Starfield On The Run Mission: Should you accept Marco Graziani’s Bribe or kill him

It's tempting.

The inside of the Fortuna in Starfield
Screenshot by Dot Esports

When going about your duty as a rough-and-tumble Ranger in Starfield, you will be given pause from time to time. When chatting with Marco Graziani during the On The Run mission, he’ll offer you a sweet bribe just to let him do what he does, which is all manner of illegal things.

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On The Run Mission

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During the One the Run mission, you need to track down who stole a ship from Hope Tech and has been trying to force settlers off their land. People have died, and justice needs to be done. Getting to meet with Marco Graziani is not easy, and you’ll need to do a successful run at the Red Mile to even be able to find out where he is. After surviving the run, the Red Mile owner will tell you that you can find him on Codos in Cheyenne in his very fancy ship, the Fortuna.

What happens if you attack Marco Graziani?

While talking to Marco, you will get the option to attack him if you wish. He is a pretty slimy character, so the temptation to do so is quite strong. If you do, it will be time for a good old-fashioned shootout, as Marco, his guards, and plenty of turrets will all start shooting at you.

Take out Marco quickly, then search his body and grab his keycard and an Encrypted Slate. Head to the back left of the room and open the door there to find easy cover. This room has assorted weapon crates and items, so take them if you wish, but you should mostly prepare to shoot your way out. Before you leave the little room, interact with a console in there and change the security settings for the turrets to protect you against attacks. This makes getting out of Fortuna much easier.

The Fortuna Security Console in Starfield
Screenshot by Dot Esports

After that, make sure you grab any interesting loot as you leave, and you will be good to head back to Akila City with your newly found evidence in the search for the Hope Tech ships that are going missing. Hilariously, if you watch your companion on the way out, you’ll notice they keep trying to shoot the security cameras.

Tip:

I took the option to attack him myself in my full playthrough, and it did not lead to any issues with the Freestar Collective. They’d have preferred if it didn’t turn violent, but Marco is not the type to be missed.

What happens if you take the bribe?

While you are talking to him, Marco will hint that maybe your pockets are a little empty, and you could use a bribe. Well, it turns out that Marco is pretty cheap, and he will offer you a few Credits and the Encrypted Slate that you need for the mission. You also get access to the Fortuna for the rest of the game, but there isn’t much of interest there. Mostly, you just avoid the gunfight against Marco and his guards. This is really where most of the money can be made in this portion due to all the loot you can get.

It should also be noted that most companions will have a negative response to accepting a bribe from almost anybody, let alone Marco, so that can interfere with your attempts to romance the companions if they are with you.

What happens if you refuse the bribe?

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It should go without saying, but if you shut down this line of inquiry from Marco enough, he eventually escalates the situation for you, and it will turn violent anyway. Marco doesn’t like being turned down, least of all in the gaudy mess of a ship he called home. This is a pretty neutral option for your companions, so it’s a safe way to not annoy anybody.

Can you steal the Fortuna ship?

The Fortuna in Starfield
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Unfortunately, you cannot steal the Fortuna. This is because it isn’t really a ship and doesn’t seem to follow any of the ship-building logic in the game. Add in that it is filled with custom parts, and you cannot replicate it in the ship builder, either. If you go to the front of the ship on the outside, you can find the bridge up top, but inside the ship, there is no way to progress past Marco’s office.

Author
Image of Aidan O'Brien
Aidan O'Brien
A massive gaming fan, Aidan has been bad at esports since before it had a name. Known for haunting Quake and Unreal Tournament servers back in the day, he graduated to being bad at Brood War before moving on to becoming a terrible ADC in any MOBA that will have him. He spends too much time in Warframe and Destiny 2, and is eyeballing Marathon like a starving man looking at a sandwich.