During the Deep Cover mission in Starfield, as part of Echoes of the Past, you’ll be given a choice. While exploring a frozen hellscape with some of the Crimson Fleet, Mathis will approach you about potentially killing Delgado, the leader of the fleet. Do you want to upset the status quo of the most famous bunch of pirates in space, or should you stay the course?
Echoes of the Past
Echoes of the Past is a pretty straightforward quest in Starfield, except for one wrinkle: the whole murdering of the Crimson Fleet leader thing. You will make your way down in the Lock to explore the old prison and take on some bugs. There is potentially some evidence of treasure down there that will be worth a lot of money.
When you arrive outside the main entrance to the prison, take out all the bugs, and then Delgado will open the door. Head inside and down the stairs, and more bugs will attack. Delgado will send you and Mathis to investigate another area of the prison, and then the roof will fall in, separating you from him.
Mathis, a new recruit just like you, takes the opportunity provided by a small cave-in to approach you about potentially killing Delgado and taking whatever treasure you find for yourself.
What happens if you side with Mathis
Mathis will present you with a plan to take out Delgado and keep the loot for yourself. It sounds like a good idea, as there are few witnesses and you are all in a dangerous situation. It would be easy to deal with Delgado and tell people he died to the bugs or some falling ice. The thing is that Mathis doesn’t actually go through with his plan. He chickens out but will remember that you agree with him.
Mathis will first approach you just after the cave-in, giving you an option to side with him. If you agree, that will be the end of it. If you tell him you are not interested, he will approach you again later as you make your way through the prison after you reach the control room.
You can tell him at any point that you will side with him, but there is a much more involved and fun storyline that plays out with Mathis.
What happens if you don’t agree with Mathis
Once again, you can just tell Mathis you have no time for his plan. He won’t get mad or attack you; he will just realize that he has overplayed his hand a bit and will eventually stop approaching the subject. There is something much more interesting that you can do with Mathis instead, and that is to become his friend. The quest is also set up not to interrupt or interfere with the main Crimson Fleet quest, and that entire run of missions is very reliant on Delgado being alive.
There are a lot of spoilers ahead for the UC and Crimson Fleet storylines. Be warned.
What to actually do with Mathis (Spoilers ahead)
When you meet up with Delgado again, you will have the option to say that Mathis played a big part in your success in finding the information that Delgado is looking for. Do this, and Mathis will really appreciate it, and he will ask you to just forget about his plan. If you tell Delgado anything negative about him, Delgado will boot him out of the Crimson Fleet. If you chat with Mathis to any degree during the mission, you will know his dream is to become a famous Crimson Fleet captain, so he will hate you for this.
You need to start thinking about some big decisions now, as if you play your cards right, you can recruit Mathis as a companion. One of the major decisions you will need to make to get Mathis as a companion is to ultimately side with the Crimson Fleet during the Eye of the Storm mission.
If you wish to get Mathis to join you, then you will need to side with the Crimson Fleet all the time, including for their biggest moments and some huge battles. Don’t worry, as this will not cut off access to UC planets, and it won’t impact your standing with Constellation. What it might do, however, is impact your personal relationships with your other companions.
Mathis will become your friend over time, and is pretty happy with you as long as you keep putting the Crimson Fleet first, so as long as you continue to do that, you can get a new companion.
