Bounty: The Vulture is a faction mission in Starfield.
The mission is available as paid DLC in the Creations Club and costs the equivalent of $7 US. You need to track down a sniper, who served in the 1st Cavalry Division during the Colony War, later recruited by Paxton Hull to the First mercenary company.
Summary[]
This mission is hosted by the Freestar Collective government. The suspect was pursued by a Freestar Rangers scout, after which he stopped communicating, the last known coordinates being a military outpost on the planet Sumati. A wanted man with the code name The Vulture was spotted there with a group of experienced mercenaries. An ambush obviously awaits you on the spot.
Quick Walkthrough[]
- Investigate the missing agents last known location
- Sit at the table
- Eliminate the ambushers
- Search the ambushers leader for information
- Read the operation orders
- Infiltrate the mercenary cave hideout
- Search the mercenary cave hideout for information
- (Crimson Fleet) Talk to Robert Torres at The Key
- Inquire about Cephas Hughes at Trackers HQ
- (Optional) Ambush Cephas at Hopetown
- Search Cephas's Paradiso Hotel room
- Escape
- Neutralise The Vulture
- Confront The Vulture
- Kill Cephas
Or (Crimson Fleet)
- Meet Torres outside of Kelly Hughes Ranch
- Take Kelly Hughes hostage
- Draw out The Vulture
- Neutralise The Vulture
- Confront The Vulture
- Kill Cephas
Detailed Walkthrough[]
Upon arrival at the specified location, a ranger scout is sitting at a table in an open area, music is playing from a speaker on the table, and you are required to sit at the table. During the conversation, the scout tries to express his assumption about the sniper's position, and at that moment a shot is heard, fatal for the scout. The Vulture addresses you through the speaker, after which he opens fire and at the same time, the player's character begins to be attacked by mercenaries who were in ambush. You can find the sniper's position and return fire, but he will escape.
After dealing with the ambush, search the mercenaries and find a message with an order on the commander's body. The next task will appear: infiltrate the hideout in the cave. There are several mercenaries in the cave, after clearing it, view the messages on the laptop. After reading the entry “Paxton's Vulture”, the mission objectives will be updated, a task will appear to find out information about Cephas Hughes from the Trackers Alliance HQ database. If you have completed faction missions for the Crimson Fleet and protected The Key in the final mission, an additional option will appear to learn about Cephas Hughes from Captain Robert Torres, who makes money by trading weapons. If the character has at least level 3 Security skill, it is possible to read the encrypted message “Operation Silver Baron”, an option to ambush The Vulture in Hopetown will appear.
After going to Akila City, ask KoiOS for information about Cephas Hughes. Up-to-date information about him is not available, but a person matching the data from his profile was spotted at the Paradiso resort. At this point, the Crimson Fleet option is no longer available, but the choice remains to try to meet the target in Hopetown or Paradiso.
After deciphering the message, you can head to the HopeTech plant right after the cave on Sumati, skipping all subsequent stages of the investigation. Climbing up to the roof, you can find the bodies of several local FC guards. A man with a sniper rifle is lying in position on the roof. As you approach, you can see that he is dead, with a note lying next to him. Cephas Hughes appears from an ambush, supported by many mercenaries. Your character is forced to engage in open combat with many opponents, being in a disadvantageous position in the open area.
If you miss all other options, in any case there will be an opportunity to go to the hotel in Paradiso. Find out on the spot in which room the suspicious guest has settled, pick the lock and enter the room. In the room you will find weapons and ammunition, on the balcony there is an observation position overlooking the landing pad. After reading the message on the computer, you will find out that the trace was left intentionally. A sniper will open fire through the window, three mercenaries will attack you in the room and in the corridor on the way to the elevator. After leaving the hotel, get to the sniper's position on the cliff next to the resort.
If you completed Legacy's End on the pirate side, you can head to the Last Nova bar on The Key to meet Robert Torres. He will reveal that he worked with The Vulture, selling weapons left over from the battles of the Colony War. Torres was unable to find information about Cephas Hughes in the available databases, from which it was deleted, but he was able to find information about his sister Kelly Hughes, who lives on her own farm on Montara Luna. He will offer to work with you to take Kelly hostage, lure out and blackmail Cephas Hughes. Bring a non-lethal weapon with you in case you cannot convince Kelly Hughes to cooperate. After capturing his sister, The Vulture will appear alone and shoot the pirate Jimmy, a protégé of Robert Torres.
In all scenarios, you need to drain the target's health bar to zero, after which he will remain in a downed state, and you will need to engage in dialogue. In the conversation, you can try to convince Cephas Hughes to surrender, the difficulty of persuasion varies depending on the method of completing the mission. If the attempt fails, or you deliberately choose to attack the target, there will be a final round of combat, after which The Vulture will be killed.
In any case, after completing the mission, the player receives 25k credits and The Vulture's items as a reward: his clothes, a unique particle beam Arboron Novastrike Sniper rifle and ammo for it.