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This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.
This article is for the PC version of Stellaris only.
Event chains
Empire event chains
Anomaly event chains
Colony event chains
Ancient Drones
Primitive civilization event chains
Ancient Drones is a colony event chain that has a very small chance to trigger 2 or 3 years after any colony has been founded. It can only happen once per game.
A Prelude
Something stirs on the moon of [colony name].
Preliminary scans indicate that some ancient technology has become active, possibly as a response to our colonization efforts.
Several of our top scientists are eager to take a closer look at the moon, and have prepared a special research project.
Trigger conditions:
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Mean time to happen:
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 Of course they have.
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Ancient Drones: Discovery
It is a gaggle of wayward drones, of course.
Initial disappointment was swept away by the drones' erroneous IFF classification of us - they think we are a race affiliated with their long-dead masters! They seemed very excited, if old AI constructs can be excited, to see us. Unfortunately, the drones again lapsed into inactivity shortly after and we have been unable to resuscitate them.
Or take them apart, for that matter.
Trigger conditions:
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Is triggered only by:
Finishing the Left Behind special project |
Keep an eye on the situation. | |
Ancient Drones: Awakening
 The drones woke from their slumber and descended to the surface of [colony name]. Attempts to communicate were met with polite dismissal as they set about terraforming a small area of the planet. We do not know the nature of whatever ancient directive they are executing, but it does not seem detrimental to the colony.
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Ancient Drones: Reaching For Past Skies
 The old drones fitfully dormant on [colony name]'s moon have become active again, and their work is a mixed blessing. Under the cover of night and spotty airspace surveillance, they have erected the framework of some gigantic structure a short distance away from our primary settlement on [colony name]. Our engineers are convinced it is the realization of some outmoded concept known as a "space elevator," perhaps a common sight in the times before we [main species name] first took to the stars. It will eventually have to be razed as it stands in the way of our expansion plans for the colony, and bringing it down safely will take some time. At least our engineers are giddy with excitement at the prospect of studying the thing up close.
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Ancient Drones: Spontaneous Generosity
After waking yet again, the drones briefly disappeared from sensors. When they returned, it was with a large cache of minerals of unknown origin in tow. They dumped it on the surface of [colony name] after sending a badly corrupted burst transmission indicating that they had fulfilled a requisition request.
Then they went back to the moon.
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Free minerals. No complaints.
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Ancient Drones: An Estranged Relative
Frantic signal bursts from the moon alerted us to the fact that the old drones on [moon name] have woken yet again. This time they bring us a significant prize, as they have unearthed an ancient satellite from the depths of their moon and partially repaired it. We do not know how the satellite ended up there, nor why the drones have ignored it until now. Regardless, if even a fragment of its databanks have survived, there is a lot we can learn about day-to-day life in the empires that the drones first served.
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Fascinating.
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Ancient Drones: Drone Debacle
The erratic behavior of the narcoleptic drones have taken a violent turn. A number of them woke and entered the atmosphere of [colony name], as if their want, only to slam into the surface of the planet at full thrust.
Repeatedly, in many cases.
Damage to the colony was negligible but the nigh-invulnerable drones were destroyed in bright showers of blue sparks, indicative of the tremendous force of, and dedication to, their self-destruction.
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Can we find out what was wrong with them? | |
Ancient Drones: Looking For Drones
The surviving drones have been missing since the suicide incident. History buffs on [colony name] are convinced the drones are still in close proximity, shielded from prying eyes by some lost technology, but the expected time window for their next activation has come and gone.
Progress on deep analysis of the destroyed drones' remains has been slow, but a breakthrough is expected soon.
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Keep me posted. | |
Ancient Drones: Panning For Gold
Sorting out the errant innards of the shattered drones took much longer than anticipated, as each drone seems to have been built from a slightly different design, assembled from slightly different parts. Once this fact was established, one thing stood out - the parts that were identical. Separated from the rest, it is clear these parts are of somewhat modern, if alien, make. It is likely that someone has done what we could not, and tampered with the drones.
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This warrants further investigation. | |
Ancient Drones: Alien to the Aliens
Having pieced them together, the foreign objects inside the destroyed drones have been identified by our experts as one-way transmitters. Since they are not set to receive, it is safe to assume that the drones were not acting at the behest of some third party. Rather, some entity has been keeping tabs on the drones' activities. It is advisable to look into this matter.
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Continue our monitoring efforts. | |
Ancient Drones: Answers Above
We have found the remaining drones, drifting into orbit around [moon name]. We have learned that they are unwitting pawns in an elaborate scheme set up by an unknown faction.
Going by the modus operandi of this operation, this faction is most likely a particularly old and particularly clever pirate syndicate. They must have found the drones drifting through space and done what we could not; modified them. While not as impressive as it sounds - all they did was introduce self-contained alien technology into the drones - fact remains that these alien pirates possess a technological know-how far in advance of our own, at least in certain areas. Having installed their comms devices in the drones, the pirates let them drift through space again, knowing that they are set to assist their original masters' colonists and that the drones' ability to accurately identify such colonists has degraded with age. The drones have essentially been fattening up our colony as the pirates watch, waiting for the ideal time to strike.
Our military analysts predict that the pirates will strike within the next two years.
Trigger conditions:
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Mean time to happen:
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Let them come.
We must not let this happen again. Dismantle the drones.
Capture the drones, send them to destroy their would-be masters. | |
Ancient Drones: Showdown
 The time has come, and the pirate armada arrives on cue.
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Ancient Drones: They're Everywhere
The pirate fleet has arrived, somewhat later than expected. Judging by the makeup of the fleet and formations used, they have rallied their allies in an effort to pillage and burn [colony name] as quickly and decisively as possible.
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Ancient Drones: Wounded and Volatile
The pirate fleet is inbound, earlier than expected. It is likely our preemptive strike was successful both in provoking and damaging them - their fleet is roughly 30% smaller than projected.
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