Sanctuary (mission)

Sanctuary is the first mission from Unreal II: The Awakening.

Prologue[]

The Sanctuary mission in Unreal II: The Awakening takes Dalton through a quest to see what happened at the Liandri mining facility on Elara V. The level starts with a cutscene. The camera is now in the TCA Atlantis, the docking bay. Doors open and Aida steps in. She opens a hatch and operates a keyboard there. The docking bay opens and the dropship of John Dalton is carried up. It opens after a short while, and John Dalton steps out of it.

The controls are now given to you. Aida now reports:

Aida: "First Officer Aida returning command of the ship to you, sir. Ship's Engineer Isaak is standing by on the upper deck, and Ship's Pilot Ne'Ban has the con."

Now you get two reply options: 1 - Why so formal? and 2 - Acknowledged. It doesn't matter which one you'll choose. You will say:

Dalton (1): "What's with all the ranks and titles?"

Dalton (2): "It's good to be back."

Aida will answer:

Aida (1): "Prolonged exposure to brass usually makes you revert to your primitive military state. Just trying to make you feel at home... Sir."

Aida (2): "Really? I thought you enjoyed playing soldiers with your pal Hawkins."

Either way, after that you ask:

Dalton: "What's our status?"

And get a reply:

Aida: "While you were docking, we received a distress call from the Elara star system. We're already en route. Would you like to take an inspection tour of the ship and meet our new pilot, or go right to the briefing room for the mission?"

As expected, you get 2 select options: 1 - Inspection and 2 - Briefing.

Dalton (1): "We got plenty of time. Let's take a look around."

Dalton (2): "Let's find out what we're in for this time."

Aida (2): "OK, I'll meet you in the briefing room."

If you chose the first option, Aida will now start the inspection:

Aida: "OK. Let's begin right here in the drop room. We need a new airlock unit, but the quartermaster on Avalon didn't have any. As usual. We've ordered a new one for our next visit. I'll wait for you outside the Briefing Room."

You might want to climb into a hatch or two there, although you won't find anything interesting. Follow Aida to the Briefing Room.

Aida: "We took advantage of the layover to upgrade the holo projector in the Briefing Room. I'll wait here while you take a look around."

Do as she said - look around. Go to the right side of the holo tank. The holograph now shows a hologram of Avalon. When you go out of the Briefing Room, Aida continues:

Aida: "As you requested, we converted the storage room to a weapons locker. Isaak will now do your weapon loadouts here... presuming he's sober. Oh! Did I say that out loud?"

You exclaim worriedly:

Dalton: "Not drunk again!"

But Aida calms you down:

Aida: "Well, no, actually. But you know it's only a matter of time. Anyway, he's waiting for you on the upper deck to complete the inspection. I'll go prepare the briefing."

Now, go out of the Briefing Room and up the ladder. You will see Isaak here. He will welcome you:

Isaak: "Welcome back, boss. You wanna inspect the upper deck?"

Again, you get 2 select options: 1 - Inspection and 2 - No inspection. Again, you should pick the first option.

Dalton (1): "Might as well. Whaddya got?"

Dalton (2): "No thanks. I'll snoop around later."

Isaak (2): "No sweat. By the way, I picked up some new ordinance on Avalon. We can go over it after the briefing. See ya."

If you selected the first option, Isaak will say:

Isaak: "Your quarters haven't been disturbed. We've put Ne'Ban in the other port cabin, but his gear is still in the hold so there's nothing to see yet. Let's look at the starboard berths instead."

Isaak will now go near the door to Aida's cabin. Follow him.

Isaak: "Aida's cabin. Spotless as usual, I'm sure. I'll wait here."

Go inside and look around. Nothing too interesting except a teddy bear and the Pharaoh chess board. Go back outside, and you'll catch Isaak rambling:

Isaak: "Moving on. The idiots in supply still haven't sent up spare transducers. How they expect me to keep this bucket of bolts airborne is beyond me.
I redecorated my cabin. Early Provincial. Hope you like it."

Go inside his cabin and look around. Very technical, but nothing too interesting too. Move on:

Isaak: "Next up is the bridge. I tell ya, bein' on the butt end of the food chain really sucks. If we were a marine ship, we wouldn't have to wait around for parts. I'm makin' a new art form out of scrounging. I guess the biggest change to the bridge is our new pilot. I'll let you introduce yourself. By the way, I picked up some new ordinance on Avalon. Let's go over it after Aida's briefing. See ya."

Go through the door and the hallway and enter the bridge. Ne'Ban is waiting here. As soon as he sees you, he will start talking:

Ne'Ban: "Ne'Ban: Hello Marshal, Sir. I am saluting you. It is many pleasures to be buttling with you aboard this fine ship."

Dalton: "Buttling?"

Ne'Ban: "Buttling. Waiting upon. No - Serving! I am seeing many pleasures *serving* with you. And I am saluting you again."

Dalton: "No need to salute, Ne'Ban. It's an informal ship. Why don't you settle in here and I'll catch up with you later."

Ne'Ban: "Aye-aye-aye, Sir. Settling in is now my top priorities."

With "buttling" Ne'Ban probably tried constructing a new word out of "butler". He somehow doesn't talk English very well. Look around the bridge and go out. Now find Isaak again. He will be probably looking at a smoking panel. If you try to talk, he will say:

Isaak: "A little smoke ain't gonna hurt us. If it starts shootin' sparks, *then* we got trouble."

Go past him, and you might see some of the machinery shooting sparks! Isaak doesn't see this, though. Reach the other end of the ship, where are two more doors you didn't go though. One is Ne'Ban's - the one with his suit and a TV. The other one is yours, you can see some medals and armour there, as well as a photo of Avalon on the screen. Now save the game. Go into the briefing room and talk to Aida. She will ask you if you're ready for the briefing - answer that you are. Now the briefing starts.

Aida: "We're headed for Sanctuary, the fifth planet in the Elara System. It's an earth-style world with a dense jungle covering. It's currently uninhabited, except for a Liandri mining operation. A few hours ago we received the following distress call."

Danny Miller: "Mayday! Mayday! This is the Liandri Station Lima Six on Sanctuary. We're in trouble down here. The facility has been overrun by hostile aliens. We don't know what the hell they are or where they came from. Multiple casualties. Please assist!"

Aida: "That's it. I don't know who is attacking them or why. Let's look at the main base in the holotank. The Liandri complex has two components. The ore processing unit grinds up the rocks and extracts precious minerals. Unfortunately, we don't have any blueprints of the interior. They've cleared away the jungle and separated the Power Plant from the main facility by a few hundred yards. This huge generator provides juice for the heavy rock-crushing equipment. Here is the nearest entrance from your drop point. Good luck down there. Isaak should be waiting across the hall to do your weapons loadout. If not, you'll probably find him in his cabin sleeping one off. I'll be right here if you have any further questions."

Aida will open the transmission and preview the base in the holo tank. After the briefing is done, load your saved game. After the briefing, you can also ask Aida some questions. Here's the dialogue:

Aida: "Yes?"

Dalton: "So what's the mission in twenty-five words or less?"

Aida: "Get in, save whoever you can, get out."

Dalton: "Mind if I take another look at those holographs?"

Aida: "Knock yourself out. The controls are in front of the table."

Dalton: "Anything else?"

Aida: "Nope. Either talk to Isaak or hit the dropship. Your choice."

Dalton: "Thanks."

Now go to the room opposite the Briefing Room and talk to Isaak.

Isaak: "I liberated a grenade launcher and a few frag grenades from a depot on Avalon. Wanna take a look? Or, how 'bout we brush up on your other weapons."

Dalton: "Let's have a look."

Isaak: "The M406 Grenade Launcher has slots for six different grenade types. Tapping your primary fire lobs out a grenade that explodes on contact. Holding the trigger a little longer engages the timing mechanism, so you can bounce 'em around some. Secondary fire chambers the next grenade type, if you've got any. If ya like, I can tell you about the individual grenades. Take your pick."

Dalton: "How 'bout the pistol?"

Isaak: "The T-13 popgun is yer standard law enforcement sidearm. Doesn't need ammo - recharges from a quantum pack in the handle. Primary fire is a slow-moving energy pulse. Alt-Fire charges up a stronger pulse until you release it. A dependable fall-back weapon, but not much use in a crowd."

Dalton: "Lemme see the CAR."

Isaak: "The M32 Duster fires depleted uranium shards that don't have shells, but build up a nasty dust that gets ejected between clips. Primary fire spits out rounds at a very high automatic rate. Alt-Fire is a cluster of five shards packed together to form a single, slower-moving slug. The slug breaks apart when it hits a wall, so if you're good, you can even shoot around corners. Very effective overall - you can hose down an area with primary fire, or deliver a single lethal punch with the alt-fire."

Dalton: "Tell me about the frag grenade."

Isaak: "Enormous explosive power and needle-sharp carbo-steel fragments. Absolutely lethal in close quarters."

Dalton: "See ya later."

Now go to the dropship room and use it.

Level list[]

Trivia[]

The installation screens of both Unreal II and Unreal Anthology show that Sanctuary was originally planned to be a multiplayer level, but was later changed into a single player one. The mission number, 8, also shows how late the mission was created.
Sanctuary inspired many of the EXpanded Multiplayer maps, for example, XMP-Garden.
The video message sent by Danny Miller contains an ingeniously blended image of Abraham Lincoln, probably to enhance the feel of a transmission disturbance.
According to previews, the mission would have been featured very late in the final game.

Easter eggs[]

Main article: Easter eggs

There's a hidden orange button on the right side of the table in the briefing room, between the table side and the wall. Press it to get a growing and growling Seagoat hologram. Dalton will exclaim "Jesus!".
Go past Ne'Ban's cabin into the back hallway and jump into the open hatch in the corner of the hallway. If you look back towards head of the ship, crouch and search under one of the parts of the hatch, you'll find a button, press it to get a few evil Lincoln and Grant heads laughing at you. You will exclaim "Wow!". Grant Roberts is a co-worker and friend of Matthias Worch, the TCA level designer. He's also the voice actor of Ne'Ban.
Before speaking to Aida in the briefing room, go to Ne'Ban's cabin, and look for a hatch outside it. Open it, and you'll see a Seagoat inside. It will ask "Meep?". You'll get these options: Spam, Spew, Spock. Answer "Spam" three times. Then you'll get choices 1 - Humperdinck, 2 - Tradition! and 3 - Humbug. Answer "Humbug" and the Seagoat will say that Lincoln is pleased. Now talk to Aida, and you'll see that instead of Danny Miller, you'll see Abe Lincoln speaking!
Go into your cabin, and stand in front of your locker. Enter the ghost cheat. Fly through the locker, and turn back to see the Seagoat license plate attached to it. Fly back into your cabin, press tilde again and enter walk.
Go near the door, crouch and look under Isaak's table before he briefs you regarding your weapons. You'll see a small button there. Press it and you'll see an EMP burst, Isaak will say "Flashbang!" and you'll repeat your line "Jesus!".
Open the console again and enter togglebehindview. You will see yourself! Press the fire key and your character will raise his hand and show the victory sign. Press the alt fire, and now it appears that John Dalton is fixing something. Crouch, and then press Space. You will prone. Walk around some. Now climb up the ladder to the top floor and prone again. While in prone position, drop down the ladder. You will hear your character screaming for a short time and he will do the ground hit animation. Open the console again and enter togglebehindview again.

Preview notes[]

"The final level of the demo featured what Verdu referred to a "memorable moment" -- something that hopefully will remain in the gamer's memory long after finishing the game. You're sent to rescue some colonists under attack from some organism, and after traveling underwater a bit, you jump in an elevator and ride up ... until an old friend hops on board and wreaks some havoc. I won't spoil the surprise, but it is indeed an exciting moment, and the smoke effects coming out of the elevator were quite eerie...and impressive."

– Gamespy^[1]