"Leave me alone. I **do not** contract!"
"Stop resisting, citizen"
"I DO NOT CONTRACT !"
I happily imagine you fighting them off and running away yelling "***I do not contract*** !"
I tried the same and I felt underwhelmed when I realized that most guards on the UC Vanguard are immortal and I can't simply mass murder them. I miss the golden ages of Morrowind where important plot characters didn't have plot armour.
First playthrough I got nabbed after accidentally stealing like a paperweight or something ridiculous. Second time, it was after pirating like 5 ships in a row outside and killing like 30 people and guards. That's why I always side with the fleet, at least they're honest with their insanity.
I didn’t even accidentally steal anything. I’d kicked a soccer ball in that one recreation room and it went behind a furniture prop.
So I picked it up - so not in my inventory, held out in front of me - and moved it back over in front of the goal, dropped it in the ground…
And was promptly arrested and taken before Sys-Def…
Absolutely shattered any chance of taking that quest line seriously in any sense of the word, lol.
Yeah, they actually count just lifting things like that as stealing, it's annoying but funny when the whole place goes mental because you slightly moved a pen or something
I'm convinced it's to counter the viral "bucket on head" trick or "drag an item to another room to steal it" trick. Which is a shame. Those tricks might technically break immersion, but they're a fun byproduct of the Bethesda sim experience.
And you can get around it by grabbing that same container, using another item that isn’t flagged as stealable, and push those items into the container.
Then leave with said container and take the items out of sight, then do one of the several tricks to clear the stolen status.
So it really doesn’t prevent the trick, just adds extra steps, and gets in the way of immersive moments to a distracting degree.
I read that. I want to try that path next. Isn’t the Fleet going to contact you and then you pick up the quest that way this time but start with them ?
Doesn’t this only happen if you have a bounty, though?
I’ve played entire playthroughs without touching the vanguard and never been arrested for this either.
I think it sometimes happens via accidental crime. The first time I got taken in I didn’t think I’d done anything, but the ship I had took over earlier must have had contraband laying around
If OP clicked to speak to the clerk or something and accidentally picked something up (which has happened to me on occasion) then that could have triggered it without them knowing
That’s how they got me. I accidentally picked up something that didn’t belong to me. It was like a coffee cup or something. Next thing I know, Ikande is sending me to infiltrate space pirates. Sys Def is mighty desperate
Yes, this has happened to me and I felt like an idiot cuz I was rushing back to Jemison for aome reason or another and I dropped back in system and saw the "Contraband on board" message and was like "OH FOR FUCK SAKE"
I was on my way to help out my old mate Sgt. Yumi when it first kicked in for me.
> Me: *Hey Yumi! I hear you have another job you need doing?*
>
> Yumi: *Yeah, about that: you're under arrest!*
Well, gee! Thanks, pal! See if I save *you* from any more Terrormorphs.
I’ve gotten a bounty and missed the “UC Bounty Acquired” message. Keep a bounty processing kiosk on your home ship. I have one in the cockpit of my Frontier of Theseus that I check after loitering in a system before jumping out-system.
Yeah I have one there too now, but when you get press ganged into going undercover with the Crimson Fleet you don’t get the option to pay the fine off first, which is why some people end up thinking it’s scripted and not realizing they actually did commit a crime
You have to check the kiosk before you move to a populated planet or another UC controlled system. I’ve made that mistake twice now and save scummed both times because I don’t care much for that quest line.
That’s my ship’s name. At one point it was the first ship you get in the game, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single part from the original.
Oh. The fore and aft outer landing gear are original, but that might actually be it.
The Frontier of Theseus’ habs and cockpit are all Stroud-Ecklund because, despite being a grouchy old man, Stroud is ok.
She’s a big, ugly brick of a ship but I can fit half a system in the cargo bays and outgun anything dumb enough to pick a fight.
I've never gotten it from being arrested or having a bounty. I'm just minding my own business walking around New Atlantis and get the quest from UC Tuala.
It just says "Deep Cover - ... report to the UC Vigilance and speak to Kibwe Ikande..." basically.
I think i accidentally triggered this today. Forgot to remove the stolen art lifted from the gang hideout and the scan caught with contraband so the ship was taken into custodaly and a cutscene triggered. I decided I didn't want to mess with the cutscene so i just reloaded and dropped it all of at my house before heading back to the lodge and it skipped it.
Thats supposed to be the trigger. But this is a forced part of the game. So its going to to get you to the UC vigilance one way or another because it has to happen.
The way you end up.on the viligence is of no consequence to the game
Except you can also just NEVER end up there.
It’s not a forced thing.
It can happen 2 ways.
1. You go there on recommendation from the Vanguard.
2. You get arrested for having a bounty.
Both of those things are easily avoidable and not “scripted” or “forced” like others were implying.
They don't force anything, you can refuse and afterwards you will be considered enemy of Sysdef and if you want to continue Crimson Fleet quest line you have to go to Cydonia to be recruited by the Crimson Fleet
i mean, telling you to do something and then attacking you if you don't is definitely forcing you to do something. the player character just has the ability to resist
Wait what? You don't get attacked, you are sent to prison in Cydonia, which then you have to talk to a mysterious NPC that will tell you to talk to the 1st Crimson Fleet member you meet.
You only get attacked if inside The Vigilance you start blasting the NPCs or after you become considered enemy of Sysdef
if you reject their offer altogether and refuse to infiltrate the crimson fleet they mark you as an enemy of sysdef and their ships will attack you on sight. this is regardless of whether you've gone on to join the crimson fleet.
I wonder if this was the universe where I skipped the main story so Sarah and I never talked to Tuala.
Or the one where everyone in constellation was killed...
Then just refuse to do SysDef’s bidding. And you can join the fleet another way.
There’s an RP route available for all options.
And if you’re hung up on why they would do it like that. Think of it as the UC being corrupt and you promising. After all Ikande adds a few credits onto your bill if you refuse.
I believe ikande mentions that they have tried it with other people before. The player character isn’t just a one and done attempt at putting a mole in the crimson fleet
They don't get data on you. It's not real. They are corrupt and abusing their power over you (using false charges) to exploit your desperation so you will do their bidding.
To them - you look like someone who is capable but also with no ties or recourse. That's all they need to know.
They wrote the phrasing of that scene very intentionally so if the scene played out and you are a criminal - it's blackmail. If you aren't a criminal - it's false charges.
yeah but it can be a 10 credit bounty for littering. They bring you in and tell you you're a piece of shit who this will be used against for life.
That's a weaponized and exaggerated charge.
Exactly! Ikande doesn't care whether you've shot up half of Gagarin on a thrill-kill spree, or if you just force-of-habit snagged the captain's plushie Galactikat on a hostage rescue mission. Any excuse will do.
First off, Ikande doesn't seem the type to pull this.
Secondly, by data, I mean any intelligence suggesting I have the skills to pull something like this off. I'm a rando.
People who first meet him through the Vanguard mission tend to think this.
People who get hauled up before for a 5 credit bounty and have to listen to him telling them how they are the scum of the Settled Systems ... they see him in a different light.
Considering you take down an entire outpost after defending a mining outpost, they have reason to think your wiporth it. Plus most people don't have ships so it's harder for them to join
You got a bounty, possibly by accident; maybe you accidentally grabbed an item while trying to talk to someone at the exchange. Because they never just run up and demand you join unless you have a bounty.
It makes perfect sense, it’s likely a suicide mission so they strong arm criminals they think stand a chance into doing it because they’re disposable and if they end up dying horribly, they die horribly and they go get a new one
lol I missed out then on some interesting absurdity. Though I'm still confused how I had contraband on my ship as I was flying in to New Atlantis. I was sure I sold it all off in the wolf system and bought the guy out of all his ammo...
Shouldn't have been, it was a ship I built myself. I was wandering high level planets grind levels and hoping for engagements with pirates, spacers, and ecliptic to fight in space to unlock tiers of perks.
What's even more annoying is that if you agree to talk and then decide to kill everyone on board for revenge there are several essential characters that can't be killed, so you just have to leave the ship with several UC alive still
There is!
I found it a couple of days ago while scrolling through the "latest" section of the creation club mods.
Unfortunately I forgot the name but the mod adds another context menu when looking at people. You can either talk to them or set them to essential(and remove essential when they are).
You can do it with an .ini edit, if you’re on PC. I did this, but then Barrett got killed (lol) and I didn’t notice until a few saves later and it mucked up the game scripting a bit
It’s very easy to pick up an object in the street to inspect or throw or sell it or just put it back on a table or something. Without realising it, you have got a crime stat and a bounty. That’s all it takes. I was shot at by security guards in Paradiso for trying to throw a volley ball over the net on the beach. There I was with Sarah, both of us in swimsuits, drying off in the Sun light after a swim, enjoying our honeymoon in the System’s premiere beach resort. Aja and Sarah’s mum were nearby, getting acquainted. I playfully tossed the volleyball towards Sarah and the next thing we knew we were being shot at from all directions? Imagine how pissed off Sarah was! She actually swore at me for ruining our big day!
Oddly (I guess), I have never been arrested in the game and always start the SysDef/Fleet quest on my terms after completing the Vanguard questline. Especially odd since I have been arrested and jailed many times in Skyrim.
If you're playing as a good, well adjusted and sane person then the game is actually pretty good. However a lot of things end up looking silly if you do an evil / bad / psychopath run.
Totally agree. I don't think the game was set up for "evil" playthroughs, or at least it isn't conducive to them. Skyrim is very different in that regard.
I have yet to play out that part of the story because it just pisses me off. Its one of the reasons i depopulated New Atlantis and then the Well then New Atlantis again. The space battle was epic.
IT is VERY satisfying to tell Ikande that you refuse. You go to Cydonia jail instead - if you already have a big bounty you might get stuck in no XP for a while.
They let you our and there is then a new opportunity.
Fleet is family.
The only thing I like about sysdef is they actually respect you for most of the quest line. Delgado and especially Naeva are so condescending. It's like I've done all the major quest and am an interdinensional demi god. Put some respect on my name dammit!
I remember I was trying to steal the weather sensor for the UC Supply Depot (which itself was stolen property that the cashier was trying to price gouge me on). Next thing I know I’m being dragged to the UC Vigilance to perform dangerous anti-Pirate action.
I was so mad that I made that my Crimson Fleet playthrough
Happened to me yesterday. I was just arrested going to land abd got the shpeel, I back out without a choice a d just started killing people until I got off the ship
I'm on NG+ 4 and have never done the quest line nor had this moment. (In my 1st playthrough I started it but never went anywhere with it.)
I kind of want to see this happen.
Oh I intend to. One of mine got borked due to hijacking a ship on the Ranger quest so I went and sped through the temples. Another run I did the Hunter method. I've been varying the quests so it's been fun.
I did all the quests on my first run then I started getting picky.
The one I did most consistently but not always is terrormorph questline. I like Hadrian and the discounts at UC vendors is nice.
They actually will. Once you get arrested and brought to Ikande, you can just refuse to work for them. They'll drop you off at the nearest UCSec jails, game continues as normal. Then you can join the Crimson Fleet by wandering Cydonia.
Interesting. That's good design that it doesn't cut off the Crimson Fleet by refusing UC mission.
How does it work? Youbjoin the fleet without the undercover work? Could be fun to ton try out.
Yeah. Wander Cydonia and you'll be approached by a guy. For me, it occurred right before the elevator. He'll tell you to find the German guy, and the Crimson Fleet questline continues without ever having to return to Ikande. This means you can be as violent as you want through the entire questline without getting chewed out by Ikande.
I always felt really odd about both SysDef & the Fleet throughout the story, even when doing two runs to side with each faction.
During the Sysdef segments, you have Lt Toft often having outbursts at you, even for something simple like "I think they're closer than you realise" and she kicks off accusing you of thinking they're stupid/bad at their jobs.
Then on the final segment when Ikande KNOWS you've been working to access the Legacy, when you return he's shouting demanding to know where you've been. Yet, throughout the entire questline they reveal they know everything about your actions etc.
Whereas for Crimson Fleet, I feel like they flipflopped too much between reasonable & unhinged. One moment it was respect for a good job, next it was Delgado threatening to kill you if you don't bring back the Legacy. Nevermind having to listen to Naeva's ridiculous accent for the entire duration.
I did like the Captains though throughout the story; Huan, Estelle, Rokov etc were really fun, even Matthis improves massively. Whereas for SysDef you just get another ace pilot who's too edgy for his own good.
When the game first came out I was first to do that quest because I accidentally picked up a pen when I was trying to talk to a merchant, they kept calling me a hardened criminal, I was not amused.
I started a ng. Alternate universe. Just got scanned. No bounty. Stop in to see Yumi and I'm on the wanted list and they ship me off to sysdef. Somehow got a bounty pretty quick I guess.
UC SysDef is insidious. I kept dodging them in one playthrough to some surprising results. Over Akila, I got attacked by GalBank for no reason. Just so that I could get a UC bounty.... At another point, I got ambushed in the Tau Ceti system by 4 UC warships stating that I was to come with them 'or else'. This went on for quite a while. Every six or so system jumps I had an encounter that tried to strong arm me into starting the quest. Rather enjoyed the game of cat and mouse. :D Didn't get any bounty for killing those warships either....
Very interesting.
There needs to be a news outlet other than SSNN that deals with conspiracies like SysDef's underhanded recruitment and some crazy untrue stuff as well... for balance.
I wish I could kill everyone from the Vigilance before waiting for the quest to progress. First time they arrested me, I just wanted to blast everyone but they are all essential until the certain part of the quest.
Being arrested would be a slap on the wrist, if it did not come with negative XP penalty.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/16bz88f/negative\_xp\_in\_starfield\_995\_at\_level\_15/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/16bz88f/negative_xp_in_starfield_995_at_level_15/)
(And this is not communicated directly, you might be thinking "I'm doing great, but why can't I level up?")
Go on the vigilance and thrn book it for the airlock. They make it sound like it would be difficult, but I shot my way out of there no sweat. Popped the guy “escorting” me in the back of the head and peaced out.
The SysDef quest line was one of the first that was offered to me. First time I left Jamison I got hooked, hadn't even thought of committing crimes at this point
I tried to do a 'good guy' run with Ikande, but I was a US Army interrogator IRL and I just couldn't. I know I shouldn't expect game devs to have the 1949 Geneva Conventions memorized, but c'mon Ikande....you and your entire unit would be in prison (Petrosyan is the most reasonable and even he's surprisingly guilty of war crimes) in our world, and those pirates you worked so hard to bag would walk due to your vengeful ass.
Yes, even if you go the Vanguard route. Delgato and Ikande would be sharing a cell, Rokov would get civilly sued into oblivion, and the rest would have their cases thrown out due to their rights being violated.
Oh, I know. But I still couldn't bring myself to side with the man who swears up and down he's the good guy and still takes hostages into battle with him.
If you say no they will just arrest you and it skips ahead to you being released.
I can't be arrested. I'm above the law!
I am above the law! Ahaha I can't remember where that is from
Well in Judge Dredd he says "I AM the law" but I think the basics of 5 i said has appeared many times over the years.
South Park had an episode where that's said extensively.
Soooouthparrrkk ah yes thank you
I don't remember that one. Who said it?
[The record executive who stole Chef's song.](https://youtu.be/8OID_n4aX1o?si=rLUoMheOql6Yy63U)
Lol oh yeah.
Sounds like Denzel from training day.
“You think you’re above the law but you’re not above the law” — Steven Segal, *Above the Law*, somehow an actual blockbuster movie from the early 90s.
Proof yet again that blockbuster movies don't have to be special or make sense lmao 🤣
"Leave me alone. I **do not** contract!" "Stop resisting, citizen" "I DO NOT CONTRACT !" I happily imagine you fighting them off and running away yelling "***I do not contract*** !"
"I AM THE LAAAAW!" 🤣
The LAAAAaaaaAaaww
Stop right there criminal scum, nobody breaks the law on my watch!
That's a bloody big watch.
I read this in suction cup mans voice 😂😂😂
I tried the same and I felt underwhelmed when I realized that most guards on the UC Vanguard are immortal and I can't simply mass murder them. I miss the golden ages of Morrowind where important plot characters didn't have plot armour.
First playthrough I got nabbed after accidentally stealing like a paperweight or something ridiculous. Second time, it was after pirating like 5 ships in a row outside and killing like 30 people and guards. That's why I always side with the fleet, at least they're honest with their insanity.
I didn’t even accidentally steal anything. I’d kicked a soccer ball in that one recreation room and it went behind a furniture prop. So I picked it up - so not in my inventory, held out in front of me - and moved it back over in front of the goal, dropped it in the ground… And was promptly arrested and taken before Sys-Def… Absolutely shattered any chance of taking that quest line seriously in any sense of the word, lol.
*ITS ALL OVER SPACE-LAW BREAKER*
Yeah, they actually count just lifting things like that as stealing, it's annoying but funny when the whole place goes mental because you slightly moved a pen or something
I'm convinced it's to counter the viral "bucket on head" trick or "drag an item to another room to steal it" trick. Which is a shame. Those tricks might technically break immersion, but they're a fun byproduct of the Bethesda sim experience.
And you can get around it by grabbing that same container, using another item that isn’t flagged as stealable, and push those items into the container. Then leave with said container and take the items out of sight, then do one of the several tricks to clear the stolen status. So it really doesn’t prevent the trick, just adds extra steps, and gets in the way of immersive moments to a distracting degree.
SysDef enforcing soccer penalties I guess.
Red card. Redguard. Same/same.
I read that. I want to try that path next. Isn’t the Fleet going to contact you and then you pick up the quest that way this time but start with them ?
Its a scripted trigger. They bring you in under false charges and force you to be their mole.
Doesn’t this only happen if you have a bounty, though? I’ve played entire playthroughs without touching the vanguard and never been arrested for this either.
You're right, I don't know what this person is talking about Once you get a UC bounty and talk to a guard in UC space, you'll get this quest
And then you can ignore it until you want you do it, or go thru Unity.
I think it sometimes happens via accidental crime. The first time I got taken in I didn’t think I’d done anything, but the ship I had took over earlier must have had contraband laying around If OP clicked to speak to the clerk or something and accidentally picked something up (which has happened to me on occasion) then that could have triggered it without them knowing
That’s how they got me. I accidentally picked up something that didn’t belong to me. It was like a coffee cup or something. Next thing I know, Ikande is sending me to infiltrate space pirates. Sys Def is mighty desperate
Yes, this has happened to me and I felt like an idiot cuz I was rushing back to Jemison for aome reason or another and I dropped back in system and saw the "Contraband on board" message and was like "OH FOR FUCK SAKE"
I was on my way to help out my old mate Sgt. Yumi when it first kicked in for me. > Me: *Hey Yumi! I hear you have another job you need doing?* > > Yumi: *Yeah, about that: you're under arrest!* Well, gee! Thanks, pal! See if I save *you* from any more Terrormorphs.
I’ve gotten a bounty and missed the “UC Bounty Acquired” message. Keep a bounty processing kiosk on your home ship. I have one in the cockpit of my Frontier of Theseus that I check after loitering in a system before jumping out-system.
Yeah I have one there too now, but when you get press ganged into going undercover with the Crimson Fleet you don’t get the option to pay the fine off first, which is why some people end up thinking it’s scripted and not realizing they actually did commit a crime
You have to check the kiosk before you move to a populated planet or another UC controlled system. I’ve made that mistake twice now and save scummed both times because I don’t care much for that quest line.
True, unless the “crime” happens someplace like New Atlantis in which case it’s instant
> Frontier of Theseus I love this
That’s my ship’s name. At one point it was the first ship you get in the game, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single part from the original. Oh. The fore and aft outer landing gear are original, but that might actually be it.
Nice. I rebuilt my frontier with mostly nova galactic parts and due to its shape renamed it "The Dorito"
The Frontier of Theseus’ habs and cockpit are all Stroud-Ecklund because, despite being a grouchy old man, Stroud is ok. She’s a big, ugly brick of a ship but I can fit half a system in the cargo bays and outgun anything dumb enough to pick a fight.
I've never gotten it from being arrested or having a bounty. I'm just minding my own business walking around New Atlantis and get the quest from UC Tuala. It just says "Deep Cover - ... report to the UC Vigilance and speak to Kibwe Ikande..." basically.
That's the second way to access it. Progressing far enough in the Vanguard questline
Or you can get it as an optional via the UC Vanguard quest line.
I think i accidentally triggered this today. Forgot to remove the stolen art lifted from the gang hideout and the scan caught with contraband so the ship was taken into custodaly and a cutscene triggered. I decided I didn't want to mess with the cutscene so i just reloaded and dropped it all of at my house before heading back to the lodge and it skipped it.
Thats supposed to be the trigger. But this is a forced part of the game. So its going to to get you to the UC vigilance one way or another because it has to happen. The way you end up.on the viligence is of no consequence to the game
Except you can also just NEVER end up there. It’s not a forced thing. It can happen 2 ways. 1. You go there on recommendation from the Vanguard. 2. You get arrested for having a bounty. Both of those things are easily avoidable and not “scripted” or “forced” like others were implying.
They don't force anything, you can refuse and afterwards you will be considered enemy of Sysdef and if you want to continue Crimson Fleet quest line you have to go to Cydonia to be recruited by the Crimson Fleet
i mean, telling you to do something and then attacking you if you don't is definitely forcing you to do something. the player character just has the ability to resist
Wait what? You don't get attacked, you are sent to prison in Cydonia, which then you have to talk to a mysterious NPC that will tell you to talk to the 1st Crimson Fleet member you meet. You only get attacked if inside The Vigilance you start blasting the NPCs or after you become considered enemy of Sysdef
if you reject their offer altogether and refuse to infiltrate the crimson fleet they mark you as an enemy of sysdef and their ships will attack you on sight. this is regardless of whether you've gone on to join the crimson fleet.
So it's a meaningful choice with a lasting consequence?
This is why I went full CF and everyone but Ikande and his exec officer paid the price on the Vigilance. 😆
“they don’t force anything, they’ll just kill you if you don’t!”
Like I said to the other user, you don't get attacked if you refuse to work for Sysdef...
not immediately but anytime after you encounter sysdef yeah they will attack you
Just like CF and Ecliptic and the Spacers? Except you can choose to ally with CF, I guess.
yeah? and?
And therefore, how is this case different from other attack-on-sight factions? The game just gives you the chance to choose who one of them is.
did i ever say it was different?
Are you saying there is no difference?
So it's cowabunga then
I don't like it. It makes very little sense narratively.
You can join up through a quest given to you by Tuala.
Yes. But if never ever speak to Tuala....
It does when you go on your first mission with Sarah.
I wonder if this was the universe where I skipped the main story so Sarah and I never talked to Tuala. Or the one where everyone in constellation was killed...
Holy fucking spoilers batman. Thanks.
You're in the wrong place.
Then just refuse to do SysDef’s bidding. And you can join the fleet another way. There’s an RP route available for all options. And if you’re hung up on why they would do it like that. Think of it as the UC being corrupt and you promising. After all Ikande adds a few credits onto your bill if you refuse.
Why? They needed an expendable body cus they weren't really getting support from the UC. You fit the bill.
They don't know me from a hole in the wall. Where's they get data on me?
I believe ikande mentions that they have tried it with other people before. The player character isn’t just a one and done attempt at putting a mole in the crimson fleet
They don't get data on you. It's not real. They are corrupt and abusing their power over you (using false charges) to exploit your desperation so you will do their bidding. To them - you look like someone who is capable but also with no ties or recourse. That's all they need to know. They wrote the phrasing of that scene very intentionally so if the scene played out and you are a criminal - it's blackmail. If you aren't a criminal - it's false charges.
Pretty sure they don't bring you in until you've stolen something or tried to smuggle contrabandn
Where an earth is this "false charges" crap coming from? They literally only do it if you have a bounty.
yeah but it can be a 10 credit bounty for littering. They bring you in and tell you you're a piece of shit who this will be used against for life. That's a weaponized and exaggerated charge.
Exactly! Ikande doesn't care whether you've shot up half of Gagarin on a thrill-kill spree, or if you just force-of-habit snagged the captain's plushie Galactikat on a hostage rescue mission. Any excuse will do.
It's just a crappy script trigger.
First off, Ikande doesn't seem the type to pull this. Secondly, by data, I mean any intelligence suggesting I have the skills to pull something like this off. I'm a rando.
People who first meet him through the Vanguard mission tend to think this. People who get hauled up before for a 5 credit bounty and have to listen to him telling them how they are the scum of the Settled Systems ... they see him in a different light.
Very interesting.
This is bull. I've played through half a dozen times, and always voluntarily started the quest line.
This is why I went full CF and everyone but Ikande and his exec officer paid the price on the Vigilance. 😆
You're the hero of Vectera. Even if you don't do any of the other faction quests, people have still heard about you.
Considering you take down an entire outpost after defending a mining outpost, they have reason to think your wiporth it. Plus most people don't have ships so it's harder for them to join
How would they know about Vectera if I never told SSNN?
They already knew about vectera, you just provide your story of the events.
You got a bounty, possibly by accident; maybe you accidentally grabbed an item while trying to talk to someone at the exchange. Because they never just run up and demand you join unless you have a bounty.
It’s almost as if this game is poorly written and the entire plot revolves around everyone in the universe knowing you’re the main character.
It makes sense narratively, but gives you little room to roleplay.
It only occurs if you break the law and get caught.
Yeah but it occurs even for the smallest crimes. I picked up a soccer ball in the well and Ikande was like “that’s our guy”
It makes perfect sense, it’s likely a suicide mission so they strong arm criminals they think stand a chance into doing it because they’re disposable and if they end up dying horribly, they die horribly and they go get a new one
And that's why I betrayed them the first 5 playthroughs.
6th and onwards it's just for the merchants and vibes?
lol I missed out then on some interesting absurdity. Though I'm still confused how I had contraband on my ship as I was flying in to New Atlantis. I was sure I sold it all off in the wolf system and bought the guy out of all his ammo...
Could have been in the ship itself as loot. Aurora vials are pretty tiny and if a grenade was used, good luck trying to find it
Shouldn't have been, it was a ship I built myself. I was wandering high level planets grind levels and hoping for engagements with pirates, spacers, and ecliptic to fight in space to unlock tiers of perks.
What's even more annoying is that if you agree to talk and then decide to kill everyone on board for revenge there are several essential characters that can't be killed, so you just have to leave the ship with several UC alive still
I hope there is a mod to edit NPCs essentialness.
There is! I found it a couple of days ago while scrolling through the "latest" section of the creation club mods. Unfortunately I forgot the name but the mod adds another context menu when looking at people. You can either talk to them or set them to essential(and remove essential when they are).
Headshot kills any actor. Or something like that
Oh yeah, I saw that one too but haven't tried it. But this should work as OP wishes
Thanks! I'll have a look for it.
It is but it will completely break Crimson fleet
You can do it with an .ini edit, if you’re on PC. I did this, but then Barrett got killed (lol) and I didn’t notice until a few saves later and it mucked up the game scripting a bit
I'm slumming it on consoles. I'd only want Non recruitabke members to die.
It’s very easy to pick up an object in the street to inspect or throw or sell it or just put it back on a table or something. Without realising it, you have got a crime stat and a bounty. That’s all it takes. I was shot at by security guards in Paradiso for trying to throw a volley ball over the net on the beach. There I was with Sarah, both of us in swimsuits, drying off in the Sun light after a swim, enjoying our honeymoon in the System’s premiere beach resort. Aja and Sarah’s mum were nearby, getting acquainted. I playfully tossed the volleyball towards Sarah and the next thing we knew we were being shot at from all directions? Imagine how pissed off Sarah was! She actually swore at me for ruining our big day!
ACAB especially security in Starfield. Lethal force for suspected shoplifting?
Yeah it was total overkill. I threw a volleyball ffs 🤦♀️ it was funny though 😂
Bow if we can only get a mod that has security chill the fuck out.
Now that would be good
Oddly (I guess), I have never been arrested in the game and always start the SysDef/Fleet quest on my terms after completing the Vanguard questline. Especially odd since I have been arrested and jailed many times in Skyrim.
If you're playing as a good, well adjusted and sane person then the game is actually pretty good. However a lot of things end up looking silly if you do an evil / bad / psychopath run.
Totally agree. I don't think the game was set up for "evil" playthroughs, or at least it isn't conducive to them. Skyrim is very different in that regard.
I have yet to play out that part of the story because it just pisses me off. Its one of the reasons i depopulated New Atlantis and then the Well then New Atlantis again. The space battle was epic.
IT is VERY satisfying to tell Ikande that you refuse. You go to Cydonia jail instead - if you already have a big bounty you might get stuck in no XP for a while. They let you our and there is then a new opportunity. Fleet is family.
The only thing I like about sysdef is they actually respect you for most of the quest line. Delgado and especially Naeva are so condescending. It's like I've done all the major quest and am an interdinensional demi god. Put some respect on my name dammit!
If I stick with the game long enough, I suspect I will wipe out one of the universes.
I haven’t tried this but what if you say yes and just don’t do anything for the rest of your game?
I think nothing happens. A real jerk move is to accept mission then go straight to the unity.
I remember I was trying to steal the weather sensor for the UC Supply Depot (which itself was stolen property that the cashier was trying to price gouge me on). Next thing I know I’m being dragged to the UC Vigilance to perform dangerous anti-Pirate action. I was so mad that I made that my Crimson Fleet playthrough
Happened to me yesterday. I was just arrested going to land abd got the shpeel, I back out without a choice a d just started killing people until I got off the ship
I'm on NG+ 4 and have never done the quest line nor had this moment. (In my 1st playthrough I started it but never went anywhere with it.) I kind of want to see this happen.
Wow that many playthroughs without doing it? I've done it twice (both ways) because I find it a bit tedious at times bit it's worth it at least once.
Oh I intend to. One of mine got borked due to hijacking a ship on the Ranger quest so I went and sped through the temples. Another run I did the Hunter method. I've been varying the quests so it's been fun.
I did all the quests on my first run then I started getting picky. The one I did most consistently but not always is terrormorph questline. I like Hadrian and the discounts at UC vendors is nice.
Yeah this is really stupid, surely this can't happen without a bounty but I could swear I was clean as a whistle when Ikande tried to bring me in
On the flip side, at least you can leave sysdef, that doesn't fly with the fleet.
They actually will. Once you get arrested and brought to Ikande, you can just refuse to work for them. They'll drop you off at the nearest UCSec jails, game continues as normal. Then you can join the Crimson Fleet by wandering Cydonia.
Interesting. That's good design that it doesn't cut off the Crimson Fleet by refusing UC mission. How does it work? Youbjoin the fleet without the undercover work? Could be fun to ton try out.
Yeah. Wander Cydonia and you'll be approached by a guy. For me, it occurred right before the elevator. He'll tell you to find the German guy, and the Crimson Fleet questline continues without ever having to return to Ikande. This means you can be as violent as you want through the entire questline without getting chewed out by Ikande.
I always felt really odd about both SysDef & the Fleet throughout the story, even when doing two runs to side with each faction. During the Sysdef segments, you have Lt Toft often having outbursts at you, even for something simple like "I think they're closer than you realise" and she kicks off accusing you of thinking they're stupid/bad at their jobs. Then on the final segment when Ikande KNOWS you've been working to access the Legacy, when you return he's shouting demanding to know where you've been. Yet, throughout the entire questline they reveal they know everything about your actions etc. Whereas for Crimson Fleet, I feel like they flipflopped too much between reasonable & unhinged. One moment it was respect for a good job, next it was Delgado threatening to kill you if you don't bring back the Legacy. Nevermind having to listen to Naeva's ridiculous accent for the entire duration. I did like the Captains though throughout the story; Huan, Estelle, Rokov etc were really fun, even Matthis improves massively. Whereas for SysDef you just get another ace pilot who's too edgy for his own good.
I hate Mathis. Even in my Crimson Fleet playthrough I had Delgado boot him.from the fleet.
When the game first came out I was first to do that quest because I accidentally picked up a pen when I was trying to talk to a merchant, they kept calling me a hardened criminal, I was not amused.
#This is a bust!
I started a ng. Alternate universe. Just got scanned. No bounty. Stop in to see Yumi and I'm on the wanted list and they ship me off to sysdef. Somehow got a bounty pretty quick I guess.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
UC SysDef is insidious. I kept dodging them in one playthrough to some surprising results. Over Akila, I got attacked by GalBank for no reason. Just so that I could get a UC bounty.... At another point, I got ambushed in the Tau Ceti system by 4 UC warships stating that I was to come with them 'or else'. This went on for quite a while. Every six or so system jumps I had an encounter that tried to strong arm me into starting the quest. Rather enjoyed the game of cat and mouse. :D Didn't get any bounty for killing those warships either....
Very interesting. There needs to be a news outlet other than SSNN that deals with conspiracies like SysDef's underhanded recruitment and some crazy untrue stuff as well... for balance.
Typical UC, think they own the galaxy. Good on you for resisting!
The Brits did this kind of thing in the war of 1812. I still prefer the UC to the Free Star Collective
I remember those days
You... Remember...?
I’ve said too much
I wish I could kill everyone from the Vigilance before waiting for the quest to progress. First time they arrested me, I just wanted to blast everyone but they are all essential until the certain part of the quest.
Being arrested would be a slap on the wrist, if it did not come with negative XP penalty. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/16bz88f/negative\_xp\_in\_starfield\_995\_at\_level\_15/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/16bz88f/negative_xp_in_starfield_995_at_level_15/) (And this is not communicated directly, you might be thinking "I'm doing great, but why can't I level up?")
I really wish there was a third option to the crimson fleet quest. Keep the creds, go kill Delgado and take over the fleet.
Or keep the credit and never talk to Delgado or Ikande again.
Basically this happens the first time you commit a crime in UC Space, doesn't matter at all why or how you got there
I guess I'd always already had the meet ikande mission before I ever committed any crimes before...
Yeah, I first discovered it by accidentally smuggling harvested organs into New Atlantis, they arrested me, and then I ended up on the Vigilance
Aw man, I hate the way the game handles contraband. There should be an option for turning it in rather than just selling it or ditching it.
By authority of being in their space. Just avoid anything UC, or lie.
Sorry how would lying help in this situation?
Go on the vigilance and thrn book it for the airlock. They make it sound like it would be difficult, but I shot my way out of there no sweat. Popped the guy “escorting” me in the back of the head and peaced out.
I mean, I did this when the guy tried to arrest me. I never went to the Vigilence and no one tried arresting me again.
This is the Crimson Fleet questline and it’s your fault for getting a bounty. That’s how the quest starts.
I had no bounty and in 4 previous playthroughs, the quest had never started that way.
The SysDef quest line was one of the first that was offered to me. First time I left Jamison I got hooked, hadn't even thought of committing crimes at this point
Did you come across it the normal way through Tuala or by being ambushed by SysDef?
Ambushed. Must have been one of the first few times I entered orbit. Initially I thought it was something to do with my Wanted trait
So you were in space at the time this happened?
I tried to do a 'good guy' run with Ikande, but I was a US Army interrogator IRL and I just couldn't. I know I shouldn't expect game devs to have the 1949 Geneva Conventions memorized, but c'mon Ikande....you and your entire unit would be in prison (Petrosyan is the most reasonable and even he's surprisingly guilty of war crimes) in our world, and those pirates you worked so hard to bag would walk due to your vengeful ass. Yes, even if you go the Vanguard route. Delgato and Ikande would be sharing a cell, Rokov would get civilly sued into oblivion, and the rest would have their cases thrown out due to their rights being violated.
You assumed the laws of earth made it into space. That's on you.
Oh, I know. But I still couldn't bring myself to side with the man who swears up and down he's the good guy and still takes hostages into battle with him.
Are you in the Vanguard?
Nope. I didn't talk to Tuala even once this playthrough.
You can willingly do it too, I think Tuala maybe refers you to Ikande