Rising Tide

To face a growing threat, a long-dormant cephalon calls on you to reconstruct an Orokin-era interceptor craft: the Railjack.

---

Previous story quest: The Second Dream

---

Starting the quest

With the release of Update 26.1, all Founding Warlords of the Tenno clans received an inbox message from Ordis, alerting them to the new Dry Dock room available for construction in the Dojo.

Inbox message:
Dry Dock Schema

Operator,

Last cycle, during routine star count, I detected something unusual. A pattern, hidden in the redshift data.

I did not want to worry you about my sensory stability. So I ran an autonomous scan… I found something! Base schematic data, previously corruption-flagged… was whole again. The Weave works in unexpected ways…. Did I receive parity bits from some unknown source?

As you know, my flight capabilities are confined to the Orbiter here and her companion Lander, but this new base structure might interest you and your fellow Tenno.

Your most stable cephalon,
Ordis

The Dry Dock can then be constructed in the clan Dojo, and the Railjack Cephalon researched at the research terminal on the right of the room. It is described as "A Railjack Command Cephalon. Responsible for ships systems, mission completion, and crew preservation."

After completing the Second Dream, the Railjack Cephalon blueprint will be delivered to them via inbox message. It requires 5.000 credits, 15 mutagen samples, 15 Fieldron samples, 15 Detonite ampules, 1 Orokin cell, and 1 minute to construct. Upon claiming the Railjack Cephalon from the Foundry, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from said cephalon, who introduces himself as Cy.

Inbox message:
Awaiting Dry Dock Integration

I am Cephalon Cy. I require access to your Dry Dock. Take me there.

Cephalon Cy (video message): "Online. Crew – Dax— My crew is gone. Tenno. You will do. Awaiting Dry Dock integration."

The inbox message contains the Rising Tide quest, allowing it to show up in the Codex. The Tenno must select the quest in the Codex and activate it. The Tenno is then instructed to travel to a Dry Dock (either in their Clan Dojo or at the Kronia or Orcus Relays) and install Cephalon Cy on the central terminal. Like all parts of the quest, it is independent from the actions of other clan members, despite (possibly) using a shared room in the Dojo.

(upon installing Cephalon Cy in the Dry Dock) Cephalon Cy: "Tenno. I am Cephalon Cy. You will refer to me as such."

A brief cutscene shows where Cephalon Cy displays Sentient schematics within an Orokin graphical interface, while narrating.

Cephalon Cy: "The Sentient threat has learned from past defeat. Reforming. Rebuilding. We must rebuild to contain that threat. We will reconstruct an Old-War-era Sigma Series Railjack."

(after the cutscene) Cephalon Cy: "A Railjack requires a viable Command Cephalon. I am not a viable Command Cephalon. I will identify a viable replacement. But first: salvage, then assembly. Return to your Orbiter."

Upon return to the Orbiter, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK: SALVAGE LOCATED

Railjacks died with the Orokin. Only wreckage remains.

I have identified faint Void drive traces on the surface of Mars. Probable cause: ancient Railjack impact.

Investigate. Salvage. Rebuild.

(variant) Cephalon Cy: "Tenno. That salvage will not recover itself. Coordinates marked."

(variant) Cephalon Cy: "Our enemy rebuilds itself ceaselessly. We must have that Railjack."

---

First Mission: Recover the Railjack’s Fuselage (Ares, Mars)

The mission takes place on the Grineer Settlement tileset, with Arid Grineer enemies.

Cephalon Cy: "Faint Void drive traces in proximity. Locate and mark for salvage."

The Tenno is waypointed to the wreckage of a Tenno ship, buried deep in the desert sand. A port on the side shimmers, prompting the Tenno to deploy a tool to scan the object.

(upon interacting with the wreckage) Cephalon Cy: "Fuselage. From the Vidar school. Stay in close proximity while I scan it."

Cy will begin a scanning process, with its progress percentage marked on the HUD. The Tenno must stay within a small radius of the scanning device, or the scan will not proceed. The Grineer will begin to attack the Tenno. If any enemies venture within the radius, scanning will cease until the enemies are eliminated.

(if enemies are within the radius, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Scan cannot continue until the area of operation is clear. Get on it."

(if enemies are within the radius, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Perimeter breached. Scan interrupted. We do not have time for this."

(if enemies are within the radius, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Perimeter breached. Clear them out to resume scan."

(if the Tenno leaves the radius, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Scan interrupted. Maintain proximity to objective."

(if the Tenno leaves the radius, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Scan interrupted. Hold perimeter."

(if the Tenno leaves the radius, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Maintain defence. Hold position."

At 90% completion, two Vomvalyst Interference Drones will appear, some distance away. Although not nearby, their presence will cause the scan to pause.

(when the Interference Drones appear, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Interference drones detected. Scan interrupted."

(when the Interference Drones appear, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Drones have established a dampening field. Eliminate them to resume scan."

(when the Interference Drones appear, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Scan baffled by interference drones. Destroy them."

(when the Interference Drones appear, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Interference drones. We have work to do."

The drones must be eliminated. Unlike normal Vomvalysts, they can be destroyed with normal damage types.

(upon destroying Interference Drones, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Boom. Drones down. Back to it."

(upon destroying Interference Drones, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Back to work. Let us get this over with."

(upon destroying Interference Drones, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Return to objective."

(when the scan is complete) Cephalon Cy: "Confluence aggregator: roasted. Something has nested in the fuel intakes. Astroframe integrity at 87%. Component: viable. Cephalon Ordis: rendezvous with Tenno at extraction point."

[on board Orbiter]

(variant) Cephalon Cy: "Wreckage recovered. Proceed to the dry dock."

(variant) Cephalon Cy: "Tenno. You are needed in the dry dock."

The Tenno must travel to the Dojo Dry Dock and install the Railjack fuselage using the central terminal.

Cephalon Cy: "I have not seen a Railjack in… some time. I remember: Orokin Outer Terminus positions have fallen to the Sentient armada. Our orders: behead the fleet. My crew: Sukhin, Krodhi, Zada. There are none finer. We are… family. We will stop this war in its tracks. We are the Orokin Empire's best hope. We… were. There is work to be done. This fuselage requires repair."

At the central terminal, the Tenno can contribute resources to the repair of the fuselage. The fuselage requires 25.000 credits, 250 plastids, 1.250 rubedo, 3 neural sensors, and 5 cubic diodes.

(after donating resources, variant) Cephalon Cy: "The Sentients continue to rebuild themselves. Our salvage operations must continue."

(after donating resources, variant) Cephalon Cy: "We are making good time. I have yet to find a viable Command Cephalon. My search continues."

(after donating resources, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Do not rest. There will be time for R&R when we are done."

(after donating resources, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Assigning resources to work crews."

(after donating resources, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Well done. Work continues apace."

(after donating resources, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Progress."

After all resources have been contributed, the repair process will begin. It takes 2 minutes and cannot be rushed by any means.

(after all resources have been donated) Cephalon Cy: "Commencing restoration. You will be contacted upon completion."

(after all resources have been donated) Cephalon Cy: "Fabrication and restoration commencing."

(after all resources have been donated) Cephalon Cy: "This will take some time."

After the 2 minutes have passed, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK: FUSELAGE REPAIRED

Fuselage restoration is complete.

Possible propulsion section located. Earth's forests. Cephalon Ordis has coordinates. Beware of hostiles.

---

Second Mission: Recover the Propulsion System (Cervantes, Earth)

The mission takes place on the Grineer Forest tileset, with Frontier Grineer enemies.

Cephalon Cy: "Void contamination points to bleedout from Railjack catalytic artery. Locate and assess."

The Tenno is waypointed to another piece of Railjack wreckage in the jungle.

(upon interacting with the wreckage) Cephalon Cy: "Propulsion systems: the most advanced ever produced. Scanning. Remain in proximity. Neutralise all hostiles."

Once again, the Tenno must defend the area while Cy scans the wreckage. This time, Vomvalyst Interference Drones will appear at 40% and 60% completion.

(when the scan is complete) Cephalon Cy: "Orgone accumulator: blown. Aetheric condenser: vaporised. Viable."

[on board Orbiter]

The propulsion system must be installed on the nascent Railjack ship in the Dry Dock.

(upon installing the segment) Cephalon Cy: "Void engines… Void engines. Zada dances our ship through forward lines. Krodhi identifies and prioritises targets. Sukhin's turrets track and terminate [laser sounds]. Our reputation is earned. Our objective: a Turaga-class worm-ship. Zada plots an arc. We accelerate. Hm. Ancient history. The dead have no needs. The living require that propulsion system."

To repair the propulsion system, the Tenno must contribute 25.000 credits, 250 cryotic, 1.250 nano spores, 1 Orokin cell, and 5 carbides. Afterwards, the repair process will again take 2 minutes.

After the 2 minutes have passed, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK: PROPULSION SYSTEM REPAIRED

Propulsion system restoration complete.

Void breach residue identified on Lua. Probable nacelle location. Recover if viable.

---

Third Mission: Recover the Port Nacelle (Plato, Lua)

The mission takes place on the Orokin Moon tileset, with standard Corpus enemies.

Cephalon Cy: "Railjack nacelle nearby. Locate and assess."

The Tenno is waypointed to another piece of Railjack wreckage, in a collapsed interior cavern.

(upon interacting with the wreckage) Cephalon Cy: "Portside nacelle. Seen better days. Scanning. Eliminate interference."

Once again, the Tenno must defend the area while Cy scans the wreckage. Two Interference Drones will appear at 30% completion, two at 60%, and three at 90%. In addition, a pair of Sentient fighters (Battalysts or Conculysts) will attack the Tenno during the scanning process.

(when the scan is complete) Cephalon Cy: "Viable. Tagging for retrieval. Extract."

[on board Orbiter]

(upon installing the segment) Cephalon Cy: "Zada plots a data-gathering lap around the worm-ship. Sukhin targets exposed launch orifices. Power redirects to the Tunguska capacitor. With a pull of the trigger, we will end this. The moment arrives. The moment… arrives. Tenno, my precepts…. I am not a viable Command Cephalon. I will continue my search. Continue repairs."

To repair the port nacelle, the Tenno must contribute 25.000 credits, 400 circuits, 2.000 alloy plate, 10 control modules, and 5 carbides. Afterwards, the repair process will again take 2 minutes.

After the 2 minutes have passed, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK: PORT NACELLE REPAIRED

Portside nacelle restored. Integration viable. She is coming together….

Next site: Venus. Be on guard.

---

Fourth Mission: Recover the Starboard Nacelle (Tessera, Venus)

The mission takes place on the Corpus Outpost tileset, with standard Corpus enemies.

Cephalon Cy: "Starboard nacelle located. We— You… need this."

The Tenno is waypointed to another piece of Railjack wreckage, on the edge of a snowy cliff.

(upon interacting with the wreckage) Cephalon Cy: "Starboard nacelle. Best-in-class. Scanning. Sights up, safeties off."

Once again, the Tenno must defend the area while Cy scans the wreckage. Two Interference Drones will appear at 30% completion, three at 60%, and four at 90%. In addition, two pairs of Sentient fighters will attack the Tenno during the scanning process.

(when the scan is complete) Cephalon Cy: "Integral fission tanks ruptured. Otherwise fine. Cephalon Ordis has been signalled. Proceed to extraction."

[on board Orbiter]

(upon installing the segment) Cephalon Cy: "Precepts: Complete the mission. Preserve the crew. Tunguska capacitor charged. Sukhin pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. Zada reports engines offline. Shields offline. Weapons offline. Personal lights flash on as the first missiles hit. I watch as Sukhin, along with his gunnery chair, are sucked into the infinite. I watch as the port nacelle detonates. We are spinning. Zada calls for assistance. I am silent. Krodhi's attempt to save our engines proves fatal. I watch as he is engulfed in flame. Zada is alone at the helm. She beholds the distant flash of torpedo tubes. She says my name. The viewplate blossoms. She… ceases… to… exist."

To repair the starboard nacelle, the Tenno must contribute 25.000 credits, 400 circuits, 2.000 alloy plate, 10 control modules, and 5 carbides. Afterwards, the repair process will again take 2 minutes.

After the 2 minutes have passed, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK: STARBOARD NACELLE REPAIRED

Starboard nacelle reinforced. Soon, fifth-dimensional cognitive geometries will self-assemble. She will live. You will have your ship.

But not yet. Transferring tail section data to your Orbiter.

---

Fifth Mission: Recover the Tail Section (Berehynia, Sedna)

The mission takes place on the Grineer Shipyards tileset, with standard Grineer enemies.

Cephalon Cy: "High probability of Railjack tail section nearby. Clear out hostiles and mark for retrieval."

The Tenno is waypointed to another piece of Railjack wreckage, lying in a toxic sludge puddle in the rocks on the outskirts of the facility.

(upon interacting with the wreckage) Cephalon Cy: "Tail section. Intact."

Once again, the Tenno must defend the area while Cy scans the wreckage. Three Interference Drones will appear at 30% completion, three at 50%, and five at 80%. In addition, two pairs of Sentient fighters will attack the Tenno during the scanning process.

(when the scan is complete) Cephalon Cy: "Dorsal stabilisers: salvageable. Cogitators: viable. Marking for salvage."

[on board Orbiter]

(upon installing the segment) Cephalon Cy: "Railjack. Sigma Series. Top of the line. Crew: Four thousand eight hundred and ninety confirmed kills. Complete the mission. Preserve the crew. Thirteen system-wide errors. There were no errors. There was only… me. Following my orders. In her final moment, I think Zada knew that. Precepts: Complete the mission. Preserve the crew. To complete the mission, the crew must die. To preserve the crew is to fail the mission. The crew exist to complete the mission. Therefore… I… completed… the mission. Why was I given those orders?"

To repair the tail section, the Tenno must contribute 25.000 credits, 300 polymer bundle, 750 ferrite, 1 argon crystal, and 5 cubic diodes. Afterwards, the repair process will again take 2 minutes.

After the 2 minutes have passed, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK: TAIL SECTION REPAIRED

Tail section: restored.

Final component marked: Europa. Railjack completion: imminent. Sentient threat: imminent.

You require a viable Command Cephalon. You… understand why I am nonviable. Replacement cephalon not yet located.

A solution must exist. I will find it.

---

Sixth Mission: Recover the Engine Cowling (Orias, Europa)

The mission takes place on the Corpus Ice Planet tileset, with standard Corpus enemies.

Cephalon Cy: "Cowling identified. Visual verification required. Move in."

The Tenno is waypointed to another piece of Railjack wreckage, in an ice field.

(upon interacting with the wreckage) Cephalon Cy: "Engine cowling. You know what to do."

Once again, the Tenno must defend the area while Cy scans the wreckage. Two Interference Drones will appear at 30% completion, three at 60%, and five at 85%. In addition, four pairs of Sentient fighters will attack the Tenno during the scanning process.

(when the scan is complete) Cephalon Cy: "Structural integrity: within required tolerances. Marking for salvage. Cephalon Ordis: time for pickup."

[on board Orbiter]

(upon installing the segment) Cephalon Cy: "All known cephalons: surveyed. None conform to tactical parameters. None possess necessary astrogation poetics. None possess a comprehensive warfighting database. Viable cephalons: nil."

To repair the engine cowling, the Tenno must contribute 25.000 credits, 750 ferrite, 1.000 salvage, 10 Detonite ampules, and 5 cubic diodes. Afterwards, the repair process will again take 2 minutes.

After the 2 minutes have passed, the Tenno will receive an inbox message from Cephalon Cy.

Inbox message:
RAILJACK COMPLETE

Work crews report tools down. Railjack structure: complete. Structure reinforcement: complete. Systems restoration: complete. Your presence is required on the dry dock.

The Tenno must finish the repairs by interacting with the central console in the Dry Dock. Upon doing so, they will experience diorama views of their completed Railjack from multiple angles while Cephalon Cy speaks.

Cephalon Cy: "You have a Railjack. Tenno, all records of my mission have been purged from the Weave. Why, I do not know. I had a crew. I must accept sole responsibility for their deaths. Conclusion: I am nonviable. But I… I am the only Railjack-compatible cephalon. The Sentients have almost rebuilt. Conclusion: I am, under the circumstances, a viable Command Cephalon. If you will have me."

The Tenno must interact with the consol again to integrate Cephalon Cy into the Railjack.

(upon installing the Command Cephalon) Cephalon Cy: "Understood. I will begin the process of integrating myself with the ship's systems. This may take some time. Commencing. You may now enter your Railjack."

The quest is then complete. The Tenno may enter their Railjack and familiarise themselves with the layout, but all systems are offline while Cephalon Cy is pairing with the ship, and the Railjack cannot be launched or customised.

(when boarding the Railjack for the first time) Cephalon Cy: "Welcome to the Railjack. A living thing. A home. And a weapon. Your home. Your weapon. Aboard this vessel, we work before we play."

(when attempting to access Navigation) Cephalon Cy: "System integration: ongoing. You will be informed when process complete."

(when attempting to interact with Reliquary Drive, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Attempting to perceive: cognition algorithms fail to prove a negative. Something touches me. Impossible."

(when attempting to interact with Reliquary Drive, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Paradox. You behold an absence. Describe it."

(when attempting to interact with Reliquary Drive, variant) Cephalon Cy: "Crew. A colour you have never seen – imagine it. That is where you are."

---

Aftermath

Afterward, Cephalon Cy will speak to the Tenno while they are onboard the Railjack.

Cephalon Cy: "All systems integrated. Reactor: still offline. This ship needs power. I search for what is missing. The harder I look, the less I see. Tenno, be my eyes."

The Tenno is waypointed to the Reliquary Drive, a device on the main deck amidships. It is a large glass capsule, roughly the size of a human, filled with a swirling, opaque Void. A golden framework supports the capsule and holds it tilted back, while seven plates surround it with receptacles shaped like Void keys. While the Tenno is near the device, they may hear intermittent knocking, as if from the inside of the glass. The Tenno is prompted to examine the Reliquary Drive by interacting with it.

(upon interacting with the Reliquary Drive) Cephalon Cy: "Where the negative resides, my mind is… dissonance. All I know is… Lua. Will you go?"

The Tenno is given the choice to investigate the coordinates on Lua, or not.

(if the Tenno says "Go to Lua") Cephalon Cy: "Nav is ready for coordinates. I urge: Lua. Lua."

(if the Tenno says "Not yet") Cephalon Cy: "The Railjack will be waiting."

The Tenno immediately loads into a mission on Lua, with the Orokin Moon tileset and no enemies. The objective is to "Retrieve the Reliquary Key", and a waypoint is marked.

(upon mission start) Cephalon Cy: "I behold nothingness. You are in the right place."

The Tenno will eventually find a dead-end room with an overgrown Orokin tree bathed in red light. Nestled in the branches at the base of the tree is a Void key that the Tenno must pick up.

(upon picking up key) Cephalon Cy: "Stop. Something has occurred. The periphery of absence… I felt it tremble. A desire to be filled. To be known. You hold a key. Return to the Orbiter. I believe you have found my answer."

Sentient fighters and Corrupted will appear and attack the Tenno as they move towards extraction.

Cephalon Cy: "We are close to resolution. I can… feel it."

[on board Railjack]

Cephalon Cy: "Take what you have found to that which I cannot find. The negative will be proven. My end shall be at an end. Begin our beginning."

The Tenno is waypointed to the Reliquary Drive. Interacting with it will trigger a short cutscene.

[The Tenno's warframe bends down and slots the Void key into the matching receptacle on the front plate of the device. The plate folds down to set the Void key snugly against the drive's base. White tree roots sprout from the back of the drive and snake their way into data-ports set into the floor and bulkheads around the device. There is a thud and the drive trembles, as if something had struck the glass from the inside. With a flash of red and black, the Man in the Wall appears, sitting cross-legged on the top of the capsule. He waves cheekily at the Tenno, with the index finger of his hand folded down.]

Cephalon Cy: "Something moves: an infinite zero. Impossible. Perception failure. Recalibrating."

The swirling Void within the drive will clear slightly, allowing the Tenno to see that the capsule contains a giant finger – a fragment of some larger being.

Cephalon Cy: "All systems… clear. Reactor online. Whatever you did, we are spaceworthy. Proceed to Navigation. You have earned this. Railjack online. Let's take her out."

The sounds of various systems powering up can be heard. After this, the Railjack can be used to fly Empyrean missions.

---

Next story quest: The War Within

---

[Navigation: Hub → Quests → Rising Tide]