At The Gates
| The scan begins, a line of disruption flaring between your flagship and the Gate. Spirals and ripples spill and surge in non-Newtonian bursts from a point at the center of the Gate. No, not a point - a circle, a sphere, a torus and inverted funnel; then some geometry that does not parse. | ||
–Gate scan dialog text | ||
"At The Gates" is the fifth and final (as of Starsector 0.97) mission in the Galatia Academy mission chain, and the longest. The player performs multiple tasks towards reactivation of the gates.
Acquisition
This mission is available by docking with the Academy at any time after completing "Project Ziggurat".
Walkthrough
Speak with Anahita Baird and then Scylla Coureuse on the comm directory to begin.
Two separate objectives need to be completed initially. The tasks involved can be done in any order, but all must be completed to proceed.
Meet with Daud
Go to Kazeron in the Thule Star System and contact (blackmail) the aristocrat Horus Yaribay for their comms key to secure a meeting with Daud. The player can offer Horus help in giving the good word about them to Daud, which will provide the player with the Yaribay cryptokeys.
Then travel to Chicomoztoc in the Aztlan Star System. Contact High Hegemon Baikal Daud on the comm directory; this will raise the player's reputation with the Hegemony to -10, if it was previously lower.
In the main menu, select the option to take the shuttle to the meeting (note: this requires being docked with the planet, not the station). After the initial conversation, a number of dialog options are provided, but only giving Daud the Yaribay cryptokeys has any effect.
Scan 6 Gates
The player needs to interact with 6 Gates to scan them. These can be in the core worlds (other than the Galatia one, which has already been scanned and does not contribute to the count) or uninhabited systems.
In each system with a gate, there is a random chance of a 'gate encounter' (depending on local factional presence). Usually this involves a fleet that is interfering with the gate scan and needs to be removed one way or another.
| List of Encounters | |
|---|---|
| Hegemony Fleet | Offer to do the scan for them (requires Hegemony commission or 1 SP 100% XP). |
| Tri-Tachyon Fleet | Offer to purchase the scan data.
Intimidate them with a stronger fleet (-2 Tri-Tachyon reputation). |
| Luddic Church Holy Vigil Fleet | Can provide 50 supplies to make them need (requires The Pilgrim's Path completion or 1 SP 100% XP)
Threaten them into leaving (Luddic Church reputation penaltyunverified) |
| Pirates Fleet | Pay the bribe.
Convince them to leave with 1 SP 100% XP. Destroy them (the player will most likely already be hostile with Pirates). |
| Apogee Wreck | The player is free to scan the Gate, they can also salvage the wreck. |
| Alarm | Does nothing (?), the player is free to scan the Gate. |
| Scan Jammer | Does nothing (?), the player is free to scan the Gate. |
| Scavenger Fleet | Doesn't interfere with the scan, will leave when asked. |
| Luddic Path Ambush Fleet | Needs to be defeated. |
You can scan more gates after the first 6 are done; as long as you don't turn in the mission you can keep getting gate encounters.
The Janus Test
Once both tasks are done, return to the Academy. The next task is to test the Janus Device prototype on a gate in an uninhabited system. Bring lots of supplies (and leave surplus ships at home).
The Janus test will cause an explosion that will inflict massive damage to player ships and destabilize the jump points in the system, rendering the star system impossible to colonize for around a cycle (in Starsector 0.95.1a-RC6 or later) or permanently (in older versions), so pick a low-value system.
You will have to Transverse Jump to leave the system. However, if the gate is close enough to a jump point, it is possible (yet very difficult) to escape the system before the jump point destabilizes, but the explosion itself is virtually unavoidable.
After the incident, go back to the Academy to file a complaint.
Rescue Zal
Constructing a new Janus prototype requires the assistance of Elissa Zal, whom the player may have encountered in "Finding Coureuse". She is a "prisoner" of the Warlord Kanta; go to Kanta's Den in the Magec Star System.
Kanta proclaims a trade of Zal for the clone of Warlord Loke, now a captive of Brother Livewell Cotton.
- This fetch quest can be skipped with a marine raid, even before meeting Kanta.
- Otherwise, hop over to Epiphany in the Al Gebbar Star System. Loke can also be recovered by a raid, but negotiation is cheaper: inquire about Brother Cotton on the comm directory or in the bar, then go to the bar meeting as specified. Cotton will hand over Loke after some dialog. Return to Kanta.
After rescuing Zal by force, or returning Loke and going through the subsequent dialog, head for the Magec Gate and use the new Janus Devicee provided by Zal to jump to the Galatia Star System. Alternatively, just exit the system normally. Multiple large pirate fleets will pursue; be prepared to evade.
Return to the Academy to complete the mission, collecting payment afterwards from Alviss Sebestyen. The Academy mission chain is complete, for now.
Rewards
You receive 200,000¢ after finishing the mission, a story point, as well as the Janus Device, allowing you to use the Gate network to travel.
Aftermath
If the player gave Daud the Yaribay cryptokeys, they can return to Kazeron to speak with Horus Yaribay, who becomes a potential High Importance Military / Trade contact.
Killing Loke by spacing him without a helmet removes Kanta's Protection if you have it, and makes it impossible to acquire it in the future.
Generic Academy missions cease to be available from Sebestyen after At The Gates is completed, although missions already accepted can still be completed and turned in.
| Galatia Academy missions | |
|---|---|
