Lieutenant The Lieutenant or Lou ( also dubbed Lou Tenant by some of his subordinates ) is the Master ' s right hand super mutant and the overseer of all work inside the Mariposa Military Base . Lou is a good example of how the Master would want all his mutants to turn out : more intelligent , stronger and overall superior to normal humans . Background . Think of an urbane and well - educated college professor who has become the very essence of evil incarnate . He is highly intelligent , and is second - in - command to the Master himself . He genuinely believes that the super mutants and the Unity are the future of the planet , and will do anything to see them succeed . Humans , from his point of view , are less than insects , good only for the vats , or for being crushed . The Lieutenant ' s origins are shrouded in mystery as not much is known about his life prior to his transformation . However , after his transformation into a super mutant , he quickly became the Master ' s favorite creation due to his high intelligence and devotion to the Master ' s vision . It may have something to do with him being free from radiation , indicating that he may have come from a vault . Among other super mutant commanders who led the Master ' s army , the Lieutenant was appointed to the highest position , being the overseer of the Mariposa Military Base and supreme commander of mutant operations in the surrounding region . Lou ' s authority apparently stretches so far that Harry goes through the trouble of dragging the Vault Dweller on a long journey through the wasteland just to show him to Lou and report that he is not a ghoul . Aside from the Master himself , Lou is the best source of information about the vaults , super mutants , and the general grand plan of Unity . He is a rather sadistic character who thoroughly enjoys torture , as well as arrogantly self - assured concerning the superiority of Super Mutants over normal humans and ghouls , referring to the former as the " next step in human evolution " . During the Vault Dweller ' s quest to stop the Master and destroy the vats , the Lieutenant resided on the fourth sub - level of the Mariposa Military Base . Here , the Lieutenant would interrogate the Vault Dweller , in hopes of gaining the location of Vault 13 . In the end , the Vault Dweller successfully destroyed the Mariposa Military Base and with it the source of the super mutants . During this operation , the Dweller could choose whether or not to visit Lou ( thus dooming him to be killed by the explosion ) , or engage him in battle and kill him . Abilities . The Lieutenant is noticeably tougher and smarter than standard super mutant soldiers . He has about 250 HP , and is equipped with a Gatling laser . He has several cybernetic augmentations ( including a bionic eye ) , and also appears to be wearing metal armor custom - made for his super mutant bulk . During the battle , he is aided by Van Hagan and two heavily armed super mutant commanders ( plus , some robobrain s that can intervene and strike the Vault Dweller from behind ) . Appearances . The Lieutenant appears only in " Fallout " as a talking head . He is seen briefly in the intro for " Fallout 2 " . He is also mentioned in the " " " Dead Money " by Dog . Also is mentioned in " Fallout Bible " .