text: [Themes: Science Fiction]
  
  > look at your surroundings
  This appears to be the nerve center of the operation – whatever that may be. The walls are lined with screens and control surfaces, but most of them seem to be inactive.
  
  You can see a larger alien's corpse and a smaller alien's corpse here.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  three ammo clips
  a rifle
  a prison warden's ID card
  your armor (being worn)
  five ration bars
  some bedsheets
  a shard
  a set of fatigues (being worn)
  
  > P.
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > go north
  How do I leave the cell?
  > How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > Go north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  > How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > go north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  > How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > Go north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  > How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > go to the north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  > How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > go to the north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  > How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > go to the north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  > How do I avoid getting shot?
  How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  
  > Go north
  How do I leave the cell?
  How do I leave the prison building?
  How do I avoid dying outside?
  How do I cross the water?
  How do I unlock the door to the command center?
  How do I return to the prison island?
  How do I pass the force field to the hangar?
  How do I start up the ship?
  How do I avoid getting shot?
  > How do I retrieve the swallowed object?
  How do I launch the ship?
  How do I return home?
  1/8: The owner isn't going to return it willingly.
  
  Press SPACE to return to the menu or H to reveal another hint.
  
  > go south
  You are standing in a sparsely furnished lobby. Some chairs are lined up on a wall, but that's about it.
  
  A briefing room is to the east, the ops center lies to the north, and the hallway leading back to the entrance is south.
  
  > go west
  This "armory" is really more of a glorified storage closet: it is just large enough to hold a storage rack and an ammo crate.
  
  The only way out is east, back to the hallway.
  
  > look at the rack
  It is a very simple design, made of plain metal struts with rather sharp edges.
  
  > take the rack
  It is too large and heavy to carry around in one piece.
  
  > hit the rack
  You pull apart the frame of the shelf, giving you a piece of metal with a rather sharp edge.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a makeshift knife
  three ammo clips
  a rifle
  a prison warden's ID card
  your armor (being worn)
  five ration bars
  some bedsheets
  a shard
  a set of fatigues (being worn)
  
  > cut larger with the knife
  You double-check inside the creature's mouth, but no dice. With a sigh, you kneel down in the puddle of blood now surrounding the body. You carefully postion the makeshift knife, plunging it deep into the dead creature's abdominal area; guts, blood, and other bodily fluids spilling out and onto your armored legs as you cut.
  With the incision complete, you take a second to steel yourself before reaching into the abdominal cavity. After a minute or so of fishing around in the bloody soup, you find the object of your desire: a small data crypt, which the creature swallowed when you came into the room. It appears to be undamaged.
  
  You feel like throwing up.
  
  > Clean knife
  You rub the makeshift knife.
  
  > examine the data
  A small storage device you salvaged from the innards of one of your captors.
  
  > look at the panel
  The panels surrounding you are festooned with buttons and switches. You hope that most of them aren't too important.
  The data crypts rests in its place in the control panel.
  
  In the notch is a data crypt.
  
  > turn on the ship
  Luckily, earth scientists were able to get their hands on a similar model of Shwabolian ship, so your suit is able to guide you through most of the pre-flight checks.
  
  You press the button that your suit indicates as being the main switch for the ship. One by one, the messenger ship's systems come alive around you. The ship is now ready for launch.
  
  > Launch
  (the messenger ship)
  You get into the pilot's seat and take a few seconds to collect your thoughts. While you didn't perform absolutely terribly on the simulator tryouts in bootcamp, there is certainly a reason why you were placed with the space-borne infantry rather than in a dropship wing.
  ... no time for second thoughts. It's either this, or staying on this planet until you either starve or your captors return and discover what you did. After all, you (hopefully) won't need to fly any combat maneuvers, just take off and make orbit. You push your doubts aside and follow the pointers provided by you armor's computer system.
  
  Half an hour later, you have safely left the atmosphere and have settled into a stable low orbit.
  
  Planetary Orbit (in the messenger ship)
  You are sitting in the cockpit of the messenger ship. The control panels in front of you inform you that all systems of the ship are in working order.
  
  > look at  the panels
  The panels surrounding you are festooned with buttons and switches. You hope that most of them aren't too important.
  The data crypts rests in its place in the control panel.
  
  In the notch is a data crypt.
  
  > Go upward
  You are already in space.
  
  > go home
  While your sudden appearance in the solar system caused some confusion and concern, the transmission of your identification codes – and showing your face on video comms – dissuaded the combined military forces in the area from blowing you to pieces. Against your own expectations, you manage to land the ship in the hangar of one of the fleet's large carriers. Despite the prospect of hours upon hours of debriefings from all levels of command, and probably military intelligence as well, you are glad to be back.