Kill Hubologist in NCR for Merk

Kill Hubologist in NCR for Merk is a quest in Fallout 2.

Background
Merk, NCR's resident crime boss, wants the Hubologist in NCR dead. While he's not necessarily alone in that sentiment, NCR law and general local tolerance have kept the overall level of risk for the Hubologist low. However, the arrival of the Chosen One in NCR tips the balance.

Getting the Quest
There are two ways to open this quest. If the player has low-neutral to low karma and has made connections with underworld figures in other settlements, Merk may be willing to talk right off the bat. However, talk is cheap. Unwilling to let an untested agent take on an assassination mission, Merk insists that the Chosen One prove the ability to handle the job. This means a boxing match with the resident super mutant barfly, Lenny. Winning the bout wins the job.

Players with high-neutral and high karma won't have the connections necessary to get in to Merk's "office" without a grand, impressive gesture. This also means a fight with Lenny, but rather than a proper boxing match, this fight is just a good old-fashioned bar brawl. Starting the battle through dialogue is the only safe option; simply hauling off and belting Lenny usually turns all of the bar patrons hostile, resulting in not only fists, but bullets and explosives flying as well.

Once Merk has been contacted and duly impressed, he will hand the job of liquidating the Hubologist to the player.

A Little Hit
The Hubologist is no soldier, and makes no overtures of being one. In fact, if the player admits to the Hubologist that he's been targeted for assassination, he takes the whole matter all too calmly, asking only, after the player is through shooting him, to deliver a letter to the Hubologist leader, AHS-9 in San Francisco. The player can accept or decline without any serious effect, although the letter does pose a means of gaining entry to the Hubologist compound. Be forewarned that if you announce your intentions, the Hubologist just may take to his heels after the letter request; if he makes it to the street, there will be armed witnesses.

Avoiding troublesome entanglements involves having a decent Sneak skill and the ability to end combat in one round. While sneaking, the Hubologist can be attacked with relative impunity. The key to success without notice lies in killing the Hubologist within the first round of combat. Once the Hubologist is dead, pass another combat turn, then exit combat mode. If all has gone well, the player can stroll down the street past the police station with nobody shouting and drawing a weapon. If, however, guards come running during the attack on the Hubologist - or the player is attacked while leaving the scene - the sneak check failed.

Using Booze, beer, or even rot gut on the police officers nearby will lower their Perception scores and leave them less able to spot the player's nefarious deeds. Evidently there are no regulations about drinking on duty.

Players without sneak abilities or combat strength can still complete the quest. The old standby assassination technique of super stimpak overdose works just fine on the Hubologist. Generally, five to six superstims will cause enough of an HP crash to kill the Hubologist after an hour. Save prior to the attempt and, if the Hubologist does not go down, try again with another superstim. Players with the Awareness perk will be able to calculate the exact number of superstims needed.

Alternatively, live dynamite or plastic explosives can be used to turn the troublesome Hubologist into confetti, if you plant an active dynamite in his inventory through pickpocketing, it will not attract any attention.

Killing the Hubologist will net the player an experience point bonus of 2000xp, along with Merk's gratitude. However, unlike the Hubologists that prowl around San Francisco and those at the Golden Gate compound, killing the NCR Hubologist will cause a ten-point karma drop for the player.