CODE: GRAPHICS: PATRICK MAIDORN ROBERT MAIDORN MUSIC: MICHAEL WEISER TITLE AND STILLS: JOHN BARNES SOUND SYSTEM: DIAMONDWARE, LTD THANKS: REKHA AGRAWAL, RAY BINGHAM, JUERGEN EGELING, SCOTT HOST, JOHN PAUL D'INDIA, TONY KERBY, NEUSA PEREIRA, KEN ROGOWAY, MATT SCHONLAU, MARGARET WEISER, AND KEVIN BEAUCHAMP. COPYRIGHT 1995 ROBERT & PATRICK MAIDORN THE MIGHTY ALLIANCE FORTRESS IS RIPPED APART BY A MONUMENTAL EXPLOSION, A BLINDING FLASH OF LIGHT SEARING THROUGH ITS WALLS AND SPEWING ITS MOLTEN FRAGMENTS ACROSS THE SURFACE OF EARTH. YOU ARE FLUNG OUT OF THE PORTAL, BACK INTO THE SUDDEN STILLNESS OF YOUR HIDEOUT. RIPPING THE STILL SMOULDERING ARMOUR OFF YOUR BODY, YOU BREATHE THE COOL, CLEAR AIR, YOUR LUNGS STILL BURNING FROM THE STIFLING HEAT IN THE FORTRESS. BUT THE SILENCE ONLY LASTS FOR A FEW MOMENTS. STARTING WITH A DEEP RUMBLE YOUR SHELTER BEGINS TO TREMBLE, THEN SHAKE, THE NOISE BUILDING TO A ROAR. HAVING LOST THE CENTRAL CONTROL SYSTEMS OF THE MAIN FORTRESS, THE OTHER ALLIANCE STRONGHOLDS AROUND EARTH ARE TORN APART BY THEIR OWN FUSION REACTORS. EVEN IN YOUR HIDEOUT, DEEP DOWN BELOW THE SURFACE OF EARTH, THE SOUND OF THEIR DESTRUCTION IS ALMOST DEAFENING. THEN SILENCE FALLS UPON EARTH ONCE MORE. YOUR BREATHING AGAIN BECOMES THE ONLY SOUND YOU HEAR. ONLY THEN DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE WON. THE ALLIANCE HAS BEEN SILENCED FOR EVER. ACTIVATING THE MAIN DOORS, YOU EXIT THROUGH THEM ONTO EARTH'S SURFACE, INTO A NEW DAWN. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES THE SUN WILL RISE ON A HUMAN RACE FREE OF ITS TERRIBLE OPPRESSORS, FREE TO CHOOSE ITS OWN DESTINY. IT WILL TAKE TIME TO REGAIN OUR STRENGTH, TO REBUILD WHAT WE HAVE LOST. BUT WE WILL BE WORKING FOR A COMMON PURPOSE, STRIVING FOR ONE GOAL: TO SEEK OUT THE HOMEWORLD OF THE ALLIANCE. AND WHEN WE FIND THEM, NOTHING WILL STOP US. MAY MANKIND HAVE MERCY UPON THEIR SOULS. WHAT A FIGHT! I MUST HAVE ALERTED EVERY ALLIANCE RACE TO MY PRESENCE, AND I'M SURE THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY HERE NOW! THOSE THAT CAME EARLY LEARNED A LESSON THEY WON'T SOON FORGET! I'VE LOCATED THE ENTRANCE TO THE MAIN TRANSPORTATION NETWORK. THIS IS WHERE I WILL STRIKE NEXT. IF I CAN DISABLE SOME OF THEIR SUPPLY LINES, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO SLOW THEM DOWN A LITTLE. THE MAIN TRANSPORT LINES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED! THERE'S NO TURNING BACK NOW, I MUST CONTINUE MY ADVANCE INTO THE FORTRESS AND BURN A PATH OF DESTRUCTION STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN REACTORS! I HAVE DESTROYED THE ORGANIC COMPUTER CORE! THAT WILL DEFINITELY GET THEIR ATTENTION. SO FAR THE ALLIANCE HAS ONLY BEEN FIGHTING WITH LIMITED NUMBERS, BUT RE-ENFORCEMENTS WILL BE HERE ANY MOMENT NOW. THEY'LL BE SENDING EVERYTHING THEY'VE GOT! THE REAL BATTLE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! I'VE LOCATED THE ENTRANCE TO A MAZE OF ROOMS. THE WALLS ARE COATED WITH AN ORGANIC SUBSTANCE THAT SEEMS TO ABSORB LIGHT. THE ROOMS SEEM ALMOST INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM ONE ANOTHER. I'D BETTER BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET LOST IN THERE! I CAN SEE THE EXIT TO THE NEXT SECTOR. I'M AFRAID THE ALLIANCE KNOWS WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW, AND THEY SEEM TO HAVE MASSED ALL THEIR FORCES IN ONE SECTOR! I JUST HOPE THEY BROUGHT ENOUGH BODY-BAGS! I MUST HAVE DECIMATED HALF THE ALLIANCE FORCE BACK THERE! THEY WILL HAVE TO DO BETTER THEN THAT TO STOP ME NOW! I HAVE LOCATED THE FORTRESS REACTORS ON MY SCANNER. IF I CAN GET TO THEM, THIS FORTRESS AND THE ALLIANCE WILL BE TAKEN OUT FOREVER. THIS IS IT, IT'S THEM OR ME NOW! USE ARROWS TO SELECT PAGES ESCAPE RETURN TO MAIN MENU -------------------------------------- CHAPTER I THE ONCE BRIGHT LIGHT OF MANKIND HAS GROWN DIM. THE INVASION THAT WE FEARED FOR SO LONG CAME QUIETLY, ALMOST UNNOTICED. NO SHOT WAS FIRED, NO LIFE WAS TAKEN. FOR IT WAS NOT THE KRELLIAN WARSHIPS THAT LAID BARREN EARTH'S FIELDS AND TURNED OUR CITIES INTO RUINS. IT WAS THE ALLIANCE. OUR FRIENDS. OUR PROTECTORS. NOW WE KNOW THAT THE SIGNALS THAT OUR PROBES PICKED UP, THOSE TERRIFYING IMAGES OF THE HUGE KRELLIAN FLEET HEADING TOWARDS EARTH, WERE FALSE. THE TALES OF KRELLIAN ATROCITIES WERE LIES. BUT WE DID NOT KNOW THIS SO MANY DECADES AGO, WHEN THE ALLIANCE FIRST CAME TO US. THAT POWERFUL, BENEVOLENT CONFEDERATION OF RACES THAT WE BELIEVED TO BE OUR SAVIOURS. THEY OFFERED US THEIR FRIENDSHIP, THEIR TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR PROTECTION. AND WE GREEDILY TOOK WHAT THEY OFFERED. THEIR MACHINES BUILT NEW CITIES, THEIR REPLICATORS GAVE US FOOD, THEIR MIGHTY WEAPONS ORBITED EARTH, POINTING TOWARDS THE STARS AND PROTECTING US. IN THEIR SHELTER WE ENTERED A GOLDEN AGE, WHERE NO MAN WOULD EVER NEED TO WORK AGAIN. OUR INDUSTRIES SLOWED, THEN CEASED TO FUNCTION ALTOGETHER. OUR FIELDS LAY BARE. WE GREW LAZY. AND WE FORGOT. NOW THAT THEIR MACHINES HAVE LONG SINCE STOPPED BUILDING CITIES AND THEIR WEAPONS ARE POINTING DOWN AT US, WE LIVE OUR MISERABLE LIVES IN TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON THE ALLIANCE. FROM WITHIN THEIR FORTRESSES THEY CONTROL US. WE NO LONGER KNOW HOW TO PROTECT OR PROVIDE FOR OURSELVES. THE REPLICATORS HAVE BECOME OUR ONLY SOURCE OF FOOD. AND WE PAY DEARLY FOR THE FOOD THEY GIVE. FOR NOW WE KNOW WHY THE ALLIANCE CAME TO US SO MANY DECADES AGO. THEY ARE STARVING. AND THEY FEED ON OUR SOULS. THAT IS WHY THEY COULD NOT KILL US, WHY THEY DID NOT WIPE US OUT WITH THEIR WEAPONS. FOR A SOUL CANNOT BE TAKEN, IT MUST BE GIVEN. CRAZED WITH HUNGER MANKIND GIVES DAILY. AT THE REPLICATORS WE MUST GIVE A PART OF OUR SOULS FOR A HANDFUL OF FOOD. THERE IS NO PAIN, NO SENSATION AT ALL, BUT EVERYDAY WE GROW WEAKER. AND EVERYDAY THEY TAKE MORE AND GIVE LESS. THE LIGHT OF MANKIND IS ONLY A FAINT FLICKER NOW. CHAPTER II UNDER THE RUINS OF THE OLD CITIES, WE HAVE SURVIVED AND LEARNED. THERE ARE ONLY FEW OF US LEFT NOW. A SMALL NUMBER OF OUR ANCESTORS HAD NEVER TRUSTED THE ALLIANCE, HAD SENSED WHAT WAS COMING, HAD PREPARED THEMSELVES. WE ARE THEIR CHILDREN. WE CANNOT MIX WITH THE REST OF HUMANITY. WE SEE THEM, MOVING IN LARGE GROUPS LIKE HERDS OF CATTLE, MOVING LIKE PUPPETS AND ALWAYS RETURNING TO THE REPLICATORS. AND ALWAYS GETTING WEAKER. HUNTED BY THE ALLIANCE, WE LIVE IN HIDING. WE MOVE IN DARKNESS. ALTHOUGH THERE USED TO BE OTHER GROUPS, WE NEVER COULD KNOW OF THEIR LOCATION. ONLY CHANCE ENCOUNTERS BROUGHT US A SHORT RELIEF FROM ISOLATION. BUT NOW IT HAS BEEN YEARS SINCE WE HAVE HAD CONTACT WITH ANOTHER GROUP, OR EVEN SEEN EVIDENCE OF THEIR EXISTENCE. WE FEAR THAT THERE ARE NONE LEFT BUT US. THE ALLIANCE IS RUTHLESS IN HUNTING US DOWN. EVERYDAY WE SEE THEIR SEARCH DRONES MOVING THROUGH THE RUINS. EVERYDAY THEY ARE CLOSER. WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE LITTLE TIME LEFT. BUT WE ARE ALMOST READY. MAY GOD SAVE OUR SOULS. CHAPTER III I AM THE GUARDIAN. I BELIEVE TO BE THE LAST FREE MAN ON EARTH. TODAY THE ALLIANCE FOUND OUR CLAN AND TOOK EVERYONE. BUT THEY DID NOT FIND ME AND THEY DID NOT FIND THE PORTAL. THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR ALL THESE YEARS. A WAY INTO THEIR FORTRESSES, A WAY TO BY-PASS THE MIGHTY WALLS AND WEAPONS AND STRIKE AT THE HEART OF THE ALLIANCE. I WILL STEP THROUGH THE PORTAL IN A FEW MOMENTS. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WILL FIND INSIDE THE FORTRESS, BUT I KNOW THAT EVERY RACE OF THE ALLIANCE IS HOSTILE. I DO NOT KNOW IF I WILL SUCCEED. I DO NOT KNOW IF I CAN STRIKE DEEP ENOUGH INTO THE FORTRESS TO DESTROY THE ALLIANCE AND FREE HUMANITY. BUT I PLAN TO PAY BACK IN FULL WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO US. I PLAN TO RAIN CARNAGE AND DESTRUCTION UPON THEM. TODAY FREE MANKIND WILL MAKE ITS LAST STAND. I WILL NOT TAKE PRISONERS. I WILL NOT TAKE THEIR SOULS. BUT I WILL TAKE THEIR LIVES.
