At Fairline Hill, one discovers the body of the courser. Searching his body will give his mission log, which tells more of his activities, the locations of the two synths and the location of a terminal at University Point where he recorded reports on his mission to later upload to the Institute. Reading the log will spawn the two characters.
R3-11 now goes by the name "Burner" and is part of the raider gang at Back Street Apparel, while PR-15 is a Gunner captain named Carol Janssen at Hub City Auto Wreckers. Killing them or deleting their records at University Credit Union will advance the quest. Note: Even if the records are deleted, the characters will still be present at their respective locations and hostile to the player character.
After killing them or deleting the records, accessing the University Credit Union terminal will reveal the location of the key to the Institute safehouse, in a mailbox near Hub 360. Entering the penthouse at Hub 360 completes the quest.
I've picked up a strange, faint signal on my Pip-Boy. I should listen to it and see what it is.
10
Investigate the coordinates
The strange signal contained relay coordinates to a specific location in the Commonwealth. I should find out what's there.
20
Follow the Courser
An Institute Courser, B-263, has been posing as a detective to hunt down escaped Synths and other enemies of the Institute. I should follow his trail and see where it goes.
30
Search the Courser
The Courser appears to have confronted the two escaped Synths, but was killed in the ensuing fight. I should search his body for anything that could be useful.
I found a mission log holotape on the Courser's body. I should see what information it contains.
50
Kill Burner and Cpt. Janssen or Delete Institute records
I found a holotape on the Courser with details on the whereabouts of the escaped Synths. I can either finish the job and hunt them down, or I can let them go by deleting the records in the Institute databank terminal at University Point.
60
Get key location from terminal
I've killed the two escaped Synths, R3-11 and PR-15. I should head to the databank terminal at University Point to find the location for the Penthouse key. OR I've deleted the files in the Institute databank terminal for the escaped synths R3-11 and PR-15. They won't be hunted by the Institute any longer. I should read the incoming message in the databank terminal to find the location for the Courser's Penthouse Key.
70
Retrieve the Penthouse Key
The lock to the Courser's penthouse was changed while it was being investigated for monitoring devices. I've found the location of the new key. I should retrieve it.
80
Enter the Penthouse
I've obtained the key to the dead Courser's Penthouse. It seems to be clear of any activity. I should go there and see what's inside.
100
I found a signal intended for an Institute Courser who was posing as a detective. He was hunting two escaped synths, but was killed. I found information about the synths, and took care of the situation. In the process I obtained the key to his Penthouse headquarters.
Bugs[]
PC If you do not listen to the strange signal as soon as the quest pops up, it can bug out so that the quest will never progress. To fix it, open the console and type SetStage ccTOSFO4001_EarlyRetirementQuest 10. This will force you past having to listen to the signal and the coordinates will pop up.[verified]
Alternatively, if you're unable to use console commands (Survival difficulty, Xbox One or PS4), you can head to the campus law offices to progress the quest, albeit without the quest marker to guide you there.
PC After the next gen patch in April 2024, the Noir Penthouse may appear with no walls, floor, or roof, making the location nearly unusable.[verified]
If you do not listen to the strange signal as soon as the quest pops up, it can bug out so that the quest will never progress. To fix it, open the console and type SetStage ccTOSFO4001_EarlyRetirementQuest 10. This will force you past having to listen to the signal and the coordinates will pop up.[verified]
