In Their Footsteps Starfield – Walkthrough and Rewards

In Their Footsteps Mission Overview

Questline: Constellation, main mission 13
Starts after: Unity, automatically once you Grav Jump to Oborum III at the end of the glyph puzzle
Location: Oborum III, Oborum Prime system
Companion: none, the Starborn are the only characters here
Objectives: hail the Scorpius, dock with the Scorpius, talk to the Hunter, optional talks with the Hunter and the Emissary, leave the Scorpius
Rewards: 750 XP, a handful of resources, the Moon Base Key
Unlocks next: Unearthed and Final Glimpses

Nothing here is a fight. You cannot fly away from Oborum III and you cannot engage the Scorpius, so the only route forward is docking. None of the dialogue matters either, which is covered in more detail further down. Expect about five minutes of conversation and one very large story reveal.

1 – Hail the Scorpius

Mission Text:
“I have arrived at Oborum III. The Hunter’s ship, the Scorpius, is here. Time to get answers.”

The Scorpius is already waiting when you arrive in orbit. Target it and hail it. The Hunter opens with a question about how you tracked him down, then introduces a second Starborn on board, the Emissary. Whatever you answer, both of them invite you over and guarantee your safety. Select the option to dock on the Scorpius.

2 – Talk to the Hunter

Leave your ship, walk the corridor and head for the bridge. The Hunter formally introduces the Emissary, who turns out to be the Starborn from the Helix that ambushed you during All That Money Can Buy. Between them they lay out what the Artifacts, the Temples and the Unity actually are, and why they have both been chasing you across the settled systems.

3 – Optional Talks Before You Leave

When the main conversation ends you are free to turn around, but both Starborn will keep talking if you approach them individually. The Hunter explains why he let you keep collecting Artifacts and what he wants from the Unity. The Emissary gives you his own version of the same story. Neither talk is required and neither locks anything in, but they are the clearest explanation of the endgame the game ever gives you, so they are worth the two minutes.

Head for the exit when you are done. The Emissary stops you before you reach it, hands over a few resources and the Moon Base Key, and points you at Luna in the Sol system. That ends the mission.

Do Your Choices Matter in In Their Footsteps

No. There is no wrong answer anywhere in this mission. You can be hostile about the companion the Hunter killed in High Price to Pay and he will not attack you. You can skip both optional talks and lose nothing. You cannot side with anyone yet either, so if you came here looking for the Hunter or Emissary decision, that comes later in Unearthed, not here.

The one thing In Their Footsteps does is give you the information you need to make that choice properly. Sitting through both optional conversations is the difference between picking a side blind and picking one on purpose.

Why Your Dead Companion Is Alive Again

If the reveal on the bridge caught you off guard, you read it correctly. The Constellation member who died in High Price to Pay is standing there in front of you, and they are not a hallucination or a retcon. Both Starborn are versions of people you already know, pulled from other universes through the Unity. That is the entire point of the scene and it is the first hard confirmation that the Unity works the way the Starborn have been claiming.

In Their Footsteps Rewards and What Unlocks Next

XP: 750
Items: a small resource bundle and the Moon Base Key
Achievement: In Their Footsteps unlocks on completion
Next missions: Unearthed sends you to Luna with the Moon Base Key, and Final Glimpses opens at the same time back at the Lodge

The Moon Base Key is the one item to hold on to. It is the only way into the facility Unearthed sends you to, and that mission is where the Hunter or Emissary decision finally lands.