| Note that these missions cannot be flown as the appropriate code is missing! |
This mission used to be on my normal missions list because I had assumed that it did actually show up in the game but I hadn't been in the right place. Since nobody has contacted me to say that they've done this mission in the two or more years it's been described on this site, it seems safe to say that it's a Broken Mission.
Several people have been confusing this mission with a message reading "INFORMATION FOR SALE: I have information for sale that may be of interest to friends or colleagues of Jo Merion of Olwain," which tells you where Turner's Quest is in exchange for 50000 creds (information you get for free on the missions page and the FAQ) - the two are unrelated.
Universal Scientist will have been reporting Mic Turner's preparations for his journey far north, and will report him missing. The reports refer to a Commander Jo Merion, flying a Mirage II (!), making a rescue attempt, but falling foul of INRA and being held at a base in Liaethfa (0,7).
I recommend that as soon as Universal Scientist reports Mic taking off, you should set off for sector (0,7) and wait until the first report of Merion. Then hyperspace into Liaethfa and dock. Hopefully, there will be an advert on the BBS mentioning Merion's message. Answer, and accept the mission. The message will be hidden in a package of flowers.
Set off for Alioth (0,4) and dock at Fortress Culloden. Look on the BBS for a message asking for FRESH FLOWERS, and answer it. The people placing the advert will thank you, and tell you to buy a high-price ticket at Turner's Requiem. In addition, they now know that the Thargoid systems are protected by military defence satellites.
The actual mission text for this mission is displayed, headed "Message from INRA Counter-Intelligence Directorate," but there are no buttons to press to find out more. Therefore you can't do the mission, but here's what might have happened...
INRA find out that you are going on a mission to find the Thargoids, and make you an offer you can't refuse. They want you to make a delivery to our old friends, and are offering a lot. Should you fail to carry out their wishes, your legal status will take a severe dent, and you will be classed as a Terrorist in Federal and Imperial space, which could prove inconvenient.
If you accept, you are given 100,000 credits to cover expenses, and you will be fitted with a canister containing a new version of the mycoid which gave the Thargoids so much trouble in the Thargoid Wars.
Initial procedure is the same as in Argent's Quest #2, in that you dock with the Thargoid shuttle in Polaris (0,72) and are taken to Miacke (0,0). Precisely what you do next is up to you.
If you decide to go along with INRA's wishes, it seems that you should target the mycoid missile on the main planet, the one which the big space station is orbiting. When you have completed the mission (ie. the missile explodes??), you should get out of the system very quickly, as the Thargoids are unlikely to be happy. Upon returning to Alioth (?), you are thanked by INRA, who pay you another 100,000. Your combat rating is raised to Hero (this is the only way to get above Elite), and you will be made a Prince in the Empire and an Admiral in the Federation. Oh, and your criminal record'll be cleaned too.
On the other hand, you can decide to be a nice guy, and dock at the big space station instead. The Thargoids collect the new missile, and thank you, saying that they will be able to engineer a vaccine from the new mycoid. You are offered a Thargoid warship, and don't need to go to Hotice for the Mycoid.
I think that when the mission text for the Argent's Quest missions was written, the programmers intended that the INRA missions would be playable. The bit where, once you arrive at Alioth in your new ship, the Alliance say you have been outlawed in Federal and Imperial space is supposed to be connected to the Terrorist status you get for defying INRA. Of course, since the INRA missions don't work, you can't become a terrorist.!
I'm not quite sure of the timing on this one, but it seems that it is only activated if you collect the Mycoid vaccine from the research station at Hotice. If you don't have the vaccine on board when you land back at Miacke to give it to the Thargoids, they express their displeasure, and order you to go back and try again. They inform you that "INRA will be waiting," but when I deliberately ejected the mycoid before landing, so I could test this, they weren't.
In this mission, you get jumped by an INRA patrol. They use a Hyperdrive Jammer to stop you in your tracks, and they make you an offer you can't refuse. You are ordered to eject the vaccine, scoop up the new mycoid and then proceed as in #1. I think that the rewards are similar to the first INRA mission.
After losing the mycoid vaccine to INRA (but not accepting their mission???), and landing at Miacke, the Thargoids ask you to pursue the ship which stole it from you. They give you a tracking device to find where the ship's gone.
It seems that the ship you're looking for is an 'INRA Command Ship,' which is basically a modified Imperial Explorer. You should destroy this ship, and scoop up the vaccine. On your successful return to Miacke, you are thanked by the Thargoids, and given a Thargoid ship all of your own!!
For some reason, it seems that life becomes very hot for you, with 'Wanted dead or alive' messages being splattered all over the BBSs. An advert appears offering a new identity.
The idea of this mission is that you perform a basic assassination, but on your return from the kill you are given the target's identity a completely clean ship and legal status. I don't know what ship you get, or what happens to your combat rating.