ED-E My Love

ED-E My Love is a companion quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Overview
The robot ED-E lies deactivated and in need of repair in Primm. It is a prototype "duraframe" eyebot containing research data and voice recordings from Whitley, an Enclave researcher. Damage sustained by ED-E over time has made accessing the data difficult. The voice recordings, however, can be unlocked with certain keywords spoken by various inhabitants of the Mojave Wasteland when talked to by the Courier. Accessing these audio logs brings ED-E to the attention of the Brotherhood of Steel and the Followers of the Apocalypse, who both wish to examine the robot further. The choice of which group will determine ED-E's upgrade as compensation for the research data it is carrying. There are other upgrades for ED-E that can be found in the Fallout New Vegas add-on, Lonesome Road.

Finding and repairing ED-E
There will be a broken robot found on a counter in the Nash residence in Primm. This building is on the corner opposite both the Vikki and Vance Casino and the Bison Steve Hotel; it will be on the right if crossing the bridge into Primm from the nearby NCR camp. The Nash residence is also known as the local Mojave Express office, according to the large sign on the roof.

Talk to Johnson Nash, the owner of the store, and mention the robot sitting on the counter. He will reveal that he does not know much about it, and will offhandedly suggest taking it to the junkyard near Novac.
 * Nash will be inside the Vikki and Vance Casino when he is first met, as the town is overrun with convicts. Once the Courier brings stability to the town, Nash will be found inside his store, sitting at the counter.

Examining the broken robot will reveal that it can be fixed with the appropriate skills, or items:
 * A Repair skill of 65, or a Science skill of 55 and a subsequent lowered Repair of 35.
 * 1 scrap electronics, 3 scrap metals, and 2 sensor modules.
 * Note that ED-E can be repaired before or after talking to Nash. His dialogue will change slightly, but nothing else will be affected.

After ED-E is repaired, enable its companion protocol.

Playback event triggers
There are two pre-recorded messages in ED-E regarding the databanks it is carrying. There is a 5 day waiting period after the first message is triggered before the second can be triggered.

The triggers for these messages are specific words or phrases found in the dialogue of different characters, usually occurring while talking to someone who used to be in (or talks about) the Enclave, or someone who talks about technology.
 * Many individuals on the following lists can be spoken to in order to trigger either audio log 1 or 2. However, once they have triggered the first message, the same person cannot trigger the second. The message will also not be triggered if a quest has been completed for that person.

Audio log 1
To trigger the first message, talk to any one of the following:
 * Old Lady Gibson at the Gibson scrap yard. (If her conversation options have already been gone through before starting this quest, talking to her will no longer trigger this message.)
 * NCR troopers at HELIOS One outside of the front door.
 * Doctor Henry, found in the lodge in Jacobstown. Talk about his experience with the Enclave.
 * If the companion quest For Auld Lang Syne has been completed, Doc Henry will no longer be present in the Jacobstown lodge. Instead, Calamity will then trigger the audio log.
 * Ignacio Rivas at HELIOS One. Talk about Archimedes and the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Knight Torres, the quartermaster of the Brotherhood of Steel armory in Hidden Valley.
 * Apprentice Watkins. Talk about HELIOS One.
 * Thomas Hildern, director of the OSI at Camp McCarran. Much of the dialogue involves the quest There Stands the Grass.
 * Colonel Moore. Talk about the first assignment for the quest, For the Republic, Part 2.
 * Michael Angelo at his workshop, located on the Strip. Talk about his "lack of inspiration," and choose the Medicine skill check. Failing it will still count as a trigger word.
 * Mr. House. Talk about the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Quartermaster Mayes, found in Camp Forlorn Hope. Speak to him about the quest, Restoring Hope.
 * Brotherhood of Steel paladins in the Hidden Valley bunker. One of their small talk dialogues will trigger it.

When the message is triggered, the Courier will be turned to face ED-E and an audio file will begin playing:

After this message (Audio log 1) has been triggered, the quest will be added to the quest log, but Audio log 2 (below) may not be immediately triggered. ED-E will not react to any further keywords until at least five in-game days have passed.

Audio log 2
After passing at least five in-game days, do any one of the following:
 * Listen to the Brotherhood Scribe (found in a classroom inside the Brotherhood bunker in Hidden Valley) teaching his class.
 * Speak to Michael Angelo about his inspiration which not only will trigger audio log 2, but also starts the quest Classic Inspiration. (If one has completed Michael Angelo's quest, this dialogue option will no longer be available.)
 * Speak with Veronica Santangelo while on the quest I Could Make You Care, and again after accessing Father Elijah's terminal.
 * Interact with the members of the Brotherhood of Steel in Hidden Valley (the knight repairing a turret has worked on at least one occasion).
 * When trying to gain the Brotherhood of Steel's trust (without the help of Veronica), a keyword is spoken after getting rid of the NCR ranger in Hidden Valley.
 * If enough trust has been gained with the Brotherhood, a scribe will give thanks and point out a footlocker containing energy weapon ammunition. Talking to the scribe again will trigger a keyword.
 * Talk to Apprentice Watkins both about her parents and her decision, and ask her about all the computers.
 * Talk to Doctor Hildern and Dr. Williams when starting the quest There Stands the Grass, and go back to Hildern after Williams told the Courier about the danger in Vault 22 to trigger a keyword.
 * Talk to Ignacio Rivas at Helios One during the quest That Lucky Old Sun.

Some of the characters that can trigger audio log 1 can trigger the second audio log, so long as they haven't triggered the first one.

As with the first triggered message, the Courier will be turned to face ED-E and the second audio file will begin playing:

Other possible triggers

 * Talk to Senior Knight Lorenzo in Hidden Valley.
 * Talk to Quartermaster Mayes at Camp Forlorn Hope about retrieving NCR dogtags.
 * Talk to one of the guards in the room with Elder McNamara in Hidden Valley.

Additional log notes

 * Other possible keywords have been reported as being the Enclave, Navarro, Poseidon, HELIOS, Air Force Base, Eden and ARCHIMEDES.
 * A way to incorporate another companion to help in this quest is to have Arcade Gannon present, as his personal quest being undertaken will result in many of the key words being spoken.
 * If the companion quest For Auld Lang Syne has been completed, Doc Henry will no longer be present in the Jacobstown lodge. Instead, Calamity will then trigger the audio log.
 * Using the "wait" feature will also speed up ED-E's speech events. Use the wait feature in increments of 1 hour inside Old Lady Gibson's house and after that, anywhere else.
 * It is possible to get both logs 1 and 2 from Doctor Henry in Jacobstown.
 * It is possible to get both logs 1 and 2 from talking to members of the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * It is possible to be contacted by Brotherhood and the Followers without obtaining both logs.
 * It is possible to get both logs from talking to Michael Angelo on The Strip.
 * It is possible to get both logs from talking to NCR troopers outside HELIOS One.

Upgrading ED-E
After both the logs have been triggered, in approximately 2 in-game days the Brotherhood of Steel will express their interest in ED-E. Senior Knight Lorenzo will be talking through ED-E in a radio transmission:

He goes on to say that he would like to examine ED-E and will ask it be brought to a patrol near the REPCONN headquarters, unless one has already been there and recovered the holotape in which case he'll ask them to come to Hidden Valley. Once there, go to the third floor where there is a dead member of the Brotherhood scouting party. A holotape note will be next to, or in the inventory of the corpse. As Lorenzo is speaking, his transmission will be interrupted by April Martimer of the Followers of the Apocalypse, asking that ED-E be brought to them instead. From here, choose which faction will upgrade ED-E.

Brotherhood of Steel
Once the holotape has been acquired, the Courier will be prompted to go to Hidden Valley, where their bunker is located. To gain entrance to the bunker, Senior Paladin Ramos, the head of the security, will strip the Courier of all their belongings and will closely escort them to meet Elder McNamara. The elder will require being trusted, and will fit the Courier with an explosive collar to prevent trouble while carrying out a task for him.

In order to be trusted by the Brotherhood, Ranger Dobson will have to be taken care of. He is an NCR Ranger who is posing a threat to the Brotherhood's secrecy by patrolling nearby their bunker. Getting rid of him by any means necessary will gain the elder's trust, and will remove the explosive collar. With free clearance to the bunker, it is possible to talk to Senior Knight Lorenzo, who will be located on the second lower floor of the bunker.

Alternatively, the tasks above will not need to be done if access to the bunker has already been gained before this quest, or if Veronica is a companion. If the bunker has already been accessed, there will just be a prompt to meet Senior Knight Lorenzo. If Veronica is escorting the Courier they will not have to earn the trust, since she is held responsible for their actions.

ED-E's upgrade by the Brotherhood
Lorenzo will upgrade ED-E's armor as compensation for the databanks regarding Poseidon Energy research. This will give ED-E a defense bonus from base 8 DT to 20 DT (+12 Damage Threshold), and a refurbished metallic surface, clean of its stickers and the car license plate. After three to four days, ED-E will return to Primm.

Followers of the Apocalypse
April Martimer is a scientist for the Followers of the Apocalypse. She sees potential in ED-E, because its data can serve the greater good in the future if examined. She will be found in the Old Mormon Fort, the Followers' headquarters. The fort can be reached through Freeside's north gate. April will not make contact with the Courier until they have discovered Hidden Valley.

April Martimer will upgrade ED-E's weapon system to compensate for the data that can help the greater good in the future. This will give ED-E an extra laser zapper (+5 DAM, +5 shots/sec, +169 DPS, -0.01 Min Spread, +0.5% Critical Chance and +5 Critical Damage). ED-E will keep his usual laser but will use his new blaster at short-medium range. The bolts fired are similar to the alien blaster and its armor will be cleaned of its stickers and license plate. After three to four days, ED-E will return to Primm.

Additional notes

 * Neither option affects reputation with the Brotherhood of Steel or the Followers of the Apocalypse, so the choice is purely between which upgrade is more appealing.
 * It is possible for only April to make contact if the Old Mormon Fort has been visited prior to acquiring the holotape in REPCONN Headquarters.
 * If Lorenzo has already been killed as a result of Mr. House's quest The House Always Wins (Part V), waiting two days after talking to Ignacio Rivas and talking to ED-E will trigger April Martimer to make contact without having to travel to the REPCONN Headquarters. Note that April Martimer will not make contact until Hidden Valley has been discovered.
 * If the holotape note was obtained previously by exploring REPCONN Headquarters, April won't make contact until the gate in the fence that surrounds Hidden Valley is opened or, if entering through the gap in the fence, until the Brotherhood compound is entered.

Conclusion
After three in-game days have passed, the quest advances and a message will appear saying that ED-E has returned to the Mojave Express building in Primm. Once the building is entered, the quest will be completed. However, one will still have to speak to ED-E in order to recruit him.

Behind the scenes
The name of the quest is a reference to the 1956 song "Eddie My Love" by The Teen Queens.

Bugs
Mein lieber ED-E ED-E, Mi Amor ED-E My Love ЭД-Э, любовь моя ЕД-Е, любов моя