The Past Never Dies

The Past Never Dies is Chapter 4 of 007 First Light. Set in Mauritania, it pivots the campaign toward the Webb family conspiracy. The chapter features a tactical infiltration and an auction sequence. It is paired with the bridge segment Out of the Ashes that opens the Mauritania arc.

Quick Facts

Story Beats

Bond infiltrates a Mauritania-based auction event linked to the Webb family conspiracy. The chapter combines social stealth, bluff dialogue, and a culminating auction sequence in which Bond must win a bidding contest against rival operatives. The bridge segment Out of the Ashes covers Bond's entry into the Mauritania theater.

Trophies

Chapter 4 holds 12 collectibles (6 Cards, 2 Intel, 2 Mementos, 1 Postcard, and 1 Legacy Item); the Laser Strap gadget unlocked in the preceding segment is required to reach several of them. The full per-type lists are in the Collectibles articles.

Related Articles

• Chapters

• Mauritania

• Story

Walkthrough

The chapter's central objective is to raise $100,000 in Aleph's Black Market so Bond can enter Bawma's private auction and pick up 009's trail. Aleph is the most open-ended location in the game: several independent Opportunities can be completed in any order, and the player is free to combine them as needed to reach the $100,000 threshold. Once Bond pays into the auction and works through the infiltration sequence, the chapter shifts to tracking 009 across the port, examining a crime scene aboard a trapped boat, and escaping through a shipwreck before surviving a final ambush.

Out of the Ashes

The chapter begins with a briefing from M, informing Bond and Greenway that they are travelling to Mauritania to continue tracking 009. After the briefing, follow the quest marker to Q-Lab, speak to Q, collect the new watch and earpiece, and learn to use the Laser Strap and Flash Mine gadgets. The Laser Strap is particularly important for this chapter: it blasts padlocks off gated routes and is required to access several Opportunities and collectibles. Pick up the service pistol, then head up the elevator to Operations.

A collectible, Niko and Tero Murto Intel, is available here. After collecting it, make your way to Moneypenny's pod for the mission briefing, ask any questions, then choose to exit to mission when ready.

Recommended loadout: Laser Strap and Dart Phone. Having both equipped from the start allows every Opportunity below to be completed without backtracking to change gadgets.

Arriving at Aleph

Bond regains control at the wheel of a Land Rover in the desert. Drive down the winding paths to reach Aleph's gates. Bond and Greenway enter through the hull of a rusted ship into a sprawling Black Market. Bond is separated from Greenway in the crowd. Follow the path through the market until you reach a group of pirates watching fighting pit footage on a TV. Walking past them triggers a brawl; throw one pirate into the TV to electrocute him, then defeat the others and proceed through the door. You will find Greenway, who will direct you to the guards managing access to Bawma's auction. Speaking to those guards reveals the $100,000 buy-in requirement. The 6 of Bells Card collectible is found along this path.

Black Market Opportunities

Once in the heart of the Black Market, Bond has several ways to raise the $100,000 buy-in. Each method is listed below. Completing all paid Opportunities more than covers the target; mix and match as preferred. Note that once the $100,000 threshold is reached, Bond is guided toward the auction and cannot return to complete any remaining Opportunities, so players aiming for the Show Me The Money challenge (which requires $140,000) should plan the order carefully.

Entering the Auction

Once $100,000 has been raised, return to the market entrance and collect the Pirate Grillz Memento. Pay the guards and follow them upstairs. On the upper floor, there is an optional challenge involving a DJ in difficulty: speak to the DJ, activate the nearby generator, retrieve a fuse from the green box beside the speaker, and insert it to restore the sound system. Complete this before returning to Greenway to tick off the challenge. Let the soldiers escort Bond and Greenway through the compound to the auction and take a seat.

The auction is mainly a story sequence. Make dialogue choices freely until the third round of bidding, at which point Greenway instructs Bond to sabotage a rival bidder. Use the Q Lens to hack the bidder's polygraph test. Continue choosing as preferred until the option to improvise appears; select it to trigger a cutscene and end the auction segment.

Aleph's Port

Bond must now sneak through Aleph's Port to reach the boat 009 is hiding on. Zipline from the starting platform into the large freighter, slip through a crack in the wall, and follow the route to the ship on the left. On the top deck, a combat encounter begins. One stealth-focused route: descend the ladder, hop across to the platform ahead, slip into the small passage in the back right-hand corner while keeping clear of a Watcher and a pirate, and advance to two men near a PC. Tamper with the nearby fuse box to draw one man in for a takedown, eliminate the other, then climb the ladder and proceed through the marked door. Take a right across the walkway to the opposite ship, use an air takedown on the guard below, then descend the steps and cross to the ladder. Climb, follow the path to a gap, jump across to where a man is sorting boxes, take cover, and use a cover takedown. Find the metal door on the right-hand side of the boat, pass through to another walkway, blast the padlock off the second locked door with the Laser Strap, and continue to the back of the boat. Three maintenance workers are ahead; take the alternate route to their left, drop down to the area below, and use the hackable large fan to knock two soldiers over the railing when they are standing in front of it. Eliminate the third, follow the route in the back right-hand corner, and reach the walkway with two exits. Use the Q Lens on the right-hand exit to spot a security camera, hack it to disable it temporarily, pass through, head up the stairs, bluff the guard at the exit door, and proceed through to end the encounter.

Find 009

Continue along the route after escaping the port and vault onto 009's boat. Greenway warns that the boat is rigged with tripwires. Aim at the grenade at the end of the first tripwire and interact with it to disarm. Squeeze through the gap between the crates to the right, disarm a second tripwire via the grenade on the pole to the left, return through the gap, then proceed past the disarmed wire toward the stairs. Do not climb those stairs directly as they are blocked by a tripwire that cannot be disarmed. Instead, disarm the trap to the right, then disarm the crossed tripwires to the right again before vaulting the crate on the left and using the alternate stairs. At the top, Bond finds laser tripwires on the top deck that are invisible without illumination. The Banner of Shields Card collectible is found in this area.

To navigate the laser tripwires, use the sprinklers on the second deck. Turn on the first tap to illuminate a tripwire; crouch under it. Turn on the second tap near a planter to reveal two more tripwires on either side; vault the planter and bank right. Vault over the blue tarp on the railing, use the ledges on the side of the boat to pass the exposed tripwire, then vault back over a second blue tarp. Activate the next tap to reveal a moving tripwire; wait for it to angle upward and crouch-walk under it, crossing into the section on the right. A second moving tripwire swings above a planter; wait until it is as far to one side as possible and vault over the centre of the planter. Activate the final tap to reveal an X-shaped tripwire blocking the path to Greenway; wait for it to reach the peak of its swing and crouch-walk through the bottom of the X. Follow Greenway into the cabin.

Examine the Crime Scene

After a cutscene, Bond must examine the crime scene. Investigate the items in the general area, then follow Greenway to the back room to find a large conspiracy board. Examine the board, then check the photo on the floor when Greenway draws attention to it. Flip the photo to find a shipping logo. Head to the telescope, locate a ship bearing the same logo, and zoom in on it to trigger the next cutscene. The John Greenway Intel collectible is found in this area.

Leaving Aleph

A cinematic follows with a few interactive button prompts and dialogue choices. After it ends, Bond is walked to his Land Rover. The Crocodile Tooth Memento collectible is available at this point. Drive through the desert following the waypoint. Passing through a freighter along the route at speed unlocks the Wheels Up challenge; floor it while exiting the freighter to get enough air time. Further along, Bond and Greenway reach a bridge that needs to be lowered. Climb the pipes on both sides of the bridge and activate the two mechanisms on the walkways above. Both activated, the bridge lowers; return to the car to trigger a cutscene.

Find a Way Inside the Shipwreck

Bond regains control outside the shipwreck. Approaching the front with Greenway reveals symbols visible only through the Q Lens, pointing toward something of significance. Remove the wooden sheet blocking the entrance, enter the boat, and approach the raised bridge at the end of the walkway. To lower the bridge for Greenway, take a left, hop across to a sealed door, open it, disarm the trap on the other side, kick a hole through the freighter wall, follow the ledges, and squeeze through a crack in the wall. Turn left, let Bond break the walkway to create a gap, use the chain lift to reach a zipline, cross to the other side of the boat, and head through the door on the right. A tripwire blocks the path to the raised bridge; use the ledge on the right to circle around it. The 6 of Shields Card collectible is in this area. Climb the pipe to the left of the raised bridge and use the release on the platform above to drop the bridge. With Greenway now on the same side, backtrack to a locked door and force it open with Greenway's assistance to access 009's hidden stash. Examining a briefcase inside triggers a cutscene ending with armed soldiers storming the vessel.

Escape the Wreck

Bond regains control under immediate heavy fire. The starting section has fragile cover, so keep moving, collect ammo, and use explosives while eliminating the gunmen before pushing into the next area. The following room has blind spots and flanking risk; position to cover both the central room and the corner pathway circling it. Clear the room, defeat the group blocking the stairs, and climb to a sniper perch. Stealth-takedown the sniper there, take his rifle, and use it to fire down on the outpost below. The sniper rifle can one-shot helmeted enemies. Switch to the pistol once the sniper ammo is exhausted to clear the remaining squad. Push through to another combat area at the back of the ship, then proceed into a narrow channel passage. Use the structural girders and supports for cover while advancing, collecting ammo, and using explosives. Greenway arrives at the end of this section to extract Bond, leading into a cutscene.

Survive the Ambush

The chapter ends with a scripted setpiece. Soldiers advance in a continuous wave; shoot as many as possible and pick up Greenway's gun when ammunition runs out. The encounter ends automatically with a cutscene once enough time has passed, concluding the chapter.

Collectibles in This Chapter

The chapter contains 12 collectibles across five types. Many require the Laser Strap or are tied to specific Opportunities.