Kaiser Chris said:
Thanks so much for the awesome response and insight Weaving, nice to see people get so invested in the Quest.
I still ain't done yet. I am catching up one way or the other. and yah it is an Interesting quest with how you handling it and adding lore in.
Kaiser Chris said:
"Jesus Christo Jaime, you're acting like a thirsty dog!" Complained one Anna Mirales.
Her boyfriend, Jaime Hernandez looked at his girlfriend as if she grew another head and became a Brahdos, "It's free clean water, not a single Rad. That's what we're supposed to do, we drink it."
The specific action she had been chiding him over was how he had turned on the bathroom sink in amazement and started drinking from the faucet without restraint like a canine would a garden hose.
Anna groaned in frustration, strolling to the kitchen to grab a glass cup and handing it to her boyfriend, "We also have clean cups now so use them. Don't want our new neighbors to think we're a bunch of ferals in a jumpsuit."
Jaime sported a look that was a mixture of hurt and annoyance, "Who cares what they think. We won't lose our home over manners and so long as we keep to ourselves and aren't pendejos then everything will be fine."
ouch, that IS challenge now and a big thing with how the Wasteland can be. Not all wastelanders are like that but a lot of things take a back seat to surviving, had to listen to doing that as a kid and why I couldn't do it. when you found water you drank it with whatever you got, hands or just drinking straight from it. Having cups or the like was a bonus that you didn't expect to have it all the time. Its going to be a adjustment period getting used to things like this.
Kaiser Chris said:
The cause of this recent spat was Anna and Jaime not being born of Vault 28, but being Wastelanders, born and raised in Kingsville near Corpus Christi, or "The Corpse" as it was colloquially referred to nowadays.
Neither had grown up without hurt, and they experienced nowhere close to the peace and comforts their parents and community elders spoke of, but on most days they could eat and drink, had a roof over their heads and could get by. Only when they had just barely started being teenagers, everything came crashing down when a hurricane destroyed their community, and left adrift they were easy prey for slavers, forcing the two to separate from their families and friends, who were by this point either dead, adrift or worse.
What followed was a decade long trek across the Gulf Coast, Anna and Jaime doing their best to make ends meet, roaming from town to town and doing their best to survive, always in the pursuit of that miracle of stability. Even in the communities they drifted to which weren't on the verge of collapse, outsiders were viewed with suspicion and not welcome for cohabitation, forcing them to move on and drift to the next settlement.
....oh that's why. yah being in that situation and after a decade of moving and getting what you can... I don't blame them and understand why the girl is worried about seeming like a upjumped feral. Makes sense communities don't trust outsiders or just can't afford to have more mouths to feed and just kick the two out. So that reaction to drinking the water right away like that makes sense given their life and instinct learned.
Kaiser Chris said:
Then, everything changed when they heard of a tribe flying a lone star flag, claiming that they were Texans who would bring back the old world, already doing so much by culling slavers and giving pure water to all under their banner. After a rough journey, they arrived to the promised land they had long been in pursuit of but always distant from, never reaching.
It was a tense transition, being seen as outsiders and completely at the whims of Vault dwellers who could have so easily become colonial masters of the wasteland instead of true equals. However, time helped to build bridges and eventually the two found their roles with Anna being a mechanic at work for the San Felipe garage and Jaime doing labor for one of the many construction crews that tore down and rebuilt Austin County. While mostly loners, the two had showed good character and actions to make them eligible for their very own vault room, ensuring that their descendants could live in salvation, the opportunity denied to their ancestors for wealth.
Hah, like little thing of 'a tribe' flying the lone star. And damn, if we go by this then these two have been with us around a year then? or like a turn or two after we popped out of the vault? the Pure rad free water is a big draw and the culling of slavers is good in a lot of books. a mechanic and construction worker.
Kaiser Chris said:
Looking at the two greeters, she couldn't help but be self-conscious of the comparisons. It was clear that the two were Vault Dwellers, by their shiny perfectly kept hair and good smell. While Anna and Jaime did their best to keep clean, it wasn't a priority and they were not the picture of hygiene, even if they were among the cleaner sorts of people in the Wasteland. Surprisingly, the Vault Dwellers did not wear their iconic jumpsuits, only wearing Pipboys though the man wore the blue and yellow jacket loosely, making Anna even more anxious as her and Jaime were dressed fully in the jumpsuit like they were Vault Boys.
its always the little things that you tend to notice when you live in certain conditions or places. the appearance of just regularly cleaned and maintained hair being notable and something that doesn't really click until you process and really think on what the lack of drinking water means for a lot of people and things. Other little things like the anxiety and second guessing over how one is suppose to act and dress in the Vault as with Anna thinks the Jumpsuit is meant for certain times or occasions and she messed up or something.
Kaiser Chris said:
"I know that Scarlett's been handing out gift baskets to most of y'all," Jacquie began, with Anna positioning herself so as to block the torn basket with its food contents having already been mostly scarffed down, "But I thought it would be better if y'all have some fresh baked goods, for that little home touch, peanut butter cookies specifically. Would have had more, but Blake was a worse thief than an American taxpayer."
LOL, a bit funny and a bit sad. funny in that like a kid or a foodie they already devoured the food in the welcoming gifts and trying to block the view because thinking it makes them look dirty leaving it in the room like that or big eaters but also sad in that its expected for Anna and Jaime to as much as they can when they get the chance because they don't know when the next meal will be. So scarfing down the food seems like overeating or acting like starving animals but old habits and they haven't processed there is more then enough food to go around and they don't have to do this now.
Kaiser Chris said:
Throughout a rather frosty Texan winter, the Texas Rangers performed a reconnasaince of Wharton county to secure our southern flank. The good news is that East Wharton County is raider free, a state of affairs ironically thanks to Rosenberg who launched a series of punitive campaigns in the early 2110s to set up a series of buffer towns on their frontier to prevent any raiders from threatening Rosenberg. A collection of settlements referred to as the "Wharton Alliance" exist as a sort of confederacy centered around the town of Wharton against Raiders and maintain a healthy trading relationship with Rosenberg, feeding crops for manufactured goods in exchange.
There are two notable features of Wharton. One is a small nuclear power plant which is still operational and supplies power to Wharton and the allied settlements, and could be extended to the southern half of the Second Republic with the right investment. The other notable feature is Wharton County Junior College, which has been untouched by the passage of time and still exists as a place of learning for adults, though mostly to give adult Wastelanders basic skills and knowledge instead of "high education". While no peer to the universities of old, Wharton's materials could prove invaluable to your future education programs.
The bad news is that the western half of Wharton County largely falls under the influence and rule of the Conquistadors, with the Rangers finding out most unfortunately that the Conquistadors largely rule the I-10 region between San Antonio and Houston with a rusty steel fist underneath a velveteen glove, and that you had crushed one of their buffers into expansion in Houston proper with the Seals, swell. The town of El Campo is a Conquistador encampment home to a band of more than 100 Raiders, focused on preying on I-69 travelers and to act as a rest stop for raids targeting the coastline, the only benefit to these scoundrels being that they are nominally more civilized and less prone to wanton abuse than Columbus. Also, El Campo currently has power due to a brief war launched against Wharton in 2117 which ended in a peace treaty that forced Wharton to direct power to the town. The more you learn, the more it is increasingly looking like these Conquistadors will be Texas' next opponents.
Ah, well then that's bit of issue but not too bad. So Rosenburg set this little buffer states and haven't been doing anything about them since if the Raiders are content with it and don't push further then Rosenburg is fine with it. talk about being left out to dry. its good the Junior College is still there an can help with another center for learning and more advanced educations, Nuclear Power Plant as well would help things and help act the the power station for any other expansions in that direction without needing more wind wills or such.
So its both solar and some power coming from the Wharton Nuclear Plant, so they aren't completely self-sufficent in terms or power.... we could use this to set up an ambush or lure in the opening week or month against the Conquistadors by suddenly cutting off the power to them and ambushing the ones they send in to check and such. Something to keep in mind. Huh so does that mean the Seals were around equal to the Conquistadors if they were a buffer to their expansion efforts? I think we'll be a more tougher opponent but the Seals were a Buffer only. Wait, El Camp acts as a rest stop for raids on the coastline? oh according to google maps there is a major road going south to the coast, makes sense. So it looks like the 100 raiders is only a garrison and a light one since they haven't been hit hard. so mostly of their forces were on the expedition or scattered doing their own thing and will rally once we go to war with them.
Kaiser Chris said:
Traversing to the factory, Morgan cursed the President on a rare occasion that he couldn't have pushed the Power Ranger project earlier or wait on this until after it had been completed so worse case, they'd have some T-45s on hand who could easily clear out the Protectron and Gutsy complement like a turkey shoot. Unfortunately, the War Department as well as the general civilian populace was getting antsy, so it was now or never. At the very least, they did have the full set of manager codes, so assuming that these abandoned robots were not reprogramed by a third party since the bombs fell, they should still stick to their original directive, at least that's what their friends at Space City said.
Flanked by four Rangers, Morgan arrived at the gate of the factory where a waiting protectron approached, "Halt, you are entering restricted private property. Leave now or I will be legally authorized to use deadly force." The robot said, seemingly barely giving him time to respond as his laser barrels were starting to heat up.
"Managerial Transfer Command Mackenzie Alpha Charlie Klondike 875246." Morgan ordered, desperately hoping that this would indeed work out and he could go through this operation without a drop of blood or oil. Nearby, his fellow Rangers just ever so subtly raised their firearms while far behind them, a couple of pairs were keeping a sniper overwatch.
The Protectron suddenly froze at the command, bending over slightly as it looked to be in deep thought, then after a five second delay responded, "Command received, uplink to grid robots activated, recognizing new established manager. State designation."
"Cooper Morgan." Morgan replied.
"Welcome Manager Cooper Morgan to Sealy Mattress Factory, factory has been in shut down mode for 44 years, 41 days, 3 hours, 24 minutes, 57 seconds. To restart factory, you must enter Manager office and enter command into terminal."
Ooof, the view of things from in quest view point on the ground about our out of quest decisions and plans focusing on other things like bonuses and extra dice. I do agree looking at this it would have been better to have the Power Armor ready and on stand by for it but it worked out well and we're about halfway to finishing it. damn the programming on the robots barely give any amount of time to give any code or identifier.
kept track of time and damn quite a long break, whelp time to get this place up and running again! If we can get the materials I'm sure we can use this to get trade goods in the form of comfortable mattresses and bulk orders of pillows and such.
Kaiser Chris said:
After a period of scanning for all present Rangers so that no friendly fire incidents would arise, Morgan and his complement of Rangers would enter the factory grounds, being given a tour by one of the stationed Mr. Handy models, Gutsys and Protectons taking absolutely no mind of the Rangers or questioning the current state of affairs, the same robots that would have fried them a week before now seeing them as valued protected workers.
Fortunately, the tour of the factory would confirm all the intelligence that the Rangers had gathered leading to this day and more. While Protectrons were a common sight for pre-war corporate facilities, the location of federal-issue Mr. Gutsys were a curious sight that warranted investigation. At the home of the Sealy Factory's former manager, who from the logs on his terminal was likely stuck in Houston when the bombs fell, the reason for this heavy security was uncovered, for Sealy like many companies had been drafted to produce goods for the military in the name of the war effort.
Sealy throughout the war had mostly focused on providing a stable supply of sleepware, mattresses, sleeping bags, tents and pillows to give the troops a good nights rest in the field and sleep soundly through Chinese gunfire. By the company's records from what Morgan found scrolling through the terminals, they were pretty decent at it by all things considered. They still had thousands of such mattresses and pillows in stock, enough for every Texan to have the best night's sleep, though they already did since the Vault was already supplied with Sealy mattresses.
The real prize though, and the reason for this present robotic surge is that the company had been enlisted to create Combat Armor for the Army, most specifically holographic fatigues that displayed far superior camoflague than the current Texan uniforms along with anti-ballistic armor that while only providing modest defense against energy weapons, was highly effective against all non-armor piercing ballistics.
gotta love and hate the programming and build of the robots in Fallout, still good we managed to get the robots intact and can reassign them to other areas. Also we managed to get Mr gusty's as well, so that's a bonus and with the Sealy's factory being contracted to supply tents, sleeping bags, and pillows for the military it makes sense they were reinforced with Mr Gusty's at the factory. The stockpile is going to help a lot of homes in our lands since everyone would be getting mattresses and pillows, and I think our Military now has or will be able to have tents and sleeping bags enough for our army, which itself is a big thing just to have and equip.
wait Combat armor? okay that's a big find and good to be able to equip our entire military there, a bit miffed its not suited for desert and hot whether but I think it should be fine for garrison duties and the fact ballistics are a majority of the weapons alongside regular melee in fallout or at least more commonly encountered, laser and plasma weapons being still used but much more for elites within factions. So an combat that's good at non-armor piercing armor is enough for what we need it for.
Kaiser Chris said:
Apparently as Vault 28's veterans had explained beforehand, after the start of the Resource Wars, the military began the Trooper program to make dedicated infantry protective gear, which included the three Power Armor models. Part of the program was a division of infantry issued gear between anti-ballistic and anti-energy. Anti-energy Combat Armor were those seen in the propaganda reels and documentaries of US soldiers equipped with bulky alloy plating that gave your average trooper the highest defense in the field outside of Power Armor itself, but was generally more expensive and slowed then down. While Anti-Energy Armor was still mass produced, to alleviate the burden, non-essential, auxilary and domestic personnel were equipped with the old anti-ballistic armor. The model that Sealy had been making specifically was the T-49 Combat Armor which had been deployed in 2074 to aid in the Canadian occupation and act in support for operations in Alaska.
Sealy had been contracted for a bulk order shortly after the Liberation of Anchorage, most likely to deal with the spread of Chinese guerillas in Alaska. The factory had 20,000 T-49 units in storage or in the last stages of production, more than enough to equip every Texan as well as providing some for your allies if you wish. While a clean laser hit would burn, it would at least not be instantly fatal and pipe weaponry would barely be able to blunt the Combat Armor.
Hypothetically, with the Sealy factory and its accompanying schematics, you had the potential to make as many T-49s as you wished, though the issue with that desire was that you had no domestic supply of cotton or nylon, meaning you would have to import from Sugar Land and Space City respectively, and the latter would be an extremely expensive good. At the very least, you could hypothetically make pillows and beds with ease, and this could prove a valuable trade good with the rest of the Wasteland.
hmmmm, so this combat armor was made for logistics and back line personnel and for occupation duty. That's perfect for us and for our Militia specifically since they are defensive. We could also buff some of our allies with the amount of T-49 combat armor if need be but overall a great find.
HAH, I knew the pillows and mattresses would be a trade good!
Kaiser Chris said:
As such, you shouldn't have been surprised when the training for the Power Rangers lead to a whopping 604 recruits. However, these poor sons of guns would learn the hard way that in order to become a true Power Armor user according to the standards of old America was to go to hell and back in a style of training that made Ranger boot camp look close to tame. It's a harsh and unforgiving regimen focused on the cultivation of peak strength and endurance, as while hypothetically any man or woman can use Power Armor with no training, to truly master the Power Armor requires a user to be at peak condition and to become one with their armor, not to mention containing all the other qualities of being an excellent soldier such as marksmanship and tactical accumen, and a basic mechanical knowledge for maintenance and repair in the field.
Within days, the numbers are whittled down quickly as the wheat are separated from the chaffe with 604 climbing down to 137 dedicated trainees, and such a number likely to whittle down even further. At the very least, this should hopefully mean you will come out with the best of the best pilots.
Oh? interesting way of how it goes and what it takes to use the Power Armor. A lot of media goes two routes with the Power Armor in that either your body's physicality doesn't matter once you put on the Power Armor as it does all the work OR you need a strong body just to be able to endure and use the Power Armor without hurting or killing yourself. It is funny though how so many were excited to try to use the Power Armor only to learn you really have to train and build up muscle in order to use it and thus blocked from it. Still it works really well in that half the progress for this project we did was just to find the candidates and thin the pool down to 104. good fluff.
Kaiser Chris said:
While your....in-laws may live life like in an aesthetic like it's 1421, at the very least they have the basic intelligence and awareness to know that they're living in a post-nuclear age and there are some aspects of modern warfare that can't be abandoned for a neo-Renaissance lifestyle. Since they do lack the industry you possess as well as luck with finding post-war relics, Bellville's methods of warfare are focused on both mobility and range, learning well from the Longhorns that if they are locked down and to close then the battle will be a lost cause.
The Bellville forces are split into two components, the Cavalry and the Men-At-Arms as components of the military. The Cavalry was made up mostly of Knights and their Squires, around 40 men and women who acted as scouts and vanguards for attacks, carrying with them pistols for normal ranged combat. For close quarters, they usually have some sort of customized saber to allow them to chop down passing enemies or should they need to dismount, to participate in close combat. There are also some short lances, mostly meant for combat with feral ghouls as some tend to wander in from Prarie View occasionally. Admittedly, their mastery of horsemanship is rather top notch and they've offered to aid you in your quest to domesticate horses for the Republic, something you've been holding off for a while thanks to the expanded stock of available cars.
Well they're better than others who try to force it like its the days before gunpowder. It is interesting the way they go about it and do focus on mobility and range since that is NOT what you associate with Knights, at least the ranged part, and are a more hit and run or skirmishing force.
oh of course keeping to the terms for them Knights, Squires, and Men-At-Arms. small amount for the Cavalry portion but I guess the training and preparing for it? how big was the population of Bellville again? I was expecting more like 60-80. Still in the absence of trucks and cars the Cavalry with pistols and sabers make great scouts and harassers that go into shock Cavalry with their lances... Okay taking that into account the Cavalry are good, they seem to be all rounders that are elite. the offer of help to find the Horses is something we should do next turn, its not a big ask since the project isn't a big dice hog.
I will ask the QM considering if we do the horses and given the size in our land and resources, could we boost the number of Calvary in Bellville by giving and supporting the horses and equipment needed for them?
I wonder how this will go when we do Bikes and other vehicles later on. I swear we can pull off some Calvary charges and Dragoon style maneuvers. or just an omake about the charge of bikes and horses under withering fire as they break through the enemy, scenes of 'one last display of strength to one last display of courage' from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Kaiser Chris said:
The Men-At-Arms are mostly "Peasant" squads lead by Paladins. When deployed on duty, these troops are typically equipped with some form of leather armor and genuine chainmail, though in a more refined fashion than the Raiders. Knights and Paladins are extremely impressive as they wear genuine suits of armor made from scavenged steel in a copy of sorts of Power Armor. In fact, save for the lack of its iconic helmet and a differently shaped chestplate, you'd almost say you would be looking at skinny forms of T-45 Power Armor. Nowhere near close to proper power armor to be sure, and the wearer needs to be a physical beast to carry the burden of a 100 pound suit, but it does provide genuine protection to firearms and even some limited energy protection if the Knights are to be believed. These Knights deploy on the Katydales and can actually be effective cavalrymen.
Ah Paladins leading them, gotta keep to the theme.... what? actual chainmail? it... works for melee and other sh*t the raiders do and I can see it being decent against pipe weaponry but not much else. I'll chalk it up to Bellville not really fighting large numbers of more well armed/off raiders like the Conquistadors and more relying on the walls of their castle.
OH well Nevermind mind then! its legit just the amount of steel they have on as armor and can sprint like you wouldn't believe while wearing them. that is decent and gives them some notability. So only Paladins and Knights have that armor on, at the very least we know how to break up and fracture a enemy group. We can at least give the Peasants some proper armor and improve their chances and lot, should help improve overall as they would be able to suppress and pin down enemies long enough for the Calvary to charge through.
Kaiser Chris said:
Lastly of note is that Bellville seem to have a fondness or speciality in close quarters. Many of your Rangers thought this was a joke, but when Robin lead a contingent of Rangers to enter into the Oktoberfest tourney, many were instantly beaten in the melee where their fast and dagger-reliant styles, even with the Bowie Knife, were little match for the raw power and endurance of a Bellville knight. Not to mention they have some rather admittedly badass weapons which are effective in close quarters and against ferals and wildlife like maces, axes, maul, swords and more.
Admittedly when all comes down to it, Bellville is a capable force but they do lack two basic fundamentals to become a truly formidable force in the open Wasteland, numbers and lack of pre-war technology. At least for the former, it is being made up with King Michaels "Call for Return" where a number of Bellville residents who had lived before scattering to the winds after the Longhorns, are now meeting the call and migrating home now that their lands are a safe enclave of Texas.
Ah, so the Melee focus army build in many table top games.... and then showing that it seems stupid on the table top in lore it is bloody terrifying to see in person and to see it running at you. Yah, the Rangers getting mopped checks out, bowie knife and focus on movement and agility does not do well against the men in 100 pound of steel armor charging at you within 20 feet. These guys should be the hammer in a battle plan and flanking force to tie up and break any enemy group
Still I think with some resources and focus we can improve the numbers for Bellville, a project or two. Though I wonder how pre-war tech would work as it seems like it'd cause them to shift to a more generic army as it makes more sense.
Hold up, what? there would a lot more people in Bellville before the Longhorn came around? and they will return? damn they're loyal to their home... oh wait, until we came around the only other options were Isolated Ronsenburg and the Houston Triangle, yah wherever they were before it is not as nice as now.
Kaiser Chris said:
The leader of Galveston was Mayor Henry Auclair, a rather flamboyant and charismatic gentleman who carried the dignified air of an aristocrat, yet spoke with the vulgarity and plainess of a sailor and acting with the wit and shrewdness of an experienced merchant. Your fellow Vault Dweller for the meeting was Marth Foley, a petite young blood that seemed like the opposite of Rosenberg's Luke McClellan. Whereas Luke was a confident showman who had an energetic and eager pace of leadership, Martha was more reserved with a seeming lack of enthusiasm and uncertainty of her position and actions. Decent company but not a skilled stateswoman. You couldn't help but get the impression that Vault 41 were not a group of happy campers and didn't have the same pioneering spirit to reclaim the Wasteland.
Speaking of, the League had been not so subtle in their desire to have you act as an intermediary to recruit Rosenberg, with Texas having the best relations with them. There was plenty of skilled talent and labor which could be of great benefit to a Houston economy, nevermind their advanced robotics and Vault-Tec gifts that made them a close peer to Space City, though not near enough to the latter's sheer scale of industry.
Oh dear lord its a pirate. Galveston's leader is a flamboyant looking pirate, they should be fun. I do think since we got this out of the way now and after we finish the development hell we got into with the half complete projects, we should do the project that mentions the river and how that spot can be turned into a port and some research on boats so we can trade with Glaveston.
the Vault Dweller.. this is the no vault tech staff to help them vault right? ohhh that would make sense as its more or less slapped together position and filling out with whoever was available there. I guess after the years of no instructions and no help they are more focused on their own people after years of slap-dash and patchwork solutions and leadership.
Okay so we have Texans being more altruist and willing to go out into the wasteland and help improve things, being a good buffer state to the west, having some amount of power armor and Vertibirds to more useful but only minor note, and since we are a Vault useful since we are outgoing and willing to adventure and help, to be a connection to other Vaults and Vault settlements. the fact they use to get to Rosenberg to help out when Rosenberg would never had otherwise.
Kaiser Chris said:
The second item of importance that the League was interested in directly from Texas was your participation alongside Sugar Land and Astroworld in their joint campaign against the Raiders occupying Stafford and Missouri City. If successful, there could be one contiguous trade route from College Station to Houston finally and Sugar Land could transport its agricultural good to Astroworld easier and substantially mitigate any possibility of shortages or famine. Perhaps with the Air Force functional and the Power Rangers picking pace you can participate in the Spring or Summer, but you did your best not to firmly committ, saying you'd need to consult with your cabinet and Congress and there was the present threat of the Conquistadors to consider.
Thankfully, little else was strictly demanded of you and it was a merry mix of social interactions and light politicking. You couldn't be too relaxed and consume heavy servings of Karbach however, as there was far more to do than sign the dotted line, most importantly with your first act as a member of the League was to plan and discuss the common market, and the creation of a common currency.
checks map
Besides it needing to be updated, wow they really never secured that corridor there, you think they would have just to simply and secure logistics and travel through there. unless the raiders there are a tough nut to crack or have some special gimmick we shouldn't have too much trouble and should be good practice for our Power Armor Rangers and Airforce to test out their equipment. we can wait a turn for the Conquistadors as long as we put dice into the research and production stuff like motors, missile launchers, grenades, and mines.
Kaiser Chris said:
Before today, each nation used their own unique form of currency. Sugar Land used company issued script from Imperial Sugar and had their currency backed by sugar and water. Astroworld did business in baseball cards which was a somewhat convoluted mess based on players as denominations and then some cards rarity served as higher denomination, all of which backed by rare materials in an "Astro Vault". Space City still used American dollars and for the longest time practiced fiat currency before needing a transition to water-backed dollars as part of expanding trade with the rest of the Wasteland.
As for yourself, admittedly in your first two years you've still held true to bartering as the Vault's welfare system was still in full force, so everyoe got their basic needs and there was no great personal accumulation of wealth so to say. That was changing by the day though as people started to learn new crafts and trades, and seeing the wealth of their eastern neighbors, wanted more.
Weirdly enough, the most common method of non-barter currency in the greater Wasteland of Texas was motherf*cking Nuka-Cola Caps. Sure you remember some kids before the bombs fell trading and collecting Caps as encouraged by Nuka-Cola, but to outright use them as a universal means of common trade, to the point where one could use caps as far west as San Antonio and El Paso. How the f*ck did that came to be? What kind of cultural osmosis took place that it spread to the many corners of the state.
Ah so water dollars or the like, makes sense and ties everyone closer together. Fun to see how each nation handled that issue and f*cking Astroworld, that currency must have been so confusing to learn but its funny. Oh wow we just never had a currency since we never reached the point of needing it.
HAH and the reason for the bottlecaps shown. Looks like we won't be using Caps at all, shame we never had the chance.
Kaiser Chris said:
Thankfully, it looked like Houston at least was gonna move beyond such nonsense, "As we agreed upon previously in discussions, we shall be creating a "Houston Dollar" for a common exchange. There are printing presses here in Astroworld and in my Space City, but we will be willing to help build presses in your respective nations if you do not feel comfortable with others controlling the printing of our currency. This new dollar shall be backed by both pure water, which we shall all hopefully keep in reserve for exchange, as well as gold, thus making it a dual currrency."
"Won't we need gold for electronics and robotics? We've already had to sacrifice so much of our personal wealth for maintenance and your supply of new products." Martha questioned.
"True, gold is both an organ and a vein for high performing electronics, pre and post war. Such is why we have pure water as a form of specie with gallons replacing bullion, as in light of our lack of nearby plentiful fields or mines, this can be an equalizer. And of course, to make up for the inequality of production of purified water-" At that, various glances were exchanged across the room at each other. Texas, Space City and Galveston had an abundance of clean water through purifiers, but Astroworld and Hunter's Creek had no ready domestic sources while Sugar Land's production and aquafiers was modest in comparison to yours.
Hmmmm, I get the intent but with printing more money and inflation there's always the chance SOMEONE pulling a Zimbabwe but it would even the field and Astroworld and Space City wouldn't hold all the power there. Good call on making it a dual currency.
Oh that's interesting, so vault 49 had to use gold for the payment while they were under Spacecity's protection and for maintenance in making more electronics and are tapped out? nice history in those two sentences.
Oopps? don't hate players, hate the nuked geography game. but yah with the Water Treatment Plants we had and continue to acquire as we push west and south. we really are pushing more and more Pure Water production.
Kaiser Chris said:
"This is the Houston branch of the Dallas Federal Reserve. A recent investigation into the City Archives has uncovered that in the months leading to Armageddon, the old Treasury Department prepared for nuclear war by splitting the gold reserves to every corner of the country to help establish an economy after the nuclear fire. It's been 44 years and no one has come to claim it, thus by Salvage rights, it belongs to the city of Houston."
"Here, here." You say enthusiastically, glad to be stealing from America so to speak.
"So far from what we can gather, there's 100 tons of gold in the Vaults of that reserve. Even if we are being very generous with the division of spoils, that's more than enough to back up our currency without water as a secondary specie, and to fulfill our industrial needs. Hell, we can even restart the jewelry sector if we want to. Our plan is simple, go in, purge any squattors, extract the gold and divide it for the common market." Sam stated.
"Participation from members is most certainly not mandatory." Maria emphasized, "But it is very welcome with Astroworld and us dedicating substantial elite units to the operation. Whoever does join us will be guaranteed a generous allotment of the divided gold."
"But I'm guessing it aint gonna be that simple, hence why we can walk out." Jack Candy said, to which Maria nodded.
"Irregardless of the potential dangers, most likely feral ghouls, rogue robotics and mutated mega fauna, there are our enemies who will most likely take notice of such a high scale operation, nevermind the extended length of the extraction. Spartans, Bandidos, Colts, Gulf...the Chinese-Americans." Maria said, the last group with more hesitation along with a glare to Sam who simply rolled his eyes. "There is a decent chance someone will strike on the passage. We will do everything we can on our end, but there's no guarantee of clean and easy."
We're acutally doing a Gold Heist from the ruins of the Federal Reserve in Houston's Branch of the Dallas Branch while deep in Raider country. I honestly did not expect this but I'm all for it and trying it! its a fun adventure you don't think would be a thing but fits for Fallout's world. So the Federal Reserve did that to try to make sure a Gold backed currency would be in norm after the war? poor f*ckers never imagined they lost to bottle caps.
And damn 100 tons? that is a lot and plenty for our needs. and we are joining in on this, too much of a slice to grab in this pie. Oh should we try using our Scout planes to take photos and try to map out and compare to pre-war maps to try to see what streets and the like are sinkholes, blocked, or whatever else? Oh right we really should try to do horses or bikes next turn to try to get more mobility in preparation for this.
Kaiser Chris said:
While Brenham lacks the enthusiasm and awe as your Houston friends, they are pretty decent neighbors with State Highway 36 seeing frequent daily traffic of a couple dozen horses and cars go from Sealy and San Felipe to Brenham. Brenham is quickly becoming a favorite importer to Texas for its diverse and flavorful lineup of dairy products, most especially the precious Blue Bell ice cream with the Vault no longer being in fear of running out of stock. In return, you export a fair number of manufactured and crafted goods, with demand being high for Hunter AC units, and pure agricultural goods.
that damn Blue Bell ice cream... we should try to secure the corridor to them so no worries about safety while traveling. Ah yes, the Hunter AC units. Glad to see that became a luxury good and has big power in trade.
Kaiser Chris said:
Such a place may serve as an excellent source of information on the greater state of Texas, such as how you're now aware of a weird German-Czech confederacy called Adelsverein and how Waco is now dominated by some crazed cult who are referred to as the "Cyrus Branch".
Oh more worldbuilding and factions that are out there.... hmmm it would cost a dice but now I'm curious about Dallas and Austin just as to have information about them. I do think we will need to keep the crazy cult in mind since those never end well and cause many a problems.
Kaiser Chris said:
You don't know how the hell Adrian did it, but he managed to make the perfect AC system that comes just shy of the engineering art that was a Vault-Tec ventilation system. So far, even with the restored power to San Felipe and the creation of homestead wind turbines, the surface can only be tolerable to so many with the extreme Texan heat. Even you have to admit you've been tempted to move back into the Vault full time just for the eternal 70s. The restoration of electricity has alleviated this issue somewhat, but some homes still go without any form of AC. Not to mention that this past winter saw a number of below freezing days and many weeks where the temperature was in the 30s and 40s.
To address this crisis, Adrian really poured his all into the workshop, being so dedicated that you would say he neglected his position as Vice President heavily were it not for the fact that his inventions would serve as greater contributions than anything he could have done in office for the past three months, hell depending upon his career, none of his political service may matter in comparison to this. A perfect AC system, reliable cooling with perfect temperature control, made from scavenged parts with little consumption of space and easily adapt for customization, and a heater function that completely eliminated all signs of cold and left one nice and roasted as if they were sleeping next to a fireplace. They say that the Sun Belt was conquered with Air Conditioning, perhaps something similar may happen with the Second Republic.
Hunter AC/Heater system invented. Incredibly high performance at far lower energy requirements in comparison to pre-war units. Luxury good for trade produced. Immigration to Texas will spike in coming years.
THIS MAD MAN! our vice president did this sh*t! he's a good tinker I'll give him that and worth the time he took off to do it. Seriously, the AC being that good while using far less energy and is on par with Vault-Tech's tech. the fact we can produce these and from the fluff that many homes do lack an AC and production is limited for just standard AC's. Adrian's AC is also a Heater, customizable, and isn't bulky or take that much space, it really does come across as a Luxury good. the best damn AC's, not just an AC. Glad to see this is already paying big bucks in trade and part of what the Texas Republic is known for exporting. Oh right, I forgot that pre-war AC's and those made based off of them would have far higher energy requirements so the Hunter AC units are more likely best for homesteads and smaller towns because the limited power from the Windmills can still power it.
Damn people will flock to Texas just for the AC's? well I guess when the AC doubles as a Heater and costs way less power to run it would mean a home there wouldn't need to worry about hot or cold, which would cut down costs and make it viable to keep on all day instead of just a few hours and deal with the cold at night.
