Starfield: No Sudden Moves walkthrough

The main quest 'No Sudden Moves' in Starfield starts after completing the previous quest Short Sighted.

In it we should fix and optimize The Eye that Vladimir usually resides in. Unfortunately, that doesn't work as well as expected and the work on The Eye drags on. In the meantime, Vladimir has this mission for us, which starts right after. Speak to him to learn about Captain Petrov. We are supposed to steal an artifact from him.

Journey to the Scow

The requested ship is in orbit of the Procyon-A system. Once you have fast traveled to orbit from the quest menu, you can proceed to the next step.

Get access with words

You can simply target the scow and start a dialogue with the crew. An interaction window will appear and you can decide how you want to proceed:

• Persuade: Attempts to persuade to achieve the objective (verbal approach). You can then dock.
• Attack: Attacking the scow is the opposite of what we want to achieve. In that case, you can complete the other optional objective (turn off the engines). After switching off the drive, the ship can be entered.
• Let companions do the talking: Whoever is accompanying you can speak up. Depending on who it is, the crew will either let you on board or not (yes to Sam, no to Barrett).

Enter the Scow

The best path is the top one, also because it avoids a fight. Try persuasion and you'll get on board after docking (from 500 meters away) peacefully.

As you explore the ship, a guy named Tao Xun will stop you shortly and share some interesting details about Petrov and what he stored on the ship.

Speak to Captain Petrov

Then run to the north end of the ship, which is much larger than it first appears. You'll pass these two guards:

Behind this, you'll find yourself in a lavishly furnished room full of statues and exhibits.

If you like, you can talk to the three guards Erin September, Raptor and Bull. For 1000 credits, they reveal that the back end of the vault is directly adjacent to the conveyor system. This realisation starts the optional objective 'Find the Thin Walls'.

Captain Petrov is lying further back on a sofa and... enjoying the day from the looks of it. He is not dismissive or aggressive, and openly admits to having something valuable in the safe.

If you let Barrett talk, Petrov recognizes his old acquaintance and leads you to the vault. The same result occurs if we manage to convince him.

If the persuasion fails, we can always pickpocket his vault key or pick the lock to steal the artifact.

Attacking Petrov also works. Here you have to inflict enough damage on him, then he surrenders and hands over the key voluntarily. Even Petrov's crew won't attack you as long as you don't kill him for good.

If you want to steal his key, this is the spot behind his sofa (no one can watch you from there):

However, if you enter the vault without Petrov, the guards will attack you, so be careful.

Steal the artifact

Let's say you let him guide you to the vault. The Phi artifact lies right in front of us, however we got there. The only problem is Petrov. He doesn't give the impression that he wants to part with it. You can say:

• I'll buy it from you. How much do you want? You can't change his mind. After that, you can just grab the artifact or attack Petrov.
• It has powers you don't deserve. This leads to the same result. Attack or grab artefact, that's all.
• Thanks, Petrov. You die now. The attack ends in a fight against Petrov and his guards.

After a certain amount of damage, Petrov will get on his knees, give you the key to the vault, and feel compelled to hand over his precious artifact. Collecting it will result in a United Colonies bounty of 500 credits.

Find the thin walls

The thin walls are these red doors (pictured). You can use a cutter to sever the yellow bolts on the sides, revealing a passageway from the vault:

This will help in the subsequent escape after we steal the artifact, by whatever means.

In the event of a fight, it is not inconvenient if you spare Petrov, then you can abandon ship without further incident. The guards won't stop you (unlike the bottom option 'No witnesses').

The quest ends after the artifact lands in the Lodge with the others. We immediately get the follow-up quest: 'High Price To Pay'.

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