Vault 13

Vault 13 (or V13) is one of the Vault series of fallout shelters developed by Vault-Tec. Specifically, it is the home of the Vault Dweller. V13 also played a major role in the Master's plan, as it is one of the few remaining untouched Vaults when Fallout begins. Vault 13 was probably located under Mt. Whitney, as it roughly matches the location of the mountain.

Construction on the Vault started in August 2063, and was completed in March 2069. The total number of occupants (at maximum capacity) was 1000, and the Vault was meant to stay closed for ten years. However, due to the Enclave's Vault experiments, V13 stayed locked up for at lot longer. The Enclave intended it to stay closed for 200 years as a study of prolonged isolation.

The starting budget for the Vault was $400,000,000,000, and it eventually reached $645,000,000,000. It was equipped with a Think Machine supercomputer and the primary source of power was Geo-thermal energy. The secondary power source were the General Atomics Nuclear Power backup systems. The Vault stored complete construction equipment, hydro-agricultural farms, water purification from underground river, defensive weaponry to equip 10 men, communication, and social and entertainment files (for total duration). It was also supplied with 2 Garden of Eden Creation Kits.

In 2161, V13's only functioning water chip breaks (the spares were mistakenly sent to Vault 8). The Vault Dweller was randomly selected by the Overseer to be sent out into the wasteland to find a replacement chip, a task that was completed on May 10th, 2162. In the course of his adventure, he ended up defeating the mutant threat,and was subsequently expelled from V13, as the Overseer thought that he would ruin the Vault Experiment by convincing people to leave the Vault. Despite that, many people chose to follow the Vault Dweller into the Wasteland. The Overseer was eventually tried and sentenced to death for his crime, probably after the dwellers learned about his involvement in the Experiment.

Vault Dweller and the people who followed him eventually traveled north and founded a small village called Arroyo, and soon became tribals. Vault 13 became known as the "Holy Thirteen" among their children and grandchildren. Eventually, the grandchild of the Vault Dweller, one known as the Chosen One, was sent to find Vault 13 and bring the GECK to Arroyo, as the village was dying.

Between May 15th and 17th 2242, the Enclave opened up V13 and kidnapped the inhabitants. Later on, a group of intelligent deathclaws created by the Enclave, which ran away during the course of experiments, found their new home in the deserted Vault, along with some humans. When the Enclave were destroyed in the autumn of the same year by the Chosen One, the survivors from Arroyo and V13 founded (New Arroyo).

Documents connected with Vault 13

 * Vault Dweller's Survival Guide
 * Vault Dweller's memoirs

Appearances in games
Vault 13 appeared in Fallout, where it was the starting location, and Fallout 2.