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Background
You can receive this quest from Lt. Haggerty (#1) or Fantastic (#3) at
HELIOS One. For Haggerty, you'll need Speech 30, Science 30, or a high enough reputation with the NCR. For Fantastic, you'll just need to talk to him.
Walkthrough
If you receive the quest from Haggerty, then she'll tell you to talk to "the idiot with sunglasses" (aka Fantastic), and see if you can help him get the power plant up and running. Fantastic, meanwhile, will lay the groundwork for the quest. He'll tell you that the power plant is only operating at 1% efficiency because its mirrors aren't aimed correctly, and that someone would need to access the two control terminals outside (#5 and #6) plus the mainframe in the tower (#9) to correct the problem. He'll then ask you to redistribute power to the
New Vegas Strip and
Camp McCarran (since that would mean a payday for him), and, to help you out, he'll give you the Western Reflector Control Terminal Password.
In the room next to Fantastic, you'll meet a Follower of the Apocalypse named Ignacio Rivas (#4). As long as you don't introduce yourself as a power-hungry warmonger, he'll reveal that the power plant also houses a weapon called ARCHIMEDES, and he'll ask you not to redirect power to it. Instead, he'll ask you to distribute power to everybody. If Rivas likes you, then he'll also give you the Eastern Reflector Control Terminal Password. Otherwise, you can find the password in one of the rooms in the Power Plant (#2), or you can hack the "hard" terminal it goes to (#6).
Outside the Power Plant, you'll find the two control terminals. The western terminal (#5) will have a few traps around it, and the eastern terminal (#6) will have three hostile NCR guard dogs watching it. The traps should be straightforward, but for the dogs you'll need to kill them when nobody is looking, or else the NCR troopers in the area might turn hostile. For both terminals, all you'll need to do when you access them is "reset mainframe connection."
Next up, you'll need to head into the Solar Collection Tower (via Exit D), where you'll be attacked by several turrets and robots. To make the battles easier, you can hack the "easy" Turret Control System terminal (#7) and deactivate the turrets. Eventually, you'll make your way to the Observation Level, where you'll find the mainframe computer (#9). To use it, you'll need to repair the auxiliary generator (#10). You'll have two options for this: you can repair the generator yourself, which requires Repair 35 and a piece of
Scrap Metal, or you can activate the PYTHON repair robot (#11), which requires Science 45 or a Poseidon Energy Employee ID Badge (#8).
With the mainframe operational, you'll be able to use it to select where
HELIOS One should send its power. You'll have five options:
- McCarran and Las Vegas Strip. This will make the NCR happy, and when you return to Fantastic (#3), you'll receive some NCR fame.
- Fremont and Westside. This will make the Followers of the Apocalypse happy, and when you return to Rivas (#4), you'll receive three
Stimpaks, two
Doctor's Bags, and some Followers fame.
- Full Region. This will make the Followers of the Apocalypse really happy, and when you return to Rivas (#4), you'll receive a
Big Book of Science, three
Stimpaks, two
Doctor's Bags, and some Followers fame.
- ARCHIMEDES II. This will activate the ARCHIMEDES II weapon and grant you an
ARCHIMEDES II Charge. If you also have
Euclid's C-Finder (from Max in
Freeside), then you'll be able to use it once per day to call down the ARCHIMEDES II laser and inflict some serious damage. You might need to activate ARCHIMEDES II for the quest
I Could Make You Care.
If you select this option and return to Rivas (#4), then even though you did the exact opposite of what he asked, he'll still give you a reward: three
Stimpaks, two
Doctor's Bags, and some Followers fame.
- Full Region (Emergency Output Level). This will sabotage the power plant (preventing anyone from getting power, and also preventing ARCHIMEDES I from working), but when you return to Rivas (#4), he'll still give you three
Stimpaks and two
Doctor's Bags.
To finalize your choice, you'll need to head outside and activate the Reflector Control Console (#12). Until you do, you'll be able to change your mind at the mainframe (#9). Regardless of what you choose, you'll also receive 350 xp at the end of the quest.
Note: After picking a destination for
HELIOS One's power, you'll also get an option to arm the ARCHIMEDES I defense system, which will kill all of the NCR soldiers in the area (causing you to gain lots of NCR infamy) and eventually give control of the power plant to Caesar's Legion. You can arm ARCHIMEDES I either before or after completing the quest. If you arm it before, then you'll trigger the weapon when you activate the Reflector Control Console (#12), and Fantastic (#3) and Rivas (#4) will refuse to give you a reward. If you arm it after, then you'll trigger the weapon the next time you step outside.
1 - Lt. Haggerty
2 - Room (Upper Level)
3 - Fantastic
4 - Ignacio Rivas
5 - Western Control Terminal
6 - Eastern Control Terminal
7 - Office
8 - ID Badges
9 - Mainframe
10 - Auxiliary Generator
11 - PYTHON
12 - Door to Reflector Control Console
Exits:
- Front entrance to Power Plant.
- Side entrance to Power Plant. You'll need to pick a "very easy" lock to use this entrance.
- Back entrance to Power Plant.
- Front entrance to the Solar Collection Tower.
- Elevator between the Solar Collection Tower and the Observation Level.
