The Rose is the sixth level in Marathon. It is the third level of Counterattack, the second chapter of the game. This is the first level where BOBs (human civilians, Born On Board the Marathon) can be found; Leela informs you that the mission is to keep as many of them alive as possible. However, even if all of them die, you will still be able to proceed to the next level.
This level introduces the tough but slow moving enemies called Hulks. There are many Pfhor Fighters as well. While BOBs make for pretty useless allies in a fight, you will also be assisted by Defense Drones.
The level can be divided into two parts. The southern part is centered on a large crew recreation area, and the map of the northern part of the level is shaped like a rose (hence the level's name). A Pfhor spaceship can be spotted outside the windows in the northern part.
There are two pattern buffers in this level, one to the east of the recreation area and one to the northwest. There is also a 1x shield recharger near the latter pattern buffer.
Walkthrough[]
If you want to save the BOBs (it's not required to complete the level), be quick and kill the aliens in the large recreation area just to the north. Make your way to the pattern buffer in a room to the northeast of the start location. Clear out the aliens in the surrounding rooms. One of the switches in the hallway will open a room to the southwest, which contains lots of ammo. Once you're done, return to the recreation area.
You can find a 1x shield recharger just to the northwest of the recreation area. In the alcove just south of the recharger, you can find a hidden door. Behind this you will find a corridor with another Magnum (picking it up allows you to dual wield Magnums) and some ammo (this is at the point marked B1 on the map). There's yet another hidden door here in the eastern wall (B2) concealing a secret terminal.
Another pattern buffer and the exit terminal are just to the north of the shield recharger, but before you can finish the level you'll have to kick some more alien butt.
In the southeast part of the level, hit a switch to activate a nearby elevator. Ride the elevator up towards the northern part of the level. Just south of the "Stamen" area on your map, you can open a hidden door in the corridor wall (B3 on the map) to find a secret terminal and some more ammo.
Clear all the enemies in the whole area, then make your way to the heart of the "rose" to save a bunch of BOBs. There's some ammo lying around here as well.
Return all the way back to the shield recharger to heal up. Next, save at the pattern buffer in the room just to the north, and access the terminal to be teleported to Smells Like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken!
Terminals[]
Private Access Terminal 23-f<339.92.69.48>[]
In the first terminal, Leela tells you that your mission is simply to kill as many Pfhor as possible while keeping as many BOBs alive as possible. There are some Marathon Automated Defense Drone to help you, but she says they may not be of much use. She also points out a Pattern Buffer and the exit terminal.
Public Access Terminal 23-f<432.82.38.198>[]
The second terminal gives background lore. It tells you that security has been breached at your location, then searches for "war" and gives a result about the Third Martian War. Another search for "MIDA" appears and results in the history of MIDA. Finally the terminal ends with the display of a Spurious Interrupt, denying further access.
Public Access Terminal 30-g<33.45.91.995>[]
The third terminal is a different kind of message. It is all lower-case, missing some punctuation, and is from someone sick of "silly human rules". The message states that the speaker brought the Pfhor to the UESC Marathon, indicating that it could be from Durandal.
Public Access Terminal 8-f<29.43.95.93>[]
The fourth terminal is another message from Leela. Depending on how well you fought the aliens, she tells you that either too many civilians have been killed or that you have done well in defending them. Regardless, she tells you that the Pfhor have been caught off guard by the counterattack, but more ships are boarding the Marathon.
Trivia[]
- The music for this level is titled AliensAgain. It is track #0.
- The northern half of the level has anatomically correct flower-related region names on the level map: "The Stem", "Stamen", and "Pistil". Other region names include "Recreation Area #5" and "Fun House".
- There is also another flower-related map region name, "Petals", which cannot be seen in-game due to a bug. It can only be read in a map editor.
- When this map is opened in a map editor, a written message can be found outside the bounds of the level. It reads:
NEVER STOP FIRING GK RULES!
- "GK" refers to Greg Kirkpatrick, who designed this level.
Sources[]
Marathon - Level 5: The Rose