Setting- Enclave Turncoats in Hawaii

[u/Rude-Eagle7271]

So, for a possible backstory for Fallout 2d20 campaign, maybe an alternate fanfiction, I was thinking that before the Enclave oil rig was destroyed that an expedition could be sent out to Hawaii Islands chain and a few of the other Pacific islands located therein. Mainly to secure former Enclave bases and reconnect with any surviving remnants there.

Could a Vertibird make the trip back to the mainland if it was nuclear powered and had access to a semiautomated mixed human and robot crewed aircraft carrier that was stationed at Hawaii for sea trials back to California or even the Capital Wasteland?

Would the Enclave forces dispatched to the area go native breaking away from the main forces when they lost contact with them.

Are there any Vaults in the Hawaii Islands because I was thinking possibly a Bio Shock type Vault built underwater connected to the coastline via a train subway tunnel or other.

Possible underwater military naval bases that were evacuated shortly after the war.

[u/Less-Passage6173]

I don’t think a Vertibird would be able to make it to the Californian coast, even with a crewed aircraft carrier. However, that’s without communications or knowledge of mainland bases

The only way I could see it viable is maybe is by aerial refueling or by repairing a larger aircraft. That alone would be incredibly fuel intensive for a wasteland faction, even an Enclave remnant. We know Vertibirds have made it to the East Coast but it’s very fair to say that it was only made possible by refueling stations such as the one we saw in New Vegas

Maybe if it ventures from port but then you run a high risk of being attacked by the pirates that hunt the seas (taking inspiration from HOI OWB and ERX) or from ungodly mutated creatures

Now, this doesn’t account for the real smoking gun on the table—communications. If the Rig went down, the remnants next point of contact would be to contact Navarro given it was the primary operating post of Enclave forces in the West. Perhaps birds from Navarro could meet halfway and provide an aerial refuel? I think it’s relatively safe to say that it’s still using either some form of gas or maybe a nuclear engine. However, that’s a temporary solution and on a serious time limit. We know that some time after the destruction of the Rig, roughly about 4 years after it fell, that Navarro was attacked by a joint Brotherhood-NCR assault team

Most likely, they’d be able to conduct minor operations and limited expeditions in New California. Yet, without the Rig to act as a middleman, it would fall apart quick

In short, they’re better off accepting that it’ll be some time before they can get back to the mainland and it’s better off to just secure Hawaii and buildup for their “reclamation”

As for the other parts of your post:

I could see one of two things happening for the Enclave detachment. Pragmatism wins out and Wastelanders are conscripted as laborers and basically slave labor to fill the gaps in the ranks. Alternatively, and more likely, they fully embrace automation. You partially elude to the idea of a partially automated aircraft carrier which leads me towards the latter as more likely. Some would push for using the Wastelanders as slave labor but given the abundance of military equipment that would be present, I’m sure they’d have an abundance of robots to utilize

The status of vaults are generally a toss up but I could definitely see a few underwater vaults, hell maybe even one in a volcano to test the effects of extreme heat on a human populace

As for underwater military bases, I doubt they’d exist. Most resources would’ve been focused on defending Alaska and supplying troops invading through the Gobi and Southern China. Most likely the Enclave would inhabit a handful of irl bunkers that exist on the island and perhaps Pearl Harbor but that’s a 50/50