Quake II/Outlands

Level objective
The objective for this level is to retrieve the air strike marker and place it in the receptacle beside the fuel pod to call in a bomb run on a Strogg fuel pipeline.

Strategy
This quick and easy level provides a short break in between the more challenging levels of the City and Palace Area units. No particular strategy is needed to succeed; just try not to get so shot up that you begin the Palace Area short on health, ammunition or armor. There are a large number of enemies, 56 at hard difficulty, but they are of the weak sort encountered early in the game. Sometimes you meet them in groups, but often you can just pick them off one by one. Don't get too excited about watching your close air support buddies pound Strogg military infrastructure into dust; the air strike itself is a massive letdown.

Walkthrough
You enter this level in a narrow passage that leads down a long flight of steps to an outdoor area. There are Guards at the bottom of the steps and they will attack as soon as they see or hear you. Watch out for one hidden in an alcove to the left. Keeping a lookout for Guards close by, take a careful look around and notice the gun emplacement at some distance. A Gunner at the controls is shooting Rockets at you, but they take so long to arrive that they are easy to avoid. Don't stand with your back to a wall where you will take splash damage. Kill the gunner with a suitable long-range weapon. The Rail Gun works well and you will be able to pick up more Slugs later in the level. Guards will approach over a bridge from the direction of the gun and will need to be dealt with. As you explore, don't be taken by surprise by the Guards in the cave on the far side of the bridge.

You are in a steep-sided valley in a mountainous area. The bridge crosses over a deep canyon. A river in the canyon goes into a tunnel on your right. On your left, it seems to dead-end. There are Barracuda Sharks in the river but the water looks clean and harmless.

The Air Strike Marker
The obvious way forward is to cross the bridge. The less obvious way is to jump in the river, but this walkthrough assumes that you don't do that. Go into the cave on the other side and just follow the rifts and ledges, taking out the Guards and Enforcers as you meet them. You will pass over a crack in the ground through which you can see the river flowing underneath and then the river canyon will be on your right. Soon the bank drops close to the water level and the end of the river appears ahead. Guards are grouped here, both in plain view and in a dark area to the left. To the right, the Marine who was originally tasked with the placement of the marker sits having lost his head (unless you've gibbed him in the fighting). Next to him is the air strike marker, which looks rather like a 1960's portable TV set. Grab it; maybe Hogan's Heroes is on!

If you want to score all the enemy kills, this is a good time to think about the Barracuda Sharks in the river. Also, some Flyers came over the mountains to join the fight in the area where you started, so if they didn't catch up with you, go back for them. Otherwise, just press on.

The Fuel Pipeline
Take the marker to the left. At first you will be in a cave, but then you will come out into a narrow rift that leads down into a wider valley. In the valley, you can see the fuel pipeline. There are small buildings set into the mountain wall both to the right and the left. There are Gunners waiting just outside both buildings, Flyers up and around to the left and a stray Guard roaming the valley floor. All the way to the left from where you came down into the valley, there is some kind of machinery in the pipeline, presumably the "pod" you're looking for. Around the back, there is an opening. Go up to it and put the marker in.

After a few seconds, you will receive the message "Airstrike incoming in: 10" and the number will count down. To keep busy, you can go to the other end of the valley and explore the building over there, where you will find some useful stuff guarded by a Gunner. This also keeps you out of the way of the bombs, such as they are. Finally, go back to the "pod" end of the pipeline, which looks almost unharmed, and into the building. There is a Gunner in there as well. When he is down, make your way to the back, through a door and press the button marked EXIT. The ground shakes and the level, and unit, ends.

The River
You can ignore the river unless a) you want to score all enemy kills or b) you fall in. In either case, try to kill the Barracuda Sharks before they bite you.

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Secrets
This level has no secrets.