Starfield: How to Complete Red Tape Reclamation

Red Tape Reclamation is the culmination of one of Mars’ most interesting storylines in Starfield. It sees players confront a thief and decide their fate, putting players in a powerful position that has an impact on the city of Cydonia.

While not the toughest quest, depending on the choices players make, this is a part of the history of Cydonia as players will know it. After completing it, NPCs around the city reference it and discuss it with players when they interact with them.

Related: Starfield Complete Guide – Quest, Lore, Story & Trailers

How to Start Red Tape Reclamation in Starfield

To start Red Tape Reclamation in Starfield, players must visit Trevor in the city of Cydonia on Mars. After completing first Red Tape Blues, then Red Tape Runaround, he’ll finally trigger the Red Tape Reclamation quest.

This is the final part of a trilogy of quests, so players will need to settle in for some legwork if they’re looking to tackle it and haven’t been through the earlier quests. We think it’s one of the best questlines in the game and recommend all players give it a go if they need some Credits and XP.

How to Complete Red Tape Reclamation in Starfield

Red Tape Reclamation stars with players being sent out to speak to a Ship Services Technician about a man called Hank. After speaking with the technician, players will discover that something suspicious is going on, and must report the news back to Trevor.

The mining chief tells players that Hank’s a bit of an oddball, so he could have taken the mining equipment. Players need to visit the miner in the Broken Spear, a bar in Cydonia. After speaking with him and convincing him to own up to the crime he’s committed, Hank will take players over to his ship. Which is where he’s stored all the mining equipment.

However, upon arriving at the ship, Hank loses his mind. He wants to sell the equipment, bury it, or do anything apart from going to jail or admit that he took it. This is where players have a choice to make, and the outcome can have a drastic effect on the player.

Should You Kill Hank, Persuade Him, or Turn Him Over to Security in Starfield

When Hank turns on the player, they have a few choices as to how to deal with the situation. First, they can kill Hank. It does nothing but give the player some Credits and XP, but Trevor doesn’t like them for it. We see this as the bad ending for the quest, and don’t suggest anyone goes with it unless they’re roleplaying an evil character.

If players manage to talk Hank down and persuade him to not attack them, then they have another choice to make. From here, it’s possible to tell Hank that he’ll be fine, and that the player will tell Trevor that Hank saved the mining equipment from pirates. Hank loves this story, but players don’t have to go along with it.

Players can tell Hank to turn himself in. This will result in him being locked up in the security office on Cydonia, where players can visit him every time they land. It’s possible to tell Hank that security will go easy on him and tell security to go hard on him, but this is more flavor text than anything. The reward for this is more Credits and XP, but it’s still not the best ending to the quest.

Finally, players can tell Trevor the pirate story and ensure Hank keeps his job while looking like a hero. Trevor eats up the story, even though Hank almost blows it by getting involved and overegging pretty much every part of it. We thought Trevor acted like he knew Hank had stolen the equipment and was just being forgiving, but there’s no proof of his deeper insight.

The reward for saving Hank his job and returning the equipment is a ton of XP and Credits as well as some new mining gear and a lot of Iron Ore. This is definitely what we see as the good ending, keeping Hank in his job and granting some new ming equipment to people who desperately need it.

We went with this option in the end, and now everyone in Cydonia mentions how we helped the mining crew out. It’s given us a reputation we love and benefit from in flavor text from every NPC. Players that want to cheer up the people of Mars should opt for this choice, it makes a difference from moody mining talk.