Surgical Strike is a faction mission in Starfield for the Freestar Collective, and it revolves around collecting an encrypted data slate from Maya Cruz. You’ll need to visit certain locations to interact with different NPCs to acquire this slate.
Here’s how to complete the Surgical Strike mission in Starfield.
Starfield Surgical Strike mission guide
Surgical Strike is a faction mission for the Freestar Collective Rangers, and it starts after you complete the Shadows on Neon quest. The objective is to retrieve an encrypted slate from Maya Cruz, a member of the First. For this mission, you must visit The Clinic, a secure medical facility located in the Narion system.
Once inside the Clinic, you’ll need to gather clues to figure out where Maya Cruz is hiding. There is a restricted area inside the Clinic where these clues are hidden, and you’ll have to gain access to it. After figuring out Maya Cruz’s location, visit the area to acquire the encrypted drive and return it to the Freestar Rangers headquarters in Akila City to complete the mission.
Where to find The Clinic in Starfield (Map Location)
To start the Surgical Strike mission in Starfield, visit the Narion star system. Once in the star system, orbit near planet Deepala and look for The Clinic landmark. Check the star map image above to see the precise location on this location in the star system. Dock onto The Clinic with your ship, and enter the facility. Once inside, speak to Ben Armistead, the Freestar Collective Ranger stationed at this location.
Explain the situation to Ben by selecting dialogue options that descibe Maya Cruz’s condition. Remember, Maya requires emergency medical treatment, so the best bet is to figure out her current location by investigating the Clinic. Ben Armistead takes you to Ari Miller who handles patient records at the Clinic.
How to search for the source of the system disruption at The Clinic in Starfield
Speak to Ari Miller to search through the records for an injured military veteran named Maya Cruz. Miller informs that the records show that there are a few patients currently habitated at the Clinic, but nothing about the suspect. You can speak to the patients (Jane Nakamori and Cadence Doolin) at the Clinic, and also search through the records at the Freestar Ranger Terminal.
I would recommend heading directly for Freestar Ranger Terminal as speaking to the patients doesn’t reveal any clues. To gain access to the system, you’ll need to convince Ari Miller. This can be done if you have the Security skill unlocked and ranked up. During the conversation with Ari Miller, you’ll be able to select the Security dialogue option that says: “If I can find the source of your computer issues..”
Choosing this dialogue option allows you to access the Freestar Ranger Terminal in Ben Armistead’s office. Once you’ve logged inside the terminal computer, select the Active Progresses option, and choose the Query: Disruptor Mk4. You’ll learn that the source of the system disruption was installed by a patient called Catalina Rivera located in the VIP section of The Clinic.
How to get into the VIP Wing in The Clinic in Starfield
To gain access to the VIP section of The Clinic, speak to Doctor Titus Cassidy. You’ll find him attending to different patients or walking around the corridors. While talking to this NPC you’ll get different dialogue options based on the skills you’ve unlocked. I would recommend unlocking and ranking up the Medicine and Persuasion skills to quickly gain access to the VIP section at The Clinic.
Use Medicine skill
After showing your Freestar Ranger badge to Titus Cassidy, he refuses to give access to the VIP Wing. At this point in the conversation, you’ll get the chance to convince him by selecting different dialogue options. I had skills like Medicine, Intimidation, and Persuasion unlocked to get the dialogue choices shown in the image above. Select the Medicine dialogue choice, “I give you my word as a fellow medical professional…” to gain access to the VIP Wing.
Hide and steal VIP access keycard
You can always steal the access keycard from Titus Cassidy if you don’t have points to unlock the skills mentioned above. I’d recommend equipping a piece of gear that has the Chameleon trait as this allows you to become invisible while sneaking and staying still. With the gear equipped, follow Titus Cassidy to an isolated section of The Clinic, and at the opportune moment, sneak up to pickpocket the keycard from him.
How to find the clue at the VIP Wing in The Clinic in Starfield
After entering the VIP Wing, you’ll need to find a key piece of intel that reveals more about Catalina Rivera. Be careful, as this area is rigged with traps and turrets, one of which will fire just after entering the VIP Wing. After destroying the turret, head to the room on the right-hand side of the inaccessible VIP Docking Port.
Inside this room, you’ll find a Modified Terminal computer along with a couple of traps near the patient bed. Go across this bed to reach the table on its left, and you’ll find a clue that reveals the location of Maya Cruz. Pick up the Urgent – Read Immediately tablet (shown in the image above). The text log says Maya is hiding at an Abandoned Asteroid Mine in the Sakharov star system. Exit the VIP Wing quickly, and undock your ship from The Clinic to travel to the Abandoned Asteroid Mine.
Where to find the Abandoned Asteroid Mine in Starfield (Map Location)
The Abandoned Asteroid Mine is located in the Sakharov star system, and finding this location can be tricky. Sakharov is located just below the Alpha Centauri star, check the star map above to see the precise location of this system. You can grav jump from Narion to the Sakharov system directly.
After reaching the Narion system, look for the Eklund Starstation (image above) and travel close to this area. Dock on to the star station with your ship, and get inside the Abandoned Asteroid Mine. The interiors of the mine are heavily guarded with enemies and traps, so be careful while navigating this area.
How to find Maya Cruz in the Abandoned Asteroid Mine in Starfield
Inside the Abandoned Asteroid Mine, you’ll come across various red-colored Emergency Walls that lead to new areas and can be opened by using the cutter tool. Check the image above to see how these walls look in-game. Use your cutter tool to aim at the top four corners of the wall and fire the laser to break it.
There are also several Shardhopper creatures along the way that you’ll need to defeat while exploring the mine. Following the linear pathway, you’ll find a lift that leads to the depths of the mine. Take the lift to go below, and you’ll come across a Security Door that can be opened through the Remote Security Access Computer. Interact with this computer to unlock the Security Door and go through to the next room.
Confront Maya Cruz
The mine area below has several high-level Robot Model enemies and Mining Turrets. I’d recommend firing at them from a distance by using a sniper rifle. After defeating all the turrets, use the stairs to get up the platform. At the end of the platform, you’ll find another Emergency Wall that you can break. Maya Cruz is hidden inside this room, and she will be hostile at first after you enter the room.
You can shoot her a couple of times to knock her down, and then interact with the character. Maya Cruz has a fatal medical condition and won’t live for long. You can speak to her to acquire the encrypted slate without inciting further conflict. After collecting the encrypted slate from Maya, get back to your ship and undock it from the Abandoned Asteroid Mine. Return to Akila City and hand over the device to Alex Shadid at the Freestar Rangers headquarters. You’ll be rewarded with 5,000 Credits and +350 XP for completing the Surgical Strike mission in Starfield.
