The Deadlock Protocol
A power struggle within the Corpus elite has erupted. Seeking control, Nef Anyo looks to the past… to the very origins of the Corpus itself.
Starting the quest
The Deadlock Protocol can be activated in the Codex after completing Vox Solaris and reaching Mastery Rank 4. Upon setting it as the active quest, a short cutscene will play.
[Nef Anyo provides voiceover. A fleet of brand-new Corpus capital ships orbits over Venus. Inside the ships, statues and shrines to the Corpus founder, Parvos Granum, have been erected. One such shrine, a golden hand, opens to reveal a rift in space – a portal into the Void. Inside the portal, a building of Corpus design sits incongruously upon a stormy, desolate landscape. As Nef Anyo finishes speaking, the warframe Protea summons a set of grenades and throws them.]
Nef Anyo: "Seven for, seven against. Cast and recast, seven times. So, it is decided. The fleet has been retrofitted and redeployed to begin at once. New lanes, trawling for old things. By Profit and Void, by the blessed handless Founder… we hereby invoke the Deadlock Protocol."
After the cutscene ends, the Tenno is patched into a broadcast from Vox.
Vox: "Solaris. Be you sumper, Rail agent, crud diver, or pit boss: hear this: Your comrades, your friends, your family – good people with clear debts – are being taken. Vanished. Nef Anyo, in his hubris, is writing checks and cashing them with Solaris lives. There is upset in the halls of Corpus power. The foundations of their kleptocracy tremble. To Nef, we say this: You are seen. To the Solaris: Make yourselves heard. To those who have aided us in the past: Join us now. You are needed."
The entirety of this quest can only be played solo.
First Mission: Decrypt Nef Anyo’s Deadlock memorandum (Cytherean, Venus)
The mission is an Interception on the newly remastered Corpus ship tileset, against Juno Corpus enemies.
Eudico: "Sparky! Yes. Biz and I may be in over our heads on this one…. Listen up: this Deadlock spat is costing Solaris lives. The Corpus founder, some long-dead cove named Parvos Granum, carries a lot of messianic clout. Well… Nef's claiming the old man's got an heir. If true, that heir can, by rights, claim total control of the Board. Board's schisms and infighting might be the main reason SU's survived this long. If the Board unifies under one person… one 'found' by Nef…? Our people will never see daylight. I need you on this. You in?"
Unlike most Interception missions, there are only two points to defend. The Tenno must complete three rounds of Interception.
(upon completing the first round) Eudico: "It's Nef alright. Patching through."
Nef Anyo (distorted at first, clearing up as the signal improves): "Like all of you, I was born poor, with but a meagre derivatives portfolio and limited vesting options. I never knew my parents. But – as an orphan, poor, as I said – I found great riches within the Tenets of our glorious Founder! Parvos Granum. The Corpus became my family." [transmission distorts again and fades]
Eudico: "They've fuzzed the band. Keep at it."
(upon completing the second round) Nef Anyo (distorted at first): "But over the years, as my wealth blossomed, and my humility grew vast… I began to see a certain similarity. I wondered… who am I, really? After a protracted negotiation, my birth mother sold to me the secrets of my conception! She had been a…" [transmission distorts and fades]
Eudico: "Wait! What? Get that signal back!"
(upon completing the third round) Nef Anyo (distorted at first): "She had been a surrogate in a very special, very secret succession program! It was an epiphany! It would seem that I am one of the sons of our late, great Founder! And… more importantly… his heir. Now, I have only to prove it. That is where all of you come in." [transmission distorts and fades]
Eudico: "The brass on this mucker! I have to protect my people from this trust-fund lunatic. Do your thing. I'll check in with my whisper network, let you know what they're saying. Talk soon. (faintly) The brass!"
[on board Orbiter]
Eudico: "Got dirt that isn't safe to shovel out in the open. You know where to meet."
The Tenno must travel to Fortuna and meet with Eudico and the Vox Solaris crew in the backroom. The table no longer shows a hologram of the Profit-Taker, but a hologram of the warframe Protea. The Tenno must interact with Eudico to begin the conversation.
Eudico: "So. Nef's makin' a succession play. Sumper thinks he can prove he's a sprog of noble descent. No idea how; Parvos was assassinated before any of us were an itch. Biz?"
The Business: "(indicating hologram) Look familiar, Outworlder? Warframe, yes, but one of a kind. Protea. Legend says she was built specifically for and assigned to one Parvos Granum. [short chuckle] Yes. Part of a deal Granum cut with the Orokin themselves. Granum… was no amateur. He had real power. Our ear inside says Nef's techs have found a lead on Protea's whereabouts. 'Protean traces', they're calling them."
Eudico: "Granum. The original Taxman. Killed when someone – a Board member most likely – sabotaged the Void drive of his personal transport. Nef wants gene-proof, but there's nothing left to scan."
The Business: "And yet, so they believe, they found Granum's warframe bodyguard – who was with Granum when that Void drive went critical. So, who is to say what's true?"
Eudico: (angrily) "Our people are vanishing because of this. That's true. I know it. I don't care if Parvos Granum is dead, alive, or making change tap-dancing in a Grineer officers' mess. Sparky: you find what Nef's looking for… you'll find out what happened to our people. Get on it."
Second Mission: Learn the fate of missing Solaris (V Prime, Venus)
The mission takes place on the Corpus Ship tileset, with Juno Corpus enemies.
The Business: "Protean detectors should be onboard. Not sure what they'll look like. See what you can find."
The Tenno is waypointed to "Find the Protean sensors". This turns out to be a large, golden hand, about the size of a person.
Eudico: "It's… a…. Right. It's a great, big… hand."
The Business: "Granum Tribute. Story is Parvos was missing his left hand. See if you can—"
The Business will be interrupted by a loud noise and the ship shaking violently. In the aftermath, Nef Anyo will appear on holo-screens in the vicinity.
Nef Anyo: "Another engineering blunder! We need confirmation. Reset and get our next 'volunteer' into position!"
Eudico: "What was that?"
The Business: "I think it was a Void-temporal shift. I'm not entirely sure; I've never seen one before. Small, though. About as big as a… person? Patch me into the system."
The Tenno will be directed to interact with a nearby console to initiate a hack from The Business.
The Business: "Could do with some noise while I'm eyeballing the bits."
The Tenno will have to defend the console from assaulting Corpus forces for 90 seconds.
Vox: "Nef Anyo. You are found. Remember the first days of Fortuna. Your failure. Our victory. Without the Solaris, your… 'aspirations'… are nothing. Return our Solaris brothers and sisters. Or, to nothing, so I swear, you will return."
Nef Anyo will respond via nearby holo-screens.
Nef Anyo: "You and your bleeding-heart Tenno thugs. I really don't have time for this. My robotics, on the other hand, do. Kill-crews, take care of this. I have history to make!"
(after the defence is complete) Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "Ready now. Protean trace spiking. It's time! Send in the next volunteer!"
Eudico: "They're gearing up for something."
The Tenno will need to find another Protean sensor. Upon arriving, they will see a Solaris standing in front of the golden hand.
Solaris: "Wait! Wait wait ahhhh—"
A small Void rift will open in the hand's palm and disintegrate the Solaris in front of the Tenno.
Eudico: "No! Biz, what is that thing?"
After the Solaris is gone, the hand will rotate around and become inert.
The Business: "I'm not…. Outworlder, hold position. I'm getting something."
The Tenno will be directed to hack and defend the console next to the hand.
(upon interacting with the console) Eudico: "He'll pay for this. 'Volunteers'. He's killing our people for some kind of… weapons test."
The Business: "…Maybe not. I'm still pulling signal from that jockey's rig!"
Eudico: "What kind of signal?"
The Business: "I don't know yet. Outworlder, don't let them cut the signal before I can decode it!"
(after the defence is complete) Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "By Profit! By Void! It's real! It's real!"
The Tenno will see a staticky feed of Corpus architecture in a hellish landscape.
Eudico: "What is this? What are we looking at?"
The Business: "The jockey's feed."
The feed will cut out.
Eudico: "Sparky, you'd better get out of there… while we make sense of this."
[on board Orbiter]
The Business: "We'll be waiting for you, Outworlder."
The Tenno must again travel to Fortuna's backroom. As they arrive, Nef Anyo will send a broadcast over Fortuna's screens.
Nef Anyo: "To the Corpus Board and my many, many supporters across the Origin System: Everyone is asking: When will I, Nef Anyo, end this unprofitable, squabbling Deadlock? People are saying, 'Nef Anyo's perfect for the big seat. A visionary, an exemplar, a protégé of the great Founder himself, Parvos Granum!' Friends, our time is at… hand."
(in backroom) Eudico: "How many kids are going to grow up in the vents because of this? How many parents lost, because I couldn't do my job?"
The Business: "Eudi. There's a ventkid, a very long time ago, who would have hero-worshipped the woman she became. You're enough."
Eudico: [sigh] "If Nef intends to visit that 'pocket' for his proof, he won't risk himself… not at first. Sparky, you can beat him to it. Biz has figured out how to activate Nef's Granum Tributes. You won't believe this."
The hologram on the table will change to one of a large, golden hand.
The Business: "These tributes… are essentially… [sigh] coin-operated. You'll need a 'Granum Crown'…. You'll have to search the ship."
Eudico: "Nef as the Corpus figurehead, with a united Board behind him, will be hell for us and workers everywhere. See if you can get across first. Tax whatever proof he's hoping to collect, muck up his plan, and find our people."
Third Mission: Beat Nef to Granum Void (Roche, Phobos)
The mission takes place on the Corpus Ship tileset, with Juno Corpus enemies.
Eudico: "To cross over, you'll need to find a Granum Crown first. Search the area."
Eudico: "If you make it across, keep an eye out for our people. They may have survived. I've told more than enough kids their parents aren't coming home."
(upon reaching the waypoint) Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "Crews! The tomb is verified intact! Dispatch the treasurer with my offering. It's time I paid Tribute myself."
Eudico: "Alright, here's our chance. Time to tax the Taxman!"
Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "If only Parvos could have lived to see this day! Imagine his face, beaming with pride, as he bestowed upon me, his son, that sacred Golden Hand! My surgeons have… assured me the procedure will be quick and painless? A pound of old flesh for a glorious new legacy!"
Eudico: "I'd pay top credits to crap in Nef's coffin. Double if he was still alive."
The Tenno will have to find a specific Corpus called a Treasurer and kill him.
(upon spotting the Treasurer) Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "One scan of Parvos Granum, and my lineage shall be proven! None shall deny me— what? Tenno? Again!? Not today! As Parvos' heir, it is my offering to make! I am coming, Father! It is I who shall pay Tribute! Your Nef is almost home!"
(when the Treasurer dies) Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "They must not reach him before we do! Is that understood?!?"
The Treasurer will drop an item called a Granum Crown upon death. The Tenno must pick it up.
(upon picking up Granum Crown) Eudico: "'Him'? As if the body would still be intact? Something's off. Get to the Tribute… expect some friction."
The Tenno must go to a Granum Tribute – the large golden hand – nearby and activate it using the Granum Crown.
(upon activating Granum Tribute) The Business: "We've got a lock on you, Outworlder. Good luck!"
A Void portal will open in the palm of the hand and transport the Tenno to a new place – the Granum Void. This pocket of Void-space consists of rocky, seemingly volcanic terrain. Bright edges burn across a dark red backdrop, as if the sky were continually burning away, to be replaced with more sky. The atmosphere flickers with indistinct flashes of lightning. In the distance, the larger part of a Corpus ship lies crashed – embedded – in the rock. Gravity is a suggestion; large chunks of rock and spaceship hover suspended in the air.
Parvos Granum: "It has been so long since these old eyes beheld another living thing, here, in this sanctuary."
Parvos Granum: "I… am Parvos Granum. Thank you for finding me."
Nef Anyo: "By the Void. You… are… alive! My faith never wavered."
Parvos Granum: "I live. Treachery seethed within the heart of the faith I had built. When the Board's assassins overloaded my transport's Void drive, Protea… my beautiful Protea… and her gift for manipulating time… preserved me."
As the Tenno approaches the Corpus ship, a short cutscene will play.
[Upon the deck of the crashed ship, Protea kneels, inactive, engulfed in a flickering flame of Void energy. Behind her, suspended in midair, is the aged Parvos Granum. He dangles as if suspended by the shoulders by an invisible force, his head hanging low.]
Parvos Granum: "But at the cost of all that she was. Now, she is nothing more than a Spectre of her former self. My beautiful Protea."
[Parvos Granum raises his head and looks directly at the Tenno.]
Parvos Granum: "That is why you have been invited here."
The cutscene will end and Errant Spectres will arrive, slowly at first but in increasing numbers. These are floating figures in the image of Parvos Granum.
Nef Anyo: "Father. Permit me to show you all I have built in your name. Do Nef Anyo that honour."
The Errant Spectres will begin to attack the Tenno, using beam attacks from their heads.
Parvos Granum: "'My name'. Hmm… I have watched you. Monuments to narcissism. Demanding others sweat in your stead. Gorging upon that which you have not earned. Watched… as you claimed for yourself my teachings of self-reliance, perverting them into a flaccid philosophy of sloth. Of… idleness. Is that you, my son?"
Nef Anyo: "No, that must be a different son."
Parvos Granum: "You know nothing, falling short as you do of every ideal that I value. Your words, your efforts, are the model of inadequacy. I called you, Nef Anyo. But I do not need you. I need…"
Parvos will then appear as a giant image in the middle of the Tenno's HUD.
Parvos Granum (HUD): "…them."
Nef Anyo: "'Them'? Tenno?! Father! You're making a mistake! Come now!"
Parvos Granum (HUD): "Protea has scanned her kin… and with that, she is reinvigorated. Now, my lovely, if you wouldn't mind? Show our guests the door."
The Tenno will be ejected from the Granum Void, experiencing the last few minutes in rapid-reverse until they emerge in front of the golden hand on board the ship.
The Business: "We've got a lock on you, Outworlder. Good luck! …What? What the hell? Outworlder, I'm… pulling sensory feeds from a trip you haven't taken yet. And hearing myself say things I've never said in a place I've never seen. Parvos…? Eudi, you should see this. What if Nef has similar logs?"
Eudico: "Biz has a handle on the time jump, but we've got bigger problems than Nef now. Get out of there!"
Errant Spectres will appear on the ship, attacking the Corpus crew. Both groups will still be hostile to the Tenno.
Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "Not good enough, am I? Inadequate, am I? You've been 'watching' me, have you? Well. Watch as I show you how we do things these days! Crews! Repel those Spectres! We have bigger fish to fry."
[on board Orbiter]
The Tenno will receive an inbox message from Nef Anyo.
Inbox message:
A NEW DEALVox Solaris—
Our 'interests' have come to… align.
Now… this situation is no one's fault, and I'm not one to point fingers, but my fleet and your workers are facing the same danger. Convince your Tenno servant to reenter Granum's domain, and disable that Protea Spectre. I have just the thing they'll need, but there is some assembly required. You want to rescue those comrades trapped in there, and I want to keep the past where it belongs. Dead and buried. Deal?
—Nef Anyo
The message contains a blueprint for the thrown melee weapon Xoris.
Eudico: "Nef's a bloviating narcissist with the morals of a haunted chainsaw, but at least that makes him predictable. Parvos? That mucker is something else. I don't trust Nef, but if any of our own are still alive in there… we have to try. Biz will lead the build on this… 'Xoris' gizmo."
The Xoris blueprint requires 15.000 credits and the Xoris blade, core, and handle.
Fourth Mission: Acquire parts to build the Xoris (Valac, Europa)
The mission is a Spy on the Corpus Ship tileset, with Juno Corpus enemies. All three data vaults need to be hacked successfully to complete the mission.
The Business: "Nef's given us a cipher for an old Granum file. 'Phantasmic Scintillae and Motive Forces'. We'll need more specifics to build whatever this tool is."
The first data vault will reward the Xoris handle.
The Business: "Hmm, looks like a partial find. Let's see if Anyo's cipher works as promised."
A video of a younger Parvos Granum will then play as a transmission.
Parvos Granum: "Some doors ought to remain closed? That's not in my worldview. Fire, Fusion, Void. Progress always comes entangled with risk, with violence. With the precious sample obtained, development is accelerating. The Entrati have kept their secrets long enough."
The second data vault will reward the Xoris core.
Parvos Granum: "I am calling it the Spectre Particle. As my Archimedians explain, mimicry is in its nature. An echo. Exposed to precept circuits, we are able to imprint behaviours! Like an infant mirroring her surrogate. Only, this infant can set the world on fire."
The third data vault will reward the Xoris blade.
Parvos Granum: "The palace birds think they control us. They hit our research site with a warframe assault team. Of course they did. I baited them to do it. The whole site lit up. Eighty mega-therm bloom. The whole lab, vaporised, those warframes with it. Fire. Fusion. Void."
The Business: "Parvos Granum originated Spectre Particle Theory? Guts. This old coot is a whole other order of intelligence, and that's bad for us. Get back to your ship. I need to figure out this Xoris thing."
[on board Orbiter]
Eudico: "Thanks for the fast work, Biz. Sparky, listen up: Biz's findings indicate Parvos might be close to translating himself from that reality into our own. We're not exactly sure how, but we're getting some odd readings. You've got to build the Xoris before Parvos gets free."
The Tenno now has the parts to construct the Xoris in the Foundry. The build takes 30 seconds, and can be rushed for 0 platinum. The Xoris must be equipped as a melee weapon to begin the last mission of the quest.
(upon claiming the Xoris from the Foundry) The Business: "A weapon? Glaive-class, but with an energy trap… Spectre Particles, maybe? Has a mid-flight detonation trigger. Tricky, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Gear up and let's go."
(if the Tenno tries to begin the mission without the Xoris) The Business: "Outworlder, you'll need the Xoris glaive for this."
Fifth Mission: Use your Xoris to free Solaris captives in Granum Void (Triton, Neptune)
The mission takes place on the Corpus Ship tileset, against Juno Corpus enemies and invading Errant Spectres. Like before, the Tenno is directed to find and kill a Treasurer to obtain his Granum Crown.
Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "You're too late! The Tributes are jammed open and the old man's Errant Spectres have control of my ship. They're spreading through the fleet. I have no choice. If I can't have my fleet, no one can!"
Ship PA announcement: "Reactor vents sealing. Warning. Catastrophic overload imminent."
Red emergency lights will strobe across the ship as klaxons sound.
Vox: "This was not the deal, Anyo. We have yet to rescue our people. Disengage the destruct."
Nef Anyo: "I can't do that. But don't worry. I'm already at a very comfortable safe distance."
The Business: "Eudi, the fleet's going to blow. Outworlder, abort—"
Eudico: "Wait! It's a time prison, right? Sparky, if you can get back inside before the reactor tilts… you'd theoretically have all the time in the world…."
The Tenno's objective will remain unchanged: to kill the Treasurer and take his Crown.
(upon picking up Granum Crown) Ship PA announcement: "Reactor failure imminent. All crews: thank you for your service."
The Tenno will have to take the Crown to a Granum Tribute and activate it. Immediately upon doing so, the ship will detonate.
Eudico: "Biz… Biz. I don't think they made it…."
The Tenno will arrive in the Granum Void.
The Business: "Outworlder? Eudi, they're alive! Listen: Nef's whole fleet is overloading. Huge energy spike! We need to take out Protea! Ready that Xoris!"
Three Solaris captives will be visible near Parvos' ship, suspended in midair by blue energy.
The Business: "There! Our rig jockeys! They're trapped in some kind of energy enclosure. You'll need to charge the Xoris to break it open."
Parvos Granum: "Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. There's no stopping this without stopping Protea. A bit like eating your own, no?"
Errant Spectres will begin to swarm the Tenno.
The Business: "Here they come! Take out the Errants, then use the Xoris to trap the Spectre Particles that escape! You'll have to time it just right."
The Tenno will have to charge the Xoris by using it to kill Errant Spectres. Once three charges are stored in the glaive, it can be detonated mid-flight near one of the captured Solaris to dispel the energy prison and open a small Void rift, into which the Solaris will escape.
(when the Xoris is fully charged) The Business: "Full charge! Now – target the enclosure trapping our jockeys. You'll need to trigger your Xoris to discharge near them."
(upon freeing a captive) The Business: "Well done, Outworlder! Now bring the rest home!"
This process must be repeated for the other two captive Solaris.
(upon freeing all captives) Parvos Granum: "By now, your friends have noticed that the overloading Void engines are preventing the exits you opened for my captives… from closing. Well done. And goodbye. Enjoy your stay."
The Business: "That cunning… old…. Outworlder! You've got to get out of there!"
The Protea Spectre will arrive and attack the Tenno. She is armed with a Velox and Gunsen. If her health is depleted, she will use Temporal Anchor to heal herself completely.
Protea Spectre: "I am your beginning. I am your end. Entwined. Forever."
(when Protea casts Temporal Anchor) The Business: "She's reversing the temporal field! Try to interrupt it! A fully charged burst from the Xoris might do it!"
(if the Tenno detonates the Xoris at the wrong time) The Business: "There's got to be an opening! Maybe while she's reversing the temporal field?"
Detonating the Xoris while Protea is casting Temporal Anchor will interrupt the process and permanently knock off 25% of Protea's health. The Tenno will have to repeat the process three more times.
(after being interrupted the first time) Protea Spectre: "I am your end. Entwined. Forever."
The Business: "That's it! The cycle's degrading!"
(after being interrupted the second time) Protea Spectre: "Entwined. Forever."
(after being interrupted the third time) Protea Spectre: "Forever."
After the Tenno interrupts Protea for the fourth and final time, she will be destroyed, and the Tenno will be ejected out of the Granum Void.
Nef Anyo (holo-screens): "You're too late! The old man's Errant Spectres have— huh? The Protean trace is… gone!? Where is he? Where is my father?"
The Business: "That temporal effect again! And… yes. There are your sensory feeds, just like last time. So, the Xoris worked – in a battle that never happened. Or did it? I have a headache."
Eudico: "Our people are calling in, Sparky. They're coming home. Tonight all Fortuna will be singin' a verse in your honour."
[on board Orbiter]
Vox: "Solaris. We are reunited. Parents to children, family to family. Take this time to hold one another, for tomorrow our struggle continues. We will persevere. Know that our emancipation is writ in the stars with Solaris, and Tenno, united."
The Tenno will receive an inbox message from Parvos Granum, containing a Captura scene for the Granum Void.
Inbox message:
RECIPROCITYThe System shall change. No more clutching at sunk costs, imposed ideals, hand-me-down hopes. No, we are better than that. Corpus shall know a violent restructuring, but with time enough to face the impending threat from Tau with renewed and absolute vigour.
Or not. Perhaps the rot is too deep. Perhaps the father should abandon his children. Perhaps it is time for a new philosophy. Hmmm.
Life's just a bargain like any other. Yours is no different. Would you like a seat at my new table? Perhaps with your… masked friends alongside? The Business, was it? A curious name. And Eudico, of course. All people who know what they want.
I know what they want. But what about you? Tell me, friend: what is it you Desire?
—Parvos Granum
The quest awards the blueprint for the Protea warframe. The component blueprints for Protea can be found by revisiting the Granum Void. The quest is replayable from the Codex. If the Tenno had obtained Protea prior to starting the quest (either purchasing it from the Market or gifted it by another Tenno), they will receive an additional inbox message from The Business containing a rifle Riven mod.
Inbox message:
A Curious ThingOutworlder,
The progress you've made in reconstructing Protea is incredible. I'm pleased to tell you that in being able to study Parvos' warframe more closely, I've made a discovery that you may find useful.
I certainly hope so.
Yours,
The Business
Aftermath
After completing the quest, Treasurers in the Corpus Ship tileset will drop Granum Crowns in three different tiers: normal, Exemplar, and Zenith, depending on the level of the mission. These coins can be used to, among other things, enter the Granum Void again and kill Errant Spectres in order to obtain Protea's component blueprints and other rewards.
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