Vault 161

Vault 161 was a Vault built near Miami, Florida to protect its inhabitants from the Great War. It was designed to hold 1000 people and unlike most vaults was designed to protect the population without any secret Vault-Tec experiments. Vault 161 had a basic form of democracy in the form of a Vault Council however following Mary Sansen's succession as Overseer and its reinstatement it merely became a puppet of the Overseer. An expedition to the outside world was ordered in 2157 in which only a single member survived, it was decided that the outside world was no safe place for humans.
By the Year 2215 the population of Vault 161 had grown to near 1500 people and to ensure the Vault's survival the Overseer expelled half of the population of the vault into what became known as the Sunshine Wasteland. Vault 161 in the year 2283 was offered the chance along with other neighbouring Vaults the chance to join a form of government later to be called the Confederacy of the Southern Vaults which it rejected sighting it desired to be free and rule itself. In 2286 the Vault was destroyed by an explosion from the inside following a rebellion within the Vault after some of the residence declared they desired to join the CSV.
One year later some of the survivors of Vault 161 chose to join the CSV and were admitted to Confederacy as a full Vault despite its destruction. It is unclear however who leads the Vault 161 survivors following the last Sansen's estrangement from the Vault survivors.
== Background ==
Built by Vault-Tec and finished in 2075, Vault 161 was designed to do as promised to protect and save humanity until they could eventually return to whatever remained of the United States of America on the surface. When the bombs began to fall across the United States out of its 1000 assigned residence only 438 were able to make it before the Vault was sealed.
== Early Years (2077-2080) ==
Under the leadership of Overseer Daniel Sansen, the residences of the Vault quickly became used to their new surroundings. Overseer Sansen waited desperatly in vain for orders to come from Vault-Tec on what to do other than his first instructions. After 18 months of no orders he took it into his own hands and set about creating some form of basic government. Establishing a Vault Council who could present their ideas and qualms to the Overseer, an attempt of democracy was installed to make a harmonious society.
== Succession Crisis ==
In the year 2123 Overseer Sansen died. There was no instructions on how to select another Overseer and the Vault Council was unwilling to appoint another to increase its own power. Sansen's daughter: Mary put herself forward to replace her father stating it would be easier if another one of the family took over, also having served on the Vault Council for the previous 4 years granted her some experience. It was put to a vote should there be a new Overseer in the form of Mary or should the Vault Council take control. The people of Vault 161 voted 73% in favour of Mary succeeding her father.
== The Mary Reforms (2123-2124) ==
The first year under Mary in Vault 161's history has been seen as one of the darker years. Fearing a challenge to her control following the vote disbanded and secretly imprisoned the former members of the Vault Council while officially delivering to the people of Vault that the Council had decided to disband itself to allow her some freedoms in policy making for the Vault. She forged the Succession directive which ensured the future Overseer's would be her descendants. Word however soon got about about the imprisonment of the Vault Council, the people demanded they be released. Fearing rebellion and the future of her dynasty she relented and reinstated the Vault Council with certain reforms to allow future Overseers to ensure who they wanted would sit on the Vault Council.
== The Edwards Expedition (2157) ==
Nearing her death Overseer Mary Sansen ordered an expedition into the outside world to officially observe the disaster and to see if it was safe for the people to emerge (unofficially to find a way to extend her life) and so ordered a team led by Cameron Edwards into the Wasteland on their mission. Only a single man named Harrison Roberts returned from the expedition alive with wild stories of monsters raging on the surface and declared it unsafe for human resettlement. Roberts refused to reveal what happened to the rest of his expedition and took whatever happened to the grave.
== The Great Purge of Vault 161 (2215) ==
Over time since the first sealing of the Vault the population had grown and neared the point 1500 people. Attempts to curb the population by the forbidding the creation of children had failed. It came to a head when in the Year 2215 there were a further 43 births. Overseer Alexander Sansen with the approval of the Vault Council called for an assembly of all those within Vault 161 at the Vault door. The half that were slowest to arrive where put to the front of the Vault as the door opened, they were to be exiled or shot. Some attempted to push their way into the crowds and were put down. Not desiring further bloodshed Overseer Sansen gave the exiles Vault 161's GECK and ordered them to leave and never return.
== The CSV (2283) ==
A surprising turn of events occurred in 2283 when an outsider claiming to be an emissary from a civilisation known as the Confederacy of the Southern Vaults wanting to offer Vault 161 a chance to join the fledging civilisation in the Sunshine Wastelands. The people of Vault 161 were stunned at seeing people surviving outside of the Vault, there was talk among the people of the Vault trying to decide if they should join the CSV or not. Overseer Bandon Sansen however refused to even consider the idea and ordered the removal of the emissary and anyone who wanted to join the CSV from the Vault.
== The Fall (2286) ==
In three years since the emissary had arrived the people of Vault 161 were spilt on what to do. To stay in the Vault, to leave the Vault or to join the CSV. Overseer Sansen attempted to calm the factions by sending his son with some other volunteers into the Wasteland to investigate if the area surrounding the Vault was habitable and to discover more on the CSV. That however wasn't enough for an extremist group calling themselves the 161 Angels who declared open rebellion against the Overseer for control over the Vault. No one truly knows what happened within the Vault other than it was destroyed and all inside perished.
== Legacy (2287-????) ==
The survivors of Vault 161 (the volunteers with Oliver 'Ollie' Sansen) quickly in their heavily weakened state pleaded to join with the CSV which was granted. The survivors also founded themselves anew in the outskirts of the Ruins of Miami with a town they named New 161. No one is too sure who leads the survivors however the people continue to try to survive in the outside world with the threat of raiders and ghouls always ever looming.
Category:Locations