Main Quest: Unveiling the Conspiracy

Available after completing Main Quest: Visions of Betrayal.

Summary

• (Optional) The player, haunted by recurring visions, returns to the Bayou Brotherhood to consult with Swamp Sage Ezekiel Thibodeaux. Swamp Sage advises the player and suggests a visit to an ancient Bayou site for clarity, resulting in a vision hinting at Enclave involvement.
• Seeking to uncover the identity of the external force behind the conspiracy, the player discovers a hidden Enclave facility at Ellington Field with critical documents.
• These documents reveal the Enclave's involvement in the Sea of Tranquility attack and their presence in Vault 117 before the Great War, among other details.
• Covert agents from the Pirates and Barons observe the player's investigation and share the findings with their factions.
• Stardust contacts the player, uncovering further evidence of the conspiracy and asking for their help. He also informs the Lone Star Republic's President about the situation.
• The player returns to the Spaceport and meets Stardust and the President in a secure chamber, where they discuss the evidence and debate whether to arrest the potential conspirators.
• The player can choose to immediately arrest them, persuade the President to wait for more evidence, or refuse to help.
• Depending on the player's choice, the conspirators are arrested or some escape. Word of the mass arrest spreads across factions, leading to varied reactions and potential faction conflicts based on their perception of the Enclave's involvement.

Setting

Spaceport District

Ellington Field

Possibly:

Buffalo Bayou

Plot

Seeking Guidance in the Bayou (Optional Subquest)

• The player, overwhelmed by recurring visions and their growing complexity, decides to return to the Bayou Brotherhood and consult with Ezekiel "Swamp Sage" Thibodeaux.
• Swamp Sage advises the player on harnessing their visions' power and suggests visiting an ancient Bayou site to gain clarity.
• The player's visit to the sacred site results in a vision that hints at the Enclave's involvement but does not reveal their identity.

A Frightening Revelation

• The player, now aware of an impending conspiracy within the Spaceport Survivors, seeks to uncover the true identity of the external force manipulating events.
• While investigating, the player discovers a hidden Enclave facility underground at Ellington Field, a former joint military base.
• The facility contains critical documents and logs related to the Sea of Tranquility attack, confirming the Enclave's involvement.
  • Artifacts include:
  • A recording of two astronauts arguing during the Sea of Tranquility mission, revealing that the Enclave was responsible for the attack.
  • A log of Enclave members in the Sea of Tranquility mission, including the identity of the astronaut who betrayed the player's great-great-grandfather.
  • A log of Enclave members slated for residency in Vault 117 before the Great War.
  • Blueprints for the orbital space station, revealing that the Enclave was involved in its construction.
  • etc...

Espionage and Secrets

• Unbeknownst to the player, agents from the Pirates and the Barons have been covertly observing the player's actions after leaving the Spaceport and have followed them to Ellington Field.
• As the player infiltrates the Enclave facility, these agents witness the player's findings.
• Perceptive players may notice one or more of these agents and confront them.
• While the player is in the Enclave facility, they receive a message from Stardust stating that he has uncovered additional information about the conspiracy and needs the player's help. He also asks the player for a status update on their investigation.
• The agents (if they can manage to do so before being detected) send a message to their respective factions, informing them of a conspiracy involving the Enclave and the Spaceport Survivors.
  • If the player does not destroy the Enclave facility, then the agents also investigate the facility themselves, sharing any information they find (i.e. everything the player did not remove from the facility) with their respective factions.
• Stardust informs the President of the Lone Star Republic about a conspiracy among some of the Spaceport Survivors and potential Enclave involvement.

Confronting the Enemy Within

• When the player returns to the Spaceport, they find Stardust and the Lone Star President waiting for them in a secure chamber adjoined with the Overseer's office in Vault 117.
• They explain to the player that thanks to the player's help, Stardust was able to uncover additional evidence about the conspiracy, including encrypted communications from those suspicious members with persona in the Oil Barons that Ranger Intelligence had previously identified as potential Enclave agents.
  • Rangers had begun investigating potential Enclave influence in the Gulf Coast Wasteland after events on the West Coast in 2242 and in the Capital Wasteland in 2277 showed that the Enclave was still active.
  • New California Republic reports of Enclave activity connected to Poseidon Energy had in particular prompted the Rangers to investigate the Oil Barons.
  • Their intelligence holds that potential Enclave influence within the Oil Barons is small, but nontrivial, and it is unclear how far up the chain of command it goes.
• The President feels that it is important to arrest the potential conspirators immediately and investigate them, even if there is not yet enough evidence to convict them. Stardust, insisting that these men, even if they are traitors, are his colleagues, insists that they need more concrete evidence before taking action.
  • The player might:
    • Agree with the President and help arrest the potential conspirators immediately.
      • The player and a squad of Texas Rangers confront several potential conspirators who are meeting in the hidden Enclave chamber deep within Vault 117. The conspirators are arrested and taken into custody.
      • If the Oil Barons have been previously informed by their agent about the Enclave conspiracy, then Enclave agents within the Barons send a notification to the conspirators within the Spaceport, of whom some manage to escape, the others are frantically trying to hide evidence, and are found in the process in the hidden Enclave chamber.
    • Persuade them to wait some time to gather more evidence.
      • A few Enclave conspirators, noticing that something is awry while investigations happen, manage to escape, hiding some evidence.
      • Evidence of the Enclave conspiracy is found in the private quarters of several of the suspicious conspirators, and they are arrested.
    • Refuse to help arrest the potential conspirators
      • The squad of Texas Rangers confronts the potential conspirators without the player's help. The conspirators are arrested and taken into custody.
      • If the Oil Barons have been previously informed by their agent about the Enclave conspiracy, then Enclave agents within the Barons send a notification to the conspirators within the Spaceport, of whom some manage to escape, the others are frantically trying to hide evidence, and are found in the process in the hidden Enclave chamber.
• The arrested conspirators are escorted out of the Spaceport by the Rangers, and the President thanks the player for their help. He asks the player to keep an eye out for any additional evidence of Enclave involvement.

Faction Conflict Ignites

• Word spreads quickly across the Wasteland of a mass arrest at the Spaceport. Each faction connects the dots (based on their agents' reports earlier in the Quest and rumors of the player's actions in the arrests).
• The factions, now aware of the Enclave's involvement, react based on the information provided by the player or their agents.
• The Lone Star Republic views the Enclave as a dire threat to their space mission and seeks immediate action.
• The Galveston Pirates see the Enclave as a potential ally, hoping to use their orbital weapon, believing it could be a valuable asset in their quest for power.
• The Bayou Brotherhood sees the Enclave as a cosmic force disrupting the natural order and considers joining forces with the Lone Star Republic to eliminate this threat.
• The Oil and Energy Barons are divided, with some seeing the Enclave as an opportunity for an alliance and others viewing them as a risk to their own ambitions.

Purpose

This quest finally reveals the Enclave and introduces us to several of the main conspirators. It hints at Enclave presence among the Oil Barons. It also sparks the faction quests that drive the Conflict of Act II.