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I understand. We've all got a past, and damn few of us have reason to be proud of it.Lord Ashur

Free Labor is a quest and achievement/trophy in the Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt.

Quick walkthrough[]

Free Labor 
Retrieve your gear 
Go to Haven and speak to Ashur 
Side with Ashur and deal with Wernher 
Side with Wernher and steal the cure 
Reward: 150 XP, Ashur's power armor, Booster Shot, Access to the ammo press 

Detailed walkthrough[]

Retrieve personal gear[]

As soon as the three rounds of fighting in the Hole, Krenshaw arrives to tell the Lone Wanderer that they are free and Ashur wishes to speak to them in Uptown. The Wanderer will then be free to retrieve the equipment taken by the Pitt raiders from the footlocker in the middle of the room and head to Ashur. Attacking any Pitt raiders in Downtown before speaking to Ashur will turn the raiders in Uptown hostile. Should they become hostile, waiting a few in-game days will be needed for them to be friendly again.

Speak to Ashur in Haven[]

Once there, Ashur asks the Wanderer to kill Wernher, as he's been rallying the slaves and a riot would result in meaningless death. Passing a Speech challenge, the player character can tell Ashur that they have never met Wernher or that they didn't like his looks. He will mention the cure and even advise that his wife must be spoken with to know more. Speaking honestly will also yield this result. After that, choose to either join him or refuse his offer. Here, either decide to kill Wernher, kill Ashur or wait until he is called away and investigate Haven for the cure.

Take a side by simply leaving the building with or without the cure. Optionally, Ashur's diary can be read. It is locked in a safe in Ashur's room (at cost of negative Karma for picking the lock) before making a final decision.

Endgame[]

Siding with Ashur[]

Take care of Wernher[]

If the choice is made to leave the "cure" or kill Wernher (both have no effect on Karma if done correctly), slaves will be rioting all through the Pitt. Killing them may cause Karma loss, but they are easily avoided as most are equipped with auto axes or steel saws.

Wernher may be located by talking to Midea, killing her and taking a note from her corpse or by reading any number of the notes located in her quarters (the Child at Heart perk gets her to admit the kidnapping was Wernher's idea and that she didn't think about what freedom would take). He is found in his hideout, accessed through a door in the steelyard which was previously inaccessible. Either ask Wernher to leave forever by passing a Speech check or using the Black Widow perk, or kill him for no Karma loss if Wernher shoots first. Travel back to Haven and talk to Ashur to complete the quest.

If a Speech check or Black Widow perk is used to persuade Wernher to leave, the key to the Pitt underground will be on the table with various scientific instruments. Because one has sided with Ashur, the floodlight control computer in the underground will be gone and will lead to a dead end, as this is also what opens to the door that leads to the Haven courtyard.

Aftermath[]

After completion, access is given to the ammo press, a quest is given to collect and return teddy bears to Sandra, and the Lone Wanderer is able to continue collecting steel ingots for Everett. Additionally, the perk Booster Shot is received, which increases radiation resistance by 10%.

To return to the Capital Wasteland, return to the Pitt train yard at the southwest edge of the map and activate the hand-pump rail cart.

Siding with Wernher[]

Bring the cure to Wernher[]

To side with Wernher, either kill Ashur directly or wait until he is called away and steal the cure. Either way, the Wanderer will be attacked by Ashur's wife and the raiders. If his wife is killed in Haven one will gain negative Karma. After making one's way out of Haven, the Wanderer will then find a fight between slaves and raiders. Return to Midea's quarters, where she will ask the Wanderer to show her the cure, revealing she knew it was a baby all along. She will hand over a note advising that Wernher has everything arranged and is waiting in his hideout inside the steelyard. After speaking with him and handing over Marie, he will tell the Wanderer that they must find the "floodlight control" and shut down the floodlights which are preventing the trogs from attacking Uptown.

Shut off Uptown's floodlights[]

After speaking to Wernher, he will give the player character a Stealth Boy. With the Black Widow perk it is possible to get a few stimpaks or ammunition from him as well. Leave Wernher's hideout and go to the underground entrance located at the opposite side of the tracks from the supply plant. Enter via a manhole at the very end of the train tracks, similar to the one in Paradise Falls. Once inside there are around two dozen trogs to fight, along with a Protectron which can be activated to help.

Head to a terminal where the floodlights can be shut off, then exit through the door leading to Haven's courtyard.

Deal with Ashur[]

Here Lord Ashur and Sandra will confront the Lone Wanderer (if they survived their initial encounters with the player character) and will quickly become hostile and attack. Even if the player character remains hidden the dialogue will be triggered. One can kill Ashur and loot his body (he drops his unique power armor as well as the key to the Pitt underground) or leave him to his fate: if the fight with Ashur is avoided, a horde of trogs will swarm the Haven courtyard and engage Ashur and any of his surviving Pitt raiders in combat.

Siding First with Wernher then with Ashur[]

One can steal the baby without harming Sandra, kill the raiders, talk to Wernher and just refuse to go along with the second part of his plan and decide to return the baby to Ashur. A Speech (or Black Widow) check must be passed, otherwise Wernher will have to be killed. Ashur is upset, but ultimately accepts what happened. The Wanderer will have the option to ask him to free the slaves but there is no way to get him to agree. Sandra, however, will not forgive the player character for kidnapping her daughter but will still accept and pay for toys while always having some snarky comments.

Aftermath[]

If one decides to kill Ashur and return to Midea's house, they will find Wernher outside. He tells them that he will be reorganizing the city and that word should be spread out of the Pitt in order to get more workers down in the Mill. He also advises that the Wanderer has earned their share of the ammo press and that they can gather steel ingots and give them to the foreman in exchange for gear (a continuation of the Mill Worker quest). The perk Booster Shot is also given, which increases Radiation Resistance by 10%.

By talking to Midea, the quest to collect and return teddy bears to her is given. Haven, however, will be locked so any loot left inside will be inaccessible. The raider vendors Friday and Harris will also be dead, killed by the ex-slaves. Their keys can be found on their bodies to loot their store inventories.

Since Ashur is dead, The Lone Wanderer can declare themselves the new leader of the Pitt (depending on the dialogue choices made.) If they do, Wernher will begin to call the player character "boss." If the Lone Wanderer does not choose to become new boss however, Wernher's dialogue implies instead that he is taking charge of the city.

To ensure the Lone Wanderer becomes the new leader, select the dialogue option "That leaves me as the new Lord of The Pitt." Regardless of this, one will quickly learn from Midea that she does not "know how Ashur kept these people from tearing one another apart," hinting that Wernher's idea of freedom may have been no better than leaving them under the organized iron-fist of Ashur in the first place.

Rewards[]

Quest stages[]

StageStatusDescription
1 Retrieve your gear.
5 Go through Uptown and enter Haven.
10 Meet Ashur in Haven.
20 Find the cure in Ashur's palace.
30 Kidnap the baby and leave OR leave without the baby.
32 Leave without the baby.
37 Steal the baby and leave.
50 Stop Wernher.
55 Find Wernher.
70 Find out Wernher's location from Midea.
71 Search Midea or her room for clues about Wernher's location.
75 Bring the baby to Midea.
90 Give Wernher the baby, OR stop Wernher.
92 Stop Wernher.
97 Give Wernher the baby.
100 Return the baby to her home.
105 Shut off power for Uptown's lights.
190 Return to Ashur.
195Quest finishedEscape to Market Square.

Notes[]

  • Completing Brand's snitch quest does not affect which ending can be chosen - they both still work out the same.
  • Should one side with Ashur, then during and after this quest any slaves in the Pitt can be killed with no consequence except Karma loss.
  • If one wears Ashur's armor, Wernher will comment on it the next time the two talk.
  • If the slaves are freed, they do not get new dialogue and continue to plot to free themselves (locally free-roaming slaves) and might even fear the Lone Wanderer (the slaves using autoaxes in the large divot). They might also simply say "go away" whenever spoken to, or lose all dialogue completely, such as with Milly, all while remaining hostile to any remaining raiders.
  • After the flood lights have been switched off, as long as there are no enemies in range of the player character, it is possible to fast travel to Downtown.
  • Fast traveling without killing Ashur will not affect one's ability to become lord of the Pitt.
  • Under certain conditions, it is possible to kill Pitt raiders one at a time without any Karma loss or gain. After speaking to Ashur and having him reveal his knowledge about the Lone Wanderer's mission, he will ask them to consider siding with him instead. If one selects the dialogue options that lead him to ask the player character to consider it, force Midea to reveal where Wernher is hiding, and then convince Wernher to leave, it puts the quest in kind of a limbo mode. One can then make their way back to Uptown and Haven, killing any raiders they see, including named raiders like O-Dog, Squill etc. without any of the other raiders becoming hostile. When finished, one can still return to Ashur to tell him Wernher is gone, completing the quest with no consequences.
  • If Wernher is killed at his hideout, his body will appear at the Pitt train yard the next time the location is visited.
  • Pressing the take all button when retrieving the Lone Wanderer's gear might not work, forcing the player character to take it all individually.
  • At one point in development, if the player character sided with Wernher, a slave named Beth would contact the Lone Wanderer and take Marie from them. She would then make her way to Midea's quarters and remain there with the baby.

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you enter Haven proper, triggering the dialogue between Krenshaw and Ashur (during which you cannot interact with either), and return to the Entry Hall before talking to Ashur, he cannot be talked to or pickpocketed when you return and Krenshaw will never leave. Ashur will instead continue looking at Krenshaw as though the (now finished) dialogue is going on, with his legs twitching. This means you cannot take the baby or hack the turret control computer. After attacking Ashur or Sandra you can kidnap the baby and the plot continues normally with the slaves' revolt. Also, if you choose to side with Ashur and leave the dialogue after he tells you to kill Wernher, he will not interact with you anymore except to say "Find Wernher and put a stop to this" and "don't let me keep you". Sandra will also not talk to you. You can not steal the baby now unless you kill Ashur and Sandra. If you leave Haven to go to Uptown the door is locked and says that it requires a key. You may not be able to leave unless you kidnap the baby. If you run into this bug try the following in the console: resetquest xx00108D and setstage xx00108D 10. This will reset the quest. [verified]
  • PCPC Ashur may also fail to leave Haven when contacted on the intercom if either of the following happens: [verified]
    • If, after Krenshaw leaves, you approach Ashur and initiate the conversation before he has a chance to initiate. If you are standing close enough to Ashur, he will approach you and initiate dialogue several seconds after Krenshaw leaves.
    • If you wait too long to allow Ashur to initiate conversation, Krenshaw will return. Ashur may or may not initiate dialogue at this point, and Krenshaw may disappear.
  • PCPC Upon leaving Midea's house after discovering Wernher's location, if the quest 'Picking Up the Trail' is still active, it may automatically complete itself, and move on to the next quest in the base game's storyline. [verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 Wernher may also randomly become hostile if you exit the Mill to return to the market to complete the quest. If you fight him he simply goes unconscious, then regains full health and attacks you again. Instead run past him into Midea's quarters (sometimes he'll follow you in though), wait and then go out again - by that time he should have killed all The Pitt bosses in the market and calmed down. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 After leaving Haven, during the raiders vs slaves events bodies of fallen non-player characters will randomly disappear. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 During the slave revolt, hostile slaves equipped with auto axes may become invisible when attacking raiders or the player, similar to the disappearing auto-axe glitch. When targeted in V.A.T.S. the camera zooms in very close to them, however they may still be attacked in V.A.T.S. Bodies remain invisible until searched. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Killing hostile slaves may invariably cause Karma loss even though they are enemies at the time. Mostly occurs in The Mill when slave skins glitch and become invisible. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you have not previously killed Ashur after leaving the underground area, he will be waiting for you outside. After he attacks you, sometimes the game will lock up requiring you to restart the console. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If, before going to Haven and talking to Ashur, you fast travel to the Train Yard, Wernher will be at the gate that leads to the bridge and his dialogue will be as if you sided with Ashur. He will then go hostile (unless you have the Black Widow perk), and attack you. If you kill him, the quest will tell you to return to Ashur. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 After leaving Haven, the entire Uptown area may be affected by a graphical glitch making it very hard to see anything unless the player faces east. [verified]
  • PCPC Not only Ashur, but Wernher and Midea also ignore the player in certain cases during the last part of the main quest-line. The biggest issue appears to be if the player refuses to take the baby after speaking with Ashur. In this case the quest is only able to be completed by either murdering Wernher (no option to engage in dialogue), or take the baby and fight the raiders and Ashur's wife Sandra. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you finish Free Labor, sometimes all your items taken by Mex will disappear and you will not get them back. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Sometimes, after the completion of "Free Labor" (by siding with Ashur), hostile Pitt slaves will still appear. If they are harmed by the player OR the raider non-player characters, all other slaves become hostile as well. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Sometimes when you leave The Pitt, Wernher will randomly appear and attack you. If you choose to kill him he does not respawn. This only happens after all main quests are finished. [verified]
  • PCPC After turning off the floodlights, if you exit back the way you came instead of going out into the part of the Underground near Haven, the lights will not turn off and the trogs won't come. Wernher and Midea will act as though Ashur and the bosses are dead, and the slave riot will have happened, but if you go back Uptown Ashur and all the other raiders are still alive. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Killing Sandra after leaving and then returning to Haven (giving you no chance to take the baby) will result in the Game believing you are now sided with the slaves, but at the same time sided with Ashur. This will make Wernher and Ashur Invincible (only able to render them unconscious). This results in an endless loop where you are unable to talk to Ashur and Wernher and kill neither of them. The only way to resolve this is to revert to a save that was before the beginning of this quest. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you go back to the other side of the bridge prior to entering Haven, Werhner will react as if you have sided with Ashur, which may result in the player killing him. Entering Haven at that point will still allow the plot to continue as normal and the player can side with Werhner. After shutting off the floodlights and returning to Market Square, Werhner will be there and will be alive but still in the same condition he was in when killed (for example, he may be pacing around smoking a cigarette but with his head at his feet, missing an arm, etc.). Talking to him will still complete the quest but he may not speak, causing the dialogue to go by too fast to read. Also note that if you looted his corpse he will not be wearing any armor, which means he will wear even weak clothing that you reverse pickpocket onto him. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you do not retrieve your equipment before speaking with Ashur, the door leading out of Haven will be locked and require a key. [verified]

Gallery[]

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