I sprinted up the lab stairs as gunfire hammered the courtyard. A pink icon pulsed on my HUD and the UESC Commander stepped into view with a shield the size of a door. If you fumble any step, the whole contract evaporates and you’re back to square one.
I’ve run this contract more times than I’d like to admit, and I’m going to hand you the exact route, vantage points, and timing that saved my runs. Read each step in order: all three objectives must be finished in one trip, or you start over. Keep your loadout light, your aim steady, and your patience thinner than the Commander’s shield.
The Intersection lab smells faintly of burnt circuitry — that’s where I planted my flag. Marathon Introducing: Traxus contract walkthrough
The contract splits into three clear tasks you must complete in a single run:
- Hack the terminal at Intersection, Complex, or Bio-Research
- Grab the Shipping Manifest from the UESC Commander
- Scan the top stacked shipping container before it’s picked up
Where is the terminal for the Introducing: Traxus contract?
I chose Intersection and you can too — your terminal options are Intersection, Complex, or Bio-Research on the Dire Marsh map. At Intersection the terminal sits on the second floor of the lab building pictured below; use one of the side entrances and take the stairs. Approach the terminal until the interaction prompt appears, then hack it to trigger the next phase.
Short, controlled movement is your friend here — don’t sprint through the open or you’ll give the Commander and his buddies free shots. I treated elevation like a lighthouse in fog: it made me visible to the target and invisible to trouble if I used cover right.
How do I beat the UESC Commander?
The hack will spawn the Commander; he appears with a pink marker and a huge shield. He isn’t solitary — expect support units. Your best method is vertical advantage: take the second-floor window or stairwell and pick precise headshots through gaps in the shield until he drops the manifest.
Don’t try to rush him in the open — his shield will eat your ammo and his crew will flank you. Use a high-damage rifle or a precision weapon, and focus on headshots while a teammate (or your drone) handles adds. When the manifest drops, pick it up immediately; it’s the ticket to the final task.
Which shipping container do I need to scan?
Two containers sit in front of the lab. The correct one is the top container — climb up and the scan prompt appears. Scanning leaves you exposed: clear the immediate area, then mount the container and start the scan. It will take a second, and bullets will follow if you aren’t ready.
Finish the scan and you complete the Introducing: Traxus contract — that grants Traxus faction access and new vendor options in Marathon. Think of the whole run as a chess puzzle with bullets; one wrong move and the board resets.
Want to debate the cleanest route or the best loadout for this fight?