Bethesda always keeps its strangest content to its side quests. Operation Starseed is a side quest in Starfield you can activate by visiting the Charybdis System. After answering an emergency call, you can start the most peculiar quest chain.
Charybdis III is home to the Crucible, an experiment to recreate history’s most important figures through cloning. Here you can find the likes of Genghis Khan to FDR and much, much more. Though nothing you do here will impact your main story ending, you can pick-up a unique companion by making the right decisions.
How to start Operation Starseed in Starfield
You can start the Operation Starseed quest chain in Starfield by visiting the Charybdis Star System. This is a distant system extremely far from most of the settled systems, so make sure you have enough points for your Grav Jump Systems. Use the map above for reference.
As soon as you enter Charybdis III’s orbit, you are met with a robotic distress call. To begin the quest, descend onto the Crucible. A clone of the famous mathematician Ada Lovelace will then introduce you to the strange community of the Crucible.
Meeting with Franklin, Genghis Khan, and Amanirenas
The clone of the former President Franklin D. Roosevelt will introduce you to the three groups at the center of the Crucible’s conflict: The Renegades, Believers, and Pragmatists. From here, you need to speak all three faction heads.
You can find Genghis Khan on the outskirts of Crucible, fending off several hostile creatures. Genghis states he feels no connection with his namesake, and instead wishes to forge a life for himself outside Crucible. He also reveals that any clone that attempts to leave is immediately killed by the robot sentries.
Amanirenas is the head of the Believers and is found inside Crucible. She believes since the occupants of Crucible make up some of the greatest leaders from Earth, there is no one better to lead the settled systems.
Finally, returning to FDR will inform you more about his Pragmatist faction. Roosevelt wishes to get rid of the robot sentries but wants the population of Crucible to gradually achieve spaceflight on their own to eventually integrate with the already existing societies of Starfield. All leaders point you toward the Facility to discover the truth behind the Crucible’s origin.
The Secret Lives: Should you visit Wyatt at the cave?
Before venturing off to the Facility, local sheriff Wyatt Earp stops and tells you to meet him in a nearby cave, preferably before you go to the Facility. If you follow Wyatt, he informs you he is not a clone of Wyatt Earp, but instead America’s first serial killer H.H. Holmes.
From here, Holmes intends to kill you before you have the chance to tell the other clones. You have two different options of how to approach this situation:
- Attack and kill Holmes.
- Persuade Holmes not to kill you. He will trust you with his secret, though you can still reveal his identity to any of the three faction heads.
Where to find the Facility in Starfield
The Facility is located on the other side of Charybdis III. This area is crawling with hostile Maggotmaws, so be sure that you come well armed. Clues in the form of diary pages are sporadically placed throughout the Facility, with seven to be found. Below are the names of all seven diary pages that you should keep an eye out for:
- Discovering Galathea
- Escape
- Reborn
- Genghis Explosion
- Anonymous Last Words
- Ada’s Questions
- Heart of the Facility
Once you discover all the clues, you need to return to Crucible and decide who to give the information. At this point, you aren’t picking a faction to side with yet and it ultimately doesn’t matter who you give the information to. No matter what, you are pointed to Ada Lovelace once again to find a ship dubbed the Beagle.
Where to find the Beagle in Starfield
Ada Lovelace directs you to a radio telescope that can lead you to a ship dubbed the Beagle. You first need to go to Bel V System to locate the Beagle navigation beacon. Once you spot this ship in orbit of a nearby moon, you can open your scanner to interact with the telescope ship.
You can then travel to the Zelazny System to find the actual ship. This is another big Grav Jump, so be prepared to make a few stops if your ship isn’t equipped for long trips yet. The first time I entered the Beagle’s intended location, I encountered a bug where the ship was nowhere to be seen. If you are dealing with this too, I recommend quickly Grav Jumping to another System and returning back to Zelazny.
Dock the Beagle as normal and your directional map should point you to the Beagle Lab Key, but be prepared to fight a small army of robots. You can find the Override code you are looking for on the Beagle Datacore terminal at the end of the ship.
Which society should you choose in Operation Starseed?
Just as you’re preparing to share your discoveries with Ada Lovelace, a sudden argument breaks out among the three faction leaders. It’s clear that tensions are high, and things might take a violent turn. You’re faced with the challenge of choosing a side to help defuse the situation.
While each faction has its merits, siding with the Believers is the most balanced choice. They tend to have the least internal strife and offer a solution that’s closest to a middle ground. But like all choices, there are benefits and drawbacks to each, so weigh your options carefully.
What happens if you choose Pragmatists?
Choosing to support Roosevelt gives you a chance to talk Amanirenas out of fighting. However, Genghis remains stubborn and won’t back down. This leads to a showdown, and you’ll be faced with the tough task of defeating Genghis Khan.
What happens if you choose Believers?
By choosing to stand with Amanirenas, you’ll have the option to let Genghis and his Renegades go peacefully. Plus, with the right words, you can persuade Roosevelt to stay on your side, even if it means going against Genghis’s wishes.
What happens if you choose Renegades?
Supporting Genghis offers its own challenges and rewards. By persuading him to spare Crucible from destruction, you can win Roosevelt’s trust and alliance. However, Amanirenas won’t join your cause, leading to a confrontation where you’ll have to face her and her supporters.
How to fix the Operation Starseed Bug in Starfield
Currently, there is a bug that everyone who attempts to complete Operation Starseed has encountered. After the battle at Crucible, all NPCs turn hostile and begin assaulting your character. The only known fix for this issue at the moment is to retreat to your ship and sleep for at least one hour.
By this time, the NPCs at Crucible will no longer be hostile. You can also attempt to only kill the designated faction head during the battle, though you will likely take some damage from the other faction members.
Return to the Facility: Which Emergency Reboot choice should you select?
The final decision in this mission comes after you speak with Ada Lovelace again and return to the Facility on Charybdis III. Once you retrace your steps through the Facility you will eventually run into the Facility Datacore computer. From here, you need to select Initiate Emergency Reboot and choose from one of three choices:
- Reboot and Restore Current Mission Parameters – Maintains the status quo of the Crucible. Nothing changes and you receive 3,000 Credits. You can recruit Amelia Earhart as part of your crew.
- Reboot and choose a new Super-Admin – Put the faction leader of your choice in charge. There will be a new leader of Crucible and you will receive 6,000 Credits. You can recruit Amelia Earhart as part of your crew.
- Initiate Full Project Cleanse – If you choose this, all clones on Crucible will die. You will receive 2,000 Credits.
Given all the options, I picked Reboot and chose a new Super-Admin. Not only do you get access to Amelia Earhart, but also the most Credits. It doesn’t matter which of the three you pick, so go with whichever faction you have tended to lean towards.
How to recruit Amelia Earhart in Starfield
In order to recruit Amelia Earhart as a crew member in Starfield, you need to complete the Operation Starseed side quest chain. You can first make contact with Earhart after initially speaking with Roosevelt after arriving on Crucible for the first time.
Earhart will express an interest in joining your crew, though due to the strict parameters of Crucible she cannot leave. On the final mission, you need to choose to either Restore Current Mission Parameters or Reboot and Choose a new Super-Admin. If you pick the Full Project Cleanse option all clones, including Earhart will die.
Once this option has been selected, you can return to Earhart on Crucible and recruit her for free. Given her piloting background, I have found Earhart proves much better as a ship crew member rather than on an Outpost.
