To start this quest, find Martin Abernathy in his house west of the Cantina and talk to him. Ask him about the plague and he’ll ask you to go find some medicine for him in the old community center, which is now overrun by marauders.

Agree and leave his house and you’ll be pestered by a woman named Esther Blaine. Talk to her and she’ll make you a counter-offer. Instead of giving that medicine to a hypochondriac like Abernathy, she’ll offer to pay you to bring it to her, instead. Pass a [Medical 5] check if you wish, then ask what she’s going to use it for an pass a [Persuade 10] check - these serve little purpose for the quest itself, but are worth some XP. Ultimately you aren’t forced to make a hard decision here, but hey, at least you have options.

Exploring the Community Center¶

Either way, you’ll need to travel to the Emerald Vale Community Center, which is northwest of Edgewater. Just leave via the northwestern gate and follow the road northwest, and when you reach a fork continue northwest to find the community center. Marauders can be found aplenty along this road, especially around the community center. You technically don’t have to fight to reach the community center, just circle around the back (northeastern end) of the building to reach the northwestern edge of the community center to find a side door you can enter. That said, numerous mines have been planted, and destroying them with your guns will probably alert the marauders.

Mines or marauders, pick your poison. Entering via the front door (southwestern side of the building) is ill-advised as there are numerous marauders in, above and adjacent to the lobby you’ll enter, and although you can sneak past them, it’s much easier to get by if you enter via the side door on the northwestern side of the building.

Assuming you enter the side door you’ll be met with… nothing. Very good. Not only is sneaking through this place much easier by going through the side door, but killing the marauders inside will be easier, too. If you go through a door to the southwest you’ll find two marauders you can likely dispatch without alerting the rest of the marauders in the building, after which you can work you way through the rest of the marauders in the building. One of these marauders will drop a First Aid Room Key which will allow you to bypass a locked door earlier to find the medicine Abernathy and Esther both want.

Of course, you need not fight at all if you don’t’ want to. From the side door sneak southeast past some vending machines and go through another door to the southwest to find the door to the first aid room [Lockpick 40], which can, of course, be opened if you possess the aforementioned key. If you can’t open this locked door and for some reason can’t get the First Aid Room Key you can find a terminal in the lobby [Hack 11] that you can use to create another First Aid Room Key with the [Encode First Aid Keycard] option [Hack 30].

Should you be incapable of hacking the computer or picking the lock you’ll need to sneak into an exhibition room to the southeast, go northeast through a bathroom then turn northwest into an office. A terminal in this room will merely tell you about the potential of printing another First Aid Room Key in the lobby, but a locked bin [Lockpick 10] contains a third potential First Aid Room Key, along with other goodies. From here you need merely unlock the barred door to the northwest to find yourself in the hallway near the first aid room.

However you manage it, open the door to the first aid room and grab the Cache of Medicine from a table along the southwestern wall.

Now you have what you wanted, you can return to Edgewater at your leisure. Before you go, however, consider exploring the community center more thoroughly - especially if you’re already vanquished the marauders within. From the lobby head northwest into a presentation room, complete with a massive screen along the southwestern wall and some stairs to the northeast. Continue northwest into a smaller room and search some shelves along the northwestern wall to find an Antique Sabre, which is just decoration for your ship, once you get it up and running.

Backtrack to the presentation room, head upstairs, then go through a doorway to the southeast and search a desk to find a Guide to Mechanical Engineering: Volume 1 datapad, which you’ll need for another quest later. Might as well grab it while you’re here, though, and save yourself the trip.

In any event, when you’ve completed your search of the community center to your satisfaction, return to Edgewater.

The Recipient of Health¶

Now you’ve got a choice to make. Either give the medicine to Abernathy, Esther, or, if you want to be a good corporate minion, Constable Reyes.

Either way you’ll gain XP and Bits, although the amount may vary a bit based on ancillary dialogue checks. With Abernathy you can pass a [Medical 5] check to ask about his hypochondria, then follow up with [Persuade 5] or [Intimidate 5] after giving him the medicine to shake him down for more Bits. You can likewise extract more money from Esther by succeeding at an [Intimidate 5] or [Charm] check. You’ll also gain Spacer’s Choice reputation by giving the medicine to Abernathy or Esther, while giving the medicine to Constable Reyes will get your positive reputation for The Board.

If it matters at all, Abernathy will presumably squander the medicine on ailments that may not even exist, Constable Reyes will confiscate and impound the medicine, likewise providing no benefit to anybody. Esther, on the other hand, will tell you who she plans to give it to if you ask her (after the fact, of course). If you talk to one of the intended recipients - Rosemary Kwan at the sickhouse - you can convince her ([Persuade 1], [Lie 1) or [Intimidate 1]) you can convince her to take the medicine, which is worth a tiny bit of extra XP.

At the end of the day, giving the medicine to Constable Reyes will get you favor with The Board, which is a smaller quantity, but also more uncommon, while giving the medicine to Esther will at least go towards good ends, for what that’s worth.

IF you’re sneaky enough, there’s a way you can maximize your gains. Once you give the medicine to one character, you can steal it back from them… assuming you have unlocked the ability with a base Sneak score of 40+. You can then give the stolen medicine to whomever you wish, and while you won’t gain any extra XP or reputation for doing so, each person you give the medicine to will reward you with Bits.