The Sentient Hunhow seeks to destroy the Tenno by exploiting long-forgotten secrets.
Previous story quest: Natah
Starting the quest
This quest becomes available after completing the Neptune Junction, and can then be activated in the Codex. The Second Dream must be completed to access the Pluto Junction. Starting the quest will trigger the cinematic cutscene.
Intro cutscene
[The Stalker, carrying something in front of him, walks up a staircase to a small, circular platform in a cavernous space – it appears to be a cave in the volcanic rock under Uranus' oceans. The platform rises up from the abyss, and there is a lump of rock in the centre with the War sword – forged from Hunhow's bones – embedded within, a ghostly shield shimmering around it. Forty-two Battalysts ring the platform, floating just off its edge. An opening in the cave, directly facing the Stalker, shows Hunhow's body in the ocean beyond. The Stalker stops at the head of the stairs, in front of the platform, and looks around at the Sentient fighters.]
Hunhow: "Who destroyed the Orokin? Your way of life? Who do you hunt, Shadow, to cleanse your despair in their blood?"
[The Stalker walks forward, still warily observing the Sentient fighters. In response to Hunhow's question, he presents the object he was holding – the severed head of a Loki warframe.]
Stalker: "Tenno."
[The Stalker drops the head on the platform. Hunhow's body is now slightly closer to the window.]
Hunhow: "Sever their heads, yet they rise again. Someone has hidden the Tenno essence, their truth, from you."
Stalker: "Lotus."
[The hilt of the War sword starts glowing red and it begins to slide out of the rock and hover in the air. The Stalker looks down at his right hand. Sentient energy begins swirling around it as he too is lifted into the air. In an explosion of blue energy particles, the Pakal Sentient armour appears on the Stalker as the Sentient cores are simultaneously extinguished from the Battalysts. The Stalker drops down to the platform again, landing deftly, as the lifeless Battalysts fall into the abyss. The War sword, still hovering, swivels so that the hilt is directly in front of the Stalker's face, and when Hunhow next speaks, it is from the red glow in the hilt.]
Hunhow: "I know where she hides the Tenno heart. A womb in the sky, forbidden to my kind, but where you will take me."
[The Stalker grabs the sword and holds it in both hands, then looks up at Hunhow's body, which is now distressingly close to the window.]
Stalker: "Who?"
Hunhow: "I am Hunhow, Sentient destroyer of worlds. By your hand, expose their heart. By my edge… cleave it beating from its nest."
[on board Orbiter]
Lotus: "The Sentient Hunhow has grown strong again and his thoughts have invaded my own. Worse still, he has enlisted the Stalker to find the Reservoir, a weak point of all Tenno, a place I hid long ago. I fear the Stalker is on the cusp of finding this place. Do not let this happen."
First Mission: Infiltrate the Grineer archives (Umbriel, Uranus)
The mission is a Spy mission on the Grineer Sealab tileset. At least two of the data vaults must be successfully hacked, or the mission will fail.
Lotus: "The Grineer's excavations have disturbed Hunhow's tomb. They've awakened something evil, bent on Tenno destruction. Infiltrate the Grineer systems to find out what they know. It may lead us to the Stalker."
(upon hacking the first vault) Lotus: "The Grineer expedition has uncovered pieces of Hunhow, fragments of his body. For Hunhow, every part of him is connected to his singular mind. Is this how he's invading my mind?"
(upon hacking the second vault) Lotus: "This datavault has already been raided. The data is damaged, but there could be a message here. I need another data sample to piece it together."
Hunhow: "The Tenno hive has corrupted your precepts. With love, I will destroy them, and make you right again."
Lotus: "You will never find them, Hunhow."
Hunhow: "But I see your mind. I already have found them. You owe me their lives."
(upon hacking the third vault) Lotus: "That's what I was looking for; I can decode the rest of the message. [pause] This is bizarre… it's for… me. I need a moment to contact this person. Get to extraction."
[on board Orbiter]
Lotus: "Hunhow is listening. I will be discreet. The message you uncovered was an offer to help us. I do not trust the person who wrote it, but we are out of options."
Second Mission: Find the Sentient fragments (Cressida, Uranus)
The mission takes place on the Grineer Sealab tileset. It is labelled as "Salvage" and begins with the waypointed objective "Find the Sentient Fragments". Drekar Grineer enemies appear throughout the mission, as expected.
Alad V: "Hello, Tenno! Are you surprised? Why? You know I've always had my ear to the kennel. Those dogs don't have a clue what kind of bone they've dug up, but I do. Shall I show you? Don't worry, you can trust me… this time."
Alad V: "I know, I know; our past has been slightly, what… combative? But genocidal invaders from the other system make strange bedfellows, wouldn't you say?"
Alad V: "The Sentient Hunhow, nightmare of the Orokin, boogeyman to the Corpus! That thing must have your Lotus in quite a panic for her to be working with the likes of me."
Alad V: "So this Stalker, seems like he's made quite a powerful friend, hasn't he? I wonder what's under that scary, smoky exterior. A heart of gold, perhaps?"
(upon approaching the digsite) Alad V: "Listen, Betray— Tenno, you're near the digsite. Of course, I could just tell you where it is… but what fun would that be?! So, keep your eyes peeled… if you have eyes, that is."
The waypoint leads the Tenno to a submersible Archwing transition. Entering the water reveals a large excavation site where a Grineer submersible vehicle is scanning the wreck of an Orokin ship. The area is quite large and populated by submersible Drekar Grineer enemies, and surrounded by warrens in the coral and rock formations. The Tenno is given no waypoint, and must search the area for a specific tunnel leading to a smaller chamber. Alad V will inform them if they are moving closer to or farther from the tunnel.
(upon moving closer to the fragment, variant) Alad V: "That's it. You must smell the prize because I know you can't see it."
(upon moving closer to the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Yes! Getting warmer."
(upon moving closer to the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Warmer."
(upon moving farther away from the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Colder."
(upon moving farther away from the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Getting colder."
(upon moving farther away from the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Nope, getting colder."
(upon moving farther away from the fragment, variant) Alad V: "You were warm but, now you're not."
(upon entering the chamber containing the fragment, variant) Alad V: "You're right on top of it now."
(upon entering the chamber containing the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Can you see it, it's… it's right there."
(upon entering the chamber containing the fragment, variant) Alad V: "Yes, this, this is the spot."
(if taking too long to find the fragment) Alad V: "I give up! It's here. I swear, can you find anything that's not marked right on your map?" [marker appears on minimap]
The chamber contains a large Sentient wreck, similar to the one seen on Earth in the Natah quest. A portion of the cave is above water, and the Tenno must exit Archwing to continue.
(upon exiting the water) Alad V: "Are these the bones you're looking for, Lotus?"
Lotus: "Yes. This is it – a fragment of… of my father, destroyed in the Old War. I can use it to see him."
A fragment of Sentient architecture sticks out of the floor of the cavern, with a point of swirling blue energy with which the Tenno can interact.
(upon touching the Old War Fragment) Lotus: [a vision of Stalker appears] "I see the Stalker, stronger… Hunhow's voice within him. I see the Reservoir, but I feel confusion; he doesn't know… unless…. Oh no—"
Hunhow: "Thank you, daughter. Fear has baited you to the snare. What was secret is now known. Your Tenno, their touch. I now see the womb of the sky. My Shadow now walks the path."
Lotus: "What have I done? Get out of there, Tenno."
Alad V: "Yes, yes, hurry, Tenno, but be careful – last time you got close with the Sentients, you wiped out an entire civilisation… but you don't remember that, do you?"
The Tenno must re-enter the water and leave via a separate tunnel, which will lead them to a submersible extraction tile.
[on board Orbiter]
Alad V: "Tell me, Lotus: what is this Reservoir? Some hidden Tenno weakness?"
Lotus: "Goodbye, Alad. You've earned your favour. We'll take it from here."
Alad V: "Don't think so! I'm here to protect my investment. If that thing manages to destroy the Tenno, then where does my investment go? Now then, where is he?"
Third Mission: Follow the Stalker (Neso, Neptune)
The mission takes place on the Corpus Outpost tileset and begins with the waypointed objective "Follow the Stalker". Corpus enemies appear throughout the mission, as expected.
Lotus: "When you connected to Hunhow's fragment, Hunhow saw a path to the Reservoir that led through here. He cannot reach it alone; he needs the Stalker to do it for him."
Alad V: "You must be asking, 'Alad, what's in this for you?' It's simple really. I scratch your metal back, and you scratch mine. All the credits in the System aren't worth half as much as a Tenno owing you a favour!"
The objective leads the Tenno to a tile containing a Void gate and torsion beam generator.
Alad V: "A Void gate? These things never made sense to me."
As the Tenno approaches the torsion beam generator, it shuts off and the Void gate closes.
Alad V: "You're smart, Tenno; you'll figure out how to open it again, won't you?"
Hunhow: "This needle pierces the sky. Natah, will we find the Tenno heart within? These puppets will not stop me. I will attack in many forms."
A Conculyst or Battalyst will appear and immediately begin to attack the Tenno. The objective changes to "Defeat the Sentient".
(upon the Sentient adapting to damage the first time) Alad V: "Impressive! These Sentient fighters appear to adapt to damage. I'd love to crack one open and see what makes it tick!"
(upon defeating the Sentient) Lotus: "Incredible. The Stalker has built Void keys! Use this one to reopen the portal before more Sentient fighters come. The Void is poison to them."
A Void key will appear on the ground once the Sentient is destroyed. The Tenno can use with the torsion beam generator to restart it and open the Void gate. Despite the Lotus' warnings, more Sentient fighters will not appear.
(upon restarting the torsion beam device) Lotus: "Cross the threshold. Go now, the Sentients cannot follow."
(upon passing through the Void gate) Alad V: "Oh… don't you just hate that feeling? Makes my stomach flip. Let's see where you've landed. Find a nav console."
The Tenno emerges in an Orokin tower in the Void, filled with Corrupted enemies. A waypoint leads the Tenno to a unique tile where a nav console sits in front of a large window looking out to the Void. Featured prominently, quite nearby, is Earth's Moon, encircled by golden rings, with large fragments shattered from the whole and drifting nearby.
Alad V: "Sweet Profit, the Moon exists? It was… it was in the Void all along? I knew the Lotus was powerful, but this… she erased history! We thought it was destroyed all this time. My my, Lotus, you make a fine villain!"
Hunhow: "And the Reservoir with it. Very clever, Natah. Shadow, your path is clear."
(upon activating the nav console) Lotus: "Hunhow's found it. The Reservoir, hidden in the Void, a place Sentients can never reach. We must do everything to keep it there. It's the only way to keep the Tenno's power alive."
Alad V: "Found the Reservoir? As unpleasant as our past is, I have to ask: I've seen inside a Tenno, and what I found didn't make sense. Does this Reservoir conceal some great deception?"
Lotus: "Everything I have done, was done to protect them. The Void is forbidden to the Sentients; it's our only protection against them destroying the Tenno. Do not let Alad distract you from your mission!"
Alad V: "Oh? They don't know the truth either, do they? How sweet. The Betrayers get what they deserve… lies from their omnipotent mother!"
Lotus: "I have detected a ship leaving the Tower. It's the Stalker; he's on his way to the Moon! You need to find a way to get off this Tower and onto the Moon."
Alad V: "It seems to me that this Tower is dedicated to masking the Moon's location in the Void. Why not disable the mask, so that claptrap Ordis can pick them up? Or is that too complicated for you?"
The Tenno is directed to a large generator room tile, where the passageways are punctuated with arcs of electricity at regular intervals, dealing massive damage to any Tenno or Corrupted who attempts to traverse it. A passageway off to the side leads to a room containing a console that can be hacked.
(upon hacking the console) Alad V: "That's it, Tenno, shut down this power grid so that your mouthpiece Ordis can lock onto your location in the Void."
Hunhow: "Keep talking, Orokin called Alad V. Your silence soon comes."
After hacking the console, four blue vials will be revealed on collapsible panels, at separate corners of the tile. All four must be destroyed with weapons fire, but three will be protected by electricity arcs at any given time. The Tenno must find each vulnerable panel in sequence and destroy it, while navigating the electricity-filled corridors and fighting off the Corrupted.
(upon destroying the last panel) Lotus: "You did it; the Void mask is crumbling."
Ordis: "Operator? How did you get through to me? Don't worry, Ordis is on his way now! Preparing for extraction."
Hunhow: "The sky will be as it was meant. The Shadow returns the Moon. The Reservoir swells with Tenno blood. The Old War… finally ends."
[on board Orbiter]
Ordis: "The Moon…. Somehow Ordis actually remembers the last time I was here. Concern for the Operator is at critical levels."
Alad V: "The suspense is killing me! Lotus, you have to tell us your secr— hey, don't cut me off—"
Lotus: "Within the Moon lies the Reservoir, the secret to your Tenno power. But this secret is dangerous. It drove the Stalker to madness. Forgive my deception; I was only trying to protect you from the same fate. Now it is time to protect yourselves by ensuring the Moon remains within the safety of the Void."
Fourth Mission: Protect the Moon (Plato, Lua)
The mission takes place on the Orokin Moon tileset, and is populated by shadow versions of Infested Chargers, Runners, Leapers, and Ancients.
Lotus: "The Stalker is heading toward the Void Control Room. Track the—"
Hunhow: "Collapse the Void, Shadow, so that my fragments may attack. The Tenno hearts will beat their last."
Lotus: "No! If the Void is collapsed, the Reservoir will be destroyed, and you and the rest of the Tenno will be lost. Get to the Void Control Room and stop the Stalker."
Alad V: "Hiding the Moon in the Void – quite the magic trick, Lotus. But Tenno, you must be asking yourself, 'Where is this heart, if not in my chest?'"
Stalker: "It is done."
Hunhow: "The Moon will soon be crushed by the weight of the Void. The sky will be as it should be."
Alad V: "Void collapse? Oh no; it would be such a shame to lose the Moon so soon after finding it. Of course, you could just put it back in its rightful place, couldn't you Lotus?"
Lotus: "I didn't want to have to do this, but the collapse is imminent. If the Reservoir is to survive we need to pull the Moon out of the Void. Here, help me disrupt Void Compasses to reorient the Moon."
In the Void Control Room, there is a console in the centre that must be hacked. When it is hacked, the Shadow Stalker will appear and begin to engage the Tenno. It is not necessary to defeat him, but it will make powering the Void Compasses easier.
(upon hacking the console) Lotus: "There are three Void Compasses that steer the Moon within the Void. I will disconnect them from the central system to gain control. Supply them with power from your shields while I finish my task."
Hunhow: "Natah, you trust this Orokin blood who would chisel weapons from our bones?"
There are three Void Compasses in the room. Standing near one will drain about 33% of the Tenno's shields over time. Once all three are powered, the Stalker will disappear if he was not defeated already.
(upon powering a Compass) Lotus: "Get close to the Void Compass."
(upon powering a Compass) Lotus: "The next Compass needs power."
(upon powering a Compass) Lotus: "Keep moving; another Compass needs your shield's power."
(upon defeating the Stalker or powering all three Void Compasses) Hunhow: "You cannot stop the inevitable."
(upon powering the last Compass) Lotus: "The Void Compasses are all disrupted, but there is one more step. Get to the Pendula, hurry."
Alad V: "What was that?"
Hunhow: "Orokin, the noise you make will cease now, and forever."
Alad V (whispering): "Uh oh. Hunhow's found me. Sorry I can't stick around to see how this all ends, but I've got to save my own skin. Don't forget our deal, Lotus!"
(upon approaching the Pendula) Lotus: "These Pendula keep the Moon stable in the Void. Power them down."
The Pendula are located on a platform with four pillars. Within each pillar can be seen a thick brown root, assumed to be, or supply power to, the Pendula. Approaching the Pendula will cause an Orokin construct, consisting of a red sphere surrounded by three rotating, concentric gold rings, to materialise in the midst of the Pendula.
(upon the Security Eye manifesting) Lotus: "Security Eye! Watch out."
The Security Eye will not move, but will turn to track the Tenno, shooting slow-moving beams that cause high damage. If the Tenno attempts to hide behind a Pendulum, the Security Eye will teleport behind the Tenno, facing the Pendulum, and resume attacking (thus there are five positions the Eye can occupy: in the centre of the Pendula, and behind each of them). If the Tenno is hiding behind a Pendulum, and the Eye teleports behind them and shoots, and the Tenno jumps, the Security Eye's attack will instead destroy the Pendulum. Since the Eye and the Pendula are immune to all Tenno damage, this is the only way to destroy them.
(after the Security Eye destroys the first Pendulum) Lotus: "Wait, the Security Eye just destroyed a Pendulum. Try and trick it into taking out the rest."
After destroying the first Pendulum (and subsequently after each other Pendulum), the Security Eye will teleport back to the centre of the platform and fire off a series of area-of-effect attacks before resuming its normal pattern of engagement. These attacks also cause high damage, so care must be taken until all Pendula are destroyed.
(after the Security Eye destroys the second Pendulum) Lotus: "That's it, the Eye is taking out the Pendula. Keep it up."
(after the Security Eye destroys the third Pendulum) Lotus: "Last one."
(after all the Pendula are destroyed) Lotus: "It's done. The Moon is falling out of the Void. Hold on; this will not be a smooth ride. Get to extraction as quickly as possible."
As the Tenno heads towards extraction, disembodied voices can be heard in conversation. The speakers are not identified by the game interface, but they each name the other, allowing for inference of their identities.
Ballas: "…what they need, Margulis, is to be destroyed! They're devils from that hell, not human anymore."
Margulis: "No, Ballas, no more destruction. We could heal them. Maybe they're meant to save us."
Ballas: "How can you defend those devils, Margulis, after what they've done to you?!"
Margulis: "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind. They won't hurt anyone; I just need more time."
Ballas: "Hush, my wilted love. I cannot protect you. Tomorrow you must renounce before the Seven."
[on board Orbiter]
Lotus: "The Moon is back in normal space but the Reservoir is in more danger than ever. Hunhow will send his fighters, and the Stalker is still coming for you. Move now."
Fifth Mission: Save the Reservoir (Grimaldi, Lua)
The mission takes place on the Orokin Moon tileset. There are no enemies, just a waypointed objective to "Save the Reservoir".
Lotus: "We saved the Moon from a Void collapse, but Hunhow can now attack the Reservoir directly. He must not reach this sacred place."
Hunhow: "Shadow, bleed the Reservoir until it is desert-dry."
The disembodied voices from earlier return.
Margulis: "This will stop the voices from taking hold. You will have to dream, my angel…."
Hunhow (as a regular transmission): "Lotus, join with me, destroy your shame. Become the one I love. Become Natah once more."
Margulis: "…so shame on you! You Orokin, so perfect on the outside, but you're rotted through and through!"
Ballas: "Seven hands raised! For your apostasy, the judgement… is death. Margulis, why?"
Ballas: "…it's about the other rejects we consigned to Lua a few years ago. They're calling it… Transference."
Ballas: "…I know we are desperate, Executor, but these aren't Dax soldiers. These are golems, possessed by devil minds."
The waypoint leads the Tenno to the Reservoir – a tall, circular room at the foot of a long staircase. A stream of water falls from the ceiling to collect in a pool at the centre of the room. White branches can be seen within the waterfall, reaching down from the ceiling into the pool. As the Tenno approaches, a cutscene begins.
[The Tenno's warframe cautiously walks towards the pool of water. As they approach, the white branches retract towards the ceiling, pulling up a cluster of golden pods that had been submerged in the water, connected to the branches. There are seven pods, shaped like inverted, elongated teardrops. The six outer pods are laid down in a starburst pattern, revealing the central pod, which also lies down in a horizontal position and begins hovering towards the Tenno, leaving the waterfall and the pool. The tree branches disconnect from the pods and fully retract upwards. The pod stops at the edge of the pool and slides open, revealing a small figure – a person – clad in a dark gray suit that covers the face, seated on a reclined, hovering chair. The chair floats out of the pod, towards the Tenno, and tilts vertical. The person, limp, drops out of the chair and collapses on the ground as the warframe watches. Glitchy static begins to occlude the screen, and the warframe goes stiff, then drops to its knees, and the screen goes black. In the darkness, Margulis' voice can be heard, punctuated by a loud, slow heartbeat.]
Margulis: "Dream… not of what you are… but of what you want to be."
[The scene resumes, this time from the perspective of the person from the pod. They stir, seeming to regain consciousness, and see the warframe, still kneeling and unresponsive. The person drags themself slowly across the ground over to the warframe, apparently too weak or disoriented to walk. Their heartbeat still echoes loudly. The static interference gradually clears as they approach the warframe. The person pulls themself up to a sitting position, and lays a hand on the warframe's shoulder. Blue light pulses from the person's hand and flows into the warframe. It begins to twitch, first at the fingers, then the head, and finally it seems to "restart", standing up and carrying the person in its arms. With this juxtaposition, it is apparent that the person is a child or young teenager. As the warframe stands up, the Stalker appears, pointing the War sword menacingly at the warframe and its charge. The warframe does not react, but the person recoils, throwing up their free hand for protection and looking around desperately for an escape. The Stalker, seeing this reaction, lowers the sword and turns his back, looking at the open pod, then the waterfall, then the pool with the other pods.]
Hunhow: "You hesitate, Shadow, but remember your despair. This is your only chance to make it end."
[The Stalker raises his hand and looks at it, first the back, then the front. He looks at the person. The person holds up their own hand and mirrors the motion. The Stalker, looking back at his hand, holsters War on his back, no longer intent on pursuing the person.]
Hunhow: "Your hatred is too weak, Shadow. Mine is strong; my fragments will finish this."
The cutscene ends and the Tenno is waypointed towards extraction. While carrying the person, the warframe cannot sprint, jump, slide, use any weapons, or use any offensive warframe powers.
Lotus (tenderly): "Tenno… Operator. You're awake now, but you're more vulnerable than ever. Get back to your ship, now."
Sentient fighters will appear in pairs and attack the Tenno. Evading the Sentients is impossible with the warframe's limited mobility, but the person in its arms can emit a powerful beam from its hand that easily destroys the Sentients. The warframe's health will not drop below 2, so defeating the Sentients is not strictly necessary to complete the mission.
(when the first Sentient attacks) Lotus: "You need to focus your mind to unleash your true power."
On board Orbiter
On board the ship, the warframe still carries the person in its arms, and normal interaction with ship modules (Foundry, Arsenal, Navigation, etc) is not possible.
Lotus: "I don't know how much time you have. Descend into the heart of your Orbiter; there you will find the Somatic Link."
There is no waypoint given, but the Tenno must walk to the rear of their ship, behind the Arsenal, to the Somatic Link room behind the central door. When the warframe enters the room, the Stalker will appear before them.
Lotus: "Stalker! How?"
The Stalker will use War to throw waves of red energy at the Tenno, which will inflict minimal damage but push the warframe back a far ways.
Lotus: "Get past him, get to the Link."
The Tenno must approach the Somatic Link at the back of the room, while the Stalker's attacks will continually push them back. Dodging the attacks is difficult with limited mobility, but the person's beam attack can be used to nullify the energy waves and prevent them from being pushed back. The Stalker will teleport from one side of the Somatic Link to the other, but once the warframe approaches the Link and stands in front of it, he will vanish and stop attacking.
(upon approaching the Link) Lotus: "Focus, Tenno. Use your energy to breathe life into the Somatic Link."
The Tenno must use the beam attack to charge the Somatic Link. Once it has received enough energy, it will emit a pulse that pushes the Tenno back to the front of the room, and they must approach it again, still opposed by the Stalker. The Somatic Link needs to be powered three times.
(upon powering the Link for the first time) Lotus: "Again, it needs more power."
(upon powering the Link for the second time) Lotus: "One more time."
Lotus (throughout the fight, variant): "Focus your energy, get past the Stalker."
Hunhow (throughout the fight, variant): "Shadow, your path is clear."
Hunhow (throughout the fight, variant): "Shadow, only the Tenno's death will end your despair."
Hunhow (throughout the fight, variant): "Shadow, this cannot be."
Hunhow (throughout the fight, variant): "Shadow, protect me."
Hunhow (throughout the fight, variant): "Stop them, Shadow. Do not let the child's power rejoin the sky."
Hunhow (throughout the fight, variant): "The sky will be as it was meant, Shadow…. The Old War finally ends."
The Stalker will also say his usual taunts from standard assassination attempts throughout the fight.
After the Somatic Link is powered for the third time, a cutscene triggers.
[The Link releases an explosion of energy that knocks the person out of the warframe's arms, pushing them both back to the front of the room. The warframe, no longer in contact with the person, is kneeling on the floor again. The person tries to crawl over to the warframe to reanimate it, and reaches out, but the Stalker appears next to the warframe, prompting the person to scramble away. The Stalker looks at the person, then examines the unresponsive warframe, prodding it with War. The warframe tilts backwards from its hunched-over position, but this is clearly due to the impact from the sword and not a reaction.]
Hunhow: "No self, no sense, no death. Just a metal puppet, dangling on Tenno strings. Only the Tenno's death will end your despair."
[The Stalker looks at the person again, then stabs the warframe through the chest with War. Leaving the sword embedded in the warframe, he walks over to the person and kneels in front of them, clearly still curious about the situation.]
Hunhow: "All your dread-long life, you've waited for this moment… but you're asking yourself… 'Was I one of these wretched things?'"
[The person looks helplessly up at the Stalker, then towards the War sword, from which Hunhow is still speaking, then back to the Stalker. The Stalker abruptly grabs the person by the throat and effortlessly lifts them into the air, strangling the life out of them. The person struggles but is clearly powerless.]
Hunhow: "You know the answer. You still hate them…. You still hate… yourself."
[The warframe's head twitches, and its hands reach up to grasp the bifurcated hilt of War. The Stalker, hearing or otherwise sensing this, looks back at the warframe, which is now exerting pressure on the sword. The Stalker roughly drops the person on the ground and walks curiously over to the warframe.]
Hunhow: "What… is… this?"
[The warframe successfully snaps off a piece of the sword but continues to pull. The hilt lashes out with red energy and hits the Stalker, who is paralysed, trembling, and lifted up into the air.]
Hunhow: "Shadow! Protect… me…."
[The warframe pulls until the broken fragment of War is torn from its chest and flung away, whereupon the warframe collapses, powerless again. The Stalker is surrounded by a red aura, growing in intensity, as he curls into a foetal position before disappearing in an explosion. The person, who has just sat up, is knocked backwards and unconscious and the screen briefly turns white.]
[As the scene continues, the Lotus, in physical form, picks up the person in her arms, and tenderly carries them over to the Somatic Link. As the person in placed in the chair, they regain consciousness, and the Somatic Link fills with blue energy, emitting a pulse that gently pushes the warframe – still unresponsive – back a meter or two. The person holds up their hands and looks at them.]
Lotus: "Now we fight on two fronts, my child. The war without… and the war within."
The cutscene ends with a character customisation screen, where the hood of the Operator is finally removed and the player can select and manipulate the facial features of their Operator.
Conversation
Once the player is finished customising their Operator, a conversation cutscene plays. The player can choose which lines their Operator speaks, but the Lotus' lines do not change.
Lotus: "My child… so beautiful to behold. How do you feel?"
Operator: "I'm confused… I thought I was…."
Lotus: "I know. Forgive me. This is who you really are: a Tenno. More than human… but once a child like any other. What do you remember?"
("…always studying.") Operator: "A jumble of words, numbers… I must have known everything about Tau. Our teacher loved when I corrected her."
("…a hand, held in mine aboard the Zariman.") Operator: "The soft lines of a hand; my mother's, I think. We were watching the stars, awaiting the jump to Tau. She was afraid."
("…a fight.") Operator: "I remember everyone was laughing outside an airlock. This kid had a boy by the throat. I didn't think it was funny at all."
Lotus: "Memories. From your time aboard the Zariman Ten-Zero, before the Void-jump accident. It was years before the ship was recovered. It was drifting dead in space, all her crew gone… except the children."
("…things happen for a reason.") Operator: "I didn't want to live anymore. I felt guilty that I was alive, but we could do things, extraordinary things. Maybe there was a reason we survived?"
("…we stuck together.") Operator: "We were just kids, but… they were afraid of what we could do. When they tried to treat us like rats I stood up to them. I wasn't going to let them divide us after what we'd been through."
("…they tried to help us.") Operator: "We were dangerous, broken. Every time they tried to fix us, someone always got hurt. I wish I could have saved them. I wish I could have taken their fear away."
Lotus: "You were so brave. But the Orokin were afraid of you. The Void had changed you, and you couldn't control it – no one could. They were about to destroy the orphans of Ten-Zero, but Margulis… she loved you. She found a way…."
("…they paid for what they did.") Operator: "She put us into the dream, brought us peace. I remember we could still hear her voice, raging at the leaders for their mistreatment of us. When they executed her… well… I could not let that go."
("…she sang to us.") Operator: "We couldn't help it, the outbursts. We hurt her, blinded her, but even then, she never abandoned us. In the dream we found peace, and she sang to us in that cold, dark…."
("…she was brilliant.") Operator: "In dreams we could control it, focus it. So she made the pods, her favourite flower…. She said sometimes… something beautiful can grow out of something ugly."
("…she was brave.") Operator: "She confronted them even when she knew what it would cost her. Blinded and sick by her work with us… yet in her heart, stronger than all of us."
Lotus: "The Orokin murdered Margulis. Used her work to create Transference. Your mind, projected into a surrogate strong enough to withstand your power. It felt like waking up, but it was just a lucid second dream."
("…we protected the innocent.") Operator: "It was a shadow underneath what we did. That sensation of being a victim, of being helpless. I took up the sword to protect those in need."
("…we sought justice.") Operator: "Maybe we felt it? Maybe it didn't matter. We had a life! We embraced it. I wanted to punish those who abused their power and now I had a way."
("…we reached for knowledge.") Operator: "We sensed that otherness, but we embraced it. I was free as anything! Free to learn, to experience, to mean something."
("…we fought with honour.") Operator: "We must have known. I remembered what it was like to be afraid, to be weak. I vowed never to forget that, never to abuse what I had been given. I had a code."
("…we were fearless.") Operator: "There was a sense of it, but we set fear aside. I remembered what fear did. How it turned them against us. I vowed never to be controlled by it. I was going to live, or die, with honour."
Lotus: "And so you became Tenno. Serving the Orokin, but bound by honour. As the Tenno grew, they founded great schools – the Tenno Ways. Do you see yours?"
(Madurai) Operator: "I see a cloud, a gathering storm… the Madurai Way. Our path was to engage the enemy… to sweep across our foes before they had a chance to steel themselves."
(Naramon) Operator: "I see a tree, of many branches… the Naramon Way. Our discipline focused on knowing the enemy. We believed that to truly understand a foe would confer the greatest advantage upon a warrior."
(Unairu) Operator: "I see a mountain, breaking the sky… the Way of Unairu. We pushed ourselves to outlast the enemy, to withstand all aggression without bending."
(Vazarin) Operator: "I see a cresting wave, wide in the ocean… the Vazarin Way. We were trained to counter the enemy, and move with an opponent's attacks in order to nullify them."
(Zenurik) Operator: "I see a crystal, refracting the moonlight… the Way of Zenurik. We believed the path to victory was to dominate the enemy. That strength of spirit could overcome any resistance."
Lotus: "[school] will be your focus. But we have so much more to do. Here in the Orbiter, Transference will be even stronger. Command the warframes. Make whole this shattered world you've been given. Are you ready, Tenno?"
("Done.") Operator: "Yes, Lotus. I am."
("Again.") Operator: "I need to think it through again."
Selecting "Again" will restart the conversation. The choice of focus school is somewhat important, because the Tenno will be rewarded with a focus lens of that school and have that school unlocked for them in the focus tree. Selecting "Done" will end the quest.
Aftermath (on board Orbiter)
The Tenno receives an inbox message from Ordis, containing the Broken War sword (the fragment that was still embedded in the warframe at the end of the cutscene) and the Scar sigil.
Inbox message:
YOU'RE ALIVE!Operator,
I am sorry, the Stalker, he suppressed my systems, I tried to warn you, but could only watch as he attacked.
I'M SO ECSTATIC— relieved you survived.
By the way, after the fight, I found this broken sword in the lower chambers. I almost tossed it out the airlock, but I figured you might want it. It has been added to your inventory, along with this sigil the Lotus left for you.
Glad to have you back,
Ordis
Next story quest: Rising Tide
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