Talon Company

Talon Company is an organization active in the Capital Wasteland which tries to resist the super mutant occupiers of Washington, DC. Even as far as mercenaries go, these men and women are vicious, killing anyone that doesn't wear their emblem, not unlike Raiders.

A bounty may be taken out on your life, and Talon Company is one of the groups looking for you. It is also possible that maintaining a neutral karma will keep Talon Company "friendly" towards you.

In early previews, Pete Hines was said to have stated that the humans going up against the mutant occupiers were mercenaries working for the Talon Corporation, however, it is most likely a previewers mistake, and Hines mistook the military term "company" as being the business term "company".

In the Capital Wasteland area they operate out of Fort Bannister and Talon Company Camp west of Grayditch. They are also engaged in a large battle with the super mutants in and around the Capitol Building. It is unknown why they are besieging it, but it seems they are trying to find something in the conference room section of it, since that's as far as you can go. You will sometimes come across a fire team of three mercs, patrolling through the Wasteland or in various towns. If they have a contract for your death, you may also be ambushed by them after either fast traveling or zoning to a new location. Killing these fire teams should keep you in supply of armour and ammo, as they each wear a Talon Combat Armor and tend to have more advanced weaponry as you level up; feel free to use the nearest exit as a rest stop while your Action Points regenerate -- but remember that humanoid enemies can (and often will) follow you between zones!

A fairly easy-to-beat encampment of Talon Company Mercs is located just south of the Arlington Library. You can pick off 4-5 Mercs one at a time from a distance with a Sniper Rifle. There is also a turret gun with a Robo-brain (there may be a Sentry Bot instead of the Robo-brain there too (level 20)) below it which can both be sniped. Loot is abundant, with lots of ammo and four Stealth Boys. (This is all while on Level 5. Your results may vary.)

Talon Company Mercs are almost exclusively male. A female Talon merc was encountered in the bathroom of Hall of Columns in the Capitol Building, and another in Metro Central. They were however dead on arrival. It is not impossible that she was sent there to die as a sick joke. There is also 1 other women Talon merc in the Corvega Factory. She appears to be the only Talon Company member in the building. As stated above, it is possible she was sent there as sick joke. A live female Talon merc was also encountered in the Fort Bannister bunker. Another live female can be encountered as part of the first fire team that ambushes you (the one that explains that there's a hit out on you).

Weapons and tactics
Members of roving Talon Company fire teams typically have as their primary armament police batons, combat shotguns, laser rifles or Chinese assault rifles, with no more than one of each encountered per fire team. Talon Company personnel in set encounters may also have other weapons, such as sniper rifles and missile launchers. Combat knives, .32 pistols and pulse grenades are often carried as backup weapon.

In random encounters, fire team tactics are simple: depending on the weapon type, the merc will close to within effective range (if necessary) and engage. At typical encounter distances, this means that riflemen will open fire from where they are, shotgunners will close part of the distance and then open fire, and hand-to-hand fighters will charge at the player.



Trivia

 * The Talon Company's reputation as "ruthless mercs who take on contracts other mercs won't" is a Fallout 3 mockup of the Blackwood Company from Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The same motto was used in that game as well. On top of this, both wear black armors, both are antagonists to the player (Blackwood was only an antagonist of the player however if he or she joined the Fighters Guild), and last but not least both groups have named themselves "Company".