Back in Your Own Backyard

Back in Your Own Backyard is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Starting the quest
Traveling east along the road from Toxic Dump Site, the Courier discovers a military checkpoint manned by a handful of NCR soldiers. Among them, a Ranger named Milo is trying to deal with a hostage situation in the nearby town of Nelson.

However, the Ranger is not going to accept help from just anybody, as he is looking for someone who has made a name for themselves, as well as not afraid of getting their hands dirty. The Courier will have to convince the Ranger for the quest, which means skipping or passing Speech checks of various levels, depending on their overall reputation with the NCR.
 * [0] No Speech check required.
 * [1] Passing a Speech check of 25 required.
 * [2] Passing a Speech check of 35 required.
 * [3] Passing a Speech check of 45 required.

After skipping or passing the Speech check, tell Milo to "Sign me up" and the quest will start. Milo will immediately run towards the cover location on a nearby cliff and start shooting any Legion soldiers within his line of sight.

Deal with the hostages
One must now decide whether to kill or rescue the three hostages, crucified at the rough center of the town in front of the two large warehouse buildings, currently serving as barracks for the Legion forces.

Killing the hostages is recommended by Milo and will be much easier with a powerful long-range weapon. Just take the shots on the high ground before the Legion soldiers can react.

On the other hand, in order to rescue the hostages, one must get into the town and untie all three hostages. Once untied, the crucified troopers will start running back to the checkpoint, and will flee from any conflict.

Once all the hostages are either dead or untied, talk to Milo again to complete the quest. Regardless of the outcome, the reward for the quest will be the same.

Behind the scenes
This quest's title refers to the famous song of the same name sung by Billie Holiday.

Bugs

 * The Courier can rescue or kill the hostages before speaking to Ranger Milo. Doing so has no positive or negative effect on the reward, albeit a few lines of immersion-breaking dialogue (The Courier and Milo would behave as if they have agreed upon dealing with the situation beforehand). Due to the amount of bugs with Ranger Milo, this method may also serve as a potential workaround.
 * Ranger Milo may not recognize that the Courier saved the hostages until all Legion members are dead. Keep in mind that there are several guard towers on the outskirts manned by recruit legionaries, far enough that the Courier may not even see them on their radar. Until this condition is fulfilled, Milo will stay in the "active" position. Dead Sea, who resides in the command building, is not counted as part of this. However, any Legion Mongrels are included regardless of whether the Courier has the Animal Friend perk.
 * Ranger Milo may not return to the checkpoint, staying in "active" position even if one kills all Legion members prior to initiating the quest, because he is waiting for the Courier to still kill the hostages. However, if one decides to save the hostage(s), speaking to him while he is still on the ridge may allow them to finish the quest.
 * Even if one kills all Legion members silently wearing different faction armor, they may still be awarded Legion infamy when the quest is turned in for completion.
 * It is possible that Boone will not recognize that the Courier saved the hostages and will react negatively towards them as if the Courier decided to execute them.

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