You are jarred awake from a nap. [[Exhaustion->Intro1]] burns your eyes.
{
(track: 'ship', 'loop', true)
(track: 'ship', 'playwhenpossible')
}You're filled with confusion, struggling to figure out [[where you are->Intro2]] and what is happening.After a brief moment however, the confusion and disorientation washes away. You recognize your suite on the Vena Makeira, a [[luxury cruise vessel->shipInfo]] en route to a beautiful oceanic planet.The Vena Magneira is massive. Like, *really* massive. It's a Dromedary-Class Cruise ship, fitted with almost 8,200 luxury suites (you're a little too proud to know that there are exactly 8,192). That's twice as many suites as the Vena Turosa, and four times as many suites as the Vena Divite. Your [[grandson->family]] wants to see the Vena Morantic, the next ship being built.The memory of your children and grand-children waving at you while you board the ship fills your thoughts. Although this trip could have been more fun, had your family joined you, you smile contently. They're working for their future, and you're proud. You're [[at ease->endTable]] finally after suddenly waking up a couple minutes ago.You relax, and roll over to look at the end table next to your sleeping pod. It's shifted from its original place somehow. If some kind of shaking happened on the ship, the inertial dampeners on your sleeping pod would have stopped it. Your UltraCorp® uSight [[glasses->glassesDesc]] and uSound [[hearing aids->hearingAids]] are still on the table, but you don't see the [[pills->groundPills]] prescribed to you for hyperspace travel sickness. They must have slid onto the ground.
(set: $taken = 0)
(set: $glasses = false)
(set: $hearingAids = false)
(set: $pills = false)The Deluxe model of UltraCorp® uSight glasses. They tell you the time, give you instantaneous text communications with others on the ship, and can give you directions around the ship. You slide them on your face, and the heads-up display appears.
(set: $taken = $taken+1)
(set: $glasses = true)
(if: $taken < 2)[You also see your [[hearing aids->hearingAids]] and assume your [[pills->groundPills]] are on the ground.]
(else:)[[[**Boom!**->explosion]]]A "gift" from your kids, the Superior model of UltraCorp® uSound hearing aids. When you first put them in, you were sure you had never heard so clearly in your entire life. You pop them in each ear and hear the beautiful startup tone play.
**Bummmmmm Doo Da!**
Slowly, the ambient noise of air conditioning and outside voices begin to raise in volume up to normal.
(set: $taken = $taken+1)
(set: $hearingAids = true)
(if: $taken < 2)[You look to your left and see your [[glasses->glassesDesc]]. You also assume your [[pills->groundPills]] are on the ground.]
(else:)[[[**Boom!**->explosion]]]You move your foot onto the carpeted floor and, under your left pinky-toe, you feel a piece of plastic. An unfortunate side effect of entering hyperspace is that humans tend to feel queasy and generally unwell. Your package of HyperSoothe pills keep your stomach and anxiety at bay on ships with hyperdrive. You bend down to pick it up, and swallow a pill.
(set: $taken = $taken+1)
(set: $pills = true)
(if: $taken < 2)[You look to your left and see your [[glasses->glassesDesc]] [[hearing aids->hearingAids]] are on the end table.]
(else:)[[[**Boom!**->explosion]]](if: $glasses is false)[The furniture in the room is thrown the opposite direction of you. You balance yourself on the end table, but your glasses fall to the floor. The lenses crack against the corner of the window sill.
**CLACK**
Your vision hasn't deteriorated much, though you have been heavily dependent on getting around using those glasses so far.]
(else-if: $hearingAids is false)[The furniture in the room is thrown the opposite direction of you. You balance yourself on the end table, but your hearing aids go sailing across the room and crack against the hard wall.
**SNAP**
Your hearing isn't *terrible*, but you really could have benefitted from having those.]
(else:)[The furniture in the room is thrown the opposite direction from you. You stand up to balance yourself, right onto the package of pills.
**CRUNCH**
After balancing yourself, you look down to see the plastic container of pills is now a plastic container of powder, destroyed by your foot. Your last pill was almost 24 hours ago, so hopefully you won't feel too sick or anxious.]
[[What made all the furniture go flying?->doorOrWindow]]If the room just shook this hard, then something must be happening to the ship. You can [[open your door->openSuiteDoor]] to see what is happening outside, or try and look out into the void from your tiny [[window->lookSuiteWindow]].You open your suite door, and see maybe twenty people running from the left side of the hallway. You grab your cane, and [[begin moving after them->downHall]].You look into the vastness of space. This surprises you, because you're not in the hyperspace "tunnel", you're stationary.
The endless void covers a good 70% of your view. However, near the back of the ship, a comparatively-small vessel is nearby. It has a very rectangular hull; you guess whoever designed it wasn't very creative.
[[What is it doing?->connection]]This ship appears to be connected to the rear of the Vena Magneira. Some sort of thin tether connects our ship with theirs.
[[We could be assisting them with repairs->lastWindow]], or maybe [[we are being invaded by space pirates of some kind->spacePirates]].There is no reason that our ship would be attacked, it's just a cruise.
(if: $hearingAids is false)[You [[turn around->lookToWalterDeaf]] to go ask someone for clarification, but you see your door is already open. The man who served you dinner last night is standing there. His lips are moving, but you cannot hear him very well.]
(else:)[You hear your door open and turn around. The man who served you dinner last night is standing there. He says "Please, come with me. Our ship is being invaded by pirates."
(set: $questionsAsked=0)
[[Pirates???->pirateInfo]]
[[Where are we going?->whereTo]]
[[I'm staying right here dude!->stayRoom]]]Space pirates? Yikes. Let's hope this gets squared away quickly, since you don't have any kind of combat experience.
(if: $hearingAids is false)[You [[turn around->lookToWalterDeaf]] to go ask someone for clarification, but you see your door is already open. The man who served you dinner last night is standing there. His lips are moving, but you cannot hear him very well.]
(else:)[You hear your door open and turn around. The man who served you dinner last night is standing there. He says "Please, come with me. Our ship is being invaded by pirates."
(set: $questionsAsked=0)
[[Pirates???->pirateInfo]]
[[Where are we going?->whereTo]]
[[I'm staying right here dude!->stayRoom]]]You stop the man and loudly state
[[**I can't hear you! I don't have my hearing aids!**->yellAtWalter]]"This is a boarding ship for the Myristyllians, a band of thieves and thugs who will surely kill us if we are seen. Let's go!"
(set: $questionsAsked=$questionsAsked+1)
[[Where are we going?->whereTo]]
[[I'm staying right here dude!->stayRoom]]
[[Let's go!->goWithWalter]]"We'll figure that out as we go! Let's get out of here before they show up and cut us in half with their massive pincers!"
(set: $questionsAsked = $questionsAsked+1)
[[Pincers? Who are these pirates???->pirateInfo]]
[[I'm staying right here dude!->stayRoom]]
[[Let's go!->goWithWalter]]"You can't stay! Please! Come with me, they will surely kill you if you stay!"
(set: $questionsAsked=$questionsAsked+1)
[[Nope, see you later.->stayDeath]]
[[Let's go!->goWithWalter]](if: $questionsAsked > 2)["No more time for questions, let's go!" the man says. He turns to start moving, and a huge curved blade cuts through his chest. He falls to the ground.
A massive bug-like creature stands in your doorway, licking the blood from its blade. After a few seconds of silence, the creature bounds forward towards you. The weapon cuts you to pieces.
You died.]
(else:)["Let's go!" the man says. He grabs your cane with one hand, and your wrist with his other. He begins leading you out into the hall. A massive bug-like creature fills the opposite end of the walkway behind you, holding some kind of huge sword. It's moving towards you at a shocking speed.
You scream as it gets within swinging distance, but a door bursts open next to you and you hear gunfire. The creature falls to the floor, and a woman holding a handgun steps out with a second magazine in hand.
She reloads her gun, gives you a forced smile, and continues moving in the direction the creature came from. You [[keep moving->enterBallroom]].]
(set: $withWalter = true)The man begins to step into your room to force you to come with him. A curved blade springs forward through his chest, and a gigantic bug-like monster throws him to the ground. The creature licks the blood from its weapon, and stops to stare at you for about ten silent seconds.
With shocking speed, it bounds forward towards you, and plunges the blade through your chest. You are dead.You enter a ballroom. There are hundreds of panicking guests in one corner of the room, and several of the creatures(if: $hearingAids is false)[you saw earlier] at the other end of the room. It appears many of them have rifles in hand, with curved blades at their hip.
(if: $glasses is true)[Text appears on your uSight glasses, as a transcription from someone called Colonel Riley appears:
"Attention *passenger*, this is the Amari Federal Security Fleet. We are dropping from hyperspace in your area soon, and will be able to beam the hostiles into holding cells as soon as we are there. In the meantime, please use any measure to preserve the lives of those around you. Cooperate with the enemy demands or hide from them. Attached to this message is a program that will determine your location on the ship, and will find viable spots to stay hidden. I understand this is a very difficult situation, and you're likely terrified. Please, stay safe, and we will be there to help you very soon."]
[[Enter the crowd of people->crowd]](if: $withWalter is true and $hearingAids is true)[The man says quietly "My name is Walter. Let's stay hidden, my uSight lenses tell me you're a retired hyperspace engineer. We might need your skills today."]
In the crowd of people, you gather a moment of peace. Unfortunately, this only lasts for a moment, as you see the crowd ahead of you is splitting to let a horrifying bug creature approach you.
(if: $hearingAids is false)[The "mouth" of the creature is moving. You can't hear it. It brings the blade to your throat.(if: $withWalter is true)[Walter steps in, and begins speaking to it. It pulls the blade away from your throat. He touches his glasses, and your glasses now have the image of the hyperspace engine in sight. Walter, the creature, and the entire crowd are all looking at you.] It might be time for a random answer.
[[Umm, yes.->byeWalter]]
[[Uhh, no.->worstEnding]]]
(else:)[The creature speaks in a language with lots of grunting and hissing. Your hearing aids translate it in a very pleasant tone:
"The ship data bank tells us you're a hyperspace engineer. We've stolen what we want from your ship, but our engines are too hot to leave. If you do not help us, we will kill everyone in this room. Make your choice, smelly mammal.
[[Let's fix your hyperspace engine.->byeWalter]]
[[You'll never get away with this, insect!->worstEnding]]]You're moving as quickly as you can, but you're certainly not as quick as you used to be. After a few turns, you no longer see where people are running.
(if: $glasses is false)[You aren't sure where you even are anymore, and start taking random turns. Whatever excitement is happening on the ship, you want to find out what it is! A door opens next to you, and a woman holding a handgun waves for you to come into her room.
[[Let's go in there.->handgunRoom]]
[[She's got a gun!!! No thank you, goodbye!->leaveHandgunRoom]]]
(else:)[A small alert appears on your uSight glasses, stating there is an enemy aboard. You decide it's time to find a place to hide. Luckily, your glasses will direct you to:
[[The security office->secOffice]]
[[The engine room->engineRoom]]
[[The ballroom->enterBallroom]]](if: $glasses is true)[Your glasses pop up with a little identification box, showing the woman is a security officer aboard the ship. She recognizes you too, and gives a forced smile.]
(else:)[The woman stares at you for a moment, clearly focusing on the information in her uSight glasses. She gives a forced smile.]
(if: $hearingAids is true)"Wow, am I lucky to have run into *you*. My uSights told me you've worked on hyperspace engines before. I've been in communication with the navigators. They tell me we're about ten seconds of hyperspace away from a security fleet. If we jump into hyperspace, we couldn surely get there! They've also told me the hyperspace engine was damaged when the hostiles intercepted us. If I got you in there, is there a chance you could repair it? We don't have any hyperspace specialists on board - that is, besides you."
[[Maybe, let's give it a try.->adventureTime]]]
(else:)[She speaks to you, but she's speaking far too quietly. You interrupt whatever she is saying
[[**What are you saying? Speak up!**->speakTooLoud]]]She's got a gun, you're *so* out of there. You walk past her door, and hear gunshots behind you. Without a second glance, you're moving forward.
You round a corner... right into a hallway with a massive bug-like creature. It holds a curved blade in its hand. You turn to run the other way, but it bounds down the hallway at you with unmatched speed.
You look down to see a blade protruding from your chest, and everything goes dark.
You died.On your way to the security office, you see a security officer step into a room. You step into the same room after her.
[[Help please!->handgunRoom]]You begin moving down the hall towards the engine room. Unfortunately, as you turn a corner, you practically fall into the arms of a massive, hissing bug creature. It stabs you in the chest, and everything goes black.
You died.She smiles, and opens the door slightly to peek out. The door flies open as a massive bug-like creature pushes in.
It brings a curved blade up in one arm to [[swing down on you->swingSword]].She puts a finger to her mouth to shush you. The door bursts open, and a massive bug-like creature holding a curved blade steps forward.
Stunned, it takes her a moment to point the gun up at the creature. You close your eyes to avoid seeing the violence. A few moments of silence go by, before you [[slowly open one eye->creatureDeath]]. Your eye opens to see the creature standing above you. It brings the blade down, and everything goes black.
You died.You close your eyes. This is it.
The sound of [[gunfire]] fills the room, and you open your eyes to see the bug crumple to the floor."I got you. Let's get moving." the woman says, reloading her gun. She grabs your wrist and helps you up.
You both [[leave the room->goToEngineering]].Several minutes pass where the same thing occurs in rapid succession: The woman peers around the corner, gives you a nod, and you both move to the next corner. You have no idea how close you are to the engineering room, every hallway looks exactly the same as the last.
Eventually, you reach a [[metal door->engineeringRoomTeam]] with a warning on it:
"SHIP CREW ONLY"Once in the room, you are immediately stunned. Engineers lay all over the floor. The woman moves herself into your line of sight and says "It's okay, let's [[get to work->workOnEngines]] so there are no more deaths."You resist the urge to panic. Thank you, HyperSoothe pills.
You move to the control console. Memories from years ago flood your mind, and you feel your hyperspace-engine proficiency kick into gear. If this was an engine like you had built, you'd have no problem making repairs. But this is very advanced. If you had a pair of uSight glasses, you might be able to work quickly. Without them, you can work, but it might take longer.
[[Can I borrow your uSights?->borrowGlasses]]
[[I don't need them, let's get to business!->noGlasses]]She brings you the glasses, and you slide them onto your face. The heads-up display was on some sort of targeting mode, but after a moment of syncing it shifts into analysis mode.
You begin [[reading the console->consoleWithGlasses]].
(set: $tookGlasses=true)You've been working for several minutes, and nothing is working right. You're not even sure how anyone designed this buggy, unintuitive piece of crap. Soon, a horde of bug creatures bash through the engineering door opening, and cut down your only means of survival. They bound toward you, blades in hand, before stabbing you in the chest.
You died.With ease, you jettison the current hyperspace core. The ship shakes slightly. Many of the errors on the displays around you turn to warnings. Errors are bad, but warnings are no problem!
[[Replacing the core will be challenging, let's do this.->backupCore]]
[[Take the glasses back, I might be able to do this without them.->coreReplaced]]All nearby displays turn green as the core is re-engaged. You hear the whirring noise of the engine spinning up. [[You did it!->gunDeath]]You add in some code to try and stop the warnings from occurring:
**4c 6f 6c 20 73 74 6f 70 20 67 69 76 69 6e 67 20 6d 65 20 77 61 72 6e 69 6e 67 73 20 70 6c 65 61 73 65**
The warnings stop, but a dialog pops up on the main console:
"Error 209874 - Core Mismanagement
Continue?
[[Yes->coreFixed]] or [[No->gunDeath]]The engineering door flies open, as one of the creatures enters with a sword in hand.
The woman fires at it(if:$tookGlasses is true)[, and your borrowed uSight glasses change to the combat mode again. Her shots are not very accurate, and the creature quickly cuts her down.](else:)[. In the midst of reloading, another creature scuttles through the room and cuts her down.]
It bounds towards you shortly after, and plunges the blade deep into your chest.
You died.You press continue, and the diagnostics begin. You have no idea how long this could take.
The engineering door flies open as one of the creatures comes bounding towards you. The woman fires three shots, and it falls to the ground mere feet from you.
[[Hurry up computer!->loadingbar]]The loading bar stops about two thirds of the way across the screen for no more than six seconds. [[Then...->success]]...it completes. The core is operational. You slam down the launch override button, and feel the ship lurch into hyperspace.
Another creatures enters the room. Four more gunshots fly into it before it goes down.
She says "Cut it now! We're in Federal territory!"
[[Press the Emergency Stop button->emergencyStop]]The ship groans and creaks as it pulls to a stop. Two more creatures enter the room, but a white light surrounds them. They're teleported off the ship into a holding cell on a Federal ship.
You saved everyone. Congratulations, you win.He closes his eyes, and presses a button on his uSight glasses.
Shortly after, your lenses fill with images. First of the cruise ship, then of the rectangular ship outside. Then of some sort of bug-crab picture. Frankly the picture looks like something made in rendering software, so maybe there's some kind of infestation.
He waves you to come with.
(set: $questionsAsked = 2)
[[Let's go->goWithWalter]].
[[They're bugs, I'm fine.->noWalterDeaf]]He waves again, seriously strained and frustrated. Maybe he's trustworthy?
[[Let's go.->goWithWalter]]
[[No chance, chief.->stayDeath]]Two more creatures approach with guns. They point the guns at you. You put your hands up, and begin following the one with the blade away from the crowd. (if: $withWalter is true)[Walter tries to come with you, but is knocked to the ground by one of the bugs with a gun.]
[[Let's go with the bugs, then.->bugShip]]The bugs across the room begin firing into the crowd of people. The bug in front of you swings back, and takes your head off.
You died.
Unfortunately this is the worst ending, because every single person died.You've been walking through hallways and corridors for what feels like ten minutes. You're not very quick with your cane, but the bugs aren't rushing you right now.
[[Walk on the tether to the bug ship->bugEngines]]
(if: $glasses is true)[[[Walk more slowly so the Fleet can get here to apprehend these monsters.->shotByBugs]]]The hyperspace engine on their ship is... really familiar. You can tell this was human designed, and shoddily adapted to their computer systems. A nightmarish, jagged console with an organic interface lays in front of you.
[[Observe the engine->obsEngine]]
[[Touch the console->touchConsole]]
[[Press the big, colorful organic... thing.->organicJettison]]One of the creatures behind you says something. By the time you realize they figured out your tactic, the leading bug says something. The bug behind you blasts you with a ball of superheated plasma.
You died.The engine housing itself looks fine, but a few cables are disconnected all over the place. You begin figuring out what each cable is and where it goes.
[[Connect red cable to fuel.->overheatShip]]
[[Connect blue cable to fuel.->correctShipFix]]
[[Connect a random part of the ship to fuel.->bugExecute]]
(set: $bugShipFix = false)The console is living and breathing. Your one press made the hyperspace engine shudder, as though it was trying to start. It sounds like there's no fuel to the main core.
[[Let's look at the cables.->obsEngine]]The familiar sound of the core-jettison occurring fills your ears. The core drops to the floor in the ship, exploding instantly. The entire bug ship is surrounded in a ball of burning plasma.
You died.You're pretty sure the connection will fix the flow of fuel back into the engine. You give the thumbs up to one of the bugs, who makes no motion.
[["I think it's working.->byeHuman]]
[["This is a little complicated, I might need a few minutes"->fleetSave]](set: $bugShipFix = true)You're pretty sure the connection will fix the flow of fuel back into the engine. You give the thumbs up to one of the bugs, who makes no motion.
[["I think it's working.->byeHuman]]
[["This is a little complicated, I might need a few minutes"->fleetSave]]One of the creatures standing nearby sees you connecting organic material from the ship, and hisses at you. It fires a ball of superheated plasma at you, disintegrating you instantly.
You died. Luckily, they didn't fix their engine before the fleet arrived!The creatures spit and hiss across the ship at one another. Suddenly the engine housing begins humming, the sound of a functional hyperspace engine. One of them flips a switch, and the ship jumps to hyperspace.
You look back to the creature nearest to you. It lifts its rifle towards you, and blasts you with a ball of superheated plasma, disintegrating you instantly.
You died, and the creatures got away.At this point, you're basically just checking that all the cables are screwed on tight. You're doing everything you can to burn time.
Several minutes later, a bug hisses at you. You turn to look, and its rifle is maybe a food from your head.
[[This is it.->fleetArrival]]The bug ship shakes violently, and a nearby window reveals a fleet of Federation ships dropping out of hyperspace.
(if: $bugShipFix is true)[One of the bugs flips a switch near the front, and sparks go flying from the engine housing. The bug nearest to you points its gun right at your face.
A white light surrounds the bugs all within your sight. You recognize the fleet beam technology, likely moving the creatures into a holding cell on the Federation ships.
You sigh with relief, knowing you barely survived this one.
You saved everyone. Congratulations, you win.]
(else:)[[[We're saved!->byeHuman]]]ship: ./audio/shipambient.mp3Welcome!
This game was written by Matthew Fritsch.
The audio should begin on this page or the next. If it does not, then I probably did something wrong.
In this game, there are lots of ways to lose. Some may find the description of the way they lost as violent or uncomfortable.
Enjoy, and [[good luck.->Start]]