Starfield Main Mission 4 Walkthrough - Back To Vectera

Return to Vectera

To begin your mission, you'll need to head back to Vectera, the site of your first experience in Starfield. Since you've been there before, you'll have no trouble fast travelling to the planet.

You'll find your original boss, Supervisor Lin, at the end of the landing platform. Engage in dialogue with her to get things started.

Talk to Lin

Lin is looking a little worse for wear, and with good reason. She explains that the attack by the pirates you encountered in the introductory mission was just the start, and many lives were lost in subsequent assaults.

Lin recounts Barrett's heroics in the face of an almost certain death, only to be forced to surrender when discovering that Heller had been captured. The two men were made to board the pirate ship, and they left Lin and the remaining survivors to pick up the pieces of their destruction.

Her final note was that she could not check if Barrett and Heller had left any transmissions to reveal any information on their possible whereabouts, but the comms computer was busted. That's your first task - get the computer back up and running.

Fix the comms computer

To get to the comms computer, follow the path to the indicated spot. You'll need to get through the sealed orange door at the entrance to the building and pass through an airlock. To open the door, hit the button at the bottom of the stairs to the right.

Follow the marker through the building and past another sealed orange door. You'll need to use a Digi-pick to pass the Novice-level lock to get to the comms computer. Once you reach the computer, you'll make the unfortunate discovery - the device needs power.

[Optional] Obtain 3 power cells

You have two options to access the computer's data - pull out the data storage or look for a power source. If you choose the latter, you'll need to grab three power cells to fit into the power receptacles in the adjacent room.

Acquiring the power cells is a simple process but will require you to backtrack out of the building. The first is located in a destroyed robot outside the building, the second you can get by speaking with Lin again, and the third is inside a Medbench in the opposite building. Follow the marker to each power cell and interact with each source.

Once you have the three power cells, head back to the comms computer. Once you pass the sealed orange door to the comms room, turn right to find the power receptacles. Place one power cell in each to restore energy to the room.

Find a clue to Barrett's location

Once power has been restored, head back to the comms computer and boot it up. Once you're in, you'll find a file in the top-left corner labeled 'Emergency Transmission'. Open this and listen to the conversation between Heller and Barrett, which provides a clue on their location.

Return to Lin

With the transmission now in hand, head back to Lin and converse with her. She'll express her surprise at the information you've gathered and lifts the coordinates embedded in the file for you. She implores you to go after them while offering her services, stating she needs a career change.

[Optional] Recruit Lin as crew

Looking to bring her time with Argos to a close and put the awful memories of her recent experiences in the rear-view mirror, Lin offers her services and goes from being your boss to your employee.

Your decision doesn't affect this mission's outcome, but Lin has some valuable skills that would be ideal. In particular, she excels in Outpost Management.

Travel to Altair IV-A

Lin's info leads you to Altair IV-A, so jump in your ship and head there. You may encounter some hostile ships before entering the planet, so be prepared with your weapons and shield at the ready. Once you touch down, it's time to discover what happened to Heller and Barrett.

Find Barrett and Heller

Now that your feet are on the surface follow the marker to what you will discover to be a crash site. Once you reach the site, you'll find a wounded Heller sitting against a box. Engage in dialogue with him to find out what happened.

Talk to Heller

You speak with a delirious Heller, who is pumped full of pain medication, to discover what happened. Of course, the crashed ship is Barrett's doing, as his heroics led him to mistakenly kill the pilot and put a bullet through the flight console, sending the ship on its collision course.

Heller recounts the events that led them to where they are now, which end in Barrett being taken aboard a Crimson Fleet ship. Heller has a transmission from Barrett to give you a clue as to his location but, as yet, has yet to be in the headspace to listen to it. He hands it to you in the hope that you'll be able to find him.

Listen to "Emergency Transmission 02"

Go into your inventory and listen to the transmission, which outlines Barrett's not-so-subtle attempt to figure out his current location so he can provide it in the recording.

Barrett's transmission proves fruitful, as you can deduce that he has been taken to Bessel III. This will be your next destination.

[Optional] Recruit Heller as crew

Now that Heller has been rescued, even if he is a bit banged up, he is eager to get back into the swing of things. He offers his services to you as a member of your crew. This part is optional, but recruiting him would benefit your outpost, as his strength is in outpost engineering.

Travel to Bessel III

With the new intel on Barrett's location, set a course for Bessel III and head over there. When you touch down, you'll face several adversaries, so make sure you've got enough ammo to get by.

Rescue Barrett

Almost as soon as you step off the ship, you'll find yourself at the foot of a Crimson Fleet camp. Naturally, it is safe to assume that Barrett is being held somewhere here.

Fight your way through the camp, including several Crimson Fleet soldiers and a few turrets. You don't necessarily have to kill/destroy them all; the marker indicates the door you must enter. So, if you opt for flight over fight, run straight to the door and into the Crimson Fleet Outpost.

Once inside the outpost, head down the stairs and enter the room to your left. You will find Barrett having a very relaxed conversation with Matsura, the Grim of the Crimson Fleet. There is plenty of amicable conversation, but Matsura isn't willing to hand over Barrett for free.

Much like many of the negotiation segments in Starfield, you'll have three options. You can try to persuade Matsura to let Barrett go, pay 4,000 credits for his release, or attack Matsura and his henchmen.

Naturally, persuasion is the most effective method for minimising cost and avoiding combat. If persuasion isn't successful, we suggest opting for the attack option. However, this is generally disliked by the game's companions. Suppose you have an active companion with you, such as Sarah. In that case, there will be an alternative dialogue option where Constellation has money set aside for situations like these so that you won't be out of pocket and no one gets hurt.

Once the matter is resolved, whichever way you think is most appropriate, you can go ahead and exit the outpost and head back to the Lodge.

Return to the Lodge

Once you're out of the Crimson Fleet base, you can fast-travel back to the Lodge when ready. Now Barrett has been rescued, you can return to the Constellation base with their most reckless member in the tail.

Enter the Library

This one is self-explanatory. Once you enter the Lodge, you can just head into the library where your Artifact collection is kept. You'll find the other members of Constellation waiting there for you and Barrett to arrive.

Wait for Barrett

Naturally, the Constellation members have been worried sick about Barrett since his disappearance, so there is some commotion as they acknowledge his return. You'll need to wait for the end of the conversation, which includes Barrett's reaction to seeing the collection of Artifacts in orbit for the first time.

Talk to Barrett

The final step of the mission is to talk to Barrett. He'll explain how being around the Artifacts has comforted him since discovering the first one.

Now that the mission is coming to an end, Barrett will be available as an active companion and offer to travel alongside you. You can accept or decline his offer on the spot, but if you decline, there's always an opportunity to recruit him again later. With the mission complete, it's time for your rewards.

Mission Complete

You will receive the following rewards for completing Back to Vectera.

• EXP: 350
• Credits: 7200

Following this mission, you'll need to complete Main Mission 5: Into The Unknown, the third and final mission of the three assigned to you following your acceptance into Constellation.

That's our walkthrough for Back to Vectera, but you've merely scratched the surface of the Starfield content we have for you! Take a look at our Planets page for everything you need to know about the game's 1,000+ planets; we're constantly updating it! We also have a weapon crafting guide for those looking to create their own deadly tool - feel free to check it out!