Operation: Sunburst

Operation: Sunburst was a decisive strike on the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel by the New California Republic over the control of the pre-War, Poseidon Energy solar plant HELIOS One during the Brotherhood War in 2276.

Background
The occupation of HELIOS One was a decision made by Elder Elijah, who intended to unlock the secrets of the power plant. The Mojave chapter operated freely within the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out many reclamation missions without serious opposition. In 2274, a large contingent of NCR troops entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam, coming into conflict with the chapter. Elder Elijah concentrated on bringing HELIOS into operation while the Brotherhood contingent engaged in guerilla skirmishes with the NCR for nearly two years.

Battle
The Brotherhood knew that solar plant was not defensible and that the NCR was moving in, but Elder Elijah's decided to remain, dooming the chapter. The NCR began "Operation: Sunburst," the offensive to drive the Brotherhood out and take control of the facility. Troopers attacked the Brotherhood in waves, concentrating a force that outnumbered the defenses by a factor of between 15 and 20 to 1. Then Senior Paladin Hardin recommended fighting a retreating action, but Elder Elijah ordered the troops to dig in and protect the facility, reporting to Hardin that he almost "had it working" but never clarified what was almost working. With an already limited fighting force, the Brotherhood's defenses fell, the perimeter was overrun, and the survivors retreated while Elder Elijah disappeared during the fighting. During their retreat, the Brotherhood quickly re-activated HELIOS One's Archimedes I security measures as a trap to the first NCR soldiers to enter the primary control area.

Aftermath
The Brotherhood was routed, losing significant numbers including over a half of its knights and paladins. With Elijah's disappearance, McNamara assumed command and led survivors in a retreat eastward towards Hidden Valley. Once the Brotherhood survivors reached Hidden Valley, a strict lockdown was enacted. Activity outside the bunker was drastically restricted, allowing only supply runs, occasional reconnaissance missions, and night patrols were allowed to leave the underground installation and even then, only at night. The lockdown persisted into 2281 in response to the NCR increasing its presence in the Mojave fivefold, while the Brotherhood subsequently failed to recover its own strength.

For abandoning his chapter during Operation: Sunburst and going rogue, Elder Elijah was marked for execution by the Circle of Steel.

The NCR successfully captured HELIOS One and consolidated their forces to secure the power plant. When HELIOS One was deemed fully captured, the NCR then attempted to pursue the Brotherhood's forces, but it was too late as the Brotherhood of Steel had vanished without a trace. The NCR were quick in their attempt to harness the power plant as a potential source of energy. However, in their haste, they had triggered the Brotherhood's trap and activated Archimedes I (HELIOS One's plant security system) resulting in the deaths of two soldiers and effectively cutting off the primary controls in the tower of the plant.

Although the bulk of the fighting force was almost immediately redeployed to secure Hoover Dam in preparation for the war with Caesar's Legion, the NCR established a garrison to remain at HELIOS One while their technician attempts to get the plant functionally efficient. Due to NCR's non-rigorous hiring standards, an incompetent con artist was hired to act as the facility's principal engineer. He has coasted on this job for an easy paycheck and has been unable to bring the facility to even moderate operational status, leaving it stuck at 1% efficiency. Ignacio Rivas was posted by the Followers of the Apocalypse to research the facility independently and ensure that Fantastic would not figure out a way to discover and unlock the facility's true purpose. As he puts it, "Some things are best left buried with the old world."

Appearances
Operation: Sunburst is mentioned only in Fallout: New Vegas, its name listed in the game guide.Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 43: Brotherhood of Steel "The Brotherhood of Steel is a militant organization devoted to the preservation of pre-war technology and human knowledge. Their professed mission is to preserve pre-war technology and human knowledge for the benefit of future generations. In practice, its definition of technology is strangely selective, ignoring basic but potentially useful technologies (genetic modification of crops and civil engineering, for example) in favor of combat technology such as energy weapons and power armor: and even now, nearly two centuries after the Great War, the Brotherhood zealously restricts the use and knowledge of such technologies to its own membership. ''The Mojave Brotherhood operated freely amid the Vegas wastes for several years, carrying out many reclamation missions without serious opposition. The balance of power shifted in 2251, when a large contingent of NCR troops entered the region and occupied Hoover Dam. Conflict was inevitable. Nearly two years of guerilla skirmishes culminated in a pitched battle at HELIOS One, a solar energy plant the Brotherhood had been refurbishing for several months with the goals of bringing it back online and activating its hidden offensive capabilities (the ARCHIMEDES II death ray). The battle for HELIOS One (Operation: Sunburst) proved a disaster for the Mojave Brotherhood. More than half its Paladins and Knights were killed. The chapter's leader, Elder Elijah, disappeared without a trace. The Brotherhood was driven from the facility, which suffered extensive damage. Survivors retreated to Hidden Valley.'' ''Since that defeat, the chapter's leader, Elder McNamara, has restricted activity outside the bunker to occasional reconnaissance missions and high-value raids. All operations take place at night, and engagement of NCR forces is strictly forbidden. Though the Brotherhood's ascetic lifestyle has prepared its members for a sequestered existence better than most, the passivity of their current situation has proved highly stressful."'' (Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide faction profiles)