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7 comments
It's pretty awesome, though I can understand why you won't be finishing it. Sometimes its hard to go back and tap into a piece you were writing during a different time and different influences. I got the "bite", and my English professor told me whenever I felt that prick of inspiration, I should start writing. I filled out the events of Anaheim and tweaked them a little based on what I remembered from Fallout 1 and copious amounts of research @_@
I mean, the Anaheim (I'll tentatively name Platino, as Anaheim as an area called the "Platinum Triangle"), not many cities retain their original names) story sounds promising, by the by. Not sure if you'd pursue filling it out, but I like to imagine having some tribal group had set up shop in the city there prior to the events of Vault 13 opening. Obviously would have become somewhat prolific. Hell, could go deeper. Could have been a group of raiders long ago, initially, banded together to push back southern incursions from Shady Sands.
SS/Hub/Dayglow contests the area, the groups of raiders settle down and becomes established. NCR maybe sets up a temporary truce, as Platino sits right by the St. Agony (Santa Ana) mountains. This would restrict direct trade between the Hub and Dayglow, going around (based on google maps) would be pretty rough. That said, maybe it becomes a legit post, but ends up being "integrated" in 2189 as the NCR formally bands together. Obviously Platino resists this integration but is technically surrounded.
Some of the politicians you mentioned could have been traced back to those original raider gangs. Maybe there were four, the main being the Aztecas, the Burrachos, the Redbacks, and Rattlers. Pre-integration the Cortez (Aztecas) were the largest, and unified the surrounding gangs into the Platino. The Gonzales family (Burrachos) handled trade, Haroldson (Redbacks) managed security, and (Sifuentes) Rattlers were a Viper offshoot after losing a gang war years back. The Aztecas descendents were seen as bureaucrats by the time the conflict came, but appeared ready to come to terms with the NCR and possibly accept integration.
NCR intends on sending diplomats, but threats from families with poor political power in town (Rattler descendents) force their hand, upgrading the contingent of diplomats into an escort, and then into special forces as attacks from unknown assailants begin. Seeking to upend the Cortez family's dominance in politics, the Gonzales family makes promises to the Sifuentes about holding the St. Agony Pass and creating their own state. The rest is history, I suppose.
Anyway, this ended up being WAY longer than I intended, and you may have had a whole other scenario in your head already. Hopefully even if this was all wasted time and research it inspires you to maybe spell out your own tale for the series of events that lead to the untimely death of Anastasia.
Cheers!~
If you don't mind, I'd very much like to adapt this to Six's story. Everything in it is absolutely perfect; when you said you did research, you meant it.
It was originally going to be a group of citizens that had banded together in opposition to the NCR's expansion into the Mojave, as in order to fund the military for the endeavor, this puts an inordinate amount of stress on the taxpayers. This has been going on for quite some time, and eventually people just get fed up with it. Local law enforcement would handle it for a time, but growing escalation is inevitable. It comes to the point where the demonstrations reach a boiling point and become a full on riot. It is at this point that the president of the NCR cannot sit on his hands anymore, and is forced to send in an NCR battalion to resolve the issue. One of the company commanders is notorious for his brutality; it is this man, Captain Avery Brickham, that inevitably blows the powder keg.
During this set of incidents, the governor of the region along with several political representatives are meeting in an attempt to resolve the issue. Obviously to quell the riots, the president would have to issue some form of announcement, but the politicians were planning on trying to deal with the situation at hand by trying to talk with the citizens, take a ballot, listen to concerns, etc. When the NCR battalion is sent to stop the riots, a single ranger is also sent to protect the delegates from harm. This ranger is Malcolm Grey. At this point, Grey had earned his Black Armor early; the only ranger to have done so, in fact. Believing in his ability to protect the delegates, the battalion leader -Lieutenant Colonel John Stanford- entrusts their protection to Six of Spades alone.
This was a mistake, as a number of assassins appear within town hall a butcher the delegates. Only two of the assassins manage to survive, as they are the only ones that did not engage Six of Spades in combat. The other five all perish. However, all the politicians are dead, and Six is alone among the carnage. Captain Brickham, upon hearing gunfire in the capitol building, sends troops to investigate as the mob congregates outside, barely held back by the rifles of the NCR army. Inside, the soldiers discover the bodies of the delegation, with Six of Spades standing over them. What the ranger does not know is that Brickham's company is in on the whole thing. The troops were in fact ordered to eliminate Six of Spades and blame the politician's death on him, post-mortem.
Of course, these common soldiers are no match for a seasoned ranger. Six defends himself and escapes into the city, pursued now by the NCR forces, and attacked by the crowds of people due to his ranger armor. During his escape, he is mortified in meeting his wife there, whom was in the city as a protester (not a rioter, however). She tries to flee with him, but he tells her to stay put, for if she becomes associated with him, she'll be in danger too. She refuses to listen though, as this would separate her from the man she loves. They attempt to flee together, but upon reaching an NCR held roadblock, things become dicey as a gunfight ensues.
Of course, I'm sure you realize what happens next.
I like the layers regarding the taxation. If we were going to really flesh it out, it should have a lot of layers to it. Most of these kinds of tough political struggles have myriad layers.
So, like I said, Platino is an actual town I guess by the time of your story. Since it would be a trader hub (being as its blocking access to Dayglow from its NW neighbors) I could see the NCR wanting to impose taxes on both traders and villagers. After all, the NCR would have laid claim to all land, perhaps considering Platino to just be part of the sprawling Boneyard.
I guess any merging of our stories might be that Platino was in open rebellion against NCR bureaucracy, and maybe Platino town hall was collecting taxes and paying the NCR, but calling it "protection money". This is what could have caused the rift. The Cortez family buckled to pressure by the citizenry against collections, though this was fired up by the Gonzales family. The Haroldsons and their allies are threatened by integration of the NCR, acting as the local law enforcement with its perks.
This is, of course, all on top of the fact that almost everyone considers the Platino families raiders, even though they stopped generations ago. Lots of their neighbors wouldn't mind seeing it wiped off the map but many also don't want to see the conflict escalate. Maybe Anastasia was part of a contingent of Citizens for a Free Platino demonstrators after a bad series of riots following the deaths of an NCR patrol.
Could make it nice and ambiguous what happened. The fight occurred within Platino land, and the soldiers made their stand well within the borders. However, it's not clear if the fight started in or outside the border, and it's not clear who started the scuffle. To make it worse, that NCR patrol wasn't even supposed to be in that area and the bodies of the attackers were all removed, but it is blamed on the Redbacks. The CFP say the NCR is harassing the town, and should recognize its independence or recognize it as a sovereign township. The Hub and Dayglow resist this all the way, and claim the CFP are paid by the Cortez family.
So it's REALLY hot at this point, and the Cortez family announces it wants to hold a ballot for integration or independence from the NCR. Anastasia leaves with the CFP to ensure the elections are held fairly, thinking the NCR/Cortez alliance may try to cook the books and keep voters from polls. Since the NCR is sending delegates, they demand to have soldiers sent.
The CFP demonstrators involved get uppity, telling Mayor Saul Cortez that allowing the NCR in will cause more problems. Saul tells the NCR that his own police force will take care of things, but the previously mentioned attacks make them antsy. The Gonzales Cartel then pays Rattlers and other misfits and miscreants on the fringes to turn the unrest into chaos.
Reports of the unrest, though, force the NCR to deploy armed forces. At this point the Redbacks walk away from their posts, feeling betrayed by the Cortez family and frustrated with their inability to pay them and frustration with their handling of NCR. This forces the NCR to handle all of the security detail, so the NCR send their toughest: Brickham.
What do you think? I think it meshes nice and solid. I think it also fills in a little bit with Anastasia. She doesn't have to be part of the CFP particularly, but she does support democratic sovereignty, or even thinks the NCR is a little pushy and a little peaceful demonstration could keep it in check. Maybe this is also why Six doesn't find out she's there, since he's part of the NCR military. Something you could tweak around a bit.
Such a sad story, as a good man he really deserved more than... All this. Life is too unfair :'(
Others understand the pain, and they use it. They move on, intent on not letting the past repeat itself. These are the heroes we look to in times of need.