CHAPTER 2 - DESERT OUTPOST
Last modified 11/08/04
Mission:
Location: In and around Canyon Falls, Farthing, Sandstorm Mines, Old Farthing, and outside and Invid Stilt Hive
Mecha: You start the mission on foot and later acquire a Battler Cyclone.
Weapons: Gallant Pistol and Wolf Auto Pistol
Approximate Time for Competition: 1 hour
Opponents:
Introduction
"Present day ... November 29, 2042.... Are there any survivors today besides the four of us. Do not worry Silas and the others survived, we will rendezvous with them in canyon falls. Are you awake? Amazing, you were practically dead when we found you. I am still not sure what happened to you. Some of the other soldiers swear they saw you falling from the sky."
"Oh no, we just entered Black Skull territory, Stay low, I hear they stared collecting old military hardware. Sounds like they are planning a raid. <One of the REF personnel will be killed> Lately the Skulls have been a bigger menace than the Invid. They have been terrorizing the locals for months. If you are gong to help us out you had better take his armor, he will not be needing it anymore. By the way do you have a name."
<The screen will fade and the following narrative will be given> Our researchers have reviled the optimal form for the occupation of this planet. He shall go forth and learn their ways. I will watch over him my Queen.
Will this guys name is Locke, I guess you are taking his armor and his name for now. Ahh Canyon falls, home sweet home. What are the Skulls doing here? Hey Locke it looks like we can use your help. Get out their and go find Silas. He is the one in the Maroon armor. Take this Gallant pistol, you will be needing it.
Notes-1: Head over to Silas and talk to him. He will order you and Arturo to go find you a Cyclone. There are several side passages off the main road, explore the area before you head back up the road to the train station with Arturo as you can obtain a Wolf Auto Pistol before your encounters with the Skulls.
There are several REF personnel in this area; although it is not necessary to complete the mission talk to several of them and you will learn that a good fraction of the troops are demoralized as the REF survivors have been fighting the Invid on the planet for six years without any word from Admiral Hunter. If not for the help from Scott Bernard and his freedom fighters, this group of REF personnel believes that they would have been destroyed in the last fight. Talk to the civilians and you will learn about trails and tribulations of the small child named Edward.
Eventually you will meet up with Arturo and he will give you a brief tutorial on weapon use. Follow him up the road and out of Canyon Falls and into Black Skull territory. As you come out of the tunnel, switch over to your Wolf, as you will not find Protoculture ammunition for your Gallant, for some time and you can snipe a couple of the Black Skulls at long range before they are aware of your presence.
There are a two medical supplies and additional ammunition for your Wolf Auto Pistol around the train station. Enter into the train station to acquire your Battler Cyclone. At this point a check point has been reached
Kills in this section - 3 Black Skulls
Notes-2: Silas will then radio you, "Gentlemen, we just got word. The Invid are attacking Farthing. Get over there and help those people" Do not forget to pick up the Protoculture supplies in the room before you head out.
There is a crashed Garfish starcraft away from the check point. If you get on top of the wreckage, this will allow you to kill a Black Skull on top of the train station. There are no extra supplies in the area so once you have killed all the Skulls that you can, head towards the green objective arrow.
Along the way there are three additional Black Skulls, one hiding in the vegetation and two on the elevated train tracks. Once they are killed, transform into cycle mode and head into the underground passageway. Head down the passageway until you see a damaged area which leads into a small cavern. Two Black Skulls will jump out of this cavern area.
Multi-Player Skin: Sam's Saber multiplayer skin is located down this cavern along with a health pack and ammunition.
Head out of the passageway towards Farthing. There are several Invid Armored Scouts attacking Farthing. Destroy them and remember to re-supply your Protoculture from your defeated enemies.
You Arturo will meet up with Silas and several other REF personnel. He will tell you "You handle that Cyclone like a pro Locke. This town seems nearly devoid of defenders. Where are the rest of Farthing's freedom fighters.?" Clay will then respond, "I think that Sam and I are the only two survivors and she's gone to the Sandstorm Mines. We have some extra Protoculture stashed there" Silas will then say, " Dammit she should know better than to run off on her own. Someone had better go check on the lass. We need to press the assault on the Invid hive before we lose our advantage. Locke please go fetch Sam. I need Clay and Arturo with me to plan the attack.". Clay will then tell you, "Just follow the rail line south through the tunnel - the mines are on the other side." You will reach a check point. There are numerous Protoculture cells in Farthing, so make sure you have maximized your supply before you go get Sam.
Kills in this section - 6 Black Skulls and 1 Armored Scout
Notes-3: Enter into another underground passage in the direction of the green objective arrow. Although you can not transform into cycle mode while in enclosed spaces, you can increase your speed by quickly double tapping your jump button thereby boosting yourself down the hallways. There are several Black Skulls hiding behind cover in this hallway.
In front of the second barricade are some Cobalt grenades. Pick them up and Arturo will give you a lesson on how to use them. You will reach another check point.
You will enter into another open area, similar to the first train station with several Black Skulls patrolling the area around the central building and one inside it.
You can jump on top of the tracks, by double boosting, in order to get to the train on the far side of the board. There is nothing on top of the tracks, so you will have to carefully jump off the tracks and into the hanging train. However for all this, your only reward is some auto pistol ammunition and additional grenades. Jump off the train and head towards the mines.
Upon entering the mines you will be "greeted" by two Black Skulls. Kill them and head to the right and jump down to the next level where there are two additional enemies. Jump down into the lowest level of the pit and you will meet Sam.
Sam - "Hey... you! Silas send you? When's the old man gonna learn I don't need a babysitter?"
A Trooper will fly into the pit and you and Sam will have to destroy it. After destroying the Trooper, you will reach another checkpoint. Locke will then tell you that "The tunnel to Old Farthing is clear. It's time to take out that hive. We need you and Sam here now." Sam will tell you, "You go on ahead... tell Silas I'm going to be late. This Protoculture won't carry itself you know." There are health packs and additional Protoculture supplies in the bottom of the mine. There are additional health packs on the sublevel which you can jump on to by jumping on the wreckage on the bottom and then over to the small ledge.
Climb up the stairs in order to exit the bottom of the pit. You will have to walk over some damaged walkways and climb up on some boxes in order to get up to the top level of the mine.
Once you get on top of the mine, three more Black Skulls will enter into the area.
There is a portion on the other side of the mine which you have likely not explored. There is an extra health on the top level nearest the entrance, but other than some rusted pipes there is little else of interest. Head back out of the mine and backtrack to the areas which you have previously cleared.
There are three more Black Skulls in the train station area immediately next to the mine. Head back into the tunnel, where there will be two additional Black Skulls. Clear them out and enter into Farthing.
On this second visit to the village there will be numerous villagers to which you can talk. They will tell you that the Sandstorm mines are cursed and that they found some "flowers" in the mine that the Invid wanted. One of the villagers will claim to have seen you fall from the sky. Once you have talked to the villagers head over to the large pipe coming out of the rock towards the Invid hive. There will be an REF personnel there who will tell you that Silas has ordered you to meet him in old Farthing and that you should follow the pipe.
Kills in this section - 15 Black Skulls and 1 Trooper
Notes-4: Head down the pipe and over the first obstruction. You will hear an Invid Armored Scout over head. Destroy it and jump over the second obstruction.
At the third obstruction another Armored Scout will fly into the tunnel from above. Kill it and jump over the fourth obstruction
As you head towards the exit in the tunnel, you will have another flashback, "Is it official ... I think so ... When do you leave. ... 8am ... We do not have much time then. There is nothing I can do its my duty ... That does not make it right." Exit the tunnel, reach a check-point and enter into old Farthing.
Clay will tell you "The Invid have Silas pinned down on the other side of town. Get over there and give him some cover." There are several REF personnel on foot, but they will offer you very little in terms of support. Follow the green objective arrow through town to Silas. There are some Protoculture and ammunition supplies in the wrecked buildings of old Farthing, but the Protoculture dropped by destroyed Invid units should be enough to keep you well supplied.
Along the way there is a health pack.
Silas is being attacked by a Trooper and an Armored Scout. Kill them and get to a check-point. Silas will tell you, "It's time to end this. Locke! Cover my approach to the hive stilt!"
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Follow Silas to nearest of the three stilts. Along the way Silas will offer words of encouragement "Good-job keep moving." Pick up the health immediately before you get to the stilt.
Once you get to the stilt, Silas will tell you "I am going on ahead". At this point you have reached other check-point. Destroy the remaining Invid forces and Silas will tell you "Looks clear - I'm moving on."
Silas will heads towards the silt to place the bomb and will tell you, "Just a bit further." Numerous Invid forces will come out of the Hive to try and stop you at this point.
After killing six Armored Scouts and 2 Troopers Silas will place the mine on the silt and tell you "The mine is armed, squad fall back get away from the hive."
Transform into cycle mode and race back through the city. You have 1:15 to reach a minimum safe distance. Try to ignore the remaining Invid forces and reach the safety of the tunnel which brought you to old Farthing.
Kills in this section - 26 Armored Scout and 6 Trooper
Notes-5:
You will see the Invid stilt hive explode. Silas will tell you, "Good-job people! Destroying that hive will seriously hamper the Invid in this area. Unfortunately, taking down the enemy one hive at a time won't win us this war. Robotech forces from all over are heading towards Point L. There they'll launch a major assault against the primary hive in that area. And we're going to help them out. We're setting out before dusk. Locke, if you're going to accompany us, you'll need to upgrade that Cyclone. Find Guppy in Canyon Falls. She's a fine mechanic. Good-luck, lad. Catch up with us when you can"
Head back down the tunnel towards Canyon Falls and go back to Farthing to talk to the villagers. They will tell you that they will have to start to protect themselves with the departure of the Robotech resistance forces.
You will have to head back through all the areas which you initially traveled through to get to Farthing from Canyon Falls. If you need extra supplies remember the location were you found the multi-player skin. Double-boost to get through the hallways quickly.
In the last open area before Canyon Falls there will be five additional Black Skulls, including one on top of the railway station, kill them and reach a check point.
Head back down into Canyon Falls. Guppy will be waiting for you at the bottom of the roadway. She will tell you, "Hi, I'm Guppy. No cracks about the name please. So the old man sent you, huh? Yeah, I can fix your Cyclone real good - turbo boosters are my specialty! Only problem is my tools were stolen, by the Skulls. Those bullies! He is probably using them right now at his hideout. He better not scratch them up!!! Anyhoo.. If you can get my tools back, I'll have your cyclone up-to-speed in no time!"
You will also learn that the young Edward has run off from his mother. She is concerned that the bandits have kidnapped him. There is an REF personnel which believes that Edward can take care of himself. Edwards can be found in the city towards the objective. He tells you to ask the Black Skulls leader if he can join their group as he has pick-pocketing and skills.
Jump over the barrier to get to the Black Skulls base. There are four Black Skulls just on the other side of the barricade. Use your zoom to kill the two on the natural rock bridge.
Three more will come out of this side passage which leads to their base. Head down the canyon until your radar picks up several enemies in an open area. You have reached another check-point.
This is the Black Skulls main base, there are a total of eleven men guarding this area. Use the rock formations to your advantage killing off personnel individually rather than storming the area at once. Once you have sufficiently cleared out the area head up the ramp to the leaders cave to obtain Guppy's tools. Throw in a couple of grenades into the cave entrance to weaken any foes. There is some extra ammunition and health in the caves. Once you get Guppy's tools she will tell you, "Right on. You got my tools back! Meet me in Canyon Falls. I'll fix you up."
Head back towards Canyon Falls back-tracking the route you took here and get back to Guppy.
Kills in this section: 23 Black Skulls
Conclusion:
Guppy will tell you, "Time to work my magic... Hmm where does this wire go? Let us try over here. Owie... my finger. This goes here and these connect on the other side. That will work Now we just reverse the polarity on the Protoculture conservation module. Your cyclone is as good as new. Are you heading to point L? Cool I will come with you. I have got to get out of this stink hole. Meet me at the gorge and we will get going. Just go back to ground level and head north across the bridge, you can't miss it. Once we are over the gorge it is clear sailing all the way to Greystone" You have reached another check-point
Head back up the road and Guppy will continue, " Now that I've upgraded your ride, you can pop it into overdrive by double-tapping the gas button." Arriving at the train station, you will have another flashback. "Good-bye. This is not the end I promise. Stay safe, do not make me come after you. Do not worry Tasha, I will see you again."
There are several REF personnel back at the train station. They will tell you that Guppy raced up to tunnel to the surface, you had better hurry if you want to catch up with her; although you are not for this portion of the mission, so you can relax. The other REF personnel will thank you for helping them capture and hold the train station.
Head down towards the oil derricks and meet up with Guppy. This ends the level. You will see a movie showing the two of you jumping the gorge. Guppy will say, "Greystone here we come," and this ends the level.
Final kills on this level - 47 Black Skulls, 27 Armored Scouts, and 7 Troopers (to section 4)
Back to Invid Invasion or Next Ship Graveyard
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