During the Rook Meets King mission in Starfield, you get the choice to kill or spare Austin Rake. Austin Rake is a traitor to the Crimson Fleet, and Naeva Mora wants you to take him out. If you do so, you can gain her trust.
Contact Naeva Mora at the Astraea station, and she will assign you the task of taking down the traitor Austin Rake, who is on a ship orbiting the Enceladus. However, UC Vanguard would advise you against it by wanting you to spare his life.
Now you have to look for a ship, The Ragana, which will be orbiting Saturn’s moon. Hail it, and wait for their captain, Dmitri, to contact you. This is where you have to decide Austin Rake’s fate.
Kill or Spare Austin Rake in Starfield? What Choices do you have?
Once you find the Austin Rake ship, The Ragana, you will get two options:
- The first one is to Blow the ship by engaging in combat as soon as you see the ship.
- The other one is Docking and Boarding the Ship.
If you dock and board the Ragana, you have two dialogue options to choose from:
- “[UC SysDef] The Fleet wants Rake dead, but I want to resolve this without violence.”
- “[Attack] On second thought, I think I’ll just kill you and figure it out from there.”
If you choose the first option, you can spare Austin Rake’s life, while selecting the latter will have Austin killed in Starfield. No matter your choice, the result will be the same, as you can lie to Naeva. The rewards at the quest’s end also stay the same.
What happens if you kill Austin Rake
If you wish to show your loyalty to the Crimson Fleet, you can choose to kill Austin Rake. However, killing Rake will upset the UC Vanguard and Commander Ikande.
Proceeding with this option, you must also kill everyone aboard, as killing Austin Rake will make everyone hostile toward you. The crew onboard The Ragana does have some precious items, including the Mark I Spacesuit and the Mark I Pack, that you can loot if you kill them all.
Personally, I went to kill Austin Rake in my first playthrough, as the Spacesuit and Pack are among the best you can get in the game. They offer good stats even without mods. Moreover, you will not miss any quest; you just have to handle a few negative comments and the moral dilemma if you can manage that.
If you do not wish to get your hands dirty, you can persuade Dimirtri to kill Austin Rake in Starfield for you by running a Persuasion Check. At least 6 bars in the Persuasion Skill Tree are advised to turn the Ragana’s crew against Austin Rake.
What happens if you spare Austin Rake
If you wish to obey the UC SysDef, you can choose to spare Austin Rake’s life. No need to worry; making this choice will not turn Crimson Fleet’s Naeva Mora against you. You can lie to her and convince her that you killed Austin Rake by concocting a plan with Dmitri. He will even provide fake evidence showing you killed Austin Rake.
Dock and board the Ragana and have Austin Rake dropped off at the UC SysDef headquarters. This will make Naeva think you killed him, earning her and Crimson Fleet’s trust in Starfield. You will also gain Sarah Morgan’s approval. You can later talk to Austin inside a cell in the Brig. If you are having trouble finding Austin’s cell, try to look for the cell on the lower levels where the lights are off.
As you have handled the whole situation without any casualties, Commander Ikande will then congratulate you on this. You will also not get resistance from the UC Vanguard if you return to the Naeva and get access to The Key.
