Vera Keyes

Vera Keyes was a pre-War starlet for whom Frederick Sinclair built the Sierra Madre.

Background
Using the stage name "Vera Keyes," the young starlet made a name for herself in Hollywood for her impeccable beauty and for appearing in a number of poorly-written romances that drew large box office crowds regardless of critical reception, such as Love Sets Sail!.

Keyes was one of the celebrities invited to the Grand Opening of the Sierra Madre Casino. Of all the guests there, she had a special connection to the casino - she was the inspiration for its construction by its founder, Frederick Sinclair. Sinclair worshiped the ground she walked on and built the casino as both a monument to her and a fortress to protect her. Sinclair was no fool; he could easily see the war on the horizon, and he wanted his love to be safe from it. So he built the Sierra Madre, with its vault as the ultimate nuclear fallout shelter, for him and his love. Vera's voice was the key to the casino's vault, specifically, the words "begin again" and "let go" spoken in her voice into a specific terminal in the casino would activate the elevator down into the casino's vault.

Dean Domino, an old flame of Vera's, introduced her to Sinclair after seeing that she had caught his eye. But things are never simple: Dean had grown resentful of the other man and decided to take everything from him, and Vera had been coerced to agree to help with his plan because of past history. The Courier: "Are you all right?" Dean Domino: "Yeah, now. Talk about a captive audience. Or captive entertainer? Eh - whatever. Look, I'm more about the short goodbyes than long thankful speeches... but I appreciate you bailing me out of a tight spot there - partner. I know you didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart. So let me give you something a little more practical - a way we both come out ahead." The Courier: "What do you mean?" Dean Domino: "I'm not an idiot. I know the reason I'm in here now is because of the old guy - and you. And you're wearing a collar, so I trust you a little more than the old guy. He's more controlling than I'd like. Thing is, here's where being my partner pays off. See, I know how to get into the casino vault." The Courier: "What do you mean?" Dean Domino: "There's a private elevator, Sinclair's elevator. It's up in the Executive Suites, in Vera's room. Not a coincidence. Vera. She was... my other partner, before the Bomb. Took some legwork. Some convincing, made it happen." The Courier: "How so?" Dean Domino: "Sinclair was already puppy-eyed, so all I had to do was the introductions. She smiled, fluttered her eyes, showed a little leg... ...and he built this whole place for her. Made her the key to his vault, like a joke, cause of her name. Her fake Hollywood name. Except Sinclair didn't know I'd been there first. I could twist her whatever direction I wanted." The Courier: "Go on." Dean Domino: "All she had to do was get inside the Sierra Madre for the Gala, then use her voice to open the door. After that... smooth sailing. Would have been the biggest heist in history. Sinclair left holding the bag. Ruined." The Courier: "So what happened?" Dean Domino: "The Bomb. Vera got sealed in here. A few hundred years go by, give-or-take. Almost the end of the story - then you came along. Now we finish the job. Rob the Sierra Madre, rip out its heart. Last chapter of Frederick Sinclair, close the book." (Dean Domino's dialogue) When she later started to get cold feet, he secured her assistance by blackmailing her with evidence of "indiscretions" and addictions to Med-X and super stimpaks. What he did not know was that the addictions stemmed from her taking the drugs as pain relief, a refuge from a terminal illness. The shame of betraying Sinclair was percolating to the surface of even her public persona. Vera, overcome with guilt, told Sinclair of the plot. Although he had long known of her and Domino's intentions, he had managed to bear that fact. But this knowledge blackened Sinclair's heart, and he turned the vault into a trap for Domino, making it impossible to leave so that he would have an eternity to contemplate his betrayal. Sinclair eventually relented and attempted to return the casino to its original purpose, but this proved impossible - it had been built simply too well. He did what he could and hoped that after the doors to the vault locked, the Sierra Madre Broadcast, the casino's emergency signal, would bring help from the authorities and unlock the vault's treasure - Vera.

On the night the bombs dropped, the night of the Grand Opening, the casino locked its doors and its security systems activated. The holograms massacred the guests, and Vera was trapped in her room, with only one way out. She scrawled her last words, LET GO, on the wall. A malfunction with the emergency broadcast, caused by the Gala Event's broadcasting being routed via the emergency announcement system to save money, caused the advertisement for the casino's grand opening to be sent across the airwaves, rather than the intended rescue broadcast.

For over two centuries, Vera's voice would act as bait, not for the rescue Sinclair had hoped for, but for potential treasure hunters, luring them to their deaths, urging them to come to the Sierra Madre - a place where they could begin again.

The earthly remains of Vera can be found in a chair in her suite, still wearing her gala dress. Her last moments were recorded by the security equipment, making the holograms paroling the area, as well as the hologram in the Villa's fountain, take her form while playing her last words, a plea to Sinclair to let her go.

Appearances
Vera Keyes' corpse, recorded voice and holograms in her likeness appear in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money. She is also mentioned in Old World Blues with many posters and pictures of her throughout the research facilities. She is also mentioned in the Fallout 4 add-on Far Harbor in dialogue with Gilda Broscoe.

Behind the scenes
One of her songs, Begin Again, can be heard on the Bethesda blog and in-game on the mysterious broadcast radio station added by Old World Blues. It is performed by Stephanie Dowling and Justin Bell, with lyrics by Mikey Dowling and Chris Avellone. Other songs by her include Let the Bright Tomorrow in and Go to the Faraway.