Rook Meets King is a faction quest where you become an official member of the Crimson Fleet in Starfield. See if you should kill or spare Austin Rake, how to unlock Rook Meets King, rewards, and how to complete it.

Rook Meets King Rewards and Unlock Condition

How to Unlock and Rewards

Completing the Rook Meets King Faction Quest will make you an official member of the Crimson Fleet.

How to Join Crimson Fleet Faction: Questline and Location

Rook Meets King Walkthrough and Objectives

Main Objectives

1. Rendezvous with the Astraea at Europa
2. Find the Ragana near Enceladus
3. Wait for the Ragana to Arrive
4. Hail the Ragana
5. Convince the Ragana to Kill Austin Rake
6. Talk to Dmitri
7. Return to Naeva in Europa's Orbit
8. Fend off the Ecliptic Fighters
9. Hail the Astraea
10. Report to the Vigilance
11. Follow the SysDef Recruit
12. Speak to Commander Ikande
13. Travel to the Key
14. Dock at the Key
15. Follow Naeva
16. Speak to Shinya Voss
17. Speak to Delgado

Rendezvous with the Astraea at Europa

Travel to The Astraea through the mission's location on the map, and you will be contacted by Astraea through an incoming transmission.

Hail the Astraea

During the dialogue, she will ask you to do a task for her before becoming a member, which is to kill Austin Rake. Accept the quest to proceed with the next objective faster.

Find the Ragana Near Enceladus and Wait for the Ragana to Arrive

Fast travel to Enceladus and wait in your ship until the Ragana ship arrives, which shouldn't take too long. They will then contact you through an outbound transmission, saying they don't want any trouble.

Hail the Ragana or Attack the Ragana

Upon Ragana's initial contact with you, you can either choose any of the answers except [Attack] to hail the Ragana and start a conversation with them.

Convince the Ragana to Kill or Find a Way to Spare Austin Rake

If you don't choose the attack options, you will have to either persuade the Ragana to kill Austin Rake themselves to save you the trouble, or find a way to spare him.

You can also choose to board their dock and continue the conversation inside their ship. Your choice will not affect quest progression.

Attack the Ragana (Optional)

Choosing to attack the Ragana means you will have to take down the whole ship and not just Austin Rake. Choose this option if you are confident in your spaceship combat skills and don't mind killing multiple people.

Talk to Dmitri

If you choose to board the Ragana, talk to Dmitri Moldavski standing just behind the door to the next room. Here, you can also choose to find a way to spare Austin, persuade them to kill him, or attack everyone inside.

Find a Way to Spare Austin Rake

To spare Austin Rake, choose the [UC SysDef] answer and that you want to resolve this without violence. Tell them to deliver Austin to the UC SysDef instead, and they will agree right away.

Attack and Kill Austin Rake

You can persuade Dmitri to deal with Austin themselves. Choose the green answers to be safe and have a higher chance of succeeding. Having the Persuasion Skill will also increase your chances.

If you choose to attack or fail your persuasion, everyone in the room will start shooting at you. Austin Rake will be one of the settlers standing beside Dmiri.

Return to Naeva in Europa's Orbit and Fend off the Ecliptic Fighters

Fast travel back to where the Astraea is located in Naeva through your missions tab. Upon arriving at the locaiton, you will find the Astraea being attacked by Ecliptic Fighters. Use your ship to fight off the Ecliptic Fighters.

Space Battles Combat Guide

Hail the Astraea

After defeating the Ecleptic Fighters, fly your ship close to the Astraea to start a transmission. Tell them that Austin Rake is dead, and they will welcome you into the Crimson Fleet as an official member.

Report to the Vigilance and Follow the SysDef Cadet

Fast travel to the Vigilance through the missions map location and dock. Then follow the SysDef Cadet who will lead you to the elevator up to the Operations Center.

Speak to Commander Ikande

Go into the Operations Center and tell Commander Ikande what happened. He will be upset if you chose to go through with killing Austin, but the quest will continue no matter what you choose to answer.

Travel to the Key and Dock at the Key

Head back to your ship and travel to the Key through your missions map location again. Fly your ship close to the base to be able to dock.

Speak to Naeva

Once you enter the Key, head down the hallway to find Naeva Mora sitting on a crate. She'll be talking to some Crimson Fleet members and you won't be able to speak to him until after the two members fight.

Follow Naeva

After the conversation, follow Naeva as she gives you a tour while she tells you about the Key. She'll lead you into different rooms and introduce you to different crew members.

Speak to Shinya Voss

After Naeva finishes with her dialogue, follow the marker and speak to Shinya Voss.

Speak to Delgado

Lastly, follow the marker up the elevator and into the Operations Center of the Key. Talk to Delgado at the back with the other Crimson Fleet members. The quest finishes after the dialogue and immediately start the Echoes of the Past quest.

Echoes of the Past Rewards and How to Unlock

Should You Kill or Spare Austin Rake?

Both Choices Progress the Story and Obtain Same Rewards

Throughout the quest, you can either choose to Kill Austin Rake, or Spare him during multiple objectives. Your choice will not affect quest progression and has more to do with maintaining a reputation. Either way, the quest rewards will stay the same.

Do note that this choice will affect Companion Affinity. Choosing to spare Austin Rake will improve your Affinity with moral good characters like Sarah Morgan.

Should You Kill Austin Rake?

Starfield Related Guides

List of All Factions

All Joinable Factions

Faction Questlines
UC Vanguard	Freestar Collective
Ryujin Industries	Crimson Fleet
Constellation	Ebbside Strikers
House Va'ruun (DLC)

All Religions

Crimson Fleet Questline

Crimson Fleet Optional Quests