Like in past Bethesda RPGs, many of the quests in Starfield have multiple solutions, split paths, or present players with decisions that can alter the rewards and story outcomes of the quest, like in “Surgical Strike.” Sometimes, certain choices can net significant additional rewards like unique items or extra credits, but other times, they may come down to a moral decision on the part of the player character, which is the case with Maya Cruz. As Starfield is one of the largest RPGs ever to release, it can be difficult to know exactly which decisions lead to favorable outcomes, or which ones might have long-reaching consequences.
One of the game’s many decisions comes at the end of “Surgical Strike,” a mission that can be completed for one of Starfield‘s factions, the Freestar Collective. The quest involves finding the location of Maya Cruz, a member The First – a mercenary group whose members have been harassing farmers on Monara Luna – in order to obtain valuable information from her. As Maya has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, the quest leads to a location known as the Clinic, a large hospital ship orbiting the planet Deepala in the Narion system. From there, the quest involves finding out where Maya is hiding – and deciding what to do about her once she’s found.
Surgical Strike Revolves Around Finding Maya Cruz
Finding Maya in the Clinic is a somewhat difficult task, as she isn’t listed on the patient registry. Instead, the quest involves investigating certain patients that match her description, under the assumption that Maya is listed under a fake name. The investigation eventually leads to the ship’s VIP section, which requires a keycard to access, where it’s revealed that Maya was hiding under the name of Catalina Rivera, and has already moved locations. From here, she can be found in an Abandoned Asteroid Mine in the Sakharov system – after fighting through the other enemies occupying the mine.
Deciding Maya’s Fate Hinges Mostly On Morals, Not Rewards.
Once found, Maya will put up a brief fight, and depleting her health will non-lethally knock her down and start a short bit of dialogue. Here, Maya makes it clear that, due to her illness, she only has a few weeks left to live anyway, and places her life in the player character’s hands. Either option will successfully complete the quest – allowing Maya to live results in her handing over an encrypted slate with important information, but killing her means the slate can simply be looted from her body. Maya herself has little in the way of notable loot otherwise, so the decision is almost entirely a moral choice.
Unlike many other quests, the decisions of what to do with Maya doesn’t affect much, as the extra rewards that can be looted from her dead body are negligible, the quest is successfully completed either way, and there are no far-reaching consequences for either decision. Instead, the choice mostly comes down to personal morals – if Maya should be punished for her criminal activities with The First, or if a terminally ill woman should be left to live out her remaining time in relative peace. However Maya Cruz is dealt with, the objective of “Surgical Strike” will be fulfilled, leading to the next quests in Starfield‘s Freestar Collective quest chain.
