Fort Bannister Fort Bannister is a pre - War military installation in the Capital Wasteland , north of Evergreen Mills and south of Jalbert Brothers waste disposal . Background . When the Great War came in 2077 , it was one of the highest profile targets in the area , suffering a number of direct nuclear hits that obliterated much of its surface facilities , leaving a gaping crater and concrete ruins behind . The nuclear detonation did not destroy the bunker ' s underground installations , however , which was likely the main reason it was secured by Talon Company mercenaries and used as their primary base . Its missile silo doors reside in a ruined building . As the building has a roughly circular pattern of destruction , which centers on the silo doors , one can gather that the building itself collapsed when a missile plowed through it , most likely at the start of the Great War . Layout . The bunker itself is extensive and is accessible from the ammunition storage , a manhole inside a lone commander ' s tent , a bunker entrance just above the commander ' s tent , and a metal door down some steps just to the right when entering Fort Bannister through the south gates . The underground levels of the fort are crawling with hostile Talon Company merc s who are all very heavily armed . If the Lone Wanderer ' s combat skills are high enough to clear the place out , the area contains a staggering amount of valuable hardware to scavenge . The mercenaries here have a wide range of armaments , including assault rifles , Chinese assault rifle s , combat shotguns , laser rifles , flamers , missile launchers and 10mm SMGs . In the commanding officer ' s quarters are Commander Jabsco , the leader of the company , a Mister Gutsy ( though the Mister Gutsy model may be found in a dormant state , and is likely activated once the player character attacks Jabsco ) and two automated turrets . However , the first of these turrets ( the one upstairs ) can be either deactivated or frenzied via a locked terminal just outside the commander ' s personal quarters . Although the frenzied turret will track and attack Commander Jabsco , it rarely fires at him when he has a melee weapon armed . The commander himself starts off with a missile launcher , but once he runs out of ammunition for that , he will either attack with his Occam ' s Razor , pull out his Chinese pistol or rush downstairs and grab any weapon in the nearby safe . There is also a chance that once the player character attacks the commander , more Talon Company mercs will spawn behind them . He will actually call out for assistance when the conditions for reinforcement have been met . In Commander Jabsco ' s personal quarters , there are four generators which will explode when shot or sufficiently damaged by explosives . " Broken Steel " . With the " Broken Steel " add - on installed , the player character should find several Aqua Pura pack brahmin near the tents . When searching the tents , they should also find Brotherhood Paladin Jensen tied up . He tells the player character that the Brotherhood is tired of having their Aqua Pura stolen by Talon Company , and intends to get some payback - Jensen is the scout for the operation . If the player character frees him , he ' ll charge down into the fort , quickly getting himself killed by the awaiting turret and the missile - launching Talon Company merc . Soon thereafter , two to four more Brotherhood of Steel knights and paladins will run in after him . The Talon Company defenses will shortly prove too much for the Brotherhood , and most of them will likely die . Alternatively , it is also possible that the knights will defeat the mercs and occupy Fort Bannister if the player character decides to assist them . It will become another BoS outpost soon after . It is also possible to run into the Brotherhood ' s Alpha Squad ( just south of the fort ) , which will soon assault the fort , before freeing Jensen or even approaching the fort . They can be convinced to assault the fort before freeing Jensen , who will be freed at some point during the assault . After The Waters of Life quest , an Enclave research outpost can be found near the large crater , with a field research terminal containing their objective in the area ( gathering samples ) . The camp is occupied by three Enclave soldiers , one Enclave officer and one Enclave scientist . There is also an Enclave turret . There are three Enclave crate s and in one of which one can store gear ( the crate at eye level , behind the computer terminal ) . In the crater there are eight alien power cell cartridges underneath the overturned truck . There is a constant low level of radiation ( + 1 / 2 ) . Appearances . Fort Bannister appears only in " Fallout 3 " .