Completing Exhuming The Past Quest in Starfield: Full Walkthrough

The Exhuming the Past is part of Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC. The quest takes players through the Ma’leen Dam to resolve House Dul’kehf’s conflict on planet Dazra.

The quest turns dark in the middle, forcing players to confront themselves and decide between profit and morality.

1. How to complete the Exhuming The Past quest in Starfield?

1. Obtain the keycard from Comrak Abbass and Kaviil Fahrzanas.
2. Drain the dam by accessing the Pump Control.
3. Complete the teleportation experiment with the code 335.
4. Choose to retrieve one or two Vortex Interlocks after considering the consequences.

2. How to Get the Keycard and Access the Dam?

To begin the quest, start by accessing Ma’leen Dam. Find Comrak Abbass near the stairs. He will point you to a man named Kaviil Fahrzanas in a nearby settlement.

It takes a little persuasion to get Kaviil to hand over the keycard or you can use your Security trait to bypass him. Once you obtain the keycard, head to the dam’s Secure Access door and use it to proceed forwards,

3. Exploring the Dam

Follow the road from the waypoint, and you will soon reach the Pump Control and drain the dam upon entering. Descend the stairs and enter a hallway with a gaping hole in the floor. Use your jetpack to jump from one red pipe to another, eventually finding a door above the pipes.

Follow the marker until you spot a computer behind a glass window. Contaminated water is around; be careful of the water and access it. It would be best to find a staircase on the lower floor and flip the switch to open the door.

Once inside, you’ll discover that the Sub Pump computer won’t activate because the Vortex Power Modulator is malfunctioning. Look to see a device (the modulator), shoot at it until it’s destroyed, and return to the computer. Now, you can explore the drained rooms of the dam.

4. Completing the Teleportation Experiment

When you head deeper into the dam, you’ll eventually find a locked white door with the objective “Find a way to open the door.”

When you open the door, you can find a powerful secret computer used for a teleportation experiment. Input the code 335 (from the “Recent Experimental Results” document) into the computer.

This teleports a keycard before you, which you can use to unlock the white door. Once opened, you can head further into the dam to retrieve the Vortex Interlock.

5. Retrieving the Vortex Interlock

When you meet Karija again, you must interact with the computer in the room’s center. Head to the hallway to a red Emergency Cuttable Wall, and shoot at the orange corners to remove it. After doing so, continue through the vents.

When you encounter Karija, you need to fight and defeat them. And shoot the Vortex Power Modulator in the back of the room afterward. Return to the computer in the room to obtain the first Vortex Interlock.

At this point, you need to make a decision: whether or not to remove the second Vortex Interlock. Taking the second Interlock will disrupt the ecosystem of the nearby seaweed farm and will affect the kid, Comrak, and Kaviil.

6. Should You Remove the Remaining Interlock?

Option 1: Remove the Second Interlock

• Rewards:
  • 2 Vortex Interlocks
  • 1 Exterminator Modified Va’ruun Penumbra
  • 1 Titanium Va’ruun Penumbra
  • 12000 Credits
  • 350 XP
  • Andreja’s Disapproval

If you remove the second Vortex Interlock, you’ll get better rewards, but at the cost of destroying the seaweed farm’s ecosystem. You can verify this in a side mission later.

This path makes the final Shattered Space quest easier, so consider that also.

Option 2: Exit the Dam with One Interlock

• Rewards:
  • 1 Vortex Interlock
  • 1 Exterminator Modified Va’ruun Penumbra
  • 12000 Credits
  • 350 XP
  • Andreja’s Approval

If you leave the second Interlock intact, the farm will remain safe, and you’ll still earn the rewards. The Interlock’s importance is found to be a hoax, so making the decision will be up to the good conscience of your heart.

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7. About Starfield

Starfield is a space exploration game developed by the popular video game company, Bethesda. The game’s teaser launched in 2018, while the gameplay trailer came out in 2022.

Starfield will take players to the deepest depth of space. Being a Sci-Fi game, one can expect it to be brimming with stupendous weapons and supersonic spacecraft while offering a magical tone that is enough to get lost in.