Stealing Independence

Stealing Independence is a Fallout 3 quest, a PC and Xbox 360 achievement and a PlayStation 3 trophy.

Abraham Washington in Rivet City wants the Lone Wanderer to retrieve the Declaration of Independence for him to display in the Capitol Preservation Society.

Acquiring the quest
Talk to Abraham Washington in Rivet City or go directly to the National Archives and enter the rotunda on the first floor.

Encountering Sydney
Upon entering the rotunda, the Lone Wanderer will find Sydney, another treasure hunter sent by Abraham Washington to get the Declaration of Independence but never returned.

If one decides to help her by fending off the super mutants, they can take her on as a companion through to the end of the quest. However, if one declines to take her on as a companion, Sydney might appear later in a random encounter, "Seeking revenge for declining her offer."

Sydney can be completely avoided. By entering the backdoor of the National Archives, one can bypass the rotunda and retrieve the Declaration of Independence. Upon returning to the rotunda, Sydney will not be there. The super mutant attack in the rotunda is still triggered, however. Alternatively, if one goes to the eastern door in the room with the terminals (before the rotunda), the super mutant attack will not occur.

Sydney's shortcut
If one decides take Sydney with them, she will tell them that she has hacked a secret elevator that will get them very close to the Declaration's location. Interacting with the nearby terminal will trigger a secret elevator to appear. This will lead into the secure wing of the National Archives. Head north and one will have to fight/sneak past a number of robots. In the first room is a broken door that can be repaired with 67 Science. In this room is the power generator for the turrets guarding the various documents (Sydney will point this out if she is a companion), but it can only be activated with 60 Repair. There are several Hard- and Very Hard-locked doors and significant gas leaks.

Encountering Button Gwinnett
Regardless of which path one chooses, there will be a number of level-dependent robots, including Protectrons, Mister Gutsies, sentry bots, and the occasional robobrain, as well as Mark IV turrets below that are hostile. The Lone Wanderer will eventually be approached by a robot that has been programmed as the second signer of the Declaration, Button Gwinnett. At this point, one can either:
 * Kill Gwinnett and have to fight off many more robots.
 * Agree to help Gwinnett by forging the Declaration of Independence with supplies from Arlington Library (aka "trick the Redcoats"). Once the Lone Wanderer gives the ink container to Gwinnett, he will create a forgery for them to give to Abraham Washington. If one tells him to continue to guard the document or do whatever he likes, he will remain active and they will gain Karma. If one gives him the order to self-destruct, they will lose Karma. One can still take the genuine Declaration and give both to Abraham.
 * Convince Gwinnett that they are Thomas Jefferson through a Speech check, which will allow them to simply grab the Declaration and leave without having to do anything more. However, he will deactivate himself, after which one can kill him without Karma loss or causing the turrets to turn hostile.
 * Order Gwinnett to shut down if they have the Robotics Expert perk.

Getaway
At this point, the Lone Wanderer either has the real Declaration of Independence, a copy of it, or both.

To get out, one can:
 * Go back the way they came, perhaps using the secret elevator again.
 * Go through the utility door to the left of Button (which leads to a room with Protectron containers) and then to the main floor.
 * Fight their way back up the stairs. If Button Gwinnett is killed, there will be a number of robots trying to stop the Lone Wanderer in the basement. Or the door to the west of the room leads to an elevator exit, once the door is unlocked.
 * On their way up, they can find the Bill of Rights on one of the floors, in the fenced off area with a safe inside (next to a Lying, Congressional Style). One can also find the Magna Carta directly across from where they found The Bill of Rights. The fenced-off area is protected by two Average-locked doors, and two Mark IV turrets. Both can be sold to Abraham Washington (100 caps for the Bill of Rights, 75 for the Magna Carta, more with a Speech check).

Sydney's quest
After the delivery of the Declaration of Independence to Abraham Washington, ask Sydney, "So, whatever happened to your father?" Previously, this dialogue path was closed as she did not trust the Lone Wanderer. Now, she mentions her father and that he used to call her "Little Moonbeam." If one has found her father's body and holotape in the Statesman Hotel, the option to tell her about her father's message will be available. She will reward the Lone Wanderer with Sydney's 10mm "Ultra" SMG.

Rewards

 * Schematics - railway rifle
 * 400 bottle caps - If Sydney was not encountered, her offer was declined, or she did not survive.
 * Sydney's 10mm "Ultra" SMG - If one finishes her quest by giving the "My Little Moonbeam" holotape.

Bugs

 * For various reasons, usually related to Sydney's death (or resurrection by use of console commands), there will be no option to give Abraham Washington the Declaration of Independence. It is possible to complete this quest with Sydney alive or dead by entering a console command ; however, the Declaration of Independence will remain in the player character's inventory — it cannot be sold, dropped or removed in any other way, as it is a quest item, though quest items do not actually weigh anything (despite what their weight actually reads). One can, however, remove it by using the console command, or use the command to remove the "quest item" flag. If instead, one has the Forged Declaration, use  or  correspondingly. If one has the ink container stuck in their inventory, use the corresponding console commands to remove it from the inventory  or remove the "quest item" flag.
 * One of the super mutants triggered by defending the rotunda causes glitches. It hangs out near the front door to the Archives. It is invisible and it cannot be harmed with guns, but it can be harmed with grenades or mines. It cannot harm the player character either. Companions may successfully kill it, but immediately upon its death, the game freezes. Leaving it alive keeps Sydney uncommunicative — she will just keep telling the Lone Wanderer that the muties are coming — so she cannot be taken along on the quest. It is possible to bypass this glitch and continue in the mission by entering the console command.
 * A potential exploit becomes available if one has found the holotape from Sydney's father. The choice of asking her about her gun does not go away, so when one asks her about it, the option of asking about her father appears again. When chosen, they can once again give her the message to continue to get rewarded again and again. This is still not fixed as of patch 1.7.