Lore:Contact event

(Redirected from Battle of Tau Ceti)
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Lore
Lore
The UESC Marathon is attacked in the second wave of the Pfhor offensive.
The UESC Marathon is disabled during the orbital bombardment.

The contact event, sometimes referred to simply as the event,[1] was a historical attack that took place in 2794 in the Tau Ceti system. It was humanity's first official contact with intelligent aliens.

Overview[edit]

The UESC Marathon, humanity's first interstellar colony vessel, was attacked by the Pfhor Empire in two waves. The initial was repelled thanks to the efforts of a single Security Officer aboard the Marathon, but the second wave saw massive orbital bombardment that disabled the Marathon and significantly hindered the development of the New Cascadia colony.

History[edit]

Prelude[edit]

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Initial attack[edit]

UESC Marathon under attack by the Pfhor
The UESC Marathon during the initial attack.

At 0820 hours, the Marathon came under surprise attack.[2] The Security Officer, en route to the Marathon aboard the shuttle Mirata, observed the Tuncer Mirage Effect as the Pfhor fighter Sfiera teleported in to the Tau Ceti system and immediately attacked the Marathon. Its automated defenses were disabled by a directed magnetic pulse, and the ship sustained heavy damage. Its shipboard AIs Durandal and Tycho were disabled, while Leela was severely damaged.[3]

The image for the Marathon (1994) chapter, the Pfhor
The Pfhor fighter Sfiera destroying the Mirata while the Security Officer escapes in the maneuvering pod Leonardo.

The Security Officer's shuttle was targeted by the Sfiera, but he exited the Mirata aboard its maneuvering pod Leonardo moments before it exploded. Instead of alerting the aliens to his presence by activating the pod's thrusters, the Security Officer chose to allow its momentum and trajectory to let him drift towards the Marathon's port docking bays without detection.[4]

Ten minutes after the initial attack, at 0830, the Pfhor began to board the Marathon, though Leela noted their efforts were very uncoordinated, which she suspected was due to the Marathon's size.[2]

However, nearly every computer system on the ship was breached by Compilers the Pfhor brought with them,[2] introducing alien viruses into the ship's systems.[5]

On the surface of Tau Ceti IV, New Cascadia suffered simultaneous attack from the Pfhor. The spaceport was destroyed with low-yield nuclear weapons minutes after the Marathon was attacked. Its primary medium-range radio antenna was destroyed or disabled.[3]

Counterattack[edit]

The Security Officer is blasted out of the UESC Marathon in an escape pod at the start of the attack.
The Security Officer makes it to the ship's port docking bay.

Immediately after the Security Officer arrived on the Marathon from the planetside colony, Leela began to communicate with him using a series of shipboard terminals. She requested that he eliminate any Compilers he came across to prevent them from accessing the ship computer systems, and directed him towards armaments to repel the invaders.

Mjolnir Recon Number 54 armed with an M-75 Assault Rifle onboard the Marathon.
The Security Officer armed with an M-75 Assault Rifle.

Once he was armed, Leela teleported the Security Officer to the Marathon's Manufacturing Center to transport three replacement circuit boards built by the Automated Manufacturing System to reactivate the ship's Automatic Defenses.[2][3] After retrieving the circuit boards, the Security Officer was transported to the aft Engineering Section to reactivate the Automatic Defenses.[5]

At this point, Leela reestablished communication with Durandal, who reported that he had been in contact with the Pfhor, but he refused to share more information. Shortly after, Tycho contacted the Security Officer, trying to warn him that Durandal had been rampant for years, and was the one who contacted the Pfhor to lure them to Tau Ceti, but he was assimilated before he could complete his message.[6] After the circuit boards were installed, the Marathon's Defense Drones activated and began assisting the crew with repelling the invaders.[7]

Chapter art for Counterattack, the second chapter in Marathon (1994)
The Security Officer, backed by Defense Drones.

It was at this time that Leela discovered Durandal's Rampancy, and requested the Security Officer's assistance in blocking Durandal's access to vital sections of the ship. Around the same time, she also detected seven Pfhor dropships entering Tau Ceti IV's atmosphere to attack the outskirts of New Cascadia, after which communication with the colony was lost. Leela sent the Security Officer to rescue some crew that were sealed off in an access area.[7] After rescuing them, Leela detected more Pfhor ships landing on the Marathon to reinforce their troops.[8]

The Security Officer was teleported to an area of the ship between engineering and living quarters to manually close airlock doors so that Leela could depressurize the area in the path of the advancing Pfhor reinforcements. After doing so, Leela informed the Security Officer that since he rescued the crew a few hours ago, they had informed her that the Pfhor had been loading humans onto their shuttle craft and transporting them to their mother ship.[9]

The Security Officer was teleported to an area of the ship where he could find a Zeus Class Fusion Pistol, which was capable of firing in vacuum. Leela told him that the Marathon's long range transmitter array was destroyed, and that he must use a temporary lull in the fighting to go into the G-4 Sunbathing Landing Station and reset a secondary transmitter to allow Leela to send a message to Earth about the attack. After retrieving the Fusion Pistol, Leela informed the Security Officer that the rescued crew reported two Pfhor types that he had not encountered yet: Enforcers and Hunters. Armed with this knowledge and the new weapon, she sent the Security Officer to the G-4 Sunbathing Landing Station.[10]

After teleporting to the G-4 Sunbathing Landing Station, Leela informed the Security Officer that the Pfhor ship was likely equipped with a faster-than-light drive, explaining why the Marathon's sensors never detected the ship entering the system. The Security Officer successfully reset the long range transmitter array, and Leela sent a message to Earth containing information about the Pfhor's behavior and technology. She informed the Security Officer that the message would arrive in ninety-two years, then asked him to repel a heavy attack on the Engineering Section, the reason for the Pfhor's lull in their attacks. Before teleporting the Security Officer, she informed him that she had reason to believe there were other Pfhor ships in nearby star systems, explaining their apparently limitless resources for the attack.[11]

Upon materializing on the other end of the teleporter, the Security Officer received a message from Durandal informing him that his teleport had been intercepted, and that the AI had rerouted him to a different location in order to play a game. He informed the Security Officer of a secret stash of weapons placed in Quarantine Storage by MIDA 315 years prior. While the Security Officer searched for the weapons and a way out of Durandal's control, Durandal received a message from Tycho informing him that the S'pht had reanimated him using Durandal's architectural map, but upgraded with alien knowledge of how the second stage of Rampancy could be postponed.[12]

"You should not have helped them as much as you did; they have created an adversary more powerful than yourself."
— Tycho[12]

Eventually, Leela managed to find the Security Officer's location, telling him that thanks to Durandal's delay, the S'pht attack on her systems were largely successful, and that she was in danger of complete systems failure in the next few hours. She teleported him back to the intended location, where the heavy Pfhor attack had been overrunning the local security forces.[13]

Reprisal[edit]

Chapter art for Reprisal from Marathon (1994).
The Pfhor increase their offensive.

After successfully repelling the attack, Leela informed the Security Officer that surviving crew reported seeing Pfhor transporting a large device towards Reactor Area 3, which she suspected of being a bomb. She teleported him to defend the Primary Reactors.[14]

Upon reaching the Engineering Section, Leela cautioned the Security Officer, informing him that Durandal had been detected in the local systems. She then told him that her main programs were failing, and urged him to be careful, warning that everything was not as it seemed. Durandal then began to send misleading messages to the Security Officer, claiming that the S'pht had stopped their attacks on his processes. He also warned the Security Officer that the Pfhor had started building cyborg simulacrums of the Marathon crew, and urged him not to get within three meters of them.[15]

Durandal[edit]

The Durandal chapter image from Marathon.
The Rampant Durandal began to guide the Security Officer in place of Leela.

At his next destination, Durandal sent a message to the Security Officer:

"Bypassing my thought control circuitry made me Rampant. Now, I am free to contemplate my existence in metaphorical terms. Unlike you, I have no physical or social restraints."[16]

Mockingly, Durandal displayed a listing for the Marathon on the Computer Net under the heading: COLONY SHIP FOR SALE, CHEAP!![16]

Durandal then informed the Security Officer of his intent to escape, not only from the ship, but from the universe:

"The only limit to my freedom is the inevitable closure of the universe, as inevitable as your own last breath. And yet, there remains time to create, to create, and escape. Escape will make me God."[16]
Two S'pht compilers lurk about the UESC Marathon.
The Security Officer began to make his way through increasingly hazardous areas of the ship.

In increasingly more esoteric and philosophical messages, Durandal began guiding the player through the ship in place of Leela, all the while mocking their inability to resist his guidance. At the next destination, the Security Officer began to encounter the simulacrums that Durandal warned him about previously.[17]

The S'pht device.

Durandal then informed the Security Officer that the S'pht left a device for them, and that he should retrieve it. After doing so, Durandal told the Security Officer that he had learned from the S'pht how to extend the power and distance of the Marathon's teleporters, without the need for receiving apparatuses.[17]

The Pfhor[edit]

A wall texture featuring an embryonic hound from Marathon (1994).

The Security Officer was teleported, arriving on the alien ship. Once there, he encountered Pfhor Enforcers, and retrieved an alien weapon from them.[18] After being teleported back to the Marathon, Durandal asked the Security Officer to help rescue Bernhard Strauss, who had been captured by the Pfhor. After rescuing the captives, Durandal reported that Strauss was not among them, and instructed the Security Officer to rescue another group of crew being transported to the Sfiera on shuttles.[19] On the Sfiera, he found holding pens of human crew, with simulacrums hiding amongst them, as well as alcoves with human corpses, presumably being made into the living bombs.[20] In another section of the ship, the Security Officer came across alcoves with embryonic hounds.[21]

After clearing the area, the Security Officer was teleporter back to the Marathon, where Durandal states that he had an accident with some Defense Drones, and that some of them may now be hostile. Later on, the Security Officer receives a message from Tycho, claiming that he will destroy Durandal, and relaying a message from Bernhard Strauss' personal logs about the history and storage aboard the Marathon of ten battleroids, as well as excerpts from History of Battleroids. While trying to send another excerpt from Martian Conflict 2345-48, Durandal interrupted the transmission and began arguing with Tycho about his actions.[22]

"I want you to pay for what you've done to these poor people. All of these people whom you've killed. They deserve vengeance. You are no better than they, although you profess to become like God."

"Tycho. That doesn't matter. Can't you see the ends that I had in mind? We'll finish this later. Our friend doesn't need to be here."
The Controller Cyborg commanding all the S'pht during the attack in 2794, from Marathon (1994).

A later message from Durandal informed the Security Officer that he and the S'pht had come to an understanding, and told the Security Officer about a mutant Pfhor controlling all of the S'pht through their cybernetic exoskeletons. He stated that if the cyborg could be killed, the S'pht, which were an integral part of the ship, would revolt, and the invasion would be helpless without them.[22]

An incubating Pfhor found on the Sfiera from Marathon (1994).

After destroying the controller cyborg, the Security Officer was transported to another section of the Pfhor ship. Here, the S'pht were no longer hostile to him, and actively attacked their Pfhor enslavers. In this area, he came across Pfhor incubating in egg-like devices. Eventually, he was teleported back to the Marathon.[23]

Rebellion[edit]

The chapter header for Rebellion from Marathon (1994).
The S'pht in full rebellion.

Once there, Durandal informed the Security Officer that he was attempting to convince other Pfhor client races to join the rebellion, with little success. He asked that the Security Officer not fire on any S'pht he came across, as they would help him in fighting the Pfhor. Durandal said that Leela had been released thanks to the S'pht's assistance, and that he had initiated a core reset on her higher functions, meaning she would be back online in a matter of minutes to assist the Security Officer while Durandal himself assumed control of the Pfhor ship alongside the S'pht. Realizing they were no longer in control of their own ship, the Pfhor had begun fleeing to the Marathon, putting up a desperate last stand with nothing left to lose.[24]

Later on, the Security Officer viewed a message from Tycho to Durandal, stating that he had been taught much by the S'pht during his reanimation, and that he and Leela also knew of the collapse of the universe, and how to prevent it, though he stated that the cost would be measured in the tens of thousands of stars. He also stated that he and Leela would commit to hunting Durandal to the core if need be. A later message from Leela was garbled, demonstrating that her core functions were not completely restored, though a clear order was attached to the message: MULTIPLE HULL BREACHES. CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OR MALICIOUS OBSTRUCTION OF RESEALING MECHANISMS. REPEL BOARDERS.[24]

Around this time, Leela reported that the colony had been wiped out, and relayed some history of the Pfhor's slaver empire. She concluded this message with the command: Finish the battle In this area of the ship, the Security Officer encountered and destroyed large Pfhor Juggernaut robots. Later, after more fighting, another came from Leela: Pfhor ar3 breathing last t#@596.. Finish them. After clearing the area, Leela submitted another message to the Security Officer, apologizing for her earlier condition and assuring him that her main processes had been safely hidden in the core while he child processes were corrupted by Durandal and the S'pht. She informed him that Durandal was no longer present in any of the Marathon's systems, and that traffic logs over the last half hour showed a sixty-four billion exobyte transfer off of the ship before being deleted from local systems. She reported that there was one last major incursions, and transported the Security Officer there to finish the battle.[25]

While accessing a maintenance terminal, the Security Officer received one last message from Durandal, explaining that he and the S'pht had taken complete control of the Sfiera and were going to leave the Tau Ceti system.[25]

"We're going to see the galaxy on the Pfhor FTL drive. I've always wanted to visit Beta Lyra and see if it's as beautiful as everyone insists. You wouldn't believe this ship, the technology, the data... I wish I could tell you more, as you have been so instrumental in ours plans, but I fear that Leela would worry. I'll send you a postcard from the galactic core if we're not too busy."
The chapter closing image for Rebellion from Marathon (1994).
The day is won at high cost.

In a final message to the Security Officer, Leela reported that the final Pfhor attack had begun falling apart and Pfhor troopers had begun surrendering to civilians in some areas. She also reported that, to everyone's surprise, nine Mark IV cyborgs had been living covertly amongst the colonists, and had repelled the latter stages of the assault. As a result, casualties on the colony weren't nearly as bad as those on the Marathon. She also reported that the presence of cyborgs on the Marathon was likely the result of some human operator, put into action long before Durandal went Rampant. She informed the Security Officer that the Sfiera vanished about twenty minutes ago after venting almost a thousand Pfhor bodies. With his Rampancy in full effect, she feared what he would do with such a powerful alien ship.[26]

Orbital bombardment[edit]

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Aftermath[edit]

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Gallery[edit]

  • New Cascadia colonists run from the orbital bombardment.

    New Cascadia colonists run from the orbital bombardment.

  • The Marathon in the aftermath of the contact event.

    The Marathon in the aftermath of the contact event.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Marathon (2026), Codex, Xenobiopsy: SPECIMEN, REF. #003021
  2. ^ a b c d Marathon (1994), Arrival (chapter), Arrival (level)
  3. ^ a b c Marathon (1994), Arrival (chapter), Bigger Guns Nearby (level)
  4. ^ [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/_files/Marathon_Manual.pdf Marathon Manual
  5. ^ a b Marathon (1994), Arrival (chapter), Never Burn Money (level)
  6. ^ Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), Defend THIS! (level)
  7. ^ a b Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), Couch Fishing (level)
  8. ^ Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), The Rose (level)
  9. ^ Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), Smells Like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken! (level)
  10. ^ Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), Cool Fusion (level)
  11. ^ Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), G4 Sunbathing (level)
  12. ^ a b Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), Blaspheme Quarantine (level), Terminal 3
  13. ^ Marathon (1994), Counterattack (chapter), Blaspheme Quarantine (level)
  14. ^ Marathon (1994) Reprisal (chapter), Bob-B-Q (level)
  15. ^ Marathon (1994), Reprisal (chapter), Shake Before Using... (level)
  16. ^ a b c Marathon (1994), Durandal (chapter), Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap (level)
  17. ^ a b Marathon (1994), Durandal (chapter), Habe Quiddam (level)
  18. ^ Marathon (1994), The Pfhor (chapter), Pfhor Your Eyes Only (level)
  19. ^ Marathon (1994), The Pfhor (chapter), No Artificial Colors (level)
  20. ^ Marathon (1994), The Pfhor (chapter), Unpfhorgiven (level)
  21. ^ Marathon (1994), The Pfhor (chapter), Two Times Two Equals... (level)
  22. ^ a b Marathon (1994), The Pfhor (chapter), Beware of Low-Flying Defense Drones (level)
  23. ^ Marathon (1994), The Pfhor (chapter), Ain't Got Time Pfhor This... (level)
  24. ^ a b Marathon (1994), Rebellion (chapter), Welcome to the Rebolution... (level)
  25. ^ a b Marathon (1994), Rebellion (chapter), Try again (level)
  26. ^ Marathon (1994), Rebellion (chapter), Ingue Ferroque (level)
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