Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon - Sierra On-Line Sent in to SynTax by Andy Harrison Space Quest III begins where Space Quest II left off. Now famous, spaceman Roger Wilco narrowly escaped death in the fire-ravaged wreck of Vohaul's ship. Since this time, Roger has been in suspended animation, drifting aimlessly through space, cocooned within the safety of his escape pod. Mistaken for space junk, Roger's pod is taken aboard a robot-commanded garbage freighter. Within, a jarring collision triggers the pod's "sleep revival system", and slowly Roger Wilco is brought back from unconsciousness. Tentatively, Roger emerges from his pod, which emits a final sad hum, and then shuts down forever, loyal to the end. Strewn everywhere is intergalactic trash; crashed rockets, grounded flying saucers and the arm of a once-magnificent android. The only seemingly useful piece of junk is a warp motivator, but, boy, is it heavy! There must be another way to move a motivator. A deft move and Roger finds himself sprawled on a conveyor belt, heading straight for a rock crusher. Only a split-second manoeuvre saves our hero from certain death. A quick "tight-rope" walk and a nervous jump lands Roger in a grabbing machine, slung from an overhead rail. Positioned correctly, and the warp motivator, far below, is easy prey. A tumble through a trash chute lands Roger in a heap of junk. A thorough search reveals a tiny reactor that could prove useful. A minor scuffle with a rat could lessen the load somewhat, but not to worry, there will always be another one. Further discoveries land Roger in the enviable position of possessing a fully equipped spacecraft. Some evasive action is necessary, however, if Roger is to fly his craft outside the confines of the junk freighter. The universe is at Commander Wilco's disposal, course set, sit back and fly! The Planet of Phleebut: A message from the evil terminator is enough to put the frighteners on any ordinary spaceman, but not our intrepid R. Wilco. Intergalactic banter with an android "salesthing" and a tour of a hollowed-out monster leg are on the agenda for this barren but not unexciting planet. An invisibility belt and some purchases from the Mog tourist shop are the only objects of any value. So Roger may leave this planet to roam the universe for his next duel. Monolith Burger: Truly a restaurant at the end of the universe - an outer space burger bar. Outer space maybe, but certainly not outer food! Everything from monolith fun packs to "slurps" and a million other gastronomic delights. Also a rather interesting arcade game, "Astro Chicken", resides there. Landing a chicken, that has seemingly forgotten the art of flight, on a trampoline-type affair is not as easy as it sounds. Fraught with fun, a must for every budding Lunar Lander expert! Meal over, back to the job in hand. The Hot Planet of Ortega: Roger now finds himself on a highly unstable, volcanically active and somewhat strange planet. A pair of thermo-underpants is a must if Roger is to keep himself in the game. Stumbling across a seismic experiment, Roger is able to bide his time and collect an impact detonator, of all things. An enormous, high-security complex with a far-reaching tractor beam to pull in small space ships, and even small planets, is the target. Mission semi-accomplished and the planet is an intergalactic time-bomb. But many small explosions have changed the planet's surface and Roger finds himself cut off from his spaceship. Only a precision athletic vault puts Roger within yards of his craft and, ultimately, his only escape. Fire-riddled and explosion- torn, the planet errupts into a state of total and final obliteration. Roger, clear of the danger by seconds, sets course for Pestulon, his final and most important challenge. The Planet of Pestulon: A high-security complex, guarded by armed robots, presents a problem. Well, to anyone without an invisibility belt, it would indeed be a problem. Once inside, a circular corridor presents itself. On closer inspection, and a far degree of foresight, a janitor's closet can be seen to nestle in the central hub. Back to his humble beginnings, Roger dons the janitor's uniform with pride. A space hero now, but we all had to start somewhere. With knowledgeable ease, Roger positively zooms through the Planet's HQ office. Using the useful things he picked up in the office, Roger fools a high-security door with a keycard lock and a composite facial scanner. On the other side, two "jellied" Andromedans stand immobilised. Vaporised, the two walk free, and all feel it is time to get out of there. Doors on all four sides open to reveal "The Boss" and his guards, standing menacingly, guns at the ready. In robots six times their height, Roger and The Boss must fight to survive in a duel. In a massive arena, the mechanical boxing match takes place. Roger has no support, but he who dares wins, he who flounders dies. Effectively "flooring" The Boss, Roger and the two Andromedans escape to the apparent safety of their spaceship, hearing the ensuing uproar from the arena. On leaving the planet's atmosphere, all seems to be safe and the Andromedans congratulate Roger, only to be interrupted by an alarm from the flight deck. Fighter craft on the radar, approaching from all angles. With the skill of an ace fighter- pilot, to much applause from the Andromedans, Roger sees 3, 4, 5 and 6, 7 then 8 of them destroyed with some nimble laser work. The rest, hopelessly defeated, head back. As if this wasn't enough, the people of Pestulon have tampered with Roger's light drive. As a result, Roger is powerless, as ship, Andromedans and all are sucked into a black hole. Hurtling through the unknown, the spacecraft is tossed around like a canoe in raging rapids. Incredibly, on emergence from the void, Mother Earth presents herself in her full glory. Destination:- Sierra On-Line's software HQ. The Andromedans are hired as software authors, and present their prize package, "Astro Chicken". However, on learning that Sierra are not in need of a janitor, Roger struts alone and somewhat dejectedly back to his spaceship. Finally, our intrepid hero blasts off, mission accomplished. So we bid farewell as Roger's ship bursts into light speed .......... COURSE UNKNOWN!