- "Chairman Prescott just declassified an intel file that reveals a decommissioned COG outpost near your location. I've been told it'll give us a lead on the location of the Locust stronghold, and possibly some more intel on the Locust Queen as well. You and Delta are to check it out ASAP and report any findings to command."
- —Col. Victor Hoffman to Sgt. Marcus Fenix and Delta-One.
The Mission to New Hope Research Facility was reconnaissance mission during Operation: Hollow Storm to discover information on the location of the Locust stronghold. Chairman Richard Prescott declassified documents on the New Hope Research Facility and Project New Hope, a genetic research program aimed at curing Rustlung in children of Imulsion miners. The experiments there led to the creation of the Locust Horde. After the COG shut down operations following an internal leak, a fringe political syndicate relocated the scientists and several subjects, and the the COG was unable to track them down. Since Emergence Day, the COG knew the Locust were the descendants of the experiments there.
Believing there to be a lead on where the scientists relocated, and thus the location of the Locust stronghold, Chairman Prescott sent Delta-One to the facility after the COG failed to locate the Locust stronghold during the assault on the Inner Hollow and sinking of Ilima City. Other details about the facility, such as its purpose and experiments, remained classified. Delta was successful in recovering intel that revealed the scientists and subjects were relocated to an underground laboratory in the caves of Mount Kadar to continue their work after the COG shut them down. The COG initiated the second wave of Operation: Hollow Storm by assaulting Mount Kadar and invading the Locust capital of Nexus.
Prelude[]
- "Delta, this is Command You've got new orders, Fenix. Operation: Hollow Storm continues, but we had insufficient intel on the Locust stronghold. We need to accurately pinpoint the heart of the Hollow and take out their leader."
- —Col. Hoffman briefing Delta-One on the mission.
By the end of the first day in Operation: Hollow Storm, it became clear to Chairman Richard Prescott that the initial assault was a failure. The COG had insufficient intel on the location of the Locust stronghold, and the Gears were unable to uncover any information accurately pinpointing the heart of the Inner Hollow while assaulting the Locust citadel. Desperate to end the war, Chairman Prescott declassified the intelligence file on the New Hope Research Facility. Part of his duty as Chairman was to keep New Hope classified and the facility sealed. However, Chairman Prescott was aware that the work done at New Hope by Dr. Niles Samson, the Sires, were connected with the Locust Horde - solidified by the fact that their leader, Queen Myrrah, was a patient at the facility and a focus of study for curing Rustlung.
After declassifying the intelligence file, he ordered Delta-One, led by Sergeant Marcus Fenix, to perform a recon mission of infiltrating the facility in order to obtain a lead on the location of the Locust stronghold based on where Dr. Niles Samson relocated his work, as well as possible information on Queen Myrrah in order to eliminate her. Delta-One was initially picked up in the Ilima sinkhole following the Battle of Ilima, but were swallowed whole by the Riftworm, the gargantuan creature responsible for sinking cities on the Jacinto Plateau. Delta-One was able to destroy the three hearts within the Riftworm and managed to cut themselves out of its corpse. A King Raven then dropped off a Centaur at their location, with Colonel Victor Hoffman briefing them on the mission. Delta-One, despite being aggravated and concerned about this information, drove into the Kadar Valley to begin the mission.
Order of Battle[]
Arrival at Jameson Depot[]
Delta-One arrived to the facility at night, during a storm. Sgt. Fenix ordered Corporal Damon Baird and Private Augustus Cole to stay back and guard the Centaur while he and Corporal Dominic Santiago investigate the outpost. Cpl. Santiago wondered why they had built a base in the middle of nowhere and was unsure what they were looking for, but Sgt. Fenix warned they would know it when they found it. Cpl. Santiago also wondered why the COG waited until now to investigate the outpost if they knew it had answers about the Locust, to which Sgt. Fenix chalked it up bureaucracy within the COG. As they looked for an entrance, several Wretches scurried the area. Sgt. Fenix noted the large open space and rooftops at the outpost and warned for Snipers.
Upon finding the entrance, Cpl. Santiago noted that the exterior didn't look like a COG military outpost but rather a warehouse. Sgt. Fenix believed it to be a façade as it was clear they were hiding something. Entering in the building, the power was out. The mess of furniture implied that Stranded may have lived in the lobby. Inside the building, Sgt. Fenix attempted to contact Control, specifically Lieutenant Anya Stroud, but Col. Victor Hoffman responded and asked if he had anything to report. Sgt. Fenix stated that he was trying to reach Control. Col. Hoffman revealed that Control was offline for this mission and would be reporting directly to Command. Cpl. Santiago became concerned with how delicate the information in this mission was to the COG.
Reaching the end of a long hallway with a circular door, monitors went online with the face and voice of Doctor Niles Samson, famed geneticist and former Director of the facility. Dr. Samson welcomed Delta-One to "Jameson Depot" and asked for proper identification before allowing entry. With Delta-One without proper access, Dr. Samson denied entry. Sgt. Fenix then ordered JACK to rip the door, but then stopped after several seconds when he realized the door was too thick. Sgt. Fenix radioed Cpl. Baird to prepare a blast charge of "extra strength". While going through the warehouse of the outpost, Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago turned on the generators and returned power to the facility. While crossing through the warehouse, Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago were attacked by a pack of Wretches, but were quickly eliminated. Back outside, Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago claimed the blast charge prepared by Cpl. Baird and brought it back through the warehouse and lobby, while attacked by another pack of Wretches. Placing the extra strength blast charge at the foot of the door, Sgt. Fenix detonated it - blasting the thick circular door back and allowing access into the rest of the outpost.
[]
Upon entering the laboratory, Dr. Samson welcomed Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago to the New Hope Research Facility. Inspecting the rest of the facility from the upper floor window, the main yard was filled with small barracks, with Sgt. Fenix believing it to be workers' quarters. Cpl. Santiago remarked, however, that they looked like cells to an internment camp and felt that they were in an immoral place. When questioning whether or not Dr. Samson was a recording, Dr. Samson replied to Delta-One that it was more than just a recording and was able to communicate with them. Sgt. Fenix reported to Command that the security system was being controlled by Niles. Col. Hoffman replied that the facility should be empty, and believed Delta-One would be fine.
Down the stairs, Delta-One found the security lobby full of Wretches. Infiltrating the adjacent security room, Delta-One was able to neutralize the Wretches with the automated security turrets. Further navigating the facility, coming across extreme and lethal security systems, Delta-One uncovered some of the history of New Hope. According to discarded files and correspondence, New Hope was a facility that housed children of Imulsion miners ill with Rustlung in order to find a cure, but Dr. Niles Samson begun experimenting on them into what he called the "Sires". Aggressive and feral, the scientists faced numerous attacks - causing many to resign and leak information to the press.
Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago navigated the heavily armed corridors and rooms by sneaking past the sensors and shutting off the security systems. The locker room, courtyard, kitchen, and infirmary were filled with more packs of Wretches that were killed by Delta-One, and occasionally by the New Hope security system. With all the security, Cpl. Santiago wondered if New Hope kept POWs from the Pendulum Wars, but Sgt. Fenix rejected the idea - realizing the security systems were meant to keep people out. Meanwhile, the storm outside began to get worse, as Cpl. Baird radioed in a warning of possible razorhail. Sgt. Fenix advised Delta-Two to return inside until the storm cleared. Delta-One then reached a long corridor guarded by dozens of security turrets.
Obtaining the Intel[]
After shutting the security turrets down, Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago entered the genetics lab. In there were stasis tanks holding the Sires. Both were shocked and unsure of what they were, realizing they weren't Wretches. In reality, they were human children infected with Rustlung and transformed by Imulsion and the DNA of creatures from the Hollow, introduced by Dr. Niles Samson in an attempt to "cure" them. Col. Hoffman revealed to Sgt. Fenix that they were unable to pull up anything on the Sires - realizing all files on New Hope were either classified or destroyed. Reaching the observation room, JACK bypassed Dr. Samson's security system.
Delta-One was able to uncover a video diary created by Dr. Niles Samson - revealing that the COG and Chairman Monroe had shut him down for his unethical research, and would be relocating his subjects to a facility inside Mount Kadar, while others would be left behind in New Hope, guarded by a semi-sentient security system based off his personality. After obtaining a possible lead on the Locust stronghold, the Sires were awoken by JACK's tampering of the security system. The Sires then began to break out of their stasis tanks and attacked Delta-One. Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago barely managed to escape by killing dozens of escaped Sires. The two managed to retreat inside the security system mainframe, with Sgt. Fenix turning off the mainframe and shutting down the security system.
Locust Attack and Escape[]
With the destination found to be Mount Kadar, Delta-One began to continue through their way back to the Centaur. Cpl. Baird reached Sgt. Fenix that a razorhail storm has formed. Sgt. Fenix ordered Cpl. Baird to get back and protect the Centaur, despite the lethal razorhail. While going through the rear of the facility, the Locust Horde emerged and invaded the building. Queen Myrrah, aware that the humans would investigate the facility to find the location of their stronghold, sent her army to destroy the Gears and any evidence tracing back to their location. Delta-One fought through the remaining corridors and rear entrance when razorhail broke through, killing a squad of Locust. Using the train cars, canopies, and cell blocks, Delta-One managed to avoid the razorhail while fighting the Locust as they traversed the yard and circled back around to the main entrance.
In the main parking lot, Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago were met with a pair of Maulers, using their boom shields as protection against the razorhail - but were left vulnerable to attacks by Delta-One. After they killed the Maulers, Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago used their boom shields against the razorhail as well. Emergence Holes opened in the parking lot, releasing more Locust Drones and Maulers. Eventually, the razorhail cleared, but a squadron of Reavers arrived and threatened the Centaur. Delta-One fought through the front entrance of New Hope and regrouped with Cpl. Baird and Pvt. Cole. After Cpl. Baird finished the repairs on the Centaur from the razorhail, Delta escaped the facility by driving off in the Centaur. With Reavers on their tale, they lost them in the Kadar Valley, as their next destination was Mount Kadar.
Aftermath[]
Delta and the remaining COG army arrived in Assault Derricks, ready to deploy at Mount Kadar. Delta had to first navigate the caverns inside and locate the stronghold. Delta was successful in locating the Locust capital, Nexus, proving the intel at New Hope to be solid. Setting of JACK's beacon, the COG began their second wave of assault on the true Locust stronghold. The information at New Hope led to the COG's victory over the Locust for Operation: Hollow Storm.
However, the disturbing revelations here made Sgt. Fenix realize that the COG performed unethical experiments on children, and that the research somehow led to the creation of the Locust Horde. This further increased his mistrust of the COG. Colonel Hoffman would confront Prescott about it, which led him to lose faith in the Chairman. Twenty-seven years later, when the Locust returned as the Swarm, Sgt. Fenix sent Cpl. Kait Diaz on another mission to New Hope to find answers there after revealing to him that she somehow had a connection to the Locust through her grandmother.
Appearances[]
- Gears of War 2 (First appearance)