The Starfield mission Rook Meets King presents you with the tough choice to Kill or spare Austin Rake. Austin Rake is a traitor to the Crimson Fleet, and Naeva Mora will want you to take him out. If you do so, you can gain her trust.
However, UC Vanguard would advise you against it by wanting you to spare his life. After completing the Deep Cover quest, you get access to the Rook Meets King quest. Contact Naeva Mora at the Astraea station, and she will assign you the task of taking down the traitor Austin Rake in Starfield, who is on a ship orbiting the Enceladus.
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, as you will be presented with two options.
Should You Kill or Spare Austin Rake in Starfield?
There are two options if you do not board the Ragana. One is attacking it and engaging in combat as soon as you see the ship. The other is choosing the “[Persuade] Austin Rake is a Crimson Fleet pirate. Kill him, and I let you go” option. This will result in the Ragana’s crew killing Austin, provided your Persuasion Check is successful.
If you dock and board the Ragana, you can either choose the “[UC SysDef] The Fleet want Rake dead, but I want to resolve this without violence” or the “[Attack] On second thought, I think I’ll just kill you and figure it out from there” option. If you choose the former, you can spare Austin Rake’s life, while selecting the latter will have him 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, no matter your choice.
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. You can do this in three ways. You can outright attack the Ragana ship, kill everyone, persuade the crew to kill Austin, or board and kill him yourself.
If you wish to kill everyone or just Austin Rake, you will have to dock and board the ship. Killing everyone will be a hassle, but if you choose to kill Austin Rake only, you will still have to return to Naeva Mora and face a swarm of Level 12 Ecliptic Spaceship enemies.
If you do not wish to get your hands dirty, you can make the crew kill Austin Rake in Starfield for you by running a Persuasion Check on them. 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. There is no need to worry; making this choice will not turn Naeva Mora against you. You can lie to her and convince her that you killed Austin Rake by concocting a plan with Ragana’s crew.
Dock and board the Ragana and then have Austin Rake dropped off at the UC SysDef headquarters, which will make Naeva think that you killed him, hence earning her and Crimson Fleet’s trust. You can spare Austin Rake’s life and gain Sarah Morgan’s approval.
