The “Order/Chaos” priority contract in Marathon is given to you by Gantry, the leader of MIDA, one of the game’s six factions. You’ll receive it after … uh… smashing 15 windows for the previous quest because, hell yeah, down with the system, but this one is considerably more difficult. That’s because it must be completed in a single run, and it sends you all the way across Dire Marsh, Marathon’s second map and one that is considerably more dangerous than Perimeter.
Here’s a complete walkthrough for “Order/Chaos” in Marathon, including where to find the terminal in south Complex, how to get the Security Commander credentials, and where to download data from the terminal inside south Maintenance.
‘Order/Chaos’ quest steps in Marathon
“Order/Chaos” must be completed in a single run, which makes it considerably more difficult than some of the other contracts in the Marathon especially since you need to cross most of Dire Marsh. Here are the three steps you must complete in order:
- Trigger alarms in south Complex by hacking a terminal.
- Acquire Security Commander credentials.
- Download data from the terminal inside south Maintenance.
Where to trigger alarms in south Complex by hacking a terminal
First up, you need to hack a specific terminal in Complex. “South Complex” isn’t a specific place though; you’re just looking for the southern part of Complex, to avoid confusion. Complex is the easternmost point of interest on Dire Marsh, with a distinct northern and southern section, so head for the latter.
The terminal is on the ground floor, inside an office just below the “COM” part of the location text on the in-game map. From the outside, the walls are yellow, and there’s enormous “CPLX-3” lettering above the upper walkway. The location is marked with a star on the image above.
When you’ve found it, approach the terminal and interact with it. This will call in UESC reinforcements, one of which is the Security Commander.
How to acquire Security Commander credentials
To acquire the Security Commander credentials, you need to, well, kill the Security Commander as they won’t give it up with firm negotiations, unfortunately. When the Security Commander has its boots on the ground, a pink diamond icon will appear on your HUD, tracking its location.
Thankfully, while this foe is shielded, he isn’t as tough as the enemy you must kill in the “Introducing: Traxus” quest. This is because the Security Commander only has blue shields. In my experience, I managed to drop it with just two magazines of the Bully SMG, one of the most common weapons in the game. It will spawn with some less beefy friends though, so use the winding corridors and vents of Complex to your advantage.
When you’ve killed it, find its corpse to grab the UESC Credentials item, then get your walking shoes on.
Where to download data from the terminal in south Maintenance
Maintenance is in the southwest corner of Dire Marsh, so you have a trek on your hands. I hightailed it out of Complex by running between AI Uplink and Anomaly, then round the bottom of Canal.
You want to head inside the huge Maintenance hangar — the same place you can find the locked door that requires the Maintenance Pump key — and stick to the ground level. The terminal is sat between some trucks, on the side of a workbench. Check the image above to see the exact location.
After you’ve downloaded the data, the contract will be complete. If you have any valuable loot, head for your nearest exfil, otherwise stick around and take down some enemies.
We have Marathon guides to all the weapons and classes, not to mention an explainer on silk, TADs, how seasons work, and more.
