The NukaGuardThe Council decided to for a civil police force as a response to criminal activity in Vault 98. The first step to formulating and arming the rotating police force was unsealing the armory meant for Vault-Tec's security teams. Seen as a sort of Pandora's Box, The Council had avoided opening the doors and letting whatever could be within out. When the doors were opened the first witnesses to the stockpile were speechless.
There wasn't just the typical expected set of guard uniforms and a handful of sidearms, batons, ammo, and cuffs. The room, which was made up of multiple floors of it's own, was absolutely packed with weapons and munitions most people could only dream of. For some reason, Vault-Tec had decided they'd need to arm themselves with high-tech energy weapons and armor. Plasma Rifles, Gatling Lasers, EMP Grenades, deactivated turrets...there was enough firepower here to win the Sino-American War! Obviously, the Council restricted the guard's access to weapons beyond the Laser Pistol, and the suits of T-60 Power Armor were strictly off-limits.
The Nuka Families were able to create a less-than-lethal weapon based off of the energy weapons in the armory that utilized weapons-grade Nuka Quartz developed by the Nuka Families. The liquidy blast from a Quartzgun was powerful enough to sting and bruise targets, but more importantly the soda's natural glow was able to "mark" targets, meaning that a fleeing suspect could be identified later by the white glow a Quartzgun left on them.
Initially, guards were selected via lottery. As the Nuka Families were a much smaller fraction of the population than the Independent Families, the militia was largely Independent at any given moment. Active-duty guards worked in pairs, with one Nuka and one Independent paired together, and this left the reserve force practically completely Independent.
The chief selection process was randomized from volunteers, but this process became rapidly politicized as less and less people would volunteer while also acquiring completely unrelated gifts from their aligned families. This process ultimately led to two militarized positions of leadership within the Vault as neither side wanted to surrender their Chief role to someone of lesser to no experience. The odd thing though was the lack of a rivalry between the Nuka Chief and the Independent Chief. Both Chiefs agreed that the only way to prevent the power struggle between Families from becoming something worse, especially with the insanely overstocked armory opened up, would be through empowering the biggest joint project between them.
The power of the Chiefs rose within their families until both were on the Families Council. With a strong level of political power within their families, the Chiefs began to slowly give more power to themselves and the rotating militia beneath them. This was somewhat problematic for the Council as well, since it turned out that giving people a strong militant figure to follow would lead to them actually following that figure, especially if they seemed more interested in the people than the rest of a many-faced Council was. Oh well, sometimes history's lessons go unheeded.
It was very difficult for the Council to restrain the Chiefs with popular opinion skewed heavily in their favor, and only rising as time passed. It became more difficult still with the occurrence of the first assault with a firearm in the Vault. An Independent recently relieved of their militia duties had managed to steal away Combat Armor and a Laser Rifle, and put them to use trying to settle a rivalry with an extreme level of finality. The gunman targeted another Independent, killing him and the two officers who arrived on-scene. As a barricade situation with hostages developed, the Council, under pressure from their populace, granted the Chiefs the ability to pull heavier arms and armor from the Armory. Two Independents and two Nukas, all immensely loyal to their Chiefs, assaulted the gunman while decked out in full T-60s and Plasma weaponry. The matter was settled quite quickly.
Although such an event was seen as unlikely to happen again, the Chiefs posited that it still
could happen, and put forward reforms to the militia that were accepted by a Council pressured by a populace that by this point had almost all served directly under the Chiefs - including some of the Council themselves. While the militia was still rotated yearly, Combat Armor, modified to look slightly less imposing, as well as Energy Weapons became standard issue alongside a Quartzgun sidearm. An elite unit was also drawn up, consisting of four permanent members and the two best marksmen in the current militia rotation. Known as the NukaGuard, they trained extensively in their Power Armor (now modified to use Quantum fuel) and with the entire array of weapons at their disposal (minus the Fat Man). The NukaGuard stood watch over every Council Meeting, and became a quiet, constant reminder of the power the Chiefs now had over the citizens of Vault 98.
The first decade in Vault 98 managed to pass by without many more issues, although there were some tense moments. Scientific and cultural advancement dipped only slightly with the mandatory service requirements of the militia. With training accidents becoming a little more dangerous and slightly more common now, the scientific minds of the Vault (that is, the Nuka Families) made an attempt to advance their capabilities beyond reliance on a stockpile of stimpacks and a few bags of RadAway.
Propose the medical advancement made in Vault 98 during this time. This can be directly related to medical assistance, like a robot or medicine, or medicine-adjacent, like drugs or selective breeding. Get creative!
Log of [REDACTED], 10.27.77 - Present
Nukagate Conspiracy: High amounts of food and drink stockpiles have led to a scientific power bloc through intermarried families. Products produced from luxury foods are impressive, including liquid nuclear fuel. Solid checks and balances between Nuka Families and Independent Families. Life is very good for the vault dwellers, but not perfect.
NukaGuard: A poorly-regulated militarization of the Vault's citizenry after discovery of a massive weapons cache has led to a dominating cult of personality built up around the two Chiefs. The Chiefs took many opportunities to empower themselves and their militia. A nonlethal Quartzgun was developed to incapacitate and/or mark criminals with a white glow. The NukaGuard itself was also formed as am elite 6-man Power Armor unit.
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Topic: Rise from the Ashes: A Fallout-based PvE Council Game (Read 7743 times)