Echoes of the Past: Should You Side With Mathis or Delgado in Starfield?

In the middle of infiltrating the Crimson Fleet, you begin to see their human, dysfunctional side in Starfield. This shows pretty thoroughly in “Echoes of the Past” which is one of the first ground missions you undertake with the infamous space pirates, as you’re paired with another uneasy recruit. The moment you’re trapped together, Mathis voices his disregard for Delgado and suggests taking him out for your mutual benefit. Should you side with Mathis or Delgado when faced with this decision in Starfield?

Should You Side With Mathis and Plan to Take Out Delgado in Starfield?

Despite it seeming like an important choice, even if you agree that Delgado should be taken out, Mathis will chicken out of this scheme in Starfield. While this means the choice is not as important as you think, there are still minor consequences based on what you choose. Of the two, you should heavily consider ratting him out.

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Despite Mathis not staging a coup and backing out, you can still alert Delgado of this treachery. Doing so casts Mathis out, so you’ll encounter him separately in space in a future encounter, and he’ll attack you. This makes life moderately easier, technically, if you go down the UC SysDef path of this questline.

If You Side With Mathis, Is There a Way to Get Him to Still Betray Delgado?

At the time of this writing, there still doesn’t appear to be a way for you to persuade Mathis to double down on his plan. Delgado is too well-guarded, so it’s a hard one to imagine happening.

But even after completing your ground mission, you can speak to Mathis afterward, and he urges you to forget the idea entirely, content with being recognized for his good work. You then continue the UC SysDef/Crimson Fleet questline as if this didn’t happen.

In short, Mathis is a coward and a disappointment.