Sentinel Site Prescott,[1] simply called sentinel site in the game, is a location in the Glowing Sea region of the Commonwealth in 2287.
The facility is one of the few places in the Glowing Sea hardened against radiation, so the player can safely remove whatever gear they are using to prevent radiation damage while inside.
Background
An ominous pyramid surrounded by irradiated sludge, Sentinel site Prescott was officially a nuclear munitions disposal facility.[2] However, in reality it was a missile silo that stockpiled Mark 28 nuclear warheads for the U.S. military, and performed experiments focused on combining them with existing ballistic missiles.[3]
With a seemingly inexhaustible stock of these warheads,[4] they performed at least 23 test launches, the final one performed on the eve of the Great War. The launch failed to register with the system, locking the hapless staff inside and dooming them to death of hunger and thirst. Many were turned into feral ghouls, sealed beneath the ground.[5] Captain Dunleavy of the 132nd Engineering Corps operating the site recorded the final moments of the crew before the first MIRVs hit the Commonwealth and he realized that the Great War happened.[1]
By 2281, the site was penetrated by the Children of Atom, who were able to activate the launch sequence before being massacred by the feral ghoul inhabitants. Although no missile was present on the launch pad, all internal blast doors in the facility were closed and locked, requiring the Sole Survivor to deactivate the sequence in order to gain full access to the facility. The Brotherhood of Steel followed later, seeking to provide Liberty Prime with a new supply of nuclear weapons, straight from Prescott's silos.[6]
Layout
The exterior of the structure is a concrete pyramid, with a large blast door entrance on the north side. As the Sole Survivor enters the facility, they will find themselves in a rather tall room that looks like a missile silo with some catwalks going through it. In the first control room when you go left after first entering the site, go in, and down the stairs to the right is a Sentinel site blast door override holotape on the teal control panels, it will open the blast doors in the facility.
At the bottom of the facility, there are three unused nuclear warheads in metal crates and a fourth on a forklift. They will not detonate from gunfire or explosions but be prepared for a horde of feral ghouls hiding in a tunnel nearby. At the end of the tunnel there is an elevator that will take the Sole Survivor to a second exit; not marked on the map. When the elevator is called, a leveled glowing one will appear guarding a crate with minor loot.
The rest of the tunnel continues down further to a cargo bay; there is a cargo elevator that leads up to a secondary entrance is off to the side, but straight ahead is a control room containing Brother Henri and Atom's Wrath if Liberty Reprimed is active. The terminal in this room requires Henri's password to open and is able to open the locked red door in the loading dock, which is an expansive room filled with nuclear warheads; the room contains moderate to severe radiation, peaking at 28 rads per second near the back of the room.
Notable loot
- Astoundingly Awesome Tales issue #10 - Found in the first control room when walking left from entering the site (lower half of room to the right of the bottom of stairs on the teal control panels).
- Sentinel site blast door override - Found in the same room as the Astoundingly Awesome Tales on a different desk. Two more copies can be found inside the two terminals behind the blast doors.
- Three Vault-Tec lunchboxes can be found here:
- One in the lower tunnels, inside a hidden tiny room accessible via a hole in the left wall of a large room you pass through. The hole in question has ghouls crawl out of it when you enter.
- One in the flooded room in the lower levels, behind the nuke on the righthand side (immediately before ending elevator).
- One under a bunk in a barrack room on the lower levels.
- Captain Dunleavy's holotape - On a desk in the console room with Brother Henri and Atom's Wrath, near the large stockpile of nukes (the room is only available after the relevant quest has started).
- A mini nuke - At the end of the lower levels in the room with the Mk. 28 nuclear bombs in a knocked over crate, right next to the objective to place the signal pulser.
- Henri's terminal password - Carried by Brother Henri, gives access to his terminal.
- Henri's instructions - A note also carried by Brother Henri.
Related quests
Notes
- If wearing a suit of power armor equipped with a jet pack, do not attempt to jump up through the hatch in the elevator; the player will clip into a pile of debris and get trapped.
- In the tunnels in the basement are two rooms with beds.
- If the Liberty Reprimed quest has not been started yet, the room where the Mk. 28 nukes are stored will not be accessible; there will be a shelf blocking the door.
- When at this location, companions make comments, which are activated at four locations: the exterior entrance, the gantry just inside the main entrance, at the bomb storage room entrance, and a fourth location.[clarification needed]
| Location comments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Specific location | Comment |
| Cait | Exterior entrance | "I've never seen anythin' like that before." |
| Gantry | "This doesn't bode well. Not at all." | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "It's a shame we're turnin' these over to the Brotherhood. These things would be worth a fortune." | |
| "If they used to store bombs here, why in the hell are we goin' inside?" | ||
| Codsworth | Exterior entrance | "If I'm not mistaken, and my database says I'm not, that's a pyramid." |
| Gantry | "Oh my, is this a launch site?" | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "That's enough to destroy our world all over again." | |
| "Odd place for a pyramid, wouldn't you say, sir/mum?" | ||
| Curie | Exterior entrance | "According to my memory, this used to be a military site." |
| Gantry just inside the main entrance | "Nuclear missiles. To think something so comparatively small could destroy so very much." | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "There is a considerable amount of ordinance here." | |
| "My records mention nothing of this place. How bizarre." | ||
| Danse | Exterior entrance | "I believe that this is a bomb disposal facility." |
| Gantry | "It appears that this facility is more than just bomb disposal. It's been converted into a launching silo as well." | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "Mark 28 Nuclear Bombs... Liberty Prime's weapon of choice." | |
| "Looks like a bomb storage and disposal facility. Watch what you shoot at in here." | ||
| Deacon | Exterior entrance | "What the hell's that?" |
| Gantry | "And we still have these damned missiles hidden all over the place." | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "That's a lot of... whatever the hell it is." | |
| "Our favorite wacky cultists love this place. And if its good in the Cult of Atom's book you know what that means, right? Yeah, me neither." | ||
| John Hancock | Exterior entrance | "Well, ain't that ominous." |
| Gantry | "Christ. Those things ain't still armed, right?" | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "A stray shot in here and we'll all be going out with a bang." | |
| "Doesn't look like they were expecting visitors, that's for damn sure." | ||
| Robert MacCready | Exterior entrance | "What the hell? Is that a... pyramid?" |
| Gantry | "Holy sh... holy crap... are those... missiles?" | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "There are enough bombs in this place to start another apocalypse." | |
| "I could tell you what's inside this building, but what would be the point? Ha ha... cause it's a pyramid... never mind." | ||
| Nick Valentine | Exterior entrance | "The pharaohs set up a franchise way out here?" |
| Gantry | "I... I can't believe what I'm looking at." | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "Just how many of these did they need?" | |
| "Well, if they were going for ominous, they nailed it." | ||
| Piper Wright | Exterior entrance | "Is, is that a tomb?" |
| Gantry | "Oh my god. Are those... nukes?" | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "They destroyed the world and still had all this left over?" | |
| "They sure built some weird stuff in your day, didn't they, Blue?" | ||
| Preston Garvey | Exterior entrance | "You ever see anything like that before?" |
| Gantry | "I hope to god these aren't still armed." | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "You really think it's a good idea to turn all this over to the Brotherhood?" | |
| "It's hard to believe how much effort they spent in the old days getting ready to blow themselves up." | ||
| X6-88 | Exterior entrance | "That's definitely not pre-war. What the hell is it?" |
| Gantry | "This has to be a launch site of some kind. How did we not know about this?" | |
| Bomb storage room entrance | "Look at all of this ordnance. This is not good." | |
Appearances
The Sentinel site appears only in Fallout 4.
Behind the scenes
- The exterior design of the Sentinel site mimics that of the real-world Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, the anti-ballistic missile radar and missile installation pyramid near Grand Forks, North Dakota. The facility was built as part of the Safeguard anti-ballistic missile program, itself a scaled-back version of a previous program dubbed Sentinel.
- The original Sentinel Program was designed to place nuclear-tipped interceptor missiles in the suburbs around major cities, protecting them from incoming ballistic inbound threats. The project was scrapped due to public backlash, but one site was partially constructed near Sharpner's Pond in North Andover, MA.
- In the real world, the Mk-28 nuclear bomb (also known as B28) was the longest-serving US tactical nuclear weapon, commissioned in 1958 and retired only in 1991. Some versions of this weapon were actually used as missile warheads, however not on ICBMs.
Gallery
.jpg "FO4 Sentinel site (3).jpg (940 KB)")
.jpg "FO4 Sentinel site (clear).jpg (2.1 MB)")
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Captain Dunleavy's holotape
- ↑ Danse: "I believe that this is a bomb disposal facility."
"It appears that this facility is more than just bomb disposal. It's been converted into a launching silo as well."
(Danse's dialogue) Note: The former comment is made in front of the main entrance, the latter is made at the gantry just inside the facility. - ↑ Sentinel site terminal entries; terminal, Pod Alpha - Launch Report
- ↑ Sentinel site Prescott terminal entries; terminal, Pod Beta - Launch Report
- ↑ Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Collector's Edition pp. 364-365: "[5.31] SENTINEL SITE
This secret military installation has a stockpile of potent Mark 28 nuclear warheads, many of them still intact. An ominous pyramid surrounded by irradiated sludge, this location was in the middle of launching a missile strike when the bombs dropped. It is now a tomb for ferals."
(Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Map) - ↑ Liberty Reprimed