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That Lucky Old Sun
Steps...
(1) Talk to the idiot wearing sunglasses in the back of the HELIOS One plant building. (2) Connect to the HELIOS One mainframe from the western reflector control terminal. (3) Connect to the HELIOS One mainframe from the eastern reflector control terminal. (4) Restore power to the HELIOS One mainframe via an auxiliary generator. (5) Use the HELIOS One mainframe to send power to a destination of your choosing. (6) (Optional) Arm ARCHIMEDES security system to wipe out all nearby NCR soldiers. (7) Initiate reflector retargeting from the console on the tower observation deck. (8) Talk to Fantastic.
Important Items...
None.
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If you're friendly with the NCR, this is a pretty good side quest for you to undertake. On your map, you'll likely have located a place called HELIOS One. If not, HELIOS One can be found towards the eastern edge of the map, south of the El Dorado Substation, and north of the Gibson Scrap Yard. If you're arriving there for the first time, expect to either be intercepted by the NCR to speak to you (if you're neutral or friendly with them), or shot at (if you're hostile with them). If it's the latter, unfortunately, you won't be able complete this side quest (as we already mentioned), so hopefully you'll be on good terms with them. The officer who will intercept you at the front entrance is named Lt. Haggerty, and she'll speak with you briefly. If you ask her about what's going on within HELIOS One, she'll tell you that it's a power station that's not quite running up to par. She'll tell you that you can speak with a man inside the facility to learn more, at which point you'll gain access to this side quest.
Don't waste any time. Head inside HELIOS One, and immediately begin to seek out the unknown scientist in question. The man you're looking for, known only as Fantastic, is a bit of an airhead. He's a deceitful airhead, though, managing to work his way in successfully with the NCR, posing as some sort of scientist who can get this power plant back online (even though he has no scientific education to speak of). Right now, it's only functioning at 1% capacity, but Fantastic hopes that you can help him get the power back on to an even higher, more efficient degree. He'll give you a series of tasks to undertake as a result, and then, you'll be sent on your merry way. Boy-oh-boy is that guy obnoxious; but unfortunately, the only way to proceed forward with this mission is to help him. Or is it?
Nearby, you'll find another man walking around in a white lab coat. This guy's name is Ignacio Rivas, and unlike Fantastic, he's got a good head on his shoulders. Rivas is aligned with the Followers of the Apocalypse, a group you've likely already run into (they're stationed at the Old Mormon Fort in Freeside). Rivas, like the rest of his fellow Followers, advocates for the betterment of lives everywhere, and not only those in NCR territory. As a result, he'll ask you to do something a little different. While things remain somewhat the same in terms of what Rivas and Fantastic want you to do, the end result will differ. Fantastic wants you to send power to NCR-centric locations, while Rivas would prefer you sent the power everywhere. Now that you've spoken to both men, you'll have to ponder your choice as you move forward.
Use the nearby door marked as leading out to the Wasteland. This will lead to the back end of the facility, where the mirror arrays are located. You can't access this backyard area from anywhere else, so you need to reach the array in only this way (otherwise, chain-link fences will stymie your advance). Once outside, the first thing you're going to want to do is seek out are two small, rectangular, gated-in areas within the array field. In each of these locations, you'll find computer terminals that must be accessed and turned on. You need to be sure to hit both computer terminals successfully. The game will prompt you when you do so. Keep in mind that one computer is guarded by booby traps (so simply disarm or avoid them as best you can), while the other is guarded by NCR dogs. As long as no soldiers are around to witness your brutality, you can kill these dogs with no repercussions.
When you've accessed both computer terminals (which will fulfill the two requirements to connect to HELIOS One's mainframe), you can then enter the tower near the head of the mirror arrays. This is when things get a little bit more difficult for you. This tower is well-protected by pre-war attack robots, which is the exact reason why no one dared enter the tower to get the arrays back in full working order. The few people who did try were killed, so hopefully, you'll fare a little bit better. You're going to run into one of your biggest challenges almost immediately upon entering the facility. As you move forward and look to your right, a pair of gun turrets will fire on you, as well as a Sentry Bot from an area below. If you run straight across through the door ahead, you can actually find a computer that, once hacked, will disable the gun turrets. You can then kill them easily, and focus your ire on the considerably well-armed, heavily-armored Sentry Bot below.
As you work your way deeper into the facility, you'll start to encounter different types of enemies. Unfortunately, Sentry Bots will still be around some corners, but you'll also get to deal with some more simplistic robotic foes, too. A few Mr. Gutsy robots will be roaming around (so keep your distance, so that you can avoid their devastating flamethrower attacks), and when you get really deep into the facility, you'll even run into some Protectrons. Those guys are ridiculously easy to kill, so no worries there. All the while, as you explore, you can find some items to grab if you'd like (contingent entirely on how well you choose to explore). And heck, if you run into some beds or cots, and there are no enemies around, why not go ahead and take a rest and restore some of that lost health? After all, those Sentry Bots probably gave you a real beating.
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When you reach the heart of the tower, you'll have a few things to take care of. Your first order of business is to access the large computer mainframe in the center of one of the rooms you encounter. Unfortunately, this computer terminal has a severed power cable running to it, so you're going to need a low-to-moderate repair skill (and some Scrap Metal) to fix the adjacent generator, so that the computer begins to work again. With the computer now functioning, go ahead and access the terminal. Here's where you have to make a decision. Will you route the power to the NCR complexes? Or to somewhere else? Or to everywhere? Make the decision you'd like. We opted to stay in the NCR's good graces by routing power to where they need it most, but you're free to make another decision if you'd like. Oh, and for your optional task to enable the ARCHIMEDES defense system, do so only if you want to wipe out the NCR here. This will obviously turn them against you, though.
With all of that done, there should be a door near the computer terminal that leads back outside. You'll now be on the exterior of the tower, and can circle around to a lone control unit outside. As long as it's between a certain time (which the game will tell you), with the sun shining where it needs to, you'll be able to flip a switch and let the juices flow to your previously-chosen target. And just like that, your task is done. Return to Fantastic (or your other friend, if you made the opposite choice), and let him know the deed is done. Case closed.