(The Orthus Offensive the first 'Special Assignment' mission-type to be introduced in Darktide. A unique section was added to the Mission Terminal where you speak with Zola in the Strategium to access the mission.)
The Orthus Offensive is a Special Assignment secretly planned and initiated by Explicator Zola in order to capture one of the Karnak Twins in order to interrogate them on the location of Captain Wolfer.
Overview[]
Traitor Curse patch info
In the Traitor Curse update, the Carnival missions were introduced, alongside 2 of Captain Wolfer's top lieutenants, the Karnak Twins. Rinda and Rodin Karnak were a fearsome pair with a hunger for bloodshed and they acted as Wolfer's dogs. Doing his dirty work for him and allowing to do as they pleased if leading in Wolfer's absence. Explicator Zola had been hunting down the Moebian 6th's leader, Captain Wolfer since his escape from the Tancred Bastion, and she was keen to find his whereabouts by interrogating one of the Karnak twins.
Once the Explicator would hunt them down planetside and at some point being ambushed by Rinda Karnak. Sometime after, Zola would receive a wyrmwood of the twins being in the Torrent and quickly jumped on the opportunity. The Orthus Offensive mission was a plan by Zola to capture one of the Karnak Twins and dispatching the other if necessary. The Explicator worked in secret, hiding it from her superior Interrogator Rannick. Ever vigilant, Rannick would quickly catch wind of the mission occurring and attempt to abort shortly after the strike team is had deployed in the Torrent. Rannick would wrest control of the mission, attempting to salvage what he could of Zola's overly zealous personal pursuit.
Eventually, this would lead to the deaths of both Rodin Karnak and Rinda Karnak. These reckless actions that run counter to Rannick and Grendyl's modus operandi would lead to Zola being placed under scrutiny. All her duties and responsibilities would be placed on hold while her actions would be assessed by the Inquisitor personally.
After some time, Grendyl would decide to reinstate Zola and return her to her duties. She would face fierce chastisement from Rannick, who wishes to run a tight and ordered warband, with no room for zealotry. Her failures during and leading up to the mission would be detailed in an extensive report which Zola would sign and take the lessons to heart. No closure would be gained from the death of the twins, and Zola's personal goals remain unknown.
Below is a timeline of all information pertaining to the Orthus Offensive. See also the larger Darktide Timeline for the Orthus Offensive's chronological place in it.
Prior Events[]
Out-of-game content from Fatshark that expand on the Orthus Offensive's narrative. This lead up to the Orthus Offensive featured devblogs, Vox Transmissions, and an in-game event where one of the twins would ambush strike teams during missions.
| Traitor Curse Part I - Nov 14, 2023 |
|---|
| Karnak Twins make their first appearance and mention, leading heretic operations within the Carnival district. |
| Vox Intercept II - Nov 29, 2023 |
[Vox tuning noise]
[transmission terminates] |
| THE TRAITOR CURSE PART 2 (Preview) - Nov 30, 2023 |
| Ne - - - REDACTED: Expl - - - ola - - - disp - - - at - - - orr - - - |
| Traitor Curse Part II - Dec 5, 2023 |
| Karnak Twins Ambushing Strike Teams
The Karnak Twins have slipped their leash and have been sighted across Tertium. During missions, players can encounter one of the Twins, either Rinda or Rodin. Be on your guard and steel yourself for the fight to come. This combat encounter will be time-limited. You’ve also received the following information: |
| REDACTED: New -----on: T-- ----us O-------- -------- ---nts are rep------ ------s ---- -h- -----k twins are act--- -- --- ----- Hive. ---- ---- ---- ------ --- ----- two. Gre----- ----- ---- -----------. |
| The patch notes had a partially redacted message for players that, while not confirmed, may have said: |
| REDACTED: New Mission: The Orthus Offensive Wyrmwood agents are reporting rumours that the Karnak twins are active in the (Under/Lower) Hive. We'll need more troops for those two. Grendyl's (agent/spies) will investigate. |
| Vox Intercept III - Dec 8, 2023 |
|
| Orthus Offensive goes live - Dec 13, 2023 |
| The ambushes from Wolfer’s top Lieutenants have now stopped. (In-game mission modifier that spawns one of the twins to ambush Rejects during a mission no longer occurs.) There are reports that the Karnak twins have been spotted in the Torrent. |
| Vox Intercept IV - (DEC 18, 2023) |
|
| Zola's Journal - I - (DEC 19, 2023) |
| [Encryption active] It seems the so-called “Twins” have become a priority target. Any of the senior traitors are scalps we need to take, but these two…
The Karnak twins. Brother and sister. Tertium born. They need a better name, I think. In briefings, we talk of ‘The Twins this…” and “The Twins that…” almost as though they are acquaintances. The term seems too fond, too affectionate. We should call them what they are. Butchers. Monsters. Traitors. Traitors of the worst kind. From the intel, it is clear they are close to Wolfer, the elusive Wolfer. In fact, they are Wolfer. He trusts them, clearly, so deeply, that they have become his direct proxies, acting in his stead, working in his place, performing his crimes for him. They are his primary weapons. They are extensions of him. They are also frighteningly capable. The Twins are cunning, and brutally efficient. If I didn’t loathe them so, I could almost be impressed. They match Wolfer in capability, and exceed him in accomplishment, for he hides in the shadows while they do his work for him. I don’t have the precise figures to hand tonight, but they have, between them, killed more of our poor rejects in the last two weeks than any other positively identified traitors. We need to stop them. We need them dead. I will not rest until this is accomplished. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal - II - (DEC 21, 2023)) |
| [Encryption active] Today, Rannick suggested I was becoming obsessed with the Karnak Twins. I remarked that it was a requirement for any servant of the Holy Ordos to become obsessed with those they hunt, for that is the only way this work may be accomplished. Some call it obsession, I call it deep engagement. This is our life, this is our purpose. Anything less than total commitment would be dereliction. But the Interrogator intimated that I was too personally engaged.
When I objected to this, he would not be drawn further, and dismissed me. He has no intention of discussing it. I will record my response to his reprimand here, partly to vent my frustration at his glib verdict, but also to answer back. I know, after all, that he reads these journals. If I cannot answer for myself officially, I will answer here. We know the Archenemy of Man is pernicious and insidious, and must be fought with every ounce of our will, but the Karnak Twins prove that the most dangerous weapon of Chaos is the turning against us of those who were once our own. The Karnaks know the hive. They were born there. They know the Astra Militarum, and its functions and strengths, for they were both part of it. Their grim success is born from those twin pools of knowledge. That is why they require the most serious attention. Am I obsessed with them, Interrogator? Perhaps I am, and if so… good. I am Tertium too, and an experienced agent of an Imperial institution. But for a quirk of fate, they could be me. I understand how dangerous that is. And is it personal? Yes. They seem to me like the greatest crime of all, for I can imagine - more than imagine - their mindset. They once had a bond with the hive, as I do, so I personally understand the immense step they must have taken to break that bond and become what they are. I see… I feel… the scale and measure of their treachery and their rebellion. I should be the one who hunts them down, for they are like twisted shadows of me. Do I take it personally, and conduct this hunt with obsession? Yes, and that is how it should be. Only someone who understands them can out-play them. My obsession should not be the subject of rebuke. It should be valued. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal - III - (DEC 21, 2023) |
| [Encryption active] More data on the Twins. I despise them more than ever. And I want them dead. But it is clear to me how much they are proxies of the venomous Wolfer, and how close to him they are. So I have revised my intent. I would rather them dead, but I want them alive. We need to know what the monsters know. They could take us straight to Wolfer. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal - IV - (DEC 22, 2023) |
| [Encryption active] Morrow counsels me that I am, perhaps, wrong. He tells me he thinks I have misunderstood Interrogator Rannick’s caution the other day. The fear is that my obsession with the Karnak Twins will make me weak, or sloppy, or rash.
I refute this, but I value Morrow’s opinion. Morrow says that my personal knowledge of Tertium is, and always has been, a great asset to the warband. It was why I was recruited. Further, he states that my emotional response, my heartfelt need to save and free my home hive, is an asset too: a vital passion that secures and drives my loyalty to this cause and, by extension, drives the determination of the warband members. Seeing my passion, the rejects come to learn and share it. But, he asks me, what really fuels my rage? Love of Tertium? Loyalty to the cause? Devotion? Hatred of the turncoats in whom I see so much of myself? All of these things. But what else, he asks me. I have dwelt on this since we spoke. Morrow is a wise man, a fine student of human psychology. One does not lead men into war as well as he does without that knack. He worries, I think, that I have become obsessed with the Karnak Twins not for those obvious reasons. Those acceptable reasons. He wonders if it is not the points of similarity and connection between myself and those monsters that fires me, but instead the difference. They are of Tertium, like me, yes, but they were high-born where I was but a poor child of the lower zones. They were wealthy, privileged and entitled. They were, once, exactly the sort of people that my kind despised. The people that lived lives of excess and luxury and treated us all like chattel. Indeed, their wealth and status was built on the toil and suffering of people like me. I hate them as they are now, yes. I hate them for their treachery. But perhaps my personal engagement is born from the fact that I have always hated them. I hated them long before they turned to darkness. Growing up, the Twins, and people like them, were the very kind I learned to loathe. In the Torrent, we all did. They were the scum. The scum that floated at the very top, blocking the light and stealing it for themselves. Perhaps Morrow, in his quiet wisdom, is correct. Perhaps, in truth, my hatred for the Karnak Twins comes not from what they are now, but from what they once were. [Recording ended] |
The Orthus Offensive[]
Assassination // Zola (+Rannick)
Wolfer's top lieutenants, the Karnak Twins, have been spotted in the Torrent. Time to take the fight to them, Bring back their heads.
| The Orthus Offensive |
|---|
| Listen up, Reject! We've just received intel from one of our Wyrmwood agents embedded within the Water Cartel. |
| +++CODED MESSAGE ALPHA 6+++
+++SENDER: WYRMWOOD+++ - MOURNINGSTAR THIS IS WYRMWOOD - MOEBIAN ACTIVITY INCREASING IN HABZONE HL 18-66 INCREASED TROOP MOVEMENT AND SHIPMENTS MULTIPLE SIGHTINGS OF KARNAK TWINS PRIORITY TARGET IDENTIFIED SUGGEST IMMEDIATE ACTION - WYRMWOOD OUT - |
| Wolfer's dogs, the Karnak Twins, seem to be running stimms from the Carnival through the Torrent. Disrupting this supply line is a priority and I can think of no better way than taking out the leaders.
We have identified their main route through the Habzone. Masozi will get you close, then it's up to you. Find the targets and eliminate them. This is out first real chance to strike a decisive blow against the heretics who have defiled this great city. Show those curs the cost of their betrayal. You have sworn fealty to Grendyl and his cause. You are warriors, all! Fight for the families in the Hab. Fight for the glory of the Imperium. Fight for the Emperor! |
Pre Mission Address[]
Dialogue played aboard the Mourningstar when logging into a character for the first time (after the Orthus Offensive was released).
- Zola: I hope you're rested Reject, because I have a particular mission that requires your attention. We have a chance to reshape the course of the war and only a brief window in which to pursue it. Gather your preferred Strike Team - assuming you have one fit to fight - and report to the Mission Terminal. The Emperor protects.
Mission Transcript[]
- Rannick: The traitor voxnet is ablaze. If you are to extract your team, it must be now.
- Zola: I have to get to Wolfer. I have to know ...
- Rannick: Know ... what?
- Zola: I ...
- Rannick: Very well. Explicator Zola, I relieve you of your responsibilities to this mission.
- Zola: No, you can't! You can't do this-- [Click of Vox connection failing]
- Rannick: Strike Team? Do try to stay alive. I will arrange extraction.
- (Defeat Rodin)
- Rodin Karnak: You're almost ready for the cauldron. Almost ...
- (Defeat Rinda)
- Rinda Karnak:
| Area | Dialogue |
|---|---|
| Intro | Zola: I have something special for you today. Wyrmwood agent have confirmed the location of the Karnak twins: two of Wolfer's key war leaders. The twins have made something of a name for themselves since returning to Atoma ... and they have a body count to match. If anyone knows where Wolfer's hiding, it's them. Take them down, but leave one breathing. I want a prisoner capable of talking. We can't risk Wolfer knowing we're coming, so this mission is strictly off the books. Get in, get one of the twins to "volunteer" and do the Emperor proud. |
| [Sewer Entrance] |
|
| (Proceed through Maintenance) |
|
| HL-18-66 Rescource (Tanking) - The Sink | |
| (Gain access to Caustic Street) | Rodin Karnak: I see Rinda's tenderised you. My turn. |
| Rannick: You are not in control here, Zola. They are. | |
[Rodin Defeated]
| |
| (Gain access to Caustic Street) | Player: (Dialogue about main entrance being sealed) |
| [Tox gas room] | |
| Rodin Karnak: I love tox gas! | |
| [Exit tox gas room] | |
| Rodin Karnak: Yes ... The adrenaline, the desperation ... the misplaced faith. It gives the meat such flavour. | |
| HL-18-66 Hab (Commercia) - Caustic Street | |
| (Proceed to the Enforcer Station) | Rinda Karnak: Aren't you full of vigour? What a feast you'll make! |
| [Rinda Defeated] | |
| Rinda Karnak: Curse you! I felt that one! | |
| (Proceed to the Enforcer Station) | Rannick: The traitor voxnet is ablaze. If you are to extract your team, it must be now. |
| Zola: I have to get to Wolfer. I have to know ... | |
| Rannick: Know ... what? | |
| Zola: I ... | |
| Rannick: Very well. Explicator Zola, I relieve you of your responsibilities to this mission. | |
| Zola: No, you can't! You can't do this-- [Click of Vox connection failing] | |
| Rannick: Strike Team? Do try to stay alive. I will arrange extraction. | |
| HL-18-66 Hab (Commercia) - Trader's Row | |
| (Proceed to the Enforcer Station) | (Both Twins mini-boss fight)
|
| [Twins mini-fight defeated] | |
| Rodin Karnak: You're almost ready for the cauldron. Almost ... | |
| Rannick: Lieutenant Masozi, the strike team requires immediate extraction ... Yes? Yes, I see. Understood. Alternate extraction is not available. The only way out is through. But you are to take no chances. No fancywork. No prisoners. Kill anyone in your path - including the twins. Their deaths will salvage something from this ... error. | |
| HL-18-66 Magistratum - Mag House | |
| (Enter the Twins' Lair) | Rinda Karnak: You've come this far. Surely you're not going to turn back now? We're waiting in Sub-Level 4. |
| HL-18-66 Magistratum (Sub-Level 4) - The Twins' Lair | |
| Sub-Level 4 | Boss Intro
|
(Tox gas and ventilation phases)
(Combat dialogue miscellaneous)
| |
| [Rinda dies first] | Rodin Karnak: Rinda? ... I'll have your head for that! |
| [Rodin dies first] | Rinda Karnak: You always were the weak one, brother. |
| (Both Twins killed) | Rannick: Tidily accomplished. Your extraction is waiting. This is has not exactly been textbook, but be assured I am very impressed by your ability. I am certain we will speak again soon. |
Post Orthus Offensive[]
Plays immediately after completing Orthus Offensive for the first time on a character.
- Rannick: Once again, I must commend you for your actions. Though the situation was somewhat complicated by Zola's ... zeal ... you adapted masterfully. You even survived ... which was unexpected. It is too soon to tell what lasting effect the deaths of Rinda and Rodin Karnak will have on the battle for Tertium. Perhaps Zola was correct, and their removal will tilt the balance in our favour. Perhaps not. Regardless, you have served the Inquisition well. It will not be forgotten. As for Zola? A certain ... excess of enthusiasm is to be expected, and forgiven. But it may be that she bears watching in case her unreliability is but a cloak for something ... else. I feel certain I can rely on you to keep me informed. The Emperor Protects.
Plays upon opening Special Assignment on the Mission Terminal after completing Orthus Offensive for the first time on an operative.
- Zola: You will have heard by now that I have been returned to duty. It appears that I overstepped my authority. ... but I will not apologise for placing you in harm's way. We are all here to fight - and die - for the Emperor ... and for Atoma. Rannick is a brilliant man, but he makes Lord Margrave seem empathic. When he looks at Atoma he sees squares on the board and resources to exploit, not people crying out for salvation. I worry that his caution marks the road to Exterminatus. Today, I saw an opportunity. Should another arise I will seize it - and I will call upon you. Whatever happens, we must keep the faith and keep fighting. The Inquisition is Atoma's only hope.
Plays immediately after exiting Mission Terminal window that played Zola's post Orthus Offensive dialogue.
- Morrow: Take it from an old soldier - whatever's going on between Zola and Rannick, you keep your head down and your mouth shut. We're paid to kill, not to think.
| Zola's Journal - V - (DEC 27, 2023) |
|---|
| [Encryption active] I am lost.
We chased them down today. We tracked the Karnak Twins, and chased them down. We finished them. I think. I led the way in this effort, as I have since the start. My determination, my ‘obsession’, as Rannick calls it, made this victory possible. But I overstepped. I drove too hard. I was so intent on the Twins’ capture, I pushed too far. Lives were lost. The Twins cost us dearly. Rannick declares that a more reasoned approach might have achieved the same result without such a loss of life. I’m not convinced. I did what I had to do. Capturing the Karnak Twins was never going to be easy. It was always going to cost us. We needed them alive, not dead. But Rannick says I acted overzealously and that my obsession got the better of me. He forced me to withdraw from the engagement in an effort to preserve lives, and now I am stood down from duties pending review. Service to the Holy Ordos is my life. I am lost. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal - VI - (DEC 30, 2023) |
| [Encryption active] They will tell me nothing. I am confined to the ship and deprived of duties. My performance and psychological profile is being reviewed. It is rumoured that I may not be returned to duties. Perhaps I have ended my career. It is up to Grendyl to decide. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal VII - (JAN 13, 2024) |
| [Encryption active] I wonder how it will end? I wonder what will be decided for me? What fate?
I wait here in my quarters. I pace and fret. I believe that I did naught that my duties did not require. I regret the deaths, yes, but war demands a price, and the war against the Archenemy of Man demands the highest price of all. Am I to be punished for my loyalty? Punished for my devoted service? Where is the justice? You do not train a weapon like me then complain when it is used. What will my punishment be? A demotion? A retirement to low-level administrative duties? Perhaps I will be sent away for retraining and reconditioning, or to some remote outpost to do penance in some menial position? Perhaps I will be removed from the Mourningstar warband? Perhaps I will be expelled from the Holy Ordos altogether? Does anyone walk away, ever? Does anyone leave the service of the Inquisition, either voluntarily, or under a cloud, and go on to live another life afterwards? I doubt it. We see too much. We learn too much. We know too much. I wait in my quarters, but I don’t know what I’m waiting for. A message that I am to be returned to duties? Or perhaps… what? Poison in my food? A blade in the night? A knock on the door, a formal declaration of disservice, and a shot to the head? I wouldn’t put it past Rannick. He is not subtle. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal - VIII - (JAN 18, 2024) |
| [Encryption active] I have been returned to my duties and reinstated. I am thankful. Relieved. Inquisitor Grendyl has authorised it. I was obliged to listen to some fierce words of chastisement from Rannick, and then to read - and sign - a long report detailing my zeal and my operational failures.
That’s fair. I will take the words, and the content of the report, to heart, and do my best to learn from them and improve. There is always something new for us to learn, so better to perform our solemn duties, and perhaps I have learned something about myself. If I have, then I will use it to make myself a better servant of the God-Emperor’s will. I fear that the only reasons I was spared and returned to duty was that Grendyl wished to retain my inside knowledge of Tertium, and considered me an asset too valuable to lose. In this, he would have overruled Rannick’s intent to run a tight and disciplined warband with no room for zealotry. I am pleased to return to my work. But I regret that I take little satisfaction from the whole affair. The Karnak Twins are done and gone, but I wanted them taken alive. I wanted the right to interrogate them and learn their secrets. I wanted, through them, to reach Wolfer. I am robbed of a sense of closure. They won’t permit me to read the final report on the incident. It has been sealed and filed. Rannick says there’s no need for me to see it. The business is over. The Karnak Twins are dead, and in death, silent. I didn’t even get to see the bodies. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal V - (DEC 27, 2023) |
| [Encryption active] I am lost.
We chased them down today. We tracked the Karnak Twins, and chased them down. We finished them. I think. I led the way in this effort, as I have since the start. My determination, my ‘obsession’, as Rannick calls it, made this victory possible. But I overstepped. I drove too hard. I was so intent on the Twins’ capture, I pushed too far. Lives were lost. The Twins cost us dearly. Rannick declares that a more reasoned approach might have achieved the same result without such a loss of life. I’m not convinced. I did what I had to do. Capturing the Karnak Twins was never going to be easy. It was always going to cost us. We needed them alive, not dead. But Rannick says I acted overzealously and that my obsession got the better of me. He forced me to withdraw from the engagement in an effort to preserve lives, and now I am stood down from duties pending review. Service to the Holy Ordos is my life. I am lost. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal VI - (DEC 20, 2023) |
| [Encryption active] They will tell me nothing. I am confined to the ship and deprived of duties. My performance and psychological profile is being reviewed. It is rumoured that I may not be returned to duties. Perhaps I have ended my career. It is up to Grendyl to decide. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal VII - (JAN 13, 2024) |
| [Encryption active] I wonder how it will end? I wonder what will be decided for me? What fate?
I wait here in my quarters. I pace and fret. I believe that I did naught that my duties did not require. I regret the deaths, yes, but war demands a price, and the war against the Archenemy of Man demands the highest price of all. Am I to be punished for my loyalty? Punished for my devoted service? Where is the justice? You do not train a weapon like me then complain when it is used. What will my punishment be? A demotion? A retirement to low-level administrative duties? Perhaps I will be sent away for retraining and reconditioning, or to some remote outpost to do penance in some menial position? Perhaps I will be removed from the Mourningstar warband? Perhaps I will be expelled from the Holy Ordos altogether? Does anyone walk away, ever? Does anyone leave the service of the Inquisition, either voluntarily, or under a cloud, and go on to live another life afterwards? I doubt it. We see too much. We learn too much. We know too much. I wait in my quarters, but I don’t know what I’m waiting for. A message that I am to be returned to duties? Or perhaps… what? Poison in my food? A blade in the night? A knock on the door, a formal declaration of disservice, and a shot to the head? I wouldn’t put it past Rannick. He is not subtle. [Recording ended] |
| Zola's Journal - VIII - (JAN 18, 2024) |
| [Encryption active] I have been returned to my duties and reinstated. I am thankful. Relieved. Inquisitor Grendyl has authorised it. I was obliged to listen to some fierce words of chastisement from Rannick, and then to read - and sign - a long report detailing my zeal and my operational failures.
That’s fair. I will take the words, and the content of the report, to heart, and do my best to learn from them and improve. There is always something new for us to learn, so better to perform our solemn duties, and perhaps I have learned something about myself. If I have, then I will use it to make myself a better servant of the God-Emperor’s will. I fear that the only reasons I was spared and returned to duty was that Grendyl wished to retain my inside knowledge of Tertium, and considered me an asset too valuable to lose. In this, he would have overruled Rannick’s intent to run a tight and disciplined warband with no room for zealotry. I am pleased to return to my work. But I regret that I take little satisfaction from the whole affair. The Karnak Twins are done and gone, but I wanted them taken alive. I wanted the right to interrogate them and learn their secrets. I wanted, through them, to reach Wolfer. I am robbed of a sense of closure. They won’t permit me to read the final report on the incident. It has been sealed and filed. Rannick says there’s no need for me to see it. The business is over. The Karnak Twins are dead, and in death, silent. I didn’t even get to see the bodies. [Recording ended] |
Story Continued[]
Trivia[]
The name Orthus is a reference to the two-headed dog, Orthus/Orthrus, from Ancient Greek Myth, and brother to Cerberus.