Mission:The Ouroboros Initiation (Heroes)

Join Ouroboros

Briefing

Welcome to Ouroboros. As you may know, I am The Pilgrim and it is my task to greet new arrivals.

You may be curious about Ouroboros. I assure you that we are here to facilitate change both now and elsewhen. Time has and will go awry and it is Ouroboros that will correct it.

While Ouroboros welcomes all, this is not a task for a simpleton, but one who can wrap his intellect around a four dimensional space. If you believe that you have the comprehension to grasp such fluid and oftentimes paradoxical concepts, please join us.

Would you like to begin?

• Join Ouroboros

Excellent, Character. Ouroboros is an organization founded in the mid 78th century by Mender Silos. That's approximately 5,700 years in your future.

What's even more amazing is that Silos is from a time period even further down the timeline. He has come back through the past to correct a terrible mistake, one that led to the destruction of this planet and mankind as a whole.

Before I bore you with too much history, you should go talk to an old friend, Mender Lazarus. I believe he has something he wishes to tell you.

Speak with Mender Lazarus

Unnecessary Solicitation

Have you spoken to Mender Lazarus yet? He really wants to talk to you.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak with Mender Lazarus

Mender Lazarus

Briefing

Ah, Character, back for more, eh? I still tell the stories about how we teamed up against those Shivans! I never would have figured out that destroying the meteor would have been the key to succeeding, but you knew that somehow!

What's wrong? Don't you remember me? You look puzzled... oh my... we haven't actually MET yet, have we? That's one of the funny things with Time Travel... for you this is our first meeting, but for me, we've met before. Don't think about it too hard, you'll only end up with a headache.

Since this is your first exposure to time travel, I need to tell you about the Carbon Law. Carbon Law is the law of Time Travel that restricts how far forward or backward you can actually travel. In Earth years, this comes out to around 5,730 years, give or take 40 or so. Everyone is different. I'm from the 78th Century so I am at the limit of my 'tether'. I can travel back in time a little bit more, maybe 3 or 4 years, but I dare not try anything further. When someone travels beyond their tether, he finds himself assimilated by the time stream, never to be heard from again. But you... you're native to THIS time, which means that your tether allows you the greatest access to the past of any member of Ouroboros, and you've proven time and time again that you can be counted on to get the job done. Oh great, I did it again, didn't I? You will prove that you can be counted on... how's that?

I have a nice easy task for you, if you have the time. Simple information extraction... except this information hasn't existed in the past 15 years. You'll need to go back in time to a point where the information existed on an unsecured computer. Break into the base it's in, retrieve the information from the computer, and defeat any guards in the area. Then just bring the info back here. Here's a quaint item for you to store the information on... they called it a 'floppy disk.' You'll need this to get the information from the computer. Off you go! Time waits for no one!

Retrieve Computer Information

Unnecessary Solicitation

Ouroboros really needs that information to find out what's going on.

	Blank Floppy Disk
	This disk is five and a quarter inches in size, and can hold up to 360k of data on each side.

Mission Objective(s)

You take a while to adjust to the chronal energies, but your body tells you that you are displaced in time and space.

• Retrieve Computer Information

You found the information you needed!

Enemies
5th Column

Random chatter 1

Before combat:
Random 5th Column minion 1: All I'm saying is that even Rome fell.
Random 5th Column minion 2: Traitor! There is no way the 5th Column can be defeated. NONE!
Combat start:
Random 5th Column minion 1: All things may pass, but the 5th Column will always remain.

Random chatter 2

Before combat:
Random 5th Column minion 3: Did you get a good look at what Nosferatu has planned?
Random 5th Column minion 4: Yeah, pretty impossible if you ask me.
Combat start:
Random 5th Column minion 3: Who are you?

Random chatter 3

Before combat:
Random 5th Column minion 5: Someone is going to notice.
Random 5th Column minion 6: But, the robots are completely cloaked in a hard light hologram.
Combat start:
Random 5th Column minion 5: Stop!

You found a hand written letter addressed to Character.

Dear Character...

While time traveling into the past, you visit a 5th Column base and in a crate you find a hand written letter addressed to you... Hello, Character. Please forgive the impersonal form of communication. I do not yet trust you for an in-person meeting; this was the only way that I could be sure you would still receive this message. Time travel does unpredictable things to electronics, magic and bionectics; otherwise, I would have chosen a more contemporary method. Obviously, we both know that you have begun time travelling. This may be new to you, but for me and mine it is well documented. Ouroboros has made its presence known to your city, likely espousing some rhetoric regarding a 'rapture' or an 'apocalypse' or some other vague, well-crafted phrase from Mender Silos. I am writing to tell you not to trust him or his Menders. They claim to 'fix' the time stream to avoid a cataclysmic event in the future, but do not believe them. You may not believe me yet, that is fine, prudent in fact, but let me ask you this: if there is truly an event of this nature on the horizon, why did they not take you there? Are you not one of the chosen keepers of the secret? Have you stopped to ask what secret they are really guarding? I warn you: do not openly question Ouroboros. That would be foolish. I simply ask that you search for more of my letters and seek me in the pillar. When the time is right, I will make myself known. You will either be at my side, tearing down the enclave or you will be buried under its ruins as it falls into the sea. The choice is yours.

You found something.

	Floppy Disk
	This disk now contains the information Mender Lazarus was looking for.

Return to Mender Lazarus

Unnecessary Solicitation

Mender Lazarus is waiting for you.

Mender Lazarus

Debriefing

Well done, Character, I knew you'd pull it off! Well, I knew it because you had already pulled it off by the time we first met, but I am starting to get a headache thinking about that.

Speaking of headaches, you should probably talk to Mender Tesseract now. She can tell you about Temporal Scaling, which is why sometimes you won't be as powerful as you think you should be when you are traveling through time.

Speak to Mender Tesseract

Unnecessary Solicitation

Go speak to Mender Tesseract and learn about Temporal Scaling. She knows the concept better than anyone. Apparantly, she's a near god in her own timeline. Guess she's not too happy about being here where Temporal Scaling so drastically affects her.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak to Mender Tesseract

Mender Tesseract

Briefing

Great, another cave dweller sent to me by Lazarus the Luddite.

I bet he wants me to explain Temporal Scaling to you? Wonderful. Another waste of time. Here's an idea, experience it for yourself.

You remember your first mission, right? In Outbreak? Well, someone was messing with the time-stream and started by undoing the good deed you did that day. I want you to go back to your first day on the job and correct their alteration. We in Ouroboros call this 'mending,' which is what we're all about here.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!

Outbreak

Unnecessary Solicitation

You should go and deal with what Tesseract wants, before she gets really mad.

Mission Objective(s)

You're teleported back to the time of the initial Outbreak incident in Paragon.
You feel your power drain out of you as if you were a beginning hero all over again.

• Find cure for Outbreak plague
  • Retrieve formula
  • 7 People to rescue
  • 25 Contaminated to Defeat

You have defeated all the thugs and found the formula. Click the Exit button next to your compass to leave the map immediately.

Editor's Note: During this mission, your Security Level will be scaled to level 1.

Enemies
Contaminated

Notable NPCs

• Officer Flint (non-escort Captive)
• Lt. MacReady (non-escort Captive)
• Professor Hoffman (non-escort Captive)
• Officer Parks (non-escort Captive)
• Sergeant Hicks (non-escort Captive)
• Coyote (non-escort Captive)
• Dr. Miller (non-escort Captive)

Notable dialogue

Contaminated minion random chatter: (repeated by many) Before combat: I'll level this block!
Combat start: I will kill you all!

Officer Flint:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 1: Can't control... AHG!
Officer Flint: Please leave me alone.

Lt. MacReady:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 2: You think you can take me?
Lt. MacReady: Just wait. You're going down.
Combat start:
Lt. MacReady: Show him who is boss, Character.

Professor Hoffman:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 3: Your brains are nothing compared to the juice I've got.
Professor Hoffman: This is most uncalled for.

Officer Parks:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 4: The power is so sweet.
Officer Parks: Hey, I don't care how glowy your eyes are. Back off.
Combat start:
Officer Parks: Yo, Character, little help here.

Sergeant Hicks:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 5: You don't understand. You'll never understand.
Sergeant Hicks: Please remain calm
Combat start:
Sergeant Hicks: Be careful.

Coyote:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 6: I want to see your inside colors.
Coyote: I don't want to hurt you guys, but I will if I have to.
Combat start:
Coyote: Character, Try not to hurt them too much.

Dr. Miller:

Before combat:
Random Contaminated minion 7: You need to try some of this Dr. You'll never want anything else.
Dr. Miller: Please, you're under control of the drug.

	Formula
	This is the formula Dr. Miller needs to reverse the Rikti mutation drug.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak to Mender Tesseract

Mender Tesseract

Debriefing

Oh, you succeeded. Well, even the most primitive cave dweller finds fire eventually.

As you could see from that little exercise you lost access to a whole slew of your abilities. It was basically your body adjusting to a different time stream. We call this Temporal Scaling. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it can come as a shock. It adjusts what you call 'Combat Level' in this time period to fit that of the time stream you are now in. Different streams have different scaling. I chose that mission for you because it is the harshest form of scaling out there, and what better way to drive the point home?

Now, go talk to Twilight's Son... he has more patience to set you up with Ouroboros than I do.

Speak to Twilight's Son

Unnecessary Solicitation

Twilight's Son is waiting to talk to you.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak to the Twilight's Son

Twilight's Son

Briefing

There you are, Character. Mender Lazarus has told me so much about you, I feel I should tell you a little about myself.

I am the last Kheldian. For you, I'm sure this is hard to believe, but there is a storm coming. More destructive than any before it. You have already seen its effect on your Galaxy City. This galaxy holds a threat that is far superior to the Rikti race and the Praetorians. This threat is the one that rounded up my kind to fuel their battle fleets as living energy cells. I was the only one to escape, and Mender Silos gave me a chance to change things here and now. This is the time to make a difference, and a difference I will make.

One of the key elements to this great cataclysm is the Rikti War that is currently occurring. I need you to infiltrate one of their bases and defeat one of their war generals named Loc'Danan. I will then slip forward in time and see if his defeat has had a desired effect. You may even meet an old friend in the caves to assist you.

Defeat General Loc'Danan

Unnecessary Solicitation

You need to do what Twilight's Son is asking of you.

Mission Objective(s)

You have no idea how the Rikti are involved, but hopefully defeating this General can help Twilight's Son's race.

• Defeat General Loc'Danan
  • Rescue Mender Lazarus
  • Defeat General Loc'Danan

You defeated the Rikti General!

Enemies
Rikti

Ambush! After rescuing Mender Lazarus, there will be an ambush by Rikti.

Notable NPCs

• General Loc'Danan (Rikti Chief Mentalist)
• Major Sal'no (Rikti Chief Mentalist)
• Mender Lazarus (Ally, Hero rank, but actually Boss/Lieutenant-class)

General Loc'Danan dialogue

General Loc'Danan:

Before combat: Character: Unfamiliar
Combat start: Character: Unimpressed

Major Sal'no and Mender Lazarus dialogue

Major Sal'no and Mender Lazarus:

Before combat:
Major Sal'no: Ouroboros: Illogical
Mender Lazarus: Character, right on time!
Combat start:
Major Sal'no Query: First Encounter
Upon rescue:
Mender Lazarus: Just like old times, eh?
Ambush:
Random Rikti: Character: Terminate

You defeated General Loc'Danan and found some intelligence!

	Rikti Intelligence
	Loc'Danan had a small metallic storage device attached to the inner plating of his armor. You can't access the data directly, but you see Rikti Astronomical symbols circling the edge of the device. This leads you to believe the information is astronomical in nature.

Speak to the Twilight's Son

Unnecessary Solicitation

Your training is nearly complete, Character. Simply return to Twilight's Son to continue your initiation.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak to the Twilight's Son

Twilight's Son

Debriefing

I will travel forward later to see if that had any effect.

I hate to say it was all for naught, but we have yet to be successful with this type of venture. Perhaps there is something we do not fully understand regarding the time line, some variable we haven't accurately calculated. I am hoping this one turns out better than the others. You should go speak with Mender Silos now, he can fill you in more on the coming storm.

Speak with Mender Silos

Unnecessary Solicitation

So, it's time for you to go meet the big man. I would say not to be nervous, but I'd be lying. I've been working with him for awhile now and I still get nervous talking to him. It's like he knows what I'm going to say before I actually say it.

Try not to worry about it too much. Just go see Mender Silos. I know he would like to have a word with you.

Soon, you will no longer need one such as I. You are doing well.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak with Mender Silos

Mender Silos

Briefing

Character. I am glad to finally meet you, or re-meet you in this case.

My name is Mender Silos, and I am over one million years old. I come from the future, near the end of time itself. I created Ouroboros so that we could have a centralized location to try and mend the past.

I am sure Lazarus told you about the Carbon Law, and the tethers we from the future have. Of course, I am far beyond my tether, but this wouldn't be the first law I have broken. I have been planning this for a very, very long time.

This... worries me. We had seen a timeline where the meteors landed in Atlas. We never thought events would play out such that it would affect Galaxy, especially to such an extent. Whatever is disrupting the timeline has played a role in this. But, there is still time. The first step in eliminating this storm is to remove its scouts from a point in your near future. If you would be so kind as to go forward in time and help Mender Lazarus. Once they are defeated, Ouroboros will begin charting the causality wake to determine the outcome upon your time stream. Perhaps this may even help us see how the events in Galaxy City unfolded.

Defeat source of Shivan attacks

Unnecessary Solicitation

You need to do what Mender Silos asks if we hope to accomplish our goals.

Mission Objective(s)

The future... not exactly what you hoped it would be, but you've got a job to do.

• Defeat source of Shivan attacks
  • Rescue Mender Lazarus

You have destroyed the source of the Shivan invasion!

Editor's Note: During this mission, your Security Level will be scaled to level 15.

Enemies
Shivans

Notable NPCs

• Mender Lazarus (Ally) (Hero rank, now a mix between Boss-class and Elite-class)
• Meteor (Object)
• Numerous citizens (non-escort Captives, does not need to be rescued for mission completion)

Civilian dialogue

Upon rescue:

Erik Robertson: I've always said that if the world was going to end, I'd be at ground zero.
Wilbert Snow: Thanks, but I hope there aren't more of these things.
Brooke King: What are these things? Maybe I should consider relocating.
Jose Munoz: Man, that was close.
Andrew J. Harris: You can see through these guys... That's just gross.
Loretta Wood: You're the best, Character.
Ollie Reilly: I thought the heroes had wiped out the Shivan. Where did these guys come from?
Brenda Sneed: Shivan, in Atlas Park. That doesn't make sense.
Samatha Pannell: Thanks, Character. I don't think I could have stood much more of them.
Zella Rossi: "And I thought magic was strange. Those Shivan creep me out.

Mender Lazarus dialogue

Upon rescue:

Mender Lazarus: I am Mender Lazarus, with a group called Ouroboros.
Mender Lazarus: If you have a moment I can explain...
Mender Lazarus: Ah, we have met before, haven't we?
Mender Lazarus: Man, sometimes I hate time travel.

Speak with Mender Silos

Unnecessary Solicitation

You are doing well. Please return to Mender Silos.

Mission Objective(s)

• Speak with Mender Silos

Mender Silos

Debriefing

Well done, Character. Destroying those Shivans should provide security for a while longer. It is odd, however, that the Shivans you fought were much different than the ones in Galaxy City...

I desire to reveal the entity disrupting our time stream. Someone or something is going back and changing seemingly insignificant parts of the recent past. Inductive reasoning dictates that while these events appear insignificant, that in fact there is a grand tapestry yet to be revealed. You have seen it already with the destruction of Galaxy City.

Do not concern yourself with this. You have just grasped the basic concepts of what you call time travel. You can now use our Pillar of Ice and Flame to go back and mend some of your previous exploits, or even experience past events that you didn't take part in. Depending on how far back you go, you'll experience some form of Temporal Scaling, so you might want to bring a group to help you.

Thank you for all you have done for Ouroboros, I think you should go back to The Pilgrim now and see if he has anything further.

Debriefing

You've done well indoctrinating yourself into Ouroboros. Made a few new friends I see... Well, now you fully understand the power of the Pillar of Ice and Flame. You can travel back to your previous adventures, and re-live them or even participate in events you didn't partake in the first time.

Also, Twilight's Son, Mender Lazarus and even Mender Silos all have important projects they could use help with. I'd go speak with them.

Soon, you will no longer need one such as I. You are doing well.