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Highway to the Danger Zone[1] is an unmarked quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthrough[]

Unmarked Quest: Highway to the Danger Zone 
Reach Nellis Air Force Base northeast of the New Vegas medical clinic and speak with George on the road slightly to the southwest. 
Agree to his 300-caps wager to reach the Nellis perimeter without dying;
pass a 40 Bsrter skill check to lower the wager to 200 caps 
Reach the Nellis chainlink fence perimeter without being killed by the Boomers' artillery fire and speak with the Boomer guard and Raquel
Return to George to collect the earned caps;
pass a 60 Speech check to intimidate him into giving an additional 100 caps. 
Reward: 300-600 caps (skill-dependant)
Access to inner areas of Nellis AFB. 
Leads to: Volare! 

Detailed walkthrough[]

When traveling to Nellis Air Force Base, either independently or being sent by a major faction during their quest arcs, one will encounter the prospector, George idling on the road leading towards the destroyed town outside the base perimeter. He will initially warn about crossing further into the territory of the Boomers, then offers to make their trip interesting by holding a wager of 300 caps (for a total of 600 on success) that the player character can make it into the base without getting blown up by the tribe's defensive howitzers. One can pass a 40 Barter skill check to lower the wager amount to 200 caps, for a total of 400 caps on success.

Once the terms of the wager are set, George will provide the Nellis artillery timing details note to give them some assistance in figuring out a strategy, shown below:

The key to avoiding the artillery is to move from building-to-building up the northwest side of town toward the front gate. Stick to the high cover in the northeast corner of the two buildings, then make a bee-line for the gate. The Boomers won't shoot at their own people, so stick to the fence until you make it to the gate. Also, I know there is an old train tunnel that enters the area from the south, but no one has ever come back out of there to say it is safe.Nellis artillery timing details

One thing to note is that the Boomers' artillery will always fire on the player character with great accuracy, regardless of one's Sneak skill level or using Stealth Boys, so it is advisable to keep moving at all times during the barrage to get to the nearest cover quickly. On Hardcore mode, companions are likely to die if they follow the player character and get hit by the artillery, so it is advisable to have them wait outside the perimeter until after making it through.

From the road leading into the destroyed town, there are several methods one can utilize to reach the gates of Nellis:

  • The ideal way is to abide by the instructions in George's note and closely follow the rock wall on the left after going into the artillery field, and to not stop moving. When approaching the corner where the fence meets the rock wall, the shelling will stop. From there, the fence should be followed to the entrance.
  • Turbo can be used as well, in order to move faster than the artillery shells. The downside is that the player character will need to have several hits of Turbo, and of course, there is the risk of addiction.
  • Another way to easily get through is to hug the right rock wall while entering from the road, and running as fast as possible towards the Very Hard-locked railroad doors. Once the doors are reached, turn around and continue hugging the right rock wall up the railroad tracks. This will eventually lead to the fence. Turn left and hug the fence until reaching the main gate.
  • The aforementioned railroad doors lead out from the underground tracks which can be accessed from a Very Hard-locked entrance outside the perimeter, south-east of Raul's shack.
  • A simpler, but more expensive way is possible with high enough DT or HP. This involves stocking up on stimpaks and using the hotkey wheel for easy access. Start by sprinting straight towards the fence upon leaving the small canyon, and use the stimpaks whenever hit.
  • Wait out the bombardment method: A recess along the left side wall of rock cannot be hit by the shells. Run straight to it while staying close to the wall, then crouch and wait till the bombardment finishes.

After reaching the front gate, one will speak with the Boomer guard and then Raquel who takes them into Nellis to speak with Pearl, starting the side quest Volare! Afterward, one will be able to freely enter and exit the base without being bombarded again, allowing for returning to George. He will congratulate their success, to which one can demand their wagered caps or simply thank him for the compliment, where he will promptly agree and neglect to pay the caps. One can also pass a 60 Speech check to intimidate him into paying an additional 100 caps on threat of direct artillery fire. (If you chose to give him 200 caps and then intimidated him into giving you an additional 100 caps, you'll be rewarded with 700 caps.)

Behind the scenes[]

The quest name, "Highway To The Danger Zone" is a reference to a line from the chorus of the rock song "Danger Zone" featured on the soundtrack to the 1986 American motion picture Top Gun, composed by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, and performed by Kenny Loggins.

References[]

Main quests
Act 1Ain't That a Kick in the Head · Back in the Saddle · By a Campfire on the Trail · They Went That-a-Way · Ring-a-Ding-Ding!
Act 2Wild Card (Wild Card: Ace in the Hole, Change in Management, You and What Army?, Side Bets, Finishing Touches) · The House Always Wins (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII) · Render Unto Caesar · Et Tumor, Brute? · Things That Go Boom · Kings' Gambit · For the Republic, Part 2 · You'll Know It When It Happens/Arizona Killer
Act 3No Gods, No Masters · All or Nothing · Veni, Vidi, Vici · Eureka!
Side quests
New California RepublicAnywhere I Wander · Back in Your Own Backyard · Bitter Springs Infirmary Blues · Boulder City Showdown · Can You Find it in Your Heart? · Climb Ev'ry Mountain · Don't Tread on the Bear! · Emergency Radio · Eye for an Eye · Flags of Our Foul-Ups · Hard Luck Blues · I Don't Hurt Anymore · I Put a Spell on You · Keep Your Eyes on the Prize · Medical Mystery · No, Not Much · Pressing Matters · Restoring Hope · Return to Sender · That Lucky Old Sun · The White Wash · There Stands the Grass · Three-Card Bounty · We Will All Go Together · You Can Depend on Me
Caesar's LegionBeware the Wrath of Caesar! · Caesar's Favor · Caesar's Foe · Caesar's Hire · Cold, Cold Heart · I Hear You Knocking · The Finger of Suspicion · We Are Legion
The StripBeyond the Beef · Bye Bye Love · Classic Inspiration · How Little We Know · Pheeble Will · Talent Pool · The House Has Gone Bust! · The Moon Comes Over the Tower
Freeside & Outer VegasBirds of a Feather · Bleed Me Dry · Debt Collector · G.I. Blues · High Times · Someone to Watch Over Me · The Coyotes · Wang Dang Atomic Tango
BoomersAnt Misbehavin' · Sunshine Boogie · Volare! · Young Hearts
Great KhansAba Daba Honeymoon · Cry Me a River · Don't Make a Beggar of Me · Oh My Papa
Powder GangBooted · I Fought the Law · Run Goodsprings Run · Why Can't We Be Friends?
Brotherhood of SteelEyesight to the Blind · Still in the Dark · Tend to Your Business
OtherCome Fly With Me · Crazy, Crazy, Crazy · Ghost Town Gunfight · Guess Who I Saw Today · Left My Heart · My Kind of Town · The Legend of the Star and A Valuable Lesson · Unfriendly Persuasion · Wheel of Fortune
Companion questsED-E My Love · For Auld Lang Syne · Heartache by the Number · I Could Make You Care · I Forgot to Remember to Forget · Nothin' But a Hound Dog · One for My Baby
Unmarked questsA Bit of Slap and Tickle · A Final Plan for Esteban · Access Powers · All Fired Up! · An Ear to the Ground · Andy and Charlie · Arachnophobia · Arizona Scavenger · Barton the Fink · Bear Necessities · Big Winner (Atomic Wrangler, The Gomorrah, The Tops, Ultra-Luxe, Vikki & Vance) · Bounty Killer (I, II) · Brotherhood Bond (I, II) · Caching in at the Cove · Cajoling a Cudgel · Claws Mended · Claws Out · Dealing with Contreras · Defacing the Humble Stone · Democracy Inaction · Eddie's Emissary · Exhumin' Nature · Fight Night · Flogging a Dead Corpse · Friend of the Followers · Gland for Some Home Cooking · Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger · Hat's Entertainment · Help for Halford · Hidden Valley computer virus · Highway to the Danger Zone (I, II) · Honorary Rocketeer · I Love Bananas · Iron and Stealing · Keith's Caravan Charade · Laurifer Gladiator · Lenk's Bad Debts · Lily and Leo · Long-Term Care · Malleable Mini Boomer Minds · Maud's Muggers · Meeting an Equal · Missing a Few Missiles · Most Wanted · Not Worth a Hill of Corn and Beans · Old School Ghoul · A Pair of Dead Desperados (I, II) · Papers, Please · Pistol Packing · Playing on the Old Joana · Powder to the People · Power to the People · Razzle Dazzle! · Reach for the Sky, Mister! · Rest and Resupply · Ringo's Caravan Rules · Rotface's Loose Lips · Saving (or Savaging) Sergeant Teddy · The Screams of Brahmin · Silus Treatment · Short-Term Treatment · Smooth-Talking Criminal · The Star Showdown · Strategic Nuclear Moose · Straus Calls · Strip Search · Suits You, Sarah · Tags of Our Fallen · A Team of Moronic Mercenaries · Thought for the Day · Tourist Traipse · Trudy's Radio Repair · A Trusted Aide · Useless Baubles or Fancy Trinkets? · We Must Stop Beating Like This · We Must Stop Meeting Like This · Wind-Brahmin Wrangler · You Gotta Break Out a Few Eggs · You Make Me Feel Like a Woman
Cut contentCut questsAuto-Inject Quest · Bright and Shiny · Chip Provenance · Debug Topics · Exploring Vault 74 · Jailhouse Rock · Meat of Champions (quest) · TempMan · Underpass Water Purifier · Viva Las Vegas! · Welcome to Fabulous New Vegas · World Changes Post-Endgame
Add-on quests
Dead MoneySierra Madre Grand Opening! · Find Collars (8: "Dog", 12: Christine, 14: Dean Domino) · Fires in the Sky · Strike Up the Band · Mixed Signals · Trigger the Gala Event · Put the Beast Down · Last Luxuries · Curtain Call at the Tampico · Heist of the Centuries · Big Winner, Sierra Madre · Return to the FountainCut content
Honest HeartsA Family Affair · Arrival at Zion · Bighorners of the Eastern Virgin · Chaos in Zion · Civilized Man's Burden · Crush the White Legs · Deliverer of Sorrows  · Departing Paradise · Flight from Zion · Gathering Storms · Gone Fishin' · Happy Trails Expedition · Prisoners of War · Retake the Bridge · River Monsters · Rite of Passage · Roadside Attraction · Sanctity of the Dead · The Advance Scouts  · The Treacherous Road · The Grand Staircase · Tourist Trap
Old World BluesAll My Friends Have Off Switches · A Brain's Best Friend · Coming Out of Her Shell · Field Research · He Came... And Went · Influencing People · Midnight Science Fiction Feature! · Old World Blues · On the Same Wavelength · Picking Your Brains · Project X-13 · Sonic Emitter Upgrade · Welcome to the Big Empty · What's in a Name? · When Visitors Attack! · X-2: Strange Transmissions! · X-8 Data Retrieval Test · X-8: High School Horror! · X-13: Attack of the Infiltrator!
Lonesome RoadThe Reunion · The Silo · The Job · The Launch · The Tunnelers · The Divide · The Courier · The End · The Apocalypse