Starfield, Bethesda’s groundbreaking open-world space RPG, is teeming with planets, quests, and characters that make for an unforgettable gaming experience. Among its numerous adventures is a quest that turns you into an administrative worker navigating the maze of bureaucracy in the Martian city of Cydonia.
Dubbed “Red Tape Runaround,” this quest picks up right after the Red Tape Blues and proves to be an intricate but enjoyable dance with the local governance. Heres a step-by-step guide to help you glide through the red tape without getting stuck.
Continuing from Red Tape Blues
Since this is a follow-up to Red Tape Blues, you’re familiar with Trevor and the bewilderingly inept Peter Brennan. After you wrap up Red Tape Blues, the sequel quest, Red Tape Runaround, unlocks. The goal? You’ll moonlight as Peter Brennans assistant, completing tasks that should have been handled weeks ago and receiving mysterious shipments in exchange.
Report to Work for Peter Brennan
Head back up the stairs and find Peter inside the HR building you sneaked into previously to delete the other candidates’ applications.
Peter Brennan is, well, not the sharpest tool in the shed. So, don’t be surprised when he can’t remember you’re his new assistant. Your first task is to secure a mysterious package held by Governor Hurst for unknown reasons. Which brings us to…
Speak with Governor Hurst
The Governor is a wily character who knows more than he lets on. Hurst seems to have been spying on you. He offers you a deal: you’ll get the withheld package for Peter due to unpaid taxes if you accomplish a small tasktrack down and destroy his stolen spacecraft from the Crimson Fleet.
Hurst will make a case that since the ship has been stolen, it’s best to destroy it, along with everyone in it. Hmm…
Find the Stolen Ship
You will find the Stolen Ship in Uranus’ orbit. Open your Missions log, select the objective, and then set the course.
Based on your affiliation with the Crimson Fleet, this quest takes two different routes. If you’re an outsider, you’re essentially left with no choice but to do the Governor’s bidding. If you’re a Fleet insider, use your status to gain valuable information, making the quest more rewarding. Choose to destroy the ship or negotiate with the pirates for additional info that can be used against Governor Hurst.
We’ll delve into the second option here, as it’s far more rewarding. Make sure you complete Deep Cover (you may also have to complete Rook Meets King to fully join the Crimson Fleet, but I don’t think so) before you proceed.
Hail the Ship
Hail the ship and decide whether you will use the Crimson Fleet dialogue option or destroy it.
(Optional) Destroy the Ship
You can always get back to attacking and destroying Governor Hurst’s ship.
Enter the Ship
Note: Sadly, you cannot steal Gorvernor Hurst’s ship and keep it in your fleet.
Get within 500 meters of Governor Hurst‘s ship, dock with it, and board it.
Deal with the Pirates
Once you enter, the Pirate Leader will explain they are in a real bind, but you can help each other out. He will ask for some Ship Parts from you in exchange for information to blackmail Governor Hurst of Cydonia.
It’s best to spare a Ship Parts piece here in exchange for the information. Before you do, you can learn that Hurst sent the pirates a note through a broker to clean any signs of his affair and destroy his ship for insurance purposes. So this is a love ship that Hurst wants destroyed to eliminate any evidence of his affair.
Hurst wouldn’t want this letter/note to get out and would pay handsomely to get it back.
(Optional) Search for More Clues
Once your conversation with the Pirate Leader ends, you can explore the ship and loot the Captain’s Locker. You will also find several Storage Boxes; take the stairs to the ship’s first and then the second basement floor.
You will find the dead boy of Sylvija Schloss. Loot the This is It note from Schloss’ body. It will reveal that she had been drifting without fuel for over a week before she died and eventually committed suicide.
So the ship wasn’t stolen; it just ran out of fuel, and Glen Hurst wanted the whole thing dead and buried (even though he didn’t know whether Sylvija Schloss was alive or dead inside it).
You can now wrap this up and move on to the next mission objective.
Return to Hurst
Undock your ship and return to Hurst. Once youre back on Mars, get back to the Governor’s office, where you can confront him or tell him you took care of his business.
If you helped the pirates, you can show him Hurst‘s note to them and tell them that it would be bad for him if people knew. Andeja won’t like this option if you have her as follower. Most followers probably won’t and it seems that even if you tell them to wait outside the reaction will be triggered.
Depending on your choices, you could walk away with a sweet 12,000 Credits and the withheld package for Brennan if you talk to the Governor about the note. The Governor is a crafty character, so choose your dialogue options wisely. If you destroyed the ship, you can still ask for a fee to keep all this quiet, but it will only be 5,000 Credits.
Deliver the Package to Peter
Finally, after running this wild errand for Peter, you’ll be trusted enough to access his computer, and he will give you his password. This is your chance to aid Trevor by approving an equipment request thatll make life easier for the miners in Cydonia.
Approve the Equipment Request
Open Peter Brenna’s Computer and click the Requests folder. Then click the Replacement Mining Equipment button. Finally, approve Trevor’s request to complete the Red Tape Runaround. You will be rewarded with 4,800 Credits on Normal difficulty, and 100 EXP and Red Tape Reclamation will be unlocked.
If you manage to blackmail the Governor, this quest becomes a goldmine, as you can get close to 20,000 Credits from it.
For more Starfield guides and tips, stay tuned to our extensive coverage of this galactic epic.
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