I have some recon work for you, Prospector. Recent survey data shows a dip in TEF radiation on a 'Tharis Island', the spot of one our old field labs. The installation was just being set up when the evac order came through, and with all the chaos, the records don't show any researchers making it out, nor why they were there in the first place. Head down there, check the outpost, and report back to me.
Objectives
- Investigate what happened to the Osiris Researchers at Osiris Labs.
Rewards
All killed. Not surprising, of course, but definitely not all were killed by surface beasts. The obvious suspects would be Korolev's goons; our people may have found something important those meatheads wanted for themselves, or maybe it was something more basic, like commandeering the site's vessels to evac. I need to think... this happened decades ago, but it would still be an unacceptable transgression. For now, just go back to those caverns and do some field work; apparently the caverns had some unique flora.
Objectives
Rewards
I need more information before I act; get into the Korolev Island HQ and retrieve whatever information that might shed some light on what happened. If Korolev truly is responsible for what happened, there will be hell to pay."
Objectives
Rewards
Unexpected. Both our people and Korolev's were attacked by a third party, what a Korolev foreman referred as 'cultists'. From the description, this group behaved similar to those afflicted by prolonged exposure to the TEF's radiation, but the first recorded encounter predates the first storms by a matter of months.
Prospector, I need you to search for the Surveyor Pods deployed in the caverns, they would have recorded evidence of any exotic radiation, even before they knew what it was.
Objectives
Rewards
Just as I suspected, those caverns had been leaking TEF radiation for years before anyone ever set foot in them. That entire area can give us a preview of what sites on the surface may look like decades from now, if the field continues to affect the planet.
But first things first: hunt down some Crushers from one of the affected areas and stash samples of their remains at one of our outpost so we can analyze the radiation.
Objectives
Rewards
One of my researchers working in the Crescent Falls area has some theories on those Spine Briar plants, and why they're unique to the Tharis caverns. I need you to take some new samples to a stash in the area; hopefully he does something more useful than just replanting them.
Objectives
Rewards
The results came back on the Crushers irradiated by Tharis: inconclusive; none of the creatures you dispatched seemed to be over a decade old, which may hint at the limits their natural lifespan, or at how efficient your fellow prospectors have been at thinning their numbers. One thing did stand out, though; a foreign bioluminescent compound. I've found mentions of a 'Cave of Stars', the likely source. Search the area, and bring back anything that may be of interest.
Objectives
Rewards
These 'cultists' weren't merely men gone feral, they had kept some level of organization, and built a devotion to the Tharis caverns. They seemed obsessed with clusters of a glowing crystaline compound unique to the island; bring me some samples, this merits study.
Objectives
Rewards
These 'Teratomorphic Crystals' are proving to be an interesting puzzle. There's nothing organic or 'living' about them, but they don't resemble any natural formation I've ever seen. And they appear to absorb TEF energy like a battery.
Perhaps the cultists knew more about them. The records you recovered mention of wall markings scattered throughout the caverns, perhaps they hold some cyphered information. Find them, Prospector.
Objectives
Rewards
It appears the cultists were fixated on the same rare ore that kept Korolev and our own Osiris people, 'Tharis Ore' as they called it. Bring me samples, normal and the 'refined' type. If the Teratomorphic Crystals interacted with TEF radiation, it's reasonable to believe this material might too.
Objectives
Rewards
Our experiments with Tharis Iron proved very productive; concentrated blasts of TEF radiation caused the samples to react by warping into different shapes. Some, almost organic, and very reminiscent of patterns seen in Fortuna III's newer flora and fauna. Bring me samples of creatures killed at the peak of a storm. And some Charged Brightcaps, too.
Objectives
Rewards
It's clear that the importance of these caverns can't be overstated; Korolev stumbled upon a Progenitor terraforming artifact and they simply decided to mine around it, for rocks! I need you to go deeper, recover anything else the cultists deemed valuable; they may have been insane, but they knew something.
Objectives
Rewards
Korolev had people block off the deepest caverns, fearing the unknown and wanting to bury the 'dangerous' mysteries beneath. Everything points to there being something important down there, something connected to Tharis Iron, something the cultists killed to protect.
Down the Abyss, Prospector, discovery awaits!
Objectives
Rewards
Fascinating... The installation on Tharis Island may not have been part of the Progenitor terraformer network, but perhaps a small outpost of some sort? It makes sense that they would place self-sufficient outposts on the planets they terraformed. You must remain my proxy on this venture, the island is still far too dangerous for a team to investigate directly; head back to the Forge, feed it Tharis Iron, and bring back the results.
And get rid of any onlookers.
Objectives
Rewards
Excellent work down there, Prospector. It's doubtful, though, that this lone machine's purpose would be solely to transform Tharis Iron into Forge Alloy, not without additional support or transport systems to put it to use. No, this must be an intermediate product... Return to the machine, there must be something we've missed.
Objectives
Rewards
Fascinating, it appears you found what's essentially an instruction manual... But something urgent has come up, on Crescent Falls. Scans found a cavern near the south of the Fallen Tree, with curious energy readings during a recent storm event. I want you to explore it; make short work of any creatures you find inside, and stash their remains for my people on the surface to collect."
Objectives
Rewards
I think it's time to move forward with our work on the Abyss Forge. Use the 'recipe' you found earlier, and whatever that device prints out, deliver it back to me. If we can put this Progenitor technology to work for us... well, you can imagine the implications.
Objectives
Rewards
