Starfield: Deep Cover bug — How to find Lieutenant Toft and finish the mission

Starfield: Commander Ikande on the UC Vigilance.
Starfield: Commander Ikande on the UC Vigilance. (Image credit: Windows Central)

So, while playing Starfield you recently made your way off of Captain Petrov's ship with an Artifact, but before you could land on New Atlantis, you were hailed by the UC Vigilance, which pulled you into an unexpected side quest. This quest should be relatively straightforward, however, a bug makes it a bit more confusing than it should be. For one thing, it can make it difficult to know where to find Lieutenant Toft, who Commander Ikande requires you to speak with.

Here's how to find Lieutenant Toft and make your way through the Deep Cover mission, so you can get back to The Lodge and keep following the main No Sudden Moves quest. 

Starfield: How to complete Deep Cover

Starfield: Soldier in interrogation room of UC Vigilance.

Starfield: Soldier in interrogation room of UC Vigilance. (Image credit: Windows Central)
  1. When you attempt to head back to The Lodge on New Atlantis after going to Captain Petrov's ship with the No Sudden Moves mission, you'll be hailed by the UC Vigilance. Go along with what they tell you and agree to board the ship
  2. You'll be brought on board. When the guards stop talking, adjust the joystick so that you can stand up from your seated position. 

Starfield: Soldier next to elevator on the UC Vigilance. (Image credit: Windows Central)
  1. Follow the guard down the hallway of the UC Vigilance and take the elevator to the Operation Center. 
  2. Follow the blue mission marker on the screen and walk to the far side of the room to talk with Commander Ikande. Agree to his terms using whatever responses you'd like. There's really no other option.

Starfield: Go into Missions and select Deep Cover. (Image credit: Windows Central)

You'll be told to talk with Lieutenant Toft. At this point, a glitch can occur where the game switches its selected quest from Deep Cover back to the main Constellation quest, No Sudden Moves that you were on before. You'll know you're experiencing it if the icon leads you back to the elevator and beyond that to a locked door that cannot be opened. 

If you're experiencing this bug, you'll want to press the Menu button, select Missions, and then manually select Deep Cover. You'll then see the blue mission icon pointing to Lieutenant Toft in the Operations Center. She's in front and to the right of Commander Ikande's station if you're looking into the room from the elevator. 

Starfield: Lieutenant Toft on the UC Vigilance. (Image credit: Windows Central)
  1. Talk with Lieutenant Toft, and then you'll be cleared to leave the ship and return to the Frontier. 
  2. With all of that done, you're ready to return to The Lodge on the planet below. Doing so initiates the next mission, High Price to Pay. This can be a tricky one so if you need help check out our guide on whether you should to go to The Lodge or go to The Eye. 

Getting back on track after a little bug

Once you've figured out where Lieutenant Toft is, you can leave the ship through the same door that was previously locked. The reason why Starfield suddenly switches quests on you when you're in the middle of one is likely due to a coding error that might get fixed in later patches for the game. 

But for now, just remember that Lieutenant Toft is in the UC Vigilance's Operations Center, standing rather close to Commander Ikande himself. So, you don't have to go running around looking for her all over the ship. This same bug has been reported by a few other members of the Windows Central gaming team and might also occur on other quests. So, if you're ever on a mission and the blue mission icon doesn't seem to be pointing to the correct thing, check the Mission menu and see if the selected mission somehow got changed on you.

Rebecca Spear
Editor and Reviewer

Self-professed gaming geek, Rebecca Spear, is one of Windows Central's editors and reviewers with a focus on gaming handhelds, PC gaming, and laptops. When she isn't checking out the latest games on Xbox Game Pass, PC, ROG Ally, or Steam Deck; she can be found digital drawing with a Wacom tablet. She's written thousands of articles with everything from editorials, reviews, previews, features, previews, and hardware reviews over the last few years. If you need information about anything gaming-related, her articles can help you out. She also loves testing game accessories and any new tech on the market. You can follow her @rrspear on X (formerly Twitter).