Starfield Operation Starseed quest walkthrough: Choices to unlock a Secret Companion

One of the best parts of Starfield is the side quests; you never really know what you're going to get. There's a lot of memorable quests with a lot of really memorable rewards - and one of the most memorable quess is Operation Starseed - a strong quest with a great storyline that also carries a notable reward: an exclusive, unique crew member companion character.

While there's quite a lot of unique quest rewards in Starfield - including an especially powerful ship or a penthouse suite at the top of New Atlantis - a unique companion is extremely interesting - and it's even more exciting once you learn who exactly it is. But in order for that to happen, you'll need to be quite far into the game - it's a difficult quest, and in a far-off galaxy.

This guide will help you to start the Operation Starseed quest - and then make the correct choices throughout the quest to unlock its ultimate reward.

How to start the Operation Starseed Quest

Some quests in Starfield are revealed to the player through a gentle breadcrumb trail of clues, such as the Mantis sidequest. Others occur relatively at random - and that's the case for Operation Starseed, which is buried in a distant star system - all the way out in the Charybdis System.

In order to be able to actually reach this mission, you'll need a decent ship. It's far away, so you'll need a grav jump capacity of at least 30LY; which probably means you'll need a Class B ship. If that outstrips where you're currently at, our Starfield Ship Building guide will help with that.

Upon reaching the Charybdis system you'll receive a transmission for help, and  upon landing you'll discover a rather odd settlement.

After some quick conversations you'll learn that Crucible, the outpost, is the site of some experiment where clones of significant figures from human history have been given a second chance at life; but for what reason?

You'll be tasked with solving their dispute, and dealing with the shackles that bind them to their encampment. There exists a divide between those who wish to break the shackles that bind them, and those who feel that the Settled Systems isn't yet ready for them.

One clone in particular is special; Amelia Earhart can be found near Franklin Roosevelt's housing, and makes two things clear from the outset - she quite literally doesn't care what happens to everything else in the encampment, and doesn't want to be bothered with the situation. What she does care about is leaving, and if you can solve the situation she would love to be a part of your crew.

Solving Crucible's Problem

After talking to all 3 factions, you'll be told to investigate a lab on the other side of the planet to look for clues that might detail what exactly the experiment entails; and perhaps a clue for allowing the clones to escape.

During this whole charade you'll be approached by an NPC called Wyatt Earp. He'll try to attack you, worried that there might be info in the lab that reveals his secret that he's actually a clone of H.H. Holmes, and while he doesn't want to be a murderer, he's afraid of what will happen to him - and any other clones cut from the same cloth - if the truth is revealed. You can either kill him, persuade him that his secret is safe with you, or do the latter while also alerting the faction leaders of his true ancestry. I chose to keep his secret. Fail to persuade him and he'll turn hostile - but even if you are forced to kill him, there's no major consequences to worry about.

At this point there's a choice of which faction leader to deliver the information from the lab to - but this choice does not matter, so you can choose whoever you like. It just mildly changes dialogue options.

Regardless of which faction you side with, you'll end up hitting a dead-end and will need to enlist Ada Lovelace for help to trace the next stop on your journey. She'll point you towards a signal in the Bel system, which will then point you towards the Beagle - a research vessel that will contain the Override Code you'll need to finish things back in the lab on Charybdis.

Choosing between the Crucible Leaders: FDR, Amanirenas, or Genghis Khan?

Regardless of who you chose to side with earlier, a conflict will be brewing when you return to Crucible. You might be able to defuse at least one of the parties from fighting, but it seems inevitable that you'll always be taking at least one of the faction leaders out of the equation.

For the best outcome of the quest which results in the least bloodhsed, you'll want to initially side with FDR, and then choose the option "Perhaps the believers do not have to be our enemies" when it appears. This will mean you have to kill Genghis Khan, but spare the other two leaders.

Conversely, if you side with Khan, you'll be forced to slaughter the other two and their followers, meaning a lot more death.

Whatever you choose, after this is over, you'll be tasked by the remaining faction leaders to return to the lab and set a new admin for the program, allowing their ideology to reign supreme - either letting them loose into the stars, or shackling them to their prison for a little while longer.

Operation Starseed Choice: What to do with the Crucible and who to set as Admin

If you want the best possible outcome for Operation Starseed, there's one obvious option, and all of the dialogue leading up to this point has made it clear. Your options are as follows:

• Reboot and restore current Mission parameters: Restore everything to the previous status quo. The clones remain trapped forever
• Reboot and choose a new Super-Admin: Hand leadership to one of the clones - with the exact outcome depending on your choice of who.
• Initiate Full Project Cleanse: This kills all of the clones.

For the maximum reward, you'll want to choose a new Super-Admin. If you followed our advice and killed Genghis Khan earlier, you can choose either of the remaining faction leaders - we went with Amanirenas. 

The result is the remaining clones live, and happily - and you'll also get 6000 Credits.

Because the clones lived, once you've finished with the quest, you can simply talk to Amelia Earhart back at Crucible. She asks if she can join your crew - you just have to say yes. Congrats on your new companion! You can't romance her, but she's still a useful member of the team.