Players can join several factions in Starfield. Freestar Collective is one of the main factions that will give you the Surgical Strike quest. It is a long quest that requires you to search for an unidentified patient by completing several objects. This guide will provide a walkthrough of the Surgical Strike mission.
Key Takeaways
Activating The Mission
The Surgical Strike mission only appears if you are part of the Freestar Collective. Join this faction by visiting Akila City in the Cheyenee galaxy. Furthermore, you must complete several tasks before the faction considers you a member. After joining, complete the Shadows in Neon mission to unlock the Surgical Strike quest.
Visit The Rock and talk with Marshal Daniel Blake. He will assign this mission to you. Furthermore, open the quest catalog and activate the quest from the Faction category. You can also track the mission progress and objectives from the same window.
Go To The Clinic
Your first objective is to visit The Clinic. It is a Star station that acts as a medical station for the patients in the Narion System. You might need to divide your path and visit an alternative system before you can get there. Once you enter the Narion orbit, you will be contacted through comms and cleared for docking.
After docking, board their ship and enter through the front door. Enter through the right door to find Ben Armistead in his office. He is the oldest member of Freestar Rangers. Moreover, after following their conversion, players will understand that their character is searching for an unidentified Ranger.
Follow Ben Armistead
Ben will help you track the person you are looking for. Following him will take you to Ari Miller, the receptionist. Ari is the only person Ben Armistead trusts at The Clinic. Moreover, Ben will inform Ari that you need some help. This is where you tell him about the mercenary who needs identification.
Talk To Ari Miller
- Talking with Ari will let you know that their computers are not working properly.
- You will tell him about Maya Cruz, the Freestar Ranger you are after.
- Ari will ask you to follow him to a different terminal, where he can try to find the target through her medical records.
- You must track his path to the computer in the center of the room.
- Players must observe while he does his job to track down the mercenary.
- Unfortunately, there will be no Maya Cruz in their database. However, Ari will conclude that Maya can be using an alias, as she is a criminal.
- Proceeding forward, you will narrow down the investigation by skimming through all the female patients that partially match her description.
- The two women who meet the criteria are Jane Nakamori and Candace Doolin. You must converse with them to find out if they are Maya Cruz or not.
If you have the Security skill upgraded, you will get an alternate dialogue option that allows you to search through The Clinic’s database and find Maya yourself. Note that this dialogue does not appear if you have not contributed to the Security Skill.
Therefore, the two ways of moving forward in this mission are:
- Use Security Dialogue to access The Clinic’s database.
- Investigate Jane Nakamori and Candace Doolin to find out if they are Maya Cruz.
Note that both the choices will lead to the same outcome.
Choice 1 – Security Dialogue
After selecting the respective dialogue option, head inside the Ranger’s Office that belongs to Ben Armistead. Interact with a panel installed on the wall. Use the path Admin Access > Active Processes > Query: Disruptor Mk4. Following the path will lead you to Catalina Rivera, a patient in the VIP Section.
Catalina can be the Maya Cruz you are after. To find out, get yourself inside the VIP Section of The Clinic.
Choice 2 – Investigation
This choice will lead you to ask questions from the mentioned female patients. Jane Nakamori will be inside a room close to the reception counter Ari was sitting at. Enter the room and start asking questions.
You will initially find out that Jane is a courier whose ship was attacked by the pirates. However, after further investigation, she claims that she is a Freelance Information Broker. You can choose to keep her secret and walk away, as you will understand that Jane has no intel about Maya Cruz.
To find Candace Doolin, leave Jane’s room and make a quick left. Candace will be in the second room to the left. Wake her up by entering and identifying yourself. She will be of no help, as you will find no useful information by investigating her.
Make your way back to Ari. He will have a lead on a patient named Catalina Rivera, who recently had surgery. Currently, she is staying in the VIP section, so you need to find a way to get there discreetly.
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Gain Entry To The VIP Wing
VIP Section is only accessible to authorized employees. Therefore, you need to find an alternative way to get in there and find Catalina. Enter the Staff Area and look for Dr. Titus Cassidy. He has the card that is required for entering the VIP Wing.
You can choose three ways to gain entry.
- Convince Dr. Cassidy to let you enter the VIP Wing
- Using Medical Skills to gain his trust
- Sneaking into his office and taking his card
Choice 1 – Convince Dr. Cassidy
Approach Dr. Titus Cassidy in the Storage section of The Clinic. He has an arrogant personality. Therefore, persuading him can be a hassle. Choose the dialogue box that leads to Persuasion. Ensure you have that skill upgraded to higher ranks.
This is a hard choice, as you only get 1 turn during the Persuasion procedure. It means that choosing a single inappropriate option can fail your convincing. The correct path is to choose the conversation options that do not threaten Dr. Cassidy. Otherwise, he will not trust you.
After convincing him, head over to the VIP Wing to continue the Surgical Strike mission.
Choice 2 – Use of Medical Skill
The use of Medical Skills is the easiest way to convince Dr. Cassidy and get entry to the VIP Section. He will consider you as a colleague and give you no trouble. However, you must spend at least two skill points before planning to use this dialogue box.
Choice 3 – Taking His Card Quietly
If you had no luck with the first two choices, then you must follow the unethical way. Get inside his office that has a ‘Dr. Cassidy’s label. Ensure that he is not around you, as getting caught will take you to a troubling state. Approach the safe and use digipicks to open the safe lock. Collect the card and find a safe spot.
Talk To Catalina Rivera
- VIP Wing is a separate section of The Clinic. Not everyone is allowed in there. Therefore, you must step inside discreetly.
- As you open the door of the VIP Section, you will find a dead body of the Clinic staff. This is a strange thing to notice, so get ready to whip out your gun.
- Moving forward, a Tick Turret Mk 1 installed on the ceiling will start shooting at you. Use any weapon to take it out.
- The turret has been hacked by Maya Cruz, so anyone entering the VIP Wing does not survive. Moreover, beware of mines to avoid taking explosive damage.
- Notice that Catalina Rivera is nowhere inside the VIP Section. Hence, you are subjected to a search for Clues that will lead you to her.
Search For Clues
First Clue
As you enter the patient’s room, interact with the terminal and choose the Override Mode. By doing so, you will have access to the information of the patients in the VIP Section. Click on C. Rivera to find out about Maya Cruz.
The Terminal will let you know that Maya has left The Clinic for Sakharov. However, you will not get further information about her precise whereabouts. Hence, the second clue comes into the picture.
Second Clue
Look for a clipboard on the table. It will be on the side of the patient’s bed. Read it to find out that Maya Cruz has stolen the emergency ship of the Clinic to hide in an abandoned asteroid mine in Sakharov. This gives you the precise location of Maya.
Collect both clues and get back to your ship. Set route to Sakharov to further continue the Surgical Strike Mission.
Investigate The Abandoned Asteroid Mine
- Visit the Sakharov system and travel through space by dodging asteroids in your path. Dock the ship at Eklund Site CL25.
- As you make your way inside the Abandoned Mine, Maya will send you a warning message to retreat and don’t follow her. You must ignore the message and keep moving forward.
- Maya Cruz has discreetly placed mine on your path. Ensure you get away after triggering them to avoid getting hurt.
- Use the lift in the center to descend. Furthermore, clear the area by eliminating Robots and Shardhoppers. They are unique creatures that emerge from the ground to kill you.
- Search the area to find an opening. On the other end of the mine, you will find a container with a Remote Security Door Computer inside.
- Note that to unlock the computer, you need to use digipicks and pick the lock. Use it to open the security door to create a path.
- Get down the metal bridge and eliminate more Shardhoppers in your way. Maya has planted Tick Turrets on several platforms that shoot bullets from a significant range. Take them out by using a Ranged weapon.
- Keep going deep into the mine until you find another Security Door. Use the switch on its right to open the door. Several mines are placed at the entrance. Move past them quickly to avoid seeking damage. Turn your flashlight on, as the light starts to get dimmer.
- Keep going down the slope to find some storage boxes. The weapons inside them will be used in the next phase of the Surgical Strike Mission. As you go down the stairs, you come across an open area that is filled with Robots and Turrets. Take them down to proceed further.
Talk To Maya Cruz
After you clear the perimeter, you will witness a Security Wall. Take it down by shooting the edges or using the cutter to burn them. Maya will be hiding in a safe room behind this wall. Take her down to get one step closer to ending the Surgical Strike mission.
Interact with her to ask questions and find out that she has a few weeks before dying. You can choose to attack or leave her in peace and continue with the mission. Moreover, she will give you an Encrypted Slate that you must give to Alex Shadid.
The room you are standing in has a lot of useful items. Feel free to search the room and collect anything for your needs. After you are done, go back to your ship and visit Akila City to end the quest.
Give The Encrypted Slate To Alex Shadid
- Undock your ship and select a path to the Cheyenne System.
- If you have the Grav Drive installed, use it to leave the current orbit and travel through space quickly.
- As you enter, Freestar Sec Mustang II will scan to clear you for landing at Akila City.
- Enter the Rock, which is the headquarters for Freestar Rangers.
- Find Alex Shadid on the upper floor.
- Hand over the Encrypted Slate to mark the end of the Surgical Strike Mission.
Players will also receive a rare trophy for quest completion. Furthermore, the rewards for this mission are as follows.
- 350 XP
- 9300 Credits
- Rare Trophy
- Encrypted Slate (you only get it if you let Maya Cruz live)
That is all about the Surgical Strike mission in Starfield. We hope that you were able to complete the quest without facing any trouble. It is a straightforward procedure that includes exciting combat objectives. Leave feedback for us if you found this guide helpful.
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Ehtishaam is an enthusiastic gamer who is never tired of playing games and writing about them. He is pursuing his career in Electrical Engineering while keeping an active interest in CS. I keep myself busy playing football when I am not focused on content writing. My dedication towards gaming knew no bounds, as I started spending hours on my Pentium 4 PC, playing GTA. If you don’t see me posting content, I’ll probably be pushing rank in Valorant or Counter Strike. Connect with me on Steam if you plan on playing some competitive.
