Hostile Intelligence is Starfield‘s eighth mission for the UC Vanguard and the follow-up to War Relics. Like it or not, all roads live to Londinion now, as you must acquire both Aceles Gene Samples and Terrormorph Samples.
- UC Vanguard mission 08
- Planets: Toliman II
- Rewards: 350 EXP and 10,800 Credits (Very Hard)
Speak to Hadrian
After returning to the Red Devils HQ with Kaiser, Hadrian informs you of two possible solutions against the Terrormorph outbreaks:
- Breeding Aceles, the Terrormorph hunters and eaters Hadrian mentioned if you exhausted the dialogue options at the start of War Relics. Using cloning technology will help speed up the production of the Aceles population, which went almost extinct during the Colony War, as the UC used them as livestock for food. The Aceles could also track down the Terrormoph’s transmission method.
- Developing a microbe specifically targeting Terrormoprh DNA and their transmission method and spreading it to eliminate them. This option would also take time to develop, test, and distribute, but it can quickly wipe Terrormoprhs off the world.
Both plans will take years to materialize and require either Aceles gene samples to rebuild their bloodlines or Terrormorph cell lines that can be bred quickly to run tests on. The place to find both of these things is… Londinion!
Londinion was a central hub for Aceles processing during the Colony War. Londinion is also in the Star System where Aceles were first found, Toliman II, so there is a high chance that Terrormorphs, Acele’s prey, came from the same world.
The almost complete extinction of Aceles may explain why there was a Terrormorph outbreak in Londinion, while their presence explains why nobody suspected Londinion as the source of Terrormorphs. In simple words, Londinion has a ton of dead Aceles’ DNA and a ton of alive Terrormorphs’ DNA.
With Londinion being the possible key to ending the Terrormorph outbreak, UC has signed off on us visiting the plan. There, we will meet Commander Saira Hatoum.
Proceed to Londinion
When we arrive in Toliman II’s orbit, UC Sec Longsword II will hail us and inform us that this world is off-limits. Explain the situation, and we can proceed to Forward Base 441. Once you reach the UC Marine guard, he will tell you to proceed to the Command Post, a former Terrabrew Coffee store.
Proceed to the Command Post
On your way to the command post, loot the ammo and weapon cases near the target-training UC Marine. Once you enter the Command Post, loot everything and unlock the Helmet Display (Master Security Level) if you can. I got an Epic Leadlined Mercenary Space Helmet.
Discuss the Exploration Plan
Hatoum will stress that we are all alone once we are inside the city and recommend you head to the nearby Aceles plant, where we will find one of the UC Marines’ field caches (more loot!). Don’t expect backup. Hatoum will take Kaiser to upload some codes that will allow us to restore power temporarily, while Percival will provide information on the whereabouts of vital samples.
(Optional) Collect Your Gear
This objective may be optional, but you should absolutely go pick your gear from the armory. This is where you acquire the UC Antixeno Armor Set (Refined Quality), perfect for this mission as the Helmet and Spacesuit provide -15% damage from alien enemies, thanks to the Beast Hunter modifier/perk.
Talk to the United Colonies Agent inside the armory to also receive the X-989 Microgun, a rare heavy gun with the Exterminator modifier (+30% damage against aliens). If you are worried about this mission, we will end up looking like this (Aliens vibes, anyone?)
Inform Hadrian You’re Ready to Move Out
Once you inform Hadrian that you’re ready, Kaiser will upload the code to turn on the switch.
Allow Kaiser to Unlock the Airlock
Once Kaiser is ready, press the switch to open the Airlock.
Proceed into the City
Once you proceed through the hallways of the airlock, we will set foot in Londinion for the first time. You will instantly face Terrormorph-controlled squalls, meaning a Terrormorph nearby controls them.
Clear the Processing Plant
Your first task will be to eliminate all the threats in the Processing plant before you move forward to locate the Aceles Gene Samples. All the controlled masters are quite weak, so you should make quick work of them with the help of your companions.
Locate the Aceles Gene Samples
Once you clear the plant, Percival will pass you the locations of the three Aceles Gene Samples you must collect. They are in the courtyard beyond. But before you move forward, loot the processing plant’s cache and any bodies you find.
(Optional) Explore the Base Cache
You will find a lot of ammo, throwables, weapons, aid items, and even Digipicks inside the base’s cache, so make sure you pick up everything.
Collect the Aceles Samples
Moving forward, you will reach the processing plant’s courtyard. You will need to access three containers and obtain the Aceles Gene Samples. Two containers are on the ground level, while the third is stuck in the air, hanging from a crane.
You may get the feeling you are about to be overrun by enemies in the courtyard, but you will only face a Terrormoprh and a Cloaked Terrormorph.
They shouldn’t be hard to deal with with the help of three companions, but on Very Hard difficulty, you will need a lot of ammo to take down the Cloaked Terrormorph. I resorted to using a weapon with Lacerate again, which greatly sped up the elimination process.
Once you clear the morphs, loot the three containers. You now have all three Aceles samples. Ensure you also loot the Weapon Case close to the container hanging in the air (I got a Shattered Shock Rare Heavy).
Give Kaiser the Samples
Talk to Kaise to pass him the samples. Percival will tell you that an earlier scan picked up a valid Terrormorph sample, but it’s in Londinion’s spaceport. As we know, Vae Victis bombed the city’s spaceport to limit the Terrormoprh outbreak to Londinion. The quick way to the spaceport has been blasted, so we must find another way there.
Proceed to the Steam Tunnels
As you enter the Steam Tunnels, you will only encounter numerous Heatleeches and Lazarus Plants. The Lazarus Plant only grows in Londinion.
Locate the Next Sample
There are a few rooms to check for loot here before you move on to the objective marker, which will take you to a larger room with a view of a Lazarus Tree.
Observe the Lazarus Tree with Hadrian
The view is quite spectacular as the Lazarus is in bloom. What you will witness, though, is even more astonishing, as a Heatleech will approach the Lazarus Tree and transform into a Terrormorph.
Speak to Hadrian
Heatleeches can be found in every settlement and every corner of the Settled Systems, so this explains how Terrormorphs spread. Heatleeches hide out in ships, sneak away once the ships land, and then, with time, they transform into Terrormorphs.
At the same time, the Lazarus Plants act as an accelerator of the Heatleech’s growth/evolution process, instantly transforming Heatleeches into Terrormorphs.
Anyone who knows this information can trigger Terrormorph spawning. They can also trigger an attack like the one on Tau Ceti (Grunt Work) and New Atlantis (Eyewitness). The settlement on Tau Ceti, in particular, was too young to have a Terrormorph, and the Terrormorph we killed didn’t get transported there. It transformed there.
Collect a Tissue Sample from the Terrormorph
Now, we need to find the “newborn” Terrormoprh and collect a tissue sample from it. Since it’s a baby, it’s only level 10, so it should be easy to take out. Once the Terrormorph is down, loot the “Metamorphed Tissue Sample.”
Give the Sample to Kaiser
Pass the sample to Kaiser, and he will inform you that the sample matches the ones in New Atlantis and Tau Ceti. The Lazarus Plant was indeed used to trigger both attacks.
Discuss the Findings with the Team
As Hadrian explains, the Lazarus Plant is very rare and fragile (as already mentioned, it only grows in Londinion). How could it have ended up on Tau Ceti and Jemison?
Human hands must have triggered the transformations, with the one on Tau Ceti being the first test. But the one in New Atlantis… It happened just as we were talking to the Cabinet to convince them that the Terrormorphs are a serious threat. The timing was extremely suspicious.
As if to help us convince the Cabinet to take action… Who would do something like this? You can even make a wild guess about the person behind the attacks.
Percival will interrupt, as we still need that final sample (the Terrormorph one).
Follow Kaiser
Follow Kaiser until he encounters a roadblock. He can’t open the gate to the spaceport as there is not enough power.
Restore Power to the Spaceport Access Hatch
Instead, Kaiser will power up the door to the Security Office on the upper floor. Open the door and take the stairs up until you find the switch to restore power.
Initiate the System Reboot
Next, reboot the system to fully restore power.
Listen to the Playback
Listen to the security playback to discover that Vae Victis knew about the Lazarus Plant’s effect on Heatleeches before he decided to bomb Londinion’s spaceport. Vae Victis even asked the Colonel whether every soldier who witnessed the transformation was in the facility, with Colonel Akulov answering that thankfully, nobody went down swarmed by those things.
Collect the Recording
Collect the playback recording and then speak to Hadrian.
Speak to Hadrian
All things point to Vae Victis bombing Londinion’s spaceport to prevent anyone from sharing the secret that could turn Terrormophs into the most dangerous weapon mankind has ever faced. After this revelation, you can even weigh in with your view of Vae Victis.
If you haven’t told Hadrian that her father was alive at the start of War Relics, this will be your second chance to do so. Hadrian will say that this is another part of his legacy, and he probably thought that he was protecting everyone by taking this secret to his grave, but he failed. Someone else knows about the Lazarus Plant and is using it exactly how Vae Victis feared they might.
If you tell Hadrian that Vae Victis is alive and kept prisoner by the UC, she will first react with disbelief, thinking you are joking. You can instantly retract the statement by saying you are joking. Hadrian will react angrily if you don’t retract the statement, explaining that her whole unit was thrown to the wolves while the UC kept Vae Victis alive and used him as an advisor and a secret fleet commander.
Eventually, she will accept the fact. After all, the UC even tried to clone the guy; why would they get rid of him?
And now Hadrian will make the connection that we have all made by now. If Vae Victis is alive and knows about the Lazarus Plants, is he involved in the attacks? Whether he was involved or not, he must know something and we must find the guy once the mission ends.
Personally, I got “A Few Good Men” vibes here.
Return to Kaiser
Return to Kaiser to finally open the door to the spaceport.
Find the Final Sample
Follow the objective marker to the end of the spaceport. You will find two cabins there, where you can enter a loot. Nothing is groundbreaking inside, but you don’t want to miss out on anything.
Collect the Final Sample
The final sample is a level 44 Terrormorph Anomaly, and once again, Lacerate should be your best friend here if you are playing on higher difficulties.
Secure the Final Sample
Loot the Anomalous Sample once you defeat the Terrormoprh Anomaly and talk to Kaiser to secure the sample.
Return to Forward Base 441
You can now fast-travel back to the Forward Base. Follow the objective marker there to find the rest of the team.
Discuss your Findings
As you discuss your findings and whether discovering the connection between Heatleeches and Terrormorphs will make your life easier, Percival will ask whether he got right the part where Vae Victis knew about the Lazarus Plant’s effect on Heatleeches.
Hadrian will respond: “That’s what it sounded like.“
Percival will then say: “Hmph. Guess the old admiral must’ve told someone what he learned. Even he’s not clever enough to pull off an attack like that from the great beyond.“
You can keep lying here if you haven’t told Hadrian that her father is alive. If you have told her, she will spill the beans to Percival. Otherwise, this is another opportunity to reveal the truth. You will have the opportunity to retract the statement. If you don’t, Hadrian will get angry until she finally shows understanding and gratitude.
We must now head back to study the samples, but we are the only ones with access to Vae Victis, so we must confront him about the attacks on Tau Ceti and New Atlantis. Your next rendezvous point will be at the MAST building, outside the Cabinet’s Chambers.
This concludes the eighth mission of the UC Vanguard, “Hostile Intelligence,” and starts the ninth and final one, “A Legacy Forged.” You will receive 350 EXP and 10,800 Credits as a reward on Very Hard difficulty.
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