In the unsettling quiet of the Ma'Leen Dam, every footstep echoes like a heartbeat against steel. That's where the quest "Exhuming The Past" begins for explorers venturing into House Va'ruun's secluded territory. While the DLC lets players pick which faction to aid first, this particular mission acts as a linchpin for understanding the ghostly threads that weave through the entire expansion. It's a slow burn—linear yet layered—until it suddenly presents a choice that makes you pause, controller in hand, wondering if pragmatism has a price.
Getting Through the Dam Gates
The adventure officially kicks off southeast of Dazra, at the dam itself. A stubborn ID Card Reader blocks entry, acting as a gatekeeper as immovable as a veteran security officer who's seen too many forged credentials. Luckily, a young local named Comrak Abbas lingers nearby. He knows exactly who holds the key card back in town, but getting that information requires a successful Persuasion check. Think of it as unlocking a door with words rather than bullets—sometimes the quietest approach carries the most weight.
Once inside, the atmosphere shifts. No enemies roam the initial corridors; the only companion is the rhythmic drip of stale water and the hum of dormant machinery. The path is linear, guided by a quest marker that pulls you deeper into the belly of the dam. Then you meet the first real obstacle: the Sub Pump Control computer. It sits lifeless until you backtrack onto the platform you came from, turn to the western wall, and spot a power module glowing faintly like a stubborn ember. A well-placed shot destroys it, waking the controls and sending a jolt through the facility.
Dancing with Phantoms
Intercoms crackle, and a voice named Karija Ma'leen—a Vortex Phantom—requests politely that you turn back. She'll ask twice, her tone somewhere between a warning and a plea, before deciding you're a problem that needs solving. The third conversation is a gunfight. Karija teleports around the chamber like a memory that won't stay in one corner of your mind. Ranged weapons are your best friend here; melee builds will feel as though they're trying to catch smoke with a net. She has substantial health, so patience is as crucial as ammunition.
After the skirmish, the teleportation experiment room offers a cerebral pause. A computer code needs input, and the notes scattered nearby tell a story of trial and error. Previous tests show a power of 235 was off by 100, which makes the correct setting a crisp 335. It's a small puzzle, but it grounds you in the facility's tragic history—a reminder that the people here were chasing something beyond their control.
Ahead, both Karija and another Phantom, Vedrasa, attack together. The air crackles with energy. Once they're dealt with, you face an Interlock mechanism, locked behind another power module. In the following room piled high with crates, look upward and to the right to find a red emergency cuttable wall. Four corner pins hold it in place. A mining drill or melee strike slices through them, revealing the module along the far back wall. Be ready—three more Vortex Phantoms materialize as you work. It's like poking a nest of spectral hornets.
The Floodgates of Morality
Here is where the quest stops being just a dungeon crawl and starts weighing on your conscience. Karija's voice returns, explaining that removing the second Interlock will flood the nearby village you passed at the start. The moment hangs in the air, dense as humidity before a storm. You have two choices: take the extra Interlock for safety and efficiency, or leave it to save a community you barely know.
Surprisingly, the material rewards don't change. No matter which path you walk, Ekris back in Dazra will hand over:
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💰 12,000 Credits
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🔫 Exterminator Modified Va'Ruun Penumbra
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🚀 4 20MM Particle Rockets
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⭐ 350 XP
The real difference is experiential. Choosing to take the Interlock makes your escape a breeze—a simple path outside opens, as if the dam itself approves of your decision. Refusing it, however, forces you to trudge back through the entirety of the dam, fighting Phantoms the whole way. It's a slow, punishing walk of principle. An optional objective also marks the village on your map, allowing you to witness the flooded ruins and the consequences of your actions. That visit doesn't alter future quests or faction standing, but it may alter how you see your captain's reflection. The whole mechanic works like a Rorschach test: technically identical, yet profoundly different in the story you tell yourself.
Tips for a Smooth Run
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Bring a scoped rifle or shotgun. Karija's teleporting makes precision a requirement, not a luxury.
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Keep a melee weapon or mining drill for cutting the four pins on the emergency wall—bullets won't shear them.
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Read every log. The backstory transforms sterile corridors into something almost mournful.
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Save before the final interlock decision. Even if rewards don't shift, you might want to experience both outcomes without a full replay.
"Exhuming The Past" doesn't just hand over loot; it hands over a quiet moral quandary wrapped in concrete and mist. Whether you walk out with dry boots or a heavy heart, the dam will stand behind you, still holding its secrets.