Unsafe Working Conditions

 is a Fallout 3 quest and achievement that is added to the game in The Pitt add-on.

Rendezvous
If the player chose to kill the guards at the gate and was beaten unconscious by the Pitt Raiders, this quest will begin when Midea revives the player and directs him or her to her quarters. If the player played along as a slave, Midea's Quarters will be marked on the map.

Once inside, Midea will inform the player of her plight: to steal The Cure from Ashur. The conversation is rudely interrupted by Jackson, who interrogates Midea as to what they were talking about. She stammers out a lie, but Jackson buys it, and leaves the player and her alone. She instructs the Lone Wanderer to go and gather Steel Ingots from the Steelyard, because slaves that don't work are not tolerated. If the player inquires about weapons, she will point out Marco in The Mill for the player.

The entrance to the Steelyard is through a small buffer zone called the Abandoned Area. The Steelyard is an extremely large area, and is inhabited by feral mutated humans - nicknamed 'Trogs' by the citizens of the Pitt. A door in The Mill leads to the Abandoned Area. In turn, the door to The Mill is in the corner of Downtown where Adan is welding.

The Steelyard
It would help the player greatly to grab an Auto Axe from Marco in The Mill before proceeding, as the Steelyard is a rough place for an ill-equipped, unarmored player. Asking Kai - who lives across the square from Midea - for some food is beneficial as well.

Everett oversees all work in the Steelyard and congratulates the player on his or her misfortune of being chosen to do such a dangerous task. He will walk the player through the Abandoned Area, and point out a Trog scampering on a catwalk above. Everett will stop at the door and tell the player to proceed inside. The Steelyard is easily one of the largest areas in Fallout 3. It is an urban jungle of rusted steel catwalks, mammoth pipelines, and derelict buildings, as well as a relatively intact Supply Plant to the east. The first two ingots can be found directly in front of the player after entering the Steelyard, along with an Assault Rifle and some ammunition. That should help against Trogs. Farther ahead, the player stumbles into an emotionally charged scene: a slave trying to reason with his brother, Billy, now a Trog. The Trog will eventually attack the horrified slave if the player does not intervene. Killing 'Billy' will cause the slave to mourn the death of his brother: there is no good ending.

The rest of the Steel Ingots can be found easily, although at this point, the player most likely isn't well equipped for a deep foray into the Steelyard. See the page Mill Worker for extensive information on finding each Steel Ingot.

After the player leaves the Steelyard for the first time, they are presented with an unwelcome surprise: a Trog has ripped through the fence in the Abandoned Area and now stands between the player and the door to The Mill. Fortunately, the hole it ripped in the fence opens up a new area with a few extra Steel Ingots to scavenge.

"Well, now, look who made it back," grumbles a surprised Everett, as the player returns with the Steel Ingots. This will earn the player a Laborer Outfit, and possibly more depending on how many Ingots the player managed to return. Once again, see the page Mill Worker for information about the rewards for finding the Steel Ingots.

The player will also receive the Auto Axpert perk, which boosts the player's damage with the related weapon and its variants. It is time for the player to head back to Midea.

Midea tells the player to prepare for a fight in The Hole. Ashur will address his workers from a balcony above the square in front of Midea's house, and Midea will volunteer the player.

The Hole
Signing up for the battles in The Hole is quite simple. Faydra is in charge of the fights and is located in a room in The Mill, at the bottom of a flight of stairs. The entrance to the stairs is tagged with a sign that reads, 'Arena'. Faydra will inform the player of the rules and the like. There is a locker in the room that contains common weak weaponry, usually a low-caliber pistol and a few makeshift melee weapons. It would be good to use the items obtained from Everett or whatever the player managed to scavenge from the Steelyard. If the player intends to complete the unmarked quest Mill Worker, doing so before fighting in the Hole will earn good equipment and make the fights much easier. There are three fights to endure, ranging from one to three opponents each time. When the player finishes the third fight against Gruber, he drops the Infiltrator, an Assault Rifle with a scope and surpressor.

For detailed information pertaining to the fights in The Hole, see the article on The Hole.

Once the player has cleared The Hole, he or she is considered 'free' and may have an audience with Ashur in Haven. The player also receives their gear that was taken from them in the end of Into the Pitt in a footlocker just outside of the fighting area. The player will also receive the Pitt Fighter perk, which boosts Damage Resistance and Radiation Resistance by 3 points each. This ends this quest and begins the next quest, Free Labor.

Trivia

 * The Hole is a reference to the Arena from Bethesda Softworks' previous hit, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In fact the entire set up of the matches in The Hole are strikingly similar. From talking to Faydra to set up the match, to entering the arena behind a locked gate, to the announcer giving a speech to rally the crowd, etc. In addition, the Lone Wanderer's goal in The Hole is similar to three opponents the player faces in the arena from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, where in gladiator rank, you must face three Argonian (reptile creatures) prisoners who are fighting for their freedom.
 * The Hole is also similar to the "Thunderdome" in Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome, one of numerous references to the Mad Max post-apocalyptic series in Fallout.

Bugs

 * During Ashur's address in the square the speech can glitch causing him to stop half way, making it impossible to compete in The Hole or to progress the storyline. The only way to continue is to load an older save from before the speech and attend it again. (X360)
 * If the footlocker outside the fighting area is closed before all items have been retrieved, once the quest is completed, then these items disappear for good (PC).