

TOR
Cough! I won't die... by the hands of a Human!

IJI
Huh! You should've thought of that before you tried to fight me! Don't think I'm weak just because I'm human - now will you listen to me?!

TOR
You... it's true, you're not much of a warrior... but your will is so strong, it doesn't seem to matter. Then again, to kill my honored Iosa...

IJI
I told you it wasn't me! Whatever, look, the Tasen are dead! All you gotta do is show the report on their extinction to your army, and they'll believe you - right?

IJI
N-No there isn't! Anyone can understand that the Tasen never had a chance against the kind of force you brought down here!

TOR
...

IJI
Don't YOU think it's meaningless to Alpha Strike this place?

TOR
If we don't... what would the people think? They and the Tasen are the reason for the war in the first place.

IJI
I, I'll tell you what the humans would think. We'd be grateful.

IJI
No, the Tasen didn't - some people did this to me by reverse-engineering the Tasen's stuff, they had nothing to do with it - and why would they help us after Alpha Striking us anyway?

TOR
Hm, it was just a theory I'd heard. I don't personally believe it, but High Command likely does - any reason to Strike this planet is good enough. They're that afraid of the Imperial Army. If I defy them now, I can't tell what will happen to Origin. The fleet that was sent here is but a fraction of the Army - I may be in charge of this particular attack force, but I'm only one of many Generals in the big picture.

IJI
But they, at least you're the leader of THIS fleet! If they won't listen to you - I mean, how can you be their leader if they DON'T listen to you?

KIRON
General Tor. Respond, General Tor.

TOR
Hm, Kiron? What is it?

KIRON
The Strike is almost ready. Why haven't you returned yet?

TOR
I've... been caught up in some personal business on ground level. What's the Strike time?

KIRON
Half a cycle. You'd better get up here quick.

TOR
...

KIRON
Hold on. It's now a quarter cycle, so abort whatever you're doing and head up here right now.

TOR
Kiron, wait. I have a message for the fleet.

KIRON
What is it?

KIRON
Come again, General?

TOR
You heard me, loud and clear. Abort the Alpha Strike!

KIRON
General! Are you out of your mind? What about the Tasen? What about the Anomaly? Her Nanogun -

TOR
Don't make me repeat myself, Kiron! The Tasen are gone, and the Komato will never again touch this planet - we don't need another civilization on our conscience. We're returning home, and the mission will be reported as a success, because that's what it is. Is that perfectly clear?

KIRON
Yes, General. Understood. There's always been readon behind your decisions, and I'm sure you're right this time, too. We'll never both with Origin again.

TOR
Good. As for the Anomaly, consider her dead. And Kiron, I may not return.

KIRON
What do you mean, General?

TOR
I have... made a personal decision. I entrust the fleet to you, and that you will report a full success.

KIRON
I see. I'll make sure to follow your orders down to the last word, General. It's been an honor to know you.

TOR
Thank you. Take care. End of transmission.

TOR
...the first to ever stand up to the Army. Secondly, your mindset - that naive pacifism that should have gotten you killed by now - somehow, I admit it. Yet if this planet dies, it will be for nothing, and that's what's likely to happen.

IJI
I, you, you think we'll all die? You spared us, even though that's what you think will happen?

TOR
No - to give you a chance. But that one chance is all you get. Remember that. Now tell me, how many of your kind survived here? How much of the natural life remains?

IJI
Ah... not a whole lot, I think.

TOR
Then, I assume that you don't have a home to return to?

IJI
N, no.

TOR
I see.

TOR
...count, and I take full responsibility for what's happened to Origin. Iosa is dead... and the Tasen are gone. I don't believe in your future, so I don't want to see Origin die. And if you can't return home... then neither shall I.

THE END

Slightly less grimdark!

NEXT: A bunch of stupid buffoonery!

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Let's Play Iji Again

Sector X

THE END

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