So Cephalon Samodeus is not a character we see much, he is only mentioned when there are riven disposition changes which don't happen often and aside from that the only time we see him is when we unlock a riven, the Purple triangular shape behind the mod is Cephalon Samodeus. I thought this was a character that we could see more of, and in the process of this quest I opted to add to the mystery that is Nora Night
Here is the quest I have written out thus far
Cephalon Samodeus has gone dark, he normally stays silent regardless but this is different his signature is just gone, it seems as though something may have happened to him, you must go to the last place his signature came from and analyse any clues as to what happened to him. The player gathers clues and determines that a corpus capitol ship in the sector may have had something to do with the disappearance, the player is then sent to a spy mission aboard the corpus vessel, where they discover that this is a rogue vessel and also discover hidden communication logs from the corpus vessel to a grineer galleon.upon returning to the orbiter, Ordis informs the player of an emergency distress signal being broadcasted on an old war frequency, the distress signal seems to come from sammodeus. The player then goes to investigate the grineer galleon that the corpus ship had contacted, this will be an interception mission. After the interception, the player returns to the orbiter where the Lotus has decrypted a hidden message from sammodeus buried in the intercepted message “Tenno, I require your aid, I have been captured. you must travel to my home. There you will find a way to pinpoint my coordinates. You must complete this task with haste, these miscreants are attempting to decipher my protocols, they are attempting to find a way to use my mods.” The player now is part of an exchange between Ordis and the Lotus, neither of whom know the location of samodeus’ home. A voice interrupts the conversation
“Word on the waves is, an old war emergency beacon got activated, an old enigma, reaching out for help. Dreamers, I think this mystery caller is reachin’ out to you.”
The operator/difter then says “How does Nora know about the signal? Do you think she knows where Samodeus’ home is?”
Ordis is unsure “We know nothing about this Nora character, for all we know she could…. KILL YOU…. have her own agenda.”
Lotus “None of my sources know anything about Samodeus or Nora, most thought Samodeus was just a legend. As per Nora, she seems to know when things happen regardless of where they occur or who they involve. She may have information we can use but be cautious Tenno”
Ordis “How do we even contact her? She only ever broadcasts on open channels”
Operator/drifter “ Then maybe we should do the same, Ordis, broadcast an encoded signal on all open channels, use an old war cypher to encode the coordinates and the message to Nora”
Ordis “I have started composing the message and generating the cipher, where would you like to meet this Nora person?”
Operator/Drifter “Over earth, we will meet her with the railjack. Cy get us ready”
Cy “Engines warming up, ready to jump.”
The player then gets sent prompted to enter the railjack and sent into the free flight railjack mission, after a moment of broadcasting, Cy reports that a ship has translated into the system but he cannot pinpoint it’s location, the player then has to fly the railjack around the debris field to locate the ship, when the ship is located, It seems to be a small Orokin ship but in pristine condition Nora then contacts the player
“This has been a long time comin’ Dreamer, I can’t wait to meet the one giving the system another chance. Come on over, let’s have a chat”
The player disembarks the railjack and approaches the Orokin vessel, upon boarding the ship, Nora greets the player, with a pan up camera motion to reveal Nora, whose face is shrouded in darkness.
“It’s been quite some time since someone else was on this ship but if the dreamers need help then no better reason to come in person. Now what was it you wanted to ask me?”
“I need to find cephalon Samodeus’ home, he’s been captured somehow”
“Samodeus huh? Haven’t heard that name since the old days. I knew one day somethin’ would get him, that cephalon’s ego was always going to be his undoing. Given the location i’m bouta give you, I think you’ll see for yourself”
Nora proceeds to give the operator/drifter a set of coordinates to find the cephalon’s home.
Nora “Well I guess you’ll be on your way Dreamer. Off to save the day again.”
Player “There is something else I've been meaning to ask you. You call the Tenno dreamers. How long have you known the Tenno to be so aware of the dream”
Nora *Chuckles* “I’ve known you longer than you’ve known yourself, dreamer, I even know about the other side of you.”
Player “What do you mean the other side of me?”
With that the airlock opens and the player pulled out into space, just in time to see Nora’s ship translate out of the sector. The player will then return to the railjack.
The navigation console is marked for the player and upon entering Navigation, a new marker appears, in low orbit around the sun, Samodeus’ home.
Ordis “Nora was not joking about samodeus he really is…. AN ABOMINATION TO CEPHALONS…. self centered.”
Navigation is then marked with a new node, in low orbit around the day star.
The player is then dropped into an orokin tileset but with purple accents rather than gold and glass cases in the halls with glowing orbs similar to those found in orokin vaults or lua challenge rooms contained within them. The tileset will consist mostly of orokin challenge rooms installed as a security measure to keep out any non-cephalon intruders. The player will eventually come to a room full of dangerous moving mechanical parts and electricity sparking seemingly at random between several coils, these are not part of a security system but as part of Samodeus’ R&D process at the other end of this treacherous room there is a console with a riddle tied the origins of the Tenno, riddles only a Tenno would have the answers to. This coded security system was put in place to ensure no one was able to unlock this information.
Once unlocked, the console will provide the player with a Vetruvian. Which when back in the orbiter, will begin the next portion of the quest.
The player then enters a glassmaker style investigation of Samodeus’ home hidden in the day star, Samodeus seems to have a bit of a god complex therefore he puts himself at the centre of the origin system. During this investigation the player will have to scan
fallen grineer lancers and corpus crewmen, both seem badly burned as if killed by sheer electricity.
A corpus tablet that had fallen from one of the crewmen, which contains coordinates to a location in the origin system but it’s encrypted.
A cephalon projection console designed to be able to project Samodeus much in the same way as simaris projects himself in the relays.
Lastly there is a grineer lancer who has a great deal of dirt and grime on him but it doesn’t seem to be from any of the core planets in the origin system.
Once all of these have been found the player will then be able to start 1 of 2 railjack missions, the first of which will be to get the corpus tablet decrypted and the other will be to get the necessary data to match the soil samples on the grineer. Once both of these high level spy missions are completed the player will return to their ship and ordis will inform them that the coordinates the corpus tablet contained were just outside the origin system, in the kuiper belt and the soil samples had a match in the grineer database, for an asteroid in the kuiper belt.
Ordis - Operator, I do not know if this is safe, the kuiper belt is unpredictable these coordinates could have changed.
Operator - It’s the only lead we have ordis, we can’t let the grineer or the corpus keep hold of cephalon samodeus.
A mission prompt will then appear in the star chart just past Neptune This will be a railjack mission, where the player will enter the spacial field and see a corpus Stanchion and a Grineer galleon tethered to an asteroid
Operator - I never thought I would see the corpus and grineer willingly team up.
Cy - The ships seem to be anchored to a base set up on that rock. Both ships are supplying power to the base, the power requirements must be immense despite it being such a small facility.
This will be a dual set of dual objective missions. The player must board one of the two ships to complete 1 spy vault and then move on to a sabotage mission wherein the goal will be to sabotage the tether. Once both objectives are complete, the Railjack’s artillery will have to be used to sever the tether. Then the player will have to repeat this process on the other ship. Once both tethers are severed, Samodeus will speak to the operator
Samodeus - Child, I am on the asteroid, they are trying to learn how to use my creations, I'm putting up as many ciphers as I can but I fear they may break through and unveil the secrets.
Operator - I’m on my way!
Then the Player will have to load into the archwing slingshot and fire themselves into the asteroid base. Once inside there will be corpus and grineer enemies all working to prevent you from freeing Samodeus. In order to rescue Samodeus, the player will have to kill 2 Assassination targets, a Kuva litch and a Sister of Parvos to obtain the necessary codes, then the player will have to complete a defense of a computer system while ordis works on using the codes taken from assassination targets to unlock the security doors leading to Samodeus. Once the doors are unlocked, this will prompt a rescue objective, which will immediately have the timer active and set for 1:30 the player must rescue Samodeus before that time runs out. The tile for this rescue will involve a parkour section similar to those found on Jupiter, along with grineer spin locks such as the ones in Keyla de thaym’s arena. These must be completed in time or the mission will fail. Once Samodeus has been retrieved the player must leave quickly as the base will self-destruct once he is removed from the isolated system. Once back aboard the railjack you will see a massive explosion which will also take out both of the nearby capitol ships. After that the railjack will jump to Samodeus’ home so that you may place him back in his rightful place.
Samodeus - Thank you child, for a moment I feared the worst, I used to have a Tenno and warframe dedicated to protecting me, but that time has long since passed. I will move my home so that none will find me again. As recompense for saving me, take these to aid you in your battles. Hopefully my old protector can once again fight by your command.
Once back in the orbiter, the completed quest screen will show the rewards, a legendary core and a blueprint for Locus, a warframe linked to the never ending dangers of space, the one that once guarded Samodeus from any and all threats.
For a long time now i have thought that the third orb mother in the vallis needs a story, we've been teased with minor movements and a narmer drone for some time now, so i took it upon myself to design a fight for her which also involves a mechanic we have used only once during scarlet spear, the squad link. Enforcer was built during the height of the old SU she was the first of the orb mothers. During the time of her construction Solaris United had been illegally importing parts and supplies for their operations, as such Enforcer was designed, however corpus computers were not able to perform all the necessary functions while still being mobile. A breakthrough with sentient experiments enabled the corpus to design a system built with a sentient based AI component capable of rapid adaptation but with a core code that ensured she would protect the vallis, a motherly instinct towards this snowy land we know as the Orb vallis, the Mother of the vallis, here to Enforce the rules on those who will not obey. When the other 2 orb mothers were built and Exploiter was able to bring down the old SU there was no longer a need for Enforcer, as such she was decommissioned and placed in a coolant pool to preserve her functions, but her AI was never shut down, so she continued to perceive and think but was under orders not to move. Enforcer was built with a Modular Payload Delivery System or MPDS which enabled her to launch any number of projectiles in a manner suited to the target, from mortars to torpedoes all the way to SOM (Surface to orbit missiles) to just plain rockets and the payload could carry an elemental effect. As Enforcer watched the Tenno rise again and begin to fight and kill her sisters she began trying to figure out a way to defend herself and her home from these invaders, she had the offensive capabilities but no defensive capabilities. She began by instructing the mite raknoids that wandered near her to begin certain modifications, namely beginning to adjust her shell to be capable of supercooling itself and rapidly modulate it’s temperature in order to be able to freeze coolant around herself or melt it at will to create a sort of armour that would still allow her to move. In extreme cases Enforcer is also capable of superheating her shell to create a heat wave powerful enough to push things away and damage anything that comes near. Enforcer also began trying to have the mites override the coding that made her stay in place. The corpus became aware that Enforcer was trying to free itself, and with the rise of the new SU combined with Tenno railjack operations, they elected to give the orb mother what she wanted, they reinitialized her full functionality and stationed her once again as the warden of the vallis. The Enforcer orb watches the skies and is able to strike even targets in orbit with remarkable precision. As she is the first orb mother, she was originally less stable than her successors however the sentient mind inside is far more prevalent then it is in her newer counterparts, as such she is able to think and upgrade herself at will, even commanding other raknoids to do her bidding, this allows for rapid adaptation to any target or attack. She has even altered her own coding to have a direct line of communication to her sisters. She is also capable of locking on to and firing at multiple targets at once, even if one is in orbit and the other is on the surface, she will strike both simultaneously. With the rise in of the new SU along with Tenno railjack operations and sentient ships coming into play as well, the order was given to reactivate the Enforcer, She is now under orders to manage the airspace of venus and guard ground shipments as well. Enforcer has now become a problem for SU operations, and railjack missions over venus have become increasingly difficult with the Enforcer orb active, the Tenno have been tasked with mounting a ground assault on the Orb to disable it while SU ships come in and railjack operations are in effect. Ground team The ground team will be tasked with directly engaging the Enforcer and adjusting the manifest so that the SU ship can take the place of an existing corpus supply ship. First Stage The ground team arrives at the Spaceport in the Vallis and are tasked with breaking into a secured data vault to hack the console and find the shipping manifest, the corpus have ramped up security, is alarms are triggered there are 10 seconds until data purge and they have also set up nullifier bubbles throughout the facility. Second Stage After hacking the console, the ground team is to go back outside and activate Squad Link before confronting the orb Third Stage Once the squad link is established, the ground team will have to go and confront the Enforcer. The Enforcer will start with Launching a salvo of rockets at the team, the only vulnerable portions of her body are the joints on the legs as she need to be able to stabilise herself to launch volleys. Fourth Stage Once one of her joints get damaged enough she will move to the nearest coolant pool and dip herself into it, using her modified shell to rapidly freeze the coolant on herself to use it as armour. At this point the players will need to use as much heat damage as possible in order to melt her new frozen shell off. All the while the orb is still Firing salvos and lunging at the ground team trying to prevent their interruption of her work. Fifth Stage Once the ground team has managed to melt off the Enforcer’s frozen armour, one player must interact with the squad link beacon, this will mark the orb for the railjack team. The railjack team will then fire a dome charge at the Enforcer from orbit causing a short cutscene of the Enforcer being hit by a large beam from above. Repeat stages III, IV, and V, 2 more times Railjack team The railjack team’s task will be to escort an SU supply ship to venus, and protect it from corpus fighters as well as surface to orbit rocket from the Enforcer. First Stage The railjack team arrives in orbit, the first thing to do is locate the SU ship which is currently hiding among the debris and rocks in orbit over venus Second Stage Once the railjack team has located the SU ship they have to activate Squad Link so that they may get in contact with the ground team. Third Stage Once squad link is established, the SU ship will begin to make it’s way towards the planet, a nearby corpus stanchion will deploy fighters and crew ships. One player on the railjack crew must board the Corpus Stanchion to disable it’s radar system so that the SU ship can switch with the scheduled corpus cargo ship. Fourth Stage The SU ship will come under fire, and even have Ramsleds launched at it, if a ramsled impacts the SU controlled ship, a tenno will have to board the ship to clear out the intruders. All the while the Enforcer is launching rockets from the planet. The railjack team must intercept or shoot down the rockets before they impact the SU ship. Fifth Stage The ground team will mark the orb mother on the surface, the railjack team will then have to create and opening and fire a dome charge directly at the marker on the planet surface to hit the Enforcer Continue to defend and repeat step V, 2 more times Sixth Stage Once the first dome charge has been fired at the orb mother, a member of the Railjack team must board the Corpus Stanchion, to break in and hack into their system with the intention of changing the manifest so that the chaincode matches the SU ship and not the Corpus transport.