Skip to main content
If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Starfield Red Tape Blues Walkthrough: Delete the competition

Here’s how to hack your way into Deimos Mining in the Red Tape Blues mission

The welcome to Cydonia sign at the entrance of the mining colony in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios
Grace Dean avatar
Guide by Grace Dean Contributor
Published on

How can you cheat the mining system to secure new equipment in Starfield’s Red Tape Blues mission? After your first escapade into the rich mining experience on offer in Starfield, your next opportunity to mine is a little more conniving. Mining director, Trevor Petyarre, is fed up with the old mining equipment that’s making his job harder and so, he tasks you with becoming Deimos executive, Peter Brennan’s assistant to get past the red tape from the inside and secure some new kit.

Based in Cydonia, the Red Tape Blues side mission will allow you to practice mining, stealth, and hacking to earn the workers some shiny equipment and reap some rewards for yourself too.

It’ll be handy here to unlock and level up your Stealth skill to make sneaking around that little bit easier. And, if the credit reward for this mission gives you a taste of the high life, check out our Starfield get rich quick guide to keep the good times rollin’.

Was Starfield worth the wait? Liam and Alice B discuss this question - and more - in the video above.Watch on YouTube

Red Tape Blues walkthrough

To complete the Red Tape Blues mission, you’ll want to complete the following objectives:

  1. Find Trevor Petyarre in Cydonia
  2. Talk to Trevor
  3. Mine and deposit 10 units of Iron
  4. Apply for the executive assistant job
  5. Talk to Trevor
  6. Delete the other candidates’ applications
  7. Talk to Trevor

While Red Tape Blues is a fairly simple side mission, finding Trevor, lying your way into the executive assistant position, and mining some Iron are all steps we’ll discuss in more detail below. So, keep reading!

1. Find Trevor Petyarre in Cydonia

Trevor Petyarre stands next to mining equipment on Cydonia in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios

Trevor Petyarre isn’t exactly hiding, but he won’t have a blue locator on your map until you find him. Travel to Cydonia, enter the main mining colony building, and travel straight ahead until you reach a staircase descending to the lower level. Here, you will find Trevor fairly centered and stood next to a piece of large mining equipment.

2. Talk to Trevor

Trevor will inform you that his team of miners need new equipment but that it’s proving hard to get commissioned by the Deimos execs. He’ll first ask you to mine 10 iron in order to prove more work is possible.

3. Mine and deposit 10 units of Iron

Using the Cutter to mine nearby iron on Cydonia in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios

Equip the Cutter from your inventory. The same as you would mine anything in Starfield, you can use the Cutter to scan nearby to discover Iron and mine it from the ground. Luckily, there are Iron deposits all around Trevor’s location in Cydonia that you can mine and deposit into the orange cart nearby.

If for some reason you have already mined the Iron on Cydonia, Iron can be bought from UC Distribution in the Commercial District of New Atlantis, Jemison or you can mine it anywhere in Starfield and bring it back to Cydonia.

4. Apply for the executive assistant job

After depositing the Iron ore, Trevor will ask you to apply for the executive assistant position at Deimos. For this, you will need to travel to Deimos Staryards which you can set course for fast travel in the main menu. Dock with the Staryard by flying close by and board from your ship.

The Deimos executive assistant job posting for Cydonia in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios

Here, you will find a computer where you can apply for the executive assistant job posting and answer a bunch of questions with your experience… and knowledge of whiskey. It doesn’t matter what you answer here, as you’ll find out in the next few steps, so be as weird as you like.

5. Talk to Trevor

Travel back to Cydonia and talk to Trevor. He’ll tell you to head to HR on the upper level to hack into the HR computer and remove your competitors’ applications making you the only one who applied.

6. Delete the other candidates’ applications

Deimos Mining HR computer to hack for Red Tape Blues in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios

In the HR office, you will need to hack into the computer. You’ve been given the password by Trevor, so that part will be easy. Fair warning though, if you hack into the computer before 17:00, you’ll receive a bounty. You can either sit in a chair and wait or take the bounty, it’s up to you. You can clear a bounty before it causes you too many problems.

Delete other candidates’ job applications for Red Tape Blues in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios

Scroll to the bottom of the Job Applications folder and select ‘Delete All Other Candidate Applications’.

7. Talk to Trevor

Trevor Petyarre congratulates you on the executive assistant position in Starfield.
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Game Studios

Go back to Trevor and he’ll tell you the good news - you’ve secured the position (unsurprisingly). He’ll reward you with a bunch of credits and 100XP for your hard work.

That’s it, you’ve completed the Starfield Red Tape Blues mission. As always, leveling up your Skills, Traits, and acquiring the best weapons are all worthwhile endeavors for making Starfield missions that little bit easier.

Read this next