Starfield: Where to find the Colander ship

The Colander is an empty, ominous vessel floating in the Schrodinger Star System in Starfield that tells a horror story of a voyage gone wrong. Once inside the Colander, you can find what appears to be a high-level alien threat known as the Terrormorph and plenty of loot left behind.

If you are unsure how to find the ship or take down the Interloper, here is what you need to know.

Starfield Colander ship location

The Colander ship in Starfield can be found in the Schrodinger Star System, in orbit of the Schrodinger III planet. Though the game’s most famous ships, such as Grandma’s Ship or the Starborn Trader, are actively moving throughout the settled systems, the Colander can always be found in the same place.

The Schrodinger System can be found to the east of Cheyenne and Leviathan. I will advise you to only approach this ship once you reach the higher levels of Starfield. This is a level 65 system, and the Interloper, though the only enemy on board the ship, can range from level 50 to level 85. Be sure to come well-armed before boarding the Colander.

Colander Ship in Starfield, explained

The Colander is a large, vacant ship in Starfield. The entire crew of the Colander has been killed by a Terrormorph known as the Interloper, who somehow managed to get on board. Though the Interloper is trapped inside the ship, you can free and slay the horrific creature. You will have to fight the Terrormorph, but there are plenty of areas onboard the vessel to loot before and after the Interloper has been slain.

Starfield Colander ship walkthrough

Congratulations, you have found the ship. However, the Colander ship is full of interesting and spooky things around every corner, so here’s a small guide on what to look for when exploring it.

Magalie V

Once inside the ship, you will immediately encounter a dead crewmember on the right. This is the body of Magalie V. She carries the slate titled “Our Last Resort Slate,” among other things. Reading it will clue you in on what exactly is roaming the ship.

Medical Bay Computer

After exploring the ship and entering the door following Magalie V’s body, you will come across a Medical Bay. You’ll find healing items and chems inside the Medical Bay and, most importantly, a Medical Bay Computer. You will find mentions of the ship’s lockdown and two autopsy reports on this computer. The autopsy reports for Alex T. and Sarah P. detail their deaths gruesomely.

Dr. John M’s crew quarters

Also in the Medical Bay is Dr. John M’s crew quarters. On a table in his quarters, another slate titled, “Told You So Slate.” The slate details how Alex and the doctor are involved with whatever creature was here and potentially even more shady stuff.

Billy K’s workshop

Opposite the medical bay is a workshop with an Expert Lock. Don’t sweat if you don’t have digipicks or the proper lockpicking skill: In Billy K’s quarters, to the right of the workshop, is a Workshop key next to his bed.

Workshop Computer

You’ll come across a Workshop computer once you return to Billy K’s workshop and unlock it using the Workshop key—details on the computer tell of the ship’s life support and mainframe issues. You should also check out the mannequin case.

Hatch

As you explore the ship and pass a few sealed doors, you’ll come across another crew’s quarters next to the doctor’s quarters from before and interact with another computer detailing grim species notes. However, beyond that, you will discover a hatch that allows you to drop down and bypass sealed doors.

Mainframe Computer

After you’ve dropped down, you will pass the Life Support terminal telling of the crew’s demise, another loading bay with little to no loot, and a Master Locked corridor. Follow the walkway to yet another hatch. Drop down and locate the mainframe computer. It will allow you to unlock all sealed doors.

Alex T’s Quarters

Double back to the newly unsealed door and enter Alex T’s Quarters. Here you will find Magalie V’s quarters as well as another slate titled “Alex Slate.” This slate covers Alex and his grim demise.

Captain’s Quarters

Now, you can double back through the crew’s quarters from earlier, but a new door has been unsealed, leading to the Captain’s quarters. In the captain and first officer’s quarters, you can find more info on the strange lifeform they discovered and the Vanguard Space Tactics 03 skill book, which increases Ship energy weapons damage by 5%. You will find a weapon rack past the first officer’s quarters and a bunch of goodies.

Beyond this point, a hard-fought battle awaits you.

How to find the Interloper in Starfield

It would be best to learn the crew’s fate before you find the Interloper lurking inside the Colander ship in Starfield. Immediately after boarding the Colander, you can find the corpse of Magalie V and the Our Last Resort Slate that first informs you about the Terrormorph onboard.

Several other hints at the crew’s gruesome fate are hidden around the ship. You can find further information about the creature in the Medical Bay Computer and the crew quarters with the Told You So Slate.

To get to the Laboratory and confront the Interloper, you need to descend the hatch found near the crew’s bunks. Once on the lower level of the Colander, you can check on the Life Support Terminal to see no survivors. There are more bodies and areas to loot on this lower level, but you must go down a dark, narrow hallway to find the Mainframe Computer.

Whenever interacting with this terminal, you can now unlock all sealed doors on the vessel. Return to the top floor and venture into the Captain’s Quarters, just past the kitchen area. Along the way, you can find Sarah P.’s terminal to explain further the Interloper and how it got trapped on the ship. You can also pick up the Vanguard Space Tactics 03 Skill Book near Sarah P.’s belongings, which increases your ship’s energy weapon systems damage by five percent.

This new open path will lead to the Laboratory, which the Interloper has thoroughly nested. During this section, I highly recommend that you crouch to stealth your way through. The Interloper prowls around this area, so you can run into it at any time.

How to kill the Interloper in Starfield

The Interloper is the most brutal fight I have dealt with in Starfield. The creature has powerful lunging attacks that can kill you in one strike. Before squaring off against the Terrormorph, I highly recommend loading up on medical aids that increase damage resistance.

Thankfully, the Lab has a circular structure, so you can use a run-and-gun strategy to deal damage while keeping space between you and the monster. Specific Powers such as Phase Time and Grav Dash were invaluable to me during this encounter.

Also, be prepared to dodge the Interloper’s equally deadly projectile venom spit. Ultimately, you will need patience and a ton of bullets to take it down. There isn’t too much exciting loot waiting for you after you slay the bastard, but you should check out the Science and Weapons crates inside of the Lab for some potentially rare loot.