Last time, we defeated the droid that had wiped out Peragus II, and boarded the Harbinger, a Republic ship that had just arrived, in an attempt to escape.
"Hey, I'm an ex-Jedi. That technically makes me exempt to that. Now, calm down. We need a plan, not accusations."
"I saw this vessel dock - when it did, a fuel pipe entered the fuel depot. It might be behind the force field I saw in the maintenance bay."
"Then, how did this ship dock here?"
"Let's focus on the problem we can solve - getting the drift charts. We can worry about getting to the hangar later."
We already know this, but seeing as we weren't given the explanation with C4 on the Ebon Hawk in the beginning without the Restored Content mod. As with Alpha Protocol, despite the game's assertions to the contrary, it's generally better if you get as much influence with your compatriots as possible.
As for what they like, Kreia is ironically rather simple in that regard. Show that you listen to what she says, and treat her with respect, and you'll get influence. Simple as that. Atton is a tougher nut to crack. He generally likes it if you're nice to him, but some of the things that can give you influence with him is just... weird. We'll be trying to get max influence with everyone, which can involve a bit of metagaming from time to time.
"Sorry, Kreia, the Narrator was droning on about stuff anyone reading this probably already knows. I'll be more mindful of the present in the future."
And so, we make our way through the winding corridors of the Harbinger. Just a lovely stroll, with nothing to dampen our moo...
...Oh hai Sith Assassin. Watcha doing there?
Yeah, this level is crawling with these buggers. Would be a lot more atmospheric if the game didn't jump up on the table and say "LOOK LOOK INVISIBLE BUGGERS KILL THEM WE DON#T WANT YOU TO GET SCARED, NOW DO WE?"
The first squad done, we proceed to the bridge.
However, we do stop in this room. Because it wouldn't be KotOR II without Holorecordings!
Seems like a gross missallocation of resources to use one of the Republic's last cruisers still active as a taxi. So why is this passenger so important?
Interesting thing to note here: that admiral dude? He's actually Carth, if you played the last game Light Side. Obviously, Carth couldn't be with is now for reasons of being mutilated, but it's clear that the Admiral's role was written with Carth in mind.
So why does he care so much about the passenger?
We find some Jedi Robes in a nearby container, because I guess the Captain was a connisuer of Jedi memorobilia.
After making our way through another group of assassins, we find ourselves on the bridge of the Harbinger.
Cheery. We access the nearby console.
Look at this game. No other game would go to the lengths of subtitling silence for those with hearing impaired. This is why this game kicks the ass of all others.
0_0
That's what I'm wondering too: since Carth isn't the Admiral, that removes personal motives for finding us. But...is the Republic that desperate to find the Last of the Jedi (who technically isn't even a Jedi), or is there something deeper at play here?
Corpse...could that have been...
Well, at least he's not completely useless.
You can't hear it, because unfortunately, the game isn't as good as subtitling plot relevant info as it is silence. A blood-curdling scream follows the crashing of glass...
"That's what you consider an 'unusual noise'? A gravelly-voiced scotsman declaring that he's coming for Jedi? I'd say that's more of a weird statement than an unusual noise. At least I know there's someone else with the same fetish I do..."
"I think the voice meant that it was coming to take the Jedi."
"Oh. Ohhhh. Well, this is awkward."
"If it's any consolation, I'm probably not going to live long enough to truly appreciate the horror."
"Right! Well...um...
Having downloaded the asteroid drift charts, we continue through the Harbinger, fighting our way through the Assassins.
After dispatching our opponents, we find another armor for Jedi in a nearby container. I guess the Captain's...interests...it makes a tad more sense.
It's better than our current armor, but it does make our character look a tad...
...um...let's go with
camp.
"This feels disturbingly comfortable."
Not the time, nor the place, Bob.
We make our way through the Harbinger, on our way to the fuel line.
"These were my quarters."
"When I was on board the Harbinger."
I want to briefly touch on something that I think sets KotOR II apart from a lot of RPGs. Our character has a past. This might not seem all that major, but considering how many characters in WRPGs are nothing more than blank slates, it's an interesting take on it. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Dragon Age (kinda), Alpha Protocol, all of these games star people who either have very little or no pasts at all. Even Planescape: Torment, the character you play is so different from his past incarnations, he can be considered a different character. The Exile DOES have a past, and it defines who they are. I'll examine this more later, but I do love the little touches here and there.
Inside, we find an armband, Bob's Armband, to be precise, and little else of value. We continue through the ship, fighting through another metric fuckton of Sith Assassins, before finally arriving at the medbay. There, we discover....this.
Dafuq?
We check the medical computer nearby for clues.
"Eh, that's just Adam, Barbara. He has a tendency of turning invisible and staring at women. That, and ordering something in the mess hall, then claiming that he never asked for it."
Wait, all his bones were broken and put back together,
before he died? Why is a Star Wars game creeping me out? They're not supposed to do that!
Pity they didn't have the benefit of a HUD, that shit makes things way too easy on these Sith.
The corpse...woke up? Are we pulling Zombies into Star Wars now? Let's see that camera footage.
Ok, this is actually pretty unnerving, but I can't help but think of this when I see this shot.
DARTH ZOMBIE SCOTTISH SUPERMAN TO THE RESCUE!
There's nothing else in the medbay that's really important, so we continue on our way.
Kreia's actually pretty decent with a sword. You think an old hag like her would be useless with it, but no. Just who is she?
And she knows Kung-Fu too! Pretty badass, I must say.
Bob, that's just uncalled for.
Just before we proceed to our objective, we dive into the maintenance bay to see what's what.
The datapad reads:
"I don't know whether this new HK-50 droid is a blessing or a curse. After the destruction of the last droid when it accidentally stepped on a frag mine, the HK has taken it's place without a hitch. The problem is, it doesn't take commands very well. And, most of the time, I have no idea where it's been. There have been reports of it being sighted in the crew quarters, with the captain, in maintenance, even the medlab, of all places. And when I ask the droid about it, the snarky git gives me a smartmouth response about facilitating communication. I don't know who commisioned these HK models, but I don't like them. They're the Windows Vista of HK droids."
Sounds like HK-50, all right.
We continue through the ship, before arriving on the maintenance deck.
