Cognitive Dissonance is a mission in the Discovery storyline of Star Trek Fleet Command where you decide Kai’s fate. The game lists a recommended level of 25, and the whole mission runs at warp 1. After confronting a follower and returning to your Station, you choose whether to convince Kai to join Tilly. One path pays 63,000 Tritanium and 23 1 Hour Speed Ups with no fight; the other adds a fight and pays 193,000 Parsteel, 7 15 Minute Speed Ups and 4 Latinum.
Cognitive Dissonance objectives
The mission opens with two shared steps, then splits on one question: convince Kai to join Tilly?
- Confront the follower.
- Return to your Station.
- Decide whether to convince Kai to join Tilly.
Path 1: bring Kai to the follower
- Bring Kai to the follower.
- Return to your Station.
Rewards for Path 1: 63,000 Tritanium and 23 1 Hour Speed Ups.
Path 2: confront the follower
- Confront the follower.
- Defeat the follower. Enemy strength is about 133,020.
Rewards for Path 2: 4 Latinum, 193,000 Parsteel and 7 15 Minute Speed Ups.
No system is named for any step, so the follower’s location is set when the mission runs. Path 1 is travel only. Path 2 ends in the one fight of the mission.
Where and what warp
Cognitive Dissonance starts and finishes at warp 1. It comes straight after Turning Tides, which took you to Orion at warp 8, and before The Masks We Wear, which sends you to Netron Omega at warp 20.
The recommended level is 25. Only Path 2 has a combat check, and the follower’s strength of about 133,020 matches the security ship in Quicksand earlier in the story.
Cognitive Dissonance rewards
| Path | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Path 1: bring Kai to the follower | 63,000 Tritanium, 23 1 Hour Speed Ups |
| Path 2: confront and defeat the follower | 193,000 Parsteel, 7 15 Minute Speed Ups, 4 Latinum |
Either path unlocks the next mission, The Masks We Wear.
Which path to pick
Path 1 is the time path. Twenty-three 1 Hour Speed Ups add up to 23 hours of build or research time, against 105 minutes from the seven 15 Minute Speed Ups on Path 2. It also skips the fight.
Path 2 is the resource path. It pays 193,000 Parsteel, the largest single amount on either path, and adds 4 Latinum. You pay for it with a fight against a target of about 133,020 strength.
If a long building upgrade is waiting on a timer, Path 1 is the better pick. If your Parsteel is the bottleneck and your ship handled Quicksand, Path 2 pays more materials.
Cognitive Dissonance in the Discovery storyline
| Mission | Warp to complete | Fights |
|---|---|---|
| Quicksand | 20 | Security ship in Netron Alpha (about 133,020) |
| Turning Tides | 8 | Kai’s ship in Orion (about 129,975) |
| Cognitive Dissonance | 1 | The follower (about 133,020), Path 2 only |
| The Masks We Wear | 20 | Two mercenary ships in Netron Omega (about 131,625 and 129,975) |
| Guns Blazing | 1 | Burnham’s ship (about 131,625) and a merc ship (about 133,020) |
All five are recommended for level 25, and Cognitive Dissonance is the only one where you can avoid combat completely.
Tips
Decide before you reach the question. The two paths share nothing after the split, and the rewards are fixed per path.
If you take Path 2, repair before you confront the follower. The next mission, The Masks We Wear, opens with two mercenary fights, so going in damaged costs you time twice.
Tilly appears in the game as an officer too; see Tilly. The rest of this storyline is listed on the Discovery arc page, and every mission by level is on the mission guide.
