Stellar Tether
The Stellar Tether
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Summary
The Stellar Tether is the first major adventure in Trials in Tainted Space's main storyline. Located on Tarkus's eastern-most border, near where the two halves of the planet are bolted together, Captain Steele arrives to find a U.G.C. Peacekeeper team assembled outside of a small control station next to the rift. Approaching the squad's leader, Steele learns that the Stellar Tether station has been taken over by a group of space pirates who are now threatening to blow the tethers if their demands are not met. If the tethers are destroyed, so too is Tarkus. The Peacekeepers recruit Steele to infiltrate the tether station, defeat the pirates, and disarm the bomb before it's too late!
Recommended Level: 5+
Areas and Encounters
The first part of the dungeon is a linear corridor through the tether station at the edge of the rift. There, the PC encounters Tam, a crazed kaithrit tech specialist who has rigged the station's waiting room full of heavily armed turrets and set her mechanical companion Tam-wolf to guard it.
Once Tam-tam's group is dealt with, the PC can proceed through the station, fuck Tam, and restore power to the main elevator. At this point, you also are informed that there is now a 4-hour deadline before the bomb detonates. The elevator leads down to the center of the planet, where a second station is located. The first fight here is against a group of heavy rocket turrets guarding the station; Tech Specialists and Smugglers can both circumvent the turrets and destroy them from behind. Otherwise, they can be fought through, though they do heavy damage.
Past the elevator platform is a circular walkway around the central station chamber. In the central chamber is Kaska Beamfury, the second in command of the Tarasque, who guards the bomb itself. Once she is defeated, the PC can take her detonator (one of two), and attempt to disarm the bomb if they also possess the second detonator.
The second detonator is found in the northern-most part of the station, on the person of Captain Khorgan, the leader of the pirate band who fights the PC in a mech suit. She will drop a detonator, and the PC can retrieve a chunk of Plat190, which is very useful for acquiring the Tarkus data probe and advancing the main story.
Notable Items and Rewards
- Tam-wolf, looted from Tam after her fight. He can be equipped as an accessory, and replaces a Tech Specialist's normal drone.
- Platinum 190 shard. Found near Captain Khorgan after her fight.
Bad Ends
Tam-tam, Captain Khorgan, and Kaska all have unique bad ends in which they enslave the PC and use you in various ways as either a mate or, in Tam's case, a plaything. The PC can also potentially be killed by the rocket pods, by Kaska if her lust is not raised, or by remaining in the station for longer than the deadline allows, causing the planet to be destroyed with you in it.
Resolution
During the course of the dungeon, it is revealed that the bomb is a mere distraction. Rather than terrorism, the pirates are interested in a vein of Plat190 they have discovered in the core of Tarkus, and are busy mining it while Tam and the bomb both keep the Peacekeepers and locals away. The Stellar Tether can be resolved in two very different ways:
- The PC defeats the pirates and disarms the bomb. You must complete a game of Lights Out to disable the bomb, and can only attempt it once both detonators are in your possession. In this case, the pirates are swiftly arrested by the Peacekeepers, and you are able to resume your adventures. (It's been hinted several times that capturing the pirates will allow you to visit them once the Galactic Prison is added.)
- The PC leaves the dungeon before the detonation, and either watches the pirates fly away with their prize -- the Platinum 190 -- or if you possess one of the detonators, the pirates are unable to diffuse the bomb, and Tarkus is destroyed. Assuming you are either in Novahome or off planet by the time the detonation happens, you will no longer be able to explore the surface of Tarkus, but Novahome and the citizens thereof survive.
Either way, once resolved, the PC must return to Tarkus and confront Jack or Jill Steele, who has discovered that Shekka has the dataprobe. You can use the Plat190 you acquired from Captain Khorgan to instantly buy the probe, or else get involved in a very costly bidding war with your rival. The probe, if you buy it, can either be sold to Shekka or to Steele Tech, or given free of charge to Shekka.