There Stands the Grass

There Stands the Grass is a quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthrough

 * Speak to Dr. Hildern at Camp McCarran.


 * Enter Vault 22 and download the research data found there.


 * (Optional)Find Keely, a researcher who has gone missing at Vault 22.


 * Meet Keely at her base of operations on the second level.


 * Find the vents Keely is pumping gas through and somehow ignite the gas.


 * Return to Keely and let her know the spores have been purged.


 * Return to Dr. Hildern at Camp McCarran with the research data.


 * Return to Camp McCarran and tell Dr. Williams that Keely is safe.

Detailed walkthrough
To start the quest, you have to speak to Dr. Hildern in the Camp McCarran station. After speaking to him, he will tell you that Vault 22 has data on its computers that will help him prevent a food shortage. He will give you the location to Vault 22 and ask you to enter and download the experimental data onto your Pip-Boy. Before leaving the base, make sure to speak to Dr. Williams so you get the optional objective to find Keely, a researcher who went to the vault before and has become missing. You find out from Dr. Williams that Dr. Hildern has sent other people on his task but none of them have returned.

The vault is easily found by following the map marker. There are quite a few Cazadors who roam the area and can be a little tricky. Just outside the vault entrance are 4 Giant Mantis hiding in the foliage, but they are not difficult to fight. The door is permanently open and full of overgrown plants. Inside the Vault are numerous Mantis (Fallout: New Vegas) and what are known as Spore carriers. In the Pest Control there are Spore plant (Fallout: New Vegas) who shoot toxic vomit much like the Centaur (Fallout 3) are known for.

Once inside you have the choice to repair the elevator (with a skill check) or walk the five levels by stairs. Be careful, there are Spore carriers hiding in most of the patches of plant growth. The Spore carriers are in a sort of sleeping state, meaning you can sneak up on them easily. Melee attacks as you sneak through patches of plant growth work well. Whether you choose the elevator or the stairs you need to find the Overseer's office, which is located in the Common Area. Follow the arrow through the common area to the computer in the Overseer's office to unlock three doors. The third door will actually be a malfunction error of "Manual Override at Door". This means that unless you have 75 lockpick, you need to head for the Crew Quarters (now unlocked via the Overseer's computer). There is a key card in the first room on the left side of the hall as you enter the crew quarters. Be careful, there are two Spore Carriers waiting inside. With the key climb the stairs or take the elevator to Level 5, Pest Control. Follow the arrow to the door (if you picked up the key card it will just open, otherwise pick the lock).

Finding Keely is a bit more difficult. It is recommended you have followers as the area where she is is littered with Spore plants and Mantis, but a flamer with lots of fuel and a strong melee attack work well too. Keely turns out to be a Ghoul. She credits being a ghoul with saving her from the abominations, as the Mantis creatures captured her and were going to feed her to the Spore Plants but they were not interested in Ghoul flesh. On the pest control level she is found by leaving the vault through a hole in one of the labs and traveling through a short cave to a large open cavern filled with Giant Mantis and Spore Plant creatures. She is on the south end of the cavern sitting alone next to a duffel bag.

Keely tells you about a plan to burn all the spores. Follow her to the second floor (Oxygen Level) and make sure you have a Flamer (Fallout: New Vegas) or some sort of explosive/energy weapon. There is a duffel bad with frag grenades beside Keely in the room were you met up with her on level 2 (Oxygen level). Also, on the bottom level of the common area (where you found the overseers office)there is a room marked Utility. It contains a flamer in the far corner. Be careful, there are higher level Spore Carriers in the large room outside the utility room. Keely tells you to find where two vents exhaust beside each other, these are circular vents that are right next to the entrance of the room to the cavern on the Pest Control level. You need to light the gas that is leaked into the vault without killing yourself. The easiest way is to stand in the reinforced computer room you downloaded the data from and throw a grenade, then close the door quickly. Once the fires stop, it is safe to re-open the door and return to Keely.

When you return to Keely to collect your reward, she'll talk about destroying the files from the computer. She'll discover they were downloaded and you have multiple options from here:


 * Tell her the truth and destroy the codes for good karma. If she lives you will get caps or Karma depending on what you bartered with Dr. Williams.
 * With a sufficiently high Science check(70), you can convince Keely to save the data.


 * Tell her the truth and refuse to destroy where she will become hostile. Killing gives you her password to leave. Make sure to use her computer to unlock the door. This gives you New California Republic infamy.


 * Tell her the truth and refuse to destroy it, and flee the area. Go back in and she should be non-hostile again. Pickpocket the password from her.


 * Lie and let her live. You will lose karma for lying but gain it for saving her.


 * If you are on the companion quest with Veronica you will have another option to save the data without bloodshed.

After that, whatever you chose you must return to Dr. Hildern.


 * If you saved the data he will give you 1200 caps and you can get an additional 600 with a high enough Barter or Speech skill.


 * If you deleted the data, the quest will end with you informing Dr. Williams that Keely is safe or dead.


 * If Keely died, you can tell Dr. Williams a lie with a speech check. You get 800 caps and lose Karma this way. If you don't, you won't get anything but you won't lose karma.

Any of the ways gets you a cool 1500 xp if you finish it and your fame with the NCR will be raised.

Journal entries

 * Enter Vault 22 and download the research data found there.
 * (Optional) Find Keely, a researcher who has gone missing at Vault 22.
 * Return to Dr. Hildern at Camp McCarran with the research data.
 * Meet Keely at her base of operations on the second level.
 * Find the vents Keely is pumping gas through and somehow ignite the gas.
 * Return to Keely and let her know the spores have been purged.
 * Return to Camp McCarran and tell Dr. Williams that Keely is safe.

Bugs

 * It is possible for this quest to bug if you repair the elevator at any time. When Keely asks you to follow her to the 2nd floor she will not be in her lab and you will be stuck in the vault without the access code to leave.


 * After following Keely to her base of operations leaving the vault becomes impossible as the exit becomes locked and can only be unlocked with a key.


 * You can download the data before beginning the quest. If you then explore the Vault while the quest is active, the terminal with the data will be marked, but you will be unable to download the data a second time to complete the objective. The objective and its marker will stay until you finish the other objectives.


 * Also, if you download the data before starting the quest, Keely will not notice that the data has been downloaded and will not confront you about it.


 * Keely is not in the Vault if you explore it before activating the quest.