Adler in Starfield.
Screenshot by Destructoid.

How to Join the Crimson Fleet in Starfield

It's an undercover mission.

Starfield gives you a great deal of freedom, allowing you to join forces with some bad guys if you wish. You can do this by joining the Crimson Fleet which is a gang of space pirates. As you’d expect, joining them requires you to break the law, but there are a few benefits that make it worthwhile.

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This guide will explain how to join the Crimson Fleet in Starfield.

Commander Tuala in Starfield.
Screenshot by Destructoid.

How to find the Crimson Fleet

There are a few ways to join the Crimson Fleet. The crime-paved path has you breaking the law in New Atlantis. It can’t be a violent crime, or else law enforcement will pull out their guns on you. Petty theft will suffice. For example, you can head into a store and steal, or enter Jemison with unconcealed contraband in your inventory.

Don’t fight it, just let yourself be arrested. You’ll get to speak to Commander Kibwe Ikande who has you pick between going to jail or working undercover within the Crimson Fleet. If you want to join the gang, you’ll choose to work undercover. However, even if you choose to go to jail, you’ll still have the option to join the Crimson Fleet if you go to Cydonia and speak to Sebastian Lynne.

If you don’t want to commit crimes, simply join the UC Vanguard by visiting MAST in New Atlantis. To prove you’re fit for the faction, you’ll have to undergo a simulation test that has you destroying virtual spaceships. Pass the test, and you’ll be a probationary member.

To become a full member, you’ll have to complete the next mission titled Grunt Work, which’ll have you taking down a Terrormorph. Fortunately, you can sneak around and turn on the turrets to make the job easier. After this has been sorted, you’ll have the choice to either continue dealing with Terrormorphs or go undercover in the Crimson Fleet. You know which option you need to pick.

Astraea in Starfield.
Screenshot by Destructoid.

How to join the Crimson Fleet

Accepting to go undercover will trigger the Deep Cover mission. How it happens differs depending on how you found the Crimson Fleet, but you’ll eventually be tasked with traveling to Cydonia on Mars to speak to Adler. He wants you to collect some debt from a man named Karl. How you handle it is up to you, but you can pay Karl’s debt for him if you’re actually trying to play the role of being undercover and aren’t interested in villainy.

Impressed with your work, Adler will direct you to Naeva Mora who needs to give you the nod before you’ll finally become a member of the Crimson Fleet. You’ll find her orbiting Europa, which is one of Jupiter’s moons. Before she’ll let you into the fleet, you have to eliminate Austin Rake who is near Enceladus. Once again you have a few options, and you can try to persuade the crew to kill Austin or to battle it out with the ship.

Return to Naeva, where you’ll find her in battle with some Eclipse members. Help her out by blasting the spaceships, and she finally let you into the fleet. Now you have access to The Key which is where the pirates call home.


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Author
Image of Smangaliso Simelane
Smangaliso Simelane
Staff Writer - Smangaliso Simelane is a writer with a passion for all things related to video games. He has been writing about video games since 2020.