When players of Starfield first arrive in Akila City, a group of Shaw Gang bandits are holding up the local branch of GalBank. Resolving the standoff opens the way to the Freestar Rangers faction missions, Sam Coe's main mission, and also a certain side mission.
This side mission comes from one of the former hostages, who reunites with his wife after he leaves the bank. Marko Jansen is in some trouble that goes beyond a bunch of trigger-happy bandits, and players who press him can get the Starfield side mission "Rough Landings."
Where to Find Marko Jansen
Marko is a former resident of Cydonia who moved to Akila City to try to make a better future for his family, but he isn't having much luck doing so. He needs help, and he thinks his wife's cousin, Milena Axelrod, can provide it. However, Marko doesn't own a ship, and Milena is a trader, so he asks the player to relay his request for him.
Players can catch Marko by the bank after the heist ends. However, he quickly heads back to the shack he calls home, which is along the north wall of Stafield's Akila City. Players who don't speak to Marko immediately can find him there if they want to start this mission.
Where to Find Milena Axelrod
Milena is currently in orbit around one of Akila's moons, Bindi. Players don't have to choose a landing site, they only need to travel to Bindi itself.
Once they arrive, three Crimson Fleet pirate ships will attack the player. Milena's ship is also present, but she won't take part in the fight. Fortunately, the pirate ships are all fairly low-level.
When the fighting ends, Milena will thank the player for the help and suggest they board her ship. Do so by targeting her ship, flying within 500 meters, and then holding down the "dock" button. Once on board, players can explain Marko's situation, but Milena needs some help of her own before she can land in Akila City again. The mayor, Elias Cartwright, caught her smuggling while working for him and put a bounty on her head after she punched him in the face.
Should You Choose Elias or the Trade Authority?
Milena has two suggestions on how to get her back into Akila City. Players may have to choose one option when speaking to her, but both will be available once they return to the city. The first option is to speak to a Trade Authority fixer who can make her problems go away, and the second is to speak to Mayor Cartwright to try and change his mind.
The Trade Authority fixer is a man named Tom Starrett. He isn't in the Trade Authority building in Akila City, and instead, he spends his time in an alley southeast of the city's landing pads. Tom can't make Milena's bounty go away, but he can provide a set of pilot credentials that will let her smuggle herself into the city. He offers these credentials for 1,000 credits.
Mayor Cartwright spends his time looking over the city from the porch of his estate near the center of the city. He won't like hearing Milena's name at first, but he relents when he hears it's for a good cause. He offers to let players pay off Milena's 5,000 credit bounty, but he also has a Persuasion option. If players pass this eight-step persuasion, he'll erase Milena's bounty for free.
The price appears to be the only real difference between the three options. Players get the exact same dialog options with Marko Jansen no matter how players get Milena permission to land, so players should try to Persuade Mayor Cartwright first and then go pay off Tom Starrett if they fail.
Regardless, players should go visit Marko next to give him the good news. The mission reward is 75 XP and a number of credits that depends on the player's level. Do this mission late enough, and it'll more than pay for whatever method players use to help out Milena.
Starfield is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.