ArcJet Systems (also known simply as ArcJet) was a pre-War company which performed communications and propulsion work for both military and civilian contractors[1] as early as 2063.[2]
Background
Despite a very successful run as a defense contractor, by February 2075, ArcJet Systems was financially struggling.[3] CEO Thomas Reinhardt took a risk and began construction of both the propulsion system for the United States Space Administration's Mars Shot Project before actually securing the contract. His hopes were to secure the company's future and make it a name in the aerospace industry.[4]
This gamble would pay off, and to further boost productivity, the CEO successfully recruited Dr. Rory McClellan away from his military contracting job. Though it cost the company a tidy sum, he rightly believed that with McClellan at the helm, the company would deliver early.[5] The company got its second chance and ended 2075 on a high note. They were on schedule, under budget and both the Deep Range Transmitter and the XMB booster engine was in full development.[3]
However, problems arose in March 2076. The USSA mandated a strict weight allowance for the booster rocket, one that the company exceeded by a few hundred tons due to the uranium refinement module.[6][7] Although the USSA agreed to an extension on the deadline, they began their public relations campaign on time in July 2076, two years ahead of the launch. Reinhardt found himself in a waking nightmare, forced to give interviews and answer questions he couldn't really give a binding answer to.[8] Dr. McClellan's team finally solved the XMB's weight problem in November, coming in at just 17 pounds under the weight limit and leaving them time to polish off their work and set it up for the first test fire, which was scheduled for early in the next year.[9][10]
The successful test resulted in a major PR offensive, culminating in a major photo shoot in February to commemorate the first full test fire. Things did not go as planned, however. The original plan called for reporters to stay behind the thermoglass window in the control room while they took their pictures as Dr. McClellan gave them a short explanation of how the booster works.[11] The entire event was ruined due to a fatal security breach, as a reporter snuck past the new security measures and into the engine core a few hours early, just as Dr. McClellan was running a quick test on the booster, to ensure it worked for the photoshoot. Its successful test firing incinerated the photographer. Unwilling to let any workplace mishap destroy his company and reputation, Reinhardt had his head of security, Sam Brent take care of the remains. As Brent was hired to deal with these delicate situations in the first place, the incident was quickly covered up,[12][13] at least at first. Removing the evidence was easy due to no one actually seeing the accident. The subsequent abrupt cancellation of the photoshoot only hours before it occurred raised some eyebrows, although no one had cause to look into the matter any farther.[14]
By September 2077, the unrest overseas made the USSA nervous about proceeding with the Mars Shot Project, telling their contractors that they were going to have to delay a year or more depending on what happened. The company would survive, thanks to the proceeds from the completed Deep Range Transmitter project. By October, the decline in morale of the workers became apparent, as the world was literally falling apart around them, hoping that the government would work things out and they can all get back to work.[15] This did not come to pass, and their workers were being drafted into the war effort[16] and their conspiracy to cover up the death of the reporter was discovered by none other than Dr. McClellan while reviewing test fire recordings. Reinhardt threatened him and his family, but McClellan was determined to go public with the recording. However, the Great War soon reduced to the world to cinders, destroying the company along with it.[17]
Publications
With competitors on the rise, and resources falling in short supply, the former titan was in dire straits. In a last-ditch effort, CEO Thomas Reinhart took two contracts with potential to save the company.
The first was a propulsion system for the United States Space Administration’s Mars Shot Project, which promised to put human feet on Mars by 2079. The second was a deep-range transmitter, a highly advanced radio transmitter intended to enable interplanetary communication. Although both projects suffered setbacks, they were on track for completion on time when the Great War brought them, and almost everything else, to an end
After the War
The most important thing to keep in mind about ArcJet facilities after the War is that, during those final years, the company became the target of intense scrutiny, industrial espionage, and even unrest and terrorism. To combat this, ArcJet installed advanced automated defenses in most of their plants and offices.
Many of these defenses included lethal countermeasures, and many of those lethal devices remain operational.
Operations
The company was divided into several units, with the most prominent being the ArcJet propulsion division, working on the XMB Booster Project.[16] However, the loose labor regulations allowed the CEO to mandate seven-day working weeks, leaving them with next to no private life.[18]
The CEO had the security team implement an entirely new security strategy for the ArcJet complex after the USSA contract was secured. This included doubling the coverage 24 hours a day, and installing automated countermeasures inside the facility, including the doorway outside the CEO's office.[19] An outside consultant was also brought in to figure out a better security password system for their terminals since their automated reset timer mailing out passwords was a severe security breach of the highest order.[20][21] The new automated password policy mandated changes on a monthly basis, with severe penalties for failing to do so, including automated changes, the suspension of network privileges and/or disciplinary action.[22] As a failsafe, the system would automatically change it after three months.[23]
Employees were required to wear new identification badges at all times. They were infused with a low-yield radioactive isotope as a form of IFF to prevent the new internal security turrets from accidentally firing upon employees. The company modified its regulations to ensure that any liability for fatal shootings in these cases would not fall upon them. In short, anyone caught near the entrance to the engine core without a badge only had themselves to blame.[24]
Initiatives
Appearances
ArcJet Systems appears in Fallout 4. It is also mentioned in the add-on Nuka-World,[25] as well as Fallout 76, introduced in the Locked & Loaded update.[2]
References
- ↑ Fallout 4 loading screens: "In the years before the war, ArcJet Systems was a successful military and civilian aerospace contractor, specializing in communications and propulsion systems."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Vault 96 terminal entries; overseer's terminal, Memling, Hans
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 12-2075
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 08-2075
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 09-2075
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 03-2076
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; project manager's terminal, XMB Booster Notes - 03-2076
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 07-2076
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 11-2076
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; project manager's terminal, XMB Booster Notes - 11-2076
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 02-2077
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; security terminal, ArcJet Mail - Engine Core Accident
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 03-2077
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; project manager's terminal, XMB Booster Notes - 02-2077
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; CEO's terminal, Mars Shot Project Notes 09-2077
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Discarded ArcJet worklog
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; project manager's terminal, XMB Booster Notes - 10-2077
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; lab terminal, Lab Report - XMB Fuel Mixture 01
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; repair department terminal, Repair Order 098A112
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; security terminal, ArcNet Mail - Security Concerns
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; repair department terminal, Repair Order 098A100
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; lab analyst's terminal, Reminder: Password Security
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; lab analyst's terminal, Automated Password Change
- ↑ ArcJet Systems terminal entries; security terminal, ArcNet Mail - Turrets
- ↑ ArcJet G-Force
