Deus Ex Diaries Part Three

This is my ongoing exploration of the Deus Ex Universe, in preparation for when Mankind Divided arrives later this year. Whether you’re a newcomer or an old-goer, I hope to make this something you can read along with and enjoy. We continue on with Deus Ex.

Last time I was searching for a way into an NSF-controlled warehouse to deactivate a generator so Paul Denton and his team could storm the place. On the way, I rescued Smuggler’s friend Ford, and we escaped the MJ12 underground sewer facility. I went off to look at what was behind a door which apparently holds some gun turrets, when the game crashed...

I made my way through the door and had to avoid some laser tripwires — or I would have, if I hadn’t disabled the turrets from the control box outside. It turned out that at the other end of the tunnel was an exit into the streets, and thus a second way to get to the MJ12 hideout. May have been useful, if I hadn’t had to waste multitools and lockpicks just to get out a different way…

Smuggler was happy to hear his friend was alright, too.

I then decided to enter the one door I hadn’t yet tried, a locked on at the edge of the area. I used a LAM (one-use rocket launcher) to blast it open, killing at least one UNATCO soldier stood behind me. Shrugging, I went inside and looted the place, then went into the next part of town.

Alex Jacobson came through on comms to tell me about the area and give me a pretty crappy map of it, seeming to suggest that there were other things in the area that might distract me from the one giant warehouse a few buildings (and mines) away. The NSF warehouse, finally!

"Map"...

I made my way to the rooftops, dispatching several NSF troops and at least one attack dog. There was a ladder which led straight to the roof of the warehouse, so up I went. Another laser tripwire, obviously hooked to an alarm, blocked my way inside, but going around it I easily dropped down. However that alerted the four NSF in the top area: whoopsie…

With those troops on the run/dead and more on the way, I worked my way down a level until an opening showed the generator I had to blow. There was a canister of something next to it, so rather than waste my ammo I shot that a few times, making the whole floor explode as I watched from above. Alex contacted me again and told me Gunther Hermann would take over on clean-up and Paul Denton was storming the place, and that I should head to the roof to get on the helicopter back to base.

I shared a few words with Gunther back upstairs, then met the pilot — the pilot I had met earlier in the bar. Whom had asked me for booze. With another shrug, I climbed aboard, back to Liberty Island and HQ.

Don't drink and pilot, kids...

Upon arrival, Alex began to talk to me as I went for the doors, but was cut off by a cutscene. A guy named Bodyguard, with a robotic voice and his mate had just come outside and were heading for the chopper, but first wanted to speak to me. They were with a Government Official, who was apparently the only person allowed to interrogate the prisoners down on Section 3. And I was to see Mr Manderley right away.

Getting an Agent Smith vibe here...

Not being one to allow robotic weirdos tell my cyborg weirdo what to do, I went to JC’s office and read my emails. The one from Paul was kinda worrying, telling me not to believe whatever I was told, but he was being set up to take the fall for something, no time to explain. Yet he took time to tell me to hack Mr Manderley’s emails as well as Anna Navarre’s. Because of course I want to cheese off my boss and partner…

"P.S. Clear my internet history. P.P.S. Take a dump on Manderley's desk."

I went over to Mr Manderley’s office and saw Anna stood with the receptionist, the door to the inner office locked. Apparently the boss was in a meeting, but would be with us shortly. So I stood near the door to eavesdrop.

Nothing juicy, unless you read between the lines. They wanted to get rid of Paul, because JC was available, with more like him to come. The nano-augmentations were seemingly going gold, based on mine and Paul’s performance.

"Including that time Paul took a dump on my desk."

The Government Official finished and left, telling me that we weren’t ready for proper introductions, on his way to interrogate the NSF prisoners. As I had arrived after Anna, of course I went in first for my meeting.

Mr Manderley explained how Paul had failed in his mission and gone AWOL, which meant that it was all his fault. JC, sadly with no prompting from me, dobbed in his older brother by saying that Paul had been giving UNATCO troops in Hell’s Kitchen gas grenades instead of live ammunition. Despite Paul’s alleged failures, Mr Manderley had intel on where the shipment of Ambrosia may have been headed. So next step was to restock from the quartermaster and get on the chopper to search Battery Park, to try and find out which airfield they would be flying the medicine from.

As I left the office, Anna began to chat with Mr Manderley about how I should be considered for an upcoming assassination assignment, as I’d left carnage in my wake. I headed downstairs to get some stuff, and to nose in on the interrogation.

For some reason the QM wouldn’t talk to me to give me stuff, so I went to check up on my upgrades and chat to Alex. The latter wasn’t in and the former wasn’t applicable, so I spoke to Jamie Reyes, the doctor. He complained that there were too many patients, I sympathised and went to the brig.

Government officials, getting their hands dirty as they are wont to do.

The Government Official was talking to a prisoner, explaining that he had intel on the guy’s family, but wouldn’t use it if the NSF troop told what he knew about the NSF plans. He then turned and had a go at me for nosing in… That’ll bite me in the arse later, I bet…

I went upstairs and got on the chopper for Battery Park, again piloted by the alcoholic pilot. If I arrive and don’t crash into a skyscraper on the way, I’ll pick up Part Four there...