Talon Company Talon Company is a mercenary organization active in the Capital Wasteland . They take various jobs , from bounty hunting to fighting against the super mutant occupiers of Washington , D . C . Even as far as mercenaries go , these men and women are vicious , killing anyone who does not wear their emblem ( similar to raider s ) . The reason for this is simple : in 2277 , they are working for an unknown third party , with simple orders : keep the Capital Wasteland a lawless , disorganized place . Background . The Talon Company is the largest of the mercenary groups in the Capital Wasteland . They can be found almost anywhere in the DC area . They put cash and loot ahead of almost anything , and will attack most groups on sight in the hopes of taking their belongings . Currently an unknown benefactor has hired the Talon Company to hunt down do - gooders . The reasons for this are unknown , but the effect is to keep the wasteland a lawless place where the guys with the biggest guns make the rules . The Talon Company frequently has the best firepower in terms of secondary faction . Interactions . Because they are hostile to almost anyone but themselves , they are always hostile towards the Lone Wanderer if encountered , but they will generally not hunt them without meeting either requirements : In the Capital Wasteland area , Talon Company ' s central base of operations is Fort Bannister where their leader Commander Jabsco resides , although they do have other outposts as well , such as a camp for travelling mercenaries west of Grayditch . They are also engaged in a large battle with the super mutant s in and around the Capitol Building , Takoma Park , and the Clifftop Shacks , though the purpose of the battles is unknown . One can sometimes come across a fire team of three mercs , patrolling through the Wasteland or in various towns . If they have a contract for one ' s death , they may also be ambushed by them after either fast traveling or zoning to a new location . They seem especially fond of certain subway entrances , including the ones in Grayditch , next to Rivet City , Flooded Metro , and south of Wilhelm ' s Wharf . Killing these fire teams provides a good supply of armor and ammunition , as they each wear a customized variant of combat armor and tend to have more advanced weaponry as one levels up . Indeed , it could be argued that one perk of good Karma is that the player character has access to quality armor relatively early in the game . If they would prefer to avoid tangling with the Talons , while also avoiding the Regulators , they should keep a neutral Karma level . At good Karma , they should search Metro entrances for Talon groups and run away if they see them ; at the first encounter , the Talons will not attack until they have spoken . If the PC ' s karma drops to neutral " before " a Talon Merc is able to speak to them , Talon mercs will stop appearing at potential ambush sites , and will not return until the Karma hits Good again . Talon Company mercenaries are almost exclusively male . Bodies of female Talon mercs can however be encountered in the bathroom in the Hall of Columns in the Capitol Building , in the Metro Central , and the Corvega factory . In addition to conventional infantry , Talon Company controls several reprogrammed military Mister Gutsies and sentry bot s , which they use sparingly to guard some of their outposts in the D . C . Ruins . Talon Mercenaries that are known as hitmen ( hired by Mr . Burke in revenge for the Lone Wanderer ' s actions in Megaton ) have a different set of characteristics that make them stand out from the average Talon Patrol . Their characteristics consist of light armament , same in appearance ( all three mercs are the same character build ) , and very pale skin . And , looting their bodies reveals a different message . With the addition of " Broken Steel " , one can find a group of Brotherhood of Steel Knights outside Fort Bannister who are trying to retrieve a water caravan that the Talons have stolen . There will also be a captured Brotherhood Paladin , Jensen , in the tents in Fort Bannister . After releasing him , he will express his gratitude and then proceed into the base to get revenge , quickly followed by his fellow Knights . The Brotherhood will then quickly kill all mercenaries inside the base including Commander Jabsco . This will make proceeding through the fort much easier than going through it alone . On the highway leading to the Citadel , east of the Nuka - Cola plant , and south of the Red Racer factory , two Talon mercs are fighting with 2 or 3 raiders over a crate containing 4 Aqua Pura barrels . One of the Talon Mercenaries has a flamer . Outside the Capitol Building there will be a large contingent of Talon Company mercs with varying robots fighting the occupying super mutants . They focus on the super mutants and will not usually attack the PC unless attacked first or they win the battle . If not interfered with they will usually be killed . When first exiting a store called " Lucky ' s , " which is located southwest of Tenpenny Tower near the southern edge of the game map , a group will appear and attack the Wanderer . Weapons and tactics . Members of roving Talon Company fire teams typically have either police baton s , combat shotgun s , laser rifle s , or Chinese assault rifle s as their primary armament , with no more than one of each encountered per fire team ( exceptions : combat shotgun and police baton ) . Talon Company personnel in set encounters may also have other weapons , such as sniper rifle s and missile launcher s . Combat knives , . 32 pistols , and pulse grenade s are often carried as backup weapons . On rare occasions they may all be carrying Chinese assault rifles ( or maybe one R91 assault rifle instead ) making them even more dangerous than usual ( seems more likely to happen at the sewer waystation or sniper shack ) . In random encounters , fire team tactics are simple : depending on the weapon type , the mercenary will close to within effective range ( if necessary ) and engage . At typical encounter distances , this means that riflemen will open fire from where they are , ones who use shotguns will close part of the distance and then open fire , and hand - to - hand fighters will charge at the target . When they have been contracted to assassinate the Lone Wanderer , the main locations for their ambushes are at the Northwest Seneca Metro Station near Arefu , Anacostia Crossing near Rivet City , Lucky ' s just near Tenpenny Tower and Warrington station , and the player character can randomly run into them near Megaton or out in the Wasteland ( this is the same for the Regulators ) . They also appear frequently at the Jury Street Metro Station , the Super Duper Mart , and near the Reilly ' s Rangers location , avoiding them is almost impossible . Thankfully , such ambush will only occur once every location , and their bodies may even remain there if not searched . Talon Company mercenaries also appear to be cowardly , like raiders , they will flee if the tide of the battle is turning against them . Behind the scenes . In early previews , Pete Hines was said to have stated that " the humans going up against the mutant occupiers were mercenaries working for the Talon Corporation , " referring to them as a corporation rather than a company .