During the UC Vanguard faction quests, you’ll eventually infiltrate the Crimson Fleet and join their ranks during the Rook Meets King mission. One of your first tasks is to eliminate a target for them named Austin Rake. The UC, however, wants you to find a way to spare him. Which side should you pick in this decision: kill Austin Rake or spare him in Starfield?
Starfield: Should You Spare or Kill Austin Rake in the Rook Meets King Mission?
This moral choice will appear once you head deeper into the UC Vanguard missions. The second one in the line is the Rook Meets King mission, given by Adler Kemp in Cydonia (the city on Mars). You get to him after completing the Deep Cover mission, and he’ll immediately assign this follow-up task to you.
You’re looking to join the Crimson Fleet successfully. And for that, your first task is to get Naeva to trust you and lead you to the Fleet’s headquarters, named The Key. Your only directions, as strictly given by Commander Ikande, are to not fall into their ways and avoid killing anyone.
After your first meeting with Naeva, she asks you to deal with an ex-Crimson Fleet member named Austin Rake. He’s on the Ragana ship, so head there, and you can start negotiating with its crew. Or just start blasting everyone in outer space; it’s your choice. But let’s see what happens in both of them.
If You Let Austin Live in Starfield
The UC instructed you to avoid falling into the Fleet’s ways, so you might as well just do that. Ask for the Ragana’s commander to dock in and explain the situation. Avoid any of the [Attack] options, then pick the “The Fleet wants Rake dead, but I want to resolve this without violence” dialogue.
Dmitri will effortlessly believe in you after judging your actions, and no one has to die today. He will propose a plan to cover for Rake, allowing him to live for another day, even if he ends up behind bars. He also provides you with fake evidence for the Fleet to prove that you killed everyone abroad, and they will believe that lie, too.
Commander Ikande congratulates you for dealing with the situation without casualties, and you can now return to Naeva, which will show you the way to The Key. There are no bad consequences for you in this route, as you can continue to work for both factions with no problems.
If You Kill Austin in Starfield
As we said before, you can blast the Ragana off the moment you spot it. Or you can just pretend to negotiate and suddenly attack them. If you want to make things even funnier, you can even persuade Dmitri to turn on Austin so he’ll be the only one who has to go. This requires a few extra levels in Persuasion, but it’s a funny result. But if you’re killing Austin, just go all out and get rid of everyone aboard.
While some companions might be disgusted by your choice, you can easily loot the crew this way. Dmitri, in particular, holds the Mark I Spacesuit and the Mark I Pack, two powerful items that you hardly come across this early in the game. So, killing him and his crewmates might be worth the trouble.
That is, if you can handle the Commander nagging you about murdering innocents in cold blood. He still allows you to continue on your mission without further consequences, so aside from a few negative comments (and a guard wishing he could kill you as he had a friend aboard the Ragana), there’s nothing to really lose here.
With all of that considered, I would pick killing Rake since you can get some good loot in the process. You won’t be losing out on any quests later, so there’s nothing to worry about here. But the final choice is all up to you, so pick whichever fits your morality/playstyle the best.
This is one of the best suits you can get in the game, and the same goes for the pack. Here are their basic stats (without accounting for mods):
Mark I Spacesuit:
- Physical: 120
- Energy: 136
- Electromagnetic: 128
- Thermal: 20
- Airborne: 0
- Corrosive: 30
- Radiation: 10
Mark I Pack:
- Physical: 66
- Energy: 64
- Electromagnetic: 68
- Thermal: 20
- Airborne: 5
- Corrosive: 5
- Radiation: 0
If that suit looks interesting, but you don’t want to get your hands dirty with the UC, you can pick it up for free at another easy-to-get location quite early in the game.
