Chapter 27: Join the Federation's Leviathan Strike

Admiral Dane himself personally briefs the Leviathan strike mission.

Step forward to find the area deserted - until a huge Federation landing craft hovers above. Deploying a command platform, watch as numerous Federation troopers leap out - joined by Admiral Dane himself. The impressed Admiral explains the situation: the Federation strike force is keeping the Pirates busy while Demolition Troopers will aid Samus to breach through to the cargo transit station and the Leviathan Seed beyond.

But expect some incredibly heavy resistance. Four Demolition Troopers are needed to coordinate a successful attack - Admiral Dane stresses the need to protect these guys - they're the only ones who can dismantle the heavy blast doors at the far end of the cargo transit station beyond, and must be protected from all the Pirates hiding out inside (why don't they just wait here for Samus to clear out all hostiles?).

The Admiral returns to the Demolition Trooper's dropship with some words of encouragement, so let's get to work. Watch as the first group of Demolition Troopers show their expertise with some hi-tech C4 by completely demolishing the thick blast doors covering the exit up ahead.

Relieve this terminal of power to set the Federation Marines loose.

There's no going back now - one of the Demolition Troops watches the exit. Scan one of them for your Logbook to learn that these explosive experts don't possess armour as strong as regular Marines, so they'll need some heavy protection out in the field.

You've got twelve Demolition Troopers in reserve, at least four are needed by the end of this sequence. Get ready by cracking open the crates scattered about to fill your health to maximum - your Hypermode is about to get a very heavy workout.

Step towards the northern exit and speak to the Demolition Trooper standing there. He'll give you some quick intel before stepping aside. Step through the door to Transit Station 1104 beyond - the first of a very long line of transit tunnels.

Up ahead lies a sealed access hatch above a purple control terminal - look left and right to see other access tunnels filled with nervous Federation Marines and Demolition Troopers itching to start this fight. Don't keep them waiting and energize the terminal via the Grapple Voltage to swing the access doors wide open.

Don't waste any time - finish hostiles as fast as you can.

Now the fun begins. Leap up through the open door and take a quick look through the observation window ahead. Inside you'll see the underside of a moving transit train - scan the object to learn that it's quite a good idea to avoid contact with moving trains. Look right and step towards a sealed hatch to find a Pirate Trooper burst through. Quickly dispatch the target and head through the visible exit. Beyond lies the first huge open transit tunnel - and Demolition Troopers are already under fire from hostile forces.

From here on you're going up against everything the Pirates have - Pirate Troopers, Armored Pirate Troopers, Assault Pirate Troopers, Aerotroopers - the works. If that's not hard enough, this revelation sure is. If you can manage to get all twelve Demolition Troopers safely through this entire sequence, you'll earn a bonus gold credit.

Now that's not a small task, is it? If you're really going for this credit, I strongly recommend saving your game before beginning the sequence and try to obtain it on either Normal or Veteran difficulties. This credit is definitely going to be the hardest one to score in the game.

Now each transit tunnel segment is incredibly crazy and frantic, so I can only really give pointers to help you through this segment, as memorization of enemy locations and attack patterns will get you through in one piece.

Extreme Hypermode use will see you through the onslaught.

Firstly, always use Hypermode to deal with enemies and take them out with absolutely no delay. Draw their fire as quickly as possible to give the Demolition Troopers a chance to survive and head for cover. Don't be alarmed if you enter Corrupt Hypermode, try to use it to your advantage.

Early on in the first transit tunnel be sure to keep off the railway tracks after dispatching two Advanced Aerotroopers as a train will barrel headlong through the region without delay. Also remember to break open any remaining crates in each region once the action dies down to recover health, as you're going to need as much health as possible here.

Now you should have already scanned every Pirate foe here earlier in the game for your Logbook, but keep an eye out for Advanced Aerotroopers in Transit Station 0203, Advanced Pirate Troopers, Armored Shield Troopers and Advanced Shield Troopers in Transit Station 0204, Jumpmines in Transit Tunnel P69 and Advanced Shield Troopers, Advanced Pirate Troopers (again) and a Berserker Knight in Transit Station 0205.

Speaking of which, as soon as the Berserker Knight reveals itself, make sure you're not in Hypermode. Fire up your X-Ray Visor and lock onto is glowing Phazon core. Simply fire a single shot from your Nova Beam to down the beast instantly.

Don't forget to use the X-Ray Visor/Nova Beam combo on the Berserker Knight.

Transit Station 0204 is probably going to be the toughest point in the sequence, as a thick concentration of Pirates can easily overwhelm your Demolition Troopers. Your buddies will stand in clear view of the hostiles so you'll just need to be extremely quick and draw their fire (and have a lot of luck).

Eventually in Transit Tunnel P69 you'll see a nasty sight through the observation window. On the other side two Federation Marines are firing at something off-screen. That target quickly reveals itself as the red-armoured Pirate Commander you saw way back in the Scrapvault when Commando Pirates made their first entrance. So it looks like you'll be meeting up with this fella soon.

Eventually upon finding and dispatching the Berserker Knight, you're almost there. Quickly fry the remaining two hostiles on the other side of the ruined gate and immediately exit Hypermode. The annoying Pirate Commander shows up again and summons a trio of Commando Pirates to your position as their last line of defense. Very quickly activate the X-Ray Visor and use the Nova Beam to dispatch all three before they enter Hypermode and slow you down. Otherwise, enter Hypermode and deal with any visible targets quickly.

With all hostiles finally cleared out and at least four Demolition Troopers on standby, watch as four of them set to work planting explosives on the massive sealed gate and observation stations overlooking the chamber. All four charges detonate - completely eradicating any protection the giant gate once had. Phew, that was certainly some hard work.

Use this handy Phazon pool to recover health.

Speak to the now-relaxed pair of Demolition Troopers before activating the nearby hand scanner to open the gate wide. Step inside Transit Tunnel P70 and take a look at the floor of this otherwise unassuming chamber.

Down below lies a handy Phazon pool, so let's go for a dip to restore all your lost health. Also be sure to look for the final Pirate lore terminal down here tucked away in one corner. Scan this one for the Mistress Gandrayda entry. Describing Gandrayda's activities upon joining the corrupted Pirates, it speaks of her disciplining them with her mimic powers, and her vow to present Samus' helmet to Dark Samus as a trophy.

Well, sorry to have put a spanner in the works of that vow. Step over to the hand scanner below the eastern gate and activate it to open the passage wide. Step inside to discover Transit Station Leviathan - finally the access point you've been searching for (check your map to see just how long this transit section really is). The camera pans up to the sealed shutters above the chamber before swinging over to face a control terminal high above.

Scan the giant sealed gate on the east to learn that this final barrier is composed of Maldium - Samus' gunship should make short work of it. Climb around the chamber and leap up to the Grab Ledge to reach the control terminal's platform. Except you've got a slight problem. The crazy Pirate Commander is back, and he's certainly no ladies man. Brutally knocking Samus down to the floor, this time he'll face you one-on-one, well except for his continuously-summoned Commando Pirate goons.

The Pirate Commander personally engages Samus in battle.

Scan the leader for your Logbook before engaging. He'll be teleporting around the chamber while using suppressive fire, and his backup troops won't help either. So your best bet is to enter Hypermode and relentlessly fire upon his red Phazite armour. Keep your distance to avoid a nasty swipe from his energy lance, and don't worry if you enter Corrupt Hypermode.

The Commando Pirates won't stop appearing, so concentrate on their leader at all times. With enough punishment the Commander's armour will finally break apart - without it he's toast. Finish the target and mop up any remaining Commando Pirates to secure the area (and score yourself the bonus Commander Squad Defeated gold credit - that one was easier).

Three Demolition Troopers arrive atop the overlooking balcony (pity they missed the show). One activates a control terminal to return the large mechanical arm to the center of the chamber (very nice of him) so you can now climb back up to the control terminal attached to the chamber's ceiling shutters. Climb up and interface with the control terminal to fully retract the elaborate shutters and open the chamber wide.

Samus' gunship opens the path to the Leviathan.

Now for the final task. Hop down through a nearby hole and fire up your Command Visor. Lock onto the icon hovering before the gate and watch as your ship promptly arrives and dismantles the gate with some very heavy firepower. Take a look down the seemingly endless transit tunnel beyond - scan it to learn that this tunnel sure enough leads to the Seed, and electrified rails disable travel by foot, but your ship can easily fit inside.

Well done! We're now clear to finally enter the final Leviathan Seed and reduce it to rubble. You're now no longer going to see very many Pirates anymore, in fact only one Commando Pirate remains hiding out in the Command Courtyard. So if you somehow missed out on the 20 Commando Pirates Defeated Friend Voucher, use that target to reach the total.

Now that we've also picked up all but one of the suit upgrades in the game, you're completely free to uncover all the remaining Expansions hidden throughout the game's worlds. Feel free to go after the Leviathan Seed now, but for this guide I'll take us around to locate everything now, as you're definitely going to need as many items as possible (especially all the Energy Tanks) for the fight in the Seed - critically on Hypermode difficulty.

Next Chapter: Return to Norion

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