The Vessel

The Vessel, formerly known as the USS Democracy, is a derelict United States Navy submarine found at the dry docks of a Naval base on the Island, known as the Nucleus in 2287.

Background
A new type of submarine designed for stealth (with an uncanny resemblance to Yangtze-class submarines), the Democracy was dry-docked for repairs and refitting at the facility on the Island prior to the Great War. Under the command of Captain Arnold Wabash, the Democracy was part of a secret plan created by the U.S. naval command, targeting Chinese operations in the South China Sea. Although Captain Wabash had reservations about the plan, Admiral Edward Grath, his commanding officer, ordered him to accelerate repairs on the Democracy, as, "the Reds would do as bad or worse if given the chance."

Before repair could be completed, however, the Democracy ' s nuclear reactor developed a containment leak. Its crew and captain were recalled while hazmat teams worked around the clock to clean the facility and make the submarine usable again. However, the process would take weeks to complete. Admiral Grath suspected foul play and informed Captain Wabash that he would file the court-martial personally if he was responsible. However, before the investigation could be carried out, the Great War struck. Stuck in dry dock, the Democracy played no role in the ensuing exchange. After Admiral Grath reestablished communications with the naval base at Mount Desert Island, it turned out that Captain Wabash had disappeared together with the sub's launch key. Grath considered this to be an act of treason, believing that the submarine could've played a role in disabling Chinese nuclear capability, potentially saving New York City, Washington, D.C., or Boston. He vowed to find Wabash and kill him. Although he was correct in his assessment, as Wabash did sabotage his submarine's nuclear capability, he would never have his revenge: The captain died in a safe room at the nearby hotel, betrayed by a Chinese spy and one-time lover, Franny Richardson.

The submarine itself remained stuck in dry dock. As the base deteriorated and the doors rusted, it became little more than a derelict hulk leaking radiation into the hold. This made it the perfect choice for DiMA, as the elevated radiation levels ensured he would have no interlopers interfering with his work. That changed when the Children of Atom came, with DiMA moving on to Acadia and entrusting the base (and the submarine) to the Children. They renamed it and the base the Nucleus, turning it into a holy site of their cult. Of particular interest is the intact and functional nuclear warheads, which they seek to use to enact a "Great Division." They tried and failed at hacking the system, but without the nuclear launch key they cannot activate the missiles.

Layout
The Vessel shares a similar internal and external layout as the Chinese submarine, Yangtze. The sub has the same body shape, but many of the details that Yangtze has, are altered or changed on the Democracy. She has two large propellers on either side of the main body (lacking the third one under the reactor control room that the Yangtze has) and another smaller one near the rudder at the stern of the ship. The Democracy lacks the large dive planes that the Yangtze has on her bow, but has the same four torpedo tubes on her bow, and only four submarine-launched ballistic missile tubes compared to the larger sub which has six. The USS Democracy ' s conning tower is a new style, with a large half-circle platform surrounded by a railing just over halfway up the conning tower. Unlike the Yangtze, this sub lacks stairs going up to the main hatch and has a simple ladder connected to the platform. The Children of Atom have draped their flag over the said railing, and have placed a construction light facing it, so it is lit up brightly.

Due to her smaller size, the Democracy lacks many of the rooms that one might find on the Yangtze. The original control room of the ship lies beyond the entrance, having been converted into a sort of throne room by the Children of Atom. Heading behind the throne towards the front of the sub is the captain's quarters, used by the High Confessor as his personal worshiping area. Down the stairs at the front of the room leads to the missile launch and reactor control room bundled into the same room.

Similar to the Yangtze, there are doors on both sides of the room that lead to propeller drive shafts; the room is highly irradiated due to the radiation leak from the missiles. Heading directly back, in between the two stairs leading down to this room is the sleeping quarters for the original crew of the ship, which the Children of Atom now use as a place to lay their dead. Going forward towards the bow of the ship is the main reactor room, taking up two floors. The bottom floor of the reactor room leads back towards the missile room. Underneath the missile room is a very large empty room, with a large number of nuclear waste barrels.

Notable loot

 * Edgar's note - Spawns as part of Witch Hunt, partially tucked away under the mattress of Sister Aubert.
 * To my "family" - Under the same mattress as above.
 * Aubert's note - In a footlocker in the starboard propeller drive shaft.
 * Brother Alders - In a room next to the catacombs, on a table.

Appearances
The Vessel appears only in the Fallout 4 add-on Far Harbor.