A Break at Dawn is a simple side quest in Starfield that can be found in the city of New Atlantis on the planet Jemison, the first planet players will encounter in the game.
After proving yourself as a helpful member of the UC Security team, Sergeant Yumi has more work for you. This time around, you will be dealing with what seems to be a case of theft. Though this is a relatively short and easy-to-complete task, A Break at Dawn acts as a good experience mission to prepare for larger ones that include choices as well as persuasion attempts.
With that in mind, let’s go through how to complete the A Break at Dawn mission in Starfield.
How to do A Break at Dawn quest in Starfield
To access the A Break at Dawn quest, you need to have completed another side quest called Keeping the Peace. This quest is given to you by Sergeant Yumi from New Atlantis Security after he offers you a part-time security position. This can be done by heading into the UC Security building and talking with Yumi.
Once you have finished that mission, you will eventually get a new activity pop-up in your mission log saying Yumi has more work for you and to go and speak to him again. You might also get the information from a random UC Security guard, who will tell you Yumi is looking for you.
When this appears in your activities list, go to New Atlantis and enter the UC Security building to find Yumi. Talk to him and he will explain that he has had a bit of a problem with an outburst between two guests at the fine dining restaurant Dawn’s Roost. The argument escalated due to one of the guests claiming that the other had stolen a valuable and prized ring from them. Unsure as to what to believe, Yumi tasks you with solving the issue and getting the ring back.
When Yumi has finished explaining everything, you can ask him some follow-up questions or head out straight away. There isn’t much to go on in this case, other than that the dispute occurred at Dawn’s Roost. Since that is the only lead you have to go on, there is no better place to begin your investigation.
Head to the Dawn’s Roost restaurant
You will find the Dawn’s Roost restaurant in the Commercial District in New Atlantis, located on the first floor of Pioneer Tower. You can fast travel there or take the NAT train. Once you’re in the Commercial District, follow the blue mission marker to Pioneer Tower. You will find Dawn’s Roost to the right of the elevator as you walk in.
Talk to Royce
Once you’re in the restaurant, you will need to talk to Royce. He is the only NPC standing behind the counter, so he will be difficult to miss. Royce will give you a little more information regarding what happened between the two restaurant visitors, but the most useful tip he gives you is where you will find one of the patrons. He tells you that you will find them in Athena Tower and that his name is Hugo. With this information at hand, it’s now time to pay Hugo a visit to start getting to the bottom of this.
Go to the Athena Tower Lobby
Athena Tower isn’t far from the Dawn’s Roost restaurant, so it won’t take long to walk there from your current position. You will find Hugo Fournier in the lobby, not far from the entrance.
Speak with Hugo
Approach Hugo and interact with him to start your line of questioning. As you speak to him, the revelation that this wasn’t simply an argument between two fine-dining connoisseurs will quickly become apparent. Instead, it was a spat between ex-partners.
Hugo tells you the ring wasn’t stolen after all; it was an engagement ring from his former husband Octavio. So it would seem that you are investigating a lover’s tiff rather than a robbery situation. Octavio is the one who got the authorities involved, as he wants the engagement ring back from Hugo, but Hugo isn’t willing to part with it as it was a gift.
Persuade Hugo to return the ring or let him keep it
After Hugo has vented his problems to you, you will have two choices. You can allow him to keep it if you choose the dialogue option that sides with him, as you will agree that since the ring was a gift, then it doesn’t qualify as theft. But you can always enter into a persuasion check to see if you can convince Hugo to hand it over to you.
The outcomes here are only minor, but if you persuade Hugo to give you the ring, then you can either return it to Yumi or keep it for yourself. Both of these options will lead to more credits in the long run. Since allowing Hugo to keep the ring doesn’t have any kind of benefit—except for maybe making him feel a little more confident in his decision to keep hold of it—I would suggest trying to persuade him to hand it over to you. As greedy as it sounds, it is the option that will have the more lucrative outcome for you in the end. Yes, it is probably a precious token of lost love for Hugo, but I’m here to do a job. Don’t judge me, we’re all just trying to make a living out here in deep space.
Return to Sergeant Yumi
After you have made your decision regarding the ring, you will need to head back over to the UC Security building and speak to Sergeant Yumi to complete the A Break at Dawn mission (even if you have no intention of giving him the ring). Leave Athena Tower and go straight there. Start talking to Yumi and explain the situation to him. You will then be given your second decision.
Give the ring to Sergeant Yumi or keep it
We mentioned this next choice earlier, but let’s take a closer look at the outcomes of handing over the engagement ring to Yumi versus keeping it for yourself. If you give Yumi the ring, you will get 100 XP and 2,000 credits. But you can always lie to Yumi and say you don’t have it. The outcome will be in the same in that you will still get your 100 XP and 2,000 credits, but the difference is that you can later sell the ring for an additional reward of 675 credits.
This is a choice that is going to rely on that ever-shaky moral compass of yours. You won’t face any negative consequences for your actions, as everyone will be none the wiser if you do choose to sell off the ring. The only one who will be there to judge your decision is yourself, and if you are the kind of player who would struggle with the moral implications of these actions, then you might want to just hand over the ring to Yumi.
That’s what I did, even though I knew there would be an extra reward with no catch. Why? Because I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror and say I was the best person I could be today. Yes, I know it’s just a game. Shut up.
Removing your own fragile ethics out of the situation, the most logical choice here would be to lie to Yumi and keep the ring for yourself so you can get yourself a nice little credit bonus alongside the rewards you get for completing the mission. No matter what you choose to make, the mission will end once you have spoken to Yumi and explained the situation of the jilted lovers and the engagement ring.
That’s everything that you need to know about how to complete the A Break at Dawn mission in Starfield. The two choices you get in this mission don’t have any far-reaching consequences or effects on the world in-game—unlike some of the choices you will have to make further down the line—but it acts as a tutorial of sorts on how these kinds of decisions work during the many missions that you will embark on during your time with Starfield.
A Break at Dawn feels similar to later, bigger missions but on a smaller and more localized scale, with the objectives, areas, and people involved being very close together. The mission is a great way to get stuck into the world of Starfield and become accustomed to the structure of certain quests without having to deal with the repercussions of your actions so early on in the game (we would suggest embarking on this mission soon after you arrive in New Atlantis due to this useful tutorial-like structure).
A Break at Dawn definitely feels like it is preparing you for some of the decisions you will have to make in Starfield, as well as some of the moral and ethical implications you will face, even if it is on a much smaller scale and with zero negative consequences for your dubious actions—except for that gnawing guilt you might feel afterward if you keep the ring, of course.
