Medical Mystery

Medical Mystery is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Synopsis
The recent supply shortages at Camp Forlorn Hope have hit the Camp hard, especially the medical tent, where Dr Alex Richards struggles to provide adequate medical care for the soldiers even without someone stealing medical supplies. He asks the player to look into the matter and find the culprit.

Walkthrough

 * Talking to Doctor Alex Richards will reveal that his meticulous record keeping has shown that he does not have as much medical supplies as he thought he has. He believes that there's a thief in the camp and the player can offer to investigate. The doctor will offer additional information, explaining that he noticed the stock of Hydra disappearing quicker than it should according to his logs. He will also explain that any thefts likely happen around 2 AM (0200), when guards change shifts.
 * An optional check of Medicine 50 will allow the player to ask about symptoms of Hydra abuse, although the step is not necessary to unlock the necessary dialogue options later on.
 * The player can ask around the Camp for the missing drugs. The key clue is obtained from Private James Sexton at the Camp Forlorn Hope barracks, who will mention that Private Stone is frequently absent from his bunk around midnight. However, proving Stone's involvement requires actual evidence. This can be done in a variety of ways:
 * The simplest one involves waiting in the medical center until around 1-2 AM. Stone will sneak into the tent and steal the supplies from the locker. Afterwards, the player can steal the empty hydra syringe from him and give it to Richards as evidence or convince Stone to turn himself in with Speech 60.
 * Another option is to talk to Stone directly after talking to Sexton. Speech 50 will make him confess by playing on residual loyalty, while Speech 60 will convince him to turn himself in.
 * Finally, with Medicine 50, the player can correctly identify symptoms of Hydra abuse in Stone, unlocking the Speech option to make him turn himself in.
 * The player can also extort Stone to gain 5 Hydras or promise to stay silent. This does not preclude turning him in.
 * Returning to Richards allows the player to complete the quest, turning Stone in or lying about his involvement. As long as he winds up in custody, the quest completes successfully.

Bugs

 * Stone's pathfinding is quite finicky and can bug out in a variety of ways, including not appearing in the jail or disappearing. Saving before attempting the quest helps.