1) History Leads

Fast travel to Rivet City and head into the Rivet City Market to find a variety of vendors. Ask them all about Rivet City’s history and Pinkerton. Most folks will refer you to Vera Weatherly or Bannon. Talk to Bannon and ask him about the city’s history. Succeed at a Speech challenge and he’ll tell you to talk to Belle Bonny about the city’s history. If you ask him about the council he’ll ask you to find some evidence that incriminates Seagrave Holmes. Talk to Seagrave and he’ll tell you about Pinkerton, who left after having a spat with the science team a decade ago, and he points you to the broken bow as well.

2) Gossip in the Market

You might also find Tammy and James Hargrave. She’s a real treat. If you’re naughty you can convince James to run away with a successful Speech challenge. Now that you’re done causing trouble you have several leads. Talk to the people in the science lab, bother Belle Bonny, or talk to Vera at her hotel. If you find Mei Wong talk to her. She’ll tell you that she’s an escaped slave, and that a new person on the ship, Sister, is a slaver. You’ll get a note from her, and she’ll ask for some help. If you give her 25 Caps for a gun she’ll tell you the location of the Temple of the Union and you’ll get some karma. Head off to the Muddy Rudder, which can be located by going to the bottom of the Stairwell.

3) Muddy Rudder Bar

Talk to Belle Bonny and ask about Pinkerton, and she will mention the broken bow as well. Ask about the history of the place and tell her Bannon says he started it. She’ll confirm that not only is Pinkerton still around, but he is certainly still in the broken bow of the ship. Succeed at a difficult Speech check and she’ll simply refer you to Pinkerton again. You can steal a bunch of alcohol from the bar, and in the bouncer’s room there’s plenty of food. Now head up two flights of stairs and enter the door to the Midship Deck.

4) Paulie and the Priest

You can break into a lot of houses and deal a lot of minorly valuable stuff, but there’s no need to detail the individual looting. The Cantelli’s house has a good bit of drugs you can loot. If you find Paulie Cantelli you can give him some Psycho for some bad karma… but this tends to earn the demise of Paulie Cantelli, filthy addict that he is. You can talk to Father Clifford in the “church” on this level, but like most priests, he’s useless. You can lie and say Diego and Angela are getting it on, which will make the good father kick Diego out of the church. Diego will then propose to Angela.

5) Bannon’s Blackmail

Schematic - Deathclaw Gauntlet

More importantly, search Seagrave’s room to find the note “Seagraves Incriminating Letter” under his bunk. You can also hack his computer [Average] to learn a bit about him. If you confront Seagrave he’ll ask you to tell Danver that Bannon is blackmailing him, and to not hand over the note… Bannon, on the other hand will ask you to give the note to Danvers and not implicate him.

They both seem fairly sleazy, so morality isn’t an issue… So what’s the most rewarding option? If you give Bannon the note you’ll get a discount at his store, which isn’t all that useful, but he’ll also give you the Schematic - Deathclaw Gauntlet . Seagrave will just give you the discount. So when we find Danver it would be more sensible to sell out Seagrave and be Bannon’s buddy. If you have two or three Deathclaw Schematics, it’d be a great time to craft one… actually, well past time to craft one, but that’s besides the point.

6) Capitol Preservation Society

Go into the room with the airplane hanging from the ceiling, the “Capitol Preservation Society”, and talk to Abraham Washington. Offer to find the Declaration of Independence for him, and bug him about the reward until he offers to give you the Schematic - Railway Rifle . Ask him for the map location to get the map marker added. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the Mall soon enough.

You can succeed at a Speech challenge to get him to reveal his source and ask him about the history of the document, which is somewhat amusing. Lastly, you can loot his room and hack his computer [Average] to learn more about his Declaration Expedition, and about some artifacts of Lincoln’s in the Museum of History. Now head through the door to the Science Lab.

7) Dr. Zimmer’s Missing Machine

You’ll be approached by Dr. Zimmer, who will try to hire you to find his runaway android. This is the appropriate way to begin the quest “The Replicated Man” , and Dr. Zimmer is the first person to offer you a reward for finding the android… a real reward, not “the love of God” crap that slave-loving technophile offered. Accept to look for his android and you’ll get the note “Missing Android” and “Self determination is not a malfunction”.

Ask Dr. Zimmer for more information he’ll refer you to Dr. Preston, who is aboard this ship somewhere. If you keep bugging him he’ll eventually tell you more about this escaped cyborg, this A3-21. If you’ve been talking to people, you should by now be able to tell Dr. Zimmer that Pinkerton did the android’s face job and memory wipe, for what it’s worth.

8) Recognized By Doctor Li

Talk to Doctor Li, who will recognize you as James’ child. You can ask her about Project Purity, the reason your father apparently left the Vault and abandoned you. If you ask about where your dad went, she’ll tell you he went to the old lab, in the Jefferson Memorial. If you succeed at a Speech check she’ll give you five Stimpaks to help you out. There are a few other people to talk to here, but they don’t have anything interesting to say. Head up some stairs to the east and go to the Upper Deck.

9) Upper Deck

Through the first door to the left you’ll find Doctor Preston… or at least his hospital. He doesn’t have much to tell you about Pinkerton or the history of the place, but he could give you more information about “The Replicated Man” if we already didn’t get enough information from Moira earlier. You can steal some drugs from his hospital, and hack his computer [Average] to find out about the medical problems of some of the residents. You’ll also find a good bit of ammo in Flak & Shrapnel’s room, as would be expected from munitions merchants. In the Weatherly Hotel you can talk to Mister Buckingham, whom you can conduct business with. Also you’ll find Vera, whom you can make Speech challenges with to learn gossip. If you ask about Rivet City’s history she’ll refer you to Seagrave. In Docter Li’s room you can hack her computer [Easy] to find out about her work in Rivet City. Also grab the Project Purity Journals #1, #3 and #5 on her desk. Head out into the Stairwell and go up some stairs to reach the Bridge Tower.

10) Bridge Tower

This is where most of Rivet City Security hangs out, so be on your best behavior. Inside you’ll typically find Commander Danvers, who is hanging around here during the day. Show her Seagrave’s incriminating note, and if you got James Hargrave to run away you can ask her about that, too. Otherwise, she’s not very interesting. On one of the higher levels you’ll find Security’s Terminal [Very Easy], which contains a bunch of useless information.

11) Rivet City Armory

Schematic - Rock-It Launcher

You’ll also find a robot named Private Jones, who’s mostly just there to keep you honest. If you have Robotics Expert you can disable him, if you want to have any chance at looting. There’s an ammo box [Hard], two footlockers [Average], and a Chinese Assault Rifle on a shelf. There’s also a locked door [Very Hard], behind which is an armory guarded by a turret (you can steal an Armory Key from Danvers, if you don’t have a high enough Lockpick skill to pick the lock). If you want access to the armory you’ll have to disable Private Jones and very carefully destroy the turret, and make absolutely sure that the Rivet City security doesn’t turn hostile on you. Inside you’ll find the Schematic - Rock-It Launcher , some guns and ammo, some locked ammo boxes [Average], and many locked Armor Cases [Very Hard]. If you wanted a buttload of experience from picking [Very Hard] locks, here’s your chance. They contain Combat Armor and Combat Helmets, and generally looting them isn’t worth the aggravation. When you’re ready go west of Rivet City to find the Broken Bow.

12) Into the Broken Bow

To get into the Broken Bow you either need to go across some ramps over the water and open a locked door [Very Hard]. If you can’t bypass this lock, then you’ll have to swim. From the door swim east, then around to the south until you’re between the two halves of the ship. Swim underwater to find a door leading to the Broken Bown down a short tunnel. You should save before doing this, as it can be somewhat disorientating the first time.

13) Traps and Mirelurks

Swim west into a room and surface near the ceiling to get some precious oxygen. Open a door underwater to the west and swim into the next room. Swim until you find a doorway to the left and find sweet air at the top of a staircase. Make your way up another flight of stairs and head north to find the door to the outside. You can hit an electrical switch near the door to ensure you won’t have to swim out of here. On a table near the door you’ll find a landmine and a Scoped .44 Mangum.

There will be a Mirelurk or two wandering about, but they should be more annoying than a threat by now. Head to the south to find a door with a trip wire next to it. Inside the room by the trip wire you’ll find a pressure plate with two rigged shotguns triggered to it, and a Frag Mine on the counter. Don’t set off traps here, or the gas in the air will give you extra punishment. Keep heading to the south west corner of the Local Map to find Pinkerton and his lab. You have to hit an electrical switch to open the door leading to him.

14) Pinkerton’s History Lesson

Talk to Pinkerton, who is a treasure trove of information. Ask him about Rivet City’s history, and he’ll tell you that he founded the science lab around which Rivet City grew. Keep poking and he’ll give you some records proving his was at the first council meeting. You’ll get the note “Rivet City Council Minutes”, which is all the evidence you need to finish up the Wasteland Survival Guide. Notice the names? Horace Pinkerton needs no introduction, but Annette Holmes (related to Seagrave Holmes, no doubt) and Brad Danvers (related to Commander Danvers) stand out.

15) Cyborg Surgery

Ask about the android. Pinkerton is all too eager to tell you about his work, and will reveal that Harkness is the android. He’ll also give you the password to his computer to find proof of his surgery, and he’ll give you the note “Pre-Harkness Audio Recording”, and two photos, “Harkness before Picture” and “Harkness after Picture”. Keep talking and he’ll give you a code to bring back Harkness’ memories, so you can prove it to him as well. Go access Pinkerton’s computer to get all the info you’ll need. You’ll get the note “I’m brilliant”, “Mem chip” and “Harkness.”

16) Looting Pinkerton’s Lab

Book - Big Book of Science

Book - D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine

Book - Dean’s Electronics

Now loot Pinkerton’s lab. He’s got a number of Stealth Boys on the desk opposite his operating table. There are also three books about, a D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine behind the gurney with the corpse on it, and a Big Book of Science and a copy of Dean’s Electronics across the room on the desk and metal cabinet, respectively. Also, he can do facial reconstruction on you, which is a wonderful feature if you wanted to change the appearance of your character. Head back to Rivet City and pay Harkness a visit. He’s usually in the Market at day time.

17) The Replicated Man

Talk to Harkness and show him the evidence. What’ll eventually happen is you’ll get the prompt to use his memory override code… this is a scene that really calls for a cutscene, rather than a melodramatic “aaaaugh!” from Harkness. Ask him what he’s going to do about Zimmer, then convince him to let you kill Zimmer and he’ll give you A3-21’s Plasma Rifle .

18) Hot Pants!

Talk to Dr. Zimmer and tell him that his android is Rivet City’s security chief. He’ll give you a combat module which gives you the Wired Reflexes perk, a very nice bonus for all us V.A.T.S. users. You can now just leave well enough alone, or do Harkness a favor and kill Dr. Zimmer. My prefered method for killing him is to plant a Frag Grenade on him, which will get you the “Psychotic Prankster” achievement/trophy. Zimmer and Armitage tend to be close enough that one grenade’ll kill them both. Before we leave Rivet City behind, lets deal with two freeform quests. They’re not rewarding, but for the sake of completionism, it might as well be mentioned.

19) It’s Okay If It Happens to a Man

Any time during the day you can find Angela Staley in the Market. Talk to her and ask about Diego, and she’ll mention that she has a crush on him. Encourage her to use her feminine wiles to seduce him, and she’ll mention Ant Queen Pheromones, which will give her an unfair edge in that department. Because using drugs to get sex is totally okay if it’s not man doing it.

If you want to actually pursue the pheromone route, talk to Cindy Cantelli in the market and tell her about Angela’s crush. She just so happens to sell Ant Queen Pheromones, which will set you back somewhere in the area of 100~ Caps. Go back to Angela and ask her about Diego again and give her the Pheromones. Wait a day, ask her how it went, and, well… they’re getting married. Ask about the wedding and she’ll tell you it’s the next day, at 3:00. Head up to the wedding to see… well, what counts as a wedding in Fallout 3. You’ll get some karma, which just goes to show that Bethesda agrees with me. Drugging a guy so that he gets laid is a good thing if it spares him a wasted life full of frustration and mindless obedience to space daddies. Don’t get angry at me, you saw the karma!

20) Sinful Biology

On the other hand, if you want to try and sabotage the poor girl, head to the Midship Deck and find Saint Monica’s Church. Inside you can find Diego, who will chat a bit about souls, saints, and other fairy tales. If you threaten to tattle on him, he’ll resolve to stop seeing Angela at all… although nothing seems to come from this resolution.

You can also talk to Father Clifford and lie to him about seeing Angela and Diego doing that nasty sin that humanity couldn’t exist without. At the thought of anything so impure as heterosexual relations, Father Clifford will expel Diego from the clery… resulting in him persuing Angela in earnest.

21) Only One Hour of Suicidal Thoughts Per Day

Once you’re done drugging people, it’s time to perform one more good deed. A real good deed, this time. Well… maybe. If you find Mister Lopez wandering around the city, talk to him and he’ll give you a sad-sack reply. Afterwards, talk to Father Clifford about it and suggest that Mister Lopez might be suicidal. Clifford acknowledges your astute observation, but hopefully remarks that he’s talked Mister Lopez down to merely one hour of death-wishing per day.

22) A Helping Hand

Head to the Stairwell and go up to the Bridge Tower. Go to the top of the Bridge Tower and exit a door leading outside to “Rivet City” to reach the observation tower, which overlooks the flight deck. At 3:00 you’ll find Mister Lopez, standing along the edge of the tower. Talk to him and pick option #1 to shove him off, pick option #2 to tell him that suicide is for cowards, and succeed at a Speech check to talk him out of his suicidal thoughts, or pick option #3 to convince him to jump. The reward? Negative karma for the first and third options, positive karma for the second option.

23) Tying Up Loose Ends

Now let’s tie up some loose ends. Head back to Grayditch and tell Bryan that Vera will take him in. You’ll finally get your quest reward for completing “Those!” , including the trophy/achievement, provided you didn’t tell Bryan to fend for himself earlier.

Return to Moira in Megaton and tell her about your success in Rivet City. She’ll give you some Mentats and tell you that you’ll get a discount from the traders in Rivet City. Wee. Ask her about being complete with the last chapter. She’ll give you a Mini Nuke, and you’ll get either the Junior Survivor , Survivor Expert , or Surivor Guru perk, depending on how well you completed the quests. You’ll also get a copy of the Wasteland Survival Guide.

Now, to continue our search for Dad head over to the Jefferson Memorial.

24) Jefferson Museum and Gift Shop

Head west of Rivet City, past the broken bow, to find the Jefferson Memorial, which is crawling with weak Super Mutants. Enter the door leading to the Jefferson Museum and Gift Shop and head down a hallway to the east. There are turrets and Super Mutants around, but these ones are poorly matched against our sneak attack shotgun prowess. Turn south down a hallway with a Turret Control Terminal [Average] on the wall and go through a doorway, wasting whatever Super Mutants you find. In a room to the east you can find two ammo boxes on a metal shelf and a first aid box by the door, but little else of interest. Continue south through another doorway, clear this area of Super Mutants, and keep going south until you find the door to the Memorial Sub-Basement.

25) Memorial Sub-Basement

Again, this level is crawling with Super Mutants, but none of them should be overly threatening to us. Head down some stairs to reach a room with a fenced-off area to the north. Explore down a tunnel to the east, taking your first left to find a surgical room. On a table you’ll find Project Purity Journals #7 and #8. Head east and go down some stairs, then continue through a room to the west until you find a four way tunnel. The north and west tunnels connect, and there’s not much to see, so head south, turning west to when more paths open up to find a door leading to a small room. Take the note “Better Days” from the table, and on another table you’ll find the note “Project Purity Personal Journal”, as well as Project Purity Personal Journal Entry: #1, #2, and #3.

26) Jefferson Memorial Rotunda

There are a few more Super Mutants around. Kill them and on top of the stairs you’ll find the Auxiliary Filtration Input, on top of which you’ll find the Project Purity Personal Journal Entry: #5, #8, and #10. Listen to them to find out that dad went off in search of Vault 112, which is in some kind of garage west of Evergreen Mills. This is yet another way to complete “Following in His Footsteps” and start up the quest “Scientific Pursuits” . Lets head to Jury Street.