The First Outpost and the Remnant
The first planet players are able to fully explore is Eos, a planet in the Pytheas system that was originally marked as a Golden World. Unfortunately, like Habitat 7, it’s not exactly habitable. The air is full of powerful radiation which makes it impossible to live outside of special force fields, which are running out, and the resources are horribly tainted. On top of that, there is a clear presence of the Kett, the same mysterious and threatening alien race you ran into on Habitat 7.
However, there is a silver lining, although it’s a confusing one that you’ll need to work out. There are these towers that are very similar to the one Alec Ryder accessed early on in Mass Effect: Andromeda. While it’s still not clear how they work, it’s worth a shot to at least try and see if they have the same effect (minus the whole losing of someone you love very much part).
While investigating the planet and locating one of those same panels that your father found in the previous vault, you first meet Pelessaria “Peebee” B’Sayle. She’s an eccentric Asari scientist (at least it’s assumed she’s a scientist since her records were lost) who has become one of the Heleus Cluster’s premiere experts on the tech behind the panels and towers. After introducing herself to you rather excitedly (she literally tackles you, then sits on top of you while she rambles on), she explains that these were set up by the Remnant, an ancient technological race that had some interest in this poisoned planet. She’d been trying to get the panels to work for months, but since you (with the power of SAM) were able to interface with ease, she decides to join you to continue her research.
It turns out that that first panel wasn’t like the one you saw in the vault on Habitat 7, but it did seem to be part of a sequence that unlocked… something. With further exploration you find that there are two more that eventually unlock a new area, Eos’ own vault, which is a bit more challenging than the one on Habitat 7. There are security systems in place, and Remnant guards, synthetic beings that are relatively easy to destroy but pack a serious punch. Yet, at its core is that same type of panel that helped on the last, failed Golden World. Of course, that needs a security system which comes in the form of a dark cloud that sweeps through the vault killing anything within. After fleeing, and watching Peebee barely make it out alive, you learn that it’s part of a system. There are more planets with these vaults, and they all seem to lead towards some powerful center. Oddly enough, several of the locations of other vaults are other “failed” Golden Worlds, which should make things interesting.
With the vault activated, though, radiation is slowly being purged from the air, and soon this planet will be like a new, sort of different, Earth. Of course there’s more than just cleaning the air needed to make this a home. You still have that Kett influence, but through them you’ll make a new friend as well.
Nakmor Drack, a Krogan mercenary, found himself on Eos as well, taking out Kett while trying to ensure his people can survive in the Heleus Cluster (they all left the Nexus, but we’ll get to that). With him at your side, you can push back a large chunk of the Kett threat freeing up Eos to become your first colony.
Setting up the colony is a momentous occasion that helps to instill a lot of hope back on the Nexus. It’s the first time real progress has been made within the mission, but it also comes with a serious choice. Do you make your first home a center of scientific research or a military state? While the decision only leads to a small, easily resolved riot, the ramifications for the future are yet to be seen.
After setting up the colony, one thing is known, you need to explore the other vaults you saw on that map, and it’s time to see more of Andromeda.
