The Last Voyage of the ACS Free Market is a side quest on Free Market Station that rewards careful sleuthing and a notoriously tricky power-box puzzle. You don’t need every clue to finish, but the payout scales with how complete — and accurate — your answers are when you report back.

Start the quest on Free Market Station

Free Market Station becomes available after completing the main quest “The Saboteur of Paradise.” On arrival, walk the main thoroughfare between the landing pad and the bazaar to find Archivist Stallworth speaking with a station guard. Offer to help her catalog what happened to the ACS Free Market to begin the quest.

Skill checks and gates at a glance

Activity Where Requirements What you learn
Prospero’s information 2nd Choice saloon (bazaar) Hack 3 (override reservation) or Lockpick 5 (safe), to obtain Glacial Age Iceberg Aged Whiskey Firsthand account of the crash’s final moments; unlocks a valid answer to Q1 or Q2; +Sub Rosa reputation when you deliver the whiskey
Read Sub Rosa archive Saloon cellar via restroom vent Hack 8 + Bypass Shunt, or Pickpocket perk to get the password (sleeping guard), or eliminate the guard and loot password Records referencing a salvage/insurance angle; unlocks a valid answer to Q1 or Q3
Search wreck: engine debris Debris field near the hole in the wall by the rift anomaly Engineering 8 Engine failure insights; unlocks a valid answer to Q1
Search wreck: buried audio log Smaller debris pile in the same area Sneak 5 or Brawny trait “Another Sunk-Cost Fallacy (1)” reveals someone tried to halt the nosedive; unlocks a valid answer to Q2
Otto’s information Otto’s stall (right side of bazaar) and his sealed room Engineering 5 (dialogue) or the N-Ray Scanner to solve his power-box puzzle Coherent survivor perspective and context about personnel changes; unlocks valid answers to Q1 and Q3

Prospero: get the whiskey, get the story (+Sub Rosa reputation)

Find Prospero near the stage inside the 2nd Choice saloon. He’ll talk once you bring Glacial Age Iceberg Aged Whiskey.

  • Hack 3 route: Speak to the Chef de Mechanique at the outdoor bar across the bazaar and override Prospero’s reservation.
  • Lockpick 5 route: Slip into the armor shop next to the bar, crawl through the opening to the back of the bar, and open the safe to steal the bottle.

Return the whiskey to Prospero to hear his account. Delivering the bottle grants a notable boost to Sub Rosa faction reputation and provides an answer you can use for Stallworth’s first or second question.

Sub Rosa archive: slip beneath the saloon

Inside the 2nd Choice, enter the restroom and climb into the vent to reach the cellar. A Sub Rosa cutthroat is asleep near the archive terminal.

  • Hack 8 + Bypass Shunt: Access the terminal directly.
  • Pickpocket perk: Steal the password (“Reminder Note”) from the sleeping guard.
  • Violent route: Eliminate the guard quietly and loot the password.

Read every file to record the Free Market intel. These records point to a salvage/insurance angle, which supports answers to Stallworth’s first and third questions.

Wreckage search: engine debris and the buried log

From the landing area, head toward the rift anomaly and crawl through the hole in the wall. Before taking the ladder up to Otto’s room, comb the debris field.

  • Engine debris (Engineering 8): Inspect the destroyed engines for clues you can use as one valid explanation for how the ship went down.
  • Buried audio log (Sneak 5 or Brawny): Pull out the log from the smaller debris pile, then listen to “Another Sunk-Cost Fallacy (1).” It reveals someone other than the captain was attempting to stop the dive — a key detail for Stallworth’s second question.

Otto’s information: open the saferoom and read the journal

Otto’s stall sits on the right as you enter the bazaar from the landing pad. You can glean some details with Engineering 5 in conversation, but the most complete picture comes from opening his sealed room and reading his notes.

Find the side area through the hole in the wall near the rift anomaly and climb the ladder. You’ll face a wall of 11 power boxes with three indicator lights on the right (power sources) and three on the left (targets). The wiring between boxes is only visible with the N-Ray Scanner (you can acquire one on Golden Ridge). The puzzle rules:

  • Route power from right to left until all three left-side lights are lit.
  • Power may pass through a given box only once; reusing a box resets the puzzle.

Follow this sequence, starting from the top-right box:

  • Step 1 — Activate the top-right box (rightmost column), then the box directly to its left.
  • Step 2 — From that box, move diagonally down-left to the middle box in the next column and activate it.
  • Step 3 — Move diagonally down-left again to the bottom box in the leftmost column and activate it. One left-side light should now be green.
  • Step 4 — Back on the rightmost column, activate the middle box, then the middle box directly to its left.
  • Step 5 — Move diagonally up-left to the top box in the next column and activate it. The second left-side light should be green.
  • Step 6 — On the rightmost column, activate the bottom box, then the bottom box directly to its left.
  • Step 7 — Move left again to activate the next bottom box.
  • Step 8 — Finish by moving diagonally up-left to the final box. All left-side lights should now be green, unlocking the door.

Loot the room and read Otto’s journal to log his account. His intel supplies acceptable answers for Stallworth’s first and third questions.

Turn in: the three questions you must answer correctly

You only need enough information to credibly answer all three of Stallworth’s questions. Any lie or noncommittal response counts as incomplete intel and reduces your payout. Use the following mapping to ensure full credit:

Stallworth’s question Accepted sources to cite in your answers
Q1 — How did the ACS Free Market meet its end? Otto’s account; Prospero’s account; Sub Rosa archive records; Engine debris analysis
Q2 — What occurred in the ship’s final moments? Buried audio log (“Another Sunk-Cost Fallacy (1)”); Prospero’s account
Q3 — Any contributing factors that recontextualize the crash? Otto’s account (e.g., personnel changes); Sub Rosa archive (salvage/insurance angle)
Tip: Stick to responses that reference these findings. Avoid jokes, guesses, or vague answers.

Payouts, XP, and reputation changes

  • Bits and XP scale with how many questions you answer credibly. Partial intel yields a modest payout; a complete, consistent set of answers pays around 1.3k bit cartridges, with slight variation by level.
  • Delivering the whiskey to Prospero grants a significant Sub Rosa faction reputation increase.
  • After the debrief, you can press Stallworth on her motives. Depending on your responses and checks:
    • Pass Sneak 3 for a small bonus in bit cartridges.
    • Challenge her and pass a Speech 3 check for a larger Order reputation increase.
    • Express approval to gain a smaller Order reputation bump.

If you’re aiming for the maximum payout in one loop, Prospero plus the buried audio log and either the Sub Rosa archive or Otto’s notes will cover all three of Stallworth’s questions. Leave Otto’s puzzle for last if you don’t yet have the N-Ray Scanner — the wreck, saloon, and archive provide enough to finish strong.