Tread Lightly is a 10-part mission chain in the Strange New Worlds arc, built for commanders around Operations level 34. It starts near your home station on a journalist’s tip and sends you to Yuma, Exchange Alpha, and Federation space chasing a contested artifact. Across the run you bank millions of Parsteel, Tritanium, and Dilithium, a stack of 3★ ship parts, and 900 Latinum at the finish. Two parts let you bribe or fight, and the last one pays the same either way. Steady value for a mid-game story arc.
Tread Lightly at a glance
| Part | Recommended level | Warp to complete | Key reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 34 | 24 | 176,000 Dilithium |
| Part 2 | 34 | 24 | 9,466,000 Parsteel |
| Part 3 | 34 | 24 | 1,083,000 Tritanium |
| Part 4 | 34 | 27 | 4,909,000 Parsteel |
| Part 5 | 34 | 24 | Battleship or Interceptor parts (your choice) |
| Part 6 | 34 | 1 | 230 3★ Explorer Parts |
| Part 7 | 34 | 1 | 877,000 Tritanium |
| Part 8 | 34 | 24 | 8,765,000 Parsteel |
| Part 9 | 34 | 26 | 6,661,000 Parsteel |
| Part 10 | 34 | 26 | 900 Latinum |
The chain does not appear as an accept-from-system mission. It triggers through the Strange New Worlds arc, so you pick it up from the story flow rather than from a beacon.
Tread Lightly Part 1
You hear the journalist’s offer and take the first lead.
- Disable the mystery ship (enemy strength around 652,792)
- Return to your station
- Go to Yuma
- Land on Yuma III, in the Yuma system
Warp to complete: 24. Recommended level 34.
Rewards: 176,000 Dilithium, 10 3★ Uncommon Refined Gas, and 25 15-Minute Repair Speed Ups. Finishing it opens Part 2.
Tread Lightly Part 2
You dig for the artifact at the crash site.
- Get closer to the artifact site, in Yuma
- Defeat 10 hostiles of level 32 or higher
- Return to the Enterprise crew, in Yuma
- Hand over the artifact? (story choice)
Warp to complete: 24. The “hand over the artifact” prompt is a narrative choice here. Both answers send you to stop Sanuva in Yuma (enemy strength around 647,357) and pay the same reward.
Rewards: 15 3★ Uncommon Refined Ore, 9,466,000 Parsteel, and 20 30-Minute Repair Speed Ups.
Tread Lightly Part 3
With the site hot, you look for a way out of the system.
- Defeat 8 hostiles of level 32 or higher
- Activate a distress beacon, in Yuma
- Return to the Enterprise crew, in Yuma
- Return to your station
Warp to complete: 24. Recommended level 34.
Rewards: 12 3★ Uncommon Refined Crystal, 1,083,000 Tritanium, and 31 15-Minute Repair Speed Ups.
Tread Lightly Part 4
You take the case to Starfleet.
- Go into Federation space, in Aiti
- Speak with Admiral Carver, in Aiti
- Reconvene with Amelia, in Azati
- Defeat the ship, in Azati (enemy strength around 673,107)
Warp to complete: 27, the longest jump in the chain. Recommended level 34.
Rewards: 4,909,000 Parsteel, 9 3-Hour Speed Ups, and 11 30-Minute Repair Speed Ups.
Tread Lightly Part 5
You track Norman Sanuva to Screen Corp and hit a real fork in the road.
- Go into Screen Corp’s system, in Exchange Alpha
- Find the HQ, in Exchange Alpha
- Defeat the bodyguard, in Exchange Alpha (enemy strength around 652,792)
- Defeat or bribe the second bodyguard? (branch)
Warp to complete: 24. This is the one branch where the paths pay out differently. Pick by which parts you need.
Bribe path: donate 800,000 Dilithium, then return to your station. Rewards: 300 Ship XP, 500 3★ Battleship Parts, and 516,000 Dilithium.
Fight path: defeat the other bodyguard in Exchange Alpha (enemy strength around 647,357), then return to your station. Rewards: 300 Ship XP, 280 3★ Interceptor Parts, and 18 3-Hour Speed Ups.
Tread Lightly Part 6
You handle the fallout from the kidnapping close to home.
- Talk to Pike
- Defeat the ship (enemy strength around 673,107)
- Defeat the second ship (enemy strength around 652,792)
- Return to your station
Warp to complete: 1. Both fights happen right by your home system.
Rewards: 230 3★ Explorer Parts, 2 1-Day Assignment Speed Ups, and 83,000 Officer XP.
Tread Lightly Part 7
You move to stop the attack before it lands.
- Confront Jarron
- Defeat the ship (enemy strength around 647,357)
- Chase Jarron
- Return to your station
Warp to complete: 1. Another home-system part.
Rewards: 10 3★ Uncommon Refined Gas, 176,000 Dilithium, and 877,000 Tritanium.
Tread Lightly Part 8
You confront Jarron over what he set in motion.
- Visit Jarron, in Exchange Alpha
- Defeat the bodyguard, in Exchange Alpha (enemy strength around 673,107)
- Speak to Jarron, in Exchange Alpha
- Return to your station
- Defeat the Starfleet ship (enemy strength around 652,792)
Warp to complete: 24. Recommended level 34.
Rewards: 50 1-Hour Speed Ups, 8,765,000 Parsteel, and 1,289,000 Tritanium.
Tread Lightly Part 9
You go back out to find the artifact for good.
- Meet with the Enterprise, in Aiti
- Search for the artifact, in Aiti
- Defeat the strange ship, in Aiti (enemy strength around 647,357)
- Retrieve the artifact, in Nausicaa
- Return to your station
Warp to complete: 26. Recommended level 34.
Rewards: 69,000 Officer XP, 980,000 Tritanium, and 6,661,000 Parsteel.
Tread Lightly Part 10
You decide the fate of the artifact and close out the arc.
- Defeat Jarron (enemy strength around 647,357)
- Accompany the Enterprise to Starfleet HQ, in Aiti
- Give the artifact to Starfleet or Amelia? (story choice)
Warp to complete: 26. The final “Starfleet or Amelia” choice is narrative. Both endings return you to your station and pay the same reward.
Rewards: 900 Latinum, 180 3★ Explorer Parts, and 12 3-Hour Speed Ups.
Tips for completing Tread Lightly
Every part sits at recommended level 34, so gear a combat ship and crew that can clear a hostile near 650,000 to 673,000 strength before you start. There is at least one fight in almost every part, and Part 6 stacks two ships back to back.
Most parts want warp 24 to 27, but Parts 6 and 7 drop to warp 1 because those fights happen in your home system. Keep repair speed-ups handy for the run of hostiles in Parts 2 and 3, where you clear 10 and 8 targets of level 32 or higher.
Part 5 is the decision to plan for. The bribe costs 800,000 Dilithium up front and hands back 500 3★ Battleship Parts plus 516,000 Dilithium; the fight skips the donation and pays 280 3★ Interceptor Parts and 3-Hour Speed Ups instead. If you are short on Dilithium or want Interceptor parts, fight it; if you want Battleship parts and have the Dilithium to spare, bribe it. The Part 2 and Part 10 choices do not change your loot, so answer them however you like.
Locations move outward as the story goes: Yuma early, Exchange Alpha in the middle, and Aiti, Azati, and Nausicaa late.
Are the Tread Lightly rewards worth it?
Solid mid-game payout for a level-34 chain: millions of Parsteel and Tritanium, a good chunk of Dilithium, 3★ ship parts across three hull types, and 900 Latinum at the end. The resource haul alone justifies the run, and the Latinum finish is a bonus. Nothing here is meta-defining, but it is clean, repeatable value for commanders building toward the mid tiers.
