First to Fight, First to Die is the seventh story mission for the Freestar Rangers in Starfield.
It immediately follows either On the Run or Surgical Strike.
Summary[]
I found the First's base of operations at the abandoned mech factory on Arcturus II. I confronted Major Paxton Hull, who revealed that the First were hired by HopeTech president Ron Hope. Now it's time to confront Hope and find out why he used mercenaries to take land from farmers.
Quick Walkthrough[]
- I'm investigating a mercenary group called the First that's seizing land from farmers. I've acquired encrypted slates from key members of the outfit and given them to Ranger Alex Shadid for decryption. I should check in with Marshal Blake.
- Go to the meeting room
- My investigation of the First mercenaries continues. Ranger Alex Shadid decrypted the slates I brought him and learned that the First have a base called the Factory. Marshal Blake thinks it might be the abandoned mech factory on Arcturus II.
- Travel to Arcturus II
- My investigation of the First continues. When I arrived at Arcturus II to check out an abandoned mech factory, I was attacked by mercenary patrol ships. This would seem to confirm Marshal Blake's guess that the factory is indeed the First's base of operations.
- Land at the Freestar mech factory
- Investigate the Freestar mech factory
- Upon landing at the abandoned mech factory on Arcturus II, I was challenged by Major Paxton Hull, disgraced former war hero and leader of the First mercenary company, to come and get him. It won't be an easy fight, but there's no other choice if I'm going to learn the First's plans.
- Confront Paxton Hull
- Defeat Paxton Hull
- Defeat the First mercenaries
- I've found the First's base of operations at the abandoned mech factory on Arcturus II. I've fought my way through mercenary soldiers, and now I've come face to face with Major Paxton Hull, leader of the First. It's time to find out why the First are seizing land from farmers, and who they're working for.
- Talk to Paxton Hull
- Kill Paxton Hull
Detailed Walkthrough[]
The mission will immediately trigger once you complete either On the Run or Surgical Strike. Head into the meeting room where Emma Wilcox and Marshal Daniel Blake will request you to have a seat for a briefing. They will inform you that additional farmers/farming settlements have been threatened and attacked, and in some cases, the farmers did not survive. Emma asks how your investigation is going - that investigation is currently the Freestar Rangers only hope to stopping these attacks. Regardless of how you respond, Emma will be disappointed/critical and the conversation with her will end.
Marshal Blake will then give you a debrief/review of how you have done on every Freestar Ranger mission so far through a series of accounts from the Freestar Rangers you interacted with: First from Ranger Nia Kalu in HopeTown, next from Ranger Jaylen Pryce in Neon, and finally Ranger Autumn MacMillan at the Red Mile. This conversation will be somewhat different depending on dialogue choices/decisions you made during the story. Marshal Blake will then ask what happened with Marco and Maya.
After that, Alex Shadid will interrupt the meeting to let the three of you know that he cracked the encryption on the slates. While he doesn't know the exact location of the First HQ, there are multiple references to "The Factory" in the data slates. Emma and Daniel will ponder on the name of the location. Marshal Blake remembers that "The Factory" was the First Cavalry's nickname for the main facility where the mechs were manufactured during the Colony War. Emma will jump in and state that under the terms of the peace treaty (The Armistice), all mech factories were shut down right after the war. Marshal Blake explains the loophole in the treaty - yes, the mech factories were shut down, but not all were destroyed. Marshal Blake will explain that the facility is underground and likely heavily fortified, and send you to Arcturus II.
When your ship arrives in Arcturus II orbit, 2 of the First's patrol ships will soon appear and attack. These are a pair of small class A ships, which may be some variants of Thresher and Wendigo. Ships can simply be destroyed or boarded and captured. But after the destruction or capture of the first pair, the next 2 class B ships appear, there may be different versions of Zumwalt and Pterosaur. If you undocked on a captured ship, you will be attacked immediately after and will not be able to return to your original ship until the end of the battle. Likewise, ships can be destroyed or captured. The last third pair of patrol ships I had were a pair of improved versions Pterosaur II and Pterosaur III, but the type of the ships may depend on the character level.
All ships have the prefix “The First” in their names and are painted in the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division, otherwise they do not differ from the regular versions.
Freestar Mech Factory - Exterior[]
Once you take out all 6 ships, you can land on Arcturus II. You may land a distance away from the Freestar Mech Factory and need to walk a short distance (~1000m) to reach the mech factory. Outside there is a dead UC Marine next to a weapon case and storage box. Once at the main gate, Major Paxton Hull will greet you, complimenting your piloting skill. Once the gate to the facility opens, there will be 6 First mercenaries in the garage, surrounded by overgrown Mech remains. Take out all 6 and enter the facility.
Arcturus II - Mech Factory - Smelter[]
Arcturus II - Mech Factory - Assembly[]
Arcturus II - Mech Factory - Command Center[]
After you take out Paxton, the mission ends and you receive your reward.
- Before leaving the Freestar Mech Factory, don't forget to grab the skill magazine Freestar Captain's Log 05 on the desk in the command center.
Rewards[]
- Levelled credits
- 350 XP