Soiled Water

Following your briefing with Sergeant Ryes, you can make your way to the Food Store or directly to Mr. Kilmer's homestead. If you choose to go to the Food Store first, you can speak with Mr. Porshe in the hopes that he may have more information he can give you about the contamination and perhaps about Mr. Kilmer. You also didn't get to eat just yet and your stomach begins to growl.  

Mr. Porshe.

Entering into the Food Store, Julius, from here there may be some level of contention. Either you enter into the establishment and find that a small or large altercation has unfolded between some of the patrons of the saloon. Or you find the saloon in much the same way that it has always been, save for the fact that the newcomers to the settlement are now among those inside the saloon. Depending on the situation how you go about this situation is up to you, but your mission remains the same. If you choose to recruit these strange people to your mission then you may all head into the mess hall together and speak with Mr. Porshe.
Mr. Porshe can be found at the counter of the kitchen handing out food to the settlers and travelers who have lined up to receive it. He meets your gaze Julius and sees that by the look in your eyes that something is different. "What seems to be troubling you, Julius? Your shift ended some time ago, hope everything is ok over by the gate." From here Julius you can explain whatever you wish to explain to Mr. Porshe, if that information includes what you came here to accomplish then all the better. Following this explanation Mr. Porshe will tell you to grab a table and he will join you in a moment to discuss further. Julius, you and whoever decided to accompany you (if any) all find a seat at a far table within the mess hall, after some time Mr. Porshe comes by with a plate of food and a beer and sits at the table with you.
Talking with Mr. Porshe allows you to learn about the radroaches ahead of time. There's been a rumor that the pump station's foundation has been destabilized and that radroaches have gotten in. Porshe and his family own most of the farmland in the settlement and his family line has a history of land surveying. With this he tells you that partway down the cliff is a bluff with a small crack on its side that delves into the mountain, that crack is where the Mr. Porshe thinks the radroach den is located. He tells you to head around back and grab a red container with a skull symbol on it, its poisonous gas, an old pre-war pesticide that he and his family use on the crops sometimes to keep the roaches off of them. He tells you to use the gas in the den, but only if the radroaches haven't broken fully into the water system yet.
The cliff is located on the far north end of the settlement and can be found just in front of the radar station itself. The cliff drops down roughly 20-25 feet before a bluff jut out, which is roughly 8 feet wide. The party will need to climb down (Athletics Diff 1: 2 xp) or jump down onto the bluff, if they slip or choose to jump, they run the risk of slipping (Agility Diff 2: 4 xp) and dropping down another 50 feet before hitting the bottom of the cliff. If they fall, they will take 5 damage dice worth of damage to their health. Once they reach the bluff if they have a keen eye (PER + Survival Diff 1: 2 xp) they will see that beneath the leaves piled onto the rock, is a small stream of water that is trickling out of the cave.
The entrance to the cave is no more than knee height and delves a good distance into the mountain, just as Mr. Porshe said. Climbing into the cave will be difficult and cramped, at one point the party will need to squeeze through a section of it (AGL + Athletics Diff 1: 2 xp). Once through they will come to a larger chamber, at the center of this chamber is a glowing radroach that is bathing in a pool of water and hatching eggs, she is surrounded by a handful of other radroaches. Once the roaches are killed the party can assess the damage to the water tunnel, the roaches have bored a hole into the water tunnels and if they had released the gas, they would have poisoned the entire settlement's water supply.
The party can slip through the hole and into the water tunnel itself (AGL + Athletic Diff 1: 2xp), once through the party find themselves in the water tunnel of the irrigation system of Hoover Station. This tunnel connects the system to its primary reservoir and a handful of radroaches still reside within the tunnel itself and will need to be delt with before proceeding further into the tunnel.
(Go to "Skip to" section of Mr. Kimler's section)

Mr. Kilmer.

Talking to Mr. Kilmer will take the party to the water purification station for the settlement, which is built into the side of the mountain on the western side of the compound. Kilmer and his family run the pump station and ensure that there is clean water going to the other families within the settlement, a group of brotherhood scribes are also stationed at the pump station to aid in the preservation and repair of the building and its systems. Unfortunately, Kilmer does not want any more people poking around his store or home, brotherhood or not. It will take some convincing (Speech Diff 2: 4xp) or sneaking (Stealth Diff 3: 10 xp) around to be able to look around the building without Kilmer and his family growing hostile.
If the party are skilled enough, they can find a stretch of the pump house which is locked behind a heavy door (Lockpick Diff 1: 2 xp). Getting through the door will open to a long hall that is lined with pipes and other infrastructure for the pump station, the hall ends with a stairwell that delves down into the underground tunnels which lead to the reservoir beneath the mountain. These tunnels are infested with radroaches and will need to be cleared to progress further into the pump station's infrastructure.
(Skip to here if Mr. Porshe was spoken to first)
At the end of the tunnel is a large, sealed door which leads to the main reservoir, a series of channel locks appear to be connected to a large panel board built into the side of the chamber which houses the water chip and purifier system for the pump station. Investigating the panel (Science or Repair Diff 1: 2 xp) allows the party to see that the water chip has been fried and partially eaten away by radroach bites and will need to be replaced. The system can be rebooted in the short term (Science or Repair Diff 3: 10 xp), but this reboot will place a time delay on a shutdown command for the channel locks on the reservoir door. Once the time delay has been exhausted the locks will disengage and the door will open and empty the reservoir, which will flood and potentially destroy the pump house and settlement. The duration of the time delay is equal to 3 damage dice + 3 days, once this timer has expired, the reservoir doors will open, and the settlement will be flooded or even destroyed by the power of the water.

Sergeant Ryes

Following the completion of their mission, the party can return to Sergeant Ryes (earn 20 xp each). The sergeant will meet with you at the entrance to the brotherhood barracks. As you approach, he takes in all of you as you accompany Julius, he then speaks as you get close enough to hear him. "I see that you acquired assistance on your task Initiate Goldensmith, it gladdens me to see that you have begun to further embody the qualities of a true knight." Sergeant Ryes hands each of the non-brotherhood members of the party 100 caps as compensation for assisting in an official brotherhood mission. If you choose to relay your findings to Sergeant Ryes he will sigh audibly before speaking once more. "Our scribes foresaw that this day would eventually come, but I did not wish to believe it would be so soon. With the water chip damaged the filtration system of the irrigators will not be able to operate. But, as fortune would have it, a radio transmission from out scouts within the northern reaches of the Iron Hills have sent word that a Vault has been discovered. As it stands that you have what I can only assume is a vault dweller among your party I will ask you to accompany Initiate Goldensmith on his new mission." If Julius is wondering what this mission is, then Sergeant Ryes will elaborate. "Initiate Goldensmith, you are hereby tasked with acquiring the water chip from the vault and returning it to Hoover Station so that we may repair the purifier system before it is too late." Should you accept this mission then your compensation upon your return will be great as well as the accolades you will receive from the rest of the brotherhood."

Total Quest Experience

• XP from skill checks: Max: 40, Min: 24, Avg: 32
• XP from monsters killed: Max: 341, Min: 132, Avg: 170
• XP upon quest completion: 20
• Level up received: Yes

Encounter 1: Radroach Den

• 6 radroaches, 1 glowing radroach
• Total XP: 77

Encounter 2: The Water Tunnel

• 5 radroaches
• Total XP: 50

Optional Encounter: The Pump House

• 5 Settlers, 4 BOS Scribes
• Total XP: 209
• Disclaimer: This encounter only occurs if the party royally screws the pooch with Mr. Kilmer