That's pretty much the main characters' role in the Brotherhood during this game. We don't do much else for them at any rate. We're off to Old Olney, to recover a Tesla Coil. Of course, that's easier said then done and there is an army of Deathclaws between us them.
Before we go, there's a minor thing we need to take care of.
Emphasis on minor, 9/10 people probably wouldn't even have noticed this particular optional objective.
"I hear you can help me get into Old Olney."
Not like we need help getting in there, we've been there before. Multiple times.
"Well, maybe. I mean, possibly. I think so, but I'm not certain. I don't know how much this will actually help... I mean, I'm not quite sure how effective it might be since it hasn't really been field tested... But I think I've figured out a way to override the signals the Enclave is using to control their Deathclaws. Here, take this. It's only a prototype, so please don't lose it."
This item is absolutely useless. I'm only showing off the dialogue and resulting part of the quest just to show how pointless this optional objective is.
"What exactly is this thing?"
"It's a semi-standard transmitter, only I altered the frequency modulation and jacked up the output. Based on some experiments I ran here in the lab, it should override the signals the Enclave uses to control Deathclaws."
How many Enclave controlled Deathclaws are there in this game?
Not many, is what I'm saying...
"Don't worry - it's constantly broadcasting, so you don't need to do anything. Just don't lose it. And so far, I have no evidence of adverse effects of EM interference in humans. Animals maybe, but not humans."
Oh, that's good to know. I suppose at least we won't be surprised when we suddenly burst into flames because of it.
"Anyway, it doesn't have a huge broadcast range, but it should be enough."
Dammit, no army of deathclaws. That's what this game really needed.
Not a better plot or characters, just an army of Deathclaws. All would be forgiven.
The optional objective is just slightly off of Old Olney.
The Enclave outpost is just near the ramp onto that overpass.
Oh look, an Albino Radscorpion. Those are always fun to fight.
We're helped by some random NPC's exploring the wastes. Have no idea where the hell they came from, but hey, not complaining.
Oh yeah, and obviously there is Enclave guys to fight too. Who would have guessed?
This deathclaw isn't hostile like every single other one you encounter in this game, because of that gadget we got from the Brotherhood. And it even follows us. Awesome.
As far as armies go, it's a start-
Damn it. Just drops dead once you hit a certain range. No idea why.
Welp, that was disappointing. At least we get to shoot some deathclaws now.
We have to go through this sewer to get to the next area. It's not as bad as it sounds, as far as sewer areas go it's quite tolerable, and it leads to a pretty cool basement area as well.
Of course, it's filled to the brim with deathclaws, without much room to maneuver. If they were actually a threat, it would be pretty damn difficult.
I don't know what is up with the random Spanish at times.
These guys do tend to pop up at the most unexpected times.
Behind a Very Hard locked door, there is a decent arsenal of stuff.
There's also a door that leads randomly into this grate on the outside, for some strange reason. I mean, it's kind of interesting looking down in here from above, but there's nothing of interest in this tiny room.
Now we're into a whole new section of the underground. Thankfully, this one is less sewer-y and more basement-y.
This is the most random conversation in the entire game, no joke.
"How the hell'd you get in here, smoothskin?"
The door...?
"I'm looking for Olney Powerworks. You know where that is?"
"Oh yeah, yeah. Sure thing. Just right through here. Only there's a few Deathclaws down here that might ahve other ideas. You know what I'm sayin'?"
They do realize that we just went through a dozen of them just to get in here, right?
"If there are so many Deathclaws around, how'd you survive?"
"Heh. We ran faster than the others, that's how. Ain't nothin' honorable about it, but we're still alive and they ain't. I can live with that."
Who thought living down here in the
middle of a fucking deathtrap was a good idea?
"Listen, this wasn't my fault, okay? It wasn't my idea to tunnel down here, I just went along with it. But whatever. What's done is done. Me and Kidd, we're getting out of here. You came in that way, that means we can get back out. See ya later, kid."
Er, goodbye random NPC who came the hell out of nowhere...
This was the last place I thought I'd be running into a random NPC.
They don't really see much of anything about the ghouls down here, but I'm assuming there was a community down here like in Underworld or something? Not really sure exactly, this game could have used another town.
I mean, it's not like it's really lacking places littered with corpses.
The Deathclaws tore right through here.
This section goes on a bit too long though. It's obvious Bethesda wanted to add some dungeon crawl-y segements here, but I don't think they know how to pace them well enough...
This is where the tunnel/sewer section goes into a building section. Not really sure if I get the layout of this area, but whatever.
So did the ghouls tunnel through here, or was it the Deathclaws?
So I assume we're going through the basement of the building here?
It's a pretty cool area, I'll give it that at least.
This is the coolest area in the entire DLC, in my opinion. It's a building collasping in on itself, and it's pretty cool jumping across the different platforms to progress.
You can hear a Vertibird from up above.
You can vaguely see the blades of the Vertibird, and unlike many other of the interior areas that have "exterior" ceilings, this doesn't look completely fake.
Really hope that fix that with Skyrim's new engine, but I doubt it. It honestly doesn't look too impressive, in my opinion.
Also some Enclave guys in here too, finally. After about 30 minutes of just fighting Deathclaw after Deathclaw, it's nice to have some variety.
We use the billboard to cross the gap in the middle of the building.
We can't get through here yet, without a 100 science but this door is a shortcut to and back from where we need to go.
Had to fight Sentry Bots as well, I guess for variety purposes.
The Heavy Incinerator is surprisingly effective.
Eventually, we make it to this room. This is a really cool setpiece, and it looks surprisingly nice for Gamebryo.
We have to go down there and collect the Tesla Coil.
You can get Alien Power Cells in this room right here. No rhyme or reason for them being in here, they just are.
Somehow we're totally okay being down here and not getting fried but I'm not complaining. Touching the Tesla Coil right now insta-kills you, but there are switches on the wall you can pull.
There are three switches to hit.
Let's snatch the coil and get out of here. We just take the little ball on top, I thought the coil was the entire thing...?
Tesla Coils are actually really cool.
There's a shortcut out of here thankfully. If there wasn't that would be incredibly tedious.
So now we're right outside Old Olney. It's nice that they did something with Old Olney at least.
So, quick cut to the Citadel...
I'm telling you, I just can't think of anything other than "STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!" when listening to this guy.
"Excellent. I'll see to it that this reaches the scribes immediately. You've done good work, soldier."
We've done nothing that a squad of paladins couldn't handle...
Well, the Brotherhood has shown time and time again how incompetant they are without us in this game, so I guess it's better that we came.
"Are you ready for your next assignment? We don't have have time to spare."
"I'm good to go. What's next?"
Thankfully not another fetch quest.
"Based on the data you brought us from the relay station, we've identified where the Enclave is basing their operation. Based on the data you brought us from the relay station, we've identified where the Enclave is basing their operation. It seems they have a second base of operations at Adams Air Force base, outside of DC. The only safe way to get there is through the Presidential Metro used by the government before the war."
This must be some strange usage of the word safe that I wasn't previously aware of.*
*Internet high five for getting the reference. Without Google of course.
Seriously, the metro is just filled with a huge amount of ghouls, including a few Reavers.
"You're going to be on your own again for now: the rest of the Brotherhood will be providing a distraction so you can slip in undetected."
I love how it's them creating the distraction and not us. I get gameplay and story segregation, blah blah blah, but the game still hasn't come up with a decent explanation for why we're so important, aside from being a fucking badass.
"Once you breach the Presidential Metro and get to Adams Air Force Base, look for the Resupply Crate. Inside, you'll find your new orders and hopefully we can put a working Tesla Cannon into your hands."
You had me at Tesla Cannon, fuck yeah.
