“Just doing what I'm paid to do - harass the muties until they leave or attack us. If they leave, we let 'em go. If they attack, we wipe them out.”— Norton
The second time the player returns after finding Jacobstown, Marcus will approach with news of New California Republicmercenaries harassing the town. He will then ask the player character to peacefully deal with them. When asked why the mutants don't kill them, Marcus says it is to avoid giving the NCR an excuse to exterminate Jacobstown.
Finding the mercenaries is relatively easy since they are directly in front of the town. To resolve the quest one can pay them 2500 caps or tell them to leave with a Speech check of 65. If the player character has a very high NCR standing they may also be able to tell them that they are an NCR hero. Norton will recognize the player character and they'll leave.
Alternatively, the player character can also kill them, but this leads to a lower XP reward and lowered reputation with the NCR.
Note that there will always be five mercs (including Norton), all wearing metal armor/reinforced metal armor, combat armor and high-quality weaponry, so a head-on fight might prove difficult for at early levels.
After completing the quest the player character will gain 350 XP, or 250 XP if they asked for caps from Marcus, regardless of whether they used a Speech check or gave the caps to Norton.
If resolved peacefully, Norton and the other mercenaries will make their way to a campfire at the north end of Highway 95, west of the Brooks tumbleweed ranch.
The mercenaries can be quietly killed while on their way to the campfire without incurring NCR infamy.
It is possible to keep the caps given by Marcus without paying them to the mercs. First, ask Norton about by what means will they go away, then go to Marcus to ask for caps, return to Norton and pass the speech check or NCR reputation check, finish the quest after reporting to Marcus. By the end, one should have earned 250xp and 2500/3000 caps. In addition, the Courier would not earn negative karma for "cheating" Marcus. However, they still receive negative karma if they ask for 3000 caps instead of 2500.
PCPlaystation 3Xbox 360 After convincing Norton to walk away via caps, the area just south of Silver Peak Mine shows a non-hostile non-player character on the compass. The spot the compass points to shows an option to talk to Norton and one or more mercenaries. Doing so does not activate a dialogue. [verified]
After convincing Norton to walk away via caps, the area just south of Silver Peak Mine shows a non-hostile non-player character on the compass. The spot the compass points to shows an option to talk to Norton and one or more mercenaries. Doing so does not activate a dialogue. [verified]
