Deus Ex Diaries Part Twenty-Two (Invisible War)

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

With Ava Johnson rescued from WTO custody, probably against orders, I was on my way to Mako Ballistics to find out more about the Mag Rail weapon, and probably assassinate the lead scientist…

Ava landed me in an alleyway a short distance from the facility. Such a short distance, in fact, that I went through the door at the end of the alleyway and instantly alerted security. After a short firefight, I found a janitor hanging around in a building just off of the main concourse.

"I'm not the droid you're looking for...?"

I spoke to him and paid for the security code to the main door, then checked his messages before heading inside the facility. Apparently the company was worried that someone was going to try to break in… No idea where they got that idea, apart from the janitor’s cryptic comment about “the other guy” dying as he broke in to look at the Mag Rail…

I took down some SSC security personnel inside as I searched about, and found myself near the rear entrance -- obviously the wrong way. I backtracked and murdered some SSC, finding my way to where the prototype -- and lead scientist -- were behind a slow-moving blast door.

I spoke to the guy and had two options; tell the guy I just wanted the gun, or fight him along with the SSC trooper and mech. He informed me that he would only open the gun case once he was safe in his office. As the gun could reportedly fire through walls, I told him to go and be “safe” -- I could do both the WTO objective of uploading the schematic, as well as the Order objective of shooting the guy through a wall.

He toddled off and I cleared some space in my inventory, snatching the gun up once I was able. I turned and shot the scientist through the glass, or rather, I tried to do so. For a gun capable of shooting through walls, it was sadly useless on bullet-proof glass…

Donna Morgan, my commander from the WTO, contacted me to thank me for completing my mission, and that she would have another one shortly. I should concentrate on tracking down information on Leila Nassif from the bio lab.

Lin-Mei Chen, from the Order, then contacted me to berate me for being an WTO lackey and not murdering the scientist. After I headed up in the elevator to the bio lab, she contacted me again to tell me to find out where Leila was now hiding, because I must not already be doing that…

Free weapon, woo!

Two scientists were stood in front of the elevator talking about how they hoped that they could leave Mako before things got serious. They were more annoyed than worried by my appearance, complaining that they had nothing to do with the project at Tarsus, and how they warned that it could result in another JC Denton. They told me to speak to the project director on the other side of the lab, so I left them alone.

Two guards began to fire at me, making me wish I had just sliced the two women moments before, so they had a reason to try and kill me. I used the Mag Rail prototype to kill the SSC and began exploring. I found a cell labeled Specimen: X07 -- it contained a Gray, larger than the ones in Deus Ex and less ‘trying to murder the protagonist’ once I released it.

Using some kind of telepathy, it complained that the scientists were monsters, then started firing radiation blasts at the two women from before. Figuring it had saved me a job, I left it to it and went to the project director.

Well, it wasn't trying to kill ME...  

He used the usual ‘there are bigger things here than I can talk about’ type of explanation that doesn’t tell you anything, whilst also revealing that he knew Alex D. I went into his office and found a holo-message from Leila that said she was headed to Cairo.

Donna came over my comm and told me to head for the roof, where my pilot was waiting for me. This seemed odd, as my pilot had been broken out of WTO custody, and Donna knowing where she was surely meant that Ava wasn’t as free as she would like…

I went back downstairs, leaving X07 the Gray to do as he wanted, and out through the back door I had found. I laser-sworded the SSC guard stood outside, then completely missed the trapped ladder to the right. I moved a box, jumped up to the first roof and spotted the ladder I had missed…

I headed up to the helicopter and asked Ava if she would take me to Cairo. She said that she could certainly do that, as she hadn’t yet searched Cairo for her passenger. Alex made a comment about her being very dedicated to her job, which I had to agree with -- who wants to chase their employer around?

And so we set off for Cairo...