Months after the event, an excavation crew working in the destroyed enemy Uca Base recovered a portable log recorder near the former site of an enemy pulse laser cannon. The recorder was not badly damaged and easily salvageable. C-Lab's data retrieval revealed the recorder had belonged a member of Red Squad, Register Number RX2432-9 (MIA). Only one log entry was recorded. The following is a transcript of the complete entry: Moon, Deimos Uca Crater Operation UCA Mission Time Elapsed 0130 "MTE 0130, Red-nine, personal log. I think I'll drop protocol, as the chances of my getting out of here alive and of UAC Central hearing this entry are very remote. Red Squad touched down at MTE 008 and we were subsequently ambushed. I can't help but feel UAC Central knew there was a high probability of this yet sent us just the same. Damn top brass. I'm stuck in some hellhole with no air support or ground support. As far as I can tell, I'm the only member of Red Squad alive. There's no possibility of help from the terrain squad or the first Drop Squad either - I saw what remained of them...hanging like trophies in some marble hall. The demons are here alright. They're swarming everywhere. There's some huge construction crater just outside the base entrance - I can only imagine what atrocity the demons are creating. I tried radio contact, scrambled and secure channel, with the Gateway just a few minutes ago. I couldn't hail her; the transport could have been shot down. If she is, I might as well just blow my brains out right now, since I'm a dead man. I...wait.... [static] ...ok, just damn sentries. I think I triggered some sort of alarm sneaking through the construction site and into the base. That's the third group of troopers I've heard march by. They don't sound too pleased, and I think it's clear they're looking for me. I don't know how much longer my luck will hold out. If I stay up here in this teleportation chamber any longer, someone is bound to see me. Let me just....ugh... [static] ...Damn it, the lights just completely died for a moment there. I don't know what's going on, but I can hear something awfully big powering up south of my position. It's got this chamber shaking and flickering pretty badly. Better get moving again before some bloody demon materializes in my face. Besides, I've got a hunch I know what's out there, south of me. And if the Gateway is still out there somewhere, I've got a hunch she isn't coming to rescue my sorry ass...until I do something to make sure she doesn't end up like that bloody mess, the Aquarius. This is Red-nine, entry stop. I hope to hell some sorry soul gets to hear this. And I hope to bloody hell I'm there to hear it again as well. Over and out." --------------- Welcome to talpoida.wad, my second wad and a continuation of the storyline first presented in uca.wad. If you're curious as to what the full storyline is, then I recommend getting a copy of uca. As for TALPOIDA, it replaces e2m2 and was constructed using DEU5.1 and BSP1.0. It is fine-tuned for single player mode; multi- player mode and deathmatch are supported though not tested. Also, talpoida was designed to be played in succession with uca.wad; you can certainly play it as a stand-alone, but you may find some of the fighting situations a little tense without the weapons you have obtained from uca.wad (of course, you could always use the cheat codes, but where's the fun in that? :) ). This wad, and uca.wad, can be found at infant2.sphs.indiana.edu or by emailling me, Eddie Nguyen, at anguilla@raphael.acpub.duke.edu. I hope you enjoy it. As far as I know, uca and talpoida are both bug-free. If you spot anything, or if you have any comments or suggestions, please do email me. I'd love to hear from you! As in uca, I made this wad as fair as possible while still keeping it challenging. Of course, it will be a bit harder if you play it as a stand-alone instead of after uca, but trust me, it's beatable both ways. I've been able to complete it in about 25 minutes. If you enjoyed uca and talpoida, look for the third installment of this storyline sometime in the next month or so. Happy Hunting! Eddie