Unveiling the Mysteries of Starfield: Embark on an Epic Journey with the Crimson Fleet

The Starfield Crimson Fleet is a notorious band of pirates that relentlessly attacks unsuspecting merchants and civilian ships throughout the Settled Systems. The United Colonies, exasperated by their acts, urgently seeks someone to eradicate this threat. This is where you come in - as an insider, you have the opportunity to either infiltrate the pirate group and dismantle it from within or revel in the havoc you have unleashed.

Table of Contents [hide]How to become part of the Starfield Crimson FleetUnited Colonies SysDef: An offer you won't be able to resist

Deep Cover: Cydonia

Rook Meets King: Naeva, the Astraea, and Austin Rake

The Lock and The Key

Additional tips when joining the Crimson Fleet

How to join the Crimson Fleet in Starfield

The Starfield Crimson Fleet quest, Deep Cover, is not accessible at the beginning of the game. Instead, you can only acquire it by engaging in criminal activity within a system under the control of the United Colonies. Here is a brief overview:

When committing theft or assault in New Jemison, a guard will approach you.

Alternatively, if contraband is detected on your ship, you'll get detained.

There's also a third method, which is to simply talk to the United Colonies SysDef personnel.

United Colonies SysDef and an offer you can't refuse

If you decide to proceed, you will be on track to becoming a member of the esteemed Crimson Fleet in Starfield once you rendezvous with Commander Ikande. He presents you with an irresistible offer: face incarceration for your actions or find a way to infiltrate the Crimson Fleet. Naturally, opting for the latter is the logical choice.

As an undercover operative, Ikande advises you that the pirates might coerce you into committing unlawful acts and heinous deeds. Your course of action in such situations will be entirely at your discretion. However, it is important to note that should you be apprehended by the United Colonies forces, you will still be liable to pay fines.

Commander Ikande presents you with an offer that is practically irresistible. Well, technically speaking, you have the option to refuse, but what purpose would it serve?

Deep Cover: Cydonia

The next objective for the Starfield Crimson Fleet transports you to the Martian region of Cydonia. Here is a brief overview:

Engage in a conversation with a morally compromised Trade Authority officer by the name of Saoirse. Offer her 1,000 credits as a means to acquire additional information regarding the transportation of Aurora, a substance known as a drug that is being illicitly circulated within the Settled Systems.

At the Cydonia bar, hand over the sample to Adler Kemp, mentioning that he could potentially assist with "transporting goods."

Adler requests that you retrieve the outstanding payments from a person named Karl residing in the Deimos Miner's Quarters. You have the options of settling his debts by paying 3,000 credits, passing a Persuasion check, or engaging in a direct confrontation.

Return to Adler and he'll mention a ship called the Astraea. This leads to the next quest called Rook Meets King.

The tasks in Cydonia lead to a high-ranking member of the Crimson Fleet.

Rook Meets King: Naeva, the Astraea, and Austin Rake

The Starfield Rook Meets King quest involves Naeva, a high-ranking member of the Crimson Fleet. Here's the gist:

Fly to Europa and locate the Astraea ship that orbits the moon. Initiate communication with Naeva, a crew member, who reveals the existence of Austin Rake, a former member who has recently fled.

Proceed to Enceladus and contact the Ragana, a civilian transport vessel, which serves as Austin Rake's hiding place. Presented with various choices, one option is to board the ship and engage in a direct conversation with the captain and crew from UC SysDef.

Crimson Fleet: You'll still be able to board the ship, though the demand is quite intimidating.

You can tell the crew to kill Austin Rake.

You have the choice to engage in immediate firepower to annihilate the ship.

Upon successfully boarding the Ragana, a conversation with the captain becomes possible. This presents the opportunity to release Austin Rake (who will remain concealed without any conflicts). On the contrary, you may opt to initiate an assault and eliminate all individuals on board.

When you have completed these tasks, return to Europa and have a conversation with Naeva once again. In our playthrough, we selected the UC SysDef response and allowed Austin Rake to flee. Therefore, we were able to inform Naeva with this statement: "[Lie] Austin Rake has been eliminated. The Ragana has survived."

As you progress, make a decision regarding the fate of the Ragana and Austin Rake.

The Lock and The Key

Following the accomplishment of the aforementioned objectives, Naeva will furnish you with the coordinates to The Key, an immense star station that serves as the main stronghold for the majority of the Crimson Fleet's military forces. You can locate it in orbit around the planet Suvorov within the Kryx system.

Upon arrival at the dock, a brief encounter awaits featuring two pirates. Following this, Naeva will warmly receive you and give you a comprehensive tour of the base, accompanied by introductions to various noteworthy NPCs. Concluding the tour, the ultimate meet-and-greet awaits with the leader of the fleet, Delgado. As a newly inducted member of the esteemed Starfield Crimson Fleet faction, Delgado still deems it necessary for you to embark on a journey to the infamous prison complex known as The Lock—an opportunity to demonstrate your mettle and true commitment to the cause.

Additional tips when joining the Crimson Fleet

Hand in hand with Naeva, you will be introduced to her close pirate comrades, further cementing your understanding of life within the Crimson Fleet.

UC SysDef has assigned you another important task known as Burden of Proof. This mission aligns closely with our other objectives, as our aim is to retrieve documents and data slates related to the activities of the pirate group. Any evidence you come across should be brought to Lieutenant Jillian Toft.

The Crimson Fleet operates its own Trade Authority vendor, enabling you to sell contraband and stolen items. What's more, The Key space station does not conduct scans, as it would be illogical considering their lawless nature.

There are quests that offer alternative choices and responses (such as UC SysDef or Crimson Fleet), as well as actions that are more morally questionable (considering you are cooperating with pirates). It is important to note that if you get caught committing these crimes, you will still receive a bounty. Additionally, your companions, who are generally good-hearted, will not approve of evil actions.

By default, Crimson Fleet vessels will immediately attack you. However, once you become a novice pirate, they will regard you as a friend. Therefore, we suggest not joining them until later in the game, as it will result in fewer opportunities to practice your target skills and gain experience points.

In contrast, certain quests or mission board tasks may designate Crimson Fleet ships and NPCs as targets. If you have already joined the faction, they will appear as friendlies, though you still have the ability to attack them. Based on our current understanding, this does not appear to result in further hostilities with the faction, although we cannot confirm if this will be the case for every quest.

That concludes the information on how to join the Crimson Fleet in Starfield. Remember that there are other factions that you may come across, such as the United Colonies, Freestar Collective, and Ryujin Industries. You can find more details about these rival forces in our factions guide.

Starfield is a massive game with numerous planets to explore. For other tips and tactics, you can visit our guides hub.