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Chapter 79: Sun Vulture and the Lonesome Road

Last we left off, Ulysses had just told us we fell right into his trap, what he wanted all along:

For us to bring ED-E all the way to where he can assume control over our eyebot buddy and use his hardware to activate the remaining nukes.

Just like we unknowingly did FOR the NCR, he will purposefully do TO the NCR.

The flash of light was just to stun our character, by the way. In as close to a cutscene as this engine allows, anyway.

Not like we could do anything to stop ED-E from flying away from us. We have a bit of a maze to navigate again.

And, as you would’ve guessed, the Marked Men are now aware that we are here, and fire off their flares to alert their brothers-in-bruises.

But we now have Elite Riot Gear. Looks cooler, gives slightly more DT, but we can’t really do much with the buffs it gives.

At least we have a handicap to even the odds.

The road ahead is the same kind of maze as before, but with a few more obstacles.

For instance, if I had bothered to read the note by the skeleton, it would’ve told me about these dudes right around the corner:

Mauler smacks them around like usual, though.

There’s side areas to explore, of course.

And Marked Men firing at us, annoyingly. Let’s go deal with them real quick, shall we?

Some of them are packing Stealth Boys, too. Because they think it’ll help them.

They don’t.

At least they provide good sustenance for Sun, though.

The rest of the lore is scattered in this whole area, too.

Y’all really should’ve left the Divide alone.

Not like I did anything to stop it...

Might be hard to see, but there’s a terminal at the end of this hallway.

I’m glad lack of sleep was the biggest worry on these assholes’ minds.

Can’t decide if the earthquakes were their own doing, or God’s...

Back to the fork in the road, a red flag warns us about this path.

Detonating the warhead blocking the entrance, we walk right into a dark cave.

Huh. Why did that just fall behind me? I just cleared i-

My platoon has been wiped out, and I am pinned down by a goddamn huge deathclaw in a place called the Divide.

...yeah, that sounds about right.

So far I’ve been able to scare it away with flares, but I lack any explosives to kill the damn thing! Please assist! I say again, please assist!

Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is NCR Trooper Gleeson calling anyone listening on this channel.

Say hi to Rawr, a dated internet meme and the strongest deathclaw in the game.

It runs right for us at breakneck speed, but we’re still fast enough to pop all our chems and Mauler him into the sky.

There’s flares and a flare gun around the duffle bag in case we need to create some distance between us and him.

But all we need is one VATS attack and we win. Like usual.

We have his talon now, though, which is the REAL reason we came in here.

We use it to create the Fist of Rawr, which isn’t the strongest unarmed weapon...

But damn if it doesn’t look cool.

And with that, the LP image is complete.

Returning to where we left off, we run into the final Marked Miniboss.

Blade, as his name implies, uses a Blade of the West to try to hunt us down.

As much as we wanted to show off how better ours is, the Fist of Rawr still needs to have its debut deathstrike.

He also carries one of the rarer pieces of gear that actually gives you more HP, if you’re into that sorta thing.

We’d like to continue on...

but there’s another annoyance we have to contend with.

Again, it’s hard to make out, but there’s a Marked sniper trying to pick us off.

You might notice he is also right next to a warhead.

It’s as easy as that.

But before we can go forward, we have another side area to see.

Oh, right. Satchel Charges and Frag Mines are still in play. Watch out for those.

And for ambushes. Those are less important, though.

Inside this cave is some lead-lined caches if you need to supplies.

As well as another lore-note.

…

Who the hell names their kid “Rory”?

Going to the skeleton (or reading the note, forgot which) triggers these Tunnelers to spawn and attack us.

Unfortunately for them, we now have the exponential strength of a deathclaw in our hands.

Actually, that might be a drawback for us. Whatever, they die all the same.

Okay, NOW we can make some progress.

But not before blowing up another sniper.

And after reloading a save and being more careful around Satchel Charges. Oof.

The way forward is to the left of this collapsed building...

But if we turn to the right midway through, we find yet another attraction.

For the life of me, I don’t know what this warhead actually does. Maybe reveals more loot? I think that’s it.

Also, this is at a 75 degree slope, so we should totally not be able to get out of here once we slide down, but semantics and all that.

Also also, I have no idea if this is a reference or not. But it seems like the kind of arrangement that it would be.

We run into the rare occurrence of Marked Men and Tunnelers fighting each other.

Naturally, we leave them to their scuffle and read the final piece of lore on the terminal to our left.

If I ever invent long-distance time-travel, I’m shoving all these huge warnings down the authors’ throats.

After stopping Hitler and all that jazz. Priorities.

I actually didn’t know about this guy.

At this point, you just instinctively activate the warheads. Nothing bad can happen.

In the final leg leading up to Ulysses’ Temple, we have another red flag and some mines in front of us.

You can kinda skirt around them, but you still take a hefty amount of damage.

Oh, and the Marked Men hurt a little bit, I suppose.

Now, if they were walking mines, that’d be a different story.

It may have seemed like a long ways, but it couldn’t’ve been more than half a kilometer.

Some road, am I right?

With that last look at the vista, we step inside the bunker to confront our Frumentarius Friend.

Not exactly the warmest welcome, but we’re here to prevent such an outcome, aren’t we?

Just in case we needed some more crafting materials, there’s a single supply closet with some of them on the floor.

Oh, and a couple of bots. Nothing serious.

Don’t know what I should be more shocked at. The fact that the NCR didn’t trick me into activating all the nukes...

Or that the Old World government actually made some more deadly than others and properly color-coded them.

...or are those red ones the ones that WERE activated? Wish there was a legend to go off of.

On the other side of the map of mayhem is this terminal, and a room with three Eyebot pods.

“0% damage”? If that’s ED-E, then why would he leave him unharmed?

Was Ulysses bluffing when he said he would hurt ED-E, or did he put him in that pod to repair him?

Unless he did all that just to lure me here to watch as he...

Damnit, I can’t just stay here. I have to keep moving. But not before getting my friend back.

Two turrets and a Sentry Bot are all that guard this room. How nice of them. Once they are dispatched and disassembled, we use the terminal in front of the pods and free ED-E one last time.

You can turn around if you’re sooo grateful, ED-E.

<Sad beeping>

Are you okay?

Of course I came after you. I wasn’t going to leave you behind.

Must have been an override function piggybacked on that broadcast. That’s what pulled you here.

Whatever he’s planning, Ulysses obviously wants you there. Come on – I’d hate to disappoint him.

With our Eyebot buddy back at our side, we are ready to face Ulysses.

There’s an auto-doc and a commissary behind us, in case we need to prepare.

But we’re good to go, and there’s nothing between us and the final battle.

Warheads are all over the facility, but you’ll want to hold off on detonating them for the time being. I’ll explain why later.

Okay, let’s think about this, pal.

<Determined beeping>

Since neither of us can shoot him from a distance, we’re gonna have to get close to him, and he’ll probably say something before our duel.

Not knowing exactly how he fights, he’ll pull off some surprises.

Like maybe a Flash Bang that’ll hinder me in some way. Good thing I don’t see so well!

<Sad beeping>

Hey, I’m not bitter or anything.

Ulysses will be carrying around that “staff” of his, and for all the talk about flags… I think I know what it is.

And he’ll be impossible to knock down. Something just tells me his stance will be steady.

I noticed those Eyebot pods in the back, too. They’ll be his support. He had to have made it out of the destruction somehow...

That symbol on his back. It must have told them that he was Enclave. They brought him back from the brink, didn’t they?

<Confirmatory beeping>

I don’t know what tech the Enclave had that allowed them to shoot bolts of healing, but we’ll have to take care of them first.

And because he might have contingencies for that, there’s no doubt that he has a Repairbot to heal up his Healbot.

Wouldn’t want to rule out that he will have set them to be replaced or sent back to the pods automatically, either.

So there might be terminals that can shut that down once they are activated.

But I don’t wanna fight him if I don’t have to.

Ulysses is a victim in this, too. And he kept you alive despite everything.

If he’s willing to do that, then maybe he just needs a second chance.

<Mournful beeping>

One final chat. That’s all.

I’m not turning my back on the world anymore. He’s shown me that that’s no longer an option.

It’s time to address Ulysses, the Confounding Cursed Courier of Condemning Curiosities. He is voiced by Roger Cross, also known for his work in the T.V. series 24, as well as other bit roles. Our troubled transporter has received some criticism over how his character is very long-winded, too cryptic, and incredibly annoying to listen to. While I had the same thoughts when I initially played this DLC, subsequent playthroughs made me see him in another light. That doesn’t mean people were wrong to feel those ways towards Ulysses; just that he had been over-written.

Chris Avellone was behind the creation of our Malicious Mailman, and if you’re familiar with some of his other characters, you wouldn’t be surprised. He’s a fantastic writer who was and will continue to be a part of a lot of great story- and character- driven video games… but he also loves his craft to the point where an editor just to tell him when to stop would be almost necessary. Some people actually like characters that have a lot of dialogue associated with them and adore reading walls of text… but not everyone. To give you an example, here is another fictional entity that a lot of people (rightfully) find boring and pretentious:

If I have to listen to this motherfucker say “ERGO” one more time, I will lose it. Oftentimes, a character will be depicted as being the one with all the answers. The sole person, or entity, who says all the big words and makes all the good points and is completely infallible. It’s a way for the writer(s) to show off how smart they are and it is completely transparent.

But Avellone is not such a writer. And Ulysses is not such a character. At first glance, it seems like he is an omnipresent and omniscient man who has the “best” opinions about the state of things in the Fallout world. He isn’t. Far from it, actually.

He’s lost. Traumatized. By listening to his tapes or even just his dialogue with us, we can tell that he is someone who has been tormented by symbols. As a tribal, symbols are all he had to go by, and bulls and bears have been shoved in his face all his life. From when the Legion assimilated his tribe, to when the NCR (and Enclave by proxy) destroyed the new home he had hopes for. The way he speaks isn’t because he’s trying to show us how educated he is. It’s because he’s trying to make sense of the world around him, asking questions and making assumptions as he goes along.

He’s a man who’s been searching for a place to set his flag for nearly his entire life. Looking for the meaning behind the symbols that have plagued his whole view of things. When he found the Divide, a new nation untouched by the Bear and the Bull, he thought he had finally escaped all that. And he met us, the Courier, who helped “breathe” prosperity into it… right before snuffing it out so carelessly. Just as the White Legs did with his braids, the Courier did with their job.

It’s a message about how we can have an impact on someone without knowing or meaning to. About how we don’t have a say in how someone will react to what we do. About how much one person can accomplish, either by complete accident or on purpose.

And he is about to send the biggest message to the NCR. And to us.

Either way, the Divide giants are awakening. The missiles here, on their way home. There is no way to stop them.

I still don’t understand – why are you doing this?

You’ve answered your own question. And you’ll die with that question on your lips.

You brought the Divide to life, Courier. You walked the road. Brought the Bear, then the Bull, brought me, following your tracks.

So that’s how you found this place. Legion sent you to spy on the NCR, where I was making repeat deliveries.

Huh. Small world after all.

And when I saw the Divide you made, I saw a second chance, a new way of thinking. My world – no longer the East.

You destroyed something larger than the Bear, greater than the Bull. And even when you could have turned away, you brought it again, in that machine.

You don’t know tha-

If you meant to kill me, you should have done it long ago.

I know you could’ve met me at the gate to the Divide from the get-go. At Primm, even. You had your chance, and you passed it up. Why?

Not if you believe in what you follow. Kill no Courier, Caesar’s words. I honored them.

(I really have to see what poor women have been duped into becoming Legion spies, don’t I? Anyway...)

What happened at the Divide, what I did, was an accident. What you’re doing – it’s madness.

Many messages can be taken from that, intended or not. What I do now is an act of conviction.

If you blame me for the Divide, then let me answer for it, not others.

Or at least go for the Legion, too… Just sayin’, still feels like you’re playing favorites.

You showed me a road, a way to carry my message. You’ve already answered for what you’ve done. Now the flag you follow will answer for it.

Also, I don’t really follow the NCR. More like a free agent who prefers working for the lesser of two evils.

Besides, this is between you and me, not anyone else.

You walked the West, didn’t stay. You know the reason… the Bear grows without structure, follows a symbol without knowing its history.

And knowing that you believe in the Bear’s sickness and have given it strength… then that gives more reason to lay waste to your homeland.

...

You can’t destroy the West, even with all the missiles here.

No need to destroy the Bear, just cut its throat.

You taught me that at the Divide – only need to cut off the supply line, the road, to watch something greater die.

You might not believe in nations. I do.

What do you know of nations? You are, as you said, a “free agent.”

Speeches are things of NCR, words without strength. Your actions have shown nothing. Your flag will burn. The Mojave will follow.

Your tapes prove you’ve walked the Mojave, yet learned the wrong lessons.

Comes down to perspective, how far one’s walked, and what they’ve left behind.

In the logs of the White Legs, you mentioned your tribe, and its past.

My tribe? That log… no, it concerned the White Legs, training them to kill. For Caesar.

There is no meaning there beyond the road to New Canaan. The history of the murder of its people. And Caesar’s past.

I’m talking about the past, in the respect they showed you.

Respect…?

They didn’t know what the braids meant, the mark of my tribe before Caesar came… before Vulpes came for them at Dry Wells.

There was death in that meeting, even while Vulpes smiled – ask for our help against the other tribes.

But the Twisted Hairs survived, even after Caesar.

No, they didn’t. They were ended, completely. Became part of history’s march.

No, what it means is that what pieces survive can become worse than they were before.

You’re the last remaining member of the Twisted Hairs. As strong as your tribe may have been, I doubt any of them thought this was a good idea.

Nothing can prevent what comes. The missiles will launch. These questions – your words, or mine – what do they matter to you.

I’ve been listening to what you’ve been saying this whole time. And you might want to practice what you preach. For instance...

“Who are you, who do not know your history?”

The words are mine. Whatever… “answer” you think they hold, you’re wrong. It was a question, nothing more.

The question reminded the ones you spoke to of their purpose, why they cared.

Past their graves of failed technology, they had cared about the flag they had followed… and the people beneath it. Even with them dead and gone.

But there’s no answer in that. I do this because I care, because I believe it must be done.

You said in the logs yourself that technology’s a dead road. These missiles will solve nothing.

Those are my words. After what happened with the Brotherhood… talking with them.

Those weapons can be used to kill a symbol that has already proved itself wrong.

If my words won’t change your mind, what about the messages in the Eyebot?

You know, the one you kept hijacking? The one you spent all this time and effort for me to send to you.

It echoes its master… and soon the missiles here will as well.

It has history inside it. The logs of what’s left of “America.”

The Eyebot was a courier, sent to the West, to make contact with the remnants of America.

You lie. There was only one message in the machine, only one message in the package you brought.

The package I brought was from Navarro, the Divide scanned ED-E’s logs from the Mojave.

What do you seek to gain by telling me this. If you think that the symbol I wear is a weakness…

The symbol you wear is dead, and you helped kill it. The question is – what will you do to fix it?

If we must survive to carry its message… than that is what shall be done. I will not let America die here.

But what message will you bring back to the Mojave, Courier? To the Bear, and the Bull? To the Steel, and the Strip?

I will not stop trying to bring mine to the West.

That’s all well and good for you and me, but you need to answer the future.

I need to know why you’re doing this – not for my sake, for history’s sake.

If you believe in something enough, you must be willing to let it burn, lest it claim you.

These governments of the two-headed bear… the Legion… they carry Old World ideas into an age that no longer needs them, where they cannot live.

I’m not talking about the NCR or the Legion, I’m talking about our history.

There is nothing more to be dug from these cracks in the earth, no more fury to be torn from its sky.

…“You can go home again, Courier.” Not a message for me, for you.

Gotta admit, that one took me a while to figure out.

My home in the East, Dry Wells, is no more. It is part of the Legion.

You said a home is a place you breathe life into, a moment where you know who you are.

There is truth in that. History has proven it.

But Mojave’s proof that no homeland is sacred… until the larger symbols are destroyed.

The Divide survived in you. If it felt like something worth fighting for, you can rebuild it.

Nothing can prevent what comes. The missiles will launch. These questions – your words, or mine – what do they matter to you.

Even if the missiles launch, and I die here – if I can convince you, that’s enough for me.

<Happy beeping>

It may be… that as much destruction has been written in the earth here… you may build something else, as you built the Divide.

Shoulda figured they’d want to join the party. Oh well.

We’ve already handled everything it can throw at us.

<Determined beeping>

By successfully talking down Ulysses, we now have him and his Eyebots as allies while the Marked Men swarm us in the true final bout.

Also, I did some cheating. Some of you who have previously played this DLC may have noticed that Conversation Boss went on a little too long. There’s multiple ways to talk down Ulysses: Two if you managed to find the holotapes he dropped in the Divide, one if you found all of ED-E’s upgrades, and a Faction reputation/Speech based one. But that’s just the start; you still have to persuade him by not making it too obvious that you are just trying to stop him.

The other way I cheated was by setting my reputation with the NCR and the Strip to neutral, just so show off some additional lines. And because… well, I’m not exactly aiming for an NCR ending to the game. I hope I’ve made that apparent this entire playthrough.

Anyway, on to the actual fight. The Marked Men are formidable foes when there’s more than two of them, and now they are packing Plasma Grenades.

To make matters more fun, they also set off Plasma Mines on their corpses when they die, so don’t stay near them when they keel over.

This also turns them into goo, to help prevent the game from being overloaded with too many entities.

How nice of them, huh?

I… I don’t even remember why I made this gif. Because I thought it looked cool and cinematic?

Whatever, shut up, it’s MY action scene!

Anyway, remember the warheads I mentioned earlier? Yeah, THIS is where detonating them comes in handy.

Still, we have the advantage. With three highly mobile machines, two experienced envoys, and the Atomic! perk speeding Sun up, there’s no stopping us!

Just… try not to roll your eyes too much at his one-liners.

You got it, Courier Five. I’ve just got one more thing to do.

Canceling a delivery this time, Courier Six?

In this case, it’d be more like delaying it.

So, we’ve got some… nuclear options. Two of which will redirect the missiles to either the Legion or both. One to just let them continue their original target. And one to stop the launch altogether.

But, there’s a catch.

Initial tests of the override system are promising. Against unsecured or lightly-encrypted targets, the Eyebots have a 98% success rate.

More heavily protected systems are still problematic. Military-grade encryption presents a very real possibility of critical overload of key systems.

...it couldn’t have been that easy, could it?

We did a lot for the Mojave, didn’t we pal?

<Confirmatory beeping>

I mean, the Legion is the obvious target here… but...

<Inquisitive beeping>

The NCR ain’t completely blameless in this either, are they? Hell, they made me an accessory to a war crime.

<Sad beeping>

And who’s to say what the Divide could’ve been had neither of them interfered? I would’ve loved to have seen a place like this… prosper...

<Sad beeping>

Well...

Only one way to find out, right?

<Exclamatory beeping>

I’ve invested too much in the Mojave, ED-E. I’m not going to see it devoured by anyone.

If the NCR and Legion want to continue their endless tussle, they can do it away from my new home.

I know what I’m doing. This is all on me. The target I’m painting on my back... will be of their blood.

Once I do this, there’s no going back.

Fly far, fly fast.

With the missiles launched towards NCR and Legion, Sun Vulture and her friends make their escape.