There’s no way Bethesda would be able to resist putting a reference to Alien in Starfield, the developer’s big, bombastic space game. And it didn’t. If you’re looking to find the homage, you need to track down the derelict ship, The Colander, in the more dangerous regions of Starfield.
The Colander clearly references Ridley Scott’s influential horror film. Within its silent rooms devoid of human life crawls a horrifying extraterrestrial beast from a site that should by all means get nuked from orbit. Whether or not that happens is probably up to greater minds. We, on the other hand, are going to visit and satisfy our morbid curiosity. Right? Right.
Gear up before heading to The Colander
The Colander is located in the Schrodinger star system, near the planet Schrodinger III. You may have been visiting the planet while farming for XP and got a little curious. Hopefully, you won’t regret that curiosity later on.
Before exploring The Colander, make sure you’re prepared for it. Schrodinger is a level-65 star system, and the space friend waiting for you may be a lot to handle. Bring your best weapons and plenty of healing items, just in case.
Stepping inside The Colander, investigate the body of a woman named Magalie V. Pick up the slate on the ground titled ‘Our Last Resort’ along with her gun, if you wish to take it. The message is from Billy K., who mentions a ship lockdown and says he’ll “lure it into the lab.” This is starting well.
Go in through the door. Don’t worry, you’re not going to get attacked yet. To the right is the Medical Bay with a computer panel on the counter. It details autopsy results for Alex T. and another for Sarah P., whose bodies were bludgeoned and riddled with stab wounds. And I’m pretty certain a human didn’t do it. Be sure to grab meds and other supplies in the room before leaving.
Across the way from the Medical Bay is the Workshop, but you’ll need to find a key for its Expert lock if you don’t have the skills to crack it. Walk down the hallway to the right of the Workshop. To the left of the bunk bed on the right is a Data Slate Display with the Workshop key. To the left of the key against the wall is a small stockpile of ammunition and a safe with an Advanced lock.
Inside the Workshop you’ll find ammunition, a mannequin with space suit parts, and a Workshop terminal with messages detailing issues with Life Support and the Mainframe.
Once you’re done with the Workshop, leave and take a left. Hug the wall until you come across the bunk belonging to Peter C. Next to his bed is some ammo, a gun, and a credstick. There’s also another slate called ‘Interloper’, which provides the first nod that you’re in a Starfield / Alien reference buffet.
The message is from Billy K., who mentions he “heard something in the vents” during a maintenance check. He continues, saying The Colander might have picked up “an interloper from XL-069.” The xenomorph in the film was gathered from LV-426, as a reminder. Take note of the red door next to Peter’s bunk. It’s locked for nowthe .
Across the way is the bunk of Dr. Amos S. The computer terminal on the desk includes a note by someone, likely the doctor, who studied the interloper, writing it could “out-compete other native species” due to its extreme adaptability.
Leave the terminal and walk to the wall on the left. To the left is a hatch in the floor you can open. When you’re ready, open ‘er up and drop into the level below.
The Colander Part 2: Things are getting sketchy
You’ll find a computer panel against the wall near where you dropped down. A message mentions that life support is offline, and the operating system couldn’t broadcast an SOS signal due to a mainframe issue. The ‘Crew Vitals’ note, however, is even more chilling. All eight members of the crew are listed as deceased.
Walk down the hallway and you’ll find yourself in a large room with a walled-off inner section. To the right is the lab, where the interloper should still be trapped. You can head over there and take a look through the window. Some organic sludge is coating the walls. If you’re lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the beast.
The door is locked with a Master lock. If you can unlock it with your skills, you can bypass a good chunk of the next section. But that’s boring, right? There is another red door next to the lab. As before, keep its location in mind. Head back to where you entered from and take a left. Don’t worry about the area below yet. There’s nothing to be done until later.
Walk until you get to an entrance on the left. Go in, take a sharp right, and progress until you get to the fork. To the left is the body of a crew member. You’ll find ammo, med supplies, and a gun case nearby. To the right is another hatch taking you deeper into the ship.
The Colander Part 3: Taking on the alien reference of Starfield
In the room below the hatch, you’ll find the Mainframe computer terminal. Use it to unlock all the red security doors. Now, remember the red door next to the lab? Return to it and go inside. It leads you to two more bunks belonging to Alex T. and Magalie V. To the left of her bed is a slate which details the moment the interloper broke containment and killed Alex. They left it locked in the lab. Guess where we’re going next?
Not the lab, actually. Sorry for the bait. We are heading there, but first, we’ll need to the captain’s quarters.
The path leads you back to the first part of the ship. Take a left and walk all the way to the end. The red security door that led to the captain’s quarters is now open. On the table past Captain Jahi J.’s bunk is a Skill Magazine for Vanguard Space Tactics 03. It permanently increases the damage of ship energy weapons by 5%.
To the left of it is a computer terminal with an eerie message. It seems that the acquisition of the interloper may not have been an accident.
Left of the terminal is a door leading to a passage below. And get ready: This is the back door to the lab, where the beast is waiting.
The XL-069 Interloper is a tanky enemy. It was level 85 for me and took quite a few bullets before going down. It didn’t leave anything on its body other than some organic tissue. But take a look around the lab for a Science Crate and a weapon case. The latter for me held a legendary Orion laser rifle worth 17K — that’s not a bad haul.
Once you’re finished looting, open the computer panel near the lab exit to unlock the door. With that, you’ve survived The Colander, the unabashed and admittedly cool Alien reference of Starfield.
Published: Oct 25, 2023 07:44 am