There is plenty of political intrigue to explore on the many planets you will visit in Starfield. At Cydonia, on Mars, you will find a particularly slimy character known as Governor Glen Hurst. He will try and take advantage of you helping someone else and will attempt to get you to hide the evidence of a particularly vicious crime. The question is, do you do it, or do you gather up evidence to blackmail him?
How to start Red Tape Runaround
The Red Tape Runaround quest is actually a direct follow up to another quest called Red Tape Blues. If you haven’t completed that quest already, you’ll need to make sure you do so first. Red Tape Blues is started by speaking with a man named Trevor on Mars. He’s located at the bottom level of Cydonia where people are mining Martian rock. You’ll find him next to a large vehicle.
Once you complete Red Tape Blues, you’ll be able to begin Red Tape Runaround right away. You’ll want to find and enter the Deimos Staryard Corporate Quarters which can be found nearby the central hub of Cydonia.
Here, you’ll speak with a man named Peter who will tell you he needs a certain package that he can’t get because of the slimy Governor Glen Hurst. If you ask the governor for help, he’ll agree to do so but only if you help him by destroying his ship. He tells you it has been stolen by the Crimson Fleet, and he doesn’t want them to have it. In reality, he has hired the Crimson Fleet to board the ship and kill anyone there to hide evidence of his affairs.
While this mission is assigned to you on Mars, the ship in question is elsewhere in the Sol System. It’s in orbit around one of the moons of Uranus called Umbriel.
You have a couple of options here, and what you end up doing will impact the rewards you can get.
What happens if you destroy the ship?
As easy as it is to simply fly up and destroy the ship, it nets you the poorest returns for your time. The Crimson Fleet also won’t just sit there and let you kill them, so you will have a fight on your hands. Once it’s done, you can return to Hurst, and he will free up the package that you need for Peter, but that is it. Feel free to use the Targeting Control Systems on your ship here to take out their engines, then sit behind them and just light them up.
Boarding Governor Hurst’s ship
Grab some weapons and some ammo because it’s boarding time. Get close to the ship, target it, and then hit the prompted button to dock with it. You will need to fight some Crimson Fleet goons, but it shouldn’t be very difficult for you. This is close quarters, which is inherently more dangerous, however, so be careful.
You can, if you wish, Persuade the Crimson Fleet and strike up a deal. They are happy to trade evidence against the Governor if they get to keep the ship. If you agree, explore the ship, and you will find a body with additional evidence on the lower deck of the ship. The Crimson Fleet won’t mind you having a stroll around the ship as long as you don’t do anything to provoke them.
Personally, peace was never an option. I took out all the Crimson Fleet, grabbed the evidence from their bodies and the corpse of the woman, robbed everything I could from the ship and the corpses, and then I blew the ship up anyway. After that, it was blackmail time.
Make sure you check the entire ship, as there is some decent enough loot hidden away and some credits to be found, although I am quite sure the placement of them is random.
Blackmailing Hurst or handing over the evidence
When you have the evidence, you have two options.
- Make your way back to Hurst and use the evidence to blackmail him.
- Take the evidence to CDR Woodward near the entrance to Cydonia and use said evidence to incriminate Hurst.
What happens if you hand over the evidence?
Should you take the evidence to CDR Woodward, you’ll be able to oust Hurst as Governor, get 5000 Credits, and free up the package for Peter — the whole reason you are in this mess in the first place.
What happens if you blackmail Hurst?
Hurst might be a scumbag, but he ultimately pays better. If you bring him the evidence, he will give you 12000 Credits and will also free up Brennan’s package. It makes more financial sense to take this option. Be careful, though, as depending on who you have in your party, it might impact your relationship with them if you take this more criminal option.
As I said, I killed everyone, grabbed the evidence, and blew up the ship anyway. Then I blackmailed Hurst. My reason for blowing up the ship was strictly roleplaying. I just didn’t like Hurst and figured he’d now need to buy a new ship.
I have yet to see if Hurst remaining in charge at Cydonia has a longer-term impact on the game, so I cannot speak to that at the moment. I will return and update this article if I learn anything more about the fate of Mars.
