New Pacific Republic

The New Pacific Republic (NPR) is a federal republic located on the American West Coast following the Great War during 2276. The nation comprises the eight states of Shady, Boneyard, Aradesh, Hub, Dayglow, Redding, New Nevada, and Cascadia.
Succeeding the former New California Republic, the NPR was formed after Enclave elements stationed at Navarro joined the increasingly right-wing NCR following their cooperation during the NCR-Brotherhood War. The Republic considers itself a shining democracy and bastion of liberty not seen since the Old World, however it has also developed an extremely imperialist, jingoistic, and anti-mutant culture. 
==Background==
Before the rise of the New Pacific Republic, the New California Republic before it was a growing democracy on the West Coast. Founded in 2189, the NCR had grown to a population over 700,000 in 2241 and comprised the states of Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, Hub, and Dayglow.
After the death of Vice-President Carlson in 2241, right-wing elements slowly seized control of Congress with support from the Republic’s growing army. The nation shifted to focus on rapid expansion for land and resources rather than directly improving its citizens' lives, and unfortunate “accidents” often befell those who opposed the military or the NCR’s increasing imperialism. Meanwhile, the destruction of Control Station ENCLAVE caused an exodus of most Enclave forces from California. Distrustful of the newly-declared president and confident in their fortifications against the wasteland, the garrison at Camp Navarro remained at their post while tensions between the NCR and Brotherhood of Steel grew. 
Worried that the NCR was slowly becoming a mirror of the corrupt United States that their founder had seceded from, the Brotherhood closed its doors to the Republic and refused to cooperate with the nation as it had since the days of Rhombus. The NCR rallied its citizens to prepare for an inevitable war with them and inspired distrust in the Brotherhood. Posters in the streets told of Brotherhood infiltrators among the people and hoards of pre-War technology in the bowels of Lost Hills that could save countless Californian lives. The Navarro garrison watched the approaching conflict between New California’s two superpowers and eventually came to see the Republic not as a threat, but a potential opportunity. The Enclave pushed for its personnel to support the NCR in its imminent war with the Brotherhood. An offer to support Republic was made to its military and Congress, one they eagerly accepted to gain more power through the skills and technology through Navarro. Soon Enclave officers were serving as army commanders for the NCR while drill instructors tried to mould the New Californian military into a force that might have a chance against the Brotherhood.
===Massacre of Lost Hills===
By the time skirmishes had broken out in the State of Aradesh (having been renamed from Maxson), Enclave officers commanded portions of the Republic’s forces and power-armored soldiers from Navarro supported the Republic’s army against the Brotherhood’s paladins. The conflict stretched across the 2250s, culminating in the Fall of Lost Hills. In 2257 the NCR and its Enclave allies had gravely wounded High Elder Jeremy Maxson and pushed the Brotherhood back to Lost Hills, their final major bunker in Republic territory. Paladins and knights fell in defense of their home at the cost of many more Republic soldiers, eventually the NCR believed it would soon be able to claim the Brotherhood’s technology as their own. The swift victory expected at the Brotherhood’s final bunker never came, however. The “steel plague” of California had built their headquarters up for nearly 200 years, not just through defences but also hydroponic facilities and artificial photosynthesis technology. The bunker could seemingly hold out indefinitely and as a bunker its subsurface facilities could survive even nuclear attacks, it appeared to the Republic 
Navarro and the Republic, both having emerged bloodied by the war, were stunned and furious by their failure to penetrate the Brotherhood’s headquarters or secure the technology it held. It seemed as if California itself would break before Lost Hills did, and so the Republic did the next best thing they could think of. With all surface structures of the bunker secured, all entrances were sealed up with concrete and a heavy guard has been put around Lost Hills. All communications in and out of the facility have been jammed, preventing the Brotherhood from communicating with their chapters.
While they had failed to secure the technology of Lost Hills, through anti-Brotherhood fear-mongering and emergency powers granted during the war the NCR military and their puppet president now had near-complete control over Congress. With members of the “western” Enclave in key roles within the NCR military and civilian sectors, the Navarro garrison joining the Republic was inevitable. Navarro, already distrustful of President Eden and having laid the groundwork for joining the NCR, welcomed integration into the Republic. Camp Navarro became an NCR military base while most of its soldiers joined the Republic’s army and civilians were patriated into the Republic. Believing the Brotherhood to have been largely destroyed aside from a few lingering chapters, Californians looked to the uncertain but hopeful future of their nation. The NCR had taken staggering losses in their battles with the Brotherhood, but now the groundwork was laid for a new Republic to form.
===New Union Declaration===
In the years following the NCR-Brotherhood War, the Republic’s military slowly regained its strength with assistance from Navarro. Some of these former Enclave members worked diligently to reforge the nation into something more like the pre-War America they had been told about on the oil rig. Some willingly settled in NCR settlements and integrated into those communities while the most racist and anti-wastelander of them found residence within the bigoted walls of Vault City. The NCR’s military pressured more settlements to join the Republic and soon the new states of Redding, New Nevada, and Cascadia were created. Through rampant imperialist expansion the NCR had outgrown the title of a republic of only California. 
Supported by the military and elite former-Enclave members, the first and so far only Enclave-born president was elected. President Jimmy Bird was a puppet of the military and elite, however his campaign of reforming the NCR into something greater and integrating Old World technology into the daily lives of Californians appealed to many. President Bird pushed Congress to reform the nation, eventually making his famous New Union Address to declare the formation of the New Pacific Republic.
===The New Republic===
Eager to revitalize the economy following the brutal NCR-Brotherhood War, the Bird administration pursued the privatization of state-owned industries and massive rearmament in the 2260s. They furthered the erosion of Tandi-era corporate limitations and gave way to the rise of brahmin, agricultural, and industrial barons, while corporations like the Gun Runners, Crimson Caravan, and Friendly Lending Company flourished under looser regulations. The Republic’s expansion was largely funded through deficit financing, the government made purchases through bonds and promises to corporations of exclusive resource and land rights in new territories.
Despite deregulation, this new economy is not laissez-faire. It is a mixed-economy with a free-market, loose restrictions on corporations, but a great deal of state planning and direction. For the average NPR citizen, small businesses have suffered with the growth of commercial monopolies, and while civilian earnings have increased they are attributed more to longer working hours than better wages.
===Mojave Campaign===
In a much better economic and military position during the early 2270s, the NPR became more confident in eastward expansion. The Gecko Power Company had supplied much of the Republic’s electricity, but greater electrical needs and general distrust for its ghoul owners caused the Republic to look for new energy opportunities. Government records from the Enclave suggested that the Vegas area had surprisingly few recorded nuclear detonations during the Great War. Hopeful that Hoover Dam might have survived, by late 2273 a scouting team was sent to the Mojave Wasteland to assess the pre-War hydroelectric marvel. When these scouts arrived they came back with stories of a still-standing dam, Brotherhood forces at HELIOS One, and a Vegas Strip that while under reconstruction, surpassed most NPR settlements in condition. 
Fearful of the Brotherhood taking the Dam, a military expedition was organized in 2274 to bring the Mojave Wasteland under Republic control. When the force arrived there they were met by representatives of the enigmatic Robert House and a garrison of Securitrons. Mr. House claimed to be “safeguarding” the dam against the Brotherhood, who he had reason to believe was preparing a first-strike against the NPR expedition. Unsure of the size of House’s Securitron force and fearful of the Brotherhood presence, a treaty was signed between the New Pacific Republic and the recently-declared Free Economic Zone of New Vegas. 
By 2276 a full-scale war between the NPR and Brotherhood’s Mojave chapter is inevitable. Both sides have fought numerous skirmishes while their reinforcements stream in. From their new headquarters at Fort Rhombus and led by the young Uther Maxson, remnants of the Brotherhood hope that a victory in the Mojave and Elder Elijah’s repairing of HELIOS One will give them the foothold they need to secure the area for themselves. Meanwhile, both factions look with caution to reports of another nation growing east of the Colorado River.
==Society==
Back when the Republic was a union of allied settlements, many of their residents valued working for the group rather than the individual. Even when systems of money like caps became popular, labour was performed for the community and in cooperation against outside threats. With the reintroduction of wage labour the value of work has shifted to benefit the individual rather than the collective. Citizens now often work under large corporations or industries run by the brahmin, agricultural, and industrial barons that control most of the Republic’s economy. Many lament the loss of communal values, while others praise the benefits of centralized industry and a developed economy. 
===Equality===
Drawing inspiration from similar legislation of the United States, the NCR Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, sexuality, or ethnicity. Later amendments also added protection for mutant citizens, however a lack of a system to take action against discrimination alongside interpretations of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution means that anti-mutant racism is an issue within the nation. During the administrations of Jimmy Bird and his predecessor, officially Necropolis was resettled as New Bakersfield by the Republic to create an all-mutant settlement where the nation’s mutated residents could live in peace. Many have criticized this as creating a segregated community for mutants of California to be driven into from other settlements, while a lack of investment or creation of many job opportunities in Bakersfield has led it to often being compared to a ghetto. 
One other notable mutant community is Gecko, a company town run by the Gecko Power Company. Under Chief Mayoral Officer Gordon Stone the settlement’s power plant flourishes and provides a large chunk of the Republic’s electricity, particularly for New Nevada and other northern states. This has led to tension between the ghoul community and Vault City, the latter of which has made attempts to buy out or otherwise force the ghouls into New Bakersfield.
===Economy===
Once backed by gold, the nation’s currency is now a fiat one following the destruction of gold reserves during the NCR-Brotherhood War. After the War and during the rise of Enclave influences within the Republic, deficit spending through bonds and promises to prominent corporations allowed for a decade of great economic success. By 2276 that period is over, resources in new territories had not been as plentiful as expected and the government is struggling to repay its debts. Increasing reliance on pre-War technology that, while useful, is difficult to maintain and strains the Republic’s industry. Some within the nation expect complete sovereign default in a decade or two unless something drastic is done. 
===Politics===
The New Pacific Republic is a representative federal republic, inspired heavily by the government of pre-War America. Every five years the nation’s states each vote for a member of Congress to represent them who in turn elect the federal branch of government that consists of the president, vice president, and council. The president chooses their cabinet, composed of the ministers who lead each government department. While the Republic boasts being a democracy like those of the Old World, in reality the majority of Congress is controlled by the military. Right-wing representatives who support the military’s aggressive expansionist policies make up the majority of the NPR Congress, those who oppose the government’s direction find it difficult to gain support in the increasingly jingoistic nation and receive threats that dissuade many of them from getting involved in politics. Legislation made to root out Brotherhood infiltrators allows the Department of Internal Security and military to detain citizens who might threaten the “integrity of the Republic” through any manner of pretenses, real or fabricated.
Complaints of voting inequality have arisen while the NPR expands across the West Coast and urbanizes. Many rural residents, particularly those who live in small settlements, complain that they have unequal access to vote for their representative within Congress. The duty to facilitate elections also falls to the current government, which could intentionally create voting centres in locations that are more accessible to their supporters. Citizens have also accused the current government of disproportionately hosting voting centers in the large urban communities that see higher support for the current administration, intentionally limiting voting accessibility for rural settlements.
==Military==
Since 2241 the Republic’s military budget has rapidly increased and now comes close to rivaling that of the civilian sector. Military budget increases have largely been attributed to the advanced technologies used in increasing numbers since the integration of the Navarro garrison into the military. Despite the more common uses of equipment like power armor and vertbirds, these are still limited in supply and maintaining them has become a massive strain on the nation’s budget. The NPR military struggles to find replacements or manufacture the advanced components required for energy weapons, power armor, and aircraft, but the elite of the republic and military have constantly insisted on their use, this has drained money and industry away from other levels of government.
Some within the republic also see cracks forming through the nation’s growing reliance on advanced technology. The Republic can easily deal with quick threats like a raider group or local insurrection, but many worry that the costs to maintain a longer war against a group like the Brotherhood or the reported and growing “Legion” in the east may lead to a collapse of the military’s best units when their supplies of advanced components for repairs run out.
With many resources going to the Republic’s special forces, the army’s rank-and-file soldiers are not as well-equipped. Typical equipment of NPR infantry includes tunics of varying colors under an armored breastplate. Standard weapons for infantry are 9mm pistols and service rifles, mass-produced by the Gun Runners and under contracts by industrial barons. The majority of NPR soldiers are conscripted with no bias to gender. Volunteers do exist within the military but voluntary recruitment does not occur in the quantities required to fuel the Republic’s growing military and expansionism.
===Assault Squads===
The Assault Squads, or verti-assault teams, are the most advanced of the NPR’s special forces. Each uses a vertibird to quickly deploy a well-equipped squad, the best of them are often completely composed of former Enclave soldiers while others are elite New Californian soldiers led by an ex-Enclave officer. They use the Republic’s most advanced equipment, including various models of power armour and energy weapons. 
===Rangers===
Since the integration of Navarro into the Republic, the NCR Rangers have increasingly taken a back seat to the newer Assault Squads. While part of the New Pacific Republic Special Forces like the verti-assault teams, they have found increasing delegation to tasks like scouting and reconnaissance instead of direct combat.
===Air force===
The NPR maintains a small air force, made possible largely through the facilities of Navarro. The air force serves two main functions: quickly transporting VIPs like the president or high-ranking military personnel and deploying power-armored Assault Squads into combat. To fulfil these duties, the Republic uses former Enclave vertibirds and repaired planes like the Presidential Lockreed C-76 Bear Force One. 
==Foreign relations==
An extremely aggressive foreign policy is pursued by the NPR. Settlements are commonly pressured into joining the Republic through a variety of tactics, including buying out local leaders, funding enemies of the current regime, and outright military occupations. The largest nation to resist NPR expansion in California is the Shi Empire, a nation-state controlling the ruins of San Francisco. The Shi Emperor has managed to resist the NPR’s expansionism and aggression but faces a new threat of the Republic-funded Hubologists attempting to usurp the Shi within the city. Robert House’s independent New Vegas has signed a treaty with the NPR while the Republic deals with local Brotherhood forces, however many in the Mojave expect that the annexation of the Strip is inevitable as soon as HELIOS One falls.
==Technology==
The NPR is an increasingly industrialized nation, having moved largely from small workshops to centralized industry in large cities like the Hub, Shady Sands, and the Boneyard. Expertise from former-Enclave scientists from Navarro and new governmental policies have allowed for more pre-War technology to be implemented in the nation’s homes, from electric lights to working refrigerators. There is much disparity in their use however, outside of government buildings these tools are often only found in the homes of the wealthy minority that can afford them. Greater mechanization in agriculture has also increased crop-yields and productivity, while requiring less labour and forcing many low-skilled workers from their jobs.
Wireless media is also becoming popular within the nation. Efforts have been made to restore the PoseidoNet system to connect major cities, while government-funded radio and television services are growing in popularity.
==Notes==
* A big thanks to trashgarbage666, Arcaneous, and Slipmcripfist for their contributions to this content!